1228. That 'Elam' means faith stemming from charity is clear from what an internal Church is essentially. An internal Church is one for which charity is the chief thing and is the source of its thought and activity. The first offspring of charity is nothing else than faith, for it is from charity and nowhere else that faith derives. The fact that 'Elam' is faith stemming from charity, or faith itself which constitutes the internal Church, is clear also in Jeremiah,
The Word of Jehovah that came to Jeremiah concerning Elam, Behold, I am breaking the bow of Elam, the chief of his power, and I will bring upon Elam the four winds from the four ends of heaven, and I will disperse them to all these winds; and there will be no nation to which one of the outcasts of Elam will not come. And I will dismay Elam before their enemies, and before those that seek their soul, and I will bring evil upon them, My fierce anger, and I will send the sword after them until I have consumed them, and I will set My throne in Elam, and from there I will destroy king and princes. But in the latter days I will bring back the captivity of Elam. Jer 49:34-39.
[2] In these verses 'Elam' is used to refer to faith, or what amounts to the same, to an internal Church that has been debased and corrupted and then restored. It is similar to what is described many times in the Word regarding Judah, Israel, and Jacob, by whom are meant Churches - by Judah the celestial Church, by Israel the spiritual Church, and by Jacob the external Church. After these had become similarly debased, they were to suffer dispersion, after which those dispersed by their enemies were to be regathered and brought back from captivity, by which the creation of a new Church is meant. Thus it is said here regarding 'Elam', that is, the internal Church when debased and corrupted, that it was to be 'dispersed' and later on 'brought back again', at which time 'Jehovah was to set His throne in Elam', that is, in the internal Church or internal things of the Church, which are nothing else than the things of faith stemming from charity.
[3] In Isaiah,
The burden of the wilderness of the sea. It comes from the wilderness and from a terrible land. A stern vision has been declared to me; the treacherous dealer deals treacherously and he who lays waste lays waste. Go up, O Elam, besiege, O Madai; all its sighing I will cause to cease. Isa 21:1, 2.
This refers to the Church's being laid waste by means of Babel. 'Elam' here is the internal Church, 'Madai' the external Church, or external worship that has internal worship within it. That 'Madai' is such a Church or such worship is clear above at verse 2 of this chapter where Madai is called a son of Japheth.
This page is part of 
© 2000-2001 The Academy of the New Church