4453. “做买卖, 置产业” 表因他们交流而将彼此一致的教义. 这从 “做买卖” 和 “置产业” 的含义清楚可知: “做买卖” 是指为自己获取认知, 以及交流它们 (参看2967节), 因此在这地 “做买卖” 表示进入哈抹的儿子示剑及其城所表示的良善与真理的认知; “置产业” 是指合一, 因而是指彼此一致. “做买卖” 之所以表示为自己获取认知, 以及交流它们, 是因为在天上, 就是照内义觉悟圣言的地方, 是没有买卖的; 事实上, 天上没有金, 银, 或诸如在这个世上用来交易的那类事物; 因此, 当我们在圣言中读到 “买卖” (trading, 或译贸易, 交易等) 时, 是以灵义来理解的, 在天上被感知为与 “买卖” (trading, 或译贸易, 交易等) 相对应的某种事物, 一般来说, 是认知的获取和交流, 具体来说是所提到的物体所指的实体. 例如, 若提到 “金”, 就理解为爱与智慧的良善 (113, 1551, 1552节); 若提到 “银”, 就理解为属于聪明和信仰的真理 (1551, 2048, 2954节); 若提到人们在古时用来交易的 “母绵羊”, “公绵羊”, “小山羊” 或 “羔羊”, 就理解为诸如这些动物所表示的那类事物, 等等.

如以西结书:

告诉推罗, 你居住海口, 跟众民到许多海岛交易; 他施人因你多有各类的财物, 就作你的客商, 拿银, 铁, 锡, 铅兑换你的货物. 雅完人, 土巴人, 米设人都用人口与你交易, 拿铜器兑换你的商品. 底但人与你交易; 许多海岛成了你手里的货品. 亚兰人因你的手工艺品很多, 就作你的客商; 犹大和以色列地的人都与你交易; 他们用米匿的麦子, 饼, 蜜, 油, 乳香兑换你的商品. 大马色人因你的手工艺品很多, 又因你多有各类的财物, 就拿黑本酒和沙哈 (Zahar) 羊毛与你交易. 威但人和雅完人拿纺成的线兑换你的货物. 底但人用马车的敞篷与你交易. 亚拉伯人和基达的一切首领都作你手下的客商, 用羊羔, 公绵羊, 公山羊与你交易. 示巴和拉玛的商人与你交易, 他们用各类上好的香料, 各类的宝石和黄金兑换你的货物. 哈兰人, 干尼人, 伊甸人, 示巴的商人和亚述人, 基抹人与你交易. 这些商人以美好的货物与你交易, 用蓝色包袱, 刺绣的衣服; 盛华丽衣服香柏木的宝箱, 用绳捆着兑换你的货物. 他施的船只接连成帮为你运货, 你便在海心丰满, 极其荣华. (以西结书 27:3, 12-13, 15-19, 21-25)

由此处和圣言中的许多其它经文明显可知, “交易”, “商品”, “货品” 和 “货物” 无非是指与良善并真理的认知有关的事物. 因为若非推罗的交易活动表示属灵和属天的事物, 预言的圣言与这些活动有什么相干呢? 既如此, 那么显而易见, 不仅 “货物” 表示其它事物, 而且此处所提到的民族也表示拥有这些其它事物的人民. 还显而易见, 若不凭内义, 没有人知道所有这些表示什么; 如不知道他施, 雅完人, 土巴人, 米设人, 底但人, 亚兰人, 犹大, 以色列, 威但人, 雅完, 底但人, 阿拉伯人, 示巴, 拉玛, 哈兰人, 干尼人, 伊甸人, 亚述人, 基抹人表示什么; 也不知道他们的货物表示什么, 如银, 铁, 锡, 铅, 铜器, 麦子, 米匿, 饼, 蜜, 油, 乳香, 黑本酒, 沙哈羊毛, 纺成的线, 马车敞篷, 羊羔, 公绵羊, 公山羊, 香料, 宝石, 黄金, 蓝色包袱, 刺绣的衣服, 捆绳, 香柏木制成的物件. 这些及类似事物表示教会和主国度的良善与真理, 以及对这些良善与真理的认知. 正因推罗表示认知 (1201节), 所以此处论述的主题是推罗. 由于这类财物, 也就是良善与真理, 就存在于主的教会和国度中, 故表示主的教会和国度的迦南地自上古时代就具有一个源于表示货物或货品的词的名字, 因为这就是原文中 “迦南” 这个名的含义. 综上所述, 明显可知在这地 “做买卖” 是什么意思.

2625. 'At the appointed time' means when the Rational was such that it was receptive. This becomes clear from the meaning of 'time'. There are two things which appear to be indispensable while a person lives in the world because they exist as essential elements of the natural order - those two things being space and time. Living in the world or natural order therefore is living in space and time. But these two cease to have any existence in the next life. They do, it is true, appear to exist to some extent in the world of spirits, the reason for this being that spirits recently arrived from life in the body bring with them mental pictures of natural things. But subsequently they perceive that space and time do not exist in that life but states instead, and that states in the next life correspond to extensions of space and of time within the natural order - states in respect to Being corresponding to those of space, and in respect to Manifestation to those of time. Regarding space or place, see 1274, 1379, 1380, 1382.

[2] From this anyone may see what kind of mental pictures a person is able to have while in the world or natural order regarding things which belong to the next life and about many arcana of faith. He may see that such a person is unwilling to believe those things unless he can take them in by means of objects that exist in the world, indeed by sensory evidence. For he cannot do other than suppose that if he were to divest himself of his mental pictures that have been formed from space and time, more so to divest himself of space and time themselves, he would cease to be anything at all and so would have nothing left to him from which he could perceive with his senses or have thoughts of anything apart from that which was unintelligible to him. But in actual fact quite the reverse is the case: the life of angels is such that it is the wisest and happiest of all.

[3] This is the reason why people's ages mentioned in the Word do not in the internal sense mean ages but states, so that in this verse 'old age' does not mean old age. Nor does any number mean a number but some specific state, as in the case of 'a hundred years' mentioned further on. From this it now becomes clear that 'the appointed time' means the state when the rational was such that it was receptive.

[4] As regards the specific teaching presented here - that the Divine Rational received being and was given manifestation from the Lord's Divine spiritual united to His Divine celestial, when the days had been completed for him to cast off the human and when the Rational was such that it was receptive (meant in the internal sense by 'Sarah conceived and bore to Abraham a son in his old age, at the appointed time') - the following needs to be known:

The human has its beginnings in the inmost part of the rational, see 2106, 2194. The Lord advanced gradually towards the union of the Human Essence with the Divine Essence, and of the Divine Essence with the Human Essence, 1864, 2033, 2523.

He did so by His own power, 1921, 2025, 2026, 2083, through continuing temptations and repeated victories, 1690, 1737, 1813, and through receiving revelations repeatedly from His own Divine, 1616, 2500, till at length He cast out the whole human from the mother, 1414, 1444, 2574.

And in this way He made His Human - as to the Rational - Divine, as taught by the things that occur in this verse.

From all this it is evident how the explanation 'when the days had been completed for Him to cast off the human and when the Rational was such that it was receptive' is to be understood.

[5] Some idea of this matter may be had from what happens to people who are being regenerated. The celestial things of love, and the spiritual things of faith, are instilled into them by the Lord not all at once but gradually; and when by means of those things a person's rational has become such that it is able to be receptive, he is for the first time becoming regenerate, mostly by means of temptations in which he overcomes. While these experiences are taking place the days are being completed to cast off the old man and put on the new. Regarding man's regeneration, see 677, 679, 711, 848, 986, 1555, 2475.