579# 启9:18.“从它们口中喷出的火与烟,并硫磺,这三样杀了人的第三部分”表示对真理的一切理解和由此而来的属灵生命都被它们灭绝了。这从“人的第三部分”、“杀”、“从它们口中喷出的火与烟,并硫磺”的含义清楚可知:“人的第三部分”是指真理的一切聪明,或对真理的一切理解,由于属灵生命由此而来,所以也表示属灵生命;“杀”是指灭绝,因为当对真理的理解被灭绝时,人就被属灵地杀死了(参看AE 315a,b节);“第三部分”当论及真理时,表示所有或全部(参看AE 506节);“人”表示对真理的理解和对良善的感知(AE 280, 546节);“从它们口中喷出的火与烟,并硫磺”是指源于对邪恶的爱和对虚假的爱,以及对通过邪恶之虚假摧毁真理和良善的欲望的思维和由此而来的推理(参看AE 578节)。由此清楚可知,这些话是何含义。这些话论及在异象中看见的马,因为火与烟,并硫磺是从它们口中喷出的;由于在异象中看见的“马”表示通过基于谬误的推理对圣言的歪曲,所以很明显,“火与烟,并硫磺”表示导致歪曲的东西,也就是对邪恶和虚假的爱,以及对摧毁教会真理和良善的欲望。这种歪曲是通过在圣言的意义和对圣言的理解上基于谬误的思维和推理发生的。因为当一个人出于纯粹的谬误思考时,他只从诸如在字义中第一眼看见的那类事物,而不是从任何内在的字义思考。因此,他对他从圣言所获得的一切教义形成最粗俗、最粗糙的观念,如:神发怒,惩罚人,把人投入地狱,试探他们,后悔,以及其它许多类似的事。
此外,他根本不属灵地,而是肉体和物质地思考他在圣言中读到的一切;因此,他的思维是纯感官的;当思维是纯感官的时,它只来自对自我和世界的爱;当它来自这些爱时,就只来自邪恶和虚假。因此,当这样一个人独自一人,从他的灵思考时,他就出于这些爱的情感思考,并把它们与圣言里的那些事物结合起来;当圣言的神性事物与这些爱结合时,其中的一切事物都被玷污和歪曲了,因为圣言的神性事物只能与属天之爱或属灵情感结合在一起;如果它们与其它某种爱或其它某种情感结合,那么被称为属灵心智的高层心智就关闭了,只有被称为属世心智的低层心智打开。事实上,对那些将圣言的真理与自我之爱的情感结合起来的人来说,属世心智也关闭了,只有该心智的终端打开;这终端被称为感官层,与身体粘附得最紧密,离世界也最近。因此,人的灵变得肉体化,与天使无份,因为天使都是属灵的。
579. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which went forth, out of their mouths.- This signifies that all understanding of truth, and spiritual life therefrom, were extinguished by them, as is evident from the signification of the third part of men, as denoting all intelligence or understanding of truth, and as spiritual life is thence, therefore this also is meant; and from the signification of being killed, as denoting to be extinguished, for when the understanding of truth is extinguished, man is spiritually killed (see above, n. 315). That the "third part," when used in reference to truths denotes all (n. 506); and man denotes the understanding of truth and the perception of good (n. 280, 546); and from the signification of fire, smoke, and brimstone, going forth out of their mouths, which denote the thoughts and thence reasonings springing from the love of evil, from the love of falsity, and from the lust (concupiscentia) of destroying truths and goods by means of the falsities of evil (see above, n. 578). From these things the signification of those words is clear. These things are said concerning the horses in the vision, for out of their mouths went forth fire, smoke, and brimstone. And because the horses seen in the vision signify the falsifications of the Word by reasonings from fallacies, it is evident that fire, smoke, and brimstone signify those things which are the cause, and these are the love of evil and the love of falsity, together with the lust (concupiscentia) of destroying the truths and goods of the church. This is effected by thoughts and reasonings from fallacies concerning the meaning and understanding of the Word; for when man thinks only from fallacies, he thinks solely from those things that appear at first sight in the sense of the letter, and not from any interior literal sense (sensu litterali interiori). He therefore forms the grossest and crudest ideas concerning every doctrinal which he draws from the Word; for example that God is angry and punishes, and casts [men] into hell, that He tempts them, that He repents, and many other things of a similar nature.
Moreover such a man thinks also corporeally and materially of every thing that he reads in the Word, and spiritually of nothing, consequently his thought is merely sensual, and being merely sensual is solely from the love of self and of the world, and when from these it is solely from evils and falsities. When such a man is left to himself, and thinks from his own spirit, he then thinks from the affection of those loves, and conjoins them to those things which are in the Word; and when the Divine things of the Word are conjoined to such loves, then all things therein are adulterated and falsified. For the Divine things of the Word can be conjoined only with celestial love or with spiritual affection, if with some other love or some other affection the higher mind, called the spiritual mind, is closed, and only the lower mind, called the natural mind, is opened. In fact in the case of those who conjoin the truths of the Word with the affection of the love of self the natural mind is also closed, and only the ultimate of this mind called the Sensual is opened, which is closely adherent to the body, and is nearest to the world; for this reason man's spirit becomes corporeal, and can have no part with angels, for they are spiritual.
579. Verse 18. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, going out of their mouths, signifies that all the understanding of truth, and the spiritual life therefrom, were extinguished by them. This is evident from the signification of "the third part of men," as being all intelligence, or the understanding of truth, and as spiritual life is from this, that also is involved; from the signification of "to be killed," as being to be extinguished, for when the understanding of truth is extinguished man is spiritually killed see above, n. 315; the "third part," in reference to truths, means all (See above, n. 506); and "man" means the understanding of truth and the perception of good (n. 280, 546); also from the signification of "fire, smoke, and brimstone going out of their mouths," as being the thoughts and reasonings therefrom springing from the love of evil, from the love of falsity, and from the lust of destroying truths and goods by the falsities of evil (See above, n. 578). From this the signification of these words can be seen. This is said of the horses seen in vision, namely, that "out of their mouths went out fire, smoke, and brimstone;" and as the "horses" seen in vision signify the falsifications of the Word by reasonings from fallacies, it is evident that "fire, smoke, and brimstone," signify the things that cause falsification, which are the loves of evil and falsity, and the lusts for destroying the truths and goods of the church. This is effected by the thoughts and by reasonings from fallacies about the sense and understanding of the Word. For when a man thinks from mere fallacies he thinks solely from such things as stand forth at first sight in the sense of the letter, and not from any interior literal sense; consequently he forms the most gross and harsh ideas respecting every doctrine he derives from the Word, as that God is angry, that He punishes, casts men into hell, tempts them, that He repents, and many like things; moreover, he thinks corporeally and materially, and not at all spiritually, about everything he reads in the Word; for this reason his thought is merely sensual, and when it is merely sensual it is solely from the love of self and of the world, and when it is from these it is solely from evils and falsities. When such a man, therefore, is left to himself and thinks from his spirit, he thinks from the affection of these loves, which he conjoins to the things that are in the Word; and when the Divine things of the Word are conjoined to such loves all things therein are adulterated and falsified, for the Divine things of the Word can never be conjoined to anything but celestial love, or with spiritual affection; if conjoined to any other love or any other affection, the higher mind, which is called the spiritual mind, is closed, and the lower mind only, which is called the natural mind, is opened; yea, with those who conjoin the truths of the Word to the affection of the love of self, the natural mind also is closed, and only the ultimate of this mind is opened, which is called the sensual, which clings most closely to the body, and stands forth nearest to the world. Thus does man's spirit become corporeal, and then it can have no lot with the angels, who are spiritual.
579. [Vers. 18.] "A tribus his occisa est tertia pars hominum, ex igne et ex fumo et ex sulphure exeunte ex oribus illorum." - Quod significet quod omnis intellectus veri et inde vita spiritualis ex illis exstincta sit, constat ex significatione "tertiae partis hominum", quod sit omnis intelligentia seu intellectus veri, et quia inde est vita spiritualis, ideo etiam haec involvitur; ex significatione "occidi", quod sit exstingui, nam cum intellectus veri exstinguitur, homo spiritualiter occiditur (videatur supra, n. 315 [a, b]): (quod "tertia pars", cum de veris, sit omne, [supra] n. 506; et quod homo sit intellectus veri et perceptio boni, n. 280, 1
546;) et ex significatione "ignis, fumi et sulphuris exeuntium ex oribus illorum", quod sint cogitata et inde ratiocinia scaturientia ex amore mali, ex amore falsi, et ex concupiscentia destruendi vera et bona per falsa mali (de qua mox supra, n. 578): ex his videri potest quid per illa verba significatur. Haec dicuntur de "equis" in visione visis, quod nempe "ex illorum oribus exiverit ignis, fumus et sulphur"; et quia per "equos" in visione visos significantur falsificationes Verbi per ratiocinia ex fallaciis, patet quod per "ignem, fumum et sulphur " significentur illa quae causantur, quae sunt amores mali et falsi ac concupiscentiae destruendi vera et bona ecclesiae; et hoc fit per cogitata et ratiocinia ex fallaciis de sensu et intellectu Verbi: quando enim homo non cogitat nisi ex fallaciis, cogitat solum ex illis quae in sensu litterae ad primum visum exstant, et non ex aliquo sensu litterali interiori: inde admodum crassas et duras ideas de omni doctrinali, quod ex Verbo, captat; sicut de Deo, quod irascatur, puniat, in infernum conjiciat, tentet, quod Ipsum paeniteat, et plura similia, praeter quod corporee et materialiter de singulis quae in Verbo legit, et nihil spiritualiter, cogitet; inde est quod mere sensualiter; et cum mere sensualiter, tunc solum ex amore sui et mundi; et cum ex his, solum ex malis et falsis. Quare cum sibi relictus ex suo spiritu cogitat, tunc ex illorum amorum affectione cogitat, quos illis quae in Verbo sunt conjungit; et cum Divina Verbi conjunguntur talibus, tunc adulterantur et falsificantur omnia quae ibi; nam Divina Verbi nusquam conjungi possunt quam cum amore caelesti seu cum affectione spirituali; si cum alio amore, seu cum alia affectione, tunc clauditur mens superior, quae vocatur mens spiritualis, et modo aperitur mens inferior, quae vocatur mens naturalis; immo apud illos qui conjungunt Verbi vera cum affectione amoris sui, clauditur etiam mens naturalis, et aperitur modo ultimum hujus mentis, quod vocatur sensuale, quod proxime inhaeret corpori, et proxime exstat mundo; inde est quod spiritus hominis fiat corporeus, qui nullam sortem habere potest cum angelis, qui sunt spirituales.
Footnotes:
1. The editors made a correction or note here.