between owners of estates and their neighbors, and the major between
sovereigns of kingdoms and their neighbors. Except for size the only
difference is that the minor conflicts are held within limits by a
country's laws and the major by the law of nations; each may wish to
transgress its laws, but the minor cannot, and while the major can, still
the possibility has limits.

[3] Hidden in the stores of divine wisdom are several causes why the
major wars of kings and rulers, involving murder, looting, violence and
cruelty as they do, are not prevented by the Lord, either at their
beginning or during their course, only finally when the power of one or
the other has been so reduced that he is in danger of annihilation. Some
of the causes have been revealed to me and among them is this: all wars,
although they are civil in character, represent in heaven states of the
church and are correspondences. The wars described in the Word were all
of this character; so are all wars at this day. Those in the Word are the
wars which the children of Israel waged with various nations, Amorites,
Moabites, Philistines, Syrians, Egyptians, Chaldeans and Assyrians.
Moreover, it was when the children of Israel, who represented the church,
departed from their precepts and statutes and fell into evils represented
by other peoples (for each nation with which the children of Israel waged
war represented a particular evil), that they were punished by that
nation. For instance, when they profaned the sanctities of the church by
foul idolatries they were punished by the Assyrians and Chaldeans because
Assyria and Chaldea signify the profanation of what is holy. What was
signified by the wars with the Philistines may be seen in _Doctrine of
the New Jerusalem about Faith_ (nn. 50-54).

[4] Wars at the present day, wherever they may occur, represent similar
things. For all things which occur in the natural world correspond to
spiritual things in the spiritual world, and all spiritual things are
related to the church. It is not known in the world which kingdoms in
Christendom represent the Moabites, the Ammonites, the Syrians, the
Philistines, the Chaldeans and the Assyrians or others, with whom the
children of Israel waged war; yet there are nations that do so. Moreover,
the condition of the church on earth and what the evils are into which it
falls and for which it is punished by wars, cannot be seen at all in the
natural world, for only externals are