487. 'Days means periods of time and states in general. This has been shown in Chapter 1, where the 'days of creation' have no other meaning. In the Word it is very common for a whole period of time to be called 'a day', as it clearly is in the present verse and in verses 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 23, 27, 31, below; and therefore the states that belong to periods of time in general are meant by 'days' as well. And when 'years' is attached, then periods of years mean the natures of those states, and so the states in particular.

[2] The most ancient people had their own particular numbers which they would use to mean different aspects of the Church - for instance, the numbers three, seven, ten, twelve, and many which they obtained from these and other numbers - and in so doing incorporated states of the Church. These numbers therefore contain arcana that would require considerable effort to unravel. Really a number was an evaluation of the states of the Church. The same feature occurs throughout the Word, especially in the prophetical. And the religious ceremonies of the Jewish Church also entail numbers specifying periods of time as well as quantities; for example, in connection with sacrifices, minchahs, oblations, and other practices, which in every case have special reference to holy things. Consequently eight hundred in this verse, nine hundred and thirty in the next, and the numbers of years mentioned in the verses that follow after that, embody in particular more matters than can possibly be retold; matters, that is to say, which have to do with changes in the state of their Church in relationship to their own general state. Later on, in the Lord's Divine mercy, the meaning of the simple numbers up to twelve will be given, for without knowing these first of all no one can grasp what compound numbers mean.

900. That 'the second month' means the whole of the state prior to regeneration is clear from the meaning of 'two' in the Word. 'Two' has the same meaning as 'six', that is, the conflict and toil that come before regeneration. Thus here it means the whole of the state that comes before a person has been regenerated. In the Word it is common for periods of time, long or short, to be divided into threes or sevens and to be called days, weeks, months, years, or ages. 'Three' and 'seven' are holy, while 'two' or 'six', which come before them, are not holy but in comparison are unholy, as shown already in 720. Three and seven are also sacred numbers because both of them occur in statements concerning the Last Judgement which will take place on the third or the seventh day. It is the last judgement for everybody when the Lord comes, either in general or in particular. That is to say, there was a last judgement when the Lord came into the world; there will be a last judgement when He comes in glory; there is a last judgement when He comes to each person in particular. There is also a last judgement awaiting everyone when he dies. This last judgement is meant by 'the third day' and 'the seventh day'. It is a holy day for people who have lived well, but not for those who have lived wickedly. Consequently 'the third day', and 'the seventh', apply to people for whom judgement points to death as well as to those for whom judgement points to life. In reference to those therefore whose judgement points to death these numbers mean that which is not holy, but in reference to those whose judgement points to life they mean that which is holy. Two or six which come before them relate to, and in general mean, the whole of that state which precedes. This is the meaning of the numbers two and six, whatever the subject and whatever the aspects of it they refer to. This becomes clearer still from what follows next concerning the number 'twenty-seven'.