23. PROPOSITION THE SECOND

The Adamic, or Most Ancient Church of this Earth

The world has hitherto believed that by "the creation of heaven and earth," in the first chapter of Genesis, is meant the creation of the universe, according to the letter; and by Adam, the first man of this globe. Seeing that the spiritual or internal sense of the Word has not been disclosed till now, the world could not believe otherwise; nor, consequently, that by "creating heaven and earth" is meant to collect and found an angelic heaven from those who have finished with life in the world, and by this means to derive and produce a Church on earth (as above, n. 18-20); and that by the names of persons, nations, territories and cities, are meant such things as are of heaven, and at the same time of the Church: in like manner, therefore, by "Adam." That by "Adam," and by all those things which are related of him and his posterity in the first chapters of Genesis, are described the successive states of the Most Ancient Church-which are: its rise, or morning, its progression into light, or day; its decline, or evening; its end, or night; and after this the Last Judgment upon those composing it, and thereafter a new angelic heaven from the faithful, and a new hell from the unfaithful, according to the series of the progressions laid down in the preceding Proposition-has been explained, unfolded and demonstrated in detail in the ARCANA CAELESTIA on Genesis and Exodus, the labour of eight years, published in London; which work being extant in the world, nothing further is necessary than to recapitulate therefrom the universals respecting this Most Ancient Church, which will be cited in the present volume. At the outset, however, some passages shall be adduced from the Word, by which it is proved that by "creating" is there signified to produce and form anew, and, properly, to regenerate; on which account it is that regeneration is called a "new creation," by which the universal heaven of angels and the universal Church of men, exist, consist and subsist. That "creating" signifies this, is plainly manifest from these passages in the Word:

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a steadfast spirit in the midst of me (Psalm 51:10).

Thou openest the hand, they are filled with good; Thou sendest forth the Spirit, they are created (Psalm 104:28, 30).

The people that shall be created shall praise Jah (Psalm 102:18).

Thus said Jehovah, thy creator, O Jacob; thy former, O Israel: Every one that is called by My Name, I have created for My glory (Isa. 43:1, 7).

That they may see, know, consider and understand, that the hand of Jehovah hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it (Isa. 41:20).

In the day that thou wast created, they were prepared; thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou was created, until perversity was found in thee (Ezek. 28:13, 15):

these things are concerning the king of Tyre.

Jehovah that createth the heavens, that spreadeth abroad the earth, that giveth breath unto the people upon it (Isa. 42:5; 45:12, 18).

Behold I create a new heaven and a new earth; be ye glad to eternity in that which I create: behold I will create Jerusalem a rejoicing (Isa. 65:17-18).

As the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall stand before Me (Isa. 66:22).

I saw a new heaven and a new earth: the former heaven and the former earth are passed away (Rev. 21:1).

We, according to promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein shall dwell righteousness (2 Peter 3:13).

From these passages it is now manifest what is spiritually meant in the first chapter of Genesis, by the verses,

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth; and the earth was waste and empty (Gen. 1:1-2).

The earth's being said to be "waste and empty," signifies that there was no longer any good of life or truth of doctrine with its inhabitants. That "wasteness" and "emptiness" signify the lack of those two essentials of the Church, will be established in Proposition IV of this volume, respecting the Israelitish Church, by a thousand passages from the Word: at present let the following in Jeremiah serve for some illustration:

I saw the earth, when, behold, it was vacant and empty; and [I looked] towards the heavens, when their light was not. Thus said Jehovah, The whole earth shall be wasteness; for this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above shall be made black (Jer. 4:23, 27-28).

2049. 'From every son who is a foreigner and not of your seed' means those outside the Church. This is clear from the meaning of 'son who is a foreigner' as those who are not born inside the Church and so are not governed by goods and truths of faith because they have no knowledge of them. 'Sons who are foreigners' also means people whose worship is external, dealt with in 1097, though in that context people inside the Church are the subject. Here however, the subject being the Lord's Church in its widest extent, 'sons who are foreigners' means those who, like gentiles, are not born inside the Church. Gentiles outside the Church can possess truths, but not the truths of faith. Their truths, like the Ten Commandments, are that parents should be honoured; that people should not murder, steal, commit adultery, or covet the things that belong to others; and also that they should worship God. Truths of faith consist however of all doctrinal teachings concerning eternal life, the Lord's kingdom, and the Lord. Such teachings cannot be known by gentiles because they do not possess the Word.

[2] These are the people who are meant by 'sons who are foreigners and not of your seed' but who are to be circumcised, that is to be purified. From this it is evident that they are just as much capable of being purified as those inside the Church, which purification was represented by being circumcised. They are purified when they cast aside filthy loves and live among one another in charity, for in their case truths have a part to play in their lives because charity and all truths go together, though such truths belong to the first of the two types mentioned above. When these truths play a part in their lives they then absorb the truths of faith with ease, if not during this life then in the next, because truths of faith are the interior truths of charity. Indeed at that point there is nothing they desire more than to be introduced into the interior truths of charity. Interior truths of charity are what constitute the Lord's kingdom. Regarding these, see 932, 1032, 1059, 1327, 1328, 1366.

[3] In the next life mere knowledge of the cognitions of faith is of no value at all, for the worst people, even those in hell, can have such knowledge, sometimes a better knowledge than others have. Leading a life in accordance with those cognitions is what matters, for all cognitions have life as their end in view. If life was not the reason for learning them they would have no use, apart from enabling people to discuss them and as a result to be considered learned in the world, to be raised to positions of importance, and to enhance reputation and wealth. From this it is clear that a life in keeping with the cognitions of faith is nothing other than the life of charity. Indeed love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour constitute the Law and the Prophets, that is, the doctrine of faith in its entirety together with all the cognitions of it, as is plain to anyone from the Lord's words in Matthew 22:35-40, and Mark 12:28-35.

[4] Matters of doctrine, or cognitions of faith, are nevertheless absolutely vital for the formation of the life of charity; it cannot be formed without them. This is the life which saves a person after death. The life of faith never exists without the life of charity, for without charity the life of faith is impossible. People in whom the life of love and charity dwells have the Lord's life within them. Nobody can be joined to Him by means of any other life. From this it is also clear that the truths of faith cannot possibly be acknowledged as truths - that is, no acknowledgement of what they are saying is possible - other than outwardly or with the lips, if they are not implanted within charity, since inwardly or at heart they are denied. For as has been stated, all truths of faith have charity as their end in view, and if charity is not present within them then inwardly they are rejected. The nature of the things that are interior is plain to see when those that are exterior are taken away, as is done in the next life, namely that they are utterly contrary to all the truths of faith. No people can possibly receive the life of charity, or mutual love, in the next life, when they have had none in this life; but their life as it has been with them in the world remains with them after death. Indeed they are averse to and hate mutual love. When merely approaching a community where the life that belongs to mutual love exists they quiver and shake, and experience torment.

[5] Although people such as these are born inside the Church, they are called 'sons who are foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in the flesh' who are not to be allowed into the sanctuary, that is, into the Lord's kingdom. They are also meant in Ezekiel,

No son who is a foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter the sanctuary. Ezekiel 44:7, 9.

And in the same prophet,

Whom have you thus become like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? You will be made to go down with the trees of Eden into the nether world; you will lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with those slain by the sword. Ezekiel 31:18.

This refers to Pharaoh who means types of knowledge in general, 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462. 'The trees of Eden' with which they were to go down into the nether world also means types of knowledge, but knowledge of the cognitions of faith. From this it is now evident what 'one uncircumcised' means in the internal sense, namely one in whom filthy loves and the life belonging to these are present.