1974. As for the meaning of "evening and morning," in all phases of regeneration, both general and particular, the progression starts from evening, and tends toward morning. In general, the evening of those who are being regenerated is misery, temptations, despair, but they arrive at the morning. So also in detail, in all phases of regeneration one begins from evils, which are turned into good. And it is worth remembering that evil spirits begin, out of their own fantasies and passions, to arouse the person, but that these evils are turned into good in various ways. This has been revealed to me by experience lasting 3 years. So that is "evening and morning," and it applies to every least phase. Therefore it is the process not only of regeneration, but also of the perception of goodness. 1748, 16 May.

115. The reason why the Lord says to the angel of this church, "I am the first and the last, who was dead and is alive," is, that those within the church who are in the spiritual affection of truth are here treated of; these are such as search out truths from the Word, and who, when they have found them, rejoice in heart, for no other reason than that they are truths; and that also those are here spoken of who are in a merely natural affection of truth, being such as neither search for truths, nor rejoice in them because they are truths, but only acquiesce in the doctrinals of their church, not caring whether they are true or false; these they learn, so far as to retain them in the memory, and they also confirm them from the literal sense of the Word; and this they do solely for the sake of acquiring fame, honours, or gain; these are they with whom the Lord is said to be dead, that is, repudiated. The spiritual affection of truth, which is to love truth because it is truth, is granted only to those who are conjoined to the Lord by the acknowledgment of and faith in His Divine Human, because all the truth of heaven and all the truth of the church is from no other source than the Divine Human of the Lord, for therefrom proceeds the Divine truth, which is called the Spirit of Truth, or the Holy Spirit; also all affection of truth, and all wisdom to the angels of heaven. (That this is the case may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell 126-140, 265-275, 346-356). These are they with whom the Lord is alive.