661、“从诸天之下毁灭一切肉体，就是凡有生命气息在里面的”表示上古教会的所有后代都要自我毁灭。这从刚才的阐述和前面关于他们的描述（560，562-563节）清楚可知，即：他们通过遗传从历代祖先那里逐渐获得这样一种心理构造：他们比其他人都更充满可怕的说服。这主要是因为，他们将其所掌握的信之教义浸没于他们的欲望，由此变成这个样子。而那些没有信之教义，完全活在无知中的人则完全不同；这些人不能如此行，因而不能亵渎圣物，从而关闭余剩的道路。所以，他们无法赶走主的天使。
如前所述（561节），余剩是指一切纯真、一切仁爱、一切怜悯和一切信之真理，这些都是一个人从幼年开始从主那里获得、学到的。其中的每一个事物都被珍藏起来；如果一个人没有获得它们，那么纯真、仁爱或怜悯不可能存在于他的思维和行为中，因而良善和真理根本不可能存在。这时，他将比任何凶猛的野兽都更坏；他若原本有这类事物的余剩，却以污秽的欲望和可怕的说服关闭了这条道路，以致余剩无法运作，也会是这样。大洪水前自我毁灭的人就具有这种性质，由“诸天之下的一切肉体，就是凡有生命气息在里面的”来表示。
如前所示（574节），“肉体”总体上表示整个人类，具体地表示肉体人。“生命气息”总体上表示一切生命，但严格意义上表示那些已重生之人的生命，因而在此表示上古教会的最后一代。他们在此被称为“生命气息”，或如下一章（创世记7:22）被称为“鼻孔有生命之灵气息的”，是因为尽管他们当中没有信之生命，但他们仍从其祖先那里获得了教会之种的某种东西，只是将其扼杀了。“诸天之下的肉体”表示纯肉体之物，“诸天”是指构成人对真理的理解和对良善的意愿之物。当这些事物与肉体之物分离时，人就再也无法存活了。支撑人的，是他与天堂的结合，也就是经由天堂与主的结合。
New Century Edition
Cooper(2008,2013)
[NCE]661. The meaning of to destroy all flesh (all that has the breath of life in it) under the heavens as the fact that all the descendants of the earliest church destroyed themselves can be seen from what was just said. It can also be seen from earlier sections [560, 562-563] describing how the mentality that the same people inherited cumulatively from their forebears made them more disposed than others to soak up monstrous convictions of this type. The main reason was that they immersed the religious teachings they possessed in the torrent of their desires and so took on this disposition.
Circumstances are different for those who have never learned what the true faith teaches but live in complete ignorance. They cannot do as that church did; they have no way of profaning holy things and so blocking off access to the remnant within themselves. As a result, they do not drive the Lord's angels away.
[2] The remnant within us, as already stated [561], includes every lesson in innocence, in charity, in mercy, and in religious truth that we have received from the Lord since childhood. Each and every trace of those lessons is stored away. Without them, innocence, charity, and mercy would be wholly absent from our thinking and our actions. In that case, nothing good or true would be present, and we would be worse than savage beasts. The outcome would be the same if a remnant of these qualities did stay with us but unclean desires and dreadful, misconceived persuasions blocked its outlet, preventing it from operating. That is what happened with the people predating the Flood who exterminated themselves. They are the ones meant by all flesh (all that has the breath of life in it) under the heavens.
[3] Flesh symbolizes all people in general, and body-centered people in particular, as shown already [574]. The breath of life symbolizes all life in general, but strictly speaking, it is the life in those who have been reborn. Here, then, it symbolizes the final generation of the earliest church. Although no living faith survived in them, they still had acquired from their ancestors a germ of that faith — which they smothered. It is here called the breath of life; in Genesis 7:22, it is referred to in the phrase, "in whose nostrils was the breath of living spirit."
Flesh under the heavens symbolizes what is limited to our bodily plane, whereas the heavens are the truth that we understand and the good that we will. Once our bodily concerns are disconnected from truth in the intellect and good in the will, we can no longer remain alive. What sustains us is the bond we have with heaven, that is, with the Lord through heaven.
Potts(1905-1910) 661
661. To destroy all flesh wherein is the breath of lives from under the heavens. That this signifies that the whole posterity of the Most Ancient Church would destroy themselves, is evident from what is said above, and from the description of them given before: that they derived by inheritance from their parents in succession such a genius that they more than others were imbued with direful persuasions; and especially for the reason that they immersed the doctrinal things of faith that they possessed in their cupidities. It is otherwise with those who have no doctrinal things of faith, but live entirely in ignorance; these cannot so act, and therefore cannot profane holy things, and thereby close up the way for remains; and consequently they cannot drive away from themselves the angels of the Lord. [2] Remains, as has been said, are all things of innocence, all things of charity, all things of mercy, and all things of the truth of faith, which from his infancy a man has had from the Lord, and has learned. Each and all of these things are treasured up; and if a man had them not, there could be nothing of innocence, of charity, and of mercy, and therefore nothing of good and truth in his thought and actions, so that he would be worse than the savage wild beasts. And it would be the same if he had had the remains of such things and had closed up the way by foul cupidities and direful persuasions of falsity, so that they could not operate. Such were the antediluvians who destroyed themselves, and who are meant by "all flesh wherein is the breath of lives, under the heavens." [3] "Flesh" as before shown, signifies every man in general, and the corporeal man in particular. The "breath of lives" signifies all life in general, but properly the life of those who have been regenerated, consequently in the present case the last posterity of the Most Ancient Church. Although there was no life of faith remaining among them, yet as they derived from their parents something of seed therefrom which they stifled, it is here called the "breath of lives" or (as in Gen. 7:22) "in whose nostrils was the breathing of the breath of lives." "Flesh under the heavens" signifies what is merely corporeal; the "heavens" are the things of the understanding that are of truth and the things of the will that are of good, on the separation of which from the corporeal a man can no longer live. What sustains man is his conjunction with heaven, that is, through heaven with the Lord.
Elliott(1983-1999) 661
661. 'To destroy all flesh in which there is the spirit of lifea [from] under the heavens' means that all the descendants of the Most Ancient Church would destroy themselves. This is clear from what has just been stated and also from the description of them given already to the effect that step by step they obtained by heredity from their forefathers a mental constitution that resulted in their being steeped more than anybody else in most dreadful persuasions. This came about chiefly because they plunged into their desires the doctrinal matters concerning faith which they had in their possession; and in so doing became such. The situation has been utterly different with people who have no doctrinal matters concerning faith in their possession and who live altogether in ignorance. They are incapable of doing the same, and so are incapable of profaning holy things, and in so doing of closing off the road for remnants. Consequently they are not capable of driving the Lord's angels away from themselves.
[2] As has been stated, remnants are all things of innocence, all those of charity, all those of mercy, and all those of the truth of faith, which a person has acquired from the Lord and learned since early childhood. Every single one of them lies stored away. And if a person did not acquire them, no innocence, charity, or mercy could possibly be present in his thinking and actions, and so no good and truth at all could be present. He would then be worse than any fierce monster, as he would also be if he did possess remnants of such things and yet so blocked their path with filthy desires and dreadful false persuasions that they could not do their work. Such was the nature of the people before the Flood who destroyed themselves and who are meant by 'all flesh in which there is the spirit of lifea [from] under the heavens'. As shown already, 'flesh' means the whole of mankind in general and the bodily-minded man in particular. 'The spirit of lifea' means all life in general, but in a strict sense it was the life in people who had been regenerated Here therefore the final descendants of the Most Ancient Church are meant. They are here called 'the spirit of lifea' or, as in Chapter 7:22 below, 'in whose nostrils is the breath of the spirit of lifea' because although no life of faith remained with them they nevertheless derived from their forefathers something of that Church's seed, which they stifled. 'Flesh under the heavens' means that which is merely bodily, 'the heavens' being things constituting man's understanding of truth and his will for good. When these have been separated from what is bodily, a person can stay alive no longer. That which sustains him is his conjunction with heaven, that is, with the Lord by way of heaven.
Latin(1748-1756) 661
661. 'Ad perdendum omnem carnem in qua spiritus vitarum, sub caelis': quod significet quod se perderet omnis posteritas Ecclesiae Antiquissimae, constat inde, tum ex eorum descriptione prius, quod successive hereditario traxerint a parentibus talem genium ut tam diris persuasionibus prae aliis imbuerentur; imprimis ex causa quod doctrinalia fidei, quae apud se habebant, cupiditatibus suis infuderint, tunc tales facti; aliter se res habuit cum iis qui nulla doctrinalia fidei habent, sed in ignorantia prorsus vivunt; ii non possunt ita facere, ita non profanare sancta, et sic intercludere viam pro reliquiis, [2] consequenter non angelos Domini a se expellere. Reliquiae, ut dictum, sunt omnia innocentiae, omnia charitatis, omnia misericordiae, et omnia veritatis fidei, quae homo ab infantia a Domino habuit, et didicit; omnia et singula illa reconduntur; quae si homo non haberet, nusquam aliquid innocentiae, charitatis et misericordiae potuisset inesse ejus cogitationi et actionibus, proinde nihil boni et veri; inde pejor foret immanibus feris; similiter si haberet reliquias talium, at per foedas cupiditates et diras persuasiones falsi viam obturaret ne operari possent; tales fuerunt antediluviani qui semet perdiderunt, qui intelliguntur per 'omnem carnem in qua spiritus vitarum, sub caelis.' [3] 'Caro' significat, ut prius ostensum, omnem hominem in genere, et corporeum in specie; 'spiritus vitarum' omnem vitam in genere, sed proprie illorum vitam qui regenerati fuerunt, ita hic posteritatem ultimam Ecclesiae Antiquissimae, in qua tametsi nulla vita fidei residua; usque quia a parentibus traxerunt aliquid seminis inde quod suffocarunt, hic vocatur 'spiritus vitarum,' seu 'in cujus naribus flatus spiritus vitarum,' ut cap. seq. vii vers. 22. 'Caro sub caelis' significat mere corporeum, 'caeli' sunt intellectualia veri et voluntaria boni; quae cum a corporeo separata sunt, homo non amplius potest vivere; quod sustinet hominem, est conjunctio ejus cum caelo, hoc est, per caelum cum Domino.