4395. 'As he was coming from Paddan Aram' means that which happened after the previous state. This is clear from the meaning of 'as he was coming' as that which happened after, and from the meaning of 'Paddan Aram' as cognitions of good and truth, dealt with in 3664, 4107, 4112, though exterior cognitions which serve in the introduction of genuine goods and truths; for Laban dwelt there, and he represents the affection for that kind of good, see 3612, 3665, 3778, 3974, 3982, 3986 (end), 4063, 4189, 4206. Consequently the words 'as he was coming from Paddan Aram' are used because the point was reached when external truths and goods gave way to interior, and so when the previous state gave way to the present one.

2422. That 'Lot said to them, Not so, my Lords' means weakness in that he could not do so is clear from the affectional content of the words themselves, and also from what follows. The subject at this point is the third state of the Church which is represented in this chapter by 'Lot', a state in which men no longer think and act from the affection for good but from the affection for truth. This state takes over when the affection for good starts to decrease and so to speak to depart. Good is indeed present but it has withdrawn itself more towards the interior parts and therefore dwells in obscurity; yet it reveals itself in a type of affection, which is referred to as the affection for truth. What the affection for good is, and what the affection for truth, see 1997, and also 2425 just below. Not even the existence, still less the nature of these states is apparent to man; but those states are apparent to angels as in broad daylight; for the angels are in every good affection of a man. They are also apparent to the man himself when he enters the next life. It is in accordance with those affections and with their nature that the good are divided into separate communities, 685.