671. 'Pairs of all you shall cause to enter the ark to keep them alive means the regeneration of these. This becomes clear from what has been stated in the previous verse, to the effect that truths cannot be regenerated except by means of goods and delights. Nor therefore can things of faith be regenerated except through those of charity. Hence the statement here about pairs of all having to enter, clearly meaning that both truths, which belong to the understanding, and goods, which belong to the will, were to do so. With someone who has not yet been regenerated an understanding of truth and a will for good do not exist but merely appear to do so, and are referred to as such in everyday speech. It is possible for rational truths and for facts to exist with that person, but these have no life. It is also possible for goods which merely look like those of the will, such as those present with gentiles or even with animals, to exist there. But these have no life either; they are merely semblances. With man such things are in no sense alive until he has been regenerated and they have in this way been made alive by the Lord. In the next life what has life and what does not is perceived very distinctly. Truth that has no life is perceived instantly as something material, all tangled and closed up, while good that has no life is perceived as something wooden, bony, and stone-like. But truth or good made alive by the Lord is open, living, and full of what is spiritual and celestial - open even from the Lord Himself. This applies to every idea and action, even to the smallest of either of them. This is why the statement is here made about pairs having to enter the ark to keep them alive.

2853. 'In your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed' means the salvation of all who are endowed with good. This is clear from the meaning of 'being blessed' as being enriched with celestial and spiritual good (dealt with in 981, 1096, 1420, 1422) and - since those who are saved are the subject - as being saved, for as is well known 'being blessed' has a wide range of meanings; from the meaning of 'seed' as faith that is the expression of charity, dealt with in 1025, 1447, 1610; and from the meaning of 'the nations of the earth' as those who are endowed with good, dealt with in 1159, 1258-1260, 1416, 1849.

[2] In addition to this, these words contain the following arcanum: By means of the Church, meant here by 'the earth', 662, 1066, 1068, 1262, those people are saved who are outside of the Church, for 'your seed', as has been stated, means faith that is the expression of charity. Faith that is the expression of charity occurs only with those within the Church since such faith is in essence truth taught by doctrine coupled to goodness of life. For the truth of the matter is that the Lord's kingdom on earth consists of all those who are endowed with good, who, though spread throughout the whole world, are nevertheless one, and as members constitute one body. The same is so with the Lord's kingdom in the heavens. There the whole of heaven presents itself as one entire human being, which is for that reason also called the Grand Man, 684, 1276. And what is a marvel and unknown until now, all parts of the human body correspond to communities in heaven. For this reason it is sometimes said that this group of communities belong to the province of the head, that group to the province of the eye, another group to that of the chest, and so on. This correspondence will in the Lord's Divine mercy be discussed in a section by itself.

[3] It is similar with the Lord's Church on earth. Here the Church is like the heart and lungs, and those outside of the Church resemble parts of the body which are sustained by, and get their life from, the heart and lungs. From this it is evident that without the Church somewhere on earth the human race cannot continue to exist, even as the body cannot without the heart and lungs in it, see 468, 637, 931, 2054. It is for this reason that as often as any Church reaches its end, that is, ceases to be a Church because no charity exists any more, the Lord in His Providence always raises up a new one. When for example the Most Ancient Church, which was called Man, perished, the Lord created a new one, which was referred to as Noah. This was the Ancient Church, which existed after the Flood. And when this declined and became no longer a Church, the Jewish and Israelite representative Church was brought into being. And when this became wholly extinct the Lord came into the world and again established a new one. This was done by Him to the end that heaven might be joined to the human race by means of the Church. This is also what is meant by the words 'in your seed all nations of the earth will be blessed'.