8093. 'That God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines' means that the Divine saw to it that they should not pass on to the truth of faith that does not spring from good. This is clear from the meaning of 'God did not lead them by the way' as the Divine saw to it that they should not pass on to, for 'leading', when done by God, means providence, and 'the way' means truth, 627, 2333, in this instance passing on to it; and from the representation of 'the Philistines' as those who have a knowledge of the cognitions of faith but do not lead a life of charity, dealt with in 1197, 1198, 3412, 3413, thus those who possess the truth of faith that does not spring from good. The fact that 'the Philistines' and 'the land of the Philistines' have this meaning may be recognized from places in the Word where they are mentioned, in particular in Jeremiah 47:1-end, where they are described, also in Joel 3:5-6, as well as from the historical accounts in the Word referring to wars between the children of Israel and the Philistines, to the subjection of the children of Israel by the Philistines and then of the Philistines by the children of Israel. By 'the Philistines' in these places those who champion separated faith are represented, that is, people for whom the knowledge of cognitions of faith is all-important but not a life led in accordance with that knowledge, consequently people who teach and believe that a person is saved by faith alone.

[2] This particular belief about faith alone or separated faith is not new or something that belongs solely to the present time. It had come to exist in the ancient Churches, growing ever stronger along with evil in life. It is also described in various places in the Word, but by means of names, by Cain' first, in that he killed his brother Abel, 337, 340, 1179. In the internal representative sense of that story 'Cain' is that kind of faith, while 'Abel' is charity. Such faith is also described by 'Ham', when cursed by his father, 1062, 1063; after that by 'Reuben', in that he went up to his father's bed, 3870, 4601, and by 'Simeon and Levi', in that they killed Hamor and the men of Shechem and were for that reason cursed by their father, 3870, 6352. That faith is also described by 'the Egyptians' and by 'their firstborn', in that the latter were killed, 7766, 7778, and the former drowned in the Sea Suph. It is described too by 'the Philistines', 3412, 3413, and also by 'Tyre and Sidon', in various places in the Prophets; there a knowledge of the cognitions of faith is meant by 'the Philistines', and the cognitions themselves, interior and exterior, by 'Tyre and Sidon'. Lastly such faith is represented by 'Peter' when he denied the Lord three times, 6000, 6073(end). But see what has been shown already regarding this faith, in 36, 379, 389, 916, 1017, 1076, 1077, 1162, 1176, 1798, 1799, 1834, 1844, 2049, 2116, 2228, 2231, 2261, 2343, 2349, 2364, 2383, 2385, 2401, 2435, 2982, 3146, 3242, 3325, 3412, 3413, 3416, 3427, 3773, 4663, 4672, 4673, 4683, 4721, 4730, 4766, 4783, 4925, 5351, 5820, 5826, 6269, 6272, 6273, 6348, 6353, 7039, 7097, 7127, 7317, 7502, 7545, 7623-7627, 7724, 7779, 7790, 7950.

4766. 'And I, where do I go?' means, Where now is the Church? This is clear from the representation of 'Reuben' as the Church's faith in general, dealt with in 4731, 4734, 4761. And because Reuben says of himself, 'And I, where do I go?' the meaning is, Where now is the Church's faith? or what amounts to the same, Where now is the Church? For the Church does not exist where no heavenly Joseph - that is, no Lord as regards Divine Truth - does so. In particular it has no existence where the Divine Truth that the Lord's Human is Divine and the Truth that charity, and therefore the works of charity, is the essential element of the Church have no existence, as may be seen from what has been shown in this chapter about these two Truths.

[2] If there is no acceptance of this Divine Truth, that the Lord's Human is Divine, then of necessity it follows that a triad and not a single entity should be worshipped, and only half the Lord, that is, His Divine but not His Human (for is there anyone who worships that which is not Divine?) Is the Church anything when a triad is worshipped, each of the three separately from another, or what amounts to the same, when equal homage is paid to each of them? For although the three are called one, thought still keeps them separate and makes them three, the declaration 'a single entity' being no more than a saying spoken with the lips. Let anyone ask himself, when he says that he acknowledges and believes in one God, whether or not he has thoughts of three. Or when he says that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and that these are distinct and separate both in their persons and as to their functions, whether he can think that there is one God, except in the way that three who are distinct from one another make one through unanimity and also through deference insofar as one goes forth from another. When therefore three gods are worshipped, where then is the Church?

[3] But if the Lord alone is worshipped, in whom the perfect Triad dwells, and in whom is the Father and the Father in Him, as He Himself says in the following places -

Even though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father. John 10:38.

He who has seen Me has seen the Father. Do you not believe, Philip, that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me. John 14:9-11.

He who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. John 12:45.

All Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine. John 17:10.

- then it is a Christian Church, as it is when it keeps to the following spoken by the Lord,

The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord; therefore you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. The second is like it, You shall love your neighbour as yourself. There Is no other commandment greater than these. Mark 12:29-31.

'The Lord our God' is the Lord, see Matthew 4:7, 10; 22:43-44; Luke 1:16-17; John 20:28, 'Jehovah' in the Old Testament being called 'the Lord' in the New, see 2921.

[4] If this Divine Truth too goes unaccepted both in doctrine and in life - the Truth that love towards the neighbour, that is, charity, and therefore the works of charity, is the essential element of the Church - then of necessity it follows that thinking what is true exists in the Church but not thinking what is good. That being so, the thought of one who belongs to the Church may consist of elements that contradict and stand opposed to each other; that is to say, thinking what is evil and thinking what is true may be present simultaneously. In thinking what is evil he lives with the devil and in thinking what is true he does so with the Lord. But truth and evil cannot possibly be in accord,

No one can serve two masters, either he will hate the one and love the other . . . Luke 16:13.

When faith separated from charity advocates this, and endorses it in life, then no matter how much it talks about the fruits of faith, where indeed is the Church?