1232. “亚兰” 表对良善的认知. 这可从前面所述, 以及圣言推知, 如以西结书:

亚兰人因你的货品繁多, 就作你的客商; 他们用绿宝石, 紫色布, 绣货, 细麻布, 珊瑚, 红宝石兑换你的货物. (以西结书 27:16)

这论及推罗, 或拥有认知. “货品, 绿宝石, 紫色布, 绣货, 细麻布, 珊瑚, 红宝石” 在此无非表对良善的认知. 何西阿书:

从前雅各逃到亚兰的田野, 以色列为得妻服侍人, 为得妻与人放羊. 耶和华借先知领以色列从埃及上来, 以色列也藉先知而得保存. 以法莲大大惹动主怒. (何西阿书 12:12-14)

此处 “雅各” 表外在教会, “以色列” 表内在属灵教会. “亚兰” 表对良善的认知, “埃及” 表败坏的知识, “以法莲” 表败坏的聪明才智. 在此上下文中, 这些所表示的意思无法从字义看出来, 只能通过内义推知, 这些名字的内义表教会的真实事物, 如前所述. 以赛亚书:

看哪, 大马士革已被废弃, 不再为城, 必变作废墟. 以法莲不再有保障, 大马士革不再有国权; 亚兰所剩下的, 必像以色列人的荣耀. (以赛亚书 17:1, 3)

“亚兰所剩下的” 在此表对良善的认知, 它们被称为 “以色列的荣耀”. “亚兰” 或叙利亚在反面意义上表对已败坏的良善的认知. 一个词具有 (好与坏) 两方面的意义, 这在圣言中是常有的事 (以赛亚书 7:4-6; 9:11-12; 申命记 26:5).

3480. I have also been shown how all the uncleanness present with that nation still did not prevent the interior aspects of the Word - that is, its inner spiritual and celestial content - from manifesting themselves in heaven. Actually all that uncleanness was taken away so as not to be noticed, and evils were also converted into good, so that mere external holiness might serve as a basis, in which the internal aspects of the Word were thereby presented to angels without the intrusion of any hindrances. From this it was evident to me how that inwardly idolatrous people were able to represent holy things, even the Lord Himself, and so how the Lord was able to dwell in the midst of all their uncleanness, Leviticus 16:16, and so to have the semblance of the Church there, for a merely representative Church is only a likeness of the Church and not the actual Church itself.

[2] Among Christians it is less easy to create the same situation since they do have a knowledge of the interior aspects of worship, though they do not believe them. Thus they are not able to have any holy feelings for external things divorced from internal. Furthermore with people who lead the life of faith communication is effected by means of the goods present within them - evils and falsities having meanwhile been banished. And at this point - amazingly so - every single detail of the Word when read by them is manifested before the angels. This happens despite the fact that those persons reading the Word pay no attention to the sense of it. This has been shown to me from much experience, for with those people the internal which is not so perceptible serves as a basis.