1. THE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW EARTH, AND WHAT IS MEANT BY THE NEW JERUSALEM.

IT is stated in Revelation 21:1-2, 12-24), "I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride before her husband. The city had a wall, great and high; having twelve gates, and over the gates twelve angels; and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, in which were the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb. The city itself lay four-square, and the length thereof was as great as the breadth. And he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs; and the length and the breadth and the height thereof were equal. And he measured the wall thereof, a hundred and forty and four cubits, the measure of a man, which is that of an angel. The wall thereof was of jasper; the city itself, however, was pure gold, like unto pure glass; and the foundations of the wall of the city were of every precious stone. The twelve gates were twelve pearls. And the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. The glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb was the lamp thereof. The nations that were saved shall walk in the light of it; and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and their honour into it."

The man who reads these words, understands them only according to their literal sense; namely, that the visible Heaven with the Earth will perish, and a new heaven take its rise; and that the holy city Jerusalem will come down upon the new earth, and that it will be according to its measures, as described. But the angels understand these words altogether differently; namely, each word which the man understands naturally they understand spiritually; and as the angels understand them, such is their signification and this is the internal, that is, the spiritual sense of the Word.

By the new heaven and the new earth in the internal or spiritual sense in which are the angels, is understood a new Church, in the heavens, as well as on earth: the Church, in either world, will be discussed below.

By the city Jerusalem which comes down from God out of heaven is meant the heavenly doctrine of that Church; by the length, breadth, and height, which are equal, are meant all the goods and truths of that doctrine in the aggregate; by its wall, the truths protecting it; by the measure of the wall, which is a hundred forty and four cubits, and which is the measure of a man, which is that of an angel, are meant all those protecting truths in the aggregate, and their quality.

By the twelve gates which are of pearls are meant the introductory truths; and the same is signified by the twelve angels on the gates; by the foundations of the wall, which are of every precious stone, are meant the knowledges of which that doctrine is founded.

By the twelve tribes of Israel are meant all the things of the Church in general and in particular and the same meant by the twelve Apostles.

By gold like unto pure glass, of which are the city and the street, is meant the good of love, from which doctrine with its truths is translucent.

By the nations that are saved, and the kings of the earth who shall bring glory and honour into the city, are meant all those belonging to the Church who are in goods and truths.

By God and the Lamb is meant the Lord in respect to the very Divine and the Divine Human.

Such is the spiritual sense of the Word, to which the natural sense, which is that of the letter, serves as a basis; but still these two senses, the spiritual and the natural, make one through correspondences.

That such a spiritual meaning is contained in all the above expressions, we have no occasion to show here, because it is not within the design of the present work; but it may be seen demonstrated in the Heavenly Arcana, in the following places: That by Earth, in the Word, is signified the Church, especially when by the earth or land is meant the land of Canaan, Arcana Coelestia 662, 1066, 1067, 1262, 1413, 1607, 2928, 3355, 4447, 4535, 5577, 8011, 9325, 9643; because in the spiritual sense by earth or land is meant the nation which is in the land, and its worship,Arcana Coelestia 1262.

That by the people of the land are meant those who are of the spiritual Church, Arcana Coelestia 2928.

That a new heaven and a new earth signify something new in the heavens and on earth, with respect to goods and truths, and thus with respect to those things which belong to the Church in either world, Arcana Coelestia 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 3355, 4535, 10373.

What is meant by the first heaven and the first earth, that passed away, may be seen in the work on The Last Judgment and the Destruction of Babylon, from beginning to end, but particularly from The Last Judgment 65-72.

That Jerusalem signifies the Church with respect to doctrine, Arcana Coelestia 402, 3654, 9166.

That Towns and Cities signify the doctrines which belong to the Church and religion, Arcana Coelestia 402, 2451, 2712, 2943, 3216, 4492, 4493.

That the Wall of a city signifies the protecting truth of doctrine, Arcana Coelestia 6419.

That the Gates of a city signify the truths which are introductory to doctrine, and by means of doctrine into the Church, Arcana Coelestia 2943, 4477, 4492, 4493.

That by the Twelve Tribes of Israel were represented, and hence signified, all the truths and goods of the Church, in general and in particular, thus all things belonging to faith and love, Arcana Coelestia 3858, 3926, 4060, 6335.

That the same is signified by the Lord's Twelve Apostles, Arcana Coelestia 2129, 2553, 3354, 3488, 3858, 6397.

That when it is said of the Apostles, that they shall sit upon twelve thrones, and judge the twelve tribes of Israel, the meaning is, that all are to be judged according to the truths and goods of the Church, and thus by the Lord, from Whom they are, Arcana Coelestia 2129, 6397.

That Twelve signifies all things in the aggregate, Arcana Coelestia 577, 2089, 2129, 2130, 3272, 3858, 3913; that the same is signified by a hundred and forty-four, because that number arises by multiplying twelve by twelve, Arcana Coelestia 7973.

That twelve thousand also has the same signification, Arcana Coelestia 7973.

That all numbers in the Word signify things, Arcana Coelestia 482, 487, 647, 648, 755, 813, 1963, 1988, 2075, 2252, 3252, 4264, 6175, 9488, 9659, 10217, 10253.

That numbers when multiplied have the same signification as the simple numbers from which they arise by multiplication, Arcana Coelestia 5291, 5335, 5708, 7973.

That a Measure signifies the quality of a thing with respect to truth and good, Arcana Coelestia 3104, 9603, 10262.

That the Foundations of a wall signify the knowledges of the truth on which doctrinals are founded, Arcana Coelestia 9643.

That what is Quadrangular, or Square, signifies what is perfect, Arcana Coelestia 9717, 9861.

That Length signifies good and its extension, and Breadth, truth and its extension, Arcana Coelestia 1613, 9487.

That Precious Stones signify truths from good, Arcana Coelestia 114, 9863, 9865.

What the precious stones in the Urim and Thummim signify, both in general and in particular, Arcana Coelestia 3862, 9864, 9866, 9905, 9891, 9895. What the Jasper of which the wall was built signifies, Arcana Coelestia 9872.

That the Street of the city signifies the truth of doctrine from good, Arcana Coelestia 2336.

That Gold signifies the good of love, Arcana Coelestia 113, Arcana Coelestia 1551-1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 9510, 9874, 9881.

That Glory signifies the Divine Truth, such as it is in heaven, and intelligence and wisdom from it, Arcana Coelestia 4809, 5292, 5922, 8267, 8427, 9429, 10574.

That Nations signify those in the Church who are in good, and hence, in the abstract sense, the goods of the Church, Arcana Coelestia 1059, 1159, 1258, 1260, 1366, 1416, 1849, 4574, 6005, 9255-9256.

That Kings signify those in the Church who are in truths, and, therefore, abstractly, the truth of the Church, Arcana Coelestia 1672, 2015, 2069, 4575, 5044.

That the ceremonies observed at the coronation of kings involve such things as belong to the Divine Truth - which things are treated of - but that the knowledge of these things, at this day, is lost, Arcana Coelestia 4581, 4966.

9642. 'The boards for the south side, southwards' means even to the more internal and the inmost parts [of it], where truth dwells in light. This is clear from the meaning of 'the boards of the dwelling-place' as the good supporting heaven, dealt with in 9634; from the meaning of 'the side (or corner)', when the term is used in reference to the four quarters, as the specific state meant by that quarter, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'the south, southwards' ¹ as the more internal and the inmost parts, where truth dwells in light. 'The south' or 'midday' means a state of light, which is a state of intelligence produced by truths, thus also an interior state; for in the heavens the light, and the intelligence and wisdom that accompany the light, increases towards the more internal parts. Further away from those parts truth dwells in shade; and this state of truth is meant by 'the north'. This then is why 'the south side, southwards' means even to the more internal and the inmost parts, where truth dwells in light.

[2] The same things are meant by 'the south' in Isaiah,

I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Do not withhold. Bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the end of the earth. Isaiah 43:6.

This refers to a new Church. 'Saying to the north' means speaking to those who are in darkness or have no knowledge of the truths of faith, who are gentiles outside the Church. 'Saying to the south' means speaking to those who dwell in the light provided by cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth, who are people within the Church. This explains why the latter are told not to 'withhold' [those sons and daughters], but the former 'to give them up'.

[3] In Ezekiel,

Set your face the way of the south, and drop [your words] towards the south, and prophesy against the forest of the field to the south, and say to the forest of the south, Behold, I am kindling in you a fire, which will devour in you every green tree; and all faces from south to north will be scorched. Set your face towards Jerusalem, and drop [your words] against the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel. Ezekiel 20:46-21:2.

'The south' here stands for those who have the light of truth provided by the Word, thus those who belong to the Church, yet who are influenced by falsities which they substantiate from the sense of the letter of the Word wrongly explained. This is why the expressions 'the forest of the field towards the south' and 'the forest of the south' are used. 'A forest' is a state in which factual knowledge is predominant, whereas 'a garden' is one in which truth is predominant. From this it is evident what the meaning is of 'setting one's face the way of the south, and dropping [one's words] towards the south, and prophesying against the forest of the field to the south', and then of 'set your face towards Jerusalem, and drop [your words] against the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel'. 'Jerusalem' and 'the land of Israel' mean the Church, and 'the sanctuaries' there things of the Church.

[4] In Isaiah,

If you bring out for the hungry your soul ² and satisfy the afflicted soul, your light will rise in the darkness, and your thick darkness will be as at midday. Isaiah 58:10.

'Darkness' and 'thick darkness' stand for lack of knowledge of truth and good, 'light' and 'midday' for an understanding of them. In the same prophet, Give counsel, execute judgement, set your shade like the night in the middle of the day; ³ hide the outcasts, do not reveal the wanderer. Isaiah 16:3.

'In the middle of the day' stands for in the midst of the light of truth. In Jeremiah,

Prepare for ⁴ battle against the daughter of Zion; arise, and let us go up into the south, ⁵ for the day goes away, for the shadows of evening are set at an angle. Jeremiah 6:4.

'Going up into the south' stands for going up against the Church, where truth dwells in light from the Word. In Amos,

I will make the sun go down in the south, ⁵ and I will darken the land in broad daylight. Amos 8:9.

This stands for blotting out all the light of truth which is provided by the Word.

[5] In David,

You will not be afraid of the terror of the night, of the arrow that flies by day, of the pestilence in thick darkness, of death that lays waste at noonday. Psalms 91:5-6.

'The terror of the night' stands for falsities arising from evil that come from hell; 'the arrow that flies by day' stands for falsity which is taught openly; 'death that lays waste at noonday' stands for evil that is openly present in people's lives, and that destroys truth wherever it is able to dwell in its own light from the Word.

[6] And in Isaiah,

The prophecy of the wilderness of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south sweep through, ⁶ it comes from the wilderness, from a terrible land. Isaiah 21:1.

In Daniel,

The he-goat of the she-goats made himself exceedingly great, and his horn grew exceedingly towards the south, and towards the east, and towards the glorious [land]. And it grew even towards the host of heaven, and cast down to the earth some of the host, and of the stars, and trampled on them. Daniel 8:8-10.

This refers to the state of the future Church. It foretells that the Church will be ruined by teachings about faith separated from the good of charity, 'the he-goat of the she-goats' being this kind of faith, 4169 (end), 4769. 'The horn's growing towards the south' stands for the power of falsity from this faith directed against truths, 'towards the east' for directing it against forms of good, and 'towards the glorious [land]' for directing it against the Church. 'Towards the host of heaven' stands for directing that power against all the forms of good and the truths belonging to heaven, and 'casting down to the earth some of the host, and of the stars' stands for destroying these, and also even the cognitions or knowledge of good and truth, 4697.

[7] The whole of Chapter 11 in the same prophet describes a war between the king of the south and the king of the north. 'The king of the south' means the light of truth derived from the Word, and 'the king of the north' reasoning about truths which is based on factual knowledge. The shifting fortunes which the Church will experience until it ceases to exist are described by the different phases in the course of that war.

[8] Because 'the south' meant truth dwelling in light it was decreed that the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, and Gad should camp towards the south, Numbers 2:10-15. Encampments represented the arrangement of all things in heaven as determined by the truths and forms of the good of faith and love, 4236, 8103 (end), 8193, 8196, and 'the twelve tribes' which formed the camp meant all the truths and forms of good in their entirety, 3858, 3862, 3926, 3939, 4060, 6335, 6337, 6397, 6640, 7836, 7891, 7996, 7997. 'The tribe of Reuben' meant the truth of faith present in doctrine, 3861, 3866, 5542, 'the tribe of Simeon' the truth of faith subsequently present in life, 3869-3872, 4497, 4502, 4503, 5482, and 'the tribe of Gad' works motivated by that truth in doctrine and life, 6404, 6405. From these meanings it is evident why these three camped towards the south; for all things on the side of truth or faith belong in the south because they are in light.

[9] From all this it is now clear what 'the south side' means, namely where the state of truth dwelling in light is to be found. For all states of the good of love and the truth of faith are meant by the four corners of the earth, states of the good of love being meant by the east and west sides, and states of the truth of faith by the south and north ones. Much the same is meant by 'the four winds', as in the Book of Revelation,

... angels standing over the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, in order that the wind should not blow onto the earth. Revelation 7:1.

And elsewhere,

Satan will come out to deceive the nations which are at the four corners of the earth. Revelation 20:7-8.

In Matthew,

He will send angels, and gather the elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. ⁷ Matthew 24:31.

And in Ezekiel,

Come from the four winds, O spirit, and breathe into these killed, that they may live. Ezekiel 37:9.

[10] Because those winds, that is, those four quarters, meant all aspects of good and truth, thus all aspects of heaven and the Church, and 'a temple' meant heaven or the Church, it had been the custom since ancient times to site temples in an east-west direction. This was because the east meant the good of love on the rise, and the west the good of love on the decline. This custom had its origin in representative signs, which were well known to the ancients who belonged to the Church.

Fusnotat:

2015. That 'kings will come out of you' means that all truth comes from Him is clear from the meaning of 'a king' as truth in both the historical and the prophetical sections of the Word, as stated in 1672 but not yet shown to be so. From the meaning of 'nations' as goods, and from the meaning of 'kings' as truths, the nature of the internal sense of the Word becomes clear, and also how remote it is from the sense of the letter. No one reading the Word, especially the historical section, believes anything other than that 'nations' referred to there means nations, or that 'kings' there means kings, and therefore that the nations mentioned there, or the kings, are the real subject of the very Word itself. But when the idea of nations and also of kings reaches angels it perishes altogether, and good and truth take their place instead. This is bound to seem strange and indeed a paradox, but it is nevertheless the truth. The matter may also become clear to anyone from the fact that if nations were meant in the Word by 'nations' and kings by 'kings', the Word of the Lord would hardly embody anything more than some historical or other piece of writing and so would be something of a worldly nature, when in fact everything in the Word is Divine and so is celestial and spiritual.

[2] Take merely the statement in the present verse about Abraham's being made fruitful, nations being made of him, and kings coming out of him. What else is this but something purely worldly and nothing at all heavenly? Indeed these assertions entail no more than the glory of this world, a glory which is absolutely nothing in heaven. But if this is the Word of the Lord then its glory must be that of heaven, not that of the world. This also is why the sense of the letter is completely erased and disappears when it passes into heaven, and is purified in such a way that nothing worldly at all is intermingled. For 'Abraham' is not used to mean Abraham but the Lord; nor is 'being fruitful' used to mean his descendants who would increase more and more but the endless growth of good belonging to the Lord's Human Essence. 'Nations' do not mean nations but goods, and 'kings' do not mean kings but truths. Nevertheless the narrative in the sense of the letter remains historically true, for Abraham was indeed spoken to in this way; and he was indeed made fruitful in this way, with nations as well as kings descending from him.

[3] That 'kings' means truths becomes clear from the following places: In Isaiah,

The sons of the foreigner will build up your walls, and their kings will minister to you. You will suck the milk of nations, and the breast of kings will you suck. Isaiah 60:10, 16.

What 'sucking the milk of nations and the breast of kings' means is not at all evident from the letter but from the internal sense, in which being endowed with goods and instructed in truths is meant. In Jeremiah,

There will enter through the gates of this city kings and princes seated on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses. Jeremiah 17:25; 22:4.

'Riding in chariots and on horses' is a prophecy meaning the abundance of things of the understanding, as becomes clear from very many places in the Prophets. Thus the prophecy that 'kings will enter through the gates of the city' means in the internal sense that they were to be endowed with truths of faith. This sense of the Word is the heavenly sense into which the worldly sense of the letter passes.

[4] In the same prophet,

Jehovah has spurned in His fierce indignation king and priest. The gates of Zion have sunk into the ground, He has destroyed and broken in pieces her bars. King and princes are among the nations; the law is no more. Lamentations 2:6, 9.

Here 'king' stands for the truth of faith, 'priest' for the good of charity, 'Zion' for the Church, which is destroyed and its bars broken in pieces. Consequently 'king and princes among the nations', that is, truth and what belongs to truth, will be so completely banished that 'the law is no more', that is, nothing of the doctrine of faith will exist any more. In Isaiah,

Before the boy knows to refuse evil and to choose good, the ground will be abandoned which you loathe in the presence of its two kings. Isaiah 7:16.

This refers to the Lord's Coming. 'The land that will be abandoned' stands for faith which at that time would not exist. 'The kings' are the truths of faith which would be loathed.

[5] In the same prophet,

I will lift up My hand to the nations and raise My ensign to the peoples; and they will bring your sons in their bosom, and your daughters will be carried on their shoulder. Kings will be your foster fathers and their queens your wet-nurses. Isaiah 49:22-23.

'Nations' and 'daughters' stand for goods, 'peoples' and 'sons' for truths, as shown in Volume One. That 'nations' stands for goods, 1259, 1260, 1416, 1849, as does 'daughters', 489-491, while 'peoples' stands for truths, 1259, 1260, as does 'sons', 489, 491, 533, 1147. 'Kings' therefore stands for truths, in general by which they will be nourished, and 'queens' for goods by which they will be suckled. Whether you speak of goods and truths or of those who are governed by goods and truths it amounts to the same.

[6] In the same prophet,

He will spatter many nations, kings will shut their mouths because of him, ¹ for that which has [not] been told them they have seen, and that which they have not heard they have understood. Isaiah 52:15.

This refers to the Lord's Coming. 'Nations' stands for those who are stirred by an affection for goods, 'kings' those who are stirred by an affection for truths. In David,

Now, O kings, be intelligent; be instructed, O judges of the earth. Serve Jehovah with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son lest He perhaps be angry and you perish in the way. Psalms 2:10-12.

'Kings' stands for people who are governed by truths, and who by virtue of truths are also in many places called 'king's sons'. 'The Son' here stands for the Lord, and he is called the Son here because he is Truth itself, and the source of all truth.

[7] In John,

They will sing a new song, You are worthy to take the Book and to open its seals. You have made us kings and priests to our God so that we shall reign on the earth. Revelation 5:9-10.

Here people who are governed by truths are called 'kings'. The Lord also calls them 'the sons of the kingdom' in Matthew,

He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the seed are the sons of the kingdom, and the tares are the sons of the evil one. Matthew 13:37-38.

In John,

The sixth angel poured out his bowl over the great river Euphrates and its water was dried up to prepare the way of the kings who were from the east. Revelation 16:12.

'Euphrates' clearly does not mean the Euphrates, nor does 'kings from the east' mean kings from that quarter. What 'Euphrates' does mean may be seen in 120, 1585, 1866, from which it is evident that 'the way of the kings who were from the cast' means truths of faith that derive from goods of love.

[8] In the same book,

The nations that are saved will walk in its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory and honour into it. Revelation 21:24.

Here 'nations' stands for people who are governed by goods, 'kings of the earth' for those who are governed by truths, which is also evident from the fact that the details here are prophetical, not historical. In the same book,

With the great harlot seated on many waters the kings of the earth have committed whoredom and have become drunk with the wine of her whoredom. Revelation 17:2.

And elsewhere in the same book,

Babylon has given all nations drink from the wine of the fury of her whoredom; and the kings of the earth have committed whoredom with her. Revelation 18:1, 3, 9.

Here similarly it is clear that 'the kings of the earth' does not mean kings, for the subject is the falsification and adulteration of the doctrine of faith, that is, of truth, which are 'whoredom'. 'Kings of the earth' stands for truths that have been falsified and adulterated.

[9] In the same book,

The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom but are receiving authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. These will be of one mind, and they will hand over power and authority to the beast. Revelation 17:12-13.

That 'kings' here does not mean kings may also be evident to anyone. If kings were meant, then 'ten kings receiving authority as kings for one hour' would be quite unintelligible, as similarly with the following words in the same book,

I saw the beast and the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered to make war with Him who was sitting on the horse, and with His army. Revelation 19:19

In verse 13 of the same chapter it is stated explicitly that the One who was sitting on the horse was The Word of God, against which the kings of the earth are said to have been gathered. 'The beast' stands for goods of love that have been profaned, 'kings' for truths of faith that have been adulterated; these are called 'kings of the earth' because they exist within the Church - 'earth' meaning the Church, see 662, 1066, 1067, 1262. 'The white horse' stands for the understanding of truth, 'He who was sitting on the horse' for the Word. This matter is plainer still in Daniel 11, describing the war between the king of the south and the king of the north, by which is meant the conflict of truths with falsities. Here such conflicts are described as a war that took place in history.

[10] Since 'a king' means truth, what is meant in the internal sense when the Lord is called King, and also a Priest, is made clear; and what essential quality of the Lord was represented by kings, and what by priests, is also made clear. 'Kings' represented His Divine Truth, and 'priests' His Divine Good. All the laws of order by which the Lord governs the universe as King are truths, while all the laws by which He governs the universe as Priest and by which He rules even over truths themselves are goods. For government from truths alone condemns everyone to hell, but government from goods lifts them out of that place and raises them up into heaven; see 1728. Because, in the Lord's case, these two - truths and goods - are joined together, they were also represented in ancient times by kingship and priesthood combined, as with Melchizedek who was at one and the same time king of Salem and priest to God Most High, Genesis 14:18. And at a later time among the Jews where the representative Church was established in a form of its own He was represented by judges and priests, and after that by kings.

[11] But because 'kings' represented truths which ought not to be paramount for the reason, already stated, that they condemn, the very idea was so objectionable that the Jews were reproached for it. The nature of truth regarded in itself has been described in 1 Samuel 8:11-18, as the rights of a king; and previous to that, in Moses, in Deuteronomy 17:14-18, they had been commanded through Moses to choose genuine truth deriving from good, not spurious truth, and not to pollute it with reasonings and factual knowledge. These are the considerations which the directive concerning a king given in the place in Moses referred to above embodies within itself. No one can possibly see this from the sense of the letter, but it is nevertheless evident from the details within the internal sense. This shows why 'a king' and 'kingship' represented and meant nothing other than truth.

Fusnotat: