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.

1850. Will I judge. That this signifies visitation and judgment, may be seen without explication. By “judging,” or “judgment,” there is not signified any last judgment, as people in general suppose, that is, that the heaven and the earth are to perish, and that so a new heaven and a new earth will be created, as spoken of in the Prophets and in Revelation; and thus that all things are to perish, which opinion has spread itself so widely that it has even taken possession of the minds of those who are best instructed; and this to such a degree that they do not believe that the dead are to rise except at that time. And therefore because this time was foretold, and still, after so many centuries have since passed by, they see that it has not come and is not at hand, feeling safe they confirm themselves in their assurance that there is no such thing, and therefore that they will not rise again. But it is to be known that by the last judgment, or by the destruction of heaven and earth, no such thing is meant. According to the sense of the letter it is so; but not at all according to the internal sense: in this sense the last judgment means the last time of the church; the heaven and earth that will perish, mean the church as to internal and external worship, which becomes no church when there is no charity.

[2] There was a last judgment of the Most Ancient Church when all charity and faith had failed, and when there was no perception, as was the case just before the flood. The flood itself, treated of above, was the last judgment of that church; heaven and earth, that is, the church, then perished; and a new heaven and a new earth, that is, a new church, were created, which was called the Ancient Church, and which also has been treated of. This church likewise had its last time, namely, when all charity grew cold and all faith was darkened, which was about the time of Eber. This time was the last judgment of that church; which was the heaven and earth that had perished.

[3] The Hebrew Church was a new heaven and a new earth, and this too had its last time, or last judgment, when it became idolatrous; and then a new church was raised up among the descendants of Jacob, which was called the Jewish Church, and which was a church that was merely representative of charity and faith. In this church, that is, among the descendants of Jacob, there was neither charity nor faith, and therefore no church, but only the representative of a church, for the reason that it had become impossible for there to be immediate communication of the Lord’s kingdom in the heavens with any true church on earth, and therefore a mediate communication was effected by means of representatives. The last time of this so-called church, or its last judgment, was when the Lord came into the world; for the representatives then ceased, that is, the sacrifices and similar rites; and in order that these might cease, the Jews were cast out of the land of Canaan.

[4] After this a new heaven and a new earth were created, that is, a new church, which is to be called the Primitive Church, which was commenced by the Lord, and afterwards gradually became stronger, and which at first was in charity and faith. The destruction of this church is foretold by the Lord in the Gospels, and by John in Revelation; and this destruction is what is called the Last Judgment. Not that heaven and earth are now to perish, but that in some quarter of the globe a new church will be raised up, the present one remaining in its external worship, as the Jews do in theirs, in whose worship it is well known that there is nothing of charity and faith, that is, nothing of the church. So far as regards the last judgment in general.

[5] In particular, there is a last judgment for everyone immediately after he dies; for he then passes into the other life, in which, when he comes into the life that he had had in the body, he is adjudged either to death or to life. There is also a last judgment in the singular, for with a man who is adjudged to death, every single thing condemns him, for there is nothing in his thought and will, not even the least thing, that does not resemble his last judgment, and that does not drag him to death. In like manner with the man who is adjudged to life: in him every single thing of his thought and of his will presents an image of his last judgment, and all carry him on to life. For such as is man in general, such is he in the singulars of his thought and of his affection. These are the things that are signified by the last judgment.