----中文待译----
899. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth. That this signifies the resurrection into life everlasting of those who had, so far, lived a life of charity, and will so live hereafter, is evident from the signification of the dead in the Lord, as denoting those who rise again into life everlasting, of which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of the dead and those who die from henceforth, as denoting the resurrection of those who had, so far, lived a life of charity, and who will so live hereafter. For these things are said of those who keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus; and these are such as live according to the Lord's precepts in the Word, and acknowledge His Divine; that is, such as live a life of charity from the Lord; as may be seen above (n. 894, 895).
[2] The reason why it is said, "from henceforth" is, that those who have lived that life heretofore, and who live it hereafter are meant. They were reserved by the Lord beneath the heavens, and protected from infestation by the hells until the Last Judgment, on the accomplishment of which they were raised up out of their places, and taken up into heaven. The reason why this was not done before is, that previously the hells prevailed, and there was a preponderance on their part; but afterwards the heavens prevailed, and so there was a preponderance on their part. For by the Last Judgment all things, both in the hells and in the heavens, were brought into a state of order. If, therefore, these had been raised up before, they would not have been able to resist the power with which the hells prevailed over the heavens. That they were raised up, it was granted me to see. For from the lower earth, where they were reserved by the Lord, I saw large bodies of them rising up and being elevated, and also translated into heavenly societies. This took place after the Last Judgment, which is treated of in a small work on the Last Judgment. A similar event took place after the former Judgment which was accomplished by the Lord when He was in the world. This is also treated of in the same work.
This mystery is what is meant by the resurrection of those who had previously lived a life of charity. This also is meant by these words in John:
"Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out. I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me" (12:31, 32)
and this was represented by this,
that many of the saints who slept were raised up; "and going forth from their sepulchres, after the Lord's resurrection, entered into the holy city, and appeared unto many" (Matthew 27:52, 53).
But we shall speak further upon this subject, when the first and second resurrection are treated of in the following parts of the Apocalypse.
[3] That by blessed are the dead which die, are also meant those who are to rise again to life hereafter, being such as live a life of charity, is evident from its being said, "from henceforth"; also "the dead which die"; therefore, "from henceforth" has reference not only to those who are such since the Last Judgment, but also to those who were such before it took place, and who are treated of above.
The reason that death signifies resurrection, and that therefore the dead signify those who rise again to life everlasting is, that death signifies hell, and consequently evils and falsities; and these must die, in order that a man may receive spiritual life. For before these are dead and extinct, a man does not possess spiritual life, which is what is meant in the Word by life, life eternal, and resurrection. Therefore by dying, here and elsewhere in the Word, is meant the extinction of a man's own life, which, regarded in itself, consists of nothing but evils and the falsities therefrom. And because on this life becoming extinct, spiritual life enters in its place, therefore the dead in the Lord signify those who have been made spiritual by the Lord.
[4] Moreover, in the spiritual sense, by dying, resurrection is meant; because the angels, who are in the spiritual sense of the Word, know nothing of the natural death which takes place with men who die, but only of spiritual death which takes place with those who, by means of temptations, are being regenerated by the Lord, and with whom evils and the falsities therefrom, are subdued and put to death.
Natural death, also, is nothing else but resurrection; for when the body dies, a man rises as to his spirit; and thus death is only a continuation of his life. For by death man passes from a life in the natural world to a life in the spiritual world, with this difference only, that the life in the natural world is an exterior and somewhat imperfect life, whereas life in the spiritual world is an interior and more perfect life; but still both are to appearance alike, as is evident from the things heard and seen that are related in the work concerning Heaven and Hell.
[5] From all this it is evident, that by death is signified both spiritual death, which is damnation, and also resurrection to life, which is salvation. That by death is signified damnation, may be seen above (n. 11:25, 26).
I am the resurrection and the life, signifies that both resurrection and life are from Him, and no other. He that believeth in me, signifies, he that believes in His Divine, and that He is the very omnipotent and only God. And because no one can believe this but him who lives a life of charity, therefore this also is meant by believing in Him. Though he die, yet shall he live, signifies that though he dies naturally, still he shall rise again to life. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me, shall never die, signifies that he who has been reformed, shall not die spiritually, that is, be damned, but shall rise again to life everlasting. It is evident, therefore, that by dying is not meant to die, but to rise again to life.
[6] In the same:
Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that anyone may eat thereof, and not die (6:49, 50, 58).
By the manna which the sons of Jacob ate in the wilderness is meant, with respect to them, natural food, because they were natural. And by the bread which cometh down from heaven, is meant spiritual food, because from the Lord alone. And because it is from Him alone, by bread, in the highest sense, is meant Himself. Therefore He also says, "I am the Bread of life." For it is Divine good united with Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, from which the angels derive spiritual life, and also men. Wherefore by these words, in the spiritual sense, is meant, that those who nourish themselves only in a natural manner from the Word, are dead, that is damned, as were the sons of Jacob; this was also signified by their all dying in the wilderness. But that those who nourish themselves in a spiritual manner from the Word will not be subject to damnation, is meant by their not dying. It is evident, therefore, that dying is not meant, but resurrection to life; for death, if it is not death, is life.
[7] In the same:
"If anyone keep my Word, he shall never see death" (8:51).
By keeping the Lord's words, is signified to live according to the Lord's precepts. Not to see death, signifies not [to receive] damnation, but the life into which a man rises again, and enters, by death.
In the same:
Jesus said, "Verily I say unto you, that he who heareth my Word, and believeth him who sent me, hath life eternal, and cometh not into judgment, but passeth from death unto life" (5:24).
By hearing the Word of the Lord, and believing Him who sent Him, are meant things similar to those above; for by the Father the Lord meant the Divine which was in Him from conception; thus, Himself. Not to come into judgment, signifies not to be condemned. To pass from death unto life signifies resurrection, and life in heaven. From death, signifies, not only from natural death into life everlasting, thus resurrection, but also from spiritual death - which is damnation - into life eternal; thus also resurrection; for the Word contains both a natural sense and a spiritual sense.
[8] In the same:
Jesus said, "As the Father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will" (5:21).
By raising the dead and quickening them, is not only meant resurrection to life by natural death, but also by spiritual death. Resurrection to life takes place by reformation and regeneration, and these are effected by the removal and separation of evils, which condemn man, and which constitute spiritual death.
In the same:
Jesus said, "Verily I say unto you, that the hour cometh when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear shall live" (5:25).
By the dead here are signified those who have been in evils and the falsities therefrom, but have been freed from them by reformation. That these shall rise again, is meant by those words; for these are then no longer dead but alive, being those who hear the voice of the Son of God, thus who live according to His precepts.
Similarly in Luke:
That they shall be recompensed in the resurrection of the dead (14:14).
By the resurrection of the dead is meant, not only the resurrection of those who die naturally - for these rise again immediately after death - but also of those who die spiritually and are made alive by the Lord.
[9] In John:
Jesus said, "The hour cometh, in which all who are in the sepulchres, shall hear the voice" of the Son of God; "and shall go forth, they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation" (5:28, 29).
These words do not mean that the sepulchres shall be opened, and all shall go forth at the day of the Last Judgment; but by the sepulchres which shall be opened, are meant the places in the lower earth, where those were reserved, and guarded by the Lord, who had previously lived a life of charity, and acknowledged the Lord's Divine, and who at the day of the Last Judgment, and after it, were raised up into heaven, according to what was shown above. These places are signified, in the spiritual sense, by sepulchres. That it is not meant that the graves in the earth are to be opened, and that they shall come forth from them at the day of the Last Judgment, is quite evident from this fact, that all men come into the spiritual world immediately after death, and there live in a human form as in the natural world; thus, that resurrection takes place with every one immediately after death - resurrection to life with those who have done goods, and resurrection to judgment with those who have done evils; as is evident from the things heard and seen, which are related in the work concerning Heaven and Hell.
[10] These things were represented by,
The sepulchres were opened, and many bodies of the saints that slept, were raised, and going forth from their sepulchres, after the Lord's resurrection, entered into the holy city, and appeared unto many (Matthew 27:52, 53).
The sepulchres being then opened, and the saints who before were dead, going forth and entering into the holy city, and appearing to many, represented the resurrection of those who were reserved by the Lord in places under heaven until His coming into the world, and who, after His resurrection, were taken thence, and raised up into heaven. These things also took place and were seen by those who were in Jerusalem; but still they were representative of the resurrection of those of whom we are now, and have been speaking above. For as everything connected with the Lord's passion was representative - as the veil of the temple being rent in twain, the earth quaking, and the rocks being rent (Matthew 27:51) - so also is this, that they went forth from the opened graves. Therefore it is also said, that they entered into the holy city, and appeared there. For Zion, which is here meant by the holy city, still represented the heaven where the Lord reigns by means of His Divine truth (concerning this signification of Zion, see above, n. 11:8). But it is also called holy on account of its representation, and consequent signification, in the Word.
[11] Resurrection from the dead, both in the natural and spiritual senses, was represented, and thence also signified, by the dead whom the Lord raised.
As by the resurrection of Lazarus (John 11:11-44);
By the raising of the young man of Nain (Luke 7:11-18);
And by the raising of the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue (Mark 5:21 to end).
For all the miracles performed by the Lord, and also all the miracles described in the Word, involved the holy things of heaven and the church, and thence signified them. Hence those miracles were Divine, and were distinguished from miracles not Divine.
[12] Similar things are signified
By its being granted to the disciples to raise the dead (659).
[13] That natural death, which is a rejection of the unclean things of the body; and spiritual death, which is a removal of the unclean things of the spirit, signify resurrection, is evident also from the following passages in the Apocalypse, where the first and second death are treated of; these also are called the first resurrection and the second resurrection (2:11; 21:8).
So also in David:
"Precious in the eyes of Jehovah is the death of his saints" (Psalm 116:15).
That the death of the saints does not signify damnation, but the separation and removal of the unclean things of their spirit, thus regeneration and resurrection, is evident. As also in John:
Jesus said, "Except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die, it remaineth alone; but if it die, it beareth much fruit" (12:24).
The case is the same with a man, who must die as to the body in order that he may rise again, and as to his proprium, which is in itself infernal. For unless a man dies as to both of these he cannot have the life of heaven.
[14] Because men rise again after death, therefore the Lord was willing to suffer death and to rise again the third day; but for this reason, that He might put off everything human which He derived from the mother, and put on a Divine Human. For the whole human which the Lord took from the mother He rejected from Himself by temptations, and lastly by death; and by the putting on of a Human from the Divine itself, which was in Him, He glorified Himself, that is, made His Human Divine. This is why, in heaven, by His death and burial, are not meant death and burial, but the purification of His Human, and glorification. That this is the case, the Lord taught by the comparison with wheat falling into the earth, which must die, in order that it may bear fruit. The same is also involved in what the Lord said to Mary Magdalene:
"Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father" (John 20:17).
By ascending to His Father, is meant the unition of His Human with His Divine, the human from the mother being completely rejected.
899. Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord from henceforth, signifies the resurrection into eternal life of those who have lived heretofore a life of charity, and will so live henceforth. This is evident from the signification of "the dead in the Lord," as being those who rise into eternal life (of which presently), also from the signification of "the dead and those that die from henceforth," as being the resurrection of those who have heretofore lived and who henceforth live a life of charity, for this is said of those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus; and these are such as live according to the Lord's commandments in the Word and acknowledge His Divine, thus who live a life of charity from the Lord (See above, n. 894, 895).
[2] It is said "from henceforth," because those are meant who have heretofore lived and who henceforth live that life. Those who have lived that life heretofore were kept by the Lord below the heavens and protected from infestation by the hells until the Last Judgment; and when this was accomplished they were raised up from their places, and elevated into heaven. This was not done before because before that the hells prevailed, and there was a preponderance on their part; but after this the heavens prevailed, and thus there was a preponderance on their part; for by the Last Judgment all things, both in the hells and in the heavens, were reduced to order. If, therefore, these had been elevated before, they could not have resisted the power with which the hells prevailed over the heavens. That they were elevated it was granted me to see; for I saw troops of them arising and being lifted up from the lower earth, where they had been kept by the Lord, and transferred to the heavenly societies. This took place after that Last Judgment that is treated of in the work on The Last Judgment. The same was done after a former judgment that was accomplished by the Lord when He was in the world, which is treated of in the same work. This mystery is what is meant by the resurrection of those who had heretofore lived a life of charity. This is meant also by these words in John:
Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out. But I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all unto Myself (John 12:31, 32);
and this was represented by:
Many of the saints who slept were raised up; and coming forth out of their tombs after the Lord's resurrection they entered into the holy city, and appeared unto many (Matthew 27:52, 53).
But on this more will be said where the first and second resurrection or death are treated of in what follows in Revelation.
[3] "The dead that are blessed," and "those that die," mean also those that are to rise again into life hereafter, who are such as live a life of charity, as is evident from the expressions "from henceforth," and "the dead," and "those that die," "from henceforth," referring not only to those who are such since the Last Judgment, but also to those who were such before, and who have been treated of above. "Death" signifies resurrection, and thus "the dead" signify those who rise again into eternal life, because "death" signifies hell, and thus evils and falsities; and these must die that man may receive spiritual life; for until these are dead and extinct man has no spiritual life, which is the life that is meant in the Word by "life," "eternal life," and "resurrection;" therefore "to die" means here and elsewhere in the Word the extinction of the life that is man's own, which regarded in itself consists solely of evils and falsities from them. And because when that life has been extinguished spiritual life enters in its place, so "the dead in the Lord" signify those who have been made spiritual by the Lord.
[4] Moreover, "to die" can mean in the spiritual sense resurrection, because the angels, who are in the spiritual sense of the Word, know nothing about natural death, by which man is taken out of this world; but they know only about spiritual death, which comes to those who are being regenerated by the Lord by means of temptations, and with whom evils and falsities therefrom are being subdued and put to death. Again, natural death is nothing but resurrection, for the reason that when the body dies man rises again as to his spirit, and thus death is simply a continuation of his life; for through death man passes from a life in the natural world into a life in the spiritual world, with the difference only that the life in the natural world is a more external and imperfect life, and the life in the spiritual world is a more internal and perfect life; and yet the two are alike in appearance, as can be seen from things heard and seen that are related in the work on Heaven and Hell.
[5] From all this it can be seen that "death" signifies both spiritual death, which is damnation, and resurrection into life, which is salvation. That "death" signifies damnation can be seen above (n. John 11:25, 26).
"I am the resurrection and the life" signifies that resurrection and life are from Him and not from another; "he that believeth in Me" signifies, he that believes in the Lord's Divine and believes that He is the omnipotent and only God; and as no one can believe this except he that lives a life of charity, therefore a life of charity, is also meant by "believing in Him;" "though he die yet shall he live" signifies that though one die naturally, still he shall rise again into life; "and everyone that liveth and believeth in Me shall not die forever" signifies that he who has been reformed shall not die spiritually, that is, be condemned, but shall rise again into eternal life. This makes clear that "to die" does not mean to die, but to rise again to life.
[6] In the same:
Your fathers did eat manna in the desert, and they are dead. This is the bread which cometh down out of heaven, that one may eat thereof and not die (John 6:49, 50, 58).
The "manna" that the sons of Jacob ate in the desert means in reference to them natural food, because they were natural; but "the bread that cometh down out of heaven" means spiritual food, which is from the Lord alone; and because it is from Him alone, in the highest sense "bread" means Himself; and therefore He says, "I am the Bread of life." For Divine good united with Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, is that from which both angels and men have spiritual life. Consequently these words mean in the spiritual sense that those who nourish themselves from the Word in a natural way only are dead, that is, condemned, as were the sons of Jacob; and this was signified by their all dying in the desert; but those who nourish themselves spiritually from the Word will not be subject to condemnation, which is meant by "they shall not die," which evidently does not mean not to die, but resurrection into life; for if death is not death it is life.
[7] In the same:
If a man keep My word he shall never see death (John 7:51, 52).
"To keep the Lord's words" signifies to live according to the Lord's commandments; "not to see death" signifies not to see condemnation but life, into which man rises and enters by death. In the same:
Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, that he that heareth My word and believeth on Him that sent Me hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgment but passeth from death into life (John 5:24).
"To hear the word of the Lord and believe on Him that sent Him" has a like meaning as above, for by "the Father" the Lord meant the Divine that was in Him from conception, thus Himself. "Not to come into judgment" signifies not to be condemned; "to pass from death into life" signifies resurrection and life in heaven, "from death" signifying not only from natural death into eternal life, thus a resurrection, but also from spiritual death, which is condemnation, into eternal life; thus also resurrection; for the Word contains both a natural and a spiritual sense.
[8] In the same:
Jesus said, As the Father raiseth up the dead and vivifieth them, even so the Son vivifieth whom He will (John 5:21).
"To raise up the dead and vivify them" means resurrection into life, not only by natural death but also by spiritual death; resurrection into life is effected by reformation and regeneration, and these by the removal and separation of evils, which condemn man, and which are spiritual death. In the same:
Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, that the hour is coming when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live (John 5:25).
"The dead" signify here those who have been in evils and in falsities therefrom, but have been delivered from them by reformation; that they shall rise again is meant by these words, for they are no longer dead but alive, for they are "those that hear the voice of the Son of God," that is, those who live according to His commandments. Likewise it is said in Luke:
That such shall be recompensed in the resurrection of the dead 1(Revelation 14:14).
"The resurrection of the dead" means not only the resurrection of those who die naturally, for these rise again immediately after death, but also the resurrection of those who die spiritually and are vivified by the Lord.
[9] In John:
Jesus said, The hour shall come, in which all that are in the tombs shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and shall come forth, they that have done goods unto the resurrection of life, but they that have done evils unto the resurrection of judgment (John 5:28, 29).
This does not mean that the tombs shall be opened and all shall go forth at the day of the Last Judgment; but the "tombs" that shall be opened mean the places in the lower earth where those who had previously lived a life of charity and had acknowledged the Lord's Divine were kept and guarded by the Lord, and in the day of the Last Judgment and after it were raised up into heaven, as has been said above in this article. These places are signified in the spiritual sense by "tombs." This does not mean that the tombs in the earth are to be opened, and that they shall come forth from them at the day of the Last Judgment, as is clearly evident from the fact that all men come into the spiritual world immediately after death, and live there in a human form in like manner as in the natural world, therefore that everyone's resurrection takes place immediately after death, resurrection to life for those who have done goods, and resurrection to judgment for those who have done evils; as is evident from the things heard and seen that are related in the work on Heaven and Hell.
[10] The same was represented by:
The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints that slept were raised up, and coming forth out of their tombs after the Lord's resurrection entered into the holy city and appeared unto many (Matthew 27:52, 53).
That the tombs were then opened and the saints who had previously died came forth and entered into the holy city and appeared to many, represented the resurrection of those who had been kept by the Lord in places under heaven until His coming into the world, and who after His resurrection were taken therefrom and raised up into heaven. This took place and was seen by those who were in Jerusalem; nevertheless it was representative of the resurrection of those here and before described. For as all things of the Lord's passion were representative, also that the veil of the temple was rent in twain, the earth quaked, and the rocks were rent (Matthew 27:51), so was this, that they came forth from the opened tombs; therefore it is added that "they entered into the holy city and appeared there;" for "Zion," which is here meant by "the holy city," still represented heaven where the Lord reigns by His Divine truth (on this signification of "Zion" see above, n. Revelation 11:8). But it is called "holy" on account of its representation and consequent signification in the Word.
[11] Resurrection from the dead, both in the natural and in the spiritual sense, was represented and thus was signified by the dead whom the Lord raised:
As by the raising of Lazarus (John 11:11-44);
By the raising of the young man of Nain (Luke 7:11-18);
And by the raising of the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue (Mark 5:21-43 to the end).
For all the miracles wrought by the Lord, and all the miracles described in the Word, included in them and thus signified the holy things of heaven and the church; and for this reason those miracles were Divine, and they were distinguished from miracles not Divine. The like is signified by this:
That it was granted to the disciples to raise the dead (Matthew 10:8).
[12] Regeneration, which also is a resurrection from the dead, was represented by the vivification of the bones in Ezekiel (659)
[13] That natural death, which is a rejection of the unclean things of the body, and spiritual death, which is a removal of the unclean things of the spirit, signify resurrection, can be seen also from the following passages in Revelation, where the first and the second death are treated of, which also are called the first and the second resurrection 2(Revelation 2:11; 21:8). Also in David:
Precious in the eyes of Jehovah is the death of His saints (Psalms 116:15).
Evidently "the death of the saints" does not signify damnation, but the separation and removal of the unclean things of their spirit, thus regeneration and resurrection. So also in John:
Jesus said, Except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die it abideth alone; but if it die it beareth much fruit (John 12:24).
The same is true of man, who, that he may rise again, must die both as to the body and as to what is his own [proprium], which is in itself infernal; for unless both of these die he does not have the life of heaven.
[14] As men rise again after death, therefore the Lord willed to undergo death and to rise again the third day, but to the end that He might put off everything human that He had from the mother and might put on the Divine Human; for everything human that the Lord took from the mother He rejected from Himself by temptations, and finally by death; and by putting on a Human from the Divine Itself that was in Him He glorified Himself, that is, made His Human Divine; therefore in heaven His death and burial do not mean death and burial, but the purification of His Human, and glorification. That this is so the Lord taught by this comparison with wheat falling into the earth, which must die that it may bear fruit. The same is involved in what the Lord said to Mary Magdalene:
Touch Me not, for I am not yet ascended unto My Father (John 20:17).
"To ascend to His Father" means the uniting of His Human with His Divine, the human from the mother being fully rejected.
Footnotes:
1. The photolithograph has "mortuorum," "the dead," the Greek text has "the just."
2. The Latin has "mors secunda" second death, for "resurrectio secunda" second resurrection.
899. "Beati mortui in Domino morientes a nunc." Quod significet ressurectionem illorum in vitam aeternam, qui antehac vixerunt vitam charitatis, et posthac victuri sunt, constat ex significatione "mortuorum in Domino", quod sint qui resurgunt in vitam aeternam (de qua sequitur); et ex significatione "mortuorum" et "morientium a nunc", quod sit resurrectio illorum qui vitam charitatis antehac vixerunt, et posthac vivunt; nam haec dicuntur de illis qui "custodiunt mandata Dei et fidem Jesu", qui sunt qui vivunt secundum praecepta Domini in Verbo, et agnoscunt Divinum Ipsius, ita qui vitam charitatis vivunt a Domino (videatur supra, n. 894, 895).
[2] Quod dicatur "a nunc", est quia intelliguntur qui illam vitam vixerunt antehac, et illam vivunt posthac; qui illam vitam vixerunt antehac, illi reservati sunt a Domino infra caelos, ac tutati ab infestatione ab infernis, usque ad ultimum judicium, quo peracto, exsuscitati sunt e locis suis, et elevati in caelum; quod non prius, fuit causa, quia ante illud praevaluerunt inferna, erat superpondium ab illorum parte; at post illud praevaluerunt caeli, et sic erat superpondium ab horum parte: per ultimum enim judicium, omnia tam in infernis quam in caelis in ordinem redacta sunt; quare si prius elevati fuissent, non potuissent resistere potentiae in qua inferna fuerunt prae caelis. Quod elevati sint, datum est videre; ex inferiore enim terra, ubi reservati sunt a Domino, vidi phalanges resurgentes et elevatos, ac translatos in societates caelestes; hoc factum est post hoc ultimum judicium, de quo in opusculo De Ultimo Judicio actum est. Simile factum est post prius judicium, quod a Domino cum fuit in mundo peractum est, de quo etiam in eodem opusculo. Hoc arcanum est quod intelligitur per resurrectionem illorum qui antehac vitam charitatis vixerunt: hoc quoque intelligitur per haec verba apud Johannem,
"Nunc judicium est mundi hujus, nunc princeps mundi hujus ejicietur foras: Ego vero si exaltatus fuero e terra, omnes traham ad Me Ipsum" (12:31, 32):
et hoc repraesentatum est per
Quod multi dormientes sancti suscitati sint, "et exeuntes e monumentis suis post resurrectionem" Domini "ingressi sint in sanctam urbem, et apparuerint multis" (Matthaeus 27:52, 53):
sed de hac re plura dicentur, ubi de resurrectione seu morte prima et secunda in sequentibus in Apocalypsi.
[3] Quod per "beatos mortuos" et "morientes", etiam intelligantur illi qui in vitam resurrecturi sint posthac, qui sunt qui charitatis vitam vivunt, constare potest ex eo, quod dicatur, "a nunc", tum quod "mortui" et "morientes"; quare "a nunc" se refert non modo ad hos qui post ultimum judicium tales sunt, sed etiam ad illos qui antehac tales fuerunt, de quibus mox supra.
Quod "mors" significet resurrectionem, et quod inde "mortui" significent resurgentes in vitam aeternam, est quia "mors" significat infernum, et inde mala et falsa, et haec moritura sunt ut homo vitam spiritualem accipiat; nam antequam illa mortua et exstincta sunt, non homini est vita spiritualis, quae est quae intelligitur in Verbo per "vitam", per "vitam aeternam", et per "resurrectionem"; quare per "mori" hic et alibi in Verbo intelligitur exstinctio vitae propriae, quae in se spectata unice ex malis et inde falsis consistit; et quia dum illa vita exstincta est, loco ejus intrat vita spiritualis, inde per "mortuos in Domino" illi qui spirituales facti sunt a Domino, significantur.
[4] Praeterea in spirituali sensu per "mori" potest intelligi resurrectio, quia angeli, qui in spirituali sensu Verbi sunt, non sciunt aliquid de morte naturali, qualis est hominibus qui decedunt, sed de morte spirituali, qualis est illis qui per tentationes a Domino regenerantur, apud quos domantur et morti dantur mala et inde falsa. Est quoque mors naturalis non aliud quam resurrectio, quoniam cum corpus moritur homo quoad spiritum suum resurgit, et sic est mors modo continuatio vitae ejus; nam homo per mortem a vita in mundo naturali transcendit in vitam in mundo spirituali, cum differentia solum quod vita in mundo naturali sit vita exterior et imperfectior, vita autem in mundo spirituali est vita interior et perfectior, sed usque utrobivis ad apparentiam similis, ut constare potest ex illis quae in opere De Caelo et Inferno ex auditis et visis memorata sunt.
[5] Ex his constare potest quod per "mortem" significetur et mors spiritualis, quae est damnatio, et quoque resurrectio in vitam, quae est salvatio. Quod per "mortem" significetur damnatio, videatur supra (n. 186, 383, 1
427 [a] , 694); quod per "mortem" significetur resurrectio in vitam aeternam ac salvatio, constare potest a sequentibus locis: Apud Johannem,
"Jesus..dixit, Ego sum resurrectio et vita; qui credit in Me, etsi moriatur vivet; et omnis qui vivit, [et credit in Me,] non morietur in aeternum" (11:25, 26):
"Ego sum resurrectio et vita", significat quod ab Ipso et resurrectio et vita sit, et non ab alio: "qui credit in Me", significat qui credit Divinum Ipsius, ac Ipsum omnipotentem et solum Deum; et quia nemo hoc credere potest, quam qui charitatis vitam vivit, ideo hoc etiam per "credere in Ipsum" intelligitur: "etsi moriatur vivet", significat tametsi obit naturaliter, quod usque resurget in vitam: "et omnis qui vivit, et credit in Me, non morietur in aeternum", significat, quod qui reformatus est, non spiritualiter morietur, hoc est, damnabitur, sed in vitam aeternam resurget: inde patet quod per "mori" non intelligendum sit mori, sed resurgere in vitam.
[6] Apud eundem,
"Patres vestri comederunt mannam in deserto, et mortui sunt; hic est panis, qui e caelo descendit, ut quis ex eo comedat, non morietur" (6:49, 50, 58):
per "mannam", quam filii Jacobi in deserto comederunt, quoad illos, quia naturales erant, intelligitur cibus naturalis; et per "panem qui e caelo descendit", intelligitur cibus spiritualis, qui a solo Domino; et quia a solo Ipso, in supremo sensu per "Panem" intelligitur Ipse, quare etiam dicit, "Ego sum Panis vitae": est enim Divinum Bonum unitum Divino Vero procedens a Domino, ex quo vita spiritualis est angelis, et quoque hominibus; quare per illa verba in spirituali sensu intelligitur, quod qui solum naturaliter ex Verbo se nutriunt, mortui sint, hoc est, damnati, ut fuerunt filii Jacobi, quod etiam significatum est per quod omnes in deserto mortui sint; qui autem spiritualiter se nutriunt ex Verbo, quod non damnationi obnoxii futuri sint, quod intelligitur per quod "non morientur"; inde patet quod non mori intelligatur sed resurrectio in vitam, quia mors", si non est mors, est vita.
[7] Apud eundem,
Si quis Verbum meum servaverit, mortem non videbit in aeternum" (8:52, 53 2
):
per "servare verba" Domini, significatur vivere secundum praecepta Domini; "non videre mortem" significat non damnationem, sed vitam in quam homo resurgit et ingreditur per mortem.
Apud eundem,
Jesus dixit, "Amen dico vobis, quod qui Verbum meum audit, et credit Ipsi qui misit Me, habeat vitam aeternam, et non in judicium veniat, sed transcendat a morte in vitam" (5:24):
per "audire Verbum Domini, et credere Ipsi qui misit Ipsum", intelliguntur similia quae supra, nam Dominus per "Patrem" intellexit Divinum quod fuit in Ipso ex conceptione, ita Se Ipsum; "non in judicium venire", significat non damnari; "transcendere a morte in vitam", significat resurrectionem et vitam in caelo; "a morte" non solum significat a morte naturali in vitam aeternam, ita resurrectionem, sed etiam a morte spirituali, quae est damnatio, in vitam aeternam, ita quoque resurrectionem; nam in Verbo est et sensus naturalis et sensus spiritualis.
[8] Apud eundem,
Jesus dixit, "Sicut Pater suscitat mortuos et vivificat, ita..Filius, quos vult, vivificat" (5:21):
per "suscitare mortuos et vivificare", non solum intelligitur resurrectio in vitam per mortem naturalem, sed etiam per mortem spiritualem; resurrectio in vitam fit per reformationem et regenerationem, et haec per remotionem et separationem malorum, quae hominem damnant, quae est mors spiritualis.
Apud eundem,
Jesus dixit, "Amen dico vobis, quod Veniat hora, ...quando mortui audient vocem Filii Dei, et qui 3
audient, vivent" (5:25):
per "mortuos" hic significantur qui in malis et inde falsis sunt, sed ab illis per reformationem liberati: quod illi resurrecturi sint, intelligitur per illa verba; hi enim tunc non amplius mortui sunt, sed vivi, nam sunt "qui audiunt vocem Filii Dei", ita qui vivunt secundum praecepta Ipsius. Similiter apud Lucam,
Quod retribuetur in resurrectione 4
mortuorum ( 5
14:14):
per "resurrectionem mortuorum" non modo intelligitur resurrectio illorum qui naturaliter moriuntur, nam hi statim post mortem resurgunt, sed etiam qui spiritualiter, ac vivificati sunt a Domino.
[9] Apud Johannem,
Jesus dixit, "Veniet hora, in qua omnes qui in monumentis sunt, audient vocem" Filii Dei, "et exibunt, qui bona fecerunt in resurrectionem vitae, qui..mala fecerunt in resurrectionem judicii" (5:28, 29):
per haec non intelligitur quod monumenta aperientur et exibunt omnes die ultimi judicii; sed per "monumenta" quae aperientur, intelliguntur loca in inferiore terra, ubi reservati et custoditi sunt a Domino illi qui antehac charitatis vitam vixerunt, ac Divinum Domini agnoverunt, et die ultimi judicii, et post illum, elevati in caelum, de quibus supra in hoc articulo dictum est; haec loca in spirituali sensu per "monumenta" significantur: quod non 6
intelligatur quod monumenta in terra aperienda sint, et quod ex illis die ultimi judicii exituri sint, patet manifeste ex eo, quod omnes homines statim post mortem in spiritualem mundum veniant, ac ibi in forma humana similiter ut in mundo naturali vivant; ita quod resurrectio sit cuivis statim post mortem, resurrectio vitae illis qui bona fecerunt, et resurrectio judicii illis qui mala fecerunt, ut constare potest ex illis quae in opere De Caelo et Inferno ex auditis et visis memorata sunt.
[10] Haec repraesentata sunt per
Quod monumenta aperta sint, et multa corpora dormientium sanctorum suscitata, et quod exeuntes e monumentis suis post resurrectionem Domini ingressi sint in sanctam urbem, et apparuerint multis (Matthaeus 27:52, 53):
quod monumenta tunc aperta fuerint, et quod sancti, qui prius mortui fuerunt, exiverint, et ingressi sanctam urbem multis apparuerint, repraesentabat resurrectionem illorum qui in locis sub caelo a Domino usque ad adventum Ipsius in mundum reservati sunt, et qui post resurrectionem Ipsius inde exempti et in caelum sublati sunt: haec quoque facta sunt, et visa illis qui in Hierosolyma erant, sed usque fuerunt repraesentativa resurrectionis illorum de quibus nunc et supra dictum est;
sicut enim omnia passionis Domini repraesentativa erant, et quoque quod velum in Templo disruptum esset in binas partes, quod terrae commotae, et quod petrae discissae (Matthaeus 27:51),
ita haec, quod e monumentis apertis exiverint; quare etiam dicitur quod "in sanctam urbem ingressi sint, et ibi apparuerint"; per Zionem enim, quae hic intelligitur per "sanctam urbem", repraesentabatur adhuc caelum, ubi Dominus per Divinum suum Verum regnat; (de qua "Zionis" significatione, videatur supra, n. 850); quae urbs una cum Hierosolyma nunc potius profana fuit quam sancta, quare etiam
vocatur Aegyptus et Sodoma in Apocalypsi (cap. 11:8);
sed "sancta" vocatur propter repraesentationem et inde significationem ejus in Verbo.
[11] Resurrectio a mortuis, tam in naturali quam in spirituali sensu, repraesentata et inde significata est quoque per mortuos quos Dominus resuscitavit,
Ut per resuscitationem Lazari (Joh. 11:11-44 7
);
Per resuscitationem juvenis e Nain ( 8
Luc. 7:11-18Marcus 5:21 ad fin. ).
Omnia enim miracula quae a Domino facta sunt, et quoque omnia miracula quae in Verbo descripta sunt, involvebant sancta caeli et ecclesiae, et inde significabant illa; inde miracula illa Divina erant, et distinguebantur a miraculis non Divinis. Similia significantur per
Quod datum sit discipulis resuscitare mortuos (Matthaeus 10:8).
[12] Regeneratio, quae etiam est resurrectio a mortuis, repraesentata est per vivificationem ossium, apud Ezechielem (cap. 37:1-14); quod regeneratio repraesenta sit per illam, manifeste patet a versibus 11-14 ibi, ubi dicitur,
"Ossa haec tota domus Israelis sunt;.... propterea propheta et dic ad illos, .... Ecce Ego aperturus sum sepulcra vestra.... popule mi, et deducam vos super terram Israelis, ut cognoscatis, quod.... dedero spiritum meum in vobis, ut vivatis:"
hic etiam dicitur, quod "aperientur sepulcra", per quod etiam significatur resurrectio in vitam.
(Quod "sepeliri" et "sepultura" significent resurrectionem, tum regenerationem, quia rejectionem immundorum, videatur supra, n. 659.)
[13] Quod mors naturalis, quae est rejectio immundorum corporis, et mors spiritualis, quae est remotio immundorum spiritus, significent resurrectionem, etiam constat ex sequentibus in Apocalypsi, ubi agitur de morte prima et de morte secunda, quae etiam
vocatur resurrectio prima et 9
resurrectio secunda (cap. 2:11; 21:8);
tum etiam apud Davidem,
"Pretiosa in oculis Jehovae mors sanctorum Ipsius" (Psalms 116:15):
quod "mors sanctorum" non significet damnationem, sed separationem et remotionem immundorum spiritus illorum, ita regenerationem et resurrectionem, patet. Ut et apud Johannem,
Jesus dixit, "Nisi granum tritici in terram cadens moriatur, id solum manet; si vero moriatur, multum fructum fert" (12:24):
simile etiam est cum homine, qui quoad corpus mori debet, ut resurgat, et quoad proprium suum, quod in se est infernale; nam nisi illud et hoc moritur, non habet homo vitam caeli.
[14] Quoniam homines resurgunt post mortem, ideo Dominus voluit mortem subire, et tertio die resurgere; sed propter causam, ut omne humanum, quod ex matre Ipsi fuit, exueret, ac Divinum Humanum indueret; nam omne humanum quod Dominus ex matre suscepit, per tentationes, et demum per mortem, a Se rejecit; ac per induitionem Humani ex ipso Divino, quod fuit in Ipso, glorificavit Se, hoc est, Humanum suum Divinum fecit: inde est quod per "mortem" Ipsius et per "sepelitionem" in caelo non intelligatur mors et sepelitio, sed purificatio Humani Ipsius, et glorificatio: quod ita sit, Dominus docuit per comparationem illam cum tritico cadente in terram, quod "moriturum sit ut fructum ferat": etiam tale involvit quod Dominus dixit ad Mariam Magdalenam,
"Ne me tange, nondum enim ascendi ad Patrem meum" (Johannes 20:17):
per "ascendere ad Patrem suum" intelligitur unitio Humani sui cum Divino suo, humano ex matre plene rejecto.
Footnotes:
1. The editors made a correction or note here.
2. The editors made a correction or note here.
3. The editors made a correction or note here.
4. The editors made a correction or note here.
5. The editors made a correction or note here.
6. The editors made a correction or note here.
7. The editors made a correction or note here.
8. The editors made a correction or note here.
9. The editors made a correction or note here.