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666. And they stood upon their feet.- That this signifies a new life such as the regenerated man of the church has, is evident from the signification of standing, as denoting to be and to live, and also to sustain (concerning which see above 414); and from the signification of feet, as denoting the Natural, which is the ultimate of Divine order, and the basis upon which things prior or higher rest and upon which they subsist (concerning which also, see above 69, 600:1, 606). Standing upon the feet therefore signifies life in fulness, because in the ultimate; new life is signified, because the witnesses, who are here treated of, were slain and lived again. Standing upon the feet signifies here such life as pertains to the regenerated man of the church, because these things are said of the two witnesses, by whom are meant all who are in the goods of love by means of truths of doctrine, and who are such as have been regenerated; also, because when the Natural signified by the feet, is regenerated, then the whole man has life, such as pertains to a regenerated man, according to the words of the Lord in John:
[2] Jesus said to Peter,
"He that is washed, needeth not save to be washed as to the feet, and he is wholly clean" (13:10).
To be washed signifies to be purified from evils and falsities, which is to be regenerated, therefore he that is washed signifies he who is purified, that is, regenerated, as to what is spiritual, which is the good of love and the truth of doctrine; and these are first to be received in the memory and understanding, that is, to be known and acknowledged. Needeth not save to be washed as to the feet signifies that the natural or external man is then to be purified or regenerated, which is done by a life according to the precepts of love and faith, that is, according to the goods and truths of doctrine from the Word; when this takes place, the man himself is purified or regenerated. For to live according to the goods and truths of doctrine from the Word, is to will them, and thus to do them, which is the same thing as to be affected with them, and to love them; for what is done from the will, is done from affection and love, consequently from the man himself, the will being the man himself, because a man is his own love and his own affection; it is therefore said that then the whole man is clean.
[3] From these considerations it is evident why it is, that to stand upon the feet denotes life such as pertains to a regenerated man. Also of the dry bones seen by the prophet on the face of the valley, after they were covered with sinews, flesh, and skin it is said, "When I prophesied" concerning the spirit, "the spirit entered into them, and they lived again, and stood upon their feet" (Ezekiel 37:10). Here also by standing upon the feet is signified new life, such as pertains to a regenerated man. For the dry bones to which the house of Israel is likened signify the state of the church with them, namely, that it was without the goods of love and truths of doctrine; and by being clothed with sinews, flesh, and skin, is signified regeneration, and by the spirit which entered, new life by the influx and reception of Divine Truth; it is therefore then said, that they lived again and stood upon their feet. The signification of standing upon the feet elsewhere in the same prophet is similar.
A voice speaking to me said "Son of Man, stand upon thy feet, that I may speak to thee; then the spirit entered into me, when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, and I heard him speaking to me" (Ezekiel 2:1, 2).
And again:
"I fell upon my faces, but the spirit entered into me, and raised me upon my feet" (Ezekiel 3:23, 24).
These things happened, because life itself, when it is in its fulness, is signified by standing upon the feet, and it is in its fulness when the Natural lives from the Spiritual. For the ultimate of man's life is in his Natural, this ultimate being a base as it were for his interior and higher [things], for these terminate in the ultimate and subsist there. Unless therefore life be in the ultimate, it is not full, thus not perfect; and moreover, all the interior or higher co-exist in the ultimate, as in their simultaneity; thus interior or higher things are according to the quality of the ultimate, for these accommodate themselves to the ultimate, because it receives them.
[4] The signification of standing upon the feet in David is similar:
"Thou hast made my feet to stand in a broad place" (Psalm 31:8).
A broad place signifies the truth of doctrine from the Word, therefore to make my feet to stand in a broad place signifies to cause him to live according to Divine truths.
Again in the same:
"He made me to come up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock" (Psalm 40:2).
The pit of destruction signifies falsity of doctrine, and the miry clay, evil of life; the signification of setting his feet upon a rock is similar to that of making his feet stand in a broad place, for a rock signifies the truth of doctrine from the Word, and, in the highest sense, the Lord as to Divine truth.
[5] It is therefore evident, what is signified in the spiritual sense by Jehovah "will not suffer my foot to totter" (Psalm 121:3), namely, that He will not suffer the Natural to go astray from truths; for in proportion as the natural goes astray, the interiors which belong to the understanding and will also go astray.
666. And they stood upon their feet, signifies a new life, such as the regenerate man of the church has. This is evident from the signification of "standing," as meaning to be and to live, and also to sustain (See above, n. 414); also from the signification of "feet," as being the natural, which is the ultimate of Divine order, and the base upon which prior or higher things rest, and upon which they subsist (See above, n. 69, 600, 606); so "to stand upon the feet" signifies life in fullness, because in the ultimate. A new life is signified because the "witnesses" who are here treated of were killed and lived again. "To stand upon the feet" here means such life as the regenerate man of the church has, because this is said of "the two witnesses," by whom all who are in the goods of love through the truths of doctrine are meant, who are such as have been regenerated; also because when the natural, which is signified by the "feet," has been regenerated, the whole man has life such as the regenerated man has.
[2] This the Lord teaches in John:
Jesus said to Peter, He that hath bathed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is all clean (John 13:10).
"To wash" signifies to be purified from evils and falsities, which is to be regenerated, therefore "he that hath bathed" signifies he that has been purified, that is, regenerated in respect to the spiritual, which is the good of love and the truth of doctrine; these must first be received in the memory and understanding, that is, must be known and acknowledged. "Needeth not save to wash his feet" signifies that the natural or external man must then be purified or regenerated, which is done by a life according to the precepts of love and faith, that is, according to the goods and truths of doctrine from the Word. As this is done the man himself is purified or regenerated; for to live according to the goods and truths of doctrine from the Word is to will them and thence to do them, which is the same as to be affected by them and to love them; for what comes to be of the will comes to be of the affection and love, and therefore of the man himself; for the will is the very man, since a man is his own love and his own affection. This is why it is said that then "the whole man is clean. "
[3] From this it is clear why "to stand upon the feet" means such life as a regenerate man has. Therefore of "the dry bones" seen by the prophet on the face of the valley, when they had been covered with sinews, flesh, and skin, it is said:
When I had prophesied about the spirit, the spirit entered into them, and they revived and stood upon their feet (Ezekiel 37:10).
Here also "to stand upon the feet" signifies a new life, such as the regenerate man has; for "the dry bones" to which the house of Israel is likened signify the state of the church with them, namely, that it had no goods of love or truths of doctrine; and "being clothed with sinews, flesh, and skin" signifies regeneration; and "the spirit that entered in" signifies a new life through the influx and reception of Divine truth; therefore it is then said that "they revived and stood upon their feet."
[4] "To stand upon the feet" has the same signification elsewhere in the same prophet:
A voice speaking to me said, Son of man, stand upon thy feet that I may speak to thee; then the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and stood me upon my feet, and I heard him that spake to me (Ezekiel 2:1, 2).
And again:
I fell upon my face, but the spirit entered into me and raised me upon my feet (Ezekiel 3:23, 24).
This was done because "to stand upon the feet" signifies life itself when it is in its fullness; and life is in its fullness when the natural lives from the spiritual. For the ultimate of man's life is in his natural; this ultimate is like a base to man's interior and higher parts; for these close into the ultimate and subsist in it, consequently unless life is in the ultimate it is not full, and thus not perfect. Moreover, all things interior or higher exist together in the ultimate as in their simultaneous. For this reason such as the ultimate is such are the interior or higher parts, for these adapt themselves to the ultimate because it receives them.
[5] "To stand upon the feet" has a similar signification in David:
Thou hast made my feet to stand in a broad place (Psalms 31:8).
"A broad place" signifies the truth of doctrine from the Word, therefore "to make my feet to stand in a broad place" signifies to cause one to live according to Divine truths. Again, in the same:
He made me come up out of the pit of devastation, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock (Psalms 40:2).
"The pit of devastation" signifies the falsity of doctrine, and "the miry clay" the evil of life; and "to set the feet upon a rock" has a similar signification as above, "to make the feet to stand in a broad place," for "rock" signifies the truth of doctrine from the Word, and in the highest sense, the Lord in relation to Divine truth. Thence it is clear what is signified in the spiritual sense by:
Jehovah will not suffer my 1foot to totter (Psalms 121:3);
namely, that he will not suffer the natural to go astray from truths; for so far as the natural goes astray, so far the interiors which belong to the understanding and will, also go astray.
Footnotes:
1. The Hebrew has "thy."
666. "Et steterunt super pedibus suis." - Quod significet vitam novam, qualis est homini ecclesiae regenerato; constat ex significatione "stare", quod sit esse et vivere, et quoque sustinere (de qua supra, n. 414); et ex significatione "pedum", quod sint naturale, quod est ultimum ordinis Divini, et basis cui priora seu superiora innituntur, et super qua subsistunt (de qua etiam supra, n. 69, 600 [a] , 606); inde per "steterunt super pedibus" significatur vita in pleno quia in ultimo; quod significetur vita nova, est quia "testes", de quibus agitur, "occisi sunt et revixerunt": quod talis vita hic per "stare super pedibus" intelligatur, qualis est homini ecclesiae regenerato, est quia haec dicta sunt de "duobus testibus", per quos intelliguntur omnes qui in bonis amoris per vera doctrinae sunt, qui sunt qui regenerati; tum quia cum naturale, quod per "pedes" significatur, regeneratum est, totus homo vitam, qualis est regenerato, habet,
[2] secundum Domini verba apud Johannem,
"Dixit Jesus ad" Petrum, "Qui lotus est, non opus habet, nisi ut quoad pedes lavetur, et mundus est totus" (13:10):
per "lavari" significatur purificari a malis et falsis, quod est regenerari; quare "Qui lotus est" significat qui purificatus, hoc est, regeneratus est quoad spirituale, quod est bonum amoris et verum doctrinae, quae primum memoria et intellectu recipienda, hoc est, scienda et agnoscenda; "non opus habet nisi quoad pedes lavetur" significat quod naturalis seu externus homo tunc purificandus seu regenerandus sit, quod fit per vitam secundum praecepta amoris et fidei, hoc est, secundum bona et vera doctrinae ex Verbo; quod dum fit, ipse homo purificatur seu regeneratur; nam vivere secundum bona et vera doctrinae ex Verbo, est velle illa et inde facere illa, quod idem est cum affici illis et amare illa; quod enim fit voluntatis hoc fit affectionis et amoris, proinde fit ipsius hominis; nam voluntas est ipse homo, quia homo est suus amor et sua affectio: quare dicitur quod tunc "totus homo mundus sit."
[3] Ex his patet unde est quod "stare super pedibus" sit vita qualis est regenerato: inde est quod ubi agitur de "ossibus aridis" visis prophetae super faciebus vallis, postquam induta fuerunt nervis, carne et cute, dicatur,
"Cum prophetavi"...de spiritu, "intravit in eos spiritus, et revixerunt, et steterunt super pedibus suis" (Ezechiel 37:10):
per "stare super pedibus" etiam hic significatur vita nova qualis est regenerato; nam per "ossa arida", quibus assimilatur domus Israelis, significatur status ecclesiae apud illos, quod esset absque bonis amoris et veris doctrinae; et per "induitiones nervorum, carnis et cutis" significatur regeneratio; et per "spiritum", qui intravit, nova vita per influxum et receptionem Divini Veri; quare tunc dicitur quod "revixerint et steterint super pedibus suis."
[4] Simile significatur per "stare super pedibus" alibi apud eundem Prophetam,
Vox loquens ad me dixit, "Fili hominis, sta super pedes tuos, ut loquar ad te; tunc venit in me spiritus, cum locutus est ad me, et statuit me super pedes meos, et audivi loquentem ad me" (Ezechiel 2:1, 2);
et alibi,
"Cecidi super facies meas; sed venit in me spiritus, et erexit me super pedes meos" (Ezechiel 3:23, 24):
haec facta sunt quia ipsa vita, dum in pleno est, significatur per "stare super pedibus", et tunc illa in pleno est quando naturale ex spirituali vivit: ultimum enim vitae hominis est in naturali ejus; hoc ultimum est sicut basis interioribus et superioribus ejus, nam haec desinunt in ultimum, et ibi subsistunt; quapropter nisi vita in ultimo sit, vita non est plena, ita nec perfecta: et praeterea, interiora seu superiora omnia coexistunt in ultimo, ut in suo simultaneo; inde quale est ultimum talia sunt interiora seu superiora, haec enim se accommodant ultimo, quia recipit illa.
[5] Simile per "stare super pedibus" significatur apud Davidem,
"Stare fecisti in latitudine pedes meos" (Psalms 31:9 [B.A. 8]):
per "latitudinem" significatur verum doctrinae ex Verbo; quare "stare facere in latitudine pedes meos" significat facere ut vivat secundum Divina vera. Et alibi apud eundem,
"Fecit ascendere me e fovea devastationis, e caeno luti, et constituit super petra pedes meos" (Psalms 40:3 [B.A. 2]):
per "foveam devastationis" significatur falsum doctrinae, et per "caenum luti" malum vitae; et per "constituere super petra pedes" simile significatur quod supra per "stare facere in latitudine pedes", quoniam per "petram" significatur verum doctrinae ex Verbo, et in supremo sensu Dominus quoad Divinum Verum. Inde patet quid in sensu spirituali significatur per
"Non sinet" Jehovah "vacillare pedem 1
meum" (Ps. 121:3 2
):
nempe quod non sinet naturale aberrare a veris; nam quantum naturale aberrat, tantum etiam interiora, quae sunt intellectus et voluntatis, aberrant.
Footnotes:
1. The editors made a correction or note here.
2. The editors made a correction or note here.