1. The New Heaven and the New Earth, and What Is Meant by "the New Jerusalem"
It says in the Book of Revelation,
I saw a new heaven and a new earth, because the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. And I saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. The city had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and on the gates were twelve angels, and names written that are the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.
And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
The city was laid out as a square; its length was as great as its breadth.
And [the angel who talked with me] measured the city with a reed: twelve thousand stadia. 1
Its length, breadth, and height were equal.
Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, 2
which is the measure of a human being, that is, of an angel. 3
Its wall was made of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 4
The foundations of the wall of the city were made of precious stones of every kind.
The twelve gates were twelve pearls. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.
The glory of God illuminated it, and the Lamb was its light.
The nations of those who are saved will walk in its light, and the monarchs of the earth will bring their glory and honor into it. (Revelation 21:1, 2, 12-24)
When people read this, they understand it only in literal terms. 5
They think that the visible heavens are going to be destroyed along with the earth and that new heavens are going to come into being and come down onto the new earth in the form of a holy city, a Jerusalem with the dimensions given in the description.
[2] Angels understand it in a completely different way, though. They understand in a spiritual way the details that we understand in an earthly way, 6
and they understand what those details really mean. This is the inner or spiritual meaning of the Word. 7
In the deeper or spiritual meaning that angels are engaged in, a new heaven and a new earth mean a new church both in heaven and on earth (both will be discussed later [§§2-5]). The holy city coming down from God out of heaven means its heavenly teachings. Its length, breadth, and height, which were equal, mean everything in those teachings that is good and true, all gathered together. Its wall means the truths that protect it. The measure of the wall, being one hundred and forty-four cubits, which is the measure of a human being, that is, of an angel means all those protective truths gathered together, as well as the nature of those truths. The twelve gates, which were pearls, mean introductory truths, as do the twelve angels on the gates. The foundations of the wall, which were made of precious stones of every kind, mean the knowledge on which the teachings are based. The twelve tribes of Israel mean all elements of the church in general and in particular, as do the twelve apostles. The gold like clear glass that the city and streets were made of means good actions done out of love, 8
which cause the teachings and their truths to shine. The nations of those who are saved and the monarchs of the earth who will bring their glory and honor into it mean everyone in the church who is devoted to what is good and true. 9
God and the Lamb mean the Lord's 10
divine nature itself and his divine-human nature. 11
[3] This is what the spiritual meaning of the Word is like; the earthly or literal meaning serves as its foundation. All the same, these two meanings, the spiritual and the earthly, are bound together by their correspondence. 12
I will not take the time here to show that this kind of spiritual meaning is present throughout because that is not my current task, but the reader may see what is presented in the following passages of Secrets of Heaven. 13
On earth in the Word as meaning the church, especially where earth means the land of Canaan: Secrets of Heaven §§662, 1066, 1067, 1262, 1413, 1607, 2928, 3355, 4447, 4535, 5577, 8011, 9325, 9643. This is because earth, spiritually understood, means the people who live there and their worship: 1262. The people of the earth [or the land] mean those who are part of the spiritual church: 2928. The new heaven and the new earth mean whatever is new in the heavens and on earth in terms of what is good and true, which means in matters of the church in both realms: 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 3355, 4535, 10373. On the meaning of the first heaven and the first earth that had passed away, see the booklet The Last Judgment and Babylon Destroyed 14
from beginning to end, especially §§65-72.
[4] On Jerusalem meaning the church in regard to its teachings, see Secrets of Heaven 402, 3654, 9166. On cities meaning the teachings that are part of a church and a religion, see 402, 2451, 2712, 2943, 3216, 4492, 4493. On the wall of the city meaning the protective truth of the teachings, see 6419. On the gates of the city meaning truths that lead us to a body of teaching and through that teaching into the church, see 2943, 4477, 4492, 4493. On the twelve tribes of Israel as representing and therefore symbolizing 15
everything good and true in the church both in general and in particular, and therefore all aspects of faith and love, see 3858, 3926, 6335, 6640. The meaning of the twelve apostles of the Lord is much the same: 2129, 3272, 3354, 3488, 3858, 6397. When it says that the apostles will sit on twelve thrones and will judge the twelve tribes of Israel [Matthew 19:28; Luke 22:30], it means that everyone will be judged according to the true and good principles of the church and therefore by the Lord who is their source: 2129, 6397. Twelve means everything taken together: 577, 2089, 2129, 2130, 3272, 3858, 3913.
[5] The same holds true for one hundred and forty-four because this is twelve times twelve: 7973. It holds true also for twelve thousand: 7973. All the numbers in the Word have definable meanings: 482, 487, 647, 648, 755, 813, 1963, 1988, 2075, 2252, 3252, 4264, 6175, 9488, 9659, 10217, 10253. Multiples mean much the same as the individual factors that are multiplied to produce them: 5291, 5335, 5708, 7973. The measure means what a given thing is like in regard to its truth and goodness: 3104, 9603, 10262. The foundations of the wall mean the knowledge of truth on which elements of the teachings are based: 9643. Square means complete: 9717, 9861. Length means goodness and its extent, and breadth means truth and its extent: 1613, 9861. Precious stones mean true perceptions that arise from what is good: 114, 9863, 9865. On the precious stones in the Urim and Thummim, 16
both in general and specifically, see 3862, 9864, 9866, 9891, 9905. On the jasper of which the wall was made, see 9872.
[6] The street of the city means the truth of the teachings that arises from what is good: 2336. Gold means good actions that come from love: 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 9510, 9874, 9881. Glory means divine truth as it exists in heaven and the intelligence and wisdom that result from it: 4809, 5922, 8267, 8427, 9429, 10574. Nations mean the people in the church who are committed to what is good, and in an abstract sense the good actions that are taught by the church: 1159, 1258, 1260, 1285, 1416, 1849, 4574, 7830, 9255, 9256. Monarchs mean the people in the church who are committed to what is true, and in an abstract sense the truths that are taught by the church: 1672, 2015, 2069, 4575, 5044. The rituals involved in royal coronations have to do with matters of divine truth, but nowadays awareness of this symbolism has vanished: 4581, 4966 (which contain further discussion about divine truth).
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