GENESIS

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

4056. In the third part, before Chapters 26, 27, 28, 29, and 30, those things were explained which the Lord spoke and predicted concerning the Consummation of the Age original: "Consummatione Sæculi"; this refers to the end of a church era or the "end of the world" or the Last Judgment in Matthew, Chapter 24, from verse 3 to verse 28. Now, those things which follow there in order must be explained. Before this chapter, we consider verses 29, 30, and 31, namely these words: "Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn; and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a trumpet and a great voice, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."

4057. What the Consummation of the Age or the Last Judgment is has been explained before: namely, that it is the final time of the Church. It is called its final time when there is no longer any charity or faith within it. It has also been shown that such "consummations" or final times have occurred several times. The consummation of the First Church was described by the Flood. The consummation of the Second Church was described by the uprooting of the nations in the land of Canaan, and also by many uprootings and cuttings-off mentioned in the Prophets. The consummation of the Third Church is not described in the Word The "Word" here refers to the Holy Scriptures, but...