933. And over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, signifies and that have not acknowledged the doctrine of faith separated from charity, or any quality of it. This is evident from the signification of "the beast," whose "image," "mark," and "number of name," are here mentioned, as being faith separated from charity, or faith without good works (See above, n. 773, 815); also from the signification of "his image," as being the doctrine of that faith (See n. 827 also from the signification of "mark," as being the acknowledgment and confession of that faith (See n. 838); also from the signification of "the number of his name," as being what is like it as to life and as to faith, thus its quality, also as being falsities in the whole complex (See n. 841, 845, 847). So "the image, mark, and number of his name," signify, when taken together, not acknowledging and confessing faith separated as to its doctrine, and as to any quality of it. "To have victory over these" signifies to reject them in life and doctrine, which is effected by combat against the falsities that the followers of that faith offer in opposition.

[2] It has been said in the previous article that at this day it is scarcely known what is meant by charity, and thus by good works, unless it be giving to the poor, enriching the needy, doing good to widows and orphans, and contributing to the building of temples, hospitals, and lodging houses; and yet whether such works are done by man and for the sake of reward is not known; for if they are done by man they are not good, and if for the sake of reward they are meritorious; and such works do not open heaven, and thus are not acknowledged as goods in heaven. In heaven no works are regarded as good except such as are done by the Lord with man, and yet the works that are done by the Lord with man appear in outward form like those done by the man himself, and cannot be distinguished even by the man who does them. For the works done by the Lord with man are done by man as if by himself; and unless they are done as if by himself they do not conjoin man to the Lord, thus they do not reform him. That man ought to do goods as if by himself may be seen above (n. 616, 864, 911).

864. These are they that follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth, signifies those who have been joined to the Lord by the acknowledgment of His Divine Human, and by a life according to His commandments. This is evident from the signification of "the Lamb," as being the Lord as to the Divine Human (See above, n. 314); also from the signification of "following Him whithersoever He goeth," as being to acknowledge His Divine and to do His commandments. "To follow the Lord" has a similar signification as "to go or to walk after Him." That "to go or walk after the Lord," signifies to acknowledge, to obey, and to act and live from Him and with Him, may be seen above n. 787. This is the signification of "following the Lord," because no one can follow the Lord from self, but only from the Lord Himself. For the Lord draws after Him the man who from freedom wills to follow; but He can draw no one who does not will to follow Him. For the Lord so operates with man that man may follow Him as if of himself; thus does the Lord flow into man's freedom; and this He does for the sake of the reception and implantation of truth and good with man and consequent reformation and regeneration. For unless it appeared to man that he followed the Lord as if of himself, that is, acknowledged His Divine and did His commandments as if of himself, there would be no appropriation and conjunction, and thus no reformation and regeneration. For everything enters into the man and becomes as if it were his own that man receives in freedom, that is, as if of himself, whether it be what he thinks and speaks or what he wills and does as if of himself. And yet man ought to believe, as the matter really is in itself, that he does these things not from himself but from the Lord; and this is why it is said that he must act not of himself but as if of himself. Another reason for this is that man has no perception of the Lord's operation into his will and into his thought therefrom; for man knows nothing about his conjunction with angels; consequently he supposes that whatever he wills and thinks he wills and thinks from himself; therefore he cannot know otherwise than that this is done by himself; and yet all good flows in, that which he thinks, that which he wills, and that which he consequently does. And as he knows this from the doctrine of the church, namely, that all good is from God, he ought to believe that he does not do good of himself, although he does it as if of himself. This is meant by what the Lord taught in Mark:

So is the kingdom of God as if a man should cast seed upon the earth, and should then sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up he knoweth not how (Mark 4:26, 27).

And in John:

A man can receive nothing unless it be given him from heaven (John 3:27).

And in the same:

He that abideth in Me and I in him, the same beareth much fruit; for without Me ye can do nothing (John 15:5).

[2] To acknowledge the Lord's Divine Human and to do His commandments is to follow Him, because only those who do this can be conjoined to the Lord. That everyone is conjoined to the Lord according to the acknowledgment and confession of Him from the heart and according to the life, can be seen from this, that all the angels of heaven acknowledge no other Divine than the Divine of the Lord, and all angels of the heavens live according to the laws of order, which are His commandments, that is, they live in the Divine that proceeds from the Lord, which is called the Divine truth. Because they so live they live in a heavenly aura, or in a heavenly ether, into which none can be admitted except those who are in life from the Lord. If any others were to enter into that ether it would be like letting mice into a pipe out of which the air has been exhausted.

[3] All this makes clear what is signified in the spiritual sense by "following the Lord whithersoever He goeth." "To follow Him" has the same signification in the following passages. As in John:

Jesus said, I am the light of the world; he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life (John 8:12).

"I am the light of the world" signifies that He is the Divine truth itself; "he that followeth Me" signifies he that acknowledges His Divine and does His commandments; "shall not walk in darkness" signifies that he shall not be in falsities; "but shall have the light of life" signifies that he shall be in Divine truths, which teach man eternal life and lead to heaven. Here evidently "to follow the Lord" does not mean to follow Him, but to acknowledge His Divine and obey Him.

[4] In the same:

When the Shepherd of the sheep hath led forth His own sheep He goeth before them and the sheep follow Him, for they know His voice; but a stranger they do not follow, but flee from him, for they know not the voice of strangers. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them and they follow Me (John 10:4, 5, 27).

Here, "to follow the Lord" means to acknowledge His Divine and to obey Him; for it is said, He goeth before His own sheep and the sheep follow Him and know and hear His voice; "to know and hear the Lord's voice" signifies to do His commandments.

[5] In the Gospels:

Whosoever wills to come after Me let him deny himself and follow Me (Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23).

Evidently "to go after the Lord and to follow Him" is to deny self; and to deny self is to be led not by self but by the Lord; and he denies self who shuns and turns away from evils because they are sins; and when man turns away from evils he is led by the Lord; for he does the Lord's commandments, not from self but from the Lord. "To follow the Lord" has the same signification elsewhere (as in Matthew 19:21, 28; Mark 2:14, 15; 3:7, 8; 10:21, 28, 29; Luke 18:22, 28; John 12:26; 13:36, 37; 21:19-22).

[6] All this makes clear that to "follow the Lord" is to be led by Him and not by self; and only those who are not led by self can be led by the Lord; and everyone is led by self who does not shun evils because they are contrary to the Word and thus contrary to God; consequently because they are sins and are from hell. Everyone who does not thus shun and turn away from evils is led by self; and for the reason that the evil that is in man by heredity constitutes his life, because that is his own [proprium]; and until such evils have been removed man does all things from them, thus from self. But it is otherwise when evils have been removed, which is done when he shuns them because they are infernal; then the Lord enters with truths and goods from heaven, and leads him. The chief reason is that every man is his own love; and man, as to his spirit, which lives after death, is nothing else than the affection which is of his love, and all evil is from his love, and thus belongs to his love; from which it follows that a man's love or affection is reformed only by a spiritual shunning of evils and turning away from them, which is shunning them and turning away from them because they are infernal. From all this it can now be seen what it is "to follow the Lord whithersoever He goeth."

847. And his number is six hundred sixty-six, signifies that its quality nevertheless is from all falsities and all evils therefrom in the complex. This is evident from the signification of "number," as being the quality of faith separated from the life; also from the signification of "six hundred sixty-six" as being all falsities and all evils therefrom in the complex. This is the signification of that number, because "six" signifies all things, and is predicated of truths and of goods therefrom, and in the contrary sense of falsities and of evils therefrom; for that number is composed of the numbers two and three multiplied together, and the number two is predicated of goods, and in the contrary sense of evils; and the number three of truths, and in the contrary sense of falsities; and a composite number has a similar signification as the simple numbers of which it is composed. This, then, is why "six" signifies all truths and all goods therefrom in the complex, and in the contrary sense all falsities and all evils therefrom in the complex. That all these may be signified to the full, that number is tripled; and by triplication the number 666 arises. For a thing triplicated signifies completeness and fullness from beginning to end; so here it signifies that nothing whatever of truth and good remains.

[2] That every number in the Word signifies something pertaining to a thing or state, and that its quality is determined by the numbers added, may be seen above (n. 203, 429, 574, 841). That larger numbers composed of the smaller have a similar signification as the smaller and simple numbers from which they arise by multiplication may be seen above n. 430; thus the number six hundred sixty-six has a similar signification as six, and six the like as three and two, from which it arises by multiplication. That three signifies fullness, completeness, altogether, and all things from beginning to end, and is predicated of truths and falsities, may be seen above (n. 532); and that two is likewise predicated of goods and evils (n. 532, at the end). Again, six has a similar signification as twelve, because twelve arises from the multiplication of three by four; and four, like two, is predicated of goods and also of evils. From this it is clear that the number "six hundred sixty-six," which is said to be "the number of a man," and "to count" which is said to be a matter of intelligence, signifies the quality of faith separated from good works, that it is composed of all falsities and of all evils therefrom in the complex. Its being said to be a matter of intelligence to count that number does not signify that it is a matter of intelligence to know or find out the signification of that number, but that it is a matter of intelligence to inquire into and see the falsities and evils that make up the quality of faith separated from life.

[3] That the quality of that faith is such in respect to falsities will be seen in what presently follows. It is also such in respect to evils because when good works are set aside (and they are set aside when it is believed that they contribute nothing at all to justification or salvation), it follows that evil works take their place; for a man must be either in goods or in evils. That he cannot be in both together is meant by these words of the Lord:

No one can serve two masters; he will either hate the one and love the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (Matthew 6:24).

Therefore all evils in the complex follow from a faith that sets aside good works, which are the goods of life. Moreover, every religion has life as its end; for it teaches the evils that must be shunned, and the goods that are to be done. A religion that does not have life as its end, consequently a religion in which it is taught that the works of life are of no account, but faith alone, cannot be called a religion; and where this is taught, are not all evils of life permitted so far as they are not forbidden and restrained by the civil laws, since faith alone covers, remits, and takes them away? That this is so can be seen from this, that faith alone is said to justify the life; and yet it is taught that man is not saved by any good of life, also that he may be saved by this faith even in the last hour of death, also that he is justified at the same moment that he receives this faith, with other like things, which altogether persuade that life is not the end of that religion. And if religion does not have life as its end it follows that it must give loose reins to evils of every kind.

[4] That those who are in that faith both in doctrine and in life have all falsities in the complex is clear from the claim that this faith is the only justifying or saving faith, namely, that the Father sent the Son that He might reconcile to Him the human race by the passion of the cross and by thus taking away damnation. But it has been shown above what the quality of this faith is, and what there is in it of truth and untruth; and anyone can see that in this faith there is nothing except thought, and nothing of life; for it is said that if we believe this with trust and confidence, that is, if we acknowledge it in thought, we are saved. If in this faith alone there is salvation what need is there of knowing what love to the Lord is, what charity towards the neighbor is, what the life of man is, what the goods and evils of life are, what remission of sins is, what reformation and regeneration are? Are not all these this faith alone? If it be asked what remission of sins is, is it not this faith alone? If it be asked what charity towards the neighbor is, is it not this faith alone? If it be asked what the church is, is it not this faith alone? So in the rest. It is clear, therefore, that this faith alone has absorbed, and has swallowed up like a dragon, all the goods and truths of the Word, and thus of the church, although these are innumerable, and through these the angels have all their intelligence and wisdom, and men have all their salvation.

[5] As all the truths and goods of the church have been banished by means of this faith alone, it follows that falsities and evils therefrom have taken their place, and as a consequence the church is devastated. Yea, by means of this truth that man of himself can do no good that is good, all the truths and goods of the church are cast aside, as if this made it permissible for man to refrain from doing them, because if they are not good they are rather damnable than saving. And it is wonderful that through a single truth wrongly understood all the truths and goods of the church in the whole complex should have been cast aside. This is what is signified in the spiritual sense by "the number of the beast, six hundred sixty-six."