2. Before treating of the New Jerusalem and its doctrine, something shall be said of the New Heaven and the New Earth. In the small work on The Last Judgment and the Destruction of Babylon it was shown what is meant by the "first heaven and the first earth" which had passed away. After they had passed away, and thus after the Last Judgment had been accomplished, the new heaven was created, that is, formed by the Lord. This heaven was formed of all those who after the Lord's advent even to the present time, had lived a life of faith and charity; since they alone were forms of heaven. For the form of heaven, according to which all consociations and communications are there effected, is the form of Divine Truth from the Divine Good which proceeds from the Lord; and this form a man puts on as to his spirit by a life according to Divine Truth.

That the form of heaven is from this source, may be seen in the work Heaven and Hell 200-212; and that all angels are forms of heaven, in Heaven and Hell 51-58, 73-77. From this it may be known, of whom the new heaven was composed, and hence also what its quality is; namely, that it is altogether of one mind; for he, who lives a life of faith and charity, loves another as himself, and through love conjoins him to himself, and thus reciprocally and mutually, because love in the spiritual world is conjunction. When, therefore, all act alike, then from many, yea, from countless numbers consociated according to the form of heaven, there arises one mind, and there results, as it were, a one; for there is nothing which separates and divides, but everything conjoins and unites.

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.

3963. 'Afterwards she bore a daughter' means the affection for all these, and also means the Church of faith in which good is present. This is clear from the meaning of 'a daughter' as an affection, and also as a Church, dealt with in 2363. But as to what the object of the affection is, or what kind of Church is meant, this is evident from whatever is added on to the word 'daughter'. For example, it is evident from the addition of 'Zion' after 'daughter' that the celestial Church, which is called 'the daughter of Zion', is meant; from the addition of 'Jerusalem' that the spiritual Church, which is referred to as 'the daughter of Jerusalem', is meant, and so on. In the present verse, in which nothing is added on to it, 'daughter' means the Church of faith in which good is present. For up to this point the subject has been the general truths which constitute faith in which good is present, and the reception and acknowledgement of those truths, that is to say, the truths that were meant, as has been shown, by the ten sons of Jacob dealt with above. And since immediately after these sons reference is made to the birth of a daughter it is evident from the train of thought that a Church is meant in which all these truths are present.

[2] Whether you call it the Church of faith in which good is present, or you call it the spiritual Church, it amounts to the same; or again if you call it the affection for all these, that is, all these general truths. For it is from the affection for truth in which good is present, and the affection for good from which truth springs, that the Church has its being, not from the affection for truth in which good is not present or the affection for good from which truth does not spring. People who are governed by an affection for truth but not by the good from which truth springs, that is, who do not live according to truths, are much mistaken when they say that they belong to the Church. Though within a congregation, they are outside the Church, for they are governed by the affection for evil to which truth cannot be joined. Their affection for truth does not originate in the Lord but in themselves, for they have themselves in view, their intention being by means of the truth they know to earn repute, and thereby important positions and wealth. But they do not have the Church in view, or the Lord's kingdom, let alone the Lord. But people governed by the affection for good from which truth does not spring do not belong to the Church even though they are within a congregation, for they are governed by natural good, not by spiritual, and allow themselves to be led into every kind of evil and also of falsity, provided that evil is made to look like good and falsity to look like truth, see 3470, 3471, 3518.