Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 7351

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7351. 'behold, I will plague all your borders with frogs' means reasonings arising from utter falsities. This is clear from the meaning of 'frogs' as reasonings. Their arising from utter falsities is meant by their crawling forth from the river, as the next phrase in the verse declares, 'the river of Egypt' being falsity, see 6699, 7307; and because the words used here say that all their borders would be plagued with them, they also mean that the reasonings will arise not from falsified truths but from utter falsities. The reason for this is that reasonings which arise from falsified truths are turned at length into blasphemous contradictions of what is good and true. Furthermore real truths reject falsification from themselves since they cannot coexist with falsities, and all the time they are present with them they fight against them and at length free and separate themselves from them. This explains why after a person has falsified truths he at length renounces them altogether. If he did not do that falsities would have dominion over truths. So it is that after the evil in the next life have been cast into hell they are not allowed to use reasonings that arise from falsified truths, only those arising from utter falsities.

[2] The fact that 'frogs' are reasonings arising from falsities is clear in John,

I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet three unclean spirits, like frogs. For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, to go out to the kings of the land and of the whole earth, to assemble them for the war of that great day of God Almighty. Rev 16:13, 14.

'Frogs' are reasonings arising from falsities in opposition to truths, as is evident from every detail here; for it says that they came 'out of the mouth of the dragon', 'out of the mouth of the beast', and 'out of the mouth of the false prophet', and also that they were to go out 'to the kings of the land, to assemble them for war'. 'The kings of the land' are the Church's truths, for 'kings' are truths, and in the contrary sense falsities, see 1672, 1728, 2015, 2069, 3009, 3670, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148, and 'the land' is the Church, 662, 1067, 1262, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 3355, 4447, 4535, 5577. 'War' is spiritual conflict, 2686, thus war against the truths and forms of the good of faith. From all this it is evident that 'frogs' are reasonings arising from falsities in opposition to truths. In David,

He turned their waters into blood, and killed their fish. He caused frogs to crawl forth onto their land, into the chambers of their kings. Ps 105:29, 30.

The expression 'into the chambers of their kings' is used because reasoning arising from falsities in opposition to truths is meant, 'the chambers of kings' being truths of a more internal nature, and in the contrary sense falsities of a more internal nature. For the meaning of 'kings' as truths, and in the contrary sense falsities, see immediately above.


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