312. The nature of the human internal, if not reformed by the Lord, has been made plain to me by seeing the devils and satans in hell. For these are constantly minded to kill the Lord, and because they cannot do this, they keep trying to kill those who are devoted to the Lord. Because they cannot do this, as they can kill people in the world, they make every effort to attack them in order to destroy their souls, that is, to destroy the faith and charity they possess. Thoughts of hatred and revenge actually appear in their vicinity like fires, either smoky or white-hot ones; hatred looks like a smoky fire, revenge like a white-hot one. But they are not real fires, only appearances. Sometimes the savage thoughts in their hearts are made visible in the air above them as battles with angels, in which the angels are killed and slaughtered; it is their anger and hatred for heaven, which causes such horrible scenes to be staged.
[2] Moreover the same spirits look from a distance like wild animals of every kind, such as tigers, leopards, wolves, foxes, dogs, crocodiles and snakes of all kinds. When they see peaceful animals, which are representative forms, they imagine they are attacking them and trying to butcher them. They came into my view looking like dragons, standing next to women who had babies, which they were trying to swallow, exactly like what is described in Revelation, chapter 12. These visions are simply representations of their hatred for the Lord and His new church. It is not apparent to their companions that the people in the world who want to destroy the Lord's church are like this. The reason is that their bodies allow them to behave properly, thus absorbing and hiding these appearances. But in the sight of the angels, who do not look at their bodies but their spirits, they appear in similar shapes to the devils described above. How could anyone know such facts, if the Lord had not opened his sight and given him the ability to gaze into the spiritual world? But for this these facts, along with many others equally memorable, would have remained hidden from human beings for ever.
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