3693. And passed the night there, for the sun was set. That this signifies life in what is obscure, is evident from the signification of “night,” as being a state of shade (n. 1712); thus “passing the night” signifies living in this state; and from the signification of the “sun being set,” as being to be in what is obscure; for it is then “evening,” and that “evening” signifies that which is obscure, may be seen above (n. 3056). By that which is obscure is here meant obscurity of intelligence in respect to truth, and obscurity of wisdom in respect to good; for the light which the angels have from the Lord has within it intelligence and wisdom, and is also thence derived (see n. 1521, 1524, 1529, 1530, 3138, 3167, 3195, 3339, 3341, 3636, 3637, 3643); and therefore insofar as they are in light, so far they are also in intelligence and wisdom; but insofar as they are not in light, thus insofar as they are in shade, so far they are not in intelligence and wisdom (n. 2776, 3190, 3337). It is for this reason that in common speech “light” is predicated of the things of the understanding. Man is not aware of this reason, and therefore believes that these terms are used merely by way of comparison. Men use many other forms of expression that flow from a perception of such things as exist in the other life, in which they are as to their spirits, and that have been received in conversation because they are interiorly acknowledged, but are blotted out of notice by the things of the body, which are of such a nature as to extinguish the things of perception in which man’s interior man is.

[2] That in the Word the “setting of the sun” signifies the falsity and evil in which they are who have no charity and faith; thus that it signifies also the last time of the church, may be seen above (n. 1837); and also that it signifies obscurity in respect to those things which are of good and truth, such as exists with those who are in a degree more remote from Divine doctrinal things, may be seen above (n. 3691). That the “setting of the sun,” or the “sun being set,” has these significations, may be seen from the following passages in the Word.

In Micah:

Night unto you instead of vision; and darkness unto you instead of divination; and the sun shall go down upon the prophets, and the day shall be black over them (Micah 3:6);

“the sun shall go down upon the prophets” signifies that they have no longer any truth and understanding of truth; “prophets” denote those who teach the truths of doctrine (see n. 2534).

In Amos:

It shall come to pass in that day that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the day of light; and I will turn your feast into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation (Amos 8:9-10);

“to cause the sun to go down at noon” denotes obscurity as to truth with those who are in the knowledges of good and truth (that “noon” signifies a state of light, or of the knowledges of truth, see above, n. 1458, 3195).

[3] In Isaiah:

Thy sun shall no more go down, neither shall thy moon withdraw itself; for Jehovah shall be thine everlasting light (Isaiah 60:20); where the Lord’s kingdom is treated of; the “sun shall no more go down” denotes that they shall be in the life of good and in wisdom, because in the Lord’s celestial love and light; “the moon shall not withdraw itself” denotes that they shall be in the life of truth, and in intelligence, because in the Lord’s spiritual love and light. (That in the other life the Lord is a sun to the celestial angels, and a moon to the spiritual angels, and that hence they have wisdom and intelligence, see above, n. 1053, 1521, 1529-1531, 2441, 2495, 3636, 3643.) From this it is evident what is meant in the internal sense of the Word by the rising” and “setting” of the sun.

[4] In David:

O Jehovah my God Thou art very great; Thou hast put on glory and honor; who covereth Himself with light as with a garment; He stretcheth out the heavens like a curtain; he made the moon for appointed festivals; He knoweth the going down of the sun. Thou disposest the darkness that it may become night (Psalms 104:1-2, 19-20);

here in like manner the “moon” denotes intelligence, and the “sun” wisdom, from the Lord; the “going down of the sun” denotes the obscurity of each; “to dispose the darkness that it may become night,” signifies the moderating of a state of obscurity. That the angels have changes of state between the highest degree of light and a less degree, or between the highest degree of wisdom and a less degree, and that these changes of state are as the morning when the sun rises, and as midday when it is in its greatest altitude, and as the evening when it sets, and afterwards as morning again, will of the Lord’s Divine mercy be shown elsewhere.

[5] In Joshua:

From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your border (Josh. 1:4); where there is described the extension of the land of Canaan, by which is signified in the internal sense the Lord’s kingdom (see n. 1607, 3038, 3481); (that the “river Euphrates” is one border of it, that is, of things spiritual and celestial, see above, n. 1866; and that the great sea” and the “going down of the sun” is another, by which is represented the ultimate, which is relatively obscure; also that all the borders and all the places in that land are representative, n. 1585).

[6] In Moses:

If in taking a pledge thou shalt take for a pledge thy neighbor’s garment, thou shalt restore it unto him before the sun goeth down; for that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin, wherein he shall sleep (Exodus 22:26-27).

And again

If he be a poor man, thou shalt not lie down upon his pledge; thou shalt surely restore to him the pledge before the sun goeth down, and he shall bless thee, and it shall be righteousness unto thee before Jehovah thy God (Deuteronomy 24:12-13).

That in this law, as in all the rest, there is what is representative and significative of the Divine law, which is that of good and truth in the Lord’s kingdom, from which this law comes, is manifest from its particulars. That it contains as the very ground of the law that a man’s companions ought not to be deprived of external truths, which are the doctrinal things according to which they live, and their rituals; and that such truths are the “garment,” may be seen above (n. 297, 1073, 2576). “Restoring the pledge before the sun “went down,” denotes before truth perishes with him; and because this truth is external, it is said that “the garment is for his skin in which he shall sleep.”

[7] Again:

The soul that hath touched what is unclean shall be unclean until the even, and shall not eat of the holy things; but when he has bathed his flesh in water, and the sun is down, he shall be clean; and afterwards he shall eat of the holy things (Leviticus 22:6-7).

And again:

He that is not clean, toward evening shall bathe himself in waters; and when the sun is down, he shall enter into the midst of the camp (Deuteronomy 23:10-11).

That this law also has its origin in the laws of good and truth, or the laws of order in the Lord’s kingdom, is evident; otherwise it would never have been commanded that the unclean person should be unclean until the evening, and should then wash himself with waters, and after the sun was down should be clean. The law of order in the Lord’s kingdom from which the above law comes, is that when good and angelic spirits lapse into a state of the love of self, and thereby into a state of falsity, they are then remitted a little into their natural or lower state, and are there imbued with knowledges of good and truth that bear upon the matter in question, which is signified by “washing themselves with waters in the evening.” (That “washing with waters” denotes to be purified from falsities, may be seen above, n. 3147, 3148; and that “waters” are the knowledges of truth, n. 28, 680, 739, 2702, 3058.) And after they have been in that obscure state which is signified by the “going down of the sun,” they return into their former state, which is signified by their “being clean,” and “entering into the midst of the camp,” on which subject of the Lord’s Divine mercy something shall be said elsewhere from experience. From what has been said it is now evident that when mentioned in the Word the “going down of the sun” with the good signifies an obscure state as to truth; and with the evil a state of falsity.

1712. He divided himself against them by night. That this signifies the shade in which the apparent goods and truths were, is evident from the signification of “night,” as being a state of shade. There is said to be a state of shade when it is not known whether the good and truth are apparent or are genuine. When anyone is in apparent good and truth, he supposes them to be genuine good and truth; the evil and falsity that are in apparent good and truth are what cause the shade, and make them appear genuine. They who are in ignorance can know no otherwise than that the good which they do is their own, and that the truth which they think is their own, and it is the same with those who attribute to themselves the goods they do, and place merit in them, not knowing that in this case they are not good, although they appear so; and that the Own and self-merit which they place in them are the evils and falsities which obscure and darken. So in many other cases.

[2] The kind and the measure of the evil and falsity which lie concealed in them, cannot possibly be so well seen in the life of the body as in the other life, where they are presented to view as in clear light. But the case is different if this is done from ignorance that is not confirmed, for in this case those evils and falsities are easily dispersed. But if men confirm themselves in the belief that they can do good and resist evil by their own powers, and that they thus merit salvation, in this case this idea remains attached, and causes the good to be evil, and the truth to be falsity. But still it is according to order for a man to do good as of himself; and therefore he ought not to slacken his hand, with the thought, “If I can do nothing of good from myself, I ought to wait for immediate influx,” and thus remain in a passive state, for this would be contrary to order; but he must do good as of himself; yet, when he reflects upon the good which he does or has done, let him think, acknowledge, and believe that the Lord has done the work in him.

[3] If he slackens his effort, thinking as has been said, he is then not a subject into which the Lord can operate. The Lord cannot flow into anyone who deprives himself of everything into which power can be infused. It is as if one were not willing to learn anything without a revelation to himself; or as if one would teach nothing unless the words were put into him; or as if one would attempt nothing unless he were put into action as one without will. But if these things were done, he would be still more indignant at being like an inanimate thing; when yet that which is animated by the Lord in a man is that which appears as if it were from himself. It is thus an eternal truth that a man does not live from himself, but that if he did not appear to live from himself he could not live at all.