----中文待译----
702. And there were lightnings, voices, and thunders.- That this signifies that at that time, in the lower places where the evil are, there were conflicts and disturbances of thought, and reasonings from evils and falsities concerning goods and truths, is evident from the signification of lightnings, voices, and thunders, as denoting enlightenment, thoughts, and perceptions (concerning which see above, n. 273); and, in the opposite sense, as here, conflicts and disturbances of thought, and reasonings from evils and falsities concerning the goods and truths of the church (concerning which also see above, n. 498). In a strict sense, lightnings signify darkenings of the understanding, voices, reasonings, while thunderings signify conclusions of falsity from evil; and since, according to the state of the interiors of those with whom they are, there then arise conflicts and disturbances of affections and thoughts, and consequent reasonings from evils and falsities concerning the goods and truths of the church, therefore this is the signification of these words in their logical connection with what precedes. That the lightnings, voices, and thunders, as well as the earthquake and the great hail, were in the lower parts, is clear. For it was in the higher parts that the temple and the ark of the covenant in the temple were seen, which signify the manifestation of a new heaven where there is worship of the Lord, and a representation of Divine Truth through which conjunction takes place, as is evident from the explanations of the preceding particulars. That such things took place in the lower parts through influx out of the higher heavens has been already made clear. But since these things are such as not to fall into any one's understanding except by living revelation, and consequent knowledge respecting the influx of higher things into lower things in the spiritual world, and because these things have been revealed to me, and thus made known, I will briefly explain this interior fact (arcanum).
[2] In the spiritual world - by which both the heavens and the hells are meant - the arrangement is such, that the heavens are like expanses one above the other, and under the heavens is the world of spirits, and under this are the hells, one below another. Influx from the Lord takes place according to this successive arrangement, thus through the inmost heaven into the middle, and through this into the ultimate, and from these in their order into the hells which lie beneath. The world of spirits is in the midst, and receives influx from both the heavens and the hells, each one there according to the state of his life.
[3] But this arrangement of the heavens and the hells underwent changes from one judgment to another, for the reason that the men who passed from the earths, of whom the heavens and the hells are constituted, were various in their affections, some being more or less spiritual or internal, and some more or less natural or external. And because the Lord does evil to none, but good to all, therefore He permitted those who had lived a moral and apparently spiritual life in externals from custom and habit in the world, however interiorly they were conjoined with hell, to form for themselves, in the world of spirits, a similitude of heaven in various places. And then the heavens above them, and the hells below them, were so arranged, that their interiors, through which they were conjoined with hell, might as far as possible be kept closed, while their exteriors, through which they were conjoined with the ultimate heaven, be kept open. And then it was provided that the higher heavens should not flow in immediately, for by such immediate influx their interiors, which were infernal, would be opened, and their exteriors, which were apparently spiritual, closed; for the influx of the higher heavens is into the interiors, which are the spirits' own, and not into the exteriors, which are not really their own. But when such apparent heavens had increased to such an extent that the influx from the hells had begun to prevail over the influx from the heavens, and that consequently the ultimate heaven, which was conjoined with them, had begun to totter, then the Last Judgment was at hand, and by degrees a separation of the evil from the good in those new apparent heavens took place, and this by immediate influx from the higher heavens; and by such influx their interiors, which were infernal, were opened, and their exteriors, which were apparently spiritual, were closed, as stated above.
From these things it is now clear why the temple appeared and the ark in the temple, which signifies the Divine Truth, by which the higher heavens were enlightened, in order that from them influx might pass into the lower parts, where the evil had their abode. From this influx it resulted that, in the lower parts where the evil were, lightnings were seen, and voices and thunders heard. Also there was a great earthquake, and hail fell. The influx out of the heavens, that is, through the heavens from the Lord, is nothing else but an influx of the love of good and of affection for truth; but with the evil it is turned into such things as correspond to their evils, and to the falsities therefrom, or as correspond to their love of evil and affection for falsity. And because the conflicts and disturbances of thought, and reasonings from evils and falsities concerning the goods and truths of the church, in which they were, correspond to lightnings, voices, and thunders, therefore they are here signified by these. For the subject here treated of is the state of heaven, such as it was about to become immediately before the Last Judgment. The existence of conflicts and disturbances of thought, and of reasonings from evils and falsities concerning the goods and truths of the church with those who are interiorly evil, and appear outwardly good after their interiors have been opened and their exteriors closed, arises from the conflict of their interiors with their exteriors in the first state of separation. But as soon as the exteriors have been completely closed, and they are left to their own interiors, then the conflict ceases, for then they are entirely in the love of their own evil, and in the affection for their own falsity, and thus in the delight of their life; therefore they then cast themselves down into hell to their like, which takes place at the time of a last judgment.
702. And there were lightnings, voices, and thunders, signifies that at that time in the lower parts where the evil are there were conflicts and disturbances of the thoughts, and reasonings from evils and falsities respecting goods and truths. This is evident from the signification of "lightnings, voices, and thunders," as being enlightenment, thoughts, and perceptions (of which above, n. 273; and in the contrary sense, as here, conflicts and disturbances of the thoughts, and reasoning from evils and falsities respecting the goods and truths of the church (of which above, n. 498. In a strict sense "lightnings" signify the darkenings of the understanding, "voices" reasonings, and "thunders" conclusions respecting falsity from evil, and because from these, according to the state of the interiors with them there then arise conflicts and disturbances of the affections and thoughts, and consequent reasonings from evils and falsities respecting the goods and truths of the church, therefore from logical connection with what precedes, this is what these words signify. It was evident that "the lightnings, voices, and thunders," also "the earthquake and great hail" occurred in the lower parts, since it was in the higher parts that the "temple" and "the ark of the Covenant in the temple" were seen, which signify the appearing of a new heaven where there is worship of the Lord, and a representation of Divine truth through which there is conjunction, as can be seen from the explanation above; and from this it follows that these things occurred in the lower parts through influx from the higher heavens. That such things occurred in the lower parts through influx out of the higher heavens has already been made clear. But since these are such things as do not fall into anyone's understanding except through living revelation and consequent knowledge respecting the influx of higher things into lower in the spiritual world, so as these things have been revealed to me, and have thus been made known to me, I will briefly explain this arcanum.
[2] In the spiritual world, by which are meant both the heavens and the hells, the arrangement is such that the heavens are like expanses one above another, and under the heavens is the world of spirits, and under this are the hells, one below another. Influx from the Lord takes place according to this consecutive arrangement, thus through the inmost heaven into the middle, and through this into the lowest, and from these in their order into the hells which lie beneath. The world of spirits is between, and receives influx both from the heavens and from the hells, each one there according to the state of his life.
[3] But this arrangement of the heavens and of the hells underwent changes from one judgment to another, for the reason that the men who arrived from the earth, of whom the heavens and the hells are constituted, had various affections, some more or less spiritual or internal, and some more or less natural or external. And as the Lord does evil to no one, but good to all, He permitted those who had lived a moral and as it were spiritual life in externals from custom and habit in the world, however interiorly they were conjoined with hell, to form for themselves in the world of spirits a similitude of heaven in various places; and then the heavens above them and the hells below them were so arranged that their interiors through which they were conjoined with hell might be as far as possible kept closed, while their exteriors through which they were conjoined with the lowest heaven were kept open. And then it was provided that the higher heavens should not flow in immediately, because by immediate influx their interiors which were infernal would be opened, and their exteriors which were as it were spiritual would be closed; for the influx of the higher heavens is into the interiors, which are properly the spirits' own, and not into the exteriors, which are not properly their own.
[4] But when such seeming heavens had so greatly increased that the influx from the hells had thereby begun to prevail over the influx from the heavens, and thereby the lowest heaven, which was conjoined with them, began to be weakened, then the Last Judgment was at hand, and by turns a separation was effected of the evil from the good in those new seeming heavens, and this by immediate influx from the higher heavens; and by this influx their interiors which were infernal were opened, and their exteriors which were seemingly spiritual were closed, as has been said above. From this then it is clear why it was that the "temple" appeared, and "the ark in the temple," which signifies the Divine truth by which the higher heavens were enlightened from which influx might come into the lower parts where the evil were. From this influx it came to pass that, in the lower parts where the evil were, lightnings were seen, and voices and thunders were heard, also there was an earthquake, and hail fell. The influx out of the heavens, that is, through the heavens from the Lord, is nothing else than an influx of the love of good and the affection of truth, but with the evil this is turned into such things as correspond to their evils and to the falsities therefrom, thus that correspond to their love of evil and affection of falsity; and as conflicts and disturbances of the thoughts and reasonings from the evils and falsities respecting the goods and truths of the church in which they were correspond to lightnings, voices, and thunders, therefore they are signified by these; for the state of heaven, what it was to be immediately before the Last Judgment, is what is here treated of. The conflicts and disturbances of the thoughts and the reasonings from evils and falsities respecting the goods and truths of the church that arise with those who are inwardly evil but who outwardly appear good, when their interiors have been opened and their exteriors closed, are from the conflict of their interiors with their exteriors in the first stage of separation; but as soon as the exteriors have been wholly closed and they have been left to their own interiors the conflict ceases, for then they are completely in the love of their own evil and in the affection of their own falsity, and thus in the delight of their life. Therefore they then cast themselves down into hell to their like, which takes place at the day of the Last Judgment.
702. "Et facta sunt fulgura, voces et tonitrua." - Quod significet tunc in inferioribus, ubi mali, conflictus et turbae cogitationum et ratiocinationes ex malis et falsis de bonis et veris, constat ex significatione "fulgurum, vocum et tonitruum", quod sint illustrationes, cogitationes et perceptiones (de qua supra, n. 273); et in opposito sensu, ut hic, conflictus et turbae cogitationum, et ratiocinationes ex malis et falsis de bonis et veris ecclesiae (de qua etiam supra, n. 498). In sensu stricto per "fulgura" significantur caligationes intellectus, per "voces" ratiocinationes, et per "tonitrua" conclusa falsi ex malo; et quia ex illis, secundum statum interiorum apud illos, tunc fiunt conflictus et turbae affectionum et cogitationum, et inde ratiocinationes ex malis et falsis de bonis et veris ecclesiae, ideo haec ex serie consequente a praecedentibus per illa verba significantur.
Quod "fulgura, voces et tonitrua", tum etiam "terrae motus et grando" exstiterint in inferioribus, patet ex eo, quod in superioribus visum sit "templum", et visa sit "arca foederis in templo", per quae significatur apparitio novi caeli ubi cultus Domini, et repraesentatio Divini Veri per quod conjunctio, ut ex praecedentium explicatione constare potest; ex quibus sequitur quod illa exstiterint in inferioribus per influxum e caelis superioribus. Quod talia exstiterint in inferioribus per influxum e caelis superioribus, elucidatum est prius: sed quia talia sunt quae non cadunt in alicujus intellectum, nisi per vivam revelationem et inde cognitionem de influxu superiorum in inferiora in mundo spirituali, haec quia mihi revelata sunt, et inde cognita, velim hoc arcanum breviter exponere.
[2] In mundo spirituali, per quem intelliguntur et caeli et inferna, talis est ordinatio quod caeli sint sicut expansa, unum supra alterum, et quod sub caelis sit mundus spirituum, et quod sub hoc sint inferna, unum infra alterum: secundum successivam hanc ordinationem fit influxus a Domino, ita per caelum intimum in medium, et per hoc in ultimum, et ex illis in suo ordine in inferna quae subjacent. Mundus spirituum est medius, et recipit influxum tam e caelis quam ex infernis, quisque ibi secundum statum suae vitae.
[3] Sed illa ordinatio caelorum et infernorum mutationes subiit ab uno judicio ad alterum, per id, quod homines qui e terris alluerunt, ex quibus caeli et inferna, diversis affectionibus fuerint, quidam spirituales seu interni minus et magis, quidam naturales seu externi minus et magis. Et quia Dominus nemini malum facit, sed omnibus bonum, ideo permisit ut illi qui moralem et quasi spiritualem vitam in externis ex more et assuetudine in mundo egerunt, utcunque interius fuerunt conjuncti cum inferno, sibi in mundo spirituum formarent instar caeli variis in locis; et tunc ordinationes caelorum supra illos, et infernorum infra illos, dispositae sunt ut interiora illorum, per quae conjuncti fuerunt inferno, quantum possibile fuit, clausa tenerentur, et exteriora, per quae conjuncti fuerunt ultimo caelo, aperta: et tunc provisum fuit ne superiores caeli immediate influerent, nam per influxum immediatum aperirentur interiora illorum, quae infernalia, et clauderentur exteriora quae sicut spiritualia apparuerunt; influxus enim caelorum superiorum est in interiora, quae propria spirituum sunt, et non in exteriora, quae non propria illorum sunt.
[4] Quando autem tales quasi caeli in tantum multiplicati sunt, et inde influxus ex infernis praevalere coepit super influxum e caelis, et per id caelum ultimum, quod cum illis conjunctum fuit, incepit labefactari, tunc imminuit ultimum judicium, et per vices facta est separatio malorum a bonis in 1
novis illis quasi caelis, et hoc per influxum immediatum e caelis superioribus; et per illum influxum aperta sunt illorum interiora, quae fuerunt infernalia, et clausa exteriora quae fuerunt sicut spiritualia, ut supra dictum est. Ex his nunc patet unde erat quod apparuerit "templum" et "arca in templo"; per quae significatur Divinum Verum, quo illustrati fuerunt caeli superiores, e quibus influxus fieret in inferiora ubi erant mali: ex hoc influxu factum est quod in inferioribus, ubi mali, visa sint "fulgura", auditae sint "voces et tonitrua", tum quod facti "terrae motus", et depluerit "grando." Influxus e caelis, hoc est, per caelos a Domino, non est nisi amoris boni et affectionis veri, sed vertitur ille apud malos in talia quae correspondent illorum malis et inde falsis, ita quae correspondent illorum amori mali et affectioni falsi; et quia conflictus et turbae cogitationum et ratiocinationes ex malis et falsis de bonis et veris ecclesiae, in quibus fuerunt, correspondent "fulguribus", "vocibus", et "tonitribus", ideo haec sunt per quae significantur illa: hic enim agitur de statu caeli, qualis futurus est proxime ante ultimum judicium. Quod conflictus et turbae cogitationum et ratiocinationes ex malis et falsis de bonis et veris ecclesiae existant apud illos qui interius mali sunt, et exterius apparent boni, postquam aperta sunt illorum interiora et clausa exteriora, est ex conflictu interiorum illorum cum exterioribus in primo statu separationis; sed ut primum exteriora prorsus clausa sunt, ac illi relicti sunt suis interioribus, tunc cessat conflictus; sunt enim tunc plane in amore sui mali et in affectione sui falsi, et inde in suae vitae jucundo; quare tunc se dejiciunt in infernum ad sui similes, quod fit die ultimi judicii.
Footnotes:
1. The editors made a correction or note here.