----中文待译----
1065. And one is. That this signifies the adulterated and profaned truth, that the Lord's power over heaven and over earth, thus, over men to save them, is transferred to their supreme [head]; and from him to the rest under him, is evident from the series of things in the internal sense. For when by seven kings are signified all the truths of the Word profaned, and when by five are fallen is signified that it is not here said of the rest of the truths, or that they are passed by, but only of the two that are of the heads of the rest, namely, of the Lord's power over heaven and earth, and of the Word, it follows, that by one king who is, and by the other who is to come, is signified transference of the Lord's power to their supreme [head]; and that by the beast, which is the eighth king, is signified the acknowledgment of the Word as Divine, and its rejection, notwithstanding.
[2] That they have transferred the Lord's power over heaven and over earth, thus over men to save them, to their supreme [head], and from him to the rest under him, is known. From which it is evident that with all the heart and mind they aim to be as gods over the earth; consequently, to be adored with Divine worship. That their supreme [head] is adored as a god instead of the Lord, is evident from their veneration of him upon the knees, from the holy kissing of his shoes, as well also of his footsteps. And this veneration, or rather adoration, follows from this, that he can open heaven by the keys of Peter, and thus grant heaven to whomsoever he pleases; and, also, by the same means shut heaven, thus cast whomsoever he pleases into hell. Nor is this enough. They also aim at dominion over the earth, for which purpose they scrape together and bring into their monasteries, which are so many treasuries, the wealth of the kingdoms of the world under various pretences of sanctity, and thereby not only subject the souls of men, but also their substance to themselves; consequently, not only the things of heaven, with men, but also those of the world, with them. For they know that he who possesses the souls of men, and their wealth besides, may possess men like a god, and can transfer to himself a sort of Divine worship.
It is therefore evident that those who belong to the Babylon of the present day affect with all the heart and mind to be gods, and to be adored with Divine worship. But although they affect this, yet they deny that they have transferred anything Divine to themselves; upon which we shall speak in the following article.
CONCERNING THE WORD.
[3] Something shall be said concerning the Word and its sanctity, by way of Appendix in the articles which now follow.
It was said of old that the Word is from God, divinely inspired, and therefore holy, but still up to this time it is not known wherein its Divinity consists. For the Word in the letter appears to be like ordinary literature, written in a strange style, neither so sublime nor so lucid as that of the world. It is from this that the man who worships nature for God, or above God, and thence thinks from himself and his own proprium and not from the Lord out of heaven, may easily fall into error about the Word, and into contempt for it, saying in his heart when he reads it, What is this? What is that? Can this be Divine? Can God, who has infinite wisdom, speak in this manner? Where and whence is its sanctity, except from the religious [system], to whose ministers it is serviceable? And other similar things.
But that they may know that the Word is Divine, not only as to every sense, but also as to every expression, its internal sense, which is spiritual, is revealed, and is contained in its external sense, which is natural, as the soul in its body. This sense can testify of the Divinity, and consequent holiness, of the Word, and can convince even the natural man that the Word is Divine, if he is willing to be convinced.
1065. And the one is, signifies the adulterated and profaned truth that the Lord's authority over heaven and earth, thus over men to save them, is transferred to their head, and from him to the others who are under him. This is evident from the series of things regarded in the internal sense. For as the "seven kings" signify all the truths of the Word profaned, and "the five have fallen" signifies that nothing is here said about the rest of the truths, or that they are to be passed by, only the two that are heads of the rest, namely, that respecting the Lord's authority over heaven and earth, and that respecting the Word, so it follows that "the one king who is" and "the other who is to come" signify the transference of the Lord's authority to their head; and that "the beast that is the eighth king" signifies the acknowledgment of the Word as Divine, and yet its rejection.
[2] In respect to the matter itself, namely, that they have transferred the Lord's authority over heaven and earth, thus over men to save them, to their head and from him to the others who are under him, this is well known; and it is evident from this that with all the heart and mind they aspire to be gods over the earth, consequently to be adored with Divine worship. That their head is adored as a god in place of the Lord is evident from their venerating him upon the knees, from the holy kissing of his shoes, also of his footsteps. This veneration or rather adoration follows from this, that he is able to open heaven by the keys of Peter, and thus to give heaven to whomsoever he pleases; also by the same means to close heaven, thus to cast into hell whomsoever he pleases. Nor is this enough; they aspire to dominion over the earth, and to this end under various pretenses of sanctity they scrape together and bring into their monasteries, which are so many treasuries, the wealth of the kingdoms of the world, thus subjecting to themselves both the souls of men and their resources; consequently not only the things of heaven but also those of the world with men. For they know that he who possesses the souls of men and also their wealth, possesses men as God does, and can transfer to himself a kind of Divine worship. From this it is clear that those who belong to the Babylon of the present day aspire with the whole heart and mind to be gods, and to be adored with Divine worship. But although they aspire to this they deny that they have transferred anything Divine to themselves, as will be shown in the following article.
CONCERNING THE WORD
[3] In what now follows the Word and its holiness shall be treated of as a supplement. It was said of old that the Word is from God, Divinely inspired, and thus holy; and yet it has not been known heretofore where in the Word the Divine is. For the Word appears in the letter like a common writing in a strange style, not so sublime or so lucid as appears in the writings of the present age. For this reason a man who worships nature more than God, or in place of God, and thus thinks from himself and what is his own [proprium], and not from the Lord out of heaven, can easily fall into error respecting the Word, and into contempt for it, saying in his heart when he reads it, "What is this? What is that? Is this Divine? Can God who has infinite wisdom speak in this manner? Where is its holiness, and from what source, unless from the religious persuasion whose ministers it serves?" And other like things. But that they may know that the Word is Divine, not only in every sentence but also in every expression, its internal sense, which is spiritual, and which is in its external sense, which is natural, as a soul in its body, has now been revealed. This sense can bear witness to the Divinity and consequent holiness of the Word; and can convince even the natural man that the Word is Divine if he is willing to be convinced.
1065. "Et unus est." - Quod significet verum adulteratum et profanatum, quod potestas Domini super caelum et super terram, ita super homines ad salvandum illos, in supremum illorum, et ab illo in reliquos qui sub illo, translata sit, constat ex serie rerum in sensu interno spectata; dum enim per "septem reges" significantur omnia vera Verbi profanata, et cum per "quinque ceciderunt" significatur quod de reliquis veris hic non dicatur, seu quod praetereantur, solum de binis quae sunt reliquorum capita, nempe de potestate Domini super caelum et super terram, ac de Verbo, sequitur quod per "regem unum qui est", et per "alterum qui venturus est", significetur translatio potestatis Domini in supremum illorum, et quod per "bestiam quae octavus rex" significetur agnitio Verbi pro Divino, et tamen rejectio ejus.
[2] Quod ipsam rem attinet, nempe quod potestatem Domini super caelum et super terram, ita super homines ad salvandum illos, in supremum illorum, et ab illo in reliquos qui sub illo, transtulerint, notum est; ex quibus apparet quod omni corde et animo affectent ut super terra dii sint, proinde ut Divino cultu adorentur: quod supremus eorum loco Domini ut Deus adoretur, patet ex veneratione ejus super genubus, ex sancta osculatione calceorum ejus, tum quoque vestigiorum pedis ejus; quae veneratio aut potius adoratio sequitur ex eo, quod possit aperire caelum per claves Petri, ita dare caelum cuicunque placet, et quoque occludere caelum per easdem, ita conjicere in infernum quemcunque vult: nec hoc satis est; affectant etiam dominium super terram, ob quem finem opes regnorum mundi sub variis sanctitatis speciebus, in monasteria sua, quae totidem sunt thesauraria, corradunt et inferunt; ac ita sicut animas hominum, ita etiam facultates illorum sibi subjiciunt, consequenter non modo illa quae caeli sunt apud homines, sed etiam illa quae mundi sunt apud illos; sciunt enim quod qui possidet hominum animas, et qui insuper illorum opes, is possideat homines sicut Deus, et quod possit cultum quendam Divinum in se transferre. Inde patet quod illi qui ex hodierna Babylonia sunt, omni corde et animo affectent ut dii sint, ac ut Divino cultu adorentur; sed tametsi hoc affectant, usque negant quod aliquod Divinum in se transtulerint, de qua re in sequente articulo.
[3] (De Verbo.)
In his quae nunc sequuntur, appendicis loco dicetur de Verbo et ejus sanctitate. Dictum est ab antiquo quod Verbum sit a Deo, divinitus inspiratum, et inde sanctum; sed usque hactenus nescitum est ubinam in eo Divinum est, nam Verbum in littera apparet sicut scriptum vulgare, stylo peregrino, non sublimi nec lucente sicut in scriptis saeculi; ex eo est quod homo qui Naturam prae Deo aut pro Deo colit, et inde ex se et suo proprio, et non e caelo a Domino cogitat, facile in errorem de Verbo et in contemptum ejus cadat; dicens corde dum id legit, Quid hoc? quid illud? an hoc est Divinum? an Deus, cui infinita sapientia est, ita loqui potest? ubi et unde sanctum ejus, nisi ex religioso cujus ministris inservit? et similia alia. Sed ut sciant quod Verbum sit Divinum non modo ad omnem sensum, sed etiam ad omnem vocem, revelatus est sensus internus ejus, qui est spiritualis, qui sensui externo ejus, qui est naturalis, inest sicut anima corpori suo; hic sensus potest de Verbi Divinitate et inde sanctitate testari, et convincere etiam hominem naturalem quod Verbum sit Divinum, si vult convinci.