144. Or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. That this signifies, if not, when visitation comes, that they shall be dispersed, is evident from the signification of, I will come to thee quickly, when said of the Lord, as being visitation, concerning which more will be said in what follows, and from the signification of the sword of my mouth, as being truth combating against falsity, and then dispersion of falsities (concerning which see above, n. 73, 131). Here, however, it signifies the dispersion of those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, and the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, that is, of those who have the understanding enlightened and teach truths, and yet love to destroy by guile those who belong to the church; also those who separate good from truth, or charity from faith (concerning whom see above, n. 140 and 142). The reason why coming quickly denotes visitation is, that the coming of the Lord in the Word signifies visitation (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 6895). Visitation is the exploration of man after death as to his quality, before he is judged.

6895. 'Saying, I have certainly visited you' means His coming to those who belong to the spiritual Church. This is clear from the meaning of 'visiting' as the Lord's coming, which precedes the final period of the Church, the period which is spoken of in the Word as a final judgement. Regarding the meaning of 'visitation' as that judgement, see 2242, 6588; and the fact that that judgement is called the Lord's coming is evident from the following words in Matthew,

The disciples said to Jesus, Tell us, when will those things take place, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age? Matthew 24:3.

The Lord was telling the disciples then about the final period of the Church, as may be seen from the explanations given in 3353-3356, 3486, 3489, 3897-3901, 4055-4060, 4229-4231, 4422-4424. He said that when all those things happen,

The sign of the Son of Man will appear, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn; and they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and glory. Matthew 24:30.

[2] 'The Lord's coming' is not used to mean His appearance together with angels in the clouds, but the acceptance of Him in people's hearts through love and faith, see 3353, 3900, and also His appearance from within the Word, the inmost or highest sense of which deals with the Lord alone, 4060. This coming is meant by 'the Lord's coming', which takes place at the time when an old Church is done away with and a new one is established by the Lord. And because a new phase of the Church was to be established now among the descendants of Jacob, the words 'I have certainly visited you' are used, like those spoken by Joseph when he was about to die,

Joseph said to his brothers, I am dying; and God will certainly visit you and cause you to go up out of this land to the land which He swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Genesis 50:24.

'Certainly visiting you' here means in the sense of the letter deliverance from slavery in Egypt and introduction into the land of Canaan. This however is not the spiritual subject matter contained in the Word but the natural. The spiritual subject matter in the Word has to do with the Lord, His kingdom and the Church, and love and faith. Consequently 'certainly visiting' is used to mean in the spiritual sense deliverance from falsities and thus introduction into things that belong to the Church and the Lord's kingdom, that is, the Lord's coming in love and faith among those who will belong to the new Church.