1019. Verse 8 And God said to Noah and to his sons with him, saying,

'God said to Noah and to his sons with him, saying' means the truth of the things that follow concerning the spiritual Church, meant by 'Noah and his sons with him'.

7. Things which must quickly come to pass, signifies which will certainly be. This is evident from the signification of "things which must come to pass," as being things that must needs be; and from the signification of "quickly," as meaning what is certain and full (Arcana Coelestia 5284, 6783). Those who look at all things in the Word according to the sense of the letter do not know otherwise than that "quickly" signifies quickly; thus here, that the things predicted in Revelation were to occur quickly; from which they are led to wonder that nevertheless so long a time has elapsed before the Last Judgment took place. But those who know the internal sense of the Word, do not understand "quickly," but certainly.

They see that "quickly" means certainly, because quickly involves time, and time is proper to nature; thus quickly is a natural, not a spiritual expression; and in the Word, all natural expressions signify the spiritual things that correspond to them; for the Word in its bosom is spiritual, while in the letter it is natural. Thence it is that "quickly" signifies what is certain. (That time is proper to nature, and, in the spiritual world, corresponds to state of life, may be seen in the work on Heaven and Hell, in the chapter on Time in Heaven, n. 162-169.)