The first Memorable Experience.* When I was engaged on the explanation of chapter xx of the Revelation, and was meditating on the dragon, the beast and the false prophet, a certain angelic spirit appeared before me and asked, "What are you thinking about?" I replied, "About the false prophet." Then he said, "I will lead you to the place where are those who are meant by the false prophet." He said that they are the same as those who are meant in chapter xiii by the beast out of the earth, which had two horns like a lamb, and spoke like a dragon. I followed him, and lo? I saw a crowd in the midst of which were prelates of the Church who taught that nothing else saves man but faith in Christ's merit; and that works are good, but not for salvation; yet that they are to be taught from the Word in order that the laity, especially the simple, may be kept more strictly in the bonds of obedience to the magistrates, and be constrained to exercise moral charity as if from religion, thus interiorly.

[2] Then one of them, seeing me, said, "Do you wish to see our place of worship in which is an image representative of our faith?" I approached and saw it; and behold, it was magnificent. And in the middle of it was the image of a woman clothed in a scarlet robe, and holding a gold coin in her right hand and a string of pearls in her left hand. But both the image and the temple were produced by phantasy; for infernal spirits can display magnificent objects by phantasies, by closing the interiors of the mind and opening only its exteriors. When, however, I perceived that such things were illusions, I prayed to the Lord, and suddenly the interiors of my mind were opened; and then, instead of a magnificent temple, I saw a house full of chinks from the roof to the foundations, in which nothing was connected. And, instead of a woman, I saw hanging up in that house an image, the head of which was like a dragon's, the body like a leopard's, the feet like a bear's, and the mouth like a lion's; thus, exactly like the beast out of the sea, described in the Revelation, chap. xiii. And, instead of a floor, there was a marsh in which lay a multitude of frogs; and I was informed that beneath the marsh was a large hewn stone under which the Word lay entirely hidden.

[3] On seeing this I said to the illusionist, "Is this your place of worship?" He replied, "It is." Then suddenly his interior sight was opened also, so that he saw the same things that I did; whereupon he uttered a great cry, saying, "What and whence is this?" And I said, "This is from the light out of heaven which uncovers the quality of every form, and here is discovered the quality of your faith separate from spiritual charity." Then an east wind blew there and carried away the place of worship with the image, and also dried up the marsh, and so exposed the stone under which lay the Word. Afterwards there exhaled, as it were, a vernal warmth from heaven, and behold, in the same place there appeared a tent, simple in its outward form. And the angels who were with me said, "Behold the tent of Abraham such as it was when the three angels came to him and announced the birth of Isaac. It appears simple to the eye, nevertheless it becomes more and more magnificent according to the influx of light from heaven." And they were permitted to open the heaven which is the abode of spiritual angels who excel in wisdom; and then, from the light flowing in from there, the tent appeared like a temple similar to the one at Jerusalem. Then, on looking into it, I saw that the foundation stone under which the Word had been placed was set around with precious stones from which rays like lightning shot forth upon the walls, upon which were the forms of cherubs, beautifully variegating them with colours.

[4] As I was admiring these things, the angels said, "You shall see something still more wonderful." And they were allowed to open the third heaven which is the abode of celestial angels who excel in love; then, from the light flowing in from there, the whole of that temple disappeared, and in its place was seen the Lord alone, standing on a foundation stone which was the Word, in a form similar to that in which He appeared before John (Rev., chap. i). But as the interiors of the minds of the angels were then filled with holiness, by which they were impelled to fall prostrate upon their faces, suddenly the way of the light from the third heaven was closed by the Lord, and the way of the light from the second heaven was opened again, so that the former appearance of the temple returned, also of the tent, but within the temple. By this was portrayed the meaning of these words in the Revelation:

Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them. Rev. xxi 3.

And of these words:

And I saw no temple (in the New Jerusalem), for the Lord God omnipotent and the Lamb are the temple of it. Rev. xxi 22. * n. 926.