1608. 'And to your seed even for ever' means people who were to have faith in Him. This is clear from the meaning of 'seed' as faith, and indeed faith that is the expression of charity, dealt with already in 255, 256, 1025. That it was to His 'seed', that is, to those who have faith in Him, that the heavenly kingdom would be given, is quite clear from the Lord's own words in John,

The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not believe in the Son will not see life. John 3:35-36.

[2] And in the same gospel,

As many as received Him, to them He gave power to be sons of God, to those believing in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man. John 1:12-13.

From these places it is clear what faith, or believing in Him, is, that is to say, that it resides with those who receive Him and believe in Him, and who are born 'not of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man'. 'The will of the flesh' is that which-is contrary to love and charity, for that is what 'flesh'' means, 999; and 'the will of man (vir)' is that which is contrary to faith stemming from love or charity, for this is what 'man' means. Indeed the will of the flesh and the will of man are such as cause division, whereas love and the faith that comes from it are such as serve to join. People therefore with whom love and the faith that comes from it reside are those who are 'born of God'. And because they are born of God they are called 'the sons of God' and are His 'seed' to whom the heavenly kingdom is given, which is the meaning in this verse of the statement, 'All the land which you see I will give to you, and to your seed even for ever'.

[3] The fact that the heavenly kingdom cannot be given to people whose faith is devoid of charity, that is, who say they have faith but hate their neighbour, may become clear to anyone provided he is willing to reflect on the matter. For there can be no life to such faith when hatred, that is, hell, constitutes the life, for hell consists solely of forms of hatred, not of those forms of it which a person receives through heredity but of the forms of the hatred which he has acquired to himself through his own actions in life.

255. 'The seed of the woman' is used to mean faith in the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of 'woman' as the Church, the seed of which is nothing else than faith. It is from faith in the Lord that the Church has its being and gets its name. In Malachi faith is called 'God's seed',

Jehovah was a witness between you and the wife of your youth. And not one has done so, though he has a residue of the spirit. And is there one seeking God's seed? But take heed within your spirit, lest he act treacherously against the wife of your youth. Malachi 2:14-15.

Here 'wife of your youth' is the Ancient Church and the Most Ancient, whose seed or faith is the subject. In Isaiah,

I will pour out waters upon the thirsty land, and streams on the dry. I will pour out [My] Spirit upon your seed and My blessing upon your descendants. Isaiah 44:3.

This too refers to the Church. In Revelation,

The dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her seed, who kept the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus Christ. Revelation 12:17.

And in David,

I have made a covenant with My Chosen One, I have sworn to David My servant, I will establish your seed even for ever; and I will set up his seed in perpetuity, and his throne as the days of the heavens; his seed will be for ever, and his throne will be like the sun in front of Me. Psalms 89:7, 4, 29, 36.

Here David is used to mean the Lord, 'his throne' to mean His Kingdom, 'the sun' love, and 'seed' faith.