sides them. The ancients, who couched every thing under fables, understood such persons by the giants, who assaulted the camp of the gods, and who were cast down by the thunderbolts of Jupiter, and thrust under the burning mountain Etna, and were called Cyclops: they also gave to their hells the names of Tartarus, and the pools of Acheron; and the deep gulphs there they called Styx, and those who dwelt there Lernean Hydræ,' [or many-headed serpents,] &c. &c. ·

LEMMA THE THIRD.

Of the Noahtic or Ancient Church on this Earth.

39. INASMUCH as every church is threefold, viz. inmost or celestial, middle or spiritual, and external or natural, therefore Noah had three sons; and by Shem is signified the inmost or celestial church, by Japhet the middle or spiritual church, and by Ham the external or natural church: but we have not leisure in this place to describe the persons, with whom the one church is, and with whom the second and third are, nor of what quality they are in themselves, and in relation to each other: for there are three heavens, the supreme, the middle, and the lowest, to which those three degrees of the church correspond. Moreover this Noahtic or ancient church was spread abroad through all Asia, especially into Syria, Mesopotamia, Assyria, Chaldea, the land of Canaan and parts adjacent thereto, Philisthia, Egypt, Tyre,

Sidon, Niniveh, and also into Arabia, and Ethiopia, and in course of time into Great Tartary, and from thence downwards as far as the Euxine Sea, and from this latter into all the countries of Africa. That the nations in every part of the earth have been in the habits of worship derived from some kind of religion, is a thing well known; and religion cannot exist, except by means of some REVELATION, and the propagation thereof from nation to nation; see the former work entitled TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION, n. 273 to 276; where it was shewn, that prior to the Israelitish Word there was a Word, which in time was lost, but by the divine providence of the Lord is still preserved in Great Tartary, and that their divine worship remains even to the present day; on which subject see also n. 264, 265, 266, and n. 279, of the said work.

40. Who can deny, that the universe was created for the sake of the human race, that out of it might be formed an angelic heaven, wherein God might dwell in the dominion of his glory? To promote and accomplish this end, what mediate cause can there be but religion? and what else is religion but a walking with God? Moreover religion is like seed, producing just and true desires, and hence just and true judgment and conduct in things spiritual, and by these in things moral, and by the latter and the former in things civil. In order therefore that it may be known, what is the quality of the man who has religion, and what is the quality of him who has no religion, its hall be explained: The man, who has religion, is in THINGS SPIRITUAL like a phoenix, which nourishes it's young with it's own blood; but the man, who has no

religion,

religion, is in such things like a vulture, which for want of food devours it's own offspring. The man, who has religion, is in THINGS MORAL like a turtle-dove in a nest with it's mate, sitting upon it's eggs or young ones; but the man, who has no religion, is in such things like a rapacious hawk in a coop before a dove-house. The man, who has religion, is in THINGS POLITICAL like a swan flying with a bunch of grapes in it's mouth; but the man, who has no religion, is in such things like a basilisk with a poisonous herb in it's mouth. The man, who has religion, is in JUDICIARY MATTERS like a tribune riding upon a generous horse; but the man, who has no religion, is in such things like a serpent in the desert of Arabia biting it's own tail, and in that folded state throwing itself upon a horse with an intent to wind itself about the rider. The man, who has religion, is in OTHER MATTERS OF A CIVIL NATURE like a prince the son of a king, who exhibits notable marks of charity, and utters the elegancies of truth; but the man, who has no religion, is like the three-headed dog Cerberus at the entrance of the court of Pluto, casting forth poisonous foam out of his triple mouth.

41. It is not possible to give a description of the successive states of this church, namely it's rise or morning, it's progression into light or day, it's vastation or evening, and it's consummation or night, in the same manner as we before described the states of the most ancient church, because the states of the Noahtic or ancient church cannot in like manner be collected from our Word; for it gives only a brief account of the descendants of Noah from his three sons, in one or two pages; and moreover

that

manner.

that church was spread abroad through several kingdoms, and in each kingdom it was diversified, and hence it underwent and passed through the said states in a different That THE FIRST AND SECOND STATES THEREOF in the regions round about Jordan and towards Egypt were like the garden of Jehovah, appears from the following passage, The plain of Jordan was like the garden of Jehovah, like the earth of Egypt, as they come to Zoar, Gen. xiii. 10. And that the case was the same with Tyrus, appears from the following, Thou prince of Tyrus, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty, thou hast been in the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering; thou wast perfect in thy ways, from the day in which thou wast created until perversity was found in thee, Ezek. xxviii. 12 to 15. That Ashur was like a cedar in Libanus, appears from the following, Behold, Ashur is a cedar in Libanus, beautiful in branches, excelling in height; in his branches all the birds of the heavens built their nests, and under his branches every beast of the field brought forth their young, and in his shadow dwelt all great nations: no tree in the garden of God was equal to him in beauty, and all the trees of Eden, which were in the garden of God, envied him, Ezek. xxxi. 3 to 9. That wisdom flourished in Arabia, appears from the queen of Sheba's going to Solomon, 1 Kings x. 1 to 14; and afterwards from the three wise men, who came to Jesus when recently born, under the direction of a star, Matt. ii. 1 to 12. THE THIRD AND FOURTH STATES OF THAT CHURCH, which were the states of it's vastation and consummation, are described in the Word throughout, both in the historical and in the prophetical parts; the consummation of

the nations round about Jordan, or the land of Canaan, is described by the destruction of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Seboim, Gen. xix; the consummation of the church of the nations within Jordan, or in the land of Canaan, is described by the expulsion of some, and universal slaughter of others, in Joshua, and in the book of Judges; the consummation of that church in Egypt is described by the drowning of Pharaoh and the Egyptians in the sea Suph, Exod. xiv. &c. &c.

42. Certain it is, that this ancient church was a representative church, which by types and visible and natural signs figured forth the invisible and spiritual things of the church which was at length to come, when Jehovah himself should manifest himself in a natural human form, and by means thereof should procure to himself an entrance to men, and to men access to himself, and thus should divest himself of types, and found a church with precepts, which should lead by a compendious way to heaven, the habitation of his divinity, all who believe on him as a Man, and who keep his commandments. But as this ancient church, typical of that which was to come, converted the representative correspondences into things magical and idolatrous, and thus into things infernal, Jehovah raised up the Israelitish church, wherein he might restore the primitive types, which were celestial; such types were all the tabernacles, feasts, sacrifices, priesthoods, the garments of Aaron and his sons, unctions, and statutes, which are published in a long series by Moses.

43. How the representative church with them was turned into an idolatrous church, I will explain in a few

words.