665. That to “set up a covenant” signifies that he would be regenerated, is very evident from the fact that there can be no covenant between the Lord and man other than conjunction by love and faith, and therefore a “covenant” signifies conjunction. For it is the heavenly marriage that is the veriest covenant; and the heavenly marriage, or conjunction, does not exist except with those who are being regenerated; so that in the widest sense regeneration itself is signified by a “covenant.” The Lord enters into a covenant with man when He regenerates him; and therefore among the ancients a covenant represented nothing else. Nothing can be gathered from the sense of the letter but that the covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and so many times with their descendants, was concerned with them personally, whereas they were such that they could not be regenerated; for they made worship consist in external things, and supposed the externals of worship to be holy, without internal things being adjoined to them. And therefore the covenants made with them were only representatives of regeneration. It was the same with their rites, and with Abraham himself, and with Isaac, and Jacob, who represented the things of love and faith. Likewise the high priests and priests, whatever their character, even those that were wicked, could represent the heavenly and most holy priesthood. In representatives the person is not regarded, but the thing that is represented. Thus all the kings of Israel and of Judah, even the worst, represented the royalty of the Lord; and even Pharaoh too, who set Joseph over the land of Egypt. From these and many other considerations-concerning which, of the Lord’s Divine mercy hereafter-it is evident that the covenants so often entered into with the sons of Jacob were only religious rites that were representative.

1304. Let us build us a city and a tower. That this signifies that they framed a doctrine and a worship, may be seen from the signification of “a city,” and from that of “a tower,” concerning which presently. The church is of such a nature that when charity toward the neighbor departs, and the love of self succeeds in its place, the doctrine of faith is of no account except insofar as it can be turned into the worship of self; and nothing whatever is accounted holy in worship unless it is for the sake of self, and thus unless it is self-worship. All love of self is attended with this; for he who loves himself more than others, not only hates all who are not subservient to him, and shows them no favor except when they have become subservient, but also, insofar as he is not under restraint, he rushes on even until he exalts himself above God. That this is the nature of the love of self when the reins are given to it, has been shown me to the life. This is what is signified by “a city and a tower.” The love of self and every derivative cupidity is of all things the most filthy and the most profane, and is the veriest infernalism; and from this anyone may conclude what the quality of that worship must be which contains within it an infernalism so absolute.