798.我们说过，他们没有良善与真理的结合，因为他们里面没有主与教会的婚姻，所以此处有必要说一说打开和关闭天堂的权柄，该权柄与赦免和留下罪的权柄（约翰福音20:21-23）行如一体，而他们作为彼得和众使徒的继任者把该权柄归给自己。主对彼得说：
我要把我的教会建造在这磐石上，阴间的门不能胜过他；我要把天国的钥匙给你，凡你在地上所捆绑的，在天上也要捆绑，凡你在地上所释放的，在天上也要释放。（马太福音 16:18，19）
彼得的表白就是主要将祂的教会建于其上的“磐石”所表示的神性真理；他说：你是基督，是永生神的儿子。（马太福音16:16）
“天国的钥匙”，就是凡这磐石，也就是主，“在地上所捆绑，在天上也要捆绑，在地上所释放，在天上也要释放”的，表示主有掌管天地的权柄，如祂所说的（马太福音28:18）；因而表示拯救那些通过内心的信仰而处于彼得的表白之人的权柄。
主拯救人的神性运作，是藉着终端通过初始；这就是“凡他在地上捆绑或释放的，在天上也要捆绑或释放”的意思。主运作所藉的终端在地上，其实在世人里面。因此，主自己可以如存在于初始中那样存在于终端，所以祂来到世间，披上人身。主的一切神性运作皆藉着终端通过初始，因而既通过初始中的祂自己，也通过终端中的祂自己；这一点可见于《圣爱与圣智》（217-219，221节）一书；正因如此，主被称为“首先的和末后的”，“阿尔法和俄梅戛”，“初和终”，“全能者”（29-31，38，57节）。
若愿意，谁看不出，世人的得救就是主自人从婴儿最初那一刻直到临终之际在他里面的持续运作，并且这一切是纯神性的工作，绝不能被赐给任何人？这项工作如此神圣，以致它是全在、全知和全能同时所作的工；人的改造和重生，因而他的得救，就是主圣治（Divine Providence，或译天命）的全部，这一点可见于《圣治》（dp或译《天命》）一书从头到尾。
主降世的唯一目的就是拯救人类。因此缘故，祂披上人身，移除地狱，荣耀祂自己，甚至在终端披戴全能，也就是“坐在神右手边”的意思（路加福音16:19）。因此，还有什么比建立一个准许神性权柄和能力属于人，而不再属于主的宗教更可憎的呢？并且还认可神父仅仅说一句“我赦免了你”或“我将你逐出教会”，天堂就会被打开或关闭；甚至只要他说“我赦免你的罪”，哪怕滔天的大罪也得赦免。世间有许多魔鬼，为了逃避世上的惩罚，利用各种伎俩和礼物为自己所犯恶魔般的罪行寻求并获得赦免。谁会疯狂到如此地步，居然相信准许魔鬼天堂这样的权柄会被赐下？
前面说过（790节末尾），“彼得”代表教会的信之真理，“雅各”代表教会的仁之良善，“约翰”代表教会之人的善行或好行为，十二使徒一起代表教会的一切事物。从主在马太福音中对他们所说的话很清楚地看出，他们代表教会的一切事物：
人子坐在祂荣耀的宝座上，你们也要坐在十二个宝座上，审判以色列十二个支派。（马太福音 19:28；路加福音22:30）
这些话无非表示主将照教会的良善与真理审判所有人。如果这些话不是这个意思，而是指十二使徒自己，那么巴比伦大城中的所有人，就是那些自称是众使徒继任者的人，也会声称他们，从教皇，甚至直到修道士，都将坐在和他们自己人数一样多的宝座上，出会的所有人，会认为他们将要坐在宝座上——从教宗到教士，跟实际数量那么多，并且将审判全世界所有人。
798. Since we say that these Roman Catholics have no conjunction of goodness and truth, because they do not have in them a marriage of the Lord and the church, therefore we must say something here about the power of opening and closing heaven, which goes along with the power of forgiving and retaining sins, 1a power that they claim for themselves as the successors of Peter and the Apostles.
(The Lord said to Peter,) ."..on this rock 2I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:18-19)
The Divine truth meant by Peter, on which the Lord will build His church, is the truth confessed by Peter at the time, when He said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16).
The keys of the kingdom of heaven are this, that whatever that rock, meaning the Lord, has bound on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever it has loosed on earth will be loosed in heaven, and it means that the Lord has power over heaven and earth, as He also says in Matthew 28:18, thus the power of saving people who from a heartfelt faith have that confession of Peter.
[2] The Lord's Divine operation to save mankind takes place from the firsts of creation through the lasts of it, and this is what we mean when we say that whatever He has bound or loosed on earth will be bound or loosed in heaven. The last elements by which the Lord operates are those on earth, and indeed, in people. For this reason, that the Lord Himself might be present in the lasts of creation as He is in the firsts of it, He came into the world and assumed human form.
To be shown that every Divine operation of the Lord takes place from the firsts of creation through the lasts of it, thus from Himself in the firsts of it and from Himself in the lasts of it, see Angelic Wisdom Regarding Divine Love and Wisdom, nos. 217-219 221. Also that this is why the Lord is called the First and the Last, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the Almighty, nos. 29-31, 38, 57 above.
[3] Who that is willing cannot see that a person's salvation depends on a continual operation of the Lord in the person from his first infancy to the end of his life, and that it is a work purely Divine, one that can never be granted to any man? It is so Divine that it requires the combination of omnipresence, omniscience and omnipotence. Moreover, that a person's reformation and regeneration, thus his salvation, is wholly the work of the Lord's Divine providence, may be seen from beginning to end in Angelic Wisdom Regarding Divine Providence.
[4] The Lord's advent itself into the world had as its sole end the salvation of mankind. For this reason He assumed human form, banished the hells, and glorified Himself, and took on omnipotence also in the lasts of creation, which is what is meant by His sitting at the right hand of God. 3
What then is more abominable than to found a religion which sanctions the idea that that Divine power and authority are a man's and no longer the Lord's? Or that heaven will be opened or closed if only a clergyman says, "I absolve you," or "I excommunicate you"? Or that a sin is forgiven, even a heinous one, if only he says, "I forgive it"?
The world holds many devils who, to avoid temporal punishment, use artful schemes and gifts to seek and obtain absolution for their diabolical wickedness. Who can be so insane as to believe that the power exists to let devils into heaven?
[5] We said at the end of no. 790 that Peter represented the church's truth of faith, James the church's charity, and John the good works of the people in the church, and that the twelve Apostles together represented the church in respect to all of its components. Their representing these things is clearly apparent from the Lord's words to them in Matthew:
...when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you... will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (Matthew 19:28, cf. Luke 22:30)
These words can have no other symbolic meaning than that the Lord will judge all people according to the goods and truths of the church. If this were not the meaning of these words, but if instead the Apostles themselves were meant, all in that great city Babylon who call themselves successors of the Apostles could also claim for themselves, from Pope down to monk, that they will sit on as many thrones as their number, and will judge all throughout the entire world.
Footnotes:
1. See John 20:21-23.
2. There is a play on words here in the original Greek, which the Lord uses to draw a connection between Peter (Pétros) and a rock (pétra), a play reflected in the Latin Petrus and petra.
3. Mark 16:19
798. Since it is said that they do not have any conjunction of good and truth because there is no marriage of the Lord and the Church with them, something shall here be said concerning the authority for opening and shutting heaven which acts as one with the authority to remit and to retain sins, which they claim for themselves as the successors of Peter and the apostles. The Lord said to Peter:
Upon this same Rock (Petra) I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail over it. I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of the heavens, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in the heavens, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in the heavens. Matthew 16:18-19.
The Divine Truth that is understood by the 'Rock' (Petra) upon which the Lord is going to build His Church is what Peter then confessed, which was (verse 16 there):
Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
By 'the keys of the kingdom of the heavens,' which are that whatsoever that 'Rock,' which is the Lord, 'shall bind on earth shall be bound in the heavens, and whatsoever He shall loose on earth shall be loosed in the heavens,' is understood that the Lord has authority over heaven and earth, as He also says (Matthew 28:18), thus the authority for saving the men who from a faith of the heart are in that confession of Peter's.
[2] The Lord's Divine operation for saving men is from first things by means of ultimates, and this is what is understood by 'whatsoever He shall bind or loose on earth shall be bound or loosed in heaven.' The ultimates by means of which the Lord operates are on earth, and are indeed with men. On account of this He came into the world and put on the Human so that the Lord Himself might be in ultimates just as He is in first things. That every Divine operation of the Lord is from first things by means of ultimates, thus from Himself in first things and from Himself in ultimates, may be seen in ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING DIVINE LOVE AND WISDOM 217-219, 221; and that as a result of this the Lord is termed 'the First and the Last, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the Ending, the Almighty,' may be seen above (29-31, 38, 57).
[3] Who cannot see, if he will, that the salvation of a man is the Lord's continuous operation with the man from the first moment of his infancy to the last moment of his life, and that this is a purely Divine thing and never assignable to any man? This is so Divine that it is the operation at the same time of Omnipresence, Omniscience and Omnipotence. Also that a man's reformation and regeneration, thus his salvation, is all of the Lord's Divine Providence can be seen in ANGELIC WISDOM CONCERNING DIVINE PROVIDENCE from beginning to end.
[4] The actual coming of the Lord into the world was solely for the sake of man's salvation. For the sake of this He assumed the Human, removed the hells, also glorified Himself and put on Omnipotence even in ultimates, which is understood by 'to sit at the right hand of God.' What therefore is more abominable than to fashion a form of religion by means of which it is sanctioned that a man has that Divine authority and power, and no longer the Lord; and that heaven is opened and shut if only a priest (canonicus) says, 'I absolve' or 'I excommunicate'; and that even an enormous sin is remitted if he only says 'I remit'? There are many devils in the world who, for the purpose of avoiding the temporal penalties, seek and obtain absolution from a diabolical crime by means of stratagems and gifts. Who can be so insane as to believe that authority is given to admit devils into heaven?
[5] It was said above (790 at the end) that Peter represented the Church's truth of faith, James the Church's good of charity, and John the good works of the men of the Church, and that the twelve apostles together represented the Church as to all the things thereof. That they did represent those things is quite clear from the Lord's words to them in Matthew:
When the Son of Man shall sit upon the throne of His glory, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Matthew 19:28; Luke 22:30.
By those words nothing else can be signified than that the Lord is going to judge all in accordance with the goods and truths of the Church. If these things were not understood by those words, but the apostles themselves, all those in the great city Babylon who say they are the successors of the apostles might have also claimed for themselves that from pontiff down to monk they are going to sit upon thrones as many in number as themselves, and are going to judge all in the whole wide world.
798. Since it is said that they have not any conjunction of good and truth, because with them there is not the marriage of the Lord and the church, something shall here be said of the authority of opening and shutting heaven, which acts as one with the authority of remitting and retaining sins, which they claim for themselves as the successors of Peter and the apostles. The Lord said to Peter:
Upon this same rock will I build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail over it; I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of the heavens, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in the heavens, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in the heavens, (Matthew 16:18-19).
The Divine truth which is meant by "the rock" upon which the Lord will build His church is what Peter then confessed; which was:
Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God, (Matthew 16:16).
By "the keys of the kingdom of the heavens," which are that whatsoever that rock, which is the Lord, "shall bind on earth shall be bound in the heavens, and whatsoever it shall loose on earth shall be loosed in the heavens," is meant that the Lord has power over heaven and earth, as He also says, (Matthew 28:18); thus the power of saving the men who from faith of heart are in that confession of Peter.
[2] The Lord's Divine operation to save men is from firsts by ultimates; and this is what is meant by "whatsoever he shall bind or loose on earth shall be bound or loosed in heaven." The ultimates by which the Lord operates are on earth, and indeed with men. On account of this, that the Lord Himself might be in the ultimates as He is in the firsts, He came into the world, and put on the Human. That all the Lord's Divine operation is from firsts by ultimates, thus from Himself in the firsts and from Himself in the ultimates, may be seen in Divine Love and Wisdom, (217-219, 221); and that it is thence that the Lord is called "The First and the Last, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the almighty," may be seen above, (29-31, 38, 57).
[3] Who cannot see, if he will, that the salvation of man is the continuous operation of the Lord with man from the first of his infancy even to the last of his life, and that this is a work purely Divine, and can never be given to any man? It is so Divine that it is at once the work of omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence; and that man's reformation and regeneration, thus his salvation, are all of the Lord's Divine Providence, may be seen in The Angelic Wisdom concerning the Divine Providence, from beginning to end.
[4] The very coming of the Lord into the world was solely on account of man's salvation. For the sake of this He assumed the Human, removed the hells, and glorified Himself, and put on omnipotence even in the ultimates, which is meant by "sitting at the right hand of God." What, therefore, is more abominable, than to found a religious persuasion, by which it is sanctioned that the Divine authority and power belong to man and no longer to the Lord; and that heaven will be opened and shut, if only a priest says, "I absolve," or "I excommunicate;" and that sin, even if enormous, is remitted, provided he says, "I remit"? There are many devils in the world, who, in order to escape temporal punishments, seek and obtain absolution from a diabolical crime by arts and gifts. Who can be so insane as to believe that the authority is given of admitting devils into heaven?
[5] It was said above, (790, at the end), that "Peter" represented the truth of faith of the church, "James" the good of charity of the church, and "John" the good works of the men of the church; and that the twelve apostles together represented the church as to all things of it. It is clearly manifest that they represented them, from the Lord's words to them in Matthew:
When the Son of man shall sit upon the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel, (Matthew 19:28; Luke 22:30).
By these words nothing else can be signified than that the Lord will judge all according to the goods and truths of the church. If this was not meant by these words, but the apostles themselves, all in the great city Babylon, who say they are the successors of the apostles, might claim to themselves that they will sit upon thrones as many in number as themselves, from the pontiff even to a monk, and that they will judge all in the whole world.
798. Quoniam dicitur quod illis non sit aliqua conjunctio boni et veri, quia apud illos non est conjugium Domini et Ecclesiae, dicetur hic aliquid de potestate aperiendi et claudendi Caelum, quae unum agit cum potestate remittendi et retinendi peccata, quam sibi ut successores Petri et Apostolorum vindicant: -
Dixit Dominus ad Petrum,
"Super hanc eandem Petram aedificabo Ecclesiam Meam, et portae Inferni non praevalebunt illi: dabo tibi claves Regni Caelorum; et quicquid ligaveris in terra, erit ligatum in Caelis, et quicquid solveris in terra, erit solutum in Caelis," (Matthaeus 16:18-19).
Divinum Verum, quod intelligitur per "Petram" super quam Dominus aedificaturus Ecclesiam Suam, est quod confessus est Petrus tunc, quod erat, "Tu es Christus, Filius Dei viventis," (vers. 16, ibi); per "claves Regni Caelorum," quae sunt, quod quicquid Petra illa, quae est Dominus, "ligaverit in terra, erit ligatum in Caelis, et quicquid solverit in terra, erit solutum in Caelis," intelligitur quod Domino sit potestas super Caelum et terram, ut quoque dicit, Matthaeus 28:18 ita potestas salvandi homines, qui in illa Petri confessione ex fide cordis sunt. Divina Domini operatio ad salvandum homines est a primis per ultima; et hoc est quod intelligitur, per "quicquid ligaverit aut solverit in terra, erit ligatum aut solutum in Caelo." Ultima per quae Dominus operatur, sunt in terra, et quidem apud homines. Propter id, ut Dominus Ipse in ultimis esset sicut in primis est, venit in mundum, et induit Humanum. Quod omnis Divina Operatio Domini sit a primis per ultima, ita a Se in primis et a Se in ultimis, videatur in Sapientia Angelica de Divino Amore et Divina Sapientia 217-219, 221; et quod inde sit, quod Dominus dicatur "Primus et Ultimus, Alpha et Omega, Principium et Finis, Omnipotens," videatur supra (29-31, 38, 57). Quis non videre potest, si vult, quod salvatio hominis sit continua operatio homini apud hominem a primo infantiae ejus usque ad ultimum vitae ejus, et quod hoc pure Divinum sit, et nusquam dabile alicui homini; illud tale Divinum est, ut sit simul Omnipraesentiae, Omniscientiae ei Omnipotentiae; et quod Reformatio et Regeneratio hominis, ita Salvatio ejus, sit omne Divinae Providentiae Domini, videri potest in Sapientia Angelica de Divina Providentia, a principio ad finem. Ipse Adventus Domini in mundum fuit unice propter salvationem hominis; propter eam assumpsit Humanum, removit inferna, ex glorificavit Se, et induit Omnipotentiam etiam in ultimis, quae intelligitur per "sedere a dextris Dei." Quid itaque abominabilius est, quam condere Religiosum, per quod sancitur, quod Divina illa potestas et potentia sit homini, et non amplius Domino; et quod aperietur et claudetur Caelum, modo Canonicus dicit, "Absolvo" vel "Excommunico;" et quod remittatur peccatum etiam enorme, modo dicit, "Remitto." Sunt multi diaboli in mundo, qui ad evitandas poenas temporales absolutionem a diabolico facinore per artes et dona petunt ac obtinent. Quis tam insanus potest esse ut credat quod detur potestas intromittendi diabolos in Caelum.
Supra (790 ad fin.) dictum est, quod "Petrus" repraesentaverit Ecclesiae verum fidei, "Jacobus" Ecclesiae bonum charitatis, et "Johannes" hominum Ecclesiae bona opera, et quod duodecim Apostoli simul repraesentaverint Ecclesiam quoad omnia ejus; quod illa repraesentaverint, patet clare a Domini verbis ad illos, apud Matthaeum:
"Quando sedebit Filius Hominis super Throno gloriae Suae, sedebitis etiam vos super duodecim thronis judicantes duodecim Tribus Israelis," (19:28; Luca 22:30);
per quae verba non aliud significari potest, quam quod Dominus judicaturus sit omnes secundum bona et vera Ecclesiae; si non haec intelligerentur per illa verba, sed ipsi Apostoli, potuissent omnes in magna Urbe Babylone, qui se dicunt successores Apostolorum, etiam sibi vindicare, quod sessuri sint super totidem thronis quot sunt, a Pontifice usque ad monachum, et judicaturi omnes in universo terrarum orbe.