844. From this verse down to verse 6 the subject is the first state of the member of this Church following temptation. The present verse means the end of temptation. Previously the subject has been his temptation as regards things of the will, and also his temptation as regards those of the understanding. The end of temptation as regards things of the will is meant by 'the fountains of the deep were stopped', and as regards those of the understanding by 'the floodgates of heaven'. That this is the meaning of these phrases has been stated and shown already at Chapter 7:11, and that 'rain' means temptation itself at 7:12. Consequently there is no need to pause any longer to confirm these matters.

Fifty is also half of 100, which has a similar meaning; the Writings tell us that when used together with 100, fifty represents an intermediate state. God rested on the seventh day of creation. That represents a state of holiness and tranquility that was preserved in the form of the sabbath. Holier still was the seventh sabbath, which happened every 49 days. The Israelites would follow that solemn day with the “feast of the seven sabbaths” on the 50th day, and for similar reasons had a jubilee year every 50th year. For these reasons, among others, “fifty” in the Bible is the completion of a cycle, and in most cases represents fullness or sufficiency.