10248. 'And it shall be the statute of an age to them' means an eternal law of order. This is clear from the meaning of 'a statute' as a law of order, dealt with in 7884, 7995, 8357; and from the meaning of 'an age' as that which is eternal. The reason why 'an age' means what is eternal is that duration even to the end should be understood by it, and in the internal sense what is eternal is meant by that duration. Furthermore the word used to denote an age means eternity in the original language. 'Age' means what is eternal because when used in the Word with regard to the Church it means duration of it even to the end. Consequently, when the term is used with regard to heaven, where there is no end, or with regard to the Lord, it means what is eternal. The term may be used to refer in general to any Church, but in particular to the celestial Church. In addition to all this 'age' means the world and life there, and also life after this to eternity.

[2] 1. The term 'age', when used with regard to the Church, means the duration of it even to the end

This is clear from the following places: In Matthew,

The disciples said to Jesus, Tell us, what will be the sign of Your coming and of the close of the age? Matthew 24:3.

'The close of the age' means the final period of the Church, thus the end of it, when there is no longer any faith because there is no charity. The fact that this is meant by 'the close of the age' and that 'the age' therefore means the duration of the Church even to the end becomes clear from all the things stated by the Lord in that chapter, an explanation of which may be seen in the opening sections of Chapters 26-40 of Genesis. 'The age' and 'the close' of it have the same meaning elsewhere in the same gospel,

The harvest is the close of the age. Matthew 13:39-40, 49.

Also,

Behold, I am with you at all times ¹ even to the close of the age. Matthew 28:20.

Here also 'the age' is used to mean the duration of the Church from start to finish.

[3] In Ezekiel,

They will dwell on the land, they and their sons and their sons' sons even to an age. David will be their prince for an age. My sanctuary will be in their midst for an age. Ezekiel 37:25, 28.

These promises refer to Israel, who in the internal sense serves to mean the spiritual Church. 'The land' on which they will dwell also means the Church; 'the sanctuary' means everything composing the Church; and 'David' means the Lord. From this it is evident that 'for an age' means even to the end.

'Israel' in the Word is the spiritual Church, see in the places referred to in 9340.

'The land' is the Church, in the places referred to in 9325.

'The sanctuary' is everything composing the Church, and it has reference to the goodness and truth of the spiritual Church, 8330, 9479.

'David' is the Lord, 1888, 9954.

[4] In David,

Before the mountains were born, and the earth and the world were formed, from age even to age You are God. Psalms 90:2.

By the birth of mountains and formation of the earth and the world not the creation of the world but the establishment of a Church should be understood, for in the Word heavenly or celestial love, and so the Church in which that love exists, is meant by 'the mountains'. 'The earth' too and 'the world' mean the Church, so that 'from age to age' means from when Churches are established to when they come to an end. Churches follow in succession, one after another; for when one has come to an end or undergone vastation another is established.

'Mountain' means heavenly or celestial love, and therefore the Church which is governed by that love, see 795, 796, 4210, 6435, 8758.

'The earth' is the Church in particular, but 'the world' the Church in general, see in the places referred to in 9325.

[5] 2. The term 'age', when used with regard to heaven, where there is no end, or with regard to the Lord, means what is eternal

This is clear from the following places: In David,

Jehovah is King for an age and for perpetuity. Psalms 10:16; Exodus 15:18.

In the same author,

Your kingdom is a kingdom of all the ages, and Your dominion to every generation after generation. Psalms 145:13.

In Jeremiah,

[He is] the living God [and] the King of the age. Jeremiah 10:10.

In Daniel,

His dominion is the dominion of an age which will not pass away. Afterwards the saints of the Most High ² will receive the kingdom and will strengthen the kingdom even to an age, and even to ages of ages. Daniel 7:14, 18, 27.

In Matthew,

Yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ages. Matthew 6:13.

In Luke,

God will give Him the throne of David, so that He may reign over the house of Jacob for ages. Luke 1:32-33.

[6] In the Book of Revelation,

To Jesus Christ be glory and might for ages of ages. Revelation 1:6.

Elsewhere in the same book,

Behold, I live for ages of ages. Revelation 1:18.

And elsewhere again,

Blessing, and honour, and glory, and might to the Lamb for ages of ages! The twenty-four elders worshipped the One living for ages of ages. Revelation 5:13-14; 10:6; 11:15.

In Isaiah,

My salvation will exist for an age, and My righteousness to each generation ³ . Isaiah 51:6, 8.

In the same prophet,

The angel of [His] face carried them all the days of the age. Isaiah 63:9.

In Daniel,

Many of those sleeping will awake to the life of the age ⁴ , the rest to the disrepute of the age ⁵ . Daniel 12:2.

In John,

If anyone eats of this bread he will live for an age. John 6:51, 58.

In the same gospel,

I give them eternal life, and they will not perish for an age. John 10:28.

In David,

Lead me in the way of the age ⁶ . Psalms 139:24.

In the same author,

He has caused them to stand for perpetuity and for an age; He has given a statute that will not pass away. Psalms 148:6.

[7] In these places 'age' means what is eternal since it is used with regard to the Lord, to His kingdom, and to heaven and the life there, all of which have no end. 'Ages of ages' is not used to mean eternities of eternities but that which is eternal. That expression is used however with regard to the Churches on earth coming in succession one after another. From the Word it is evident that a Church has been established four times on this planet. The first of them was the Most Ancient, which existed before the Flood; the second was the Ancient, which came after the Flood; the third was the Israelite and Jewish; and the last was the Christian. The whole period of each one from start to finish is an age. And after the Christian Church a new one will begin. This series of Churches is meant by 'ages of ages', 'an age' being the duration of a Church even to its end, as shown above.

[8] 3. The term 'age' may be used to refer in general to any Church, but in particular to the celestial Church

This is clear from the following places: In Amos,

I will raise up the tent of David that is fallen down, and I will build as in the days of a [previous] age. Amos 9:11.

'The days of a [previous] age' is used to mean the time when the Most Ancient Church, which was celestial, existed. In Micah,

Bethlehem Ephrath, from you will come forth for Me one who will be Ruler in Israel, and whose origins are from of old, from the days of a [previous] age. Micah 5:2.

Here the meaning is similar. In Moses,

Remember the days of a [previous] age, understand the years of generation after generation. Deuteronomy 32:7.

'The days of a [previous] age' stands for the time of the Most Ancient Church, which was a celestial Church, and 'the years of generation after generation' for the time of the Ancient Church, which was a spiritual Church.

[9] In Isaiah,

Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of Jehovah. Awake as in the days of antiquity, of the generation of [previous] ages. Isaiah 51:8-9.

'As in [the days] of the generation of [previous] ages' means as it was with the states of love and faith in the Ancient Churches that descended from the Most Ancient. In David,

I have considered the days of old, the years of [previous] ages. Psalms 77:5.

Here the meaning is similar.

[10] In Isaiah,

Remember from a [previous] age the former thing. Isaiah 46:9.

In Malachi,

Then the minchah of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to Jehovah, as in the days of a [previous] age, and as in ancient years. Malachi 3:4.

In Joel,

Judah will abide for an age, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. Joel 3:20.

In these places 'Judah' means the celestial Church, to which the words 'as in the days of the age' and 'into the age' therefore refer, while 'Jerusalem' means the spiritual Church, to which the words 'as in the ancient years' and 'into generation after generation' refer.

'Judah' is the celestial Church, see 3654, 3881, 6363, 8770.

'Jerusalem' is the spiritual Church, 402, 3654.

[11] 4. The term 'age' may mean the world and life there

This is clear in Matthew,

The one who is sown among thorns is he who hears the Word but the cares of this age and the deceitfulness of riches choke the Word. Matthew 13:22.

In Luke,

The sons of this age are more shrewd than the sons of light. Luke 16:8.

In the same gospel,

The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage. Luke 20:34.

And in David,

The wicked and carefree ones of the age multiply wealth. Psalms 73:12.

[12] 5. The term 'age' may mean life to eternity after death

In Mark,

... will receive a hundredfold, now in this time, and in the age to come eternal life. Mark 10:30.

In Ezekiel,

When I will cause you to go down with those going down to the pit, to the people of a [previous] age, ... Ezekiel 26:20.

And elsewhere, as in Luke 18:30; 20:35; Isaiah 34:10, 17; Revelation 14:11; 20:10; 22:5.

Poznámky pod čarou:

9325. 'None will suffer miscarriage or be barren in [your] land' means that forms of good and truths will develop in their proper order, in continuous progression. This is clear from the meaning of 'none will suffer miscarriage or be barren' as the progress of regeneration in its proper order, and therefore the development of forms of good and of truths in their proper order, in continuous progression, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'in the land' as in the Church. In the Word 'the land' or 'the earth' means the Church, see 566, 662, 1066, 1067, 1262, 1413, 1607, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118 (end), 2571, 2928, 3355, 3368, 3379, 4447, 4535, 5577, 8011, 8732; and the reason why 'the land' means the Church is that it implies the land of Canaan, where the Church existed, indeed where it had existed since most ancient times, 3686, 4447, 4454, 4516, 4517, 5136, 6306, 6516, 8317. In the spiritual world furthermore, when a land is spoken of no one envisages a land but what the people and their religion in a land are like. Consequently when 'the land' is mentioned in the Word and it implies the land of Canaan, the Church is envisaged. All this goes to show what a new heaven and a new earth is used to mean in the prophetical parts of the Word, namely the internal Church and the external Church, 1850, 3355, 4535; for there are internal people and there are external people.

[2] The reason why 'none will suffer miscarriage or be barren in the land' means that forms of good and truths will develop in their proper order, in continuous progression, is that all things connected with childbirth are used in the internal sense of the Word to mean such things as are connected with spiritual birth, thus such as are connected with regeneration, 2584, 3860, 3868, 3905, 3915. The things connected with spiritual birth or regeneration are the truths of faith and forms of the good of charity; for through these a person is conceived and born anew. It is evident from a large number of places in the Word that such things are meant by 'births', and plainly so from the Lord's words to Nicodemus,

Jesus said to him, Truly, truly I say to you, Unless a person is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said, How can a person be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, Truly, truly I say to you, Unless a person has been born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, but that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit. Nicodemus said, How can these things happen? Jesus answered, Are you a teacher in Israel, and do not know these things? John 3:3-6, 9-10.

'Being born through water and the Spirit' means being born again through the truths of faith and the good of love, see the places referred to in 9274.

[3] The origin of this meaning of 'births' in the Word lies in the correspondence of marriages on earth with the heavenly marriage, which is the marriage of goodness and truth. Regarding this correspondence, see 2727-2759. But scarcely anyone at the present day knows, and perhaps scarcely anyone is willing to recognize that truly conjugial love comes down from that marriage; for earthly and bodily things are before people's eyes, and those things have a dampening and smothering effect when they think about such correspondence. Furthermore, since that is the source of truly conjugial love, 'births' and 'generations' in the internal sense of the Word mean things connected with new birth and generation effected by the Lord. So it is also that father, mother, sons, daughters, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, grandsons, and many more who are the product of marriages, mean forms of good and truths, and derivations from them, dealt with many times in explanatory sections.

[4] From all this it now becomes clear that 'none will suffer miscarriage or be barren in the land' means that forms of good and truths will develop in their proper order, in continuous progression. The fact that 'one suffering miscarriage' and 'one who is barren' mean instances of miscarriage and barrenness in a spiritual sense, that is, the perversions of goodness and truth, and also the destruction and total rejections of them, is evident from the following places: In Hosea,

Ephraim, when I saw it reaching as far as Tyre, was planted in a beautiful [place]; and Ephraim must lead out its sons to the killer. Give them, O Jehovah, a miscarrying womb and dry breasts. On account of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of My house. Hosea 9:13-15.

Unless people know what it is that 'Ephraim', 'Tyre', 'the killer', 'sons', 'a miscarrying womb', and 'dry breasts' mean in the internal sense, they cannot have any knowledge at all of what those prophetic statements imply. 'Ephraim' is the Church's power of understanding, which is an understanding enlightened in regard to the truths and forms of the good of faith obtained from the Word, see 3969, 5354, 6222, 6234, 6238, 6267; 'Tyre' is the cognitions or knowledge of truth and good, 1201; and from this it is evident what 'Ephraim, when I saw it reaching as far as Tyre, was planted in a beautiful place' means. 'A killer' is one who deprives another of spiritual life, that is, the life provided by truth and good, 3607, 6767, 8902; 'sons' are the truths of faith, 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 2813, 3373, 3704, 4257; and from this it is evident what 'Ephraim must lead out its sons to the killer' means. 'Breasts' are affections for goodness and truth, 6432, so that 'dry breasts' are the absence of affections, and desires to pervert instead; and from this it is evident what 'a miscarrying womb' means, namely a perversion of goodness and truth. Things connected with spiritual life are clearly meant by all these words, for it says, 'On account of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of My house', 'out of Jehovah's house' meaning out of the Church and out of heaven, 2233, 2234, 3720, 5640.

[5] In Malachi,

I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that he does not ruin for you the fruit of the land, nor will the vine in the field miscarry for you. All the nations will declare you blessed, and you will be a land of delight. Malachi 3:11-12.

The prophecy that the vine in the field would not miscarry means that the truths and forms of the good of faith among those who are within the Church will develop in their proper order; for 'the vine' is the spiritual Church's truth and good, 1069, 6375, 6376, 9277, and 'the field' is the Church, 2971, 3766, 7502, 9139, 9295. 'A land of delight' is a Church pleasing to the Lord; for everyone within the Church who has been regenerated through truth and good is an embodiment of the Church. From this it is evident what it is that 'you will be a land of delight' means, 'a land' being the Church, see above.

[6] In Moses,

If you hear My judgements, to keep and do them, you will be blessed above every people; none will be unfruitful or barren among you, or among [your] beasts. Jehovah will take away all sickness from you, and all the evil diseases of Egypt. Deuteronomy 7:12, 14-15.

'None will be unfruitful or barren' stands for not being devoid of the life provided by truth and good; thus it is a promise that spiritually they will have life. Since 'barrenness' had such a meaning, women in the ancient Churches did not think of themselves as being alive if they were barren. This was so with Rachel, who spoke of herself to Jacob - see 3908 - in the following words,

Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob [any children]; and she said to Jacob, Give me sons; if you do not, I am dead. Genesis 30:1.

[7] 'The barren' also means those who are without good because they do not possess truths, yet have a desire for truths in order that they may be governed by good, as with upright nations outside the Church. An example of this meaning occurs in Isaiah,

Sing, O barren one that did not bear; resound with singing and cry out with joy, O one that has not been in travail, for the sons of her that is desolate will be more than the sons of her that was married. Isaiah 54:1.

In David,

Jehovah lifts one who is crushed out of the dust, He raises the needy one from the dunghill, to set him with the princes of His people. He causes the barren one of the house to dwell as a joyful mother of children. Psalms 113:7-9.

[8] In Hannah's prophetic utterance after she had given birth to Samuel,

The full have been hired out [for bread], and the hungry have ceased [to be hungry], till she who was barren has borne seven, while the one who has many children has become feeble. 1 Samuel 2:5.

In these places 'the barren' is used to mean gentile nations who are being summoned to the Church, and to whom the Church is transferred when the old Church has come to an end, that is, when those who formerly belonged to the Church no longer possess faith because they do not have any charity. This old Church is meant by 'the one who has many children has become feeble' and by 'her that was married', while the new one among gentile nations is meant by 'her that is barren and desolate who will have many more sons' and by 'the barren one of the house [who dwells as] a joyful mother of children'. 'Bearing seven' means being regenerated completely, for 'seven' in this prophetic utterance does not mean seven but to completion, 9228. From all this it is evident what the following words spoken by the Lord serve to mean,

The days will come in which they will say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that have not borne, and the breasts which have not nursed! Luke 23:29.

This refers to the close of the age, which is the final period of the Church.

[9] In the second Book of Kings,

The men of Jericho said to Elisha, Behold, the city's situation is good, but the water is bad and the land barren. Then Elisha told them to put salt in a new dish and to throw the salt from it into the source of the water. And the water was healed, and no more death or barrenness came from it. 2 Kings 2:19-21.

No one can know what this description holds within it except from the internal sense; for all the miracles described in the Word hold within them the kinds of things that happen within the Lord's kingdom, that is, within the Church, 7337, 7465, 8364, 9086. A person needs to know therefore what 'Elisha' represented, what 'the city of Jericho' meant, what 'bad water and barren land' meant, what 'a new dish and salt in it' meant, and also what 'the source of the water' into which they were to throw the salt meant. 'Elisha' represented the Lord in respect of the Word, see 2762. 'Water' means the truths of faith, 28, 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668, 6346, 7307, 8137, 8138, 8568, and therefore 'bad water' means truths devoid of good, while 'barren land' means the Church's good which as a consequence is not alive. 'A new dish' or new vessel means factual knowledge and cognitions of goodness and truth, 3068, 3079, 3316, 3318. 'Salt' means truth's desire for good, 9207. 'The source of the water' means the human natural which receives the cognitions or knowledge of truth and good and is improved by truth's desire for good.

[10] From all this it is evident what that miracle held within it, namely the improvement of the Church and its life by the Lord's Word and by truth's desire for good from there. The improvement is brought about when the human natural receives truths from the Word as a result of such a desire. The reason why the miracle took place at the city of Jericho was that this city was located not far from the Jordan, and 'the Jordan' means that with a member of the Church which first receives truths, which is the natural, 1585, 4255. The human natural is the first to receive truths from the Lord which are present in the Word, but it is regenerated last; and when it has been regenerated the whole person has been regenerated. This was meant by the Lord's words to Peter when He washed the disciples' feet,

Jesus said, He who has been washed has no need except to wash his feet, and the whole person is clean. John 13:10.

'The feet' are those things that belong to the human natural, and in general are the natural, see 2162, 3147, 3761, 3986, 4280, 4938-4952, 5327, 5328. The natural or external man must be in agreement with the spiritual or internal man if a person is to be regenerated. Thus a person has not been regenerated until the natural has been, see 2850, 3167, 3286, 3321, 3470, 3493, 3508, 3509, 3518, 3573, 3576, 3579, 3620, 3623, 3671, 3882, 3969, 4353, 4588, 4612, 4618, 5168, 5326, 5373, 5651, 6299, 6454, 7442, 7443, 8742-8747, 9043, 9046, 9061.