2. Before treating of the New Jerusalem and its doctrine, something shall be said of the New Heaven and the New Earth. In the small work on The Last Judgment and the Destruction of Babylon it was shown what is meant by the "first heaven and the first earth" which had passed away. After they had passed away, and thus after the Last Judgment had been accomplished, the new heaven was created, that is, formed by the Lord. This heaven was formed of all those who after the Lord's advent even to the present time, had lived a life of faith and charity; since they alone were forms of heaven. For the form of heaven, according to which all consociations and communications are there effected, is the form of Divine Truth from the Divine Good which proceeds from the Lord; and this form a man puts on as to his spirit by a life according to Divine Truth.

That the form of heaven is from this source, may be seen in the work Heaven and Hell 200-212; and that all angels are forms of heaven, in Heaven and Hell 51-58, 73-77. From this it may be known, of whom the new heaven was composed, and hence also what its quality is; namely, that it is altogether of one mind; for he, who lives a life of faith and charity, loves another as himself, and through love conjoins him to himself, and thus reciprocally and mutually, because love in the spiritual world is conjunction. When, therefore, all act alike, then from many, yea, from countless numbers consociated according to the form of heaven, there arises one mind, and there results, as it were, a one; for there is nothing which separates and divides, but everything conjoins and unites.

9488. 'And a cubit and a half its breadth' means what is complete so far as truth is concerned. This is clear from the meaning of 'one and a half' as what is complete, the reason why this number means what is complete being that 'three' has this meaning (for the half of a number is similar in meaning to the whole number, because a number that results from multiplication keeps the same meaning as a simple number of which it is the product through multiplication, 5291, 5335. Regarding 'three', that it means what is complete, see 2788, 7715, 9198; and that all numbers in the Word mean spiritual realities, 482, 487, 575, 647, 648, 755, 813, 1963, 1988, 2075, 2252, 3252, 4264, 4495, 4670, 5265, 5291, 5335, 5708, 6175, 7973); and from the meaning of 'breadth' as truth, dealt with immediately above in 9487.

4670. 'A son of seventeen years' means His state. This is clear from the ages measured in years of people mentioned in the Word - spiritual realities and states are meant by them, as these are by all other numbers. For all numbers in the Word have spiritual realities and states as their meaning, see 575, 647, 648, 1988, 2075, 2252, 3252, 4264, 4495, as also do years, 487, 488, 493, 893.

[2] It does indeed seem as though numbers of years, or ages measured in years, mean nothing else than numbers of years. This is because these numbers more than any others have so to speak a more specific historical application. But these numbers too include spiritual realities and states within them, as is clear from the applications given at Genesis 5 and from what has been stated at Genesis 17:1 and Genesis 25:7 about Abraham's age and at Genesis 35:28 about Isaac's. The same is clear in addition from the fact that no historical detail exists anywhere in the Word which does not include within it something heavenly into which it is also changed when it passes from the thought of the reader to the angels present with him, and through those angels into heaven where the spiritual sense rises up out of every historical reference in the Word.

[3] But what is meant by Joseph's being seventeen years old may be seen from the meaning which this number has elsewhere, namely a beginning, in this case the beginning of the representation through Joseph. As to its meaning a beginning and that which is new, see 755, 853. What is more, this number includes within itself in a general way, and so to speak potentially, all the things that are represented by 'Joseph' - 'seven' meaning that which is holy and 'ten' remnants. For 'seven' when used in the Word adds holiness to any meaning, see 881, while 'ten' means remnants, 576, 1906, 2284. The remnants present in the Lord were Divine and His own, and by means of them He united the Human Essence to the Divine Essence, 1906.