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774. (Verse 1) And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea. That this signifies reasonings from the natural man confirming the separation of faith from life is evident from the signification of a beast coming up out of the sea, as denoting things of the natural man. For by beasts, in the Word, are signified the affections of the natural man in both senses, as may be seen above (n. 650). And by the sea are signified the various things in that man, which have reference to his scientifics, both true and false, and to the thoughts and reasonings therefrom; as may also be seen above (n. 275, 342, 511, 537, 538, 600). From which it is clear that by the beast coming up out of the sea are signified reasonings from the natural man.
That they are reasonings confirming the separation of faith from life is evident from this, that the dragon is further described in this chapter. His reasonings from the natural man confirming the separation of faith from life are described by the beast coming up out of the sea, and the confirmations thereof from the letter of the Word; and the falsifications of that sense, by the beast coming up out of the earth; as will be seen below from verse 11 to the end of this chapter.
[2] That the dragon is further described in this chapter, and is also meant by the two beasts, is evident from the fact that it is said that the dragon gave to the beast coming up out of the sea his power and his seat, and great authority; and moreover that they worshipped the dragon that gave power to the beast; also, that the other beast that came up out of the earth, spake as a dragon, and that he exercised all the power of the first beast before the dragon. It is therefore clear that those who are signified by the dragon are described - in so far as they separate faith from life, and confirm that separation by reasonings from the natural man - by the beast coming up out of the sea. And also that in so far as they confirm the same by the letter of the Word and thereby falsify it, they are described by the beast coming up out of the earth. That this is the case, can be fully seen from the description of each in what follows.
[3] That reasonings from the natural man enter into the dogmas of those who make faith the only means of salvation, thus the very essential of the church, and so separate it from life, or from charity, which they do not acknowledge as a means of salvation and as an essential of the church, is but little seen, and, consequently, but little known by the advocates and teachers thereof, because their thought is continually fixed on those passages of the Word by means of which they confirm such reasonings. And because they are falsities which they confirm from the ultimate sense of the Word, which is the sense of the letter, they necessarily make use of reasonings from the natural man; for without these it would not be possible to make their falsities appear like truths. This, however, shall be illustrated by an example.
[4] In order to separate life or charity from faith, they say that
"1. By the fall of Adam man destroyed all freedom of doing good from himself; and 2. that consequently a man can in no wise fulfil the law; and 3. yet without the fulfilling of the law there is no salvation; and 4. that the Lord came into the world in order to fulfil the law, and that His righteousness and merit might be imputed to man; and that by that imputation man might be loosed from the yoke of the law, so far that nothing condemns him; and 5. that man receives the imputation of the Lord's merit by faith alone, and nothing by works."
That these things, for the most part, are reasonings from the natural man confirming the preconceived principle of faith alone and its connecting particulars, is evident from a survey of the details in their order.
1. . "By the fall of Adam, man destroyed his free-will, which is the freedom of doing good from himself." This reasoning is from falsities; for the freedom of doing good from oneself belongs to no man, and can belong to no one, because a man is only a recipient. Wherefore the good which a man receives is not his but the Lord's in him; nor indeed have the angels any good except from the Lord. And the more they acknowledge and perceive this, the more are they angels, that is, higher and wiser than the rest. Much less was it possible for Adam, who had not yet become an angel, to be in a state of good from himself. His integrity consisted in a fuller reception of good and truth, and thence of intelligence and wisdom from the Lord than that of his posterity. This was also meant by his being an image of God; for he who receives the Lord becomes an image; and he becomes this according to his reception. In a word, freedom consists in doing good from the Lord; and slavery in doing good from oneself. It is therefore clear, that the reasoning above mentioned arises from falsities flowing forth from fallacies, all of which are from the natural man. Moreover it is not true that hereditary evil was ingenerated in the whole human race by the fall of Adam. Its origin is from another source.
[5] 2. . "That consequently a man can in no wise fulfil the law." This is also reasoning from the natural man. The spiritual man knows that to do the law and to fulfil it in the external form does not save; but that so far as he observes the law in the external form, from the internal, it does save. The internal form, or the internal of the law, is to love what is good, sincere, and just; and its external is to do these things. This the Lord thus teaches in Matthew:
"Cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside may be clean also" (23:26).
So far as man observes the law from an internal, so far he fulfils it; but not so far as he does this from an external, apart from an internal. The internal of man is his love and will. But to love what is good, sincere, and just, and, from love, to will these things, is from the Lord alone. Wherefore to be led by the Lord is to fulfil the law. But these things must be more fully illustrated in what follows.
[6] 3. . "Without the fulfilling of the law there is no salvation." This involves that if a man were able of himself to fulfil the law, he would be saved; this nevertheless is in itself false. And since it is false, and yet appears as if it were true because it is a received dogma, it must be confirmed by reasonings from the natural man. That it is false is clear from the fact that a man cannot do any good from himself, but that all good is from the Lord; and that a state of integrity such as that above stated concerning Adam, in which there is any good which is in itself good from man, is not possible. And because such a state of integrity is not possible and never can be, it follows that the law must be fulfilled by the Lord, according to what was just said above. Nevertheless, he who believes otherwise than that man is to do all things as of himself, although he does them from the Lord, is much deceived.
[7] 4. . "The Lord came into the world in order to fulfil the law, and that His righteousness and merit might be imputed to man; and that by such imputation man may be loosed from the yoke of the law to such an extent that, after justification by faith alone, nothing condemns him." This, is also reasoning from the natural man. The Lord came into the world in order to effect a judgment, and thereby bring into a state of order all things in the heavens and in the hells, and at the same time to glorify His Human. By means of that glorified Human all who have done, and who do, good from Him, and not from themselves have been and are saved; and thus not by any imputation of His merit and righteousness. For the Lord teaches:
"I came not to destroy the law and the prophets; I came not to destroy but to fulfil. Whosoever shall break the least of these commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called least in the kingdom of the heavens; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of the heavens" (Matthew 5:17, 19).
[8] 5. . "Man receives the imputation of the Lord's merit by faith alone, and nothing by works." This is a conclusion deduced from the previous reasonings. And because those reasonings are from the natural man and not from the rational enlightened by the spiritual man, and consequently are from falsities and not from truths, it follows that the conclusion drawn from them falls to the ground. It is evident from these things, that in order to confirm any principle false in itself, reasonings derived from the natural man, and confirmations from the literal sense of the Word, are necessary. For reasonings will give the appearance of coherence to those passages which are chosen from the sense of the letter of the Word. Wherefore reasonings from the natural man are signified by the beast coming up out of the sea; and confirmations from the sense of the letter of the Word, by the beast coming up out of the earth.
774. Verse 1. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea, signifies reasonings from the natural man confirming the separation of faith from life. This is evident from the signification of "a beast coming up out of the sea," as being the things that belong to the natural man; for "beasts" signify in the Word the affections of the natural man, in both senses (See above, n. 13:11-18 the end of this chapter).
[2] That the dragon is further described in this chapter, and is also meant by the two beasts, is evident from its being said that "the dragon gave to the beast coming up out of the sea his power and his throne and great authority," and furthermore, that "they worshipped the dragon which gave authority unto the beast;" also that "the other beast that came up out of the earth spake as a dragon, and exercised all the authority of the first beast before the dragon." Thence it is clear that so far as those who separate faith from life (who are signified by "the dragon, ") confirm that separation by reasonings from the natural man, they are represented by "the beast coming up out of the sea;" while so far as they confirm that separation by the sense of the letter of the Word, and thereby falsify that sense, they are described by "the beast coming up out of the earth." That this is so can be fully seen from the description of each that follows.
[3] That reasonings from the natural man enter into the dogmas of those who make faith the only means of salvation, thus the very essential of the church, and so separate it from life or from charity, which they do not acknowledge as a means of salvation and as an essential of the church; this is but little seen, and consequently but little known, by the followers and those learned in that doctrine, because their thought is continually fixed on those passages of the Word by which they confirm that doctrine. And as the dogmas they confirm by the ultimate sense of the Word, which is the sense of the letter of the Word, are falsities, they must needs take their reasonings from the natural man, for without these it would not be possible to make falsities appear as truths. But this shall be illustrated by an example. That life or charity may be separated from faith, they contend 1. That by Adam's fall man lost all freedom to do good from himself; and 2. for this reason man is in no wise able to fulfill the law; and 3. without the fulfilling of the law there is no salvation; and 4. that the Lord came into the world that He might fulfill the law, and thus His righteousness and merit might be imputed to man, and by that imputation man might be loosed from the yoke of the law even to the extent that nothing condemns him; and 5. that man accepts the imputation of the Lord's merit by faith alone, and not at all by works. That these are mostly reasonings from the natural man confirming the assumed principle of faith alone and its connecting derivatives can be seen from a survey of these particulars in their order.
[4] 1. "By Adam's fall man lost his free will, which is a freedom to do good from himself." This reasoning is from falsities; for no man has or can have a freedom to do good from himself, since man is merely a recipient; consequently the good that man receives is not man's but is the Lord's with him. Nor do angels even have any good except from the Lord; and the more they acknowledge and perceive this the more they are angels, that is, higher and wiser than the others. Still less, therefore, could Adam, who was not yet an angel, be in a state of good from himself. His integrity consisted in a fuller reception of good and truth, and thus of intelligence and wisdom from the Lord, than his posterity enjoyed. This also was the image of God; for a man becomes an image by receiving the Lord, and he becomes an image in the measure of this reception. In a word, to do good from the Lord is freedom; and to do good from self is slavery. Thence it is clear that this reasoning originates in falsities that flow forth from fallacies, which are all from the natural man. Moreover, it is not in accordance with truth that hereditary evil was ingenerated in the whole human race by Adam's fall; its origin was from another source.
[5] 2. "From this it is that man is in no wise able to fulfill the law." This reasoning, too, is from the natural man. The spiritual man knows that doing the law and fulfilling it in external form does not save; but that so far as man does the law in the external form from the internal, it does save. The internal form, or the internal of the law, is to love what is good, sincere, and just; and its external is to do this. This the Lord teaches in Matthew:
Cleanse first the inside of the cup and the platter, that the outside of them may become clean also (Matthew 23:26).
Man fulfills the law so far as he does it from the internal, but not so far as he does it from the external apart from the internal. The internal of man is his love and will. But to love what is good, sincere, and just, and from love to will it, is from the Lord alone. Therefore to fulfill the law is to be led by the Lord. But this will be more fully illustrated in what follows.
[6] 3. "Without the fulfilling of the law there is no salvation." This involves that if man were able to fulfill the law of himself he would be saved, which yet in itself is false; and since it is false, and yet appears as if true because it is a received dogma, it must be confirmed by reasonings from the natural man. That it is false is clear from this, that man is unable to do anything good from self, but everything good is from the Lord; also from this, that no such state of integrity is possible that any good that is in itself good can be from man and be done by man, as has been said above respecting Adam. And as such a state of integrity never did and never can exist, it follows that the law must be fulfilled by the Lord, according to what has just been said above. Nevertheless, he who does not believe that man must do everything as of himself, although he does it from the Lord, is much deceived.
[7] 4. "The Lord came into the world that He might fulfill the law, and thus His righteousness and merit might be imputed to man; and by that imputation man is loosed from the yoke of the law, even to the extent that after justification by faith alone nothing condemns him." This, too, is reasoning from the natural man. It was not for this that the Lord came into the world, but that He might effect a judgment, and thereby reduce to order all things in the heavens and in the hells, and at the same time glorify His Human. By this have been saved, and are still saved all who have done good and do good from the Lord and not from self, thus not by any imputation of His merit and righteousness. For the Lord teaches:
I came not to destroy the law and the prophet; 1I came not to destroy but to fulfill. Whosoever shall break the least of these commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of the heavens; but whosoever doeth and teacheth them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of the heavens (Matthew 5:17, 19, seq.).
[8] 5. "Man accepts the imputation of the Lord's merit by faith alone, and not at all by works." This is a conclusion deduced from the reasonings that precede; and as those reasonings are from the natural man, and not from the rational enlightened by the spiritual, and consequently are from falsities and not from truths, it follows that the conclusion drawn from them falls to the ground.
From this it can be seen that to confirm any principle that is in itself false there must be reasonings from the natural man, and confirmations from the sense of the letter of the Word, for reasonings will give an appearance of consistency to passages selected from the sense of the letter of the Word. This is why reasonings from the natural man are signified by "the beast out of the sea," and confirmations from the sense of the letter of the Word by "the beast coming up out of the earth."
Footnotes:
1. the Latin has "prophet" for "prophets." See Arcana Coelestia 7933, where we read "prophets" which agrees with the Greek text.
774. [Vers. 1.] "Et vidi ex mari bestiam ascendentem." - Quod significet ratiocinia ex naturali homine confirmantia separationem fidei a vita, constat ex significatione "bestiae ex mari ascendentis", quod sint illa quae naturalis hominis sunt; per "bestias" enim in Verbo significantur affectiones naturalis hominis in utroque sensu (videatur supra, n. 650), et per "mare" significantur varia quae sunt naturalis hominis, quae se referunt ad ejus scientifica tam vera quam falsa, et ad cogitationes et ratiocinationes inde (videatur etiam supra, n. 275, 342, 511, 537, 538, 600 [a]); ex quibus patet quod per "bestiam ex mari ascendentem" significentur ratiocinia ex naturali homine: quod sint ratiocinia confirmantia separationem fidei a vita, constat ex eo, quod "draco" in hoc capite ulterius describatur; ejus ratiocinia ex naturali homine confirmantia separationem fidei a vita, per "bestiam ex mari ascendentem", et ejus confirmationes ex sensu litterae Verbi, et hujus falsificationes, per "bestiam ascendentem e terra (de qua infra a versu 11 ad finem hujus capitis).
[2] Quod "draco" in hoc capite ulterius describatur, et quoque per "binas bestias" intelligatur, constat ex eo, quod dicatur quod "draco dederit bestiae ex mari ascendenti potentiam suam et thronum suum, et potestatem magnam"; et porro quod "adoraverint draconem qui dedit potestatem bestiae": tum quod "altera bestia, quae e terra ascendit, locuta sit sicut draco", et quod "potestatem prioris bestiae omnem fecerit coram dracone": inde patet quod quantum illi [qui] fidem separant a vita, qui sunt qui significantur per "draconem", per ratiocinia e naturali homine confirmant separationem illam, describantur per bestiam e mari ascendentem"; et quantum confirmant illam separationem per sensum litterae Verbi, et per id falsificant illum, describantur per "bestiam e terra ascendentem"; quod ita sit, plene videri potest a descriptione utriusque in sequentibus.
[3] Quod ratiocinia e naturali homine intrent in dogmata eorum qui fidem faciunt unicum medium salutis, ita ipsum essentiale ecclesiae, ac sic illam a vita seu a charitate, quam non agnoscunt ut salutis medium ac ut essentiale ecclesiae, separant, parum vident et inde parum sciunt clientes ejus ac docti, ex causa quia cogitatione inhaerent locis Verbi, per quae confirmant; et quia falsa sunt, quae ex sensu Verbi ultimo, qui est sensus litterae Verbi, confirmant, necessum est ut ratiocinia ex naturali homine desumant; nam absque illis impossibile est facere ut falsa appareant sicut vera: sed hoc illustretur exemplo. Ut separetur vita seu charitas a fide, dicunt,
(1) Quod per lapsum Adami omne liberum faciendi bonum a se deperditum sit; et
(2), quod inde sit quod homo nullatenus possit implere legem; et
(3), absque impletione legis nulla salus: et
(4), quod Dominus in mundum venerit ut impleret legem, et sic justitia et meritum Ipsius imputaretur homini, et per imputationem illam homo solutus esset a jugo legis, usque ut nihil eum condemnet;
et (5) quod imputationem meriti Domini accipiat homo per solam fidem, et nihil per opera. Quod pleraque haec sint ratiocinia ex naturali homine confirmantia principium captum de sola fide, et connectentia principiata ejus, constare potest ex lustratione singulorum in suo ordine:
[4] - Ut (1) Quod per lapsum Adami liberum arbitrium, quod est liberum faciendi bonum a se, deperditum sit: - hoc ratiocinium est ex falsis, liberum enim faciendi bonum a se, est nulli homini, nec potest esse alicui; nam homo est modo recipiens; quare bonum quod homo recipit, non est hominis sed Domini apud illum. Immo nec angelis est bonum nisi a Domino; et quo plus agnoscunt id et percipiunt id, eo plus angeli sunt, hoc est, superiores et sapientiores reliquis. Eo minus potuit Adamus, qui nondum fuit angelus, in statu boni a se esse. Integritas ejus constiterat in pleniore receptione boni et veri, et inde intelligentiae et sapientiae a Domino, quam ejus posteri; hoc etiam erat imago Dei; nam imago fit qui recipit Dominum, et tantum imago fit quantum recipit. Verbo, liberum est facere bonum a Domino, et servum est facere bonum a se. Inde patet quod id ratiocinium sit ex falsis, profluentibus ex fallaciis, quae omnes sunt ex naturali homine. Praeterea non ex vero est quod malum hereditarium universo generi humano ingeneratum sit per lapsum Adami; aliunde est ejus origo.
[5] (2) Quod inde sit quod homo nullatenus possit implere legem, est quoque ratiocinium ex naturali homine. Spiritualis homo novit quod facere legem, et implere illam in externa forma, non salvet; sed quod quantum homo facit legem in externa forma ex interna, salvet. Interna forma, seu internum legis, est amare bonum, sincerum et justum; et externum ejus est facere illa: hoc ita docet Dominus apud Matthaeum,
"Purga prius internum poculi et patinae, ut fiat etiam externum.. mundum" (23:26).
Quantum homo ab interno facit legem, tantum implet illam; non autem quantum ab externo absque interno; internum hominis est ejus amor et voluntas: at amare bonum, sincerum et justum, et ex amore velle illa, est a solo Domino; quare duci a Domino est implere legem. Sed haec plenius illustranda sunt in sequentibus.
[6] (3) Quod absque impletione legis nulla salus, involvit quod si homo potuisset implere legem a se, salvaretur, quod tamen in se est falsum; et quia falsum est, ut usque appareat sicut verum, quia est dogma receptum, confirmandum est per ratiocinia ex naturali homine. Quod falsum sit, patet ex eo, quod homo non aliquod bonum facere possit ex se, sed quod omne bonum sit a Domino, et quod [non] dari possit talis integritatis status, ut aliquod bonum, quod in se bonum est, sit et fiat ab homine, ut supra de Adamo dictum est; et quia talis integritatis status non dari potest, nec usquam datus est, sequitur quod lex implenda sit a Domino, secundum illa quae mox supra dicta sunt. Attamen qui aliter credit quam quod homo facturus sit omnia sicut a se, tametsi id facit a Domino, multum fallitur.
[7] (4) Quod Dominus in mundum venerit ut impleret legem, et sic Ipsius justitia et meritum imputaretur homini, et quod per imputationen illam homo solutus sit a jugo legis, usque ut post justificationem per solam fidem nihil eum condemnet, est quoque ratiocinium ex naturali homine. Dominus non ideo in mundum venit, sed ut judicium faceret, et per id omnia in caelis et in infernis in ordinem redigeret, et simul ut glorificaret Humanum suum; per id salvati sunt omnes et salvantur, qui bonum ab Ipso et non a se fecerunt et faciunt, et sic non per aliquam imputationem meriti et justitiae Ipsius; nam docet Dominus,
"Non veni ad solvendum Legem et 1
Prophetam; non Veni ad solvendum sed ad implendum. .... Quisquis solverit... praeceptorum eorum minimum, et docuerit ita homines, minimus vocabitur in regno caelorum; qui vero facit et docet, hic magnus vocabitur in regno caelorum" (Matthaeus 5:17, 19, seq.).
[8] (5) Quod imputationem meriti Domini accipiat homo per solam fidem, et nihil per opera, est conclusum ex ratiociniis quae praecedunt; et quia ratiocinia illa sunt ex naturali homine, et non ex rationali illustrato a spirituali, et inde sunt ex falsis et non ex veris, sequitur quod conclusum ex illis cadat.
Ex his constare potest quod ad confirmandum aliquod principium in se falsum, esse debeant ratiocinia ex naturali homine, et confirmationes ex Verbi sensu litterae, nam ratiocinia dabunt apparentiam cohaerentiae locorum ex sensu litterae Verbi desumptorum: quare ratiocinia e naturali homine significantur per "bestiam e mari", et confirmationes ex sensu litterae Verbi per "bestiam e terra ascendentem."
Footnotes:
1. The editors made a correction or note here.