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:

2004. 'And you will be the father of a multitude of nations' means union of the Human Essence with the Divine Essence. This cannot be shown so easily from an explanation of individual expressions in the internal sense unless they are seen within a general overall picture by which this sense is presented. This is frequently the case with the internal sense, and when it is it may be called more universal because it is more remote. From an explanation of individual expressions this proximate sense is the result - that everything true and everything good comes from the Lord, for as will be discussed belong 'father' means that which comes from Him, that is, from the Lord, 'multitude' means truth, and 'of nations' resulting good. But because the latter, that is to say, truths and goods, are the means by which the Lord united the Human Essence to the Divine Essence, that more universal and more remote sense emerges from such an explanation. This is the way in which angels perceive these words; and at one and the same time they perceive a reciprocal union, namely that of the Lord's Divine Essence with the Human Essence, and of the Human Essence with the Divine Essence. For as has been stated, 'As for Me, My covenant is with you' means union of the Divine Essence with the Human Essence, the words that follow consequently meaning that of the Human Essence with the Divine Essence.

[2] It is an arcanum not yet disclosed that union was accomplished reciprocally, an arcanum that can hardly be explained intelligibly, for as yet the nature of influx has not been known to anyone, and without a knowledge of influx no idea can possibly be gained of what reciprocal union is. It is possible to shed light to some extent on the matter however from influx as it takes place with man, for with man too reciprocal conjunction exists. From the Lord by way of man's internal, which is dealt with just above in 1999, life is flowing in constantly into man's rational, and by way of the rational into the external and even into the facts and cognitions he has. These it not only adapts to receive life but also sets them in order and so enables man to think and ultimately to be rational. Such is the conjunction of the Lord with man, and without it man would never be able to think, let alone be rational. This may become clear to anyone from the fact that present within a person's thought there are countless arcana belonging to the science and art of analysis, so countless that even to all eternity it is not possible to explore them thoroughly. Such arcana do not flow in through the senses or the external man, but through the internal man. Man for his part however, through facts and cognitions, goes to meet this life flowing from the Lord, and in so doing joins himself reciprocally.

[3] But as for the union of the Lord's Divine Essence with His Human Essence, and of the Human Essence with the Divine Essence, this was infinitely superior, for the Lord's Internal was Jehovah Himself, and so Life itself, whereas man's internal is not the Lord, and so not life but a recipient of life. The Lord's relationship with Jehovah was union, whereas that of man with the Lord is not union but conjunction. The Lord united Himself to Jehovah by His own power and on that account became righteousness as well, whereas man in no way joins himself to Him by his own power but by the Lord's. This being so, it is the Lord who joins man to Himself. Such reciprocal union is what the Lord means where He attributes what is His own to the Father, and what is the Father's to Himself, as in John,

Jesus said, He who believes in Me believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. He who sees Me sees Him who sent Me I have come as light into the world in order that everyone who believes in Me may not remain in darkness. John 12:44-46.

These words conceal very deep arcana - arcana in fact regarding the union of good with truth, and of truth with good, or what amounts to the same, regarding the union of the Divine Essence with the Human Essence, and of Human Essence with Divine Essence. Hence His declaration, 'He who believes in Me believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me', and shortly after, 'He who believes in Me', in between which two statements comes another concerning that union in which He says, 'He who sees Me sees Him who sent Me'.

[4] In the same gospel,

The words that I speak to you I do not speak from Myself; the Father who dwells within Me He does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me. Truly I say to you, He who believes in Me [will also do] the works that I do. John 14:10-12.

These words hold the same arcana within them, that is to say, those relating to the union of good with truth, and of truth with good; or what amounts to the same, of the Lord's Divine Essence with the Human Essence, and of the Human Essence with the Divine Essence. Hence His declaration, 'The words that I speak to you I do not speak from Myself; the Father who is within Me, He does the works', and shortly afterwards, 'The works that I do', in between which two statements likewise comes another concerning the union, in which He says, 'I am in the Father and the Father in Me'. This is the mystical union that many people speak about.

[5] From this it is clear that He was not someone other than the Father even though He spoke of the Father as though He were someone other. The reason for His doing so was the reciprocal union that was going to be accomplished and was accomplished, for He openly states so many times that He is one with the Father, as He does in the places just quoted -

He who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. John 12:45.

Also,

The Father who dwells within Me; believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me. John 14:10-11.

And in the same gospel,

If you knew Me you would know my Father also. John 8:19.

In the same gospel,

If you know Me you know My Father also. And from now on you know Him and have seen Him. Philip said to Him, Show us the Father. Jesus said to him, Have I been with you so long and yet you do not know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father. So why do you say, Show us the Father? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? John 14:7-10.

And in the same gospel,

I and the Father are one. John 10:30.

This is why in heaven they know no other Father than the Lord since the Father is within Him, and He is one with the Father; and when they see Him they see the Father, as He Himself has said; see 15.