9408.“好像天空物质一般明净”表天使天堂的透明。这从“天空”和“明净”的含义清楚可知：“天空”是指天使天堂，如下文所述：物质的“明净”或纯净当论及天空时，是指透明。必须简要阐述一下，当论述的主题是圣言时，何谓天使天堂的透明。当神之真理闪耀出来时，就说天使天堂是透明的；因为整个天堂无非是神之真理的一个容器。每位天使都是它的一个个体接受者，因此所有天使，或整个天堂是一个总的接受者。这解释了为何天堂被称为“神的居所”，还被称为“神的宝座”。因为“居所”表示从主发出并在至内层天堂被接受的神之真理，相比之下，这真理是良善（8269，8309节）；“宝座”表示从主发出并在中间天堂被接受的神之真理（5313，6397，8625，9039节）。由于从圣言字义闪耀出来的，正是诸如存在于天堂的神之真理，所以是天使天堂闪耀出来。因为圣言就是适应所有天堂的神性真理；因此，它将天堂和世界结合在一起，也就是将天使和世人结合在一起（2143，7153，7381，8920，9094e，9212e，9216e，9357，9396节）。由此明显可知“天使天堂的透明”这句话是什么意思。
“天空（或天堂）”在内义上表示天使天堂是由于对应，以及表象。正因如此，在圣言中，当提到“诸天”，以及“天上的天”时，在内义上所指的是天使天堂。因为古人对可见的天没有其它概念，只是认为天堂的居民住在那里，星辰则是他们的居所。现在的简单人，尤其小孩子也是这种观念。也正因如此，人们在敬拜神或虔诚地向神祷告时，就仰望天空或天堂。这种行为也起因于对应关系；因为来世有星空出现，但这不是世人所看到的天空。相反，它是一个照着灵人和天使的聪明智慧的状态而显现的天空，或说这个天空取了一个与灵人和天使的聪明智慧的状态相一致的表象。那里的星星是关于良善和真理的认知或知识；有时在天空所看到的云则照着它们的色彩、透明度和移动而具有各种含义；天空的蔚蓝是指因良善而透明的真理。这一切证明“诸天”表示天使天堂；但天使天堂则表示神之真理，因为天使是从主发出的神之真理接受者。
在下列经文中，“天”表示类似事物：
天上的天和天上的水，你们都要赞美耶和华！（诗篇148:4）
诗篇：
你们要向那乘驾亘古天上之天的主歌唱。（诗篇68:32，33）
又：
诸天藉耶和华的话而造；万象藉祂口中的气而成。（诗篇33:6）
又：
诸天述说神的荣耀。穹苍传扬祂手的作为。（诗篇19:1）
士师记：
耶和华啊，你从西珥出来，那时地震天漏，云也滴水。（士师记5:4）
但以理书：
公山羊的角渐渐长大，高及天象，将些天象和星宿抛落在地，并践踏它们。（但以理书8:10）
阿摩司书：
主耶和华在天上建造祂的台阶。（阿摩司书9:6）
玛拉基书：
你们要使我家有粮，以此试试我是否敞开天上的窗户，倾福与你们。（玛拉基书3:10）
以赛亚书：
求你从天上垂看，从你圣洁荣耀的居所观看。（以赛亚书63:15）
申命记：
愿约瑟的地蒙耶和华赐福，得天上的宝物、甘露。（申命记33:13）
马太福音：
耶稣说，不可指着天起誓，因为天是神的宝座；人指着天起誓，就是指着神的宝座和那坐在上面的起誓。（马太福音5:34；23:22）
在这些和其它许多经文中，“天”都表示天使天堂；由于主在地上的天堂是教会，所以“天”也表示教会；如在下列经文中：
我又看见一个新天新地。因为先前的天和先前的地已经过去了。（启示录21:1）
以赛亚书：
看哪，我造新天新地；从前的事不再被记念，也不再涌上心头了。（以赛亚书65:17）
同一先知书：
天必像烟云消散，地必如衣服渐渐旧了。（以赛亚书51:6）
又：
我使诸天以黑暗为衣服，以麻布为遮盖。（以赛亚书50:3）
以西结书：
我要把天遮蔽，使众星昏暗，以密云遮掩太阳，月亮也不放光。我必使天上所有的光体都在你以上变为昏暗，使你的地上黑暗。（以西结书32:7-8）
马太福音：
那些日子的灾难一过去，日头就变黑了，月亮也不放光，众星要从天上坠落，天势都要震动。（马太福音24:29）
此处“日头”、“月亮”、“众星”和“天势”表示什么，可参看前文（4056-4060节）。以赛亚书：
耶和华以色列的神啊，惟有你是地上万国的神！你曾造了天地。（以赛亚书37:16）
同一先知书：
我耶和华是造了万物的，是独自铺张诸天、铺开大地的。（以赛亚书44:24）
又：
创造诸天的耶和华，祂形成大地，把它造成，预备它；祂创造大地，不是空空虚虚。（以赛亚书45:18）
在这些和其它经文中，“天地”在内义上表示教会；“天”表示内在教会，“地”表示外在教会（参看1733，1850，2117，2118e，3355e，4535节）。由此明显可知，在创世记头几章，经上说“起初，神创造天地”（创世记1:1），“天和地，以及万象都完成了”（创世记2:1）；其中“创造”表示一个新教会；因为那里的创造描述的是重生，重生也被称为“新造”，这从那几章的解释中的说明可以看出来。
Potts(1905-1910) 9408
9408. And as the substance of heaven in respect to cleanness. That this signifies the shining through of the angelic heaven, is evident from the signification of "heaven," as being the angelic heaven (of which in what follows); and from the signification of the "cleanness," or purity, of "the substance," when said of heaven, as being its shining through. It shall be briefly stated what is meant by the shining through of the angelic heaven in connection with the Word. The angelic heaven is said to shine through when truth Divine shines through. For the whole heaven is nothing but a receptacle of truth Divine, because every angel is a reception of it in particular; thus all the angels, or the whole heaven, are so in general. From this, heaven is called "the habitation of God," and also "the throne of God," because by "habitation" is signified the truth Divine that proceeds from the Lord received in the inmost heaven, which relatively is good (n. 8269, 8309); and by "throne" is signified truth Divine from the Lord received in the middle heaven (n. 5313, 6397, 8625, 9039). As it is truth Divine such as in the heavens which shines through from the sense of the letter of the Word, therefore it is the angelic heaven which shines through; for the Word is Divine truth accommodated to all the heavens; and it consequently conjoins the heavens with the world, that is, angels with men (n. 2143, 7153, 7381, 8920, 9094, 9212, 9216, 9357, 9396). From all this it is evident what is meant by the shining through of the angelic heaven. [2] That in the internal sense "heaven" denotes the angelic heaven, is from correspondence, and also from the appearance. Hence it is that when mention is made in the Word of "the heavens," and also of "the heavens of heavens," in the internal sense are meant the angelic heavens. For the ancients had no other idea of the visible heaven than that the heavenly inhabitants dwell there, and that the stars are their habitations. Similar also at this day is the idea of the simple, and especially of little children. From this also men look upward to heaven when praying earnestly to God. This also is from correspondence; for in the other life a heaven with stars appears, yet not the heaven that appears to men in the world; but a heaven that appears in accordance with the state of intelligence and wisdom of the spirits and angels. The stars there are knowledges of good and truth; and the clouds which are sometimes seen beneath the heaven are of various signification according to their colors, their translucence, and their movements; the blueness of heaven is truth transparent from good. From all this it can be seen that by "the heavens" are signified the angelic heavens; but by "the angelic heavens" are signified truths Divine, because the angels are receptions of the truth Divine that proceeds from the Lord. [3] Similar things are signified by "the heavens" in the following passages:
Praise Jehovah ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that are above the heavens (Ps. 148:4). Sing psalms to the Lord that rideth upon the heaven of heaven which is of old (Ps. 68:32, 33). By the word of Jehovah were the heavens made, and all the army of them (Ps. 33:6). The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament declareth the works of His hands (Ps. 19:1). Jehovah, when Thou wentest forth out of Seir, the earth trembled; the heavens also dripped, the clouds also dripped water (Judg. 5:4). The horn of the he-goat grew, even to the army of the heavens; and some of the army and of the stars it cast down to the earth, and trampled upon them (Dan. 8:10). The Lord Jehovih buildeth in the heavens His steps (Amos 9:6). If there be food in My house I will open the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing (Mal. 3:10). Look forth from the heavens, and behold from the habitation of Thy holiness and of Thy comeliness (Isa. 63:15). Blessed of Jehovah be the land of Joseph, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew (Deut. 33:13). Jesus said, Swear not by the heaven; for it is the throne of God. He that sweareth by the heaven sweareth by the throne of God, and by Him that sitteth thereon (Matt. 5:34; 23:22). [4] In these passages, and in many others, by "the heavens" are signified the angelic heavens; and as the Lord's heaven on earth is the church, by "heaven" is also signified the church; as in the following passages:
I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the former heaven and the former earth were passed away (Rev. 21:1). Behold I create new heavens and a new earth; therefore the former things shall not be remembered, nor come up upon the heart (Isa. 65:17). The heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment (Isa. 51:6). I clothe the heaven with blackness, and I make sackcloth a covering (Isa. 50:3). I will cover the heavens, and I will blacken the stars thereof; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not make her light to shine; and I will blacken all the luminaries of light in the heaven, and will set darkness upon the land (Ezek. 32:7-8). After the affliction of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken (Matt. 24:29). What is here signified by the "sun," "moon," "stars," and "the powers of the heavens," may be seen above (n. 4056-4060). In Isaiah:
O Jehovah the God of Israel, Thou alone art the God over all the kingdoms of the earth; Thou hast made heaven and earth (Isa. 37:16). I am Jehovah, that maketh all things; that spreadeth out the heavens alone; that stretcheth out the earth by Myself (Isa. 44:24). Jehovah that createth the heavens, that formeth the earth and maketh it, and prepareth it, He created it not an emptiness (Isa. 45:18). [5] That by "heaven and earth" in these and in other passages is signified in the internal sense the church; by "heaven" the internal church, and by "earth" the external church, may be seen above (n. 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 3355, 4535), from which it is evident that by the "creation" in the first chapters of Genesis, where it is said, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Gen. 1:1); "and the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the army of them" (Gen. 2:1) is meant a new church; for the creation there denotes a new regeneration, which is also called a "new creation," as can be seen from what was shown in the explications at these chapters.
Elliott(1983-1999) 9408
9408. 'And it was like the substance of the sky for clearness' means the translucence of the angelic heaven. This is clear from the meaning of 'the sky (or heaven)' as the angelic heaven, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'clearness' or purity of substance, when said of the sky, as translucence. What the translucence of the angelic heaven is when the Word is the subject must be stated briefly. The angelic heaven is said to be translucent when God's truth shines through; for the whole of heaven is nothing other than a receptacle of God's truth. Each angel is an individual recipient of it, so that all the angels or heaven as a whole is a general recipient. This explains why heaven is called 'God's dwelling-place' and also 'God's throne'. For 'dwelling-place' means God's truth emanating from the Lord and received in the inmost heaven, which in comparison is good, 8269, 8309; and 'throne' means God's truth emanating from the Lord and received in the middle heaven, 5313, 6397, 8625, 9039. Since that which shines through, out of the sense of the letter of the Word, is God's truth as it exists in the heavens, it is the angelic heaven that shines through. For the Word is Divine Truth adjusted to all the heavens, and as a consequence of this it joins the heavens to the world, that is, angels to men, 2143, 7153, 7381, 8920, 9094 (end), 9212 (end), 9216 (end), 9357, 9396. From all this it is evident what the words 'the translucence of the angelic heaven' are used to mean.
[2] The reasons why in the internal sense 'the sky (or heaven)' means the angelic heaven lie with correspondence and also with the appearance. So it is that where the words 'heavens' and 'heavens of heavens' occur in the Word the angelic heavens are meant in the internal sense. For the ancients had no other idea of the visible sky than this, that the inhabitants of heaven lived there and that the stars were their dwelling-places. At the present day too, simple people - especially young children - have the same idea. So it is also that people look upwards to the sky or heaven when they worship God. This action too arises from correspondence; for a sky with stars appears in the next life, but this is not the sky seen by people in the world. Instead it is a sky that takes on an appearance which accords with the spirits and angels' state of intelligence and wisdom. The stars in it are cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth, and the clouds which are sometimes seen in the sky vary in meaning according to their colours, translucence, and movements, the blue of the sky being truth transparent with good. All this goes to prove that by 'heavens' the angelic heavens are meant. But by the angelic heavens God's truths are meant, because angels are recipients of God's truth emanating from the Lord.
[3] Similar things are meant by 'heavens' in David,
Praise Jehovah, heavens of heavens, and waters that are above the heavens! Ps 148:4.
In the same author,
Make melody to the Lord who rides above the heaven of the heaven of old. Ps 68:33.
In the same author,
By the Word of Jehovah were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the spiritNotes
a of His mouth. Ps 33:6.
In the same prophet,
The heavens recount His glory, and the firmament declares the works of His hands. Ps 19:1.
In the Book of Judges,
O Jehovah, when You went forth from Seir, the earth trembled, the heavens also dropped, the clouds indeed dropped water. Judg 5:4.
In Daniel,
The horn of the he-goat grew right on towards the host of the heavens, and cast down to the earth some of the host, and of the stars, and trampled on them. Dan 8:10.
In Amos,
The Lord Jehovih, who builds His steps in the heavens ... Amos 9:6.
In Malachi,
If there is food in My house I will open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing for you. Mal 3:10.
In Isaiah,
Look out from the heavens, and see from the dwelling-place of Your holiness and of Your glory. Isa 63:15.
In Moses,
Blessed by Jehovah is the land of Joseph, in regard to the precious things of heaven, to the dew. Deut 33:13.
In Matthew,
Jesus said, You shall not swear by heaven, for it is God's throne. He who swears by heaven swears by God's throne and by Him who sits on it. Matt 5:32; 23:22.
[4] In these and very many other places 'heavens' means the angelic heavens. And since the Lord's heaven on earth is the Church, the Church too is meant by 'heaven', as in the following places: In John,
I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away. Rev 21:1.
In Isaiah,
Behold, I am creating new heavens and a new earth; therefore the former things will not be remembered or come to mind.
b Isa 65:17.
In the same prophet,
The heavens will vanish away like smoke, and the earth will grow old like a garment. Isa 51:6.
In the same prophet,
I clothe heaven with darkness, and I make sackcloth its covering. Isa 50:3.
In Ezekiel,
I will cover the heavens, and darken their stars; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give its light. And all the bright lights in heaven I will make dark, and I will put darkness over the land. Ezek 32:7, 8.
In Matthew,
After the affliction of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Matt 24:29.
What the meaning is of 'sun', 'moon', 'stars', and 'in the heavens', see 4056-4060. In Isaiah,
O Jehovah God of Israel, You are God alone over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Isa 37:16.
In the same prophet,
[I am] Jehovah who makes all things, who spreads out the heavens Alone, who stretches out the earth by Myself. Isa 44:24.
In the same prophet,
Jehovah who created the heavens, who formed the earth, and made it, and prepared it, did not create it an emptiness. Isa 45:18.
[5] In the internal sense 'heaven and earth' in these and other places means the Church, the internal Church being meant by 'heaven' and the external Church by 'earth', see 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118 (end), 3355 (end), 4535. From all this it is evident that by creation in the earliest chapters of Genesis, where it says, In the beginning God created heaven and earth, Gen 1:1, And the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them, Gen 2:1, a new Church is meant. For creation there describes regeneration, which is also called the new creation, as has been shown and may be seen in the explanations of those chapters.
Latin(1748-1756) 9408
9408. `Et sicut substantia caeli quoad munditiem': quod significet translucentiam caeli angelici, constat ex significatione `caeli' quod sit caelum angelicum, de qua sequitur, et ex significatione `munditiei' seu puritatis substantiae cum dicitur de caelo, quod sit translucentia. {1}Quid translucentia caeli angelici sit cum de Verbo, paucis dicetur: caelum angelicum dicitur translucere cum verum Divinum translucet, nam universum caelum non est nisi quam receptaculum veri Divini; quilibet enim angelus est receptio ejus in particulari, ita omnes seu totum caelum in communi, (m)inde caelum vocatur `habitaculum Dei' et quoque `thronus Dei,' quia per `habitaculum' significatur verum Divinum procedens a Domino receptum in intimo caelo, quod respective est bonum, n. (x)8269, 8309, et per `thronum' significatur verum Divinum a Domino receptum in medio caelo, n. 5313, 6397, 8625, 9039;(n) quoniam est verum Divinum, quale est in caelis, quod e Verbi sensu litterae {2}translucet, ideo est caelum angelicum quod translucet, nam Verbum est Divinum Verum accommodatum omnibus caelis, ac inde conjungit caelos cum mundo, hoc est, angelos cum hominibus, n. 2143, 7153, 7381, (x)8920, 9094 fin., 9212 fin., 9216 fin., 9357, 9396; ex his patet quid intelligitur per translucentiam caeli angelici. 2 Quod `caelum' in sensu {3}interno sit caelum angelicum, est ex correspondentia et quoque ex apparentia; inde est quod ubi in Verbo dicuntur caeli, tum caeli caelorum, in sensu interno intelligantur caeli angelici; antiqui enim non aliam ideam de caelo aspectabili habuerunt quam quod ibi habitarent caelicolae, et quod {4}sidera essent eorum habitacula; similis idea quoque hodie est simplicium, et imprimis infantum; inde quoque sursum ad caelum aspicitur cum adoratur Deus; est quoque correspondentia, nam in altera vita apparet caelum cum sideribus, sed non caelum quod apparet hominibus in mundo; verum est caelum apparens secundum statum intelligentiae et sapientiae spirituum et angelorum; sidera ibi sunt cognitiones boni et veri, et nubes quae sub caelo quandoque conspiciuntur, sunt variae significationis secundum colores, translucentiam, et progressiones; caeruleum caeli est verum transparens ex bono; ex his constare potest quod per caelos significentur caeli angelici; per caelos autem angelicos significantur vera Divina, quoniam angeli sunt receptiones 3 veri Divini procedentis a Domino; similia per `caelos' significantur {5}apud Davidem, Laudate Jehovam, caeli caelorum, et aquae quae supra caelos, Ps. cxlviii 4:apud eundem, Psallite Domino equitanti super caelo caeli antiquitatis, Ps. lxviii 34 [A.V. 33]:
apud eundem, Per Verbum Jehovae caeli facti sunt, et per spiritum oris Ipsius omnis exercitus eorum, Ps. xxxiii 6:
apud eundem, Caeli enumerant gloriam Ipsius, et opera manuum Ipsius annuntiat firmamentum, Ps. xix 2 [A.V. 1]:
in Libro Judicum, Jehovah, quando exivisti e Seir, terra contremuit, etiam caeli stillarunt, etiam nubes stillarunt aquas, v 4:
apud Danielem, Cornu hirci crevit usque ad exercitum caelorum, et {6}dejecit in terram de exercitu et de stellis, et conculcavit illa, viii 10:
apud Amos, Dominus Jehovih, Qui aedificat in caelis gradus Suos, ix 6:
apud Malachiam, Si sit cibus in domo Mea, aperturus sum fenestras caeli, et effusurus vobis benedictionem, iii 10:
apud Esaiam, Prospice e caelis et vide ex habitaculo sanctitatis Tuae et decoris Tui, lxiii (x)15:
apud Moschen, Benedicta a Jehovah terra Josephi, de pretiosis caeli, de rore, Deut. xxxiii 13:
apud Matthaeum, Jesus dixit, Non jurabis per caelum, quia thronus Dei est: qui juraverit per caelum jurat per thronum Dei et per Ipsum Qui {7}sedet super illo, v 34, xxiii 22;
in his locis et in pluribus aliis per {8}`caelos' significantur caeli angelici; et quia caelum Domini in terris est Ecclesia, etiam per `caelum' 4 significatur Ecclesia, ut in sequentibus locis: apud Johannem, Vidi caelum novum et terram novam, prius enim caelum et prior terra transierat, Apoc. xxi 1:
apud Esaiam, (m)Ecce Ego creans caelos novos et terram novam, ideo nec commemorabuntur priora, neque ascendent super cor, (x)lxv 17:
apud eundem,(n) Caeli sicut fumus evanescent, et terra sicut vestis veterascet, li 6:
apud eundem, Vestio caelum atrore, et saccum facio velamen, l 3:
apud Ezechielem, Obtegam caelos, et atrabo stellas eorum, solem nube obtegam, et luna non lucere faciet lumen suum, et omnia luminaria lucis in caelo atrabo, et dabo tenebras super terra, xxxii 7, 8:
apud Matthaeum, Post afflictionem dierum illorum sol obscurabitur, et luna non dabit lumen suum, et stellae cadent de caelo, et virtutes caelorum commovebuntur, xxiv 29;
quid per `solem,' `lunam,' `stellas,' et `in caelis,' {9}significatur, videatur n. 4056-4060: apud Esaiam, Jehovah Deus Israelis, Tu es solus Deus; super omnia regna terrae, Tu fecisti caelum et terram, xxxvii 16:
apud eundem, Jehovah faciens omnia, expandens caelos solus, extendens terram a Me Ipso, xliv 24 apud eundem, Jehovah creans caelos, formans terram, et faciens eam, et praeparans eam, non inanitatem creavit eam, xlv 18;
5 quod per `caelum et terram' in his locis et in aliis in sensu interno intelligatur Ecclesia, per `caelum' Ecclesia interna et per `terram' Ecclesia externa, videatur n. 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118 fin., 3355 fin., 4535; ex quibus patet quod per creationem in primis capitibus Geneseos, ubi dicitur, In principio creavit Deus caelum et terram, Gen. i 1, Et absoluti sunt caeli et terra, et omnis exercitus eorum, ii 1, intelligatur nova Ecclesia, creatio enim ibi est {10} regeneratio, quae etiam nova creatio vocatur, ut in explicationibus {11}ad illa capita ostensum videri potest. @1 The remainder of this subsection is found at the end of the , but is marked for insertion here.$ @2 Before e Verbi$ @3 spirituali$ @4 habitacula eorum essent sidera$ @5 i alibi in Verbo, ut$ @6 disjecit$ @7 sedit AI$ @8 coelos significantur coeli altered to coelum significatur coelum$ @9 significantur I, significetur T$ @10 i and d nova A, i nova IT$ @11 ibi$