478. 'And the mystery of God shall be accomplished, as He has declared (evangelizare) to His servants the prophets' signifies that it is going to become apparent that it has been foretold in the Word of both Testaments, and has been concealed up to this time, that after a last judgment upon those who have devastated the Church the Lord's kingdom is going to come. By 'to be accomplished' is signified to be fulfilled, to have an end, and then to appear; by 'the mystery of God declared to the prophets' is signified what has been foretold by the Lord in the Word and concealed up to this time; by 'to declare (evangelizare)' is signified to announce the Lord's coming and His kingdom, for the Gospel (evangelium) is a joyful messenger. That this is going to come about after a last judgment has been effected upon those who have devastated the Church, has been foretold in the Word, and therefore this also is signified. From these considerations it can he established that all these things are understood by these words. [2] Here first something shall be said about what is foretold of the Lord's coming and His kingdom in the Word of both Testaments. In the Word of the Old Testament that is called prophetical, in its spiritual sense and also where that sense shines forth in the natural sense, it treats of the Only Lord; plainly of His coming in the fullness of time, which is when the good of charity and the truth of faith would be no longer in the Church, which state thereof is called consummation, devastation desolation and decision. Again it treats of His combats with the hells and victories over them, which indeed are the last judgment effected by Him; and after these things, of the creation of the New Heaven and the setting up of the New Church, and these are the Lord's kingdom about to come. It also treats of these things in the Word of the New Testament that is called apostolic, and in a special manner in the Apocalypse. [3] That it is the Lord's kingdom that will be declared 'in the days of the voice of the seventh angel' is plain in the following chapter xi from these words:-
And the seventh angel sounded, and great voices were produced in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of the world have become our Lord's and His Christ's, and He shall reign for ages of ages: and the twenty-four elders fell upon their faces and adored God, saying. We give Thee thanks, O Lord God, Who art and Who wast and Who art to come, that Thou hast attained Thy great power, and taken over the kingdom (vers. 15-17).
[4] This mystery is described in Daniel, almost in the same manner as here in the Apocalypse, where these words are:-
I heard the man clothed in linen, and he lifted up his hands unto heaven, and swore by the One living for ages of ages, that [it should be] unto the appointed time of the appointed times and a half, when all these things must be finished: but he said, Go, Daniel, because the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end Dan. xii 7, 9.
'Until the time of the end' is up till this time. That the Son of Man is then going to take the kingdom, he foretells with these words:-
I was seeing in night visions, and behold with the clouds of heaven there was coming One like the Son of Man, and to Him was given dominion, and glory, and the kingdom: and all peoples, nations and tongues shall worship Him. His dominion is the dominion of the age that shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not perish Dan. vii 13, 14.
[5] That 'to declare good tidings (evangelizare)' signifies the Lord's coming and His kingdom at that time is plain from these passages:-
Get thee up upon the mountain, O Zion declaring good tidings (Evangelizatrix); lift up thy voice with excellence, O Jerusalem declaring good tidings (Evangelizatrix); say, Behold your God, behold the Lord Jehovih is coming in strength, and His arm shall have dominion for Him Isa. xl 9-11.
How delightful upon the mountains are the feet of one declaring good tidings, making [us] to hear peace, declaring good tidings of good, making [us] to hear salvation, saying unto Zion, Thy King* shall reign Isa. lii 7, 8; Nahum 15 [H.B. ii 1].
Sing unto Jehovah, bless in His Name, declare the good tidings of His salvation from day to day, for Jehovah is coming Ps. xcvi, 2, 13.
The spirit of the Lord Jehovih is upon Me, therefore has Jehovah anointed Me to declare good tidings to the poor, to preach liberty to the captives, to proclaim the year of the good pleasure of Jehovah Isa. lxi 1, 2.
The angel [said] to Zechariah, Behold, thy wife shall bring forth a son, who shall go before in the presence of the Lord God in the spirit and vigour (virtus) of Elijah, and to prepare the people for the Lord. I am Gabriel, and have been sent to declare (evangelizare) this to thee Luke i 13, 17, 19.
The angel said to the shepherds, Do not he afraid, behold, I declare unto you good tidings of great joy, because the Saviour has been born for you this day, who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David Luke ii 10, 11.
That the Lord declared good tidings of the kingdom of God [may be seen] Matt. iv 23; ix 35; Mark 15; Luke vii 22; viii 1; ix 1, 2.
That John the Baptist [did so] Luke iii 18. Jesus also said to the disciples, Going into the whole world, preach the Gospel (Evangelium) to every creature Mark xvi 15.
This also is the 'eternal Gospel' that 'the angel flying in the midst of heaven' had for declaring 'unto those dwelling upon the land' (Rev. xiv 6). [6] It is said that 'the mystery of God shall be accomplished', by which is understood that now will be fulfilled what has not been fulfilled before, that is, that the kingdom is going to be the Lord's. For it has not been fulfilled by the Jews, because they have not acknowledged the Lord; nor has it been fulfilled by the Christians, for neither do they acknowledge the Lord as the God of heaven and earth as so the Human also, for they make this like the human of another man, and therefore they do not approach Him directly, when yet it is Jehovah Who has come into the world. * So also AE 365:30 and other places; but Hebrew has 'God'.
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