1799. Indeed the "child" of my household is my heir means that only the outer dimension would exist in the Lord's kingdom, as can be seen from the inner-level symbolism of an heir and of inheriting. Becoming an heir, or inheriting, symbolizes eternal life in the Lord's kingdom. All people in the Lord's kingdom are his heirs, because their life comes from the Lord's life, which is a life of mutual love. That is why they are called his children. The Lord's children, or heirs, are all those who share in his life (because their life is from him) and have been born from him (that is, regenerated). Those who are born to a person are that person's heirs, so all who are reborn from the Lord are his heirs, since they then receive the Lord's life.

[2] The Lord's kingdom has people of little depth, moderate depth, and great depth in it. Good spirits, who inhabit the first heaven, have little depth. Angelic spirits, who inhabit the second heaven, have moderate depth. Angels, who inhabit the third heaven, have great depth. Those with little depth are not as close to the Lord as those with moderate depth, who in their turn are not as close as those with great depth. In his divine love and mercy, the Lord wants to have everyone near him. He does not want us to stay outside in the first heaven but to enter the third. If it were possible, he would like to have us not just beside him but in him. That is the nature of divine love — the Lord's love.

Because religion at that time was purely superficial, he complained here, saying, "Indeed the ‘child' of my household is my heir," meaning that as a result, only the outer dimension would exist in his kingdom. But a message of comfort follows in the next verses, as does the promise of deeper dimensions [§§1800-1810].

[3] The outer dimension of religion has already been defined (§§1083, 1098, 1100, 1151, 1153). Doctrine in itself does not make the outer shell; still less does it make the inner core, as noted above. The Lord does not differentiate religious movements by their doctrine, either, but by the way their members live what is taught. All doctrine — if it is true doctrine — looks to a life of love as its fundamental principle. What is the point of doctrine but to teach us how to be human?

[4] In the Christian world, it is doctrine that differentiates churches. Doctrine is the basis on which people call themselves Roman Catholic, Lutheran (or Evangelical), Calvinist (or Reformed), and other names as well. ¹ These names grow out of doctrine alone, which would never happen if we considered love for the Lord and charity for our neighbor the chief concern of faith. If we did, those distinctions would simply be differences of opinion on the mysteries of faith. True Christians would leave such issues up to the individual and the individual's conscience. In their hearts they would say, "A person who lives as a Christian — who lives as the Lord teaches — is a real Christian." One church would come out of all the different churches, and all disagreement due to doctrine alone would vanish. Even the hatred of one denomination for another would melt away in a moment, and the Lord's kingdom would come on earth.

[5] Right after the Flood the ancient church was like this, even though it was scattered through many countries. These countries differed greatly when it came to doctrine, but they still made neighborly love the main focus, and they regarded worship not from the viewpoint of doctrine (a matter of belief) but of charity (a matter of life). That is what is meant by the statement in Genesis 11:1 that they all had one language and the same words (concerning which, see §1285).

Footnotes:

1151. Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras were individual nations who practiced this kind of worship; and in an inner sense they symbolize individual systems of doctrine, which were the same as the rituals that they devoutly observed. This is clear from the Word, where the names of these nations recur quite often. In each place, they symbolize outward worship — in one place, outward worship corresponding to inward; in another, outward worship opposed to inward. The reason it sometimes symbolizes worship opposed is that all religions, wherever they exist, have changed with the passage of time and have even become the opposite of what they were.

As noted, other passages from the Word can demonstrate that the nations listed here simply symbolized outward worship and consequently the doctrinal elements of those nations, which were their rituals. The prophets are especially full of such proofs.

[2] This is what Ezekiel says about Magog, Meshech, Tubal, and Gomer:

Child of humankind, ¹ turn your face toward Gog, the land of Magog, ² the chief, the head of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy over it, and you are to say, "This is what the Lord Jehovih ³ has said: ‘Here, now, I am against you, Gog, you chief, you head of Meshech and Tubal. And I will bring you back and put hooks into your jaws and lead you and your whole army out — horses and riders, all dressed perfectly, a large assembly, with shield and buckler, all of them grasping swords. And with them will be Persia, Cush, and Put; with them will be Gomer and all its wings; Beth-togarmah — the flanks of the north — and all its wings. ⁴ In the aftertime of years, you will come over a land that has returned from the sword, that has been gathered from many peoples, on Israel's mountains, which have become a wasteland.'" (Ezekiel 38:2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8)

This whole chapter speaks of the church, which has become perverted and in the end has relegated all worship to external acts, or ritual, blotting out charity, which is symbolized by Israel's mountains. In this passage, Gog and the land of Magog — the chief and the head of Meshech and Tubal — is an outward show of worship.

Anyone can see that Gog and Magog are not the focus. The Lord's Word deals not with worldly subjects but with divine matters.

[3] In the same author:

Prophesy over Gog, and you are to say, "This is what the Lord Jehovih has said: ‘Here, now, I am against you, Gog, you chief, you head of Meshech and Tubal, and I will bring you back and destroy a sixth of you. I will bring you up from the flanks of the north and lead you onto Israel's mountains. On Israel's mountains you will fall — you and all your wings and the peoples who are with you.'" (Ezekiel 39:1-2, 4)

This whole chapter likewise talks about outward worship that has been separated from inward and turned into idolatry, which is what Gog, Meshech, and Tubal symbolize here. The same tribes also mean the doctrinal concepts that people who worship in this way seize on and then confirm by use of the Word's literal meaning. In this way they falsify truth and destroy inner worship. After all, as I said above, the same nations have a symbolism opposite to their positive meaning.

[4] In John:

When the thousand years have ended, Satan will be released from his prison and go out to mislead the nations that are at the four corners of the earth — Gog and Magog — in order to gather them for battle. They went up over the plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the godly, the well-loved city. (Revelation 20:7-8, 9)

Gog and Magog symbolize similar things here. Outward worship cut off from inward — cut off, that is, from love for the Lord and love for others — is just idolatry, which surrounds the camp of the godly and the well-loved city.

[5] This is what Ezekiel says about Meshech and Tubal:

There are Meshech and Tubal and its entire horde, its graves all around it, all its people uncircumcised, stabbed by the sword, because they put terror of themselves in the land of the living. (Ezekiel 32:26)

This refers to Egypt, or facts, which people want to use in exploring spiritual issues. Meshech and Tubal stand for ritual as a doctrinal matter. It is described as uncircumcised when it is devoid of love, and this is why it is "stabbed by the sword" and why there is "terror in the land of the living."

[6] Javan is spoken of in Joel:

The children of Judah and the children of Jerusalem you have sold to the children of the Javanites, to move them far away from their own border. (Joel 3:6)

The children of Judah stand for heavenly aspects of faith and the children of Jerusalem for its spiritual aspects, so they stand for inner qualities. The children of the Javanites stand for an outward show of worship detached from any inner participation. This kind of worship is distant from inward worship, which is why the passage says that they moved the children of Judah and Jerusalem far away from their own border.

[7] In Isaiah, Javan and Tubal stand for worship in its genuine external form:

[The time] to gather all nations and tongues is coming, and they will come and see my glory. And I will put a mark on them and send some of them — escapees — to the nations Tarshish, Put and Lud (drawing the bow), Tubal and Javan (the distant islands), which have not heard of my fame and have not seen my glory. And they will tell of my glory among the nations. (Isaiah 66:18-19)

This is about the Lord's kingdom and his Coming. Tubal and Javan stand for those who engage in external worship that corresponds to internal, who need to be taught about internal qualities.

Footnotes: