8199. 'The whole night' means in the state of obscurity. This is clear from the meaning of 'night' as a state of obscurity so far as the truth and good of faith are concerned, dealt with in 1712, 6000. Here 'night' is used to mean the obscurity immediately following temptations, for those who are delivered from them pass into obscurity first before moving on into clearness. The falsities and evils that were introduced by the hells still cling to them for quite some time and are dissipated only gradually.

3354. These individual meanings show what the Lord's words are used to mean, namely the first state of the perversion of the Church, which occurs when people cease to know any longer what good is and what truth is, and instead argue with one another about them, which gives rise to falsities. But because this is only the first state it is said that the end is not yet, and that these are the beginning of sorrows; and that state is referred to as earthquakes in various places, which in the internal sense means an alteration of the state of the Church - a partial or initial alteration. The fact that this was told to the disciples means that it was addressed to all who belonged to the Church, for the twelve disciples represented these, 2089, 2129, 2130. This explains why they are told, See that no one leads you astray, and also, When you hear of wars and rumours of wars, see that you are not alarmed.