That they who are of the Roman Catholic religion, are not in any illumination and consequent perception of spiritual truth, may appear from this circumstance, that they do not love any spiritual light, for the origin of spiritual light, as has been observed, is from the Lord, and no others can accept or receive that light, but they who are in conjunction with the Lord, and conjunction with the Lord is effected solely by the acknowledgment and worship of him, and at the same time by a life according to his precepts from the Word; the acknowledgment and worship of the Lord, and the reading of the Word, constitute the Lord's presence; but these two, together with a life according to his precepts, constitute conjunction with him. In Babylon the reverse is the case; the Lord is acknowledged there, but without dominion, and the Word is acknowledged but without the reading thereof; instead of the Lord, the pope is there worshiped ; and instead of the Word, papal bulls are acknowledged, according to which they regulate their lives, and not according to the precepts of the Word; and those bulls have for their end the dominion of the pope and his ministers over heaven and the world; and the precepts of the Word have for their end the dominion of the Lord over heaven and the world; and these two are diametrically opposite to each other, like heaven and hell. These observations are made, to the end that it may be known, that they who are of the Babylonish religion from doctrine and from a life according thereto, have no light of a candle at all; that is, no illumination and consequent perception of spiritual-truth. That the Lord is the light, from which all illumination and perception of spiritual truth proceeds, is evident from the following passages: " He was the true light, which lighteth every man, that cometh into the world," John i. 4-12, speaking of the Lord. "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, but he that doeth truth, cometh to the light," John iii. 19, 21. "Jesus said, Yet a little while is the light with you; walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you while ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light," John xii. 35, 36. Jesus said, "I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth in me, should not abide in darkness," John xii. 46. Jesus said, "I am the light of the world," John ix. 5, Luke ii. 30, 31, 32. Simeon said, "For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, a light to lighten the Gentiles. - The people which sat in darkness, saw great light, and to them which sat in the region of the shadow of death, light is sprung up," Matt. iv. 16, Isaiah ix. 1, Luke ii. 30, 31, 32. " I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth," Isaiah xlix. 6. The city New Jerusalem "had no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God doth lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof," Apoc. xxi. 23, xxii. 5. From these considerations it is plain, that the Lord is the light from which all illumination and consequent perception of truth is derived; and since the Lord is light, the devil is darkness, and the devil is the love of ruling over all the holy and divine things of the Lord, and thus over him; and in proportion as power is given him, he darkens, extinguishes, consumes, and burns up the holy and divine things of the Lord. 797. "And the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee," signifies, that with those who are in that religion from doctrine, and from a life according thereto, there is no conjunction of good and truth which constitute the church. The voice, here signifies joy, because it is the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride; by a bridegroom, in a supreme sense, is meant the Lord as to the divine good, and by bride is meant the church as to the divine truth from the Lord; for the church is a church from the reception of the divine good of the Lord in the divine truths which are from him. That the Lord is called the bridegroom and also the husband, and that the church is called the bride and also the wife, is evident from the Word. That hence is derived the heavenly marriage, which is the conjunction of good and truth, will be seen in the treatise concerning Marriage. Now inasmuch as this heavenly marriage is effected by the reception of divine good from the Lord, in divine truths out of the Word by the men of the church, it is plain that there is not any conjunction of good and truth among those who are of the Roman Catholic religion from doctrine and consequent life, because they have no conjunction with the Lord, but with living and dead men: and this conjunction among those who are in the love of dominion, from self-love, over the holy divine things of the Lord, and over the Lord, is like conjunction with the devil, who, as was affirmed in the preceding article, is that love; and to approach the devil, as a means of coming at God, is detestable. That the Lord is called a bridegroom and the church the bride, appears from the following passages: "He that hath the bride is the bridegroom; but he is the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice," John iii. 29. John the Baptist is here speaking of the Lord. "Jesus said, As long as the bridegroom is with them, the children of the bridechamber cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast," Matt. ix. 15, Mark ii. 19, 20, Luke v. 34, 35. " I saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband," Арос. xxi. 2. The angel said, "Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife," Apoc. xxi. 9, 10. "For the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage-supper of the Lamb," Арос. xix. 7, 9. By the bridegroom, whom the ten virgins went out to meet, is also meant the Lord, Matt. xxv. 1, 2, et seq. From what has been said it may appear, what is signified by the voice and joy of the bridegroom and bride in the following-passages: "And as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee," Isaiah Ixii. 5. "My soul shall be joyful in my God; as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels," Isaiah lxi. 10. "Again there shall be heard in this place the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, that shall say, Praise Jehovah of Hosts," Jerem. xxxiii. 10, 11. "Let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet," Joel ii. 16. "Then will I cause to cease from the streets of Jerusalein the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride," Jerem. vii. 34, xvi. 9. "Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle, and this whole land shall be a desolation" by the king of Babylon, Jerem. xxv. 10, 11. From what has been said the series of things in these two verses, may now be seen, which is, that they who are in that religion have no affection of spiritual truth and good whatever, n. 792; neither any understanding of spiritual truth, nor therefore any thought of it, n. 793; for thought proceeds from affection and according to it. That neither do they make any inquisition, examination, or confirmation of spiritual truth, n. 794. That neither have they any illumination from the Lord, and consequently no perception of spiritual truth, n. 796. And, finally, that there is not among them any conjunction of good and truth, which constitutes a church, n. 797; thus do these things also follow each other in order. 798. Since it is said that there is no conjunction of good and truth with them, by reason of there not being among them a marriage of the Lord and the church, something shall here be said concerning the power of opening and shutting heaven, which operates as one with the power of forgiving and retaining sins, which they claim to themselves as the successors of Peter and the apostles. The Lord said to Peter, "And upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shallbe bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven," Matt. xvi. 18, 19. The divine truth, which is meant by the rock upon which the Lord would build his church, is that which Peter then confessed, which was, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of t the living God," verse 16. By the keys of the kingdom of heaven, which consist in this, that whatsoever that rock, which is the Lord, shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever he shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven, is ineant that the Lord has power over heaven and earth, as he also says, Matt. xxviii. 18, thus the power of saving men, who are in that confession of Peter from faith of heart. The Lord's divine operation to save men is from first principles through ultimates, and this is what is meant by whatsoever he shall bind or loose on earth, shall be bound or loosed in heaven; the ultimates, through which the Lord operates, are upon earth, and indeed with men; on this account, in order that the Lord himself might be in ultimates as he is in first principles, he came into the world, and put on the humanity. That every divine operation of the Lord is from first principles through ultimates, thus from himself in first principles and from himself in ultimates, may be seen in the Wisdom of Angels concerning the Divine Love and Divine Wisdom, n. 217, 218, 219, 221; and that this is the reason why the Lord is called the First and the Last, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the Almighty, see above, n. 29, 30, 31, 38, 57. Who cannot see, if he pleases, that the salvation of man is a continual operation of the Lord in man from his earliest infancy to the latest period of his life, and that this is a work purely divine, never assignable to any man? This is such a divine work, as to partake at once of omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence; and that the reformation and regeneration of man, thus his salvation, is wholly of the divine providence of the Lord, may be seen in the Wisdom of Angels concerning the Divine Providence, from beginning to end. The coming of the Lord himself into the world was solely for the sake of man's salvation; on this account, he assumed humanity, renoved the hells, and glorified himself, and invested himself with omnipotence even in ultimates, which is meant by his sitting at the right hand of God. What then can be more abominable than to fabricate a religion, which sanctions the idea of that divine power and potency belonging to |