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for the Word in the letter is natural, but still interiorly or in its bosom it is spiritual, and when the natural is withdrawn, the spiritual which is within or in its bosom is disclosed.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.