1151. 'Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras' were just so many nations with whom such worship existed, and who in the internal sense mean just so many differing types of doctrine which were one and the same as the forms of ritual which they observed devoutly. This is quite clear from the Word where these nations are mentioned in various places, for those nations everywhere mean external worship, sometimes external worship corresponding to internal, sometimes the contrary The reason the latter is sometimes meant is that all Churches everywhere altered in the course of time, and altered indeed into something contrary. The fact that the nations named here mean nothing other than external worship, and therefore their doctrinal teachings, which were forms of ritual, becomes clear, as has been stated, from other parts of the Word, chiefly in the Prophets.

[2] Magog, Meshech, Tubal, and Gomer are referred to in Ezekiel as follows,

Son of man, set your face ¹ towards Gog, the land of Magog, the prince, the head of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say, Thus said the Lord Jehovih, Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince, the head of Meshech and Tubal; and I will turn you about, and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you back, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great company, with shield and buckler, all of them wielding swords: Persia, Cush, and Put with them; Gomer and all on his flanks; Bethtogarmah, the uttermost parts of the north, and all on his Ranks. In the latter years you will come upon the land that is brought back from the sword, that is gathered out of many peoples, upon the mountains of Israel, which have been made a waste. Ezekiel 38:2-6, 8.

The subject in the whole of this chapter is a Church that became corrupted and which at length focused the whole of worship in external things or religious observances once charity, meant by 'the mountains of Israel', had been destroyed. Here 'Gog and the land of Magog, the prince and head of Meshech and Tubal' is worship confined to external things. Anyone may see that Gog and Magog are not the subject, for the Word of the Lord does not deal with worldly things, but embodies Divine matters.

[3] In the same prophet,

Prophesy against Gog and say, Thus said the Lord Jehovih, Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince, the head of Meshech and Tubal; and I will bring you back, and will split you into six, and make you come up from the uttermost parts of the north and bring you on to the mountains of Israel. On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all on your flanks, and the peoples that are with you. Ezekiel 39:1-2, 4.

The subject in the whole of this chapter is likewise external worship separated from internal and made idolatrous. Such worship is meant here by 'Gog, Meshech and Tubal' who are also used to mean the matters of doctrine which people adopt and then confirm from the literal sense of the Word, and in so doing falsify truths and destroy internal worship. For, as has been stated, those same nations also mean contrary things.

[4] In John,

When the thousand years have come to an end, Satan will be loosed from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations which are at the four corners of the earth. Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle. They went up over the breadth ² of the earth, and surrounded the camp of the saints, [and] the beloved city. Revelation 20:7-9.

Here also 'Gog and Magog' has a similar meaning. External worship separated from internal, that is, separated from love to the Lord and from love towards the neighbour, is nothing but idolatrous worship which 'surrounds the camp of the saints and the beloved city'.

[5] Meshech and Tubal are referred to in Ezekiel as follows,

Meshech and Tubal are there, and all their crowd; round about it are its graves; all of them are uncircumcised, pierced by the sword, for they spread their terror in the land of the living. Ezekiel 32:26.

This refers to Egypt, that is, to factual knowledge by means of which people wish to inquire into spiritual things. 'Meshech and Tubal' stands for doctrinal teachings, which were forms of ritual, which are called 'uncircumcised' when love does not exist. Consequently they are 'pierced by the sword, and a terror in the land of the living'.

[6] Javan is referred to in Joel,

You have sold the sons of Judah and the sons of Jerusalem to the sons of the Javanites, ³ to remove them far away from their border. Joel 3:6.

'The sons of Judah' stands for things on the celestial side of faith, 'the sons of Jerusalem' for those on the spiritual side, and so for things that are internal. 'The sons of the Javanites' stands for worship in external things that is separated from internal worship; and because this worship is so far removed from that which is internal it is said that they 'removed them far away from their border'.

[7] 'Javan and Tubal' in Isaiah stands for true external worship itself,

One is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they will come and see My glory, and I will set a sign among them And I will send survivors from them to the nations, to Tarshish, Put, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the islands far off that have not heard My fame and have not seen My glory; and they will declare My glory among the nations. Isaiah 66:18-19.

This refers to the Lord's kingdom and His Coming. 'Tubal and Javan' stands for those whose worship is external corresponding to internal and who are to be informed about internal things.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1850. That 'will I judge' means visitation and judgement becomes clear without explanation. Judging or judgement does not mean some last judgement, as most people suppose, that is to say, a time when heaven and earth are to pass away and then a new heaven and a new earth are to be created, as described in the Prophets and in the Book of Revelation, and thus a time when all things are to be destroyed. This conception has become so widespread that it has taken possession of even the best-informed minds, so much so that they do not believe the dead are to rise again until that time. As a consequence because that time has been foretold and yet after the passing of so many centuries since the prediction was made they do not see it happening or about to do so, they feel safe in confirming themselves in their assurance that there is no truth in the idea, thus that they are not going to rise again. But it should be recognized that no such thing is meant by the Last Judgement, that is, by the prediction that heaven and earth are to be destroyed. According to the sense of the letter that is indeed the meaning, but not according to the internal sense. By the Last Judgement, according to the internal sense, is meant the final period of the Church, and by heaven and earth's passing away is meant the Church as regards internal and external worship - a Church that ceases to be a Church when no charity exists.

[2] A Last Judgement of the Most Ancient Church took place when all charity and faith were at an end and when no perception existed, as was the situation just before the Flood. The Flood itself, which has been dealt with above, was the Last Judgement of that Church. At that point heaven and earth, that is, the Church, passed away, and a new heaven and a new earth, that is, a new Church called the Ancient Church, was created, which too has been dealt with. This Church as well had its final period, namely when all charity was growing cold and all faith was being blacked out. This was about the time of Eber. This period was the Last Judgement of that Church, which was the heaven and earth that passed away.

[3] The new heaven and the new earth was the Hebrew Church. This too had its final period or Last Judgement when it had become idolatrous. A new Church was as a consequence established, and this was accomplished among the descendants of Jacob. That which was called the Jewish Church was nothing other than a Church representative of charity and faith. In that Church, that is, among the descendants of Jacob, no charity or faith existed, and therefore no Church existed but merely the representative of a Church. This was so because direct communication of the Lord's kingdom in the heavens with any true Church on earth was not possible, and therefore an indirect communication by means of representatives was effected. The last period or Last Judgement of this so-called Church was when the Lord came into the world, for at that time representatives came to an end, that is to say, the sacrifices and similar practices did so; and to bring these to an end the Jews were expelled from the land of Canaan.

[4] After this a new heaven and a new earth were created, namely a new Church which must be called the Primitive Church, which was begun by the Lord and after that gradually grew stronger, and which at first possessed charity and faith. The destruction of this Church is foretold by the Lord in the Gospels and by John in the Book of Revelation, and it is this destruction which is called the Last Judgement. Not that heaven and earth are now going to pass away but that a new Church will be raised up in some part of the world, while the present one continues in existence with its external worship just as the Jews do with theirs. As is quite well known, their worship includes no charity or faith at all, that is, nothing of the Church. So much for the Last Judgement in general.

[5] In particular there is a last judgement for everyone immediately after he has died, for at this point he passes over into the next life, in which, once he has entered into the life that was his in the body, he undergoes a judgement that points either to death or to life. This last judgement involves every detail of the person. With him whose judgement is to death every single detail condemns him, for there is nothing in his thought and will, not the smallest thing, that does not show the same as his individual last judgement or draw him towards death. But with him whose judgement is to life, every single detail of his thought or will in a similar way possesses the image of his individual last judgement and bears him towards life. For as is the person in general, so is he in every detail of his thought and affection. These are the things meant by the Last Judgement.