872. 'The face ¹ of the ground' means those things that reside with the member of the Church, and the expression 'the ground' is used because it is the first stage at which man comes to be the Church. This is clear from the meaning of 'the ground', dealt with already, as the member of the Church who is at that point called 'the ground' when the goods and truths of faith can be sown within him. Previously he is called 'the land', as in Genesis 1 where 'the land' refers to man prior to his becoming celestial, while Chapter 2, when he has become celestial, refers to him as 'the ground' and 'the field'. It is similar in the present chapter. The expression 'the land' and the expression 'the ground' are sufficient by themselves to enable someone to recognize what is meant in the internal sense, not only here but also anywhere else in the Word. 'The ground' in the universal sense means the Church, and as the Church is meant so too is the member of the Church for, as stated already, every member of the Church is the Church.

Footnotes:

1080. 'He pointed it out to his two brothers' means that he mocked. This now follows from what is said above, for with people who have no charity there is unending contempt of others, that is, unending mockery of them. And as often as the occasion allows, errors are exposed. They are prevented from doing this openly solely by external restraints - by fear of the law, fear for their life, fear of losing their position, wealth, and reputation on account of these. Consequently they harbour such contempt inwardly, but outwardly produce a semblance of friendship to others. As a result of this they acquire two spheres, which are perceived clearly in the next life. The first, which is interior, is full of hatred; the second, which is exterior, is a mere semblance of good. And because these spheres are in complete disagreement, they inevitably conflict. This also is why when the exterior sphere is taken away from them so that they are not able to dissemble they rush into everything unspeakable. And when it is not taken away, the hatred, which is perceived, lurks in every word they speak. From this arise their punishments and torments.