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.

Poznámky pod čarou:

3412. 'All the wells which his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines stopped them up' means that people who possessed knowledge of cognitions did not wish to know interior truths that came from the Divine and so effaced them. This is clear from the meaning of 'wells' as truths, dealt with in 2702, 3096, here interior truths coming from the Divine since the wells, which mean truths, are said to have been dug by 'his father's servants in the days of Abraham his father' - 'Abraham' representing the Lord's Divine itself, 2011, 2833, 2836, 3251, 3305 (end); from the meaning of 'stopping up' as not wishing to know and so effacing; and from the representation of 'the Philistines' as people who possess no more than a knowledge of cognitions, dealt with in 1197, 1198.

[2] The subject at this point is the appearances of truth that belong to the lower degree, which are able to exist with those who possess a knowledge of cognitions and whom 'the Philistines' are used to mean here. With regard to the interior truths that come from the Divine and are effaced by those called the Philistines, the position is that in the Ancient Church and after it the name Philistines was used for those who gave little thought to life and very much to doctrine, and who in course of time even rejected matters of life and acknowledged matters of faith - which faith was separated from life - as being the essential element of the Church. As a consequence they attached no importance at all to matters of doctrine concerning charity which in the Ancient Church constituted the all of doctrine, and so they effaced it. Instead they proclaimed matters of doctrine concerning faith and centred the whole of their religion in these. And since in this way they departed from the life of charity, that is, from charity as the sum and substance of life, they more than all others were called 'the uncircumcised'. For by 'the uncircumcised' were meant all in whom charity was not present, no matter how much doctrine they knew, 2049 (end).

[3] Because such people departed from charity they also removed themselves from wisdom and intelligence, for no one can have a wise and intelligent discernment of what truth is unless good, that is, charity, reigns in him. Indeed all truth originates in good and has regard to good, so that anyone who is devoid of good is unable to have an intelligent discernment of truth, and does not even wish to know it. When such people in the next life are far away from heaven, light bright as snow is sometimes seen to be with them. But that light is like the light in wintertime which, being devoid of warmth, is unproductive. This also explains why, when such persons draw near to heaven, their light is converted into utter darkness, and their minds into something akin to that darkness, which is stupidity. From these considerations it may now be seen what is meant by the statement that people who possessed no more than a knowledge of cognitions did not wish to know interior truths that came from the Divine and so effaced them.