242. The second living creature like a calf. This symbolizes the Divine truth of the Word in respect to its affection.

Beasts of the earth symbolize various natural affections. They are also embodiments of them. And a calf symbolizes an affection for knowing. This affection is represented by a calf in the spiritual world, and in the Word it is consequently also symbolized by a calf, as in Hosea,

...we repay (to Jehovah) the calves of our lips. (Hosea 14:2)

"Calves of the lips" are confessions from an affection for truth.

In Malachi:

To you who fear My name the sun of righteousness shall arise with healing in its wings... that you may grow fat like fattened calves. (Malachi 4:2)

A comparison is made with fattened calves because they symbolize people who are filled with concepts of truth and goodness owing to an affection for knowing them.

In the book of Psalms:

The voice of Jehovah... makes (the cedars of Lebanon) dance like a calf... (Psalms 29:5, 6)

The cedars of Lebanon symbolize concepts of truth. That is why the passage says that the voice of Jehovah makes them dance like a calf. The voice of Jehovah is Divine truth, in the process here of affecting.

[2] Since the Egyptians loved knowledge, they therefore made themselves calves as a sign of their affection for it. But after they began to worship the calves as deities, then calves in the Word symbolized affections for knowing falsities, as in Jeremiah 46:20-21). Therefore we are told in Hosea:

...they have made for themselves a molten image... of their silver... Sacrificing a human being, they kiss the calves. (Hosea 13:2)

To make for oneself a molten image of silver means, symbolically, to falsify truth. To sacrifice a human being means, symbolically, to destroy wisdom. And to kiss calves means, symbolically, to accept falsities out of an affection for them.

In Isaiah:

There the calf will feed; there it will lie down and consume its branches. (Isaiah 27:10)

The same is symbolically meant by the calf in Jeremiah 34:18-20.

[3] Since all Divine worship springs from affections for truth and goodness and so for concepts of them, therefore the sacrifices in which the worship of the church primarily consisted among the children of Israel used various animals, such as lambs, she-goats, kids, sheep, he-goats, calves, and oxen; and calves were used because they symbolized an affection for knowing truths and goods, which is the first natural affection. This affection was symbolically meant by the sacrifices of calves in Exodus 29:11-12, ¹ 1 Samuel 1:25; 16:2, 1 Kings 18:23-26, 33.

The second living creature looked like a calf because the Divine truth of the Word, which it symbolizes, affects hearts, and so teaches and instills.

Poznámky pod čarou:

10284. “也不可按这调和之法作与此相似的” 表不可有人的努力所制造的仿品. 这从 “按这调和之法作与此相似的” 的含义清楚可知, “按这调和之法作与此相似的”, 也就是用同样的香料作类似的油, 是指通过人的努力在它的仿品上做准备. 这些话表示这些事, 这从内义上的思路可推知, 因为经上先是说 “不可倒在人的肉身上”, 这句话表示不可将主的东西赋予人的自我, 或人自己的东西; 接着经上说 “你们也要以它为圣”. 而一个人通过自己的努力所做的任何事都是始于他的自我, 或他自己的东西, 是不神圣的. 原因在于, 人出于他的自我, 或他自己的东西所作的任何努力完全就是邪恶所产生的虚假, 因为它以自我和世界为目的, 而不是以邻舍和神为目的; 这也解释了它为何被称为一个 “仿品”.

此处的情形是这样的: 凡从主而来的, 都是良善和真理. 但人在模仿它的时候所制造的良善和真理并不是良善和真理. 原因在于, 一切良善和真理都凭所关注的目的而拥有生命在里面. 一个始于人的目的完全是自私的; 而来自主的良善和真理是为了作为目的的良善和真理本身, 因而是为了主而存在的, 因为一切良善和真理皆来自主, 或说主是一切良善和真理的源头. 在人那里, 目的就是他自己, 因为它构成他的意愿和他的爱; 事实上, 一个人以他所爱和所意愿的为目的. 人里面源于他自己的一切爱都是对自我的爱和为了自我而对世界的爱; 但人里面源于主的爱则是对邻舍的爱和对神的爱. 这两种爱之间的差别就像地狱和天堂之间的差别那样大. 此外, 对自我的爱和为了自我而对世界的爱在地狱掌权, 并构成地狱; 而对邻舍的爱和对主的爱则在天堂掌权, 并构成天堂. 而且, 一个人的爱如何, 他就如何, 并永远如何; 事实上, 爱构成一个人意愿的全部, 并由此构成他的理解力的全部, 因为构成意愿的爱不断流入理解力, 点燃并光照它. 正因如此, 当那些爱邪恶的人在自己里面思考时, 他们的思维就由与他们所爱的邪恶相一致的虚假构成, 尽管在世人面前, 他们出于伪善而以不同的方式说话, 有些人则出于说服性的信仰说话, 关于说服性信仰的性质, 可参看前文 (9364, 9369节).

要知道, 一个人能通过自己的努力在世人面前模仿神性事物本身, 把自己表现得像一位光明天使. 但主与天使看到的, 不是他所表现的外在, 而是内在; 当这内在来自自我, 或人自己的东西, 或说自我是它的源头时, 它就是污秽的. 这种人里面只有属世之物, 根本没有属灵之物. 他们仅在属世之光中看一切事物, 在天堂之光中则一无所见; 事实上, 他们并不知道何为天堂之光, 也不知道何为属灵之物. 他们的一切内层或说内在能力都转化为外在事物, 几乎和动物的内层一样; 他们也不允许自己被主提升到更高事物. 然而, 人比动物优越, 拥有一种特殊的能力, 即他能被主提升到天堂和主那里, 从而被主引导. 凡为了良善和真理而爱良善和真理, 也就是爱邻舍和神的人都以这种方式被提升; 因为从一般意义上说, 邻舍是良善和真理; 从较低意义上说, 邻舍是公义和公平, 因为神是它们的源头.

由此可见什么叫通过人的努力模仿神性事物. 在圣言的各个地方, 经上以 “埃及” 和 “法老” 来描述这样的人; 因为 “埃及” 和 “法老” 表示属于属世人的记忆知识. 经上还以 “亚述” 来描述他们, “亚述” 表示基于记忆知识的推理 (关于 “埃及”, 可参看9340, 9391节提到的地方; 关于 “亚述”, 可参看1186节).

在灵人当中有大量灵人能通过自己的努力和狡猾模仿神性事物; 因为他们假装诚实, 正直和虔诚, 并且如此狡猾, 以至于连善灵也要被引入歧途, 除非主光照或启示他们, 使他们能看清这些灵人的内层是什么样子. 当这些内层被揭开时, 善灵都充满恐惧并逃离. 不过, 这些灵人会被剥去表面的伪装, 并被带入他们那魔鬼般的内层; 在这种情况下, 他们自动沉入地狱. 关于这些灵人的详情, 可参看下文 (10286节).