9334. 'Lest perhaps the land becomes desolate' means a deficiency in that case, and little spiritual life, that is to say, if the removal were hurried. This is clear from the meaning of 'the land' as the Church in general and also in particular, the Church in particular being a person who becomes an embodiment of the Church, since the Church exists within a person and comprises one who has been regenerated (for the meaning of 'the land' as the Church in general, see 9325, and for its meaning as the Church in particular, or a person who has been regenerated, 82, 620, 636, 913, 1411, 1733, 2117, 2118 (end), 2571, 3368, 3379; this person is also called 'the land' in Malachi,

All the nations will declare you blessed, and you will be a land of delight. Malachi 3:12.) and from the meaning of 'desolate' as a deficiency, and little spiritual life. For 'desolate', when used in reference to the Church within a person, means a deficiency of truth and good, thus also a deficiency of spiritual life since that life is provided by these. The implications of this, that there is a deficiency and little spiritual life if falsities and evils are removed hurriedly, are that when a person undergoes regeneration, which is accomplished by the implantation of spiritual truth and good, and at the same time by the removal of falsity and evil, the regeneration is not hurried but takes place slowly.

[2] The reason for this is that all the things the person has thought, intended, or done since early childhood have entered into the composition of his life. They have also formed themselves into a network which is such that one cannot be moved without all of them together being moved. For a wicked person is an image of hell, and a good person is an image of heaven; and also the evils and falsities with a wicked person are interconnected in the same way as the communities of hell are with one another, of which that person is a part, while the forms of good and the truths with a good person are interconnected in the same way as heavenly communities are with one another, of which this person is a part. From this it is evident that the evils and falsities with a wicked person cannot be removed suddenly from where they are. They can be removed only in the measure that forms of good and truths in their proper order have been implanted more deeply within the person; for heaven with a person removes hell. If the removal were done suddenly the person would pass out, for the whole network of things, every single one, would be thrown into confusion and deprive him of his life.

[3] The fact that regeneration or the implantation of the life of heaven with a person begins when he is a young child and continues right on to the final phase of his life in the world, and the fact that after life in the world his perfection continues for evermore, see 2679, 3203, 3584, 3665, 3690, 3701, 4377, 4551, 4552, 5126, 6751, 8772, 9103, 9296, 9297, and in particular 5122, 5398, 5912, 9258. Also, and this is an arcanum, a person's regeneration in the world is merely the foundation for the unending perfection of his life. The person who has led a good life undergoes perfection in the next life; see what has been shown regarding young children, in 2289-2309, and regarding the state and condition of gentiles there, in 2589-2604.

9286. 'Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year' means enduring worship of the Lord and thanksgiving on account of deliverance from damnation. This is clear from the meaning of 'keeping a feast' or 'holding a feast' as worshipping the Lord with gladness of mind on account of deliverance from damnation, dealt with in 7093; and from the meaning of 'three times in the year' as a state complete right to its end, for 'three' means complete from the beginning to the end, 2788, 4495, 7715, 9198, and 'year' a whole period, 2906, 7839, 8070. At this point therefore complete and whole deliverance is meant; for 'the feast of unleavened bread' means purification from falsities, 'the feast of harvest' means the planting of truth in good, and 'the feast of ingathering' means the implanting of good from there. Thus complete deliverance from damnation is meant by these feasts; for when a person has been purified from falsities, and after this has been brought by means of truths into good, and is at length governed by good, he is in heaven with the Lord and has accordingly undergone complete deliverance.

[2] The consecutive stages of deliverance from damnation are like the consecutive stages of regeneration; for regeneration is deliverance by the Lord from hell and being led by Him into heaven. For a person who is being regenerated is first purified from falsities, after that the truths of faith he knows are planted in the good of charity, and finally that good itself is implanted in him. When all this has been done the person has been regenerated and he is then in heaven with the Lord. Therefore the three feasts in the year also meant worship of the Lord and thanksgiving on account of regeneration. Because these feasts were established on account of the everlasting remembrance of those things, the worship and thanksgiving are called enduring; for the most important things in worship should endure forever. The things which should endure forever are those which have been inscribed not only on the memory but also on the actual life that is led. When this is so they are said to reign universally with a person, see 5949, 6159, 6571, 8853-8858, 8865.