2444. Jehovah caused it to rain upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire. That this signifies the hell of those who are in the evils of the love of self and the falsities thence derived, is evident from the signification of “raining,” as being to be damned; of “brimstone,” as being the hell of the evils of the love of self; and of “fire,” as being the hell of the falsities thence derived, concerning which presently; also from the signification of “Sodom,” as being the evil of the love of self; and of “Gomorrah,” as being the falsity thence derived (see n. 2220, 2246, 2322).

[2] Here “Gomorrah” is also mentioned, for the first time in this chapter, for the reason that “Gomorrah” signifies the falsity that comes from the evil of the love of self. For within the church, whose last period or Judgment is here treated of, this evil is that which chiefly acts against good, and its falsity is that which acts against truth; and these two things are so conjoined that he who is in the one is also in the other, and indeed in a like ratio and a like degree. It does indeed appear otherwise, but yet is plainly so in the other life, if not in the world. (As regards the love of self, its nature, the vastness of the evils that come from it, and that it is the source of the hells, see n. 693, 694, 760, 1307, 1308, 1321, 1594, 1691, 2041, 2045, 2051, 2057, 2219).

1308. And let us make us a name. That this signifies that thereby they might have a reputation for power, may be seen from the signification of “making oneself a name.” For they knew that everyone desires to be in some worship; for this is common to all, and exists among all nations. For everyone who beholds the universe, and still more who considers the order of the universe, acknowledges some supreme being or entity [summum ens], and as he desires his own prosperity, he pays adoration to that entity. Moreover there is something within, which dictates this, for such a dictate flows in from the Lord through the angels who are with every man.

The man who is not like this, and who does not acknowledge a God, is under the dominion of infernal spirits. Knowing this, they who build Babylonish towers make themselves a name by means of doctrinal and holy things, for otherwise they could not be worshiped, which is signified in what next follows by their otherwise being scattered over the faces of the whole earth, that is, they would not be acknowledged. And from this it follows that the higher such men can lift up the head to heaven, the more they make themselves a name. Their dominion is greatest over those who have some conscience; for these they lead whithersoever they will; but as to those who have not conscience, they rule all such by means of various external bonds.