AC 5586, 5585 - Benjamin the intermediary

AC 5586
The intermediary which Benjamin represents
is the intermediate between the internal and the external,
or between the spiritual and the natural person,
and is the truth of good
which proceeds from the truth from the Divine
which is represented by Joseph.
This truth of good
is called the spiritual of the celestial,
and this is "Benjamin".
A person's internal and external
are most distinct from each other,
for his internal is in the light of heaven,
and his external in the light of the world;
and because they are most distinct,
they cannot be conjoined
except by means of an intermediary 
that partakes of both.


AC 5585
. . . 'face', when used in reference to a person,
(signifies/means) as his interiors, that is to say,
his affections and consequent thoughts.
But when used in reference to the Lord,
for the Lord is represented in the highest sense by 'Joseph',
'face' means mercy and compassion,
and therefore 'not seeing his face'
means a lack of mercy or absence of compassion.
Not that the Lord lacks any compassion,
for He is pure mercy;
but when the intermediary
that effects the joining to Him
is not present
it does seem to a person
as though there is no compassion in the Lord.
The reason for this is
that if no intermediary effecting the joining together is present,
no acceptance of good takes place.
And if there is no acceptance of good,
evil is present instead.
If the person then cries to the Lord,
and because he cries from evil
and thus for himself against all others,
is not heard,
it appears to him 
as if there were no compassion.