8313. 'Distress took hold of the inhabitants of Philistia' means despair of enlarging their dominion, on the part of those upholding faith separated from good. This is clear from the meaning of 'distress' as despair, because they could not any longer enlarge their dominion, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'the inhabitants of Philistia' as those who uphold faith alone separated from the good of charity, dealt with in 1197, 1198, 3412, 3413, 8093, 8096, 8099. They are distinguished from the Egyptians by the fact that they rule out the good deeds of charity, in the belief that a person is saved without them by faith. This main tenet in their doctrine gives birth to a large number of errors, such as these: Salvation is attributable to mercy, irrespective of the life the person has been leading; all his sins and evils are washed away through faith, enabling him to walk as someone who has been made righteous; his salvation can be accomplished in an instant, even through faith and truth attained at the final hour of his death; consequently it is not the affection belonging to heavenly love that makes heaven in a person. People subscribing to these errors are Philistines; and they are called 'uncircumcised' because of the evils of self-love and love of the world in which their life consists.

[2] The reason why 'distress' here means despair is that extreme distress should be understood, or pain like that suffered by women in labour. The word in the original language also means that kind of pain. Despair or the extremes of distress are actually described in the Word as 'the pain of a woman in labour', for example in David,

The kings assembled themselves. Terror seized them, pain as of a woman in labour. Psalms 48:4, 6.

In Jeremiah,

O dweller in Lebanon, having a nest in the cedars, how much grace will you find when distresses come to you, pain as of a woman in labour? Jeremiah 22:23.

In the same prophet,

The king of Babel has heard the report about them, consequently his hands have become feeble; anguish has taken hold of him, pain as of a woman in labour. Jeremiah 50:43.

In Isaiah,

The day of Jehovah is near, like devastation from Shaddai. Therefore all hands are feeble, and every human heart melts, and they are terrified; pangs and distresses take hold of them, they are in labour, like a woman giving birth. Isaiah 13:6-8.

[3] In Jeremiah,

behold, a people coming from the land of the north, and a mighty nation will be stirred up from the furthest parts of the earth. They lay hold on bow and spear; it is cruel and they do not have any pity. Their voice resounds like the sea, and they ride on horses, [every one] prepared as a man for battle against you, O daughter of Zion. We have heard the report about it, our hands have grown feeble. Anguish has laid hold on us, pain as of a woman in labour. Jeremiah 6:22-24.

This refers to truth being laid waste as experienced by those ruled by evil. 'A people from the land of the north' stands for those steeped in falsities arising from evil. 'A mighty nation from the uttermost parts of the earth' stands for those steeped in evils which are altogether opposed to good. 'They lay hold on bow and spear' stands for the fact that they draw on false teachings when they engage in conflict. 'Their voice resounds like the sea' stands for reasoning based on those teachings. 'They ride on horses' stands for arguments seemingly based on understanding. 'Prepared as a man for battle' stands for the desire to attack truth. 'Daughter of Zion' stands for the Church where good exists. 'Anguish has laid hold' stands for distress, because truths might undergo molestation. 'Pain as of a woman in labour' stands for despair, because good might suffer harm. From all this it is evident that 'pain' in this instance means despair on account of harm that might be done to good.

[4] The reason why 'distress took hold of the inhabitants of Philistia' means despair or lack of hope of enlarging their dominion is that the Philistines, that is, those who suppose that salvation comes as a result of faith alone without the good deeds of charity, in the next life strive unceasingly after dominion, fighting against others. They do not stop until they undergo vastation of their knowledge of cognitions or matters of faith. Every person in the next life retains the tenets of the faith he possessed during his lifetime; and no other people exchange them for truths except those who have done what is good in life, since good desires truth and welcomes it freely because it is of a similar nature. But those who have done what is bad in life do not exchange them. Those people are so to speak hard, and also they reject truths. Furthermore they live in obscurity, so that they cannot even see them. They see only whatever endorses the ideas they have adopted and nothing whatever that goes against them. Such people also imagine that they have more intelligence than everyone else; yet they know nothing except to use reasonings based on the ideas they have adopted. This is why they are people who attack charity very strongly, consequently are people who wish to dominate. For those who are governed by charity are humble, and wish - as though lowest in rank - to serve all. But those who are ruled by faith without charity are haughty, and wish - as though highest in rank - to be served by all. This also is why they consider heaven to consist in the glory of dominion, imagining - because they suppose that they have more intelligence than all others - that they will be archangels and that very many others will for that reason serve them, a supposition also in keeping with the words in Daniel,

Those who have intelligence will shine like the brightness of the expanse, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars for ever and ever. ¹ Daniel 12:3.

But instead of brightness theirs is darkness.

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9340. 'And I will set your boundary from the Sea Suph even to the Sea of the Philistines' means the full range of truths from factual ones to interior truths of faith. This is clear from the meaning of 'setting the boundary from one place to another', when it refers to spiritual truths, as the full range; from the meaning of 'the Sea Suph' as truths on the levels of the senses and of factual knowledge, which are the lowest levels of the human mind (the Sea Suph was the final boundary of the land of Egypt, and 'Egypt' means factual knowledge in both senses, that is, true factual knowledge and false, 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 2588, 4749, 4964, 4966, 5700, 6004, 6015, 6125, 6651, 6679, 6683, 6692, 6750, 7779 (end), 7926, 8146, 8148; in this instance true factual knowledge is meant since the subject is the full range of spiritual matters of faith among the children of Israel, who represented the spiritual Church, 4286, 4598, 6426, 6637, 6862, 6868, 7035, 7062, 7198, 7201, 7215, 7223, 8805); and from the meaning of 'the Sea of the Philistines' as interior truths of faith. The reason why these truths are meant by 'the Sea of the Philistines' is that the sea where Tyre and Sidon lay was the boundary of the land of Philistia, and 'Tyre and Sidon' means cognitions or knowledge of truth and good, 1201, while 'the land of Philistia' means the knowledge of interior matters of faith, 1197, 2504, 2726, 3463.

[2] Since 'the land of Canaan' represented the Lord's kingdom, which is heaven and the Church, all places in the land therefore meant such things as form part of the Lord's kingdom, or heaven and the Church, which things are called celestial and spiritual, and are connected with the good of love to the Lord and the truths of faith in Him. For this reason the seas and rivers which were boundaries meant the final limits there, and therefore 'from sea to sea' or 'from river to river' meant the full range of those things, as may be seen in 1585, 1866, 4116, 4240, 6516. From all this it becomes clear that 'the boundary from the Sea Suph even to the Sea of the Philistines' means the range of spiritual things, which are matters of truth, from external ones to internal, thus truths ranging from factual ones to interior truths of faith. But the range of celestial things, which are aspects of the good of love, is described next by the words 'from the wilderness even to the River'. The fact that places belonging to the land of Canaan, including seas and rivers, mean such things in the Word, has been shown in explanations everywhere.

[3] What the full range of truths from factual ones to interior truths of faith is must be stated briefly. Truths which exist in the external man are called factual ones, but truths which exist in the internal man are called interior truths of faith. Factual truths reside in a person's memory, and when they are brought out from there they pass into the person's immediate awareness. But interior truths of faith are truths of life itself which are inscribed on the internal man, but few of which show up in the memory. These however are matters which will in the Lord's Divine mercy be spoken of more fully elsewhere. Factual truths and interior truths of faith were meant in Genesis 1:6-7 by the waters under the expanse and the waters above the expanse, 24; for the first chapter of Genesis deals in the internal sense with the new creation or the regeneration of a member of the celestial Church.

[4] The reason why 'Philistia', which also bordered on the land of Canaan as far as Tyre and Sidon, meant the interior truths of faith was that there also the representative Ancient Church had existed, as is evident from the remnants of Divine worship among them which are alluded to in historical sections and prophetical parts of the Word in which the Philistines and the land of Philistia are the subject, such as - in the prophetical parts - Jeremiah 25:20; Jeremiah 47:1-end; Ezekiel 16:27, 57; 25:15-16; Amos 1:8; Zephaniah 2:5; Zechariah 9:6; Psalms 56:1; ¹ 60:8; 83:7; 108:9. The situation with the Philistines was the same as it was with all the nations in the land of Canaan, in that they represented the Church's forms of good and its truths, and also evils and falsities. When the representative Ancient Church existed among them they represented celestial things which were aspects of good and spiritual things which were matters of truth. But when they fell away from true representative worship they began to represent devilish things which were aspects of evil and hellish things which were matters of falsity. This is the reason why 'Philistia', like all the other nations belonging to the land of Canaan in the Word, means either forms of good and truths, or else evils and falsities.

[5] The fact that interior truths of faith are meant by 'the Philistines' is clear in David,

Glorious things are to be spoken in you, O city of God. I will mention Rahab and Babel among those who know Me; also Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia. The latter was born here. ² Psalms 87:3-4.

'The city of God' means teachings presenting the truth of faith that are drawn from the Word, 402, 2268, 2449, 2712, 2943, 3216, 4492, 4493, 5297; 'Tyre' means cognitions or knowledge of truth and good, 1201, and so does 'Ethiopia', 116, 117. From this it is evident that 'Philistia' means knowledge of the truths of faith.

[6] In Amos,

Are you not like the children of the Ethiopians to Me, O children of Israel? Did I not cause Israel to come up from the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir? Amos 9:7.

This refers to the corruption and destruction of the Church after it had been established. 'The children of the Ethiopians' here are those in possession of cognitions of goodness and truth, which they use to substantiate evils and falsities, 1163, 1164. 'The children of Israel from the land of Egypt' are those who had been brought to spiritual truths and forms of good by means of factual truths, 'the children of Israel' being people in possession of spiritual truths and forms of good, thus in the abstract sense spiritual truths and forms of good, see 5414, 5801, 5803, 5806, 5812, 5817, 5819, 5826, 5833, 5879, 5951, 7957, 8234, and 'the land of Egypt' being factual truth, as shown above. The same is meant by 'the Philistines from Caphtor' and by 'the Syrians from Kir', to whom they are therefore likened. 'The Philistines from Caphtor' are people who had been brought to interior truths by means of exterior ones, but who perverted them and used them to substantiate falsities and evils, 1197, 1198, 3412, 3413, 3762, 8093, 8096, 8099, 8313, whereas 'the Syrians from Kir' are those who were in possession of cognitions of goodness and truth, which they likewise perverted, 1232, 1234, 3051, 3249, 3664, 3680, 4112.

[7] In Jeremiah,

... because of the day that is coming to lay waste all the Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper that is left, for Jehovah is laying waste the Philistines, the remnants of the island of Caphtor. Jeremiah 47:4.

The subject in Jeremiah 47 is the laying waste of the Church's truths of faith, interior truths of faith being meant by 'the Philistines' and exterior truths by 'the remnants of the island of Caphtor'.

[8] In Joel,

What have you to do with Me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the borders of Philistia? Swiftly 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. Joel 3:4-5.

'All the borders of Philistia' stands for all the interior and the exterior truths of faith; 'carrying silver and gold, and good and desirable treasures into their temples' stands for perverting truths and forms of good, and profaning them by putting them together with evils and falsities. For the meaning of 'silver and gold' as truths and forms of good, see 1551, 2954, 5658, 6112, 6914, 6917, 8932.

[9] In Obadiah,

At that time those in the south will be the heirs of the mountain of Esau, and of the plain of the Philistines, and they will become the heirs of the field of Ephraim; but Benjamin [will be the heir] of Gilead. Obad. verse 19.

This refers to the establishment of the Church; but spiritual things are implied by the names. 'Those in the south' are people who dwell in the light of truth, 1458, 3195, 3708, 5672, 5962; 'the mountain of Esau' is the good of love, 3300, 3322, 3494, 3504, 3576; 'the plain of the Philistines' is the truth of faith, 'the plain' being also that which constitutes matters of doctrine about faith, 2418; 'Ephraim' is the Church's power of understanding, 3969, 5354, 6222, 6234, 6238, 6267; 'Benjamin' is the Church's spiritual-celestial truth, 3969, 4592, 5686, 5689, 6440; and 'Gilead' is the corresponding exterior good, 4117, 4124, 4747.

[10] In Isaiah,

He will gather the outcasts of Israel, and will assemble the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. They will fly down onto the shoulder of the Philistines towards the sea, together they will plunder the sons of the east. Isaiah 11:12, 14.

Here 'Israel' and 'Judah' are not used to mean Israel and Judah; rather, 'Israel' means those who are governed by the good of faith, and 'Judah' those who are governed by the good of love. 'Flying down onto the shoulder of the Philistines' stands for receiving and taking into possession interior truths of faith; and 'plundering the sons of the east' stands for receiving and taking into possession interior forms of the good of faith, for 'the sons of the east' are people who are governed by forms of the good of faith and with whom cognitions or knowledge of good exists, 3249. 3762. For the meaning of 'plundering' as receiving and taking into possession, see what has been shown in 6914, 6917, regarding the plundering of the Egyptians by the children of Israel.

[11] Since 'the land of Philistia' meant knowledge of the interior truths of faith, and since Abraham and Isaac represented the Lord, and the sojourning of these two in places meant instruction received by the Lord in the truths and forms of the good of faith and love, which belong to God's wisdom, therefore - to provide a figurative representation of this - Abraham was commanded to sojourn in Philistia, Genesis 20:1-end, and so too was Isaac, Genesis 26:1-24. Therefore also Abimelech king of the Philistines made a covenant with Abraham, Genesis 21:22-end, and also with Isaac, Genesis 26:26-end. Regarding all this, see the explanations to those chapters.

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