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])

2598. 当我读《士师记》十七, 十八章有关米迦的内容, 即但人如何盗走米迦的雕像, 神像和利未人时, 有一个来自外邦人的灵人正好在场,

他在世时曾敬拜偶像. 他听得全神贯注, 当听到米迦的遭遇, 以及他因被但人盗走的神像而那样悲痛时, 便充满忧伤, 以致头脑一片空白. 我能感觉到他的忧伤和每一丝情感中的纯真. 在场有几个基督灵人 (Christian spirit), 看到一个拜偶像的人竟有如此悲悯的心肠和天真无邪的性情, 都感到吃惊. 之后, 一些善灵与他交谈, 指示他不当拜偶像, 他本该明白这一点, 因为他是一个人. 天使告诉他, 他的思想应该超越偶像看到神, 即整个天和整个地的创造者和治理者, 这神就是主. 他们在说这些事的时候, 我得以感觉到他深深的崇敬之情, 这种感情传给我, 比我从基督徒所感受到的要神圣得多. 我由此看出, 照主的话说 (路加福音 13:29-30), 今天的外邦人比基督徒更容易进入天堂, 如今的基督徒就没有这样的感情. 他处在这样的状态, 自能吸收信的一切事物, 而且是带着深切的感情来接受. 因为他有着怜悯的心肠, 这是爱的表现, 并且他的无知中带有纯真. 有这样的秉性, 信的一切事物可以说会被其自然而然, 欢喜快乐地接受. 此后, 他被接到天使当中.