§308 union through the word 167
c. Egypt and Egyptian in the Word mean what is natural, and therefore what has to do with
information: 4967 , 5079 , 5080 , 5095 , 5460 [ 5160 ], 5799 , 6015 , 6147 , 6252 , 7353 [ 7355 ], 7648 , 9340 ,
9319 [ 9391 ]. Assyria means the rational level: 119 , 1186. Israel means the spiritual level: 5414 , 5801 ,
5803 , 5806 , 5812 , 5817 , 5819 , 5826 , 5833 , 5879 , 5951 , 6426 , 6637 , 6862 , 6868 , 7035 , 7062 , 7198 , 7201 ,
7215 , 7223 , 7956 [ 7957 ], 8234 , 8805 , 9340.
d. The church in specifi c is where the Word is and where the Lord is known because of it, so it is
where divine truths from it have been revealed from heaven: 3857 , 10761. The Lord’s church exists
throughout the whole world with all people who live in good according to their religions: 3263 ,
6637 , 10765. All people who live in good according to their religions and acknowledge something
divine are accepted by the Lord, wherever they are: 2589 – 2604 , 2861 , 2863 , 3263 , 4190 , 4197 ,
6700 , 9256 ; and especially all infants, wherever they may have been born: 2289 – 2309 , 4792.
basis of its inner meaning about people of the spiritual church, who are
being described here in that inner meaning. Their spiritual level is Israel,
their natural level is Egypt, and their rational level, which is the interme-
diate level, is Assyria.c Still, these two meanings are one because they cor-
respond. Consequently, when angels are thinking spiritually like this and
we are thinking naturally the way we do, we are united almost like a soul
and a body. The inner meaning of the Word is its soul, and the literal
meaning is its body.
The Word is like this throughout; so we can see that it is a means of
heaven’s union with us and that the literal meaning serves as its basis and
foundation.
There is also a union of heaven through the Word with people who 308
are outside the church, where the Word is not found; for the Lord’s
church is everywhere and exists with everyone who acknowledges some-
thing divine and lives considerately. People like this are taught by angels
after their decease and accept divine truths.d There will be more on this
below in its proper chapter, where we discuss non-Christians.
In the Lord’s sight, the universal church on earth is like a single indi-
vidual just as heaven is (as noted above in §§ 59 – 72 ). However, the church
where the Word is and the Lord is known through it is like the heart and
lungs of that person. It is common knowledge that the viscera and mem-
bers of the whole body get their life from the heart and lungs by various
routes. So too the human race that is outside the church where the Word
is gets its life in the same way and constitutes the members of that per-
son. Heaven’s union through the Word with people who are at a distance
can be compared to light that spreads in all directions from a center. The
divine light is in the Word, and the Lord is present there with his heaven.
People who are far off also receive light from that presence. It would be
different if there were no Word, which can be more fully understood by