78. BRIEF ANALYSIS

In the prophetic parts of the Word, statements similar to the one in Matthew 24:29, occur concerning the sun, moon and stars. Thus it is written in Isaiah:

Behold the cruel day of Jehovah cometh . . . the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened at his rising and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. Isaiah 13:9-10.

In Ezekiel:

When I shall extinguish thee, I will cover the heavens and darken the stars thereof; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light; . . . and I will set darkness upon thy land.Ezekiel 32:7-8.

In Joel:

The day of Jehovah cometh, ... a day of darkness, . . . the sun and moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.Joel 2:1-2, 10.

The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and the terrible day of Jehovah cometh. Joel 2:31.

The day of Jehovah is near in the valley of decision, the sun and moon shall be darkened. Joel 3:14-15.

In the Revelation:

The fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars, . . . and the day shone not for a third part of it. Revelation 8:12.

The sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood. Revelation 6:12.

All these passages treat of the last time of the Jewish Church, when the Lord came into the world. The meaning here is similar in Matthew and the Revelation, but they refer to the last time of the Christian Church, when the Lord would come again in the Word which is Himself, and in which He is. Wherefore, immediately after those words in Matthew 24:29, it is said:

And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man . . . coming in the clouds of the heavens.Matthew 24:30.

By the sun in the above passages is meant love, by the moon faith, and by the stars the cognitions of good and truth. By the powers of the heavens are meant those three essentials as the supports and foundations of the heavens where the angels are, and of the Churches where men are. Therefore, by the foregoing passages collected into one idea is meant that neither love nor faith, nor any cognitions of good and truth remain in the Christian Church, in the last time thereof when it draws to its end. That the sun signifies love has been shown in THE APOCALYPSE REVEALED 53-54, 413, 796, 831, 961; that the moon signifies faith, THE APOCALYPSE REVEALED 53, 332, 413, 423, 533; and that stars signify cognitions of good and truth, THE APOCALYPSE REVEALED 51, 74, 333, 408, 419, 954.

954. "I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star." This symbolically means that He is the same Lord who was born into the world and who then was its light, and who is about to come with new light, which will arise before the eyes of His New Church, which is the Holy Jerusalem.

I am the root and the offspring of David means, symbolically, that He is the same Lord who was born into the world, thus the Lord in His Divine humanity. That is why He is called the root and offspring of David, and also the branch of David (Jeremiah 23:5; 33:15). That is why He is also called a rod from the stem of Jesse, and a sprout from his roots (Isaiah 11:1-2).

His being called the bright and morning star means, symbolically, that He was then the light, and that He is about to come with new light, which will arise before the eyes of His New Church, which is the Holy Jerusalem. He is called a bright star because of the light with which He came into the world. For that reason, too, He is called both a star and a light - a star in Numbers 24:17, and a light in John 1:4-12; 3:19, 21; 9:5; 12:35-36, 46; Matthew 4:16; Luke 2:30-32; Isaiah 9:2; 49:6. He is called the morning star as well because of the light which will arise from Him before the eyes of the New Church, which is the New Jerusalem. For a star symbolizes light from the Lord, which in its essence is wisdom and understanding, and the morning or dawn symbolizes His advent and a new church then, as may be seen in no. 151 above.