10605. And be thou ready against the morning, and come up in the morning unto Mount Sinai. That this signifies a new beginning of the revelation of Divine truth, is evident from the signification of “morning,” as being a rising state or beginning, here a new beginning (of which in what follows); and from the signification of “Mount Sinai,” as being heaven from which comes Divine truth, thus from which comes revelation (see n. 8805, 8931, 9420). That “morning” denotes a rising state or beginning, is because all times signify states, for the reason that in heaven time is not thought of, but only changes of state in respect to the affections and derivative thoughts, and also because the changes of state there are like the times of the day, which are morning, noon, evening, and night; and the morning is that from which they begin. It may seem strange that in heaven there are no times, when yet they live there one with another like men in the world; nevertheless with a difference in respect to intelligence, wisdom, and happiness. But the reason is that the light there from the sun, which is the Lord, does not undergo daily alternations like the light from the sun in the world, but is varied in accordance with the states of love and faith with the angels, which states undergo alternations like the states of heat, of light, and of shade every day in the earth. The reason of this is that the light from the sun there, which is the Lord, is Divine truth; and the heat from that sun is love, with which the angels are affected as are men with the state of light and heat in the world. (That the light in heaven is from the Lord as a sun there, may be seen at the places cited in n. 9548, 9684: That this light is the Divine truth from which angels and men have intelligence and wisdom, see the places cited in n. 9548, 9571, 9684, 10569: That times signify states, see the places cited in n. 10133: That in heaven states vary like the times of day and year in the world, n. 5962, 8426: That “morning” denotes the beginning of these states, thus a new beginning, n. 8427, 10114: And that in heaven there is a state of evening and twilight, but not a state of night, n. 6110)

8426. In the evening, then ye shall know that Jehovah hath brought you out from the land of Egypt. That this signifies that in the end of the former state there shall be a revelation that they are liberated, is evident from the signification of “evening,” as being the end of the former state (of which below); from the signification of “knowing,” as being to be revealed, for that which Jehovah gives to know is called “revelation;” and from the signification of “bringing out,” as being to liberate (as frequently above), here from the infestations which are signified by “the land of Egypt” (n. 7278).

[2] That “in the evening” denotes the end of a former state, is because the changes of state in the other life are circumstanced as are the times of day in the world, namely, morning, noon, evening, and night, or twilight, and again morning. Be it known that in the spiritual world there are perpetual changes of states, and that all who are there pass through them. The reason is that they may be continually perfected, for without changes of states or without variations continually succeeding one another in order, they who are in the spiritual world are not perfected. The changes of states which succeed each other in order like the times of the day and the times of the year, never return quite the same, but are varied. The beginning of every state corresponds to morning on the earth, and also in the Word is sometimes meant by “morning;” but the end of every state corresponds to evening, and is likewise sometimes called “evening” in the Word. When it is morning they are in love; when it is noon, they are in light or in truth; but when it is evening they are in obscurity as to truths, and are in the delight of natural love. This delight is what is signified by the quail which they received in the evening, and the good is what is signified by the manna which they received every morning.

[3] From all this it is evident what “the evening” signifies, namely, the end of the state of the thing treated of, consequently also the end of the state of the church. But see what has previously been shown about the signification of “evening:” That in the other life there are alternations of states, as in the world there are alternations of times (n. 5672, 5962, 6110); that “evening” denotes the end of a former church, and “morning” the beginning of a new church (n. 2323, 7844); consequently that “the evening and the morning” denote the advent of the the Lord, (n. 7844); that in heaven there are evening and twilight before morning; but not night, which is in hell (n. 6110).