9686. 'And you shall make a screen for the tent door' means the intermediary uniting the second or middle heaven to the first or lowest heaven. This is clear from the meaning of 'a screen' as an intermediary uniting this heaven, which is represented by the tent of meeting, to the heaven represented by the court, which is the subject in the next chapter. For just as the veil between the holy place and the holy of holies has meant an intermediary uniting the inmost or third heaven and the middle or second heaven, so this screen means the like between the middle or second heaven and the first or lowest. The fact that there are three heavens, and that two of them were represented by the dwelling-place inside the veil and the dwelling-place outside the veil, has been shown above. And that the third or lowest heaven is represented by the court will in the Lord's Divine mercy be shown in the next chapter. The entrance from one to the other is meant by 'a door' where the screen was hung. As regards 'a door', that it means an entrance, see 2145, 2152, 2356, 2385, consequently communication, 8989, so that 'a screen' here, which served in place of a door, is an intermediary that communicates and unites.

2356. That 'Lot went out to them to the door (janua)' means that he acted cautiously is clear from the interior sense of 'the door' and of 'going out to the door'. 'A door' in the Word means that which introduces or leads the way either towards truth, or towards good, or towards the Lord. Consequently 'a door' in addition means truth itself, also good itself, as well as the Lord Himself, for truth leads to good, and good leads to the Lord. Such things were represented by the door and the veils of the Tent of Meeting, and also of the Temple, see 2145, 2152, 2576.

[2] That this is the meaning of 'a door' is evident from the Lord's words in John,

He who does not enter by the door into the sheepfold but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens. I am the door of the sheep; if anyone enters through Me he will be saved. John 10:1-3, 7, 9.

Here 'door' stands for truth and good, and so for the Lord who is truth itself and good itself. This shows what is meant by being let in through the door into heaven, and therefore what is meant by 'the keys' which unlock it.

[3] Here however 'a door' means a particular type of good that was suited to the disposition of those who besieged the house, for a distinction is made here between 'a door' (janua) and 'a door' (ostium). The former was on the outside of the house, as is evident from the fact that Lot went out and closed the door (ostium) behind him. This type of good was blessedness of life, as is clear from what follows shortly where he persuaded those who were immersed in falsity and evil. For such people do not allow themselves to be persuaded by actual good itself; indeed they reject it. From these considerations it is evident that here 'going out to the door' means that he acted cautiously.