Progress toward perfection and the symbols of the Spirit

Regarding what is said: 'So our soul has passed through the unsubstantial water' (Ps 74:13), which the Benefactor intends to free us from, such a great evil; those who have erroneous thoughts are called winged because they are said to possess meteors, and they seem to think excessively compared to other men, which the Philanthropic God intends to happen outside of this state, so that they might harmonize the understanding, which they undermined regarding things not necessary, into what is fitting and proper according to rational nature, so that they might recover the proper place of the divine fall, from which the deviation occurred.

The evil powers, the devil and his angels, were great sea-monsters according to the rules of allegory, who are called dragons according to the Scripture, meaning that the devil himself is called by this designation much more so. Toward the Savior, indeed, it is said in the manner of a hymn: 'You crushed the heads of the dragon, you crushed the heads of the dragons upon the water' (Ps 74:13). It is clear that these things happened from God, not as they turn out to be trivial, but according to their essential underlying nature. For God did not make a devil or demons as such they are, but they themselves embraced their own destruction; for the Scripture says of the angels who did not keep their own rank (Jude 1:6).

That the devil is called a sea-monster is said in Job concerning him: 'He who is about to seize the great sea-monster' (Job 41:1), and by him sea-monsters under heaven were burned. And the phrase 'God made them' is able to signify 'He demonstrated'; for often the Scripture signifies to do instead of to demonstrate, as in 'If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar' (1 John 1:8), not that we become creators of God, but we demonstrate him to be a liar to the extent concerning us. The same is shown also by what was said to the Jews: 'You, being a man, make yourself God' (Ps 50:4), instead of 'you demonstrate.'

God does this and demonstrates the evil powers and makes them manifest, so that they might not harm immeasurably while remaining hidden, and so that those having the struggle against them might know them; for thus it happens to despise them. God intends these to be outside the waters, just a little away from them, as one wishing to turn away evil in an introduction to virtue—for he who is in evil...

In this way one receives the transition to perfection not all at once, but by taking on progress and advancement, always possessing something of virtue, so that from standing upon the earth one might become flying things of heaven according to those who hear: 'If you should sleep among the lot-lines, wings of a dove hovering and its transport in the greenness of gold' (Job 38:39-41). The 'lot-lines' are the passages of the waters, as in 'Isaac the good desired to rest among the lot-lines' (Gen 26:22), which are the Old and New Testaments flying over him who rests among them, and matching what was said previously to their outcome as having the wings of a dove, by which the Holy Spirit is likened to having come upon Jesus.

These wings are thoughts having a heavenly dimension and magnitude, and from this they are called doves, just as the one who betrothed her calls the bride thus: 'My dove, my perfect one' (Song 5:2). And concerning the saints it is said: 'Who are these that fly like clouds and like doves with their younglings?' (Rev 9:6). The 'younglings of doves' are those being discipled by the perfect ones, such as Paul becoming a dove and having the young Timothy, and Peter having the evangelist Mark. And concerning the old times it was written that some were sons of prophets, whom if I call younglings of the prophets' doves, I would not be erring.

These same are called by one name younglings and by another clouds; for because they carry a divine and spiritual rain, passing this to others for benefit, they are clouds, but because they are modeled according to the transformation of the Holy Spirit, they exist as doves, which are hovering, adorned by the divine word, having been instructed from the divine writings. For just as silver signifies the word, it is clear from 'the tongue of the righteous, refined silver' (Ps 12:6). It is not because of sensible silver, but since the tongue is an instrument of the word, it has taken this as a symbol. This has been refined not concerning chance matters, but by partaking of the heavenly light, which Jesus came to earth to cast, desiring it already to be revealed. But also the tongues appearing to the apostles as if of fire, which sat upon each one of them, signify the divine word and a teaching sign.