10483. 'And Moses stood in the gate of the camp' means where the opening to hell is situated. This is clear from the representation of 'Moses' as the internal, dealt with above in 10468; from the meaning of 'in the gate' as where the opening is situated, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'the camp' as hell, also dealt with above, in 10458. The reason why Moses stood in the gate of the camp and did not go inside the actual camp was in order that the impossibility for the internal to enter hell might be represented; for Moses represented the internal and the camp represented hell. The interest of all those in hell lies in external things separated from what is internal, because self-love and love of the world rule within them. Therefore what is internal cannot go in there since it is not received. Instead some who are there immediately reject it, some smother it and snuff it out, and some pervert it. Whether you say the internal or heaven, it amounts to the same thing; for heaven constitutes what is internal, not only the internal side of the Word but also the internal side of the Church and of worship, consequently the internal of the person who has celestial and spiritual love reigning within him, that is, love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour.

[2] What hell's opening is, meant by 'the gate' of this camp, must be stated briefly. Each hell is closed all the way around it, but it is opened above as necessity and need demand. It is an opening into the world of spirits, the world that lies midway between heaven and hell; for that world serves as the upper boundary of the hells and as the lower boundary of the heavens, 5852. The reason for saying that they are opened as necessity and need demand is that each person in the world has spirits present with him from hell, and angels from heaven. The spirits from hell are present in his bodily and worldly loves, and the angels from heaven in those which are celestial and spiritual; for without the spirits the person can have no life at all. If the spirits were taken away from him he would drop dead as a stone. Consequently to enable a person to lead a life in keeping with his loves the hells are opened of necessity and as need demands, and from there such spirits come out to him as are ruled by loves similar to his.

[3] That opening is what should be understood by the gate of hell. I have been allowed several times to see such openings. They are gates which the Lord guards by means of angels, to stop more spirits than are needed from coming out of there. From this it is evident what 'the gates of hell' and 'the gates of enemies' mean in the Word, as in Matthew,

Jesus said to Peter, On this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18.

'The gates of hell will not prevail' means that the hells will not dare to come out and destroy the truths of faith, 'the rock' on which the Church stands being faith in the Lord received from the Lord. This faith is the faith of charity because it is rooted in charity and for that reason makes one with it.

'The rock' means that faith, see Preface to Genesis 22, and also 8581, 10438.

Real faith consists in charity, 654, 1162, 1176, 1608, 2228, 2343, 2349, 2419, 2839, 3324, 4368, 6348, 7039, 7623-7627, 7752-7762, 8530, 9154, 9783, 9924.

[4] The like is also meant by your seed will inherit the gate of their enemies, Genesis 22:17; 24:60. 'Inheriting the gate of their enemies' means destroying evils and falsities which come from hell. This was also represented by driving out and destroying the nations in the land of Canaan; for the nations there represented evils and falsities which come from hell, see 1573, 1574, 1868, 4818, 6306, 8054, 8317, 9320, 9327.

Also in David,

Those who dwell in the gate plot against me; those who drink strong wine sing songs. Psalms 69:12.

In the same author,

Blessed is the man who has filled his quiver. They will not be put to shame, for they will speak with enemies in the gate. Psalms 127:5.

'Gates' in the good sense however stands for the opening into heaven.

In David,

Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up, O eternal doors, and the King of glory will come in. Psalms 24:7-10.

In addition admission into heaven and into the Church through truth and good is meant in the Word by 'gates', and also good and truth flowing in and present with a person.

1444. 'And the Canaanite was at that time in the land' means the hereditary evil from the mother, in His external man. This becomes clear from what has been stated already about the Lord's heredity; for He was born as any other is born and from the mother acquired evils which He fought against and overcame. It is well known that the Lord underwent and endured very severe temptations - which will in the Lord's Divine mercy be described further on - temptations so great in fact that He fought by Himself and from His own power against the whole of hell. Nobody can undergo temptation unless he has evil clinging to him. The person who has no evil cannot experience the smallest temptation, for it is evil that spirits from hell stir up.

[2] With the Lord no evil of His own doing or that was His own was present, as there is with all human beings, only hereditary evil from the mother, which is here called 'the Canaanite at that time in the land'. For this matter see what has been stated above in verse 1, in 1414, to the effect that people are born with two heredities in them, the first from the father, the second from the mother. What comes from the father remains for ever, but what comes from the mother is dispelled by the Lord when the person is being regenerated. The Lord's heredity from His Father however was Divine, while the heredity from the mother was the hereditary evil referred to here, through which He underwent temptations. Regarding His temptations, see Mark 1:12-13; Matthew 4:1; Luke 4:1-2. But, as has been stated, He had no evil of His own doing or which was His own, nor did He have any hereditary evil from the mother after He had overcome hell by means of temptations. It is for this reason that the expression at that time occurs here, that is to say, 'the Canaanite was at that time in the land'.

[3] The Canaanites were people who dwelt by the sea and by the bank of the Jordan, as is clear in Moses,

The spies returned and said, We came into the land to which you sent us, and it is indeed flowing with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Nevertheless the people dwelling in the land are powerful and the cities are very strongly fortified, and also we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekite dwells in the south, and the Hittite, Jebusite, and Amorite dwell in the mountains, and the Canaanite dwells by the sea and by the bank of the Jordan. Numbers 13:27-29.

'The Canaanite dwelt by the sea and by the bank of the Jordan' meant evil consequently residing with the external man, such as that acquired by heredity from the mother, for the sea and the Jordan were boundaries.

[4] That this kind of evil is meant by 'the Canaanite' is clear also in Zechariah,

And there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of Jehovah Zebaoth on that day. Zechariah 14:21.

This refers to the Lord's kingdom. It means that the Lord overcame the evil meant by 'the Canaanite' and drove it out of His kingdom. Evils of every kind are meant by the idolatrous nations in the land of Canaan, among which were the Canaanites, Genesis 15:19-21; Exodus 3:8, 17; 23:23, 28; 33:2; 34:11; Deuteronomy 7:1; 20:17; Joshua 3:10; 24:11; Judges 3:5. Which evil is meant by each nation specifically will in the Lord's Divine mercy be stated elsewhere.