9313. I will act as an enemy against thine enemies. That this signifies that the Lord will avert all falsities derived from evil, is evident from the signification of “acting as an enemy,” when said of Jehovah or the Lord, as being to avert (of which in what follows); and from the signification of “thine enemies,” as being falsities derived from evil, for in the spiritual sense these are “enemies,” because they continually infest, attack, and endeavor to destroy truths derived from good; for they are opposites. That “to act as an enemy,” when said of Jehovah or the Lord, denotes to avert, namely, falsities derived from evil, is because the Lord never acts as an enemy; for He is mercy itself and good itself; and into mercy itself and into good itself enmity cannot enter, not even against falsity and evil. But falsity and evil act with enmity against good and truth; that is, those who are in falsity and evil are against those who are in truth and good; and it is because the former destroy themselves when they attempt to destroy the latter, that it appears as if the Lord acts as an enemy, when yet He only sets His own in safety. From this it is plain how it is to be understood that by “acting as an enemy,” when said of the Lord, is signified to avert falsities derived from evil. (As further regards this secret, see what has been shown in n. 4299, 7643, 7679, 7710, 7926, 7989, 8137, 8146, 8197, 8265, 8946)