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.

7039. 'Behold, I kill your son, your firstborn' means the annihilation of faith devoid of charity, and the consequent devastation of truth among them. This is clear from the meaning of 'killing' as annihilation; and from the meaning of 'firstborn son', that is to say, of Pharaoh and the Egyptians, as faith devoid of charity, dealt with in 3325. For 'Pharaoh' and 'the Egyptians' have represented the facts known to the Church, 4749, 4964, 4966, 6004, thus known facts which form part of faith since these facts are ones that the Church possesses. But because they turned that factual knowledge into magic, 6692, and their deeds were as a consequence evil and devoid of any charity, the mere knowledge of matters of faith, thus faith without charity, is meant by 'their firstborn sons'. That the mere knowledge of them is meant by 'the firstborn of Egypt' is evident from the meaning of 'the firstborn of Israel' as the faith that is wedded to charity, dealt with above in 7075.

[2] The expression 'faith devoid of charity' is used, but faith in this case is used to mean the mere knowledge of matters of faith, because faith cannot exist where there is no charity. With those who are not governed by charity matters of faith are merely items stored in the memory; and in the memory they take the same form as any other factual knowledge. Nor does any real knowledge of the truth that composes faith reside there, because it has been debased by false ideas and also serves as the means to bolster up falsities. Since this is what faith devoid of charity is like, it is annihilated among the wicked in the next life, with whom truth suffers complete devastation. This is allowed to happen to prevent them from using truths as the means to attain evil objectives, and so to prevent hell from dominating in any way among them over such things as belong to heaven, and to guard against their being left hanging as a consequence between heaven and hell. Such annihilation and such devastation of truth is what is meant by the firstborn in Egypt being killed. The destruction after that of the Egyptians in the Sea Suph represented a subsequent state of damnation or spiritual death of such people; for once they have been deprived of matters of faith or truth, which were like wings lifting them up, they immediately drop like weights into hell.