[2] What the words that follow in these two verses involve, has indeed been said above, but because they are among things that are unknown, it shall be repeated. When the end of the church is at hand, then the interior things of the Word, of the church, and of worship, are revealed and taught. The reason is that the good may be separated from the evil; for the interior things of the Word, of the church, and of worship, which are celestial and spiritual, are received by the good, but rejected by the evil, separation being the result. Besides, also, the interior things of the Word, which are revealed at the end of the church, are serviceable to the new church, which is then also being formed, in proportion to doctrine and life. That this is the case is clear from this, that when the end of the Jewish church was at hand, the Lord Himself opened and taught the interior things of the Word, and especially revealed those which had been predicted in the Word concerning Himself, and these being opened and revealed, the external things of the church were abrogated; these consisted principally of sacrifices, rituals, and statutes that shadowed forth the Lord, and represented and thence signified the interior things of the church which were revealed by Him. That this would come to pass was also predicted in various passages in the prophets.

[3] The case is the same at this day, for it has now pleased the Lord to reveal various arcana of heaven - especially the internal or spiritual sense of the Word - which have been till now entirely unknown, and He has also taught the genuine truths of doctrine. This revelation is meant by the "Coming of the Lord" in Matthew (xxiv. 3, 30, 37). The reason of this revelation at the end of the church is, as said above, that by means of it the separation of the good from the evil may be accomplished, and also a new church formed, and this not only in the natural world where men are, but also in the spiritual world where spirits and angels are. For the church is in both worlds, and revelation takes place in both, and separation by means of it, as also the formation of a new church. From these things it is evident that by the above words protection from the Lord is signified, lest they should be injured.

[4] If the successive states of the churches on our earth are considered, it is evident that they have been like the successive states of a man who is being reformed and regenerated; for in order that he may become a spiritual man, he is first conceived, afterwards born, then he grows up, and is subsequently led on further and further into intelligence and wisdom. The church from the most ancient times, even to the end of the Jewish church, increased in the same way as a man who is conceived and born, and who grows up, and is instructed and taught. But the successive states of the church after the end of the Jewish church, or from the Lord's time to the present day, have been like those of a man who grows in intelligence and wisdom, or is being regenerated. For this end the interior things of the Word, of the church, and of worship, were revealed by the Lord when He was in the world; and now, again, things still more interior are [revealed] and in proportion as things interior are revealed, so far a man may become wiser, for to become interior is to become wiser, and to become wiser is to become interior.