Waters
'Waters' particularly signify the spiritual parts of a person, or the intellectual aspects of faith, and also their opposites.
'The waters above the firmament,' as in Genesis 1:7, signify the knowledges in the internal self, and 'the waters beneath the firmament' signify the knowledges of the external self.
'Waters,' as in Ezekiel 47:9, refer to the New Jerusalem, and they signify spiritual things from a celestial origin.
'Many waters,' as in Revelation 17:1, signify truths of the Word adulterated. 'Waters' or 'rivers' signify spiritual, rational, or scientific things pertaining to truth.
'Waters … that go softly,' as in Isaiah 8:6-7, signify spiritual things, and 'waters … strong and many,' signify falsities.
'Waters,' as in Psalms 104:3, signify divine truths.
'Waters' signify truths in the natural self, and in the opposite sense, falsities.
'The waters were dried up from off the earth,' as in Genesis 8:7, signifies the apparent dissipation of falsities.
(Odkazy: Apocalypse Explained 17; Apocalypse Revealed 50; Genesis 8)
属天的奥秘 # 1283
1283. 内 义
现在的主题是总体上的古教会. 事实上, 随着时间推移, 它的内在敬拜被歪曲和篡改; 因此, 它的外在敬拜也是如此, 因为外在敬拜的品质取决于内在敬拜的品质. 内在敬拜的歪曲和篡改在此用 “巴别” 来表示. 到目前为止, 所提到的历史事件, 除了关于希伯的那部分外, 都不是真实的, 而是虚构出来的. 这一事实可从本章给出的有关巴别塔的细节看出来: 人们打算建造通天塔; 他们的口音变乱, 以致没人听懂彼此; 以这种方式变乱他们的, 正是耶和华. 这一事实也可从经上说这是巴别的起源, 而前一章10节却说巴别是宁录建造的看出来. 由此还清楚可知, 巴别并非指一座城, 而是指某种真实事物, 在此它表示内在不洁的敬拜, 而它的外在敬拜看似圣洁.