739. And that great dragon was cast out, that old serpent.- That this signifies that those who were in evils of life and had thus become sensual, and had perverted all things of the Word, and thus of the church, were separated from heaven and cast down into hell, is evident from the signification of being cast out, when said of the dragon, as denoting to be separated from heaven and cast out into hell (that they had been conjoined to heaven, but were separated afterwards, may be seen in an article above, n. 737; - that they were cast down and condemned to hell is meant by "he was cast out unto the earth," of which we shall speak presently); from the signification of the great dragon, as denoting those who are in evils of life, and nevertheless confess God and the Lord with their lips, who also declare the Word to be holy, and speak in favour of the church (that these are meant by the dragon may be seen above, n. 714, 715, 716, 718, 737); he is therefore also called a great dragon, for the term great, in the Word, is used of good, and in the opposite sense, as in this case, of evil; but their falsities are signified by his angels (of which we shall speak presently); and from the signification of the old serpent, as denoting those who are sensual, here that those who had perverted all things of the Word and of the church had thence become sensual. That the Sensual is signified by the serpent may be seen above (n. 581, 715 end). The serpent is called old, because in olden times there were those who perverted all things of the Word and of the church. According to the historical sense of the letter, the old serpent means the serpent that seduced Adam and Eve in paradise, but by that serpent, as well as by this one, are meant all those who seduce the whole world, as is evident from what follows in this paragraph. From these things it is plain that "the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent," signifies that those who were in evils of life, and who had perverted all things of the Word and thus of the church, were separated and cast down into hell.

[2] That all those who are in evils of life become sensual, and that those who thus become sensual pervert everything of the church, is evident from this, that there are in men three degrees of life, an inmost, a middle, and an ultimate, and that these degrees in man are successively opened as he becomes wise. Every man at birth is absolutely sensual, so that even the five senses of his body must be opened by use; he next becomes sensual in thought since he thinks from the objects which have made their impression upon his bodily senses; afterwards he becomes interiorly sensual. But so far as he acquires natural light (lumen naturale) by visual experiences, by knowledges (scientias) and especially by the practice of moral life, so far does he become interiorly natural. This is the first or ultimate degree of man's life.

[3] And as at this time from parents, masters, and preachers, and also from reading the Word and books respecting it, he acquires knowledges (cognitiones) of spiritual good and truth, and stores them up in his memory like other knowledges (scientifica), he lays the foundation of the church; yet if he goes no further, he remains natural. But if he does advance further, that is to say, if he lives according to those knowledges from the Word, the interior degree is opened in him, and he becomes spiritual, but only so far as he is influenced by truths, understands them, wills them, and does them; and for the reason that evils, and falsities therefrom - which by heredity have their seat in the natural and sensual man - are in this and in no other way removed, and as it were dispersed. For the spiritual man is in heaven, and the natural man in the world, and so far as heaven, that is the Lord through heaven, is able to flow in through the spiritual into the natural man, so far evils, and falsities therefrom, are removed, which, as we have said, have their seat in the natural man; for the Lord removes them as He removes hell from heaven.

The interior degree in man can be opened in no other way, because the evils and falsities which are in the natural man keep it closed up; for the spiritual degree, or spiritual mind, contracts itself against evil and the falsity of evil of every kind, as a fibril of the body contracts itself at the touch of a sharp point; for as fibres of the body contract themselves at every harsh touch, so does man's interior mind, which is called the spiritual mind, at the touch or breath of evil and falsity therefrom. But, on the other hand, when homogeneous things, which are Divine truths from the Word, and which derive their essence from good, draw near to that mind, it then opens itself. But yet this opening is effected solely by the reception of the good of love flowing in through heaven from the Lord, and by its conjunction with those truths which man has stored up in his memory; and this conjunction is effected only by a life according to Divine truths in the Word, for when these truths enter into the life they are called goods. How the second or middle degree is opened is therefore evident.

[4] But the third or inmost degree is opened in those who apply Divine truths immediately to life, and who do not first recall them from the memory and reason about them, and thus bring them into doubt. This is called the celestial degree. As there are these three degrees of life in every man, and yet they are opened in different ways, therefore there are three heavens. In the third or inmost heaven are those in whom the third degree is opened; in the second or middle heaven are those in whom the second degree only is opened; and in the first or ultimate heaven are those in whom the interior natural man, also called the rational man, is opened; for this, if truly rational, receives influx from the Lord through heaven. All these come into heaven. But those who have received Divine truths only in the memory, and not at the same time in the life, remain natural, in fact they become sensual. The reason is, that the evils into which man is born have their seat in the natural and sensual man, as said above; and in such these evils have not been removed, and as it were dispersed, by the influx of good from the Lord, and by its reception by man; consequently the loves of the body reign in them, which, in general, are the love of self and the love of the world, and thus the love and pride of their own intelligence. These loves, with the evils and the falsities that flow from them, fill the interiors of their natural mind, although they are concealed under the respectable and becoming demeanour of moral life, put on for the sake of the world and because of the laws enacted for the external man. Although such persons have filled their memory with knowledges from the Word, from the dogmas of their several religions, and from the sciences (scientiae), they are nevertheless natural, and even sensual; for the interiors of their natural mind, which are nearest to the spiritual mind, are closed up by confirmations, even from the Word, against spiritual life, which is a life according to Divine truths, and is called charity towards the neighbour. These then, since they are sensual, are meant by the dragon, and are called serpents, for a serpent signifies the Sensual, because the Sensual is the lowest part of man's life, and it creeps as it were upon the ground and licks the dust like a serpent.

[5] In order to illustrate this, I will quote what is related in Genesis concerning the old serpent that seduced Eve and Adam, and will explain the same according to the spiritual sense. The words are as follows:

"Out of the ground Jehovah God caused to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, and the tree of lives in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And Jehovah God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden eating thou mayest eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou mayest not eat, because in the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt assuredly die. And the serpent was more crafty (astutus) than any wild beast of the field which Jehovah God made; and it said unto the woman, Hath God indeed said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, Of the fruit of the tree of the garden we may eat, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not assuredly die; for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil. And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to give intelligence, and she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and she gave also to her husband with her, and he did eat. And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves girdles. And Jehovah said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, cursed art thou above every beast, and above every wild beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat, all the days of thy life. And I will put enmity between thee and between the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; he shall tread upon thy head, and thou shalt wound his heel. And Jehovah God sent forth the man from the garden of Eden, and made cherubim to dwell at the east of the garden of Eden, and the flame of a sword turning itself to guard the way of the tree of lives" (Genesis 2:8, 9, 16, 17; 3:1-7, 14, 15, 23, 24).

How the historical narratives of the creation of heaven and earth, recounted from the first chapter of Genesis down to the story of the flood, are to be understood, cannot possibly be known, except from the spiritual sense, which is contained in every part of the sense of the letter of the Word. For these historical narratives of the creation of heaven and earth, and of the garden in Eden, and the posterity of Adam, as far as the flood, are in the form of history; and yet they are most holy, because every particular therein, and every expression, are correspondences, and thus signify spiritual things. Anyone with a clear understanding might discern this from the history of the creation contained in the first chapter, for this is said to have begun from light, although the sun did not yet exist; and from various other circumstances there related. [It might also be discerned] from the creation of Eve the wife of Adam out of one of his ribs; also from the two trees in Paradise, and the command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, when, although the wisest of all people, they were seduced by the serpent and did eat; and again, from this, that Jehovah placed such trees in the midst of the garden, and suffered them to be seduced by the serpent into eating of the forbidden tree, which He nevertheless might have averted; and finally, from the whole human race being judged to eternal death, merely because they eat of that tree. Who cannot see that these things and many others which an obscure understanding might in simplicity believe, would be contrary to the Divine Love and contrary to the Divine providence and foresight? And yet children and the simple-minded may without harm believe these things according to the literal history since they serve, like the rest of the Word, to conjoin human minds to angelic minds, for angels are in the spiritual sense when men are in the natural sense. But what those historical circumstances involve in the spiritual sense shall be briefly explained.

[6] The first chapter treats of the new creation or establishment of that church, which was the most ancient church on this earth, as well as most excellent of all, for it was a celestial church, because in love to the Lord. The men of that church were consequently exceedingly wise, having almost immediate communication with the angels of heaven, through whom they received wisdom from the Lord. And because they were in love to the Lord, and had revelations out of heaven, and at once applied to life the Divine truths revealed to them, therefore they were in a similar state to that of the angels of the third heaven; consequently that heaven consists chiefly of the men of that church. This church is meant by Adam and his wife. But the garden in Eden signifies their intelligence and wisdom, which is also described in the spiritual sense by all those things that are mentioned about that garden. Also how wisdom was lost in their posterity is described by the eating of the tree of knowledge (scientia); for the two trees placed in the midst of the garden mean perception from the Lord and perception from the world, the tree of lives, perception from the Lord, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, perception from the world, which, however, in itself is only cognition and knowledge (scientia). But the serpent, which seduced them, signifies man's Sensual, which communicates immediately with the world, therefore their being seduced by the serpent signifies that they were seduced by the Sensual, which derives everything that it has from the world, and nothing from heaven. For men of the celestial church are such that they perceive all the truths and goods of heaven from the Lord through influx into their interiors, whence they see goods and truths interiorly in themselves, as though innate, and have no need to learn them by a posterior way, or to enrich the memory with them. Neither therefore do they reason about truths, whether they are so or not; for those who see truths in themselves do not reason, since reasoning implies a doubt whether a thing is true. For the same reason they never make mention of faith, for faith involves something unknown, which although not seen must nevertheless be believed. That the men of the Most Ancient Church were of such a character as is above described, has been revealed to me out of heaven; for it has been granted me to speak with them, and to receive information about them, as is evident from the various things related concerning the men of that church in the Arcana Coelestia.

[7] But it must be understood that they were never forbidden to acquire for themselves cognitions of good and evil from heaven, for by means of these they perfected their intelligence and wisdom; neither were they forbidden to procure for themselves knowledges of good and evil from the world, for from this source their natural man had its knowledge (scientia). But they were forbidden to view these knowledges by a posterior way, because it was granted them to see all things which appeared before their eyes in the world by a prior way. To view the world and everything therein by a prior way, and thence to receive knowledges is to regard them from the light of heaven, and in that way to know what they are. Therefore by means of knowledges from the world they were able to confirm heavenly things, and thus strengthen their wisdom. But they were forbidden to view knowledges from the world by a posterior way, as is the case when conclusions are drawn from them concerning heavenly things, which is an inverted order, called by the learned the order of physical or natural influx, which cannot in any way enter into heavenly things. Such did the men of the Most Ancient Church become when they began to love worldly more than heavenly things, to be proud of and boast about their wisdom; on this account their posterity became sensual, and then their Sensual, meant by the serpent, led them astray; and the Sensual does not wish to advance by any other than a posterior way. This, therefore, is the signification of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, of which they were forbidden to eat.

That they were permitted to acquire knowledges from the world, and to view them by a prior way, is signified by Out of the ground Jehovah God caused to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food, - for trees signify knowledges and perceptions, pleasant to the sight signifies what the understanding desires, and good for food that which conduces to the nourishment of the mind. The cognitions of good and evil from the Lord, from which wisdom is derived, and knowledges of good and evil from the world, from which knowledge (scientia) is derived, were represented by the tree of lives, and by the tree of the knowledge (scientia) of good and evil in the midst of the garden.

[8] That they were permitted to appropriate to themselves knowledges from every source, not only from heaven but also from the world, provided they did not proceed in an inverted order, by reasoning from them about heavenly things, instead of thinking from heavenly things about worldly things, is signified by Jehovah God commanding them to eat of every tree of the garden, but not of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; that if they did this heavenly wisdom and the church in them would perish, is signified by In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt assuredly die, - to eat in the spiritual sense signifying to appropriate to themselves.

[9] That the Sensual seduced them, because it lies nearest to the world, and is consequently sensitive to every pleasure and delight from the world, and is thus in fallacies, and is ignorant of and rejects heavenly things, is signified by the serpent, the serpent denoting the Sensual, and no other sensual than that of such people. The reason why the serpent is "the devil and Satan" is that the Sensual communicates with hell and makes one with it, for in it resides all the evil of man in its entirety. And because man from the Sensual reasons from fallacies and from the delights of the loves of the world and of the body, and this indeed skilfully and cunningly, therefore it is said that the serpent was more crafty (astutus) than any wild beast of the field which Jehovah God had made, the wild beast of the field signifying, in the spiritual sense, the affection of the natural man.

[10] Since the Sensual imagines that wisdom is procured by means of knowledges from the world and natural knowledges (scientias naturales), and not by any influx out of heaven from the Lord, therefore from such fallacy and ignorance the serpent said to the woman, Ye shall not die; for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil. For the sensual man supposes that he knows everything and that nothing escapes him; but it is not so with the celestial man, who is convinced that he knows nothing from himself but from the Lord, and that, what he does know is so insignificant as to be scarcely anything compared with what he does not know. In fact their posterity believed themselves to be gods, and that they knew all good and all evil; but from evil they were not capable of knowing heavenly good, but only worldly and corporeal good, which in itself is not good; nevertheless from heavenly good man is capable of knowing what is evil.

[11] That the affection of the natural man persuaded by the Sensual supposed that intelligence in the things of heaven and of the church was to be acquired by means of the knowledge (scientia) of cognitions from the world, is signified by The woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and to be desired to give intelligence, - the woman here signifying the natural affection of man, which draws its desires from the Sensual; and of such a nature is that affection. That that affection also seduced the Rational, is signified by the woman taking of the fruit of that tree and eating, and giving to her husband with her, and by his eating thereof, the husband of the woman signifying the Rational. That they then saw that they were without truths and goods is signified by Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked, - the nakedness that is ashamed signifying the deprivation of celestial love, and thus of good and truth. That they then clothed themselves with natural truths, lest they should appear to be lacking in truths, is signified by They sewed fig leaves together and made themselves girdles, - the fig tree signifying the natural man, and its leaf truth scientific (verum scientificum). Afterwards what their Sensual became, namely, that it turned itself entirely away from heaven, and turned itself to the world, and thus received nothing Divine, is described by the curse of the serpent. For the Sensual in man cannot be reformed; consequently when man is reformed it is simply removed, since it clings to the body and is manifest to the world; therefore the pleasures therefrom are called and felt to be goods. For this reason it is said that the seed of the woman shall tread upon its head, and that it shall wound his heel; the seed of the woman means the Lord, the head of the serpent all evil, and the Lord's heel Divine Truth in ultimates, which with us is the sense of the letter of the Word, and this the sensual man, or the Sensual of man, perverts and falsifies, and thus wounds. That the sense of the letter acts as a guard, lest the Lord should be approached except through appearances of truth, and not through genuine truths, by those who are in evils, is signified by the cherubim which, with the flame of a sword turning itself, were placed at the garden of Eden to guard the way of the tree of lives. But this and the rest of those chapters may be seen explained in the Arcana Coelestia.