2. Before speaking about the New Jerusalem and its teaching, I must say something about the new heaven and the new earth. In my short work THE LAST JUDGMENT AND THE DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON I showed what is meant by the first heaven and the first earth which had passed away. After they had passed away, that is, after the completion of the last judgment, a new heaven was created, that is, formed by the Lord. This heaven was formed from all those who, from the time of the Lord's coming down to the present, have lived a life of faith and charity, since these alone were in heaven's image. For the image of heaven, which determines all association and communication there, is an image of Divine truth arising from Divine good, coming forth from the Lord; and a person puts on this image in his spirit by living in accordance with Divine truth.

These facts enable us to know from whom the new heaven was made, and also its nature, as being totally of one mind. For anyone who lives a life of faith and charity loves another as himself, and he links the other to himself by love, so that the other loves him in turn. Love is a linking in the spiritual world; so when all act alike, then the association of many, or rather countless, people, in keeping with the form of heaven, brings about unanimity and they become as one. For there is nothing to separate and divide them, but everything links and unites them.

7830. 'Speak to all the assembly of Israel, saying' means influx bearing instructions for all belonging to the spiritual Church. This is clear from the meaning of 'speaking' as influx, dealt with in 2951, 5481, 5743 (its further meaning as giving instructions - about the observances to be kept when they are delivered - is evident from what follows); and from the meaning of 'the assembly of Israel' as all truths and forms of good in their entirety. 'The assembly of Israel' is used to refer to all the tribes, by which all aspects of truth and good, or all aspects of faith and charity, are meant, see 7858, 7926, 4060, 6335. And as these are meant [by 'the tribes'], 'the assembly of Israel' means the spiritual Church, 6337; for truths and forms of good make the Church. For the representation of the spiritual Church by the children of Israel, see 6426, 6637, 6862, 6868, 7035, 7062, 7198, 7201, 7215, 7223.

7215. 'And Moses spoke in this way to the children of Israel' means an exhortation from the law of God to those who belonged to the Lord's spiritual kingdom. This is clear from the meaning of 'speaking' as an exhortation, for he spoke to them what Jehovah had commanded him; from the representation of 'Moses' as the law of God, dealt with in 6723, 6752; and from the representation of 'the children of Israel' as the Lord's spiritual kingdom, dealt with in 6426, 6637.