(2) The genuine truths, in which the spiritual sense of the Word resides, were not revealed by the Lord until the Last Judgment had been accomplished, and the new Church which is meant by the Holy Jerusalem was about to be established by the Lord. But let these reasons be examined separately. [2] First: The spiritual sense of the Word was not revealed before because if it had been, the Church would have profaned it, and thereby would have profaned the very holiness itself of the Word. Not long after the establishment of the Church it was turned into the state of Babylon, and later into that of Philistia. Babylon, indeed, acknowledges the Word but still esteems it lightly, declaring that the Holy Spirit inspires them in their supreme judgment just as much as it inspired the prophets. They acknowledge the Word for the sake of the vicarship founded on the Lord's words to Peter; but they esteem the Word lightly because it does not accord with their views. For this reason, too, it is taken from the people and hidden away in monasteries, where few read it. Therefore, if the spiritual sense of the Word had been revealed, in which the Lord together with all angelic wisdom is present, the Word would be profaned not only, as is now the case, in its ultimates, which are contained in the sense of the Letter, but in its inmosts also. [3] Philistia, by which is meant faith separate from charity, would also have profaned the spiritual sense of the Word because, as has been shown before, it places salvation in certain phrases which are to be thought and said, and not in good works which are to be done. It thus makes that saving which is not saving, and also removes the understanding from things that are to be believed. What have such persons to do with the light in which is the spiritual sense of the Word? Would it not be turned into darkness? When the natural sense is so turned what would not be done with the spiritual sense? Does any one of them, who has confirmed himself in faith separate from charity and in justification by that faith alone, desire to know what is the good of life, what is love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour, what is charity and what are the goods of charity, and what are good works and what is meant by doing them, or indeed what is faith in its essence and what is any genuine truth that constitutes it? They write volumes and confirm only what they call faith, and say that all the things just mentioned are included in that faith. Hence it is clear that if the spiritual sense of the Word had been revealed before, it would have come to pass according to the words of the Lord in Matthew:

If thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness. Matt. vi. 23. By the eye in the spiritual sense of the Word is meant the understanding. [4] Second: The genuine truths, in which the spiritual sense of the Word resides, were not revealed by the Lord until the Last Judgment had been accomplished, and the new Church which is meant by the Holy Jerusalem was about to be established by the Lord. It was foretold by the Lord in the Revelation that after the Last Judgment had been accomplished genuine truths were to be revealed, a new Church was to be established, and the spiritual sense of the Word was to be disclosed. It was shown in the small work, THE LAST JUDGMENT, and later in the CONTINUATION of that work, that the Last Judgment has been accomplished; and that this is meant by the heaven and the earth which would pass away in Revelation XXI. I. That genuine truths are then to be revealed is foretold in these words in the Revelation:

And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. Rev. xxi. 5; also xix. 17, 18; xxi. 18-21 xxii. 1, 2. That the spiritual sense of the Word is then to be revealed is foretold in chapter XIX. 11-16; and this is meant by the white horse, upon which He who sat was called the Word of God, who was Lord of lords and King of kings. On this subject the small work, THE WHITE HORSE, may be consulted. That by the Holy Jerusalem is meant the New Church which was then to be established by the Lord may be seen in THE DOCTRINE OF THE NEW JERUSALEM CONCERNING THE LORD (n. 62-65), where this is shown. [5] It is now clear from these things that the spiritual sense of the Word was to be revealed for a new Church which will acknowledge and worship the Lord alone, and hold His Word sacred, and love Divine Truths and reject faith separated from charity. Concerning this sense of the Word more may be seen* in THE DOCTRINE OF THE NEW JERUSALEM CONCERNING THE SACRED SCRIPTURE (n. 5-26, and following numbers); as, in this section, what the spiritual sense of the Word is (n. 5-26); that there is a spiritual sense in all things of the Word in general and in particular (n. 9-17); that it is by virtue of the spiritual sense that the Word is Divinely inspired, and holy in every expression (n. 18-19); that hitherto the spiritual sense has been unknown, and why it was not revealed before (n. 20-25); and that henceforth the spiritual sense will be possible only to one who is in genuine truths from the Lord (n. 26). [6] From these considerations it may be evident that it is of the Lord's Divine Providence that the spiritual sense has been concealed from the world until the present age, and has meanwhile been preserved in heaven with the angels, who derive their wisdom from it. This sense was known and also carefully studied among the ancients who lived before Moses; but as their posterity converted the correspondences, of which their Word and consequently their religion solely consisted, into idolatries of various forms, and the Egyptians converted them into magic, this [sense] was of the Divine Providence of the Lord, closed up, first with the Children of Israel and afterwards with Christians, for the reasons mentioned above; and it is now for the first time opened for the Lord's New Church. * Original Edition, Tafel Latin edition (1855) and Worcester Latin edition (1899) have "plura . . . videatur." See also 265:5.