327. I have talked with some who were in the Ancient Church. That is called the Ancient Church which was after the deluge, and extended through many kingdoms, namely, Assyria, Mesopotamia, Syria, Ethiopia, Arabia, Libya, Egypt, Philistia as far as Tyre and Zidon, and through the land of Canaan on both sides of the Jordan.# The men of this Church knew about the Lord that He was to come, and were imbued with the goods of faith, and yet they fell away and became idolaters. These spirits were in front towards the left, in a dark place and in a miserable state. Their speech was like the sound of a pipe of one tone, almost without rational thought. They said they had been there for many centuries, and that they are sometimes taken out that they may serve others for certain uses of a low order. From them I was led to think about many Christians-who are inwardly though not outwardly idolaters, since they are worshippers of self and of the world, and in heart deny the Lord-what kind of lot awaits them in the other life. # The first and Most Ancient Church on this earth was that which is described in the first chapters of Genesis, and shat Church above all others was celestial (n. 607, 895, 920, 1121-1124, 2896, 4493, 8891, 9942, 10545). What the celestial are in heaven (n. 1114-1125). There were various Churches after the flood which are called ancient Churches (n. 1125-1127, 1327, 10355). What the men of the Ancient Church were (n. 609, 895). The ancient Churches were representative Churches (n. 519, 521, 2896). In the Ancient Church there was a Word, but it has been lost (n. 2897). The character of the Ancient Church when it began to decline (n. 1128). The difference between the Most Ancient Church and the Ancient Church (n. 597, 607, 640, 641, 765, 784, 895, 4493). The statutes, the judgments, and the laws, which were commanded in the Jewish Church, were in part like those in the Ancient Church (n. 4288, 4449, 10149). The God of the Most Ancient Church and of the Ancient Church was the Lord, and He was called Jehovah (n. 1343, 6846).