In chapter 4 of the Book of Amos, verses 1-3 are talking about people who pervert the truths of the church. They will fall into falsities in outermost things.

In the Bible, fish represent "lower" things than mammals, so we can interpret the fishhooks in verse 2 as meaning being caught and held fast in natural or lower things.

Verses 4-6 are about acts of worship such as tithes and sacrifices. These look similar to genuine worship, but are only external sorts of things. We can tell because ‘teeth’ (in verse 6) represent ultimates or outermost things (see Secrets of Heaven 6380). It follows that “cleanness of teeth” would mean outermost things that look good but only imitate genuine worship. The Lord exhorts, “Yet you have not returned to me.”

Verses 7-8. Some things true will remain, when where there are too many false ideas, the truths don't get through. This can be seen where the Lord says, “I made it rain on one city; I withheld rain from another city... where it did not rain the part withered.” Again the Lord exhorts, “Yet you have not returned to me.”

Verse 9. Afterward all things of the church are falsified, shown by blight attacking the gardens, vineyards, fig tree and olive trees. The last three represent spiritual, natural and celestial things, or all the things of spiritual life. “Yet you have not returned to me,” says the Lord.

Verses 10-11. The Lord explains the devastating things he allowed to happen: plague in Egypt, death of young men by swords, stench in the camps, Sodom and Gomorrah. This is because they are profaned by sensual knowledges. Profanation means the mixing of good and evil together. (See Secrets of Heaven 1001[2]).

This extends to all things of the church, with the church being the Lord’s kingdom on earth (Secrets of Heaven 768[3]).

With profanation “as soon as any idea of what is holy arises, the idea of what is profane joins immediately to it,” (Secrets of Heaven 301).

Now there is hardly anything left. “Yet you have not returned to Me,” says the Lord again.

Verses 12-13: Because people adamantly remain in their profane ways, they are warned, “Prepare to meet your God!”. This is the God powerful and mighty, “who forms mountains, and creates the wind,” and even more close to home, “Who declares to man what his thought is.” As intimately a knowing as that is, the Lord’s love for all humanity is contained in His exhortations for them to turn themselves to Him.

See, for example, Luke 6:44-45, and True Christian Religion 373.

序 言

那些拘守字义, 不通过圣言中解释内义的其它经文寻求内义之人所受的迷惑是何等大啊. 这一事实从大量异端邪说非常清楚地看出来, 其中每个异端都通过圣言的字义来证明自己的信条. 这从地狱般的疯狂我欲和物欲通过主对彼得所说的话而制造出的大异端尤其看得明显:

我告诉你: 你是彼得, 我要把我的教会建造在这磐石上, 阴间的门不能胜过它. 我要把天国的钥匙给你, 凡你在地上所捆绑的, 在天上也要捆绑; 凡你在地上所释放的, 在天上也要释放. (马太福音 16:15-19)

执着于字义的人以为这些话是指着彼得这个人说的, 他被赋予了如此大的权柄. 尽管他们十分清楚, 彼得只是一个非常普通的人, 他绝不会行使这样的权柄, 并且行使这样的权柄违反神性. 但由于充满地狱般的疯狂我欲和物欲, 他们渴望将天上地上的权柄据为己有, 使自己成为神明, 于是便照字面解释这段话, 还拼命捍卫它. 可这些话的内义是: 拥有这权柄的, 是对主的信本身, 然而也不是信, 而是作为那信之源头的主, 唯独那些拥有对主之爱和对邻之仁的人才拥有这样的信. 在对 “彼得” 所说的这些话中, “磐石” 表示那信, 这在圣言别处也一样. 教会就建立在那信上, 阴间的门不能胜过它. 那信拥有天国的钥匙, 它关闭天堂, 以防恶与假进入, 并向善与真打开天堂. 这就是这些话的内义.

十二使徒和以色列的十二支派一样, 无非代表这信的各个方面 (577, 2089, 2129, 2130节末尾). 彼得代表信本身, 雅各代表仁爱, 约翰代表仁之善 (参看创世记18章序言). 在犹太人和以色列人的代表性教会中, 雅各的三个大儿子, 即流便, 西缅和利未也一样, 这一点从圣言中上千处经文清楚看出来. 由于彼得代表信, 故此处这些话是对他说的. 由此明显可知, 那些照字面解释一切的人使自己和同他们在一起的其他人陷入何等的黑暗之中; 如那些从字面上解释对彼得所说的这些话, 用来夺走主拯救人类的权柄, 并将其据为己有之人所做的那样.

22章

2760. 在约翰所写的启示录中, 就其内义而言, 圣言被描述如下:

我看见天开了, 见有一匹白马. 那骑马的称为忠信而真实, 祂审判, 争战都按着公义. 祂的眼睛如火焰, 祂头上戴着许多冠冕, 又有写着的名字, 除了祂自己没有人知道. 祂穿着溅了血的衣服, 祂的名称为神之道. 在天上的众军骑着白马, 穿着细麻衣, 又白又洁, 跟随祂. 在祂衣服和大腿上有名写着: 万王之王, 万主之主. (启示录 19:11-14, 16)

若不藉着内义, 没人知道这段描述的每一部分包含什么. 显然, 它们各自都具有代表性和灵义. 如 “天开了”, “白马”, “那骑马的称为忠信而真实”, “审判, 争战都按着公义”; “祂的眼睛如火焰”, “祂头上戴着许多冠冕”, “又有写着的名字, 除了祂自己没有人知道”, “祂穿着溅了血的衣服”, “在天上的众军骑着白马, 穿着细麻衣, 又白又洁, 跟随祂”, “在祂衣服和大腿上有名写着”. 通俗地说, 骑白马的是圣言, 祂就是主, 也就是圣言. 因为经上说 “祂的名称为神之道”, 然后又说 “在祂衣服和大腿上有名写着: 万王之王, 万主之主. ”

从对每句话的解读明显可知, 此处描述的是圣言的内义. “天开了” 代表和表示圣言的内义只在天上能被看到, 而天堂会向那些拥有对主之爱和源于这爱的对主之信的人敞开. “白马” 代表和表示对圣言内在的理解或认知; 接下来的一段则表明 “白马” 具有这样的代表性和灵义. “那骑马的” 是指圣言和为圣言的主, 这是显而易见的. 祂由于良善而称为 “忠信”, “按着公义审判”, 由于真理而称为 “真实”, “按着公义争战”. “祂的眼睛如火焰” 表从神性之爱发出的神圣良善的神圣真理. 祂 “头上戴着许多冠冕” 表信的一切事物. “又有写着的名字, 除了祂自己没有人知道” 表除了主自己和祂所揭示给的人之外, 没人明白圣言的内义是什么. “祂穿着溅了血的衣服” 表字面上的圣言. “在天上的众军骑着白马跟随祂” 表那些理解圣言内在内容的人. “穿着细麻衣, 又白又洁” 同样表这些具有爱和源于爱之信的人. “在祂衣服和大腿上写着” 的名表真理与良善. 从启示录中的这几节经文, 以及前后文明显可知, 圣言的内义将针对教会的末期被打开. 那一章有几节 (启示录 19:17-21) 还描述了教会末期所发生的事.