33. In affliction and in the kingdom and patient expectation of Jesus Christ, signifies which in the church are infested by evils and falsities, but which will be removed by the Lord when He comes. By "affliction" is meant the state of the church when there are no longer any goods of charity and truths of faith, but in place of them evils and falsities; by "the kingdom," is meant the church; and, by "patient expectation of Jesus Christ," is meant the Lord's coming; therefore these words, "In affliction and in the kingdom and patient expectation of Jesus Christ," when collated into one sense, signify when the goods and truths of the church are infested by evils and falsities, but which will be removed by the Lord when he comes. That by "affliction" is meant the state of the church when it is infested by evils and falsities, is evident from the following:
In the consummation of the age, they shall deliver you up into affliction, and shall kill you. There shall be great affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the world, nor shall be. After the affliction of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven (Matt. 24:9, 21, 29; Mark 13:19, 24). That "the kingdom" signifies the church, will be seen in what follows.
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