8054. 'And it shall be when Jehovah brings you into the land of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite' means into the region of heaven occupied by those steeped in evil and falsity. This is clear from the meaning of 'the land of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite' as heaven, at this point the region of heaven occupied by those steeped in evil and falsity. 'The land of Canaan' is the Lord's kingdom in heaven, and His kingdom on earth, which is the Church, see 1413, 1437, 1585, 1607, 1866, 3038, 3481, 3686, 3705, 4116, 4240, 4447, 4454, 4516, 4517, 5136, 5757, 6516. Evils and falsities are meant by the nations mentioned here, evil begotten by falsity that springs from evil being meant by 'the Canaanite', 4818; falsity from which evil arises by 'the Hittite', 2913; evil and consequent falsity by 'the Amorite', 1857, 6306; that which is idolatrous but has some kind of goodness in it by 'the Hivite', 6860; and that which is idolatrous but has some kind of truth in it by 'the Jebusite', 6860. The region of heaven into which those belonging to the spiritual Church were to come was occupied by evils and falsities before the Lord's Coming, see above in 6858.

[2] To pursue this matter further, it should be recognized that before the Lord's Coming heaven was not divided into three separate heavens - the inmost or third, the middle or second, and the lowest or first - as it was after the Lord's Coming, but was a single heaven. The spiritual heaven did not yet exist. The region where the spiritual heaven was going to exist was occupied by those who were ruled by falsity and evil, yet could be kept in a state in which they felt encouraged by external means to adhere to some truth and good, especially by ideas of holding important positions and rank. It was just like what happens in the world. Here those ruled by evil, and by falsity, are nevertheless obliged by external means - by rank and position and by monetary gain - to look as if they are thinking and speaking things that are true, and willing and doing those that are good. The reason why that region of heaven was at that time occupied by such spirits was that there was a lack of good people, and those who belonged to the spiritual Church had not yet been made ready; yet every part of heaven needed to be filled with spirits to provide a continuous chain from the Lord at one end to mankind at the other. For had the chain been broken mankind would have perished. At the present day too there are some regions of heaven which are occupied by such spirits; but those who are in them are withheld by great force from doing evil. Directly overhead there are spirits who use innocence to deceive others and lead them astray; but above those spirits there are celestial ones belonging to the Most Ancient Church, who restrain them so forcibly that they cannot possibly inflict harm on anyone. At the back of the head there is also at the present day a region which was once part of heaven but is now occupied by evil spirits, as well as another region in front, over on the left.

[3] The evil also constantly endeavour to take over the places where the good are, and do in actual fact take them over as soon as they cease to be filled with the good. I have often been made aware of their endeavour. Those regions are occupied when the number of wicked people in the world increases and that of the good diminishes; for then evil spirits come nearer mankind and good spirits move away. And the more the good spirits move away, the more the regions nearest mankind come to be occupied by evil spirits. When this becomes the situation generally, the inhabitants of those regions are changed completely. The change takes place when the Church is near its end since evil and falsity reign then. But around the end of the Church those who have taken over are expelled, and the regions once occupied by them are given to the good, who have in the meantime been made ready for heaven. This is the meaning of the following words in John,

War took place in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon fought, and his angels, but they did not prevail, nor was their place found any longer in heaven. Revelation 12:7-8.

This state of heaven was represented by the land of Canaan, in that the nations occupied it, and by the children of Israel, in that they expelled the nations from there. For the land of Canaan means the Lord's kingdom, thus heaven and the Church, as may be seen from the places enumerated above.

1866. 'From the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Phrath' means the extension of spiritual and celestial things, 'to the river of Egypt' being the extension of spiritual things, 'to the river Phrath' the extension of celestial things. This is clear from the meaning of 'the river of Egypt' and from the meaning of 'the great river' or the Euphrates. That these rivers mean the extension of spiritual and celestial things becomes clear from the meaning of 'the land of Canaan' as the Lord's kingdom in heaven and on earth, in which kingdom there is nothing else than the spiritual things of faith and the celestial things of mutual love. Consequently nothing else can be meant by the borders of the land of Canaan than the extension of those things. For what the land of Canaan is, what the river of Egypt is, and what the great river, the Euphrates, is, the inhabitants of heaven do not know at all. Indeed they do not know what the borders of any land are; but they do know what the extension of spiritual and celestial things is, and the range and limits of the states belonging to them. These are the things which those in heaven have in mind when such things in the letter are read by man, so that the letter and its historical sense which has served as a basis for heavenly ideas disappears.

[2] The reason why 'the river of Egypt' means the extension of spiritual things is that 'Egypt' means factual knowledge which, together with the rational concepts and the intellectual concepts which a person has, constitute spiritual things, as stated already in 1443 and elsewhere in this volume. And as to why in the internal sense 'Egypt' means factual knowledge, see 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462. That 'the river Euphrates' means the extension of celestial things becomes clear from the lands which that river bounded and marked off from the land of Canaan, and by which in many other places facts and the cognitions of celestial things are meant. Here however because it is called 'the river', and 'the great river', they are nothing other than celestial things and the cognitions of them, for 'the great river' and greatness are used in reference to these.