174. Verse 26. And he that overcometh and keepeth My works unto the end, signifies perseverance in love and faith after combat against these loves and their removal as far as possible. This is evident from the signification of "overcoming" as being to fight against the delights of the loves of self and of the world, and to remove them. That this is the spiritual sense of these words follows from the connection. It is evident also from the signification of "keeping unto the end," as being perseverance even unto death; for he who perseveres even unto death in love and faith is saved; for such as he then is in respect to his life, he thenceforth remains to eternity (See above, n. 125). It is evident also from the signification of "works" as being the things of love and faith in cause and in effect, that is in internals and in externals. These things are here signified by "works," because these are the things treated of in what is written to the angel of this church (See above, n. 150). It is said, "keepeth My works," because everything of love and faith, and every opening of the internal and its conjunction with the external is from the Lord alone; therefore the "works," by which these are signified, are not man's, but the Lord's with man; and consequently it is said, "My works."

2117. THE LAST JUDGEMENT

Few nowadays know what the Last Judgement is. They imagine that it is going to be accompanied by the destruction of the world; and this leads to conjectures that this earth, together with everything else in the visible world, is going to be destroyed by fire. They also conjecture that then for the first time the dead will rise again and appear for judgement, and the evil are to be cast into hell and the good to rise up to heaven. These conjectures are based on the prophetical parts of the Word where references are made to a new heaven and a new earth, and also to a New Jerusalem. Such people do not realize that the prophetical parts of the Word have a meaning altogether different in the internal sense from what appears in the sense of the letter, and that 'heaven' is not used to mean heaven, nor 'the earth' to mean the earth, but the Lord's Church in general, and as it exists with each individual in particular.