Jerusalem, on Mount Zion, signifies the doctrine of love to the Lord, and how it governs your life. Jerusalem first comes to our attention in 2 Samuel 5, when King David takes the city from the Jebusites and makes it his capital. In the next chapter he brings the Ark of the Covenant there, and later it is where Solomon builds the temple, and his own palace. From then on Jerusalem is the center of worship of the Israelitish church. It is the place where the Lord was presented in the temple as a baby, where He tarried to talk to the priests at age twelve, where He cleansed the temple, had the last supper, was crucified and then rose. It is a central place in both the old and new Testaments. The city was built on Mount Zion, the highest point of the mountains of Judea. A city, in the Word, represents doctrine, the organized knowledge of the truths of the church. Mountains represent love of the Lord and the consequent worship. If you put those things together, Jerusalem on Mount Zion signifies the doctrine of love to the Lord, and how it governs your life. This is why David was led to make Jerusalem the most important city of the land, and why all worship was conducted there. And this is also why Jeroboam was condemned for introducing idol worship in Samaria. In the Book of Revelation, John's vision of the city New Jerusalem descending from God is a prophecy of a new dispensation of doctrine coming from the Lord.

(Odkazy: Arcana Coelestia 4539, 8938; The Apocalypse Explained 365 [35-38])

7632. “我使他的心发沉, 使他臣仆的心发沉” 表他们仍旧固执, 并且彼此都是一样的. 这从 “发沉”, “刚硬”, “使心坚硬” 的含义, 以及法老的代表清楚可知: “发沉”, “刚硬”, “使心坚硬” 是指固执 (参看7272, 7300, 7305节); 心发沉的法老是指那些进行侵扰的人, 当经上说 “他和他臣仆” 时, 所表示的是彼此都是一样的, 因为臣仆和他一起构成他的家. 当经上说 “耶和华使法老的心发沉” 时, 内义上的意思是说, 法老使自己的心发沉. 古时, 为了简单人的缘故, 所有坏事都被归与耶和华; 这是因为简单人不可能知道, 并且大多数也不明白所生的事, 其源头除在耶和华里面外, 还能在哪里. 他们也不知道如何理解这一真理: 耶和华容许魔鬼团伙造成邪恶, 并不阻止他们, 尽管祂拥有一切能力. 由于简单人不明白这些事, 甚至连聪明人也几乎不明白, 所以才照着多数人所认为的说, 甚至邪恶也源于耶和华. 这是圣言的一个共同特征, 圣言的字义适合简单人的信仰. 在圣言中被归与耶和华的邪恶来源于人 (参看2447, 6071, 6991, 6997, 7533节).