52. It may therefore be evident that those who read the Word without doctrine, or who do not procure for themselves doctrine from the Word, are in obscurity concerning every truth. Their minds are wavering and unsettled, liable to errors and prone to heresies, which they also embrace if these are held in favour and supported by authority, and if their own reputation is not endangered. The Word to them is like a lampstand without a light, and they see many things, as it were, in the shade, yet understanding hardly anything, for doctrine alone is that which enlightens. I have seen such persons being examined by angels, and they appeared able to confirm from the Word whatever opinion they pleased, and to confirm what pertained to their own self-love and the love of those whom they befriended. But I have also seen them stripped of their garments, a sign that they were destitute of truths; for garments in the spiritual world are truths.