2411. 'The men grasped his hand, and his wife's hand, and his daughters' hands' means that the Lord withheld him powerfully from evils and in so doing strengthened goods and truths meant by 'Lot, his wife, and his daughters'. This is clear from the meaning of 'the men' as the Lord, dealt with above; from the meaning of 'hand' as power, dealt with in 878; also from the meaning of 'Lot' as good that flows from charity, dealt with in 2324, 2351, 2371, 2399; from the meaning of 'wife' as the truth of faith, dealt with in verse 26 below; and from the meaning of 'daughters' as affections for truth and for good, dealt with in 489-491, 2362. Last of all it is clear from what has been stated in 2388, that is to say, that good and truth flow in from the Lord in the measure that a person is withheld from evil. Consequently the goods and truths meant by 'Lot, his wife, and his two daughters' are in that measure strengthened.

[2] This anyone may know from personal experience, if he stops to reflect. To the extent he is removed from bodily and worldly interests his ideas are spiritual, that is, he is lifted up towards heaven, as happens when engaged in any kind of sacred worship, when undergoing any temptation, and also when experiencing misfortune or sickness. At such times bodily and worldly interests - that is, the loves of them - are, as is well known, removed. The reason, which has been stated, is that what is celestial and spiritual is flowing in constantly from the Lord, but evil together with derivative falsity exists, and falsity together with derivative evil, which flow in from the bodily and worldly interests and obstruct the reception of what is celestial and spiritual.