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 "They are scattered through the whole world, and consist of those who are in love to the Lord, and in charity towards the neighbor. But these scattered societies are collected by the Lord, [not by man,] that they also may represent one man, as the societies in heaven. These societies are not only within the church, [where the Word is,] but also out of it; and, taken together, are called the Lord's church, scattered and collected from the good in the whole world, which is called a communion. This communion, or this church, is the Lord's kingdom on earth, conjoined to his kingdom in heaven, and thus conjoined to the Lord himself."

Here we have the heavenly meaning of Mother. We see that it is no visible body of people, but "the communion of saints;" the lovers and doers of righteousness in every land and of every creed; "the Lord's church scattered and collected from the good in the whole world, which is also called a communion." And as if to remove the question beyond controversy, and to leave no doubt that the New Church signified by the New Jerusalem is this true and invisible church—this "communion of saints" or "kingdom of the Lord on earth" Swedenborg says, near the close of the number in the True Christian Religion from which we have quoted: "This church [the New Jerusalem of which he is speaking], and not the former, is wife and mother in this sense,"—that is, in the heavenly sense just explained.