94. The great mystery why no flesh could be saved unless a New Church is established by the Lord is this: As long as the dragon with his crew stays in the world of spirits, into which he was cast down from heaven, so long no Divine truth united with Divine good can pass through from the Lord to men on earth without being either annihilated or perverted; and this renders salvation impossible. This is what is meant in the Revelation by these words:
And the dragon... was cast into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. . . . Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea For the devil is come down to you, having great wrath. . .. And he persecuted the woman who had brought forth a son. Rev. xii 9, 12, 13.
But after the dragon had been cast into hell, chap. xx 10, John saw a new heaven and a new earth; he saw also the holy New Jerusalem descending from God out of heaven. Rev. xxi 1, 2, etc. What is meant by the dragon, and who are dragons, may be seen above, n. 87.
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