8750. 'In the third month' means fullness of state. This is clear from the meaning of 'month' as state, for all periods of time, such as days weeks, months, or years, mean states, 2788; and from the meaning of 'three' or 'third' as that which is complete, dealt with in 1825, 2788, 4495, 5159, 7715, so that 'in the third month' means in fullness of state.

[2] What fullness of state is must be mentioned briefly. Every state has its beginning, period of development, and end. When a state reaches its end it is full or complete, and it is called fullness. In the next life all things are measured by the stages of development that their states undergo, and by the consecutive changes of those things from beginning to end, just as in the world they are measured by periods of time. This is so because in heaven there are no periods of time; instead there are states. The reason for this is that in the next life the Sun, which is the Lord, remains constantly in its place. It does not make apparent daily advances like the sun in the world, dividing the day into morning, midday, evening, and night, nor apparent yearly advances, dividing the year into spring, summer, autumn, and winter. So it is that in heaven there are no periods of time, but states instead. However, since within the inmost sphere of heaven a kind of advance or development takes place in accordance with the Divine heavenly form, which no one is capable of perceiving, and since the states of all in heaven change in accordance with that process of development, angels there pass through a cycle of states in which the good of love, the truth of faith, or obscurity in respect of both predominates. From this there arises the correspondence of states in heaven with periods of time in the world, that is to say, the state of the good of love with morning, the state of the truth of faith with midday, and the state of obscurity with evening and night. Furthermore the heat too that is radiated by the sun there is the good of love, while the light radiated by the sun there is the truth of faith. From this also there arises the correspondence of heat in the world with love, which is for that reason called spiritual heat, and of light in the world with faith, which is for this reason called spiritual light.

[3] In general there are two states of life - the state of thought, a state which belongs to the understanding; and the state of affection, a state which belongs to the will. The state of thought belonging to the understanding is connected with the truth of faith. This state is one that is enlightened by light from the Sun of heaven, which is the Lord, even as this light is the source of light in the human understanding. But the state of affection belonging to the will is connected with the good of charity, even as the heat radiating from the Sun in heaven, which is the Lord, is the source of heat in the will, which is love. From all this one may now see the nature of the states and their changes in the next life, and what is implied by fullness of state, meant by 'the third month'. The state to which fullness is ascribed here is the first state which those belonging to the spiritual Church underwent; for these people undergo two states, the first being when the Lord leads them by means of truth, the second when He does so by means of good, see 8643, 8648, 8658, 8685, 8690, 8701. Here the fullness of the first state is meant, the state which has been described in what has gone before; now the second state is described.

2130. As regards the second representation, that is to say, the idea of a Last Judgement which takes place before the eyes of the good when they are being admitted into heaven, let that too be described. In the Word it is said that the door was shut, so that they could no longer be admitted; and that they had no oil, arrived too late, and therefore were not admitted, statements which also mean a Last-Judgement state. The situation with these matters and how they are to be understood has been shown to me.

[2] I heard communities of spirits declaring in a clear voice, one community after another, that a wolf had wished to carry them off but that the Lord rescued them, and so they were restored to Him, and on that account rejoiced from the depths of their heart. Indeed they had been without hope, and so were afraid that the door had been shut, and that they had arrived too late to be admitted. Such thought had been instilled into them by those called wolves, but it vanished on their being admitted, that is, being received, by angelic communities. Being admitted into heaven is nothing else. The admission which I witnessed seemed to proceed continuously community by community, up to twelve of them, the admission, that is, the reception, of the twelfth being more difficult than that of the previous eleven. After that about eight more communities were also admitted, which, it was pointed out to me, were composed of females. Having witnessed all this I was told that this is how the process of admission, that is, of being received into heavenly communities is seen. They proceed in an orderly continuation from one place to another. I was also told that heaven can never be filled up, still less the door be shut, but that the more who enter, the more blessing and happiness there is for those in heaven, because their unanimity is made that much stronger.

[3] After these had been admitted it did at that point seem as though heaven was shut; for there were still more who wished after that to be admitted, that is, to be received. But they were told in reply that they could not yet be let in. This is meant by those arriving too late, by the door being shut, by their knocking, and by the statement about their having no oil in their lamps. The reason they were not admitted was that they were not yet ready to move among angelic communities where mutual love exists, for, as stated above towards the end of 2119, people who in the world have lived charitably disposed towards the neighbour are raised up by the Lord into heaven gradually.

[4] There were also other spirits who did not know what heaven is, namely mutual love, and who also at that time wished to be admitted. They imagined it was just a matter of being admitted. They received the reply however that it was not yet time for them, but that they would be admitted at another time when they were ready for it. The reason why twelve communities were seen was that 'twelve' means everything comprising faith, as stated above towards the end of 2129.