Most men believe that when
the Last Judgment comes, all things in the visible world will be
destroyed; that the earth will be consumed by fire; the sun and
the moon dissipated; that the stars will vanish away; and that a
new heaven and a new earth will afterwards arise. They have
conceived this opinion from the prophetic revelations in which
such things are mentioned. But that the case is very different may
be seen from what has been shown above concerning the Last
Judgment (n. 900, 931,
1850,
2117-2133); from which it is manifest that the Last Judgment
is nothing else than the end of the church with one nation, and
its beginning with another, which end and beginning occur when
there is no longer any acknowledgment of the Lord, or what is the
same, when there is no faith. There is no acknowledgment, or no
faith, when there is no charity; for faith is impossible except
with those who are in charity. That at such a time there is an end
of the church, and a transference of it to others, is plainly
evident from all the things the Lord Himself taught and foretold
in the Evangelists concerning that last day, or consummation of
the age (Matt. 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21).
[2] But as these passages
cannot be comprehended by anyone without the key, which is the
internal sense, I may unfold in regular order the things contained
in them, beginning here with these words in Matthew:
The disciples came unto
Him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? And
what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the consummation of
the age? And Jesus answered and said unto them, See that no man
lead you astray. For many shall come in My name, saying, I am
the Christ; and shall lead many astray. And ye shall hear of
wars and rumors of wars; see that ye be not troubled; for these
things must needs come to pass; but the end is not yet. For
nation shall be stirred up against nation, and kingdom against
kingdom; and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and
earthquakes in diverse places. But all these things are the
beginning of sorrows (Matt. 24:3-8).
It is impossible for those
who remain in the sense of the letter to know whether these things
and those which follow in the chapter were spoken concerning the
destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersion of the Jewish nation,
or concerning the end of days, called the Last Judgment; but they
who are in the internal sense see clearly that the end of the
church is here treated of, which end is what is here and elsewhere
called the coming of the Lord and the consummation of the age. And
because this is the end which is meant, it may be known that all
these expressions signify things of the church; but what they
signify may appear from the several particulars in the internal
sense, as when it is said that "many shall come in My name,
saying, I am the Christ; and shall lead many astray," where "name"
does not signify name, nor "Christ," Christ; but "name" signifies
that by which the Lord is worshiped (n. 2724, 3006); and "Christ"
signifies truth itself (n. 3009, 3010); thus it is meant that
there would come those who would say, "This is of faith," or "This
is true," when yet it is neither of faith, nor true, but false.
That they "should hear of wars and rumors of wars" denotes that
there would be disputes and strife concerning truths, which are
wars in the spiritual sense. That "nation should be stirred up
against nation, and kingdom against kingdom" signifies that evil
would fight with evil, and falsity with falsity. (That "nation"
signifies good, but in the opposite sense evil, may be seen above,
n. 1259, 1260, 1416, 1849; and also that "kingdom" signifies
truth, but in the opposite sense falsity, n. 1672, 2547.) "And
there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in
diverse places" signifies that there would be no longer any
knowledges of good and of truth, and thus that the state of the
church would be changed, which is an "earthquake."
From these things it is
manifest what is meant by these words of the Lord, namely, the
first state of the church's perversion, which comes to pass when
men begin no longer to know what is good and what is true, but
dispute among themselves concerning them, whence arise falsities.
As this is the first state, it is said that "the end is not yet,"
and that "these things are the beginning of sorrows;" and this
state is called "earthquakes in diverse places," which signifies
in the internal sense a change of the state of the church in part,
or at first. That all this was said to the disciples, signifies
that it is said to all who are of the church, for the twelve
disciples represented all such (n. 2089, 2129, 2130); and
therefore it is said, "See that no man lead you astray;" also, "Ye
shall hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that ye be not
troubled."
That in the internal sense an
"earthquake" signifies a change in the state of the church, is
evident from the signification of "earth," as being the church (n.
566, 662, 1066, 1067, 1262, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 2928); and
from the signification of "quaking," or movement, as being a
change of state; here, as to the things of the church, namely, in
respect to good and truth. The same is also evident from other
passages in the Word, as in Isaiah:
It shall come to pass
that he who fleeth from the voice of the dread shall fall into
the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall
be taken in the snare; for the cataracts from on high were
opened, and the foundations of the earth were shaken; in
breaking the earth is broken; in moving the earth is moved;
reeling the earth reeleth like a drunken man, and sways to and
fro like a hut; and the transgression thereof is heavy upon it;
and it shall fall and not rise again. And it shall come to pass
in that day that Jehovah shall visit upon the army of the height
on high, and upon the kings of the ground upon the ground (Isa.
24:18-21).
That in this passage the
"earth" is the church, is plainly evident; for it is the church
that is treated of, whose foundations are said to be "shaken," and
itself to be "broken and moved, and to reel and sway to and fro,"
when good and truth are no longer known. The "kings of the ground"
are truths; here, falsities, upon which there will be visitation.
(That "kings" are truths, and in the opposite sense falsities, see
above, n. 1672, 2015; and that "ground," like "earth," denotes the
church, but with a difference, n. 566, 1068.)
[2] Again:
I will make a man more
rare than fine gold, and a man than the gold of Ophir; therefore
I will shake the heaven, and the earth shall be shaken out of
her place; in the indignation of Jehovah of Armies, and in the
day of the wrath of His anger (Isa. 13:12-13);
speaking of the day of
judgment; and in this passage also "earth" clearly denotes the
church, which is said to be "shaken out of its place," when it is
changed as to state. (That "place" is state may be seen above, n.
1273-1275, 1377, 2625, 2837.) Again:
Is this the man that
shaketh the earth, that shaketh kingdoms, that maketh the world
as a wilderness, and destroyeth the cities thereof? (Isa.
14:16-17);
speaking of Lucifer; the
"earth" denotes the church, which he is said to "shake" when man
attributes to himself all things of it. (That "kingdoms" are the
truths of the church may be seen above, n. 1672, 2547.)
[3] In Ezekiel:
It shall come to pass in
that day, when Gog cometh upon the land of Israel, that My wrath
shall rise in Mine anger; in My zeal and in the fire of My
indignation I will speak, Surely in that day there shall be a
great earthquake upon the ground of Israel (Ezek. 38:18-20);
"Gog" denotes external
worship separate from internal, and thus become idolatrous (n.
1151); the "earth" and the "ground of Israel" denote the spiritual
church; the "earthquake," a change in its state. In Joel:
The earth quaked before
Him, the heavens trembled, the sun and the moon became black,
and the stars withdrew their brightness (Joel 2:10);
where also the subject is the
day of the Last Judgment the "earth quaking" denotes a changed
state of the church; the "sun and moon," the good of love and its
truth (n. 1599, 1530, 2441, 2495), which are said to "become
black," when goods and truths are no longer acknowledged; the
"stars" denote the knowledges of good and truth (n. 2495, 2849).
In David:
The earth was shaken and
quaked, and the foundations of the mountains trembled and were
shaken, because He was wroth (Ps. 18:7);
the "earth shaken and
quaking" denotes the state of the church become perverted.
[4] In John:
And I beheld when he
opened the sixth seal, and lo there was a great earthquake, and
the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the whole moon
became as blood, and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth
(Rev. 6:12-13);
where the "earthquake, sun,
moon, and stars" have a like signification as above in Joel.
Again:
In that hour there was a
great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell; and there
were killed in the earthquake names of men seven thousand (Rev.
11:13).
From all these passages it is
evident that an "earthquake" is nothing else than a change in the
state of the church; and that in the internal sense the "earth" is
nothing else than the church; and as the "earth" is the church, it
is evident that by the "new heaven and new earth," which were to
succeed in place of the former (Isa. 65:17; 66:22; Rev.
21:1), there is signified nothing else than a new church internal
and external (n. 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118).
The reason a "quaking" or
"motion" denotes a change of state, is that it takes place in
space and in time; and in the other life there is no idea of space
and of time; but in their stead there is state. It is indeed true
that in the other life all things appear as in space, and follow
one another as if in time; but in themselves the space and time
are changes of state, for they come from this source. This is
perfectly well known to every spirit, even to the wicked, who by
changes of state induced on others cause them to appear in another
place, when yet they are not there. Men may know the same from the
fact that insofar as a man is in a state of the affections and of
the derivative joy; and insofar as he is in a state of the
thoughts and of a consequent absence from the body, so far he is
not in time; for many hours then appear to him scarcely as one;
and this because his internal man or spirit has states to which
the spaces and times in the external man correspond. "Motion,"
therefore, being a successive progression in space and time, is in
the internal sense a change of state.
