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])

248. 所以, 当人关注天堂, 就说是 “挺身而走”, 或者 “仰望”, 抑或 “向前”, 意思是一样的. 当人关注肉体和尘世, 就说是 “伏于地面”, 或者 “俯视”, 抑或 “退后”. 例如: “我是耶和华你们的神, 曾将你们从埃及地领出来, 使你们不作埃及人的奴仆, 我也折断你们所负的轭, 叫你们挺身而走.” (利未记 26:13)

又如: “这祸在你们的颈项上不能解脱, 你们也不能昂首而行.” (弥迦书 2:3)

再如: “耶路撒冷大大犯罪, 素来尊敬她的, 见她赤露就都藐视她. 她自己也叹息退后. 他从高天使火进入我的骨头, 使我退后. 他使我终日凄凉发昏.” (耶利米哀歌 1:8, 13)

再如: “你的救赎主耶和华, 使智慧人退后, 使他的知识变为愚拙.” (以赛亚书 44:24–25)