7978. 'And they baked the dough which they brought out of Egypt - unleavened cakes' means that from the truth of good further good was produced that had no falsity at all in it. This is clear from the meaning of 'baking' - when used in reference to the truth of good, meant by 'the dough' - as producing; from the meaning of 'the dough' as the truth of good, dealt with above in 7966; and from the meaning of 'unleavened cakes' as forms of good that have no falsity at all in them, since 'unleavened' means without falsity, see 2342, 7906. This is the second state of truth from good that they passed through when they were delivered, see above in 7966, 7972. The reason why 'cakes' means forms of good is that they are cakes of bread, and 'bread' in the internal sense is the good of love, dealt with in 276, 680, 2165, 2177, 3464, 3478, 3735, 3813, 4211, 4217, 4735, 4976, 5915. But bread in the form of cakes is distinguished from bread in general, in that bread in the form of cakes means the good of love towards the neighbour, which is spiritual good, while bread in general means the good of love to the Lord, which is celestial good. Such spiritual good was meant by 'the minchah' which was offered and burned with the sacrifice on the altar; for 'the minchah' was baked into cakes and into wafers, as is made clear in Exodus 29:2-3, 23-24, 32; Leviticus 2:2 and following verses; 6:20-21; Numbers 6:15, 19; 15:18-21.

[2] Something similar was meant by 'the twelve loaves of the presence which too were baked into cakes, described in Moses as follows,

You shall take fine flour and bake it into twelve cakes; two-tenths [of an ephah] shall there be in one cake. And you shall place them in two rows, six in a row, on the clean table before Jehovah. And you shall put pure frankincense on each row, and it shall be loaves of bread serving as a memorial, a fire-offering to Jehovah. Leviticus 24:5-9.

From these instructions it becomes clear that 'the loaves' meant what was holy, for such instructions would never have been issued but for that reason. And since they meant what was holy they were also called in verse 9 of the same chapter 'holiness of holinesses.' ¹ But these loaves meant the good of celestial love, and their being baked into cakes meant forms of the good of spiritual love. From these verses and from those in the references given above it becomes clear that something similar is meant by the bread in the Holy Supper.

脚注:

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.