331. And people and nation, signifies who are of the Lord's spiritual church, and of His celestial church. This is evident from the signification of "people" and "nation" in the Word, "people" signifying those who are in spiritual good, thus those who are of the Lord's spiritual church, and "nation" those who are in celestial good, thus those who are of the Lord's celestial church. That there are two kingdoms into which the heavens are divided, namely, the celestial kingdom and the spiritual kingdom, and that those who are in the good of love to the Lord are in the celestial kingdom, and those who are in the good of charity towards the neighbor are in the spiritual kingdom, see in the work on Heaven and Hell, (n. 20-28). These two kingdoms, however, are not only in the heavens but also on the earth, and on the earth they are called the celestial church and the spiritual church. Few know what is signified in the Word specifically by a "people" or "peoples," and what by a "nation" or "nations." I will therefore present from the Word some passages where the two are named together, from which it will be clear that "people" and "nations" have distinct significations, for unless they had distinct significations they would not both be named together, as in the following passages.

[2] In Isaiah:

The strong people shall glorify Thee, the city of the formidable nations shall fear Thee. Jehovah will swallow up in this mountain the faces of the covering, that covereth over all peoples, and the veil that is veiled over all nations (Isaiah 25:3, 7).

Here a distinction is made between "peoples" and "nations," because "peoples" signify those who are of the Lord's spiritual kingdom, and "nations" those who are of His celestial kingdom, thus those who are in spiritual good and those in celestial good. Spiritual good is the good of charity towards the neighbor, thus the good of faith, and celestial good is the good of love to the Lord, and thence the good of mutual love. The truth of this good is what is meant by "the city of formidable nations," for "city" signifies the doctrine of truth, or the truths of doctrine; "to swallow up the covering over all peoples, and the veil veiled over all nations," signifies to dispel the shade that has so covered the understanding that the truths are not seen or the goods perceived that pertain to heaven and the church.

[3] In the same:

Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye peoples; let the earth hear, and the fullness thereof (Isaiah 34:1).

Because "nations" signify those who are in the good of love, and "peoples" those who are in the good of charity and in the truths of faith therefrom, it is said of the nations that they should "come near," and of the peoples that they should "hearken;" to "come near" signifies to be conjoined by love, and to "hearken" signifies to obey and to be instructed; it is therefore said, "let the earth hear, and the fullness thereof," "earth" signifying the church in respect to good, and "the fullness thereof" truths.

[4] In the same:

I Jehovah have called thee in righteousness, and I will hold thine hand and I will give thee for a covenant to the people, for a light of the nations (Isaiah 42:6).

In the same:

Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears. Let all the nations be brought together, and let the peoples gather together (Isaiah 43:8-9).

In the same:

I have given him for a witness to the peoples, a prince and lawgiver to the nations (Isaiah 55:4).

In the same:

Thus said the Lord Jehovih, Behold, I will lift up Mine hand towards the nations, and lift up My standard towards the peoples (Isaiah 49:22).

In the same:

The peoples that walk in darkness have seen a great light. Thou hast multiplied the nation, thou hast made great to it gladness (Isaiah 9:2-3).

And in the same:

It shall be in that day that the root of Jesse, which standeth for an ensign of the peoples, the nations shall seek. And He shall lift up an ensign for the nations, and shall gather together the outcasts of Israel (Isaiah 11:10, 12).

All these things are said of the Lord; and "peoples" and "nations" mean all who are of His church; for all who are of the Lord's church are either of His celestial kingdom or of His spiritual kingdom; not any except those who are in these two kingdoms can possibly be of the church. Moreover, there are two things that constitute the church, good and truth, both from the Lord; "nations" mean those who are in good, and "peoples" those who are in truth; and, abstractly from persons, "nations" signify the goods of the church, and "peoples" its truths; "peoples" signify the truths of the church because spiritual good, or the good of charity towards the neighbor, in which those are who are meant by "peoples," in its essence is truth. (See Arcana Coelestia 8042, 10296; why it is so, n. 863, 875, 895, 927, 1023, 1043, 1044, 1555, 2256, 4328, 4493, 5113, 9596; thence what the distinction is between those who are of the celestial kingdom and those who are of the spiritual kingdom, n. 2088, 2669, 2708, 2715, 3235, 3240, 4788, 7068, 8521, 9277, 10295)

[5] In the same:

In that time a present unto Jehovah of Hosts shall be brought; a people distracted and plundered: and a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of the name of Jehovah of Hosts, to Mount Zion (Isaiah 18:2, 7).

This treats of the invitation of all to the church; therefore also "people" and "nation" are both mentioned. "Mount Zion" signifies the church, to which they are invited; "a people distracted and plundered" signifies those with whom truths have been taken away, changed, or perverted by those who are in the falsities of doctrine; "a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled," signifies those with whom goods have been treated in like manner, "rivers" meaning falsities and reasonings therefrom.

[6] In Zechariah:

Yet there shall come peoples, and the inhabitants of great cities, to entreat the faces of Jehovah, and many peoples and numerous nations shall come to seek Jehovah of Hosts in Jerusalem (Zechariah 8:20-22).

Here, too, "peoples" and "nations" signify all who are of the Lord's church; "peoples" those who are of His spiritual church, and "nations" those who are of His celestial church. "Jerusalem," to which they shall come, is the church.

[7] In David:

Thou wilt set me for the head of the nations; a people I have not known shall serve me (Psalms 18:43).

In the same:

Jehovah will subdue the peoples under us, and the nations under our feet. God reigneth over the nations. The willing ones of the peoples are gathered together (Psalms 47:3, 8-9).

In the same:

That [Thy way] may be known on the earth, Thy salvation among all nations. The peoples shall confess Thee, O God: the nations shall be glad and shout for joy; for Thou shalt judge the peoples in uprightness, and shalt lead the nations into the land (Psalms 67:2-4).

Remember me, O Jehovah, in good pleasure towards Thy people; that I may be glad in the joy of Thy nations (Psalms 106:4-5).

I will confess Thee, O Lord, among the nations. I will sing psalms unto Thee among the peoples (Psalms 57:9; 108:3).

In these passages also "peoples" and "nations" are mentioned, by which are meant all who are in truths and goods. Moreover, the very words that are applied to peoples are words that are predicated of truths, and those applied to nations are those that are predicated of goods. That no other are meant by "nations" is evident also from the fact that these things were said by David, who was an enemy of the Canaanitish nations.

[8] In Luke:

Mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples; a light for a revelation to the nations (Luke 2:30-32).

In Zephaniah:

The remnant of My people shall spoil them, and the remainder of My nation shall inherit them (Zephaniah 2:9).

In Moses:

When her two sons were struggling in her womb, Rebekah went to inquire of Jehovah, and Jehovah said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two peoples shall be separated from thy bowels (Genesis 25:22-23).

Remember the days of the age, when the Most High gave to the nations an inheritance; when He separated the sons of man he set the bounds of the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel (Deuteronomy 32:7-8).

"The sons of man" have the same signification as "peoples," namely, those who are in spiritual truths and goods; therefore it is said of them, "when He separated the sons of man He set the bounds of the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel;" "the sons of Israel" signifying the spiritual church, and the "number" of them, or of the twelve tribes named from them, signifying all the truths and goods therein (See just above, n. 330); such therefore are called "peoples;" "to separate" them and "to set their bounds" signifies to alienate from falsities and to bestow truths; and "to give an inheritance to the nations" signifies heaven and conjunction with those who are in the good of love.

[9] In Daniel:

All peoples, nations, and tongues shall worship Him; His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not perish (Daniel 7:14).

This is said of the Lord; and "peoples" and "nations" mean all who are in truths and goods; and "all tongues" mean all of whatever doctrine or religion; for the Lord's church is universal, since it exists with all who are in the good of life, and who from their doctrine look to heaven, and thereby conjoin themselves to the Lord (of whom see Heaven and Hell 318-328). Because "nations" signify those who are in the good of love, and "peoples" those who are in the good of charity and in the truths of faith therefrom, it is said, "His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom shall not pass away;" "dominion" in the Word is predicated of good, and "kingdom" of truth; for this reason the Lord is called "Lord" from Divine good, and "king" from Divine truth.

There are other passages besides these that might be quoted to prove that "peoples" signify those who are of the spiritual church, and "nations" those who are of the celestial church. So far those only have been presented in which "peoples" and "nations" are mentioned together; to these some shall be added in which "nations" alone are mentioned.

[10] In Isaiah:

Open the gates, that the righteous nation that keepeth faithfulness may enter in. Thou hast added to the nation, O Jehovah, Thou hast added to the nation; Thou hast been glorified: Thou hast removed all the ends of the earth (Isaiah 26:2, 15).

In David:

All the ends of the earth shall turn unto Jehovah; and all the families of the nations shall worship before Thee. For the kingdom is Jehovah's; and He it is that ruleth among the nations (Psalms 22:27-28).

In Isaiah:

The nations shall walk to Thy light, and kings to the brightness of Thy rising. Thy heart shall be enlarged, because the multitude of the sea shall turn unto Thee, the army of the nations shall come unto Thee (Isaiah 60:3, 5).

All nations shall see Thy righteousness, and all kings Thy glory (Isaiah 62:2).

In these passages "nations" and "peoples" are not mentioned together, but still in the last two "nations" and "kings" because "kings" signify the like as "peoples," namely, those who are in truths (See above, n. 31); and it is because "nations" signify those who are in good, and "kings" those who are in truths, that it is said of the nations that they "shall see Thy righteousness," and of the kings that they shall "see Thy glory;" "righteousness" in the Word being predicated of good, and "glory" of truth. (That "righteousness" is predicated in the Word of Divine good, seeArcana Coelestia 2235, 9857; and "glory" of Divine truth, n. 4809, 5922, 8267, 8427, 9429.)

[11] From the contrary sense it can yet be seen that "peoples" signify those who are in truths, and "nations" those who are in good; for in that sense "peoples" signify those who are in falsities, and "nations" those who are in evils, as in the following. In Isaiah:

O Assyrian, the rod of Mine anger, I will send him against a hypocritical nation, and against the people of My wrath will I command him (Isaiah 10:5-6).

In the same:

The voice of a multitude in the mountains; the voice of a tumult of the kingdoms of the nations gathered together. They come from a land afar off, from the end of the heavens, even Jehovah with the vessels of His indignation to destroy the whole land (Isaiah 13:4-5).

Jehovah that smiteth the peoples with a stroke not curable, that ruleth with anger the nations (Isaiah 14:6).

In the same:

At the noise of the tumult let the peoples flee away; and before Thine exaltation let the nations be dispersed (Isaiah 33:3).

In Jeremiah:

Behold, a people cometh from the land of the north, and a great nation shall be stirred up from the sides of the earth. They lay hold on the bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy (Jeremiah 6:22-23).

In Ezekiel:

I will not cause thee to hear any more the calumny of the nations, and the reproach of the peoples thou shalt not bear any more (Ezekiel 36:15).

In David:

Thou makest us a byword among the nations, a shaking of the head among the peoples (Psalms 44:14).

In the same:

Jehovah bringeth the counsel of the nations to nought; He overthroweth the thoughts of the peoples (Psalms 33:10).

In these passages "peoples" mean those who are against the truths of the spiritual church, thus in falsities; and "nations" those who are against the goods of the celestial church, thus in evils. This is also the signification of the peoples and nations that were driven out of the land of Canaan. To this let what was said above n. 175 be added.

4493. 'And they circumcised every male, all who went out of the gate of his city' means the acceptance of externalities. This is clear from the meaning of 'circumcising every male' as being introduced into the representatives and meaningful signs of that people (that is, into those of Jacob's descendants) - solely into the external observances involved in these, dealt with in 4486; and from the meaning of 'going out of the gate of the city' as departing from the doctrine of the Church among the Ancients, dealt with immediately above in 4492. And as the departure from doctrine and the acceptance of externalities is meant, the expression 'those who went out of the gate of his city' occurs twice, without any reference at the same time, as is so elsewhere, to those who went into it. For 'going in' means an acceptance of doctrine and a departure from externalities; but the reverse of this is described here.

[2] The implications of this must now be stated. Members of the Most Ancient Church, the remnants of which Hamor and Shechem with their families were a part, had an entirely different mental constitution and different disposition from adherents to the Ancient Church. The will in the case of the members of the Most Ancient Church contained that which was whole; but this was not so with adherents to the Ancient Church. Because of this the Lord was able with members of the Most Ancient Church to flow in through the will, and therefore by an internal way, but not so with adherents to the Ancient Church, since in these the will had been destroyed. But the Lord flowed into their understanding, and so not by an internal way but by an external one, as stated above in 4489. Flowing in through the will involves flowing in through the good of love, for all good belongs to the will part of the mind, whereas flowing in through the understanding involves flowing in through the truth of faith, for all truth belongs to the understanding part. Within the latter - the understanding - the Lord formed, in the case of adherents to the Ancient Church, a new will when He regenerated them. For goods and truths were implanted in the will part of the mind of members of the Most Ancient Church, see 895, 927, but in the understanding part of that of adherents to the Ancient Church, 863, 875, 895, 927, 2124, 2256, 4328. The new will is formed within the understanding part of the mind, 928, 1023, 1043, 1044, 4328. A parallelism exists between the Lord and the good residing with man, but not between Him and the truth there, 1831, 1832, 2718, 3514. As a consequence adherents to the Ancient Church dwelt in obscurity compared with members of the Most Ancient, 2708, 2715, 2935, 2937, 3246, 3833. From all this it may be seen that members of the Most Ancient Church had an entirely different mental constitution and different disposition from adherents to the Ancient Church.

[3] It was for this reason that those who belonged to the Most Ancient Church were internal people and had no external forms of worship, while those who belonged to the Ancient Church were external people and did have them. For the former saw external things in the light of internal ones, as if by the light of the sun in the daytime, whereas the latter saw internal things in the light of external ones, as if by the light of the moon or stars at night. This also explains why the Lord is seen by the former in heaven as the Sun, but by the latter as the Moon, 1521, 1529-1531, 2441, 2495, 4060. The former are those who in explanations above are called celestial, the latter those who are called spiritual.

[4] To illustrate the essential difference between the two let an example be taken. If a member of the Most Ancient Church had read the Word, the historical or the prophetical, he would have seen its internal sense without prior instruction or any explanation. He would have seen it so perfectly that the celestial and spiritual things belonging to the internal sense would have instantly met his eyes, and scarcely anything belonging to the sense of the letter. Thus the internal sense would have been for him in brightness, but the sense of the letter in obscurity. He would be like someone listening to a person speaking, and taking in only the sense and paying no attention to the words used by the speaker. But if a member of the Ancient Church had read the Word he would not have been able, without prior instruction or explanation, to see its internal sense, and so the internal sense would have been for him in obscurity but the sense of the letter in brightness. He would be like someone listening to a person speaking and in thought hanging on to the words used by him, all the while paying no attention to the sense of them, which would therefore be lost on him. But when a member of the Jewish Church reads the Word he does not understand anything beyond the sense of the letter. He does not know of and also denies the existence of any internal sense. And it is similar with the member of the Christian Church at the present day.

[5] These considerations show the essential difference between those represented here by Hamor and Shechem who, being part of the remnants of the Most Ancient Church, were interested in internal things and not in external ones, and those meant by the sons of Jacob who were interested in external things and not in internal ones. Those considerations show in addition that Hamor and Shechem could not have acceded to external things and accepted those which existed among the sons of Jacob unless their internals were closed. But if these had been closed they would have perished for ever.

[6] This is the hidden reason why Hamor and Shechem with their families were slain, a deed that would not otherwise have been allowed. Not that this absolves the sons of Jacob from blame for having committed that hideous crime. They had no knowledge of that hidden reason, nor did they have that as their end in view. Everyone is judged according to the end he has in view, that is, his intention; and it is plainly stated in verse 13 that their intention was deceitful. When the Lord allows any such crime as this it is carried out by the evil and by those in hell who instigate it. But all evil which the evil intend and do to the good the Lord converts into good, as is the case here in that Hamor and Shechem with their families were [eternally] saved.