属天的奥秘 # 5247
5247. “他就剃头, 刮胡子” 表就外层属世层的覆盖物而言的抛弃和所作的改变. 这从 “剃头, 刮胡子” 的含义清楚可知, “剃头, 刮胡子” 是指抛弃外层属世层的覆盖物; 因为所剃的 “头发” 表示外层属世层 (参看3301节). 毛发, 无论头上的, 还是胡须上的, 在大人中对应于外层属世层. 这解释了为何在天堂之光中, 感官人, 即那些除了属世之物外什么也不信, 也不想去明白除了他们能用感官觉知的东西外, 更内在或更纯粹的事物如何会存在的人在来世显得多毛. 他们看上去毛烘烘的, 以致他们的脸除了胡须外, 几乎什么都不是. 我经常看见这种满是毛发的脸. 但理性人, 也就是属灵人, 因属世层在他们里面处于恰当的从属地位, 故看似有整洁的头发. 事实上, 在来世, 凭头发就能知道灵人在属世层方面的品质或性质. 灵人头上之所以出现头发, 是因为在来世, 灵人看上去和世人一模一样. 正因如此, 圣言有时也描述人们所看见的天使的头发.
综上所述, 明显可知 “剃头, 刮胡子” 表示什么, 如以西结书:
祭司利未人撒督的子孙当脱下供职的衣服, 放在圣屋内, 穿上别的衣服, 免得因他们的衣服使民成圣. 不可剃头, 也不可留长发, 只可剪头发. (以西结书 44:15, 19-20)
这论及新殿和新祭司职分, 也就是新教会. “穿上别的衣服” 表示神圣真理; “不可剃头, 也不可留长发, 只可剪头发” 表示不抛弃属世层, 只采取措施使它变得和谐一致, 从而使它变得顺从. 凡相信圣言神圣的人都能看出, 先知所提到的描述新地, 新城, 新殿和新祭司职分的这些和其它所有细节都不可照字面来理解. 如祭司利未人撒督的子孙当脱下供职的衣服, 穿上别的衣服, 只可剪头发就不是字面上的意思; 相反, 先知所给出的每一个和一切细节都表示诸如属于一个新教会的那类事物.
在摩西五经中, 关于大祭司, 亚伦的子孙和利未人的条例若不包含神圣之物在里面, 也不会被制定:
在弟兄中作大祭司, 头上倒了膏油, 又承接圣职, 穿了圣衣的, 不可剃头, 也不可撕裂衣服. (利未记 21:10)
亚伦的子孙不可使头光秃, 不可剃除胡须的周围; 要归他们的神为圣, 不可亵渎他们神的名. (利未记 21:5-6)
你洁净利未人当这样行. 用除罪水弹在他们身上, 又叫他们用剃头刀刮全身, 洗衣服, 洁净自己. (民数记 8:7)
这些条例若非含有神圣观念在里面, 永远不会被赋予. 在这些条例中 (即大祭司不可剃头, 也不可撕裂衣服; 亚伦的子孙不可使头光秃, 不可剃除胡须的周围; 洁净利未人要叫他们用剃头刀刮全身) 能有什么神圣之物, 或教会之物呢? 确切地说, 拥有顺从内在人或属灵人的外在人或属世人, 进而拥有顺从神性的这二者, 就是这些条例里面的神圣观念; 也是当世人阅读这些圣言经文时, 天使所觉察到的.
这也适用于归耶和华为圣的拿细耳人:
若在他旁边忽然有人碰巧死了, 以致沾染了他离俗的头, 他要在得洁净的日子剃头, 就是在第七日剃头. 离俗的日子满了, 拿细耳人要在会幕门口剃离俗的头; 把头发放在平安祭下的火上. (民数记 6:9, 13, 18)
至于何为拿细耳人, 他代表哪方面的神圣, 可参看前文 (3301节). 若不藉着对应知道 “头发” 是什么意思, 因而知道拿细耳人的头发对应于哪方面的神圣, 没有人能理解为何神圣之物居于他的头发. 同样, 谁也不明白参孙力气的源头如何在他的头发中; 在以下描述中, 参孙将其告诉了大利拉:
剃头刀向来就没有上过我的头, 因为我自出母胎就归神作拿细耳人; 若我剃了, 我的力气就离开我, 我便软弱像别人一样. 大利拉叫了一个人来剃除他头上的七条发绺, 他的力气就离开他了. 后来他的头发被剃之后, 又开始渐渐长起来了, 力气便又回到他身上. (士师记 16:17, 19, 22)
若没有对应的任何知识, 谁能明白主的神性属世层由拿细耳人代表, 或 “离俗” 没有其它含义, 参孙的力气是由于这种代表?
不知道圣言拥有一个内义, 字义用来代表包含在内义中的真实事物之人, 尤其不相信的人, 几乎不承认这些事物有任何神圣之物; 而事实上, 最神圣之物就在它们里面. 人若不知道, 尤其不相信圣言拥有神圣的内义, 就不可能知道以下经文里面包含什么, 如耶利米书:
真理已经灭绝, 从他们的口中剪除. 要剪掉你离俗的头发, 把它扔掉! (耶利米书 7:28-29)
以赛亚书:
到那日, 主必用大河外赁的剃头刀, 就是亚述王, 剃头和脚上的毛, 并要剃净胡须. (以赛亚书 7:20)
弥迦书:
你使头光秃, 为你所喜爱的儿女剪除你的头发, 你要剃头, 要大大地光秃, 如同秃鹰, 因为他们都必流亡而离开你. (弥迦书 1:16)
他不知道有何神圣包含在有关以利亚的记载中, 因为以利亚是长满毛发的人, 腰束皮带 (列王纪下 1:8); 也不知道为何戏笑以利沙秃头的童子被林中出来的母熊撕裂 (列王纪下 2:23, 24).
以利亚和以利沙都代表圣言方面的主, 因而代表圣言本身, 尤其代表先知部分 (参看创世记 18章序言, 2762节). “长满毛发” 和 “皮带” 表示字义, “长满毛发的人” 表示就真理而言的字义, 腰间的 “皮带” 表示就良善而言的字义. 事实上, 圣言的字义就是它的属世意义, 因为它采用的观念是由世上的事物形成的; 而内义是属灵意义, 因为它采用的观念是由天上的事物形成的. 这两种意义就像人的内在与外在那样彼此关联. 不过, 由于内在离了外在无法存在, 因为外在是内在持续存在所在的次序最后和最低层级, 所以戏笑以利沙 “秃头” 是对圣言的毁谤, 暗示它缺乏外在, 因而圣言没有适合人理解的那层意义.
由此可见, 圣言的一切细节都是神圣的. 然而, 没有人能发现圣言里面的这种神圣, 除非他熟悉内义; 然而, 它的一点迹象会从天堂流入相信圣言为神圣的人. 这种流注通过天使所知的内义实现; 这内义虽然不能被人理解, 却仍在他里面激发一种情感, 因为知道内义的天使所感受到的情感会传给他. 由此也明显可知, 圣言已被赋予世人, 以便他能与天堂交流, 并且天堂里的神性真理能通过流入他而在他里面激发情感.
The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Teachings # 21
21. 1. People who live lives based on falsity with evil intent and people who live lives based on falsity without evil intent; and also the nature of false beliefs that accompany evil intent and of false beliefs that do not. There are many kinds of falsity-as many as there are kinds of evil-and there are many sources of things that are evil and of the falsities that they engender: 1188, 1212, 4729, 4822, 7574. Falsity that comes from evil, or evil-based falsity, is one thing; evil that comes from falsity, or falsity-based evil, which leads in turn to further or secondary falsity, is another: 1679, 2243. From just one false idea, especially if it is taken as a first principle, further false ideas flow in an unbroken series: 1510, 1511, 4717, 4721. There are falsities that are the result of cravings arising from our love for ourselves and for the world, 1 and there are falsities that are the result of misleading sensory impressions: 1295, 4729. There are falsities that arise from what our religion has taught us and there are falsities that arise from our ignorance: 4729, 8318, 9258. There is falsity that contains some good and there is falsity that contains no good: 2863, 9304, 10109, 10302. There are also things that have been falsified: 7318, 7319, 10648. Everything evil has something false accompanying it: 7577, 8094. The falsity accompanying the cravings that arise from love for ourselves is truly evil; it is the worst kind of falsity: 4729.
[2] Evil is heavy and falls into hell of its own accord, but this is not true of falsity unless it comes from evil: 8279, 8298. Good turns into evil and truth into falsity as they fall from heaven into hell because this is like coming into a dense and polluted atmosphere: 3607. The hells are surrounded by evil-based falsities, which look like storm clouds and unclean waters: 8137, 8146, 8210. The things that are said by the people who are in the hells are falsities that come from evil: 1695, 7351, 7352, 7357, 7392, 7699. Left to their own devices, people intent on evil cannot think anything but falsity: 7437. More on evil that comes from falsity (2408, 4818, 7272, 8265, 8279) and falsity that comes from evil (6359, 9304, 10302).
[3] Every falsity is something we can convince ourselves of, and when we have done so it seems to us to be the truth: 5033, 6865, 8521, 8780. We should therefore make sure something is true before convincing ourselves of it: 4741, 7012, 7680, 7950, 8521. We should be particularly careful not to convince ourselves of falsity in matters of religion because this leads to false convictions that remain with us after death: 845, 8780. How damaging false convictions are: 794, 806, 5096, 7686.
[4] What is good cannot flow into truth as long as we are intent on evil: 2434. To the extent that we devote our lives to what is evil and the falsity that goes with it, to that extent what is good and what is true are moved away from us: 3402. The Lord takes the greatest care to prevent truth from being joined to what is evil and prevent the falsity that comes from evil from being joined to what is good: 3110, 3116, 4416, 5217. If these pairs are mixed, the result is profanation 2 :6348. Truths put an end to falsities and falsities put an end to truths: 5207. Truths cannot be accepted on any deep level as long as skepticism reigns: 3399.
[5] Examples showing how truths can be falsified: 7318. Why evil people are allowed to falsify truths: 7332. Evil people falsify truths by bending and applying them to an evil purpose: 8094, 8149. Truth is said to have been falsified if it has been used to support evil, which happens mainly through deception and superficial appearances: 7344, 8602. The evil are allowed to attack truth but not to attack what is good; they are allowed to distort truth by various interpretations and applications: 6677. Truth that has been falsified for an evil purpose is in opposition to what is true and good: 8062. Falsified truth used for evil purposes smells terrible in the other life: 7319. More on the falsification of truth: 7318, 7319, 10648.
[6] Some false religious beliefs harmonize with what is good and some do not: 9258. False religious beliefs that do not clash with what is good do not lead to evil except in people who are intent on evil: 8318. False religious beliefs are not held against people who are intent on doing good, but they are held against people who are intent on doing evil: 8051, 8149. Truths that are not genuine and even falsities can be associated with genuine truths for people who are intent on doing good, but not for people who are intent on doing evil: 3470, 3471, 4551, 4552, 7344, 8149, 9298. The way things appear in the literal meaning of the Word sets elements that are true beside elements that are false: 7344. False beliefs are rendered true and softened by what is good because they are used for and deflected toward what is good, and the evil is put aside: 8149. The false religious beliefs of people who are intent on doing good are accepted by the Lord as if they were truths: 4736, 8149. Any act of goodness whose character has been shaped by false religious belief is accepted by the Lord if it was done in ignorance and innocence, and if the aim behind it was good: 7887. The truths we possess are outward guises of what is true and good, guises deeply stained with misleading appearances, but if our lives are focused on doing what is good the Lord adjusts them toward genuine truths: 2053. Falsities containing something good can be found in people who are outside the church and therefore ignorant of the truth and also in people in a church where there are false teachings: 2589-2604, 2861, 2863, 3263, 3778, 4189, 4190, 4197, 6700, 9256. Falsities in which there is nothing good are more harmful for people within the church than they are for people outside the church: 7688. What is true and good is taken away from evil people in the other life and given to the good, in keeping with the Lord's words "To those who have, more will be given, and they will have abundance; but from those who do not have, even what they have will be taken away" [Matthew 25:29]: 7770.
Mga talababa:
1. Swedenborg's theology generally holds that one of four kinds of love is dominant within us, whether we are aware of it or not: love for the Lord, love for our neighbor, love for the world, or love for ourselves. To Swedenborg the last two, love for the world and love for ourselves, are highly negative kinds of love when they are dominant. By "love for the world" he does not mean care for the world of nature or the planetary ecosystem. Instead this love focuses on a desire for "worldly" things, including wealth, possessions, objects that please the physical senses, and enjoyable interaction in elite social settings. By "love for ourselves" as a dominant love he does not mean care for ourselves in a positive sense: providing for our physical health and well-being, cultivating a positive sense of self-esteem, and avoiding debilitating self-disparagement. Instead this love focuses on a desire for power, high position, respect, glory, fame, and status. Swedenborg's use of the term "love for the world" reflects 1 John 2:15-16, but also owes something to the biblical use of "world," at times, to mean all that is opposed to God and religion; see, for example, John 15:18-19; 17:14-16; James 4:4. His use of "love of self" reflects 2 Timothy 3:2, as well as other biblical passages that express the idea that one's neighbor is at least as worthy of love as oneself (Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31; Galatians 5:14; James 2:8). Yet in Swedenborg's view, "self" and "the world" in themselves are far from purely negative; see note 1 in New Jerusalem 59. For further information on love for the world and love for ourselves, see especially New Jerusalem 65-80, 81-83. [JSR, SS]
2. For more on the topic of profanation, see New Jerusalem 172 and note 1 in New Jerusalem 169 below. [Editors]
