1087. Until the words of God shall be consummated, signifies even to the last state of the church, when there is a judgment, and after that what is new. This is evident from the signification of "to be consummated," as being to have an end; or specifically, when there is no longer any good and truth of doctrine and of life remaining, that is, when the last state of the church has come. (That consummation signifies the last state of the church can be seen n. 624, 911.) And as the Last Judgment comes in the last state of the church, and after that the New Church is established by the Lord, so "to be consummated" signifies the last state of the church when judgment takes place, and afterwards that which is new. Also from the signification of "the words of God," as being predictions in the Word; therefore "the words of God shall be consummated" signifies when the predictions are fulfilled. It is said that those signified by "the ten horns of the beast" will "make the harlot desolate, eat her flesh, and burn her up with fire," and "will give the kingdom to the beast, until the words of God shall be consummated," because those also who have wholly withdrawn from Babylon and have rejected her profane things are then devastated as to all the goods and truths of heaven, that is, they have equally falsified the Word, not from the principle of having dominion over the holy things of the church and over heaven, but from the principle of separating works from faith, and when these have been separated there is no longer any living from the Lord, but only a living from self and the world, and that life is a life of evil from falsity, therefore "the words of God shall be consummated" also means when these, too, have been devastated.
(Continuation respecting the Word)
[2] Now since all interior things, that is, the spiritual and celestial things that are in the Words of the three heavens, are together in the ultimate sense of the Word, which is called the sense of the letter, (for in its inmosts there are the things that are in the Word with the angels of the third heaven, and in its middle parts the things that are in the Words of the angels of the lower heavens, and these are encompassed by such things as exist in the nature of our world and are included in these), so the sense of the letter of our Word is from all these. From this it can be seen that the Divine truth is in its fullness in the sense of the letter of our Word. That is said to be full which contains in itself all things prior, even from the first, or all things higher even from the highest; the ultimate is what includes these. The fullness of the Word is like a general vessel of marble, in which are countless lesser vessels of crystal, and in these still more numerous vessels of precious stones, in and about which are the most delightful things of heaven which are for those who perform noble uses from the Word. That the Word is such is not evident to man while he is in the world; but it is evident to him when he becomes an angel. Because the Word is such in ultimates it follows that it is not the Word until it is in that ultimate, that is, until it is in the sense of the letter. The Word not in that ultimate would be like a temple in the air and not on the earth, or like a man having flesh but without bones. [3] As the Divine truth is in its fullness and also in its power in its ultimate, for when it is in that it is in all things at once, therefore the Lord never works except from first things through ultimates, and thus in fullness. For He reforms and regenerates man only through truths in ultimates, which are natural. And this is why a man after his departure out of the world remains to eternity such as he has been in the world. For the same reason heaven and hell are from the human race, and angels are not created immediately; for in the world a man is in his fullness, consequently he can there be conceived and born, and afterwards be imbued with knowledge, intelligence, and wisdom, and become an angel. To create angels in any other way is not given. [4] Because the Lord works all things from things first through ultimates, and is in His power and in His fullness in ultimates, therefore it pleased the Lord to take upon Him the Human and to become the Divine truth, that is, the Word, and thus from Himself to reduce to order all things of heaven and all things of hell, that is, to execute a Last Judgment. This the Lord could accomplish from the Divine in Himself, which was in things first, through His Human which was in ultimates, and not, as before, from His presence or abode in the men of the church; for these had wholly forsaken the truths and goods of the Word, in which the Lord had previously had His dwelling-place with men. This was the chief reason for the Lord's coming into the world, also for making His Human Divine; for by this He put Himself into the power of holding all things of heaven and all things of hell in order to eternity. This is meant by:
Sitting at the right hand of God (Mark 16:19). "The right hand of God" means the Divine omnipotence, and "to sit at the right hand of God" means to be in that omnipotence through the Human. That the Lord ascended into heaven with His Human glorified even to the ultimates He testifies in Luke:
Jesus said to the disciples See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself, handle Me and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye behold Me have (Luke 24:39). This the Lord said just before* His resurrection. "Flesh and bones" are the ultimates of the human body, on which its strength depends. * Photolithograph has ante before, the Latin editor gives post after.
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