9042. 'And inflict a blow on a pregnant woman' means injuring the good that is being formed out of truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'inflicting a blow' as injuring; and from the meaning of 'a pregnant woman' as forming good out of truth. The reason why this is meant by 'a pregnant woman' is that a person's regeneration, which is the generation of spiritual life with him, is meant in the internal sense by the generation of his natural life received from his parents. When a person is born anew he is first conceived, then carried in the womb so to speak, and finally born. And since regeneration or the generation of spiritual life consists in the joining together of truth and good, that is, of faith and charity, 'carrying in the womb' means developing truth into good. From this one may see what 'a pregnant woman' means, namely a state in which good is being formed out of truths.

The womb means the place in which truth and good have been conceived and are lying, see 4918, 6433.

'Being in the womb, and 'going out of the womb' mean being regenerated, 4904, 8043.

'Generations and 'births' are those of faith and charity, 613, 1145, 1255, 2020, 2584, 6239.

[2] A state in which good is being formed out of truths is again meant by 'a pregnant woman', in Jeremiah,

Behold, I am bringing them from the north land, and I will gather them from the furthest parts of the earth, among them the blind one and the lame, the pregnant one and her who is giving birth, together. Jeremiah 31:8.

This refers in the internal sense to a new Church established by the Lord. In that sense 'bringing them from the north land' means bringing them away from obscurity of faith, 3708; 'the furthest parts of the earth' from which they will be gathered are the places where the Church's truth and good begin, 'the earth' being the Church, 566, 662, 1066, 1067, 1262, 1413, 1607, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118 (end), 2928, 3355, 4535, 4447, 5577, 8011, 8732, and 'the furthest parts of it' being the places where its first and outermost boundaries are. 'The blind one' means those who have no knowledge of truth but accept the truth when taught it, 2383, 6990; 'the lame' means those who are governed by good, but not by genuine good because they have no knowledge of truth, 4302; 'the pregnant one' means those with whom good is being given form by means of truths; and 'her who is giving birth' means those leading a life of faith realized in action, 3905, 3915, 3919. It may be recognized that things of this nature are meant there from the further consideration that otherwise it would have been superfluous and pointless to mention 'the blind one and the lame, the pregnant one and her who is giving birth, together'.

1733. 'Possessor of heaven and earth' means the conjunction of the Internal Man, or Jehovah, with the Interior and the Exterior Man. This is clear from the meaning of 'heaven and earth'. That which is interior in man is called 'heaven', and that which is exterior 'earth'. The reason heaven means that which is interior in man is that man as regards interior things is an image of heaven, and so a miniature heaven. The Lord's Interior Man primarily is heaven, for the Lord is the All in all of heaven, and thus heaven itself. The exterior man's being called 'the earth' follows as a consequence of this. Here also is the reason why 'the new heaven and the new earth' described in the Prophets and in the Book of Revelation is used to mean nothing other than the Lord's kingdom and every person who is the Lord's kingdom, that is, who has the Lord's kingdom within him. As regards heaven and earth having these meanings, see 82, 911, for heaven, and 82, 620, 636, 913, for earth.

[2] That 'God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth' here means the conjunction of the Internal Man with the Interior and Exterior Man in the Lord becomes clear from the consideration that the Lord as regards the Internal Man was Jehovah Himself; and because the Internal Man or Jehovah guided and instructed the External Man - as the Father did the Son - the External Man considered in relation to Jehovah is therefore called the Son of God, but in relation to the mother the Son of Man. The Lord's Internal Man, which is Jehovah Himself, is that which is here called 'God Most High', and until complete conjunction or union had taken place it is called 'Possessor of heaven and earth', that is, Possessor of all that resided in the Interior and Exterior Man, which, as has been stated, is here meant by 'heaven and earth'.