----中文待译----
260. (Verse 1) After these things I saw. That this signifies the understanding enlightened is evident from the signification of seeing, as being to understand. The reason of this is that the sight of the eye corresponds to the sight of the mind, which is the understanding. This correspondence is based on the fact that the understanding perceives spiritual things, and the sight of the eye natural things; spiritual things are truths from good and natural things are objects in various forms. Truths from good, which are spiritual things, are seen in heaven as clearly as objects before the eye, but still with much difference, for those truths are seen intellectually, that is, are perceived. The nature of this sight, or perception, cannot be described in human language; it can be comprehended only by this, that it includes consent and confirmation from an inmost principle that the thing is so. For there are confirmatory reasons in very great abundance, which present themselves as one to the intellectual sight, and this one is as a conclusion from many. These confirmatory reasons are in the light of heaven, which is Divine truth, or Divine wisdom, proceeding from the Lord, and which operates in each angel according to the state of his reception; this is spiritual sight, or understanding.
[2] Because this sight operates into the sight of the eyes with the angels, and presents the truths of the understanding in correspondent forms, which in heaven appear not unlike the forms in the natural world which are called objects, therefore by seeing, in the literal sense of the Word, is signified to understand. (What the nature of appearances in heaven is, and that they correspond to the objects of the interior sight of the angels, may be seen in the work, 208); in this case, looking into which is a letting-in of the sight; and the sight is let into heaven when the sight of the bodily eyes is made dim, and then the sight of the eyes of the spirit is enlightened; by the latter sight all the visions of the prophets were seen. The reason why a door opened in heaven here signifies the arcana of heaven revealed is that those things then appear which are in the heavens, and, before the prophets, those which are arcana of the church. In the present case were seen the arcana concerning those things that were to exist about the time of the Last Judgment, none of which have been as yet revealed, nor could they be revealed before the Judgment was accomplished, and not even then except by means of some one in the world to whom it should be granted by the Lord to see them, and to whom, at the same time, should be revealed the spiritual sense of the Word. For all the things written in this prophetical book are written concerning the Last Judgment, but by means of representatives and correspondences; for whatever is said by the Lord and perceived by the angels is turned into representatives when it descends, and is thus presented both before the eyes of the angels in the ultimate heavens, and before men who were prophets, when the eyes of their spirit were opened. From these considerations it is evident what is meant by a door opened in heaven.
260. Verse 4.1. After these things I saw, signifies the understanding illustrated. This is evident from the signification of "to see" as being to understand. "To see" signifies to understand because the sight of the eye corresponds to the sight of the mind, which is understanding. The correspondence is from this, that as the understanding sees spiritual things, so the sight of the eye sees natural things. Spiritual things are truths from good, and natural things are objects in various forms. Truths from good, which are spiritual things, are seen in heaven as distinctly as objects before the eye, yet with much difference; for these truths are seen intellectually, that is, they are perceived; and the nature of this sight or perception cannot be described by human words; it can be apprehended only so far as this, that it has in it consent and confirmation from the inmost that so it is. There are, indeed, confirming reasons in very great abundance, which present themselves to the intellectual sight as a one, and this one is as it were a conclusion from many particulars. These confirming reasons are in the light of heaven, which is Divine truth or Divine wisdom proceeding from the Lord, and which operate in each angel according to his state of reception. This is the spiritual sight of the understanding. Since with angels this sight operates upon the sight of the eyes, and presents the truths of the understanding in correspondent forms that appear in heaven not unlike the forms in the natural world that are called objects, so "to see," in the sense of the letter of the Word, signifies to understand. (What the appearances in heaven are, and that they correspond to the objects of the interior sight of the angels, see in The work on Heaven and Hell 170-176.)
[2] The expression "to see" and not to understand is used in the Word because the Word in its ultimates is natural, and the natural is the basis on which spiritual things have their foundation; consequently if the Word were spiritual in the letter it would have no basis, thus it would be like a house without a foundation. (On this, also see in the work on 208, here, a looking into, which is admission of the sight; moreover, the sight is admitted into heaven where the sight of the bodily eyes is dimmed, and at the same time the sight of the spirit's eyes is enlightened. By this sight all things seen by the prophets were seen. A "door opened in heaven" here signifies the arcana of heaven revealed, because at such a time things that are in the heavens appear; and before the prophets the things that are arcana of the church appear; here arcana respecting the things that were to take place upon the time of the Last Judgment, none of which have been revealed as yet, and which could not be revealed until the judgment was accomplished, and then only through some one in the world to whom it was granted by the Lord to see them, and to whom was revealed at the same time the spiritual sense of the Word. For all things written in this prophetic book were written respecting the Last Judgment, but by means of representatives and correspondences; for whatever is said by the Lord and is perceived by angels, in coming down is changed into representatives, and is so made to appear before the eyes of angels in the ultimate heavens and before prophetic men when the eyes of their spirit have been opened. From this it can be seen what is meant by "a door opened in heaven. "
260. (Vers. 1.) "Post haec vidi." - Quod significet intellectum illustratum, constat ex significatione "videre" quod sit intelligere; quod "videre" significet intelligere, est quia visus oculi correspondet visui mentis, qui est intellectus; correspondentia illa inde est, quia intellectus videt spiritualia, ac visus oculi naturalia. Spiritualia sunt vera ex bono, et naturalia sunt objecta in variis formis: vera ex bono, quae sunt spiritualia, in caelo aeque manifeste videntur sicut objecta coram oculo, sed usque cum multa differentia; vera enim illa videntur intellectualiter, hoc est, percipiuntur, qui visus seu quae perceptio qualis est, non describi potest vocibus humanis, solum per hoc comprehendi, quod ei insit consensus et confirmatio ab intimo, quod ita sit; sunt enim rationes confirmantes ingenti copia, quae se sicut unum sistunt in visu intellectuali; hoc unum est sicut conclusum ex multis. Rationes illae confirmantes insunt luci caeli, quae est Divinum Verum seu Divina Sapientia procedens a Domino, et quae operatur in unoquovis angelo secundum statum receptionis ejus. Hic est visus spiritualis seu intellectus. Quia hic visus operatur in visum oculorum apud angelos, et sistit vera intellectus in formis correspondentibus, quae apparent in caelo non dissimiles formis in mundo naturali quae vocantur objecta, ideo per "videre" in sensu litterae Verbi significatur intelligere. (Quales apparentiae in caelo sunt, et quod correspondeant objectis interioris visus angelorum, videatur in opere De Caelo et Inferno 170-176.)
[2] Quod in Verbo non dicatur intelligere sed "videre", est causa, quia Verbum in suis ultimis est naturale, et naturale est basis super qua fundantur spiritualia; quapropter si Verbum in littera etiam esset spirituale, non ei foret basis; ita foret sicut domus absque fundamento. (De hac re etiam videatur in opere De Caelo et Inferno 303-310.) Quod in Verbo "videre" significet intelligere, constat ex sequentibus his locis:
- Apud Esaiam,
"Qui dixerunt Videntibus, Ne videatis; et Visionem habentibus, Ne videatis nobis recta; loquimini nobis blanditias, videte illusiones" (30:10);
apud eundem,
"Non connivebunt oculi videntium, et aures audientium auscultabunt" (32:3);
apud eundem,
"Caeci spectate videndo, ... videndo magna non custodis (42:18, 20);
apud eundem,
"Sacerdos et propheta... errant inter videntes, titubant judicio (28:7);
et alibi,
"Videntes non vident et audientes non audiunt" (Matthaeus 13:13-15; Marcus 4:11 [, [12] ; cap. 8:17, 18; Esaias 6:9, 10; 1
praeter perplurimis aliis in locis, quae adducere non opus est, quia notum est cuivis quod "videre" significet intelligere, etiam ex recepto more loquendo ubivis, dicitur enim "Hoc video quod ita sit" aut "quod non ita sit", pro quod intelligam.
260a. "Et ecce ostium apertum in caelo." - Quod significet arcana caeli revelata, constat ex significatione "ostii", quod sit intromissio (de qua supra, n. 208), hic introspectio, quae est intromissio visus; ac visus intromittitur in caelum quando visus oculorum corporis hebetatur ac tunc visus oculorum spiritus illustratur; per hunc visum sunt omnia visa quae visa a prophetis.
Quod "ostium apertum in caelo" hic significet arcana caeli revelata, est quia tunc apparent illa quae in caelis sunt, et coram prophetis illa quae arcana ecclesiae sunt; hic arcana de illis quae exstitura circa ultimum judicium; quae omnia nondum revelata sunt, et quae nec revelari potuerunt antequam judicium peractum est, et non nisi quam per aliquem in mundo cui datum est a Domino videre illa, et simul cui revelatus est sensus spiritualis Verbi. Omnia enim quae in hoc Libro Prophetico scripta sunt de ultimo judicio scripta sunt, sed per repraesentativa et correspondentias; quicquid enim a Domino dicitur et ab angelis percipitur, vertitur in repraesentativa dum descendit, et sic sistitur coram oculis tam angelorum in ultimis caelis quam coram hominibus prophetis quando oculi spiritus eorum aperti sunt. Ex his constare potest quid intelligitur per "ostium apertum in caelo."
Footnotes:
1. The editors made a correction or note here.