818.启19:10.“我就俯伏在他脚前要拜他。他对我说，千万不可！我和你，并你那些为耶稣作见证的弟兄同是作仆人的。你要敬拜神”表不可崇拜并祈求天上的天使，因为他们里面没有丝毫神性之物；只是他们如兄弟般与世人、与那些敬拜主的人相联系，因而与那些单单崇拜主的人在一起。“我就俯伏在他脚前要拜他。他对我说，千万不可！你要敬拜神”表示不可崇拜和祈求天上的天使，唯有主被崇拜和祈求。“我和你并你那些弟兄同是作仆人的”表示神性之物丝毫不属于天使，只是天使如兄弟般与世人相联系。“为耶稣作见证”表示他以同样的方式通过承认主人性里面的神性和照其诫命的生活而与主结合。“为耶稣作见证”就表示这一点，对此，可参看下面的内容。天使并不比世人优越，而是与世人同等，因此他们和世人一样，同是主的仆人；这是因为所有天使都曾在世上生而为人，他们无一直接受造，这一点从1758年于伦敦出版的《天堂与地狱》一书所记载和说明的事明显可知。诚然，天使在智慧上胜过世人，但那是因为他们处于属灵的状态，因而生活在天堂之光中，不像世人那样处于属世的状态，因而生活在尘世之光中。不过，天使越智慧超群，就越承认他并不在世人之上，而是和他们一样。也正因如此，人与天使没有结合，只是与他们有联系。唯独与主才有结合。至于如何通过圣言实现与主的结合，与天使的联系，可参看《新耶路撒冷教会之圣经篇》（62-69节）。
818. 19:10 And I fell at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, "See that you do not do this! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God!" This symbolically means that angels in heaven are not to be worshiped or invoked, because they have nothing Divine in them, but are associated, as brethren with brethren, with those people who worship the Lord, and therefore the Lord alone is to be worshiped in association with them.
John's falling at the angel's feet to worship him, and the angel's saying to him, "See that you do not do this," means symbolically that no angel in heaven is to be worshiped or invoked, but the Lord only. "I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren" means symbolically that there is no Divinity in any angel, but that an angel is associated with a person as a brother with a brother. Having the testimony of Jesus means symbolically that a person is in the same way conjoined with the Lord, by an acknowledgment of the Divinity in the Lord's humanity, and by living in accordance with His commandments. That having the testimony of Jesus has this symbolic meaning will be seen in the following number.
Angels in heaven are not superior to people, but are their equals, and therefore they are the Lord's servants the same as people; and the reason is that all angels were once people, born in the world, and none were created angels directly, as can be seen from what we wrote and showed in the book Heaven and Hell (London, 1758). Angels excel people in wisdom indeed, but that is because they are in a spiritual state and so live in the light of heaven, and are not in a natural state and so do not live in the light of the world as people on earth do. But the more an angel excels in wisdom, the more he acknowledges that he is not better than people, but like them. Consequently people are not conjoined with angels, but are associated with them. Only with the Lord is conjunction possible.
But how conjunction with the Lord and association with angels are achieved through the Word may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem Regarding the Sacred Scripture, nos. 62-69.
818. [verse 10] 'And I fell down before his feet to adore him, and he said unto me, See thou, do it not, I am thy fellow-servant and of thy brothers having the testimony of Jesus; adore God' signifies that the angels of heaven are not to be adored and invoked because nothing Divine belongs to them, but that they are associated with men as brothers with brothers with those who worship the Lord, and thus that in company with them the Only Lord is to be adored. By 'I fell down at his feet to adore him and he said unto me, See thou, do it not; adore God' is signified that no angel of heaven whatever is to be adored and invoked but the Only Lord. By 'I am thy fellow-servant and of thy brothers' is signified that nothing Divine belongs to an angel, but that he is associated with a man as brother with brother. By 'to have the testimony of Jesus' is signified that he is in like manner in a conjunction with the Lord through the acknowledgment of the Divine in His Human and through a life in accordance with His precepts. That this is signified by 'to have the testimony of Jesus' will be seen in the following paragraph. The reason why the angels are not superior to men but are equal to them, and that therefore they are equally the Lord's servants as men are, is because all the angels have been men born in the world, and none of them directly created, as can be established out of the things that have been written and demonstrated in the work concerning HEAVEN AND HELL published at London, 1758. They indeed excel men in wisdom, but for the reason that they are in a spiritual state and consequently in the light of heaven, and not in a natural state and thus in the light of the world as are the men of the earth. But in so far as any angel excels in wisdom, so far he acknowledges that he is not above men, but similar to them. On which account also there is not any conjunction of men with angels but there is association with them. Conjunction is given with the Only Lord. But how a conjunction with the Lord is effected, and the association with the angels by means of the Word, may be seen in THE DOCTRINE OF THE NEW JERUSALEM CONCERNING THE SACRED SCRIPTURE 62-69.
818. Verse 10. And I fell down before his feet to adore him; and he said to me, See thou do it not; I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus; adore God, signifies that the angels of heaven are not to be adored and invoked, because there is nothing Divine in them; but that they are associated with men as brethren with brethren, with those who worship the Lord, and thus that, in consociation with them, the Lord alone is to be adored. "I fell down before His feet to adore Him, and He said unto me, See thou do it not, adore God," signifies that no angel of heaven is to be adored and invoked, but the Lord alone. "I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren," signifies that the Divine does not belong to an angel, but that He is associated with man as brother with brother. By "having the testimony of Jesus" is signified that he is in like manner in conjunction with the Lord, through the acknowledgment of the Divine in His Human, and through a life according to His commandments. That this is signified by "having the testimony of Jesus" will be seen in the following paragraph. That the angels of heaven are not superior to men, but that they are their equals, and that they are therefore equally the Lord's servants, as men are, is because all the angels have been men, born in the world, and not any of them were created immediately; as may be evident from the things which are written and shown in the work on Heaven and Hell, published at London, 1758. They indeed excel men in wisdom; but this is for the reason that they are in a spiritual state, and thence in the light of heaven, and not in a natural state, and so in the light of the world, as men are upon earth. But as far as any angel excels in wisdom, so far he acknowledges that he is not above men, but like them; on which account there is not any conjunction of men with the angels, but there is consociation with them. Conjunction is given with the Lord alone. But how conjunction with the Lord, and consociation with the angels, by the Word, are effected, see the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the Sacred Scripture, (62-69).
818. (Vers. 10.) "Et procidi ante pedes ejus adorare illum; et dixit mihi, Vide, ne, conservus tuus Sum, et fratrum tuorum habentium testimonium Jesu; Deum adora," significat quod angeli Caeli non adorandi et invocandi sint, quia nihil Divinum est illis, sed quod associati sint hominibus sicut fratres fratribus, illis qui colunt Dominum, et sic quod Solus Dominus in consociatione cum illis adorandus sit. - Per "procidi ante pedes ejus adorare illum, et dixit mihi, Vide ne, Deum adora," significat quod non aliquis angelus Caeli adorandus et invocandus sit, sed Solus Dominus; per "conservus tuus sum, et fratrum tuorum" significat quod non Divinum sit angelo, sed quod associatus homini ut frater fratri; per "habere testimonium Jesu" significatur quod similiter in conjunctione cum Domino sit, per agnitionem Divini in Humano Ipsius, et per vitam secundum praecepta Ipsius; quod haec per "habere testimonium Jesu" significetur, in sequente articulo videbitur. Quod angeli Caeli non sint superiores hominibus, sed quod sint pares illis, et quod ideo aeque sint servi Domini sicut sunt homines, est quia omnes angeli fuerunt homines, nati in mundo, et non aliqui immediate creati, ut constare potest ex illis quae in Opere de Caelo et Inferno Londini 1758 edito, scripta et ostensa sunt. Excellunt quidem sapientia prae hominibus; sed hoc ideo quia in statu spirituali sunt, et inde in luce Caeli, et non in statu naturali, et sic in luce mundi, ut sunt homines telluris; sed quantum aliquis angelus excellit sapientia, tantum agnoscit quod non supra homines sit, sed similis illis; 1quare nec aliqua conjunctio hominum cum angelis est, sed est consociatio cum illis; cum Solo Domino datur conjunctio. Quomodo autem fit conjunctio cum Domino et consociatio cum angelis per Verbum, videatur in Doctrina Novae Hierosolymae de Scriptura Sacra 62-69.
Footnotes:
1. illis pro "illi"