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.

4637. It is quite clear that all the details, every single one, mentioned by the Lord in His parables are representative of and mean the spiritual and celestial attributes of His kingdom, and in the highest sense Divine attributes in Himself. Consequently anyone who does not know this cannot make anything else out of the Lord's parables than ordinary comparisons which hold nothing deeper within them, as with this particular parable concerning the ten virgins. He makes nothing more out of it if he does not know what 'virgins' means in the internal sense, and also what ten, five, lamps, vessels, oil, those who sell, a wedding feast, and every other detail mean. And the same is true with all other parables. As has been stated, the details mentioned by the Lord in them look, in the outward form they take, like ordinary comparisons, but in their internal form their nature is such that they fill the whole of heaven. This is because the internal sense is contained within every detail, and that sense is such that its spiritual and celestial content spreads like light and flame throughout the heavens in all directions. That sense is utterly superior to the sense of the letter, flowing from every phrase and every word, indeed from every tiny letter. But what is embodied in the internal sense of this particular parable may be seen from what follows below.