619. These facts can establish that there is no knowing the Lord without truths; and without truths there is no faith and so no charity. It follows that without truths there cannot be any theology, and in its absence there cannot be any church either. Such at the present time is the case with the mass of peoples who call themselves Christians, claiming to be in the light of the Gospel, when in fact they are in utter darkness. For the truths lie as deeply hidden under falsities as gold, silver and precious stones buried among the bones in the valley of Hinnom.* This was made plain to me from the spheres in the spiritual world which flow and radiate from the Christians of the present day.
[2] One of these spheres concerns the Lord. It spreads its influence from the southern quarter, where the learned among the clergy and educated laymen live. Wherever it reaches, it sneaks into people's ideas, and in many cases carries away their belief in the divinity of the Lord's Human; in many other cases it weakens it, and in many others turns it to foolishness, The reason is that it introduces at the same time a belief in three Gods, and this produces confusion.
[3] A second sphere which carries away** faith is like a dark cloud in wintertime, which darkens the day, turns rain into snow, lays bare the trees, freezes waters and deprives sheep of all pasture. This sphere combined with the previous one injects a sort of lethargy concerning one God, regeneration and the means of salvation.
[4] A third sphere concerns the linking of faith and charity. It is so strong as to be irresistible. But at the present time it is appalling, and like a plague it infects anyone who catches a breath of it, tearing apart every bond between the two means of salvation established from the creation of the world and made whole by the Lord. This sphere also attacks people in the natural world and quenches the torches*** which celebrate the marriage between truth and good. I have felt this sphere, and then when I thought about the linking of faith and charity, it intervened between them and attempted violently to separate them.
[5] The angels complain about these spheres, and pray the Lord to have them dispersed. But they received the reply that they cannot be dispersed, so long as the dragon is upon the earth, since they proceed from the followers of the dragon. For it is said of the dragon that it was cast out into the earth, and then
For this reason rejoice, heavens, and woe to those that live on the earth. Rev. 12:12.
[6] These three spheres are like atmospheres driven by a gale and coming from the air-holes of dragons; and because they are spiritual, they attack people's minds and compel them. The spheres concerned with spiritual truths are up to now few there, at any rate in the new heaven and with those below heaven who are separated from the followers of the dragon. This is the reason why those truths are at the present time so hard to see among people in the world, just as ships sailing the eastern ocean are to the ship-masters and navigators sailing the western ocean.
* See Jer. 19. ** The Latin reads affert 'brings,' but aufert 'carries away' seems to be required. *** In the ancient world wedding processions were accompanied by torchbearers.
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