39. PROPOSITION THE THIRD. The Noachian, or Ancient Church of the earth. Since every church is three-fold, inmost or celestial, middle or spiritual, and external or natural, therefore Noah had three sons; and by "Shem" is signified the inmost or celestial church, by "Japheth" the middle or spiritual church, and by "Ham" the external or natural church. But there is not room to describe here in whom the first church is, and in whom the second and third, as also what their quality is in themselves, or in relation to one another: for there are highest, middle, and lowest heavens, to which those three degrees of the church correspond. Moreover, this Noachian, or Ancient Church, was diffused throughout Asia, especially into Syria, Mesopotamia, Assyria, Chaldea, the land of Canaan and the parts adjacent, Philistia, Egypt, Tyre, Sidon, Nineveh, and also into Arabia and Ethiopia, and in course of time into Great Tartary, and thence downward as far as to the Black Sea, and thence again into all the countries of Africa. That the nations in every part of the earth have been in worship from some religion is known; and religion cannot exist except by some revelation, and by the propagation thereof from nation to nation; as may be seen in the preceding work, The True Christian Religion (n. 273-276); where, also, it was shown, that, prior to the Israelitish Word, there was a Word, which in process of time was lost, but from the Divine Providence of the Lord is still preserved in Great Tartary, from which is their Divine worship, even to the present day (see also n. 264-266, and n. 279, of the said work).