1857. 'For the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet come to a close' means the final period when there is no longer any good. This is clear from the meaning of 'the Amorite', and also from the meaning of 'a close'. 'Amorite' in the Word means evil in general, the reason being that the land of Canaan is called 'the land of the Amorites', as is clear in Ezekiel 16:3-4, and Amos 2:9-10. Here therefore 'the Amorite' means all the nations of the land of Canaan, by whom were meant, as stated already, evils and falsities specifically. Consequently 'the Amorite' means all evils in general. 'The close' means that final period when there is no good any longer.

[2] But what is meant in the internal sense by the statement that 'the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet come to a close' is an arcanum. The experience of the evil in the next life is that they are not punished until their evils have reached their peak; this applies to evils both in general and in particular. Indeed the balance of everything in the next life is such that evil punishes itself, that is, those who are evil run into the punishment of their evil, but only when this evil has reached its peak. Every evil has its own limits - varying from one individual to another - beyond which it is not allowed to go. When one who is evil goes beyond it he meets head on with punishment. This is so in every particular case.

[3] The same applies in general, in that those who are evil thrust themselves down into hell, not instantaneously but gradually. This has its origin in the universal law of order established by the Lord that the Lord never sends anyone down into hell but that evil itself, or the person himself who is evil, thrusts himself down, doing so gradually, until evil has reached its close and no trace of good is any longer apparent. As long as there is some trace of good he is being raised up from hell, but when there is nothing but evil, he is thrust down into hell. Good and evil must first of all be separated from each other since they are opposites. No one is allowed to incline in both directions. This is what is meant by 'the iniquity of the Amorites having to come to a close'. With the good however it is different; they are constantly being raised up by the Lord towards heaven, while their evil is gradually wiped away.

[4] It is similar with the state of the Church: visitation does not come until evil has reached a close, that is, when good of charity and truth of faith exist no longer. That close is referred to quite often in the Prophets, as in Isaiah,

A close and a settlement I have heard from the Lord Jehovih Zebaoth over all the earth. Isaiah 28:22.

In Jeremiah,

O Babel, you who dwell on many waters, great in treasures, your end has come, the measure of your gain. Jeremiah 51:13.

In Daniel,

Seventy weeks have been decreed concerning your people and your holy city to bring transgression to a close and to seal up sins and to atone for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophet, and to anoint the Most Holy Place. Daniel 9:24.

At length upon the bird of abominations will come desolation, until a closing and settlement is poured out upon the devastation. Daniel 9:27.

[5] The Lord Himself too foretells the close in these words in Luke,

They will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive among all the gentiles, ¹ and at length Jerusalem will be trodden down by the gentiles' until the times of the nations are fulfilled. Luke 21:24.

'Falling by the edge of the sword' means from falsities, for 'a sword' in the Word is the punishment of falsity. 'Jerusalem' stands for the Lord's kingdom and the Church, 402, 'the gentiles' for evils, 1260. Thus the meaning is that 'the close' has been reached when the Church has become possessed by evils and falsities, and so has been destroyed by its own self.

Voetnoten:

4751. 'What profit is there in our killing our brother and concealing his blood?' means that no advantage would be gained, nor any supremacy, if that truth was completely destroyed. This is clear from the meaning of 'what profit?' as no advantage gained, nor any supremacy, dealt with below; from the meaning of 'killing' as destroying, in this case Divine Truth, specifically the Truth regarding the Lord's Divine Human, which 'brother', that is, Joseph, is used to mean; and from the meaning of 'concealing blood' as removing holy truth completely out of sight, 'blood' meaning holy truth, see above in 4735. The implications of all this are made plain in what follows below.

[2] The reason why 'profit' here means not only advantage but also superiority - that is, why 'what profit?' means that no advantage would be gained, nor any superiority - is that what was said was motivated by the desire for gain and by avarice. For the desire for gain and avarice hold within themselves not only the wish to possess the whole world but also, for the sake of gain, to rob and even to kill no matter whom. Indeed one who is minded in this way would kill for little return if laws did not stand in the way to deter him. Furthermore, in the gold and silver he possesses such a person sees himself as one who is very powerful, however much to outward appearance he seems to be anything but powerful. From this it is evident that avarice includes not only love of the world but also self-love, indeed the foulest self-love. But with the disgustingly avaricious the sense of superiority or arrogance is not so obvious to outward appearance - for sometimes they have no interest in wealth for the sake of show, and do not have that kind of self-love which is usually tied up with the pursuit of pleasures. Indeed the disgustingly avaricious take little interest in their body, or in food and clothing for it. Theirs is a wholly earthly love, aiming at nothing else than money which, they believe, makes them, potentially if not actually, superior to all. From this one may see that avarice holds within it the lowest and basest self-love of all, which is why the avaricious in the next life seem to themselves to live among pigs, 939. They are also opposed more than anyone else to all good whatever. They dwell as a consequence in darkness so thick that they cannot by any means see what good is or what truth is. They do not grasp at all the idea that in the human being there is something internal which lives after death, and in their hearts they mock those who say there is.

[3] The Jewish nation was like this from the start, and for that reason nothing internal could be plainly revealed to it, as is evident from the Old Testament Word. They were indeed rooted in this worst kind of self-love, and therefore, if their avarice had not removed them very far away from internal things and as a consequence had not kept them in thickest darkness, they would have defiled interior truths and goods, and in so defiling them would have rendered them profane more than anyone else did. For they are unable to profane them as long as they do not acknowledge them, 1008, 1010, 1059, 2051, 3398, 3402, 3489, 3898, 4289, 4601. This is why the Lord says of them in John,

You are from your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will to do. He was a murderer from the beginning. John 8:44.

And of Judas Iscariot who represented the Jewish Church He says in the same gospel,

Did I not choose you twelve, but one of you is a devil? John 6:70.

Also when he sold the Lord, Judas' representation was similar to that which Judah has here who said, Come, and let us sell Joseph.