Ancient Churches Lexicon Entry:
Houses
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The people of the Most Ancient Church distinguished themselves into separate houses, families, and nations (AC 1159). This was done so that the church on earth might represent the Lord’s kingdom, where all people are distinguished into communities, and those communities into larger communities, and these into still larger communities, according to their differences in love and faith (AC 1259). A married couple with their children, along with their servants, constituted one house. A number of houses close together made up one family, while a number of families made up one nation (AC 1159).
Because the people of the Most Ancient Church were ordinarily shepherds of sheep, they lived in and traveled with tabernacles, or tents that were made of wood (AE 799, AC 3720). In heaven, Swedenborg was shown the houses that belonged to those of the second and third generations of the Most Ancient Church. They were magnificent, stretching out a long way, and varying in beautiful shades of red and blue (AC 1116).
See also:
Cities, Families,
Nations, Tents and
Tabernacles
Passages relating to Houses and the Ancient Churches:
AC 162; AC 230; AC 414; AC 470; AC 1102; AC 1116; AC 1159; AC 1238; AC
1246; AC 1259; AC 1293; AC 1416; AC 2739; AC 3312; AC 3665; AC 3720; AC
6690; AC 8118; AC 10160; AC 10545; AC 10769; AE 175; AE 799; AE 1145;
CL 75; CL 76; CL 205; Coro 37; DP 215; EU 49; SE 5546
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