We don’t know much about what happened to this Church after its Last
Judgment as described by the story of Noah, his Ark and the Flood except for
a few passages in the Arcana Coelestia that describe its remnants in the land
of Canaan among the Hittites and Hivites, among whom Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob lived. We know that man was fundamentally changed after the fall of the
Most Ancient Church in that his will and understanding were separated, so this
is perhaps less relevant than the Churches that followed, but not necessarily so.
We know that the Ancient Church at one point spread throughout
the whole world as well. It was the Lord’s Church until the time that the
Jewish Church was set up as a representative church with Abraham and his
descendants.
The Ancient Church did not immediately fade from the earth after its Last
Judgment either but rather its expansive coverage endured throughout the
time of the Jewish Church and well into the period of the Christian Church,
even as it most likely devolved further and further from Divine Truth.
As it spread, the early Christian Church often encountered the remnant
legends and myths of the Most Ancient Church and/or the Ancient Church in
the form of pagan religions. Even today, vestiges of legends and myths about
these Churches may remain in remote areas of Oceana, Africa, South America
and Asia. In fact, Buddhism and Hinduism remain very viable in many parts
of the world and likely evolved from Ancient Church remnants.
While the Jewish (Hebrew/Israelitish) Church is here treated distinctly,
in the Writings it is often included as part of the Ancient Church as the final
of three phases. The first phase was the establishment of the initial Ancient
Church called Noah, immediately after the Flood and continuing until an
interim judgment described in the story of the Tower of Babel.
The second phase was referred to as Eber and continued until an interim
judgment, as described by the story of the destruction of the Egyptians during
the Exodus of the Israelites and the parting of the Red Sea.
Focusing on the Jewish Church we see that there was not an immediate or
even a gradual decline after its Last Judgment. The Jewish Church remained
viable in and around Palestine for several centuries CE. And, while the Jews
later dispersed throughout the earth, when the Jewish state was reestablished
after World War II the church was once again focused in the cradle of the
Middle East.
There are more members of the Jewish Church today than there were
during the Lord’s time on Earth. Understandably, Jewish population is
difficult to estimate the further back in time we go. In an article in the Jewish
Encyclopedia it is estimated that there were roughly three million Jews at the
time of their Exodus from Egypt, approximately five million at the time of
King David’s census, and about four million during the first century CE.
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