413. Verse 17. For the great day of His anger is come, signifies the Last Judgment upon the evil. This is evident from the following passages from the Word. The Last Judgment, which is signified by "the great day," is upon the evil and also upon the good; the judgment upon the evil is called "a day of indignation," "of wrath," "of anger," and "of vengeance," while the judgment upon the good is called "the time of the Lord's coming," "the year of His good pleasure," "the year of the redeemed," "the year of salvation." Everyone, whether evil or good, is judged immediately after death, when he enters the spiritual world, where he is to live to eternity, for man is then immediately marked out either for heaven or for hell; he that is marked out for heaven is connected with some heavenly society into which he will afterwards come, and he that is marked out for hell is connected with the infernal society into which he will afterwards come. There is, however, an interval of time before they go thither, chiefly for the purpose of preparation; for the good, that the evils that adhere to them from the body in the world may be wiped away; and for the evil, that the goods that adhere to them outwardly from teachers and from religion may be taken away; according to the Lord's words in Matthew:

Whosoever hath, to him shall be given, that he may have more abundantly; whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath (Matthew 13:32; 25:29).

This delay occurs for this reason also, that the affections, which are of many kinds, may be so arranged and reduced to the ruling love that the man-spirit may become wholly his own love. Yet many of them, both evil and good, were reserved for the Last Judgment; but only such of the evil as from habit acquired in the world had been able to lead a moral life in externals, and such of the good as from ignorance and from their religion had been imbued with falsities; but the rest, when their time had been fulfilled, were separated from these, the good were elevated into heaven, and the evil were cast into hell, and this before the Last Judgment.

[2] The Last Judgment is called "the great day of the anger of God" because to the evil who are cast down into hell it appears as if it were God who did this from anger and wrath, for the destruction that then comes upon them comes from above, and also from the east where the Lord is as a sun, and they are then in terrors, griefs, and also in torments. But the Lord has no anger whatever, for He is love and mercy itself and good itself; and pure love and good itself cannot be angry; for this is contrary to its essence. But it so appears for this reason: when the last state is reached, which is when evils on the earth and at the same time then in the spiritual world have so increased that the supremacy inclines to their side, and thereby the equilibrium between heaven and hell is perishing, and this perishing, the heavens where the angels dwell begin to labor, then the Lord from the sun directs His energy, that is His love, to protecting the angels and restoring the state which labors and begins to totter; and by this energy and power Divine truth united to Divine good, which in its essence is Divine love, penetrates through the heavens to the places below, where the evil have associated themselves together; and because they cannot endure such influx and presence of the Divine love they begin to tremble, and to be in anguish and torment; for thereby the goods and truths which they have learned to feign by speech and action merely in externals, are dispersed, and their internals, which are nothing but evils and falsities, are opened; and as these are in direct opposition to the goods and truths that flow in from within, although they have made evils and falsities their life, they experience such tremor, anguish and torment, that they can no longer maintain themselves, therefore they flee away and cast themselves into the hells which are under the mountains and rocks, where they can be in evils and in the falsities of their evils. This in particular is signified by the words explained above, "They said to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the anger of the Lamb."

[3] From this it can be seen why the words "the anger of the Lamb" are used, and why the Last Judgment is called "the great day of His anger," although it is the Divine love that is meant, the operation of which viewed in itself is to save all, for it is a will to save, thus not anger at all, but love. The like is true when an evil spirit who can feign himself an angel of light ascends into heaven. When he comes thither, as he cannot endure the Divine good and the Divine truth that are there, he begins to feel anguish and torment to the extent even that he casts himself down with all his might, nor does he rest until he is in the hell corresponding to his evil.

It is from this appearance, and because when they do evils they are punished, that indignation, anger, wrath, and even fury and vengeance, are so often in the Word attributed to Jehovah, that is, the Lord; but a presentation of all the passages where these are attributed to Jehovah, that is, to the Lord, is here omitted because there are so many of them, and a few only will be cited, in which the Last Judgment is called "the day of the indignation," "of the anger," "of the wrath," and "of the vengeance" of Jehovah and God, as in the following.

[4] In Isaiah:

Behold the day of Jehovah cometh, cruel and of indignation and of the glowing of anger, to lay the land waste, and He shall destroy its sinners out of it. I will make heaven to tremble, the land shall quake out of its place, in the indignation of Jehovah of Hosts, and in the day of the glowing of His anger (Isaiah 13:9, 13).

"A day cruel and of the glowing of Jehovah's anger" means the Last Judgment; and because it is evil that glows, and falsity that is angry, it is called "a day of the glowing of anger." "The land that shall be laid waste, and that shall quake out of its place," means the land that is in the spiritual world, for there are lands there the same as on our globe; and those lands, while the Last Judgment is going on, are "laid waste" and "quake out of their place," for the mountains and hills are then overturned, and the valleys sink down into marshes, and the face of all things there is changed. Nevertheless, "land" in the spiritual sense means the church everywhere, for in the spiritual world the face of the land is similar to the state of the church with those who dwell upon the land there, consequently when the church perishes the land also perishes, for they make one; and then in place of the former land a new one comes into existence; but these changes are unknown to us on our earth. Nevertheless they must be made known, in order that it may be understood what is meant by "the land shall be laid waste, and shall quake out of its place."

[5] In Zephaniah:

When the glowing of the anger of Jehovah hath not yet come upon you; when the day of the anger of Jehovah hath not yet come upon you, it may be ye shall be hid in the day of Jehovah's anger (Zephaniah 2:2-3).

Here, too, "the glowing of anger" and "the day of Jehovah's anger" mean the Last Judgment. In Lamentations:

He doth not remember the footstool of His feet in the day of His anger (Lamentations 2:1).

"The footstool of Jehovah's feet" means the worship of the Lord in the natural world, for the reason that the whole heaven, together with the church in the world, is before the Lord a semblance of one man (as may be seen in Heaven and Hell 78-86), the inmost heaven constituting the head, the other heavens the breast and legs, and the church on earth the feet; consequently the feet signify also the natural; moreover, the heavens rest upon the church which is with mankind as a man does upon his feet (as can be seen from what is shown in the same work, n. 87-102, also 291-302). Since the Last Judgment comes when there is no longer any faith because there is no charity, thus when the church is at an end, it is evident what is meant by "He doth not remember the footstool of His feet in the day of His anger." And elsewhere:

There was none that escaped nor any residue in the day of Jehovah's anger; those whom I brought up and nourished hath mine enemy consumed (Lamentations 2:22).

"The day of Jehovah's anger" is the Last Judgment; that there is then no longer any good of love nor any truth of faith in the church, but evil and falsity is signified by "there was none that escaped nor any residue; those whom I brought up and nourished hath mine enemy consumed;" "there was none that escaped nor any residue" signifying that there was no good nor truth; "whom I brought up and nourished" meaning those who are of the church, who have all spiritual food or the knowledge of good and truth from the Word; "the enemy that consumed them" meaning evil and falsity.

[6] In Revelation:

Thine anger came, the time of judging the dead, and of giving the reward to Thy servants, and to those that fear Thy name, and of destroying them that destroy the earth (Revelation 11:18).

This makes clear that "anger" or "the day of anger" means the Last Judgment, for it is said "Thine anger came, the time of judging the dead." In Isaiah:

The day of vengeance is in My heart, and the year of My redeemed hath come. I have trodden down the peoples in Mine anger, and made them drunk in My wrath (Isaiah 63:4, 6).

This treats of the combats of the Lord, by which He subjugated the hells, thus of a Last Judgment which was accomplished by Him when He was in the world; for by combats, which were temptations admitted into Himself, He subjugated the hells and wrought a Last Judgment. It is this judgment that is meant by "the day of Jehovah's anger and wrath" in the Word of the Old Testament; but the Last Judgment, which has at the present time been accomplished is meant by "the day of His anger" in Revelation. (That a Last Judgment was performed by the Lord when He was in the world, see Last Judgment 46.) The subjugation of the hells is here signified by "I have trodden them down in Mine anger, and have made them drunk in My wrath;" "the year of the redeemed" signifies the judgment upon the good who are saved.

[7] In the same:

The spirit of the Lord Jehovih is upon me, to proclaim the year of Jehovah's good pleasure, and the day of vengeance for our God; to comfort all that mourn (Isaiah 61:1, 2).

The day of vengeance of Jehovah, the year of retributions for the controversy of Zion (Isaiah 34:8).

"The day of vengeance of Jehovah," like "the day of His anger and wrath," signifies the Last Judgment. This is because vengeance is attributed to Jehovah or the Lord for the same reason anger and wrath are-namely, from the appearance that those who have denied the Divine and have been hostile in heart and mind to the goods and truths of the church, consequently hostile to the Lord who is the source of these, are cast down into hell (as are all who live wickedly). And because these are treated as enemies, vengeance, like anger, is attributed to the Lord (See above). "The year of retributions" signifies the like as "the day of vengeance," but it is predicated of falsities, while "the day of vengeance" is predicated of evils; "the controversy of Zion" signifies the rejection of the truth and good of the church; "Zion" meaning the church. In other places also, the time of the Last Judgment is called "the day of Jehovah," "the day of visitation," "the day of slaughter," and "the day of the coming":

The day of the Lord's coming (Malachi 3:2; Matthew 24:3, 27, 37, 39).

10570. 'And I and Your people will be made more distinguished than all the people who are on the face of the ground' means the consequent pre-eminence over all throughout the whole world where the Church exists. This is clear from the meaning of 'being made more distinguished than all the people who are on the face of the ground' as pre-eminence over all throughout the whole world. The reason why where the Church exists is also meant is that 'the ground' means the Church, which is dealt with below.

[2] It was this end in view - that they should be made more distinguished than all throughout the whole world - that caused the Israelite nation to worship Jehovah and enabled them to be outwardly holy. This is clear from what has been shown previously regarding that nation. The fact that such people are able to be outwardly holy and to seem to others to be worshippers of God is clear from the idolaters spoken of in the historical narratives of the Word, who were able in like manner to do the outward things. But anyone may see and deduce that those idolaters possessed no inner holiness from the consideration that the Divine Truths which have been revealed in the Word are what make worship internal, when people know them and lead a life in keeping with them. For if a person were able to worship God in a holy way without those Truths there would be no need for any of the Church's teachings, nor for any preaching.

[3] Since that nation was such that their end in view - to be pre-eminent over others - enabled them to be outwardly holy, and since among people such as these the things that are representative of celestial and spiritual realities, which the outward things of their worship were, can be conveyed to angels and a link with heaven can thereby be established, that nation was accepted. But anyone who supposes that this made them worshippers of God is very much mistaken; for they were worshippers of self and the world, and idolaters at heart. And because they were such, neither was any revelation given them of the interior things of worship, which have to do with faith in the Lord and love to Him. This is evident from the books in the Old Testament, and also from the fact that they did not acknowledge the Lord when He came into the world, and indeed still do not acknowledge Him; and if presented with teachings about the Lord contained in the prophetical parts, even then they do not accept them. They desire a Messiah who will exalt them above all throughout the whole world, not a Messiah whose kingdom is in heaven and who looks from there to the salvation also of all on earth. From all this it becomes clear what that nation has been like since the earliest ages, and why it is that it says here that by Jehovah's going with them they would be made more distinguished than all the people who are on the face of the ground.

[4] By the words 'on the face of the ground' wherever the Church exists should be understood; for 'the ground' has the same meaning as 'the earth', namely the Church (for the meaning of 'the earth', or 'the land', as the Church, see in the places referred to in 9325). But 'the ground' means the Church for the same reason as 'the field' does, that is, because it receives various kinds of seeds, which then grow into plants and bear fruit, by which the truths and forms of the good of faith and love are meant. For the human being is a recipient of these just as the ground is of seeds. The earth is called a Church however on account of the people inhabiting it, with whom the Church exists. But since the ground implies that which extends spatially just as the earth or the land does, translators use the word 'earth' instead of 'ground'. Here they say 'on the face of the earth' instead of 'on the face of the ground', as they do in other places. And yet in the original language the term that denotes the ground is derived from an entirely different root from the one that the term denoting the earth springs from.

[5] The fact that 'the ground' means the Church, just as 'the earth' or 'the land' does, is clear from various places in the Word, of which let only some be quoted, such as this in Jeremiah,

The nobles sent their inferiors for water, they came to the pits, and they found no water; their vessels returned empty, because the ground was broken up in pieces, no rain had come to be on the land. Jeremiah 14:3-4.

Here 'the ground' means the Church, and so does 'the land', for the subject in the internal sense is the lack of truth and resulting ruination of the Church. 'Water' means truths; 'pits' where those truths, thus religious teachings, are stored; 'vessels' recipients of them; and 'rain' the influx of them from heaven. 'The land' is where the Church is situated, and 'the ground' the actual Church, which is said to be 'broken up in pieces' owing to drought, that is, to the lack of truth from heaven.

[6] In Isaiah,

It will happen at the end of seventy years, that Jehovah will visit Tyre, and she will return to her harlot's reward and commit whoredom with all the kingdoms of the earth on the face of the ground. At length her merchandise and her harlot's reward will be holy to Jehovah. Isaiah 23:17-18.

'Tyre' means the Church in respect of its cognitions or knowledge of truth and good, and so in the abstract sense means those cognitions. These are called 'a harlot's reward' when they are taught for the sake of gain, position, and reputation for knowing them, thus when they are put on sale so to speak, and are not taught for truth's own sake. In the Word this is called harlotry and whoredom. 'Committing whoredom with all the kingdoms of the earth' means doing so with all the truths of the Church; 'on the face of the ground' means wherever the Church is situated. Since cognitions of truth and good continue to be cognitions of truth and good and so continue to be Divine, even when they are used for gain by a person who teaches and puts them up for sale, and they are consequently 'a harlot's reward', it says that 'her merchandise and her harlot's reward will be holy to Jehovah'. Everyone whose thought extends beyond the sense of the letter can see that a harlot's reward should not be understood in these verses, nor whoredom committed with all the kingdoms of the earth, nor that such a thing will be holy to Jehovah.

[7] In David,

You send forth Your spirit, they are created, and You renew the face of the ground. Psalms 104:30.

'Jehovah's spirit' means the Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, 9818; 'being created' means being created anew, that is, being regenerated, 10373; 'renewing the face of the ground' reforming and establishing the Church, 'the face of the ground' meaning wherever anything of the Church can be received. The like is meant in other places where the expression 'the face of the ground' occurs, such as Genesis 7:4; 8:8, 13; Exodus 32:12; Numbers 12:3; Deuteronomy 6:15; 7:6; 1 Samuel 20:15; 2 Samuel 14:7.