8278. 'The depths have covered them' means that falsities resulting from evil desires have overwhelmed them. This is clear from the meaning of 'the depths' as falsities which exist as a result of evil desires. In the Word 'depths' is used to mean waters and large amounts of waters in deep places, 'waters' in the good sense meaning truths and in the contrary sense falsities, 739, 790, 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668, and deep places' meaning the hells. So it is that 'depths' means falsities resulting from evil desires, as well as meaning the hells. The fact that 'depths' is used in the Word to mean waters in deep places and to mean large amounts of waters is clear in Ezekiel,

The waters caused the cedar to grow, the depth made it high, so that it went with its rivers around the place of its planting, and he sent out his lines of water to all the trees of the field. Ezekiel 31:4.

In David,

He split the rocks in the wilderness, and caused them to drink the great depths. He brought streams out of the rock and caused waters to descend as streams. Psalms 78:15-16.

In Moses,

... a good land, a land of rivers of water, springs, and depths gushing out of valley and mountain. Deuteronomy 8:7.

In these places 'depths' stands for waters in large amounts; and waters in large amounts or 'depths' stands for the truths of faith in abundance. 'Causing them to drink great depths from the rock' stands for the truths of faith never failing, for 'rock' is faith derived from the Lord, thus the Lord in respect of faith. 'Depths gushing out of valley and mountain' stands for the truths of faith coming out of love. This also explains why the blessings of Joseph included the blessings of the deep Lying beneath, Genesis 49:25; Deuteronomy 33:13

[2] The fact that 'the depths' ¹ means falsities resulting from evil desires as well as meaning the hells is clear in Isaiah,

Awake as in the days of antiquity, the generations of long ago. Do You not dry up the sea, the waters of the great deep, and make the deep places of the sea a road, in order that the redeemed may go across? Isaiah 51:9-11.

In the same prophet,

... Jehovah who divided the waters before them, who led them through the depths; as a horse in the wilderness they did not stumble. Isaiah 63:12-14.

In Ezekiel,

Thus said the Lord Jehovih, When I make you a city laid desolate, like the cities that are not inhabited, when I shall cause the deep to come up against you, and many waters have covered you ... Ezekiel 26:19.

In John,

I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth. To him was given the key of the pit of the abyss; and he opened the pit of the abyss. Revelation 9:1-2, 11.

In the same author,

The beast that comes up from the abyss will make ² war with them. Revelation 11:7.

Yet again in the same author,

The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will come up out of the abyss and go away to perdition. Revelation 17:8.

In these places 'the depths', 'the deep', or 'the abyss' stands for the hells, and so also for the falsities resulting from evil desires, since these desires exist in the hells and constitute them.

[3] Since these things are meant by 'the depths', temptations are also meant by them, for temptations are brought about by falsities and evils which the hells have introduced. This further meaning occurs in Jonah,

The waters surrounded me, even to [my] soul, the deep closed around me. Jonah 2:5. In David,

Deep is calling to deep at the noise of Your waterspouts; all Your breakers and Your waves have passed over me. Psalms 42:7.

You who have shown me many severe troubles, ³ turn back and revive me, and cause me to turn back and come up from the depths of the earth. Psalms 71:20.

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4415. Recently arrived souls, or novitiate spirits - that is to say, people who a few days after death of the body have entered the next life - are utterly amazed at the existence of light in the next life, for they bring with them the uninformed idea that there are no other sources of light than the sun and material flame. Still less do they know of a light which brings light to the understanding, for they have not observed it during their lifetime; and still less that such light provides the capacity to think, and by flowing into forms which exist from the light of the world frames everything seen in the understanding. If those novitiate spirits have been good people they are raised up, for the purpose of their instruction, to heavenly communities, passing from one community to another. They are raised up to these so that they may recognize through actual experience that light exists in the next life, a light that is brighter than that which shines in the world can ever be, and that the amount of light they dwell in there determines the amount of intelligence. Some borne up into spheres of heavenly light have spoken to me from there, confessing that they had never believed in any such thing and that the light of the world in comparison was darkness. From there they also looked through my eyes into the light of the world, which they saw to be nothing other than dark cloud. And they said, doing so with feelings of pity, that such was the darkness in which men dwelt. From what has been said one may also see why in the Word the angels of heaven are called angels of light; also that the Lord is the Light, and consequently the Life, for men, John 1:1-8; 8:12.