246. FROM THE ARCANA COELESTIA.

The church exists specifically where the Word is, and where the Lord is thereby known, and thus where Divine truths are revealed (n. 3857, 10761). Still they who are born where the Word is, and where the Lord is thereby known, are not of the church, but they who are regenerated by the Lord by the truths of the Word, that is, they who live the life of charity (n. 6637, 10143, 10153, 10578, 10645, 10829). They who are of the church, or in whom the church is, are in the affection of truth for the sake of truth, that is, they love truth because it is truth; and they examine from the Word whether the doctrinals of the church in which they were born are true (n. 5432, 6047). Otherwise the truth possessed by everyone would be derived from another, and from his native soil (n. 6047).

The church of the Lord is with all in the whole world who live in good according to their religious principles (n. 3263, 6637, 10765). All who live in good wherever they are, and acknowledge one God, are accepted by the Lord and come into heaven; since all who are in good acknowledge the Lord, because good is from the Lord, and the Lord is in good (n. 2589-2604, 2861, 2862, 3263, 4190, 4197, 6700, 9256). The universal church on earth before the Lord is as one man (n. 7396, 9276). As heaven is, because the church is heaven or the kingdom of the Lord on earth (n. 2853, 2996, 2998, 3624-3629, 3636-3643, 3741-3745, 4625). But the church, where the Lord is known and where the Word is, is like the heart and lungs in man in respect to the other parts of the body, which live from the heart and lungs as from the fountains of their life (n. 637, 931, 2054, 2853). Hence it is, that unless there were a church where the Word is, and where the Lord is thereby known, the human race could not be saved (n. 468, 637, 931, 4545, 10452). The church is the foundation of heaven (n. 4060).

The church is internal and external (n. 1242, 6587, 9375, 9680, 10762). The internal of the church is love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbor. Thence they who are in the affection of good and truth from love to the Lord and from charity towards the neighbor, constitute the internal church; and they who are in external worship from obedience and faith, constitute the external church (n. 1083, 1098, 4288, 6380, 6587, 7840, 8762). To know truth and good, and to act from thence, is the external of the church, but to will and love truth and good, and to act from thence, is the internal of the church (n. 4899, 6775). The internal of the church is in the worship of those who are of the external church, although in obscurity (n. 6775). The internal and external church make one church (n. 409, 10762). Man has an internal and an external, an internal after the image of heaven, and an external after the image of the world; and therefore, in order that the man may be a church, his external must act in unity with his internal (n. 3628, 4523-4524, 6057, 6314, 9706, 10472). The church is in the internal of man and at the same time in the external, but not in the external without the internal (n. 1795[1-2], 6580, 10691). The internal of the church is according to truths and their quality, and according to their implantation in good by life (n. 1238).

The church like heaven is in man, and thus the church in general consists of the men in whom the church is (n. 3884). In order that a church may exist, there must be the doctrine of life, that is, the doctrine of charity (n. 3445, 10763-10764). Charity makes the church, and not faith separated from charity (n. 916). Consequently, not the doctrine of faith separated from charity, but the doctrine of faith conjoined therewith, and a life conformable to it (n. 809, 1798-1799, 1834, 1844, 4468, 4672, 4689, 4766, 5826, 6637). The church is not with man, unless the truths of doctrine are implanted in the good of charity with him, thus in the life (n. 3310, 3963, 5826). There is no church with man, if he is only in the truths, which are called the truths of faith (n. 5826). How much good would be in the church, if charity were in the first place and faith in the second (n. 6269). And how much evil, if faith is in the first place (n. 6272). In the ancient churches charity was the principal and essential of the church (n. 4680). The church would be like heaven, if all had charity (n. 2385, 2853). If good were the characteristic of the church, and not truth without good, thus if charity were its characteristic, and not faith separate, the church would be one, and differences with respect to the doctrinals of faith, and external worship, would be accounted as nothing (n. 1285, 1316, 2982, 3267, 3445, 3451).

Every church begins from charity, but declines therefrom in process of time (n. 494, 501, 1327, 3773, 4689). Thus to falsities from evil, and at length to evils (n. 1834-1835, 2910, 4683, 4689). A comparison of the church at its beginning and decline with the infancy and old age of man (n. 10134). And also with the rising and the setting of the sun (n. 1837). Concerning the successive states of the Christian Church even to its last state; wherein are explained the particulars which the Lord foretold concerning "the consummation of the age," and His "coming," in Matt. chap. 24 from the beginning to the end (n. 3353-3356, 3486-3489, 3650-3655, 3751-3757, ¹ 3897-3901, 4057-4060, 4229-4231, 4332-4335, 4422-4424, 4635-4638, 4807-4810, 4954-4959, 5063-5071). The Christian church is at this day in its last states, there being no faith therein because there is no charity (n. 3489, 4689). The Last Judgment is the last time of the church (n. 2118, 3353, 4057, 4333, 4535). Of the vastation of the church (n. 407-411). The consummation of the age and the coming of the Lord is the last time of the old church and the beginning of the new (n. 2243, 4535, 10622). When the old church is vastated, interior truths are revealed for the service of the new church which is then established (n. 3398, 3786). Concerning the establishment of the church with the Gentiles (n. 1366, 2986, 4747, 9256).

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3266. 'These are the names of the sons of Ishmael' means the essential characteristics of those people's forms of doctrine, that is to say, of those who are spiritual. This is clear from the meaning of 'name' as the essential nature, dealt with in 144, 145, 1754, 1896, 2009, 2724, 3006, from the meaning of 'sons' as truths, and also matters of doctrine, dealt with in 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, and from the representation of 'Ishmael' as those who are spiritual, dealt with above in 3263.

2009. That 'no longer will your name be called Abram' means that He will cast off the human, and that 'your name will be Abraham' means that He will put on the Divine, is clear from the meaning of 'name', also from the meaning of 'Abram', and after that of 'Abraham'. When the phrase 'your name will be' is used in the Word it means the nature of, that is, what a person's nature is going to be like, as is clear from what has been brought forward in Volume One, in 144, 145, 1754. And since 'names means the nature of, a name includes everything in its entirety within that person, for in heaven no attention is paid to someone's name, but when anyone is referred to by name, or when a name is used, a mental picture of his nature comes up, that is, of all that is his, with him and in him. This is why 'name' in the Word means the nature of. To make this matter clearer to the understanding let further confirmatory quotations from the Word be introduced, such as in the Blessing in Moses,

Jehovah bless you and keep you; Jehovah make His face ¹ shine upon you and be merciful to you; Jehovah lift up His face ¹ upon you and give you peace.

So shall they put My name upon the sons of Israel. Numbers 6:24-27.

From this it is evident what 'name' and 'putting Jehovah's name upon the sons of Israel' means, namely that Jehovah blesses, keeps, enlightens, is merciful, and gives peace, and that such is Jehovah's or the Lord's nature.

[2] In the Ten Commandments,

You shall not take the name of Jehovah your God in vain, for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless who has taken His name in vain. Exodus 20:7; Deuteronomy 5:11.

Here taking God's name in vain does not mean His name but every single thing deriving from Him, and so every single thing belonging to the worship of Him, which must not be treated with disdain, still less be blasphemed and defiled by what is filthy. In the Lord's Prayer,

Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, as in heaven so on earth. Luke 11:2.

Nor in this instance is 'name' used to mean name but all things that belong to love and faith, for these are God's, or the Lord's, and derive from Him. Since the latter are holy, the Lord's kingdom comes, and His will is done on earth as it is in heaven, when they are upheld as being holy.

[3] That 'name' means such things is clear from all the places in the Old Testament Word and in the New where the word 'name' is used, as in Isaiah,

You will say on that day, Confess Jehovah, call on His name, make His deeds known among the peoples, make mention that His name is exalted. Isaiah 12:4.

Here 'calling on the name of Jehovah' and 'making mention that it is exalted' does not in any way mean making the name itself an object of worship, or believing that Jehovah is called on by the mere uttering of His name, but by knowing His nature, and so every single thing that derives from Him. In the same prophet,

Therefore in the Urim give honour to Jehovah, in the isles of the sea to the name of Jehovah, the God of Israel. Isaiah 24:15.

Here 'in the Urim give honour to Jehovah' means worship based on the holy things of love, 'in the isles of the sea to the name of Jehovah, the God of Israel' worship based on the holy things of faith.

[4] In the same prophet,

Jehovah our God, in You alone will we make mention of Your name. Isaiah 26:13.

And in the same prophet,

I will stir up one from the north, and he will come, from the rising of the sun he will call on My name. Isaiah 41:25.

Here 'making mention of' and 'calling on the name of Jehovah' is worshipping from the goods of love and the truths of faith. Those 'from the north' are people outside the Church who do not know the name of Jehovah but who do nevertheless call on His name when they are leading charitable lives one with another and venerate some deity as the Creator of the universe, for it is the worship and what constitutes it, not the name, that calling on Jehovah entails. That the Lord is also present with gentiles, see 932, 1032, 1059.

[5] In the same prophet,

The nations will see your righteousness and all the kings your glory; and you will be called by a new name which the mouth of Jehovah will announce. Isaiah 62:2.

Here 'you will be called by a new name' stands for becoming a different person, that is to say, as a result of being created anew or regenerated, and so stands for becoming such. In Micah,

All the peoples walk each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of Jehovah our God for ever and eternally. Micah 4:5.

'Walking in the name of its god' clearly stands for worship that is profane, while 'walking in the name of Jehovah' stands for true worship. In Malachi,

From the rising of the sun and even to its setting, great is My name among the nations; and in every place incense is offered to My name, and a pure minchah, for great is My name among the nations. Malachi 1:11.

Here 'name' is not used to mean the name but the worship; and this worship is the essential nature of Jehovah or the Lord, from which He wills to be adored.

[6] In Moses,

The place which Jehovah your God chooses out of all the tribes to put His name there, and to make His name dwell there, to that place shall you bring all that I am commanding you. Deuteronomy 12:5, 11, 14; 16:2, 6, 11.

Here also 'putting His name' and 'making His name dwell there' do not mean the name but the worship, and so Jehovah's or the Lord's essential nature from which He is to be worshipped. His nature consists in the good of love and the truth of faith, it being with those who are governed by such good and truth that Jehovah's name dwells. In Jeremiah,

Go to My place which is in Shiloh where I made My name dwell at first. Jeremiah 7:12.

Here similarly 'name' stands for worship, and so for doctrine concerning true faith. It may become clear to anyone that Jehovah does not dwell with somebody who merely knows and utters His name, for without any conception and recognition of His essential nature, and without any belief in it, the name by itself is a mere verbal expression. From this it is evident that the word 'name' means the nature of, and the knowledge of that nature.

[7] In Moses,

At that time Jehovah set apart the tribe of Levi to serve Him and to bless in His name. Deuteronomy 10:8.

Here 'blessing in the name of Jehovah' is doing so not by means of the name but by means of those qualities associated with the name of Jehovah which have been referred to above. In Jeremiah,

This is His name which they will call Him, Jehovah our righteousness. Jeremiah 23:6.

Here 'name' stands for the righteousness which is the essential nature of the Lord, to whom these words refer. In Isaiah,

Jehovah called Me from the womb, from My mother's body ² He made mention of My name. Isaiah 49:1.

These words too refer to the Lord. 'Making mention of His name' is informing about His essential nature.

[8] That 'name' means the nature of is plainer still in John's Revelation,

You have a few names in Sardis, who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. He who conquers will be clad in white garments and I will not blot his name out of the book of life; and I will confess his name before My father and before the angels. He who conquers I will write on him the name of God, and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name. Revelation 3:4-5, 12.

Here it is quite clear that name does not mean the name but the essential nature of him who conquers. 'The name in the book of life' is nothing else. Nor is 'confessing his name before My Father', and 'writing on him the name of God and of the city, and a new name'. The same applies elsewhere to the names which are said to have been written in the book of life and in heaven, Revelation 13:8; 17:8; Luke 10:20.

[9] In heaven one person is always recognized from another by his nature or character, which is expressed in the sense of the letter as 'the name', as may also become clear to anyone from the fact that on earth the mention of anybody's name presents to another a mental picture of his nature or character by which he is known and distinguished from anyone else. In the next life those mental pictures survive but names perish. More especially is this so with angels. This is why in the internal sense 'name' means the essential nature of, or the knowledge of that nature. In the same book,

On the head of Him who sat on the white horse were many jewels. He has a name written which no one knows but He Himself. He was clad in a garment dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. Revelation 19:12-13.

Here it is stated openly that His 'name' is The Word of God, thus the essential nature of Him who sat on the white horse.

[10] The fact that the name of Jehovah means the knowledge of His nature, that is to say, it means every good of love and every truth of faith, is quite clear from these words spoken by the Lord,

Righteous Father, I have known You, and these too have known that You have sent Me, for I made known to them Your name, and I will make it known that the love with which You have loved Me may be in them, and I in them. John 17:25-26.

[11] And that the name of God or of the Lord means the whole doctrine of faith concerning love and charity, which is meant by 'believing in His name', is clear from these words 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. John 1:12.

If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. If you love Me, keep My commandments. John 14:13-15.

Whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give it to you. These things I command you, that you love one another. John 15:16-17.

In Matthew,

Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them. Matthew 18:20.

Here 'being gathered together in the Lord's name' means those who possess the doctrine of faith concerning love and charity, and so who are governed by love and charity.

[12] In the same gospel,

You will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. Matthew 10:22; 24:9-10; Mark 13:13.

Here 'for My name's sake' clearly stands for doctrine's sake. The fact that a name itself is of no avail, only that which the name embodies, that is to say, everything constituting charity and faith, is quite clear from the following in Matthew,

Did we not prophesy through Your name, and cast out demons through Your name, and do many mighty works in Your name? And then I will confess to them, I do not know you; depart from Me, you workers of iniquity. Matthew 7:22-23.

From this it is clear that people who make worship consist in a name, as Jews do in the name of Jehovah and Christians in the name of the Lord, are not on that account worthier than any others, for the name is of no avail. But they are worthier when their characters conform to what He has commanded; and this is the meaning of 'believing in His name'. And when they say that there is salvation in no other name than the Lord's they mean in no other doctrine, that is, in none other than mutual love, which is the true doctrine of faith, and so in none other than the Lord since all love comes from Him alone, and all faith from that love.

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