400. And lo, there was a great earthquake. That this signifies the state of the church entirely changed, is plain from the signification of an earthquake, as denoting a change in the state of the church, for the earth denotes the church, and its quaking denotes a change of state. (That the earth denotes the church, may be seen above, n. 304; and that its quaking denotes a change of state, in the Arcana Coelestia 1273-1275, 1377, 3356). That this prediction, which is signified by the sixth seal being opened, involves a total change in the state of the church, is evident from the things that precede and those that follow in this chapter. In what precede it was predicted that the understanding of the Word would perish as to good, and afterwards as to truth, and at length that there would be no understanding of the Word, from evils of life and falsities of doctrine thence. The destruction of the understanding of the Word as to good, was signified by the red horse that was seen to go out from the opened seal of the book (concerning which see above, n. 364); the destruction of the understanding of the Word as to truth, was signified by the black horse that was seen (concerning which see above, n. 372); and that thence there was no understanding of the Word in consequence of evils of life, and falsities of doctrine, was signified by the pale horse (concerning which see above, n. 381). Hence then it follows that the state of the church was entirely changed; these things [appear] from what precedes; also from what follows, forasmuch as it is said that the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood, and that the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, with other circumstances, signifying that there was no longer any good of love or truth of faith, nor any knowledges of good and truth; from which also it is evident that by a great earthquake is here signified that the state of the church was altogether changed.
[2] Moreover, that an earthquake signifies a change in the state of the church, is manifest from many passages in the Word, some of which shall be adduced in what follows. That an earthquake signifies this is from the appearances in the spiritual world; in that world, just as in the natural world, there are earths, valleys, hills, mountains, and upon them societies of spirits and angels dwell. Those places, before the new heaven was formed upon them, were seen to undergo remarkable changes; some appeared to subside, some to be agitated and shaken, and some to be rolled together as the volume or scroll of a book is wont to be rolled, and to be borne away; and some to shake and tremble as by a great earthquake. Such things were often seen by me before the new heaven was formed, and were always signs that the state of the church there was changed. When they shook and trembled as if by an earthquake, it was a sign that the state of the church there was being changed, and how much changed appeared from the extent and character of the earthquake; and when the state of the church was completely changed from good into evil and from truth into falsity, the earth then appeared to be rolled together as the scroll of a book and borne away. This is meant by the words in the 14th verse of this chapter, namely, "and the heaven departed as a scroll rolled together." Similar things were also seen by John, for when he saw them he was in the spirit, as he also says (1:10; 4:2); and he who sees in the spirit, sees the things that exist and appear in the spiritual world. From these things it is also now evident, that by an earthquake is signified a change in the state of the church, namely, from good into evil, and from truth into falsity.
[3] That nothing else is meant in the Word by the quakings and tremblings of the earth, is also evident from the following passages. In Joel:
"The earth was moved before him; the heavens trembled; the sun and the moon were darkened, and the stars withdrew their shining" (2:10).
By the earth and the heavens here, as often elsewhere, is signified the church; by the earth, the external church; and by the heavens, the internal church. By the external church is meant worship from good and truth in the natural man; and by the internal church, the good of love and faith, which is in the spiritual man, whence worship is derived. For there is an internal and an external, or a spiritual and a natural man; so also is it with the church, for the church is in man, and it is from the men in whom the church is. The change and perversion of the church is signified by the earth quaking, and the heavens trembling. By the sun and the moon being darkened, is signified that there is no good of love and truth of faith; and by the stars withdrawing their shining, is signified that there were no longer any knowledges of truth and good.
[4] In Isaiah:
"I will make a man (virum hominem) more rare than pure gold. Therefore I will shake the heaven, and the earth shall be moved out of its place, in the indignation of Jehovah of hosts, and in the day of the wrath of his anger" (13:12, 13).
By a man (virum hominem) is meant intelligence, and by making him more rare than pure gold, is meant that there is scarcely any intelligence remaining. By intelligence is meant intelligence from truths, for all intelligence is from truths. Besides, "I will shake the heaven, and the earth shall be moved out of its place," signifies that the good of love and the truth of faith is dissipated, and the worship in externals thence. By heaven and the earth are signified here, as above, the internal and the external of the church, the internal of the church being the good of love and the good of faith, and the external thereof being the worship thence; for according to the quality of the internal of the man of the church, such is his external, because the latter proceeds solely from the former. Without this external, worship is lifeless, and expression is without spirit; and the thought from which expression flows, and the will from which gesture comes, are without life, for there is no spiritual therein from which it may receive life. What is signified by the indignation of Jehovah, and the wrath of His anger, will be told in the explanation to the 17th verse below.
[5] In the same:
"The flood-gates from on high are opened, and the foundations of the earth are shaken, the earth is utterly broken, the earth is moved exceedingly, the earth staggereth as a drunkard, it moves to and fro like a hovel; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and shall not have occasion to rise again" (24:18-20).
That these things are not said of the earth but of the church, is clearly evident; for who can suppose that the foundations of the earth are shaken, that the earth shall stagger like a drunkard, shall move to and fro like a hovel? but every one can understand them when instead of the earth the church is thought of. That its change and perversion are signified by these words, is evident, for it is said, "the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it, and it shall fall and shall not rise again”: by the floodgates opened from on high, is also meant an inundation of evil and of falsity.
[6] In David:
"The earth shook and trembled; the foundations of the mountains trembled, because he was wroth" (Psalms 18:7).
It is not meant by these words that the earth and its foundations shook and trembled, but that the church and the truths upon which it is founded trembled; for the earth signifies the church, and the foundations of the mountains signify the truths on which it is founded, which are truths from good; "because he was wroth," signifies the same thing as the wrath of Jehovah, in the Word. That the earth is agitated and shaken, and that the foundations of the mountains tremble, is from appearances in the spiritual world; for it so happens there when the state of the church is changed with those who dwell there. Moreover, those who are in truths dwell at the foot of the mountains, for all the habitations of the angels are in such order that those who are in the good of love to the Lord dwell upon mountains, and below them dwell those who are in truths from that good. When the state of the latter is changed as to truths, then their habitations tremble, thus also the foundations of the mountains. That there are such things in the spiritual world, and that they exist from the changes of the state of the church there, no one knows but him to whom it is revealed.
[7] In Nahum:
"The mountains quake before" Jehovah, "and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world and all that dwell therein. His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are overturned before him" (1:5, 6).
Mountains signify the church where there is love to the Lord, and hills the church where there is love towards the neighbour; hence by mountains is signified love to the Lord, and by hills love towards the neighbour. The reason is, that the angels who are in love to the Lord, dwell upon mountains, and those who are in love towards the neighbour, upon hills. When instead of love to the Lord the love of self reigns, and instead of love towards the neighbour, the love of the world reigns, then the mountains are said to tremble, and the hills to melt; for thus it happens in the spiritual world; not with the angels who are in heaven, but with the spirits who made to themselves the likeness of heaven upon mountains and hills, before the Last Judgment. Because the love of self and of the world is meant, therefore it is said that they melt, and also that the earth is burned before them, also the world, and all that dwell therein, likewise that His wrath is poured out like fire; for fire signifies those loves, and to melt and to be burned signify to perish by them. By the rocks which are overturned, are signified the truths of faith, because those who are in faith, and do good from obedience, although not from charity, dwell upon rocks in the spiritual world.
[8] In Job:
Jehovah "who shaketh the earth out of her place, so that the pillars thereof tremble" (9:6).
And in Jeremiah:
"Jehovah is God in truth, he is the living God, and king of the age; from his wrath the earth trembleth, neither can the nations abide his indignation" (10:10).
Here also by the earth is signified the church, but the church where falsities are, which is said to tremble when falsities are believed and are called truths. By nations are signified evils of falsity, the casting down of which into hell, and their destruction, are signified by the nations being unable to abide His indignation. In consequence of the earth here signifying the church where falsities are, therefore Jehovah is called a God in truth, the living God, and the king of the age; for He is called God and king from Divine truth, the living God from Divine truth in the heavens, and king of the age from Divine truth in the earths; and because where truth is treated of in the Word, good is treated of, because of the heavenly marriage in every particular of the Word, and hence, on the other hand, where falsity is treated of, evil is also treated of, mention is therefore also made of the nations, by which are signified the evils of falsity. What the evils of falsity are, which flow from falsities of doctrine, shall be illustrated by this instance:- Where the doctrine prevails that faith alone saves, and not the good of life, also that nothing of evil is imputed to him who has faith, and that a man may be saved by faith alone, even in the last [hours] of his life, if he then only believe that the Lord has delivered all from the yoke of the law by His fulfilment thereof, and made propitiation by His blood, then the evils which man does in consequence of such a faith are evils of falsity.
[9] In Ezekiel:
"In the day in which Gog shall come upon the land of Israel, wrath shall rise up in my anger, and in my zeal, and in the fire of indignation will I speak: Surely there shall be in this day a great earthquake upon the land of Israel, so that they shall tremble together before me, the fishes of the sea, and the bird of the heavens, and the wild beast of the field, and every reptile creeping upon the earth, and every man who is upon the faces of the earth, and the mountains shall be overturned, and the steps shall fall, and every wall shall fall in ruins to the earth" (Ezekiel 38:18-26).
By Gog is signified external worship without internal; by the land of Israel is signified the church. Hence it is evident what, "In that day Gog shall come upon the land of Israel," signifies. That then there shall be a great earthquake, signifies the change of the church, and the inversion thereof; for external worship derives all its quality from internal worship, so that according to the quality of the latter, such is the former. Hence where there is no internal worship, external worship is not worship, but only gesture and speech, the thought which is then present being from the natural memory alone, and the affection from the body, such as springs from habit before men. By the fishes of the sea, the bird of the heavens, the wild beast of the field, and every reptile creeping upon the earth shall tremble, are signified all things of man. For by the fishes of the sea are signified natural things in general, and specifically the scientifics there; by the birds of the heavens are signified intellectual things in general, specifically thoughts from truths, but here from falsities; by the wild beast of the field is signified the affection and lust of falsity and evil; and by the reptile creeping upon the earth, is signified the Sensual, which is the ultimate of the Natural, together with its delights and scientifics. And because all things of man are signified thereby, it is therefore said, "and every man who is upon the faces of the earth," every man, in the spiritual sense, denoting everything of man as to intelligence and wisdom. That all the good and all the truth thereof shall perish, and that thus every evil and falsity will break in without resistance, is signified by the mountains being overturned, the steps falling, and every wall falling in ruins to the ground. By the mountains are signified the goods of love; by the steps, the truths thence; and by the wall, defence; and where there is no defence, thither every evil and falsity break in without resistance. Who does not see that the fishes of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the wild beast of the field, and the creeping thing of the earth, as trembling together before Jehovah, are not meant?
[10] In Jeremiah:
"At the noise of the fall" of Edom and of the inhabitants of Theman, "the earth trembled, a cry and the sound thereof was heard in the sea Suph" (49:21).
By Edom and the inhabitants of Theman, these are not meant, but the evils and falsities opposed to the goods and truths of the celestial kingdom. Hence by the earth trembling at the noise of the fall of Edom and the inhabitants of Theman, is signified the change of the church, and also its perishing by those evils and falsities; the cry, the sound whereof was heard in the sea Suph, signifies their damnation, the sea Suph denoting damnation, a cry being said of the damnation of evil, and a sound of the damnation of falsity. (That the sea Suph signifies damnation and hell, may be seen, n. 8099.)
[11] In David:
"O God, thou hast forsaken us, thou hast made a breach in us, thou hast been displeased; bring back rest to us. Thou hast made the earth to tremble; thou hast broken it; heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh" (Psalms 60:1, 2).
The falling away of the church, and thence the perversion of truth and the breaking in of falsity, are signified by the breach; this, therefore, is signified by, "Thou hast made the earth to tremble; thou has broken it"; and by, the earth shaketh, the earth denoting the church.
[12] In Haggai:
"Yet once, a little while, and then I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry [land]; and I will shake all nations, that the choice of all nations may come: and I will fill this house with glory" (2:6, 7).
These things are said concerning the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem, and by the new temple there is signified the new church to be established by the Lord. This is meant by, "Yet once, a little while," and by, "then I will shake all nations, that the choice of all nations may come; and I will fill this house with glory"; by nations and the choice of the nations are signified all who are in good (see above, n. 175, 331). By house is signified the church, and by glory, Divine truth. This new church is further described in that chapter thus:
"The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, for in this place will I give peace" (verse 9).
The judgment in the spiritual world, which shall precede, is described by, "I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry [land]." And by the heavens and the earth are meant all the interior things of the church, and by the sea and the dry [land], all its exterior things.
[13] In the Evangelists:
"Nation shall be roused against nation, kingdom against kingdom; for there shall be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places" (Matthew 24:7, 8; Mark 13:8; Luke 21:11).
By, "Nation shall be roused against nation, and kingdom against kingdom," is signified that evil shall fight with evil, and falsity with falsity; by a nation is signified the good of the church, and, in an opposite sense, its evil, and by a kingdom is signified the truth of the church, and, in an opposite sense, its falsity. By, "there shall be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places," is signified that there will no longer be any goods and truths, and knowledge of good and truth, and thus that the state of the church has been changed, which an earthquake denotes. In these chapters of the Evangelists, the successive states of the church even to its consummation are predicted, but they are described by pure correspondences (which are explained in the Arcana Coelestia 3353-3356, 3486-3489, 3650-3655, 3751-3757, 3897-3901, 4056-4060, 4229-4231, 4332-4335, 4422-4434.
[14] It is recorded also in the Word that there was an earthquake when the Lord suffered upon the cross, and also when the angel descended and rolled away the stone from the mouth of the sepulchre; by each earthquake was signified a change in the state of the church. Concerning the earthquake [which took place] when the Lord suffered, it is thus written:
"The veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did shake, and the rocks were rent. The centurion and they who were guarding Jesus with him, seeing the earthquake, and those things that were done, feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God" (Matthew 27:51, 54).
And concerning the earthquake which took place when the angel descended and rolled away the stone from the mouth of the sepulchre, it is thus stated:
When "Mary Magdalene came and the other Mary to see the sepulchre; and, behold, there was a great earthquake; for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled away the stone from the mouth, and sat upon it" (Matthew 28:1, 2).
Those earthquakes took place to indicate that the state of the church was then being changed; for the Lord, by His last temptation, which He sustained in Gethsemane and upon the cross, conquered the hells, and reduced to order all things there and in the heavens, and also glorified His Human, that is, made it Divine, therefore, there was an earthquake, and the rocks were rent. That the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom, signified that His Human was made Divine; for within the veil was the ark in which was the testimony, and by the testimony was signified the Lord as to His Divine Human (as may be seen shown above, n. 392). The veil signified the external of the church which was with the Jews and Israelites, and which covered their eyes, so that they might not see the Lord and the Divine truth, or the Word in its own light. The same is signified by the great earthquake which took place when the angel descended from heaven and rolled away the stone from the mouth of the sepulchre, namely, that the state of the church was being entirely changed; for the Lord then rose again, and as to His Human took upon Him all dominion over heaven and earth, as He Himself says in Matthew (28:18). The angel rolling away the stone from the mouth and sitting upon it, signifies that the Lord removed all the falsity that cut off approach to Him, and that He opened Divine truth; for a stone signifies Divine truth, which the Jews had falsified by their tradition; for it is said that
the chief-priests and Pharisees sealed the stone with a watch (Matthew 27:66);
but that an angel from heaven removed it, and sat upon it. But [although] the things that are mentioned respecting the earthquakes, also respecting the veil of the temple, and the stone before the mouth of the sepulchre, are few, there are still more things signified thereby; for everything in general and particular written in the Gospels concerning the Lord's passion involves and signifies arcana. By the earthquakes also elsewhere in the Apocalypse, are signified changes of the state of the church (as chaps. 11:13; 16:18, 19).
