10248. And it shall be to them a statute of an age. That this signifies an eternal law of order, is evident from the signification of “a statute,” as being a law of order (see n. 7884, 7995, 8537); and from the signification of “an age,” as being what is eternal. That “an age” denotes what is eternal, is because by “an age” is meant duration even to the end; and in the internal sense this duration signifies what is eternal; moreover, the word by which “an age” is here expressed in the original tongue signifies eternity. That “an age” denotes what is eternal, is because “an age,” when said in the Word about the church, signifies its duration even to the end; and consequently when it is said of heaven, where there is no end, and when it is said of the Lord, it signifies what is eternal. This is predicated in general of every church, but specifically of the celestial church. Moreover, “an age” also signifies the world and life there, and likewise life thereafter to eternity.

[2] As regards the FIRST meaning: That “an age” when said of the church, signifies its duration even to the end, is evident from the following passages, in Matthew:

The disciples said unto Jesus, Tell us what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the consummation of the age? (Matthew 24:3).

By “the consummation of the age” is signified the last time of the church, thus its end, when there is no longer any faith because no charity. That this is the consummation of the age, consequently that “an age” denotes the duration of the church even to its end, can be seen from all that was said by the Lord in that chapter, which may be seen unfolded in this work before the chapters of Genesis, from chapter 26 to chapter 40. The like is signified elsewhere by “an age” and its “consummation” in the same Gospel:

The harvest is the consummation of the age (Matthew 13:39-40, 49).

I am with you all the days even unto the consummation of the age (Matthew 28:20).

Here also the “age” means the duration of the church from beginning to end.

[3] In Ezekiel:

They shall dwell upon the land, they and their sons, and their sons’ sons, even to an age; David shall be their prince for an age. My sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for an age (Ezekiel 37:25, 28).

These things are said of Israel, by whom in the internal sense is meant the spiritual church; by the “land on which they shall dwell” is also signified the church; by the “sanctuary,” everything of the church; and by “David,” the Lord; from which it is evident that by “to an age” is signified even to the end. (That “Israel” in the Word denotes the spiritual church, see the places cited in n. 9340; that the “land” denotes the church, see the places cited in n. 9325; that the “sanctuary” denotes everything of the church, and that it is predicated of the good and truth of the spiritual church, n. 8330, 9479; and that “David” denotes the Lord, n. 1888, 9954)

[4] In David:

Before the mountains were born, and the earth and the world were formed, even from age to age, Thou art God (Psalms 90:2).

By “the mountains being born,” and by “the earth and the world being formed,” is not meant the creation of the world, but the setting up of the church; for “mountains” in the Word signify celestial love, thus the church in which is this love; the “earth” also and the “world” signify the church; hence “from age to age” signifies from the setting up of churches to their ends; for churches follow on, one after another, because when one has been ended or vastated another is set up. (That a “mountain” denotes celestial love, consequently the church which is in this love, see n. 795, 796, 4210, 6435, 8758; and that “land” denotes the church specifically, and the “world” the church generally, see the places cited in n. 9325)

[5] SECONDLY: That “an age,” when said of heaven where there is no end, and of the Lord, signifies what is eternal, is evident from the following passages, in David:

Jehovah is King for an age, and forever (Psalms 10:16; also Exodus 15:18).

Thy kingdom is a kingdom of all the ages; and Thy dominion is to every generation and generation (Psalms 145:13).

The living God, the King of an age (Jeremiah 10:10).

His dominion is the dominion of an age which shall not pass away. Afterward the saints of the highests shall receive the kingdom, and shall confirm the kingdom even to an age, and even to ages of ages (Daniel 7:14, 18, 27).

Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, unto ages (Matthew 6:13).

God shall give unto Him the throne of David, that He may reign over the house of Jacob for ages (Luke 1:32-33).

[6] To Jesus Christ be glory and strength unto ages of ages (Revelation 1:6).

Behold I am alive unto ages of ages (Revelation 1:18).

To the Lamb be blessing, and honor, and glory, and strength, unto ages of ages. The twenty-four elders worshiped Him that liveth unto ages of age (Revelation 5:13-14; 10:6; 11:15).

My salvation shall be for an age, and My righteousness to generation of generations (Isaiah 51:6, 8).

The angel of His faces carried them all the days of an age (Isaiah 63:9).

Many of them that sleep shall awake to the life of an age (Daniel 12:2).

If anyone shall eat of this bread, he shall live for an age (John 6:51, 58).

I give unto them eternal life, and they shall not perish for an age (John 10:28).

Lead me in the way of an age (Psalms 139:24).

He hath established them forever and for an age, He hath made a statute which shall not pass away (Psalms 148:6).

[7] In these passages “an age” signifies what is eternal, because it is said of the Lord and of His kingdom, and of heaven and the life there, whereof there is no end; “ages of ages” do not mean eternities of eternities, but denote what is eternal; and the expression is used relatively to churches on earth of which one succeeds another. It is evident from the Word that on our earth a church has been set up four times, of which the first was the Most Ancient Church, which was before the flood; the second was the Ancient Church, which was after the flood; the third was the Israelitish and Jewish Church; and lastly there was the Christian Church. The period of each Church, from beginning to end is “an age;” moreover, after this last mentioned Church, a new one will begin. These successions of churches are meant by “ages of ages.” (That “an age” denotes the duration of a church even to the end, was shown above.)

[8] THIRDLY: That “an age” is predicated in general of every church, but specifically of the celestial church, is evident from the following passages, in Amos:

I will set up the tent of David that is fallen, and will build according to the days of an age (Amos 9:11); where by “the days of an age” is meant the time of the Most Ancient Church, which was celestial. And in Micah:

Bethlehem Ephrathah, out of thee shall He come forth unto Me who shall be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from the days of an age (Micah 5:2); where the sense is the same. And in Moses:

Remember thou the days of an age; understand ye the years of generation and generation (Deuteronomy 32:7).

Here “the days of an age” denote the time of the Most Ancient Church, which was celestial; and “the years of generation and generation” denote the time of the Ancient Church, which was spiritual.

[9] In Isaiah:

Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of Jehovah; awake according to the days of antiquity, of the generation of ages (Isaiah 51:8-9).

“According to the days of the generation of ages” denotes according to the states of love and faith in the Ancient Churches derived from the Most Ancient Church.

In David:

I have considered the days of old, the years of ages (Psalms 77:5); where the sense is the same.

[10] In Isaiah:

Remember the former things from an age (Isaiah 46:9).

Then shall the meat-offering of Judah and Jerusalem be sweet to Jehovah, according to the days of an age, and according to the ancient years (Malachi 3:4).

Judah shall be seated for an age, and Jerusalem to generation and generation (Joel 3:20); where by “Judah” is signified the celestial church, of which it is therefore said, “according to the days of an age,” and “for an age;” and by “Jerusalem” is signified the spiritual church, of which it is said, “according to the ancient days,” and “to generation and generation.” (That “Judah” denotes the celestial church, see n. 3654, 3881, 6363, 8780; and “Jerusalem,” the spiritual church, n. 402, 3654)

[11] FOURTHLY: That “an age” signifies the world and life there, is evident from Matthew:

He that was sown among the thorns, this is he that heareth the Word, but the care of this age and the deceitfulness of riches choke the Word (Matthew 13:22).

The sons of this age are more prudent than the sons of light (Luke 16:8).

The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage (Luke 20:34).

The wicked and the secure of the age multiply riches (Psalms 73:12).

[12] FIFTHLY: That “an age” signifies the life after death to eternity:

He shall receive a hundredfold now in this time, and in the age to come life eternal (Mark 10:30).

When I shall bring thee down with them that go down into the pit, to the people of an age (Ezekiel 26:20).

And in other passages, as Luke 18:9, 30; 20:35; Isaiah 34:10, 17; Revelation 14:11; 20:10; 22:5.

3654. That in the internal sense of the Word “Judea” does not signify Judea; nor in like manner “Jerusalem,” Jerusalem, may be seen from many passages in the Word. “Judea” is not so frequently mentioned in the Word as is the “land of Judah,” and by the “land of Judah,” as well as by the “land of Canaan,” is signified the Lord’s kingdom (consequently also the church, for the church is the Lord’s kingdom on earth), and this for the reason that the Lord’s celestial kingdom was represented by Judah, or by the Jewish nation, and His spiritual kingdom by Israel, or the Israelitish people; and inasmuch as it was so represented, therefore also when mention is made in the Word of that nation and people, in the internal sense there is nothing else signified thereby.

[2] That this is the case will appear from what of the Lord’s Divine mercy will be said hereafter concerning Judah and the land of Judah; and in the meantime from the following few passages in the Prophets.

In Isaiah:

My beloved had a vineyard in the horn of a son of oil; and he made a hedge about it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with a noble vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also hewed out a winepress therein; and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. And now O inhabitant of Jerusalem, and man of Judah, judge I pray you between Me and My vineyard. I will make it a desolation. For the vineyard of Jehovah Zebaoth is the house of Israel, and the man of Judah is the plant of His delights; and He looked for judgment, but behold a festering; for righteousness, but behold a cry (Isaiah 5:1-3, 6-7).

In this passage, in the sense of the letter, the perverted state of the Israelites and Jews is treated of, but in the internal sense the perverted state of the church as represented by Israel and Judah. The “inhabitant of Jerusalem” is the good of the church (that “inhabitant” signifies good, or what is the same, those who are in good, may be seen above, n. 2268, 2451, 2712, 3613; and that “Jerusalem” signifies the church, see n. 402, 2117). The signification of the “house of Israel” is similar (that “house” signifies good may be seen above, n. 710, 1708, 2233, 2234, 3142, 3538; and that “Israel” signifies the church, n. 3305); in like manner the “man of Judah,” for by “man” is signified truth (n. 265, 749, 1007, 3134, 3310, 3459), and by “Judah” good, but with the difference that the “man of Judah” signifies truth from the good of love to the Lord (which is called celestial truth), that is, those who are in such truth.

[3] In the same:

And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four wings of the earth. The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the enemies of Judah shall be cut off. Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not straiten Ephraim. Jehovah shall accurse the tongue of the Egyptian sea, and with the vehemence of His breath shall shake His hand over the river. And there shall be a highway for the remains of His people, which shall be left from Asshur (Isaiah 11:12-13, 15-16).

The subject here treated of in the sense of the letter is the bringing back of the Israelites and Jews from captivity, but in the internal sense it is concerning a new church in general and with every individual in particular who is being regenerated or is becoming a church. The “outcasts of Israel” denote the truths of such persons; the “dispersed of Judah,” their goods; “Ephraim,” their intellectual part in that it will no longer be resistant; “Egypt,” memory-knowledges; and “Asshur,” the derivative reasoning, which they have perverted; the “outcasts,” the “dispersed,” the “remains,” and “those who are left,” denote the truths and goods which survive. (That “Ephraim” denotes the intellectual part, will be made manifest elsewhere; and that “Egypt” is memory-knowledge, n. 1164-1165, 1186, 1462, 2588, 3325; that “Asshur” is reasoning, n. 119, 1186; and that “remains” are goods and truths from the Lord stored up in the interior man, n. 468, 530, 560, 561, 660, 661, 798, 1050, 1738, 1906, 2284.)

[4] In the same:

Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, called by the name of Israel, and they have come forth out of the waters of Judah. For they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel (Isaiah 48:1-2); where the “waters of Judah” denote the truths which are from the good of love to the Lord; the truths thence derived are the very goods of charity, which are called spiritual goods, and constitute the spiritual church, the internal of which is “Israel,” and the external the “house of Jacob;” hence it is manifest what is signified by the “house of Jacob called by the name of Israel,” and by their “coming forth out of the waters of Judah.”

[5] In the same:

I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of My mountains; and Mine elect shall possess it, and My servants shall dwell there (Isaiah 65:9);

“out of Judah an inheritor of mountains” in the supreme sense denotes the Lord, and in the representative sense those who are in love to Him, thus in the good of love to the Lord and of love to the neighbor. (That “mountains” signify these goods was shown above, n. 3652)

[6] So in Moses:

Judah is a lion’s whelp; from the prey my son thou art gone up; he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? (Genesis 49:9); where it is clearly manifest that in the supreme sense by “Judah” is meant the Lord, and in the representative sense those who are in the good of love to Him. So in David:

When Israel went forth out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a barbarous people, Judah became His sanctuary, Israel His dominion (Psalms 114:1-2);

in this passage also “Judah” denotes celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord; and “Israel,” celestial truth, or spiritual good.

[7] So in Jeremiah:

Behold the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will raise unto David a righteous offshoot, and He shall reign as king, and prosper, and shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.

In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell securely; and this is His name whereby He shall be called: JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS (Jeremiah 23:5-6; 33:15-16); where the Lord’s advent is treated of, “Judah” denoting those who are in the good of love to the Lord; “Israel,” those who are in the truth of this good. That by “Judah” is not meant Judah, nor by “Israel” Israel, is evident from the fact that neither Judah nor Israel was saved. In like manner in the same:

I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them as at the first (Jeremiah 33:7).

In the same:

In those days, and in that time, saith Jehovah, the sons of Israel shall come, they and the sons of Judah together; going and weeping shall they go, and shall seek Jehovah their God; and they shall seek Zion in the way with their faces thitherward (Jeremiah 50:4-5

Again:

At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of Jehovah; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, for the name of Jehovah, to Jerusalem; neither shall they walk any more after the stubbornness of their evil heart. In those days the house of Judah shall walk to the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north upon the land (Jeremiah 3:17-18).

[8] Again:

Behold the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast. And I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days; I will put My law in the midst of them, and will write it on their heart (Jeremiah 31:27, 31, 33).

That Israel or the house of Israel is not here meant, is very evident, because they were dispersed among the Gentiles, and were never brought back out of captivity; consequently neither was Judah nor the house of Judah meant, but thereby were signified, in the internal sense, those who are of the Lord’s spiritual and celestial kingdom. With these is made a new covenant, and on their heart is the law written; a “new covenant” denoting conjunction with the Lord by means of good (see n. 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 2037); the “law written on their heart,” denoting the consequent perception of good and of truth, and also conscience.

[9] So in Joel:

And it shall come to pass in that day that the mountains shall drop new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the streams of Judah shall flow with waters; and a fountain shall go forth out of the house of Jehovah, and shall water the stream of Shittim. Egypt shall be a waste, and Edom shall be for a wilderness of a waste for the violence done to the sons of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. But Judah shall abide forever, and Jerusalem to generation and generation (Joel 3:18, 20);

from all the particulars in this passage also it is manifest that by “Judah” is not meant Judah, nor by “Jerusalem,” Jerusalem, but those who are in the holy of love and of charity; for these “shall abide forever, and to generation and generation.”

[10] So in Malachi:

Behold I send Mine angel who shall prepare the way before Me; and the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to His temple, even the angel of the covenant whom ye desire. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto Jehovah, as in the days of eternity, and as in former years (Malachi 3:1, 4); where the Lord’s advent is treated of. That at that time the offering of Judah and Jerusalem was not pleasant unto Jehovah, is evident; and from this it is manifest that by “Judah and Jerusalem” are signified such things as are of the Lord’s church. The case is the same everywhere in the Word where mention is made of “Judah,” of “Israel,” and of “Jerusalem.” From all this then it is evident what is signified by “Judah” in Matthew, namely, the Lord’s church, in the present case vastated.