1. THE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW EARTH, AND WHAT IS MEANT BY THE NEW JERUSALEM.

IT is stated in Revelation 21:1-2, 12-24), "I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride before her husband. The city had a wall, great and high; having twelve gates, and over the gates twelve angels; and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, in which were the names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb. The city itself lay four-square, and the length thereof was as great as the breadth. And he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs; and the length and the breadth and the height thereof were equal. And he measured the wall thereof, a hundred and forty and four cubits, the measure of a man, which is that of an angel. The wall thereof was of jasper; the city itself, however, was pure gold, like unto pure glass; and the foundations of the wall of the city were of every precious stone. The twelve gates were twelve pearls. And the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. The glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb was the lamp thereof. The nations that were saved shall walk in the light of it; and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and their honour into it."

The man who reads these words, understands them only according to their literal sense; namely, that the visible Heaven with the Earth will perish, and a new heaven take its rise; and that the holy city Jerusalem will come down upon the new earth, and that it will be according to its measures, as described. But the angels understand these words altogether differently; namely, each word which the man understands naturally they understand spiritually; and as the angels understand them, such is their signification and this is the internal, that is, the spiritual sense of the Word.

By the new heaven and the new earth in the internal or spiritual sense in which are the angels, is understood a new Church, in the heavens, as well as on earth: the Church, in either world, will be discussed below.

By the city Jerusalem which comes down from God out of heaven is meant the heavenly doctrine of that Church; by the length, breadth, and height, which are equal, are meant all the goods and truths of that doctrine in the aggregate; by its wall, the truths protecting it; by the measure of the wall, which is a hundred forty and four cubits, and which is the measure of a man, which is that of an angel, are meant all those protecting truths in the aggregate, and their quality.

By the twelve gates which are of pearls are meant the introductory truths; and the same is signified by the twelve angels on the gates; by the foundations of the wall, which are of every precious stone, are meant the knowledges of which that doctrine is founded.

By the twelve tribes of Israel are meant all the things of the Church in general and in particular and the same meant by the twelve Apostles.

By gold like unto pure glass, of which are the city and the street, is meant the good of love, from which doctrine with its truths is translucent.

By the nations that are saved, and the kings of the earth who shall bring glory and honour into the city, are meant all those belonging to the Church who are in goods and truths.

By God and the Lamb is meant the Lord in respect to the very Divine and the Divine Human.

Such is the spiritual sense of the Word, to which the natural sense, which is that of the letter, serves as a basis; but still these two senses, the spiritual and the natural, make one through correspondences.

That such a spiritual meaning is contained in all the above expressions, we have no occasion to show here, because it is not within the design of the present work; but it may be seen demonstrated in the Heavenly Arcana, in the following places: That by Earth, in the Word, is signified the Church, especially when by the earth or land is meant the land of Canaan, Arcana Coelestia 662, 1066, 1067, 1262, 1413, 1607, 2928, 3355, 4447, 4535, 5577, 8011, 9325, 9643; because in the spiritual sense by earth or land is meant the nation which is in the land, and its worship,Arcana Coelestia 1262.

That by the people of the land are meant those who are of the spiritual Church, Arcana Coelestia 2928.

That a new heaven and a new earth signify something new in the heavens and on earth, with respect to goods and truths, and thus with respect to those things which belong to the Church in either world, Arcana Coelestia 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 3355, 4535, 10373.

What is meant by the first heaven and the first earth, that passed away, may be seen in the work on The Last Judgment and the Destruction of Babylon, from beginning to end, but particularly from The Last Judgment 65-72.

That Jerusalem signifies the Church with respect to doctrine, Arcana Coelestia 402, 3654, 9166.

That Towns and Cities signify the doctrines which belong to the Church and religion, Arcana Coelestia 402, 2451, 2712, 2943, 3216, 4492, 4493.

That the Wall of a city signifies the protecting truth of doctrine, Arcana Coelestia 6419.

That the Gates of a city signify the truths which are introductory to doctrine, and by means of doctrine into the Church, Arcana Coelestia 2943, 4477, 4492, 4493.

That by the Twelve Tribes of Israel were represented, and hence signified, all the truths and goods of the Church, in general and in particular, thus all things belonging to faith and love, Arcana Coelestia 3858, 3926, 4060, 6335.

That the same is signified by the Lord's Twelve Apostles, Arcana Coelestia 2129, 2553, 3354, 3488, 3858, 6397.

That when it is said of the Apostles, that they shall sit upon twelve thrones, and judge the twelve tribes of Israel, the meaning is, that all are to be judged according to the truths and goods of the Church, and thus by the Lord, from Whom they are, Arcana Coelestia 2129, 6397.

That Twelve signifies all things in the aggregate, Arcana Coelestia 577, 2089, 2129, 2130, 3272, 3858, 3913; that the same is signified by a hundred and forty-four, because that number arises by multiplying twelve by twelve, Arcana Coelestia 7973.

That twelve thousand also has the same signification, Arcana Coelestia 7973.

That all numbers in the Word signify things, Arcana Coelestia 482, 487, 647, 648, 755, 813, 1963, 1988, 2075, 2252, 3252, 4264, 6175, 9488, 9659, 10217, 10253.

That numbers when multiplied have the same signification as the simple numbers from which they arise by multiplication, Arcana Coelestia 5291, 5335, 5708, 7973.

That a Measure signifies the quality of a thing with respect to truth and good, Arcana Coelestia 3104, 9603, 10262.

That the Foundations of a wall signify the knowledges of the truth on which doctrinals are founded, Arcana Coelestia 9643.

That what is Quadrangular, or Square, signifies what is perfect, Arcana Coelestia 9717, 9861.

That Length signifies good and its extension, and Breadth, truth and its extension, Arcana Coelestia 1613, 9487.

That Precious Stones signify truths from good, Arcana Coelestia 114, 9863, 9865.

What the precious stones in the Urim and Thummim signify, both in general and in particular, Arcana Coelestia 3862, 9864, 9866, 9905, 9891, 9895. What the Jasper of which the wall was built signifies, Arcana Coelestia 9872.

That the Street of the city signifies the truth of doctrine from good, Arcana Coelestia 2336.

That Gold signifies the good of love, Arcana Coelestia 113, Arcana Coelestia 1551-1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 9510, 9874, 9881.

That Glory signifies the Divine Truth, such as it is in heaven, and intelligence and wisdom from it, Arcana Coelestia 4809, 5292, 5922, 8267, 8427, 9429, 10574.

That Nations signify those in the Church who are in good, and hence, in the abstract sense, the goods of the Church, Arcana Coelestia 1059, 1159, 1258, 1260, 1366, 1416, 1849, 4574, 6005, 9255-9256.

That Kings signify those in the Church who are in truths, and, therefore, abstractly, the truth of the Church, Arcana Coelestia 1672, 2015, 2069, 4575, 5044.

That the ceremonies observed at the coronation of kings involve such things as belong to the Divine Truth - which things are treated of - but that the knowledge of these things, at this day, is lost, Arcana Coelestia 4581, 4966.

4535. The preliminary sections of previous chapters - Chapter 26 onwards - explained what the Lord foretold about His Coming or THE CLOSE OF THE AGE. Frequently in those sections it has been shown that His Coming or the Close of the Age means the last period of the Church, which in the Word is called the Last Judgement. Those who do not look beyond the literal sense cannot know of the Last Judgement as anything else than the destruction of the world, the particular source for such an idea being the Book of Revelation. There it is said that [John] saw 'a new heaven and a new earth, for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away; and there was no more sea', and in addition that he saw 'the Holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven', Revelation 21:1-2. Prophetical utterances in Isaiah, where similar predictions occur, are also a source of the same idea,

Behold, I am creating new heavens and a new earth; therefore the former things will not be remembered or come to mind. ¹ Be glad and rejoice for ever in the things I am creating; behold, I will create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. Isaiah 65:17-18; 66:22.

[2] Those who do not look beyond the literal sense cannot conceive of anything else than this - that the whole sky together with this planet will be annihilated, and then the dead - for the first time - will rise again and dwell in the new heaven and on the new earth. But these places in the Word should not be understood in that way, as may be recognized from other places in the Word where the heavens and the earth are referred to. Those who have any belief in an internal sense can see plainly that 'a new heaven' and 'a new earth' are used to mean a new Church which takes over when the previous one passes away, 1733, 1850, 3355 (end), and that 'heaven' is the internal aspect of that new Church and 'earth' the external aspect of it.

[3] This last period of the previous Church and the first of the new one are also called the Close of the Age, about which the Lord has spoken in Matthew 24. They are called also His Coming, for at that time the Lord departs from the previous Church and comes to the new. The description of that period as the Close of the Age may also be seen from other places in the Word, as in Isaiah,

On that day a remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the God of power. For though your people Israel will be as the sand of the sea, a remnant of it will return. The close has been determined, overflowing with righteousness, for the Lord Jehovih Zebaoth is bringing the whole earth to its close and to its determined end. Isaiah 10:20-23.

In the same prophet,

Now do not be derisive, lest your punishments increase, for a close and a cutting off I have heard from the Lord Jehovih Zebaoth over the whole earth. Isaiah 28:22.

In Jeremiah,

Thus said Jehovah, The whole earth will be a waste, yet I will not bring it to a close. Jeremiah 4:27.

In Zephaniah,

I will bring men into distress, and they will go as the blind, because they have sinned against Jehovah; and their blood will be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung. For Jehovah will bring to a close, indeed to a hasty one, all the inhabitants of the earth. Zephaniah 1:17-18.

From each detail stated here it is evident that 'a close' means the last period of the Church and 'the earth' the Church itself.

[4] The reason why 'the earth (or land)' means the Church is that the land of Canaan was the land where the Church had existed since most ancient times, and later on where among the descendants of Jacob a representative of the Church existed. When this land is said to have been 'brought to a close' it is not the nation dwelling there that is meant but the holiness of worship which existed with the nation where the Church was. For the Word is spiritual; but the actual land is not spiritual, nor is the nation dwelling in it, only that which constitutes the Church there. For evidence that the land of Canaan was the land where the Church had existed from most ancient times, see 567, 3686, 4447, 4454, 4516, 4517; and this explains why 'the land' or 'the earth' in the Word means the Church, 566, 662, 1066, 1067, 1262, 3355, 4447. From all this one may see what is meant in Isaiah by 'bringing the whole earth to a close', and in Zephaniah by 'bringing all the inhabitants of the earth to a hasty one'. It is well known that the Jewish nation which inhabited that land was not 'brought to a close' but that the holiness of worship among them was.

[5] This meaning of 'the close' is even clearer in Daniel,

Seventy weeks have been decreed concerning your people and your holy city to bring transgression to a close and to seal up sins and to atone for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophet, and to anoint the Most Holy Place. In the middle of the week he will cause sacrifice and offering to cease. At length upon the bird of desolations will come desolation; until a close and a cutting off will it drop upon the devastation. Daniel 9:24, 27.

[6] From this one may now see that the close of the age - about which the disciples were asking when they said to the Lord 'What will be the sign of Your coming and of the close of the age?' Matthew 24:3 - does not mean anything else than the final period of the Church. The same is also meant by the Lord's words, which are the very last in the same gospel,

Jesus said to the disciples, Teaching them to observe ² all things whatever I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you at all times ³ even to the close of the age. Matthew 28:20.

The reason why the Lord said that He would be with the disciples even to the close of the age is that the Lord's twelve disciples are similar in meaning to the twelve tribes of Israel. That is to say, they mean all things of love and faith, and therefore all things of the Church, see 3354, 3488, 3858, as do the twelve tribes, 3858, 3926, 3939, 4060. The fact that the Church reaches its close when no charity exists there any longer, nor consequently any faith, has been shown several times already; and that within the Church at the present day, called the Christian Church, scarcely any trace of charity or consequently of faith survives there; and that the close of the age is accordingly now at hand, will in the Lord's Divine mercy be shown further on.

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3812. 'Laban said to him, Surely you are my bone and my flesh' means joined together as regards truths and as regards goods. This is clear from the meaning of 'you are my bone and my flesh' as a being joined together. The ancients were accustomed to speak of people who belonged to the same house, or to the same family, or who were related in some other way, as 'my bone and my flesh', see 157. This is why those words mean a being joined together. The reason it is as regards truths and as regards goods is that all spiritual joining together is effected by them, and all natural joining together has reference to them. Furthermore by 'bone and flesh' is meant a person's proprium - 'bone' the understanding side of the proprium, 'flesh' the will side of it. 'Bone' accordingly means the proprium as regards truth since truth belongs to the understanding, while 'flesh' means the proprium as regards good since good belongs to the will, see 148, 149.

[2] As regards the proprium in general there are two kinds, the first being the hellish proprium, the second the heavenly. The hellish proprium is acquired by a person from hell, the heavenly from heaven, that is, from the Lord through heaven. For all evil and all falsity from evil enter in from hell, and all good and all truth from good do so from the Lord. People know this from the doctrine of faith, but scarcely one in a million believes it. Consequently a person appropriates - that is, makes his own - evil entering in from hell; but good entering in from the Lord does not move him and cannot therefore be said to have a place in him. The reason why a person does not believe that evil enters in from hell and good from the Lord is that he is governed by self-love, a love which carries such unbelief with it and which goes so far as to be highly indignant when that person is told that everything comes into him from somewhere else. This then is why a person's entire proprium is nothing but evil, see 210, 215, 694, 731, 874-876, 987, 1023, 1044, 1047. But the belief that evil is from hell and good from the Lord exists with him when he is not governed by self-love but by love towards the neighbour and love to the Lord; for this love carries such belief with it. So it is that a person receives from the Lord the heavenly proprium referred to in 155, 164, 731, 1023, 1044, 1937, 1947, 2882, 2883, 2891.

[3] In both senses this proprium is meant by 'bone and flesh'. Consequently 'bones' in the Word means truth and in the contrary sense falsity, and 'flesh' good and in the contrary sense evil. As regards truth being meant by 'bones', this may be seen from the following places: In Isaiah,

Jehovah will guide you all the time, and will satisfy your soul in arid places, and will render your bones free, so that you are like a watered garden. Isaiah 58:11.

'Rendering bones free' stands for bringing life to the understanding side of the proprium, that is, enlightening it with intelligence. Hence the statement 'so that you are like a watered garden' - 'a garden' meaning intelligence, see 100, 108, 1588. In the same prophet,

Then you will see, and your heart will be joyful, and your bones will flourish like the grass. Isaiah 66:14.

'Bones flourishing like the grass' has a similar meaning.

[4] In Jeremiah,

[Her] Nazirites were brighter than snow, they were whiter than milk. Their bodies ¹ were ruddier than gem stones, polished like sapphire. ² Their form is darker than black; they are not recognized in the streets; their skin has stuck to their bone; it has dried up; it has become like wood. Lamentations 4:7-8.

'Nazirite' stands for a celestial man, 3301. 'Brighter than snow and whiter than milk' stands for his possession of celestial truth. And because this truth derives from the love of good, it is said that 'their bodies were ruddier than gem stones'. 'Brightness' and 'whiteness' have reference to truth, 3301, 'ruddiness' to good, 3300, 'gem stones' to truths stemming from good, 114. 'Their skin stuck to their bone' describes a changed state as regards the celestial things of love, which is to say, that there was no flesh on the bones, that is, there was no longer any good, for in that case all truth comes to be like skin which sticks to the bone, dries up, and becomes like wood.

[5] In Ezekiel,

Tell a parable against the house of rebellion, and say to them, Thus said the Lord Jehovih, Put on the pot, put it on, and also pour water into it; gather the pieces of it into it - every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder. Fill it with the choice of the bones by taking the choice of the flock, and let there be a hearth of bones under it. Let the bones also be cooked in the midst of it. Ezekiel 24:3-5, 10.

'The pot' stands for violence offered to good and truth, which is why it is called 'the city of bloodshed' in verse 6. 'The pieces', 'the good piece, the thigh and the shoulder' gathered into it are pieces of flesh, which are items of good. 'The choice of the bones' with which the pot was filled stands for truths, 'the hearth of bones' for the affection for truth. 'Let the bones be cooked in the midst of it' stands for violence offered to them. Anyone may see that this parable conceals arcana that are Divine, and also that these can in no way be known unless one knows what is meant in the internal sense by 'a pot', by 'pieces, the thigh and the shoulder', by 'the choice of the bones', by 'a hearth of bones', and by 'cooking'. In Micah,

Is it not for you to know judgement - you who hate the good and love the evil, who tear their skin from upon them and their flesh from upon their bones; who have eaten the flesh of My people and flayed their skin from upon them and broken their bones in pieces, and divided them as into a pot and like flesh into the middle of the cauldron? Micah 3:1-3.

Here the meaning is similar.

[6] In Ezekiel,

He brought me out in the Spirit of Jehovah and set me down in the midst of the valley, which was full of bones. He said to me, Will these bones live? He said to me, Prophesy over these bones and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of Jehovah: Thus said the Lord Jehovih to these bones, Behold, I am bringing spirit into you that you may live. I will lay sinews upon you and cause flesh to come over you and cover you with skin, and I will put spirit within you so that you may live. I prophesied, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and behold, there were sinews upon them, and flesh came up, and skin covered them above, but there was no spirit in them. And spirit entered into them, and they were alive again and stood upon their feet. Ezekiel 37:1 and following verses.

This refers in general to the re-establishment of the Church among gentiles, and in particular to the regeneration of the individual. 'Dry bones' stands for the understanding side of the proprium, which is lifeless until it receives the life of good from the Lord. The latter life is what quickens it or brings life to it. The flesh which the Lord causes to come up over the bones is the will side of the proprium, which is called the heavenly proprium, and so means good. 'Spirit' means the Lord's life, and when this flows into a person's good which he seems to himself to will and perform from his proprium, the good is in that case made alive, and from that good the truth also; and out of the dry bones a human being is made.

[7] In David,

All my bones have been disconnected; my heart has become like wax. I can count all my bones. They have divided my garments among them, and for my clothing have cast lots. Psalms 22:14, 17-18.

This refers to the Lord's temptations as regards Divine Truths, which, being the Lord's own, are consequently called 'my bones', and as regards Divine Good, which, being the Lord's own, is consequently called 'my heart'. For 'heart' means good, see 3313, 3635. And because 'bones' means those truths, 'counting' them is wishing to get rid of them by means of reasonings and falsities. This is also the reason for the statement immediately following about their dividing garments and casting lots for clothing, for 'garments' also means truths, though a more external variety, 297, 1073, 2576. 'Dividing garments and casting lots for clothing' has the same meaning as it does also in Matthew 27:35. In the same author,

Let my soul exult in Jehovah, let it be glad in His salvation. Let all my bones say, Who is like You? Psalms 35:9-10.

'Bones' in the spiritual sense clearly means the understanding side of the proprium. In the same author,

You shall cause me to hear joy and gladness; the bones You have broken will be exultant. Psalms 51:8.

'The bones which You have broken will be exultant' stands for a re-creation by means of truths following temptations.

[8] Because 'bone' meant the understanding side of the proprium, or the proprium as regards truth, and in the highest sense meant Divine Truth, which was the Lord's Proprium, it was therefore required at the Passover not to break any bone of the paschal lamb. This is referred to in Moses as follows,

It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not bring any of the flesh outside the house; and you shall not break a bone in it. Exodus 12:46.

And elsewhere in Moses,

They shall not leave any of it until morning, and they shall not break a bone of it. Numbers 9:12.

'Not breaking a bone' stands in the highest sense for not offering violence to Divine truth, and in the representative sense for not offering violence to the truth connected with any good at all, for the nature of good and the form it takes depend on truths, and truth is the mainstay of good, as the bones are of the flesh.

[9] The fact that the Word, which is Divine truth itself, gives life to the dead was represented by the revival and the standing on his feet of the man who, having been cast into the grave of Elisha, touched his bones, 2 Kings 13:21. Elisha represented the Lord as regards Divine truth or the Word, see 2762.

'Bones' in the contrary sense means falsity which springs from the proprium, as is evident from the following places: In Jeremiah,

At that time they will bring the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of its princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem out of their tombs, and they will spread them before the sun and the moon, and all the host of heaven, which they have loved and which they have served. Jeremiah 8:1-2.

In Ezekiel,

I will lay the corpses of the children of Israel before their idols, and I will scatter your bones around your altars. Ezekiel 6:5.

In Moses,

God who brought him out of Egypt has as it were the strength of a unicorn. He will eat up the nations, his enemies, and will break their bones, and smash their weapons. Numbers 24:8.

In the second Book of Kings,

King Josiah broke in pieces the pillars, and cut down the groves, and filled their places with the bones of people. He took the bones out of the graves and burned them on the altar to render it unclean. He sacrificed all the priests of the high places who were there, on the altars, and burned the bones of people on them. 2 Kings 23:14, 16, 20.

In Moses,

The soul which has touched on the surface of the field anyone slain with the sword, or one dead, or a human bone, or a sepulchre, will be unclean for seven days. Numbers 19:16, 18.

[10] Since 'bones' means falsities, and 'sepulchres' evils containing them, and since hypocrisy is evil which on the outside looks like good but is inwardly rotten from things that are false and unholy, the Lord therefore says the following in Matthew,

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you make yourselves like white-washed sepulchres, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and of all uncleanness. So too do you outwardly appear just to men (homo) but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Matthew 23:27-28.

From all these quotations it is now evident that 'bones' means the understanding side of the proprium either as regards truth or else as regards falsity.

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