8093. 'That God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines' means that the Divine saw to it that they should not pass on to the truth of faith that does not spring from good. This is clear from the meaning of 'God did not lead them by the way' as the Divine saw to it that they should not pass on to, for 'leading', when done by God, means providence, and 'the way' means truth, 627, 2333, in this instance passing on to it; and from the representation of 'the Philistines' as those who have a knowledge of the cognitions of faith but do not lead a life of charity, dealt with in 1197, 1198, 3412, 3413, thus those who possess the truth of faith that does not spring from good. The fact that 'the Philistines' and 'the land of the Philistines' have this meaning may be recognized from places in the Word where they are mentioned, in particular in Jeremiah 47:1-end, where they are described, also in Joel 3:5-6, as well as from the historical accounts in the Word referring to wars between the children of Israel and the Philistines, to the subjection of the children of Israel by the Philistines and then of the Philistines by the children of Israel. By 'the Philistines' in these places those who champion separated faith are represented, that is, people for whom the knowledge of cognitions of faith is all-important but not a life led in accordance with that knowledge, consequently people who teach and believe that a person is saved by faith alone.

[2] This particular belief about faith alone or separated faith is not new or something that belongs solely to the present time. It had come to exist in the ancient Churches, growing ever stronger along with evil in life. It is also described in various places in the Word, but by means of names, by Cain' first, in that he killed his brother Abel, 337, 340, 1179. In the internal representative sense of that story 'Cain' is that kind of faith, while 'Abel' is charity. Such faith is also described by 'Ham', when cursed by his father, 1062, 1063; after that by 'Reuben', in that he went up to his father's bed, 3870, 4601, and by 'Simeon and Levi', in that they killed Hamor and the men of Shechem and were for that reason cursed by their father, 3870, 6352. That faith is also described by 'the Egyptians' and by 'their firstborn', in that the latter were killed, 7766, 7778, and the former drowned in the Sea Suph. It is described too by 'the Philistines', 3412, 3413, and also by 'Tyre and Sidon', in various places in the Prophets; there a knowledge of the cognitions of faith is meant by 'the Philistines', and the cognitions themselves, interior and exterior, by 'Tyre and Sidon'. Lastly such faith is represented by 'Peter' when he denied the Lord three times, 6000, 6073(end). But see what has been shown already regarding this faith, in 36, 379, 389, 916, 1017, 1076, 1077, 1162, 1176, 1798, 1799, 1834, 1844, 2049, 2116, 2228, 2231, 2261, 2343, 2349, 2364, 2383, 2385, 2401, 2435, 2982, 3146, 3242, 3325, 3412, 3413, 3416, 3427, 3773, 4663, 4672, 4673, 4683, 4721, 4730, 4766, 4783, 4925, 5351, 5820, 5826, 6269, 6272, 6273, 6348, 6353, 7039, 7097, 7127, 7317, 7502, 7545, 7623-7627, 7724, 7779, 7790, 7950.

7950. 'Even to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the dungeon' means falsified truths of faith that occupy the last place of all. This is clear from the meaning of 'the firstborn in the land of Egypt' as faith separated from charity, as just above in 7948, and so also falsified truth of faith, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'the prisoner who is in the dungeon' as those who occupy the last place of all, for his firstborn is placed at the opposite end of the scale from 'Pharaoh's firstborn who was to sit on his throne', which means falsified truth of faith that occupies the first place, 7779, 7949. 'The prisoner who is in the dungeon' is used to mean in the spiritual sense closest to the actual words one who thinks only on the level of his physical senses, and so is in utterly thick darkness so far as matters of truth and good are concerned; for he does not even possess the ability to perceive, as those who think on a more internal level of the senses do. This is the reason why those who occupy the last place of all are meant.

[2] The reason why 'the firstborn in the land of Egypt' means falsified truth of faith is that 'the firstborn of Egypt' is faith separated from charity, 7948; and those with this kind of faith are in nothing but complete and utter darkness so far as truths of faith are concerned. They cannot be in any light, and so cannot at all perceive what truth is or whether something is true. This is because all spiritual light comes from the Lord through good, that is, through charity. For the good of charity is like a flame from which light radiates, since good comes of love, and love is spiritual fire, the source of enlightenment. Anyone who imagines that people leading an evil life can also receive enlightenment in the truths of faith is very much mistaken. Their state may be such that they are able to produce proofs, that is, they may be able to prove the teachings of their Church, sometimes with skill and ingenuity; yet they are not able to see whether the things they prove are true or not. The fact that even falsity can be proved so adroitly that it seems to be the truth, and that a person is wise not when he can prove that something is right but when he can see whether it is, see 4741, 5033, 6865, 7011, 7680.

[3] Therefore a person whose life is sunk in evil is steeped in falsity arising from his evil; and no matter how well he knows what is true he does not believe it. Sometimes he thinks he does, but he is mistaken. He will be allowed to know in the next life that he does not believe it, when his perceiving is made to conform to his desiring. When that is done he will disown the truth, oppose it, and spurn it, and will acknowledge its opposite - falsity - as the truth. This now explains why those who are governed by faith separated from charity cannot help falsifying the truths of faith.