4448. Shechem my son. That this signifies the truth thence derived, is evident from the representation of Shechem, as being interior truth (see n. 4430), thus the truth thence derived, namely, from the good which is “Hamor” (n. 4447); for all the truth of the church is from its good, and from no other source does this truth ever come forth. This truth, here represented by Shechem, is called interior truth, and in its essence is nothing else than the good of charity. For the Most Ancient Church, being celestial, was in the good of love to the Lord, and thence in the perception of all truth, because the men of that church were almost like angels, and had communication with them, from which came their perception, and therefore they never reasoned about any truth of faith, but said “It is so,” because they perceived it from heaven, insomuch that they were not willing even to mention faith, but in its stead charity (see n. 202, 337, 2715, 2718, 3246), and this is the reason why by “interior truth” is here meant the good of charity. That there were remains of the church in question with Hamor the Hivite and his son Shechem, was shown just above (n. 4447).

[2] The case was different with the Ancient Church which was spiritual, for this church was not in love to the Lord, as was the Most Ancient Church, but was in charity toward the neighbor; and they could not attain to charity except through the truth of faith, of which they had no perception, like the most ancient people, and therefore they then began to make an investigation about truth to see whether it is so. (As to the difference between the celestial who had perception, and the spiritual who have it not, see n. 2088, 2669, 2708, 2715, 3235, 3240, 3246, 3887)

2118. By the Last Judgment is meant the last time of a church, and also the last state of each person’s life. As regards the last time of the church, it was the Last Judgment of the Most Ancient Church, which was before the flood, when their posterity perished; whose destruction is described by the flood. The Last Judgment of the Ancient Church, which was after the flood, was when almost all who were of that church became idolaters, and were dispersed. The Last Judgment of the Representative Church, which succeeded among the posterity of Jacob, was when the ten tribes were carried away into captivity, and were dispersed among the nations; and when later, after the Lord’s coming, the Jews were driven out of the land of Canaan, and were scattered throughout the world. The Last Judgment of the present church, which is called the Christian Church, is what is meant by John in Revelation by the “New Heaven and the New Earth.”