10483. 'And Moses stood in the gate of the camp' means where the opening to hell is situated. This is clear from the representation of 'Moses' as the internal, dealt with above in 10468; from the meaning of 'in the gate' as where the opening is situated, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'the camp' as hell, also dealt with above, in 10458. The reason why Moses stood in the gate of the camp and did not go inside the actual camp was in order that the impossibility for the internal to enter hell might be represented; for Moses represented the internal and the camp represented hell. The interest of all those in hell lies in external things separated from what is internal, because self-love and love of the world rule within them. Therefore what is internal cannot go in there since it is not received. Instead some who are there immediately reject it, some smother it and snuff it out, and some pervert it. Whether you say the internal or heaven, it amounts to the same thing; for heaven constitutes what is internal, not only the internal side of the Word but also the internal side of the Church and of worship, consequently the internal of the person who has celestial and spiritual love reigning within him, that is, love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour.

[2] What hell's opening is, meant by 'the gate' of this camp, must be stated briefly. Each hell is closed all the way around it, but it is opened above as necessity and need demand. It is an opening into the world of spirits, the world that lies midway between heaven and hell; for that world serves as the upper boundary of the hells and as the lower boundary of the heavens, 5852. The reason for saying that they are opened as necessity and need demand is that each person in the world has spirits present with him from hell, and angels from heaven. The spirits from hell are present in his bodily and worldly loves, and the angels from heaven in those which are celestial and spiritual; for without the spirits the person can have no life at all. If the spirits were taken away from him he would drop dead as a stone. Consequently to enable a person to lead a life in keeping with his loves the hells are opened of necessity and as need demands, and from there such spirits come out to him as are ruled by loves similar to his.

[3] That opening is what should be understood by the gate of hell. I have been allowed several times to see such openings. They are gates which the Lord guards by means of angels, to stop more spirits than are needed from coming out of there. From this it is evident what 'the gates of hell' and 'the gates of enemies' mean in the Word, as in Matthew,

Jesus said to Peter, On this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18.

'The gates of hell will not prevail' means that the hells will not dare to come out and destroy the truths of faith, 'the rock' on which the Church stands being faith in the Lord received from the Lord. This faith is the faith of charity because it is rooted in charity and for that reason makes one with it.

'The rock' means that faith, see Preface to Genesis 22, and also 8581, 10438.

Real faith consists in charity, 654, 1162, 1176, 1608, 2228, 2343, 2349, 2419, 2839, 3324, 4368, 6348, 7039, 7623-7627, 7752-7762, 8530, 9154, 9783, 9924.

[4] The like is also meant by your seed will inherit the gate of their enemies, Genesis 22:17; 24:60. 'Inheriting the gate of their enemies' means destroying evils and falsities which come from hell. This was also represented by driving out and destroying the nations in the land of Canaan; for the nations there represented evils and falsities which come from hell, see 1573, 1574, 1868, 4818, 6306, 8054, 8317, 9320, 9327.

Also in David,

Those who dwell in the gate plot against me; those who drink strong wine sing songs. Psalms 69:12.

In the same author,

Blessed is the man who has filled his quiver. They will not be put to shame, for they will speak with enemies in the gate. Psalms 127:5.

'Gates' in the good sense however stands for the opening into heaven.

In David,

Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up, O eternal doors, and the King of glory will come in. Psalms 24:7-10.

In addition admission into heaven and into the Church through truth and good is meant in the Word by 'gates', and also good and truth flowing in and present with a person.

4680. 'That their father loved him more than all his brothers' means that [the Lord's Divine Spiritual or Divine Truth] was joined to the Divine Natural - in the proximate sense, to the Ancient Church meant by 'father'. This is clear from the explanations given above in 4675, where similar words occur. The reason why in the proximate sense the meaning is that [the Lord's Divine Spiritual or Divine Truth] was joined to the Ancient Church, and why in that sense 'father' is used to mean that Church, is that in the proximate sense, as stated immediately above in 4679, the descendants of Jacob and therefore the Church that was represented among them are meant by 'Joseph's brothers'. This whole matter has been discussed several times already, but in view of the train of thought that occurs in what follows the main points will be restated briefly here.

[2] The Ancient Church established by the Lord after the Flood was a representative Church. It was the kind of Church in which the external features of its worship, every single one, represented the celestial and spiritual things belonging to the Lord's kingdom, and in the highest sense represented those Divine things which are the Lord's own. Every single internal aspect of its worship however had to do with charity. This Church was widespread in much of the Asiatic world and in many kingdoms there. And although differences existed among them so far as teachings about matters of faith were concerned, there was nevertheless one Church because all people everywhere made charity the essential element of the Church. People at that time who separated faith from charity and made faith the essential element of the Church were called Ham. But in process of time this Church turned aside to idolatrous practices, and in Egypt, Babylon, and other places to magical ones; for they began to worship external things devoid of anything internal. So because they departed from charity, heaven departed from them, and in its place spirits from hell came and led them.

[3] Once this Church had been laid in ruins a new Church originating in Eber came into being, which was called the Hebrew Church. This existed in Syria and Mesopotamia, and also among other nations in the land of Canaan. But it differed from the Ancient Church in that it made sacrifices the essential requirement of external worship. It did, it is true, acknowledge charity as the inner substance of worship, but not so much with the heart as the Ancient Church had done. This Church too became idolatrous.

[4] At length the Lord was pleased to establish a new type of Church among Abraham's descendants through Jacob and to introduce among that nation the external features of the worship of the Ancient Church. But that nation was the kind that could not accept anything internal constituting the Church because their hearts were utterly opposed to charity. For this reason no more than what was representative of the Church was set up among that nation. From this it is now clear that 'Jacob's sons' or 'Joseph's brothers' in the proximate sense means that kind of Church, and that 'Jacob their father' means the Ancient Church. Furthermore, in many other places in the Word, especially the prophetical part, 'Jacob' is used to mean the Ancient Church, in addition to which this Church - the Ancient - is frequently called 'father' or 'mother', 'father' to refer to its good and 'mother' to its truth. From this it is now evident that 'their father loved Joseph more than all his brothers' means that the Lord's Divine Truth was joined to the Ancient Church.