8343. 'The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea' means that as a result simply of His presence falsities in faith and evils in life cast themselves into hell. This is clear from the meaning of 'horse and rider' as falsities arising from evil, dealt with in 8146, 8148; and from the meaning of 'throwing into the sea' as into hell, dealt with in 8099, 8137, 8138. As regards its happening as a result simply of the Lord's presence, see 8137 (end), 8265. The reason for saying that the falsities and evils cast themselves into hell is that falsities and evils themselves are what are cast into hell, and these drag down with them the people to whom they cling. For through evil in life a person becomes a form of the falsity that arises from evil; consequently when evils themselves accompanied by falsities are thrown down, forms to which they cling are dragged down together with them. Falsities and evils are emanations from the hells, flowing in among those who through evils in life have made their inner selves into forms that receive those emanations, since everything composing thought and will flows in, what is good from heaven, but what is bad from hell, see 2886-2888, 4151, 4249, 5846, 6189, 6191, 6193, 6203, 6206, 6213, 6324, 6325, 7147, 7343. These then are the reasons for saying that the falsities in faith and evils in life cast themselves into hell. On account of this when angels think and talk about the hells they think and talk about falsities and evils completely separate from the inhabitants there; for angels always banish ideas that focus on persons and confine themselves to those that focus on things, 5225, 5287, 5434.

5945. 'Take for yourselves from the land of Egypt carts' means matters of doctrine belonging to factual knowledge. This is clear from the meaning of 'the land of Egypt' as factual knowledge, dealt with already; and from the meaning of 'carts' as matters of doctrine. Chariots and horses are mentioned in various places in the Word where Egypt is the subject. There 'chariots' is used to mean matters of doctrine, sometimes false, at other times true ones, while 'horses' is used to mean intellectual concepts, likewise true or false ones. (For the meaning of 'chariots' as matters of doctrine, see 5721.) It is similar with 'carts' there, but matters of doctrine belonging to factual knowledge are meant by them. Matters of doctrine belonging to factual knowledge are religious teachings drawn from the literal sense of the Word, which serve especially those people who are being introduced for the first time to interior truths that the Church possesses, such as the teaching that good should be done above all to widows, to orphans, and to the poor in the streets. Other such religious teachings are contained in the ten commandments. These and many other teachings are matters of doctrine belonging to factual knowledge and are meant by 'carts belonging to Egypt'. Because such matters of doctrine are the first to be learned by a person they also serve him subsequently as a groundwork; for when progress is made towards more internal teachings those learned first become the last and lowest. Moreover celestial and spiritual realities actually terminate in them, for they stand and rest so to speak on the matters of doctrine learned first. Indeed the spiritual world has so to speak its feet and the soles of its feet planted on the natural world; and so far as his spiritual life is concerned a person has his feet planted on matters of doctrine that belong to factual knowledge. The internal sense of the Word rests in a similar way on its literal sense. The particular word for 'carts', by which those matters of doctrine are meant, occurs in only a few places in the Word. It is used in the original language where it is said that the Ark was placed on one, 1 Samuel 6:7; 2 Samuel 6:3; and also when the tabernacle was consecrated, Numbers 7:3. The reason for the use of the word is that 'the Ark' represented heaven, 3478, which stands and rests, as has been stated, on matters of doctrine belonging to factual knowledge.