326、我们必须逐一检查并说明这些要点。
①对神的承认带来神与人并人与神的结合，对神的否认带来分离。有些人可能认为，那些不承认神的人和那些承认的人一样能得救，只要他们过着道德的生活。他们说，承认能成就什么呢？它不就是一个想法吗？我若清楚知道确有一位神，就会很容易地承认祂。我听说过祂，但从未见过祂。要是让我看见，我就会相信。许多否认神存在的人在被允许与某个承认神的人自由辩论时，就是这么说的。但我要通过我在灵界所得知的事说明：对神的承认会结合，对神的否认会分离。在灵界，如果有人想到另一个人，并想要与他交谈，那人就会立刻出现。这在那里是司空见惯的事，屡试不爽。原因在于，灵界没有像自然界那样的距离，只有距离的表象。
此外，正如想到另一个人，连同对他的某种意识会带来同在，对另一个人的某种爱之情感则带来结合。这就是那使得人们走到一起，友好交谈，住在同一所房子，或同一个社群中，常常见面，并互相提供服务的东西。如果人们不彼此相爱，尤其相互憎恨，相反的情形也会发生；他们便看不见彼此，或聚在一起。相反，他们照着他们缺乏爱或憎恨的程度而彼此远离；万一他们相遇，这种相遇就会触发憎恨，他们便消失不见。
这几个例子说明，在灵界，是什么造就了同在，又是什么造就了结合，即：同在来自忆起另一个人并想要看见他，结合来自源于爱的一种情感。这同样适用于人心智中的一切事物；人的心智里面有数不清的事物，那里的一切细节都照着情感，或一个事物爱另一个事物的方式被排列和结合。
这种结合就是属灵的结合；它在总体和细节中都是一样的。这种属灵结合的源头就在主与灵界和自然界的结合中，无论总体还是细节。由此明显可知，人认识主，并出于这种认识思想主到何等程度，主就同在到何等程度；另一方面，人不认识主到何等程度，主就不同在到何等程度；人否认主到何等程度，就与主分离到何等程度。
结合使得主将人的脸转向祂自己，然后引领他。分离则使得地狱将人的脸转向它自己，然后引领他。因此，所有天堂天使都将脸转向显为太阳的主，而所有地狱灵都将脸背向主。这一切清楚表明对神的承认会带来什么，对神的否认会带来什么。那些在世上否认神的人死后还是否认祂；他们获得了前面（319节）所描述的那种内在结构；在世上所取得的结构会存到永远。
②每个人都是照其生活的良善而承认神并与祂结合。凡知道一点宗教信仰的人都能认识神，并能出于这种认识或记忆谈论神，其中一些人甚至能出于理解谈论神。但如果他们没有过良善的生活，那么这一切只带来同在；因为尽管如此，他们仍能转离神，并转向地狱；他们若过着邪恶的生活，就会这样做。只有那些过着良善生活的人才能发自内心承认神；主照着这些人的良善生活而使他们转离地狱，并转向祂自己。这是因为唯独他们真的爱神。他们热爱来自祂的神性美德，因为他们活出了这些美德。来自神的神性美德就是祂律法的诫命；这些诫命就是神，因为祂就是从祂发出的神性。这就是爱神，因为主说：
凡遵守我诫命的，这人就是爱我的；不爱我的人就不遵守我的诫命。（约翰福音14:21-24）
故十诫有两块石版，一块涉及神，一块涉及人。神不断作工，以便人能接受在他石版上的事。然而，人若不去做在他石版上的事，就不会出于内心的承认来接受在神石版上的事；若不接受，就无法被结合。这就是为何这两块石版被拼成一块，称为“约版”，“约”表示结合。每个人都是照其生活的良善而承认神并与祂结合，因为生活的良善就像在主里面，因而来自主的良善。因此，当人过着良善的生活时，一种结合就实现了。对过着邪恶生活的人来说，相反的情形会发生。那就是对主的弃绝。
③生活的良善，或正确的生活，就是避开邪恶，因为它们反对宗教，因而反对神。这就是生活的良善，或正确的生活，《新耶路撒冷教义之生活篇》从头到尾充分说明了这一点。对此，我只补充一点：如果你最大限度地行善，如建造圣殿或教会，装饰它们，塞满你的供物，把财富都奉献给医院和安养院，天天施舍，帮助孤儿寡妇，谨守敬拜的圣物，甚至貌似发自内心地思想、谈论和宣讲它们，却不避恶如反对神的罪，那么这一切善行都不是真正的良善；它们要么是虚伪的，要么是邀功的，因为邪恶仍在它们里面。一个人的生命就在他所做的一切事里面，良善只能通过把邪恶从它们当中移走而成为良善。这一切清楚表明，正确地生活，或过良善的生活，就是避开邪恶，因为它们反对宗教，因而反对神。
④这些就是所有宗教的基本原则，通过它们，每个人都能得救。承认神并因邪恶反对神而避免作恶，是使得一个宗教成为一个宗教的两个要素。缺乏任何一个，它都不能被称为一个宗教，因为承认神，却又作恶是自相矛盾的；行善，却不承认神也是自相矛盾的；因为一个不可能离开另一个。主规定，几乎每个地方都要有某种宗教，每种宗教都要有这两个要素。主还规定，凡承认神并因邪恶反对神而避免作恶的人，都要在天堂有一席之地。因为天堂整体上类似一个人，其生命或灵魂就是主。在一个属世人或自然人里面的一切事物，在这个天堂人里面都有，其区别就像天上的事物和地上的事物之间的区别。
众所周知，人里面除了由血管和神经纤维有机组织而成、被称为内脏的形式外，还有皮肤、膜、肌腱、软骨、骨骼、指甲和牙齿；只是这些东西不如它们作为韧带所服务，并覆盖和支撑的有机组织形式本身那样有生命。天堂人，也就是天堂若要包含这一切事物，不可能由一种宗教的人构成，而是要由多种宗教的人构成。因此，凡将教会的这两个普遍原则变成自己生命的一部分的人都在这个天堂人，也就是天堂里面有一席之地，在那里享受自己层级上的幸福。关于这个主题，详情可参看前文（254节）。
这两者是每个宗教的基本原则，这一点可从以下事实明显看出来：它们是十诫所教导的，十诫是圣言的主要成分，是由耶和华以活生生的声音从西乃山上颁布的，是神的手指写在两块石版上的，当被放在约柜中时，就被称为“耶和华”，并构成会幕的至圣所和耶路撒冷圣殿的圣所，那里的一切事物唯独因它的同在而为神圣。关于约柜中的十诫，《新耶路撒冷教义之生活篇》一书（53-61节）从圣言中引用了更多细节；对此，我补充以下内容：盛放刻有十诫的两块石版的约柜被非利士人抬走，并被抬进亚实突的大衮庙；那大衮仆倒在它面前的地上，后来大衮的头和两手掌在门槛上折断，只剩下残体；亚实突和以革伦人，数目成千上万，因约柜而患上痔疮，他们的地被老鼠毁坏；非利士人按他们民族首领的建议，制造了五个金痔疮、五个金老鼠和一辆新车，把约柜放在车上，柜旁是金痔疮和金老鼠，他们用两头母牛在车前直行大道，哞哞叫着将约柜送回到以色列人那里，以色列人就将两只母牛和车献给耶和华为燔祭（撒母耳记上5，6章）。
现在让我们看看这一切事物都表示什么。“非利士人”表示那些处于与仁分离之信的人；“大衮”代表这个宗教；他们所患的“痔疮”表示属世之爱，当它与属灵之爱分离时，就是不洁的；“老鼠”表示通过对真理的歪曲而对教会的毁坏；他们送回约柜所用的“新车”表示一个新的教义，只是该教义是属世的，因为在圣言中，“车”表示源于属灵真理的教义；“母牛”表示良善的属世情感；“金痔疮”表示已洁净并变得良善的属世之爱；“金老鼠”表示被良善除去的教会的毁坏，在圣言中，“金”表示良善；“直行大道的母牛哞哞的叫声”表示属世人的恶欲转化为良善情感的艰难；“将两只母牛和车献为燔祭”表示主由此得到安抚。
这就是这些历史细节的灵义。把它们连贯成一个意思，就会看到它是如何被应用的。“非利士人”代表那些处于与仁分离之信的人，这一点可见于《新耶路撒冷教义之信篇》（49-54节）；约柜因盛有十诫而为教会的至圣物，这一点可见于《新耶路撒冷教义之生活篇》（53-61节）。
326. But we need to examine these and demonstrate them individually.
FIRST, that an acknowledgment of God produces a conjunction of God with a person and of the person with God, while a denial of God produces a separation: Some people may think that those who do not acknowledge God can be saved just as well as those who do acknowledge, provided they lead a moral life. "What does an acknowledgment accomplish?" they say. "Is it not simply thought? Can I not easily acknowledge once I know for certain that God exists? I have been told about Him, but I have not seen Him. Cause me to see Him and I will believe."
That is how many who deny God speak when they are permitted to debate freely with someone who acknowledges God.
That acknowledgment of God conjoins, however, and denial of God separates, will be illustrated by some phenomena known to me in the spiritual world.
When someone in that world thinks about another and wishes to speak with him, the other becomes immediately present. This is a common occurrence there, and is never an illusion. The reason is that in the spiritual world there is no distance as in the natural world, but only the appearance of distance.
[2] The second phenomenon is this, that as thought of another from some acquaintance with him occasions his presence, so love arising from some affection for another occasions conjunction, causing them to go about together and to converse in a friendly manner, to dwell in the same house or same society, and to meet often and work together on mutual undertakings.
The opposite also occurs. Someone who does not like another, for instance, and still more if he hates the other, neither sees nor meets with him, and they are removed from each other to the degree of his dislike or hatred. Indeed, if the other is present and he then recalls his hatred, the other becomes invisible.
[3] From these few considerations it can be seen what occasions presence and what occasions conjunction in the spiritual world, namely that presence is occasioned by recollection of another with a desire to see him, and that conjunction is occasioned by an affection that is one of love.
The same is the case with all the constituents existing in the human mind. It has in it countless constituents, and these are individually connected and conjoined there in accordance with affections, or as one thing loves another.
[4] This conjunction is a spiritual conjunction, which is the same in general respects and in particular ones.
This spiritual conjunction takes its origin from the conjunction of the Lord with the spiritual world and with the natural world, in general and in particular.
It is apparent from this that to the extent that anyone is acquainted with the Lord and is moved by concepts of Him to think about Him, to the same extent the Lord is present; and to the extent that anyone is moved by an affection of love to acknowledge Him, to the same extent the Lord is conjoined with him. And conversely, it is apparent that to the extent that anyone is not acquainted with the Lord, to the same extent the Lord is absent, and to the extent that anyone denies Him, to the same extent he is separated from Him.
[5] Conjunction causes the Lord to turn the person's face to Him, and to lead the person then. And separation causes hell to turn the person's face to it, and it leads him. Consequently all angels in heaven turn their faces to the Lord as the sun, and all spirits in hell turn their faces away from the Lord.
It is apparent from this what an acknowledgment of God accomplishes, and what a denial of God does.
Moreover, people who deny God in the world, deny Him after death. They also become organically disposed as described in no. 319 above, and any organic disposition induced in the world remains to eternity.
[6] SECOND, that everyone acknowledges God and is conjoined with Him in accordance with the goodness of his life: A concept of God is possible to all who know something of Him from religion. It is possible for them also to speak from their knowledge or memory about God, and some even think about God with their intellect. But if a person does not live rightly, this accomplishes no more than God's presence; for it is nevertheless possible for the person to turn away from God and turn instead to hell, which is what happens if he lives wrongly.
On the other hand, to acknowledge God with the heart is possible only to people who live rightly. These the Lord turns away from hell and toward Himself in accordance with the goodness of their life. That is because only they love God, for they love the Divine precepts that they have from Him, putting them into practice. The Divine precepts that they have from God are the commandments of His law. These are God, because He is His own Divine emanation, and to love them is to love God. Therefore the Lord says,
He who (does) My commandments... , it is he who loves Me?. (But) He who does not (do) My (commandments) does not love Me. (John 14:21-24)
[7] It is for this reason that there are two tables of the Decalogue, one for God and the other for mankind. God works unceasingly to induce a person to accept the precepts that are on His, God's, table; but if the person does not put into practice the precepts that are on his, mankind's, table, he does not accept with an acknowledgment of the heart the precepts that are on God's table, and if he does not accept them, there is no conjunction.
Therefore the two tables were joined together to form a single whole, and were called the tables of the covenant, 1a covenant symbolizing conjunction.
Everyone acknowledges God and is conjoined with Him in accordance with the goodness of his life for the reason that goodness of life is like the good which is in the Lord and so which is from the Lord. Consequently when a person possesses goodness of life, a conjunction is formed.
The contrary is the case with evil of life. This rejects the Lord.
[8] THIRD, that goodness of life, or living rightly, means refraining from evils because they are contrary to religion, thus contrary to God: That this is goodness of life or living rightly is something we showed fully from beginning to end in The Doctrine of Life for the New Jerusalem. To it we will add only this, that if you do good works in abundance - if, for example, you build churches, adorn them and fill them with offerings, contribute money to hospitals and shelters, give alms daily, aid widows and orphans, diligently observe the sanctities of worship, indeed think, speak and preach these from the heart - and yet do not refrain from evils as sins against God, then all those good works are not good. They are either hypocritical or merit-seeking, for evil is still inwardly present in them, inasmuch as everyone's life is present in each and every thing that he does. Good works, on the other hand, become good only by the removal of evil from them.
It is apparent from this that to refrain from evils because they are contrary to religion, thus contrary to God, is to live rightly.
[9] FOURTH, that these are the universal elements in all religions, making it possible for everyone to be saved: Acknowledging God and not doing evil because it is contrary to God are the two ingredients which make a religion a religion. If one of these is lacking, it cannot be called a religion, inasmuch as to acknowledge God and do evil is a contradiction, and so is it to do good and not acknowledge God. For one is impossible without the other.
The Lord has provided that some religion exist almost everywhere, and that each have in it these two elements. Moreover, the Lord has also provided that there be a place in heaven for everyone who acknowledges God and does not do evil because it is contrary to God. For heaven in its totality resembles a single person, whose life or soul is the Lord. That heavenly person has in it all the constituents found in a natural person, with the kind of difference that exists between heavenly things and natural ones.
[10] People know that the human being has in him not only organized forms of blood vessels and nerve fibers called viscera, but also layers of skin, membranes, tendons, cartilage, bones, nails, and teeth. The latter possess a lesser degree of life than the organized forms themselves which they serve as ligaments, integuments, or supports. In order for that heavenly person, which heaven is, to have in it all the same constituents, it cannot be composed of people of only one religion, but must be composed of people of many religions. Therefore all people who make the aforesaid two universal elements of the church part of their life have a place in that heavenly person, that is to say, in heaven, and they enjoy their own degree of happiness. But more on this subject may be seen in no. 254 above.
[11] That these two elements are the primary ones in any religion can be seen from the fact that it is these two that the Decalogue teaches, and the Decalogue was the beginning of the Word, proclaimed by Jehovah from Mount Sinai in His own voice 1, and written on two tablets of stone with the finger of God. 2Moreover, having been placed in the Ark, it was then called Jehovah, 3and it sanctified the holy of holies in the Tabernacle, and the inner sanctuary in the Temple in Jerusalem; and everything there was sacred, owing to it alone. Still more on the Decalogue in the Ark may be seen from what we presented from the Word in The Doctrine of Life for the New Jerusalem, nos. 53-61, to which I will add the following:
We know from the Word that the Ark containing the two tablets on which the Decalogue was written was captured by the Philistines and placed in the temple of Dagon in Ashdod; that Dagon fell to the ground before it, and later his head was found lying on the threshold of the temple with the palms of his hands torn from his body; that the people of Ashdod and Ekron were stricken with hemorrhoids because of the Ark, affecting many thousands, and that their land was ravaged by mice; moreover, that on the advice of the leading men of their nation, the Philistines made five hemorrhoids and five mice of gold, and a new cart, on which they placed the Ark, with the hemorrhoids and mice of gold beside it, and sent it back by means of two cows, which lowed along the way before the cart, to the children of Israel, who sacrificed the cows and the cart (see 1 Samuel 5:6).
[12] We shall now say what all these things meant symbolically.
The Philistines symbolized people caught up in faith separated from charity.
Dagon represented that religious persuasion.
The hemorrhoids with which they were stricken symbolized natural loves, which, when separated from spiritual love, are unclean. And the mice symbolized the devastation of the church by falsifications of truth.
The new cart on which they sent back the Ark symbolized a new doctrine, though a natural one, for a conveyance in the Word symbolizes doctrine founded on spiritual truths.
The cows symbolized good natural affections.
The hemorrhoids of gold symbolized natural loves purified and made good.
The mice of gold symbolized the devastation of the church removed by good, for gold in the Word symbolizes good.
The lowing of the cows along the way symbolized the difficult conversion of lusts for evil in the natural self into good affections.
The offering of the cows together with the cart as a burnt offering symbolized the Lord's being thus propitiated.
[13] These are the things spiritually meant by those narrative details. Connect them into a single sense and form an application.
That the Philistines represented people caught up in faith separated from charity may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem Regarding Faith, nos. 49-54. And that the Ark was the holiest object of the church because of the Decalogue contained in it may be seen in The Doctrine of Life for the New Jerusalem, nos. 53-61.
Footnotes:
1. Deuteronomy 9:9, 11, 15. Hebrews 9:4.
2. Exodus 20:1, 19. Deuteronomy 5:4, 22.
3. Exodus 31:18. Deuteronomy 9:10.
4. Numbers 10:35-36.
326. We need to look at these one at a time and expand on them.
(a) Belief in God brings about God's union with us and our union with God; and denial of God brings about severance. Some may believe that people who do not believe in God can be saved just like people who do, provided they lead moral lives. "What does belief accomplish?" they say. "Is it anything but a thought? I could easily believe in God if I knew for certain that God actually existed. I have heard about him, but I haven't seen him. Show me, and I'll believe." Many people who deny the existence of God talk like this when they are given space to argue freely with someone who does believe in God.
But I shall illustrate the fact that belief in God unites and denial of God separates by sharing what I have learned in the spiritual world. If people there think about others and want to talk with them, they are immediately present. This is taken for granted there and never fails. The reason is that there is no distance in the spiritual world the way there is in this physical world, but only an appearance of distance.
[2] Then too, just as thinking about others, together with some awareness of them, causes presence, so a feeling of love for them causes union. This is what makes people accompany each other and converse amiably along the way, live in the same houses or in the same community, meet with each other often, and work on tasks together. The opposite happens, too, if people do not love each other, and even more so if they dislike each other. They do not see each other or get together. They are as far from each other as their lack of love or their active dislike. If by any chance they do meet, that meeting triggers the dislike, and they vanish.
[3] These few examples show what makes for presence and what makes for union in the spiritual world. Specifically, presence comes from remembering others and wanting to see them, and union comes from a feeling that arises from our love.
The same holds true for everything in our minds. There are countless elements there, all arranged and united in accord with our feelings, or the way one element loves another.
[4] This union is spiritual union; and it works the same in widely inclusive instances and in individual ones. The source of this spiritual union is in the union of the Lord with the spiritual world and with the physical world, again in inclusive and in individual instances. We can see, then, that to the extent that we believe in the Lord and think about him on the basis of what we understand, the Lord is present, while to the extent that we believe in him on the basis of a loving feeling, the Lord is united with us. Conversely, to the extent that we do not believe in the Lord, the Lord is absent; and to the extent that we deny him, we are separated from him.
[5] A result of union is that the Lord turns our faces toward him and then leads us; and a result of separation is that hell turns our faces toward it and leads us. So all the angels of heaven face toward the Lord as the sun, and all the spirits of hell face away from the Lord. This shows what belief in God does and what denial of God does.
Further, people who deny God in the world deny him after death. They are inwardly structured as described in 319; and the structure adopted in this world remains forever.
[6] (b) Our belief in God and union with him depend on our living a good life. Everyone who knows anything religious can know about God. People can talk about God from this knowledge or from memory, and some of them can even think intelligently about God. If they do not live good lives, though, this brings only a presence. They are still perfectly capable of turning away from him and turning toward hell, which they do if they live evil lives.
Heartfelt belief in God, though, is possible only for people who live good lives. Depending on those good lives, the Lord turns them away from hell and toward himself. This is because it is only they who actually love God. They love the divine values that come from him by living them. The divine values that come from God are the commandments of his law. These commandments are God, since he is the divine nature that emanates from him. This is also loving God, which is why the Lord said, "Whoever does my commandments is the one who loves me, but whoever does not do my commandments does not love me" (John 14:21-24 [John 14:21, 24]).
[7] This is why there are two tablets of the Ten Commandments, one for God and the other for us. God is constantly at work to enable us to accept the things that are on his tablet. However, if we do not do the things that are on our tablet, we are not open to the heartfelt acceptance of the things that are on God's tablet; and if we are not open to them, we are not united. As a result, the two tablets are united as a single one and are called "the tablets of the covenant," and "covenant" means "union."
The reason our belief in God and union with him depend on our living good lives is that good lives are like the goodness that is in the Lord and that therefore comes from the Lord. So when we are engaged in living good lives, the union is accomplished. The opposite happens with people living evil lives. Then there is a rejection of the Lord.
[8] (c) A good life, or living rightly, is abstaining from evils because they are against our religion and therefore against God. There is ample support for the proposition that this is a good life, or living rightly, in Teachings about Life for the New Jerusalem, from beginning to end. I would add only this, that if you do all the good you can, if you build churches and decorate and fill them with your offerings, if you devote your wealth to hospitals and hospices, if you give alms every day, if you help widows and orphans, if you faithfully attend divine worship, even if you think, talk, and preach about these things in all apparent sincerity, and still do not abstain from evils as sins against God, all these good deeds are not really good at all. They are either hypocritical or self-serving, because there is still evil within them. Our life is in absolutely everything that we do, and good deeds become good only by the removal of evil from them.
We can see from this that abstaining from evils because they are against our religion and therefore against God is leading a good life.
[9] (d) These are the general principles of all religions, through which everyone can be saved. Belief in God and refusal to do evil because it is against God are the two elements that make a religion a religion. If either is lacking, we cannot call it a religion, since believing in God and doing evil are mutually contradictory, as are doing what is good and not believing in God. Neither is possible apart from the other.
The Lord has provided that there should be some religion almost everywhere and that everyone who believes in God and does not do evil because it is against God should have a place in heaven. Heaven, seen in its entirety, looks like a single individual, whose life or soul is the Lord. In that heavenly person there are all the components that there are in a physical person, differing the way heavenly things differ from earthly ones.
[10] We know that there are within us not only the parts formed as organs from blood vessels and nerve fibers--the forms we call our viscera. There are also skin, membranes, tendons, cartilage, bones, nails, and teeth. They are less intensely alive than the organic forms, which they serve as ligaments, coverings, and supports. If there are to be all these elements in that heavenly person who is heaven, it cannot be made up of the people of one religion only. It needs people from many religions; so all the people who make these two universal principles of the church central to their own lives have a place in that heavenly person, that is, in heaven. They enjoy the happiness that suits their own nature. On this subject, though, there is more in 254 above.
[11] We are assured that these two principles are basic to every religion by the fact that these two principles are what the Ten Commandments teach, and they were the basis of the Word. They were given from Mount Sinai by the very voice of Jehovah and written on two tablets of stone by the finger of God. Then they were placed in the ark named for Jehovah and constituted the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle and the very center of the temple in Jerusalem. Everything else was holy simply by being there. We are told a great deal more about the Ten Commandments in the ark in the Word: see the passages collected in Teachings about Life for the New Jerusalem 53-61, to which I may add the following.
We are told in the Word that the ark containing the two tablets with the commandments written on them was captured by the Philistines and set up in the shrine of Dagon in Ashdod. Dagon fell to the ground before it, after which his head and his hands were found lying apart from his body on the threshold of the shrine. Because of the ark, the people of Ashdod and Ekron by the thousands were plagued by hemorrhoids, and their land was ravaged by mice. Then, on the advice of their leaders, the Philistines made five golden hemorrhoids and five golden mice and a new cart. They put the ark on the cart with the golden hemorrhoids and mice beside it and sent the ark back to the Israelites drawn by two cows that lowed along the way, in front of the cart. The Israelites sacrificed the cows and the cart (1 Samuel 5, 6).
[12] Now let us see what all this means. The Philistines meant people who believe in faith separated from charity. Dagon portrayed that system of belief. The hemorrhoids that afflicted them meant earthly loves, which are unclean when they are separated from spiritual loves; and the mice meant the destruction of the church by distortions of the truth. The new cart on which they sent back the ark meant a new teaching, though on the earthly level, because a chariot in the Word meant a teaching derived from spiritual truths. The cows meant good earthly feelings, the golden hemorrhoids earthly loves purified and made good, and the golden mice the destruction of the church taken away by goodness (gold in the Word means what is good). The lowing of the cows along the way pointed to the difficulty of turning the obsessions with evil of our earthly self into good desires, and the sacrifice of the cows and the cart meant that the Lord was appeased.
[13] This is what this story means spiritually. Put it all together into a single meaning and see how it can be applied.
On the meaning of the Philistines as people who believe in faith separated from charity, see Teachings for the New Jerusalem on Faith 49-54; and on the ark meaning the holiest values of the church because it contained the Ten Commandments, see Teachings about Life for the New Jerusalem 53-61.
326. These propositions must now be examined and demonstrated one by one. First: The acknowledgment of God brings about the conjunction of God with man and of man with God, and the denial of God causes their separation. Some may think that those who do not acknowledge God can be saved just as well as those who do, provided they lead a moral life. They say, What does acknowledgment accomplish? Is it not mere thought? Can I not easily acknowledge God when I know for certain that there is a God? I have heard of Him but I have not seen Him. Make me see Him and I will believe. Such is the language of many who deny God when they have an opportunity to reason freely with one who acknowledges God. However, that the acknowledgment of God conjoins and the denial of Him separates will be illustrated by some things made known to me in the spiritual world. In that world when anyone thinks about another and desires to converse with him, the other is immediately present. This is general there and never fails. The reason is that in the spiritual world there is no distance as in the natural world, but only an appearance of distance.
[2] Another fact is that as thought from some knowledge of another causes his presence so love from any affection for another causes conjunction with him. Thus it comes to pass that people go about and converse in a friendly way, live together in one house or in one society, frequently meet and render mutual services. The opposite also happens; thus he who does not love another, and still more, he who hates another, does not see or meet him; and the distance they are apart is according to the degree that love is wanting or hate is present. Indeed, should he come into the other's presence and remember his hatred he becomes invisible to him.
[3] From these few particulars it may be evident how presence and conjunction are brought about in the spiritual world; namely, that presence arises from recalling another with a desire to see him and that conjunction arises from an affection which springs from love. It is the same with all the things that are in the human mind. In it there are innumerable things and the several particulars are there associated and conjoined according to affections, or as one thing is attracted to another.
[4] This is spiritual conjunction, which is the same in general things and in particular things. This spiritual conjunction has its origin from the conjunction of the Lord with the spiritual world and with the natural world, in general and in particular. From this it is clear that so far as one knows the Lord and from this knowledge thinks about Him, so far the Lord is present; and so far as anyone acknowledges Him from an affection of love, so far the Lord is conjoined to him: but on the other hand, so far as anyone does not know the Lord so far the Lord is absent; and so far as anyone denies Him, so far is He separated from him.
[5] The result of conjunction is that the Lord turns a man's face to Himself and then leads him; while the result of separation is that hell turns a man's face to itself and leads him. Therefore all the angels of heaven turn their faces to the Lord as the Sun, and all the spirits of hell turn their faces away from the Lord. Hence it is evident what results from the acknowledgment of God, and what from the denial of Him. Those who deny God in the world deny Him after death, and they become organisms according to the description given above (n. 319); and the organisation induced in the world remains for ever.
[6] Second: Everyone acknowledges God and is conjoined to Him according to the good of his life. All can have a knowledge of God who know anything from religion. They can also speak of God from knowledge (scientia), that is, from what is in the memory, and some may also think about Him from the understanding. However, if one does not live well, this only brings about presence; for he can nevertheless turn himself away from God towards hell; and this happens if he lives wickedly. But only those can acknowledge God in their heart who live well; and these according to the good of their life the Lord turns away from hell and towards Himself. The reason is that these alone love God, for they love Divine things, which are from Him, in doing them. The Divine things which are from God are the precepts of His Law. These are God because He is His own Divine going forth: this is to love God, and therefore the Lord says:
He that keepeth my commandment, he it is that loveth me....But he that keepeth not my commandments loveth me not. John 14:21, 24.
[7] This is the reason why there are two tables of the Decalogue, one relating to God and the other relating to man. God works unceasingly that man may receive what is in his own table; but if man does not do the things that are in his table he does not receive with acknowledgment of heart the things that are in God's table; and if he does not receive them he is not conjoined. Therefore those two tables were so joined together as to be one, and were called the tables of the covenant, for covenant signifies conjunction. Everyone acknowledges God and is conjoined to Him according to the good of his life because the good of life is like the good that is in the Lord, and consequently that originates from the Lord. Therefore when man is in the good of life conjunction is effected. The contrary is the case with evil of life; for this rejects the Lord.
[8] Third: The good of life, that is, living well, is shunning evils because they are contrary to religion, thus contrary to God. That this is the good of life, or living well, is fully shown in THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE FOR THE NEW JERUSALEM, from beginning to end. To this I will merely add that if you do good to the fullest extent, for example, if you build churches, adorn them and fill them with votive offerings; if you expend money lavishly on hospitals and guest-houses for strangers, give alms daily, succour widows and orphans; if you diligently observe the holy things of worship, indeed, if you think about them, speak and preach about them as from the heart, and yet do not shun evils as sins against God, all those goods are not good. They are either hypocritical or meritorious, for there is still evil interiorly within them, since the life of everyone is in all things that he does, in general and in particular. Goods only become good by the removal of evil from them. Hence it is clear that shunning evils because they are contrary to religion, thus contrary to God, is living well.
[9] Fourth: These are the general principles of all religions by which everyone can be saved. To acknowledge God and to refrain from doing evil because it is against God are the two things which make religion to be religion. If one of them is wanting it cannot be called religion, since to acknowledge God and to do evil is a contradiction; so also is to do good and yet not acknowledge God, for one is not possible without the other. It has been provided by the Lord that almost everywhere there should be some form of religion, and that in every religion there should be these two principles; and it has also been provided by the Lord that everyone who acknowledges God and refrains from doing evil because it is against God should have a place in heaven. For heaven in the complex resembles one Man whose life or soul is the Lord. In that heavenly Man there are all things which are in a natural man with that difference which exists between things heavenly and things natural.
[10] It is well known that in man there are not only forms, organised from blood vessels and nerve fibres, called viscera, but also skins, membranes, tendons, cartilages, bones, nails and teeth, which have life in a less degree than the organised forms themselves which they serve as ligaments, coverings and supports. The heavenly Man, which is heaven, in order that all these things may be in it, cannot be composed of men all of one religion but of men of many religions. Therefore, all who make these two universal principles of the Church part of their life have a place in that heavenly Man, that is, heaven, and there enjoy happiness in their own degree. More on this subject may be seen above (n. 254).
[11] That these two are the primary principles in every religion may be evident from the fact that they are the two which the Decalogue teaches. The Decalogue was the principal constituent of the Word, and, promulgated by Jehovah by a living voice from Mount Sinai, was written upon two tables of stone by the finger of God. It was then placed in the ark and was called Jehovah, and constituted the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle, and formed the shrine in the temple at Jerusalem, and all the things there derived their sanctity from it alone. There are many more details from the Word concerning the Decalogue in the ark set forth in THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE FOR THE NEW JERUSALEM (n. 53-61), and to these I will add the following: It is well known from the Word that the ark containing the two tables on which the Decalogue was written was taken by the Philistines and placed in the temple of Dagon in Ashdod; and that Dagon fell to the earth before it, and afterwards his head with the palms of his hands torn from his body lay upon the threshold of the temple; and that the people of Ashdod and Ekron, to the number of many thousands, were smitten with emerods on account of the ark, and their land was ravaged by mice; also that the Philistines, on the advice of the chiefs of their nation, made five golden emerods and five golden mice, and a new cart on which they placed the ark with the golden emerods and mice beside it; and, drawn by two cows that lowed on the way before the cart, they sent the ark back to the Children of Israel; and by them the cows and the cart were offered up in sacrifice, in 1 Samuel 5:1-12 and 1 Samuel 6:1-19.
[12] It will now be stated what all these things signified. The Philistines signified those who are in faith separated from charity. Dagon represented that form of religion. The emerods with which they were smitten signified natural loves which, when separated from spiritual love, are unclean, and the mice signified the devastation of the Church by the falsification of truth. The new cart on which they sent back the ark signified new but natural doctrine, for chariot in the Word signifies doctrine from spiritual truths, and the cows signified good natural affections. The golden emerods signified natural loves purified and made good, and the golden mice signified the vastation of the church ended by means of good, for gold in the Word signifies good. The lowing of the cows on the way signified the difficult conversion of the lusts of evil of the natural man into good affections, and the offering of the cows with the cart as a burnt offering signified that in this way the Lord was propitiated.
[13] This is what is spiritually meant by these things in this historical narrative. Connect them together in one sense and make the application. That the Philistines represented those who are in faith separated from charity may be seen in THE DOCTRINE OF THE NEW JERUSALEM CONCERNING FAITH (n. 49-54); and that the ark, because the Decalogue was contained within it, was the most holy thing of the Church, may be seen in THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE FOR THE NEW JERUSALEM (n. 53-61).
326. But these must be examined and shown one by one. First: The acknowledgment of God causes a conjunction of God with man and of man with God; and the denial of God causes severance. Some may think that those who do not acknowledge God can be saved just as well as those who do acknowledge Him, provided they lead a moral life. They say, What does acknowledgment accomplish? Is it not mere thought? Can I not easily acknowledge God when I come to know with certainty that there is a God? I have heard of Him, but I have not seen Him. Make me see and I will believe. Such is the language of many who deny God when they are allowed to reason freely with one who acknowledges God. But that the acknowledgment of God conjoins and the denial of Him separates will be made clear by certain things made known to me in the spiritual world. When any one there thinks about another and wishes to speak with him, the other immediately appears present. This is a common occurrence there, and never fails. And the reason is that in the spiritual world there is no distance as in the natural world, but only an appearance of distance.
[2] Again, As thought from any knowledge of another causes presence, so love from any affection for another causes conjunction; and from this it results that such come together and converse in a friendly way, dwell in the same house or in the same society, meet frequently, and render mutual services. The opposite also occurs, as that he who does not love another, or still more, he who hates another, does not see or meet him, but they are distant in the degree of their hatred or absence of their love; and even if he is present and recalls the hatred he becomes invisible.
[3] From these few examples the ground of presence and of conjunction in the spiritual world can be seen, namely, that presence comes from the remembrance of another with a desire to see him, and conjunction from an affection that springs from love. The same is true of all things in the human mind; in it are things without number, and the particulars are there associated and conjoined according to affections, or as one thing loves another.
[4] This conjunction is spiritual conjunction, which is like itself in things general and particular. This spiritual conjunction has its origin from the conjunction of the Lord with the spiritual world and with the natural world, in general and in particular. From all this it is evident that so far as any one knows the Lord, and from his knowledge thinks about Him, so far the Lord is present; and so far as any one acknowledges the Lord from an affection of love so far the Lord is conjoined with him; and on the other hand, so far as one does not know the Lord the Lord is absent; and so far as one denies the Lord he is separated from Him.
[5] Conjunction causes the Lord to turn the man's face to Himself, and then He leads him. Severance causes hell to turn the man's face to itself, and he is then led by hell. Therefore all the angels of heaven turn their faces to the Lord as a sun; and all the spirits of hell turn their faces away from Him. This makes clear what acknowledgment of God accomplishes, and what the denial of God accomplishes. And those who deny God in the world deny Him after death; and they acquire an organization such as is described above (319), and the organization taken on in the world remains to eternity.
[6] Secondly: Every one acknowledges God and is conjoined with Him according to his good of life. All who know anything from religion can know God, and from knowledge or memory they can talk about God and some from the understanding can also think about Him; but if they do not live well this effects nothing but presence; for with all this they can turn themselves away from God and turn towards hell, and this they do if they live wickedly. But only those who live well can acknowledge God in heart; and these, according to their good of life, the Lord turns away from hell and towards Himself. This is because these alone love God, for they love the Divine things that are from Him in that they do them. The Divine things that are from God are the commandments of His law; these are God because He is Himself His own proceeding Divine; and this is loving God, for the Lord says:-
He that keepeth My commandments, he it is that loveth Me; but he that keepeth not My commandments loveth Me not (John 14:21-24).
[7] For this reason there are two tables of the Decalogue, one relating to God and the other relating to man. God works unceasingly to the end that man may receive what is in man's table; but if man fails to do the things that are in his table he does not accept with acknowledgment of heart the things that are in God's table; and if he does not accept he is not conjoined. This is why the two tables were so conjoined as to be one, and were called the tables of the covenant, "covenant" signifying conjunction. Every one acknowledges God and is conjoined with Him according to the good of his life, for the reason that good of life is like the good that is in the Lord, and that thus comes from the Lord; consequently when man is in good of life a conjunction is effected. With evil of life the opposite is true. This rejects the Lord.
[8] Thirdly: Good of life, or living rightly, is shunning evils because they are against religion, thus against God. That this is good of life, or living rightly, is fully shown in the Doctrine of Life for the New Jerusalem, from beginning to end. To which I will merely add, that if you do good to the fullest extent-for example, building temples, decorating them and filling them with offerings, sustaining hospitals and asylums, giving alms every day, succoring widows and orphans, observing diligently the holy things of worship, and even thinking and talking and preaching about them as if from the heart, and yet do not shun evils as sins against God, none of these goods are good; they are either hypocritical or meritorious, for evil is still inwardly in them. For one's life is in all things and in each one of the things that he does; and goods can become goods only by the removal of evil from them. All this makes clear that living rightly is shunning evils because they are against religion, and thus against God.
[9] Fourthly: These are the general principles of all religions, whereby every one can be saved. To acknowledge God and to refrain from doing evil because it is against God are the two things that make a religion to be a religion; and if one of these is lacking it cannot be called a religion, for to acknowledge God and to do evil is a contradiction; also to do good and not acknowledge God; for one is not possible without the other. The Lord provides that there shall be some religion nearly everywhere, and that there shall be these two things in every religion. The Lord also provides that every one who acknowledges God and refrains from doing evil because it is against God should have a place in heaven. For heaven in the complex resembles a single man, whose life or soul is the Lord. In that heavenly Man are all things that are in a natural man, with a difference like that between heavenly and natural things.
[10] It is known that in man, in addition to forms organized of blood-vessels and nervous fibers, which are called viscera, there are also skins, membranes, tendons, cartilages, bones, nails, and teeth; these are living in a less degree than the organized forms themselves to which they are subservient as ligaments, coverings, and supports. So the heavenly Man, which is heaven, if all these things are to be in it, must be composed not of men of a single religion but of men of many religions; therefore all who make these two universals of the church to enter into their lives have a place in that heavenly Man, that is, in heaven, and enjoy happiness in their degree. But more on this subject may be seen above (254).
[11] That these two are the primary principles in every religion is shown by the fact that they are what the Decalogue teaches; and the Decalogue was the first thing of the Word, was promulgated by Jehovah by a living voice from Mount Sinai, was written by the finger of God on two tables of stone, and when placed in the ark was called "Jehovah," and constituted the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle, and the sanctuary in the temple at Jerusalem, and from its presence alone all things there were holy; besides other things in the Word respecting the Decalogue in the ark, cited in the The Doctrine of Life for the New Jerusalem 53-61; to which the following may here be added: It is known from the Word that the ark containing the two tables on which the Decalogue was written was taken by the Philistines and placed in the temple of Dagon in Ashdod, and that Dagon fell to the earth before it, and afterward his head and the palms of the hands torn from the body lay upon the threshold of the house; and that the people of Ashdod and Ekron, to the number of many thousands, were smitten with emerods on account of the ark, and their land was laid waste by mice; also that the Philistines, by the advice of the lords of their nation, made five golden emerods and five golden mice and a new cart, and placed the ark upon it, and near the ark the golden emerods and mice, and by two cows that lowed in the way before the cart they sent back the ark to the children of Israel, who offered the cows and the cart in sacrifice (1 Samuel 5, 6).
[12] It shall now be told what all these things signified. "The Philistines" signified those who are in faith separated from charity; "Dagon" represented that religion; the "emerods" with which they were smitten signified natural loves, which are unclean when separated from spiritual love; the "mice" signified the devastation of the church by means of falsifications of truth; the "new cart" upon which they sent back the ark signified new but natural doctrine (a "chariot" signifying in the Word doctrine from spiritual truths); the "cows" signified good natural affections; the "golden emerods" signified natural loves purified and made good; the "golden mice" signified the vastation of the church removed by good ("gold" in the Word signifying good), "the lowing of the cows on the way" signified the difficult conversion of the lusts of evil of the natural man into good affections; "the offering of the cows and the cart as a burnt offering" signified that the Lord was thus propitiated.
[13] Such is the spiritual meaning of these historical statements. Join them together into one idea, and make the application. That the "Philistines" represented those who are in faith separated from charity may be seen in the The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning Faith 49-54); and that the ark, because of its containing the Decalogue, was the holiest thing of the church, may be seen in the The Doctrine of Life for the New Jerusalem 53-61).
326. Sed haec singillatim lustranda et demonstranda sunt. PRIMUM. Quod agnitio Dei faciat conjunctionem Dei cum homine, et hominis cum Deo, et quod negatio Dei faciat sejunctionem. Aliqui possunt cogitare, quod salvari queant aeque qui non agnoscunt Deum quam qui agnoscunt, modo vitam moralem agant, dicentes, quid operatur agnitio; estne solum cogitatio; possumne facile agnoscere, cum pro certo scio quod Deus sit; audivi de Illo, sed non vidi Illum; fac ut videam et credam; talis sermo est multis qui negant Deum, quando eis libere ratiocinari cum agnitore Dei licet. Sed quod agnitio Dei conjungat, et negatio Dei sejungat, illustrabitur per quaedam mihi nota in spirituali Mundo: ibi cum quis cogitat de altero, et vult loqui cum illo, sistitur alter illico praesens; hoc commune ibi est, et nusquam fallit; causa est, quia in Mundo spirituali non est distantia, sicut in Mundo naturali, sed est modo apparentia distantiae.
[2] Alterum est, quod sicut cogitatio ex aliqua cognitione alterius facit praesentiam, ita amor ex aliqua affectione alterius faciat conjunctionem, ex qua fit quod simul eant et amice colloquantur, inque una domo habitent, vel in una societate, ac saepius conveniant, et mutuas operas praestent: contrarium etiam fit, ut quod qui non amat alterum, et magis qui odit alterum, non videat nec conveniat illum, ac distent secundum gradum quo non amat, seu quo odit; imo si praesens est, et tunc recordatur odii, fit inconspicuus.
[3] Ex his paucis constare potest, unde praesentia, et unde conjunctio in spirituali Mundo, quod nempe praesentia sit ex recordatione alterius cum desiderio videndi illum, et quod conjunctio sit ex affectione quae est amoris. Simile est cum omnibus quae in mente humana sunt; in illa sunt innumera, et singula ibi consociata et conjuncta sunt secundum affectiones, aut sicut una res amat alteram.
[4] Haec conjunctio est conjunctio spiritualis, quae sibi similis est in communibus et particularibus: spiritualis haec conjunctio originem ducit ex conjunctione Domini cum Mundo spirituali, et cum Mundo naturali, in communi et in particulari: ex quibus patet, quod quantum quis cognoscit Dominum, et ex cognitionibus cogitat de Ipso, tantum Dominus praesens sit, et quantum quis agnoscit Ipsum ex affectione amoris, tantum Dominus illi conjunctus sit; ac vicissim, quod quantum quis non cognoscit Dominum, tantum Dominus absens sit, et quod quantum quis negat Ipsum, tantum sejunctus sit.
[5] Conjunctio facit, ut Dominus vertat faciem ejus ad Se, 1et tunc ducat illum; et sejunctio facit, ut infernum vertat faciem ejus ad se, ac ducat illum: quare omnes angeli coeli vertunt suas facies ad Dominum ut Solem, et omnes spiritus inferni avertunt suas facies a Domino. Ex his patet, quid operatur agnitio Dei, et quid negatio Dei. Et illi, qui negant Deum in Mundo, negant Ipsum post mortem; et fiunt organizati secundum descriptionem supra 319, et organizatio inducta in mundo permanet in aeternum.
[6] SECUNDUM. Quod quisque agnoscat Deum, et conjungatur Ipsi secundum bonum vitae suae: cognoscere Deum possunt omnes qui aliquid ex religione sciunt; possunt quoque ex scientia seu memoria loqui de Deo, et aliqui etiam ex intellectu cogitare de Deo; sed hoc, si non bene vivit, non aliud facit quam praesentiam, potest enim nihilominus avertere se ab Ipso, et vertere se ad infernum, quod fit si male vivit. At agnoscere Deum corde, non possunt alii quam qui bene vivunt; hos Dominus secundum bonum vitae eorum avertit ab inferno, et vertit ad Se: 2causa est, quia hi soli amant Deum, amant enim Divina, quae ab Ipso sunt, faciendo illa; Divina quae sunt a Deo, sunt praecepta legis Ipsius; haec sunt Deus, quia Ipse est suum 3Divinum procedens, et hoc est amare Deum; quare Dominus dicit, "Qui praecepta Mea 4facit, ille est qui amat Me; qui autem praecepta Mea 5non facit, ille Me non amat," Johannes 14:21-24.
[7] Quae causa est, quod binae Tabulae decalogi sint, una pro Deo, et altera pro homine; Deus continue operatur, ut homo recipiat illa quae in sua Tabula sunt, sed si homo non facit illa quae in sua Tabula sunt, non recipit agnitione cordis illa quae in Tabula Dei sunt, et si non recipit, non conjungitur: quare binae illae Tabulae conjunctae sunt ut unum sint, et vocatae Tabulae foederis, et foedus significat conjunctionem. Causa quod quisque agnoscat Deum, et conjungatur Ipsi secundum bonum vitae suae, est quia bonum vitae est simile bono quod in Domino est, et inde quod a Domino est; quare cum homo in bono vitae est, fit conjunctio. Contrarium est cum malo vitae; hoc rejicit Dominum.
[8] TERTIUM. Quod bonum vitae seu bene vivere, sit fugere mala quia sunt contra religionem, ita contra Deum: quod hoc sit bonum vitae, seu bene vivere, plene ostensum est in DOCTRINA VITAE 6PRO NOVA HIEROSOLYMA, a principio ad finem. Quibus haec solum adjiciam, quod si bona facias in omni copia, ut si templa aedifices, illa ornes ac impleas donariis, si sumtus impendas hospitaliis et xenodochiis, si eleemosynas 7des quotidie, opituleris viduis et pupillis, si sancta cultus sedulo obeas, imo si cogites, loquaris et praedices illa sicut ex corde, et tamen non fugis mala ut peccata contra Deum, omnia illa bona non sunt bona; sunt vel hypocritica vel meritoria, nam usque malum intus in illis est, vita enim cujusvis est in omnibus et singulis quae facit: at bona non aliter fiunt bona, quam per remotionem mali ab illis. Ex his patet, quod fugere mala quia contra religionem, ita contra Deum sunt, sit bene vivere.
[9] QUARTUM. Quod haec sint communia omnium religionum, per quae unusquisque potest salvari. 8Agnoscere Deum, et non facere malum quia est contra Deum, sunt duo quae faciunt, quod Religio sit religio; si deest unum, non potest dici religio, nam agnoscere Deum et facere malum, est contradictorium, tum facere bonum et non agnoscere Deum, non enim datur unum absque altero. Provisum est a Domino, ut paene ubivis aliqua religio sit, et quod in unaquavis duo illa sint; et quoque a Domino provisum est, ut unusquisque qui agnoscit Deum, et non facit malum quia est contra Deum, locum habeat in Coelo: Coelum enim in complexu refert unum Hominem, cujus vita seu anima est Dominus: in coelesti illo Homine sunt omnia quae in homine naturali, cum differentia qualis est inter Coelestia 9et naturalia.
[10] Notum est, quod in homine non modo sint formae organizatae ex vasis sanguineis et ex fibris nerveis, quae vocantur Viscera, sed etiam quod sint cutes, membranae, tendines, cartilagines, ossa, ungues et dentes; haec sunt in minori gradu viva, quam sunt ipsae formae organizatae, quibus illa inserviunt pro ligamentis, tegumentis, et fulcris: Coelestis ille Homo, qui est Coelum, ut in illo omnia illa sint, non potest ex hominibus unius religionis componi, sed ex hominibus plurium religionum; inde omnes, qui duo illa universalia Ecclesiae faciunt suae vitae, locum habent in Coelesti illo Homine, hoc est, Coelo, et fruuntur felicitate in suo gradu: sed de his videantur plura supra 254.
[11] Quod illa duo sint primaria in omni religione, constare potest ex eo, quod illa duo sint quae Decalogus docet, et ille fuit primum Verbi, et e monte Sinai a Jehovah viva voce promulgatus, et binis Tabulis lapideis digito Dei inscriptus, et dein positus in Arca vocabatur Jehovah, et faciebat [sanctum] sanctum sanctorum in Tabernaculo, et adytum in Templo Hierosolymitano, et sancta erant omnia ex illo solo quae ibi; praeter plura de decalogo in Arca ex Verbo, quae in DOCTRINA VITAE PRO NOVA HIEROSOLYMA 53-61, allata sunt; quibus haec adjiciam: notum est ex Verbo, quod Arca, in qua binae Tabulae, quibus inscriptus erat Decalogus, fuerunt, a Philistaeis capta sit, ac posita in fano Dagonis in Aschdodo, et quod Dagon coram illa in terram deciderit, et postea caput cum volis manuum a corpore divulsum super limine fani jaceret; et quod Aschdodaei et Ekronitae propter Arcam percussi sint haemorrhoidibus 10ad plura millia, et quod terra illorum devastata fuerit a muribus: tum quod Philistaei ex consilio Primorum Gentis suae fecerint quinque haemorrhoides et quinque mures ex auro, ac plaustrum novum, et super hoc posuerint Arcam, et juxta illam haemorrhoides et mures ex auro, et per binas vaccas, quae boabant in via ante plaustrum, Arcam ad filios Israelis remiserint, a quibus vaccae et plaustrum sacrificabantur; videatur I Samuelis 5; 6.
[12] Nunc dicetur, quid omnia illa significabant: Philistaei significabant illos qui in fide separata a charitate sunt; Dagon repraesentabat Religiosum illud; haemorrhoides quibus percussi sunt, significabant amores naturales, qui separati ab amore spirituali immundi sunt; ac mures significabant devastationem Ecclesiae per falsificationes veri; plaustrum novum, super quo remiserunt arcam, significabat doctrinam novam, sed naturalem, nam currus in Verbo significat doctrinam ex veris spiritualibus; vaccae significabant affectiones bonas naturales; haemorrhoides ex auro, significabant amores naturales purificatos et factos bonos; mures ex auro, significabant vastationem Ecclesiae per bonum sublatam, aurum enim in Verbo significat bonum; boatio vaccarum in via, significabat difficilem conversionem concupiscentiarum mali naturalis hominis in affectiones bonas; quod vaccae cum plaustro in holocaust tum oblatae sint, significabat quod sit Dominus propitiatus sic.
[13] Haec sunt quae per illa Historica spiritualiter intelliguntur; conjunge illa in unum sensum, et fac applicationem. Quod per Philisthaeos repraesentati sint qui in fide separata a charitate sunt, videatur in DOCTRINA NOVAE HIEROSOLYMAE DE FIDE 49-54. Et quod Arca ex Decalogo ibi incluso sanctissimum Ecclesiae fuerit, in DOCTRINA VITAE PRO NOVA HIEROSOLYMA 53-61.
Footnotes:
1 Prima editio: se,
2 Prima editio: se:
3 Prima editio: sunm
4 Prima editio: mea
5 Prima editio: mea
6 Prima editio: VITAE
7 Prima editio: eleomosynas
8 Prima editio: saluari.
9 Prima editio: clestia�
10 Prima editio: haemorhoidibus