908. “和你在一起凡有血肉的一切野兽” 表该教会成员里面活过来的一切. 这一点从以下事实清楚可知, 即 “野兽” 论及挪亚, 就是现已重生的该教会成员, 显然也论及接下来的事物, 即 “飞鸟, 牲畜和爬行物”, 因为经上说 “和你在一起凡有血肉的一切野兽, 就是飞鸟, 牲畜和一切爬在地上的爬行物”. 在原文中, 用于 “野兽” 的这个词严格来说表生命或活物; 但在圣言中, 它既用来表活物, 也用来表某种意义上并非活着的事物, 或野兽. 所以, 人若不通晓圣言的内义, 有时就不明白什么意思. 这个词具有双重含义的原因在于, 上古教会成员在主面前谦卑地承认自己不是活的, 甚至不如家畜, 不过是个野兽. 因为他知道, 人在专注于自己, 或处于自我中心时就是这样. 所以, 这同一个词既表活物, 也表野兽.

至于它表活物, 明显可见于诗篇:

你的野兽要住在其中 (神的子民); 神啊, 你必以你的良善使穷乏人强健. (诗篇 68:10)

此处, 由于他要住在神的子民中, 故 “野兽” 无非表重生的人, 因而如此处的情形, 即它表他里面的活物. 又:

因为森林中的一切野兽是我的, 千山上的牲畜也是我的; 山中的飞鸟, 我都知道; 田野的野兽与我同在. (诗篇 50:10, 11)

此处, “田野的野兽与我同在”, 即与神同在, 表重生之人, 因而表他里面的活物. 以西结书:

空中的所有飞鸟都在枝子上搭窝, 田野的一切野兽都在枝条下生产. (以西结书 31:6)

当那日, 我必与田野的野兽和空中的飞鸟立约. (何西阿书 2:18)

这论及即将重生之人, 要与他立约. 事实上, “野兽” 完全表 “活物”, 以致以西结所看到的基路伯或天使被称为 “四个活物” 或 “活物” ( 以西结书 1:5, 13-15, 19; 10:15).

在圣言中, “野兽” 在相反意义上则表非活物, 或凶猛的野兽, 这一点从大量经文清楚可知. 仅引用以下经文证实这一点. 诗篇:

不要将你斑鸠的灵魂交给野兽. (诗篇 74:19)

西番雅书:

这城何竟荒凉, 成为野兽躺卧之处. (西番雅书 2:15)

以西结书:

他们必不再作外邦人的掠物, 地上的野兽也不再吞吃他们. (以西结书 34:28)

又:

空中的飞鸟都要宿在他的废墟上; 田野的一切野兽都要卧在它的枝条下. (以西结书 31:13)

何西阿书:

在那里我必像狮子吞吃他们, 田野的野兽必撕裂他们. (何西阿书 13:8)

以西结书:

我已将你给地上野兽, 空中飞鸟作食物. (以西结书 29:5)

这种用法很常见. 而且, 由于犹太人只局限于字义, 将 “野兽” 理解为一头野兽, 将 “飞鸟” 理解为一只飞鸟, 所以他们并不知道圣言的内在事物, 也不愿承认它们, 从而接受指教. 事实上, 他们本身是如此残忍和野蛮的动物, 以致他们不是以埋葬在战场所杀戮的敌人为乐, 而是以将他们暴尸荒野, 任飞禽和野兽吞吃为乐. 这也表明何为野兽人.

8325. 'You will bring them in' means raising up. This is clear from the meaning of 'bringing in', when used to denote taking to heaven, as raising up. The words 'raising up' are used because heaven beheld by outward sight that spirits possess is on high; and when beheld by inward sight such as angels possess heaven occupies an inward position. Everything inward in the next life manifests itself in a representative fashion as something above, and everything outward as something below; consequently heaven appears up above and hell down below, 2148, 3084, 4599, 5146. For states of truth and good, and in the contrary sense states of falsity and evil, are what positions high up and those deep down, in short, distances and places, represent in the next life, see 2625, 2837, 3356, 3387, 4321, 4882, 5605, 7381.

[2] The following experience alone enables one to infer how difficult it is for a natural man to apprehend spiritual things, consequently things that belong to heaven. Can anyone like him see that space and time do not exist in heaven, but states instead? Or to be more precise, that states of good or states of being (esse) exist there, presenting themselves as extents of space, and states of truth or states of coming-into-being (existere), presenting themselves as periods of time? Will not a merely natural man suppose that where time and space do not exist there is complete emptiness and nothingness? From this it is evident that if a natural man makes up his mind to believe nothing apart from what he can apprehend he lays himself open to grossly mistaken ideas. And as it is with space and time, so it is also with many other matters. For example, a natural man inevitably falls into a nonsensical way of thinking about God when with notions involving the passage of time he contemplates what God was doing before the creation of the world, that is, what He was engaged in from eternity up to then. Nor can he be extricated from that tangled knot until notions of time and space are banished. When angels contemplate that eternity they never do so with notions of time but with ideas of state.

[3] In the next life two statues appear, partly of flesh and partly of stone. They are stationed on the edge of the created universe, in front over to the left. They are said to swallow up those who contemplate what God was doing from eternity before He created the world. The swallowing up represents the consideration that since a person cannot contemplate anything without notions involving space and time he cannot extricate himself from the difficulty unaided. He does so only with the aid of God, either by ceasing to contemplate the matter or by banishing notions involving time.