70. 16 The references in Matthew 24:3 to “the close of the age” and “the Coming of the Lord” that follows it mean the final state or the end of the church of today.
Survey of Teachings of the New Church # 77
77. 18 The statement in Matthew 24 “After the affliction of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken” (Matthew 24:29) means that at the last time of the Christian church, when its end is imminent, it will have no love, no faith, and no knowledge of what is good or what is true.
