3707. 'And your seed will be as the dust of the earth' means that Divine natural Truth would be as natural good. This is clear from the meaning of 'seed' as truth, dealt with immediately above in 3706, 'your seed' - that is, Jacob's - consequently meaning Divine natural Truth, for as shown above 'Jacob' represents the Lord's Divine Natural; and from the meaning of 'the dust of the earth' as good, dealt with in 1610. Consequently 'your seed will be as the dust of the earth' means in the internal sense that Divine natural Truth will be as Divine natural Good. The reason 'the dust of the earths means good is that 'the earth' means the Lord's kingdom and accordingly good, as shown just above in 3705. 'The dust of the earth' therefore means good, though natural good since the earth, as also shown in that place, means that which is lower in the Lord's kingdom, thus the natural, while heaven when mentioned as well means that which is interior, or the rational. This is why the fruitfulness of good and the multiplication of truth are described in various places by means of expressions stating that someone's seed will be as the stars of heaven and as the dust of the earth. 'The stars of heaven' in that case means rational concepts, and 'the dust of the earth' natural images, which will increase in this fashion. What is meant by natural truth becoming as natural good will in the Lord's Divine mercy be explained later on.

2547. 'That you have brought great sin on me and on my kingdom' means that thereby the doctrine of faith and all matters of doctrine would be at risk. This is clear from the meaning of 'Abimelech', to whom the pronoun 'me' refers here, as the doctrine of faith, and from the meaning of 'kingdom' as the truth of doctrine or that which is a matter of doctrine. That 'a kingdom' in the internal sense means truths of doctrine, and in the contrary sense falsities of doctrine, is clear from the Word, as in Jeremiah,

He is the One who formed all things and the sceptre of His inheritance; Jehovah Zebaoth is His name. You are to me a hammer, weapons of war, and in You I will scatter the nations, and in You I will destroy the kingdoms. Jeremiah 51:19-20.

This refers to the Lord who, it is clear, is not going to scatter nations or destroy kingdoms but to do so to things meant by nations and kingdoms, namely evils and falsities of doctrine.

[2] In Ezekiel,

Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations to where they have gone away, and will gather them from all around, and bring them into their own land; I will make them into one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one King will be King to them all, and they will no longer be two nations, nor will they be divided any longer into two kingdoms. Ezekiel 37:21-22.

'Israel' stands for the spiritual Church, 'nation' for the good of that Church, that is, of doctrine, for by 'nations' goods are meant, see 1259, 1260, 1416, 1849. 'Kingdom' stands for the truths of that Church. The fact that 'nations' and 'kingdoms' here mean something different from nations and kingdoms is quite evident, for the children of Israel, or the Israelites, are spoken of as being gathered together and brought into the land when in fact they were dispersed among the gentile nations and became such themselves.

[3] In Isaiah,

I will confound Egypt with Egypt, and they will fight, every one against his brother, and every one against his companion, city against city, kingdom against kingdom. Isaiah 19:2.

Here 'Egypt' stands for the reasonings based on facts concerning the truths of faith, 1164, 1165, 1186. 'City' stands for doctrine, in this case heretical doctrine, 402, 2268, 2449, 'kingdom' for falsity of doctrine. 'City against city and kingdom against kingdom' therefore stands for the fact that heresies and falsities will be in conflict with one another. The same is meant by the following words spoken by the Lord in reference to the close of the age, in Matthew,

Nation will be roused against nation and kingdom against kingdom. Matthew 24:7.

This stands for evils against evils, and falsities against falsities.

[4] The things that Daniel prophesied about the four kingdoms, Chapter 2:37-46; Daniel 7:17-end; and about the kingdoms of Media and Persia, Chapter 8:20-end; and about the kingdoms of the king of the south and the king of the north in Chapter 11; and the things that John too prophesied in the Book of Revelation about kings and kingdoms, have no other meaning. Those kingdoms are used solely to mean states of the Church as regards truths and falsities. The conditions of monarchs and of earthly kingdoms in the sense of the letter are in the internal sense states of the Church and of the Lord's kingdom. In the internal sense nothing else occurs there than spiritual and celestial things, for regarded in itself the Word of the Lord is purely spiritual and celestial; but so that it may be read and understood by man, no matter who, ideas of the things which belong to heaven are conveyed by means of such things as exist on earth.