10481. 'That those rising up against them would annihilate them' means being left without any power to withstand evils [and falsities] that come from hell. This is clear from the meaning of 'being annihilated' as being deprived of all power to withstand evils and falsities, for in the spiritual world being deprived of that power is having no power at all; and from the meaning of 'those rising up', or enemies, as evils and resulting falsities, these being the enemies that rise up in the spiritual sense. Therefore also such evils and falsities are meant in the Word by 'enemies' and 'those rising up', 2851, 8289, 9255, 9314, as in David,

O Jehovah, how much my enemies have multiplied! Many are those rising up against me, saying regarding my soul, There is no salvation for him in God. Psalms 3:1-2.

In the same author,

Make Your mercy wonderful, O You who by Your right hand save those trusting [in You] from those rising up against them ¹ . Guard me from the wicked who lay me waste, from my enemies who surround me against my soul. Psalms 17:7-9.

In the same author,

Do not deliver me to the desire of my enemies, for false witnesses have risen against me, and he who breathes out violence, unless ² I believed I would see goodness in the land of life. Psalms 27:12-13.

In the same author,

O God, command the salvation ³ of Jacob. Through You we will strike our enemies; in Your name we will trample those rising up against us. Psalms 44:4-5.

In the same author,

Foreigners have risen up against me, and violent ones have sought my soul; they have not set God before them. The Lord is with those supporting my soul. Psalms 54:3-4.

In the same author,

Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; raise me up from those rising up against me. Deliver me from the workers of iniquity. Behold, they lie in wait for my soul. Psalms 59:1-3.

In these and very many other places 'enemies' and 'those rising up' mean evils and falsities which come from hell. The expression 'those rising up' is used because evils and falsities rise up against forms of good and truths, but not vice versa.

[2] Those whose interest lies in external things separated from what is internal have no power at all to withstand evils and falsities which come from hell because all power to withstand them comes from the Divine. Those therefore who are separated from what is internal, being separated from the Divine as well, have no power; as a result they are borne along by evils and falsities, wherever hell takes them, like fluff or a straw in the wind, as is plainly evident from the evil who enter the next life from the world. This was also represented by the Israelite nation, in that they were victorious over their enemies as long as they kept to the kind of worship which they had been commanded, but were defeated by them every time they forsook that worship, thus whenever they were ruled by evil, according to the following in Moses,

If you despise My statutes, the sound of a driven leaf will pursue you, and you will flee, like flight from the sword, and you will fall without [anyone] pursuing. They will stumble over one another ⁴ , as though before the sword, when no one is pursuing. Leviticus 26:15, 36-37.

And elsewhere,

One will pursue a thousand, and two ten thousand; for their Rock sold them, and Jehovah shut them up. Deuteronomy 32:30.

From all this it is evident what the meaning is of 'those rising up would annihilate them'.

Footnotes:

2179. 'Abraham ran to the herd' means natural good. This is clear from the meaning of 'oxen' and 'young bulls' which are members of 'the herd', dealt with in the next paragraph. That beasts which were members of the herd and those which were members of the flock mean such things as reside with man becomes clear from what has been shown in Volume One, in 45, 46, 142, 143, 246, 714, 715, 719, 776, in addition to which, see what has been stated in 1823 about the beasts used in sacrifices. It may come as a surprise to everyone that the creatures mentioned in the Word, and also those offered in the sacrifices, meant goods and truths, or what amount to the same, celestial and spiritual things; but let the origin of this surprising fact be stated briefly.

[2] In the world of spirits various representatives manifest themselves. On many occasions animals too manifest themselves before the eyes of spirits, such as horses wearing varying decorative trappings, oxen, sheep, lambs, and different kinds of other animals; and sometimes animals such as have never been seen on earth but are purely representative. Such animals seen also by the prophets and mentioned in the Word had the same origin. Animals which appear in that world are representative of affections for good and truth, and also of affections for evil and falsity. Good spirits have full knowledge of what those animals mean, and also when they see them, they gather what it is that angels are discussing with one another, for when the conversation of those angels passes down into the world of spirits it sometimes manifests itself in this manner. For example, when horses appear, the spirits know that the angels are talking about matters of the understanding; when oxen and young bulls appear, that they are talking about natural goods; when sheep appear, about rational goods and about integrity; when lambs appear, about still more interior goods and about innocence; and so on.

[3] Because the members of the Most Ancient Church had communication with spirits and angels, constantly having visions and also dreams such as the prophets had, they consequently formed a concept of what any beast meant the moment they saw it. This was how representatives and meaningful signs originated. These remained in existence for a long time after those most ancient times, and at length were so venerated because of their antiquity that writers employed mere representatives. Indeed books that were not written in that style were not very highly regarded, nor if written within the Church considered to be holy. For the same and also other hidden reasons, which will in the Lord's Divine mercy be given elsewhere, the books of the Word too were written in that style.