第36节。只有那些从他们所拥有的真理中衍生出来的善，这些人才会对善有清晰的认识，并永久地拥有他们耐心修炼的那些圣洁的状态，以及从这些原则中衍生出来的所有东西，因为他们把在头脑中学到的真理带到生活中。[注。迦勒后来住在希伯伦（见 民数记14, 15), 意思是属灵的教会。(见 天国的秘密2909.)]

289. 'Wife' is used to mean the Church, in the universal sense the Lord's kingdom in heaven and on earth. This too has been shown already, while the fact that 'mother' as well has the same meaning follows from this. In the Word the Church is commonly called 'mother', as in Isaiah,

Where is your mother's bill of divorce? Isaiah 50:1.

In Jeremiah,

Your, mother has been utterly shamed, she who bore you is covered with shame. Jeremiah 50:12.

In Ezekiel,

[You are] your mother's daughter who loathes her husband and her sons. Your mother is a Hittite and your father an Amorite. Ezekiel 16:45.

Here 'husband' (vir) stands for the Lord and everything celestial, 'sons for truths of faith, 'Hittite' for falsity, and 'Amorite' for evil. In the same prophet,

Your mother was like a vine in your likeness, planted beside the waters, fruitful, full of branches by reason of many waters. Ezekiel 19:10.

Here 'mother' stands for the Ancient Church. The Most Ancient Church is pre-eminently called a 'mother' because it was the first Church, and the only one to be celestial. For that reason it was the Lord's beloved more than any other.