610. That time shall be no more, signifies that there shall be no longer any understanding of Divine truth, nor any state of the church therefrom. This is evident from the signification of "time," as being here the state of man in respect to the understanding of the Word, and thus the state of the church, because both the one and the other are treated of in this chapter. "Time" signifies state, because times in the spiritual world are determined and distinguished only by particular and general states of life. This is because the sun in that world, which is the Lord, does not move, but remains in the same place in heaven, and that place is the east; that sun does not there revolve through the heavens as the sun in the natural world appears to do. By the apparent revolution of the sun of the natural world times in general and in particular are determined, and thus have existence; in general, the year and its four seasons, called spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Moreover, these four seasons of the year are the four natural states of the natural world corresponding to the same number of states in the spiritual world, which are its general spiritual states. In particular, within these general states in the natural world, there are determined and fixed times, called months and weeks, but especially days, and days are divided into four natural states, which are called morning, noon, evening, and night, corresponding to which there are four states in the spiritual world. In the spiritual world, because the sun, as has been said, does not revolve through the heavens but remains constant and fixed in its east, there are no years, months, weeks, days, or hours, consequently there are no determinations by times, but only determinations by states of life, general and particular. Therefore it is not known there what time is, but only what state is, for the determination of a thing is what gives the idea of it, and according to the idea is the thing named. This, then, is the reason that it is not known in the spiritual world what times are, although they succeed each other there the same as in the natural world, but instead of times there are states and their changes; this is the reason also that times, when mentioned in the Word, signify states. (But respecting time and times in the spiritual world, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 162-169; and on the Changes of States of the Angels, n.154-161. [Note from the Margin:] Notice where it is said, "it shall be when there shall be neither day nor night" [Jeremiah 33:20; Zechariah 14:7.)

[2] Since "time" means the things pertaining to time in the natural world, as those pertaining to the year and the day (those of the year are seedtime and harvest, and those of the day are morning and evening), by these things pertaining to time states of the church are described in the Word, "seedtime" describing and signifying the establishment of the church; "harvest" its fruit bearing; "morning" its first time, and "noon to evening" its progression. These natural states (or conditions) also correspond to spiritual states, which are states of heaven and the church. As concerns the church, the church in general passes through these states, so does each man of the church in particular. Moreover, each man of the church from his earliest age is also inaugurated into these states, but when the church is at its end he can no more be inaugurated, for he does not receive Divine truth, but either rejects or perverts it, therefore he has neither seedtime nor harvest, that is, no establishment and no fruit bearing, nor has he morning or evening, that is, neither beginning nor progression. These states are meant and signified by "times" in the Word; and as in the end of the church these states cease with men of the church, therefore it is here said that "time shall be no more;" and this signifies that there shall be no further understanding of Divine truth or the Word, consequently not any state of the church.

[3] The like is signified by "time" in Ezekiel:

The evil, behold one evil cometh; the end is come, the end is come, it hath awakened upon thee. Behold, the morning is come upon thee, O inhabitant of the land, the time is come (Ezekiel 7:5-7).

This, too, was said of the state of the church. The end of the former church is first described, and the establishment of a new church afterwards, the end of the former church by this, "One evil, behold the evil cometh; the end is come, the end is come;" the establishment of a new church by this, "Behold, the morning is come upon thee, O inhabitant of the land, the time is come," "morning" signifying the state of a new or commencing church, and "time" its progressive state; accordingly the meaning is similar as that of "seedtime and harvest" and "morning and evening," mentioned above, consequently it means the state of the church in respect to the understanding of truth and the will of good.

[4] In Daniel:

The fourth beast shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, for he shall think to change times and the right; and they shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time (Daniel 7:25).

"The fourth beast" means the evil that was about to vastate the church completely; falsities destroying the truths of the church are meant by "the words that he shall speak against the Most High," and by "the saints of the Most High whom he will wear out," "the saints of the Most High" signifying in the abstract sense Divine truths. That the truths of the Word and its goods will then be turned into falsities and evils is signified by "he shall change the times and the right," "times" meaning the states of the church in respect to the understanding of truth. The duration of that state in relation to the end of the church is signified by "for a time and times and half a time," which means a full state of vastation.

[5] So, too, in the following words in Daniel:

And I heard the man clothed in linen, that he lifted up his right hand and his left hand unto the heavens, and sware by Him that liveth unto the ages of the ages that it shall be for a fixed time of fixed times, and a half, when they are to make an end of dispersing the people of holiness, all these things shall be finished (Daniel 12:7).

"Time" here signifies state; and "time, times and a half" signifies a full state of vastation; therefore it is said, "when they are to make a full end of dispersing the people of holiness," "the people of holiness" meaning those of the church who are in Divine truths; or in an abstract sense Divine truths. With a similar meaning it is said in Revelation:

That the woman should be nourished in the wilderness for a time and times and half a time (Revelation 12:14).

[6] As by "time" things pertaining to time are meant, such as spring, summer, autumn, and winter, these signifying the states of one who is to be regenerated, or is regenerated, also the things pertaining to these times, such as seedtime and harvest, these signifying the state of the church in respect to the implantation of truth and the fructification of good therefrom, and as like things are signified by the times of the day, which are morning, noon, evening, and night, so these times have this signification in the following passages. In Genesis:

During all the days of the earth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease (Genesis 8:22).

This may be seen explained in Arcana Coelestia 930-937). In David:

The day is Thine, the night also is Thine; thou hast prepared the light and the sun. Thou hast set all the borders of the earth; summer and winter hast Thou formed (Psalms 74:16, 17).

In Jeremiah:

Jehovah giveth the sun for a light of the day, and the statutes of the moon and stars for a light of the night. If these statutes shall depart from before Me, the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before Me all the days (Jeremiah 31:35, 36).

In the same:

Jehovah said, If I shall not have set My covenant of day and night, the statutes of heaven and earth, I will reject also the seed of Jacob and of David ¹ My servant (Jeremiah 33:25, 26).

"The statutes of the sun, moon, and stars," also "the covenant of day and night," and "the statutes of heaven and earth," have a similar signification as "times," since "times" exist from those statutes. That "seedtime and harvest, summer and winter," also "day and night," have a similar signification as "times" has been said above.

[7] It follows that "times" have the same signification in these words in Genesis:

God said, Let there be luminaries in the expanse of the heavens, to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and for years (Genesis 1:14-19).

The two "luminaries," the sun and moon, signify love and faith; for that chapter treats in the spiritual sense of the new creation, or the regeneration of the man of the church, and the things said respecting the sun and moon signify the things that chiefly regenerate man and make the church; therefore these words and those that follow describe the process by which regeneration is effected, and afterwards it describes their states. This makes evident what is signified by "time shall be no more."

Footnotes:

"As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem." Isaiah 66:13

Additional Readings: Isaiah 66, Psalm 86, Psalm 87, John 14:15-31

The Lord said, "All power is given unto me in heaven and on earth" (Matthew 28:18). All things are in His hand, and the means for accomplishing all things are in His hand. All nature speaks of the wisdom and power which the Almighty God displays in His control of things material. He holds the stars in their courses; He provides for every created thing. The whole universe is created that it may meet every possible need of man.

There is also the spiritual world. "In the beginning God. created the heaven and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). The spiritual world is a much vaster realm established by the Lord for man, to meet his higher needs. In the beginning men were in close connection with the Lord and with the heavens, but in process of time they departed from the laws established by the Lord, and so they are not in the condition in which the Lord first created them.

The Lord always provides for all things in His universe. When men departed from the way of life He provided that there should be the means whereby His laws might be reestablished among them. When the first spiritual development—the Adamic Church ¹ —came to its end, a change was made in the mental structure of man and a written Word was given him, that he might again order his life according to Divine laws. This is the forerunner of many provisions that the Lord has made to meet the needs of His children. He continually provides distinct means for salvation, for "comfort" in every possible state in the life of man.

Were man in mental and spiritual integrity, as in the most ancient times, enlightenment and power from the Lord could flow directly into him without restraint, blessing him in every way, both naturally and spiritually. But as it is, man is weakened by evil and is under its influence. So life from the Lord has to come to him hedged in by precautionary measures, lest it slay him. The way to the tree of life is guarded by the letter of the Word, through the marvelous care and mercy of the Lord.

In that wonderful work The Divine Providence the laws by which the Lord secretly operates are revealed to us. We must be led in freedom to learn of the Lord and to follow Him. There is no experience through which we may pass which is not provided for. Belief in God is inseparable from a belief in His providence. But a correct understanding of His nature is needed. For by His providence is meant the influence which He exerts over the affairs of men—His active government of the universe.

To feel that the Lord is merely a Creator, One who originally made the world and then ceased to have anything to do with it, is to deny Him all participation in human affairs and all interest in those whom He has created. Such a denial removes Him so far off as to make any personal relationship with Him impossible. If He does not watch over and provide for us, our prayers and praises amount to nothing and might as well cease altogether. To come into a living relationship with the Lord we need to have a true understanding of Him. We cannot worship one about whom we know nothing, and a wrong idea of God is destructive of any intelligent or helpful relationship with Him.

Our text begins "As one whom his mother comforteth." The picture is one of a child who is sick or in distress. As the child is shielded from responsibilities too heavy for him, so the Lord in His tender mercy adapts His truth to the minds of His children. To those who are not far advanced He gives the lower truths, clothing them with such appearances as they need, while to those who have gone further He gives knowledge of Himself in more definite outlines and in larger measure. So it is in all things.

The latter part of our text reads "Ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem." It is in the New Church, which is here called Jerusalem, that the Lord has gathered together all the means of comfort. It is in the doctrine of the New Church that the Lord comforteth man as a mother comforteth.

Sometimes adversities overtake us, and life seems bitter, and the question arises "What are we living for?" This is an age old question. Philosophers beginning with Socrates have tried to answer it. Stoic and Epicurean have given their answers. Nirvana is the answer of the Hindu. All these, though they have afforded some comfort, are in reality but idle dreams. It is in the doctrines of the New Jerusalem that we find the reality. "What are we living for" is a question which finds its answer in the teachings of the New Church and in them only.

When disaster or bereavement comes, none of the systems of philosophy devised by men, with their glittering phrases and mental gymnastics, give any real comfort. But in Jerusalem ye shall be comforted.

If one has lost a little child the Lord says, "Let the little ones come unto me and forbid them not" (Matthew 19:14) To those who are strong and prosperous He says, "Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain" (Psalms 127:1). To the student the Lord says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Psalm 111:10). Whatever be our state or station, the Lord will comfort us in Jerusalem.

And it is written, "In that day shall Jehovah be one, and his name one in all the earth" (Zechariah 14:9). In Jerusalem we are taught to see the Lord as the center of all things, in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, the center for every variety of character, for the seven candlesticks are the seven churches.

From Divine love through Divine wisdom the universe was made and all that is therein. We live because God loves us and desires objects on whom His love can be bestowed and who can know the happiness of loving Him in return. From and by His love and wisdom he always cares for us, for no event or circumstance can be overlooked by Him. To the merely natural man the world may at times seem harsh and cruel and God a hard taskmaster. But the truth is that "the Lord, is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works." Not a sparrow can fall to the ground without His knowledge. Even the hairs of our heads are numbered. Nothing can take place without Divine permission: "the wrath of man shall praise thee; the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain" (Psalm 76:10).

The Lord looks beyond the things of time to eternity. The one great fact of our existence which no one can deny is that sooner or later the earthly life of every man comes to an end. This is part of the Divine plan. When we know that the Lord is Love and Wisdom itself and trust Him, we are enabled to see that all untoward and unwelcome events come to us only for the purpose of furthering our eternal happiness. Then all sickness, sorrow, and disappointment, from whatever cause they may arise, are fully accounted for by the knowledge that the Lord’s providence in all that it does looks to the infinite and eternal. We may not clearly perceive the reasons for our particular trials and afflictions, but there is comfort in the certainty that we should never have been subjected to them unless our Heavenly Father saw that they could contribute something toward making us better and happier to eternity.

The Divine omnipotence—the power of infinite love and wisdom—is always about us. It can never fail us in least things or greatest. Knowledge and acknowledgment of this fact is a part of genuine belief. And wherever true knowledge of the Lord exists, it serves as the basis for a living trust, bringing us into that vital relation to the Lord which is the purpose of our creation. Of this new light which has been given us for our salvation the prophet writes: "Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem" (Isaiah 52:9).

Footnotes: