8750. 'In the third month' means fullness of state. This is clear from the meaning of 'month' as state, for all periods of time, such as days weeks, months, or years, mean states, 2788; and from the meaning of 'three' or 'third' as that which is complete, dealt with in 1825, 2788, 4495, 5159, 7715, so that 'in the third month' means in fullness of state.

[2] What fullness of state is must be mentioned briefly. Every state has its beginning, period of development, and end. When a state reaches its end it is full or complete, and it is called fullness. In the next life all things are measured by the stages of development that their states undergo, and by the consecutive changes of those things from beginning to end, just as in the world they are measured by periods of time. This is so because in heaven there are no periods of time; instead there are states. The reason for this is that in the next life the Sun, which is the Lord, remains constantly in its place. It does not make apparent daily advances like the sun in the world, dividing the day into morning, midday, evening, and night, nor apparent yearly advances, dividing the year into spring, summer, autumn, and winter. So it is that in heaven there are no periods of time, but states instead. However, since within the inmost sphere of heaven a kind of advance or development takes place in accordance with the Divine heavenly form, which no one is capable of perceiving, and since the states of all in heaven change in accordance with that process of development, angels there pass through a cycle of states in which the good of love, the truth of faith, or obscurity in respect of both predominates. From this there arises the correspondence of states in heaven with periods of time in the world, that is to say, the state of the good of love with morning, the state of the truth of faith with midday, and the state of obscurity with evening and night. Furthermore the heat too that is radiated by the sun there is the good of love, while the light radiated by the sun there is the truth of faith. From this also there arises the correspondence of heat in the world with love, which is for that reason called spiritual heat, and of light in the world with faith, which is for this reason called spiritual light.

[3] In general there are two states of life - the state of thought, a state which belongs to the understanding; and the state of affection, a state which belongs to the will. The state of thought belonging to the understanding is connected with the truth of faith. This state is one that is enlightened by light from the Sun of heaven, which is the Lord, even as this light is the source of light in the human understanding. But the state of affection belonging to the will is connected with the good of charity, even as the heat radiating from the Sun in heaven, which is the Lord, is the source of heat in the will, which is love. From all this one may now see the nature of the states and their changes in the next life, and what is implied by fullness of state, meant by 'the third month'. The state to which fullness is ascribed here is the first state which those belonging to the spiritual Church underwent; for these people undergo two states, the first being when the Lord leads them by means of truth, the second when He does so by means of good, see 8643, 8648, 8658, 8685, 8690, 8701. Here the fullness of the first state is meant, the state which has been described in what has gone before; now the second state is described.

8701. 'You are not able to do it yourself alone' means without any truth from good flowing in from another source. This is clear from the meaning of 'doing it alone' - when said of God's truth, represented by 'Moses' - as the influx of truth from it alone, and not at the same time from any other source. The situation here may be recognized from what has been stated above in 8685 about the direct influx of God's truth, and the direct and at the same time indirect influx of it. There it is shown that direct influx of God's truth occurs in a person's first state when he is being regenerated, but that influx direct and indirect occurs in the second state, that is to say, when he has been regenerated. When the influx is direct the Lord flows in indeed with good and truth, but the good is not perceived then, only the truth. During this time therefore he is led by truth, and not so much by good. But when the influx is at the same time indirect, the good is perceived; for indirect influx reaches down into a person's outward, sensory level of awareness. So it is that then the Lord leads the person through good.

[2] In general it should be recognized that not until his actions spring from an affection for good has a person been regenerated, for then his will desires what is good, and he finds delight and bliss in doing it. When he attains this state his life is a life of good, and he is in heaven since good reigns throughout heaven. Truth however that composes faith leads a person towards good, and so towards heaven; but it does not place him in heaven. The reason for this is that in the next life all are formed into different communities according to the life of the will, not according to the life of the understanding; for where the will is, there the understanding is, but not vice versa. This is so in heaven, and it is so in hell. Those who are evil are not sent to hell until the evil of their life takes control of them; for when this takes control of them, so too does the falsity accompanying their evil, even as those who are governed by good are also governed there by the truth accompanying their good. All in the next life are brought at last into a state in which their mind is single, that is to say, the intentions of their will are in tune with their thoughts and not at variance with them. The situation is different in the world. There what a person thinks, indeed sees in his understanding, can be at variance with his intentions. But this enables him to be reformed; that is to say, he can understand what good is even though he intends evil, and so can be led by means of his understanding to intend what is good. But in the next life each person is led in accordance with the intentions he acquired when in the world.