1850. Will I judge. That
this signifies visitation and judgment, may be seen without
explication. By "judging," or "judgment," there is not signified any
last judgment, as people in general suppose, that is, that the
heaven and the earth are to perish, and that so a new heaven and a
new earth will be created, as spoken of in the Prophets and in
Revelation; and thus that all things are to perish, which
opinion has spread itself so widely that it has even taken
possession of the minds of those who are best instructed; and this
to such a degree that they do not believe that the dead are to rise
except at that time. And therefore because this time was foretold,
and still, after so many centuries have since passed by, they see
that it has not come and is not at hand, feeling safe they confirm
themselves in their assurance that there is no such thing, and
therefore that they will not rise again. But it is to be known that
by the last judgment, or by the destruction of heaven and earth, no
such thing is meant. According to the sense of the letter it is so;
but not at all according to the internal sense: in this sense the
last judgment means the last time of the church; the heaven and
earth that will perish, mean the church as to internal and external
worship, which becomes no church when there is no charity.
[2] There was a last judgment
of the Most Ancient Church when all charity and faith had failed,
and when there was no perception, as was the case just before the
flood. The flood itself, treated of above, was the last judgment of
that church; heaven and earth, that is, the church, then perished;
and a new heaven and a new earth, that is, a new church, were
created, which was called the Ancient Church, and which also has
been treated of. This church likewise had its last time, namely,
when all charity grew cold and all faith was darkened, which was
about the time of Eber. This time was the last judgment of that
church; which was the heaven and earth that had perished.
[3] The Hebrew Church was a new
heaven and a new earth, and this too had its last time, or last
judgment, when it became idolatrous; and then a new church was
raised up among the descendants of Jacob, which was called the
Jewish Church, and which was a church that was merely representative
of charity and faith. In this church, that is, among the descendants
of Jacob, there was neither charity nor faith, and therefore no
church, but only the representative of a church, for the reason that
it had become impossible for there to be immediate communication of
the Lord's kingdom in the heavens with any true church on earth, and
therefore a mediate communication was effected by means of
representatives. The last time of this so-called church, or its last
judgment, was when the Lord came into the world; for the
representatives then ceased, that is, the sacrifices and similar
rites; and in order that these might cease, the Jews were cast out
of the land of Canaan.
[4] After this a new heaven and
a new earth were created, that is, a new church, which is to be
called the Primitive Church, which was commenced by the Lord, and
afterwards gradually became stronger, and which at first was in
charity and faith. The destruction of this church is foretold by the
Lord in the Gospels, and by John in Revelation; and this
destruction is what is called the Last Judgment. Not that heaven and
earth are now to perish, but that in some quarter of the globe a new
church will be raised up, the present one remaining in its external
worship, as the Jews do in theirs, in whose worship it is well known
that there is nothing of charity and faith, that is, nothing of the
church. So far as regards the last judgment in general.
[5] In particular, there is a
last judgment for everyone immediately after he dies; for he then
passes into the other life, in which, when he comes into the life
that he had had in the body, he is adjudged either to death or to
life. There is also a last judgment in the singular, for with a man
who is adjudged to death, every single thing condemns him, for there
is nothing in his thought and will, not even the least thing, that
does not resemble his last judgment, and that does not drag him to
death. In like manner with the man who is adjudged to life: in him
every single thing of his thought and of his will presents an image
of his last judgment, and all carry him on to life. For such as is
man in general, such is he in the singulars of his thought and of
his affection. These are the things that are signified by the last
judgment.
