8313. 'Distress took hold of the inhabitants of Philistia' means despair of enlarging their dominion, on the part of those upholding faith separated from good. This is clear from the meaning of 'distress' as despair, because they could not any longer enlarge their dominion, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'the inhabitants of Philistia' as those who uphold faith alone separated from the good of charity, dealt with in 1197, 1198, 3412, 3413, 8093, 8096, 8099. They are distinguished from the Egyptians by the fact that they rule out the good deeds of charity, in the belief that a person is saved without them by faith. This main tenet in their doctrine gives birth to a large number of errors, such as these: Salvation is attributable to mercy, irrespective of the life the person has been leading; all his sins and evils are washed away through faith, enabling him to walk as someone who has been made righteous; his salvation can be accomplished in an instant, even through faith and truth attained at the final hour of his death; consequently it is not the affection belonging to heavenly love that makes heaven in a person. People subscribing to these errors are Philistines; and they are called 'uncircumcised' because of the evils of self-love and love of the world in which their life consists.

[2] The reason why 'distress' here means despair is that extreme distress should be understood, or pain like that suffered by women in labour. The word in the original language also means that kind of pain. Despair or the extremes of distress are actually described in the Word as 'the pain of a woman in labour', for example in David,

The kings assembled themselves. Terror seized them, pain as of a woman in labour. Psalms 48:4, 6.

In Jeremiah,

O dweller in Lebanon, having a nest in the cedars, how much grace will you find when distresses come to you, pain as of a woman in labour? Jeremiah 22:23.

In the same prophet,

The king of Babel has heard the report about them, consequently his hands have become feeble; anguish has taken hold of him, pain as of a woman in labour. Jeremiah 50:43.

In Isaiah,

The day of Jehovah is near, like devastation from Shaddai. Therefore all hands are feeble, and every human heart melts, and they are terrified; pangs and distresses take hold of them, they are in labour, like a woman giving birth. Isaiah 13:6-8.

[3] In Jeremiah,

behold, a people coming from the land of the north, and a mighty nation will be stirred up from the furthest parts of the earth. They lay hold on bow and spear; it is cruel and they do not have any pity. Their voice resounds like the sea, and they ride on horses, [every one] prepared as a man for battle against you, O daughter of Zion. We have heard the report about it, our hands have grown feeble. Anguish has laid hold on us, pain as of a woman in labour. Jeremiah 6:22-24.

This refers to truth being laid waste as experienced by those ruled by evil. 'A people from the land of the north' stands for those steeped in falsities arising from evil. 'A mighty nation from the uttermost parts of the earth' stands for those steeped in evils which are altogether opposed to good. 'They lay hold on bow and spear' stands for the fact that they draw on false teachings when they engage in conflict. 'Their voice resounds like the sea' stands for reasoning based on those teachings. 'They ride on horses' stands for arguments seemingly based on understanding. 'Prepared as a man for battle' stands for the desire to attack truth. 'Daughter of Zion' stands for the Church where good exists. 'Anguish has laid hold' stands for distress, because truths might undergo molestation. 'Pain as of a woman in labour' stands for despair, because good might suffer harm. From all this it is evident that 'pain' in this instance means despair on account of harm that might be done to good.

[4] The reason why 'distress took hold of the inhabitants of Philistia' means despair or lack of hope of enlarging their dominion is that the Philistines, that is, those who suppose that salvation comes as a result of faith alone without the good deeds of charity, in the next life strive unceasingly after dominion, fighting against others. They do not stop until they undergo vastation of their knowledge of cognitions or matters of faith. Every person in the next life retains the tenets of the faith he possessed during his lifetime; and no other people exchange them for truths except those who have done what is good in life, since good desires truth and welcomes it freely because it is of a similar nature. But those who have done what is bad in life do not exchange them. Those people are so to speak hard, and also they reject truths. Furthermore they live in obscurity, so that they cannot even see them. They see only whatever endorses the ideas they have adopted and nothing whatever that goes against them. Such people also imagine that they have more intelligence than everyone else; yet they know nothing except to use reasonings based on the ideas they have adopted. This is why they are people who attack charity very strongly, consequently are people who wish to dominate. For those who are governed by charity are humble, and wish - as though lowest in rank - to serve all. But those who are ruled by faith without charity are haughty, and wish - as though highest in rank - to be served by all. This also is why they consider heaven to consist in the glory of dominion, imagining - because they suppose that they have more intelligence than all others - that they will be archangels and that very many others will for that reason serve them, a supposition also in keeping with the words in Daniel,

Those who have intelligence will shine like the brightness of the expanse, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars for ever and ever. ¹ Daniel 12:3.

But instead of brightness theirs is darkness.

Footnotes:

9154. 'The master of the house shall be brought to God' means enquiring of good. This is clear from the meaning of 'being brought to God' as being brought forward for enquiry to be made, dealt with below in 9160; and from the meaning of 'the master of the house' as good which is enquired of. The reason why 'the master of the house' means good is that the subject is truths and factual knowledge that have been taken away from the memory, meant by 'the silver and the vessels which were delivered to someone for safe keeping but were taken away by theft', 9149, 9150. Since those truths and factual knowledge belong to good and exist in good 'the master of the house', to whom the objects belong and with whom they reside, means good. Good is called 'the master' because truths and factual knowledge belong to good as their master, and good is also called 'the house' because truths and factual knowledge exist within good as their house. For the meaning of 'the house' as good, and the fact that truths reside in that house, see 3652, where the Lord's words in Matthew are explained,

Let him who is on the roof of the house not go down to take anything out of the house. Matthew 24:17.

[2] The implications of this - that good should be enquired of regarding truths and factual knowledge that have been taken away from the memory - are that the good present with a person is that which receives all truths into itself. For good receives its specific quality from truths; and in the measure that truths have good within them and also around them they have life. This is like a fibre or like a vessel in a living creature. In the measure that the fibre has spirit ¹ in it and in the measure that the vessel has blood in it they have life; and a blood vessel likewise has life in the measure that it has around itself fibres with spirit in them. A similar situation exists with truth and good. Truth without good is like a fibre without spirit, and like a vein or an artery without blood, the nature of which anyone can see, namely something devoid of life and so devoid of any use within a living creature. The situation is similar when faith is devoid of charity. Since good receives its specific quality from truths, as has been stated, good also receives its form from them; for where there is form, specific quality is present, and where there is no form no specific quality is present. Again it is like the situation with spirit and blood in a living creature. Spirit is circumscribed by its fibres and so receives form through them, while blood receives form through its vessels. From all this it is evident that truth without good has no life in it, and that good without truth possesses no specific quality, consequently that faith without charity is not faith that is alive. By faith here faith composed of truth is meant, and by charity life consisting of good.

[3] All this shows how to understand the explanation that if truths and factual knowledge have been taken away, enquiry should be made of good. That is to say, it shows that when a person is governed by good, that is, by an affection for doing good, he recollects all the truths that have entered into good, but when he turns away from good the truths disappear, for falsity arising from evil is that which takes them away as if by theft. But truths that have disappeared are recollected once again when a person comes back to an affection for good or for truth through the life he leads. Anyone who stops to reflect can recognize the truth of this from his own experience and from what takes place with others. All this makes plain what is meant by enquiring of good regarding truths and factual knowledge that have been taken away from a person's memory or mind.

Footnotes: