4060. Therefore that by the words now before us there is signified the state of the church at that time in respect to good (that is, as to charity toward the neighbor and love to the Lord), is evident from their internal sense, which is as follows:

But immediately after the affliction of those days;

signifies the state of the church in respect to the truth of faith (concerning which just above). In the Word the desolation of truth in various places is called “affliction.” (That “days” are states may be seen above, n. 23, 487, 488, 493, 893, 2788, 3462, 3785.) From this it is manifest that by these words is signified that after there is no longer any faith, there will be no charity. For faith leads to charity, because it teaches what charity is, and charity receives its quality from the truths of faith; but the truths of faith receive their essence and their life from charity, as has been repeatedly shown in the preceding volumes.

[2] The sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light; signifies love to the Lord, which is the “sun;” and charity toward the neighbor, which is the “moon.” “To be darkened and not to give their light” signifies that they will not appear, and thus will vanish away. (That the “sun” is the celestial of love, and the “moon” the spiritual of love; that is, that the “sun” is love to the Lord, and the “moon” charity toward the neighbor, which comes forth through faith, may be seen above, n. 1053, 1529-1530, 2120, 2441, 2495.) The reason why this is the signification of the “sun and moon,” is that in the other life the Lord appears as a sun to those in heaven who are in love to Him, and who are called the celestial; and as a moon to those who are in charity toward the neighbor, and who are called the spiritual (see n. 1053, 1521, 1529-1531, 3636, 3643).

[3] The sun and moon in the heavens (that is, the Lord) is never darkened, nor does it lose its light, but it shines perpetually; and so neither is love to the Lord darkened with the celestial, nor does charity toward the neighbor lose its light with the spiritual, in the heavens; nor on earth with those with whom these angels are, that is, those who are in love and charity. Those however who are in no love and charity, but in the love of self and of the world, and consequently in hatred and revenge, bring that “darkening” upon themselves. The case herein is as it is with the sun of this world, which shines continuously; but when the clouds interpose, it does not appear (n. 2441).

[4] And the stars shall fall from heaven;

signifies that the knowledges of good and truth will perish. Nothing else is signified by “stars” when these are mentioned in the Word (n. 1808, 2849).

And the powers of the heavens shall be shaken; signifies the foundations of the church, which are said to be “shaken” and “made to quake” when they perish. For the church on earth is the foundation of heaven, because the influx of good and truth from the Lord through the heavens finally terminates in the goods and truths that are with the man of the church. When therefore the man of the church is in such a perverted state as no longer to admit the influx of good and truth, the powers of the heavens are said to be “shaken.” For this reason it is always provided by the Lord that something of the church shall remain; and that when an old church perishes, a new one shall be set up again.

[5] And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven;

signifies the appearing of Divine truth at that time; the “sign” signifies the appearing; the “Son of man,” the Lord as to Divine truth (see n. 2803, 2813, 3704). It was this appearing or this “sign,” concerning which the disciples asked when they said, “Tell us when shall these things be, and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the consummation of the age” (verse 3). For they knew from the Word that when the age should be consummated, the Lord would come; and they learned from the Lord Himself that He would “come again,” by which they understood that the Lord would once more come into the world; not yet knowing that the Lord has come whenever the church has been vastated, not indeed in person, as when He assumed the human by birth and made it Divine; but by means of appearings-either manifest, as when He appeared to Abraham in Mamre, to Moses in the bush, to the people of Israel on Mount Sinai, and to Joshua when he entered the land of Canaan; or not so manifest, as by inspirations through which the Word was given, and afterwards through the Word; for the Lord is present in the Word, because all things in the Word are from Him and concerning Him, as may be seen from what has already been frequently shown. This latter is the appearing here signified by the “sign of the Son of man,” and which is described in this verse.

[6] And then shall all the tribes of the earth wail;

signifies that all who are in the good of love and the truth of faith shall be in grief. That “wailing” signifies this, may be seen in Zechariah 12:10-14; and that “tribes” signify all things of good and truth, or of love and faith, and consequently those who are in them, may be seen above (n. 3858, 3926). They are called the “tribes of the earth,” because those are meant who are within the church. (That the “earth” is the church may be seen above, n. 662, 1066, 1067, 1262, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2928, 3355)

[7] And they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of the heavens with power and great glory;

signifies that the Word will then be revealed as to its internal sense, in which the Lord is; the “Son of man” is the Divine truth therein (n. 2803, 2813, 3704); the “cloud” is the literal sense; “power” is predicated of the good, and “glory” of the truth, therein. (That these things are signified by “seeing the Son of man coming in the clouds of the heavens,” see the preface to the eighteenth chapter.) This is the “coming of the Lord” here meant, and not that He will literally appear in the clouds. Now follows the subject of the setting up of a New Church, which takes place when the old one is vastated and rejected.

[8] He shall send forth His angels with a trumpet and a great voice;

signifies election, not by visible angels, still less by trumpets, and by great voices; but by the influx of holy good and holy truth from the Lord through angels; and therefore by “angels” in the Word there is signified something of the the Lord, (n. 1925, 2821, 3039); here, there are signified things that are from the Lord and concerning the Lord. By the “trumpet” and the “great voice” there is signified evangelization, as elsewhere in the Word.

[9] And they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from the end of the heavens even to the end thereof;

signifies the setting up of a New Church. The “elect” are those who are in the good of love and of faith (n. 3755-3900); the “four winds” from which they shall be gathered together, are all states of good and truth (n. 3708); “from the end of the heavens to the end of them” denotes the internals and the externals of the church. Such therefore are the things signified by these words of the Lord.

1857. For the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet consummated. That this signifies the last time, when there is no longer any good, is evident from the signification of “the Amorite,” and also from the signification of “consummation.” By “the Amorite” in the Word, is signified evil in general, for the reason that the land of Canaan was called the land of the Amorites (as is evident in Ezekiel 16:3-4; Amos 2:9-10). And therefore by “the Amorite” in this passage are signified all the nations of the land of Canaan; and by these, as before said, were signified evils and falsities specifically; and consequently by “the Amorite” are signified all evils in general. By “consummation” is signified the last time, when there is no longer any good.

[2] But what is meant in the internal sense by the fact that the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet consummated, is an arcanum. For the state of the case with the evil in the other life is that they are not punished until their evils have reached their height, and this both in general and in particular. For such is the equilibrium in the other life that evil punishes itself, that is to say those who are evil run into the punishment of their evil, but only when it has reached its height. Every evil has its limit that varies in each individual case, beyond which it is not allowable to pass. When an evil person passes beyond this limit he precipitates himself into the penalty, and this is so in every particular.

[3] It is the same in general, the wicked thrust themselves down into hell, not in a moment, but successively. This has its origin in the universal law of order established by the Lord, that the Lord never casts anyone down into hell; but that evil casts itself down, or that the evil person casts himself down, and this successively, until the evil has been consummated, and nothing of good any longer appears. So long as there is any good, he is uplifted above hell; but when there is nothing but evil, of himself he is thrust down into it. Good and evil must first be separated from each other, for they are opposites; and no one is allowed to incline both ways. This is what is signified by the iniquity of the Amorites having to be consummated. But with the good the case is otherwise; they are continually uplifted by the Lord toward heaven, and their evil is successively wiped away.

[4] The same is the case with the state of a church. The visitation does not come until its evil has been consummated, that is, until there is no longer any good of charity and truth of faith. This consummation is very often spoken of in the Prophets. As in Isaiah:

A consummation and a decree have I heard from the Lord Jehovih Zebaoth upon the whole earth (Isaiah 28:22).

In Jeremiah:

O Babel, that dwellest upon many waters, great in treasures, thine end is come, the measure of thy gain (Jeremiah 51:13).

In Daniel:

Seventy weeks are decreed upon thy people and upon the city of thy holiness, to consummate the transgression, and to seal up sins, and to expiate iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophet, and to anoint the holy of holies (Daniel 9:24).

At length upon the bird of abominations shall be desolation, and even unto the consummation and the decree shall it pour itself out upon the devastation (Daniel 9:27).

[5] The consummation is also foretold by the Lord Himself in these words of Luke:

They shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led captive among all the nations; and at length Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the nations, until the times of the nations shall be fulfilled (Luke 21:24).

To “fall by the edge of the sword,” signifies by falsities, for “a sword” in the Word is the punishment of what is false; “Jerusalem” denotes the Lord’s kingdom and the church (see n. 402); “nations” evils (see n. 1260). Thus the signification is that there would be a consummation when the church should be possessed by evils and falsities, and so be destroyed of itself.