1197. 'From whom Pelishtim came forth' means the nation which came from these, and which means a knowledge of the cognitions of faith and charity. This is clear from the Word where they are mentioned many times. In the Ancient Church all were called Philistines who spoke much about faith and who asserted that salvation lay in faith, and yet possessed nothing of the life of faith. Consequently they more than any others were called uncircumcised, that is, devoid of charity. (For references to them as the uncircumcised, see 1 Samuel 14:6; 17:26, 36; 31:4; 2 Samuel 1:20; and elsewhere.) Being such as they were they inevitably made cognitions of faith matters of memory, for cognitions of spiritual and celestial things, and the arcana of faith themselves, become purely matters of memory when a person who is acquainted with them is devoid of charity. Things of the memory are so to speak dead if the person is not such that he lives according to them from conscience. When he does live according to them from conscience things of the memory are in that case matters of life as well, and only then do they remain with him for his use and salvation following life in the body. Knowledge and cognitions are of no value to anyone in the next life, even though he may have known all the arcana that have ever been revealed, if they have made no impact on his life.

[2] Throughout the prophetical parts of the Word 'the Philistines' means people such as these, as they do in the historical sections of the Word, as when Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines and made a covenant with Abimelech, the king of the Philistines, Genesis 20:1-end; 21:22-end; 26:1-33. Because the Philistines here meant cognitions of faith, and because Abraham represented the celestial things of faith, he sojourned there and made a covenant with them. So likewise did Isaac, who represented the spiritual things of faith. But Jacob did not do so because he represented the external features of the Church.

[3] That 'the Philistines' means, in general, knowledge of the cognitions of faith, and in particular people who make faith and salvation reside in cognitions alone which they make matters of memory, becomes clear also in Isaiah,

Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of you, that the rod which smites you has been broken, for from the serpent's root will come forth an adder, and its fruit will be a flying prester. Isaiah 14:29

Here 'the serpent's root' stands for facts, 'an adder' for evil arising out of falsities based on facts. 'The fruits of a flying prester' is their works which, because they are the product of evil desires, are called 'a flying prester'

[4] In Joel,

What are you to Me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the borders of Philistia? Are you rendering Me a recompense? Swiftly and speedily I will return your recompense upon your own head, inasmuch as you have taken My silver and My gold, and My good and desirable treasures you have carried into your temples, and have sold the sons of Judah and the sons of Jerusalem to the sons of the Javanites, ¹ that you might remove them far away from their border. Joel 3:4-6.

What 'the Philistines' and the whole of Philistia, or 'all its borders', are used to mean here is plain. 'Silver' and 'gold' here are the spiritual and celestial things of faith, 'good and desirable treasures' cognitions of them. 'They carried them into their temples' means that they were in possession of them and proclaimed them. 'They sold the sons of Judah and the sons of Jerusalem' however means that they possessed no love and no faith. In the Word 'Judah' is the celestial element of faith, and 'Jerusalem' the spiritual element deriving from it, which were 'removed far away from their borders'. Further examples exist in the Prophets, such as Jeremiah 25:20; Jeremiah 47:1-end; Ezekiel 16:27, 57; 25:15-16; Amos 1:8; 19; Zephaniah 2:5; Psalms 87:4; and the people of Caphtor are mentioned in Deuteronomy 2:23; Jeremiah 47:4; Amos 9:7.

Poznámky pod čarou:

4766. 'And I, where do I go?' means, Where now is the Church? This is clear from the representation of 'Reuben' as the Church's faith in general, dealt with in 4731, 4734, 4761. And because Reuben says of himself, 'And I, where do I go?' the meaning is, Where now is the Church's faith? or what amounts to the same, Where now is the Church? For the Church does not exist where no heavenly Joseph - that is, no Lord as regards Divine Truth - does so. In particular it has no existence where the Divine Truth that the Lord's Human is Divine and the Truth that charity, and therefore the works of charity, is the essential element of the Church have no existence, as may be seen from what has been shown in this chapter about these two Truths.

[2] If there is no acceptance of this Divine Truth, that the Lord's Human is Divine, then of necessity it follows that a triad and not a single entity should be worshipped, and only half the Lord, that is, His Divine but not His Human (for is there anyone who worships that which is not Divine?) Is the Church anything when a triad is worshipped, each of the three separately from another, or what amounts to the same, when equal homage is paid to each of them? For although the three are called one, thought still keeps them separate and makes them three, the declaration 'a single entity' being no more than a saying spoken with the lips. Let anyone ask himself, when he says that he acknowledges and believes in one God, whether or not he has thoughts of three. Or when he says that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and that these are distinct and separate both in their persons and as to their functions, whether he can think that there is one God, except in the way that three who are distinct from one another make one through unanimity and also through deference insofar as one goes forth from another. When therefore three gods are worshipped, where then is the Church?

[3] But if the Lord alone is worshipped, in whom the perfect Triad dwells, and in whom is the Father and the Father in Him, as He Himself says in the following places -

Even though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father. John 10:38.

He who has seen Me has seen the Father. Do you not believe, Philip, that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me. John 14:9-11.

He who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. John 12:45.

All Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine. John 17:10.

- then it is a Christian Church, as it is when it keeps to the following spoken by the Lord,

The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord; therefore you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. The second is like it, You shall love your neighbour as yourself. There Is no other commandment greater than these. Mark 12:29-31.

'The Lord our God' is the Lord, see Matthew 4:7, 10; 22:43-44; Luke 1:16-17; John 20:28, 'Jehovah' in the Old Testament being called 'the Lord' in the New, see 2921.

[4] If this Divine Truth too goes unaccepted both in doctrine and in life - the Truth that love towards the neighbour, that is, charity, and therefore the works of charity, is the essential element of the Church - then of necessity it follows that thinking what is true exists in the Church but not thinking what is good. That being so, the thought of one who belongs to the Church may consist of elements that contradict and stand opposed to each other; that is to say, thinking what is evil and thinking what is true may be present simultaneously. In thinking what is evil he lives with the devil and in thinking what is true he does so with the Lord. But truth and evil cannot possibly be in accord,

No one can serve two masters, either he will hate the one and love the other . . . Luke 16:13.

When faith separated from charity advocates this, and endorses it in life, then no matter how much it talks about the fruits of faith, where indeed is the Church?