697. And to destroy those that destroy the earth.- That this signifies hell with those who destroy the church, is evident from the signification of destroying, when said of those who destroy the church, as denoting damnation and hell; for since to give reward to His servants the prophets and saints signifies salvation and heaven with those who are in truths from good, that is, those who form the church, therefore to destroy the earth signifies damnation and hell; and from the signification of earth, as denoting the church concerning which, see above (n, 29, 304, 413:4, 417). To destroy the earth therefore signifies to destroy the church. That by land (terra) in the Word, is meant the church, has been shown above in many places, as well as in the Arcana Coelestia. There are many reasons why land, in the Word, signifies the church; that is, when no particular land is mentioned, such as the land of Egypt, of Edom, of Moab, of Assyria, of Chaldea, of Babylon and others, the land of Canaan is meant, and those who are in spiritual thought cannot think of that land as a land, since that would be to have an earthly and not a heavenly idea, but they think of the character of the nation there in regard to the church. Similarly when any one is thinking of a church, or religion or worship, and from that thought lands are spoken of, the land is not thought of but only the character of the people of the land in regard to the church, religion or worship. For this reason, when a man reads in the Word the term land (terra) the angels, who are spiritual, think of the church, and what the angels think, this is the spiritual sense of the Word, since the spiritual sense of the Word is for angels, and also for those men who are spiritual; for the Word in the letter is natural, but still interiorly or in its bosom it is spiritual, and when the natural is withdrawn, the spiritual which is within or in its bosom is disclosed.

[2] Moreover, there are lands in the spiritual world, or in the world where spirits and angels are, equally as in the natural world where men are, and these lands are quite alike in external appearance. In that world there are plains, valleys, mountains, hills, rivers, and seas, and also fields, meadows, forests, gardens, and paradises. And the lands, there, are beautiful in appearance, exactly according to the state of the church with those who dwell upon them, and they also undergo changes according to the changes of the church in the inhabitants. In a word, the lands there correspond completely with the reception of the good of love and the truth of faith in those who dwell there. It is also for this reason that land in the Word signifies the church, for the quality of the land is according to the quality of the church there, and correspondence is the cause of this. In that world, the land itself makes one with the church, just as a correspondent does with the subject to which it corresponds, as an effect with its efficient cause, as the eye with its sight, speech with the understanding, action with the will, the expression of the face with the affection of the thought, in a word, as the instrumental with its principal, of which it is said that they constitute one thing; so is it in the spiritual world, as to the quality of the land with the quality of the church. From these things it is evident why land in the Word signifies the church, and why to destroy the earth (or land) here signifies to destroy the church.

[3] So also in the following passages.

In Isaiah:

"Is this the man that shaketh the earth, that causeth kingdoms to tremble, that hath made the world a desert, and destroyed the cities thereof? Thou hast destroyed thy land, thou hast slain thy people" (14:16, 17, 20).

This is said of Lucifer, by whom Babel is here meant, as is evident from what here precedes and follows; the earth which he shook and destroyed signifies the church. The kingdoms which he causeth to tremble signify the churches into which the general church is divided. The world which he made a desert signifies the church in general; the cities which he destroyed signify the truths of the doctrine thereof, and the people that he slew signify the men of the church, whose spiritual life he destroyed.

[4] In Jeremiah:

"Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, destroying the whole earth" (51:25).

This also is said of Babel, which is called a destroying mountain, because a mountain signifies the love of ruling, here, over heaven and earth, to which the goods and truths of the church are caused to serve as means; to destroy all the earth signifies therefore to utterly destroy the whole church.

[5] In Daniel:

The fourth beast ascending out of the sea "shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces" (7:23).

This beast also signifies the love of ruling over the whole heaven and the whole earth, and those who are of Babel have this love, as may be seen above (n. 316:15, 556:5); therefore to devour, to tread down, and break the earth in pieces, signifies to utterly destroy the church. Who is there that does not see that no beast will ascend out of the sea, and devour, tread down, and break all the earth in pieces, but that some evil and diabolical love, will thus act towards the church.

In Moses:

"There shall not be any more a flood to destroy the earth" (Genesis 9:11).

Here the earth also signifies the church, which was destroyed by the antediluvians, but which should be destroyed no more.

[6] In Isaiah:

"Jehovah maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and he overturneth the faces thereof. In emptying the earth shall be emptied, and in spoiling it shall be spoiled; the habitable earth shall mourn, shall be confounded; the world shall languish, shall be confounded; the earth itself shall be profaned; because they have transgressed the laws, passed by the statute, made void the covenant of eternity, therefore a curse shall devour the earth; the flood-gates from on high are opened, and the foundations of the earth are shaken, the earth is utterly broken; the earth is moved exceedingly, the earth staggereth as a drunkard, and it is moved to and fro as a hut" (24:1, 3-6, 18-20).

That the earth here does not mean the earth, but the church, must be evident to every one. The church is thus spoken of, because the lands (terroe) in the spiritual world, upon which angels and spirits dwell, undergo such changes as are here described, according to the changes of the state of the church with those who dwell there; in fact even movements take place in them. It is said that Jehovah maketh the earth empty and maketh it waste, that in emptying it shall be emptied, and in spoiling it shall be spoiled, because the lands (terroe) there, when the church in those who dwell upon them is laid waste, completely change their appearance. The gardens, flower-gardens, lawns, and similar places in which those lands previously abounded, disappear, and instead of them there arise unpleasant things such as, sandy and rocky places, plains full of thorns and briars, and things of a like nature, which correspond to the falsities and evils that have laid waste the church. The devastation of the church as to the good of love and of charity is signified by making the earth empty; and its desolation as to the truths of doctrine and of faith is signified by making it waste and spoiling it, and the change itself by overturning the faces thereof. The habitable earth shall mourn, shall be confounded; the world shall languish, shall be confounded; a curse shall devour the earth, signifies that nothing shall grow and flourish there, but that it shall be barren, and filled with useless things, on account of which the earth is said to mourn, to languish, and to be devoured with a curse. Since these things take place when they that dwell there have no longer any regard for the holy things of the church, therefore it is said, because they have transgressed the laws, passed by the statute, made void the covenant of eternity. As the lands there are sometimes inundated, sometimes violently shaken, and also here and there gape and open towards the hell, which is beneath and lifts itself up - which takes place according to the nature, and extent of the falsities and evils that are loved, and the consequent falsification and denial of the goods and truths of the church - it is therefore said, that the flood-gates from on high are open, the foundations of the earth are shaken, the earth is broken, and staggereth as a drunkard. These things also actually take place in the spiritual world, when the state of the church is there changed into a contrary one. From this it is evident, why the earth, here and elsewhere in the Word, means the church.

10570. 'And I and Your people will be made more distinguished than all the people who are on the face of the ground' means the consequent pre-eminence over all throughout the whole world where the Church exists. This is clear from the meaning of 'being made more distinguished than all the people who are on the face of the ground' as pre-eminence over all throughout the whole world. The reason why where the Church exists is also meant is that 'the ground' means the Church, which is dealt with below.

[2] It was this end in view - that they should be made more distinguished than all throughout the whole world - that caused the Israelite nation to worship Jehovah and enabled them to be outwardly holy. This is clear from what has been shown previously regarding that nation. The fact that such people are able to be outwardly holy and to seem to others to be worshippers of God is clear from the idolaters spoken of in the historical narratives of the Word, who were able in like manner to do the outward things. But anyone may see and deduce that those idolaters possessed no inner holiness from the consideration that the Divine Truths which have been revealed in the Word are what make worship internal, when people know them and lead a life in keeping with them. For if a person were able to worship God in a holy way without those Truths there would be no need for any of the Church's teachings, nor for any preaching.

[3] Since that nation was such that their end in view - to be pre-eminent over others - enabled them to be outwardly holy, and since among people such as these the things that are representative of celestial and spiritual realities, which the outward things of their worship were, can be conveyed to angels and a link with heaven can thereby be established, that nation was accepted. But anyone who supposes that this made them worshippers of God is very much mistaken; for they were worshippers of self and the world, and idolaters at heart. And because they were such, neither was any revelation given them of the interior things of worship, which have to do with faith in the Lord and love to Him. This is evident from the books in the Old Testament, and also from the fact that they did not acknowledge the Lord when He came into the world, and indeed still do not acknowledge Him; and if presented with teachings about the Lord contained in the prophetical parts, even then they do not accept them. They desire a Messiah who will exalt them above all throughout the whole world, not a Messiah whose kingdom is in heaven and who looks from there to the salvation also of all on earth. From all this it becomes clear what that nation has been like since the earliest ages, and why it is that it says here that by Jehovah's going with them they would be made more distinguished than all the people who are on the face of the ground.

[4] By the words 'on the face of the ground' wherever the Church exists should be understood; for 'the ground' has the same meaning as 'the earth', namely the Church (for the meaning of 'the earth', or 'the land', as the Church, see in the places referred to in 9325). But 'the ground' means the Church for the same reason as 'the field' does, that is, because it receives various kinds of seeds, which then grow into plants and bear fruit, by which the truths and forms of the good of faith and love are meant. For the human being is a recipient of these just as the ground is of seeds. The earth is called a Church however on account of the people inhabiting it, with whom the Church exists. But since the ground implies that which extends spatially just as the earth or the land does, translators use the word 'earth' instead of 'ground'. Here they say 'on the face of the earth' instead of 'on the face of the ground', as they do in other places. And yet in the original language the term that denotes the ground is derived from an entirely different root from the one that the term denoting the earth springs from.

[5] The fact that 'the ground' means the Church, just as 'the earth' or 'the land' does, is clear from various places in the Word, of which let only some be quoted, such as this in Jeremiah,

The nobles sent their inferiors for water, they came to the pits, and they found no water; their vessels returned empty, because the ground was broken up in pieces, no rain had come to be on the land. Jeremiah 14:3-4.

Here 'the ground' means the Church, and so does 'the land', for the subject in the internal sense is the lack of truth and resulting ruination of the Church. 'Water' means truths; 'pits' where those truths, thus religious teachings, are stored; 'vessels' recipients of them; and 'rain' the influx of them from heaven. 'The land' is where the Church is situated, and 'the ground' the actual Church, which is said to be 'broken up in pieces' owing to drought, that is, to the lack of truth from heaven.

[6] In Isaiah,

It will happen at the end of seventy years, that Jehovah will visit Tyre, and she will return to her harlot's reward and commit whoredom with all the kingdoms of the earth on the face of the ground. At length her merchandise and her harlot's reward will be holy to Jehovah. Isaiah 23:17-18.

'Tyre' means the Church in respect of its cognitions or knowledge of truth and good, and so in the abstract sense means those cognitions. These are called 'a harlot's reward' when they are taught for the sake of gain, position, and reputation for knowing them, thus when they are put on sale so to speak, and are not taught for truth's own sake. In the Word this is called harlotry and whoredom. 'Committing whoredom with all the kingdoms of the earth' means doing so with all the truths of the Church; 'on the face of the ground' means wherever the Church is situated. Since cognitions of truth and good continue to be cognitions of truth and good and so continue to be Divine, even when they are used for gain by a person who teaches and puts them up for sale, and they are consequently 'a harlot's reward', it says that 'her merchandise and her harlot's reward will be holy to Jehovah'. Everyone whose thought extends beyond the sense of the letter can see that a harlot's reward should not be understood in these verses, nor whoredom committed with all the kingdoms of the earth, nor that such a thing will be holy to Jehovah.

[7] In David,

You send forth Your spirit, they are created, and You renew the face of the ground. Psalms 104:30.

'Jehovah's spirit' means the Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, 9818; 'being created' means being created anew, that is, being regenerated, 10373; 'renewing the face of the ground' reforming and establishing the Church, 'the face of the ground' meaning wherever anything of the Church can be received. The like is meant in other places where the expression 'the face of the ground' occurs, such as Genesis 7:4; 8:8, 13; Exodus 32:12; Numbers 12:3; Deuteronomy 6:15; 7:6; 1 Samuel 20:15; 2 Samuel 14:7.