2960. 'What is that between me and you?' means that he gave his assent yet still wished to achieve it by himself, that is to say, to be prepared or reformed. This becomes clear from the sense of the letter when applied to the internal sense in which reformation is the subject. Above, Ephron said, 'The field I give to you, and the cave that is in it I give to you' verse 11, and by this was meant their will to prepare themselves as regards those things that constitute the Church and faith, that is, to reform themselves. For the first state of those who are being reformed is such, see 2946; but when they are more advanced in cognitions of truth or faith, they have entered their second state. Then they do indeed give assent, yet they still wish to achieve it by themselves. It is this state which is dealt with in this verse, while the third state when they believe that their reformation is effected by the Lord will be described next.

[2] The reason these people are such at first has been stated above in 2946. But when they become more advanced in cognitions of truth or faith they do indeed acknowledge that their reformation is effected by the Lord, yet they still wish to achieve it by themselves. One reason for this is that the cloud of ignorance is dispersed only gradually; another is that it takes time for truth to be corroborated; and another is that the perfection of good comes with the acquisition of cognitions of truth. Good itself that has truth implanted in it leads people not only to acknowledge but also to believe that reformation comes from the Lord. This state is the third, and a fourth follows it, that is to say, a state when they perceive that it comes from the Lord. Few however attain it during their lifetime since it is an angelic state; but those who are regenerate do attain it in the next life. From this it is evident that in the internal sense here the member of the spiritual Church is described - the nature of his state when he has yet to develop, the nature of it when he starts to develop, and at length when he has developed.

2284. 'Perhaps ten will be found there' means if remnants were still present. This is clear from the meaning of the number 'ten' as remnants, dealt with in Volume One, in 576, 1738. What remnants are however has been stated and shown in various places already, as in 468, 530, 560, 561, 660, 661, 1050, 1738, 1906, namely that they are all the good and all the truth with a person which lie stored away in his two memories and in his life.

[2] It is well known that there is nothing good nor anything true except that from the Lord; also that what is good and true is flowing in constantly from the Lord into man, but it is received in varying ways, and that in fact it is received according to the life of evil and according to the false assumptions in which the person has confirmed himself. These are what either annihilate, or stifle, or pervert the goods and truths flowing in constantly from the Lord. To prevent goods being mixed with evils therefore, and truths with falsities - for if they were mixed a person would perish for ever - the Lord separates them, and stores away within his interior man the goods and truths he receives. From there the Lord will never allow them to come forth as long as that person is governed by evil and falsity, except at those times when the person has entered some state that is a holy state, or when deeply and anxiously concerned about something, or in times of sickness, or other similar circumstances. These things which the Lord has so stored away in the person are what are called remnants, and of which very much mention is made in the Word, though nobody as yet knows that this is what they mean.

[3] It is according to the nature and the amount of the remnants, that is, of the good and truth residing with him, that a person experiences blessedness and happiness in the next life, for, as has been stated, such remnants are stored away in his interior man and are laid bare when he leaves things of a bodily and worldly nature behind him. The Lord alone knows the nature and the amount of remnants a person has. The person himself cannot possibly know this, for at the present day man is such that he is able to counterfeit what is good while within there is nothing but evil. A person can also appear to be evil and yet may have good within. For these reasons one is never allowed to judge the nature of another person's spiritual life; for the Lord alone, as has been stated, knows this. But one is allowed to judge the nature of another person's life, private and public, since this is of importance to society.

[4] It is very common for those who have adopted an opinion regarding any truth of faith to sit in judgement on others and to say that they cannot be saved unless their beliefs coincide with their own - a judgement which the Lord has forbidden, in Matthew 7:1-2. Yet from much experience I have been led to know that members of every religion are saved provided that they have received through a life of charity remnants of good and appearances of truth. This is what was meant by 'if ten were found [there] they would not be destroyed for the sake of the ten', that is, that if remnants were present they would be saved.

[5] The life of charity consists in thinking what is good in regard to another, and in willing for him that which is good, and in feeling joy within oneself that others as well are saved. But those people do not possess the life of charity whose will is that no others should be saved than those whose beliefs coincide with theirs, especially those who are indignant that the situation is otherwise. This becomes clear solely from the fact that more gentiles are saved than Christians. For people who have thought what is good in regard to their neighbour and have willed for him that which is good accept the truths of faith in the next life more readily than those who called themselves Christians; and they acknowledge the Lord more than Christians do. Indeed nothing gives angels greater delight and happiness than to be teaching those who pass from the world into the next life.