2317. THE INTERNAL SENSE

Verse 1. And the two angels came to Sodom in the evening; and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom; and Lot saw, and rose up to meet them, and bowed himself with his face to the earth. “The two angels came to Sodom in the evening,” signifies the visitation which precedes the Judgment; the “two angels” signify the Lord’s Divine Human and Holy proceeding, to which Judgment belongs; “Sodom” signifies the evil, especially those within the church; “evening” is the time of visitation; “and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom,” signifies those who are in the good of charity, but in external worship, who here are “Lot;” these are among the evil, but are separated from them, which is to “sit in the gate of Sodom;” “and Lot saw,” signifies their conscience; “and rose up to meet them,” signifies acknowledgment and a disposition of charity; “and bowed himself with his face to the earth” signifies humiliation.