9927. 'When he goes into the holy place before Jehovah, and when he comes out' means in every state of good and truth in worship. This is clear from the meaning of 'going into the holy place' and 'going in before Jehovah' as worship, dealt with above in 9903, 9907. The reason why the state of good and truth in worship is what is meant is that everything constituting the worship of the Israelite and Jewish nation was representative of internal worship, and internal worship springs from good and truth, or rather from an affection for good and a belief in truth. The reason why their every state is meant is that it says 'when he goes in' and 'when he comes out', and 'going in and coming out' means all aspects of the state. For actions that involve movement from place to place, such as walking, moving about, or advancing, mean the state of the thoughts and affection belonging to whatever thing they refer to, and so in a general sense they mean the state of life. As regards 'walking', that it has this meaning, see 519, 1794, 3335, 4882, 5493, 5605, 8417, 8420, as likewise do 'advancing' and 'journeying on', 8103, 8181, 8397, 8557; and in the next life movements and advancements from place to place are states, 1273-1277, 1376-1381, 2837, 3356, 9440. From this it is evident that 'going in and coming out' means the whole of a state of life or of whatever thing these words refer to. And because they refer here to worship springing from good and truth, the entire state of good and truth in worship is what 'going in and coming out' means.

[2] The origins of this meaning of 'going in and coming out' lie in representatives in the next life. For they who are there move about, walk, advance, go in and come out, just as in the world. But all these movements take place in accord with the state of the life of their thoughts and affections, see the places referred to above. They are not however immediately aware of the fact that these are the origin of the movements they make, or that those movements are correspondences, and for this reason real appearances. From this it is evident that all forms of movement mean things which constitute states of life. So it is that 'going in and coming out' means the entire state of life, thus the state of whatever thing these words refer to, from beginning to end. This is the source of the customary saying used by the ancients, that they knew someone's going in and coming out, or entering and departing, by which they meant that they knew the entire state of his life. And since this saying traces its origin back, as stated above, to correspondences in the next life, a similar use of the saying occurs in the Word; and where it occurs it has a similar meaning, as in the following places: In the first Book of Samuel,

Achish called David and said to him, You have been upright, and your going out and your coming in with me in the camp has been good in my eyes. For I have not found evil in you. 1 Samuel 29:6.

'Your going out and your coming in has been good in my eyes' stands for the fact that he was well pleased with the entire state of the other's life.

[3] In the second Book of Samuel,

You know Abner, that he has come to persuade you, and in order that he may know your departing and your entering, and that he may know everything that you do. 2 Samuel 3:25.

'Knowing the departure and entrance' stands for knowing all the thoughts and deeds of his life, which is why it also says, 'and that he may know everything that you do'. In the second Book of Kings,

I know your sitting, and your going out, and your coming in, and that you rage ¹ against Me. 2 Kings 19:27; Isaiah 37:28.

This refers to Sennacherib, king of Assyria. 'Knowing his going out and his coming in' stands for knowledge of all aspects of what he plans. In David,

Jehovah will guard you from all evil, He will guard your soul. Jehovah will guard your going out and your coming in from now and even for evermore. Psalms 121:7-8.

'Guarding the going out and the coming in' stands for protecting every aspect of life in keeping with a state of good and truth.

[4] In Moses,

Let Jehovah God of the spirits of all flesh set ² a man over the congregation, who may go out before them, and who may come in before them, and who may lead them out, and who may bring them in, that the congregation of Jehovah may not be like a flock which have no shepherd. Numbers 27:16-17.

'Who may go out before them, and who may come in before them' stands for one who may lead them, and so whom they may look to and follow in every state of life. In John,

He who does not go through the door into the sheepfold but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who goes in through the door is the shepherd of the sheep. I am the door; if anyone goes in through Me he will be saved, and will go in and come out and find pasture. John 10:1-2, 9.

'Going in' here means doing so into heaven, thus into the good of love and faith since that good composes heaven. 'Going in and coming out' consequently means being led by the Lord in every state of life, and therefore thinking and willing good in freedom, that is, in love and faith received from the Lord since love and faith constitute freedom.

[5] In Luke,

Jesus sent the twelve disciples to preach the kingdom of God, and said to them, Whatever house you go into, there stay, and from there come out. Luke 9:4.

'Going into a house, staying there, and from there coming out' stands for the enjoyment of heavenly fellowship with those who receive the Lord in faith and love; for in heaven those who live together in the same community are also in the same house, which they go into and come out from, since they are governed by a like good. But those governed by an unlike good cannot do so; or if they do get in, they do not go in through the doors but by some other way. Anyone who does not know that these kinds of things are meant cannot know what is implied by the command that whatever house they went into, there they were to stay and from there come out.

[6] In Ezekiel,

When the prince goes in he shall go in by way of the porch of the gate, and come out by the same way. When the people of the land go in before Jehovah at the appointed feasts, anyone going in by way of the north gate to worship shall come out by way of the south gate; and anyone going in by way of the south gate shall come out by way of the north gate. He shall not return by way of the gate through which he had gone in, but shall come out straight before him. The prince however shall be in their midst; when they go in he shall go in, and when they come out he shall come out. Ezekiel 46:8-10.

These verses refer in the internal sense to a new heaven and a new Church, 'the prince' meaning the truth of faith springing from the good of love. In what manner that truth enters in with angels in heaven and with people of the Church on earth, and how after this it develops when it passes by an external way to more internal things, and when it passes by an internal way to more external ones, is described in those verses by the going in and coming out of the prince and the people of the land. 'The south' is the state of the truth of faith in the internal man, and 'the north' the state of it in the external man. 'Going in and coming out' is the state of life so far as good and truth, thus so far as worship, are concerned.

[7] From all this it may be recognized quite plainly that 'going in' and 'coming out' are descriptive of things such as belong to states of life conditioned by good and truth. For apart from this what real meaning could the prescription have, that the prince should go in by the one or the other gate, and the people of the land likewise? 'The house' here, or the temple, which they went into and came out from, means heaven and the Church, see 3720; 'the prince' the truth of faith, 5044; 'the people of the land' those who are in heaven or who belong to the Church, 2928; 'the way' that which leads to truth, 627, 2333; 'the gate' doctrinal teachings, 2851, 3187; 'the south' where truth dwells in light, 9642, thus truth in the internal man; and 'the north' where truth dwells in obscurity, 3708, thus truth in the external man.

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1066. That 'from them the whole earth was overspread' means that from these three all doctrines have been derived, both true and false, is clear from the meaning of 'the earth'. In the Word 'the earth' has various meanings. In the universal sense it stands for the place or region where the Church is or once was, for example, the land of Canaan, the land of Judah, the land of Israel. It thus stands in that universal sense for every member of the Church, for a land takes its name from the people who inhabit it, as is also well known from everyday speech. In ancient times therefore when people spoke of 'the whole earth' they did not mean every land throughout the world but only that part of the earth where the Church existed, and so the Church itself, as becomes clear from the following places in the Word: In Isaiah,

Jehovah is emptying the earth, the earth will be utterly emptied. The earth will mourn and be turned upside down. And the earth will be polluted under its inhabitants. Therefore a curse will devour the earth, therefore the inhabitants of the earth will be scorched and few men left. The floodgates from on high have been opened, and the foundations of the earth have been shaken. The earth has been utterly broken. The earth has been utterly rent asunder. The earth is violently shaken. The earth staggers altogether like a drunken man, and sways to and fro like a hut. Its transgression will lie heavily upon it, and it will fall, and it will not rise again. Isaiah 24:1, 3-6, 18-21.

'Earth' stands for the people inhabiting it, in particular the people of the Church, and so stands for the Church itself, and the things that are the Church's that have been vastated. These when being vastated are spoken of as 'being emptied', 'being shaken', 'staggering like a drunken man', 'swaying', 'falling and not rising'.

[2] That 'earth' or 'land' means man, and consequently the Church which is made up of men, is seen in Malachi,

All the nations will declare you blessed, for you will be a land of delight. Malachi 3:12.

That 'the earth' stands for the Church is seen in Isaiah,

Do you not understand the foundations of the earth? Isaiah 40:21.

Here 'foundations of the earth' stands for the foundations of the Church. In the same prophet,

Behold I am creating new heavens and a new earth. Isaiah 65:17; 66:22; Revelation 21:1.

'New heavens and a new earth' stands for the Lord's kingdom and the Church. In Zechariah,

Jehovah is He who stretches out the heavens and founds the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him. Zechariah 12:1.

'Earth' stands for the Church, as in earlier chapters,

In the beginning God created heaven and earth. Genesis 1:1.

The heavens and the earth were finished. Genesis 2:1.

These are the generations of heaven and earth. Genesis 2:4.

In each instance 'earth' stands for the Church being 'created', 'formed', and 'made'. In Joel,

The earth quaked before Him, the heavens trembled. The sun and the moon were darkened. Joel 2:10.

'Earth' stands for the Church, and for the things that are the Church's. When these things are being vastated, 'heaven and earth' are said to quake, 'the sun and moon' to grow dark, that is, love and faith.

[3] In Jeremiah,

I looked to the earth, when behold, that which is void and empty; and to the heavens, and they had no light. Jeremiah 4:23.

Here 'the earth' plainly stands for the person who does not have anything of the Church within him. In the same prophet,

The whole earth will be desolate, yet I will not bring it to a close. For this the earth will mourn and the heavens be black. Jeremiah 4:27, 18.

Here likewise the Church is meant, whose exterior things are 'the earth' and interior 'the heavens'. These are referred to as 'being black and having no light' when there is no longer any wisdom arising from good or intelligence from truth. In that case the earth is also 'void and empty', as is the member of the Church who ought to be an embodiment of the Church. That 'the whole earth' is also used in other places to mean the Church alone is seen in Daniel,

The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which will be different from all the kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, and trample it down, and break it in pieces. Daniel 7:23.

'The whole earth' stands for the Church and for the things that are the Church's; for the Word does not deal, as secular authors do, with the powers of monarchs, but with sacred matters, and with states of the Church, which are meant by 'kingdoms of the earth'.

[4] In Jeremiah,

A great tempest will be raised up from the sides of the earth, and the slain ¹ of Jehovah on that day will be from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth. Jeremiah 25:32, 33.

Here 'from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth' stands for the Church and for everything that is the Church's. In Isaiah,

The whole earth is at rest and is quiet; they burst into cries of joy. Isaiah 14:7.

Here 'the whole earth' stands for the Church.

In Ezekiel,

As the whole earth rejoices. Ezekiel 35:14.

Here too 'the whole earth' stands for the Church.

In Isaiah,

I swore that the waters of Noah should go no more over the earth. Isaiah 54:9.

Here 'the earth' stands for the Church since the Church is the subject here. Because in the Word the earth means the Church it also means what is not the Church, for every such expression has a contrary or opposite sense. This applies, for example, to the various lands of the gentiles, in general to all lands outside the land of Canaan. 'Land' also stands therefore for the people and for the individual outside of the Church, and from this for the external man - for his will, for his proprium, and so on.

[5] In the Word 'earth' rarely stands for the whole world except when it is used to mean the state of the whole human race, whether of the Church or not of the Church. And because the earth includes the ground, which also means the Church, and the ground includes the field, the expression 'earth', entailing many things, has many meanings. But what it means is evident from the subject under discussion to which it refers. From this it now becomes clear that here 'the whole earth was overspread by the sons of Noah' does not mean the whole world, that is, the whole human race, but all doctrines, both true and false, which Churches possessed.

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