3963. 'Afterwards she bore a daughter' means the affection for all these, and also means the Church of faith in which good is present. This is clear from the meaning of 'a daughter' as an affection, and also as a Church, dealt with in 2363. But as to what the object of the affection is, or what kind of Church is meant, this is evident from whatever is added on to the word 'daughter'. For example, it is evident from the addition of 'Zion' after 'daughter' that the celestial Church, which is called 'the daughter of Zion', is meant; from the addition of 'Jerusalem' that the spiritual Church, which is referred to as 'the daughter of Jerusalem', is meant, and so on. In the present verse, in which nothing is added on to it, 'daughter' means the Church of faith in which good is present. For up to this point the subject has been the general truths which constitute faith in which good is present, and the reception and acknowledgement of those truths, that is to say, the truths that were meant, as has been shown, by the ten sons of Jacob dealt with above. And since immediately after these sons reference is made to the birth of a daughter it is evident from the train of thought that a Church is meant in which all these truths are present.

[2] Whether you call it the Church of faith in which good is present, or you call it the spiritual Church, it amounts to the same; or again if you call it the affection for all these, that is, all these general truths. For it is from the affection for truth in which good is present, and the affection for good from which truth springs, that the Church has its being, not from the affection for truth in which good is not present or the affection for good from which truth does not spring. People who are governed by an affection for truth but not by the good from which truth springs, that is, who do not live according to truths, are much mistaken when they say that they belong to the Church. Though within a congregation, they are outside the Church, for they are governed by the affection for evil to which truth cannot be joined. Their affection for truth does not originate in the Lord but in themselves, for they have themselves in view, their intention being by means of the truth they know to earn repute, and thereby important positions and wealth. But they do not have the Church in view, or the Lord's kingdom, let alone the Lord. But people governed by the affection for good from which truth does not spring do not belong to the Church even though they are within a congregation, for they are governed by natural good, not by spiritual, and allow themselves to be led into every kind of evil and also of falsity, provided that evil is made to look like good and falsity to look like truth, see 3470, 3471, 3518.

931. That 'during all the days of the earth' means the whole of time is clear from the meaning of 'day' as a period of time, see 23, 487, 488, 493. Here therefore 'days of the earth' is the whole time the earth remains, or is inhabited. The earth ceases to be inhabited the moment the Church is no more. For when the Church is no more, no communication of man with heaven exists any longer, and when this communication comes to an end every inhabitant perishes. As stated already, the Church is like the heart and lungs in the individual. As long as the heart is sound, and also the lungs, the individual is alive; and the same applies to the Church and its relationship to the Grand Man, which is heaven in its entirety. This is the reason for the statement here 'during all the days of the earth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night will not cease'. From this it also becomes clear that the earth is not going to last for ever, but that it too will come to an end, for the reference is 'all the days of the earth', that is, as long as the earth remains.

[2] People are however mistaken in their belief that the end of the earth will be one and the same event as the Last Judgement referred to in the Word, that is to say, where the close of the age, the day of visitation, and the Last Judgement, are described. For a last judgement befalls every Church when it has been vastated, that is, when no faith exists there any longer. A last judgement on the Most Ancient Church took Place when it perished, as it did among its final descendants who lived immediately prior to the Flood. A last judgement on the Jewish Church took place when the Lord came into the world. And a further last judgement will take place when the Lord comes in glory. This does not mean that at that time the earth and the world are going to be destroyed, but that the Church is destroyed and, as always happens, a new Church is raised up by the Lord at that time. At the time of the Flood the Ancient Church was raised up, at the time of the Lord's Coming the primitive Church among gentiles; and the same will happen when the Lord comes in glory. It is also what 'a new heaven and a new earth' are used to mean.

[3] It is similar with everyone who has been regenerated and becomes a member of the Church, that is, becomes the Church. When he has been created anew his internal man is called 'a new heaven' and his external 'a new earth'. In addition a last judgement awaits everybody when he dies, for at that point, according to how he has acted during his lifetime, his judgement points either to death or to life. The fact that the close of the age, the end of days, or the Last Judgement have no other meaning, and do not therefore mean the destruction of the world, is quite clear from the Lord's words in Luke,

In that night there will be two in one bed, one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding together, one will be taken and the other left. Two will be in the field, one will be taken and the other left. Luke 17:34-36.

Here the last times are called 'night' because no faith, that is, no charity exists. The fact that some will be 'left' however is a clear indication that the world is not going to be destroyed at that time.