1. 前言:新天國與新教會的信仰

首先, 將本書中所講述的真實的基督徒信仰, 也就是新天國和新教會的信仰, 分別以總體和具體的形式概要地說明。作為接下來全書的引言, 或作為進入聖殿的大門, 又或作為詳細內容的概要。此信仰被稱為新天國和新教會的信仰, 因為天人(angel)組成的天國和世人組成的教會, 如同一個人的靈魂與肉體, 內外一致,行動如一。因此, 若教會之人活在良善與真理之中, 對於思想內在而言, 他就是天國的一名天人。在肉身死後, 他便進入天國, 照著良善與真理在他裡面聯合的狀態在那裡安享極樂。當知道, 在主現在正建立的新天國中, 這樣的信仰是新天國的引言,入門和概要。

912. And the city was pure gold, like clear glass. This symbolically means that everything connected with the New Church therefore embodies the goodness of love flowing in together with light out of heaven from the Lord.

The city, that is, Jerusalem, means the Lord's New Church in respect to everything in it or within its wall. Gold symbolizes the goodness of love from the Lord, as will be seen next. Being like clear glass symbolizes its having Divine wisdom shining clearly through; and because that wisdom appears in heaven as light and flows in from the Lord as the sun, being like pure glass symbolizes its flowing in together with light out of heaven from the Lord.

In no. 908 above we showed that everything connected with heaven and the church springs from the goodness of love, and that the goodness of love comes from the Lord. Now we say here that the city's looking as though it were pure gold means, symbolically, that everything connected with the New Church, the New Jerusalem, embodies the goodness of love from the Lord. Yet because the goodness of love does not exist by itself, divorced from the truths of wisdom, but for it to be the goodness of love must take form and does take form through truths of wisdom, therefore the city is said here to be pure gold, like clear glass. For the goodness of love without truths of wisdom does not have any character, because it lacks form. Its form accords with the truths it has flowing in in their order and connection together with the goodness of love from the Lord, thus in accord with its reception in a person. We say, in a person, but we mean not that the truths are a person's, but that they are the Lord's in him.

It is apparent from this now that the city's being pure gold, like clear glass, symbolically means that everything connected with the New Church therefore embodies the goodness of love flowing in with light out of heaven from the Lord.