275. 自最遠古時期, 宗教就已存在, 世人各地的人們都知道上帝, 並知道死後生活的事情。這些知識絕非從他們自己而來, 或自行悟出, 而是來自古聖言(參看264-266節), 以及之後的以色列聖言。基於此二聖言的宗教概念散佈到印度群島及鄰近島嶼, 經埃及和埃塞俄比亞傳至非洲各國, 從亞細亞沿岸至希臘並延至義大利。

因為聖言只能以高度象徵的文字書寫, 用世上之物來對應,因而代表天上之物, 宗教的概念就被各族百姓淪為偶像崇拜的思想。在希臘變為神話傳說, 並將上帝的屬性與特徵轉變成眾多神明, 在眾神明之上設置一位稱為朱庇特的至高神, 或許這名字源自耶和華(注:朱庇特Jove, 耶和華Jehovah)。

眾所周知, 他們知道樂園,大洪水,祭火,從黃金到鐵器四個時代(參看但以理書2:31-35)等概念。

The Hebrew of the Old Testament has six different common words which are generally translated as "wife," which largely overlap but have different nuances. Swedenborg uses two different Latin words, which largely overlap but have different nuances. Meanwhile, "wife" is often paired with "man" or "husband," which are also catch-all translations for a basket of Hebrew and Latin terms. So it's hard to pin down one universal meaning for "wife"; context and subject matter have a large effect.

In general, though, marriage in the Bible represents the union we all seek between our hearts and our minds. If we know what is right and pursue it faithfully, the Lord will ultimately help us love doing what is good, and the two aspects of ourselves will be unified. On a higher level, marriage represents the union we can have with the Lord, both individually and collectively as a church. As an intrinsic part of the marriage, the wife plays a key role in that meaning. But that meaning is different depending on what is being described.

If the marriage is describing a person who is spiritual in nature – "spiritual" being the second degree of heavenly life, in which people are led by intellect and knowledge with the desire for good following – the wife represents the desire for good, the affections that drive the person. If the marriage is describing someone who is celestial in nature – "celestial" being the highest degree of heavenly life, in which people are led from love, with the intellect and ideas following – the wife represents the true ideas held by the person or church. If the marriage is describing the union between the Lord and the church, the wife represents the church.

In a way, these are symbolic meanings that actually have little to do with gender. When "wife" describes a church, obviously that church can include both male and female people. When "wife" describes an aspect of a person, that person can obviously be either male or female.

(Препратки: Arcana Coelestia 915, 1468, 1904 [1-2], 3246 [3-4], 3398, 4823 [2])