5221. 'And it happened early in the morning' means in that new state. This is clear from the meaning of 'it happened', or so it was, as that which implies something new, dealt with in 4979, 4987; and from the meaning of 'early' or 'the morning" as a state of enlightenment, dealt with in 3458, 3723, this state being the new one that is meant, about which see just above in 5218. The subject here is that state and the nature of it, namely one of turmoil owing to the obscurity that exists regarding the things that are taking place. But scarcely anyone can know anything about what that state is like unless he has come into a spiritual sphere and at the same time takes note of what is going on inside himself.
[2] Unless he does so he cannot begin to know what is meant by receiving a general enlightenment or by receiving a particular enlightenment. He cannot even know what is meant by receiving enlightenment, let alone the idea that within a state of general enlightenmenta turmoil exists initially and that there is no respite until truths rooted in good are restored in their proper order. Angels have a clear perception of all this, and so do good spirits, because they live in a spiritual sphere. To know about such matters and to think them over is a source of delight to them. But to someone in a natural sphere, more so to someone in a sphere of sensory-mindedness, and more so still to one who is completely sensory-minded and concerned only with ideas gained from bodily and earthly things, such matters are of no interest.
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