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※ (주2). The Lord’s predictions in Matthew (24 and 25), respecting the consummation of the age and His coming, and the consequent successive vastation of the church and the final judgment, are explained in the prefaces to chapters 26–40 of Genesis (n. 3353–3356, 3486–3489, 3650–3655, 3751–3757, 3897–3901, 4056–4060, 4229–4231, 4332–4335, 4422–4424, 4635–4638, 4661–4664, 4807–4810, 4954–4959, 5063–5071).

THE LAST JUDGMENT (마25:31-46)

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Before the preceding chapter the explication was continued of what the Lord foretold concerning the last time of the church, and there was unfolded what he foretold by the parable of the ten virgins (Matt. 25:1–13). After this follows another parable—that of the servants to whom the man going into a far country gave talents, to one five, to another two, and to another one, that they might trade therewith; and of these servants he who received five talents gained by them five more, he who received two also gained by them two, and he who received the one hid it in the earth. As this parable involves almost the same things as the parable of the ten virgins, I may pass on to explain the concluding part of the same chapter, which in the letter is as follows:

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31인자가 자기 영광으로 모든 천사와 함께 올 때에 자기 영광의 보좌에 앉으리니 32모든 민족을 그 앞에 모으고 각각 구분하기를 목자가 양과 염소를 구분하는 것 같이 하여 33양은 그 오른편에 염소는 왼편에 두리라 34그 때에 임금이 그 오른편에 있는 자들에게 이르시되 내 아버지께 복 받을 자들이여 나아와 창세로부터 너희를 위하여 예비된 나라를 상속받으라 35내가 주릴 때에 너희가 먹을 것을 주었고 목마를 때에 마시게 하였고 나그네 되었을 때에 영접하였고 36헐벗었을 때에 옷을 입혔고 병들었을 때에 돌보았고 옥에 갇혔을 때에 와서 보았느니라 37이에 의인들이 대답하여 이르되 주여 우리가 어느 때에 주께서 주리신 것을 보고 음식을 대접하였으며 목마르신 것을 보고 마시게 하였나이까 38어느 때에 나그네 되신 것을 보고 영접하였으며 헐벗으신 것을 보고 옷 입혔나이까 39어느 때에 병드신 것이나 옥에 갇히신 것을 보고 가서 뵈었나이까 하리니 40임금이 대답하여 이르시되 내가 진실로 너희에게 이르노니 너희가 여기 내 형제 중에 지극히 작은 자 하나에게 한 것이 곧 내게 한 것이니라 하시고 41또 왼편에 있는 자들에게 이르시되 저주를 받은 자들아 나를 떠나 마귀와 그 사자들을 위하여 예비된 영원한 불에 들어가라 42내가 주릴 때에 너희가 먹을 것을 주지 아니하였고 목마를 때에 마시게 하지 아니하였고 43나그네 되었을 때에 영접하지 아니하였고 헐벗었을 때에 옷 입히지 아니하였고 병들었을 때와 옥에 갇혔을 때에 돌보지 아니하였느니라 하시니 44그들도 대답하여 이르되 주여 우리가 어느 때에 주께서 주리신 것이나 목마르신 것이나 나그네 되신 것이나 헐벗으신 것이나 병드신 것이나 옥에 갇히신 것을 보고 공양하지 아니하더이까 45이에 임금이 대답하여 이르시되 내가 진실로 너희에게 이르노니 이 지극히 작은 자 하나에게 하지 아니한 것이 곧 내게 하지 아니한 것이니라 하시리니 46그들은 영벌에, 의인들은 영생에 들어가리라 하시니라 (마25:31-46) When the son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory; and before him shall be gathered all nations, and he shall separate them one from another as a shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats; and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the king say unto them on his right hand, Come ye blessed of my father, possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry, and ye gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and ye gathered me; naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee, or thirsty, and gave thee to drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and gathered thee, or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the king shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me ye cursed into eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and ye gave me not to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me not to drink; I was a stranger, and ye gathered me not; naked, and ye clothed me not [sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not]. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into life eternal (Matt. 25:31–46).

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One who is unacquainted with the internal sense cannot but think that these words were spoken by the Lord of some last day, when all in the whole world will be gathered before him, and will then be judged; and also that the procedure of the judgment will be just as is described in the letter, namely, that he will set those who are to be judged on the right hand and on the left, and will speak to them as in the parable. But one who is acquainted with the internal sense, and who has learned from other passages in the Word that the Lord judges no one to eternal fire, but that everyone judges himself, that is, casts himself into it; and who has also learned that the last judgment of everyone is when he dies, may know in some measure what these words involve in general. And one who from the internal sense and from correspondence knows the interior meaning of the words may know what they specifically mean, namely, that in the other life everyone receives a reward in accordance with his life in the world.

[2] Those who vaunt the salvation of man through faith alone cannot explain these words in any other way than by saying that what the Lord said of works means the fruits of faith, and that he mentioned them merely for the sake of the simple, who are unacquainted with mysteries. But even according to their opinion it would still follow that the fruits of faith are what make man blessed and happy after death. The fruits of faith are nothing else than a life in accordance with the precepts of faith; consequently a life in accordance with these precepts saves, but not faith without life; for after death man carries with him all the states of his life, so that he is such as he has been in the body. For instance: one who in the life of the body has despised others in comparison with himself, in the other life also despises others in comparison with himself; one who in the life of the body has regarded the neighbor with hatred, also in the other life regards the neighbor with hatred; one who in the life of the body has acted deceitfully toward his companions, in the other life also acts deceitfully toward his companions; and so in other instances. Everyone retains in the other life the nature which he has acquired in the life of the body; and it is known that a man’s nature cannot be cast out, and that if it is cast out, nothing of life remains.

[3] It is for this reason that only works of charity are mentioned by the Lord; for he who is in the works of charity, or what is the same, in a life of faith, is capable of receiving faith, if not in the body, yet in the other life; but one who is not in the works of charity, or in a life of faith, is by no means capable of receiving faith, either in the body or in the other life. For evil does not accord with truth, but the one rejects the other; and if those who are in evil speak truths, they speak them from the lips, and not from the heart, and thus evil and truths are still very far apart.

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But what is involved in the internal sense in these things which the Lord here says concerning the last judgment, that is, concerning the last judgment of everyone after death, is too much to be unfolded before this chapter, and therefore will of the Lord’s Divine mercy be unfolded in order before the chapters which follow.

※ (주2). The Lord’s predictions in Matthew (24 and 25), respecting the consummation of the age and His coming, and the consequent successive vastation of the church and the final judgment, are explained in the prefaces to chapters 26–40 of Genesis (n. 3353–3356, 3486–3489, 3650–3655, 3751–3757, 3897–3901, 4056–4060, 4229–4231, 4332–4335, 4422–4424, 4635–4638, 4661–4664, 4807–4810, 4954–4959, 5063–5071).

THE LAST JUDGMENT (마25:1-13)

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As in prefatory remarks to preceding chapters of Genesis there have been unfolded the Lord’s predictions in Matthew 24 concerning the last time of the church, and as the same predictions are continued in Matthew 25, I may unfold these also in respect to the internal sense. These predictions as given in their order in the letter are as follows:

1그 때에 천국은 마치 등을 들고 신랑을 맞으러 나간 열 처녀와 같다 하리니 2그 중의 다섯은 미련하고 다섯은 슬기 있는 자라 3미련한 자들은 등을 가지되 기름을 가지지 아니하고 4슬기 있는 자들은 그릇에 기름을 담아 등과 함께 가져갔더니 5신랑이 더디 오므로 다 졸며 잘새 6밤중에 소리가 나되 보라 신랑이로다 맞으러 나오라 하매 7이에 그 처녀들이 다 일어나 등을 준비할새 8미련한 자들이 슬기 있는 자들에게 이르되 우리 등불이 꺼져가니 너희 기름을 좀 나눠 달라 하거늘 9슬기 있는 자들이 대답하여 이르되 우리와 너희가 쓰기에 다 부족할까 하노니 차라리 파는 자들에게 가서 너희 쓸 것을 사라 하니 10그들이 사러 간 사이에 신랑이 오므로 준비하였던 자들은 함께 혼인 잔치에 들어가고 문은 닫힌지라 11그 후에 남은 처녀들이 와서 이르되 주여 주여 우리에게 열어 주소서 12대답하여 이르되 진실로 너희에게 이르노니 내가 너희를 알지 못하노라 하였느니라 13그런즉 깨어 있으라 너희는 그 날과 그 때를 알지 못하느니라 (마25:1-13) Then shall the kingdom of the heavens be likened unto ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were prudent, but five were foolish. They that were foolish, when they took their lamps, took no oil with them; but the prudent took oil in their vessels with their lamps. And while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. But at midnight a cry was made, Behold the bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. But the foolish said unto the prudent, Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out. But the prudent answered, saying, Perchance there will not be enough for us and you; but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went away to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the wedding, and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know not the day nor the hour wherein the son of man cometh (Matt. 25:1–13).

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That by this parable the Lord described his own coming is evident from the particulars, and from the end, where he says, “Watch therefore, for ye know not the day nor the hour wherein the son of man cometh,” as he also says in the foregoing chapter [Matt. 24], where he is speaking expressly of his coming: “Watch therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord cometh” (Matt. 24:42). That his “coming” is the consummation of the age, or the last time of the church, has been shown before.

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It is very evident that each and all things the Lord spoke in parables are representative and significative of the spiritual and celestial things of his kingdom, and in the highest sense, of the Divine things with him; and therefore the man who does not know this must suppose that the Lord’s parables have no more in them than ordinary comparisons. Such must be the case with the parable of the ten virgins unless it is known what is signified in the internal sense by the virgins, and also by ten and five, and by the lamps, the vessels, and the oil, and by them that sell, the wedding, and all the rest; and the same with all the other parables. The things which the Lord spoke in these parables appear in the outward form like ordinary comparisons; but in their inward form they are of such a nature as to fill the universal heaven. For there is an internal sense in every particular, which is of such a nature that its spiritual and celestial diffuses itself through the heavens in every direction like light and flame. This sense is quite uplifted above the sense of the letter, and flows from the several expressions, and from the several words, nay, from every jot. But what this parable involves in the internal sense will appear from what follows.

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그 때에 천국은 마치 열 처녀와 같다 하리니 Then shall the kingdom of the heavens be likened unto ten virgins.

This signifies the last period of the old church and the first of the new. The church is the Lord’s kingdom on earth. The “ten virgins” are all who are in the church, namely, both those who are in good and truth, and those who are in evil and falsity. “Ten” in the internal sense denotes remains, and also fullness, thus all; and “virgins” denote those who are in the church, as also elsewhere in the Word.

[2] 등을 들고 Who took their lamps;

signifies spiritual things in which is the celestial, or truths in which there is good, or what is the same, faith in which there is charity toward the neighbor, and charity in which there is love to the Lord; for “oil” is the good of love, as shown hereafter. But lamps in which there is no oil denote the same in which there is no good.

[3] 신랑을 맞으러 나간 And went forth to meet the bridegroom;

signifies their reception.

그 중의 다섯은 미련하고 다섯은 슬기 있는 자라 And five of them were prudent, but five were foolish;

signifies a part of them in truths in which there is good, and a part of them in truths in which is no good. The former are the “prudent,” and the latter the “foolish.” In the internal sense “five” denotes some, here therefore a part of them.

미련한 자들은 등을 가지되 기름을 가지지 아니하고 They that were foolish, when they took their lamps, took no oil with them;

signifies not having the good of charity in their truths; for in the internal sense “oil” denotes the good of charity and of love.

슬기 있는 자들은 그릇에 기름을 담아 등과 함께 가져갔더니 But the prudent took oil in their vessels with their lamps;

signifies that they had the good of charity and of love in their truths; their “vessels” are the doctrinal things of faith.

[4] 신랑이 더디 오므로 다 졸며 잘새 And while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept;

signifies delay, and hence doubt. To “slumber” in the internal sense is to grow sluggish from the delay in the things of the church, and to “sleep” is to cherish doubt—the prudent, a doubt in which there is affirmation; the foolish, a doubt in which there is negation.

밤중에 소리가 나되 But at midnight a cry was made;

signifies the time which is the last of the old church and the first of the new. This time is what is called “night” in the Word, when the state of the church is treated of. The “cry” denotes a change.

보라 신랑이로다 맞으러 나오라 하매 Behold the bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him;

signifies the same as the judgment, namely, acceptance and rejection.

[5] 이에 그 처녀들이 다 일어나 등을 준비할새 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps;

signifies preparation of all; for those who are in truths in which there is no good are equally in the belief of being accepted as are those who are in truths in which there is good, for they suppose that faith alone saves, not knowing that there is no faith where there is no charity.

미련한 자들이 슬기 있는 자들에게 이르되 우리 등불이 꺼져가니 너희 기름을 좀 나눠 달라 하거늘 But the foolish said unto the prudent, Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out;

signifies that they desire good to be communicated by others to their empty truths, or to their destitute faith. For in the other life all spiritual and celestial things are mutually communicated, but only through good.

[6] 슬기 있는 자들이 대답하여 이르되 우리와 너희가 쓰기에 다 부족할까 하노니 But the prudent answered, saying, Perchance there will not be enough for us and you;

signifies that it cannot be communicated, because the little of truth that they had would be taken away from them. For as to the communication of good in the other life to those who are in truths without good, these as it were take away good from those who have it, and appropriate it to themselves, and do not communicate it to others, but defile it; for which reason no communication of good to them is possible. These spirits will be described from experience at the end of the next chapter [Gen. 37].

[7] 차라리 파는 자들에게 가서 너희 쓸 것을 사라 하니 But go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves;

signifies the good of merit. They who boast of this are “they that sell.” Moreover, in the other life they who are in truth in which there is no good, above all others make a merit of all they have done which appeared good in the outward form, although in the inward form it was evil, according to what the Lord says in Matthew:

22그 날에 많은 사람이 나더러 이르되 주여 주여 우리가 주의 이름으로 선지자 노릇 하며 주의 이름으로 귀신을 쫓아 내며 주의 이름으로 많은 권능을 행하지 아니하였나이까 하리니 23그 때에 내가 그들에게 밝히 말하되 내가 너희를 도무지 알지 못하니 불법을 행하는 자들아 내게서 떠나가라 하리라 (마7:22, 23) “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied by thy name, and by thy name have cast out demons, and in thy name done many mighty works? But then will I confess unto them, I know you not; depart from me, ye workers of iniquity” (Matt. 7:22, 23).

And in Luke:

26그 때에 너희가 말하되 우리는 주 앞에서 먹고 마셨으며 주는 또한 우리를 길거리에서 가르치셨나이다 하나 27그가 너희에게 말하여 이르되 나는 너희가 어디에서 왔는지 알지 못하노라 행악하는 모든 자들아 나를 떠나 가라 하리라 (눅13:26, 27) “When the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, then shall ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, lord, open to us. But he shall answer and say to you, I know you not whence ye are; then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets; but he shall say, I tell you I know you not whence ye are, depart from me all ye workers of iniquity” (Luke 13:26, 27).

Such are those who are here meant by the foolish virgins, and the like is therefore said of them in these words: “they also came, saying, Lord, lord, open to us; but he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.”

[8] 그들이 사러 간 사이에 신랑이 오므로 And while they went away to buy, the bridegroom came.

This signifies their too late application.

준비하였던 자들은 함께 혼인 잔치에 들어가고 And they that were ready went in with him to the wedding;

signifies that they who were in good and thence in truth were received into heaven. Heaven is likened to a wedding from the heavenly marriage, which is the marriage of good and truth; and the Lord is likened to the bridegroom, because they are then conjoined with him; and hence the church is called the bride.

문은 닫힌지라 And the door was shut;

signifies that others cannot enter.

[9] 그 후에 남은 처녀들이 와서 이르되 주여 주여 우리에게 열어 주소서 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, lord, open to us;

signifies that they desire to enter from faith alone without charity, and from works in which there is not the Lord’s life, but the life of self.

대답하여 이르되 진실로 너희에게 이르노니 내가 너희를 알지 못하노라 하였느니라 But be answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not;

signifies rejection. His not knowing them means in the internal sense that they were not in any charity toward the neighbor and thereby in conjunction with the Lord. They who are not in conjunction are said not to be known.

[10] 그런즉 깨어 있으라 너희는 그 날과 그 때를 알지 못하느니라 Watch therefore, for ye know not the day nor the hour wherein the son of man cometh;

signifies an assiduous application of life in accordance with the precepts of faith, which is “to watch.” The time of acceptance, which is unknown to man, and the state are signified by their not knowing the day nor the hour in which the son of man is to come. Elsewhere also in Matthew he who is in good, that is, he who acts according to the precepts, is called “prudent”; and he who is in knowledges of truth and does them not is called “foolish”:

24그러므로 누구든지 나의 이 말을 듣고 행하는 자는 그 집을 반석 위에 지은 지혜로운 사람 같으리니, 26나의 이 말을 듣고 행하지 아니하는 자는 그 집을 모래 위에 지은 어리석은 사람 같으리니 (마7:24, 26) Everyone that heareth my words and doeth them, I will liken him unto a prudent man; and everyone that heareth my words and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man (Matt. 7:24, 26).

※ (주2). The Lord’s predictions in Matthew (24 and 25), respecting the consummation of the age and His coming, and the consequent successive vastation of the church and the final judgment, are explained in the prefaces to chapters 26–40 of Genesis (n. 3353–3356, 3486–3489, 3650–3655, 3751–3757, 3897–3901, 4056–4060, 4229–4231, 4332–4335, 4422–4424, 4635–4638, 4661–4664, 4807–4810, 4954–4959, 5063–5071).

THE LAST JUDGMENT (마24:42-51)

4422

Prefatory to this chapter the Lord’s words in Matthew 24, verse 42 to the end, remain to be unfolded. These words are the last in that chapter which treat of the consummation of the age, or the advent of the Lord, and which in the letter are these:

42그러므로 깨어 있으라 어느 날에 너희 주가 임할는지 너희가 알지 못함이니라 43너희도 아는 바니 만일 집 주인이 도둑이 어느 시각에 올 줄을 알았더라면 깨어 있어 그 집을 뚫지 못하게 하였으리라 44이러므로 너희도 준비하고 있으라 생각하지 않은 때에 인자가 오리라 45충성되고 지혜 있는 종이 되어 주인에게 그 집 사람들을 맡아 때를 따라 양식을 나눠 줄 자가 누구냐 46주인이 올 때에 그 종이 이렇게 하는 것을 보면 그 종이 복이 있으리로다 47내가 진실로 너희에게 이르노니 주인이 그의 모든 소유를 그에게 맡기리라 48만일 그 악한 종이 마음에 생각하기를 주인이 더디 오리라 하여 49동료들을 때리며 술친구들과 더불어 먹고 마시게 되면 50생각하지 않은 날 알지 못하는 시각에 그 종의 주인이 이르러 51엄히 때리고 외식하는 자가 받는 벌에 처하리니 거기서 슬피 울며 이를 갈리라 (마24:42-51) Watch therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord cometh. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would assuredly have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken through. Therefore be ye also ready, for in an hour that ye think not the son of man will come. Who therefore is the faithful and prudent servant, whom his lord hath set over his domestics, to give them their food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, that he will set him over all his goods. But if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth to come; and shall begin to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour when he knoweth not, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint his portion with the hypocrites; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

What these words involve may be seen from the series of things, for the subject treated of in this whole chapter of the evangelist is the last period of the church, which in the internal sense is the consummation of the age and the advent of the Lord. That this is the case is evident from the explication of all the contents of the chapter, as may be seen in the prefaces to the immediately preceding chapters of Genesis (namely, 26, n. 3353–3356; 27, n. 3486–3489; 28, n. 3650–3655; 29, n. 3751–3757; 30, n. 3897–3901; 31, n. 4056–4060; 32, n. 4229–4231; 33, n. 4332–4335).

[2] What these contents are in a series has also been there stated, namely, that when the Christian church that was set up after the Lord’s coming began to vastate itself, that is, to recede from good, then: (1) They began not to know what good and truth are, but disputed about them. (2) They despised them. (3) Next they did not at heart acknowledge them. (4) Afterwards they profaned them. (5) And as the truth of faith and the good of charity were still to remain with some, who are called the “elect,” the state of faith at that time is described. (6) And then the state of charity. (7) Lastly, the beginning of a new church is treated of; and, (8) The state as to good and truth within the so-called church, when that church is being rejected and a new church is being adopted. From this series it may appear what is involved in the words that have been transcribed above, and are the last of the chapter, namely, that they are words of exhortation to those in the church, that they should be in the good of faith, and that if not they must perish.

4423

Scarcely anyone knows how the case is with the rejection of an old church and the adoption of a new church. He who does not know man’s interiors and their states, and consequently man’s states after death, cannot but infer that those who are of the old church, and in whom good and truth have been laid waste, that is, are no longer at heart acknowledged, are to perish, either as the antediluvians perished by the flood, or as did the Jews by expulsion from their land, or in some other way. But when the church has been laid waste, that is, when it is no longer in any good of faith, it perishes chiefly in respect to the states of its interiors, thus in respect to its states in the other life. Heaven then removes itself away from them—and consequently the Lord—and transfers itself to others, who are adopted in their stead; for without a church somewhere on the earth there is no communication of heaven with man; for the church is like the heart and lungs of the grand man on the earth (see n. 468, 637, 931, 2054, 2853).

[2] They who are then of the old church, and thus are removed from heaven, are in a kind of inundation as to their interiors, and in fact in an inundation over the head. This inundation the man himself does not observe while he lives in the body, but he comes into it after death. In the other life this inundation plainly appears like a thick cloud by which they are encompassed and separated from heaven. The state of those who are in this thick cloud is that they cannot possibly see what the truth of faith is, and still less what is its good; for the light of heaven, in which is intelligence and wisdom, cannot penetrate into this cloud. This is the state of a vastated church.

4424

What the Lord’s words quoted above involve in the internal sense may be seen without explication; for the Lord spoke them not so much by representatives and significatives, as by comparatives. There shall be stated merely what is signified by the words of the last verse, namely: “He shall cut him asunder, and appoint his portion with the hypocrites; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

엄히 때리고 He shall cut him asunder;

signifies separation and removal from goods and truths; for they who are in knowledges of good and truth, as are those who are within the church and yet in a life of evil, are said to be “cut asunder” when they are removed from these knowledges. For the knowledges of good and truth are separated from them in the other life, and they are kept in evils, and therefore also in falsities; which is done in order to prevent them from communicating with heaven by the knowledges of truth, and with hell by evils and the derivative falsities, and thus hanging between the two; and also to prevent them from profaning goods and truths, which is done when these are commingled with falsities and evils. The same is also signified by the Lord’s words to him who hid the talent in the earth: “Take therefore the talent from him; and give it unto him that hath ten talents; for unto everyone that hath shall be given, and from him that hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken away” (Matt. 25:28, 29); also by what the Lord says in another place in Matthew 13:12; and in Mark 4:25; and in Luke 8:18.

[2] 외식하는 자가 받는 벌에 처하리니 And appoint his portion with the hypocrites;

signifies his lot (which is his “portion”) with those who outwardly appear to be in truth as to doctrine and in good as to life, but inwardly believe nothing of truth and will nothing of good, who are the “hypocrites.” In this manner they are “cut asunder.” Therefore when their externals are taken away from them, as takes place with all in the other life, they appear such as they are as to their internals, namely, devoid of faith and charity, of which they nevertheless have made a show in order to win others and acquire honors, gain, and reputation. Those within a vastated church are almost all of this character, for they have externals, but no internals. This is the origin of that inundation of their interiors which has been already spoken of (n. 4423).

[3] 거기서 슬피 울며 이를 갈리라 There shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth;

signifies their state in the other life, “wailing,” their state as to evils, and “gnashing of teeth,” their state as to falsities. For in the Word the “teeth” signify the lowest natural things, in the genuine sense the truths of these natural things, and in the opposite sense their falsities. The teeth moreover correspond to these things, and therefore the “gnashing of teeth” is the collision of falsities with truths. They who are in mere natural things, and who are in these from the fallacies of the senses, and who believe nothing but what they see thereby, are said to be in the “gnashing of teeth,” and also in the other life appear to themselves to be so when they draw conclusions from their fallacies concerning the truths of faith. In a church vastated as to good and truth such persons abound. The like is signified elsewhere also by the “gnashing of teeth,” as in Matthew:

그 나라의 본 자손들은 바깥 어두운 데 쫓겨나 거기서 울며 이를 갈게 되리라 (마8:12) The sons of the kingdom shall be cast forth into the outer darkness, there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth (Matt. 8:12);

the “sons of the kingdom” are those who are in a vastated church; the “darkness” is falsities (n. 4418), for they are in darkness when they are in the thick cloud mentioned above; the “gnashing of teeth” is the collision of falsities therein with truths. In like manner elsewhere, as in Matt. 13:42, 50; 22:13; 25:30; and Luke 13:28.