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Ezekiel第16章

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1 Again the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

2 Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations;

3 and say, Thus says the Lord Yahweh to Jerusalem: Your birth and your birth is of the land of the Canaanite; the Amorite was your father, and your mother was a Hittite.

4 As for your birth, in the day you were born your navel was not cut, neither were you washed in water to cleanse you; you weren't salted at all, nor swaddled at all.

5 No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you, to have compassion on you; but you were cast out in the open field, for that your person was abhorred, in the day that you were born.

6 When I passed by you, and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you, [Though you are] in your blood, live; yes, I said to you, [Though you are] in your blood, live.

7 I caused you to multiply as that which grows in the field, and you increased and grew great, and you attained to excellent ornament; your breasts were fashioned, and your hair was grown; yet you were naked and bare.

8 Now when I passed by you, and looked at you, behold, your time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over you, and covered your nakedness: yes, I swore to you, and entered into a covenant with you, says the Lord Yahweh, and you became mine.

9 Then washed I you with water; yes, I thoroughly washed away your blood from you, and I anointed you with oil.

10 I clothed you also with embroidered work, and shod you with sealskin, and I dressed you about with fine linen, and covered you with silk.

11 I decked you with ornaments, and I put bracelets on your hands, and a chain on your neck.

12 I put a ring on your nose, and earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head.

13 Thus you were decked with gold and silver; and your clothing was of fine linen, and silk, and embroidered work; you ate fine flour, and honey, and oil; and you were exceeding beautiful, and you prospered to royal estate.

14 Your renown went forth among the nations for your beauty; for it was perfect, through my majesty which I had put on you, says the Lord Yahweh.

15 But you trusted in your beauty, and played the prostitute because of your renown, and poured out your prostitution on everyone who passed by; his it was.

16 You took of your garments, and made for yourselves high places decked with various colors, and played the prostitute on them: [the like things] shall not come, neither shall it be [so].

17 You also took your beautiful jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself images of men, and played the prostitute with them;

18 and you took your embroidered garments, and covered them, and did set my oil and my incense before them.

19 My bread also which I gave you, fine flour, and oil, and honey, with which I fed you, you even set it before them for a pleasant aroma; and [thus] it was, says the Lord Yahweh.

20 Moreover you have taken your sons and your daughters, whom you have borne to me, and you have sacrificed these to them to be devoured. Was your prostitution a small matter,

21 that you have slain my children, and delivered them up, in causing them to pass through [the fire] to them?

22 In all your abominations and your prostitution you have not remembered the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, and were wallowing in your blood.

23 It has happened after all your wickedness, (woe, woe to you! says the Lord Yahweh),

24 that you have built for yourselves a vaulted place, and have made yourselves a lofty place in every street.

25 You have built your lofty place at the head of every way, and have made your beauty an abomination, and have opened your feet to everyone who passed by, and multiplied your prostitution.

26 You have also committed sexual immorality with the Egyptians, your neighbors, great of flesh; and have multiplied your prostitution, to provoke me to anger.

27 See therefore, I have stretched out my hand over you, and have diminished your ordinary [food], and delivered you to the will of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who are ashamed of your lewd way.

28 You have played the prostitute also with the Assyrians, because you were insatiable; yes, you have played the prostitute with them, and yet you weren't satisfied.

29 You have moreover multiplied your prostitution to the land of merchants, to Chaldea; and yet you weren't satisfied with this.

30 How weak is your heart, says the Lord Yahweh, since you do all these things, the work of an impudent prostitute;

31 in that you build your vaulted place at the head of every way, and make your lofty place in every street, and have not been as a prostitute, in that you scorn pay.

32 A wife who commits adultery! who takes strangers instead of her husband!

33 They give gifts to all prostitutes; but you give your gifts to all your lovers, and bribe them, that they may come to you on every side for your prostitution.

34 You are different from [other] women in your prostitution, in that no one follows you to play the prostitute; and whereas you give hire, and no hire is given to you, therefore you are different.

35 Therefore, prostitute, hear the word of Yahweh:

36 Thus says the Lord Yahweh, Because your filthiness was poured out, and your nakedness uncovered through your prostitution with your lovers; and because of all the idols of your abominations, and for the blood of your children, that you gave to them;

37 therefore see, I will gather all your lovers, with whom you have taken pleasure, and all those who you have loved, with all those who you have hated; I will even gather them against you on every side, and will uncover your nakedness to them, that they may see all your nakedness.

38 I will judge you, as women who break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will bring on you the blood of wrath and jealousy.

39 I will also give you into their hand, and they shall throw down your vaulted place, and break down your lofty places; and they shall strip you of your clothes, and take your beautiful jewels; and they shall leave you naked and bare.

40 They shall also bring up a company against you, and they shall stone you with stones, and thrust you through with their swords.

41 They shall burn your houses with fire, and execute judgments on you in the sight of many women; and I will cause you to cease from playing the prostitute, and you shall also give no hire any more.

42 So will I cause my wrath toward you to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from you, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry.

43 Because you have not remembered the days of your youth, but have raged against me in all these things; therefore, behold, I also will bring your way on your head, says the Lord Yahweh: and you shall not commit this lewdness with all your abominations.

44 Behold, everyone who uses proverbs shall use [this] proverb against you, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter.

45 You are the daughter of your mother, who loathes her husband and her children; and you are the sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and their children: your mother was a Hittite, and your father an Amorite.

46 Your elder sister is Samaria, who dwells at your left hand, she and her daughters; and your younger sister, who dwells at your right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.

47 Yet have you not walked in their ways, nor done after their abominations; but, as [if that were] a very little [thing], you were more corrupt than they in all your ways.

48 As I live, says the Lord Yahweh, Sodom your sister has not done, she nor her daughters, as you have done, you and your daughters.

49 Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: pride, fullness of bread, and prosperous ease was in her and in her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.

50 They were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw [good].

51 Neither has Samaria committed half of your sins; but you have multiplied your abominations more than they, and have justified your sisters by all your abominations which you have done.

52 You also, bear you your own shame, in that you have given judgment for your sisters; through your sins that you have committed more abominable than they, they are more righteous that you: yes, be also confounded, and bear your shame, in that you have justified your sisters.

53 I will turn again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, and the captivity of your captives in the midst of them;

54 that you may bear your own shame, and may be ashamed because of all that you have done, in that you are a comfort to them.

55 Your sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate; and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate; and you and your daughters shall return to your former estate.

56 For your sister Sodom was not mentioned by your mouth in the day of your pride,

57 before your wickedness was uncovered, as at the time of the reproach of the daughters of Syria, and of all who are around her, the daughters of the Philistines, who do despite to you all around.

58 You have borne your lewdness and your abominations, says Yahweh.

59 For thus says the Lord Yahweh: I will also deal with you as you have done, who have despised the oath in breaking the covenant.

60 Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish to you an everlasting covenant.

61 Then you shall remember your ways, and be ashamed, when you shall receive your sisters, your elder [sisters] and your younger; and I will give them to you for daughters, but not by your covenant.

62 I will establish my covenant with you; and you shall know that I am Yahweh;

63 that you may remember, and be confounded, and never open your mouth any more, because of your shame, when I have forgiven you all that you have done, says the Lord Yahweh.

   

来自斯威登堡的著作

 

Arcana Coelestia#9930

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9930. 'And you shall make a plate of pure gold' means enlightenment received from the Lord's Divine Good. This is clear from the meaning of 'a plate' as enlightenment; and from the meaning of 'gold' as the good of love, at this point the Lord's Divine Good since 'Holiness to Jehovah' was inscribed on the plate. For the meaning of 'gold' as the good of love, see 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 8932, 9490, 9510, 9874, 9881. 'A plate' means enlightenment on account of its brightness, for light shone from the gold on Aaron's forehead, and all brightness is a sign of enlightenment, as that in the heavens is which radiates from the Lord as the Sun. Enlightenment there consists in wisdom and intelligence derived from Divine Truth emanating from the Lord; for this Truth brings light to the interiors of those who are there. Their interiors answer to the understanding part of a person's mind, which is enlightened by the Lord when the person has a perception of the Church's and heaven's truth and goodness, the understanding being the subject that receives; for there is no reception without a subject. 1 The reason why 'the plate' means enlightenment from the Lord's Divine Good is that 'Holiness to Jehovah' was inscribed on it, and it was placed on the front of the turban which was on Aaron's head. Holiness which comes from Jehovah is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Good, 6788, 8302, 8330, 9229, 9680, 9820. In order to represent the radiance or enlightenment that result in intelligence and wisdom the plate was tied to the front of the turban.

[2] Since 'the plate' meant enlightenment received from the Lord's Divine Good it was also called 'the plate of the crown of holiness' as well as 'the crown of holiness'; for a crown is a representative sign of Divine Good, and holiness is the Divine Truth emanating from that Good, as has been stated above. The fact that it was called the plate of the crown of holiness is evident further on in this Book of Exodus,

Finally they made the plate of the crown of holiness from pure gold; and they wrote an inscription on it, like the engraving of a signet, 2 Holiness to Jehovah. Exodus 39:30.

The fact that it was also called the crown of holiness is evident elsewhere in Exodus,

You shall place the turban on his head, and put the crown of holiness onto the turban. Exodus 29:6.

And in Leviticus,

He placed the turban on his head, and placed on the turban, on the front of it, 3 the plate of gold, the crown of holiness. Leviticus 8:9.

[3] The fact that the crown represented Divine Good from which Divine Truth emanates is clear from the crowns that the kings wore. For the kings represented the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, see 2015, 2069, 3009, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148, and this was why they wore a crown on their head and held a sceptre in their hand, government animated by Divine Good being meant by the crown, and government inspired by Divine Truth by the sceptre.

[4] This meaning of 'the crown' is clear from the following places: In David,

I will make the horn of David to spring forth, I will make ready a lamp for My Anointed. His enemies I will clothe with shame, but upon Himself His crown will flourish. Psalms 132:17-18.

'David' here is the Lord, 1888, as is 'the Anointed', 3008, 3009. His 'horn' is power, 2832, 9081; 'lamp' is Divine Truth, which is the source of intelligence, 9548, 9783; 'crown' is Divine Good, which is the source of wisdom and also the mainspring of His government. It says that His crown, meaning wisdom, is going 'to flourish' on account of what He acquired to Himself in the world, to His Humanity, through conflicts with and victories over the hells, 8273, 9528 (end), the hells being His enemies who will be clothed with shame.

[5] In the same author,

You are angry 4 with Your Anointed, You have condemned His crown right down to the ground. 5 Psalms 89:38-39.

Here also 'the Anointed' stands for the Lord. 'Anger' stands for a state involving temptations, which was a state when He was engaged in conflicts with the hells. An expression of grief in that state is what the anger and condemnation describe (a final phase of temptation seems like condemnation), such as with the Lord's last grievous cry on the Cross that He was forsaken. For the Cross was the last of His temptations or conflicts with the hells; and after that last temptation He took on Divine Good, and in so doing united His Divine Human to Deity itself, which was within Him.

[6] In Isaiah,

On that day Jehovah Zebaoth will be a crown of adornment and a turban of beauty for the remnant of His people. Isaiah 28:5.

'A crown of adornment' stands for wisdom, which is a discernment of good from God, and 'a turban of beauty' for intelligence, which is an understanding of truth from that good. What is stated in this verse has regard to things among the people which were Divine, 'people' meaning the Church since they were where the Church existed.

[7] In the same prophet,

For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp [that] burns. And you will be a crown of beauty in the hand of Jehovah, and a royal turban in the hand of your God. Isaiah 62:1, 3.

'Zion' and 'Jerusalem' are used to mean the Church, 'Zion' the celestial Church, and 'Jerusalem' the spiritual Church that extends from it. 'A crown of beauty' is wisdom, which is a discernment of good, and 'a royal turban' is intelligence, which is an understanding of truth. And since 'a crown' means wisdom, or discernment of good, it is said to be 'in the hand of Jehovah'; and since 'a turban' means intelligence, or an understanding of truth, it is said to be 'in the hand of God'. For when the subject is good the name 'Jehovah' is used, and when it is truth the name 'God' is used, 2586, 2769, 6905.

[8] In Jeremiah,

Say to the king and queen mother, 6 Lower yourselves, sit down, for the adornment of your head, the crown of your beauty, has come down. Jeremiah 13:18.

'The crown of beauty' stands for wisdom which is a discernment of good derived from Divine Truth; for 'beauty' is the Church's Divine Truth, 9815. In the same prophet,

The joy of our heart has ceased, our dance has been turned into mourning. The crown of our head has fallen. Lamentations 5:15-16.

'Crown of the head' stands for wisdom which those who belong to the Church derive from Divine Truth, which sets them above all other peoples and gives them a kind of authority.

[9] In Ezekiel,

I put 7 a jewel on your nose, and earrings on your ears, and a crown of adornment on your head. Ezekiel 16:12.

This refers to the establishment of the Church. 'A jewel on the nose' stands for the perception of good; 'earrings on the ears' for the perception of truth, and obedience; and 'a crown of adornment on the head' for wisdom resulting from such perception. In Job,

He has withdrawn glory from me, and has removed the crown of my head. Job 19:9.

'Glory' stands for intelligence, which is an understanding of Divine Truth, 9429, 'crown of the head' for resulting wisdom.

[10] In the Book of Revelation,

On the thrones I saw twenty-four elders seated, clad in white garments, who had on their heads crowns of gold. They fell down before the one seated on the throne, and worshipped the one who lives for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne. Revelation 4:4, 10.

'Twenty-four elders' means all those who are governed by good that is a product of truths, and in the abstract sense all forms of good that result from truths, 6524, 9404. 'Thrones' are truths from God, 5313, 6397, 8625, 9039; 'crowns of gold on their heads' are representative signs of wisdom received from God, and because it is received from Him they cast their crowns before the one seated on the throne.

[11] Since the good of wisdom is acquired through conflicts brought about by temptations, in which the truths of faith are used to fight with, those who fought against evils and falsities and were victorious were rewarded with crowns. Therefore also the crowns of martyrdom were emblems provided by the Lord which are signs of dominion over evils. The fact that crowns are the rewards of victory over evils, and that crowns consequently mean forms of the good of wisdom because these are rewards, is also clear from the Book of Revelation,

I saw, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; to him a crown was given; he went out conquering and to conquer. Revelation 6:2.

'A white horse and he who sat on it' is the Lord in respect of the Word, 2760-2762; and 'a bow' is teachings of truth that are used to fight with, 2686, 2709. From this it is evident that since the Lord is the subject 'a crown' means Divine Good, which is the reward of victory.

[12] And in another place,

Afterwards I saw, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud one was sitting, like the Son of Man, having on His head a crown of gold, and in His hand a sharp sickle. Revelation 14:14.

'A white cloud' stands for the literal sense of the Word, 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343 (end), 6752, 8781; 'the Son of Man' stands for Divine Truth which emanates from the Lord, 9807; 'a crown of gold' for Divine Good from which Divine Truth springs; and 'a sharp sickle' for the dispersal of evil and falsity. In another place,

Be faithful right through to death, and I will give you the crown of life. Revelation 2:10.

And in another,

Behold, I come quickly. Hold on to what you have, that no one may take your crown. Revelation 3:11.

'Crown' stands for good that results from truths, thus for wisdom since this is the discernment of the good of love resulting from the truths of faith. From all this it may now be seen what a crown means, and from this what is meant by a crown of holiness, which was the plate of gold on which 'Holiness to Jehovah' was engraved.

脚注:

1. Subject is used here to mean something which really exists yet depends for its existence on something prior to itself.

2. literally, they wrote on it with the writing of engravings of a signet

3. literally, against the face of it

4. literally, You exercise anger

5. literally, earth or land

6. The Latin domina means a female person who rules or commands. The Hebrew word is used to denote a queen or else a queen mother.

7. The Latin means He put but the Hebrew means I put, which Swedenborg Has in another place where he quotes this verse.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.

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Arcana Coelestia#2015

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2015. That 'kings will come out of you' means that all truth comes from Him is clear from the meaning of 'a king' as truth in both the historical and the prophetical sections of the Word, as stated in 1672 but not yet shown to be so. From the meaning of 'nations' as goods, and from the meaning of 'kings' as truths, the nature of the internal sense of the Word becomes clear, and also how remote it is from the sense of the letter. No one reading the Word, especially the historical section, believes anything other than that 'nations' referred to there means nations, or that 'kings' there means kings, and therefore that the nations mentioned there, or the kings, are the real subject of the very Word itself. But when the idea of nations and also of kings reaches angels it perishes altogether, and good and truth take their place instead. This is bound to seem strange and indeed a paradox, but it is nevertheless the truth. The matter may also become clear to anyone from the fact that if nations were meant in the Word by 'nations' and kings by 'kings', the Word of the Lord would hardly embody anything more than some historical or other piece of writing and so would be something of a worldly nature, when in fact everything in the Word is Divine and so is celestial and spiritual.

[2] Take merely the statement in the present verse about Abraham's being made fruitful, nations being made of him, and kings coming out of him. What else is this but something purely worldly and nothing at all heavenly? Indeed these assertions entail no more than the glory of this world, a glory which is absolutely nothing in heaven. But if this is the Word of the Lord then its glory must be that of heaven, not that of the world. This also is why the sense of the letter is completely erased and disappears when it passes into heaven, and is purified in such a way that nothing worldly at all is intermingled. For 'Abraham' is not used to mean Abraham but the Lord; nor is 'being fruitful' used to mean his descendants who would increase more and more but the endless growth of good belonging to the Lord's Human Essence. 'Nations' do not mean nations but goods, and 'kings' do not mean kings but truths. Nevertheless the narrative in the sense of the letter remains historically true, for Abraham was indeed spoken to in this way; and he was indeed made fruitful in this way, with nations as well as kings descending from him.

[3] That 'kings' means truths becomes clear from the following places: In Isaiah,

The sons of the foreigner will build up your walls, and their kings will minister to you. You will suck the milk of nations, and the breast of kings will you suck. Isaiah 60:10, 16.

What 'sucking the milk of nations and the breast of kings' means is not at all evident from the letter but from the internal sense, in which being endowed with goods and instructed in truths is meant. In Jeremiah,

There will enter through the gates of this city kings and princes seated on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses. Jeremiah 17:25; 22:4.

'Riding in chariots and on horses' is a prophecy meaning the abundance of things of the understanding, as becomes clear from very many places in the Prophets. Thus the prophecy that 'kings will enter through the gates of the city' means in the internal sense that they were to be endowed with truths of faith. This sense of the Word is the heavenly sense into which the worldly sense of the letter passes.

[4] In the same prophet,

Jehovah has spurned in His fierce indignation king and priest. The gates of Zion have sunk into the ground, He has destroyed and broken in pieces her bars. King and princes are among the nations; the law is no more. Lamentations 2:6, 9.

Here 'king' stands for the truth of faith, 'priest' for the good of charity, 'Zion' for the Church, which is destroyed and its bars broken in pieces. Consequently 'king and princes among the nations', that is, truth and what belongs to truth, will be so completely banished that 'the law is no more', that is, nothing of the doctrine of faith will exist any more. In Isaiah,

Before the boy knows to refuse evil and to choose good, the ground will be abandoned which you loathe in the presence of its two kings. Isaiah 7:16.

This refers to the Lord's Coming. 'The land that will be abandoned' stands for faith which at that time would not exist. 'The kings' are the truths of faith which would be loathed.

[5] In the same prophet,

I will lift up My hand to the nations and raise My ensign to the peoples; and they will bring your sons in their bosom, and your daughters will be carried on their shoulder. Kings will be your foster fathers and their queens your wet-nurses. Isaiah 49:22-23.

'Nations' and 'daughters' stand for goods, 'peoples' and 'sons' for truths, as shown in Volume One. That 'nations' stands for goods, 1259, 1260, 1416, 1849, as does 'daughters', 489-491, while 'peoples' stands for truths, 1259, 1260, as does 'sons', 489, 491, 533, 1147. 'Kings' therefore stands for truths, in general by which they will be nourished, and 'queens' for goods by which they will be suckled. Whether you speak of goods and truths or of those who are governed by goods and truths it amounts to the same.

[6] In the same prophet,

He will spatter many nations, kings will shut their mouths because of him, 1 for that which has [not] been told them they have seen, and that which they have not heard they have understood. Isaiah 52:15.

This refers to the Lord's Coming. 'Nations' stands for those who are stirred by an affection for goods, 'kings' those who are stirred by an affection for truths. In David,

Now, O kings, be intelligent; be instructed, O judges of the earth. Serve Jehovah with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son lest He perhaps be angry and you perish in the way. Psalms 2:10-12.

'Kings' stands for people who are governed by truths, and who by virtue of truths are also in many places called 'king's sons'. 'The Son' here stands for the Lord, and he is called the Son here because he is Truth itself, and the source of all truth.

[7] In John,

They will sing a new song, You are worthy to take the Book and to open its seals. You have made us kings and priests to our God so that we shall reign on the earth. Revelation 5:9-10.

Here people who are governed by truths are called 'kings'. The Lord also calls them 'the sons of the kingdom' in Matthew,

He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the seed are the sons of the kingdom, and the tares are the sons of the evil one. Matthew 13:37-38.

In John,

The sixth angel poured out his bowl over the great river Euphrates and its water was dried up to prepare the way of the kings who were from the east. Revelation 16:12.

'Euphrates' clearly does not mean the Euphrates, nor does 'kings from the east' mean kings from that quarter. What 'Euphrates' does mean may be seen in 120, 1585, 1866, from which it is evident that 'the way of the kings who were from the cast' means truths of faith that derive from goods of love.

[8] In the same book,

The nations that are saved will walk in its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory and honour into it. Revelation 21:24.

Here 'nations' stands for people who are governed by goods, 'kings of the earth' for those who are governed by truths, which is also evident from the fact that the details here are prophetical, not historical. In the same book,

With the great harlot seated on many waters the kings of the earth have committed whoredom and have become drunk with the wine of her whoredom. Revelation 17:2.

And elsewhere in the same book,

Babylon has given all nations drink from the wine of the fury of her whoredom; and the kings of the earth have committed whoredom with her. Revelation 18:1, 3, 9.

Here similarly it is clear that 'the kings of the earth' does not mean kings, for the subject is the falsification and adulteration of the doctrine of faith, that is, of truth, which are 'whoredom'. 'Kings of the earth' stands for truths that have been falsified and adulterated.

[9] In the same book,

The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom but are receiving authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. These will be of one mind, and they will hand over power and authority to the beast. Revelation 17:12-13.

That 'kings' here does not mean kings may also be evident to anyone. If kings were meant, then 'ten kings receiving authority as kings for one hour' would be quite unintelligible, as similarly with the following words in the same book,

I saw the beast and the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered to make war with Him who was sitting on the horse, and with His army. Revelation 19:19

In verse 13 of the same chapter it is stated explicitly that the One who was sitting on the horse was The Word of God, against which the kings of the earth are said to have been gathered. 'The beast' stands for goods of love that have been profaned, 'kings' for truths of faith that have been adulterated; these are called 'kings of the earth' because they exist within the Church - 'earth' meaning the Church, see 662, 1066, 1067, 1262. 'The white horse' stands for the understanding of truth, 'He who was sitting on the horse' for the Word. This matter is plainer still in Daniel 11, describing the war between the king of the south and the king of the north, by which is meant the conflict of truths with falsities. Here such conflicts are described as a war that took place in history.

[10] Since 'a king' means truth, what is meant in the internal sense when the Lord is called King, and also a Priest, is made clear; and what essential quality of the Lord was represented by kings, and what by priests, is also made clear. 'Kings' represented His Divine Truth, and 'priests' His Divine Good. All the laws of order by which the Lord governs the universe as King are truths, while all the laws by which He governs the universe as Priest and by which He rules even over truths themselves are goods. For government from truths alone condemns everyone to hell, but government from goods lifts them out of that place and raises them up into heaven; see 1728. Because, in the Lord's case, these two - truths and goods - are joined together, they were also represented in ancient times by kingship and priesthood combined, as with Melchizedek who was at one and the same time king of Salem and priest to God Most High, Genesis 14:18. And at a later time among the Jews where the representative Church was established in a form of its own He was represented by judges and priests, and after that by kings.

[11] But because 'kings' represented truths which ought not to be paramount for the reason, already stated, that they condemn, the very idea was so objectionable that the Jews were reproached for it. The nature of truth regarded in itself has been described in 1 Samuel 8:11-18, as the rights of a king; and previous to that, in Moses, in Deuteronomy 17:14-18, they had been commanded through Moses to choose genuine truth deriving from good, not spurious truth, and not to pollute it with reasonings and factual knowledge. These are the considerations which the directive concerning a king given in the place in Moses referred to above embodies within itself. No one can possibly see this from the sense of the letter, but it is nevertheless evident from the details within the internal sense. This shows why 'a king' and 'kingship' represented and meant nothing other than truth.

脚注:

1. literally, over him

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.