9995. “你要用细麦面来作它们” 表源于神性良善的真理 (良善的那些属天种类就是由这些真理构成的). 这从 “细面”, “麦 (子)” 和 “作它们” 的含义清楚可知: “细面” 是指真理, 如下文所述; “麦 (子)” 是指爱之良善 (参看3941节), 因而在至高意义上是指神性良善; “作它们” 是指无酵的饼, 糕饼和薄饼所表示的属天良善的这些种类必须由这真理构成的要求. 此处的情形如下: 存在于天堂里的一切真理和良善皆来源于从主的神性良善发出的神性真理. 这神性真理在属天国度被天使接受, 就被称为属天良善; 但在属灵国度, 当被那里的天使接受时, 它就被称为属灵良善; 因为从主的神性良善发出的神性真理不管如何被称为真理, 它仍是良善. 它之所以被称为真理, 是因为它在天堂, 在那里的天使的外在视觉面前显为光; 事实上, 天堂里的光是神性真理, 但这光里面的热, 也就是爱之良善, 使得它成为良善. 这和世人的情况相似. 当信之真理从仁之良善发出时, 如当一个人已经重生时的情形, 真理就显为良善, 也由此被称为 “属灵良善”, 因为真理的内在存在是良善, 真理是良善的外在形式.

由此可见为何一个人很难分清思考和意愿; 因为当他意愿某事时, 却说自己在思考它; 而常常是, 当他思考某事时, 却说自己在意愿它. 然而, 它们就像真理和良善那样有别并分离; 因为思维的内在存在是意愿, 意愿的外在形式是思维; 正如真理的内在存在是良善, 良善的外在形式是真理一样, 如刚才所述. 一个人因很难分清这二者, 故不知道其生命的内在存在是什么, 或不知道构成它的, 是良善, 而不是真理, 除非这真理源于良善. 良善属于意愿, 意愿就是一个人的所爱之物; 因此, 在一个人热爱真理之前, 真理不会成为他生命的存在; 当此人热爱真理时, 他就会实行真理. 然而, 真理属于理解力, 理解力的功能是思考; 当一个人思考它时, 他就能谈论它. 此外, 理解并思考真理, 却不意愿或实行它是有可能的; 但当真理缺乏意愿时, 它不会变成此人自己的, 成为他生命的一部分, 因为它没有其生命的内在存在在自己里面. 人因对这一切一无所知, 故将救恩完全归于信, 几乎不归于仁; 而事实上, 信从仁获得自己的内在存在, 如同真理从良善获得自己的内在存在.

此外, 与人同在的一切良善都通过真理被赋予形式; 因为良善经由一条内在途径从主流入, 而真理则经由一条外在途径进入. 然后, 它们在内在人里面结婚; 不过, 对一个属灵人或属灵天使来说, 以一种方式结婚; 对一个属天人或属天天使来说, 则以另一种方式结婚. 对一个属灵人或属灵天使来说, 婚姻在心智的理解力部分实现; 但在一个属天人或属天天使里面, 则在意愿部分实现. 真理进入所经由的外在途径是通过听觉和视觉进入理解力; 但良善从主流入所经由的内在途径是通过此人的至内在之物进入意愿. 关于这个主题, 可参看9596节提到的地方所作的说明. 由此明显可知, 无酵的饼, 糕饼和薄饼所表示的良善的属天种类通过从主的神性良善发出的神性真理存在; 这就是 “你要用细麦面来作它们” 的意思. 这就解释了为何素祭虽制作方式各种各样, 但都用调油的细面来作 (利未记 2:1至末尾; 6:13-16; 民数记 7:13ff; 15:2-15; 28:11-15).

“细面”, 以及 “面粉” 表示源于良善的真理, 这一点从下列经文明显看出来:

你吃的是细面, 蜂蜜并油. 你变得极其美貌. (以西结书 16:13)

这些话论及耶路撒冷, 耶路撒冷在此表示古教会; “细面” 表示源于良善的古教会的真理; “蜂蜜” 表示它的快乐; “油” 表示爱之良善; “吃” 表示将它变成人自己的; 因此, 经上说 “你变得极其美貌”, 因为属灵的美貌来自真理和良善.

何西阿书:

他没有站着的禾稼; 穗子必不出面粉. 即或出了面粉, 外人必吞吃它. (何西阿书 8:7)

“站着的禾稼” 表示在孕育过程中的源于良善的信之真理 (9146节); “穗子必不出面粉” 表示不生育, 因为没有源于良善的真理; “必吞吃它的外人” 表示吞灭它的邪恶所产生的虚假.

列王纪上:

撒勒法的西顿女人对以利亚说, 她没有作糕饼的东西, 缸里只有一把面, 瓶里只有一点油. 以利亚对她说, 只要先为他做一个糕饼, 缸里的面粉必不用尽, 瓶里的油决不短缺; 这事果然发生了. (列王纪上 17:12-15)

“面粉” 在此表示教会的真理; “油” 表示教会的良善; 因为西顿女人代表一个拥有关于真理和良善的认知或知识的教会; 而先知以利亚代表圣言方面的主. 由此明显可知这个奇迹涉及什么, 因为圣言中所描述的一切奇迹都涉及诸如属于教会的那类事物 (7337, 8364, 9086节). 由此明显可知只要妇人用她仅有的一点先为以利亚作糕饼, 后为她儿子作糕饼, “缸里的面粉必不用尽, 瓶里的油决不短缺” 表示什么. “女人” 表示教会 (参看252, 253节); “西顿” 表示关于真理和良善的认知或知识 (1201节); “以利亚” 表示圣言方面的主 (2762, 5247末尾节).

以赛亚书:

巴比伦的女儿啊, 你要拿石磨去磨面. (以赛亚书 47:1, 2)

“巴比伦的女儿” 表示教会里那些外在神圣, 内在亵渎的人; “磨面” 表示从圣言的字义中选取诸如用来强化爱自己爱世界的邪恶的那类事物, 这种邪恶是亵渎的; “磨” 描述了选取, 以及解释, 以支持这些爱; 而 “面” 表示为此而服务的真理 (4335节).

由此明显可知 “推磨” 表示什么, 因而被 “磨碎” 的东西表示什么, 如在这些经文中:

首领被吊起手, 老年人的脸面不受尊敬; 年轻人被带去推磨. (耶利米哀歌 5:12, 13)

摩西五经:

摩西将他们所铸的牛犊用火焚烧, 磨得粉碎, 撒在水面上, 叫以色列人喝. (出埃及记 32:20; 申命记 9:21)

马太福音:

那时, 两个人在田里, 取去一个, 撇下一个. 两个女人推磨, 取去一个, 撇下一个. (马太福音 24:40, 41)

由此明显可知 “推磨” 表示什么, 即: 它表示从圣言选取真理并解释它们, 在好的意义上用来服务良善; 在坏的意义上则用来服务邪恶 (7780节). 由此也明显可知被 “磨碎” 的东西表示什么, 因而 “面粉” 和 “细面” 表示什么.

4060. Therefore the words quoted above [in 4056] mean the state of the Church at that time as regards good, that is, as regards charity towards the neighbour and love to the Lord. This is clear from the internal sense of these words, which is as follows:

But immediately after the affliction of those days means the state of the Church as regards the truth of faith, which is dealt with in the verses immediately before this. In the Word desolation of truth is called 'affliction' in various places - 'days' being states, see 23, 487, 488, 493, 893, 2788, 3462, 3785. From this it is evident that these words mean that once faith no longer exists neither will any charity exist. For faith leads to charity because it teaches what charity is, and charity acquires its particular character from the truths of faith. The truths of faith however receive their essence and life from charity, as has been shown many times in previous volumes.

[2] The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light means love to the Lord, which is 'the sun', and charity towards the neighbour, which is 'the moon'. 'Being darkened' and 'not giving light' mean that that love and charity will not be in evidence and so will disappear. For 'the sun' means the celestial kind of love and 'the moon' the spiritual kind; that is, 'the sun' means love to the Lord, and 'the moon' charity towards the neighbour which comes through faith, see 1053, 1529, 1530, 2120, 2441, 2495. The reason why the sun and the moon have these meanings is that the Lord is seen in the next life as a sun by those in heaven who are governed by love to Him and are called celestial, and as a moon by those who are governed by charity towards the neighbour and are referred to as spiritual, see 1053, 1521, 1529-1531, 3636, 3643.

[3] The sun and the moon in heaven, or the Lord, are never darkened, nor do they lose their light but are shining unceasingly. Thus in heaven there is no darkening or loss of light in the love which celestial angels have for the Lord or in the charity which spiritual angels show towards the neighbour. Nor on earth is there any in people with whom angels are present, that is, in people who are governed by love and charity. But those who are not governed by any love or charity, only by self-love and love of the world, and consequently by feelings of hatred and revenge, bring that kind of obscurity to themselves. It is like the sun of this world which is shining constantly; yet when clouds intervene the sun is not visible, see 2441.

[4] And the stars will fall from heaven means that cognitions of good and truth will perish. When mentioned in the Word 'stars' have no other meaning than those cognitions, 1808, 2849.

And the powers of the heavens will be shaken means the foundations of the Church which are said to be shaken and jolted when those cognitions perish. This is because the Church on earth is heaven's foundation; for the influx of good and truth from the Lord through the heavens culminates ultimately in the goods and truths present with the member of the Church. Consequently when the state of the member of the Church is so perverse that he no longer allows good or truth to flow into him 'the powers of the heavens' are in that case said 'to be shaken'. That being so, the Lord always provides for some vestige of the Church to be left. And when the old Church perishes a new one is established.

[5] And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven means the manifestation of Divine truth - 'sign' meaning a manifestation, 'the Son of Man' the Lord as regards Divine truth, see 2803, 2813, 3704. This manifestation, or this 'sign', is what the disciples asked for when they said to the Lord,

Tell us, when will those things take place; what especially will be the sign of Your coming and of the close of the age? Matthew 24:3.

For they knew from the Word that when the age drew to a close the Lord would come, and they knew from the Lord that He would be coming again, by which they understood the Lord's coming a second time into the world since they were not yet aware of the fact that the Lord had come as often as the Church had been brought to ruin. Not that any of these comings had been a coming in person, as was the case when, through birth in the world, He took on the Human and made this Divine. Rather, those comings had been made through appearances or manifestations of Himself, such as when He appeared in Mamre to Abraham, in the bush to Moses, on Mount Sinai to the Israelites, and to Joshua when he entered the land of Canaan. There were other comings of a less visible nature, such as those at times when inspiration was received and the Word was given by means of it, and later on through the Word itself. For the Word has the Lord present within it; every detail there comes from Him and has reference to Him, as may be recognized from what has been shown many times up to now. This is the kind of appearance that is meant here by 'the sign of the Son of Man' and is the subject in the present verse under consideration.

[6] And then all the tribes of the earth will mourn means that all in whom the good of love and the truth of faith dwell will experience grief. This is what is meant by 'mourning', see Zechariah 12:10-14; and 'the tribes' means all aspects of good and truth, that is, of love and faith, 3858, 3926, and so consequently those in whom these things dwell. The phrase 'the tribes of the earth' is used because those inside the Church are meant - 'the earth' being the Church, see 662, 1066, 1067, 1262, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2928,

[7] And they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory means that at that time a revelation of the internal sense of the Word - the sense in which the Lord is present - will take place. 'The Son of Man' means Divine truth within the Word, 2803, 2813, 3704, 'the clouds' the literal sense. 'Power' has reference to the good and 'glory' to the truth present there. For this meaning of 'seeing the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven', see Preface to Genesis 18. This is the kind of coming of the Lord that is meant here, not a literal manifestation of Him in clouds. Next follows a reference to the establishment of a new Church, which takes place once the old has been brought to ruin and cast aside.

[8] He will send out His angels with a trumpet and a loud voice means election - not by visible angels, still less by trumpets and by loud voices, but by an influx of holy good and of holy truth from the Lord through angels, so that the expression 'angels' in the Word means something essentially the Lord's, 1925, 2821, 3039. In this instance it means things which come from the Lord and have reference to the Lord. 'A trumpet and a loud voice' means the proclamation of the Gospel, as in other places in the Word.

[9] And they will gather the elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other end of them means the establishment of a new Church, 'the elect' being people in whom the good of love and faith dwell, 3755 (end), 3900, 'the four winds' from which they will be gathered being all states of good and truth, 3708, and 'one end of the heavens to the other' the internal and the external features of the Church. These are the considerations that are meant by these words spoken by the Lord.