13. (vi) The state of the world and the church before the Last Judgment resembled evening and night, but after it morning and day. When the light of truth is not to be seen, and truth is not accepted, the state of the church in the world resembles evening and night. Such was its state before the Last Judgment, as is evident from what was said above (11). But when the light of truth is to be seen, and truth is accepted, the state of the church in the world resembles morning and day. That is why those two states of the church are called in the Word evening and morning, as well as night and day; as for example: The Holy One said to me, 'Until the evening and morning two thousand three hundred [days], then the sanctuary shall be made holy. Dan. 8:14. The vision of the evening and the morning is truth. Dan. 8:26. There shall be one day, known to Jehovah, neither day nor night, because around evening time there shall be light. Zech. 14:7.
One is calling to me from Seir, Watchman, what of the night? The watchman said, The morning is coming, and night again. Isa. 21:11, 12. Jesus spoke of the final period of the church:
Keep awake, for you do not know when the lord of the house will come, at evening, at midnight, at cockcrow or in the morning. Mark 13:35. Jesus said, I must work while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. John 9:4. Also elsewhere, such as Isa. 17:14; Jer. 6:4, 5; Ps. 30:5; 65:8; 90:6. Because this is the meaning of evening and night, the Lord, in order to fulfil the Word, was also buried in the evening, and afterwards rose again in the morning.
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