694. And thine anger is come, and the time of the dead to be judged.- That this signifies the last judgment upon those who interiorly possess in themselves nothing of good and truth, is evident from the signification of anger, as meaning in reference to the Lord, a last judgment (concerning which see above n. 413); that this is signified here by anger is clear, for the words, "and the time of the dead, to be judged" follow; and from the signification of the dead, as denoting those who interiorly possess in themselves nothing of good and truth. Such are called dead, because the very life of man is his spiritual life, for through this he is a man, and is distinguished from the beasts, which have only a natural life. In man the natural life without the spiritual life is dead, since it has not heaven in itself, which is called life and also eternal life, but hell, which is spiritually called death. That those who live a natural life merely, and not at the same time a spiritual life, are meant by the dead in the Word, may be seen above (n. 78). That death, when spoken of man, means a lack of ability to understand truth and perceive good, may also be seen above (n. 550); and this defect exists when the internal spiritual man has not been formed, for this is formed by means of truths from good. In this internal man resides the faculty of understanding truth and of perceiving good, for this man is in heaven and in the light thereof, and he who is in the light of heaven is a living man. But when the natural man only has been formed, and not at the same time the spiritual, then there is no faculty of understanding and perceiving the truths and goods of heaven and of the church, because such a man has no light from heaven; for this reason such a man is called dead. That those who do not interiorly possess in themselves anything of good and truth are here meant by the dead who are to be judged, is evident also from what has been said before about the separation of the evil from the good before the Last Judgment, and from this, that the evil, when they have been separated, come into their interiors, which abound in mere evils and falsities; this makes it clear, that interiorly they were dead, although in the external form they appeared to be living.

550. And in those days men shall seek death, and shall not find it.- That this signifies, that in such case they will desire to destroy the faculty of understanding truth, but that still they cannot, is evident from the signification of in those days, as denoting at that time, namely, when the man of the church from internal becomes external, or from rational becomes sensual; and from the signification of seeking death, as denoting a desire to destroy the faculty of understanding truth, of which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of not finding it, as denoting not to be able to destroy. That by seeking death is here signified a desire to destroy the faculty of understanding truth, is clear from what precedes, because it follows as a consequence; for it was said, that the locusts should hurt the men only who had not the seal of God on their foreheads, and afterwards, that to them it was given that they should not kill them, but should torment them, which signifies that they should injure only the understanding of truth and the perception of good with those who are not in truths from good from the Lord, but that still they should not deprive them of the faculty of understanding truth, and perceiving good; see above (n. 546, 547). It therefore follows, that by the death which they seek, and desire, is signified the privation of the faculty of understanding truth and perceiving good, and to destroy these would be to destroy that life which is properly human; for in such case a man would be no longer a man, but a beast, as said above; and hence it is evident, that the privation of that life is what is signified here by death. They desire to destroy the two faculties of that life which is truly human, because sensual men, from the persuasion concerning the falsities of evil in which they are, do not desire to understand truth and perceive good, for they are delighted with their own falsities of evil, and hence with thinking from the delight of falsity, and with willing from the delight of evil, wherefore they avert themselves from good and truth, because these are the opposites; some are sad because of them, some feel disgust at them, and some reject them with anger, every one according to the quantity and quality of the falsity of which he is persuaded. In a word, such a sensual man does not admit rational considerations from the understanding against the falsities of evil in which he is, and therefore he does not desire to understand and to become rational, although he has the power of becoming so, because he is a man. This, therefore, is the signification of "they shall seek death, and shall not find it."