161. Internal Meaning of Ezekiel, Chapter 38

1-2 Those who are in the mere sense of the letter of the Word, and in a worship therefrom which is external without an internal, are meant by Gog. (2)

3-7 Everything and all things of that worship will perish. (2)

8-16 That worship will possess the church, and will vastate it, and it will thus be in externals without internals. (2)

17-19 The state of the church will therefore be changed. (2, 7)

20-23 And the truths and goods of religion will perish in consequence, and falsities will succeed in their place. (2)

'Honor, virtue, and might,' as mentioned in Revelation 7:12, signify divine celestial things of the Lord. 'To honor thy father and thy mother,' as mentioned in Exodus 20:12, in a spiritual sense, signifies revering and loving God and the church. (True Christian Religion 306) In a celestial sense 'father' means our Lord Jesus Christ, and 'mother' means the new church. 'Honor' signifies the good of love. 'To honor,' as mentioned in Isaiah 24:15, signifies worship and adoration. 'Honor' refers to worship from good, and 'fear' refers to worship from truth, as mentioned in Malachi 1:6. 'To be honored above all,' as mentioned in Genesis 34:19, signifies what is primary. 'The honor of Carmel and Sharon,' as mentioned in Isaiah 35:1, 2, signifies divine good that the Gentiles should receive.

(Referências: Arcana Coelestia 8897)