2388. 'Whom have you here still? Son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters, and everyone you have in the city - bring [them] out of the place' means that all with whom the good of charity exists, and everything belonging to that good, were to be saved; also those governed by the truth of faith, provided they drew back from evil. This is clear from the meaning of 'sons-in-law', 'sons', 'daughters', 'city', and 'place', which are dealt with in the paragraphs following this.

[2] As regards the salvation of those governed by the truth of faith provided they drew back from evil, the position is that truths of faith are the vessels themselves for receiving good, 1900, 2063, 2261, 2269, and they receive good insofar as the individual draws back from evil. For good is flowing in constantly from the Lord, but it is the evil belonging to the life within that prevents the reception of that good by the truths present in a person's memory or knowledge. Consequently insofar as a person draws back from evil good enters in and inserts itself within the truths he has. When this happens the truth of faith residing with him becomes the good of faith. A person can indeed know the truth, even profess it because some worldly reason prompts him to do so; in fact he can even be persuaded that it is the truth. But this truth still does not live so long as he leads a life of evil. Such a person is like a tree that has leaves on it but no fruit; and that truth is like light in which there is no warmth, like that in winter-time when nothing grows. When however there is warmth within it, it becomes like light in spring-time when everything is growing. In the Word truth is compared to and actually called the light, while love is compared to warmth and also called spiritual warmth. In the next life moreover truth manifests itself by means of light while good does so by means of warmth. But truth devoid of good manifests itself as cold light, while truth accompanied by good does so as spring-like light. This shows what the truth of faith is when devoid of the good of charity. Here too is the reason why his sons-in-law and his sons, who meant such truths, were not saved, only Lot together with his daughters.

[3] Since it is stated here that they also are saved who are governed by the truth of faith provided they draw back from evil, it should be recognized that these people are such - on account of their having been so taught - as profess faith but think nothing of charity. They do not know what charity is, imagining that it is purely a matter of giving away what is one's own to others and of taking pity on everyone. Nor do they know what the neighbour is, towards whom charity has to be exercised; they imagine that almost everybody without discrimination is the neighbour. Nevertheless these same people do lead a life of charity towards the neighbour since the life of good is present in them. They come to no harm because they profess faith along with the rest, since their faith has charity within it; for by charity is meant all goodness of life in general and in particular. What charity is therefore, and what the neighbour, will in Lord's Divine mercy be discussed later on.

2324. 'And Lot was sitting in the gateway of Sodom' means those people with whom the good of charity exists but whose worship is external - people represented by 'Lot' here - who are among and yet separate from the evil, which is meant by his 'sitting in the gateway of Sodom'. This becomes clear from the representation of 'Lot', and from the meaning of 'a gateway' and also of 'Sodom':

From the representation of Lot: When Lot and Abraham were together he represented the Lord's sensory perception, and so His External, as shown in Volume One, in 1428, 1434, 1547. But now that he has separated from Abraham he ceases to represent the Lord any longer and instead represents those who are with the Lord, namely the external member of the Church - those with whom the good of charity exists but whose worship is external.

[2] Indeed in the present chapter Lot represents the external member of the Church, or what amounts to the same, the nature of the external Church, not only as it is at the outset, but also as it is in its development, and as it is at the latter end too. The latter end of that Church is what is meant by Moab and the son of Ammon, as will be clear, in the Lord's Divine mercy, from the sequence of events described in what follows. In the Word it is common for one person to represent many consecutive states, which are described as consecutive actions in his life.

From the meaning of 'a gateway': A gateway is the place through which people enter or leave a city, and therefore 'sitting in the gateway' here means being indeed among and yet separate from the evil, as is normally the case with members of the Church with whom good that stems from charity exists. Though they are together with the evil they are nevertheless separate from them, not as regards civil society but as regards spiritual life.

'Sodom' means evil in general, or what amounts to the same, the evil, especially those inside the Church, as has been stated above, in 2322.