10497. 'And it happened on the next day' means the duration of such worship right to the end of the Church. This is clear from the meaning of 'the next day' as that which is perpetual and eternal; but when the Jewish nation is the subject that which continues right to the end of the Church is meant. The reason why the expression 'the next day' means that which continues perpetually and into eternity is that when 'the morrow' is mentioned in connection with such things as serve to mean Divine celestial and spiritual realities it means that which is perpetual and eternal, see 3998, 9939. Here however the duration right to the end of the Church is meant because that expression has reference to the Jewish nation and its worship, which had an end when the Lord came into the world, as foretold in Daniel,

Seventy weeks have been decreed concerning your people and your holy city to bring transgression to a close and to seal up sins and to atone for iniquity, and to bring everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophet, and to anoint the Holy of Holies. In the middle of the week he will cause sacrifice and offering to cease. At length upon the bird of abominations will come desolation; until the close and the decree will it drop upon the devastation. Daniel 9:24, 27.

And the fact that what still remains of the worship of that nation will have an end at the end of the present-day Church in Europe is foretold by the Lord in Matthew,

Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Matthew 24:34.

That chapter deals with the close of the age, which is the end of this Church, as has been shown and may be seen in the preliminary sections to Genesis 26-40.

2784. 'And split the pieces of wood for the burnt offering' means the merit of righteousness. This is clear from the meaning of 'the pieces of wood' and of 'splitting them' 'Pieces of wood' means goods which are the product of one's own works, and those which are the product of righteousness; and 'splitting pieces of wood' means placing merit in the goods which are the product of one's own works. But as regards 'splitting the wood for the burnt offering' meaning the merit of righteousness, this seems too remote for anyone to know without revelation. The fact that 'splitting pieces of wood' means placing merit in the goods which are the product of one's own works has been made clear to me from the incidents I have witnessed and described in Volume One, in 1110, about hewers of wood being those who, through the goods which they have done, wish to merit salvation. In addition there are others up above, in front and slightly to the right, who come from some other planet. These in the same way have claimed for themselves all good and are seen in like manner to be hewing and splitting wood. Sometimes, when they seem to themselves to be hard at work, their faces shine from the light shed by some ignis fatuus, which is the meritorious good that they attribute to themselves. The reason for such an appearance is that 'wood' is representative of good, as was all the wood in the Ark and in the Temple, and also all the wood placed on the altar when burnt offerings and sacrifices were made. But people who attribute good to themselves and make it meritorious are also said in the Word to worship wood or a graven image made of wood.