2853. 'In your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed' means the salvation of all who are endowed with good. This is clear from the meaning of 'being blessed' as being enriched with celestial and spiritual good (dealt with in 981, 1096, 1420, 1422) and - since those who are saved are the subject - as being saved, for as is well known 'being blessed' has a wide range of meanings; from the meaning of 'seed' as faith that is the expression of charity, dealt with in 1025, 1447, 1610; and from the meaning of 'the nations of the earth' as those who are endowed with good, dealt with in 1159, 1258-1260, 1416, 1849.

[2] In addition to this, these words contain the following arcanum: By means of the Church, meant here by 'the earth', 662, 1066, 1068, 1262, those people are saved who are outside of the Church, for 'your seed', as has been stated, means faith that is the expression of charity. Faith that is the expression of charity occurs only with those within the Church since such faith is in essence truth taught by doctrine coupled to goodness of life. For the truth of the matter is that the Lord's kingdom on earth consists of all those who are endowed with good, who, though spread throughout the whole world, are nevertheless one, and as members constitute one body. The same is so with the Lord's kingdom in the heavens. There the whole of heaven presents itself as one entire human being, which is for that reason also called the Grand Man, 684, 1276. And what is a marvel and unknown until now, all parts of the human body correspond to communities in heaven. For this reason it is sometimes said that this group of communities belong to the province of the head, that group to the province of the eye, another group to that of the chest, and so on. This correspondence will in the Lord's Divine mercy be discussed in a section by itself.

[3] It is similar with the Lord's Church on earth. Here the Church is like the heart and lungs, and those outside of the Church resemble parts of the body which are sustained by, and get their life from, the heart and lungs. From this it is evident that without the Church somewhere on earth the human race cannot continue to exist, even as the body cannot without the heart and lungs in it, see 468, 637, 931, 2054. It is for this reason that as often as any Church reaches its end, that is, ceases to be a Church because no charity exists any more, the Lord in His Providence always raises up a new one. When for example the Most Ancient Church, which was called Man, perished, the Lord created a new one, which was referred to as Noah. This was the Ancient Church, which existed after the Flood. And when this declined and became no longer a Church, the Jewish and Israelite representative Church was brought into being. And when this became wholly extinct the Lord came into the world and again established a new one. This was done by Him to the end that heaven might be joined to the human race by means of the Church. This is also what is meant by the words 'in your seed all nations of the earth will be blessed'.

2054. 'As an eternal covenant' means conjunction. This is clear from the meaning of 'a covenant' as conjunction, dealt with already. The subject here being those inside the Church, the word 'covenant' is repeated, though this time it is called 'an eternal covenant'. It is repeated not only because it is absolutely vital for people inside the Church to be circumcised, that is, to be purified from self-love and love of the world, as shown above in 2051, but also because the conjunction of the Lord and of His heaven with those inside the Church is the closest of all since it is effected through the goods and truths of faith. There is, it is true, a conjunction as well with those outside the Church, but that is more remote because the goods and truths of faith do not exist with them, as stated above in 2049. In the Lord's kingdom the Church is like the heart and lungs in man. Man's interior things are joined to those that are external by means of the heart and lungs, and in this way all the surrounding organs get their life. So it is with the human race as well. The conjunction of the Lord and of His heaven is closest with the Church, but more remote with those outside the Church who are like the organs which live by means of the heart and lungs. Celestial people resemble the heart, but spiritual people the lungs. The necessity for both of these to be purified is the reason why those inside the Church are dealt with specifically here and why the covenant is referred to twice.