AR 453
By these three a third of mankind was killed -
by the fire and smoke and brimstone
coming out of their mouths.
(Revelation 9:18)
It is owing to these falsities
that no one knows
anywhere in the whole Christian world
that the fire mentioned here
is the love of self and the world,
and that this love is the devil.
Nor does anyone know
that the smoke issuing from this fire
is a conceit in one's own inherent intelligence,
and that this conceit is satan.
Neither does anyone know that the brimstone
ignited by this fire through that conceit
is the lusts attendant on evil and falsity,
and that these lusts
are the diabolical and satanic crew
of which hell consists.
And when these things are not known,
it is impossible for anyone to know what sin is;
for sin finds its every delight and gratification in them.
AR 454
For truth shines only in the eyes of people
who are directed by charity
and its accompanying faith,
and it is only these
that the Word teaches.
AR 455 [1, 2, 4]
[And in their tails,] for their tails were like serpents,
having heads,
and with them they do harm.
(Revelation 9:19)
The symbolism here is similar to that earlier
in the case of the locusts,
but there we were told
that they had tails like scorpions,
and here tails like serpents.
For the people described by locusts there
speak and persuade using the Word,
scholarship and learning,
whereas the people described here
employ arguments that consist only
of appearances of truth and fallacies;
and people who use these
to speak harmoniously and seemingly wisely
do indeed deceive others,
but not to the same extent.
Since sensual people
are cunning and crafty like foxes,
therefore the Lord says,
"Be as wise as serpents" (Matthew 10:16).
For a sensual person speaks and reasons
on the basis of appearances and fallacies,
and if he possesses a talent for arguing,
he knows how to skillfully defend every falsity,
including as well the heresy of faith alone;
and yet he is so dim-sighted at seeing truth
that almost no one could be more so.
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