5845. 'Perhaps I shall see the evil which will come upon my father' means a perception that it will perish. This is clear from the meaning of 'seeing' as understanding, dealt with in 2807, 3863, 4403, 4421, and consequently perceiving, 3764, 4567, 5400. The idea that it will perish is meant by 'the evil which will come upon him'. Much the same is meant by 'causing grey hair to go down in evil to the grave', 5832, and also by the statement that if their father did not see him with his brothers he would die, 5836. This is the evil that is meant. Regarding spiritual good represented by 'Israel', that it would perish if the truth represented by 'Benjamin' were to depart, see above in 5832.

5832. 'You will cause my grey hair to go down in evil to the grave' means that spiritual good and so the internal aspect of the Church is going to perish. This is clear from the representation of 'Israel' as spiritual good, dealt with in 5807, 5812, 5813, 5817, 5819, 5825, and as the internal aspect of the spiritual Church, 4286; from the meaning of 'grey hair' as the final phase of the Church, [dealt with in 5550;] and from the meaning of 'going down in evil to the grave' as perishing, dealt with in 4785. Going down in good to the grave describes rising again and being regenerated, 2916, 2917, 5551, and therefore 'going down in evil to the grave' is the opposite, namely perishing. As regards a perishing of the internal aspect of the Church if the truth represented by 'Benjamin' perishes, the situation is this: For good to be good it must have its own truths, and for truths to be truths they must have their own good. Without truths good is not good, even as truths without good are not truths; together they constitute a marriage, which is called the heavenly marriage. Consequently if one departs the other perishes; and one can depart from the other by being torn to pieces by evils and falsities.