527. That the day should not shine for the third part of it, and the night likewise, signifies that the spiritual light of truth and the natural light of truth were completely extinguished. This is evident from the signification of "day," as being spiritual light, and from the signification of "night," as being natural light. This is the signification, since it was said above that "the third part of the sun, the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars, were darkened;" and "day" means the light of the sun, and "night" the light of the moon and stars, since the sun gives light during the day, and the moon and the stars give light at night. In the first place, let something be said respecting light from the sun, which is called the light of the day, and respecting light from the moon and the stars, which is called "the light of the night."

[2] By light from the sun, which is called "the light of the day" and by "day," spiritual light is meant, such as the angels have who see the Lord as a sun; and by light from the moon and stars, which is called "the light of the night" and by "night," natural light is meant, such as the angels have who behold the Lord as a moon. (That the Lord appears to the angels both as a sun and as a moon, see in the work on Heaven and Hell, 116-125.) Those heavens behold the Lord as a sun that are in the spiritual affection of truth, that is, that love truth because it is truth. Because this is spiritual, therefore the light that is from the Lord as a sun is spiritual. But those heavens behold the Lord as a moon that are in the natural affection of truth, that is, that love truth that they may be learned and may instruct others. These love truth because of its usefulness to themselves, and not for the truth's own sake; therefore they are in a light that proceeds from the Lord as a moon. This light differs from the light that goes forth from the Lord as a sun, as the light of day from the sun differs from the light of night from the moon and stars in our world; and in like manner as the lights differ with them do truths differ, since Divine truth proceeding from the Lord produces all light in the heavens (See in the work on Heaven and Hell 126-140).

[3] Those, therefore, who are in spiritual light are in genuine truths, and also when they hear truths that they had not before known, they immediately acknowledge them and see that they are truths. It is otherwise with those who are in natural light. When such hear truths they receive them, not because they see or perceive them, but because they are told them by men of reputation in whom they have confidence; the faith, therefore, of most of such is from others, and yet they are in a life according to faith. Into these heavens all come who have lived well, although they have been in falsities of doctrine; nevertheless the falsities are there continually purified, until at length they appear as truths. This makes evident what is signified by "that the day should not shine for the third part of it, and the night likewise." (That "the third part" signifies all, fullness, and wholly, see above, n. 506.)

[4] "Day and night" here have a similar signification as "day and night" in the first chapter of Genesis, where it is said:

God said, Let there be light; and there was light. And God saw the light that it was good; and God divided between the light and the darkness. And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day (Genesis 1:3-5).

And afterwards:

And God said, Let there be luminaries in the expanse of the heavens, to divide between the day and the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years. And God made two great luminaries; the great luminary to rule by day, and the lesser luminary to rule by night, and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth, and to rule by day and by night, and to divide between the light and the darkness. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day (Genesis 1:14-19).

The "light" that came the first day signifies the Divine light, that in itself and in its essence is Divine truth, thus spiritual light that enlightens the understanding. This chapter in the internal sense treats of the establishment of a church by the Lord with the most ancient people; and as the first thing is to have the understanding enlightened, for until that is enlightened by the Lord there is no reformation, thus no church with man, therefore first of all light is spoken of, or it is said that "light" was made on the first day. That "God saw the light that it was good" signifies that illustration and reception with them were good. But "darkness" signifies the lumen that is in the natural man, which is called natural lumen, because this lumen in comparison with spiritual light is like darkness, consequently this is meant by "darkness." For every man has a lower or exterior mind, and a higher or interior mind; the lower or exterior mind is the natural mind, which is called the natural man, while the higher or interior mind is the spiritual mind, and is called the spiritual man. The mind is called a man, for the reason that man is man because of his mind. These two minds, the higher and the lower, are altogether distinct; by the lower mind man is in the natural world, together with the men there, but by the higher mind he is in the spiritual world with the angels there.

These two minds are so distinct that while man is living in the world he does not know what is going on in himself in his higher mind; and when he becomes a spirit, as he does immediately after death, he does not know what is going on in his lower mind; therefore it is said "God divided between the light and the darkness, and He called the light day, and the darkness night." This makes evident that "day" signifies spiritual light, and "darkness" natural light. Because all the heavens are so divided that those who are in spiritual light are in light from the Lord as a sun, and those who are in spiritual-natural light are in light from the Lord as a moon (as was just said in this article), it is said, "Let there be two luminaries in the expanse of the heavens to divide between the day and the night, and to rule by day and by night, and to divide between the light and the darkness." From this, therefore, it is evident that "day" here means spiritual light, and "night" natural light, which in heaven is called spiritual-natural light.

[5] Day and night have a similar signification in the following passages. In David:

Jehovah who hath made the heavens by His intelligence, who hath spread out the earth above the waters; who hath made great luminaries, the sun for rule by day, the moon and stars for rule by night (Psalms 136:5-9).

In Jeremiah:

Jehovah giveth the sun for the light of the day, and the statutes of the moon and stars for the light of the night (Jeremiah 31:35).

In David:

Jehovah, the day is Thine, the night also is Thine; Thou hast prepared the light and the sun (Psalms 74:16).

In Jeremiah:

If ye have rendered void My covenant of the day and My covenant of the night, that there be no day and night in their time, My covenant also with David My servant shall become void, that he shall not have a son to reign upon his throne, and with the Levites the priests, My ministers. If I shall not have set ¹ My covenant of day and night, the statutes of heaven and earth, then I reject also the seed of Jacob and David (Jeremiah 33:20, 21, 25, 26).

"The covenants of the day and of the night" mean all the statutes of the church prescribed unto the sons of Israel in the Word, by which they had conjunction with heaven and through heaven with the Lord. These are called "the covenant of the day and of the night," because they are for heaven and also for the church, the spiritual things that are represented and signified are for heaven, and the natural things that represent and signify are for the church; therefore "the covenants of the day and of the night" are here called "the statutes of heaven and earth," and "the covenant of the night" is called "the statutes of the moon and stars;" "to render void" signifies not to keep. That unless these are kept there could be no conjunction with the Lord through Divine truth or through Divine good is signified by "My covenant with David shall become void, that he shall not have a son to reign upon his throne, and with the Levites the priests, My ministers," "the covenant with David" meaning conjunction with the Lord through Divine truth; "no son upon his throne" signifying no reception of Divine truth by anyone, and "the covenant with the Levites the priests, My ministers," meaning conjunction with the Lord through Divine good.

[6] In David:

If I shall say, Surely the darkness shall overwhelm me, even the night shall be light for me. Even the darkness shall not make darkness before Thee; but the night shall be light as the day; as the darkness so shall be the light (Psalms 139:11, 12).

This signifies that the natural man as well as the spiritual is enlightened by the Lord. Natural light is signified by "darkness" and "night," and spiritual light by "light" and "day." "The night shall be light as the day, and as the darkness so shall be the light," has the same signification as in Isaiah:

The light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun (Isaiah 30:26).

These things have been cited to make known that spiritual light is signified by "the day should not shine for the third part of it," and natural light by "the night likewise;" thus that these expressions have a similar signification as "light from the sun and light from the moon. "

Poznámky pod čarou:

610. That time shall be no more, signifies that there shall be no longer any understanding of Divine truth, nor any state of the church therefrom. This is evident from the signification of "time," as being here the state of man in respect to the understanding of the Word, and thus the state of the church, because both the one and the other are treated of in this chapter. "Time" signifies state, because times in the spiritual world are determined and distinguished only by particular and general states of life. This is because the sun in that world, which is the Lord, does not move, but remains in the same place in heaven, and that place is the east; that sun does not there revolve through the heavens as the sun in the natural world appears to do. By the apparent revolution of the sun of the natural world times in general and in particular are determined, and thus have existence; in general, the year and its four seasons, called spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Moreover, these four seasons of the year are the four natural states of the natural world corresponding to the same number of states in the spiritual world, which are its general spiritual states. In particular, within these general states in the natural world, there are determined and fixed times, called months and weeks, but especially days, and days are divided into four natural states, which are called morning, noon, evening, and night, corresponding to which there are four states in the spiritual world. In the spiritual world, because the sun, as has been said, does not revolve through the heavens but remains constant and fixed in its east, there are no years, months, weeks, days, or hours, consequently there are no determinations by times, but only determinations by states of life, general and particular. Therefore it is not known there what time is, but only what state is, for the determination of a thing is what gives the idea of it, and according to the idea is the thing named. This, then, is the reason that it is not known in the spiritual world what times are, although they succeed each other there the same as in the natural world, but instead of times there are states and their changes; this is the reason also that times, when mentioned in the Word, signify states. (But respecting time and times in the spiritual world, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 162-169; and on the Changes of States of the Angels, n.154-161. [Note from the Margin:] Notice where it is said, "it shall be when there shall be neither day nor night" [Jeremiah 33:20; Zechariah 14:7.)

[2] Since "time" means the things pertaining to time in the natural world, as those pertaining to the year and the day (those of the year are seedtime and harvest, and those of the day are morning and evening), by these things pertaining to time states of the church are described in the Word, "seedtime" describing and signifying the establishment of the church; "harvest" its fruit bearing; "morning" its first time, and "noon to evening" its progression. These natural states (or conditions) also correspond to spiritual states, which are states of heaven and the church. As concerns the church, the church in general passes through these states, so does each man of the church in particular. Moreover, each man of the church from his earliest age is also inaugurated into these states, but when the church is at its end he can no more be inaugurated, for he does not receive Divine truth, but either rejects or perverts it, therefore he has neither seedtime nor harvest, that is, no establishment and no fruit bearing, nor has he morning or evening, that is, neither beginning nor progression. These states are meant and signified by "times" in the Word; and as in the end of the church these states cease with men of the church, therefore it is here said that "time shall be no more;" and this signifies that there shall be no further understanding of Divine truth or the Word, consequently not any state of the church.

[3] The like is signified by "time" in Ezekiel:

The evil, behold one evil cometh; the end is come, the end is come, it hath awakened upon thee. Behold, the morning is come upon thee, O inhabitant of the land, the time is come (Ezekiel 7:5-7).

This, too, was said of the state of the church. The end of the former church is first described, and the establishment of a new church afterwards, the end of the former church by this, "One evil, behold the evil cometh; the end is come, the end is come;" the establishment of a new church by this, "Behold, the morning is come upon thee, O inhabitant of the land, the time is come," "morning" signifying the state of a new or commencing church, and "time" its progressive state; accordingly the meaning is similar as that of "seedtime and harvest" and "morning and evening," mentioned above, consequently it means the state of the church in respect to the understanding of truth and the will of good.

[4] In Daniel:

The fourth beast shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, for he shall think to change times and the right; and they shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time (Daniel 7:25).

"The fourth beast" means the evil that was about to vastate the church completely; falsities destroying the truths of the church are meant by "the words that he shall speak against the Most High," and by "the saints of the Most High whom he will wear out," "the saints of the Most High" signifying in the abstract sense Divine truths. That the truths of the Word and its goods will then be turned into falsities and evils is signified by "he shall change the times and the right," "times" meaning the states of the church in respect to the understanding of truth. The duration of that state in relation to the end of the church is signified by "for a time and times and half a time," which means a full state of vastation.

[5] So, too, in the following words in Daniel:

And I heard the man clothed in linen, that he lifted up his right hand and his left hand unto the heavens, and sware by Him that liveth unto the ages of the ages that it shall be for a fixed time of fixed times, and a half, when they are to make an end of dispersing the people of holiness, all these things shall be finished (Daniel 12:7).

"Time" here signifies state; and "time, times and a half" signifies a full state of vastation; therefore it is said, "when they are to make a full end of dispersing the people of holiness," "the people of holiness" meaning those of the church who are in Divine truths; or in an abstract sense Divine truths. With a similar meaning it is said in Revelation:

That the woman should be nourished in the wilderness for a time and times and half a time (Revelation 12:14).

[6] As by "time" things pertaining to time are meant, such as spring, summer, autumn, and winter, these signifying the states of one who is to be regenerated, or is regenerated, also the things pertaining to these times, such as seedtime and harvest, these signifying the state of the church in respect to the implantation of truth and the fructification of good therefrom, and as like things are signified by the times of the day, which are morning, noon, evening, and night, so these times have this signification in the following passages. In Genesis:

During all the days of the earth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease (Genesis 8:22).

This may be seen explained in Arcana Coelestia 930-937). In David:

The day is Thine, the night also is Thine; thou hast prepared the light and the sun. Thou hast set all the borders of the earth; summer and winter hast Thou formed (Psalms 74:16, 17).

In Jeremiah:

Jehovah giveth the sun for a light of the day, and the statutes of the moon and stars for a light of the night. If these statutes shall depart from before Me, the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before Me all the days (Jeremiah 31:35, 36).

In the same:

Jehovah said, If I shall not have set My covenant of day and night, the statutes of heaven and earth, I will reject also the seed of Jacob and of David ¹ My servant (Jeremiah 33:25, 26).

"The statutes of the sun, moon, and stars," also "the covenant of day and night," and "the statutes of heaven and earth," have a similar signification as "times," since "times" exist from those statutes. That "seedtime and harvest, summer and winter," also "day and night," have a similar signification as "times" has been said above.

[7] It follows that "times" have the same signification in these words in Genesis:

God said, Let there be luminaries in the expanse of the heavens, to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and for years (Genesis 1:14-19).

The two "luminaries," the sun and moon, signify love and faith; for that chapter treats in the spiritual sense of the new creation, or the regeneration of the man of the church, and the things said respecting the sun and moon signify the things that chiefly regenerate man and make the church; therefore these words and those that follow describe the process by which regeneration is effected, and afterwards it describes their states. This makes evident what is signified by "time shall be no more."

Poznámky pod čarou: