9408. And as the substance of heaven in respect to cleanness. That this signifies the shining through of the angelic heaven, is evident from the signification of “heaven,” as being the angelic heaven (of which in what follows); and from the signification of the “cleanness,” or purity, of “the substance,” when said of heaven, as being its shining through. It shall be briefly stated what is meant by the shining through of the angelic heaven in connection with the Word. The angelic heaven is said to shine through when truth Divine shines through. For the whole heaven is nothing but a receptacle of truth Divine, because every angel is a reception of it in particular; thus all the angels, or the whole heaven, are so in general. From this, heaven is called “the habitation of God,” and also “the throne of God,” because by “habitation” is signified the truth Divine that proceeds from the Lord received in the inmost heaven, which relatively is good (n. 8269, 8309); and by “throne” is signified truth Divine from the Lord received in the middle heaven (n. 5313, 6397, 8625, 9039). As it is truth Divine such as in the heavens which shines through from the sense of the letter of the Word, therefore it is the angelic heaven which shines through; for the Word is Divine truth accommodated to all the heavens; and it consequently conjoins the heavens with the world, that is, angels with men (n. 2143, 7153, 7381, 8920, 9094, 9212, 9216, 9357, 9396). From all this it is evident what is meant by the shining through of the angelic heaven.

[2] That in the internal sense “heaven” denotes the angelic heaven, is from correspondence, and also from the appearance. Hence it is that when mention is made in the Word of “the heavens,” and also of “the heavens of heavens,” in the internal sense are meant the angelic heavens. For the ancients had no other idea of the visible heaven than that the heavenly inhabitants dwell there, and that the stars are their habitations. Similar also at this day is the idea of the simple, and especially of little children. From this also men look upward to heaven when praying earnestly to God. This also is from correspondence; for in the other life a heaven with stars appears, yet not the heaven that appears to men in the world; but a heaven that appears in accordance with the state of intelligence and wisdom of the spirits and angels. The stars there are knowledges of good and truth; and the clouds which are sometimes seen beneath the heaven are of various signification according to their colors, their translucence, and their movements; the blueness of heaven is truth transparent from good. From all this it can be seen that by “the heavens” are signified the angelic heavens; but by “the angelic heavens” are signified truths Divine, because the angels are receptions of the truth Divine that proceeds from the Lord.

[3] Similar things are signified by “the heavens” in David:

Praise Jehovah ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that are above the heavens (Psalms 148:4).

Sing psalms to the Lord that rideth upon the heaven of heaven which is of old (Psalms 68:32-33).

By the word of Jehovah were the heavens made, and all the army of them (Psalms 33:6).

The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament declareth the works of His hands (Psalms 19:1).

Jehovah, when Thou wentest forth out of Seir, the earth trembled; the heavens also dripped, the clouds also dripped water (Judg. 5:4).

The horn of the he-goat grew, even to the army of the heavens; and some of the army and of the stars it cast down to the earth, and trampled upon them (Daniel 8:10).

The Lord Jehovih buildeth in the heavens His steps (Amos 9:6).

If there be food in My house I will open the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing (Malachi 3:10).

Look forth from the heavens, and behold from the habitation of Thy holiness and of Thy comeliness (Isaiah 63:15).

Blessed of Jehovah be the land of Joseph, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew (Deuteronomy 33:13).

Jesus said, Swear not by the heaven; for it is the throne of God. He that sweareth by the heaven sweareth by the throne of God, and by Him that sitteth thereon (Matthew 5:34; 23:22).

[4] In these passages, and in many others, by “the heavens” are signified the angelic heavens; and as the Lord’s heaven on earth is the church, by “heaven” is also signified the church; as in the following passages. In John::

I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the former heaven and the former earth were passed away (Revelation 21:1).

Behold I create new heavens and a new earth; therefore the former things shall not be remembered, nor come up upon the heart (Isaiah 65:17).

The heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment (Isaiah 51:6).

I clothe the heaven with blackness, and I make sackcloth a covering (Isaiah 50:3).

I will cover the heavens, and I will blacken the stars thereof; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not make her light to shine; and I will blacken all the luminaries of light in the heaven, and will set darkness upon the land (Ezekiel 32:7-8).

After the affliction of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken (Matthew 24:29).

What is here signified by the “sun,” “moon,” “stars,” and “the powers of the heavens,” may be seen above (n. 4056-4060).

In Isaiah:

O Jehovah the God of Israel, Thou alone art the God over all the kingdoms of the earth; Thou hast made heaven and earth (Isaiah 37:16).

I am Jehovah, that maketh all things; that spreadeth out the heavens alone; that stretcheth out the earth by Myself (Isaiah 44:24).

Jehovah that createth the heavens, that formeth the earth and maketh it, and prepareth it, He created it not an emptiness (Isaiah 45:18).

[5] That by “heaven and earth” in these and in other passages is signified in the internal sense the church; by “heaven” the internal church, and by “earth” the external church, may be seen above (n. 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 3355, 4535), from which it is evident that by the “creation” in the first chapters of Genesis, where it is said, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1); “and the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the army of them” (Genesis 2:1) is meant a new church; for the creation there denotes a new regeneration, which is also called a “new creation,” as can be seen from what was shown in the explications at these chapters.

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.