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:

603. What has been said in this work about heaven, the world of spirits, and hell, will be obscure to those who have no interest in learning about spiritual truths, but will be clear to those who have such an interest, and especially to those who have an affection for truth for the sake of truth, that is, who love truth because it is truth; for whatever is then loved enters with light into the mind's thought, especially truth that is loved, because all truth is in light.

EXTRACTS FROM THE ARCANA COELESTIA RESPECTING THE FREEDOM OF MAN, INFLUX, AND THE SPIRITS THROUGH WHOM COMMUNICATIONS ARE EFFECTED.

FREEDOM.

All freedom pertains to love or affection, since whatever a man loves he does freely (2870, 3158, 8987, 8990, 9585, 9591).

Since freedom pertains to love it is the life of everyone (2873).

Nothing appears to be man's own except what is from freedom (2880).

There is heavenly freedom and infernal freedom (2870, 2873, 2874, 9589, 9590).

[2] Heavenly freedom pertains to heavenly love, or the love of good and truth (1947, 2870, 2872).

And as the love of good and truth is from the Lord freedom itself consists in being led by the Lord (892, 905, 2872, 2886, 2890-2892, 9096, 9586, 9587, 9589-9591).

Man is led into heavenly freedom by the Lord through regeneration (2874, 2875, 2882, 2892).

Man must have freedom in order to be regenerated (1937, 1947, 2876, 2881, 3145, 3146, 3158, 4031, 8700).

In no other way can the love of good and truth be implanted in man, and appropriated by him seemingly as his own (2877, 2879, 2880, 2888).

Nothing is conjoined to man in a state of compulsion (2875, 8700).

If man could be reformed by compulsion all would be saved (2881).

In reformation compulsion is harmful (. 4031).

All worship from freedom is worship, but worship from compulsion is not worship (1947, 2880, 7349, 10097).

Repentance must be effected in a free state, and repentance effected in a state of compulsion is of no avail (8392).

States of compulsion, what they are (8392).

[3] It is granted to man to act from the freedom of reason, to the end that good may be provided for him, and this is why man has the freedom to think and will even what is evil, and to do it so far as the laws do not forbid (10777).

Man is kept by the Lord between heaven and hell, and thus in equilibrium, that he may be in freedom for the sake of reformation (5982, 6477, 8209, 8987).

What is implanted in freedom endures, but not what is implanted under compulsion (9588).

For this reason no one is ever deprived of his freedom (2876, 2881). The Lord compels no one (1937, 1947).

Compelling one's self is from freedom, but not being compelled (1937, 1947).

A man ought to compel himself to resist evil (1937, 1947, 7914).

Also to do good as if from himself, and yet to acknowledge that it is from the Lord (2883, 2891, 2892, 7914).

Man has a stronger freedom in the temptation combats in which he conquers, since he then compels himself more interiorly to resist, although it appears otherwise (1937, 1947, 2881).

[4] Infernal freedom consists in being led by the loves of self and of the world and their lusts (2870, 2873).

Those who are in hell know no other freedom (2871).

Heavenly freedom is as far removed from infernal freedom as heaven is from hell (2873, 2874).

Infernal freedom, which consists in being led by the loves of self and of the world, is not freedom but servitude (2884, 2890).

For servitude is in being led by hell (9586, 9589-9591)

INFLUX.

[5] All things that man thinks and wills flow into him; from experience (904, 2886-2888, 4151, 4319, 4320, 5846, 5848, 6189, 6191, 6194, 6197-6199, 6213, 7147, 10219).

Man's capacity to give attention to subjects, to think, and to draw conclusions analytically, is from influx (4319, 4320, 5288).

Man could not live a single moment if influx from the spiritual world were taken away from him; from experience (2887, 5849, 5854, 6321).

The life that flows in from the Lord varies in accordance with the state of man and in accordance with reception (2069, 5986, 6472, 7343).

With those who are evil the good that flows in from the Lord is changed into evil, and the truth into falsity; from experience (3642, 4632).

The good and truth that continually flow in from the Lord are received just to the extent that they are not hindered by evil and falsity (2411, 3142, 3147, 5828).

[6] All good flows in from the Lord, and all evil from hell (904, 4151).

At the present day man believes that all things are in himself and are from himself, when in fact they flow in; and this he might know from the doctrine of the church, which teaches that all good is from God, and all evil from the devil (4249, 6193, 6206).

But if man's belief were in accord with this doctrine he would not appropriate evil to himself nor would he make good to be his own (6206, 6324, 6325).

How happy man's state would be if he believed that all good flows in from the Lord and all evil from hell. (6325).

Those who deny heaven or who know nothing about it do not know that there is any influx from heaven (4322, 5649, 6193, 6479).

What influx is, illustrated by comparisons (6128, 6190, 9407).

[7] Everything of life flows in from the first fountain of life, because that is the source of it; and it continually flows in; thus everything of life is from the Lord (3001, 3318, 3337, 3338, 3344, 3484, 3619, 3741-3743, 4318-4320, 4417, 4524, 4882, 5847, 5986, 6325, 6468-6470, 6479, 9276, 10196).

Influx is spiritual and not physical, that is, influx is from the spiritual world into the natural, and not from the natural into the spiritual (3219, 5119, 5259, 5427, 5428, 5477, 6322, 9110).

Influx is through the internal man into the external, or through the spirit into the body, and not the reverse, because the spirit of man is in the spiritual world, and his body in the natural (1702, 1707, 1940, 1954, 5119, 5259, 5779, 6322, 9380).

The internal man is in the spiritual world and the external in the natural world (978, 1015, 3628, 4459, 4523, 4524, 6057, 6309, 9701-9709, 10156, 10472).

There is an appearance that there is an influx from the externals of man into internals, but this is a fallacy (3721).

With man there is influx into things rational, and through these into knowledges, and not the reverse (1495, 1707, 1940).

What the order of influx is (775, 880, 1096, 1495, 7270).

There is direct influx from the Lord, and likewise mediate influx through the spiritual world or heaven (6063, 6307, 6472, 9682, 9683).

The Lord's influx is into the good in man, and through good into truth, and not the reverse (5482, 5649, 6027, 8685, 8701, 10153).

Good gives the capacity to receive influx from the Lord, but truth without good does not (8321).

Nothing that flows into the thought is harmful, but only what flows into the will, since this is what is appropriated to man (6308).

[8] There is a general influx (5850).

This is a continual effort to act in accordance with order (6211).

This influx is into the lives of animals (5850).

Also into the subjects of the vegetable kingdom (. 3648).

It is in accord with this general influx that thought falls into speech with man, and will into acts and movements (5862, 5990, 6192, 6211).

SUBJECT SPIRITS.

[9] Spirits sent forth from societies of spirits to other societies and to other spirits, are called "subjects" (4403, 5856).

Communications in the other life are effected by means of such emissary spirits (4403, 5856, 5983).

A spirit sent forth to serve as a subject does not think from himself, but thinks from those by whom he is sent forth (5985-5987).

Many particulars relating to such spirits (. 5988, 5989).