437. And the sound of their wings was like the sound of many horse-drawn chariots rushing into battle. This symbolizes their reasonings, as though founded on doctrinal truths from the Word fully understood, which they had to ardently defend.

The sound of wings symbolizes reasonings, because to fly means, symbolically, to perceive and teach (nos. 245, 415). Chariots symbolize doctrinal teachings, as we are about to show. Horses symbolize an understanding of the Word (no. 298), and many horses a full understanding. Plainly to rush into battle symbolizes an ardor to fight.

That a chariot symbolizes doctrine is clear from the following passages:

The chariots of God are twenty thousand, thousands of peaceful ones, the Lord among them... (Psalms 68:17)

(Jehovah) makes the clouds His chariots, He walks on the wings of the wind. (Psalms 104:3)

O Jehovah..., ...You ride on Your horses, Your chariots are salvation. (Habakkuk 3:8)

...behold, Jehovah will come with fire, and like a whirlwind His chariots... (Isaiah 66:15)

You shall be filled at My table with horses and chariots... (Thus) I will set My glory among the nations. (Ezekiel 39:20-21)

I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem. (Zechariah 9:10)

I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms... I will overthrow the chariots and those who ride in them. (Haggai 2:22)

...set a watchman, let him declare what he sees. He saw therefore a chariot, a pair of horsemen..., a chariot of camels..., and... the chariot of a man... And he... said, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen!" (Isaiah 21:6-7, 9)

Since Elijah and Elisha represented the Lord in respect to the Word and thus symbolized doctrine drawn from the Word, as did all the prophets (no. 8), therefore they were called "the chariots of Israel and its horsemen;" and for the same reason Elisha saw Elijah taken up into heaven in a chariot of fire, and Elisha's servant saw chariots and horses of fire around Elisha (2 Kings 2:11-12; 6:17; 13:14).

See also elsewhere where chariots are mentioned, as in Isaiah 31:1; 37:24; 66:20; Jeremiah 17:25; 22:4; 46:2-3, 8-9; 50:37-38; 51:20-21.

8762. 'Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel' means the salvation of those belonging to the spiritual Church, external and internal. This is clear from the meaning of 'saying' and 'telling' here as salvation, for what Jehovah now says and tells them through Moses is all about salvation; and from the meaning of 'the house of Jacob' and 'the children of Israel' as the external Church and the internal Church, dealt with in 3305, 4286. What the external Church and the internal Church are has been stated before in several places, where it was shown that the external aspect of the Ancient Church involved everything representing the internal, while the internal aspect of the Church was that which external things represented. People for example who considered Divine worship to consist in sacrifices, and in religious ceremonies and rules, which represented the spiritual and celestial realities of the Lord's kingdom, were concerned with external things, whereas those who considered Divine worship to consist at the same time in the celestial and spiritual realities that were represented were concerned with internal things. It is similar at the present day. Some people consider Divine worship to consist in going to church, listening to sermons, attending the Holy Supper, and doing these things in a devout manner, yet do not think of them except as duties to be done regularly because they have been instituted and commanded. Those people belong to the external Church. Others however likewise believe that such duties should be attended to, but that nevertheless the essential element of worship is the life of faith, which is charity towards the neighbour and love to the Lord. These people belong to the internal Church. Consequently those also belong to the external Church who do good to the neighbour and worship the Lord, but solely in a spirit of obedience born of faith, whereas those belong to the internal Church who do good to the neighbour and worship the Lord out of love. And so on with all else exemplifying those two aspects of the Church.

[2] But with every member of the Church both aspects must be present, the external and the internal. Unless both are present spiritual life does not exist with him; for the internal is so to speak the soul, and the external so to speak the body housing the soul. Those however who belong to the external Church are plainly concerned with external things of the Church and only vaguely with internal ones, whereas those belonging to the internal Church are plainly concerned with internal things and vaguely with external ones. But those concerned only with external things and not at the same time with internal do not belong to the Church. A concern for both exists with all who lead a good life in accordance with the teachings of their Church. But a concern for external things alone without internal exists with those who engage in acts of worship yet do not at the same time lead a good life in accordance with the teachings of their Church. There are few who know this; and the reason why few know it is that people consider worship and therefore salvation to consist wholly in faith, and not at all in charity. So it is also that those who think about eternal salvation consider it to consist in the religious life and not at all in the life of charity, regarding which kinds of life see 8252-8257.