大流士是巴比伦的国王。这意味着他的书信与尼布甲尼撒和伯沙撒属于同一类别。正如我们多次看到的那样，巴比伦描述了从对自我的爱出发，对其他人进行统治的爱。尼布甲尼撒代表了对道的篡改和对真理的破坏(破解啟示錄47)，它的力量来自对自我无节制的爱。随着他的故事的展开，我们看到了真理对自我之爱的影响，使其进入秩序，以及对主和他的话语的认可。在前四章中，尼布甲尼撒的地位下降，而但以理的地位上升。

第五章的最后一节告诉我们，大流士登上巴比伦的宝座时已经62岁了。年龄在圣经中总是表示状态，而岁数是该特定状态的品质。因此，这个年龄是对这个新国王的性格的一种洞察。

正如我们在第三章中所看到的，六代表一种不完整的状态，与 "二 "有相同的含义。天国的秘密900)--原因相同：它比表示完整的数字少一个。二在三之前，如同六在七之前。三 "和 "七 "都代表完整，例如，主在坟墓里呆了三天，或者圣父、圣子和圣灵三位一体。数字 "七 "也是类似的：在创造之后，主在第七天休息，在十诫中，我们被指示要遵守那一天，保持它的圣洁。"六 "与这种完美的代表相差无几，所以说明了一种不完美的状态。

大流士的图画开始出现，作为奠定信仰和善的基础工作的状态，因为我们把伯沙撒所描绘的公开的邪恶搁置起来。最初这些状态是软弱的，因为它们属于我们早期的重生。不应忘记软弱的根本原因。大流士通过杀死伯沙撒成为巴比伦的国王，从而代表我们对自我的爱。

但他与他的前辈们不同。尼布甲尼撒在对主的能力的理解和欣赏上有了进步，伯沙撒却没有。大流士完成了尼布甲尼撒的故事，即对自我的爱受到了责罚。自私在大流士身上得到了谦卑：他把但以理放在他政府的首位，仅次于自己。这一赞誉的含义不应该被忽视：既然自私只有被良心制服，那么良心就需要成为我们感情、思想和行动的主要动力。

"智者 "和 "治理者 "是但以理书前半部分的一个主题。虽然通常是失败的，但这些人是国王们最先寻求建议的人。他们代表了我们在中心自私下的习惯性思维（智者）和爱（管理者）。在这一章中，大流士将他的王国分为一百二十个省，每个省由一个 "萨特普 "或总督统治。

在内部意义上，这些官员代表了从中心或统治的爱中产生的思想和情感。大流士，就像他之前的尼布甲尼撒和伯沙撒一样，是巴比伦的国王，因此代表了我们对自我的爱，但是是在控制下的自我爱。所以萨特拉代表从这种爱中产生的情感。

数字 "一百二十 "是另一个复合数字，描述了萨特拉所代表的情感。在一个完美的正方形中，如数字一百，长度和宽度完全相等。因此，善良和真理的质量是相同的。十代表遗体的状态，或由主植入人类心灵的善与真的状态。十乘以十，使这一意义加倍--遗体的丰满(AC 1988 [2]).

对于 "一百二十"，我们必须加上最后的二十。二十是十乘以二。正如我们前面所看到的，二代表完整之前的状态，是实现这一完整的必要动荡(天国的秘密900).然而，数字 "二 "也描述了结合的状态，即通过生活中的考验和诱惑，使善与真达到和谐。

因此，一百二十个萨特拉象征着即将到来的再生状态，在那里，对自我的爱已经在一定程度上净化了伯沙撒所代表的亵渎。他们标志着人类重生的进展。但以理所代表的我们所学的真理在日常生活中得到更充分的表达。

大流士的统治是一个充满希望的统治，这一点得到了进一步的发展：在这一百二十个沙陀之上，大流士任命了三位 "总统"，但以理是其中的第一位。但以理将控制这块土地，沙陀们将向他报告，他将作为巴比伦的实际统治者进行统治。这与被俘的男孩被带出耶路撒冷有很长的路要走--从良知的第一次骚动，到我们的生活被牢牢置于良知的指导和控制之下，有很长的路要走。但以理被任命为这一权威职位是对真理在我们心中胜利的明确承诺，如果我们愿意听从它的引导，让它谦卑和审判我们，就像尼布甲尼撒和伯沙撒被谦卑和审判一样。

官员们看到但以理的地位崇高，就密谋反对他。当他们找不到他个人的问题时，他们计划利用他对主的奉献来破坏他。这就是我们的良心和我们对自我的爱之间的基本冲突点。即使自我的爱已经被制服，它仍然保留着一种自我抬高的倾向。在我们身上有一些东西使我们深情地回顾我们与自私作斗争之前的日子，这种记忆可能是转瞬即逝的，但却很有力。正是在那个时刻，我们很容易受到诱惑。这种软弱让来自自私的想法和态度重新抬头。我们又回到了自己的老路上。

在这种情况下，虽然当时看起来不是这样，但我们把自己置于上帝之上--我们说服自己，我们的需要、我们的愿望、我们的欲望比其他任何东西都重要。在后来看来可能是灵性疯狂的时刻，我们把良心放在一边，接受了我们知道是错误的概念、态度和行动。像大流士一样，我们被骄傲所诱惑。

在试探中，我们的爱给了我们安慰。如果我们爱善良、真理和做正确的事，那么这些爱就不能被诱惑所破坏。爱构成了我们精神生活的基础，如果它是好的，那么它就能为我们提供心灵的宁静和精神的力量，以战胜诱惑。因此，但以理的家，即他面对大流士的无理要求而逃离的地方，是我们爱的形象。

如果房子代表我们的爱，那么房子里的房间就是这些爱所产生的美好事物(天国的秘密3900).我们不能把好的思想、感情和活动与我们的爱分开，因为一旦我们重生，爱就会渗透到我们的整个生命中。在诱惑中，我们在这些方面得到安慰，我们必须提醒自己，我们已经取得了进步，主在他的怜悯中给了我们能力，使我们能够背弃那些几乎毁灭我们的纯粹的自私。

所以但以理面对耶路撒冷，他的家乡，跪下来，这代表了我们身上的教会：谦卑和顺服于主的能力。跪下是谦卑和崇拜的标志。它包含了对主在我们生命中的能力的认可。

但是，我们的自私很容易对我们提出荒谬的要求，这些要求会束缚良心，使其失去效力，这些要求与我们对真理的概念背道而驰。在为我们的良心设下这个陷阱之后，我们就开始指出它的不合规之处。我们经常告诉自己应该做这个或那个，尽管我们知道这是错的。当我们的良心刺痛我们，提醒我们真相的时候，我们就转身离开。

我们很容易只看到对我们自己的直接和积极的好处，就像大流士一定感到非常高兴，没有人愿意向任何男人或神明要求帮助，除了他自己。在一个有成千上万个家庭神的国家，这将是权力的缩影。它持续了多长时间？任何邪恶能持续多久？许多恶行在其影响开始显现之前，只给人以短暂的快乐。通奸、谋杀、偷窃、仇恨和报复只持续到发泄的时候。然后我们要面对的伤害是：内疚、恐惧、失去威望或尊敬、失去爱、失去朋友。

但以理在狮子坑里的故事是圣经中最著名的故事之一。从表面上看，它讲述的是勇气、解救和击败骄傲的故事。在内部意义上，它讲述了自私和良知之间的最后斗争。每个细节都有意义。

在圣经中，狮子的形象被用于与主的关系。他是犹大支派的狮子，能够打开《启示录》中密封的书卷。祂是吼叫的狮子，因为祂来为锡安山作战(以赛亚书31:4).因此，作为狮子的主说明了他的大爱，与侵扰人类的邪恶作斗争，并保护我们免受其害。

在这种情况下，狮子的含义从与邪恶和虚假斗争的美丽力量，从主的力量，到从强烈的自爱产生的 "绝望的胆量"。由于自爱得到了虚假推理的支持和支撑，所以用一块大石头封住了这个洞穴。

国王在绝望中度过的那一夜代表着蒙昧，这是诱惑的一个重要部分(天国的秘密1787, 2694, 7166).诱惑的特点是怀疑主的存在，以及重生是否真的可能(天国的秘密2334).这种怀疑开始时很温和，但随着时间的推移而增加。

正如哭泣的妇女发现主的坟墓是空的，有天使看守，所以大流士发现但以理在狮子中间活得很好。这是某种意义上的复活，因为但以理不应该在这场磨难中幸存下来，如果不是有天使堵住狮子的嘴，他也不会幸存下来。

在所有的试探中，主都在我们身边。他保护我们美好的爱情，我们的良心，我们对重生的渴望。神圣的天意总是努力引导我们走出诱惑，进入主的国度的充实和喜悦。这只有在我们愿意接受诱惑的情况下才能发生。这些从来不是为了它们本身而发生的，而是为了我们的灵性发展。

一旦我们作出决定顺服于主，就像夜里的大流士一样，他使我们从试探的束缚中得到自由。当大流士发现但以理是安全的，就命令把他从狮子坑里带出来。然后，那些炮制和操纵这场近乎悲剧的官员被扔进了狮子洞。这一行动，表面上很残酷，反映了我们最后自私的爱被抛弃。

良心的目的是让我们认识到上帝是王。这是一个胜利的故事。我们需要了解我们生命中最卑微的一面，当自私自利横行的时候。除非我们知道自己是谁，否则我们无法改变。知识给予改变的力量。来自圣经的知识在我们的头脑中形成一个平面，主可以流入其中。他的存在使我们的行为和反应、思考和感觉发生了变化。我们性格中的但以理一面是我们得救的手段，正如主保护历史上的但以理一样，他也保护和守卫我们的精神良知，确保它足够强大，能够在自私的问题上挑战我们，并有足够的力量带领我们进入属于他的王国的幸福和和平的状态。

17. The firstborn from the dead. This symbolically means, and which is Divine good itself.

No one as yet knows what it is to be firstborn from the dead. Moreover, the ancients debated what it symbolized. They knew that the firstborn symbolized the first or primary constituent from which sprung everything having to do with the church. Many also believed that it was truth in doctrine and faith, but a few thought it was truth in act and deed, which constitutes goodness of life. We will see that the latter is the first and primary constituent of the church, and therefore that, properly speaking, it is what is meant by the firstborn.

First, however, we must say something about the opinion of those who believed that truth in doctrine and faith is the first and primary constituent of the church, thus the firstborn. They believed this because truth is learned first, and because the church is a church in consequence of its truth, though not before the truth is lived. Prior to that it exists only in the thought and memory of the intellect, and not in any action of the will; and truth that is not truth in act or deed has no life in it. It is merely like a tree abounding in branches and leaves without any fruit, or like knowledge without any useful application. Or it is like a foundation upon which a house is being built for people to live in. These things are first in time, but they are not first in end, and those which are first in end are primary. For first in end is the living in the house, while the first in time is the foundation. The first in end, too, is useful application, while the first in time is knowledge. Likewise, when a tree is planted, the first in end is its fruit, while first in time are its branches and leaves.

[2] The same is the case with the intellect, which is formed first in a person, but to the end that the person may put into practice what he sees with the intellect. Otherwise the intellect is like a preacher who teaches rightly but lives an evil life.

Every truth, furthermore, is sown in the inner self and takes root in the outer one. Consequently, unless the truth that is sown takes root in the outer self, which it does by being put into practice, it becomes like a tree placed not in the ground but on top of it, which in the radiating heat of the sun immediately wilts.

This root is something a person takes with him after death if he has put truths into practice, but not the person who has known and acknowledged them in faith only.

Now, because many of the ancients made what is first in time first in end or primary, therefore they said that something firstborn symbolized truth in the church in doctrine and faith, unaware that it is the firstborn apparently, but not actually.

[3] Those, however, who made truth in doctrine and faith primary, were all condemned, because not a bit of practice or deed, or of life, was found in that truth. Cain, who was the firstborn of Adam and Eve, was condemned for that reason. That he symbolizes truth in doctrine and faith may be seen in Angelic Wisdom Regarding Divine Providence 242.

For the same reason too, Reuben, who was the firstborn of Jacob, was condemned by his father (Genesis 49:3-4), and the birthright was taken from him (1 Chronicles 5:1). In the spiritual sense Reuben means truth in doctrine and faith, as we will see hereafter.

The firstborn of Egypt were all struck down, having been condemned, and in the spiritual sense they mean nothing else than truth in doctrine and faith apart from goodness of life - truth which in itself is lifeless.

The goats mentioned in Daniel and Matthew ¹ mean no others than people who possess a faith apart from life, as discussed in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem Regarding Faith, nos. 61-68.

Around the time of the Last Judgment, people who possessed a faith apart from life were rejected and condemned, as may be seen in A Continuation Concerning the Last Judgment 16[1]ff.

[4] It can be seen from these few considerations that the firstborn of the church is not truth in doctrine and faith, but truth in practice or deed, which constitutes goodness of life. For the church does not exist in a person until truth becomes a matter of life, and when truth becomes a matter of life, it is then goodness. That is because the thought of the intellect and memory do not flow into the will and through the will into practice. Rather the will flows into the thought and memory of the intellect and acts. Moreover, whatever issues from the will through the intellect does so from affection, which is a matter of love, through thought, which is a matter of the intellect. And it is all called good and enters into the life. Therefore the Lord says that he who does the truth does it in God (John 3:21).

[5] Since John represented goodness of life, and Peter the truth of faith (see no. 5 above), therefore John is said to have reclined at the Lord's breast and followed Jesus, and not Peter (John 21:18-23). The Lord also said of John that John would remain till He came (John 21:22-23), thus to the present day, which is the day of the Lord's coming. Consequently the Lord is now teaching goodness of life for people who will be constituents of His New Church, which is the New Jerusalem.

In sum, the firstborn is that which truth first produces from good, thus what the intellect produces from the will, because truth has to do with the intellect, and good with the will. This first element is primary, because it is like a seed from which everything else springs.

[6] As for the Lord, He is the "firstborn from the dead" because in respect to His humanity He is truth itself united to Divine good, from whom all people live, who in themselves are dead.

The like is meant in Psalms,

I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth. (Psalms 89:27)

This is said of the Lord's humanity.

So it is that Israel is called the firstborn (Exodus 4:22-23). "Israel" means truth in practice, "Jacob" truth in doctrine; and because no church is formed in consequence of the latter alone, therefore Jacob was named Israel. (In the highest sense, however, Israel means the Lord.)

[7] Because of this representation of the firstborn, all the firstborn of people and animals were consecrated to Jehovah (Exodus 13:2, 12; 22:28-29).

Because of this representation of the firstborn, in the Israelite church the Levites were taken in place of all the firstborn, and it is said that they therefore belonged to Jehovah (Numbers 3:12-13, 40-46; 18:15-18). For Levi symbolizes truth in practice, which constitutes goodness of life, and therefore his descendants were given the priesthood, on which subject more later.

For the same reason, too, the firstborn was given a double portion of the inheritance, and he is called the beginning of strength (Deuteronomy 21:15-17).

[8] The firstborn symbolizes the primary constituent of the church because natural births in the Word symbolize spiritual births, and what first produces them in a person is then meant by his firstborn. For the church does not exist in him until the doctrinal truth conceived in the inner self is given birth in the outer self.

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