9994. “与抹油的无酵薄饼” 表外在人里面的属天之物. 这从 “薄饼”, “无酵” 和 “油” 的含义清楚可知: “薄饼” 是指外在人里面的属天之物, 如下文所述; “无酵” 是指已洁净之物 (参看9992节); “油” 是指爱之良善 (886, 4582, 4638节). 从这些含义明显可知, “抹油的无酵薄饼” 表示外在人里面的属天之物, 这属天之物是从头两个属天层依次发出的. 经上说薄饼要 “抹油”, 而糕饼要 “调油”, 是因为薄饼排在第三位, 而糕饼排在第二位, 如刚才所述 (9993节). 排在第二位的直接从至内层发出, 因而拥有 “油” 所表示的至内在的属天层在里面; 排在第三位的间接, 也就是说, 经由排在第二位的从至内层发出, 因而不像排在第二位的那样那么拥有至内层在里面. 正因如此, 由于糕饼表示排在第二位的属天层, 所以经上说它们要 “调油”; 而薄饼表示排在第三位的属天层, 所以经上说它们要 “抹油”. 不过, 这些问题很难理解, 除非知道事物是如何按先后次序出现的; 这就像目的, 原因和结果. 至内在之物构成目的, 中间之物构成原因, 最末之物构成结果. 目的必须在原因里面, 以便它能成为这个目的的原因, 原因必须在结果里面, 以便它能成为这个原因的结果. 目的不像在原因里面那样显明在结果里面, 因为结果离目的, 比原因离目的更远. 这一切会启示心智认识到至内在之物, 中间之物和外在之物按先后次序彼此相随的性质.

Swedenborg generally uses this term in contrast to the terms "spiritual" and "natural." The celestial level (of heaven, of the inner meaning of the Bible, etc.) is that which is most concerned with the Divine and with love. It is the inmost or deepest degree.

Think of it this way: in some ways, the Lord is simplicity itself since, taken in His essence, He is love. His attitude toward us is also simplicity itself: He loves us. And He expresses that love in an unending stream that works completely and constantly to get us to freely accept and return His love. When you start looking at how that process works, it can start to seem complicated. But in essence, it could hardly be more simple.

It makes sense, then, that the best state we can achieve as humans is the celestial state in which we receive the Lord’s love and love Him back. It is the highest, best, purest, most innocent, and most joyful state human beings can experience, one powered by love of the Lord. It is also the state of the highest, inmost heaven, and is in some degree present in everyone as the recipient of the Lord’s love.

Not all of us receive and manifest the Lord’s love in the same way, though (in fact, none of us do), so the pure simplicity of the celestial state gets complicated as people open themselves up only partway to the Lord and redirect His love toward lesser things. Swedenborg’s works tell us that this results in three distinct “levels” of existence, based on what people love. The celestial is the highest of these levels, based on love of the Lord; the “spiritual” is based on love of other people, and the “natural” is based on the delight we feel in being good. The spiritual is more external and less pure then the celestial, and the natural is more external and less pure than the spiritual.

Each of those levels is further divided, however, between those who are led directly by the level’s defining love and those who are led by the ideas that spring from that love. Some celestial angels, then, are led by the love of the Lord itself, while others are led by the exquisite concepts that express love to the Lord. Unfortunately, Swedenborg also uses the words “celestial” and “spiritual” to identify that division, with “celestial” representing the love of each level and “spiritual” representing the truth and wisdom of each level. So the celestial level - centered on love of the Lord - has a celestial aspect and a spiritual aspect. The spiritual level - centered on love of other people - also has a celestial aspect and a spiritual aspect. And the natural level - centered on the delight of being good - has a celestial aspect and a spiritual aspect.

That might sound awfuly complicated - maybe even unnecessarily complicated - but it makes sense if you think about it. We all know people who are simply motivated by the desire to be good and to do things the “right” way. That’s an example of the natural level of existence, focused largely on external things, but aligned with the Lord’s wishes. Within that group, there are those who do what’s right pretty much by instinct, following their good affections; they would be the celestial natural. There are also those who like to know the rules and think about the instructions, so they can know intellectually that they are doing things right; they would be the spiritual natural. There are similar distinctions on the spiritual level and the celestial level.

One other thing is worth noting: Swedenborg’s works say that very few in the modern world are capable of reaching the celestial level, due to the amount of knowledge we have, the external nature of our lives and the need we have to use our minds to advance spiritually. The celestial heavens are largely populated by people from ancient times, who were able to live in closer, more direct communion with the Lord. As we understand the Lord’s wishes on a deeper and deeper level, though, we can open up greater possibilities for ourselves and for future generations.

(Odkazy: Arcana Coelestia 3246 [2]; Divine Love and Wisdom 237 [2])