9808. From the midst of the sons of Israel. That this signifies in heaven and in the church, is evident from the signification of “Israel,” as being those who are of the church, thus abstractedly the church itself (see n. 4286, 6426, 6637, 6862, 6868, 7035, 7062, 7198, 7201, 7215, 7223, 8805, 9340); and as “Israel” denotes the church, it also denotes heaven, for heaven and the church make one, and the church is the heaven of the Lord on earth. Moreover, heaven is within every member of the church when he is in truth and at the same time in good from the Lord.

1260. Because in the Most Ancient and in the Ancient Church, nations signified goods, or good men, therefore in the opposite sense they signify evils, or evil men. In like manner peoples, because they signified truths, in the opposite sense signify falsities. For in a depraved church good is turned into evil, and truth into falsity. Hence comes the signification of “nations” and of “peoples” in this opposite sense in many places in the Word, as in Isaiah 13:4; 14:6; 18:2, 7; 30:28; 34:1-2; Ezekiel 20:32.