3074. What these three verses contain in the internal sense may be seen to some small extent from the explanation given. Yet because their contents are diffuse, the line of thought which runs through them cannot be seen unless they are viewed collectively as one entire idea, and unless at the same time one moves one's attention away from the sense of the letter. As long as one's attention rests there one's entire idea is not only muddled but also subjected to doubt. And to the extent it is subjected to doubt the mind is enveloped in obscurity. Described here in summary form is the process of how truth comes to be seen by means of facts - of how it is raised up from those facts, out of the natural man into the rational man and becomes rational truth, which in the Lord's case was Divine. In His case it was effected by an influx of Divine Love into the Human, from which came the affection for truth having innocence within it. That influx threw light on the facts present in the natural man, and the truths there, which were to be raised up into the Rational and here joined to the Good of Divine love, became visible. These same considerations are described in greater detail in what follows. But anyone who does not know that every single thing, even in the natural man, is ordered by means of the influx of love, and from that, of affection that has innocence within it, can have none but a very obscure concept, if any at all, of the things stated above and now here.

2397. 'And Jehovah has sent us to destroy it' means that they must inevitably perish - these words being similar in meaning to the things stated above in 2395. By the pronoun 'us', that is, the men or the angels, is meant the Lord's Divine Human and His Holy proceeding, as shown above. By means of these the good were saved and the evil perished; though the latter in fact perished according to the law that evil itself destroyed them. And because they perished in this fashion, doing so as a result of the Lord's Coming into the world, it is said according to the appearance that they were sent to destroy them.

[2] Several times in the Word it is said of the Lord that He was 'sent from the Father', as is said here, 'Jehovah has sent us'. In every instance however 'being sent' means in the internal sense coming forth, as in John,

They have received and know in truth that I came forth from You, and they have believed that You sent Me. John 17:8.

Similarly elsewhere, as in the same gospel,

God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. John 3:17.

In the same gospel,

He who does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent Him. John 5:23

Many other examples exist besides these, as in Matthew 10:40; 15:24; John 3:34; 4:34; 5:30, 36-38; 6:29, 39-40, 44, 57; 7:16, 18, 28-29; 8:16, 18, 29, 42; 9:4; 10 John 36; 11:41-42; 12:44-45, 49; 13:20; 14:24; 17:18; 20:21; Luke 4:43; 9:48; 10:16; Mark 9:37; Isaiah 61:1.

[3] The Holiness of the Spirit is in similar fashion spoken of as being sent, that is, as going forth from the Lord's Divine, as in John,

Jesus said, When the Paraclete comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, even the spirit of truth who goes forth from the Father, He will bear witness to Me. John 15:26.

In the same gospel,

If I go away I will send the Paraclete to you. John 16:5, 7.

This is why the prophets were spoken of as being 'sent', for the words they uttered went forth from the Holiness of the Lord's Spirit. And because it is from Divine Good that all Divine Truth goes forth the expression 'to be sent' strictly speaking has reference to Divine Truth. What 'going forth' is, is also evident, namely that he who goes forth, or the thing that goes forth, is part of him from whom it goes forth.