Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 10357

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10357. 'For it is a sign between Me and you' means that it is the chief means by which those who belong to the Church are recognized in heaven. This is clear from the meaning of 'a sign between Jehovah and the children of Israel' as that which shows and bears witness to the fact that they belong to the Church, and so is the means by which they are recognized in heaven, and also by which they are joined to the Lord. For those who belong to the Church, that is, who have the Church within them, must acknowledge the Lord and the Divinity within Him. They must acknowledge the joining together of the Lord with heaven, also that of heaven with a person of the Church, and in general the joining together of goodness and truth in that person since this joining together constitutes the Church present in him. Whether you say the Church present in a person, or heaven present in him, or the kingdom of God present in him, or the Lord present in him, it all amounts to the same thing; for the Church is the Lord's heaven on earth, the kingdom of God is heaven and at the same time the Church, and the Lord is the Source, indeed the Sum and Substance of their existence.


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