"THIS LAST TIME OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
IS THE VERY NIGHT
IN WHICH FORMER CHURCHES HAVE COME TO AN END"

TCR 760.     That there have been in general four churches on this earth since its creation, one after the other, can be seen from both the historic and the prophetic Word, especially in Daniel, where these four churches are pictured by the statue which Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream (chap. 2), and afterward by the four beasts coming up out of the sea (chap. 7). The first, which should be called the Most Ancient church, existed before the flood; and its consummation or destruction is pictured by the flood. The second, which should be called the Ancient church, existed in Asia, and a part of it in Africa; it was consummated and destroyed by idolatries. The third church was the Israelitish, which began with the promulgation of the Decalogue upon Mount Sinai, was continued by means of the Word written by Moses and the prophets, and was consummated or brought to an end by the profanation of the Word; which profanation was complete at the time of the Lord's coming into the world; and in consequence they crucified Him who was the Word. The fourth is the Christian church, which was established by the Lord through the evangelists and apostles. Of this church there have been two epochs, one extending from the Lord's time to the Council of Nice, and the other from that Council to the present day; but in its progress it has been divided into three - the Greek, the Roman Catholic, and the Reformed. All these, however, are called Christian churches. Furthermore, within each of these general churches there have been a number of particular churches; and these, in spite of their secession, have retained the general name, as heresies in the Christian church.

TCR 761.     That the last time of the Christian church was the very night in which the former churches came to an end, can be seen from the Lord's prediction respecting it in the Gospels and in Daniel; in the Gospels from the following:

    That time is also called night elsewhere in the Gospels, as in Luke:

    And in John:

    [2] As at midnight all light departs, and the Lord is the true light (John 1:4-9; 8:12; 12:35, 36, 46), so when the Lord ascended to heaven He said to His disciples:

    and then it is that He departs from them to a new church. That this last time of the church is the very night in which the former churches have come to an end can be seen also from the following passages in Daniel:

    That this is a prediction respecting the end of the Christian church is clearly evident from the Lord's words in Matthew (24:15); as also from what is said in Daniel respecting the fourth kingdom, or the fourth church, represented by Nebuchadnezzar's statue:

    [3] And again, from what is said respecting the fourth church represented by the fourth beast coming up out of the sea:

    This means that all the truth of the church will be consummated, and then it will be night, because the truth of the church is light. Respecting this church there are many other like predictions in the Apocalypse, especially in the sixteenth chapter which treats of the vials full of the wrath of God poured out upon the earth, these vials signifying the falsities that would then inundate and destroy the church. So likewise in many places in the Prophets, as in the following:

    Again:

    "the day of Jehovah" meaning the day of the Lord's coming.

TCR 762.     That four churches have existed on this earth since the creation of the world is in accordance with Divine order, which requires that there be a beginning and then its end before a new beginning starts in. Therefore every day begins with morning, progresses, ends in night, and then begins anew; also every year begins with spring, progresses through summer to autumn, closes in winter, and then begins again; and in order that these changes may take place the sun rises in the east progresses therefrom through the south to the west, and finishes its course in the north, after which it rises again. It is the same with churches; the first, which was the Most Ancient, was like morning, spring, and the east; the second or Ancient church was like day, summer, and the south; the third was like evening, autumn, and the west; and the fourth like night, winter and the north. From these orderly progressions the wise men of ancient times inferred four ages of the world, the first of which they called the golden age, the second the silver age, the third the copper age, and the fourth the iron age, by which metals, moreover, these churches are represented in Nebuchadnezzar's statue. And again, in the Lord's sight the church is seen as a single man, and this larger man must pass through his stages of life like an individual, that is to say, from infancy to youth, from this to manhood, and finally to old age; and then, when he dies, he will rise again. The Lord says:

TCR 763.     It is according to order that a first should go forth to its last both in general and in particular, in order that variety may exist in all things, and through varieties every quality; for quality is perfected by means of differences relating to what is more or less opposite. Who cannot see that truth takes on its quality through the existence of falsity, and good likewise through the existence of evil, as light takes on its quality through the existence of darkness, and heat through the existence of cold? What would color be if there were no black and nothing but white? If it were otherwise the quality of intermediate colors could not but be imperfect. What is sensation apart from relation; and what is relation except to things opposite? Is not the sight of the eye obscured by looking at white only, and quickened by a color that inwardly derives something from black, such, for example, as green? Is not the sense of bearing dulled by the continued strain of one tone upon its organs, and stimulated by a modulation that is varied by relative sounds? What is the beautiful without relation to the unbeautiful? So in some pictures in order to present vividly the beauty of a virgin, an ugly face is placed beside the handsome one. What are joy and happiness without relation to what is joyless and unhappy? Will not one become insane by dwelling upon one idea only, uninterrupted by a variety that tends to things opposite? It is the same with the spiritual things of the church, the opposites of which have relation to evil and falsity, which, nevertheless, are not from the Lord, but from man who has freedom of choice which he can turn either to a good use or an evil use; comparatively as it is with darkness and cold, which are not from the sun but are from the earth, which by its revolutions in turn withdraws from the sun and returns to it; and without its turning from and to the sun there would be neither day nor year, consequently no person and no thing on the earth. I have heard that churches which are in different goods and truths, provided their goods relate to love to the Lord, and their truths to faith in Him, are like so many gems in a king's crown.

(True Christian Religion 760 -763)