Arcana Coelestia #1066
1066. That 'from them the whole earth was overspread' means that from these three all doctrines have been derived, both true and false, is clear from the meaning of 'the earth'. In the Word 'the earth' has various meanings. In the universal sense it stands for the place or region where the Church is or once was, for example, the land of Canaan, the land of Judah, the land of Israel. It thus stands in that universal sense for every member of the Church, for a land takes its name from the people who inhabit it, as is also well known from everyday speech. In ancient times therefore when people spoke of 'the whole earth' they did not mean every land throughout the world but only that part of the earth where the Church existed, and so the Church itself, as becomes clear from the following places in the Word: In Isaiah,
Jehovah is emptying the earth, the earth will be utterly emptied. The earth will mourn and be turned upside down. And the earth will be polluted under its inhabitants. Therefore a curse will devour the earth, therefore the inhabitants of the earth will be scorched and few men left. The floodgates from on high have been opened, and the foundations of the earth have been shaken. The earth has been utterly broken. The earth has been utterly rent asunder. The earth is violently shaken. The earth staggers altogether like a drunken man, and sways to and fro like a hut. Its transgression will lie heavily upon it, and it will fall, and it will not rise again. Isaiah 24:1, 3-6, 18-21.
'Earth' stands for the people inhabiting it, in particular the people of the Church, and so stands for the Church itself, and the things that are the Church's that have been vastated. These when being vastated are spoken of as 'being emptied', 'being shaken', 'staggering like a drunken man', 'swaying', 'falling and not rising'.
[2] That 'earth' or 'land' means man, and consequently the Church which is made up of men, is seen in Malachi,
All the nations will declare you blessed, for you will be a land of delight. Malachi 3:12.
That 'the earth' stands for the Church is seen in Isaiah,
Do you not understand the foundations of the earth? Isaiah 40:21.
Here 'foundations of the earth' stands for the foundations of the Church. In the same prophet,
Behold I am creating new heavens and a new earth. Isaiah 65:17; 66:22; Revelation 21:1.
'New heavens and a new earth' stands for the Lord's kingdom and the Church. In Zechariah,
Jehovah is He who stretches out the heavens and founds the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him. Zechariah 12:1.
'Earth' stands for the Church, as in earlier chapters,
In the beginning God created heaven and earth. Genesis 1:1.
The heavens and the earth were finished. Genesis 2:1.
These are the generations of heaven and earth. Genesis 2:4.
In each instance 'earth' stands for the Church being 'created', 'formed', and 'made'. In Joel,
The earth quaked before Him, the heavens trembled. The sun and the moon were darkened. Joel 2:10.
'Earth' stands for the Church, and for the things that are the Church's. When these things are being vastated, 'heaven and earth' are said to quake, 'the sun and moon' to grow dark, that is, love and faith.
[3] In Jeremiah,
I looked to the earth, when behold, that which is void and empty; and to the heavens, and they had no light. Jeremiah 4:23.
Here 'the earth' plainly stands for the person who does not have anything of the Church within him. In the same prophet,
The whole earth will be desolate, yet I will not bring it to a close. For this the earth will mourn and the heavens be black. Jeremiah 4:27, 18.
Here likewise the Church is meant, whose exterior things are 'the earth' and interior 'the heavens'. These are referred to as 'being black and having no light' when there is no longer any wisdom arising from good or intelligence from truth. In that case the earth is also 'void and empty', as is the member of the Church who ought to be an embodiment of the Church. That 'the whole earth' is also used in other places to mean the Church alone is seen in Daniel,
The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which will be different from all the kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, and trample it down, and break it in pieces. Daniel 7:23.
'The whole earth' stands for the Church and for the things that are the Church's; for the Word does not deal, as secular authors do, with the powers of monarchs, but with sacred matters, and with states of the Church, which are meant by 'kingdoms of the earth'.
[4] In Jeremiah,
A great tempest will be raised up from the sides of the earth, and the slain 1 of Jehovah on that day will be from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth. Jeremiah 25:32, 33.
Here 'from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth' stands for the Church and for everything that is the Church's. In Isaiah,
The whole earth is at rest and is quiet; they burst into cries of joy. Isaiah 14:7.
Here 'the whole earth' stands for the Church.
In Ezekiel,
As the whole earth rejoices. Ezekiel 35:14.
Here too 'the whole earth' stands for the Church.
In Isaiah,
I swore that the waters of Noah should go no more over the earth. Isaiah 54:9.
Here 'the earth' stands for the Church since the Church is the subject here. Because in the Word the earth means the Church it also means what is not the Church, for every such expression has a contrary or opposite sense. This applies, for example, to the various lands of the gentiles, in general to all lands outside the land of Canaan. 'Land' also stands therefore for the people and for the individual outside of the Church, and from this for the external man - for his will, for his proprium, and so on.
[5] In the Word 'earth' rarely stands for the whole world except when it is used to mean the state of the whole human race, whether of the Church or not of the Church. And because the earth includes the ground, which also means the Church, and the ground includes the field, the expression 'earth', entailing many things, has many meanings. But what it means is evident from the subject under discussion to which it refers. From this it now becomes clear that here 'the whole earth was overspread by the sons of Noah' does not mean the whole world, that is, the whole human race, but all doctrines, both true and false, which Churches possessed.
Footnotes:
1. literally, the pierced
Exodus 30
1
And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it.
2
A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; foursquare shall it be: and two cubits shall be the height thereof: the horns thereof shall be of the same.
3
And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold round about.
4
And two golden rings shalt thou make to it under the crown of it, by the two corners thereof, upon the two sides of it shalt thou make it; and they shall be for places for the staves to bear it withal.
5
And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.
6
And thou shalt put it before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee.
7
And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it.
8
And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations.
9
Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; neither shall ye pour drink offering thereon.
10
And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto the LORD.
11
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
12
When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the LORD, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them.
13
This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) an half shekel shall be the offering of the LORD.
14
Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering unto the LORD.
15
The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.
16
And thou shalt take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.
17
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
18
Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein.
19
For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat:
20
When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the LORD:
21
So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations.
22
Moreover the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
23
Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels,
24
And of cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin:
25
And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil.
26
And thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the ark of the testimony,
27
And the table and all his vessels, and the candlestick and his vessels, and the altar of incense,
28
And the altar of burnt offering with all his vessels, and the laver and his foot.
29
And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy: whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy.
30
And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office.
31
And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, This shall be an holy anointing oil unto me throughout your generations.
32
Upon man's flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make any other like it, after the composition of it: it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you.
33
Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people.
34
And the LORD said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight:
35
And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy:
36
And thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy.
37
And as for the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the LORD.
38
Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people.
