7056. '[And he went, and] he came to meet him in the mountain of God' means a joining together within the good of love there. This is clear from the meaning of 'coming to meet' as a joining together, dealt with just above in 7054; and from the meaning of 'the mountain of God' as the good of God's love, dealt with in 6829. The situation here is that truth which goes forth directly from the Divine cannot be joined together with truth going forth in an indirect way except within good; for good is its very soil. Forms of truth are seeds which do not grow anywhere else than in good as their soil. Good is also the actual soul of truth; good must give truth its being and its life, if it is to be truth.

[2] Truth that goes forth directly from the Divine is called truth, though essentially it is good because it goes forth from Divine Good; but it is good with which all truth from God is united. It is called truth because in heaven it is seen as light, but this light is like springtime light, which is combined with a warmth that brings all things on earth to life. From this it may also be seen that truth going forth directly from the Divine cannot be joined together with truth that goes forth in an indirect way except within good, consequently unless a person is stirred by an affection for truth for its own sake, especially for the sake of what is good, and so for the sake of the life he should lead. For then the person is governed by good.

[3] Something more may be known about the nature of that joining together from the following considerations: Truth that goes forth directly from the Divine enters a person's will; this is the path it takes. But truth which goes forth from the Divine in an indirect way enters a person's understanding, and this being so, no joining together can take place unless will and understanding act as one, that is to say, unless the will desires what is good, and the understanding uses truth to endorse what is good. When therefore the two kinds of truth are joined together it seems as though the Lord is present; His presence is also felt. But when they are not joined the Lord is so to speak absent; but His absence is not felt if there is no perception and therefore knowledge of what His presence is.

6829. 'And came to the mountain of God' means that after them the good of God's love appeared. This is clear from the meaning of 'the mountain of God' as the good of God's love, 'mountain' being the good of love, see 795, 796, 2722, 4210, 6435. The appearance of that good after they had undergone temptations is what is meant by his coming to that mountain at the back of the wilderness. The situation is that when a person undergoes temptation he is besieged all round by falsities and evils which block the flow of light from the Divine, that is, of truth and good; and that person is so to speak in darkness. Darkness in the next life is nothing other than being besieged by falsities, for these take away the light and so take away from the one undergoing temptation any sense of consolation gained from truths. But when the person comes out of temptation light appears together with the spiritual heat that goes with it, that is, truth together with the good that goes with it. This brings the person cheerfulness after his distress; and that cheerfulness is the morning that follows night in the next life. The reason why good is perceived then and truth appears is that after temptation truth and good penetrate more deeply within and become firmly rooted. For while a person undergoes temptation he so to speak hungers for good and thirsts for truth, and therefore when he comes out of temptation he takes in good like one hungry for food and receives truth like one thirsting for drink. And in addition to this, when the light from the Divine appears falsities and evils are removed; and once they have been removed there is a means of access for truth and good to penetrate more deeply within. These are the reasons why after temptations the good of love appears together with the light from the Lord that goes with it. It is well known to everyone in the next life that brightness and cheerfulness appear after the gloom and distress of temptations, because this is a common happening there.