572. That they should kill the third part of men, signifies of depriving themselves of all understanding of truth, and thus of spiritual life. This is evident from the signification of "to kill," as being to deprive of spiritual life (See above, n. 547); and from the signification of "men," as being the understanding of truth (See also above, n. 546, 547); "the third part," in reference to truths, means all (See above, n. 506); so here "to kill the third part of men" signifies the deprivation of all understanding of truth. It means to deprive themselves, because those who become sensual through evils of life and falsities of doctrine deprive ¹ themselves, by reasonings from fallacies, of the understanding of truth, but not others, except such as are sensual. They thus deprive themselves of spiritual life, because man has spiritual life through his understanding, for he becomes a spiritual man in the measure in which his understanding is opened and permits itself to be enlightened by means of truths. But it is by means of truths from good that the understanding is opened, not by means of truths without good; for man thinks truth so far as he lives in the good of love and charity. Truth indeed is the form of good, and all good with man is of his will, and all truth is of his understanding; therefore the good of the will presents its form in the understanding, and the form itself is thought from the understanding which is from the will.

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8275. 'Pharaoh's chariots and his army He has thrown into the sea' means the particular and the general falsities arising from evil of those belonging to the Church who led a life of evil in it, and the fact that at His presence those falsities have cast themselves into the hells. This is clear from the meaning of 'chariots' as falsities, dealt with in 8146, 8148, 8215, at this point particular falsities since the word 'army', meaning general falsities, is also used (for the meaning of 'army' as falsities, see 3448, 8138, 8146, 8148); from the representation of 'Pharaoh' and of 'the Egyptians' as those belonging to the Church who uphold separated faith and lead a life of evil, and are therefore steeped in utter falsities arising from evil, dealt with in 7926, 8132, 8135, 8138, 8148; and from the meaning of 'the sea', the Sea Suph at this point, as the hell where those steeped in those falsities are, dealt with in 8099, 8137, 8148, so that 'He has thrown into the sea' means that He has cast into hell, in the internal sense that they have cast themselves into it simply at the presence of the Lord, see 8265. From all this it is evident that 'Pharaoh's chariots and his army He has thrown into the sea' means that the particular and the general falsities arising from evil of those belonging to the Church who led a life of evil in it have cast themselves at the presence of the Lord into the hells.