402. Verse 13. And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, signifies that the knowledges of good and truth perished. This is evident from the signification of "stars" as being the knowledges of good and truth (See above, n. 72); also from the signification of "falling unto the earth," as being to perish; for when stars fall to the earth they perish. The same is signified by:

The stars shall fall from heaven (Matthew 24:29; and Mark 13:25).

Anyone can see that "stars" here do not mean stars, for these cannot fall from heaven, for they are fixed or established in their place, and cannot fall to the earth, because they are larger than the earth; consequently by them are signified such things as belong to heavenly light, and give light, which are the knowledges of good and truth. Moreover, stars appear in the angelic heaven, but they are appearances from the knowledges of good and truth, therefore they appear about those who are in such knowledges, especially when they turn them over in the mind, and are desirous of knowing them.

81. From Secrets of Heaven

Love for ourselves and love for the world. Just as love for the Lord and love for our neighbor, or caring, make heaven, so love for ourselves and love for the world, where they are dominant, make hell; so the two pairs of loves are opposites: 2041, 3610, 4225, 4776, 6210, 7366, 7369, 7489, 7490, 8232, 8678, 10455, 10741, 10742, 10743, 10745. Love for ourselves and love for the world are the source of all evils: 1307, 1308, 1321, 1594, 1691, 3413, 7255, 7376, 7488, 7489, 8318, 9335, 9348, 10038, 10742. Love for ourselves and love for the world are the source of contempt for others, enmity, hatred, vengefulness, cruelty, trickery, and therefore every evil and all maliciousness: 6667, 7372, 7373, 7374, 9348, 10038, 10742. To the extent that we give these loves free rein they run wild, and self-love even races all the way to the throne of God: 7375, 8678. Love for ourselves and love for the world are destructive of our communities and of heavenly order: 2045, 2057. It is because of these loves that the human race had to institute governments and people had to subject themselves to a ruling authority in order to be safe: 7364, 10160, 10814. Wherever these loves rule, acts of goodness that are inspired by love and acts of goodness that are inspired by faith ¹ are rejected, or stifled, or corrupted: 2041, 7491, 7492, 7643, 8487, 10455, 10743. In these loves there is no life, but instead there is spiritual death: 7494, 10731, 10741. Descriptions of what these loves are like: 1505, 2219, 2363, 2364, 2444, 4221, 4227, 4947, 4949, 5721, 7366-7377, 8678. All craving and obsession come from loving ourselves and the world: 2041, 8910.

[2] Love for ourselves and love for the world should serve as means, and not at all as goals: 7377, 7819, 7820. When we are being reformed these loves are inverted so that they serve as means and not as goals, and the result is that they become like the feet rather than the head: 8995, 9210. People who devote their lives to self-love and love for the world have in effect no inner level, only an outer level without an inner one, because their inner level is closed to heaven but their outer level is open to the world: 10396, 10400, 10409, 10412, 10422, 10429. People who live in self-love and love for the world do not know what caring is, what conscience is, or what the life of heaven is: 7490. To the extent that we devote our lives to self-love and love for the world we do not accept either the love of doing what is good or the truth that builds faith, although these are constantly flowing into us from the Lord: 7491.

[3] For people who devote their lives to self-love and love for the world there are outer restraints, but no inner restraints, so when the outer restraints are removed they plunge into every kind of wickedness: 10744, 10745, 10746. In the spiritual world we all turn toward what we love. If we have devoted our lives to loving the Lord and loving our neighbor, we turn toward the Lord; but if we have devoted our lives to loving ourselves and loving the world, we turn our backs on the Lord: 10130, 10189, 10420, 10742. The nature of worship that has self-love within it: 1304, 1306, 1307, 1308, 1321, 1322. The Lord uses evil people to govern the world, leading them by their own loves, which go back to love for themselves and love for the world: 6481, 6495. Evil people can serve functions and do good and useful things just as much as good people can, because they are intent on prestige and wealth as their rewards, so they act outwardly the same way good people do: 6481, 6495.

[4] All the people in the hells have lives that are devoted to evil practices and consequent false beliefs because of their love for themselves and love for the world: Heaven and Hell 551-565.

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