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])

4257. “来杀我, 连母亲和儿女都不放过” 表它即将灭亡. 这是显而易见的, 无需解释. 在生活于代表和有意义的符号时代的古人当中, “杀母亲和儿女” 是一个谚语, 意思是毁灭教会和教会所属的一切, 这教会要么是总体上, 要么是具体的, 也就是本身为教会的任何人. 因为他们将 “母亲” 理解为教会 (参看289, 2691, 2717节), 将 “儿女” 理解为属于教会的真理 (参看489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 3373节). 因此, “杀母亲和儿女” 表示完全灭亡. 当教会和属于教会的一切在人里面灭亡时, 也就是说, 当对真理的情感 (严格来说, 该情感由 “母亲” 来表示, 并在人里面产生教会) 被摧毁时, 他也就完全灭亡了.