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649. And when they shall have finished their testimony.- That this signifies in the end of the church, when the Divine of the Lord is no longer acknowledged, and thence when there is no longer the good of love and the truth of doctrine, is evident from the signification of testimony, as denoting the acknowledgment of the Divine in the Lord, and thence the good of love and truth of doctrine, of which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of finishing, as denoting to end; and because this ending takes place in the end of the church, therefore the end of the church is here signified by finishing. And because there is then no longer any acknowledgment of the Divine in the Lord, therefore there is not any good of love and truth of doctrine.
[2] That this is signified by testimony, is evident from what has been thus far said concerning the two witnesses, namely, that by them is meant the good of love and of charity and the truth of doctrine and of faith, because these principally bear witness concerning the Lord, for they are from Him, and are of Him with man, therefore their testimony signifies preaching concerning them. That the acknowledgment of the Divine in the Lord is here signified by testimony, is evident from the statement in the Apocalypse:
"That the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" (19:10).
For unless man acknowledges this from the heart, and believes it from spiritual faith, he cannot be in any power of receiving the good of love and the truth of doctrine.
[3] At the end of the church the Lord is, indeed, preached, and also, from doctrine, a Divine similar to the Divine of the Father is attributed to Him; but nevertheless scarcely any one thinks of His Divine, because it is placed above or outside of His Human, therefore when they look to His Divine they do not look to the Lord, but to the Father as to another, when yet the Divine, which is called the Father, is in the Lord, as He Himself teaches in John (10:30, 38; 14:7). Hence it is that man does not think of the Lord otherwise than as of an ordinary man, and his faith flows from that thought, although he may say with his lips that he believes in His Divine. Let any one examine, if he can, the idea of his thought concerning the Lord, whether it be not of this character, and if this is the case, he cannot be conjoined to Him in faith and love, nor by conjunction receive any good of love and truth of faith. It is for these reasons that at the end of the church there is not any acknowledgment of the Lord, that is, of the Divine in the Lord and from the Lord. There is a kind of belief as though the Divine of the Lord were acknowledged, because it is affirmed in the doctrine of the church. But when the Divine is separated from His Human, so far His Divine is not acknowledged inwardly, but only outwardly, and to acknowledge it outwardly is to acknowledge it with the mouth only and not in the heart, or in speech only and not in faith.
[4] That this is so is evident from the case of Christians in the other life, where the thoughts of the heart are made manifest. When they are permitted to speak from doctrine, and from what they have heard from preaching, then they attribute a Divine to the Lord, and call it their faith; but when their interior thought and faith are examined, then [it is found] that they have no other idea concerning the Lord than as it were of an ordinary man in whom there is nothing Divine. The interior thought of man is the ground of his faith, and because such is the thought and thence the faith of his spirit, it is evident that there is not any acknowledgment of the Divine in the Lord and from the Lord in the Christian world at the end of the church. In a word, there is, indeed, an external, but no internal acknowledgment of the Divine of the Lord; and external acknowledgment belongs to the natural man alone, but internal acknowledgment belongs to his spirit itself; and the external is laid asleep after death, and the internal belongs to his spirit. From these considerations it may in some degree be evident what is meant by the beast coming up out of the abyss shall overcome and kill the two witnesses, and by their bodies being seen on the street of the city which is called Sodom and Egypt, and by the spirit of life afterwards entering into them.
649. Verse 7. And when they shall have finished their testimony, signifies in the end of the church, when the Divine of the Lord is no longer acknowledged, and thence there is no longer any good of love or truth of doctrine. This is evident from the signification of "testimony," as being the acknowledgment of the Divine in the Lord, and thence of the good of love and truth of doctrine (of which presently), and from the signification of "to finish it," as being to bring to an end; and as this comes to an end at the end of the church; "to finish" here signifies the end of the church; and as there is then no longer any acknowledgment of the Divine in the Lord, there is therefore no good of love or truth of doctrine.
[2] That this is the signification of "testimony," can be seen from what has been thus far said about "the two witnesses," namely, that by them the good of love and charity and the truth of doctrine and faith are meant, because these are what especially testify concerning the Lord, for they are from the Lord, and are His with man; therefore "their testimony" signifies preaching concerning these. That "testimony" here signifies the acknowledgment of the Divine in the Lord is evident from what follows in Revelation:
That the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10).
For unless a man acknowledges this from the heart, and believes it from spiritual faith, he can have no ability to receive the good of love or the truth of doctrine.
[3] At the end of the church indeed the Lord is preached, and from doctrine a Divine is also attributed to Him like the Divine of the Father; yet scarcely anyone thinks of His Divine, for the reason that they place it above or outside of His Human; therefore they do not look to the Lord when they look to His Divine, but to the Father as to another, and yet the Divine that is called the Father is in the Lord, as He Himself teaches in John 10:30, 38; 14:7. For this reason men think of the Lord in the same way as they think of a common man, and from that thought their faith flows, however much they may say with the lips that they believe in His Divine. Let anyone explore, if he can, the idea of his thought about the Lord, whether it be not such. But when it is such man cannot be conjoined to the Lord by faith and love, nor through conjunction receive any good of love or truth of faith. This, then, is why there is at the end of the church no acknowledgment of the Lord, that is, of the Divine in the Lord and from the Lord. It is believed that there is an acknowledgment of the Divine of the Lord, because such is the doctrine of the church; but so long as His Divine is separated from His Human, His Divine is yet not acknowledged interiorly but only exteriorly, and to acknowledge exteriorly is to acknowledge with the mouth only and not with the heart, or in speech only and not in faith.
[4] That this is so can be seen from Christians in the other life, where the thoughts of the heart are manifested. When they are permitted to speak from doctrine and from what they have heard from preaching they attribute a Divine to the Lord, and call it their belief; but when their interior thought and faith are explored they have no other idea of the Lord than as of a common man who has no Divine. It is man's interior thought that is the source of his faith; and as such is the thought and consequent faith of man's spirit, there is plainly no acknowledgment of the Divine in the Lord and from the Lord in the Christian world at the end of the church. In other words, there is an external acknowledgment of the Divine of the Lord, but no internal, and an external acknowledgment is of the natural man alone, while internal acknowledgment is of his very spirit; and after death the external acknowledgment is put to sleep, while the internal is the acknowledgment of his spirit. From this it can in some measure be seen how what follows is to be understood, namely, "the beast that cometh up out of the abyss shall overcome and kill the two witnesses," and their "bodies shall be seen upon the street of the city that is called Sodom and Egypt," and afterwards that "the spirit of life entered into them."
649. [Vers. 7.] "Et cum 1
absolverint testimonium." - Quod significet in fine ecclesiae, quando non amplius agnoscitur Divinum Domini, et inde non amplius est bonum amoris et verum doctrinae, constat ex significatione "testimonii", quod sit agnitio Divini in Domino, et inde bonum amoris et verum doctrinae (de qua sequitur); et ex significatione "absolvere illud", quod sit finire; et quia hoc finitur in fine ecclesiae, ideo per "absolvere" hic significatur finis ecclesiae; quia tunc non amplius est aliqua agnitio Divini in Domino, ideo nec est aliquod bonum amoris et verum doctrinae.
[2] Quod hoc per "testimonium" significetur, constare potest ex illis quae hactenus dicta sunt de "binis testibus"; quod nempe per illos intelligatur bonum amoris et charitatis ac verum doctrinae et fidei, quia illa principaliter testantur de Domino; sunt enim ab Ipso, et sunt Ipsius apud hominem; inde per "testimonium illorum" significatur praedicatio de illis. Quod sit agnitio Divini in Domino, quae per "testimonium" hic significatur, constat ex sequentibus in Apocalypsi, ubi dicitur
Quod testimonium Jesu sit spiritus prophetiae (cap. 19:10);
nam nisi homo id agnoscit ex corde, et credit ex spirituali fide, in nulla facultate recipiendi bonum amoris et verum doctrinae esse potest.
[3] In fine ecclesiae quidem praedicatur Dominus, et quoque ex doctrina addicatur Ipsi Divinum simile Divino Patris; attamen vix aliquis cogitat de Divino Ipsius, ex causa quia id ponunt supra aut extra Humanum Ipsius; quare cum ad Divinum Ipsius spectant, non ad Dominum spectant, sed ad Patrem sicut ad alium; cum tamen Divinum quod "Pater" vocatur est in Domino, ut Ipse docet apud Johannem (10:30, 38; 14:7). Inde est quod homo de Domino non aliter cogitet quam sicut de vulgari homine; et ex illa cogitatione fluit ejus fides, utcunque ore dicit quod credat Divinum Ipsius. Exploret quisque, si possit, ideam cogitationis suae de Domino, annon talis sit; et cum talis est, non potest conjungi Ipsi fide et amore, et per conjunctionem aliquod bonum amoris et verum fidei recipere. Inde nunc est quod in fine ecclesiae non aliqua agnitio Domini sit, hoc est, Divini in Domino et a Domino: creditur sicut agnoscatur Divinum Domini exinde, quia ex doctrina ecclesiae est; sed dum Divinum ab Humano Ipsius separatur, usque Divinum Ipsius non agnoscitur interius sed modo exterius; et exterius agnoscere est solum ore et non corde, seu est modo loquela et non fide.
[4] Quod ita sit constare potest ex Christianis in altera vita, ubi cordis cogitationes manifestantur: quando illis conceditur loqui ex doctrina et ex auditis e praedicatione, tunc Domino Divinum addicunt, et id vocant suam fidem; sed cum interior eorum cogitatio et fides exploratur, tunc de Domino non aliam ideam quam sicut de vulgari homine, cui non Divinum est, habent. Interior hominis cogitatio est unde ejus fides est; et quia illa est cogitatio et inde fides ejus spiritus, patet quod non aliqua agnitio Divini in Domino et a Domino sit in Christiano orbe in fine ecclesiae: verbo, agnitio Divini Domini externa quidem est, sed nulla interna; et agnitio externa est solius naturalis hominis, at interna est ipsius ejus spiritus; et externa post mortem sopitur, et interna est spiritus ejus. Ex his aliquantum constare potest quomodo sequentia intelligenda sunt; nempe, quod "bestia ex abysso ascendens vincet et occidet binos testes", et quod "visuri corpora eorum in platea urbis quae vocatur Sodoma et Aegyptus", at quod "postea spiritus vitae in illos intraverit."
Footnotes:
1. The editors made a correction or note here.