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902. Because here, as in several other passages in the Apocalypse, works are mentioned, and, in the present instance it is said, "their works follow with them," and by this is signified spiritual life, something shall be said to explain how that life is acquired, and also how it is destroyed by the faith of the present day.
Spiritual life is procured solely by a life according to the precepts in the Word, which are summarily expressed in the Decalogue, namely, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet the goods of others. These precepts are meant by the precepts that are to be done; for when a man does them, then his works are good, and his life is spiritual. The reason is, that so far as a man flees from evils and hates them, so far does he will and love goods.
[2] For there are two opposite spheres surrounding man, one from hell, the other from heaven. From hell, a sphere of evil and of the falsity therefrom; from heaven a sphere of good, and of the truth therefrom. And these spheres do [not] affect the body directly, but they affect the minds of men, for they are spiritual spheres; and consequently they are affections of the love, a man being set in the midst of them. So far as, therefore, he accedes to the one, so far he recedes from the other. Hence it is, that so far as man flees from evils and hates them, so far does he will and love goods and the truths therefrom;
For no one can at the same time serve two masters, for either he will hate the one, or love the other (Matthew 6:24).
[3] But it must be understood, that man ought to do these precepts from religion, because they are commanded by the Lord. If [his actions proceed] from any other cause whatever - as, if [he acts] from civil law only, or from moral law - a man remains natural, and does not become spiritual. For if a man acts from religion, he then acknowledges in heart that there is a God, a heaven and a hell, and a life after death. If, on the contrary, he acts only from civil and moral law, he may then do similar things, and yet in heart deny that there is a God, a heaven and a hell, and a life after death. And in this case if he flees from evils and does goods, it is only in the external, and not in the internal form; thus he is outwardly as to the life of the body like a Christian, and inwardly as to the life of his spirit like a devil. From these things it is evident, that a man cannot become spiritual, or receive spiritual life, except by a life according to religion from the Lord.
[4] That this is the case has been proved to me from angels of the third or inmost heaven, who are in the greatest wisdom and happiness. When I asked these how they became such angels, they said, because when they lived in the world they accounted filthy thoughts as heinous, which to them were also adulteries; also frauds and illicit gains, which to them were thefts; also hatred and revenge, which to them were murder; so also lies and blasphemies, which to them were false testimonies; and so in other cases. Afterwards, when asked whether they did good works, they said that they loved chastity, in which they were, because they accounted adulteries as heinous; that they loved and practised sincerity and justice, because they accounted frauds and illicit gains as heinous; that they loved the neighbour, because they regarded hatred and revenge as heinous; that they loved truth, because they regarded lies and blasphemies as heinous, and so on. Also they said that they perceived, that on those [evils] being removed, to act from chastity, sincerity, justice, charity, and truth, was not from themselves, but from the Lord, and that thus good works were everything that they did from the above, although as from themselves; and that consequently after death they were raised up by the Lord into the third heaven. From these things it was clear how spiritual life, which is the life of the angels of heaven, is acquired.
[5] It shall now be explained how that life has been destroyed by the faith of the present day. That faith is, that it is to be believed, that God the Father sent His Son, who suffered the cross for our sins, and took away the curse of the law by fulfilling it; and that this faith, without good works, will save every one, indeed, even in the last hour of death. By this faith, taught from childhood and afterwards confirmed by preachings, it has come to pass, that no one shuns evils from religion, but only from civil and moral law; thus, not because they are sins, but because they are hurtful. Consider now; when a man thinks that the Lord suffered for our sins, that He took away the curse of the law, and that to believe these things, or that faith in them alone, without good works, saves, whether or not this is to treat with contempt all the precepts of the Decalogue, all the life of religion as prescribed in the Word, and moreover all the truths that teach charity. Put these aside, therefore, and remove them from a man; what religion has he? For religion does not consist in merely thinking this or that, but in willing and doing that which is thought; and there, is no religion, when willing and doing are separated from thinking. Hence it follows, that by the faith of the present day, spiritual life - which is the life of the angels of heaven, and the Christian life itself - is destroyed. Consider further, why the ten precepts of the Decalogue were promulgated from mount Sinai in so miraculous a manner; that they were engraven on two tables of stone, and that these were deposited in the ark, upon which was placed a mercy-seat with cherubs; and that the place where those precepts were, was called the Holy of holies, within which it was lawful for Aaron to enter only once a year, and this with sacrifices and incense - and if he had entered without these, he would have fallen down dead; also, that so many miracles were afterwards performed by that ark. Are not all people throughout the whole world acquainted with similar precepts? Do not their civil laws lay down the same? Who does not know from natural light (lumen) alone that, for the sake of order in every kingdom, adultery, theft, murder, false witness, and the other things contained there, are forbidden? Why, then, had those very precepts to be promulgated with so many miracles, and to be accounted as holy? Can any other reason be assigned, than that every one might do them from religion, and thus from God, and not from civil and moral law only, and consequently for the sake of self and the world? This was the reason why they were promulgated from mount Sinai, and why they were holy. For to do those precepts from religion purifies the internal man, opens heaven, admits the Lord, and makes a man, as to his spirit, an angel of heaven. This is the reason that the Gentiles, outside the church, who do those precepts from religion, are all saved, but none of those who do them only from civil and moral law.
Examine now, whether the faith of the present day, which is, that the Lord suffered for our sins, that He took away the curse of the law by fulfilling it, and that a man is justified and saved by this faith without good works, does not loosen all those precepts. Consider further, and investigate how many there are at this day in the Christian world who do not live according to this faith. I know that they will reply that they are weak and imperfect men, born in sins, and the like. But who is there that cannot think from religion? This the Lord grants to every one; and in the man who thinks such things from religion, the Lord operates all things, so far as he thinks. And, be it known, that he who thinks of those [precepts] from religion, believes that there is a God, a heaven and a hell, and a life after death; but he who does not think of them from religion, I affirm that he does not believe them.
902. Since here as in many other passages in Revelation, "works" are mentioned, and here it is said that "their works do follow with them," which signifies spiritual life, something shall be said about how that life is acquired, and also how it is destroyed by the faith of the present day. Spiritual life is acquired solely by a life according to the commandments in the Word. These commandments are given in a summary in the Decalogue, namely, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet the goods of others. These commandments are the commandments that are to be done, for when a man does these his works are good and his life becomes spiritual, because so far as a man shuns evils and hates them, so far he wills and loves goods.
[2] For there are two opposite spheres that surround man, one from hell, the other from heaven, from hell a sphere of evil and of falsity therefrom, from heaven a sphere of good and of truth therefrom; and these spheres affect 1the body, but they affect the minds of men, for they are spiritual spheres, and thus are affections that belong to the love. Man is set in the midst of these; therefore so far as he approaches the one so far he withdraws from the other. This is why so far as a man shuns evils and hates them, so far he wills and loves goods and the truths therefrom, for:
No one can at the same time serve two masters, for he will either hate the one and love the other (Matthew 6:24).
[3] But let it be known, that man must do these commandments from religion, because they are commanded by the Lord; and if he does them from any other consideration whatever, for instance, from regard merely to the civil law or the moral law, he remains natural, and does not become spiritual. For when a man acts from religion he acknowledges in heart that there is a God, a heaven and a hell, and a life after death. But when he acts merely from the civil and moral law, he may act in the same way, and yet in heart may deny that there is a God, a heaven and a hell, and a life after death. And if he shuns evils and does goods it is only in an external form, and not in an internal form; thus while he is outwardly as to the life of the body like a Christian, inwardly as to the life of his spirit he is like a devil. All this makes clear that a man can become spiritual, or receive spiritual life, in no other way than by a life according to religion from the Lord.
[4] I have had proof that this is true from angels of the third or inmost heaven, who are in the greatest wisdom and happiness. When asked how they had become such angels, they said that it was because during their life in the world they had regarded filthy thoughts as heinous, and these had been to them adulteries; and had regarded in like manner frauds and unlawful gains, which had been to them thefts; also hatreds and revenges, which had been to them murder; also lies and blasphemies, which had been to them false testimonies: and so with other things. When asked again whether they had done good works, they said that they loved chastity, in which they were because they had regarded adulteries as heinous; that they loved sincerity and justice, in which they were because they had regarded frauds and unlawful gains as heinous; that they loved the neighbor because they had regarded hatreds and revenges as heinous; that they loved truth because they had regarded lies and blasphemies as heinous, and so on; and that they perceived that when these evils had been put away, and they acted from chastity, sincerity, justice, charity, and truth, it was not done from themselves but from the Lord, and thus that all things whatsoever that they had done from these were good works, although they had done them as if from themselves; and that it was on this account that they had been raised up by the Lord after death into the third heaven. Thus it was made clear how spiritual life, which is the life of the angels of heaven, is acquired.
[5] It shall now be told how that life is destroyed by the faith of the present day. The faith of this day is that it must be believed that God the Father sent His Son, who suffered the cross for our sins, and took away the condemnation of the law by fulfilling it; and that this faith without good works will save everyone, even in the last hour of death. By this faith, instilled from childhood and afterwards confirmed by preachings, it has come to pass that no one shuns evils from religion, but only from the civil and moral law; thus not because they are sins but because they are damaging. Consider, when a man thinks that the Lord suffered for our sins, that He took away the condemnation of the law, and that merely to believe these things or to have faith in them without good works saves-whether this is not to regard as of little worth all the commandments of the Decalogue, all the life of religion as prescribed in the Word, and furthermore all the truths that teach charity. Separate these therefore, and take them away from man, and is there any religion left in him? For religion does not consist in merely thinking this or that, but in willing and doing that which is thought; and there is no religion when willing and doing are separated from thinking. From this it follows that the faith of this day destroys spiritual life, which is the life of the angels of heaven, and is the Christian life itself.
[6] Consider further, why the ten commandments of the Decalogue were promulgated from Mount Sinai by so great a miracle; why they were engraven on two tables of stone, and why these were placed in the ark, over which was placed the mercy-seat with cherubs, and the place where those commandments were was called the Holy of holies, within which Aaron was permitted to enter only once a year, and this with sacrifices and incense, and if he had entered without these he would have fallen dead; also why so many miracles were afterwards performed by the ark. Have not all throughout the whole globe a knowledge of like commandments? Do not their civil laws prescribe the same? Who does not know from merely natural lumen, that for the sake of order in every kingdom adultery, theft, murder, false witness, and other things in the Decalogue are forbidden? Why then were those same precepts promulgated by so many miracles, and regarded as so holy? Can there be any other reason than that everyone might do them from religion, and thus from God, and not merely from civil and moral law, and thus from self and for the sake of the world? This was the reason for their promulgation from Mount Sinai and their holiness; for to do these commandments from religion purifies the internal man, opens heaven, admits the Lord, and makes man as to his spirit an angel of heaven. And this is why the nations outside the church who do these commandments from religion are all saved, but not anyone who does them merely from civil and moral law.
[7] Inquire now whether the faith of this day does not cancel all these commandments, which faith is, that the Lord suffered for our sins, that He took away the condemnation of the law by fulfilling it, and that man is justified and saved by this faith without good works. Look about and discover how many there are at this day in the Christian world who do not live according to this faith. I know that they will answer that they are weak and imperfect men, born in sins, and the like. But who is not able to think from religion? This the Lord gives to everyone; and with him who thinks these things from religion the Lord works all things, so far as he thinks. And be it known that he who thinks these things from religion believes that there is a God, a heaven, a hell, and a life after death; but he who does not think of these things from religion, I affirm, does not believe them.
Footnotes:
1. The sense indicates that not has been omitted in the Latin.
902. Quoniam hic, ut in pluribus aliis locis in Apocalypsi, dicuntur "opera", et hic quod "opera sequantur cum illis", et per hoc significatur vita spiritualis, aliquid dicetur quomodo illa vita comparatur, et quomodo illa per hodiernam fidem destructa est. Vita spiritualis unice comparatur per vitam secundum praecepta in Verbo. Praecepta sunt in summa quae in decalogo, nempe, Non adulteraberis, Non furaberis, Non occides, Non false testaberis, Non concupisces bona aliorum: haec praecepta intelliguntur per praecepta quae facienda; quando enim homo illa facit, tunc opera ejus sunt bona, ac vita ejus fit spiritualis; causa est quia quantum homo mala fugit et odio habet, tantum bona vult et amat.
[2] Sunt enim binae sphaerae oppositae, quae circumstipant hominem, una ex inferno, altera ex caelo; ex inferno sphaera mali et inde falsi, ex caelo sphaera boni et inde veri; ac illae sphaerae [non immediate] afficiunt corpus, sed afficiunt mentes hominum, sunt enim sphaerae spirituales, et inde sunt affectiones quae amoris; homo in medio illarum constitutus est; quantum itaque accedit ad unam, tantum recedit ab altera: inde est, quod quantum homo mala fugit, et odio habet, tantum bona et inde vera velit et amet;
nemo enim duobus dominis simul potest servire; nam aut unum odio habebit, aut alterum amabit (Matthaeus 6:24).
[3] At sciendum est quod homo praecepta illa facturus sit ex religione, quia a Domino mandata sunt; si ex alia causa quacunque, ut si solum ex lege civili aut ex lege morali, homo manet naturalis, et non fit spiritualis; nam si homo facit ex religione, tunc corde agnoscit quod Deus sit, quod caelum et infernum sint, et quod vita post mortem sit; si autem, solum ex lege civili et morali facit, tunc potest similia facere, et tamen corde negare quod Deus sit, et quod caelum et infernum ac vita post mortem sint: hic si fugit mala et bona facit, est solum in forma externa, et non in interna; ita est exterius quoad corporis vitam similis Christiano, ac interius quoad spiritus sui vitam similis diabolo. Ex his patet quod homo non possit aliter spiritualis fieri, seu vitam spiritualem accipere, quam per vitam secundum religionem a Domino.
[4] Quod ita sit, confirmatus sum ex angelis tertii seu intimi caeli, qui in maxima sapientia et felicitate sunt; hi interrogati quomodo tales angeli facti sunt, dixerunt, quia dum vixerunt in mundo pro nefandis reputaverunt spurcas cogitationes, quae illis fuerunt etiam adulteria; similiter fraudes et illicitas lucrationes, quae illis fuerunt furta; tum odia et vindictas, quae illis fuerunt neces; ut et mendacia et blasphemationes, quae illis fuerunt falsa testimonia; et similia alia: dein interrogati annon bona opera fecerunt, dixerunt quod amaverint castitatem, in qua fuerunt, quia pro nefandis reputaverunt adulteria; quod amaverint sinceritatem et justitiam, in quibus fuerunt, quia pro nefandis reputaverunt fraudes et illicitas lucrationes; quod amaverint proximum, quia pro nefandis reputaverunt odia et vindictas; quod amaverint veritatem, quia pro nefandis reputaverunt mendacia et blasphemationes; et sic porro; tum quod perceperint, quod, illis remotis, ex castitate, sinceritate, justitia, charitate et veritate agerent, non fuerit ex se sed ex Domino, et quod sic bona opera essent omnia quaecunque ex illis, tametsi sicut ex se fecerunt; et quod inde sit quod post mortem a Domino evecti sint in tertium caelum: ex his patuit quomodo vita spiritualis, quae est vita angelorum caeli, comparatur.
[5] Nunc autem dicetur quomodo illa vita per hodiernam fidem destructa est. Hodierna fides est, quod credendum sit quod Deus Pater miserit Filium suum, qui crucem passus est pro nostris peccatis, ac sustulerat damnationem legis per impletionem ejus, et quod haec fides absque bonis operibus unumquemvis salvet, immo etiam in ultima mortis hora. Per hanc fidem impressam a pueritia, et dein confirmatam ex praedicationibus, factum est ut non aliquis fugiat mala ex religione, sed solum ex lege civili et morali; ita non quia peccata sunt, sed quia damna. Expende, dum homo cogitat quod Dominus passus sit pro nostris peccatis, quod sustulerit damnationem legis, et quod credere illa seu fides illorum sola absque bonis operibus salvet, annon vilipendat omnia praecepta decalogi, et omnem vitam religionis praescriptae in Verbo, et praeterea omnia vera quae docent charitatem; separa itaque haec, et remove ab homine, an est apud illum aliqua religio? religio enim non consistit in solum cogitare hoc aut illud, sed in velle et facere id quod cogitat, ac nulla religio est cum separatur velle et facere a cogitare. Inde sequitur quod per hodiernam fidem vita spiritualis, quae est vita angelorum caeli, et ipsa vita Christiana, destructa sit.
[6] Expende ulterius, unde est quod decem praecepta decalogi e Monte sinai per tantum miraculum promulgata sint, quod insculpta sint binis tabulis ex lapide, et quod hae positae sint in arca, super quam positum fuit propitiatorium cum cherubis, et locus ille, ubi illa praecepta, dictus sit sanctum sanctorum, intra quem non licuit Aharoni intrare nisi semel quotannis, et hoc cum sacrificiis et cum suffitu; et si absque illis intravisset, mortuus succubuisset; tum quod per arcam illam tot miracula postea facta sint. Annon omnes in universo orbe terrarum similia praecepta sciunt? Annon leges illorum civiles eadem dictant? Quis non ex solo naturali lumine scit, quod propter ordinem in unoquovis regno, non adulterandum sit, non furandum, non occidendum, non false testandum, et plura quae ibi? Quare tunc eadem illa per tot miracula promulganda erant, et tam sancta habenda Annon propterea, ut unusquisque illa faceret ex religione, ac ita ex Deo, et non solummodo ex lege civili et morali, ac ita ex se et propter mundum? Haec causa promulgationis illorum e Monte Sinai fuit, et causa sanctitatis illorum; nam facere illa praecepta ex religione purificat internum hominem, aperit caelum, admittit Dominum, et hominem quoad spiritum suum facit angelum caeli. Inde quoque est quod gentes, quae extra ecclesiam sunt, omnes salventur qui praecepta illa ex religione faciunt, et non aliquis qui solummodo ex lege civili et morali.
[7] Explora nunc, annon hodierna fides, quae est quod Dominus passus sit pro nostris peccatis, quod sustulerit damnationem legis per impletionem ejus, et quod homo justificetur et salvetur per illam fidem absque bonis operibus, solverit omnia illa praecepta; extende visum tuum, et investiga, quot hodie in orbe Christiano sunt, qui non illam fidem vivunt. Scio quod respondeant quod imbecilles et infirmi homines sint, nati in peccatis, et similia alia; sed quis non potest ex religione cogitare? hoc dat Dominus unicuivis, et apud illum qui ex religione talia cogitat, Dominus operatur omnia, quantum cogitat; et scias quod qui ex religione illa cogitat, is credat quod Deus sit, ac quod caelum, infernum et vita post mortem sint; at qui non illa ex religione cogitat, assevero quod illa non credat.