753. CHAPTER FOURTEEN

THE ENDING OF THE AGE, THE LORD'S COMING, AND THE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW CHURCH

I. The ending of the age is the final period or end of the church.

This earth has seen a number of churches, all of which have in course of time reached their end, and after this new ones have come into existence, and the process has continued up to the present day. A church reaches its end when there is no longer any Divine truth left in it, but only falsified or rejected truth. When there is no real truth, there cannot be any real good, since the whole quality of good is formed by means of truths; for good is the essence of truth, and truth is the form of good, and no quality can exist without form. Good and truth can no more be separated than the will and the understanding, or, what is the same thing, the affection of love and the thought it gives rise to. Consequently, when the truth in a church reaches its end, so does its good. When this happens, then the church is terminated, that is, it reaches its end.

In Genesis 24:56, this signifies that the will of affection for good is not to be thwarted because the state for its progression is full. (Arcana Coelestia 3176)

In Numbers 22:16, this signifies no impediment to the lusts of people who would destroy the church. (Arcana Coelestia 2799)

In Isaiah 14:6, this signifies that they have been permitted to adulterate the goods of the church and profane its truths. (The Inner Meaning of the Prophets and Psalms 14, Arcana Coelestia 3147)