8211. 'And so it was in the morning watch' means a state of thick darkness and perdition for those steeped in falsity arising from evil, and a state of enlightenment and salvation for those guided by truth springing from good. This is clear from the meaning of 'the morning watch' as a state of enlightenment and salvation, and in the contrary sense as a state of thick darkness and perdition. The reason why 'the morning watch' has this meaning is that states of faith and love in the next life are like the times of day in the world. That is to say, they are like morning, midday, evening, and night; and these therefore also correspond to those states, 2788, 5672, 5862, 6110. The states also change in almost the same ways. Whenever change takes place morning, and in particular twilight, is an end and a beginning; for night comes to an end and day begins. In that state to which morning corresponds the good begin to be enlightened in matters of faith and to grow warmer in aspects of charity. The opposite also takes place, for then the evil begin to be overshadowed by falsities and to be chilled by evils. Consequently morning for the latter is a state of thick darkness and perdition, but for the former a state of enlightenment and salvation.

[2] These states in heaven are what give rise to the states of light and heat on earth, and also the states of thick darkness and cold, which come round in turn each year and each day. Whatever arises in the natural world has its origin and cause in those things that arise in the spiritual world; for to be sure the whole natural order is nothing other than a theatre representative of the Lord's kingdom, 3483, 4939, 5173, 5962. And this is the reason for correspondences. Variations of light and shade on earth, also of heat and cold, are indeed attributable to the sun, that is to say, to its different heights in the sky each year and each day, and in different parts of the earth. Yet these causes, which are proximate ones and exist in the natural world, were created in accordance with those things that exist in the spiritual world. The latter are the prior efficient causes from which the former, their posterior causes, arise in the natural world. For nothing in a state of order can ever exist on a natural level if its cause and origin do not lead back to a spiritual level, that is, to the Divine operating through that level.

[3] Since 'the morning' means the beginning of enlightenment and salvation in respect of the good, and the beginning of thick darkness and perdition in respect of the evil, it therefore says here that in the morning watch Jehovah looked out onto the camp of the Egyptians and troubled it, and then that He took off the wheels of the chariots, and overturned them into the middle of the sea, while on the other hand He saved the children of Israel. All this now makes plain what is meant in the spiritual sense by the following texts in the Word: In Isaiah,

In the day you will cause your plant to grow, and in the morning your seed to flourish. Isaiah 17:11.

In the same prophet,

Around evening time, behold, terror! Before the morning, he is no more. Isaiah 17:14.

In the same prophet,

O Jehovah, be their arm every morning, also our salvation in the time of distress. Isaiah 33:2.

In Ezekiel,

Thus said the Lord Jehovih, An evil, a single evil; behold, it has come. An end has come, the end has come; the morning has come on you, O inhabitant of the land, a day of tumult is near. Ezekiel 7:5-7.

In Hosea,

Thus He did to you, O Bethel, ¹ on account of your great wickedness; ² in the morning the king of Israel will surely be cut off. Hosea 10:15

In David,

Cause me to hear Your mercy in the morning; deliver me from my enemies, O Jehovah. Psalms 143:8-9.

Also in Genesis 19:15 and following verses, stating that when dawn ascended the Lord saved Lot and rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah.

[4] Since 'morning' means a state of enlightenment and salvation of the good, and a state of thick darkness and perdition of the evil, 'morning' also means the time of the last judgement, when those governed by good are to be saved and those ruled by evil will perish. It consequently means the end of a former Church and the beginning of a new Church, which are meant by a last judgement in the Word, 900, 931, 1733, 1850, 2117-2133, 3353, 4057, 4535. This is the meaning of 'morning' in Daniel,

He said to me, Up to the evening [when it is becoming] morning two thousand three hundred times, and then the sanctuary will be made correct. Daniel 8:14.

And in Zephaniah,

Jehovah ... in the morning, in the morning He will bring His judgement to light; He will not fail. I will cut off nations, and their towers ³ will be devastated. Zephaniah 3:5-6.

Also in Isaiah,

One was calling to me from Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? The watchman said, Morning comes, and also the night. If you are inquiring, inquire, return, come. Isaiah 21:11-12.

In these places 'morning' stands for the Lord's Coming, and for enlightenment and salvation then, and so has reference to a new Church. 'Night' stands for the state of mankind and the Church then, that they are steeped in utter falsities arising from evil.

[5] The term 'the morning watch' is used because the night was divided into watches, the last of the night and the first of the day being the morning watch. The watchmen were on top of the walls, looking to see whether an enemy was coming and declaring what they saw by shouting it out. In the internal representative sense they are used to mean the Lord, and His keeping watch to mean constant presence and protection, 7989, as in David,

Your watchman will not slumber; behold, the watchman of Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. Jehovah is your watchman; Jehovah is your shade on your right hand. By day the sun will not strike you, nor the moon in the night. Jehovah will guard you from all evil; He will guard your soul. Psalms 121:3-7.

'Watchmen' is used in addition to mean prophets and priests, consequently the Word, in Isaiah,

Upon your walls, O Jerusalem, I have placed watchmen; all day and all night they will not be silent, calling Jehovah to mind. Isaiah 62:6.

And in Jeremiah,

It is a day [when] the watchmen will cry on Mount Ephraim, Arise in order that we may go up to Zion, to Jehovah our God. Jeremiah 31:6.

脚注:

1850. That 'will I judge' means visitation and judgement becomes clear without explanation. Judging or judgement does not mean some last judgement, as most people suppose, that is to say, a time when heaven and earth are to pass away and then a new heaven and a new earth are to be created, as described in the Prophets and in the Book of Revelation, and thus a time when all things are to be destroyed. This conception has become so widespread that it has taken possession of even the best-informed minds, so much so that they do not believe the dead are to rise again until that time. As a consequence because that time has been foretold and yet after the passing of so many centuries since the prediction was made they do not see it happening or about to do so, they feel safe in confirming themselves in their assurance that there is no truth in the idea, thus that they are not going to rise again. But it should be recognized that no such thing is meant by the Last Judgement, that is, by the prediction that heaven and earth are to be destroyed. According to the sense of the letter that is indeed the meaning, but not according to the internal sense. By the Last Judgement, according to the internal sense, is meant the final period of the Church, and by heaven and earth's passing away is meant the Church as regards internal and external worship - a Church that ceases to be a Church when no charity exists.

[2] A Last Judgement of the Most Ancient Church took place when all charity and faith were at an end and when no perception existed, as was the situation just before the Flood. The Flood itself, which has been dealt with above, was the Last Judgement of that Church. At that point heaven and earth, that is, the Church, passed away, and a new heaven and a new earth, that is, a new Church called the Ancient Church, was created, which too has been dealt with. This Church as well had its final period, namely when all charity was growing cold and all faith was being blacked out. This was about the time of Eber. This period was the Last Judgement of that Church, which was the heaven and earth that passed away.

[3] The new heaven and the new earth was the Hebrew Church. This too had its final period or Last Judgement when it had become idolatrous. A new Church was as a consequence established, and this was accomplished among the descendants of Jacob. That which was called the Jewish Church was nothing other than a Church representative of charity and faith. In that Church, that is, among the descendants of Jacob, no charity or faith existed, and therefore no Church existed but merely the representative of a Church. This was so because direct communication of the Lord's kingdom in the heavens with any true Church on earth was not possible, and therefore an indirect communication by means of representatives was effected. The last period or Last Judgement of this so-called Church was when the Lord came into the world, for at that time representatives came to an end, that is to say, the sacrifices and similar practices did so; and to bring these to an end the Jews were expelled from the land of Canaan.

[4] After this a new heaven and a new earth were created, namely a new Church which must be called the Primitive Church, which was begun by the Lord and after that gradually grew stronger, and which at first possessed charity and faith. The destruction of this Church is foretold by the Lord in the Gospels and by John in the Book of Revelation, and it is this destruction which is called the Last Judgement. Not that heaven and earth are now going to pass away but that a new Church will be raised up in some part of the world, while the present one continues in existence with its external worship just as the Jews do with theirs. As is quite well known, their worship includes no charity or faith at all, that is, nothing of the Church. So much for the Last Judgement in general.

[5] In particular there is a last judgement for everyone immediately after he has died, for at this point he passes over into the next life, in which, once he has entered into the life that was his in the body, he undergoes a judgement that points either to death or to life. This last judgement involves every detail of the person. With him whose judgement is to death every single detail condemns him, for there is nothing in his thought and will, not the smallest thing, that does not show the same as his individual last judgement or draw him towards death. But with him whose judgement is to life, every single detail of his thought or will in a similar way possesses the image of his individual last judgement and bears him towards life. For as is the person in general, so is he in every detail of his thought and affection. These are the things meant by the Last Judgement.