983. Verse 9. And men were scorched with great heat, signifies the cupidity of adulterating the truths and goods of the Word. This is evident from the signification of "great heat," as being the lust of falsity, and for falsity, thus the cupidity of adulterating the truths and goods of the Word (see n. 481). This is said of those who are in faith separated from the goods of life, who are meant by those that "have the mark of the beast" and that "adore his image" (verse 2). Because such separate from faith the very essential of the church, which is the good of life, and thus remove it from being a means of salvation, they cannot do otherwise than falsify all the truths of the Word; for those who set aside a life according to the Lord's commandments annihilate all things of the Word, since all things of the Word are precepts of life. The precepts of faith, which are the truths of the Word, teach life.
(Continuation respecting the Sixth Commandment)
[2] That marriage is heaven and that adultery is hell cannot be better seen than from considering their origin. The origin of love truly conjugial is the Lord's love for the church and this is why the Lord is called in the Word the "Bridegroom" and the "Husband," and the church the "bride" and the "wife." It is from this marriage that the church is the church in general and in particular. The church in particular is a man in whom the church is. From this it is clear that the Lord's conjunction with a man of the church is the very origin of love truly conjugial; and how that conjunction can be the origin shall be told. The Lord's conjunction with a man of the church is a conjunction of good and truth; good is from the Lord, and truth is with man, and from this is the conjunction that is called the heavenly marriage. From that marriage, love truly conjugial exists between two partners that are in such conjunction with the Lord. From this it is now evident that love truly conjugial is from the Lord alone, and exists with those who are in the conjunction of good and truth from the Lord. As this conjunction is reciprocal it is said by the Lord that:
They are in Him, and He in them (John 14:20). [3] This conjunction or this marriage was thus established from creation. The man was created to be the understanding of truth, and the woman to be the affection of good; and thus the man to be truth, and the woman good. When the understanding of truth which is with the man makes one with the affection of good which is with the woman, there is a conjunction of the two minds into one. This conjunction is the spiritual marriage from which conjugial love descends. For when two minds are so conjoined as to be one mind there is love between them; and when this love, which is the love of spiritual marriage, descends into the body it becomes the love of natural marriage. That this is so anyone can clearly perceive if he will. A married pair who interiorly or as to their minds love each other mutually and reciprocally also love each other mutually and reciprocally as to their bodies. It is known that all love descends into the body from an affection of the mind, and that apart from such an origin no love exists. [4] Since then the origin of conjugial love is the marriage of good and truth, which marriage in its essence is heaven, it is clear that the origin of the love of adultery is the marriage of evil and falsity, which in its essence is hell. Heaven is a marriage because all who are in the heavens are in the marriage of good and truth; and hell is adultery because all who are in the hells are in the marriage of evil and falsity. From this it follows that marriage and adultery are as opposite as heaven and hell are.
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