849. Verse 1. And I saw, signifies a manifestation respecting the future separation of the good from the evil before the Last Judgment. This is evident from the signification of "I saw," as being the things seen by John, which now follow; these, regarded in the spiritual sense, treat of the calling together and assembling of the faithful, and their separation from the evil before the Last Judgment; and this is meant by the Lord by these words in Matthew:

They shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and glory; and He shall send His angels and shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other (Matthew 24:30, 31).

That chapter treats also of the Last Judgment, which is there meant by "the consummation of the age and the coming of the Lord." The gathering together of the good and their separation from the evil is there described by those words, as well as in this chapter (verses 14, 16), where the Son of man is described as sitting upon a white cloud with a sickle in His hand reaping the earth.

[2] Similar things in this chapter are meant also by these words of the Lord in Matthew:

The kingdom of the heavens is like unto a man that sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept his enemy came and sowed tares and went away. But when the blade sprang up and brought forth fruit then appeared the tares. And the servants came and said, Wilt thou then that going we gather them up? But he said, Nay, lest haply while ye gather up the tares ye root up at the same time the wheat with them. Rather let both grow together until the harvest; and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Collect first the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn (Matthew 13:24-30).

Here the separation of the good from the evil, which was to take place at the time of the Last Judgment, is foretold by the Lord, and is meant by "Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Collect the tares to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn." The "tares" mean the evil, who will then be cast into hell, and the "wheat" means the good, who having been separated from the evil will be raised up into heaven. Similar things are meant in this chapter where it is said:

The hour for thee to reap is come; for the harvest is dried up. And he that sat upon the cloud cast in his sickle upon the earth; and the earth was reaped (verses 15, 16, and what follows).

Why the good were not separated from the evil previous to the time of the Last Judgment, and the good raised up to heaven and the evil cast into hell, can be seen in the work on The Last Judgment, and also above (n. 391, 392, 394, 397, 411, 413, 418, 419, 426, 489, 493, 497, 668, 669, 670, 674, 675, 676, 754).

493. That he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which is before the throne, signifies the conjunction of the heavens with those who are to be separated from the evil and saved. This is evident from the signification of "offering incense with prayers," as being to conjoin the good of the higher heavens by means of truths with those who are in worship from spiritual good (of which presently); also from the signification of "all the saints," as being those who are in good by means of truths, thus who are in spiritual good; that these are called "saints" may be seen above n. 204; again, from the signification of "the golden altar," as being the heaven where there is spiritual good, for the altar upon which incense was offered was called "the golden altar;" again, from the signification of "before the throne," as being conjunction with heaven, "to be before the throne" signifies that conjunction, as may be seen above (n. 462, 477, 489).

[2] That these words signify the conjunction of the heavens with those who are to be separated from the evil and saved, can be seen from the series of things in the internal sense, and from the connection of what goes before with what is now said and with what follows, and also from the signification of the words in the internal sense. For this and the following chapters treat of the last state of the church, or its state when its end has come and the judgment is at hand; but before this state is described, the separation of those who were to be saved is treated of, who are all such as are meant by "those sealed on their foreheads," and by "those clothed in white robes" who were treated of in the preceding chapter. Because these were at that time associated in societies with those who were to be damned, in this chapter the means by which they were separated and saved are described, namely, that the higher heavens were first closely conjoined with the Lord by Divine influx into celestial good, and through that into spiritual good, and afterwards by Divine influx through these goods, conjoined into one, into the lower regions where those who were to be saved and those who were to be damned were together in societies. This influx of the Lord out of the higher heavens was received by those who in the world had lived in good, for that good continued with them, therefore by means of that good they were conjoined to the higher heavens, and thus separated from those who were unable to receive the influx, because they had not lived in good but in evil while they were in the world.

[3] This also is what is meant by the Lord's words in the Gospels:

Then shall two men be in the field, one shall be taken, the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding, one shall be taken, the other shall be left (Matthew 24:40, 41; Luke 17:34-36).

This is the series of things in the internal sense, and the connection of those that precede with what is now said and with what follows (respecting which see more, n. 413, 418, 419, 426, 489). From this it can now be seen what the spiritual sense is of these words, "that he should offer the incense with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which is before the throne," namely, the conjunction of the higher heavens with those who were to be separated from the evil and saved. The "prayers" with which the incense was to be offered do not mean prayers, but truths from good, by means of which prayers are offered; for truths with man are what pray, and man is continually in such prayers when he lives according to truths. (That "prayers" mean in the Word truths from good which are with man, and not prayers of the mouth, may be seen above, n. 325)