316. "And do not harm the oil and the wine." This symbolizes the Lord's provision that they not violate and profane the goods and truths concealed inwardly in the Word.

Oil symbolizes the goodness of love, and wine the truth springing from that goodness. Thus the oil here symbolizes sacred goodness, and the wine sacred truth. The Lord's provision that these not be violated and profaned is symbolized by the people's being told not to harm them. For this instruction came from the midst of the four living creatures, thus from the Lord (no. 314). Whatever the Lord says He also provides. That this is something He provides may be seen in nos. 314 and 255 above.

That oil symbolizes the goodness of love - this we will see in nos. 778, 779 below.

That wine symbolizes the truth springing from that goodness is clear from the following passages:

Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes..., buy wine and milk without money... (Isaiah 55:1)

It shall come to pass in that day that the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills flow with milk... (Joel 3:18, cf. Amos 9:13-14)

Joy is taken away... from Carmel, and in the vineyards there will be no singing... No treaders will tread out wine in the presses; I have made their shouting cease. (Isaiah 16:10, cf. Jeremiah 48:32-33)

Carmel symbolizes the spiritual church, because it had vineyards there.

[2] ...wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the new wine, for it has been cut off from your mouth... The vinedressers have wailed... (Joel 1:5, 10-11)

Almost the same images occur in Hosea 9:2-3.

He washes his clothing in wine, and His vesture in the blood of grapes. His eyes are red with wine... (Genesis 49:11-12)

The subject is the Lord, and the wine symbolizes Divine truth. That is why the Lord instituted the Holy Supper, in which the bread symbolizes the Lord in respect to Divine good, and the wine the Lord in respect to Divine truth; and in their recipients the bread symbolizes a sacred goodness, and the wine sacred truth, received from the Lord. Therefore He said,

I say to you, that I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you... in My Father's kingdom. (Matthew 26:29, cf. Luke 22:18)

Because bread and wine have these symbolic meanings, so too Melchizedek, going to meet Abram, brought out bread and wine, he being a priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram (Genesis 14:18-19).

[3] The grain offering and drink offering used in sacrifices had similar symbolic meanings, as described in Exodus 29:40, Leviticus 23:12-13, 18-19ff. The grain offering was an offering of wheat flour, thus taking the place of bread, and the drink offering was an offering of wine.

It can be seen from this what these words of the Lord symbolize:

Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins... But they put the... wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved. (Matthew 9:17, cf. Luke 5:37-38)

New wine is the Divine truth in the New Testament, thus in the New Church, and the old wine is the Divine truth in the Old Testament, thus in the old church.

A similar idea is symbolized by these words of the Lord at the wedding in Cana of Galilee:

Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now! (John 2:1-10)

[4] Something similar is symbolized by the wine in the Lord's parable concerning the man wounded by thieves, on whose wound the Samaritan poured oil and wine (Luke 10:33-34); for the man wounded by thieves means people whom the Jews wounded spiritually by evils and falsities, and to whom the Samaritan brought aid by pouring oil and wine on their wounds, that is, by teaching them goodness and truth, and as far as possible, healing them.

Sacred truth is symbolized by wine and new wine also elsewhere in the Word, as in Isaiah 1:21-22; 25:6; 36:17.

[5] Because of this, a vineyard in the Word symbolizes a church that possesses truths from the Lord.

That wine symbolizes sacred truth can be seen also from its opposite meaning, in which it symbolizes truth falsified and profaned, as in the following places:

Harlotry, wine, and new wine have taken hold of the heart... Their wine is gone, they commit harlotry continually. (Hosea 4:11, 18)

Harlotry symbolizes the falsification of truth, and so, too, do the wine and new wine here.

...in the hand of Jehovah a cup, and He mixed it with wine; He filled it with the mixture and poured it out, and its dregs shall all the wicked of the earth, sucking, drink. (Psalms 75:8)

Babylon was a golden cup in Jehovah's hand, that made all the earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore they are deranged. (Jeremiah 51:7)

Babylon has fallen..., because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication... If anyone worships the beast..., he shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed with undiluted wine in the cup of the wrath (of God). (Revelation 14:8-10)

(Babylon has made) all the nations (drink) of the wine... of her fornication. (Revelation 18:3)

...great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fury of His wrath. (Revelation 16:19)

...the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication. (Revelation 17:1-2)

[6] The wine that Belshazzar, the king of Babylon, and his lords and wives and concubines drank from the vessels of the Temple in Jerusalem, while they praised the gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone (Daniel 5:2-4) - that wine symbolized nothing else but the sacred truth of the Word and church profaned, which is why the writing then appeared on the wall, and the king that very night was slain (Daniel 5:25, 30)

Wine symbolizes truth falsified also in Isaiah 5:11-12, 21-22; 28:1, 3, 7; 29:9; 56:11-12.

The drink offering that they poured out as an offering to idols has the same symbolic meaning in Isaiah 65:11; 57:6; Jeremiah 7:18; 44:17-19; Ezekiel 20:28; Deuteronomy 32:38.

It is owing to its correspondence that wine symbolizes sacred truth, and in an opposite sense, truth profaned. For when a person reads "wine" in the Word, angels - who apprehend everything spiritually - have just this interpretation of it. Such is the correspondence between the natural thoughts of people and the spiritual thoughts of angels. The case is the same with the wine in the Holy Supper. That is why the Holy Supper occasions an introduction into heaven (no. 224 at the end).

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).