864. Verse 10.And the Devil that seduced them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ages of ages, signifies that they who were in evils as to life and in falsities as to doctrine, were cast into hell, where they will be interiorly infested by the love of their falsity, and by the lusts of their evil continually forever. By "the Devil that seduced them" is meant the dragon, as is evident from what goes before, and by "the dragon" are meant in general those who are in evils as to life, and in falsities as to doctrine (n. 841). He is called "the Devil that seduced them," that it might be known that it was the dragon, because he seduced (as appears from verses 2, 3, 7, 8, of this chapter). By "the lake of fire" into which he was cast, is signified hell, where are the loves of falsities and the lusts of evil (n. 835). By "the beast and the false prophet" are signified they who are in faith alone, both as to life and doctrine, both the unlearned and the learned; by "the beast" the unlearned, and by "the false prophet" the learned (n. 834). By "being tormented day and night" is signified to be interiorly infested continually, and by "for ages and ages" is signified to eternity. And because it is said that "they were cast into the lake of fire and brimstone," by which is signified where the loves of falsity and the lusts of evil are (n. 835), these are what they will be infested by interiorly; for everyone in hell is tormented by his own love and its lusts, for these make the life of everyone there, and it is the life which is tormented; wherefore there are degrees of torment there according to the degrees of the love of evil and thence of falsity.