73、正如神性在一切空间之中，却无关空间，神性也在一切时间之中，却无关时间。因为自然界的属性不能论及神性，而空间和时间都是自然界的属性。自然界的空间是可度量的，时间也是如此。时间以日、周、月、年和世纪来度量；日以时来度量；周和月以日来度量；年以四季来度量；世纪以年来度量。自然界从地球的自转和公转中获得这种度量。
在灵界则不同；在灵界，生活的进程看似同样在时间中，因为那里的人彼此共同生活，与世人无异；没有时间的表象，这是不可能的。但灵界的时间不像世界上的那样分成各个时间段，因为他们的太阳始终在东方，从不移动；事实上，是主的神性之爱向他们显为一轮太阳。所以，他们没有日、周、月、年和世纪，取而代之的是生命的状态；据此所作的划分不能被称为时间的划分，而应被称为状态的划分。因此，天使不知道时间为何物；一提到时间，他们就理解为状态，而不是时间。此外，当状态决定时间时，时间只是一个表象。因为快乐的状态使得时间显得短暂，不快乐的状态使得时间显得漫长。由此明显可知，在灵界，时间无非是状态的品质。
正因如此，在圣言中，“时”“日”“周”“月”“年”表示状态和状态整体上的一系列发展。当时间论及教会时，“早晨”表示教会的第一个状态，“正午”表示教会的圆满，“傍晚”表示教会的衰退，“夜间”表示教会的结束。一年四季“春”“夏”“秋”“冬”具有同样的含义。
73. Divinity is in all time, nontemporally. Just as Divinity is in all space nonspatially, it is in all time nontemporally. Nothing proper to the physical world can be attributed to Divinity, and space and time are proper to the physical world. Space in the physical world can be measured, and so can time. Time is measured in days, weeks, months, years, and centuries; days are measured in hours; weeks and months in days; years in the four seasons; and centuries in years. The physical world gets these measurements from the apparent circuit and rotation of earth's sun.
It is different in the spiritual world. Life does seem to go on in time there in much the same way. People live with each other the way we do on earth, which cannot happen without some appearance of time. However, time there is not divided into segments the way it is in our world because their sun is always in its east. It never moves. It is actually the Lord's divine love that angels see as their sun. This means that they do not have days, weeks, months, years, or centuries, but states of life instead. It provides them with divisions that cannot be called divisions into time segments, only divisions of state. This is why angels do not know what time is, and why they think of state when time is mentioned. Further, when it is state that determines time, time is only an appearance. A pleasant state makes time seem brief, and an unpleasant one makes it seem long. We can therefore see that time in the spiritual world is simply an attribute of state.
This is why hours, days, weeks, months, and years in the Word mean states and their sequences, viewed either serially or comprehensively. When the church is described in terms of time, its morning is its initial state, its noon is its fulfillment, its evening is its decline, and its night is its end. The same holds true for the four seasons of the year: spring, summer, fall, and winter.
73. The Divine is present through all time independently of time. As the Divine is present through all space independently of space, so it is present through all time independently of time. For no property of nature can be predicated of the Divine, and space and time are properties of nature.
Space in nature is measurable, and so, too, is time. Time is measured in terms of days, weeks, months, years and centuries, and a day then in terms of hours, a week and month in terms of days, a year in terms of the four seasons, and centuries in terms of years.
Nature has this measurement from the apparent orbital motion and cycling of the world's sun.
[2] The same is not the case, however, in the spiritual world. Progressions of life there in similar manner appear to take place in time, since people live in that world with each other as people in this world do, which is not possible without an appearance of time; but time there is not distinguished into periods as in the world, for their sun stands constantly in their east, never moving, because it is the Lord's Divine love that appears to them as the sun. Consequently they do not have days, weeks, months, years, or centuries, but instead of these states of life, which result in transitions, transitions which cannot be called transitions of time but transitions of state.
So it is that angels do not know what time is, and when they hear time referred to, they perceive instead a reference to state. Moreover, when state is what determines time, time is only an appearance; for a state of delight causes time to seem short, and a state devoid of delight causes time to seem long.
From this it is apparent that time in the spiritual world is nothing other than a quality of state.
[3] It is owing to this that hours, days, weeks, months and years in the Word symbolize states and their progressions in their sequence and in their entirety. Thus when times are mentioned in reference to a church, by its morning is meant its first state, by its noon or midday its fullness, by its evening its decline, and by its night its end. The same stages are meant by the four seasons of the year, namely spring, summer, fall, and winter.
73. THE DIVINE IS IN ALL TIME, APART FROM TIME
Just as the Divine is in all space apart from space, so it is in all time apart from time, for nothing which is proper to Nature can be predicated of the Divine, and space and time are proper to Nature. Space in Nature is measurable, and so is time. Time is measured by days, weeks, months, years and centuries; days are measured by hours, weeks and months by days, years by the four seasons, and centuries by years. Nature derives this measurement from the apparent revolution and rotation of the sun of the world. But it is otherwise in the spiritual world. There, the progressions of life appear in the same way to be in time; for they live there with one another as men in the world do, and this Is not possible without the appearance of time. But time there is not distinguished into times as in the world, for their Sun is constantly in the east, and never moves away. For it is the Lord's Divine Love which appears to them as a Sun. And so they have not days, weeks, months, years, centuries but in place of these there are states of life, through which distinction is made which cannot be called a distinction into times but into states. Hence it is that the angels do not know what time is, and when it is mentioned, they perceive state in place of it. When states determine time, then time is only an appearance. For joyfulness of state makes time appear short, and joylessness of state makes time appear long. From which it is evident that time in the spiritual world is nothing but a quality of state. It is from this that in the Word, "hours," "days," "weeks," "months" and "years" signify states and their progressions in series and in the aggregate. And when times are predicated of the Church, by its "morning" is understood its first state, by "mid-day" its fullness, by "evening" its decline and by "night" its end. The same states are understood by the four seasons of the year which are "spring," "summer," "autumn" and "winter."
73. THE DIVINE IS IN ALL TIME, APART FROM TIME.
As the Divine, apart from space, is in all space, so also, apart from time, is it in all time. For nothing which is proper to nature can be predicated of the Divine, and space and time are proper to nature. Space in nature is measurable, and so is time. This is measured by days, weeks, months, years, and centuries; days are measured by hours; weeks and months by days; years by the four seasons; and centuries by years. Nature derives this measurement from the apparent revolution and annual motion of the sun of the world. But in the spiritual world it is different. The progressions of life in that world appear in like manner to be in time, for those there live with one another as men in the world live with one another; and this is not possible without the appearance of time. But time there is not divided into periods as in the world, for their sun is constantly in the east and is never moved away; for it is the Lord's Divine Love that appears to them as a sun. Wherefore they have no days, weeks, months, years, centuries, but in place of these there are states of life, by which a distinction is made which cannot be called, however, a distinction into periods, but into states. Consequently, the angels do not know what time is, and when it is mentioned they perceive in place of it state; and when state determines time, time is only an appearance. For joyfulness of state makes time seem short, and joylessness of state makes time seem long; from which it is evident that time in the spiritual world is nothing but quality of state. It is from this that in the Word, "hours," "days," "weeks," "months," and "years," signify states and progressions of state in series and in the aggregate; and when times are predicated of the church, by its "morning" is meant its first state, by "mid-day" its fullness by "evening" its decline, and by "night" its end. The four seasons of the year "spring," "summer," "autumn," and "winter," have a like meaning.
73. QUOD DIVINUM SIT IN OMNI TEMPORE ABSQUE TEMPORE: Sicut Divinum est in omni spatio absque spatio, ita est in omni tempore absque tempore; non enim aliquid naturae proprium de Divino potest praedicari, et naturae propria sunt spatium et Tempus. Spatium in natura est mensurabile, similiter Tempus; mensuratur Tempus per dies, septimanas, menses, annos et saecula, ac dies per horas, septimana et mensis per dies, annus per quatuor tempora, et saecula per annos. Mensurationem hanc trahit Natura ex apparente circumgy ratione et circumlatione Solis mundi.
[2] Aliter vero in Mundo spirituali; ibi progressiones vitae similiter apparent in tempore, vivunt enim ibi inter se, sicut homines mundi inter se, quod non datur absque apparentia temporis; sed Tempus ibi non distinguitur in tempora ut in mundo, nam Sol eorum est in suo Oriente constanter, nusquam dimotus, est enim Divinus Amor Domini qui illis apparet ut Sol; inde non sunt illis dies, septimanae, menses, anni, saecula, sed loco illorum sunt status vitae, per quos fit distinctio, quae non vocari potest distinctio in tempora, sed in status: inde est, quod Angeli non sciant quid tempus, et quod, cum nominatur, loco ejus percipiant statum; et cum status determinat tempus, est tempus modo apparentia, nam jucundum status facit ut tempus appareat breve, et injucundum status facit ut tempus appareat longum: ex quibus patet quod tempus ibi non sit nisi quam quale status.
[3] Ex eo est, quod per horas, dies, septimanas, menses et annos in Verbo significentur status, et eorum progressiones in serie et in complexu; et cum tempora praedicantur de Ecclesia, quod per mane ejus intelligatur primus ejus status, per meridiem plenum ejus, per vesperam decrescentia ejus, et per noctem finis ejus: similia per quatuor tempora anni, quae sunt ver, aestas, autumnus et hyems.