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属天的奥秘 # 3857

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3857. “拉结却不生育” 表内层真理不被接纳. 这从 “拉结” 的代表和 “不生育” 的含义清楚可知: “拉结” 是指对内层真理的情感, 如前所述; “不生育” 是指不产生教义, 因而不产生教会. 这句话与论及利来的话相反, 即 “耶和华就开她的子宫”, 意思是: 她所代表的情感产生教会的教义. 内层真理不被接纳的原因在于, 内层真理超出人的信仰范围, 也就是说, 它们并不落入他的观念, 也不符合外在表象, 也就是感官幻觉, 而每个人都让自己被这些表象或幻觉所引领. 他并不相信内层真理, 除非它们以某种方式与这些表象或幻觉一致.

例如, 这是一个内层真理: 来世并没有时间和空间, 取而代之的是状态. 而人活在世上时就在时间和空间内, 并通过它们形成自己的一切观念, 以至于如果没有时间和空间, 他根本就无法思考 (参看3404节). 所以, 除非来世的状态通过人所熟悉的时空, 或由时空所塑成的那类事物来描述, 否则, 他什么也感知不到, 因而什么也不信, 结果不会接受教导. 在这种情况下, 教义就不会生育, 教会也不会由此产生.

再举一例. 如果属天和属灵的情感不通过属于世俗和肉体情感的那类事物来描述, 人什么也觉察不到. 因为这些就是他所体验过的情感, 正是通过它们, 他才能对属天和属灵的情感拥有某种观点. 然而, 这两种类型的情感彼此截然不同, 或犹如天与地那样相隔甚远. 以天上或天上天使的荣耀为例 (3839节). 人若不根据世上荣耀的观念来塑造自己对于天上荣耀的观念, 根本就不会理解这个问题, 从而不会承认它. 这同样适用于其它所有内层或天上的事物.

因此, 在圣言中, 主照着人的认知, 以及他们的理解所具有的表象说话. 圣言的字义就具有这种性质, 不过同时还具有这样的性质: 它含有包含内层真理的内义在里面. 于是, 这便解释了为何论及利亚时, 经上说 “耶和华就开她的子宫”, 而 “拉结却不生育”. 因为如前所述, “利亚” 代表对外层真理的情感, “拉结” 代表对内层真理的情感. 但由于外层真理是人所学到的最初真理, 故主规定, 人可以藉着它们被引入内层真理. 这个规定就是以下经文所表示的, “神顾念拉结, 垂听了她, 开了她的子宫” (创世记 30:22).

所有这一切的真相从古代的教会及其教义可以看出来, 因为其教义就是通过外在真理形成的. 大洪水后的古教会的教义事物绝大部分是外在的代表和有意义的符号, 内在真理就储存在这些代表和符号中. 该教会的绝大多数成员所具有的神圣敬拜就在于这些外在代表和符号. 若有人告诉他们说, 神性敬拜的本质要素不是这些代表和有意义的符号, 而是它们所代表并表示的属灵和属天之物, 他们就会完全拒绝这种教义, 教会也因此不再存在. 犹太教会尤其如此: 若有人告诉教会的人说, 他们的宗教仪式所具有的神圣性源自这些仪式里面主的神性事物, 他们根本就不会承认.

主来到世间时, 人类也是如此, 甚至变得更加肉体化, 尤其那些属教会的人. 这一点从门徒们自己非常明显地看出来, 尽管他们经常与主在一起, 听了那么多有关祂国度的事, 却还是不能领悟内层真理. 对于主, 除了如今犹太人对他们依然在期待的弥赛亚所持有的那种概念外, 他们仍不能拥有任何其它概念. 他们以为祂会高举这个民族, 让它去统治全世界所有民族, 并且其荣光也胜过它们. 甚至从主那里听了那么多有关天国的事后, 他们仍无法思考别的, 还以为天国就像世上的国度, 父神在那里是至高无上的, 祂后面是圣子, 然后就是他们这十二个人, 因此他们会依次掌权. 所以, 雅各和约翰也要求赐他们一个坐在祂右边, 一个坐在祂左边 (马可福音 10:35-37); 其他门徒则因这二人想比他们更大而恼怒 (马可福音 10:41; 马太福音 20:24). 由于同样的原因, 在教导他们谁在天堂为大 (马太福音 20:25-28; 马可福音 10:42-45) 之后, 主仍照着他们的思维方式说话. 也就是说, 祂声称他们要坐在十二个宝座上审判以色列十二个支派 (路加福音 22:24, 30; 马太福音 19:28).

如果他们被告知, “门徒” 这个词不是指他们自己, 而是指处于爱与信之善的所有人 (3354, 3488节); 而且主的国度不像世上的国度, 既有宝座, 还有政府职位和统治权, 他们甚至不能审判任何一个人的最小的那一面 (2129, 2553节), 他们就会拒绝这种说法, 各自离开主, 回去重操旧业了. 主之所以用这种方式说话, 是为了他们能接受外在真理, 并通过它们被引入内在真理. 因为内在真理就隐藏在主所说的这些外在真理里面. 随着时间推移, 这些内在真理就会显露出来. 一旦它们显露出来, 外在真理就被驱散, 仅充当用来思想内在真理的物体或工具. 由此可知, 此处所讲述的这些事是什么意思, 即耶和华先开了利亚的子宫, 她便给雅各生了儿子, 而拉结后来才生了儿子.

  
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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 # 6344

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6344. 'And the beginning of my strength' means that through that faith comes the initial power which truth possesses. This is clear from the meaning of 'the beginning of strength' as initial power; and since 'strength' is used with reference to truth, the initial power that truth possesses is what is meant. A similar usage occurs in Isaiah,

Jehovah imparts might to the weary, and to him who has no strength He gives greater power. Isaiah 40:29.

Here 'might' is used with reference to good and 'strength' to truth, 'power' with reference to both.

A brief statement will be made about how one should understand the explanation that through faith comes the power which good possesses, and the initial power which truth possesses, meant by 'Reuben my firstborn, you are my might and the beginning of my strength'. In the spiritual world all power comes from good through truth; without good truth has no power at all. For truth is so to speak the body, and good so to speak the soul of that body, and to accomplish anything the soul must act through the body. From this it is evident that truth without good has no power at all, even as the body without the soul has none at all. A body without its soul is a corpse; so too is truth without good.

[2] As soon as good effects the birth of faith that is composed of truth, power reveals itself in truth. This power is what is called the initial power that truth possesses through faith and is what is meant by 'the beginning of strength', as in other places in the Word where the condition of the firstborn is referred to, for example in David,

He smote all the firstborn in Egypt, the beginning of strength in the tents of Ham. Psalms 78:51.

And in another place,

He smote all the firstborn in their land, the beginning of all their strength. Psalms 105:36.

Also in Deuteronomy,

He must acknowledge the firstborn son of her that is hated, to give him two parts of all that will be found for him, in that he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the first born is his. Deuteronomy 21:17.

[3] The genuine meaning of 'the firstborn' is the good of charity, though the apparent meaning is the truth of faith, 3325, 4925, 4926, 4928, 4930. And because both that good and this truth are the fundamental qualities of the Church, the ancients spoke of the firstborn as his 'father's might and the beginning of his strength'. The fact that those fundamental qualities were meant by 'the firstborn' is quite evident from the considerations that everything which was a firstborn was Jehovah's or the Lord's and that the tribe of Levi was taken instead of all the firstborn and became the priesthood.

[4] Scarcely anyone in the world can know what the power possessed by truth coming from good is; but it is known to those in the next life, and so can be known through revelation from there. People in possession of truth that comes from good, that is, of faith derived from charity, possess power that comes through truth from good. All angels possess that power, which also is why in the Word angels are called 'powers'. For they have the power to restrain evil spirits; even one angel can restrain a thousand together. Their power they use most especially among men; sometimes they protect a person from numerous hells, in thousands of ways.

[5] This power that angels possess comes to them through the truth of faith derived from the good of charity. But because the faith they have comes from the Lord, the Lord alone is the power that resides with them. This power which comes from the Lord through faith is meant by the Lord's words to Peter,

On this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Matthew 16:18-19.

These words were addressed to Peter because he represented faith, see Preface to Genesis 22, as well as 3750, 4738, 6000, 6073 (end). Also wherever 'rock', 1 as Peter is called here, occurs in the Word, faith is meant in its internal sense, and the Lord in respect of faith in its highest sense.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. Reading petram (rock), which Swedenborg has in his rough draft, for Petrum (Peter).

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