208. Behold I have given before thee an opened door, and no one is able to shut it, signifies that they will be admitted into heaven, and that to no one of such a quality will it be refused. This is evident from the signification of "giving an opened door," as being to admit into heaven (of which presently) and from the signification of "no one is able to shut," as being that it will not be refused; for when a door is shut entrance is refused, but when it is not shut it is not refused. This refers to those who are in charity, because they are treated of in what is written to this church (See above, n. 203). From this it is clear that "I have given before thee an opened door, and no one is able to shut it," signifies that all such will be admitted into heaven, and that to none of these will entrance be refused. It is indeed plain from the common use of language, that "to give an opened door" signifies to admit into heaven; and still this is from correspondence; for a house and all things pertaining to a house correspond to the interiors of man which are of his mind, and from that correspondence they also signify in the Word the things of the mind. That this is so can be seen from representatives and appearances in heaven, where there are palaces, houses, rooms, bed-chambers, hallways, courts, and within them a variety of things for uses; these things the angels have from correspondence; and for this reason the wiser angels have palaces more magnificent than the less wise have (but respecting these, see in The work on Heaven and Hell 183-190, where The Habitations of the angels of Heaven are treated of); and as palaces, houses, and all things pertaining to a house have a correspondence, so evidently do doorways, doors, and gates, which correspond to entrance and admission; and when the doorway appears open, it is a sign that there is opportunity to enter, and when it is closed, that there is no opportunity.

[2] Moreover, when newly arrived spirits are introduced into a heavenly society, the way that leads to it is opened to them by the Lord; and when they come thither there appears a gate with a door at the side, where there are guards who admit them, and afterwards there are others who receive and introduce them. From this it can now be seen what "doorways," "doors," and "gates," signify in the Word, namely, admission into heaven: and as the church is the Lord's heaven on earth, they also signify admission into the church; and as heaven or the church is within man, "doorways," "doors," and "gates" signify approach and entrance, with man (of which presently). And because all things that signify heaven and the church signify also the things of heaven and the church, and here the things that introduce, which are truths out of good from the Lord, and because these truths are from the Lord, and are therefore His, yea, are Himself in them, therefore "doorway," "door," and "gate" to heaven and the church, mean in the highest sense the Lord. From this is clear the signification of what the Lord says in John:

Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, he that entereth not through the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up another way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in through the door is the shepherd of the sheep; to him the porter openeth. I am the door of the sheep, through Me if anyone enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and go out, and find pasture (John 10:1-3, 7, 9).

Here "to enter in through the door" is evidently to enter in through the Lord, for it is said, "I am the door of the sheep." To enter in through the Lord is to approach Him, acknowledge Him, believe in Him, and love Him, as He teaches in many passages; thus is man admitted into heaven, and in no other way; consequently the Lord says, "Through Me if anyone enter in, he shall be saved;" also "he that climbeth up another way, the same is a thief and a robber."

[3] Therefore he that approaches the Lord, acknowledges Him, and believes in Him, is said to open the door to the Lord, that he may enter in. In Revelation:

Behold I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me (Revelation 3:20).

What this means will be told in what follows where this part of the chapter will be explained. Here something shall merely be said about doors or gates, in respect to man, since it is said, "I stand at the door and knock." To man's rational two ways lead, one from heaven, the other from the world. By the way from heaven good is introduced, by the way from the world truth is introduced. So far as the way from heaven is opened with man, so far he is affected by truth and becomes rational, that is, sees truth from the light of truth. But if the way from heaven is shut, man does not become rational; for he does not see truth, and yet it is truth from the light of truth that makes the rational; he can, indeed, reason about truth, and from reasoning or from memory can talk about it; but he is not able to see whether truth is truth.

To think well about the Lord and about the neighbor opens the way from heaven; while to think not well about the Lord and to think evil about the neighbor shuts that way. As there are two ways that lead into man, so there are two doorways or gates through which entrance is effected. Through the gate or doorway that is opened from heaven the spiritual affection of truth from the Lord enters, because through that door (as was said above), good enters, and all spiritual affection of truth is from good; but by the gate or doorway that is open from the world all knowledge from the Word and from preaching from the Word enters, since by this way truth enters (as was also said above), for the knowledges from the Word and from preaching therefrom are truths. The spiritual affection of truth joined with such knowledges constitutes man's rational, and enlightens it according to the quality of the truth conjoined to good, and according to the quality of the conjunction. Let these few words suffice respecting the two doorways or gates pertaining to man.

[4] As "doorways," "doors," and "gates," signify admission into heaven and into the church, they therefore also signify truths from good which are from the Lord, because by them admission is effected; as in the following passages.

In Isaiah:

Open ye the gates, that the righteous nations keeping faithfulness may enter in (Isaiah 26:2).

This means, in the sense of the letter, that they will admit those who are righteous and faithful into the cities; but in the internal sense, that they will admit them into the church; for "gates" signify admission; "a righteous nation" signifies those who are in good; "keeping faithfulness" signifies those who are in truths from good.

[5] In the same:

Thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night, that the army of the nations may be brought unto Thee, and their kings shall be led; for the nation and kingdom that will not serve Thee shall perish. Thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise (Isaiah 60:11-12, 18).

This treats of the Lord and of the church about to be established by Him, and these words describe the continual admission of those who are in good and in truths therefrom. "The gates shall be opened continually, and shall not be shut day nor night," signifies perpetual admission; "the army of the nations" signifies those who are in good, and "kings" those who are in truths; and that all shall serve the Lord is meant by "the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish." That "nation" or "nations" signify those who are in good, may be seen above n. 175, and that "kings" signify those who are in truths n. 31.

[6] In the same:

Thus saith Jehovah to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; that I may loose the loins of kings, to open before him the doors that the gates may not be shut. And I will give thee the treasures of dark places, and hidden riches of secret places (Isaiah 45:1, 3).

This likewise treats of the Lord and of the church to be established by Him. "To open the doors that the gates may not be shut" signifies perpetual admission; "nations and kings" signify those who are in goods and truths, and in the abstract, goods and truths (as above); "treasures of dark places and hidden riches of secret places" signifies interior intelligence and wisdom from heaven, for the things that enter by the gate that is open from heaven (of which above) come in secretly and affect all things that are with man; from this comes the spiritual affection of truth, through which things before unknown are revealed.

[7] In Jeremiah:

If ye bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but hallow the Sabbath day, then shall there enter in by the gates of this city kings and princes, sitting upon the throne of David, riding upon the chariot and on horses, and the city shall be inhabited to eternity (Jeremiah 17:24-25).

Anyone can see what is meant by these things in the sense of the letter; but that something more holy is contained in them may be known, for this is the Word, and everything in the Word contains things that are of heaven and the church and these alone are holy; the holy thing meant is known from the internal sense. "The Sabbath day" in that sense means the conjunction of the Lord's Divine Human with heaven and the church; "the city" which here is Jerusalem, means the church; "to bring in no burden through the gates of this city" means not to admit that which is from man's own [proprium], but that which is from the Lord. "Kings and princes that shall enter in by the gates of the city" mean Divine truths which they should then have; "sitting upon the throne of David" means truths from the Lord; "riding upon the chariot and on horses" means that from these they should be in the doctrine of truth and in intelligence; "to be inhabited to eternity" means life and eternal salvation. (That "Sabbath" signifies the conjunction of the Lord's Divine Human with heaven and the church, see Arcana Coelestia 8494, 8495, 8510, 10356, 10360, 10367, 10370, 10374, 10668, 10730. That "Jerusalem" signifies the church, see n. 402, 3654, 9166. That "burden" or "work" on the Sabbath day signifies not to be led by the Lord but by one's own [proprium], n. 7893, 8495, 10360, 10362, 10365. That "kings and princes" signify those who are in Divine truths, and in the abstract, Divine truths, see above 29, 31. That "chariot" signifies the doctrine of truth, and "horses" the intellectual, see in the small work concerning The White Horse 1-5.)

[8] In Revelation:

The New Jerusalem, having a wall great and high, and twelve gates, and upon the gates twelve angels, and names inscribed, which are the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. The twelve gates were twelve pearls. The gates shall not be shut (Revelation 21:12, 21, 25).

That "gates" signify Divine truths introducing into the New Church, thus those who are in truths from good from the Lord, can be seen from the explanation of these words in the small work on The New Jerusalem 1 seq.). It is clear also from its being said that there were "twelve gates," "twelve angels upon the gates," and "the names of the twelve tribes written thereon," and that the "twelve gates were twelve pearls." (For "twelve" signifies all, and is predicated of truths from good, Arcana Coelestia 577, 2089, 2129, 2130, 3272, 3858, 3913; in like manner "angels," see above, n. 130, 200; likewise the "twelve tribes of Israel," n. 3858, 3926, 4060, 6335; and likewise "pearls.")

[9] In Jeremiah:

Out of the north an evil shall be opened, that they may come and set every man his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls round about, because they have forsaken Me (Jeremiah 1:14-16).

This treats of the destruction of the church; the "north," signifies falsity from which is evil; "to come and set every man his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem" is to destroy truths introductory to the church by means of falsities; "and against all the walls" means to destroy all protecting truths.

[10] In Isaiah:

Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou whole Philistia art dissolved, for from the north cometh smoke (Isaiah 14:31).

In the same:

The choicest of thy valleys are full of chariots, and the horsemen setting have set themselves even to the gate; he hath uncovered the covering of Judah (Isaiah 22:7-8).

In these passages also the destruction of the church is treated of; and "gates" here signify introductory truths which are destroyed; these truths are called "the covering of Judah," because "Judah" signifies celestial love (See above, n. 119), and these truths cover and protect that love.

[11] In the same:

The remnant in the city is a waste, and the gate is beaten ¹ even to devastation (Isaiah 24:12).

In Jeremiah:

Judah hath mourned, and the gates thereof have been made to languish (Jeremiah 14:2).

In the book of Judges:

The villages have ceased in Israel; he hath chosen new gods; there was fighting at the gates (Judges 5:7-8).

In Ezekiel:

Tyre hath said about Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken, the doors of the peoples; she is brought around unto me (Ezekiel 26:2).

Here also the destruction of the church is treated of; "Tyre" signifies the knowledges of truth and good, which are introductory truths; and "Jerusalem" the church in respect to the doctrine of truth; this shows why Jerusalem is here called the "doors of the people;" also what this signifies, "Tyre says, Aha, Jerusalem is broken, the doors of the people; she is brought around unto me, I shall be filled."

[12] Since, as was said above, "doors" and "gates" signify admission, and in particular, introductory truths, which are truths from good from the Lord, it is clear what "doors" and "gates" signify in the following passage. In David:

Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting portals, that the King of glory may come in (Psalms 24:7, 9).

In the same:

Recount the praises of Jehovah in the gates of the daughter of Zion (Psalms 9:14).

In the same:

Jehovah loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob (Psalms 87:2).

By "Zion" and "the daughter of Zion" the celestial church is meant.

In Isaiah:

Thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth He is called. I will make thy windows ² of rubies, and thy gates of carbuncles (Isaiah 54:5, 12).

In Matthew:

The five prudent virgins went into the marriage feast, and the door was shut; and the five foolish virgins came and knocked, but the door was not opened to them (Matthew 25:10-12).

In Luke:

Jesus said, strive to enter in through the narrow gate; for many shall seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the Master of the house is risen up and hath shut to the door, then shall ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and He shall answer and say, I know you not whence you are (Luke 13:24-25).

These two passages treat of the state of man after death, showing that those who are in faith and not in love cannot then be admitted into heaven, although they may wish to be admitted because they have so believed; this is meant by the "door's being shut," and they knocked but were rejected.

[13] Because "gates" signify introductory truths, therefore it was among the statutes:

That the elders should sit at the gates and judge (Deuteronomy 21:19; 22:15, 21; Amos 5:12, 15; Zechariah 8:16);

therefore it was also commanded:

That they should write the commandments upon the posts and gates (Deuteronomy 6:8-9);

and therefore it was likewise among the statutes:

That the ear of the servant who was not willing to go out free in the seventh year should be bored through at the door (Exodus 21:6; Deuteronomy 15:17).

"Servants" from the sons of Israel signified those who were in truths and not in good; and "freemen" those who are in good and in truths therefrom. That "the ear should be bored through at the door" signified perpetual obedience and servitude, since he was not willing to be introduced by means of truths into good; for those who are in truths and this not from good, are perpetually in a servile state, because they are not in the spiritual affection of truth; and yet it is the affection which is of the love that makes man free (See in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 141-149). Moreover introductory truths in respect to their quality are described by the covering of the entrance of the tent, and by the covering of the entrance of the tabernacle (Exodus 26:14, 36, 37; 38:18, 19); also by the measurements in numbers of the entrances and gates of the house of God and of the temple (in Ezekiel 40:6, 8-11, 40:13-15, 18-20, 24, 27, 28, 32, 35, 37; 41:1-3, 11, 17-20, 23-25; 42:2, 12, 15; 43:1-4; 44:1-3, 17; 46:1-3, 8, 12, 19; 47:1, 2; 48:31-34). He who knows what these particular numbers signify, may know many arcana respecting these truths. The gates of the house of Jehovah towards the north and towards the east are also spoken of in the same prophet (Ezekiel 8:3-4, 10:19).

脚注:

4638. Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins means the final period of the old Church and the first of the new. The Church is the Lord's kingdom on earth; 'the ten virgins' are all who belong to the Church, that is to say, both those who are governed by good and truth, and those who are under the influence of evil and falsity. 'Ten' in the internal sense means remnants, also that which is full and complete, and so means all, while 'virgins' means those who belong to the Church, as in other places in the Word.

[2] Who took their lamps means spiritual things which have what is celestial within them, or truths that have good within them, or what amounts to the same, faith that has charity towards the neighbour within it, and charity that has love to the Lord within it. For 'oil' means the good of love, dealt with below; but 'lamps that have no oil in them' means those same things when there is no good within them.

[3] They went out to meet the Bridegroom means their reception.

Five of them however were wise, but five were foolish means that one group of them possessed truths which had good within them, and another group possessed truths which did not have good within them. The former are 'the wise', but the latter 'the foolish'. In the internal sense 'five' means some, in this case therefore a group from within the whole.

Taking their lamps the foolish did not take oil with them means that they did not have within their truths the good of charity, 'oil' in the internal sense being the good of charity and love.

Whereas the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps means that they did have within their truths the good of charity and love - 'vessels' being matters of doctrine concerning faith.

[4] While the Bridegroom was tarrying they were all drowsy and went to sleep means delay, and therefore doubt. In the internal sense, 'being drowsy' means becoming, because of the delay, inattentive to things of the Church, while 'going to sleep' means nurturing doubt, in the case of 'the wise' doubt that goes with an affirmative attitude of mind, but in the case of 'the foolish' doubt that goes with a negative one.

At midnight there was a shout means the period of time which is the final one of the old Church and the first of the new. In the Word when the subject is the state of the Church this period is called 'night'. 'A shout' means a change taking place.

Behold, the Bridegroom is coming; go out to meet Him means judgement, that is to say, a time of being accepted or rejected.

[5] Then all those virgins were roused and they trimmed their lamps means the preparation of all, for those whose truths do not have good within them believe themselves to be no less accepted than those whose truths do have good within them. Indeed they imagine that faith alone saves and are unaware of the fact that no faith can exist where no charity does so.

But the foolish said to the wise, Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out means their desire for that good to be communicated from others to their own empty truths, that is, to their own hollow faith. For those who are in the next life communicate to one another every spiritual or celestial thing they possess, though only through good.

[6] But the wise replied, saying, Perhaps there will not be enough for us and for you means that no communication of it is possible because the small amount of good they have would be taken away from them. For in the next life, when good is communicated to those whose truths are devoid of good, they take away good so to speak from those who do have it and then keep it to themselves. They do not communicate it to others but defile it, which is why no good is communicated to them. My own experience of these people will be seen at the end of Chapter 37 below.

[7] Go rather to those who sell and buy for yourselves means meritorious good. Those who boast of having this kind of good are meant by 'those who sell'. Also, more than all others in the next life, people whose truth has no good within it think that they have earned merit through every deed they have performed which to all outward appearance looked like good, though inwardly it was evil, as the Lord says of them in Matthew, Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by Your name, and by Your name cast out demons, and do many mighty works in Your name? But then I will confess to them, I do not know you; depart from Me, you workers of iniquity! Matthew 7:22-23.

And in Luke,

Once the Householder has risen up and shut the door, then you will begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But He replying will say to you, I do not know where you come from. Then you will begin to say, We ate in your presence and we drank; and You taught in our Streets. But He will say, I tell you, I do not know where you come from; depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity! Luke 13:25-27.

This describes what those meant here by the foolish virgins are like, and that is why the following words referring to them occur in this parable - they 'came also, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he replying said, Truly, I say to you, I do not know you'.

[8] While they were going to buy however, the Bridegroom came means their perverse approach.

And those who were ready went in with Him to the wedding feast means that those who were governed by good, and from this by truth, were accepted into heaven. Heaven is likened to a wedding feast by virtue of the heavenly marriage, which is a marriage of good and truth, and the Lord to the Bridegroom because these people are joined to Him, while the Church is therefore called the Bride.

And the door was shut means that no others can enter.

[9] Afterwards the remaining virgins came also, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us means that they wish to enter on the basis of faith alone without charity, and of works in which the life of the Lord is not present, only selfish life.

But He replying said, Truly, I say to you, I do not know you means rejection. In the internal sense 'not knowing them' means that they lack any charity towards the neighbour, and are not joined through such charity to the Lord. Those who are not so joined to Him are said 'not to be known' by Him.

[10] Watch therefore, for you do not know the day, nor the hour, in which the Son of Man will be coming means an eagerness to live according to the commandments constituting a person's faith, meant by 'watching'. The actual time of acceptance, which is unknown to a person, and his state then, are meant by 'you do not know the day, nor the hour, in which the Son of Man will be coming'. One who is governed by good, that is, whose deeds conform to the commandments, is called 'wise', but one who has a knowledge of the truth, yet does not act in accordance with this, is called 'foolish', as they are elsewhere by the Lord in Matthew,

Everyone who hears My words and does them I will liken to a wise man. But everyone hearing My words and not doing them will be likened to a foolish man. Matthew 7:24, 26.