4229. 第32章

最后的审判 (续)

我们从第三卷 (系指拉丁文的第3卷) 开始解释主在马太福音 24章关于最后审判的预言. 这些解释被放在了那一卷最后几章的开头部分, 目前已解释到31节 (参看3353-3356, 3486-3489, 3650-3655, 3897-3901, 4056-4060节).

概括地说, 主的这些预言的内义从所给出的解释很清楚看出来, 即祂预言了教会的逐渐毁灭和最终一个新教会的建立, 其次序如下:

⑴教会成员不再知道何为良善与真理, 反而开始彼此争论它们.

⑵他们蔑视它们.

⑶他们从心里不承认它们.

⑷他们亵渎它们.

⑸由于信之真理和爱之良善仍存留在某些被称为 “选民” 的人当中, 故经上描述了那时信之真理所具有的状态.

⑹然后描述了仁的状态.

⑺最后论述了一个新教会的开始, 由最后所解释的那些话来表示, 即:

祂要差遣祂的使者, 用号筒的大声, 将祂的选民从四风, 从天这边到天那边, 都招聚了来. (马太福音 24:31)

这些话表示一个新教会的开始 (参看4060末尾节).

3651. Anyone may see that these statements contain arcana and that until those arcana are disclosed no one can possibly know what is meant by those who are in Judea being told to flee into the mountains, what is meant by him who is on the roof of the house being forbidden to go down to take anything out of the house, and by him who is in the field being forbidden to turn back to get his clothing. Without the internal sense to teach what these things mean and imply, those who study the Word and those who explain it might be drawn towards and slide into opinions that are totally alien to the truth. More than this, people who at heart deny the sacredness of the Word may therefore conclude that no more is described by such words than flight and escape from an approaching enemy and that consequently nothing more sacred than this lies within them. But in fact these words spoken by the Lord give a full description of that state when the Church has been vastated as regards goods of love and as regards truths of faith, as may become clear from the explanation of these words that follows below.