194. And thou shalt not know in what hour I will come upon thee, signifies ignorance of that time and of the state then. This is evident from the signification of "hour," as being the time when man is to die, and also his state then; and from the signification of "not knowing" it, as being ignorance. It is said "In what hour I will come upon thee," namely, "as a thief," and this means, in the sense of the letter, that the Lord will so come; but in the spiritual sense, it means that evils and falsities will steal away the knowledges that they have from the Word. For in the sense of the letter of the Word doing evil is attributed to Jehovah, or to the Lord, but in the spiritual sense the meaning is that He does evil to no one, but that man does evil to himself (See Arcana Coelestia 2447, 5798, 6071, 6991, 6997, 7533, 7632, 7643, 7679, 7710, 7877, 7926, 8227, 8228, 8284, 8483, 8632, 9010, 9128, 9306, 10431).

[2] "Hour," moreover signifies state, because all times in the Word, as a day, a week, a month, a year, an age, signify states of life, so likewise "an hour" (the reason of this may be seen in the work onHeaven and Hell 162-169, where Time in Heaven is treated of). But as "hour" means both time and state, where "hour" occurs in the Word it can scarcely be known that it signifies anything except time. As in Matthew:

A householder hired laborers into his vineyard, who labored from the third hour, the sixth, the ninth, and the eleventh, and received equal reward (Matthew 20:1-16).

These "hours" mean, in the world, times, but in heaven, states of life, since in heaven there are no hours, because times there are not measurable and divided into days and these into hours, as in the world; consequently instead of these times the angels perceive the states of life of those who die, as old men, men, youths, or children, and who have equally acquired for themselves spiritual life; "laboring in the vineyard" is acquiring for oneself spiritual life by the knowledges of truth and good from the Word applied to the uses of life; the "third," the "sixth," and the "ninth hours" signify a like state of life, for all numbers in the Word are significative, and these numbers have a similar signification. (That "vineyard" in the Word signifies the spiritual church, and with man spiritual life, see Arcana Coelestia 9139, 3220. That "three" signifies a full state, or what is complete even to the end, n. 2788, 4495, 7715, 8347, 9825; likewise "six" and "nine." But "eleven" signifies a state not yet full, and yet a receptive state such as there is with well-disposed children and infants. The "twelfth hour," to which all labored, signifies truths and goods in their fullness, n. 577, 2089, 2129, 2130, 3272, 3858, 3913. That all numbers in the Word are significative, n. 4495, 4670, 5265, 6175, 9488, 9659, 10217, 10253; and that composite numbers have a signification like that of the simple numbers from which they arise by multiplication, thus "three," "six," and "nine," have a similar signification, n. 5291, 5335, 5708, 7973.)

[3] Since "twelve" signifies truths and goods in their fullness, thus man's state of light or intelligence from these, the Lord says:

Are there not twelve hours of the day? If a man walk in the day he stumbleth not (John 11:9).

Elsewhere, also, "hours" signify states of life, as in Revelation:

Those four angels were loosed, which were prepared for the hour and day and month and year, that they should kill the third part of men (Revelation 9:15).

The times here mentioned mean the states of evil with man, as will be seen in the explanation of these words hereafter. From this it is now evident that "Thou shalt not know in what hour I will come upon thee," means not only that one is ignorant of the time of death but also of the state of life at that time which will continue to eternity; for such as the state of man's past life is, even to the end, such he remains to eternity.

[4] Like things are said by the Lord here and there in the Evangelists. In Matthew:

Ye know not in what hour your Lord will come; be ye ready; for in an hour that ye think not, the Son of man cometh (Matthew 24:42, 44).

The lord of the servant shall come in the day when he expecteth not, and in an hour that he knoweth not (Matthew 24:50).

Be wakeful, therefore, for ye know not the day, neither the hour, wherein the Son of man shall come (Matthew 25:13).

It should be known that man remains to eternity such as his whole life is, even to the end, and by no means such as he is at the hour of death: repentance at that time with the evil is of no avail, but with the good it strengthens.

488. As has been stated, 'days' means states in general, and 'years' states in particular. This too becomes clear from the Word, as in Ezekiel,

You have brought your days near, and you have come even to your years. Ezekiel 22:4.

This refers to people who behave abominably and sin to the fullest extent, and so 'days' has reference in this case to such people's state in general, 'years' to that state in particular.

In David,

You will add days to the king's days; and his years as generation after generation! Psalms 61:6.

This refers to the Lord and His kingdom, where again 'days' and 'years' stand for the state of His kingdom.

In the same author,

I have considered the days of old, the years of long ago. Psalms 77:5.

Here 'days of old' is states of the Most Ancient Church, and 'years of long ago' states of the Ancient Church. In Isaiah,

The day of vengeance was in My heart, and the year of My redeemed has come. Isaiah 63:4.

This stands for the final times, where 'the day of vengeance' stands for a state of condemnation, and 'the year of the redeemed' for a state of blessedness.

Similarly, in the same prophet,

To proclaim the year of Jehovah's good pleasure, and the day of vengeance for our God; to comfort all who mourn. Isaiah 61:2.

Here again 'days' and also 'years' are mentioned and mean states.

In Jeremiah,

Renew our days as of old. Lamentations 5:21.

Here 'days' plainly stands for state.

[2] In Joel,

The day of Jehovah is coming, for it is near, a day of darkness and thick darkness, a tiny of cloud and gloom, as has never happened of old, nor will be again after it through the years of generation after generation. Joel 2:1-2, 11.

Here 'day' stands for a state of darkness, thick darkness, cloud and gloom - a state of individuals in particular and of all in general.

In Zechariah,

I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. On that day you will shout, each to his companion, under his vine and under his fig tree. Zechariah 3:9-10.

And elsewhere in Zechariah,

There will be one tiny, it is known to Jehovah, which is neither day nor night, and at evening time there will be light. Zechariah 14:7.

State is clearly meant here, for it is said that 'it will be a day, which is neither day nor night; at evening time there will be light'.

The same meaning is also clear from the following in the Decalogue,

Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged, and that it may be well with you in the land. Deuteronomy 5:16; 25:15.

Here 'a prolonging of days' does not mean living on into old age but a state that is happy.

[3] In the sense of the letter 'day' cannot be seen to mean anything other than a period of time, but in the internal sense it means a state. Angels, who abide in the internal sense of the Word, do not know what a period of time is, for the activity of the sun and moon with them does not produce divisions of time. As a consequence they do not know what a day or a year is, but only what states and changes of state are. This is why among angels, who abide in the internal sense of the Word, anything connected with matter, space, and time, goes unnoticed, as with the following usages in the sense of the letter in Ezekiel,

The day is near, even the day of Jehovah is near, a day of cloud; it will be a time of the nations. Ezekiel 30:3.

And in Joel,

Alas for the day! For the day of Jehovah is near, and as destruction. Joel 1:15.

Here 'a day of cloud' stands for cloud or falsity, 'a day of the nations' for the nations or wickedness, and 'the day of Jehovah' for vastation. When the concept of time is removed there remains the concept of the state of the things existing during that period of time. The same applies to the days and the years that are mentioned so many times in this chapter.