8539. Zij aten het man tot aan hun komen tot de grens van het land Kanaän, dat dit betekent dat er toe-eigening van het goede uit het ware voor hen was totdat zij tot de streek van de hemel kwamen, staat vast uit de betekenis van het man, dus het goede van het ware; uit de betekenis van eten, dus het toe-eigenen, nr. 8537; uit de betekenis van het land Kanaän, te weten de hemel, nr. 8538; zo is dus de grens van het land Kanaän de ingang tot de hemel of de streek waar de hemel aanvangt.

Hieruit blijkt, dat met zij aten het man tot aan hun komen tot de grens van het land Kanaän, wordt aangeduid dat het goede van het ware hun werd toegeëigend tot aan de streek van de hemel.

Hoe het hiermee is gesteld, blijkt uit wat eerder is gezegd over de verkrijging van het goede door het ware, namelijk dat al het goede vóór de wederverwekking wordt verworven door het ware, maar dat na de wederverwekking de mens van de Heer door het goede wordt geleid; en dat de vorige staat wordt aangeduid met de zes dagen die aan de zevende voorafgaan en dat de latere staat wordt aangeduid met de zevende dag of de sabbat.

Daaruit blijkt eveneens, dat de vorige staat werd uitgebeeld door het voorttrekken van de zonen Israëls door de woestijn veertig jaren lang en dat de latere staat werd uitgebeeld door het binnenleiden van hen in het land Kanaän; want het is met deze zaken als volgt gesteld; de mens is buiten de hemel zolang hij vanuit het ware handelt en niet uit het goede en hij komt dan in de hemel wanneer hij vanuit het goede handelt; dan immers wordt hij door de Heer gedreven volgens de hemelse orde, waarin hij niet komt, dus niet in de hemel, waar die orde is, voordat hij is voorbereid, wat plaatsvindt tot het goede door het ware; over deze beide staten zie wat daarover is aangetoond in de nrs. 7923, 8505, 8506, 8510, 8512, 8516.

8722. 'And also all this people will come upon their place in peace' means that those belonging to the spiritual Church will be governed by good and thus led by good. This is clear from the meaning of 'people' as those belonging to the spiritual Church, for by 'people' one should understand the children of Israel, who represent the spiritual Church; from the meaning of 'coming to their place' as arriving at the state to which they are going to be led, which state is a state of good, since those who belong to the spiritual Church are led through truth to good, and when they arrive at good they come to their place, 'place' meaning state, see 2625, 2837, 3356, 3387, 4321, 4882, 5605, 7381; and from the meaning of 'peace' as the Divine within good, for 'peace' in the highest sense is the Lord, and is therefore the influence inmostly at work within good and is the very essence (esse) of the happiness of those governed by good. As long as a person is governed by truth and not as yet by good he has no serenity; but when he is governed by good he does have serenity and so is 'in peace'. The reason for this is that evil spirits cannot attack good but flee from it the moment they are aware of it; but they can attack truth. So it is that when people are governed by good they are 'in peace'. These are the things that are meant by 'all the people will come upon their place in peace'. What it is to be led by the Lord through truth, and what it is to be led by Him through good, see 8516, 8539, 8643, 8648, 8658, 8685, 8690, 8701.

977. THE INTERNAL SENSE

The subject here being the regenerate person, let a brief discussion follow of the nature of a person who is regenerate in contrast to someone who is not. From this contrast the nature of each one may be known. With the regenerate person there is a conscience concerning what is good and true. From conscience he does what is good and from conscience thinks what is true. The good he does is the good of charity, and the truth he thinks is the truth of faith. With one who is not regenerate there is no conscience. If there is any it is not a conscience about doing good stemming from charity or for thinking truth deriving from faith. Instead it derives from some love involving self or the world, and is therefore a conscience that is false, or not genuine. With the regenerate person there is joy in performing anything according to conscience but anxiety when compelled to perform or think anything contrary to it, which is not the case with someone who is not regenerate. Most people do not know what conscience is, still less what performing anything according to conscience or contrary to conscience is. They know only of performing it in accordance with things favouring their own loves, which for them is the source of joy, while acting contrary to those things brings them anxiety.

[2] With the regenerate person there is a new will and a new understanding. This new will and new understanding are his conscience - that is, they comprise his conscience, by means of which the Lord works the good that stems from charity, and the truth of faith. With someone who is not regenerate there is no will but instead evil desire, and a resulting inclination towards all that is evil. Nor is there any understanding, only reasoning and a resulting decline into all that is false. With the regenerate person there is celestial and spiritual life, but with someone who is not regenerate only bodily and worldly life. Man's ability to think and to understand what good and truth are comes from the Lord's life by way of remnants, mentioned previously. And this also gives him the ability to reflect.

[3] With the regenerate person the internal man is master and the external the servant, but with someone who is not regenerate the external man is master, and the internal remains quiescent as though non-existent. The regenerate person knows, or is capable of knowing if he reflects on the matter, what the internal man is and what the external, whereas someone who is not regenerate is totally ignorant on the subject. Nor is he capable of knowing even if he did reflect on the matter, for he does not know what the good and truth of faith deriving from charity are. These contrasts show the nature of a person who is regenerate and of someone who is not, and that the difference between them is like that of summer and winter, or of bright light and thick darkness. Consequently the regenerate is a living man, while the unregenerate is a dead man.