1051. And when I saw her I wondered with great wonder, signifies an astonishing vision, in which were arcana of heaven that were unknown to him. This is evident from the signification of "wondering with great wonder" at those things that he saw, as being to be astonished respecting the vision, in which lay hidden arcana unknown to him, therefore the angel said to him, "I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her."
(Continuation respecting Profanation)
[2] This kind of profanation exists especially with those who acknowledge the Lord and His Divine, and the Word and its holiness; and for the reason that the Lord alone by means of truths from the Word opens heaven to the man who lives according to those truths; and unless heaven is opened such profanation is not possible. And this shows why the Gentiles, who are ignorant of the Lord and know nothing about the Word, cannot bring upon themselves such profanation; neither can the Jews, for they deny the Lord from their infancy, and heaven is not opened to them by means of the Word; neither can the impious who have been such from childhood; for, as has been said, those only profane who believe well and live well, and afterwards believe wrongly and live wrongly. Besides this kind of profanation there are other kinds of it, which shall be treated of in the following articles.
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