2382. 'And the men who were at the door of the house' means rational concepts and matters of doctrine deriving from these by means of which violence is offered to good flowing from charity. This is clear from the meaning of 'the men' as rational concepts, dealt with in 158, 1007; from the meaning of 'a door' as something that introduces or affords access, which leads either to truth or to good, and so means something to do with doctrine, dealt with above in 2356; and from the meaning of 'a house' as good that flows from charity, dealt with in various places. The subject here being those who 'came near to break down the door', that is, who tried to destroy the good of charity as well as the Lord's Divinity and His Holiness, 2376, rational concepts that are evil and derivative matters of doctrine that are false are meant, by means of which violence is offered to the good of charity.

8094. 'Although that was near' means that this is the first to present itself. This is clear from the meaning of 'being near', when said in reference to separated faith, as the fact that it is the first to present itself. A brief statement needs to be made about how one should understand this explanation, that the particular belief regarding separated faith or faith alone is the first to present itself. Evil in life is accompanied by its own falsity, and a person subject to evil in life has this falsity hidden away inside himself. Sometimes he does not even know that it is there. But the moment he thinks about the Church's truths, and in particular about salvation, that falsity emerges and reveals itself; and if he is unable to deny the truth itself, the general aspects of it, he explains it in a way to suit his evil, and in so doing falsifies it. When therefore he thinks about faith and charity, which are the indispensable elements of the Church and of salvation, faith instantly presents itself, but not charity since this is opposed to evil in life. As a consequence too he sets aside charity and gives preference to faith alone. From this it is evident that the truths of faith are 'near', but not forms of the good of faith; that is, those truths are the first to present themselves, but not these forms of good.

[2] From this incorrect and false starting-point many more ideas that are false and incorrect then follow, such as the ideas that good works contribute nothing to salvation; that a person's life does not follow him after death; that a person is then saved by mercy alone through faith, irrespective of the life he has been leading in the world; that the worst criminal is saved through faith in the final hour of his life; and that evils are wiped away in an instant. These and others like them are the ideas that enter human thought and establish themselves from that false starting-point; they extend from it in a continuous chain. But the way in which these ideas are seen would be altogether different if charity and life were the starting-point.

4673. 'Was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's womenfolk' means that he was cast away from them. This is clear from the meaning of 'the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah' as exterior or lower affections for truth that serve as means, dealt with in 3849, 3931. Thus 'with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah' means that Divine Truth, represented by 'Joseph', was cast away among lower things which, compared with higher, are ones that serve. Divine Truth is said to be cast away among lower things when faith is placed before charity, that is, is made first in people's hearts, and charity is placed behind faith and made secondary in their hearts. For all Divine Truth exists from Divine Good and proceeds from it; and if the same is not so with man he is not 'in the Lord'. This Divine Truth is the holiness of the spirit which proceeds from the Lord and is called the Paraclete and the Spirit of truth in John 14:16-17.