Coronis (An Appendix to True Christian Religion) #23
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).
Genesis 10
1
Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.
2
The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.
3
And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.
4
And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.
5
By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.
6
And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.
7
And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtecha: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan.
8
And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.
9
He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.
10
And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
11
Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,
12
And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city.
13
And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,
14
And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim.
15
And Canaan begat Sidon his firstborn, and Heth,
16
And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite,
17
And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,
18
And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad.
19
And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.
20
These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations.
21
Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.
22
The children of Shem; Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram.
23
And the children of Aram; Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash.
24
And Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber.
25
And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother's name was Joktan.
26
And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazar-maveth, and Jerah,
27
And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah,
28
And Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba,
29
And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan.
30
And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the east.
31
These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations.
32
These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.
