931、“尽地所有的日子”表示整个时间，这从“日子”的含义清楚可知，“日子”是指一段时间（参看23，487，488，493节）。所以“地的日子”在此表示地球存留或可居住的整个时间。当教会不复存在时，地球就不再有人居住。因为当教会不复存在时，人与天堂的交流也就不复存在了；一旦这种交流停止，所有居民都会死亡。如前所述，教会就像人的心和肺：只要心和肺完好，人就能存活；这同样适用于教会和它与大人，也就是整个天堂的关系。这就是为何此处说“尽地所有的日子，播种与收割、冷与热、夏与冬、昼与夜，就永不停息了”。由此也清楚看出，地球不会永远存在，而是也有终结的时候，因为经上说，“尽地所有的日子”，也就是只要地球还存在。
然而，人若以为地球的终结和圣言中（就是描述时代的完结，察罚的日子和最后审判的地方）所预言的最后审判是一回事，就错了。因为每个教会在荒废时，也就是不再有任何信时，都会面临一次最后的审判。对上古教会的最后审判发生在它灭亡之时，如在其大洪水之前的最后一代当中的情形。对犹太教会的最后审判则发生在主降世之时。当主在荣耀中降临时，还将有一次最后审判。这并不是说到那时，地球和世界都将毁灭，而是说教会将灭亡；那时，总有一个新教会被主兴起。如，大洪水爆发之时，古教会兴起；主降临之时，外邦人的初期教会兴起；当主在荣耀中降临时，同样的事仍会发生。这也是“新天新地”（以赛亚书65:17；66:22；启示录21:1）的意思。
这与每个已经重生，并成为一个教会成员，即一个教会的人是一样的。当他被新造时，其内在人就被称为“一个新天”，其外在人则被称为“一个新地”。此外，每个人死后都会面临最后的审判，因为那时，他照其在肉身时所行的要么被判为死，要么被判为生。时代的完结，就是末日或最后的审判，没有其它意思，因而不是指世界的毁灭，这一点从主在路加福音中的话很清楚地看出来：
当那一夜，两个人在一个床上，要取去一个，撇下一个。两个女人一同推磨，要取去一个，撇下一个。两个人在田里，要取去一个，撇下一个。（路加福音17:34-36）
此处末期被称为“夜”，因为信，也就是仁不存在。然而，有些人会被撇下；这清楚表明，到那时，世界不会毁灭。
New Century Edition
Cooper(2008,2013)
[NCE]931. The symbolism of throughout all the days of the earth to come as all time, is established by the symbolism of a day as the times; see 23, 487, 488, 493. So a day of the earth here is all time, as long as the earth lasts — that is to say, as long as an inhabitant remains on the planet. Inhabitants first come to an end when the church ceases to exist, because when the church is gone, humankind loses contact with heaven, and when that contact ends, every earth-dweller dies out.
The church is like a person's heart and lungs, as already mentioned.{*1} As long we have a heart that is sound, and lungs, too, we are alive. The same is true of the church in relation to the universal human, which is the whole of heaven.{*2} That is why the present verse says, "Throughout all the days of the earth, sowing and reaping and cold and heat and summer and winter and day and night will not end."
This also indicates that the planet will not last forever but will have its end as well, since it says, "throughout all the days of the earth," that is, as long as the earth exists.
[2] People believe, though, that the end of the earth is the same as the Last Judgment mentioned in the Word, where the culmination of the age, the day of divine visitation, and the Last Judgment are dealt with.{*3} They are wrong. A last judgment comes to every church when it goes through the process of devastation, which is the stage at which there is no longer any faith in it.
The earliest church had its last judgment when it perished, as it did among its final descendants, just before the Flood. The Jewish church had its last judgment when the Lord came into the world. A last judgment has yet to come, too, when the Lord comes into his glory. Not that the earth and the world will then be destroyed but that the church will.{*4} Afterward, however, the Lord always brings a new church back to life. So at the time of the Flood, he raised up the ancient church, and at the time of his Coming, he raised up the early [Christian] church among non-Jews. It will be the same when the Lord comes into his glory.
This is also what "the new heaven and the new earth" means [Isaiah 65:17; 66:22; Revelation 21:1].
[3] The case resembles that of every regenerate person, who becomes a part of the church — becomes a church, in fact — after being created anew. The inner self of such people is called a new heaven and their outer self a new earth.
In addition, every individual also has a last judgment at death, because at that time, depending on how we behaved in the body, we receive a verdict of either death or life.{*5} An indication that the end of the age, the cataclysm, and the Last Judgment have no other meaning and therefore do not imply the world's obliteration is clear from the Lord's words in Luke:
On that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken, the other left. Two will be grinding together; one will be taken and the other left. Two will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. (Luke 17:34, 35, 36)
The last stage is called the night here because there will be no faith, that is, no charity. It says that some people will be left, which clearly indicates that the world will not be annihilated at that time.
Footnotes:
{*1} Strictly speaking, Swedenborg has not yet mentioned the lungs in these comparisons, which occur in 468:2 and 637:1. His own index of Secrets of Heaven gives the present passage as the first relevant location in the work. However, he goes on to include the lungs with the heart in 2054, 2853:3, 2913:3, 4217:3, 4423:1. In 2913:3 and 4217:3 he specifically mentions 637 as the passage that supports his statement, and in 4423:1 he mentions 468 as well, so 468:2 and 637:1 are clearly the passages he is thinking of here in 931:1. See also 418, 9276:6, 9400:2; Heaven and Hell 328; Sacred Scripture 105; True Christianity 268. [SS]
{*2} This "universal human" is defined at 550 and 911:2. For other discussion, see also notes 5, 209, 330, 354, 517. [LHC]
{*3} For passages that specifically mention "the culmination of the age," see Matthew 24:3; Luke 21:7; see also Daniel 9:27. For "the day of visitation," see Isaiah 10:3; Hosea 9:7. Although the phrase "Last Judgment" does not occur in Scripture, judgment scenes do appear in Daniel 7:9-14; Matthew 24:3-14; 25:31-46; Revelation 20:11-15. [JSR]
{*4} This comment foreshadows a crucial aspect of Swedenborg's later thought: the idea that the Last Judgment of the dispensation of the Christian Church took place in the spiritual world in 1757. He went on to describe this event in his 1758 work Last Judgment, but here he speaks of it in apparent unawareness of the central place the event would someday have in his own theology. (This passage, published in 1749, contains one of his first allusions to this judgment. Another early reference, written on February 13, 1748, appears in his journal Spiritual Experiences [Swedenborg 1998-2002] 765; there he relates a vision of the number 57, guessing at its connection with the year 1657.) According to Swedenborg, the Last Judgment essentially consists of a purgation of the world of spirits, which, since the time of Christ, had accepted those who were externally but not internally good. These people had managed to construct a kind of counterfeit heaven in their realm, which began to obstruct the communion of heaven and earth. Their expulsion from the world of spirits does not result in an apocalypse of the conventional sort, but enables heaven to communicate with earth in a more direct manner than was previously possible. This in turn lays the groundwork for the creation of a new church. [RS, LSW]
{*5} For more on how this individual judgment occurs, and the role of the individual's will in it, see Secrets of Heaven 4663:1; Heaven and Hell 545-549. [JSR]
Potts(1905-1910) 931
931. During all the days of the earth. That this signifies all time, is evident from the signification of "day" as being a time (see n. 23, 487, 488, 493); wherefore "the days of the earth" here mean all time so long as there is earth [terra], or inhabitant upon the earth [tellure]. An inhabitant first ceases to be on the earth when there is no longer any church. For when there is no church, there is no longer any communication of man with heaven, and when this communication ceases, every inhabitant perishes. As we have seen before, it is with the church as with the heart and lungs in man: so long as the heart and lungs are sound, so long the man lives; and such also is the case with the Grand Man, which is the universal heaven, so long as the church lives; and therefore it is here said "during all the days of the earth, seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." From this it also may appear that the earth will not endure to eternity, but that it too will have its end; for it is said, "during all the days of the earth" that is, as long as the earth endures. [2] But as to believing that the end of the earth will be the same thing as the last judgment, foretold in the Word-where the consummation of the age, the day of visitation, and the last judgment are described-this is a mistake; for there is a last judgment of every church when it has been vastated, or when there is no longer in it any faith. The last judgment of the Most Ancient Church was when it perished, as in its last posterity just before the flood. The last judgment of the Jewish Church was when the Lord came into the world. There will also be a last judgment when the Lord shall come in glory; not that the earth and the world are then to perish, but that the church perishes; and then a new church is always raised up by the Lord; as at the time of the flood was the Ancient Church, and at the time of the coming of the Lord the primitive church of the Gentiles. [3] So also will there be a new church when the Lord shall come in glory, which is also meant by the new heaven and new earth, in like manner as with every regenerate man, who becomes a man of the church, or a church, and whose internal man, when he has been created anew, is called a new heaven, and his external man a new earth. Moreover there is also a last judgment for every man when he dies, for then, according to what he has done in the body, he is adjudged either to death or to life. That nothing else is meant, consequently not the destruction of the world, by the consummation of the age, the end of days, or the last judgment, is clearly evident from the words of the Lord in Luke:
In that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken and the other shall be left; there shall be two women grinding together, the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left (Luke 17:34-36), where the last time is called "night" because there is no faith, that is, no charity; and where by some being "left" it is clearly indicated that the world will not then perish.
Elliott(1983-1999) 931
931. That 'during all the days of the earth' means the whole of time is clear from the meaning of 'day' as a period of time, see 23, 487, 488, 493. Here therefore 'days of the earth' is the whole time the earth remains, or is inhabited. The earth ceases to be inhabited the moment the Church is no more. For when the Church is no more, no communication of man with heaven exists any longer, and when this communication comes to an end every inhabitant perishes. As stated already, the Church is like the heart and lungs in the individual. As long as the heart is sound, and also the lungs, the individual is alive; and the same applies to the Church and its relationship to the Grand Man, which is heaven in its entirety. This is the reason for the statement here 'during all the days of the earth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night will not cease'. From this it also becomes clear that the earth is not going to last for ever, but that it too will come to an end, for the reference is 'all the days of the earth', that is, as long as the earth remains.
[2] People are however mistaken in their belief that the end of the earth will be one and the same event as the Last Judgement referred to in the Word, that is to say, where the close of the age, the day of visitation, and the Last Judgement, are described. For a last judgement befalls every Church when it has been vastated, that is, when no faith exists there any longer. A last judgement on the Most Ancient Church took Place when it perished, as it did among its final descendants who lived immediately prior to the Flood. A last judgement on the Jewish Church took place when the Lord came into the world. And a further last judgement will take place when the Lord comes in glory. This does not mean that at that time the earth and the world are going to be destroyed, but that the Church is destroyed and, as always happens, a new Church is raised up by the Lord at that time. At the time of the Flood the Ancient Church was raised up, at the time of the Lord's Coming the primitive Church among gentiles; and the same will happen when the Lord comes in glory. It is also what 'a new heaven and a new earth' are used to mean.
[3] It is similar with everyone who has been regenerated and becomes a member of the Church, that is, becomes the Church. When he has been created anew his internal man is called 'a new heaven' and his external 'a new earth'. In addition a last judgement awaits everybody when he dies, for at that point, according to how he has acted during his lifetime, his judgement points either to death or to life. The fact that the close of the age, the end of days, or the Last Judgement have no other meaning, and do not therefore mean the destruction of the world, is quite clear from the Lord's words in Luke,
In that night there will be two in one bed, one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding together, one will be taken and the other left. Two will be in the field, one will be taken and the other left. Luke 17:34-36.
Here the last times are called 'night' because no faith, that is, no charity exists. The fact that some will be 'left' however is a clear indication that the world is not going to be destroyed at that time.
Latin(1748-1756) 931
931. Quod 'adhuc omnibus diebus terrae' significent omne tempus, constat ex significatione 'diei,' quod sit tempus, videatur n. 23, 487, 488, 493; quare hic 'dies terrae' est omne tempus quamdiu terra seu incola super tellure; incola super tellure tunc primum cessat esse cum amplius nulla Ecclesia; nam cum nulla Ecclesia, non amplius datur communicatio hominis cum caelo, qua communicatione cessante, omnis incola perit; Ecclesia se habet, ut prius dictum, sicut cor et pulmo in homine; quamdiu cor integrum est et pulmo, tamdiu vivit homo, ita quoque quamdiu Ecclesia respective ad Maximum Hominem, qui est universum caelum; quare hic dicitur 'omnibus diebus terrae sementis et messis, et frigus et aestus, et aestas et hiems, et dies et nox, non cessabunt'; inde constare quoque potest quod tellus in aeternum non duratura, sed quod quoque suum finem habitura, nam dicitur 'omnibus diebus terrae,' hoc est, quamdiu terra. [2] Quod autem credant finem terrae idem fore ac ultimum judicium de quo in Verbo, ubi de consummatione saeculi, de die visitationis, et de ultimo judicio agitur, in eo falluntur; nam ultimum judicium est cujusvis Ecclesiae cum vastata est seu cum in ea amplius nulla fides; ultimum judicium Antiquissimae Ecclesiae fuit cum periit, ut in posteritate ejus ultima proxime ante diluvium: ultimum judicium fuit Ecclesiae Judaica cum Dominus venit in mundum: ultimum judicium quoque futurum cum Dominis venturus in gloriam; non quod tunc peritura sit terra e periturus mundus sed quod pereat Ecclesia; at tunc semper nova Ecclesia a Domino resuscitatur; sicut tempore diluvii Ecclesia Antiqua et tempore Adventus Domini, Ecclesia primitiva gentium; ita quoque cum Dominus venturus in gloriam; quod quoque per 'novam caelum et novam terram' etiam intelligitur; [3] similiter ac apud unumquemvis regeneratum qui fit homo Ecclesiae seu Ecclesia, qui dum e novo creatus est, internus ejus homo vocatur 'novum caelum' et externus 'nova terra': praeterea etiam ultimum judicium est cuivis homini cum moritur, nam tunc secundum illa quae egit in corpore, judicatur vel ad mortem vel ad vitam. Quod per consummationem saeculi, finem dierum, aut ultimum judicium, non intelligatur aliud, proinde non mundi interitus, constat clare a Domini verbis apud Lucam, In illa nocte, erunt duo in lecto uno, unus assumetur, alter relinquetur: duae erunt molentes simul, una assumetur, et alter relinquetur: duo erunt in agro, unus assumetur et alter relinquetur xvii 34-36;ubi ultimum tempus vocatur 'nox,' quia nulla fides, hoc est, charitas et quod 'relinquetur,' quo clare indicatur quod non periturus tunc mundus.