3652. The internal sense of these words is as follows:

When therefore you see the abomination of desolation means when the Church has undergone vastation, which is the situation when the Lord is acknowledged no longer, and therefore when there is no love of Him nor any belief in Him; also when there is no longer any charity towards the neighbour nor consequently any belief in what is good and true. When these conditions exist in the Church, or rather in the area where the Word is, that is to say, in the thoughts of the heart though not in the doctrine on the lips, it is a case of desolation, and the circumstances that have just been mentioned constitute 'the abomination of that desolation'. Consequently 'when you see the abomination of desolation' means when anyone witnesses such conditions. And what he is to do when he does witness them follows in verses 16-18.

[2] Spoken of by the prophet Daniel means, in the internal sense, spoken of by the Prophets, for when any prophet is mentioned by name in the Word it is not simply that prophet who is meant but the whole prophetical part of the Word, the reason being that names do not ever come through into heaven, 1876, 1888. Even so, one prophet does not have the same meaning as another. For what Moses, Elijah and Elisha mean, see the Preface to Chapter 18, and 2762. By 'Daniel' however is meant every prophetical statement concerning the Lord's coming and the state of the Church, in this case its final state. Much reference is made in the Prophets to vastation, and by the reference to it here in Daniel is meant in the sense of the letter the vastation of the Jewish and Israelitish Church, but in the internal sense the vastation of the Church in general, and thus also the vastation of it which is now at hand.

[3] Standing in the holy place means a vastation involving everything that forms part of what is good and true. 'The holy place' is a state of love and faith, for by 'a place' in the internal sense is meant a state, see 2625, 2837, 3356, 3387. The 'holy' element of that state consists in the good of love and in the truth of faith grounded in this. Nothing else is meant in the Word by the expression 'holy', for goodness and truth originate in the Lord, who is Holiness itself or the Sanctuary.

Let him who is reading this take note means that these matters are to be thoroughly understood by those within the Church, especially by those who have love and faith, to whom the present words refer.

[4] Then let those who are in Judea flee into the mountains means that members of the Church are to fix their attention solely on the Lord and so on love to Him and on charity towards the neighbour. For 'Judea' means the Church, as will be shown below, while 'a mountain' means the Lord Himself but 'the mountains' love to Him and charity towards the neighbour, see 795, 796, 1430, 2722. According to the sense of the letter when Jerusalem was besieged, as was done by the Romans, they were not to resort to that city but to go onto the mountains, according to the following in Luke,

When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its devastation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee onto the mountains, and let those who are in the midst of it ¹ depart, but those who are out in the country let them not enter it. Luke 21:20-21.

[5] The same applies to this reference to Jerusalem; that is to say, in the sense of the letter it is the city of Jerusalem that is meant, but in the internal sense the Lord's Church, see 402, 2117. For every single thing mentioned in the Word concerning the Jewish and Israelitish people is representative of the Lord's kingdom in heaven and of the Lord's kingdom on earth, which is the Church, as has been shown often. Consequently nowhere in the internal sense is 'Jerusalem' used to mean Jerusalem, or 'Judea' to mean Judea. But every single thing so mentioned was such that by means of it the celestial and spiritual things of the Lord's kingdom were able to be represented. It was for the sake of what they represented that the events which have been recorded took place. Thus the Word was able to be written in such a way that it lay both within the mental grasp of people reading it, and within the understanding of angels who were present with them. This was also the reason why the Lord spoke in a similar way. Indeed if He had spoken in any other way it would not have come within the mental grasp of those reading it, especially at that time, nor simultaneously within the angels' power of understanding. Thus it would not have been accepted by man, nor understood by angels.

[6] Let him who is on the roof of the house not go down to take anything out of his house means that those in whom the good of charity is present should not therefore resort to matters of doctrine concerning faith. 'The roof of the house' in the Word means a person's higher state, and so his state as regards good, whereas what is below means a person's lower state, and so his state as regards truth. For what 'house' is, see 710, 1708, 2233, 2331, 3142, 3538. With regard to the state of a member of the Church, while he is undergoing regeneration he is at that time learning truth for the sake of good; for he possesses an affection for truth for the sake of that good. But once he has been regenerated truth and good are the basis of his actions. Once he has reached this state he ought not to go back to the previous state, for if he did he would then reason from truth about the good which is present with him and in so doing would pervert his present state. For all reasoning does and must come to an end when a person's state is one in which he wills what is true and good, for in that case the will and therefore conscience are the source of his thought and action, and not the understanding, as it had been previously. If he went back to the understanding as the source of his thought and action he would encounter temptations in which he would go under. These are the considerations meant by the statement 'let him who is on the roof of the house not go down to take anything out of his house'.

[7] And let him who is in the field not turn back to get his clothing (or tunic) means that neither should those in whom good that resides in truth is present forsake such good and resort to doctrine concerning truth. 'The field' in the Word means this state of man as regards good; for what 'field' means, see 368, 2971, 3196, 3310, 3317, 3500, 3508. And 'clothing' or tunic means that which clothes good, namely doctrine concerning truth, such being like clothing for good; for 'clothing' has that meaning, see 297, 1073, 2576, 3301. Anyone may see that deeper things lie concealed in these words than are visible in the letter; for the Lord Himself spoke them.

脚注:

3387. 'For he was afraid to say, My wife, [thinking,] The men of the place may perhaps kill me on account of Rebekah' means that it was impossible for Divine Truths themselves to be disclosed, and so for Divine Good to be received. This is clear from the meaning of 'being afraid to say' as an inability to disclose; from the meaning of 'wife', who is Rebekah here, as the Lord's Divine Rational in respect to Divine Truth, dealt with in 3012, 3013, 3077; from the meaning of 'killing me' as good not being received, for 'Isaac', to whom 'me' refers here, represents the Divine Good of the Lord's Rational, 3012, 3194, 3210 - good being said 'to be killed' or to perish when it is not received, for it ceases to exist with that person; and from the meaning of 'the men of the place' as people who possess matters of doctrine concerning faith, dealt with just above in 3385. From these meanings it is now evident what the internal sense of these words is, namely: If Divine truths themselves were disclosed they would not be received by those who possess matters of doctrine concerning faith because those truths go beyond the whole range of their rational grasp of things, and so go beyond the whole of their faith, and as a consequence of this no good at all could flow in from the Lord. For good from the Lord, or Divine good, cannot flow in except into truths, for truths are the vessels for good, as shown many times.

[2] Truths or appearances of truth are given to a person to enable Divine Good to develop the understanding part of his mind, and so the person himself, for truths exist to the end that good may flow in. Indeed without vessels or receptacles good has nowhere to go, for it can find no condition answering to itself. Where no truths exist therefore, that is, where they have not been received, neither does any rational or human good exist; and as a consequence the person does not possess any spiritual life. Therefore, so that a person may nevertheless possess truths, and from these receive spiritual life, appearances of truth are given, to everyone according to his ability to grasp them; and these appearances are acknowledged as truths because they have the capacity to hold Divine things within them.

[3] So that it may be known what appearances are and that they are what serve a person as Divine truths, let the following be used by way of illustration: If man were told that in heaven angels have no concept of place, and so no concept of distance, but that instead they have concepts of state, he could not possibly grasp it, for he would suppose from this that nothing distinct and separate existed but that everything was fused together, that is to say, all the angels were together in a single place. Yet everything there is so distinct and separate that nothing could ever be more so. Places, distances, and intervals of space which exist in the natural order exist in heaven as states, see 3356. From this it is evident that all the things that are stated in the Word about places and intervals of space between objects, also ideas that are formed from these and expressed through them, are appearances of truth; and unless everything were stated by means of those appearances it would in no way be received and would as a consequence be scarcely anything; for the concept of space and time is present in almost every single detail of a person's thought as long as he is in the world, that is, living within space and time.

[4] The fact that the Word speaks according to appearances involving space is clear from almost every single part of it, as in Matthew,

Jesus said, How is it that David says, The Lord [said] to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool? Matthew 22:43-44.

Here the expression 'sitting at the right hand' is derived from the concept of place and so according to the appearance - when in fact it is a state of the Lord's Divine power which is described by that expression. In the same gospel,

Jesus said, Hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven. Matthew 26:64.

Here similarly 'sitting at the right hand' and also 'coming on clouds' are expressions derived from men's concept of place, whereas the concept angels have is one of the state of the Lord's power. In Mark,

The sons of Zebedee said to Jesus, Grant us to sit in Your glory, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left. Jesus replied, To sit at My right hand and at My left is not Mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared. Mark 10:37, 40.

From this it is evident what kind of concept the disciples had of the Lord's kingdom, that is to say, one that involved sitting on the right hand and on the left. Such being the concept they had of it the Lord also replied to them in a way they could understand and so by an appearance that could be seen by them.

[5] In David,

Like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, he rejoices as a mighty man to run the course. From the end of the heavens is His going forth, and His circuit to the ends of them. Psalms 19:5-6.

This refers to the Lord, the state of whose Divine power is described by means of such things as belong to space. In Isaiah,

How you have fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the dawn! You said in your heart, I will go up into the heavens, above the stars of God ¹ I will raise my throne. I will go up above the heights of the clouds. Isaiah 14:12-14.

'Falling from heaven', 'going up the heavens', 'raising a throne above the stars of God', 'going up above the heights of the clouds' are all expressions derived from the concept and appearance of space or a place, and are used to describe self-love profaning holy things. Since celestial and spiritual things are presented to man by means of and according to visual objects like these, heaven too is therefore described as being on high when in fact it is not on high but in that which is internal, 450, 1380, 2148.

脚注: