235. I am about to vomit thee out of My mouth, signifies separation from the knowledges from the Word. This is evident from the signification of "vomiting out," when said by the Lord, as being separation; not that the Lord separates them from Himself, but they separate themselves from the Lord. It is said "to vomit out," because the "lukewarm" are treated of, and in the world what is lukewarm produces vomiting. And this is also from correspondence; for the food that man takes corresponds to knowledges, and thence in the Word signifies knowledges; therefore separation from knowledges means non-admission; but as those here treated of do admit something from the Word, it means ejection or vomiting. (That "food," from correspondence, signifies knowledges and intelligence therefrom, see Arcana Coelestia 3114, 4459, 4792, 5147, 5293, 5340, 5342, 5410, 5426, 5576, 5582, 5588, 5655, 8562; for the reason that knowledges nourish the internal man or spirit, as food nourishes the external man or body, n. 4459, 5293, 5576, 6277, 8418.) This is evident also from the signification of "out of My mouth," as being, in reference to the Lord, out of the Word. "Out of the mouth" signifies, in reference to the Lord, out of the Word, because the Word is Divine truth, and this proceeds from the Lord, and what proceeds from the Lord and flows in with man is said to be "out of the mouth," although it is not from the mouth, but is like light from the sun. For the Lord is seen above the heavens where the angels are as a sun, and light therefrom is Divine truth, from which angels and men have all their intelligence and wisdom (See in the work on Heaven and Hell 116-125, 126-140). From this it can be seen that "I will vomit thee out of My mouth" signifies to separate from Divine truth, or what is the same, from the knowledges from the Word.

[2] That those who are "lukewarm," that is, "neither cold nor hot," who are those that live according to the doctrine of faith alone and justification by faith (of which just above), are separated from the knowledges from the Word, is not known to themselves, for they believe that they are in knowledges more than others; but they are not, yea, they are in scarcely any knowledge; and this for the reason that the principles of their doctrine and religion are false, and from false principles nothing results but falsities; when therefore they read the Word, they keep their minds in their falsities, and as a consequence, either they do not see truths, or if they see them they pass them by or falsify them. These false principles are, that salvation is by faith alone, and that man is justified by faith. That they are separated from the knowledges from the Word and that they do not see truths therein, they may know if they will; for what is more frequently declared by the Lord, than that they ought to do His words, His commandments, His will, and that everyone shall be recompensed according to his deeds; also that the whole Word is based upon two commandments, which are to love God, and to love the neighbor; also that loving God is doing His commandments (John 14:21, 23, 24)? What men must do in order to be saved is said a thousand times in each Testament, also that hearing and knowing are nothing without doing. But do those who have confirmed themselves in faith alone and justification by faith, see these things? And if they see them do they not falsify them? Consequently they have no doctrine of life, but a doctrine of faith alone; when yet, life makes the man of the church, and those things come to be of his faith which are of his life.

[3] That such persons are separated from the knowledges from the Word, can be seen also from this, that they are not aware that they are to live as men after the death of the body; that they have a spirit that lives; that heaven is from the human race, and hell also; that they know nothing at all about heaven and heavenly joy; nothing about hell and infernal fire; thus nothing about the spiritual world; nothing about the internal or spiritual sense of the Word; nothing about the glorification of the Lord's Human; nothing about regeneration; nothing about temptation; about baptism, what it involves; about the Holy Supper, and what the flesh and blood, or the bread and wine in it signify; nothing about free will; nothing about the internal man; nothing about charity, about the neighbor, about good, about love; neither do they know what the remission of sins is; and many other things. Moreover, I have heard angels say that when they are permitted to look into the church, and to see those who believe themselves to be intelligent from doctrine, that they see nothing but mere thick darkness, and those so believing are seen as if deep down under waters.

[4] These are separated from the knowledges from the Word for two reasons; first, because they cannot be illustrated by the Lord, for the Lord flows into man's good, and from that illustrates him in truths, that is, He flows into man's love and therefrom into his faith; secondly, because they profane truths by falsifications, and those who do this are separated from truths themselves while they live in the world, that they may not know them, but in the other life they cast away from themselves all things they knew from the Word while in the world. Both these separations are meant by "being vomited out of the mouth." Like things are meant by "vomiting" and "vomit" elsewhere in the Word; as in the following passages. In Isaiah:

Jehovah hath mingled a spirit of perversities in the midst of Egypt; whence they have led Egypt astray in every work thereof, even as a drunkard goeth astray in his vomit (Isaiah 19:14).

"Egypt" signifies the knowledge [scientia] of things, both spiritual and natural; "mingling the spirit of perversities in the midst thereof" signifies to pervert and falsify these things; "a drunkard" signifies those who are insane in spiritual things; and as truths mingled with falsities are cast out, it is said "as a drunkard goeth astray in his vomit." (That "Egypt" signifies knowledge [scientia], see Arcana Coelestia 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 5700, 5702, 6015, 6651, 6679, 6683, 6692, 7296; also the knowledges [scientifica] of the church, n. 7296, 9340, 9391; that "drunkards" signify those who are insane in spiritual things, n. 1072.)

[5] In Jeremiah:

Drink ye, and be drunken, and vomit and fall, and rise not because of the sword (Jeremiah 25:27).

"To drink and be drunken" is to drink in falsities and mix them with truths, and thence to be insane; "to vomit and fall" is altogether to cast out things falsified; "the sword," because of which they shall not rise, signifies falsity destroying and laying waste truth (See Arcana Coelestia 2799, 4499, 7102); which shows clearly what is meant by "vomiting and falling." In the same:

Make Moab drunken, for he hath magnified himself against Jehovah, that he may clap the hands in his vomit (Jeremiah 48:26).

"Moab" signifies those who adulterate the goods of the church, therefore "vomiting" is predicated of them.

[6] In Habakkuk:

Woe unto him that maketh his companion to drink even making him drunken, that thou mayest look upon their nakednesses. Thou shalt be satiated with disgrace instead of glory; drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered; the cup of Jehovah shall go about unto thee, and disgraceful vomiting shall be on thy glory (Habakkuk 2:15-16).

"To drink even making him drunken" also signifies to drink in truths and mix them with falsities; the "nakednesses" upon which they look, signify the deprivation of truth and of intelligence therefrom (See Arcana Coelestia 1073, 5433, 9960). The "foreskin that shall be uncovered" signifies the defilement of good (See Arcana Coelestia 2056, 3412, 3413, 4462, 7225, 7245); "glory" signifies Divine truth, thus the Word (See Arcana Coelestia 4809, 5922, 8267, 8427, 9429); which shows what is meant by "disgraceful vomiting upon their glory."

[7] In Isaiah:

These err through wine, through strong drink they are gone astray; the priest and the prophet err through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they err among the seeing, they stumble in judgment; yea, even all tables are full of the vomit of filthiness; there is no place. Whom shall he teach knowledge? (Isaiah 28:7-9).

Here "wine" and "strong drink," by which they err, signify truths mixed with falsities; "priest" and "prophet" signify those who teach goods and truths, and in an abstract sense, the goods and truths of the church; "the seeing" among whom they err signify those who might be about to see truths; "to stumble in judgment" signifies insanity; "tables" signify all things that should nourish spiritual life, for tables mean the food that is on them, and "food" signifies all truths and goods, because these are what nourish spiritual life; therefore "tables full of the vomit of filthiness" signify the same things falsified and adulterated.

[8] In Moses:

Defile not yourselves with any of these things; for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you; whence the land is defiled; and the land hath vomited out her inhabitants; thus the land will not vomit you out, as it vomited out the nations that were before you (Leviticus 18:24-25, 28).

Adulteries of every kind are here treated of, by which in the spiritual sense all kinds of adulterations of good and falsifications of truth or profanations are meant; and as it is not possible for evils and goods, nor for the falsities of evil and the truths of good to exist together without being cast out, therefore it is said that "the land," that is, the church, "hath vomited them out." From this it can be seen what is signified by "vomiting out."

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.