3192. 'And the servant took Rebekah and went' means that natural Divine Good did the introducing. This is clear from the meaning of 'the servant' as natural Divine Good, as above in 3184, and from the meaning of 'taking Rebekah and going' as introducing, that is to say, bringing to 'Isaac', who is the Divine Good in the Rational, as becomes clear without further explanation. The implications of this are that truth from the natural could not be raised up to good in the rational except by means of natural Divine Truth and natural Divine Good. Natural Divine Truth, which is called 'the man', was to point the way and lead; natural Divine Good, which is referred to as 'the servant', was to bring truth from the natural and introduce it to the good in the rational. To use a comparison, they are like two wings which raise up the possessor of them. These matters cannot be explained any more fully or intelligibly here. One must first know what natural Divine Truth is, and what natural Divine Good is; and these are referred to later on in the internal sense where Joseph is the subject.

660. That 'a flood' means a deluge of evil and falsity is clear from what has been stated already about the descendants of the Most Ancient Church being possessed with filthy desires and immersing doctrinal matters concerning faith in them. This immersing led to false persuasions within them which annihilated all truth and good and simultaneously closed off the road for remnants and so made it impossible for them to do their work. It was inevitable therefore that these men would destroy themselves. When the road for remnants has been closed off a person is no longer human, for he can no longer be protected by angels but is wholly and completely possessed by evil spirits who long and desire to do nothing else but annihilate man. It was this that led to the death of the people who existed before the Flood, a death described by 'a flood' or utter deluge. Indeed the influx of delusions and desires from evil spirits is not unlike a flood. Consequently in various places in the Word that influx is called a flood or a deluge, as in the Lord's Divine mercy will be seen in the preliminary remarks to the next chapter. ¹

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