9413. Verses 12-15 And Jehovah said to Moses, Come up to Me into the mountain, and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and the commandment, which I shall write, to teach them. And Moses rose up, and Joshua his minister, and Moses went up into ¹ the mountain of God. And he said to the elders, Sit for us in this [place], ² until we return to you. And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has words, ³ let him go to them. And Moses went up into ¹ the mountain, and a cloud covered the mountain.

'And Jehovah said to Moses' means instructions from the Lord for those restricted to the outward sense. 'Come up to Me into the mountain, and be there' means the Lord's presence with them through an intermediary. 'And I will give you tablets of stone' means the book of the law, or the Word in its entirety. 'And the law and the commandment' means truth in general and in particular. 'Which I shall write, to teach them' means for remembrance and for instruction. 'And Moses rose up, and Joshua his minister' means the Word and its representative. 'And Moses went up into the mountain of God' means in the direction of heaven. 'And he said to the elders' means those restricted to the outward sense alone. 'Sit for us in this [place]' means that they are to remain with this sense. 'Until we return to you' means till there is a reply. 'And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you' means teachings of truth that are derived from that outward sense of the Word. 'He who has words, let him go to them' means that by means of those teachings falsities are to be removed. 'And Moses went up into the mountain' means towards heaven. 'And a cloud covered the mountain' means the outward aspects of the Word.

Fotnoter:

7317. 'And they will be turned into blood' means that they will falsify truths. This is clear from the meaning of 'blood' as falsified truth, dealt with in 4735, 6978, 'blood' in the genuine sense is truth emanating from the Lord, thus the holiness of faith, this being what is meant by blood in the Holy Supper. But in the contrary sense 'blood' is violence done to Divine Truth, and since it is done by means of falsifications, 'blood' is the falsification of truth. From this and from what follows it may be seen who specifically are represented by 'Pharaoh', or who specifically are meant by those who molest - those within the Church who have declared themselves on the side of faith and have also convinced themselves that faith saves, yet have led a life contrary to the commandments intrinsic to faith. In short they are those whose faith has been false and whose life has been evil.

[2] When these people enter the next life they bring with them the assumption that they are to be introduced into heaven because they were born and baptized within the Church, possessed the Word, and also the teachings drawn from the Word which they had claimed to believe in, and especially because they claimed to believe in the Lord, who suffered for their sins and thereby saved those within the Church who from a knowledge of its teachings claimed to believe in Him. When these people first arrive in the next life from the world they do not wish to know anything about a life of faith and charity. They regard it as of no account, saying that because they have possessed faith all the evils marring their life have been purged and washed away by the blood of the Lamb. But then they are told that these ideas are contrary to the Lord's words in Matthew, where He says this,

Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy through Your name, and through Your name cast out demons, and do many mighty works in Your name? But then I will confess to them, I do not know you; depart from Me, you workers of iniquity. Everyone who hears My words and does them I liken to a wise man; but everyone hearing My words and not doing them I liken to a foolish man. Matthew 7:11-24, 26.

And in Luke,

Then you will begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But He replying will say to you, ¹ I do not know where you come from. Then you will begin to say, We ate in Your presence and we drank; and You taught in our streets. But He will say, I tell you, I do not know where you come from; depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity. Luke 13:25-27.

But when they are told this they reply that only those who possessed faith induced by miracles are meant, not those who possessed the faith of the Church.

[3] But after some time these same people start to learn that none are admitted into heaven apart from those who have led the life of faith, that is, have had charity towards the neighbour. And when they start to learn this they begin to feel contempt for the teachings making up their faith, and their faith itself also. For their faith had not been faith but merely a knowledge of such things as constitute faith; and it had not existed for life's sake, only for the sake of making gain and having important positions. So it is that they begin to feel contempt for the things which had composed their knowledge of faith, and so cast them aside, soon after which they immerse themselves in falsities opposed to the truths of faith. This is the state in which those who have declared themselves on the side of faith, yet have led a life contrary to faith, come to live. These are the ones who in the next life molest the upright by means of falsities, thus who are meant specifically by 'Pharaoh'.

Fotnoter: