614. And the voice which I heard out of heaven, spake unto me again, and said.- That this signifies exploration of the men of the church as to the quality of the understanding of the Word still remaining with them, is evident from those things that precede, and those that follow in this chapter, for the voice out of heaven which spake with him and said, involves those things. In those that precede, the subject treated of is the understanding of Divine Truth or the Word, as is evident from verses 2-4, where the voice with which the strong angel coming down out of heaven cried, and the voices of the seven thunders, signify the manifestation of the quality of the state of the church as to the understanding of the Word (see above, n. 601- 604). In those that follow, the subject treated of is the understanding of the Word which yet remained with the men of the church. For the little book which the angel had in his hand, signifies the Word, and by eating it up is signified exploration, and by its being sweet in the mouth, and bitter in the belly, is signified that in the sense of the letter it was delightful, but undelightful in the internal sense, wherein are real truths. This will be further evident from what follows. These then being the things treated, and which are to be yet treated of, it is plain, that the voice, which he heard out of heaven speaking to him again, and saying, signifies the exploration of the men of the church, as to the quality of the understanding of the Word which yet remained with them.
[2] It must be observed, that the understanding of the Word perishes in the church by degrees, as the man of the church from internal becomes external; and from internal he becomes external as he recedes from charity, consequently as he departs from the life of faith. When the man of the church is such, he may indeed take delight in reading the Word, but still he is not delighted with the truth itself, which is of its interior sense, for the real life of faith, which is charity, produces the affection for interior truth, and the delightfulness arising therefrom. The Word, therefore, as to the sense of the letter, may indeed be loved, but this only because it can be used to confirm the falsities which originate in the love of self and the love of the world, for such is the Word, in the letter. The consequence of this is, that at the end of the church there remains scarcely any understanding of truth. Truths indeed from the Word are uttered with the mouth, but without any idea of the truth. I have been permitted to have experience of this fact in the case of many in the spiritual world, and it was found, that although they spoke truths so far as they spoke from the Word, yet they had no understanding of them, so that they were like empty vessels, and tinkling bells, speaking only from such things as they drew forth from the memory, and not at all from any perception of the meaning. When a man is of such a quality he cannot interiorly possess any thing celestial and spiritual, but only what is natural, from the body and the world, which, when separated from what is celestial and spiritual, becomes infernal. It is also evident from these things what is meant in what follows by the little book given to John to eat being in his mouth sweet as honey, but making his belly bitter.
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