3270. In their villages. That this signifies the external things of the church, is evident from the signification of “villages,” as being those things which are the externals of faith, thus of the church; the external things of the church are rituals, the internal things are doctrinal things, provided that these are not merely of memory-knowledge, but also of life. External things were represented by villages because these were outside of the cities; but internal things by the cities themselves. (That “cities” are doctrinal things may be seen above, n. 402, 2268, 2449, 2712, 2943, 3216)