The number "two" has two different meanings in the Bible. In most cases "two" indicates a joining together or unification. This is easy to see if we consider the conflicts we tend to have between our "hearts" and our "heads" -- between what we want and what we know. Our "hearts" tell us that we want pie with ice cream for dinner; our "heads" tell us we should have grilled chicken and salad. If we can bring those two together and actually want what's good for us, we'll be pretty happy. We're built that way -- with our emotions balanced against our intellect -- because the Lord is built that way. His essence is love itself, or Divine Love, the source of all caring, emotion and energy. It is expressed as Divine Wisdom, which gives form to that love and puts it to work, and is the source of all knowledge and reasoning. In His case the two aspects are always in conjunction, always in harmony. It's easy also to see how that duality is reflected throughout creation: plants and animals, food and drink, silver and gold. Most importantly, it's reflected in the two genders, with women representing love and men representing wisdom. That's the underlying reason why conjunction in marriage is such a holy thing. So when "two" is used in the Bible to indicate some sort of pairing or unity, it means a joining together. In rare cases, however, "two" is used more purely as a number. In these cases it stands for a profane or unholy state that comes before a holy one. This is because "three" represents a state of holiness and completion (Jesus, for instance, rose from the tomb on the third day), and "two" represents the state just before it.

754. 教会终结的方式各种各样, 主要通过使虚假看似真理之类的事发生; 当出现这种情形时, 本质上的良善, 即所谓的属灵之善不再存在。 那时, 仅仅诸如道德生活所带来的属世之善被认为是善。 真理和同在的良善走到尽头的主要原因, 是与两种属灵之爱截然相对的两种属世之爱, 这些爱就是所谓的对己和对尘世之爱。 当爱己占主导地位时, 它就是爱神的对立面, 当爱尘世占主导地位时, 它就是爱邻的对立面。 爱己就是只想自己好, 而不想别人好, 除非为自己的缘故; 爱尘世也是一样; 若发展这些爱, 它们会象坏疽一样传播, 遍及全身并逐步摧毁它的各个部位。 这种爱侵入了教会, 从巴比伦以及对它的描述显而易见 (创世记11:1-9;以赛亚 13; 14; 47; 耶利米 50;但以理书2:31-47; 3:1-7 seq。 ; 5; 6:8-28; 7:1-14; 启示录17, 18全文)。 巴比伦最终将自身抬升到如此地步: 不但将主的神性权能转到自己身上, 而且还极尽所能地占有全世界的财富。 除古巴比伦外, 很多教会领袖, 若其权力不受限, 因而被抑制, 也会迸发出类似的爱, 这一点可从某些并非毫无意义的征兆与迹象推断出来。 那么接下来, 除了这种人会视自己为神, 尘世为天堂, 并滥用教会的一切真理外, 还能发生什么事呢? 对于纯属世之人, 认识并承认本为真理的真正真理是不可能的, 神也不会赋予他这样的真理, 因为它会颠倒, 并变成虚假。 除了这两种爱外, 还有其它原因导致善与真和随之教会的终结; 但那些原因是次要的, 并从属于这两种爱。