9340. 'And I will set your boundary from the Sea Suph even to the Sea of the Philistines' means the full range of truths from factual ones to interior truths of faith. This is clear from the meaning of 'setting the boundary from one place to another', when it refers to spiritual truths, as the full range; from the meaning of 'the Sea Suph' as truths on the levels of the senses and of factual knowledge, which are the lowest levels of the human mind (the Sea Suph was the final boundary of the land of Egypt, and 'Egypt' means factual knowledge in both senses, that is, true factual knowledge and false, 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 2588, 4749, 4964, 4966, 5700, 6004, 6015, 6125, 6651, 6679, 6683, 6692, 6750, 7779 (end), 7926, 8146, 8148; in this instance true factual knowledge is meant since the subject is the full range of spiritual matters of faith among the children of Israel, who represented the spiritual Church, 4286, 4598, 6426, 6637, 6862, 6868, 7035, 7062, 7198, 7201, 7215, 7223, 8805); and from the meaning of 'the Sea of the Philistines' as interior truths of faith. The reason why these truths are meant by 'the Sea of the Philistines' is that the sea where Tyre and Sidon lay was the boundary of the land of Philistia, and 'Tyre and Sidon' means cognitions or knowledge of truth and good, 1201, while 'the land of Philistia' means the knowledge of interior matters of faith, 1197, 2504, 2726, 3463.

[2] Since 'the land of Canaan' represented the Lord's kingdom, which is heaven and the Church, all places in the land therefore meant such things as form part of the Lord's kingdom, or heaven and the Church, which things are called celestial and spiritual, and are connected with the good of love to the Lord and the truths of faith in Him. For this reason the seas and rivers which were boundaries meant the final limits there, and therefore 'from sea to sea' or 'from river to river' meant the full range of those things, as may be seen in 1585, 1866, 4116, 4240, 6516. From all this it becomes clear that 'the boundary from the Sea Suph even to the Sea of the Philistines' means the range of spiritual things, which are matters of truth, from external ones to internal, thus truths ranging from factual ones to interior truths of faith. But the range of celestial things, which are aspects of the good of love, is described next by the words 'from the wilderness even to the River'. The fact that places belonging to the land of Canaan, including seas and rivers, mean such things in the Word, has been shown in explanations everywhere.

[3] What the full range of truths from factual ones to interior truths of faith is must be stated briefly. Truths which exist in the external man are called factual ones, but truths which exist in the internal man are called interior truths of faith. Factual truths reside in a person's memory, and when they are brought out from there they pass into the person's immediate awareness. But interior truths of faith are truths of life itself which are inscribed on the internal man, but few of which show up in the memory. These however are matters which will in the Lord's Divine mercy be spoken of more fully elsewhere. Factual truths and interior truths of faith were meant in Genesis 1:6-7 by the waters under the expanse and the waters above the expanse, 24; for the first chapter of Genesis deals in the internal sense with the new creation or the regeneration of a member of the celestial Church.

[4] The reason why 'Philistia', which also bordered on the land of Canaan as far as Tyre and Sidon, meant the interior truths of faith was that there also the representative Ancient Church had existed, as is evident from the remnants of Divine worship among them which are alluded to in historical sections and prophetical parts of the Word in which the Philistines and the land of Philistia are the subject, such as - in the prophetical parts - Jeremiah 25:20; Jeremiah 47:1-end; Ezekiel 16:27, 57; 25:15-16; Amos 1:8; Zephaniah 2:5; Zechariah 9:6; Psalms 56:1; ¹ 60:8; 83:7; 108:9. The situation with the Philistines was the same as it was with all the nations in the land of Canaan, in that they represented the Church's forms of good and its truths, and also evils and falsities. When the representative Ancient Church existed among them they represented celestial things which were aspects of good and spiritual things which were matters of truth. But when they fell away from true representative worship they began to represent devilish things which were aspects of evil and hellish things which were matters of falsity. This is the reason why 'Philistia', like all the other nations belonging to the land of Canaan in the Word, means either forms of good and truths, or else evils and falsities.

[5] The fact that interior truths of faith are meant by 'the Philistines' is clear in David,

Glorious things are to be spoken in you, O city of God. I will mention Rahab and Babel among those who know Me; also Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia. The latter was born here. ² Psalms 87:3-4.

'The city of God' means teachings presenting the truth of faith that are drawn from the Word, 402, 2268, 2449, 2712, 2943, 3216, 4492, 4493, 5297; 'Tyre' means cognitions or knowledge of truth and good, 1201, and so does 'Ethiopia', 116, 117. From this it is evident that 'Philistia' means knowledge of the truths of faith.

[6] In Amos,

Are you not like the children of the Ethiopians to Me, O children of Israel? Did I not cause Israel to come up from the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir? Amos 9:7.

This refers to the corruption and destruction of the Church after it had been established. 'The children of the Ethiopians' here are those in possession of cognitions of goodness and truth, which they use to substantiate evils and falsities, 1163, 1164. 'The children of Israel from the land of Egypt' are those who had been brought to spiritual truths and forms of good by means of factual truths, 'the children of Israel' being people in possession of spiritual truths and forms of good, thus in the abstract sense spiritual truths and forms of good, see 5414, 5801, 5803, 5806, 5812, 5817, 5819, 5826, 5833, 5879, 5951, 7957, 8234, and 'the land of Egypt' being factual truth, as shown above. The same is meant by 'the Philistines from Caphtor' and by 'the Syrians from Kir', to whom they are therefore likened. 'The Philistines from Caphtor' are people who had been brought to interior truths by means of exterior ones, but who perverted them and used them to substantiate falsities and evils, 1197, 1198, 3412, 3413, 3762, 8093, 8096, 8099, 8313, whereas 'the Syrians from Kir' are those who were in possession of cognitions of goodness and truth, which they likewise perverted, 1232, 1234, 3051, 3249, 3664, 3680, 4112.

[7] In Jeremiah,

... because of the day that is coming to lay waste all the Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper that is left, for Jehovah is laying waste the Philistines, the remnants of the island of Caphtor. Jeremiah 47:4.

The subject in Jeremiah 47 is the laying waste of the Church's truths of faith, interior truths of faith being meant by 'the Philistines' and exterior truths by 'the remnants of the island of Caphtor'.

[8] In Joel,

What have you to do with Me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the borders of Philistia? Swiftly I will return your recompense upon your own head, inasmuch as you have taken My silver and My gold, and My good and desirable treasures you have carried into your temples. Joel 3:4-5.

'All the borders of Philistia' stands for all the interior and the exterior truths of faith; 'carrying silver and gold, and good and desirable treasures into their temples' stands for perverting truths and forms of good, and profaning them by putting them together with evils and falsities. For the meaning of 'silver and gold' as truths and forms of good, see 1551, 2954, 5658, 6112, 6914, 6917, 8932.

[9] In Obadiah,

At that time those in the south will be the heirs of the mountain of Esau, and of the plain of the Philistines, and they will become the heirs of the field of Ephraim; but Benjamin [will be the heir] of Gilead. Obad. verse 19.

This refers to the establishment of the Church; but spiritual things are implied by the names. 'Those in the south' are people who dwell in the light of truth, 1458, 3195, 3708, 5672, 5962; 'the mountain of Esau' is the good of love, 3300, 3322, 3494, 3504, 3576; 'the plain of the Philistines' is the truth of faith, 'the plain' being also that which constitutes matters of doctrine about faith, 2418; 'Ephraim' is the Church's power of understanding, 3969, 5354, 6222, 6234, 6238, 6267; 'Benjamin' is the Church's spiritual-celestial truth, 3969, 4592, 5686, 5689, 6440; and 'Gilead' is the corresponding exterior good, 4117, 4124, 4747.

[10] In Isaiah,

He will gather the outcasts of Israel, and will assemble the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. They will fly down onto the shoulder of the Philistines towards the sea, together they will plunder the sons of the east. Isaiah 11:12, 14.

Here 'Israel' and 'Judah' are not used to mean Israel and Judah; rather, 'Israel' means those who are governed by the good of faith, and 'Judah' those who are governed by the good of love. 'Flying down onto the shoulder of the Philistines' stands for receiving and taking into possession interior truths of faith; and 'plundering the sons of the east' stands for receiving and taking into possession interior forms of the good of faith, for 'the sons of the east' are people who are governed by forms of the good of faith and with whom cognitions or knowledge of good exists, 3249. 3762. For the meaning of 'plundering' as receiving and taking into possession, see what has been shown in 6914, 6917, regarding the plundering of the Egyptians by the children of Israel.

[11] Since 'the land of Philistia' meant knowledge of the interior truths of faith, and since Abraham and Isaac represented the Lord, and the sojourning of these two in places meant instruction received by the Lord in the truths and forms of the good of faith and love, which belong to God's wisdom, therefore - to provide a figurative representation of this - Abraham was commanded to sojourn in Philistia, Genesis 20:1-end, and so too was Isaac, Genesis 26:1-24. Therefore also Abimelech king of the Philistines made a covenant with Abraham, Genesis 21:22-end, and also with Isaac, Genesis 26:26-end. Regarding all this, see the explanations to those chapters.

Footnotes:

9228. The fact that 'seven' means a whole period from start to finish, thus what is complete, is clear from a large number of places in the Word, as in Isaiah,

The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, on the day when Jehovah will bind up the hurt ¹ of His people. Isaiah 30:26.

This refers to the salvation of faithful believers and their intelligence and wisdom in the Lord's kingdom. 'The moon' is faith received from the Lord, thus belief in the Lord, and 'the sun' is love derived from the Lord, thus love to the Lord, 30-38, 1521, 1529-1531, 2441, 2495, 3636, 3643, 4060, 4321 (end), 4696, 5377, 7078, 7083, 7171, 8644. 'The light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days' means a complete state of intelligence and wisdom because of love to and belief in the Lord.

[2] In Ezekiel,

The inhabitants of the cities of Israel will go out, and they will set alight and burn the weapons, both shield and buckler, together with bow and arrows, and hand-staff, and spear; they will set fire to them for seven years, that they may not bring wood from the field nor cut down any from the forests. And they will cleanse the land in seven months. Ezekiel 39:9-10, 12.

This refers to the destruction of falsity. 'The weapons' that are listed here are falsities used by those who are evil to fight against the Church's truths. 'Setting fire to them for seven years' means complete destruction brought about by the desires of self-love and love of the world. 'In order that they may bring no wood from the field or cut down any from the forests' means when no good at all survives, neither in the internal man nor in the external. 'Cleansing the land in seven months' means the complete restoration of goodness and truth within the Church. It has been shown in very many places that 'weapons' are truths fighting against falsities, and in the contrary sense falsities fighting against truths; that 'bow and arrows' means teachings that present truth, and in the contrary sense teachings that present falsity; that 'hand-staff' means the power of truth, and in the contrary sense the power of falsity; that 'setting alight and burning' means laying waste through the desires of self-love and love of the world; that 'wood from the field' means the Church's forms of interior good, and 'wood from the forests' factual knowledge of goodness and truth; and that 'the land' means the Church. Anyone can see that different things are meant here from those which present themselves in the letter, as when it says that they will burn the weapons, and set them alight for seven years, in order that they may bring no wood from the field or cut down any from the forests. People do indeed know that things of a holy and Divine nature are meant, because the Word is holy and comes from God. But they cannot by any means know which things of a holy and Divine nature are contained in these words unless they know what the meaning is of 'weapons', 'seven years' and 'seven months', 'wood from the field' and 'wood from the forests'. From this it is evident that without knowledge gained from the internal sense those prophetic utterances are completely unintelligible.

[3] In David,

Seven times in the day I praise You over the judgements of Your righteousness. Psalms 119:164.

In the same author,

Repay [our] neighbours sevenfold into their bosom. Psalms 79:12.

'Sevenfold' means completely. The meaning is similar in Moses, where it says that they would be punished sevenfold if they went against commandments and statutes, Leviticus 26:18, 21, 24, 28. Anyone who does not know that 'seven' means a whole period from start to finish, and therefore what is complete, will suppose that 'seven weeks' in Daniel means seven lengths of time,

Know and perceive that from the going forth of the Word to restore and to build Jerusalem until the Messiah, the Prince, there will be seven weeks. Daniel 9:25.

But 'seven weeks until the Messiah, the Prince' means what is said of the Lord, namely that He will come in the fullness of time, so that 'seven weeks' means a whole period. From this it is evident that the seven spirits before God's throne, Revelation 1:4, the book sealed with seven seals, Revelation 5:1, and the seven angels holding 'the seven bowls, which are the seven last plagues, Revelation 15:1, 6-7; 21:9, do not mean seven spirits, seven seals, or seven angels, bowls, and plagues, but all things even to completeness. The statement in 1 Samuel 2:5 that the barren has borne seven in like manner does not mean seven but a great amount, even to a complete amount.

[4] Because 'seven' had this meaning it was stipulated that a priest at his initiation should wear the garments for seven days, Exodus 29:30; that his hands should be filled for seven days, ² Exodus 29:35; that the altar should be sanctified for seven days, Exodus 29:37; and that those initiated into the priesthood should not depart from the tent [of meeting] for seven days, Leviticus 8:33-34. So too with the reference to the unclean spirit going out of a person and returning with seven others, Matthew 12:43-45; Luke 11:26; also where it says that if a brother sins seven times in a day and is seven times converted he is to be forgiven, Luke 17:4; and that the heart of Nebuchadnezzar was changed from [that of] a human being and the heart of a beast was given to him while seven times passed by, Daniel 4:15, 25, 32. For the same reasons also Job's friends sat down with him on the earth seven days and seven nights and spoke nothing to him, Job 2:13. Seventy in a similar way means that which is complete, see 6508, as also does a week, 2044, 3845. From all this it now becomes clear that 'the eighth day' means the initial phase of the following state.

Footnotes: