9338. And inherit the land. That this signifies until in good, and thus regenerate, is evident from the signification of “inheriting,” as being to receive as an heir (of which in what follows); and from the signification of “the land,” here the land of Canaan, as being the kingdom of the Lord, thus heaven (see n. 1413, 1437, 1607, 1866, 3038, 3481, 3686, 3705, 4240, 4447). Therefore by “inheriting the land” is signified receiving heaven as an heir. By “an heir,” when said of heaven, is especially meant a man who has the Lord’s life (n. 2658, 2851, 3672, 7212), thus one who is in good from the Lord, and consequently who is regenerate. (That when a man is in good from the Lord, he is in heaven, thus regenerate, see n. 9274, and the passages there cited.)

[2] That this is signified by “inheriting,” when said of heaven, is plain in Matthew:

Then shall the King say to those on His right hand, Come ye blessed of My Father, possess as an inheritance the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry, and ye gave Me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave Me to drink. Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye did it unto Me (Matthew 25:34-35, 40);

here “to possess as an inheritance the kingdom of the Lord,” that is, heaven, is said of those who are in good; the very goods of charity are also enumerated in their order; and finally it is said, “inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye did it unto Me.” Those are called the Lord’s “brethren” who are in good (n. 6756); thus also those who do what is good, for good is the Lord with man. Therefore it is said, “inasmuch as ye did it unto one of [the least] of these brethren;” but not “to one of the brethren.”

[3] In Revelation:

He that overcometh shall receive by inheritance all things; and I will be his God, and be shall be My son (Revelation 21:7);

speaking of those who overcome it is said they “shall receive by inheritance all things,” and they are called “sons,” because heirs; “to overcome” denotes to fight from good and truth; for evil is overcome by means of good; and falsity by means of truth.

[4] In David:

God will save Zion, and build the cities of Judah; and they shall dwell there, and possess it by inheritance. The seed also of His servants shall inherit it; and they that love His name shall dwell therein (Psalms 69:35-36); where “to possess by inheritance” is predicated of those who are in celestial good; and “to inherit” of those who are in spiritual good. Celestial good is the good of love to the Lord, and spiritual good is the good of charity toward the neighbor (n. 9277).

In Isaiah:

He that confideth in Me shall inherit the land, and shall possess by inheritance the mountain of My holiness (Isaiah 57:13).

[5] From all this it is evident what is signified by the land of Canaan being distributed into twelve inheritances for the twelve tribes of Israel (Josh. 14 to 19; and Ezekiel 47:13-22; also Ezekiel 48); for by “the land of Canaan” was signified the kingdom of the Lord, or heaven (n. 1413, 1437, 1607, 1866, 3038, 3481, 3686, 3705, 4240, 4447); by the “twelve tribes” were signified all goods and truths in general and in particular (n. 3858, 3862, 3926, 3939, 4060, 6335, 6337, 6397, 6640); thus by the twelve inheritances was signified heaven with all the heavens and the societies therein, distinct in respect to the goods of love and the derivative truths of faith (n. 7836, 7891, 7996); thus in the abstract sense the goods themselves which are from the Lord, consequently which are the Lord in heaven.

[6] For heaven is nothing else than the Divine truth which proceeds from the Lord’s Divine good. The angels of heaven are recipients of truth in good; and insofar as they receive this, so far they make heaven. And-this is a secret-the Lord does not dwell with an angel except in His own with him. In like manner He dwells with a man; for the Divine must be in what is Divine, and not in what belongs to any man. This is meant by the words of the Lord concerning the union of Himself with those who are in the good of love, in John:

In that day ye shall know that I am in the Father, and ye in Me, and I in you. He that loveth Me keepeth My word, and We will come unto him, and make our abode with him (John 14:20, 23).

The glory which Thou hast given Me I have given them; that they may be one; as We are one; that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them (John 17:22, 26).

1888. That the sense of the letter of the Word is representative of Divine arcana, and that it is the receptacle and thus the repository of the Lord’s celestial and spiritual things, may be illustrated by two examples: first, that by “David” is not meant David, but the Lord; second, that the names signify nothing but actual things, and therefore it must be the same with all the rest of the Word. Concerning David it is said in Ezekiel:

My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall dwell upon the land, they and their sons and their sons’ sons, even to eternity; and David my servant shall be their prince to eternity (Ezekiel 37:24-25).

And in Hosea:

The sons of Israel shall return, and shall seek Jehovah their God, and David their king (Hos. 3:5).

These things were written by the prophets after the time of David, and yet it is plainly said that he shall be their king and prince, from which all may see that in the internal sense it is the Lord who is meant by “David.” And the case is the same in all other passages, even those which are historical, where David is named.

[2] That the names of kingdoms, regions, cities, and men, signify actual things, may be clearly seen in the Prophets. Take merely this example in Isaiah:

Thus said the Lord, Jehovih Zebaoth, O My people, thou inhabitant of Zion, be not afraid of Asshur; he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff upon thee in the way of Egypt. Jehovah of Armies shall stir up a scourge for him according to the plague of Midian at the rock of Horeb; and as His rod was upon the sea, so shall He lift it up in the way of Egypt. He shall come against Aiath, He shall pass over to Migron, at Michmash shall He command His arms; they ¹ shall pass over Mabarah; Geba ¹ is a lodging-place for us; Ramah ¹ shall tremble; Gibeah of Saul shall flee; cry aloud with thy voice, O daughter of Gallim; hearken, O Laish; O thou poor Anathoth; Madmenah shall wander; the inhabitants of Gebim shall gather themselves together; as yet there is a day for a stand at Nob; the mountain of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem, shall shake her hand; He shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a magnificent one (Isaiah 10:24, 26-34).

[3] Here there is almost nothing but names, from which no sense would appear unless all the names signified actual things; and if the mind were to abide in the names, this would never be acknowledged to be the Word of the Lord. But who will believe that in the internal sense they all contain arcana of heaven? and that by them is described the state of those who are endeavoring to enter into the mysteries of faith by reasonings from memory-knowledges? Some special thing belonging to that state are described by each name; and that the meaning is that these reasonings are dispersed by the Lord by means of the celestial things of love and the spiritual things of faith. That the reasoning here treated of is signified by “Asshur,” may be clearly seen from what has been already shown concerning Asshur (n. 119, 1186); also that memory-knowledges are signified by “Egypt” (n. 1164, 1165, 1462); which see and examine. The case is the same with all other names, and also with all the several words.

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