4453. “做买卖, 置产业” 表因他们交流而将彼此一致的教义. 这从 “做买卖” 和 “置产业” 的含义清楚可知: “做买卖” 是指为自己获取认知, 以及交流它们 (参看2967节), 因此在这地 “做买卖” 表示进入哈抹的儿子示剑及其城所表示的良善与真理的认知; “置产业” 是指合一, 因而是指彼此一致. “做买卖” 之所以表示为自己获取认知, 以及交流它们, 是因为在天上, 就是照内义觉悟圣言的地方, 是没有买卖的; 事实上, 天上没有金, 银, 或诸如在这个世上用来交易的那类事物; 因此, 当我们在圣言中读到 “买卖” (trading, 或译贸易, 交易等) 时, 是以灵义来理解的, 在天上被感知为与 “买卖” (trading, 或译贸易, 交易等) 相对应的某种事物, 一般来说, 是认知的获取和交流, 具体来说是所提到的物体所指的实体. 例如, 若提到 “金”, 就理解为爱与智慧的良善 (113, 1551, 1552节); 若提到 “银”, 就理解为属于聪明和信仰的真理 (1551, 2048, 2954节); 若提到人们在古时用来交易的 “母绵羊”, “公绵羊”, “小山羊” 或 “羔羊”, 就理解为诸如这些动物所表示的那类事物, 等等.

如以西结书:

告诉推罗, 你居住海口, 跟众民到许多海岛交易; 他施人因你多有各类的财物, 就作你的客商, 拿银, 铁, 锡, 铅兑换你的货物. 雅完人, 土巴人, 米设人都用人口与你交易, 拿铜器兑换你的商品. 底但人与你交易; 许多海岛成了你手里的货品. 亚兰人因你的手工艺品很多, 就作你的客商; 犹大和以色列地的人都与你交易; 他们用米匿的麦子, 饼, 蜜, 油, 乳香兑换你的商品. 大马色人因你的手工艺品很多, 又因你多有各类的财物, 就拿黑本酒和沙哈 (Zahar) 羊毛与你交易. 威但人和雅完人拿纺成的线兑换你的货物. 底但人用马车的敞篷与你交易. 亚拉伯人和基达的一切首领都作你手下的客商, 用羊羔, 公绵羊, 公山羊与你交易. 示巴和拉玛的商人与你交易, 他们用各类上好的香料, 各类的宝石和黄金兑换你的货物. 哈兰人, 干尼人, 伊甸人, 示巴的商人和亚述人, 基抹人与你交易. 这些商人以美好的货物与你交易, 用蓝色包袱, 刺绣的衣服; 盛华丽衣服香柏木的宝箱, 用绳捆着兑换你的货物. 他施的船只接连成帮为你运货, 你便在海心丰满, 极其荣华. (以西结书 27:3, 12-13, 15-19, 21-25)

由此处和圣言中的许多其它经文明显可知, “交易”, “商品”, “货品” 和 “货物” 无非是指与良善并真理的认知有关的事物. 因为若非推罗的交易活动表示属灵和属天的事物, 预言的圣言与这些活动有什么相干呢? 既如此, 那么显而易见, 不仅 “货物” 表示其它事物, 而且此处所提到的民族也表示拥有这些其它事物的人民. 还显而易见, 若不凭内义, 没有人知道所有这些表示什么; 如不知道他施, 雅完人, 土巴人, 米设人, 底但人, 亚兰人, 犹大, 以色列, 威但人, 雅完, 底但人, 阿拉伯人, 示巴, 拉玛, 哈兰人, 干尼人, 伊甸人, 亚述人, 基抹人表示什么; 也不知道他们的货物表示什么, 如银, 铁, 锡, 铅, 铜器, 麦子, 米匿, 饼, 蜜, 油, 乳香, 黑本酒, 沙哈羊毛, 纺成的线, 马车敞篷, 羊羔, 公绵羊, 公山羊, 香料, 宝石, 黄金, 蓝色包袱, 刺绣的衣服, 捆绳, 香柏木制成的物件. 这些及类似事物表示教会和主国度的良善与真理, 以及对这些良善与真理的认知. 正因推罗表示认知 (1201节), 所以此处论述的主题是推罗. 由于这类财物, 也就是良善与真理, 就存在于主的教会和国度中, 故表示主的教会和国度的迦南地自上古时代就具有一个源于表示货物或货品的词的名字, 因为这就是原文中 “迦南” 这个名的含义. 综上所述, 明显可知在这地 “做买卖” 是什么意思.

1326. That 'therefore He called the name of it Babel' means such worship, namely that meant by 'Babel', is clear from what has been stated so far - about worship which inwardly contains self-love and therefore everything that is filthy and unholy. Self-love is nothing else than the proprium, and how filthy and unholy this is becomes clear from what has been shown already about the proprium in 210, 215. From philautia, ¹ that is, from self-love or the proprium, flow all evils, such as those of hatred, revenge, cruelty, adultery, deceit, hypocrisy, and irreligion. Consequently when self-love or the proprium is present in worship, such evils are present too - but the particular kind of evils and their intensity being determined by the extent and nature of what flows from that self-love. This is the origin of all profanation in worship. The fact of the matter is that insofar as self-love or the proprium introduces itself into worship, internal worship departs, that is, internal worship ceases to exist. Internal worship consists in the affection for good and in the acknowledgement of truth, but to the extent that self-love or the proprium intrudes or enters in, the affection for good and the acknowledgement of truth depart or go away. Holiness cannot possibly co-exist with unholiness, any more than heaven can with hell. Instead one must depart from the other. Such is the state and proper order existing in the Lord's kingdom. This is the reason why among the kind of people whose worship is called 'Babel' no internal worship exists, but instead something dead and indeed inwardly corpse-like is worshipped. This shows what their external worship which is inwardly such is like.

[2] That such worship is 'Babel' is clear from many parts of the Word where Babel is described, as in Daniel, where the description of the statue which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel saw in a dream - whose head was gold, breast and arms silver, belly and thighs bronze, legs iron, and feet partly iron and partly clay - means that true worship finally deteriorated into the kind of worship called 'Babel', and therefore also a stone cut out of the rock smashed the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold, Daniel 2:31-33, 44-45. The statue of gold which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel set up, and which people were to adore, had no other meaning, Daniel 3:1-end. The same applies to the description of the king of Babel with his nobles drinking wine from the vessels of gold that had come from the Temple in Jerusalem, of their praising the gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, and stone, and of writing therefore appearing on the wall, Daniel 5:1-end; to the description of Darius the Mede commanding that he be adored instead of God, Daniel 6:1-end; and to that of the beasts seen by Daniel in a dream, Daniel 7:1-end, as well as to that of the beasts and Babel in John's Revelation.

[3] That such worship was meant and represented is quite clear not only in Daniel and John but also in the Prophets: in Isaiah,

Their faces were faces of flames; the stars of the heavens and their constellations do not give their light The sun is darkened in its coming up and the moon does not shed its light Tziim lie down there, and their houses are full of ochim, and daughters of the owl dwell there, and satyrs dance there, and iim answer in its palaces, and dragons in its halls of pleasure. Isaiah 13:8, 10, 21-22

This refers to Babel and describes the internal aspect of such worship by 'faces of flames', which are evil desires; by 'the stars', which are truths of faith, 'not giving their light'; by 'the sun', which is holy love, 'being darkened'; by 'the moon', which is the truth of faith, 'not shedding its light'; by 'tziim, ochim, daughters of the owl, satyrs, dim, and dragons', which are the more interior aspects of worship. For such things belong to self-love or the proprium. This also is why Babel in John is called 'the mother of whoredoms and abominations', Revelation 17:5; and in the same book,

A dwelling-place of demons, ² and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird. Revelation 18:2.

From these places it is evident that when such things are within, it is impossible for any good or truth of faith to be there, and that to the extent that those things enter in, the goods which are the objects of affection, and the truths of faith, depart. They are also called in Isaiah 21:9 'the graven images of the gods of Babel'.

[4] That it is self-love or the proprium which lies within their worship, or that it is worship of self, is quite clear in Isaiah,

Prophesy this parable against the king of Babel, You said in your heart, I will go up the heavens, above the stars of God I will raise my throne, and I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the uttermost parts of the north. I will go up above the heights of the cloud, I will make myself like the Most High. But you will be brought down to hell. Isaiah 14:4, 13-15.

Here, it is plain, Babel means the person who wishes to be worshipped as a god, that is, worship of self is meant.

[5] In the same prophet,

Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babel; sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans. You trusted in your wickedness, you said, No one sees me. Your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray; you said in your heart, I am, and there is no one besides me. Isaiah 47:1, 10.

In Jeremiah,

Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, destroying the whole earth; and I will stretch out My hand over you and roll you down from the rocks and will make you into a mountain of burning. Though Babel rise up into the heavens, and though she fortify the height of her strength, yet from Me those who lay waste will come to her. Jeremiah 51:25, 53.

This again shows that 'Babel' is worship of self.

[6] The fact that such people have no light of truth, but only total darkness, that is, that they do not possess the truth of faith, is described in Jeremiah,

The word which Jehovah spoke against Babel, against the land of the Chaldeans, There will come up upon her a nation from the north, which will make her land a desolation, and none will dwell in it; both man and beast will scatter themselves, they will go away. Jeremiah 50:1, 3.

'The north' stands for thick darkness, or absence of truth. 'No man and no beast' stands for the absence of good. For more about Babel, see at verse 28 ³ below, where Chaldea is referred to.

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