335. Verse 14. And heaven departed as a book rolled together, signifies separation from heaven and conjunction with hell. It is said that "heaven departed as a book rolled together," because the interior understanding, and hence the thought, of man is as heaven; for his understanding can be elevated into the light of heaven and in such elevation can think with the angels concerning God, concerning love and faith, and concerning eternal life: but if his will is not at the same time elevated into the heat of heaven, the man is not conjoined with the angels of heaven, thus is not like heaven. That this is the case, may be seen in Angelic Wisdom concerning Divine Love and Wisdom, Chapter 5. By virtue of this faculty of the understanding, the evil who are here treated of, could be in consociation with the angels of the ultimate heaven; but when these were separated from the former, their heaven departed as "a book rolled together." By "a book rolled together" is meant parchment, rolled up, because their books were parchments, and the comparison is made with a book, because the book is the Word (n. 256); therefore when it is rolled up like a parchment, nothing that it contains is apparent, and it is as though it were not. On this account the like is said in Isaiah:
And all the host of heaven shall waste away, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a book, and shall fall down as the leaf falleth from the fig tree (Isa. 34:4). "Hosts" are the goods and truths of the church from the Word (n. 447). From these things it may appear, that by "heaven departing as a book rolled together," is signified separation from heaven, and conjunction with hell. That separation from heaven is conjunction with hell, is evident.
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