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:

1785. After these words, the word of Jehovah came to Abram in a vision, means that after the struggles of his youth, he had a revelation. This can be seen from the symbolism of words, of the word of Jehovah to Abram, and of a vision. In Hebrew, words mean things, ¹ and here they mean accomplished events, namely, the Lord's inward struggles treated of in the last chapter.

The word of Jehovah to Abram is simply the Lord's word inside himself. In his youth, though, and during his struggles, before his two essential natures had united as one, Jehovah's word necessarily appeared to him as revelation. This is the only way the things inside manifest themselves when they reach the surface, during the phases and moments in which the surface is distant from the core. These phases are referred to as times when the Lord was humbled. ²

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