800.“各族也被你的邪术迷惑了”表他们的邪恶伎俩和诡计，他们以此将所有人的心智从对主的神圣敬拜引向对活人、死人和偶像的亵渎敬拜。迷惑各族的“邪术”表示邪恶伎俩和诡计，他们用来迷惑和劝说人，好叫他们取代主被敬拜和崇敬，从而像主一样；又因主是天地之神，如祂自己所教导的（马太福音28:18），因而也像神一样。他们将主的神性权柄转到自己那里（参看798节）。这些话因表示这些事，故也表示他们利用邪恶伎俩和诡计将所有人的心智从对主的神圣敬拜引向对活人、死人和偶像的亵渎敬拜。然而，这些事会有一个尽头，并且在灵界已经走到尽头；这一点在前面已经说明。这种情形在以赛亚书是如此描述的：
巴比伦啊，继续用你从幼年劳碌施行的符咒和你许多的邪术，或者可得益处，或者能叫人害怕；你筹划太多，以致疲倦。让那些观天象的、看星宿的、在月朔说预言的，都站起来救你。看哪，他们要像麦秸一样，火必烧尽他们；他们不能救自己的灵魂脱离火焰之手。从幼年与你贸易的，也都各奔各乡，无人救你。（以赛亚书47:12-15）
800. "Because by your sorcery all the nations were led astray." This symbolizes the nefarious arts and cunning schemes of those higher in the Roman Catholic hierarchy by which they turned the hearts of all away from a reverent worship of the Lord to a profane worship of people, living and dead, and of icons.
The sorcery by which they led all the nations astray symbolizes the nefarious arts and cunning schemes by which those higher in the Roman Catholic hierarchy deluded people and persuaded the people to worship and adore them instead of the Lord, thus as though they were the Lord. And because the Lord is God of heaven and earth, as He Himself teaches in Matthew 28:18, they persuaded the people to worship and adore them as though they were gods. (That these Roman Catholics transferred the Lord's Divine authority to themselves may be seen in no. 798 above.) Moreover, because this is the symbolic meaning of these words, they also symbolically mean that those higher in the Roman Catholic hierarchy used these nefarious arts and cunning schemes to draw the hearts of all away from reverent worship of the Lord to a profane worship of men, living and dead, and of icons.
That they are still going to have this as their end, and will continue to have it as their end in the spiritual world, is something we have said and shown before. It is described in Isaiah in this way:
Stand fast... in your enchantments (O Babylon) and in the multitude of your sorceries, in which you have labored from your youth. Perhaps you will be able to profit, perhaps you will inspire terror. You have become wearied in the multitude of your counsels; let the astrologers, the stargazers, and the monthly prognosticators now stand up and save you... Behold, they have become as stubble. Fire has burnt them. They shall not deliver their souls from the reach of the flame... Such have become... your merchants from your youth; each has wandered off from his quarter. There is no one to save you. (Isaiah 47:12-15)
800. 'Because by thy sorcery all the nations have been led astray' signifies their wicked arts and devices by means of which they have led the minds (animus) of all away from a holy worship of the Lord to a profane worship of men living and dead and of idols. By the 'sorcery' by which 'all the nations have been led astray' are signified the wicked arts and devices by means of which they have deluded and persuaded so that they might be worshipped and adored instead of the Lord, thus as the Lord; and because the Lord is the God of heaven and earth as He Himself teaches (Matthew 28:18), thus as gods. That they have transferred the Lord's Divine authority to themselves may be seen above (798). And because these things are signified by those words it is also signified that by the wicked arts and devices they have led the minds (animus) of all away from a holy worship of the Lord to a profane worship of men living and dead and idols. That nevertheless these things are going to have an end, and have come to an end in the spiritual world, has been said and shown before. This is thus described in Isaiah:
Continue its thine enchantments, O Babel, and in the multitude of thy tricks wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth. Perhaps they can be of use, perhaps thou mayest become terrible. Thou hast been wearied with the multitude of thy counsel. Let now the observers of the heavens, the star-gazers 1, those making predictions in the months, stand up and save thee. Behold they have become as stubble, the fire has burned them up, they shall not snatch away the soul from the hand of the flame. Such have thy merchants become from youth, each one has wandered out of his own district, there is no one saving thee. Isaiah 47:12-15.
Footnotes:
1. Reading stellas (stars) as in Hebrew, instead of terram (land).
800. Because by thy sorcery all the nations have been seduced, signifies their wicked arts and devices, by which they have led away the minds of all from the holy worship of the Lord to the profane worship of living and dead men and idols. By "the sorcery by which all the nations have been seduced," are signified the wicked arts and devices by which they have been deluded and persuaded, so that they might be worshiped and adored instead of the Lord, and thus like the Lord; and because the Lord is the God of heaven and earth, as He Himself teaches, (Matthew 28:18), thus like gods. It may be seen above, (798[1-5]); that they transferred the Lord's Divine authority to themselves. And because this is signified by those words, they also signify that by wicked arts and devices they have led away the minds of all from the holy worship of the Lord to the profane worship of men living and dead, and of idols. That nevertheless these things will come to an end, and are already at an end in the spiritual world, has been said and shown before. This is thus described in Isaiah:
Persist in thy enchantments, O Babel, and in the multitude of thy sorceries, in which thou hast labored from thy youth; if so be they could profit, if so be thou mayest become terrible; thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels; let now the observers of the heavens, the stargazers, 1the diviners by the months, stand up, and save thee. Behold, they are become as stubble, the fire hath burned them up; they shall not deliver their soul from the hand of the flame. Such have thy merchants become from thy youth; everyone hath wandered to his own quarter, there is none to save thee, (Isaiah 47:12-15).
Footnotes:
1. The original Latin has "terram," "earth," the Hebrew has "stars."
800. "Quia venificio tuo seductae sunt omnes gentes," significat illorum nefarias artes et astutias, per quas omnium animos a sancto cultu Domini ad prophanum cultum hominum vivorum et mortuorum atque idolorum abduxerunt. - Per "veneficium quo seductae sunt omnes gentes," significantur nefandae artes et astutiae, per quas illuserunt et persuaserunt, ut colerentur et adorarentur vice Domini, ita sicut Dominus; et quia Dominus est Deus Caeli et Terrae, ut Ipse docet, (Matthaeus 28:18), ita sicut dii: quod Divinam Domini potestatem in se transtulerint, videatur supra (798). Et quia haec significantur per illa verba, etiam significatur quod per nefarias artes et astutias omnium animos a sancto cultu Domini ad prophanum cultum hominum vivorum et mortuorum atque idolorum abduxerint. Quod haec usque finem habitura sint, et finem in mundo spirituali habuerint, prius dictum et ostensum est. Hoc describitur ita apud Esajam:
"Persta in incantationibus tuis" Babel, "et in multitudine praestigiarum tuarum, in quibus laborasti a juventute tua; forte poterunt prodesse, forte terribilis fias; defatigata es multitudine consilii tui. Stent nunc et servent te observatores caelorum, spectantes stellas, 1divinantes in menses. Ecce facti sunt sicut stipula, ignis adussit eos, non eripient animam e manu flammae. Tales facti sunt Mercatores tui a juventute, quisque e regione sua aberravit, non salvans te," (47:12-15). 2
Footnotes:
1. stellas pro "terram"
2. 12-15 pro "14, 15, 16"