4494. Verses 25-29 And it happened on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, each took his sword, and came with confidence upon the city, and killed every male. And they killed Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and they took Dinah from Shechem's house, and went away. The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister. Their flocks, and their herds, and their asses, and whatever was in the city, and whatever was in the field, they took. And all their wealth, and all their young children, and their women, they took captive and plundered, and everything that was in the house.

'It happened on the third day' means that which is continuous even to the end. 'When they were in pain' means evil desires. 'That two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi' means faith and love. 'Dinah's brothers' means the truths and goods of that Church. 'Each took his sword' means falsity and evil. 'And came with confidence upon the city, and killed every male' means that they utterly destroyed the truths of doctrine of the Church among the Ancients. 'And [they killed] Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword' means the Church itself. 'And they took Dinah from Shechem's house, and went away' means that they took away the affection for truth. 'The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and plundered the city' means that all his descendants destroyed that doctrine. 'Because they had defiled their sister' means that they had violated the truth of faith. 'Their flocks, and their herds' means that they destroyed rational good and natural good. 'And their asses' means the truths derived from these. 'And whatever was in the city, and whatever was in the field, they took' means every truth and good of the Church. 'And all their wealth' means all factual knowledge which they had acquired for themselves. 'And all their young children' means all innocence. 'And their women' means charity. 'They took captive and plundered' means that they seized them and perverted them. 'And everything that was in the house' means everything of the Church.

4330. Inasmuch as the three heavens together constitute the Grand Man and, as has been stated above, all the members, viscera, and organs of the body correspond to it according to the functions and uses they serve, not only things which are external and outwardly visible correspond to it but also those which are internal and not outwardly visible. Consequently things of the external man correspond to it, and so do those of the internal man. The communities of spirits and angels to which things of the external man correspond come to a considerable extent from this planet, whereas the communities to which things of the internal man correspond come for the most part from elsewhere. These communities in the heavens act as one in the way that the external man and the internal man do with someone who is regenerate. But at the present day few from this planet are entering the next life with whom the external man acts in unison with the internal, for the majority are sensory-minded, so much so that there are few who believe anything other than that man's external constitutes the whole person and that when this departs, as happens when the person dies, scarcely anything is left which has life. Still less do they believe that there is an internal which has life within the external, and that when the external departs the internal especially has life.

[2] I was shown by an actual experience how these persons are opposed to the internal man. Very many spirits from this planet were present who had been like them when they lived in the world. Before their eyes there came other spirits who related to the internal sensory man, at which point they began instantly to annoy these other spirits, almost in the way irrational persons annoy rational ones by speaking and reasoning all the time from the misconceptions of the senses and from illusions resulting from such misconceptions and wholly groundless assumptions, and as they do so believing nothing except that which could be proved by external sensory evidence. And in addition to this those spirits subjected the internal man to insults.

[3] But those who related to the internal sensory man were not troubled at all by such things, being amazed not only at the madness of those spirits from this planet but also at their stupidity. And wonder that it was, when the external, sensory-minded spirits drew near the internal sensory ones and came virtually into the sphere of their thoughts the external, sensory-minded spirits began to find it difficult to breathe (for spirits and angels breathe no less than men, though their breathing in contrast to men's is internal, 3884, 3885 and following paragraphs, 3893) and so were almost choked, on account of which they drew back. And the further away they moved from the internal sensory-minded spirits the more tranquil and quiet it became among them because they found it easier to breathe, and again the nearer they came to them the more intranquil and unquiet it became.

[4] The reason for this was that when with external sensory-minded spirits their own misconceptions, delusions and groundless assumptions, and consequently falsities, are pre-eminent they feel tranquil but when conversely such things are removed from them, as happens when the internal man flows in with the light of truth, they feel intranquil. For thoughts and affections create spheres around themselves in the next life and these are communicated mutually from one party to another insofar as they become present with and draw near one another, 1048, 1053, 1316, 1504-1512, 1695, 2401, 2489. The conflict described lasted for several hours, and in that way I was shown how at the present day members of this planet are opposed to the internal man and that with them external sensory awareness constitutes almost the whole in them.