1129. Verse 9. And the kings of the earth shall weep for her and wail over her, signifies mourning and grief of heart of those who have exercised that authority. This is evident from the signification of "to weep and wail," as being mourning and grief of heart (of which presently); also from the signification of "kings of the earth," as being those who are in truths from good, and in the contrary sense who are in falsities from evil (See n. 29, 31, 625, 1034, 1063), here those who have exercised that authority and are therefore called "kings of the earth," the "earth" meaning the church. It is evident from what follows that such are signified by "kings of the earth," for it is said "who have committed whoredom and lived luxuriously with her," which signifies who have been in falsities and evils from delight respecting that authority. Those who are in truths from good, who are also signified by "kings of the earth," cannot "weep for her and wail over her."

[2] The expressions "to weep" and "to wail" are used, because "to weep" signifies mourning because of falsities, and "to wail" mourning because of evils, and because both have been lost; thus "to weep" has reference to the falsity that they have called truth, and "to wail" has reference to the evil that they have called good. This is why "mourning and wailing" are mentioned together in the Word. As in Jeremiah:

O daughter of My people, make thee mourning for an only begotten, a wailing of bitterness, for the waster shall suddenly come upon us (Jeremiah 6:26).

Here "mourning" is named because of truth destroyed, and wailing on account of good destroyed; the "waster" signifies the loss of these, and thus the end of the church. In Micah:

I will make a wailing like the dragons, and a mourning like the daughters of the owl (Micah 1:8).

Because "wailing" has reference to good, and in the contrary sense to evil, it is said, "I will make a wailing like dragons," "dragons" being those who are in the lusts of evil; and because "mourning" has reference to falsity it is said, "I will make a mourning like the daughters of the owl," "daughters of the owl" being those who are in falsities and their pleasantness, "owls" signify falsities, because they see in darkness and not in the light. In Zechariah:

They shall wail over him according to the wailing over a first begotten, ¹ and they shall mourn over him according to the mourning over a first begotten (Zechariah 12:10).

Here, too, "wailing" is predicated of the loss of good, and "mourning" of the loss of truth. In Jeremiah:

Enter not into the house of mourning, neither go away to wail (Jeremiah 16:5);

where the meaning is the same. Both expressions are used on account of the marriage of good and truth, or on account of the marriage not of good and truth, which is in every particular of the Word.

(Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith and respecting the Lord)

[3] That all things are from the life itself which is God, and which is wisdom and love, can also be made clear by reference to things created when they are viewed from order. For it is from order that the angelic heavens, consisting of thousands and thousands of societies, act as one through love to the Lord and through love towards the neighbor, and that they are kept in order through Divine truths which are the laws of order. Also it is from order that the hells beneath the heavens, which are also divided into thousands and thousands of congregations, are kept in order by means of judgments and punishments, so that they are unable to do the least harm to the heavens, although they are hatreds and insanities. It is also from order that between the heavens and the hells there is an equilibrium, in which is man in the world, and in which he is led to heaven if led by the Lord, and to hell if led by himself; for it is the law of order that man must do whatever he does from freedom according to reason.

[4] Since so many myriads of myriads of men from the creation of the world have poured into the spiritual world and are unceasingly pouring in like streams, and each individual has a different disposition and love, they could by no means have been associated together as a one unless God who is life itself had been one, and unless this life had been wisdom itself and love itself, and thus order itself. Thus much about heaven. But in the world the Divine in order appears to be from the sun, moon, stars, and planets. The sun in appearance makes the years, days, and hours, also the seasons of the year, which are spring, summer, autumn, and winter, also the divisions of the day, which are morning, noon, evening, and night; and it vivifies all things of the earth according to the reception of its heat in light and of its light in heat; and according to reception it opens, arranges, and prepares bodies and matters, which are in the earth and upon the earth, to receive influx from the spiritual world. Thus in the spring time, by the union of heat and light at that season the flying things of heaven and the animals of earth return into the love of prolification, and into a knowledge of all things pertaining to that love; and the things of the vegetable kingdom return into the efforts and activities of producing leaves, flowers and fruits, and seeds in them for perpetuating their kind to eternity, and for multiplying it to infinity.

[5] It is also from order that the earth produces vegetables, and that vegetables nourish animals, and that both are useful to man for food, raiment, and for pleasure; and as man is the one in whom is God, so all things thus return to God from whom they are. All this makes clear that created things follow in such order that one is for the sake of another, and that they are perpetual ends which are uses, and that the ends which are uses are constantly so directed as to return to God from whom they are. All this now shows that all things have been created from life itself, which is wisdom itself, and also shows that the created universe is full of God.

Bilješke:

1850. That 'will I judge' means visitation and judgement becomes clear without explanation. Judging or judgement does not mean some last judgement, as most people suppose, that is to say, a time when heaven and earth are to pass away and then a new heaven and a new earth are to be created, as described in the Prophets and in the Book of Revelation, and thus a time when all things are to be destroyed. This conception has become so widespread that it has taken possession of even the best-informed minds, so much so that they do not believe the dead are to rise again until that time. As a consequence because that time has been foretold and yet after the passing of so many centuries since the prediction was made they do not see it happening or about to do so, they feel safe in confirming themselves in their assurance that there is no truth in the idea, thus that they are not going to rise again. But it should be recognized that no such thing is meant by the Last Judgement, that is, by the prediction that heaven and earth are to be destroyed. According to the sense of the letter that is indeed the meaning, but not according to the internal sense. By the Last Judgement, according to the internal sense, is meant the final period of the Church, and by heaven and earth's passing away is meant the Church as regards internal and external worship - a Church that ceases to be a Church when no charity exists.

[2] A Last Judgement of the Most Ancient Church took place when all charity and faith were at an end and when no perception existed, as was the situation just before the Flood. The Flood itself, which has been dealt with above, was the Last Judgement of that Church. At that point heaven and earth, that is, the Church, passed away, and a new heaven and a new earth, that is, a new Church called the Ancient Church, was created, which too has been dealt with. This Church as well had its final period, namely when all charity was growing cold and all faith was being blacked out. This was about the time of Eber. This period was the Last Judgement of that Church, which was the heaven and earth that passed away.

[3] The new heaven and the new earth was the Hebrew Church. This too had its final period or Last Judgement when it had become idolatrous. A new Church was as a consequence established, and this was accomplished among the descendants of Jacob. That which was called the Jewish Church was nothing other than a Church representative of charity and faith. In that Church, that is, among the descendants of Jacob, no charity or faith existed, and therefore no Church existed but merely the representative of a Church. This was so because direct communication of the Lord's kingdom in the heavens with any true Church on earth was not possible, and therefore an indirect communication by means of representatives was effected. The last period or Last Judgement of this so-called Church was when the Lord came into the world, for at that time representatives came to an end, that is to say, the sacrifices and similar practices did so; and to bring these to an end the Jews were expelled from the land of Canaan.

[4] After this a new heaven and a new earth were created, namely a new Church which must be called the Primitive Church, which was begun by the Lord and after that gradually grew stronger, and which at first possessed charity and faith. The destruction of this Church is foretold by the Lord in the Gospels and by John in the Book of Revelation, and it is this destruction which is called the Last Judgement. Not that heaven and earth are now going to pass away but that a new Church will be raised up in some part of the world, while the present one continues in existence with its external worship just as the Jews do with theirs. As is quite well known, their worship includes no charity or faith at all, that is, nothing of the Church. So much for the Last Judgement in general.

[5] In particular there is a last judgement for everyone immediately after he has died, for at this point he passes over into the next life, in which, once he has entered into the life that was his in the body, he undergoes a judgement that points either to death or to life. This last judgement involves every detail of the person. With him whose judgement is to death every single detail condemns him, for there is nothing in his thought and will, not the smallest thing, that does not show the same as his individual last judgement or draw him towards death. But with him whose judgement is to life, every single detail of his thought or will in a similar way possesses the image of his individual last judgement and bears him towards life. For as is the person in general, so is he in every detail of his thought and affection. These are the things meant by the Last Judgement.