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.

9506. 'And you shall make a mercy-seat from pure gold' means the hearing and reception of all things that belong to worship arising from the good of love. This is clear from the meaning of 'the mercy-seat' as the cleansing from evils or forgiveness of sins, consequently the hearing and reception of all things that belong to worship, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'gold' as the good of love, dealt with in 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914. The truth that 'the mercy-seat' means the cleansing from evils and forgiveness of sins is clear from those places in the Word where propitiation or expiation is referred to. ¹ The reason why the hearing and reception of all things belonging to worship is also meant is that only those who have made propitiation or expiation, that is, been cleansed from evils, are heard by the Lord and have their worship accepted by Him; it does not happen with those who are steeped in evils, that is, have not made expiation or propitiation. Therefore also Aaron was not allowed to approach the mercy-seat until he had been cleansed and had made propitiation for himself and the people.

[2] The truth that 'the mercy-seat' consequently means the hearing and reception of all things that belong to worship is also clear from the consideration that Jehovah spoke to Moses over the mercy-seat between the cherubs. The reason why worship arising from the good of love is that which is received is that no one is allowed to enter heaven and so approach the Lord other than a person who is governed by good, that is to say, by the good of love to the Lord and the good of charity towards the neighbour, see 8516, 8539, 8722, 8772, 9139, 9227, 9230, 9274; no one else is heard nor can anyone else's worship be received. This also explains why there were cherubs over the mercy-seat; for watchfulness and providence are meant by 'the cherubs', guarding against access to the Lord except through the good of love, that is, guarding against entrance into heaven by any apart from those who are governed by good, and also guarding against those in hell gaining access to the inhabitants of heaven and doing them harm. All this shows what was meant by the presence of the mercy-seat over the ark and by that of the cherubs over the mercy-seat, and by the fact that the mercy-seat and the cherubs too were made from pure gold; for 'gold' means the good of love, and 'the ark' heaven where the Lord is.

[3] The truth that 'the mercy-seat' means the cleansing from evils, and so the forgiveness of sins, is clear from places in the Word where 'propitiation' or 'expiation' ² is referred to, as in David,

O Jehovah, expiate our sins for Your name's sake. Psalms 79:9.

In the same author,

He, being merciful, has expiated iniquity. Psalms 78:38.

In the same author,

You will expiate me with hyssop and I shall become clean; You will wash me and I shall be made whiter than snow. Psalms 51:7.

In Isaiah,

Evil will come upon you, which you will not know how to ward off; calamity will befall you, which you will not be able to expiate. Isaiah 47:11.

And in Moses,

Sing, O nations, the people of Him who will avenge the blood of His servants, and will expiate His land, His people. Deuteronomy 32:43.

[4] Expiations were effected by means of sacrifices; and it says that when they were offered the priest would expiate him from sin, and he would be pardoned, ³ Leviticus 4:26, 31, 35; 5:6, 10, 13, 16, 18; 6:7; 9:7; 15:15, 30. Expiation was also effected by 'silver', Exodus 30:16; Psalms 49:7. Hence also the day of expiations ⁴ before the feast of tabernacles, Leviticus 23:27-32. But it should be recognized that none of those expiations constituted a real cleansing from evils or forgiveness of sins; it only represented it. For every religious observance among the Israelite and Jewish nation was merely representative of the Lord, His kingdom and Church, and such realities as belong to heaven and the Church. How representations brought such realities to angels' awareness in heaven, see 9229.

[5] Since the cleansing from evils and forgiveness of sins was meant by 'the mercy-seat', the hearing and reception of all things that belonged to worship was also meant; for one who has been cleansed from evils is heard and his worship is received. This was represented by Jehovah's speaking above the mercy-seat to Moses and His commanding what the children of Israel should do, as is clear from verse 22 of the present chapter, where it says,

And I will meet with you there, and I will speak to you from above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubs which are over the ark of the Testimony, [declaring] everything that I shall command you for the children of Israel.

The like occurs elsewhere,

Whenever Moses spoke to Jehovah he heard the voice speaking from above the mercy-seat that was over the ark of the Testimony, from between the two cherubs. Numbers 7:89.

The fact that a person was heard and his worship was received when he had been cleansed from evils was represented by Aaron's not going into the holy place within the veil before the mercy-seat unless he had first made expiation for himself and the people, by ceremonial washing, sacrifices, incense, and blood, as stated in Leviticus 16:2-16, which concludes,

In this way he shall expiate the holy place from the uncleannesses of the children of Israel, and from their transgressions in regard of all their sins.

It also says in verse 2 that Jehovah would appear at the mercy-seat 'in the cloud', meaning in Divine Truth adjusted to people's ability to receive and understand it, such as the Word is in the sense of the letter, 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343 (end), 6752, 8106, 8443, 8781.

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