4454. 'And Shechem said to her father and to her brothers' means counsel taken by the truth from the ancient Divine stock with the good and truth of this semblance of religion. This is clear from the meaning of 'saying' in this case as taking counsel; from the representation of 'Shechem' as the truth from the ancient Divine stock, dealt with above in 4447; from the meaning of 'father', who in this case is Jacob, as the good of truth, dealt with in 4273, 4337; and from the meaning of 'brothers', who in this case are the sons of Jacob, as truths, dealt with above. It is evident from the references quoted above in 4447 that Shechem means truth from the ancient Divine stock; for Hamor the Hivite together with his nation and family in the land of Canaan were part of the remnants of the Most Ancient Church, which was celestial. This Church, more than all other Churches in the whole world, was in origin Divine, for the good of love to the Lord was present in it. Will and understanding with them made one, and so one mind, and on that account they had from good a perception of truth. For the Lord was flowing in by an internal route into the good present in their will and from this into the good present in their understanding, that is, into their truth, as a consequence of which that Church more than all others was called Man, 477-479, and also the Likeness of God, 51, 473, 1013. From this one may see why Hamor and Shechem are said to be from the ancient Divine stock, as previously in 4399. The fact that the Most Ancient Church, which was called 'Man', or to use the Hebrew word 'Adam', was located in the land of Canaan, as stated above in 4447, is quite evident from their descendants who were called the Nephilim, Genesis 6:4. The presence of the latter in the land of Canaan is referred to in Numbers 13:33; see 581. But at that time the expression 'the land of Canaan' was used to mean all the land from the river of Egypt to the river Euphrates, Genesis 15:18.

1114. [AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTORY NOTE - CONTINUED

This page continues and completes the 'Author's Introductory Note' that appears on page 1 of the first volume of this English translation. The items numbered 1-27 are the titles of the sections - describing the MARVELS - which occur 'before and after each chapter' of Volume One of the Latin (Chapters 1-15). Items 28 and 29 are the titles of sections that stand in Volume Two of the Latin, at the ends of Chapters 16, and 17 respectively.]

16. The Most Ancient Church, which was called Man, or Adam, 1114-1129.

17. Those before the Flood who perished, 1265-1272.

18. Position in the Grand Man, also place and distance in the next life, 1273-1278

19. Position and place, and also distance and time in the next life - continued, 1376-1382.

20. The perception spirits and angels have; also spheres in the next life, 1383-1400.

21. Perceptions and spheres in the next life - continued, 1504-1520.

22. The light in which angels are living, 1521-1534.

23. The light in which angels are living - continued; also their paradise gardens, and their dwelling-places, 1619-1633.

24. The speech of spirits and angels, 1634-1650.

25. The speech of spirits, and its variations continued, 1757-1764.

26. Sacred Scripture or the Word, and how it conceals within itself Divine matters which are fully visible to good spirits and to angels, 1767-1777

27. Sacred Scripture or the Word - continued, 1869-1879. Some facts about spirits and angels in general, 1880-1885.

28. Visions and dreams, including those that are prophetical which are described in the Word, 1966-1983.

29. The Last Judgement, 2117-2134.

---

Genesis 10.

---

THE MOST ANCIENT CHURCH, WHICH WAS CALLED MAN, OR ADAM

Angels and spirits, that is, human beings after death, are able to meet any they like of all those whom they have been acquainted with in the world or whom they have heard of. They see them and talk to them in person, when the Lord allows it. And what is remarkable, those people are with them in an instant and very much in person. Thus they are allowed to speak not only to friends, who normally find one another, but also to others whom they have admired and revered. In the Lord's Divine mercy I have been allowed to speak not only to those who were known to me during their lifetime but also to the most prominent characters mentioned in the Word. Thus I have been allowed to speak as well to those who belonged to the Most Ancient Church, the Church called Man, or Adam, and also to certain of those who belonged to the Churches that came after it. The reason for my being allowed to do so was so that I might know that the names found in the initial chapters of Genesis are used solely to mean Churches, and also that I might know the character of the members of the Churches of that time. The things that follow next therefore are what I have been given to know concerning the Most Ancient Churches.