877. For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. This symbolizes the heavens formed, not by the Lord, but by the people themselves who came into the spiritual world from the Christian world, all of which were dispersed at the time of the Last Judgment.

That these heavens and no others are the heavens meant by the first heaven and the first earth that had passed away, may be seen in no. 865 above, where we explained the words, "I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face heaven and earth fled away" (Revelation 20:11), and where we showed that the statement symbolizes a universal judgment executed by the Lord on all the former heavens that were occupied by people possessing a civil and moral goodness, but no spiritual goodness, thus who gave the appearance of being Christians outwardly, but who inwardly were devils; whose heavens with their lands were totally dispersed.

More on this subject may be seen in the short work, The Last Judgment (London, 1758), and in A Continuation Concerning the Last Judgment (Amsterdam, 1763), to which it is unnecessary to add more.

845. 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was entrusted to them. This symbolically means that the Word's truths were laid open, in accordance with which all people are judged, and those in the lower earth were then raised up, who had been hidden away by the Lord to keep the dragon and its beasts from leading them astray.

This is the symbolic meaning of these words because the thrones on which they sat do not mean thrones, but judgment in accordance with the Word's truths. That thrones seen in heaven represent judgment may be seen in no. 229 above. That nothing else is meant by the thrones on which the twenty-four elders sat, ¹ and on which the twelve apostles would sit, ² and that all people are judged in accordance with the Word's truths, may be seen in no. 233 above. It is apparent therefore that the judgment entrusted to them symbolizes a judgment given to the Word's truths.

[2] The people are those who were raised by the Lord from the lower earth into heaven, who in the meantime were hidden away there to keep the dragon and its beasts from leading them astray, because the reference is to the souls of those who had been beheaded, and to the dead, as mentioned next. Not that they seemed dead to themselves, but that they so appeared to others.

The place where they were hidden away is called a lower earth, which exists just above the hells, below the world of spirits, and there, by a communication with heaven and by a conjunction with the Lord, they lived in safety. There are many such places, and the people there live happily with each other and worship the Lord. Nor do they have any knowledge of hell. After a last judgment the people who are there are from time to time raised by the Lord into heaven, and when they are being raised, those meant by the dragon are removed.

I have often been given to see them raised into the company of angels in heaven. This is what is meant in the Word by graves being opened and the dead rising again.

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