571. And upon his heads the name of blasphemy, signifies the denial of the Lord's Divine Human and the doctrine of the church derived not from the Word, but from one's own intelligence. By "seven heads" is signified insanity from mere falsities, as above (n. 568); and this insanity speaks blasphemy, when it denies the Lord's Divine in His Human; and also when it does not draw the doctrine of the church from the Word, but hatches it from its own intelligence. As to the first, that it is blasphemy to deny the Lord's Divine in His Human, the reason is that he who denies it is opposed to the faith received throughout the whole Christian world, named from Athanasius, where it is expressly said, that in Jesus Christ, God and Man, that is, the Divine and the Human, are not two but one, and that they are one Person, united like soul and body. Therefore they who deny the Divine in His Human, are not far from the Socinians and Arians, especially when they think of the Lord's Human alone as of that of another man, and nothing at all of His Divine from eternity.
[2] As to the second, that it is blasphemy not to draw the doctrine of the church from the Word, but to hatch it out of one's own intelligence, the reason is, because the church is from the Word, and its quality is according to the understanding of the Word, as may be seen in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the Sacred Scripture (n. 76-79). And the doctrine that faith alone, that is, faith without the works of the law, justifies and saves, is not from the Word, but from a single expression of Paul falsely understood (Rom. 3:28, see n. 417); and every falsity of doctrine is derived from no other source than from one's own intelligence. For what is more universally taught in the Word, than to shun evil and do good? And what is more evident than that God and the neighbor ought to be loved? And who does not see, that no one can love the neighbor, unless he lives according to the works of the law, and he who does not love his neighbor does not love God? For in the love of the neighbor the Lord conjoins himself with man, and man conjoins himself with the Lord, that is, the Lord and man are together in that love. And what is it to love the neighbor but not to do him evil, according to the commandments of the Decalogue (Rom. 13:8-11)? And as far as man does not will to do evil to the neighbor, so far he is willing to do him good; hence it is evident that it is blasphemy to exclude the works of this law from salvation, as they do, who make faith alone saving, which is faith separated from good works. By "blasphemy" (Matt. 12:31-32; Rev. 17:3; Isa. 37:6-7, 23-24) is meant to deny the Lord's Divine, as the Socinians do, and to deny the Word; for they who thus deny the Lord's Divine cannot enter heaven, for the Lord's Divine is the all in all in heaven, and he who denies the Word denies all things of religion.
