765. * And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the river which the dragon cast out of his mouth.- That this signifies that those who are of a church which is not in truths afforded assistance, and did not accept the crafty reasonings of those who were [in] faith separated from [charity], is evident from the signification of the earth (terra) which helped the woman, as denoting the church which is not in truths; for the earth here means the earth of the wilderness, into which the woman fled, and where she had a place prepared by God (that the earth of the wilderness signifies the church which is not in truths because not in good, is plain from the signification of earth, as denoting the church, concerning which see above, n. 29, 304, 417, 697, 741, 742, 752; from the signification of the wilderness, as denoting where there is no truth, concerning which also see above, n. 730); and from the signification of helping the woman, as denoting to afford assistance to the New Church, which is called the Holy Jerusalem; and from the signification of opening her mouth and swallowing up the river which the dragon cast out of his mouth, as denoting [not to accept] the keen reasonings of those who were [in] faith separated from [charity]. For the river of waters which the dragon cast, out of his mouth signifies keen reasonings from falsities, as it is evident from the two preceding articles; and to open the mouth and swallow, when said of the church signified by the earth, means to take away, and because a thing is taken away when it is not received, it therefore signifies not to receive. These things must be thus understood.
[2] It is said above that the woman fled into the wilderness where she hath a place prepared by God, and afterwards that she obtained the wings of an eagle, and flew to her own place, and this signifies that the church which is called the New Jerusalem is to tarry among those who are in the doctrine of faith separated [from charity] while it grows to fulness, until provision is made for it among many. But in that church there are dragons who separate faith from good works, not only in doctrine, but also in life; the rest in the same church, who live the life of faith, which is charity, are not dragons, although among them, for they do not know but that it is agreeable to doctrine that faith produces the fruits, which are good works, and that the faith that justifies and saves is to believe those things that are in the Word, and to do them. The dragons are altogether of another way of thinking; but what their sentiments are the former do not comprehend, and because they do not comprehend they do not accept them. It is evident from this that the church consisting of those who are not dragons, is meant by the earth that helped the woman, and swallowed up the river which the dragon cast out of his mouth. But what and how crafty and even pernicious are the reasonings of those meant by the dragon about the separation of faith from good works, and their conjunction - the Lord being willing - will be revealed elsewhere, also that those reasonings exist only with the learned leaders of the church, and are unknown to the people of the church because they are not understood by them; therefore by these the New Church, which is called the Holy Jerusalem, is helped, and it also increases. * See footnote at paragraph number 764.
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