2523. “她是我妹子” 表当请教的是理性, 也就是说, 祂认为应当这样请教. 这从本章 “妹子” 的含义清楚可知, “妹子” 是指理性真理 (参看1495, 2508节). 主的整个生命, 就是诸如在世时它要成为的样子, 在圣言的内义中被描述出来, 甚至包括祂的直觉和思维. 这些事因来自神性, 故早已预见并规定了. 就内义而言, 对它们作出这种规定的另外一个原因是, 主在世时的生命事件可以被展示出来, 如同将真实情况呈现给根据内义领悟圣言的天使. 主以这种方式置于他们面前, 同时祂逐渐脱去人性, 披上神性的方式也置于他们面前. 若非这些事通过圣言, 以及通过犹太教会的一切宗教仪式如同呈现真实情况那样显现给天使, 那么被称为 “人” 或亚当的上古教会一没落, 主就必须降世. 因为上古教会一没落, 经上 (创世记 3:15) 就预言了主的降临. 而且, 若非如此, 那时的人类无法得救.

至于主的生命本身, 它是人性朝着神性不断发展, 直到完全合一 (如前面频繁所述) 的过程. 因为若要与地狱争战并战胜它们, 主必须通过这人身, 与地狱争战不会通过神性进行. 既然如此, 祂乐意象其他人那样披上人身, 乐意象其他人那样成为一个小孩子, 乐意在亚伯拉罕寄居埃及 (12章), 以及现在寄居基拉耳所代表和表示的知识和认知方面成长. 因此, 祂乐意象其他人那样发展理性, 驱散包裹它的幽暗, 将其带入光中, 并且凭祂自己的力量成就这一切. 仅仅考虑到以下事实, 也没人会质疑主以这样的方式从人性发展到神性: 即祂是一个小孩子, 和其他小孩子一样学习说话, 等等. 不过, 也有不同: 即神性本身在祂里面, 因为祂从耶和华成孕.

The Hebrew of the Old Testament has six different common words which are generally translated as "wife," which largely overlap but have different nuances. Swedenborg uses two different Latin words, which largely overlap but have different nuances. Meanwhile, "wife" is often paired with "man" or "husband," which are also catch-all translations for a basket of Hebrew and Latin terms. So it's hard to pin down one universal meaning for "wife"; context and subject matter have a large effect.

In general, though, marriage in the Bible represents the union we all seek between our hearts and our minds. If we know what is right and pursue it faithfully, the Lord will ultimately help us love doing what is good, and the two aspects of ourselves will be unified. On a higher level, marriage represents the union we can have with the Lord, both individually and collectively as a church. As an intrinsic part of the marriage, the wife plays a key role in that meaning. But that meaning is different depending on what is being described.

If the marriage is describing a person who is spiritual in nature – "spiritual" being the second degree of heavenly life, in which people are led by intellect and knowledge with the desire for good following – the wife represents the desire for good, the affections that drive the person. If the marriage is describing someone who is celestial in nature – "celestial" being the highest degree of heavenly life, in which people are led from love, with the intellect and ideas following – the wife represents the true ideas held by the person or church. If the marriage is describing the union between the Lord and the church, the wife represents the church.

In a way, these are symbolic meanings that actually have little to do with gender. When "wife" describes a church, obviously that church can include both male and female people. When "wife" describes an aspect of a person, that person can obviously be either male or female.

(Odkazy: Arcana Coelestia 915, 1468, 1904 [1-2], 3246 [3-4], 3398, 4823 [2])