67. It needs further to be known that this which is called the first heaven was not composed of any who had lived before the Lord came into the world, but entirely of those who lived after His coming. At the end of each church (as shown in 33-39 above) a last judgment takes place, and then the former heaven is abolished and a new one is created or formed. From the beginning up to the end of a church all are tolerated who outwardly lived a moral life and maintained a pious and holy appearance in outward behaviour, even if there was nothing within it, so long as the internal levels of thoughts and intentions could be kept in check by the civil and moral laws of society. But at the end of a church the internal levels are disclosed, and then a judgment is passed upon the people. That is why a last judgment on the inhabitants of this planet has taken place twice before, and now for the third time (see 46 above). So too heaven with the earth has twice before passed away and a new heaven with a new earth has been created (as shown above, 1-5). From this it is plain that the new heaven and the new earth mentioned by the Old Testament Prophets are not the same as the new heaven and the new earth mentioned in Revelation. The former ones were created by the Lord when He was in the world, and the latter is being created by Him now. We read about them in the Old Testament Prophets as follows:
Behold, I shall create a new heaven and a new earth, and the former ones will not be remembered. Isa. 65:17.
and elsewhere:
I shall make a new heaven and a new earth. Isa. 66:22.
It is also said in Daniel.