868、“直到水在地上都干了”表示虚假明显消散。这从正在重生之人的状态清楚可知。如今，人人都以为在人重生期间，他里面的邪恶和虚假会被彻底驱散和消除，以致他重生之后，就不再有任何邪恶或虚假存留，因而是洁净和公义的，就像一个人被水洗干净了一样。然而，这种想法完全是错的，因为没有一个邪恶，也没有一个虚假能被驱散到被消除的程度。相反，自婴儿时期起就遗传给他的一切，以及他通过自己的行为所获得的一切，都继续存在。因此，即便一个人已经重生，他仍无非是邪恶和虚假，这一点在死后灵魂中得到了有力证明。由此也可以很清楚地看出，除非从主获得，否则人里面根本没有任何良善和真理，人的一切邪恶和虚假都源于自我；世人、灵人，甚至天使，即便在最小程度上交由他自己，也会自行冲向地狱。这也是为何在圣言中，经上说“天也不洁净”（约伯记15:15）。天使承认这一点，凡不承认的，都不能在天使之列。唯独主的怜悯给他们自由，甚至把他们从地狱提出来，拦阻他们不再自行冲向那里。他们被主拦阻，以免冲向地狱；对此，天使有明显的感知，就连善灵也在某种程度上有所感知。然而，恶灵和世人一样，并不相信这一事实，哪怕多次指给他们看；蒙主的神性怜悯，这一点将在后面通过经历来描述。
因此，人的状态是这样，没有任何邪恶或虚假能被驱散到被消除的程度。因为属于人自己的生命就在于邪恶和虚假，主在使人重生时，以其神性怜悯通过试探制伏他的邪恶和虚假，以致它们似乎死了。然而，它们并没有死，只是被制伏了，以致它们不能与来自主的良善和真理对抗。同时，主也通过试探赋予他接受良善和真理的一种新能力，是通过赐予他对邪恶和虚假能转向的良善和真理的观念和情感而赋予的。祂还将具体观念引入前面所说（848:3节）的大体观念，又将更具体的观念引入这些具体观念；更具体的观念都隐藏在人里面，完全不为他所知，因为它们超出他的理解和感知的范畴。
这些事物的性质是这样，它们能充当器皿，以便主能将仁爱注入它们，将纯真注入仁爱。这些事物当以一种奇妙的平衡在一个人、灵人或天使里面混在一起时，便呈现为一种彩虹的形像，这就是为何彩虹被用作“立约的记号”（创世记9:12-16）。对此，蒙主的神性怜悯，我们将在下文（1036-1056节）予以解释。当人被如此形成时，可以说他重生了。他的一切邪恶和虚假仍旧存在，但同时他的一切良善和真理也得以保存。对恶人来说，他的一切邪恶和虚假，跟他活在肉身时所拥有的完全一样，在来世都会重现，并转化为地狱的幻觉和惩罚。但对善人来说，他的良善和真理的一切状态，如友谊、仁爱和纯真及其幸福和快乐（那时这些幸福快乐会大大繁殖增多）的状态，都会在来世被忆起。这些事物就是“水都干了”所表示的，即虚假明显消散了。
New Century Edition
Cooper(2008,2013)
[NCE]868. The symbolism of till the water dried up on the earth as apparently getting rid of falsity can be seen from the circumstances a person faces when being reborn.
Everyone today believes that the evil and falsity we have in us is wholly dispelled and abolished when we regenerate, so that when our rebirth is complete, nothing evil or false remains. People suppose we are then pure and righteous, as if we had been washed and rinsed with water. But this belief is absolutely false. Not a single evil or falsity is so thoroughly dispelled as to be abolished. Everything we inherited at infancy and everything we acquired through our actions remains, so that even when we have become regenerate we consist of unrelieved evil and falsity. Souls after death go through experiences that demonstrate this fact to them.
The same thing is also clear enough from the consideration that we have no goodness or truth whatever except from the Lord and that all our vices and distortions come from our selfhood. If people — or spirits, or even angels — were left on their own for even the smallest moment, they would make a spontaneous rush for hell. For this reason the Word says that heaven is not pure [Job 15:15]. The angels acknowledge this, and no one who fails to acknowledge it can be among them. The Lord's mercy alone frees them from hell, indeed removes them from hell and keeps them from voluntarily plunging right back in.
Angels perceive plainly that the Lord keeps them from running headlong into hell. Good spirits do too, up to a point. But evil spirits, like people on earth, do not believe it, although they have been shown many times. A description of my experiences on this subject will appear below, by the Lord's divine mercy.{*1} [2] The human condition, then, is such that we can never banish anything evil or false so completely as to eliminate it, since evil and falsity make up those aspects of life that are all our own. Because of this, when the Lord uses times of trouble to regenerate us, in his divine mercy he subdues our evil and falsity to the point where they look dead, although they are not; they are merely so well conquered that they cannot stand up to the goodness and truth the Lord gives us.
Through our times of trouble the Lord also gives us a new capacity for receiving goodness and truth. He endows us with conceptions of what is good and true, and feelings of affection for it, and whatever is evil and false can then be bent in that direction. He also introduces into our general ideas (as described above [848:3]) more specific ones, and into these the most specific, which are hidden to us and of which we are totally unaware, since they lie beyond the reach of our comprehension and perception. This subconscious knowledge serves as a reservoir or container into which the Lord can pour neighborly love, which itself holds the innocence he can instill.
These things, when mixed together in marvelous balance in a person, spirit, or angel, can present an image of a rainbow, which is why a rainbow was used as the sign of the pact mentioned in Genesis 9:12-13, 14-15, 16. For more on this, with the Lord's divine mercy, see there [1036-1056].
When we have come into this form, we are called regenerate. Everything evil and false in us remains, but then everything good and true is also preserved. Bad people find that all the forms of evil and falsity they had indulged in during bodily life return in exactly the same form in the next life, where they turn into the hallucinations and punishments of hell. Good people in the next life, though, recall all the states marked by goodness and truth that they had experienced — states of friendship, love for others, and innocence — along with the attendant joys and pleasures, now increased and multiplied beyond measure.
This, then, is the apparent eradication of falsity symbolized by the drying up of the water.
Footnotes:
{*1} Although Swedenborg touches on the topic of the Lord as the sole restraint that keeps us from plunging ourselves into the hells in 5854:2, the experiential material that he is referring to here is probably to be seen in the extended discussion of human freedom in 2870-2893. [SS]
Potts(1905-1910) 868
868. Until the waters were dried up from off the earth. That this signifies the apparent dissipation of falsities, is evident from the state of man when he is being regenerated. Everyone believes at the present day that the evils and falsities in man are entirely separated and abolished during regeneration, so that when he becomes regenerate, nothing of evil or falsity remains, but he is clean and righteous, like one washed and purified with water. This notion is, however, utterly false; for not a single evil or falsity can be so shaken off as to be abolished; but whatever has been hereditarily derived from infancy, and acquired by act and deed, remains; so that man, notwithstanding his being regenerate, is nothing but evil and falsity, as is shown to the life to souls after death. The truth of this may be sufficiently manifest from the consideration, that there is nothing of good and nothing of truth in man except from the Lord, and that all evil and falsity are man's from his Own; and that man, and spirit, and even angel, if left in the least to himself, would rush of himself into hell; wherefore also it is said in the Word that heaven is not pure. This is acknowledged by angels, and he who does not acknowledge it cannot be among angels. It is the Lord's mercy alone that liberates them, and even draws them out of hell and keeps them from rushing thither of themselves. That they are kept by the Lord from rushing into hell, is manifestly perceived by the angels, and even in a measure by good spirits. Evil spirits, however, like men, do not believe this; but it has often been shown them, as of the Lord's Divine mercy will be told from experience hereafter. [2] Since therefore the state of man is such that no evil and falsity can ever be so shaken off as to be abolished, because the life that is proper to him consists in evil and falsity, the Lord, from Divine mercy, while He regenerates man, through temptations so subdues his evils and falsities that they appear as if dead, though they are not dead, but are only subdued so that they cannot fight against the goods and truths which are from the Lord. At the same time also the Lord through temptations gives man a new faculty of receiving goods and truths, by gifting him with ideas and affections of good and of truth, to which evils and falsities can be bent, and by inserting in his generals (of which above) particulars, and in these singulars, which are stored up in man and which he knows nothing about, for they are interior to the sphere of his apprehension and perception. These are of a nature to serve for receptacles or vessels, so that charity can be insinuated into them by the Lord, and into charity innocence. By their wonderful tempering with man, spirit, and angel, a kind of rainbow may be represented, and for this reason the rainbow was made the sign of the covenant (Gen. 9:12-17), concerning which, of the Lord's Divine mercy we shall speak under that chapter. When man has been thus formed, he is said to be regenerate, all his evils and falsities still remaining, yet at the same time all his goods and truths being preserved. With an evil man all his evils and falsities, just as he had them in the life of the body, return in the other life and are turned into infernal phantasies and punishments. But with a good man, all his states of good and truth, such as those of friendship, of charity, and of innocence, are recalled in the other life, and together with their delights and happinesses, are there immensely augmented and multiplied. These things then are what is signified by the drying of the waters, which is the apparent dissipation of falsities.
Elliott(1983-1999) 868
868. 'Until the waters dried up from over the earth' means the apparent dispersal of falsities. This is clear from a person's state when he is being regenerated. Nowadays everyone imagines that evils and falsities with a person are totally dispersed and done away with when he is being regenerated, so that when he has been regenerated no evil or falsity is left, and he is therefore clean and righteous, like someone washed and made clean with water. But this is completely false. Not a single evil nor a single falsity is ever dispersed so as to be done away with. Instead everything fixed in him by heredity since infancy and everything he has acquired through his own actions remains. As a consequence, even though he has been regenerated a person is still nothing but evil and falsity, as is forcibly demonstrated to souls after death. From this it also becomes quite clear that no one has any good or any truth at all unless it derives from the Lord, and that all a person's evil and falsity derive from the proprium, and that man, a spirit too, and even an angel, if left in the smallest degree to himself, of himself rushes headlong towards hell. This also is why in the Word it is said that heaven is not pure.a This the angels acknowledge, and anyone who does not do so cannot be among them. It is the Lord's mercy alone which gives them freedom, indeed it raises them up from hell, and withholds them from it and from rushing back there if left to themselves. The fact that they are withheld by the Lord to prevent them rushing into hell, angels perceive clearly, as also do good spirits to a limited extent. Evil spirits however, like men, do not believe this, even though they have been shown it many times, as in the Lord's Divine mercy will be described from experience further on.
[2] Man's state therefore being such that no evil or falsity can possibly be so dispersed as to be done away with, because the life which is his own consists in evil and falsity, the Lord in His Divine mercy so subdues a person's evils and falsities by means of temptations while He is regenerating him that they do seem to be dead. They are not dead however, only subdued so that they are unable to fight against the goods and truths that have been derived from the Lord. At that time by means of temptations the Lord also gives him a new ability to receive goods and truths. He does so by granting him ideas of and affections for good and truth towards which evils and falsities can be turned, and by instilling into his general concepts of things - dealt with already - the details and the finer points to such details, which have been stored away in the individual and of which he knows nothing at all, since they are interior to the sphere of his comprehension and perception. The nature of these things is such that they are able to serve as receptacles or vessels, so that charity can be instilled in them by the Lord, and innocence in charity. Through the remarkable combination of these things with a man, spirit, or angel, a kind of rainbow can be represented, and this is why the rainbow became a sign of the covenant, see Chapter 9:12-16, to be dealt with, in the Lord's Divine mercy, when those verses are explained. When a person has been so formed he is said to be regenerated. All his evils and falsities still remain, as also do all his truths and goods that have been preserved. In the case of an evil person, all his evils and falsities, exactly as these existed with him during his lifetime, reappear in the next life and are converted into delusions and hellish punishments. But in the case of a good person, all his states of good and truth, such as those of friendship, charity, and innocence, together with their joys and delights - now increased and multiplied immensely - are recalled in the next life. These are the things meant by 'the waters drying up', namely the apparent dispersal of falsities.
Latin(1748-1756) 868
868. 'Usque ad exsiccationem aquarum [de] super terra': quod significent dissipationem apparentem falsitatum, constat ex statu hominis cum regeneratur: 'hodie nullus non credit quod mala et falsa apud hominem prorsus discutiantur et aboleantur cum regeneratur, sic ut cum regeneratus est nihil mali et falsi remaneat, ita ut mundus sit et justus, sicut abstersus et ablutus aquis; sed hoc est falsissimum; nusquam unicum malum aut unicum falsum discutitur ita ut aboleatur, sed omne quodcumque ab infantia hereditario imbuit et actualitate acquisivit, remanet, sic ut homo, tametsi regeneratus est, non sit nisi malum et falsum, quod animabus post mortem ad vivum ostenditur; quod etiam inde satis manifeste constare potest quod nihil boni et nihil veri sit homini nisi a Domino, et quod omne malum et falsum homini a proprio, et quod homo, ut et spiritus, immo angelus, si vel minime relinquitur sibi, ruat ex se ad infernum; quare etiam in Verbo dicitur quod caelum {1} non sit purum; hoc angeli agnoscunt, et qui non agnoscit, is inter angelos non esse potest; est sola Domini Misericordia quae liberat eos, immo quae extrahit eos et detinet ab inferno ne illuc ex semet ruant; quod detineantur a Domino ne ruant in infernum, manifeste percipiunt angeli, quodammodo etiam spiritus boni; spiritus autem mali, sicut homines, hoc non credunt, sed iis multoties ostensum est; de quibus ab experientia, ex Divina Domini Misericordia, dicetur in sequentibus. [2] Cum itaque status hominis talis est quod nusquam aliquod malum et falsum ita discuti possit ut aboleatur, quia in malo et falso consistit ejus vita propria, Dominus, ex Divina Misericordia, dum regenerat hominem, per tentationes mala ejus et falsa ita domat ut quasi mortua appareant; tametsi non mortua sunt, solum domata ne repugnare possint ita bonis et veris quae a Domino; tum quoque Dominus per tentationes novam facultatem dat recipiendi bona et vera, donando hominem ideis et affectionibus boni et veri ad quae mala et falsa possint flecti; et insinuando communibus ejus, de quibus prius, particularia, et his singularia, quae apud hominem recondita sunt et quae homo prorsus nescit, nam intra ejus captus et perceptionis sphaeram sunt; quae talia sunt ut pro receptaculis seu vasis inservire possint, ut iis a Domino insinuari queat charitas, et huic innocentia; per quorum mirabilem temperaturam apud hominem, spiritum et angelum, iridis species repraesentari potest, quare iris signum foederis facta est, cap. ix 12-16; de qua, ex Divina Domini Misericordia, ibi. Cum ita formatus est homo, tunc dicitur regeneratus, remanentibus usque omnibus ejus malis et falsis, tum etiam conservatis omnibus ejus bonis et veris; qui malus est, ejus omnia mala et falsa, prorsus sicut fuit in illis in vita corporis, in altera vita redeunt et vertuntur in phantasias et poenas infernales; qui autem bonus, omnes ejus status boni et veri, ut amicitiae, charitatis, et innocentiae, cum illorum jucundis et felicibus, immensum auctis et multiplicatis, in altera vita revocantur. Haec nunc sunt quae significantur per 'exsiccationem aquarum,' quae est dissipatio apparens falsitatum. @1 This seems to be from Job. xv 15; which S. learnt was not a book of the Word. $