4696. 'And behold, the sun and the moon' means natural good and natural truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'the sun' as celestial good, dealt with in 1529, 1530, 2120, 2441, 2495, 3636, 3643, 4060; and from the meaning of 'the moon' as spiritual good, which is truth, dealt with in 1529, 1530, 2495. In the highest sense 'the sun' means the Lord because He is seen as the sun by those in heaven who are governed by celestial love, and in the highest sense 'the moon' too means the Lord because He is seen as the moon by those in heaven who are governed by spiritual love. Also He is the source of every ray of light in heaven. Consequently the light received from the sun there is the celestial form of love, which is good, and the light received from the moon there is the spiritual form of love, which is truth. Here therefore 'the sun' means natural good and 'the moon' natural truth, since these two sources of light are used to refer to Jacob and Leah (as is evident from verse 10, where Jacob says, 'Shall we indeed come - I and your mother, and your brothers - to bow down to you to the earth?') and 'Jacob' represents natural good and 'Leah' natural truth, as shown already in various places. The Divine which comes from the Lord is in the highest sense the Divine within Him, but in the relative sense is the Divine going forth from Him. The Divine good received from Him is that which is called celestial, and the Divine truth received from Him is that which is referred to as spiritual. When the rational receives these it is in this case the good and truth of the rational that are meant; but when the natural receives them it is the good and truth of the natural that are meant. Here the good and truth of the natural are meant because the words used refer to Jacob and Leah.

4059. Each individual phrase in these verses is clear evidence of the existence of an internal sense, and of the fact that unless that sense is understood no one can possibly know what is implied in any of the following descriptions: The sun will be darkened, and the moon also; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken; the Lord will appear in the clouds of heaven; and the angels will sound a trumpet and in so doing will gather together the elect. Anyone who is not acquainted with the internal sense of these words will believe in a literal fulfilment of such events - that the world really is going to perish, together with everything visible in the universe. It is not the destruction of the world that is meant however by a last judgement but the coming to an end or the ruination of the Church as regards charity and faith; see 3353. The same is also quite evident from the words which come later on in this same chapter in Matthew,

At that time two will be in the field; one will be taken, the other left. Two women grinding; one will be taken, the other left. Matthew 24:40-41.