1109. And lest ye receive of her plagues.- That this signifies, and thence into the falsities of evil, and so into destruction, is evident from the signification of plagues, as denoting those things that destroy man's spiritual life (see above, n. 584), in this case falsities from evil, because these destroy that life. It appears as though evils themselves destroyed man's spiritual life, but they do not of themselves destroy it, but by means of falsities. The reason is, that evils without falsities do not enter into the thought, for they are of the will only, and those things that belong to the will only, and not at the same time to the thought, cannot destroy, because they are non-rational. A man also does not then know that they are evils; but when he confirms evils in his thought, then they destroy, for then they are the man's. Confirmations of evils from thought are falsities.
The reason why falsities are here signified by plagues, is, that sins, which are mentioned just above, mean the evils of the love of self and of the world; and in the Word, where evil is treated of, falsity also is treated of. Now because evils destroy spiritual life by means of falsities, and because plagues signify falsities from evil, therefore plagues signify destruction.
[2] Continuation concerning the Athanasian Creed.- The Athanasian doctrine in all its details concerning the trinity and the Lord, is true, provided that instead of three persons, one person in whom is a trinity is understood, and that the Lord is believed to be that person. This has come to pass by the Lord's Divine Providence, for unless they had accepted a trinity of persons at that time, they would have become either Arians or Socinians, and the Lord would therefore have been acknowledged as a man only, and not as God, and as a result of this the Christian church would have perished, and heaven would have been closed to the man of the church. For no one is conjoined with heaven, and admitted after death into heaven, unless in the idea of his thought he sees God as a man, and at the same time believes God to be one both in essence and person-by which means the gentiles are saved; and unless he acknowledges the Lord, His Divine and His Human, by which means men of the Christian church are saved, provided they live at the same time a Christian life. That Athanasius formed such a conception of the doctrine concerning God and the Lord, which is the primary of all doctrine, was of Divine permission. For it was foreseen by the Lord, that the Roman Catholics would have acknowledged the Divine of the Lord in no other way, therefore, also, even to this day, they separate His Divine from His Human; and that the Reformed would not have perceived the Divine in the Human of the Lord, for those who are in faith separated from charity do not see it; still both of these acknowledge the Divine of the Lord in a trinity of persons. Nevertheless, the doctrine, which is called the Athanasian Creed, by the Lord's Divine Providence was written in such a way that all things contained therein are true, provided that instead of three persons one person, in whom is a trine, is understood, and that it is believed that the Lord is that person. It is also of Providence that they are designated persons, for a person is a man, and a Divine Person is God who is a Man. This fact has been revealed at this day for the sake of the new church, which is called the Holy Jerusalem.
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