2982. 'In the land of Canaan' means which was a united whole in the Lord's kingdom. This is clear from the representation of 'the land of Canaan' as the Lord's kingdom, dealt with in 1413, 1437, 1585, 1607. With the Lord's Churches the position is that in ancient times many existed simultaneously. These differed from one another, as Churches do today, on matters of doctrine, but they still made one in that they acknowledged love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour as the chief and most essential thing. And so to them matters of doctrine existed not so much to guide their thought as to direct their lives. And when in every single respect love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour, that is, the good of life, is the essential thing, then no matter how many Churches there are they all make one, and each is a united whole in the Lord's kingdom. The same is also true of heaven. Although there are countless communities there, and each one is distinct and separate from the rest, they nevertheless all constitute one heaven because every one is moved by love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour.

[2] But the situation is altogether different in the case of Churches which say that faith is the essential thing of the Church, for they imagine that if they know this and think it, they are saved irrespective of whatever kind of life they lead. When this is the situation many Churches existing simultaneously do not make one Church; they are not even Churches. The good of faith is what makes the Church, that is, the life of love and charity in accordance with matters of faith make it. It is for the sake of life that matters of doctrine exist. This anyone may know, for why does any doctrine exist if not for some end in view? And what else is that end but life, that is, that a person may become as such doctrine teaches? Those Churches do indeed speak of saving faith as being trust, but that trust cannot possibly exist except within the good of life. Without the latter there is no receptivity, and when there is no receptivity there is no trust, except on occasions when the mind or body is sick and the desires that belong to self-love and love of the world are dormant. But with those who are leading an evil life, when this crisis is over or takes a different turn, that spurious trust disappears altogether; for trust can exist even with those who are evil. But if a person wishes to know what kind of trust he has, let him examine his affections and ends in view, and also the kind of life his actions reveal.

5032. 'As his lord heard his wife's words which she spoke to him' means the communication of falsity which looked like the truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'hearing the words' as communication, for 'hearing' means discerning, 5017, and so being communicated; from the meaning of 'wife' as unspiritual natural truth, dealt with already, though in this case falsity is meant. Actual false-speaking is meant by the things she told him, as above in 5024, and the one to which the falsity is communicated is unspiritual natural good, meant here by 'his lord', as above in 5023. The idea that to that good this falsity looked like the truth is clear from what follows below.

[2] Dealt with here is the fact that unspiritual natural good is easily convinced, so easily that to it falsity looks altogether like truth. For what unspiritual natural good is and what it is like - that is, who those people are with whom that good resides, and what they are like - see above in 4988, 4992, 5008, 5013, 5028. In these places it is shown that they are those who by heredity and consequently adventitiously are disposed to be meek and upright, and so who do what is good from some natural inclination and not from any religious motive. Doing good from some natural inclination is entirely different from doing it from a religious motive. In the world a person cannot distinguish one from the other because he is not immediately aware of inward things; but in the next life he can clearly tell the difference because in that world inward things are laid bare. There thoughts, intentions, and ends in view reveal themselves, being laid bare as if in broad daylight.

[3] This being so I have been allowed to know what those people are like with whom unspiritual good resides and what those are like with whom spiritual good resides. Those with whom unspiritual natural good resides allow themselves to be persuaded by no matter whom, easily so by the evil, for evil spirits and genii are in their element or their life's delight when they can get into another's desires; and once they have entered them they allure that person into every kind of evil. For at such times they convince him that what is false is true. This they can easily do to those with whom unspiritual natural good resides. They cannot do the same to those with whom spiritual good resides because these know from within themselves what evil and falsity are. The reason for this is that when those with whom spiritual good resides lived in the world they welcomed whatever doctrine prescribed, and disciplined their internal man in the same, thereby enabling heaven to act upon their internal man. But when those with whom unspiritual natural good resides lived in the world they did not welcome anything prescribed by doctrine or discipline their internal man in the same. Consequently they have nothing laid down in them into which heaven can operate, but whatever enters them from heaven passes straight through; and when this enters the natural man it is not welcomed there because evil ones, that is, the devil's crew, instantly remove it by smothering it, or repelling it, or perverting it.

[4] Therefore those whose good is wholly natural suffer severely in the next life. Sometimes they complain profusely about being among those in hell even though, they believe, they have done good, just as has everyone else. But they have been told that in their doing of good they were no different from harmless living creatures that are not endowed with reason. They had shown no concern, they are told, for anything good and true that is known to the Church; and since, as a consequence of this, nothing existed in their internal man to receive what was good and true, they now have nothing enabling angels to protect them. Furthermore, under a cloak of goodness, they had performed very many evil deeds.