1. 前言:新天國與新教會的信仰

首先, 將本書中所講述的真實的基督徒信仰, 也就是新天國和新教會的信仰, 分別以總體和具體的形式概要地說明。作為接下來全書的引言, 或作為進入聖殿的大門, 又或作為詳細內容的概要。此信仰被稱為新天國和新教會的信仰, 因為天人(angel)組成的天國和世人組成的教會, 如同一個人的靈魂與肉體, 內外一致,行動如一。因此, 若教會之人活在良善與真理之中, 對於思想內在而言, 他就是天國的一名天人。在肉身死後, 他便進入天國, 照著良善與真理在他裡面聯合的狀態在那裡安享極樂。當知道, 在主現在正建立的新天國中, 這樣的信仰是新天國的引言,入門和概要。

5086. The place where Joseph was bound' means the state of the celestial of the natural now in relation to these things. This is clear from the meaning of 'the place' as a state, dealt with in 2625, 2877, 3356, 3387, 4321, 4882; from the representation of 'Joseph' as the celestial of the spiritual from the rational, dealt with in 4286, 4585, 4592, 4594, 4963, at this point the celestial of the natural because it was now in the natural, from which temptations arise, 5035, 5039; and from the meaning of 'bound' as a state of temptations, dealt with in 5037. The subject in the previous chapter was the state of temptations undergone by the celestial of the spiritual within the natural, involving those things which belonged to the interior natural, whereas in this chapter it is the state of temptations involving things that belong to the exterior natural.