695. And his kingdom became full of darkness. This symbolically means that nothing but falsities appeared.

Darkness symbolizes falsities because light symbolizes truth. To be shown that darkness symbolizes falsities that lead to evils, and thick darkness falsities springing from evils, see no. 413 above. Thus the beast's kingdom becoming full of darkness means symbolically that nothing but falsities appeared.

People who have confirmed themselves in a faith divorced from charity falsify the whole Word, as may be seen in nos. 136, 610 above. That they possess no truths, nos. 489, 501, 653, but only falsities, nos. 563, 597, 602.

Still, the falsities of their faith do not in fact appear to them as full of darkness, that is, as false, but they appear as though full of light, that is, as true, once they have confirmed themselves in them. Nevertheless, when these falsities are viewed in the light of heaven, which reveals everything, they appear as being full of darkness. Consequently, whenever the light of heaven flows into the rooms in their abodes in hell, the rooms become so dark that one cannot see another. Every hell is therefore closed over, so that not even a crack appears, and the inhabitants are then in their own light. They do not appear to themselves to be in darkness, but rather surrounded by light, even though they are caught up in falsities, and that is because their falsities, once they have confirmed themselves in them, appear to them as true. Thus their light is an illusory light, like the light of any falsity defended. This light corresponds to the light seen by owls and bats, which see darkness as light, and light as darkness - indeed, in whose sight the sun is nothing but thick darkness. Such is the sight acquired after death by people who in the world have confirmed themselves in falsities, to the point that they see falsity as true, and truth as false.

136. "'And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent.'" (2:21) This symbolically means that those who confirm themselves in that doctrine do not turn back from it, even if they see things contrary to it in the Word.

To turn back from sexual immorality here means, symbolically, to turn back from falsifying the Word. The fact that those people see things contrary to their doctrine is apparent from a thousand places in the Word where we are told that evils are to be abstained from and good deeds done, that people who do good deeds go to heaven and people who do evil deeds go to hell, and that faith without works is lifeless and diabolic.

But the question is, what part of the Word did they falsify? Or in what way did they commit sexual immorality spiritually with the Word? The answer is that they falsified the entire Word, inasmuch as the entire Word teaches nothing else than love toward the Lord and love for the neighbor. For the Lord says that "on these two commandments hang... the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 22:40). One also finds faith taught in the Word, yet not their kind of faith, but a faith connected with love.