AC 2240 - Two Kinds of Falsity; AC 2243 - Consummation, Then Vastation & Desolation, Then Visitation

 AC 2240 [1, 8]

. . .  a "cry" denotes falsity,
and "sin" evil . . .

. . . there are two kinds of falsity;
and so also there are two kinds of evil.
Both kinds of falsity and evil
are meant in this verse by the
"cry of Sodom and Gomorrah having become great,
and their sin having become exceeding grievous;"
(Genesis 18:20)
as is evident from the fact that
"cry" is named in the first place,
and "sin" in the second;
and yet "Sodom," which is evil from the love of self,
is mentioned first;
and "Gomorrah," which is the derivative falsity, second.

AC 2243 [7-8]

The Lord then came into the world,
and by the union of the Divine Essence
with the Human Essence in Himself,
conjoined heaven with earth,
and at the same time He set up again a new church,
called the Christian Church,
which at first was in the good of faith,
and its members
lived in charity with one another as brethren.
But in process of time
this church has departed in diverse ways,
and at the present day has become such
that its members do not even know
that the fundamental of faith
is love to the Lord
and charity toward the neighbor;
and although they say from doctrine
that the Lord is the Savior of the human race,
that they are to rise again after death,
and that there is a heaven and a hell,
yet few believe it.
As this church has become such,
its consummation is not far off.

All this shows what "consummation" is,
namely, that it is when evil has come to its height.
 
. . . Consummation is treated of in the Word
in various places,
and the state which precedes
is described by "vastation" and "desolation,"
which is followed by "visitation."