10481. 'That those rising up against them would annihilate them' means being left without any power to withstand evils [and falsities] that come from hell. This is clear from the meaning of 'being annihilated' as being deprived of all power to withstand evils and falsities, for in the spiritual world being deprived of that power is having no power at all; and from the meaning of 'those rising up', or enemies, as evils and resulting falsities, these being the enemies that rise up in the spiritual sense. Therefore also such evils and falsities are meant in the Word by 'enemies' and 'those rising up', 2851, 8289, 9255, 9314, as in David,

O Jehovah, how much my enemies have multiplied! Many are those rising up against me, saying regarding my soul, There is no salvation for him in God. Psalms 3:1-2.

In the same author,

Make Your mercy wonderful, O You who by Your right hand save those trusting [in You] from those rising up against them ¹ . Guard me from the wicked who lay me waste, from my enemies who surround me against my soul. Psalms 17:7-9.

In the same author,

Do not deliver me to the desire of my enemies, for false witnesses have risen against me, and he who breathes out violence, unless ² I believed I would see goodness in the land of life. Psalms 27:12-13.

In the same author,

O God, command the salvation ³ of Jacob. Through You we will strike our enemies; in Your name we will trample those rising up against us. Psalms 44:4-5.

In the same author,

Foreigners have risen up against me, and violent ones have sought my soul; they have not set God before them. The Lord is with those supporting my soul. Psalms 54:3-4.

In the same author,

Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; raise me up from those rising up against me. Deliver me from the workers of iniquity. Behold, they lie in wait for my soul. Psalms 59:1-3.

In these and very many other places 'enemies' and 'those rising up' mean evils and falsities which come from hell. The expression 'those rising up' is used because evils and falsities rise up against forms of good and truths, but not vice versa.

[2] Those whose interest lies in external things separated from what is internal have no power at all to withstand evils and falsities which come from hell because all power to withstand them comes from the Divine. Those therefore who are separated from what is internal, being separated from the Divine as well, have no power; as a result they are borne along by evils and falsities, wherever hell takes them, like fluff or a straw in the wind, as is plainly evident from the evil who enter the next life from the world. This was also represented by the Israelite nation, in that they were victorious over their enemies as long as they kept to the kind of worship which they had been commanded, but were defeated by them every time they forsook that worship, thus whenever they were ruled by evil, according to the following in Moses,

If you despise My statutes, the sound of a driven leaf will pursue you, and you will flee, like flight from the sword, and you will fall without [anyone] pursuing. They will stumble over one another ⁴ , as though before the sword, when no one is pursuing. Leviticus 26:15, 36-37.

And elsewhere,

One will pursue a thousand, and two ten thousand; for their Rock sold them, and Jehovah shut them up. Deuteronomy 32:30.

From all this it is evident what the meaning is of 'those rising up would annihilate them'.

Note a piè di pagina:

2712. 'He dwelt in the wilderness of Paran' means the life of the spiritual man as regards good. This is clear from the meaning of 'dwelling' as being used in reference to good residing in truth, which is spiritual good, that is, good present with the spiritual man. The essential nature of that good is described by his dwelling in the wilderness of Paran, dealt with immediately below. That 'dwelling' is used in reference to good residing in truth, or to the affection for truth, is clear from many places in the Word where it is said of cities, which mean truths, that they will be without any inhabitant, by whom good is meant, 2268, 2449, 2451; for truths are inhabited by good, and truths devoid of good are like a city that has no one dwelling in it, as in Zephaniah,

I have laid their streets waste, so that none passes through; their cities are desolate, so that there is no one dwelling in them. Zephaniah 3:6.

[2] In Jeremiah,

Jehovah was leading us through the wilderness. No man passed through in that [land], and no one dwelt there. They have turned his land into a solitary place, his cities have been burned, so that none is dwelling there. Jeremiah 2:6, 15.

In the same prophet,

Every city has been forsaken, with no one dwelling in them. Jeremiah 4:29.

In the same prophet,

In the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate there is no human being, no inhabitant, no beast. Jeremiah 33:10.

'Streets' stands for truths, 2336, 'no human being' for no celestial good, 'no inhabitant' for no spiritual good, 'no beast' for no natural good. In the same prophet,

The cities of Moab will become a desolation, with no one dwelling in them. Jeremiah 48:9.

[3] With each particular expression in the Prophets there exists the marriage of truth and good. Consequently when 'a city' is said to be desolate, the phrase 'no one dwelling in it' is also added, the reason being that 'a city' means truths and 'one dwelling in it' good. Otherwise it would be superfluous to say 'no one dwelling in it' when it has been stated that the city is desolate. In a similar way certain terms occur consistently to mean things that belong to celestial good, others that belong to spiritual good, and others also that belong to truths, as in Isaiah,

Your seed will possess the nations, and they will dwell in the desolate cities. Isaiah 54:3

Here 'possessing' has reference to celestial good, 'dwelling in' to spiritual good. In the same prophet,

My chosen ones will possess it, and My servants will dwell there. Isaiah 65:9.

Here the meaning is similar.

[4] In David,

God will save Zion and will build the cities of Judah; and they will dwell there and possess it, and the seed of His servants will inherit it, and those loving His name will dwell in it. Psalms 69:35-36.

'Dwelling there' and at the same time 'possessing' has reference to celestial good, 'dwelling in' to spiritual good. In Isaiah,

He who says to Jerusalem, You will be dwelt in; and to the cities of Judah, You will be built. Isaiah 44:26.

Here 'dwelling in' has reference to the good of the spiritual Church, which is Jerusalem. To such an extent do the terms used in the Word have reference to their own goods and their own truths that simply from a knowledge of that usage of terms one may recognize what the subject is in general that is being dealt with.