1209. The symbolism of Gerar as information revealed about faith, and so generally as faith itself, can be seen from passages that mention Gerar, such as Genesis 20:1 and 26:1, 17. Later sections will deal with this symbolism of Gerar, the Lord in his divine mercy willing [§§2504, 3365, 3417].

2504. And stayed in Gerar symbolizes what he learned about the spiritual aspects of faith. This can be seen from the following: Staying as an immigrant symbolizes being taught, as discussed in §§1463, 2025. And Gerar symbolizes the spiritual quality of faith.

Several passages in Genesis (10:19; 26:1, 6, 17, 20, 26) mention Gerar, and in them it symbolizes faith. Gerar was in Philistia, and Philistia symbolizes a knowledge of religious concepts (see §§1197, 1198). Gerar was also the place where the king of the Philistines himself lived, and that is why Gerar symbolizes faith itself (1209). The king of Gerar symbolizes the truth itself that is taught by faith, since in an inner sense a monarch is truth (1672, 2015, 2069). So Abimelech symbolizes the doctrine concerning faith, as dealt with below [2509-2510].

[2] Speaking generally, there are things we understand about religion through higher intuition, things we grasp rationally, and things we merely know about. This is the order the three come in, from inward to outward. The inmost aspect of faith is described as intuitional. What develops out of it is the rational aspect of faith, and what develops out of both of these again is the factual aspect of faith. These relate to each other as prior to posterior (to use the scholarly terms), or higher to lower, or inward to outward.

Admittedly, the aspect that seems to us to come first is factual knowledge about religion. A rational grasp seems to grow out of that knowledge, and intuitive understanding to develop last. The reason for this appearance is that these are the steps we take from youth onward. Even so, higher intuition is continually acting on the rational level, which is continually acting on the factual level, although we do not realize it. In our youth the influence of the higher levels is dim and vague; in our adulthood it is plainer; and finally, when we have been reborn, it is strikingly clear. Regenerate people can see that this is the arrangement, and in the other world they see it even better. (See §1495.)

All these factors are called spiritual aspects, which are divided (as explained) among the various levels and follow one another in order. The spiritual aspect of religion is composed exclusively of truth that stems from goodness or in other words, from a heavenly source. Anything that branches off from what is heavenly is a spiritual element of faith.