10545. And Moses took a tent. That this signifies what is holy of worship, of the church, and of the Word, is evident from the signification of “a tent,” as being in the supreme sense the Lord, and also heaven and the church, and in the relative sense all that is holy of heaven and of the church, consequently also what is holy of worship and of the Word, for these are of the church and are of the Lord, because they are from Him. The reason why “a tent” signifies these things, is that the most ancient people dwelt in tents, and also had therein their holy worship. Among these people existed the celestial church, which was the most holy of all the succession of churches, for they adored the Lord, who with them was Jehovah; and as He was their Leader, they had interaction with the angels of heaven, and consequently were in celestial wisdom from the Lord. It is the setting up of this church which is described by the creation of heaven and earth in the first chapter of Genesis, and their wisdom by paradise. For by “heaven and earth” in the Word is signified the church, by “paradise” intelligence and wisdom, and by “man” the church itself; in like manner by the “ground” from which he was named “Adam.” (That “heaven and earth” in the Word denote the church, “heaven” the internal church and “earth” the external church, see n. 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 3355, 4535, 10373; that intelligence and wisdom are described by paradises and gardens, n. 100, 108, 2702, 3220; that “man” denotes the church, n. 478, 768, 4287, 9276; in like manner “ground,” n. 566, 1068; and that “creating man” denotes the setting up of the church, n. 16, 88, 10373; see also n. 8891, 9942.)

[2] In consequence of that church being loved above all others, and from the Lord dwelling with them in tents (for the Lord is said “to dwell” with the man who is in love to Him, John 14:23), therefore in memory of these things the Tabernacle or Tent of meeting was constructed among the Israelitish nation, wherein was held what is holy of worship; and for the same reason the feast of tabernacles or of tents was instituted.

[3] That by “tent” are signified these holy things, and specifically what is holy of worship, is evident from the following passages, in Isaiah:

Sing, O barren, that did not bear, enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations (Isaiah 54:1-2).

“To enlarge the place of the tent” denotes to do so with the things which are of the church, and consequently which are of worship; “to stretch forth the curtains of the habitations” denotes to multiply truths (that “curtains” denote the truths of the church, see n. 9595, 9596, 9606, 9756); “the barren” denotes one who has not previously been in the truths and goods of the church (n. 3908, 9325).

[4] In Jeremiah:

The whole land has been laid waste, suddenly have My tents been laid waste, and My curtains in a moment (Jeremiah 4:20).

That “land” denotes the church may be seen in the places cited in n. 9325; and as the church is the church from the goods of love and the truths of faith, therefore it is said that “the tents and the curtains are laid waste;” “tents” denoting the goods of the church, and “curtains” its truths.

[5] Again:

My tent hath been laid waste, and all My cords have been plucked out; My sons are gone forth from Me, and they are not; there is none to stretch forth My tent any more, or to raise up My curtains. For the shepherds are become fools (Jeremiah 10:20-21).

Like things are here signified by “tent” and by “curtains;” the “cords plucked out” denotes that there is no longer any conjunction of good and truth, and of truths one with another; and therefore it is said, “My sons are gone forth,” because by “sons” are signified truths. (That “cords” denote conjunction may be seen in n. 9777, 9854, 9880; and that “sons” denote truths, in n. 489, 491, 533, 2623, 2803, 2813, 3373, 3704, 4257, 9807.)

[6] In David:

Jehovah, who shall abide in Thy tent, who shall dwell in the mountain of Thy holiness? He that walketh blameless, and who doeth righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart (Psalms 15:1-2).

“To abide in the tent of Jehovah” denotes to do so in heaven and in the good of love there. Again:

I will abide in Thy tent to eternities (Psalms 61:4); where the meaning is the same.

[7] In Amos:

In that day I will raise the tent of David that is fallen, and I will close up the breaches thereof, and I will restore its ruins (Amos 9:11).

The “tent of David” denotes the church of the Lord and what is holy of the worship of Him; “to close up the breaches, and restore the ruins” denotes to restore these by removing falsities. That “David” in the Word denotes the Lord, see n. 1888, 9954; hence it is that “the tent of David” denotes the church of the Lord, and that which is holy of worship.

In Jeremiah:

Behold I bring back the captivity of Jacob’s tents, and I will have compassion on his dwelling places (Jeremiah 30:18); where “the tents of Jacob,” and “his dwelling places,” denote the goods and truths of the church.

[8] As by “tents” are signified the goods of the church and of worship, therefore by “tents” in the opposite sense are signified the evils of worship and of the church, as can be seen from the following passages, in Jeremiah:

I will liken the daughter of Zion to a comely woman; shepherds and their flocks shall come unto her, and they shall fix their tents against her round about (Jeremiah 6:2-3).

Go up against Arabia, and lay waste the sons of the east. Their tents and their flocks they shall take, their curtains, and all their vessels (Jeremiah 49:28-29).

What will ye do in the day of the solemnity, and in the day of the feast of Jehovah? For lo they are gone away because of the laying waste; the desirable things of their silver, the nettle shall possess them; thorns shall be in their tents (Hos. 9:5-6).

He smote all the firstborn of Egypt, the beginning of strengths in the tents of Ham (Psalms 78:51).

4535. Genesis 35

THE LAST JUDGMENT

Preliminary to the foregoing chapters, from chapter 26, an explication has been given of what the Lord foretold about His advent, or the CONSUMMATION OF THE AGE; and it has been repeatedly shown that by His advent or the consummation of the age is signified the last time of the church, which is called in the Word the Last Judgment. They who do not see beyond the literal sense must suppose that the Last Judgment is the destruction of the world, and this especially from the Revelation, where it is said:

I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city New Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven (Revelation 21:1-2.

And also from the prophecies of Isaiah, where are similar words:

Behold I create new heavens and a new earth; therefore the former things shall not be remembered, nor come up upon the heart; but be ye glad and rejoice forever in that which I create, for behold I create Jerusalem an exultation, and her people a gladness (Isaiah 65:17-18; 66:22).

[2] They who do not see beyond the literal sense must infer that the universal heaven together with this earth will be annihilated, and that the dead will then for the first time rise again, and dwell in a new heaven and upon a new earth. But that the Word is not to be so understood may be seen from many other passages where the heavens and the earth are mentioned. They who have any faith in an internal sense can plainly see that by “a new heaven and a new earth” is meant a new church, which shall succeed when the former church passes away (see n. 1733, 1850, 3355); and that the “heaven” is its internal and the “earth” its external.

[3] This last time of a former church and first time of a new church are what is called the “consummation of the age” of which the Lord spoke in Matthew 24, and also are His advent, for the Lord then leaves the former church and comes to the new church. That this is the “consummation of the age” may be seen also from other passages in the Word, as in Isaiah:

In that day the remains shall return, the remains of Jacob, unto the mighty God; for although Thy people Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, remains of it shall return; a consummation is determined, inundated is righteousness; for a consummation and a determination doth the Lord Jehovih Zebaoth make in the whole earth (Isaiah 10:21-23).

In the same:

Now be ye not scorners, lest your punishments be strengthened; for a consummation and a decision have I heard from-with the Lord Jehovih Zebaoth upon the whole earth (Isaiah 28:22).

In Jeremiah:

Thus said Jehovah, The whole earth shall be a waste, yet will I not make a consummation (Jeremiah 4:27).

In Zephaniah:

I will bring men into distresses, and they shall go like the blind, because they have sinned against Jehovah; and their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung, for Jehovah shall make a consummation, yea, a speedy one, with all them that dwell in the land (Zeph. 1:17-18).

That the “consummation” here mentioned is the last time of the church, and that the “earth” is the church, is manifest from the particulars.

[4] That “earth” or “land” denotes the church, comes from the fact that the land of Canaan was the land where the church had been from the most ancient times, and where afterwards there was the representative of a church among the descendants of Jacob. When this land is said to be “consummated,” it is not the nation in it that is meant, but it is the holy of worship that exists with the nation where the church is. For the Word is spiritual, and the land itself is not spiritual, nor the nation therein, but that which is of the church. (That the land of Canaan was the land where the church had been from the most ancient times, may be seen above, n. 567, 3686, 4447, 4454, 4516, 4517; and that for this reason by “land” in the Word is signified the church, n. 566, 662, 1066, 1067, 1262, 3355, 4447.) From this it is manifest what is meant in Isaiah by “making a consummation in the whole land,” or “earth,” and in Zephaniah by the “speedy consummation of all that dwell in the land.” That the Jewish nation which dwelt in that land was not consummated, but the holy of worship with them, is well known.

[5] That this is the “consummation” appears still more plainly in Daniel:

Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people, and upon thy city of holiness, to consummate the transgression, and to seal up sins, and to expiate iniquity, and to bring in the righteousness of an age, and to seal up vision and prophet, and to anoint the holy of holies; in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease; at last upon the bird of abominations shall be desolation; and even to the consummation and the determination shall it drop upon the devastation (Daniel 9:24, 27).

[6] From all this it may now be seen that by the “consummation of the age,” respecting which the disciples said to the Lord, “What shall be the sign of Thy coming and of the consummation of the age?” (Matthew 24:3) nothing else is signified than the last time of the church; and also by these words of the Lord, which are the last in the same evangelist: “Jesus said to the disciples, Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you all the days even unto the consummation of the age” (Matthew 28:20). It was said by the Lord that He would be with the disciples even to the consummation of the age, because by the Lord’s twelve disciples the like is signified as by the twelve tribes of Israel, namely, all things of love and faith, consequently all things of the church (see n. 3354, 3488, 3858); which is the same as is meant by the twelve tribes (n. 3858, 3926, 3939, 4060). That it is the consummation of the church when there is no longer any charity and therefore no faith, has been repeatedly shown above. That in this church which is called Christian scarcely anything of charity and its derivative faith survives, thus that the consummation of its age is now at hand, will of the Lord’s Divine mercy be shown in the following pages.