来自斯威登堡的著作

 

Over het Woord#13

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13. De middellijke openbaring, die geschiedt door het Woord, gaat de onmiddellijke openbaring, die plaats vindt door geesten, zeer ver te boven.

29. Geloofd wordt dat de mens meer verlicht én wijs zou kunnen worden als hij onmiddellijke openbaring had door gesprekken met geesten en met engelen, maar het tegendeel is het geval, want de verlichting door het Woord vindt plaats door een innerlijke weg, terwijl de verlichting door onmiddellijke openbaring geschiedt door een uiterlijken weg. De innerlijke weg is door de wil in het verstand, de uiterlijke weg is door het gehoor in het verstand. De mens wordt door het Woord verlicht uit de Heer voor zoveel de wil in het goede is, maar de mens kan door het gehoor worden onderricht en als het ware verlicht worden hoewel de wil in het boze is. Wat binnentreedt in het verstand bij de mens van wie de wil in het boze is, is niet binnen maar buiten hem; het is alleen in het geheugen, en niet in het leven; en hetgeen buiten de mens is en niet in zijn leven, wordt langzamerhand afgezonderd; en zo al niet vóór dan toch zeker na de dood. Immers, de wil die in het boze is werpt dat òf uit en verstikt dat, òf vervalst en profaneert dat; want de wil maakt het leven van de mensen, en werkt aanhoudend op het verstand, en dat wat vanuit het geheugen in het verstand is, beschouwt het als buiten te liggen. Omgekeerd werkt het verstand niet op de wil, maar leert slechts hoe de wil zal werken. Daarom, als de mens vanuit de hemel alle dingen wist die de engelen weten, of als hij alle dingen wist die in het Woord zijn, en voorts alle leren der kerken kende, en bovendien alles wat de kerkvaders geschreven en de concilies voorgeschreven hebben, maar zijn wil in het boze is, dan wordt hij desondanks na de dood beschouwd zoals iemand die niets weet, omdat hij niet wil wat hij weet. En omdat het boze het ware haat, werpt de mens dan zelf die dingen uit, en in hun plaats neemt hij vals dingen aan, die met het boze van zijn wil samenstemmen. Bovendien wordt noch aan enige geest noch aan enige engel verlof gegeven, mensen op deze aardbol te leren in de Goddelijke ware dingen, maar de Heer leert Zelf elke willekeurige mens door het Woord, en Hij leert voor zoveel als de mens uit Hem het goede in de wil opneemt, en hij neemt dit op voor zoveel als hij de boze dingen als zonden schuwt. Ieder mens is ook in gezelschap van geesten ten aanzien van zijn aandoeningen en de denkingen daaruit, waarin hij als het ware één is met hen. Daarom spreken de met de mens sprekende geesten vanuit de mens zijn aandoeningen en volgens die. De mens kan niet met anderen spreken tenzij de vorige gezelschappen waarin hij is, eerst verwijderd worden, hetgeen uitsluitend geschiedt door de hervorming van zijn wil. Omdat iedere mens in gezelschap is van geesten die in dezelfde religie zijn als hij, bevestigen de met hem sprekende geesten alle dingen die de mens tot zijn religie heeft gemaakt; dus enthousiaste geesten alle dingen van het enthousiasme bij die mens, en Quakeriaanse geesten alle dingen van Quakerisme, en Moraviaanse geesten alle dingen van Moravianisme, enzovoort. Vandaar zijn er bevestigingen van het valse die nooit uitgeroeid kunnen worden. Uit deze dingen blijkt dat de middellijke openbaring die door het Woord geschiedt, boven de onmiddellijke openbaring staat die door geesten geschiedt. Wat mij [Swedenborg] aangaat was het niet geoorloofd wat dan ook te nemen uit de mond van enig geest, noch uit de mond van enig engel, maar vanuit de mond van de Heer alleen.

  
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Published by Swedenborg Boekhuis, in the Netherlands.

来自斯威登堡的著作

 

Spiritual Experiences#5546

  
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5546. About heaven from heaven

Those who are in the heavens live there just as they did on earth. Those who lived in separate groups, that is, divided into tribes, families, and households, as did the most ancients on our Earth, live the same there. Those who lived under monarchs and in cities live the same there, but still in the cities they are also divided by tribe, family, and household, thus by relationships in their order, 1 although by relationships of truth coming from good, which are spiritual relationships. Those who are in such a relationship recognize themselves at first sight, entirely like relations by blood or marriage on earth. They are as it were acquainted with them although they had never seen them before.

脚注:

1. At this point in the hand margin appears "N.B"

  
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Thanks to the Academy of the New Church, and Bryn Athyn College, for the permission to use this translation.

来自斯威登堡的著作

 

Arcana Coelestia#10551

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10551. 'And so it was, when Moses entered the tent, that the pillar of cloud came down, and stood at the door of the tent, and talked to Moses' means that when the Word had gone beyond what they were capable of understanding, extremely poor visibility descended on them as they stood outside, and yet there was clear perception from within. This is clear from the meaning of 'when Moses entered the tent' as when the Word had gone beyond what they were capable of understanding, dealt with immediately above in 10550; from the meaning of 'the pillar of cloud' as extremely poor visibility so far as that nation was concerned, for by 'cloud' the outward sense of the Word is meant, see Preface to Genesis 18, and 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343(end), 6752, 8443, 8781, and also the poor visibility of the Word so far as those who have no enlightenment are concerned, and its extremely poor visibility so far as those with whom the outward sense of the Word is separated from the inward are concerned, 6832, 8106, 8814, 8819, 9430; from the meaning of 'standing at the door' as being outside, dealt with above in 10549; and from the meaning of 'talking to Moses' as clear perception from within. For the Word - as it is essentially - is meant by 'Moses', see 9372, while perceiving is meant by 'talking', see in the places referred to in 10290. The reason why 'from within' is meant is that Moses, to whom 'the pillar of cloud' talked, was within the tent.

[2] What it is to see from without and to perceive from within must be stated. Those who have enlightenment when they read the Word see it from within; for their internal has been opened, and when the internal has been opened it dwells in the light of heaven. This light flows in and brings enlightenment, though the person is not conscious of its doing so. He is not conscious of this because that light flows into the cognitions or knowledge present in the human memory, which however dwell in natural light. And since the person feels, when he uses them to think with, that he does so all by himself he cannot be aware of the influx; yet there are various indications enabling him to know that he has been given enlightenment. But anyone at all who supposes that he has enlightenment is mistaken if he does not love to know truth for its own sake and for the sake of leading a good life, thus if he does not love Divine Truth for life's sake. For leading a life in keeping with Divine Truths derived from the Word constitutes loving the Lord; and from the Lord, when He is loved, springs all enlightenment.

[3] Those however who do not see a life in keeping with Divine Truths derived from the Word as the end in view, but position, gain, and reputation as the end in view and the Divine Truths of the Word therefore as the means, cannot possibly possess any enlightenment. This end is worldly and bodily, and not spiritual and heavenly. Consequently it closes off their internal man, and once this is closed no light from heaven can flow in and bring enlightenment. If these people suppose that they are enlightened when they read the Word they are completely mistaken; for their thought is inspired not by heaven but by the world, and so springs not from the Lord but from self. And to the extent that it springs from self and the world it is the product of natural light separated from heavenly light; and natural light separated from heavenly light constitutes thickest darkness in spiritual matters. If these people are convinced that they have seen something as a result of having been enlightened they are mistaken. For the only way that they perceive whether anything is true is with the aid of proofs supplied by others, which is to see truth from without and not from within, or else with the aid of faith that is no more than persuasion, the nature of which may be seen in 9363-9369. Such people are able to see falsity as truth and truth as falsity, and also to see evil as good and good as evil.

[4] From all this it is clear what seeing the Word from without is and perceiving it from within is. Seeing it from without is what is meant when it says that the people stood, [each] at the door of [his] tent, and looked after Moses, and also that they saw the pillar of cloud standing at the door of the tent, and they bowed down, [each] at the door of [his] tent. But perceiving the Word from within is what is meant when it says that Moses entered the tent, and that the pillar of cloud at the door of the tent talked to Moses.

[5] A brief statement must also be made about the way in which the influx bringing enlightenment operates. Angels equally with men perceive the Word when it is read; but angels do so on a spiritual level, men on a natural level. A person whose internal has been opened also perceives it on a spiritual level, though he is not conscious of doing so while he lives in the world because his spiritual thought flows into his natural thought in the external man and manifests itself within this. Nevertheless that interior thought is what enlightens and is the channel through which influx from the Lord operates. Some learned people by looking into their own thoughts and reflecting on what they see have also noticed that the human being possesses interior thought which is not overt. They have therefore called the ideas composing it immaterial and intellectual 1 , distinguishing them from the overt ideas composing exterior thought, which they have called natural and material. But they have not known that the ideas composing interior thought are spiritual, nor that when these flow down from their own level they are converted into natural ones and then take on a different shape and appearance. These considerations show to some extent the way in which the influx bringing enlightenment operates.

脚注:

1. i.e. 'Apprehensible or apprehended only by the intellect; non-material, spiritual; ideal.' (Shorter Oxford English Dictionary)

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