1663. They made war with Bera, king of Sodom; and with Birsha, king of Gomorrah; Shinab, king of Admah; and Shemeber, king of Zeboiim; and the king of Bela (which is Zoar), symbolizes just so many categories of evil desire and distorted conviction that the Lord fought against. This too can be seen from the symbolism of the kings and nations mentioned here, and from what follows as well. Again, explaining precisely which evil desire or distorted persuasion each of them symbolizes would take too long. The symbolism of Sodom and Gomorrah, of Admah and Zeboiim, and of Zoar has been touched on already [§§1212, 1589]. It is the most general or universal categories of evil and falsity that are symbolized on the inner level here, and they follow one another in order.

[2] The Lord underwent and suffered trials heavier than those of anyone else in the universe — the heaviest of all — but this is not well known from the Word, which merely notes that he was in the wilderness for forty days, where he was tested by the Devil [Matthew 4:1-2; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-2]. The actual trials that he then experienced are not described in more than a few words, but those few cover everything. In Mark 1:12-13, for instance, it says that he was with the animals there, which symbolize the worst of the hellish mob. Subsequent details — that the Devil led him onto the spires of the temple and onto a tall mountain — are nothing but images representing the terrible crises he faced in the wilderness [Matthew 4:3-11; Luke 4:3-13]. There will be more on this below, the Lord in his divine mercy willing. ¹

Footnotes:

1589. Like the land of Egypt as you come to Zoar symbolizes facts acquired as a result of the desire for what is good, as the following symbolism indicates: Egypt (which is discussed in §§1164, 1165 and which is treated in a good sense in §1462) symbolizes factual knowledge. And Zoar symbolizes the desire for what is good. The city of Zoar was not far from Sodom, and it was where Lot escaped to when angels rescued him from the conflagration of Sodom, as reported in Genesis 19:20, 22, 30. Zoar is also mentioned in Genesis 14:2, 8; Deuteronomy 34:3; Isaiah 15:5; Jeremiah 48:34. Here too it symbolizes desires; and since it symbolizes the desire for what is good, in the opposite sense (which is the usual sense) it also symbolizes the desire for what is evil.

[2] Our outer self has three components: rationality, the facts we know, and our physical senses. Rationality lies within, knowledge is more superficial, and the physical senses form the surface. Rationality is what connects our inner and outer selves, and the nature of that connection depends on the nature of our rationality. (The physical senses here are sight and hearing.)

Our rational capacity, though, is worthless by itself, if our feelings or desires do not flow into it, activate it, and bring it to life. It follows, then, that the quality of our rational capacity mirrors the quality of our feelings. When a desire for goodness flows into our rational mind, it turns into a desire for truth there. The opposite happens when a desire for evil enters. And since the facts we know put themselves at the disposal of our rational mind and serve as tools for its use, it also follows that our feelings act on the facts we possess and arrange them in some kind of order.

Nothing in our outer self ever shows any life except emotion. Positive emotions come down from the heavenly plane, or in other words, from heavenly love, which bestows life on everything it touches. It even brings life to negative emotions, or corrupt desires.

[3] A loving goodness constantly flows in from the Lord, and it flows through the inner self into the outer. People under the sway of negative emotions or corrupt desires pervert that goodness, but the life that comes with it still remains.

To understand this, look at the way physical objects receive the sun's rays, by way of comparison. Some objects — diamonds, rubies, hyacinths, ¹ sapphires, and other precious stones, for instance — take the light very beautifully and turn it into gorgeous colors. Others do not but turn it into hideous colors instead. Another illustration is the very character of different people; some welcome the kindnesses of others with open arms, but some turn those kindnesses to evil.

All of this indicates what factual knowledge acquired as a result of the desire for goodness is — this being what "the land of Egypt as you come to Zoar" symbolizes — when the rational mind is like a garden of Jehovah.

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