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以西結書 16:53

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53 我必叫他們被擄的歸回,就是叫所多瑪和他的眾女,撒瑪利亞和他的眾女,並你們中間被擄的,都要歸回,

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属天的奥秘 # 9995

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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.

  
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Thanks to our friends at swedenborgwork.com for their permission to use this translation on the New Christian Bible Study site. ( 衷心感谢”史威登堡著作中文网”许可我们使用该中文译文)

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Arcana Coelestia # 2162

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2162. 'Wash your feet' means that they were to take on something natural so that during the state He was then passing through His perception might be improved. This becomes clear from the meaning of 'feet' as natural things, and also in a like manner from the train of thought. That arcana lie concealed here becomes clear to a certain extent from the fact that Abraham besought the three men to take a little water and wash their feet, and to relax under a tree, even though he knew that it was the Lord or Jehovah; also from the fact that if it was not so such details would not have been mentioned.

[2] That 'feet' means natural things becomes clear from the representatives in the next life, and consequently from representatives derived from these that existed among the most ancient people and so occur in the Word. Celestial and spiritual things are represented by 'the head' and the parts of the head; by 'the breast' and the parts of the breast are represented rational concepts and aspects of these; by 'the feet and the parts of the feet are represented natural things and the different kinds of these. Consequently 'the sole' and 'the heel' of the foot mean the lowest natural things, regarding which see 259, while 'a shoe' means the lowest things of all, which are filthy, regarding which see 1748.

[3] Similar things are meant by the representations in the dreams and visions in the Prophets, such as the statue seen by Nebuchadnezzar, the head of which was fine gold, the breast and arms were silver, the belly and thighs were bronze, the legs were iron, and the feet were partly iron and partly clay, Daniel 2:32-33. In this case 'the head' means celestial things, which are inmost and are 'gold', as shown in 113, 1551, 1552; 'the breast and arms' spiritual or rational things, which are 'silver', as shown in 1551; but 'the feet' means lower things, which are natural, the truths of which are meant by 'iron' and the goods by 'clay' or mud. As regards 'iron' meaning truth, see 425, 426, and 'clay' good, 1300, both of which in the present case are natural. These things come in the same order in the Lord's kingdom in heaven, and in the Church which is the Lord's kingdom on earth, and also in every individual who is a kingdom of the Lord.

[4] It is similar with the vision which Daniel himself saw, of which the following is said,

I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, a man clothed in linen whose loins were girded with gold of Uphaz and whose body was like tarshish, 1 and whose face was like the appearance of lightning, and whose eyes were like fiery torches, and whose arms and feet like the shine of burnished bronze. Daniel 10:5-6.

Specifically these words mean the interiors of the Word as to goods and truths. 'The arms and feet' are its interiors, which constitute the sense of the letter, for natural things occur there, since natural things are the source from which the exteriors of the Word are drawn. What further is meant by each of these parts, namely the loins, body, face, eyes, and many others in man, becomes clear from the representatives in the next life, which will in the Lord's Divine mercy be spoken of when the Grand Man - which is the Lord's heaven - and the representatives that originate in heaven but occur in the world of spirits are dealt with.

[5] That which one reads about Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders seeing the God of Israel, under whose feet there was so to speak a paved work of sapphire stone, like the substance of the sky for pureness, Exodus 24:9-10, means that they saw, represented in natural things, merely the external features of the Church, and also the literal sense of the Word, in which too, as has been stated, external things are represented by natural things. And these external things are 'the feet' under which there is so to speak 'a paved work of sapphire stone, like the substance of the sky itself'. It is clear that it was the Lord whom they saw, though only in those lower or natural things, since He is called 'the God of Israel', whom all things of the Church represented and whom all things of the Word in the internal sense meant. For the Lord is presented visually in accordance with the things that are meant at the time. When, for example, in John, He was seen as a Man on a white horse, the Word was in this case meant by Him, as is explicitly stated in Revelation 19:11, 13.

[6] The living creatures seen by Ezekiel, which were cherubs, are described as regards celestial and spiritual things by their faces and wings, and also many other things. But as regards natural things they are described as follows, by their feet, a straight foot, and the soles of their feet being like the sole of a calf's foot, and sparkling like the shine of burnished bronze, Ezekiel 1:7. The reason their feet, that is, natural things, are said to have sparkled like burnished bronze is that 'bronze' means natural good, dealt with in 425, 1551. It was similar when the Lord appeared to John as the Son of Man: His eyes were like a flame of fire and His feet were like burnished bronze, Revelation 1:14-15; 2:18.

[7] That 'feet' means natural things is further evident from the following places: In John, who saw,

A mighty angel coming down out of heaven, wrapped in a cloud, and a rainbow around his head, his face was like the sun and his feet like pillars of fire. In his hand he had a little book opened, and he set his right foot on the sea and his left on the land. Revelation 10:1-2.

This angel in a similar way means the Word. The nature of the Word in the internal sense is meant by 'the rainbow around his head' and by 'his face being like the sun'; but the external sense, or sense of the letter, is meant by his 'feet'. 'The sea' is natural truths, 'the land' natural goods, from which it is clear what is meant by his setting his right foot on the sea and his left on the land.

[8] Reference is made in various places in the Word to 'a footstool', but no one knows what is meant by this in the internal sense; as in Isaiah,

Jehovah said, The heavens are My throne and the earth My footstool. Where is this house which you are going to build for Me and where is this place of My rest? Isaiah 66:1.

'The heavens' means the celestial and spiritual things, and so the inmost things, both of the Lord's kingdom in heaven and of the Lord's kingdom on earth, which is the Church. Also meant by 'the heavens' are those same things as they exist with every individual who is a kingdom of the Lord or a Church. Thus 'the heavens' also means the celestial and spiritual things regarded in themselves which are matters of love and charity and of faith that springs from these, and so means all things that belong to internal worship and similarly all things that belong to the internal sense of the Word. These things are meant by 'the heavens' and are called 'the Lord's throne', but by 'the earth' are meant all lower things corresponding to those meant by 'the heavens'. By 'the earth' lower rational and natural things are meant, which from correspondence are likewise referred to as celestial and spiritual things, such as those that exist in the lower heavens and also in the Church, and those things which belong to external worship and also those present in the literal sense of the Word. In short, all things that stem from internal things and manifest themselves in external are, being natural things, called 'the earth' and 'the Lord's footstool'. What heaven and earth mean in the internal sense of the Word, see also 82, 1733. What the new heaven and new earth mean, see 2117, 2118 (end). And that man is a miniature heaven, see 911, 978, 1900.

[9] Similarly in Jeremiah,

In His anger the Lord covers the daughter of Zion with a cloud, He has cast down from heaven to earth the splendour of Israel, and has not remembered His footstool on the day of His anger. Lamentations 2:1.

Also in David,

Exalt Jehovah our God, and bow down at His footstool. Holy is He! Psalms 99:5.

Elsewhere in the same author,

We will enter His dwelling-places, we will bow down at His footstool. Psalms 132:7.

People in the representative Church - and thus the Jews - imagined that God's house and the temple were His footstool. They did not know that by the Lord's house and the temple was meant external representative worship. What the internal features of the Church were, meant by 'heaven' or God's throne, they had no knowledge at all.

[10] In the same author,

Jehovah said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand till I make your enemies a stool for your feet. Psalms 110:1; Matthew 22:44; Mark 12:36; Luke 20:42-43.

Here 'footstool' in a similar way means natural things - both sensory impressions and factual knowledge, and man's rational ideas formed from these - which are called 'enemies' when worship is perverted by them (which is done from the literal sense of the Word). As a result worship exists solely in things that are external, and no internal worship - or rather only internal worship that is defiled - exists, concerning which see 1094, 1175, 1182. When these have became perverted and defiled in this manner they are called 'enemies'; but because, regarded in themselves, they have reference to internal worship, when this is restored, they become - both the things that belong to external worship and those that belong to the sense of the letter of the Word - 'a footstool', as stated already.

[11] In Isaiah,

The glory of Lebanon will come to you, the fir, the pine, and the box tree together, to beautify the place of My sanctuary; and I will make the place of My feet glorious. Isaiah 60:13.

This refers to the Lord's kingdom and Church, the celestial-spiritual things of which are meant by 'the glory of Lebanon', that is, cedar trees, but the celestial-natural things of it by 'the fir, the pine, and the box', as also in other places in the Word. Thus it is the external aspects of worship that are referred to when it is said that 'I will make the place of My feet glorious'; and this cannot he made glorious by the fir, the pine, and the box, but by the things meant by these.

[12] That 'feet' means these things is also clear from the representatives in the Jewish Church, for example, by the requirement that Aaron and his sons were to wash their hands and feet before entering the tabernacle, Exodus 30:19-20; 40:31-32. No one is able to see that arcana were represented by this, for what is such washing of the hands and feet but some external act which does not do anything at all if the internal is not pure and clean? Nor can the internal be made pure and clean by such a washing. But because all the forms of ritual of that Church meant internal things that are celestial and spiritual, so it was with this form; that is to say, it meant the cleanliness of external worship, which is clean when internal worship is present within it. This explains why their lavers were made of bronze, and also the large laver which was called 'the bronze sea', together with the ten smaller ones made of bronze around Solomon's temple, 1 Kings 7:23, 38. They were made of bronze because 'bronze' represented good present in external worship, which is the same as natural good. Regarding this meaning of bronze, see 425, 1551.

[13] Similarly representative was the prohibition that no man among Aaron's descendants who had a broken foot or a broken hand should draw near to offer fire-offerings to Jehovah, Leviticus 21:19, 21. 'Broken feet and hands' represented those people whose external worship was perverted.

[14] That 'feet' means natural things is also evident from various other places in the Prophets, as in these prophetical utterances in Moses,

Blessed above sons be Asher; let him be acceptable among his brothers, and dipping his foot in oil. Your shoes will be iron and bronze. Deuteronomy 33:24-25.

These words will not be understood by anybody unless he knows what the meaning of oil, foot, iron, bronze, and shoe are in the internal sense. 'Foot' is the natural; 'shoe' the still lower natural, such as that which is connected with the senses and the body, see 1748; 'oil' is the celestial, 886; 'iron' natural truth, 425, 426; and 'bronze' natural good, 425, 1551. From these places it is evident what these words embody.

[15] In Nahum,

The way of Jehovah is in storm and tempest, and the clouds are the dust of His feet. Nahum 1:3.

Here 'the dust of the feet' means the natural and bodily things with man which give rise to clouds. The same is also meant by these words in David,

Jehovah bowed the heavens and came down, and thick darkness was under His feet. Psalms 18:9.

[16] When goods and truths of faith are perverted by natural light, as people call it, it is described in the Word as the feet and hoofs of a beast which trouble waters and trample on food, as in Ezekiel,

You have come forth into the rivers, and have troubled the waters with your feet and trampled their rivers. I will destroy all its beasts from over many waters, and the foot of man will not trouble them any longer, nor will the hoofs of beast. Ezekiel 32:2, 13.

This refers to Egypt, which meant forms of knowledge, as shown in 1164, 1165, 1462. Thus by 'feet and hoofs which trouble the rivers and water' are meant facts gained from sensory and from natural things, on the basis of which people reason about the arcana of faith and do not believe anything until they grasp it by this method. This amounts to not believing at all, for the more such people go on reasoning, the less believing they are; see what is said in 128-130, 215, 232, 233, 1072, 1385. From all these quotations it is now evident that 'feet' in the Word means natural things. But what further meaning 'feet' may have is evident from the context in which the expression occurs.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. A Hebrew word for a particular kind of precious stone, probably a beryl.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.