3353. The majority of people believe that when the Last Judgement comes everything visible in the world is going to perish - that is to say, the earth will go up in flames, the sun and moon will be reduced to nothing, and the stars will disappear; and after that a new heaven and a new earth will come into being. They have acquired this idea from the prophetical revelations, among which such occurrences are mentioned. But what will in fact happen at that time is quite different, as becomes clear from what has been shown already concerning the Last Judgement in 900, 931, 1850, 2117-2133. Those paragraphs show that the Last Judgement is nothing else than the end of the Church with one group of people and the beginning of it with another. This end with one and beginning with another occurs when the Lord is not acknowledged any longer, or what amounts to the same, when there is no faith any longer. No acknowledgement or faith exists any longer when there is no charity any longer, for faith is in no way possible except with those in whom charity is present. In those circumstances the Church comes to an end and is transferred to others, as is plainly evident from all the things that the Lord Himself taught and foretold in the Gospels concerning the last day or the close of the age - in Matthew 24; Mark 13; and Luke 21. But since nobody without the key, which is the internal sense, is able to understand those things foretold by Him there, let them be explained one after another.

[2] Here first let the following words be explained which appear in Matthew,

The disciples came to Jesus, saying, Tell us. when will those things take place, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the close of the age? And Jesus answering said to them, See that no one leads you astray, for many will come in My name, saying, I am the Christ; and they will lead many astray. But when you hear of wars and rumours of wars, see that you are not alarmed; for all things must take place; but the end is not yet. For nation will be roused against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines, and plagues, and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of sorrows. Matthew 24:3-8.

Those who confine themselves to the sense of the letter cannot know whether these words and those that follow in this chapter refer to the destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersion of the Jews, or whether they refer to the end of days which is called the Last Judgement. But those admitted into the internal sense see clearly that the end of the Church is being referred to, this end being that which here and in other places is called 'the coming of the Lord' and 'the close of the age'. And inasmuch as the end of the Church is meant one is able to see that all these statements made by the Lord mean such things as have to do with the Church. But their overall meaning may be seen from the individual meaning below which each of them has in the internal sense.

Many will come in My name, saying, I am the Christ; and they will lead many astray. 'Name' here does not mean name, nor 'the Christ' the Christ, but 'name' means that by which the Lord is worshipped, 2724, 3006, while 'the Christ' means truth itself, 3009, 3010. Thus the meaning is that people will come who say that this is the sum and substance of faith, that is, it is the truth, when in fact it is neither the sum and substance of faith, nor the truth, but falsity.

They will hear of wars and rumours of wars means that arguments and disagreements over truths will arise which are wars in the spiritual sense.

Nation will be roused against nation and kingdom against kingdom means that evil will conflict with evil, and falsity with falsity, 'nation' meaning good, but in the contrary sense evil, see 1259, 1260, 1416, 1849, and 'kingdom' meaning truth, but in the contrary sense falsity, 1672, 2547. And there will be famines, and plagues, and earthquakes in various places means that no cognitions of good and truth will exist any more, and thus that the state of the Church is altered, meant by 'an earthquake'.

1260. Since 'nations' in the Most Ancient Church and in the Ancient Church meant goods or good persons, therefore also in the contrary sense they mean evils or evil persons Similarly with 'peoples'; since these meant truths, therefore also in the contrary sense they mean falsities. For in a corrupted Church good is turned into evil, and truth into falsity, as a consequence of which the meaning of nations and peoples in that contrary sense occurs many times in the Word, as in Isaiah 13:4; 14:6; 18:2, 7; 30:28; 34:1-2; Ezekiel 20:13; and in many other places.

1416. That 'I will make you into a great nation' means a kingdom in heaven and on earth becomes clear from the meaning of 'nation' in the internal sense as the celestial entity of love and the good which flows from this, thus all throughout the world in whom the celestial element of love and charity is present. Since the subject here in the internal sense is the Lord, everything of the celestial and of the good deriving from it, thus His kingdom, is meant - which exists with those in whom love and charity are present. In the highest sense the Lord Himself is 'the great nation' since He is the Celestial itself and Good itself. For all good that flows from love and charity originates in Him alone, which also explains why the Lord comprises His own kingdom, that is, He is the All in all of His kingdom, as also all angels in heaven acknowledge. From this it is now clear that 'I will make you into a great nation' means the Lord's kingdom in heaven and on earth.

[2] That 'nation' in the internal sense, where the Lord and celestial things of love are the subject, means Him and all celestial things may become clear also from what has been introduced in 1258, 1259, regarding the meaning of a nation and nations. This matter may be confirmed further still from the following places: In reference to Abraham further on,

No longer will your name be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. Genesis 17:5.

The soft 'h' sound in Abraham was taken from Jehovah's name because he represented Jehovah, that is, the Lord. Similarly in reference to Sarai,

You will not call her name Sarai, but Sarah will be her name, and I will bless her, and I will also give you a son by her; thus will I bless her, and she will become nations; kings of peoples will be from her. Genesis 17:15-16.

'Nations' here stands for the celestial things of love, and 'kings of peoples' for the spiritual things of faith deriving from that love, which are the Lord's alone.

[3] In reference to Jacob likewise,

Your name will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel will be your name. And He called his name Israel, and God said, I am God Almighty, ¹ increase and multiply; a nation and an assembly of nations will come into being from you, and kings will go out from your loins. Genesis 35:10-11.

Here 'Israel' stands for the Lord, who Himself, as is well known to some, is in the highest sense Israel. And when He is meant by 'Israel' it is evident that 'a nation and an assembly of nations' and 'kings from his loins' mean the celestial and spiritual things of love, and therefore all in whom the celestial and spiritual things of love are present. In reference to Ishmael, Abram's son by Hagar, it is said,

The son of the servant-girl I will make into a nation, because he is your seed. Genesis 21:13, 18.

What Ishmael represents will be seen in that place. 'The seed of Abram' means love itself, and because of this the word nation is used for those begotten from Ishmael.

[4] That 'nation' means the celestial things of love is clear in Moses,

If you will surely hearken to My voice, and keep My covenant and be a peculiar treasure to Me from among all peoples, you will be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Exodus 19:5-6.

Here 'a kingdom of priests', a phrase used to describe the Lord's kingdom in heaven and on earth, springing from the celestial things of love, is openly called 'a holy nation'. But the Lord's kingdom springing from His Royalty is described as such by virtue of the spiritual things of love and is called 'a holy people'. 'Kings from the loins' therefore, as above, ² is spiritual things. In Jeremiah,

If these ordinances depart from before Me, said Jehovah, the seed of Israel also will cease from being a nation before Me for ever. ³ Jeremiah 31:36.

'Seed of Israel' stands for the celestial entity of charity, and when this ceases to exist there is no longer a nation before the Lord.

[5] In Isaiah,

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. You have multiplied the nation. Isaiah 9:2-3.

Specifically this refers to the Church of the nations, ⁴ , but in general to all who are without knowledge but lead charitable lives. These are 'the nation' because they are members of the Lord's kingdom. In David,

O that I may see the good of Your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the joy of Your nation, that I may glory in Your heritage. Psalms 106:5.

Here 'nation' plainly stands for the Lord's kingdom. It was from an ability to perceive that 'a nation' meant the celestial entity of love and the good which flows from this that members of the Most Ancient Church came to be distinguished into separate houses, families, and nations. By this distinguishing they gained a perception of the Lord's kingdom; and because they had a perception of the Lord's kingdom they had a perception of the celestial itself. From that ability to perceive there arose that which held a spiritual meaning, and from this that which was representative.

Сноски: