488. As has been stated, 'days' means states in general, and 'years' states in particular. This too becomes clear from the Word, as in Ezekiel,

You have brought your days near, and you have come even to your years. Ezekiel 22:4.

This refers to people who behave abominably and sin to the fullest extent, and so 'days' has reference in this case to such people's state in general, 'years' to that state in particular.

In David,

You will add days to the king's days; and his years as generation after generation! Psalms 61:6.

This refers to the Lord and His kingdom, where again 'days' and 'years' stand for the state of His kingdom.

In the same author,

I have considered the days of old, the years of long ago. Psalms 77:5.

Here 'days of old' is states of the Most Ancient Church, and 'years of long ago' states of the Ancient Church. In Isaiah,

The day of vengeance was in My heart, and the year of My redeemed has come. Isaiah 63:4.

This stands for the final times, where 'the day of vengeance' stands for a state of condemnation, and 'the year of the redeemed' for a state of blessedness.

Similarly, in the same prophet,

To proclaim the year of Jehovah's good pleasure, and the day of vengeance for our God; to comfort all who mourn. Isaiah 61:2.

Here again 'days' and also 'years' are mentioned and mean states.

In Jeremiah,

Renew our days as of old. Lamentations 5:21.

Here 'days' plainly stands for state.

[2] In Joel,

The day of Jehovah is coming, for it is near, a day of darkness and thick darkness, a tiny of cloud and gloom, as has never happened of old, nor will be again after it through the years of generation after generation. Joel 2:1-2, 11.

Here 'day' stands for a state of darkness, thick darkness, cloud and gloom - a state of individuals in particular and of all in general.

In Zechariah,

I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. On that day you will shout, each to his companion, under his vine and under his fig tree. Zechariah 3:9-10.

And elsewhere in Zechariah,

There will be one tiny, it is known to Jehovah, which is neither day nor night, and at evening time there will be light. Zechariah 14:7.

State is clearly meant here, for it is said that 'it will be a day, which is neither day nor night; at evening time there will be light'.

The same meaning is also clear from the following in the Decalogue,

Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged, and that it may be well with you in the land. Deuteronomy 5:16; 25:15.

Here 'a prolonging of days' does not mean living on into old age but a state that is happy.

[3] In the sense of the letter 'day' cannot be seen to mean anything other than a period of time, but in the internal sense it means a state. Angels, who abide in the internal sense of the Word, do not know what a period of time is, for the activity of the sun and moon with them does not produce divisions of time. As a consequence they do not know what a day or a year is, but only what states and changes of state are. This is why among angels, who abide in the internal sense of the Word, anything connected with matter, space, and time, goes unnoticed, as with the following usages in the sense of the letter in Ezekiel,

The day is near, even the day of Jehovah is near, a day of cloud; it will be a time of the nations. Ezekiel 30:3.

And in Joel,

Alas for the day! For the day of Jehovah is near, and as destruction. Joel 1:15.

Here 'a day of cloud' stands for cloud or falsity, 'a day of the nations' for the nations or wickedness, and 'the day of Jehovah' for vastation. When the concept of time is removed there remains the concept of the state of the things existing during that period of time. The same applies to the days and the years that are mentioned so many times in this chapter.

571. Who were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year.- That this denotes continually in the state, is evident from the signification of being prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, as denoting to be continually in a state, namely, of depriving themselves of all understanding of truth, and thence of spiritual life, signified by the words which follow: "that they should slay the third part of men." For by hours, days, months, and years, in the Word, are signified states of life in particular and in general, therefore by being prepared for those times, is signified to be continually in that state. The reason why hours, days, months, and years, in the spiritual sense of the Word, do not signify hours, days, months, and years, is, that times in the spiritual world are not distinguished into such intervals. For the Sun, from which the angelic heaven receives its light and its heat, does not move round, as the sun in the natural world does according to appearance, therefore it is not the cause of either years, months, days, or hours. But times in the spiritual world, which are nevertheless successive like times in the natural world, are distinguished by states of life. What these are, may be seen explained in Heaven and Hell, where it is treated concerning the Sun in heaven (n. 116-125); concerning the changes of the states of the angels in heaven (n. 154-161); and concerning time in heaven (n. 162-169). From these considerations it is evident, that by the angels being prepared for an hour, a day, a month, and a year, is signified to be continually in that state, which is treated of in what follows. That an hour signifies a state, and similarly that a day, a month, and a year signify states, is evident from those places in the Word where they are mentioned, but it would take us too long to quote them here. That such however is the case, is clear from what has been shown concerning time in Heaven and Hell; as well as in the Arcana Coelestia, where it is also shown, that times in the Word do not signify times but states of life (n. 2788, 2837, 3254, 3356, 4814, 4901, 4916, 7218, 8070, 10133, 10605). The reason why times signify states, is also, that in the spiritual world there are not fixed times of the day, called morning, noon, evening, and night, nor fixed times of the year, called spring, summer, autumn, and winter, neither changes of light and shade, of heat and cold, as in our world, but instead of these there are changes of state in regard to love and faith, and from these no idea can exist of the intervals into which our times are divided, although times have progression there as in the natural world; concerning which, see Arcana Coelestia 1274, 1382, 3356, 4882, 6110, 7218). And as the Sun of the angelic heaven, which is the Lord, is continually in its rising (in ortu), and does not make revolutions as the sun of our world appears to do, and as only changes of state exist with the angels and spirits according to their reception of the good of love, and of the truth of faith, therefore times correspond to changes of state and signify them (n. 4901, 7381); and therefore angels and spirits think without the idea of time, which is not possible with man (n. 3404).