4555. 'And the terror of God was on the cities which were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob' means that falsities and evils were unable to come near. This is clear from the meaning of 'the terror of God' as protection, dealt with below; from the meaning of 'the cities which were round about them' as falsities and evils (for in the genuine sense 'cities' are the truths of doctrine and in the contrary sense the falsities of doctrine, 402, 2449, 2943, 3216, 4478, 4492, 4493; but in the present instance 'the cities' is used to mean evils as well as falsities, because their inhabitants must be included too, meaning goods in the genuine sense, and so evils in the contrary sense, 2268, 2451, 2712); and from the meaning of 'not pursuing after them' as being unable to come near.
[2] The truth that 'the terror of God' means protection may be illustrated by things that happen in the next life. There the hells cannot possibly go near heaven, nor evil spirits go near any heavenly community, because the terror of God enters into them. Indeed when evil spirits approach any heavenly community they are suddenly seized by feelings of distress and torment, and those who have been through this experience a number of times do not dare to make such an approach. This not daring to do so is what 'the terror of God' is used to mean in the internal sense. Not that God or the Lord sets out to terrify them. Rather they are terrified because they are under the influence of falsities and evils, and so of things that are the opposite of goods and truths; and it is those actual falsities and evils, when they approach goods and truths, that cause the evil spirits to feel distressed and tormented.
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