289. 'Wife' is used to mean the Church, in the universal sense the Lord's kingdom in heaven and on earth. This too has been shown already, while the fact that 'mother' as well has the same meaning follows from this. In the Word the Church is commonly called 'mother', as in Isaiah,

Where is your mother's bill of divorce? Isaiah 50:1.

In Jeremiah,

Your, mother has been utterly shamed, she who bore you is covered with shame. Jeremiah 50:12.

In Ezekiel,

[You are] your mother's daughter who loathes her husband and her sons. Your mother is a Hittite and your father an Amorite. Ezekiel 16:45.

Here 'husband' (vir) stands for the Lord and everything celestial, 'sons for truths of faith, 'Hittite' for falsity, and 'Amorite' for evil. In the same prophet,

Your mother was like a vine in your likeness, planted beside the waters, fruitful, full of branches by reason of many waters. Ezekiel 19:10.

Here 'mother' stands for the Ancient Church. The Most Ancient Church is pre-eminently called a 'mother' because it was the first Church, and the only one to be celestial. For that reason it was the Lord's beloved more than any other.

Title: Seeing the Horses and Chariots of Fire

Topic: Word

Summary: An exploration of the meaning of horses and chariots in Scripture, showing that many such statements cannot be taken literally. In fact, horses mean an understanding of the Bible and a chariot means a body of teaching drawn from the Word. Living what the Word teaches about repentance is riding a white horse.

Use the reference links below to follow along in the Bible as you watch.

References:
2 Kings 6:17
Job 3:5; Job 4:24; Job 6:63; 39:17
Exodus 14:26-28; 15:1; 21
2 Kings 2:11-12; 13:14
Psalms 20:7; 32:8-9; 45:3-4; 76:6; 147:5-15
Isaiah 31:1-3; 63:10-14; 66:18-end
Jeremiah 46:7-9; 50:35-end
Jeremiah 51:30
Ezekiel 37:17, 20
Nahum 2:13; 3:1-3
Habakkuk 3:8
Zechariah 6:1-6
Revelation 6:1-8; 14:19-20; 19:11-21; 7:9-13, Revelation 7:19