614# 启10:8.“我先前从天上所听见的那声音又吩咐我说”表示在仍留在他们身上的对圣言的理解的品质方面，对教会之人的探究。这从之前的事物和本章接下来的事物清楚可知；因为“吩咐他说的天上的声音”涉及这些事物。之前的事物论述了对神性真理或圣言的理解，这可从10: 2–4清楚看出来，在那里，从天降下的大力天使呼喊的“声音”和七雷的“声音”表示在对圣言的理解方面的教会状态品质的显现(参看AE 601–604节)。接下来的事物论述了仍留在教会之人身上的对圣言的理解；因为天使手里拿着的“小书卷”表示圣言，“把它吃光”表示探究，“它在口中是甜的，在肚子里是苦的”表示在字义上，它是令人快乐的，但在真理本身在其中的内义上，它并令人快乐。这一点从下文进一步明显看出来。由于这些就是已经论述和尚待论述的事物，所以很明显，“他先前从天上所听见的那声音又吩咐我说”表示在仍留在他们身上的对圣言的理解的品质方面，对教会之人的探究。
要知道，随着教会之人从内在变得外在，对圣言的理解在教会逐渐消亡；随着教会之人远离仁爱，因而随着他背离信仰的生活，他从内在变得外在。当教会之人是这样时，诚然，他可能会以阅读圣言为快乐，但却不是以属于圣言内层意义的真理本身为快乐；因为正是信仰的生活本身，也就是仁爱，产生对内层真理的情感，并使它令人快乐。因此，字义上的圣言可能会被喜爱，但只因它能被用来确认源于自我之爱和世界之爱的虚假，这就是字面上的圣言。其结果是，在教会结束的时候，几乎没有对真理的任何理解了。诚然，那时来自圣言的真理从嘴口里说出来，但却没有对真理的任何概念。我被允许在灵界的许多人身上测试，事实是否如此；结果发现，尽管只要从圣言说话，他们就说真理，但他们仍没有对真理的理解；因此，他们就像空虚的器皿、叮当作响的铃铛，只从诸如他们从记忆中提取出来的那些东西说话，根本不从对理解或意义的任何感知来说话。当人具有这种品质时，他就无法从内在拥有任何属天和属灵之物了，只有来自肉体和世界的属世之物，当属世之物与属天和属灵之物分离时，它就是地狱的。由此可见，在下文，给约翰吃了在口中甜如蜜，但使他肚子发苦的小书卷是什么意思。
614. And the voice which I heard out of heaven, spake unto me again, and said.- That this signifies exploration of the men of the church as to the quality of the understanding of the Word still remaining with them, is evident from those things that precede, and those that follow in this chapter, for the voice out of heaven which spake with him and said, involves those things. In those that precede, the subject treated of is the understanding of Divine Truth or the Word, as is evident from verses 2-4, where the voice with which the strong angel coming down out of heaven cried, and the voices of the seven thunders, signify the manifestation of the quality of the state of the church as to the understanding of the Word (see above, n. 601-604). In those that follow, the subject treated of is the understanding of the Word which yet remained with the men of the church. For the little book which the angel had in his hand, signifies the Word, and by eating it up is signified exploration, and by its being sweet in the mouth, and bitter in the belly, is signified that in the sense of the letter it was delightful, but undelightful in the internal sense, wherein are real truths. This will be further evident from what follows. These then being the things treated, and which are to be yet treated of, it is plain, that the voice, which he heard out of heaven speaking to him again, and saying, signifies the exploration of the men of the church, as to the quality of the understanding of the Word which yet remained with them.
[2] It must be observed, that the understanding of the Word perishes in the church by degrees, as the man of the church from internal becomes external; and from internal he becomes external as he recedes from charity, consequently as he departs from the life of faith. When the man of the church is such, he may indeed take delight in reading the Word, but still he is not delighted with the truth itself, which is of its interior sense, for the real life of faith, which is charity, produces the affection for interior truth, and the delightfulness arising therefrom. The Word, therefore, as to the sense of the letter, may indeed be loved, but this only because it can be used to confirm the falsities which originate in the love of self and the love of the world, for such is the Word, in the letter. The consequence of this is, that at the end of the church there remains scarcely any understanding of truth. Truths indeed from the Word are uttered with the mouth, but without any idea of the truth. I have been permitted to have experience of this fact in the case of many in the spiritual world, and it was found, that although they spoke truths so far as they spoke from the Word, yet they had no understanding of them, so that they were like empty vessels, and tinkling bells, speaking only from such things as they drew forth from the memory, and not at all from any perception of the meaning. When a man is of such a quality he cannot interiorly possess any thing celestial and spiritual, but only what is natural, from the body and the world, which, when separated from what is celestial and spiritual, becomes infernal. It is also evident from these things what is meant in what follows by the little book given to John to eat being in his mouth sweet as honey, but making his belly bitter.
614. Verse 8 (601-604). The things that follow treat of the understanding of the Word yet remaining with the men of the church; for "the little book that the angel had in his hand" signifies the Word, and "eating it up" signifies exploration, and that "it was sweet in the mouth and bitter in the belly" signifies that in the sense of the letter the Word was delightful, but in the internal sense, in which are the truths themselves, it was undelightful. This will further appear from what follows. As these are the things treated of and yet to be treated of, it is clear that "the voice that he heard from heaven again speaking and saying" signifies the exploration of the men of the church as to what understanding of the Word yet remained with them.
[2] It is to be known that the understanding of the Word perishes in the church by degrees, as the man of the church from internal becomes external; and from internal he becomes external as he falls away from charity, consequently as he falls away from the life of faith. When the man of the church is such he may, indeed, take delight in reading the Word, but yet he takes no delight in the truth itself, which belongs to the interior sense of the Word; for it is the life itself of faith, which is charity, that produces the affection of interior truth and makes it delightful. Therefore the Word as to the sense of the letter may be loved, but for the reason that it can be drawn over to confirm the falsities arising from the love of self and of the world, for such is the Word in the letter. From this it comes that in the end of the church there is scarcely any understanding of truth. Truths from the Word are indeed then spoken with the mouth, but yet there is no idea of truth. It has been granted me to test whether this is so in the case of many in the spiritual world, and it was found that although, so far as they had spoken from the Word they had spoken truths, yet they had no understanding of them; thus they were like empty vessels and like tinkling bells, speaking only from such things as they drew forth from the memory, and not at all from any perception of the understanding. When man is such he cannot inwardly possess anything celestial or spiritual, but only what is natural, from the body and the world, and when this is separated from what is celestial and spiritual it is infernal. From this it can be seen what is meant in what follows by the little book given to John to eat being in his mouth sweet as honey, but that his belly was made bitter from it.
614. [Vers. 8.] "Et vox quam audivi e caelo, iterum loquens cum me, et dicens." - Quod significet explorationem hominum ecclesiae, qualis intellectus Verbi adhuc apud illos superesset, constat ex illis quae praecedunt et ex illis quae sequuntur in hoc capite; nam "vox e caelo, quae cum illo locuta est et dixit", involvit illa. In illis quae praecedunt agitur de intellectu Divini Veri seu Verbi, ut constare potest a versibus 2, 3, 4, ubi per "vocem, qua clamavit angelus fortis descendens e caelo", et per "voces septem tonitruum", significatur manifestatio qualis status ecclesiae est quoad intellectum Verbi (videatur supra, n. 601-604). In illis quae sequuntur agitur de intellectu Verbi adhuc residuo apud homines ecclesiae; per "libellum" enim, quem angelus in manu sua habuit, significatur Verbum, et per "devorationem ejus" significatur exploratio, et per quod "fuerit dulcis in ore et amarus in ventre" significatur quod Verbum in sensu litterae esset jucundum, at in sensu interno, in quo sunt ipsa vera, injucundum; quod ulterius ex sequentibus patebit. Quia haec sunt de quibus actum est, et de quibus adhuc agitur, constare potest quod per "vocem, quam audivit e caelo iterum loquentem et dicentem" significetur exploratio hominum ecclesiae, qualis intellectus Verbi adhuc apud illos superesset.
[2] Sciendum est quod intellectus Verbi in ecclesia per gradus pereat, sicut homo ecclesiae ab interno fit externus; et ab interno fit externus sicut recedit a charitate, proinde sicut recedit a vita fidei. Quando homo ecclesiae talis est, tunc quidem delectari potest lectione Verbi, sed usque non delectatur ipso vero, quod est sensus interioris ejus; nam ipsa vita fidei, quae est charitas, producit affectionem veri interioris, et inde 1
delectationem ejus: quare Verbum quoad sensum litterae quidem amari potest, sed propterea quia potest trahi ad confirmandum falsa oriunda ex amore sui et mundi, Verbum enim in littera tale est. Inde fluit quod in fine ecclesiae vix aliquis intellectus veri sit; vera quidem ex Verbo tunc ore loquuntur, sed usque non aliquam ideam veri habent: quod ita sit, cum pluribus in mundo spirituali datum est experiri, et compertum est quod tametsi vera, quatenus ex Verbo, locuti fuerint, usque intellectum eorum nullum habuerint; sic ut fuerint sicut vasa vacua, et sicut campanulae sonantes solum ex talibus quae ex memoria deprompserunt, et prorsus nihil ex perceptione intellectus. Cum homo talis est, tunc non aliquid caeleste et spirituale intus possidet, sed modo naturale ex corpore et mundo, quod separatum a caelesti et spirituali est infernale. Ex his quoque constare potest quid in sequentibus intelligitur per quod libellus datus Johanni ad comedendum "in ore fuerit dulcis sicut mel", sed quod ex eo "amaricatus sit venter."
Footnotes:
1. The editors made a correction or note here.