33、现简要说明人如何能与主结合得更紧密，然后这结合如何显得越来越紧密。人如何与主结合得越来越紧密：实现这一点不是单靠知识，也不是单靠聪明，甚至不是单靠智慧，而是靠着与它们结合的一种生活。人的生活就是他的爱，而爱是多种多样的。总体上有对邪恶的爱和对良善的爱。对邪恶的爱就是对奸淫、报复、欺诈、亵渎和夺走他人财物的爱，对邪恶的爱在思想并做出这些事的过程中获得快乐和喜悦的感觉；这爱的衍生物，就是它的情感，跟它在其中取得具体形式的恶行一样多；这爱的感知和思维，跟支持并确认这些邪恶的虚假一样多；这些虚假与邪恶构成一体，正如理解力与意愿构成一体一样；它们不会彼此分离，因为一个属于另一个。
由于主流入每个人的生命之爱，并通过这爱的情感进入感知和思维，但反过来不行，如前所述，所以可知，主只能随着对邪恶的爱及其情感，也就是欲望被移走而与一个人结合得越来越紧密。由于这些欲望居于属世人，还由于凡人出于属世人所做的，他都感觉是靠他自己做的，所以人应当貌似凭自己移走这爱的邪恶；只要他如此行，主就会越来越靠近他，并与他结合。凭理性，谁都能看出，欲望及其享乐堵住并关闭了主面前的这扇门；只要人自己紧紧关闭这扇门，并从外面推挤，以防它被打开，那么它们就无法被主逐出。从主在启示录的话明显可知，人必须自己打开这扇门：
看哪，我站在门外叩门，若有听见我声音就开门的，我要进到他那里去，我与他，他与我一同坐席。（启示录3:20）
由此明显可知，只要一个人避邪恶如魔鬼，如阻止主进入的障碍，他就会与主结合得越来越紧密，一个憎恶它们如众多黝黑似火的魔鬼之人，与主结合得最紧密。因为邪恶与魔鬼是同一个，邪恶的虚假与撒旦是同一个。正如主流入对良善的爱及其情感，并通过这些情感流入感知和思维（这些感知和思维获得其一切真理，是源于这一事实：它们来自一个人所处的良善），魔鬼，也就是地狱，流入对邪恶的爱及其情感，也就是欲望，通过这些欲望流入感知和思维（这些感知和思维获得其一切虚假是源于这一事实：它们来自邪恶）。
这种结合如何显得越来越紧密：属世人中的邪恶通过避开并弃绝它们而被移走得越彻底，这个人就与主结合得越紧密。爱和智慧，也就是主自己，不在空间之中，因为属于爱的情感和属于智慧的思维与空间毫不相干。因此，主照着藉由祂的爱和智慧的结合而显得更接近，照着对祂的爱和智慧的弃绝而显得更遥远。灵界没有空间；那里的距离和同在只是表象，取决于情感的相似性或非相似性；因为如前所述，属于爱的情感和属于智慧的思维本身是属灵的，故不在空间之中。关于这个主题，可参看《圣爱与圣智》一书（7-10，69-72等节）。
主与一个邪恶已经被移走之人的结合由主的这些话来表示：
清心的人必看见神。（马太福音5:8）
还有这些话：
有了我的命令又遵守的……，我要与他同住。（约翰福音14:21，23）
“有了主的命令”是指认识主，“遵守祂的命令”是指爱祂，因为经上还说，“遵守我命令的，这人就是爱我的”。
33. We must briefly state how a person can be more and more closely conjoined with the Lord, and then how this closer and closer conjunction appears.
How a person is more and more closely conjoined with the Lord: This is accomplished not by knowledge alone, nor by intelligence alone, nor even by wisdom alone, but by a life in conjunction with these. A person's life is his love, and love is multifarious. In general it is a love of evil or a love of good. Love of evil includes a love of committing adultery, of taking vengeance, of defrauding, of blaspheming, and of depriving others of their goods. A love of evil experiences its pleasure and delight in contemplating and doing such things. The derivations of such a love, or its affections, are as many as the evils to which it has directed itself; and the perceptions and thoughts of such a love are as many as the falsities which support those evils and justify them. Such falsities unite with the evils, as the intellect does with the will. They are not separated from each other, because one is bound up with the other.
[2] Now because the Lord flows, as we said above, into everyone's life's love and through its affections into his perceptions and thoughts, and not the reverse, it follows that the Lord can conjoin Himself more closely only as a love of evil has been removed, together with its affections, which are lusts. And because these lusts reside in the natural self, and a person feels as though whatever he does from his natural self he does of himself, therefore a person ought to remove the evils of that love as though of himself; and to the extent then that he does remove them, the Lord draws nearer and conjoins Himself with him.
Everyone can see in accord with reason that lusts with their delights obstruct and close the doors to the Lord, and that the Lord cannot cast these lusts out as long as the person himself keeps the doors closed and pushes and shoves against them from outside to keep them from being opened.
That a person himself has to do the opening is apparent from the Lord's words in the book of Revelation:
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. (Revelation 3:20)
[3] It is apparent therefore that to the extent anyone abstains from evils as diabolical and as obstacles to the Lord's entrance, the more and more closely he is conjoined with the Lord, and most closely someone who abominates them as being so many dark and fiery devils; for evil and the devil are one, as the falsity of evil and Satan are one. Since the Lord flows into a love of good and its affections, and through these into a person's perceptions and thoughts, all of which derive the character of being truths from the good which impels the person, so the devil, which is to say, hell, flows into a love of evil and its affections, which are lusts, and through these into a person's perceptions and thoughts, all of which derive the character of being falsities from the evil which impels the person.
[4] How this closer and closer conjunction appears: The more removed evils are in the natural self by abstinence from and aversion to them, the more closely a person is conjoined with the Lord. And because the love and wisdom which are the Lord Himself do not exist in space, inasmuch as the affection connected with love and the thought connected with wisdom have nothing in common with space, therefore the Lord appears closer in the measure of the conjunction with Him through love and wisdom, and conversely more remote in the measure of a person's rejection of love and wisdom.
Space does not exist in the spiritual world, but distances and proximities there are appearances in accordance with similarities and dissimilarities of affections. For, as we have said, the affections connected with love, and the thoughts connected with wisdom, which in themselves are spiritual, do not exist in space - on which subject see what we have presented in the treatise Divine Love and Wisdom 7-10, 69-72, and elsewhere.
[5] The Lord's conjunction with a person in whom evils have been removed is meant by these words of the Lord:
...the pure in heart... shall see God. (Matthew 5:8)
Also by these words:
He who has My commandments and does them (I) will make (My) abode with him. (John 14:21, 23)
To have the Lord's commandments is to know Him, and to do His commandments is to love Him, for we are told in the same passage as well:
He who (does) My commandments, it is he who loves Me. 1
Footnotes:
1. John 14:21.
33. I need to explain briefly how we can be more closely united to the Lord and then how that union can seem closer and closer. As to how we can be more closely united to the Lord, this does not happen by simply knowing or by simply understanding or even by simply being wise; it happens by a life that is one with these states.
Our life is our love, and there are many kinds of love. Broadly, there is love for what is evil and love for what is good. Love for what is evil is love for adultery, vengeance, cheating, blasphemy, and taking others' possessions. A love for evil finds delight and gratification in thinking about such things and in doing them. There are as many derivative motivations or desires of this love as there are evil deeds in which it takes specific form; and there are as many perceptions and thoughts of this love as there are distortions that nurture and justify these evil deeds. These distortions are integral to the evils themselves just as our discernment is integral to our volition. They do not part from each other, because they belong to each other.
[2] Now since the Lord flows into everyone's life and flows through our life's desires into our perceptions and thoughts (and not the reverse), as already noted [28], it follows that the closeness of our union with the Lord depends on the extent to which our love for evil and its desires--its compulsions--is dismissed. Further, since these compulsions have their home in the level of our being that deals with this world, and since anything we do that is rooted in that level feels as though it belongs to us, we need to dismiss the evils of this love with what seems to be our own strength. To the extent that we do this, the Lord draws near and unites us to himself.
Surely anyone can see simply on the basis of reason that our compulsions and the gratifications they offer shut the door firmly in the Lord's face, and that they cannot be ousted by the Lord as long as we ourselves keep that door closed and throw our weight against it from the other side to keep it from opening. The Lord's words in the Book of Revelation show that we ourselves need to open the door:
Here I am, standing at the door and knocking. If any hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to them and dine with them, and they with me. (Revelation 3:20)
[3] We can see from this that the closeness of our union with the Lord depends on the extent to which we abstain from evils as coming from the devil and as blocking the Lord's entry. We can see that the union is closest for people who loathe these evils as though they were actually foul and fiery devils, since evil and the devil are one and the same, just as malicious falsity and Satan are one and the same. As a result, just as the Lord's inflow is into a love for what is good and its desires and through these into our perceptions and thoughts (which derive all their truth from the fact that they stem from goodness we are engaged in), so the inflow of the devil or hell is into a love for what is evil and its desires--its compulsions--and through these into our perceptions and thoughts, which derive all their falsity from the fact that they stem from what is evil.
[4] As to how that union can seem closer and closer, the more completely the evils in our earthly self are dismissed by our abstaining from and rejecting them, the more closely we are united to the Lord. Further, since the love and wisdom that are the Lord himself are not in space, and since a desire of love and a thought of wisdom have nothing in common with space, the Lord seems to be closer in proportion to the union occasioned by love and wisdom. By the same token, he seems more distant as we spurn love and wisdom.
Space does not exist in the spiritual world. Instead, distance and presence there are appearances that depend on likeness or dissimilarity of desire. This is because, as just noted, desires (or properties of love) and thoughts (or properties of wisdom) are intrinsically spiritual. They are not in space, as explained in Divine Love and Wisdom 7-10, 69-72, and elsewhere.
[5] Our union with the Lord once our evils have been dismissed is what is referred to in the Lord's words, "The pure in heart will see God" (Matthew 5:8) and "I will make my dwelling with everyone who has my precepts and keeps them" (John 14:21, 23). "Having the precepts" is knowing, and "keeping the precepts" is loving, since it also says in the same passage that "whoever keeps my precepts is one who loves me."
33. It will now be stated briefly how a man can be more nearly conjoined to the Lord, and then how the conjunction appears more and more near. A man is more and more nearly conjoined to the Lord, not by knowledge alone, nor by intelligence alone, nor even by wisdom alone, but by a life conjoined to these. Man's life is his love, and love is manifold. In general, there is the love of evil and the love of good. The love of evil is the love of committing adultery, taking revenge, defrauding, blaspheming, and depriving others of their goods. The love of evil has a sense of pleasure and delight in thinking about these things and in doing them; and the desires, or the affections which spring from this love, are as numerous as the evils in which it has found expression; and the perceptions and thoughts of this love are as numerous as the falsities which favour these evils and confirm them. These falsities make one with the evils, as the understanding makes one with the will; they are not separated from each other, because one is of the other.
[2] Now because the Lord flows into the life's love of everyone, and through its affections into his perceptions and thoughts, and not the reverse, as was said above, it follows that the Lord can conjoin Himself more nearly only so far as the love of evil with its affections, which are lusts, has been removed. As these reside in the natural man, and as whatever a man does from the natural man he feels as if he does from himself, therefore he ought, as if from himself, to remove the evils of that love; and as far as he does this the Lord draws nearer, and conjoins Himself to him. Anyone can see from reason that lusts with their delights obstruct and close the door before the Lord, and that these cannot be cast out by the Lord so long as man himself holds the door closed and, pressing from without, prevents it from being opened. That man himself ought to open the door is clear from the Lord's words in Revelation:
Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. Rev. 3:20.
[3] Hence it is evident that, so far as one shuns evils as of the devil and as obstacles to the Lord's entrance, he is more and more nearly conjoined to the Lord, and that he is the most nearly conjoined who abominates them as so many dusky and fiery devils; for evil and the devil are one, and the falsity of evil and satan are one. Since the influx of the Lord is into the love of good and into its affections, and through these into the perceptions and thoughts, which all derive the fact that they are truths from the good in which the man is, so the influx of the devil, that is, of hell, is into the love of evil and into its affections which are lusts, and through these into the perceptions and thoughts, which all derive the fact that they are falsities from the evil in which the man is.
[4] How this conjunction appears nearer and nearer. The more fully evils in the natural man are removed by shunning and turning away from them, the more nearly is the man conjoined to the Lord. Moreover, as love and wisdom, which are the Lord Himself, are not in space, since affection which belongs to love and thought which belongs to wisdom have nothing in common with space, so the Lord appears to be nearer according to the conjunction through His Love and Wisdom; and on the other hand, more remote according to the rejection of His Love and Wisdom. There is no space in the spiritual world; but there distance and presence are appearances in accordance with similarities and dissimilarities of affections; for as has been said before, affections which belong to love, and thoughts which belong to wisdom, being in themselves spiritual, are not in space. On this subject see what has been stated in the treatise THE DIVINE LOVE AND WISDOM (n. 7-10, 69-72), and elsewhere. The conjunction of the Lord with a man in whom evils have been put away, is meant by these words of the Lord:
The pure in heart (A.V. they) shall see God. Matthew 5:8.
and by these words,
He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them. . . .I will make my abode with him. John xiv. 21, 23.
To have the commandments is to know, and to keep the commandments is to love; for it is also said in the same passage:
He that keepeth my commandments, he it is that loveth me.
33. It will now be told briefly how a man can be more nearly conjoined with the Lord, and then how the conjunction appears more and more near. How man is more and more nearly conjoined with the Lord:-This is effected not by knowledge alone, nor by intelligence alone, nor even by wisdom alone, but by a life conjoined with these. Man's life is his love, and love is manifold. In general, there is a love of evil and a love of good. The love of evil is a love of committing adultery, taking revenge, defrauding, blaspheming, depriving others of their goods. In thinking about these things and in doing them the love of evil has a sense of pleasure and delight. The derivatives of this love, which are its affections, are as many as are the evils into which it has determined itself; and the perceptions and thoughts of this love are as many as are the falsities that favor these evils and confirm them. These falsities make one with the evils, as the understanding makes one with the will; they are not separated from each other, for one is of the other.
[2] Since, then, the Lord flows into the life's love of every one, and through its affections into the perceptions and thoughts, and not the reverse, as has been said above, it follows that the Lord can conjoin Himself more nearly only so far as the love of evil with its affections, which are lusts, has been set aside. And as these have their seat in the natural man, and as whatever a man does from the natural man is felt as if done from himself, so man ought as if from himself to put away the evils of that love; and so far as this is done by man the Lord draws nearer and conjoins Himself with him. Any one can see from reason that lusts with their enjoyments block the way and close the doors before the Lord, and that these can not be cast out by the Lord so long as man himself holds the doors closed, and by pressing and pushing from without prevents their being opened. That man himself ought to open them is clear from the Lord's words in the Apocalypse:-
Behold I stand at the door and knock; if any one hear My voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him and he with Me (Apocalypse 3:20).
[3] From this it is evident that so far as one shuns evils as diabolical and as obstacles to the Lord's entrance, he is more and more nearly conjoined with the Lord, and he the most nearly who abominates them as so many dusky and fiery devils; since evil and the devil are one, and the falsity of evil and Satan are one. For as the Lord's influx is into the love of good and into its affections, and through these affections into the perceptions and thoughts (and these are all truths by derivation from the good in which the man is), so the influx of the devil, that is, of hell, is into the love of evil and into its affections, which are lusts, and through these into the perceptions and thoughts (and these are all falsities by derivation from the evil in which the man is).
[4] How that conjunction appears more and more near:-The more fully evils in the natural man are put aside by shunning them and turning away from them, the more nearly is man conjoined with the Lord. And as love and wisdom, which are the Lord Himself, are not in space (since affection, which belongs to love, and thought, which belongs to wisdom, have nothing in common with space), so the Lord appears to be nearer in the measure of the conjunction by love and wisdom; and on the other hand, more remote in the measure of the rejection of love and wisdom. In the spiritual world there is no space, but there distance and presence are appearances in accordance with similarities and dissimilarities of affections; for the reason, as has been said before, that affections, which belong to love, and thoughts, which belong to wisdom, and which in themselves are spiritual, are not in space. On this subject see what has been set forth in Divine Love and Wisdom 7-10, 69-72, and elsewhere).
[5] The Lord's conjunction with a man in whom evils have been put away, is meant by these words of the Lord:-
The pure in heart shall see God (Matthew 5:8);
and by these:-
He that hath My commandments and doeth them, I will make My abode with him (John 14:21, 23).
"To have the commandments" is to know, and "to do them" is to love; for it is also there said: "He that doeth My commandments, he it is that loveth Me."
33. Paucis dicetur quomodo homo propius [et propius] conjungi potest Domino, et deinde quomodo conjunctio illa propior et propior apparet. Quomodo homo propius et propius conjungitur Domino, hoc non fit per solam scientiam, nec per solam intelligentiam, imo nec per solam sapientiam, sed per vitam illis conjunctam: vita hominis est ejus amor, et amor est multiplex; in genere est amor mali et amor boni; amor mali est amor adulterandi, vindicandi, defraudandi, blasphemandi, deprivandi alios suis bonis; amor mali in illis cogitandis et faciendis sentit volupe et jucundum; derivationes quae sunt affectiones hujus amoris, sunt totidem quot sunt mala in quae se determinavit; ac perceptiones et cogitationes hujus amoris sunt totidem quot sunt falsa quae favent illis malis, et confirmant illa: haec falsa unum faciunt cum malis, sicut intellectus cum voluntate unum facit; non separantur a se invicem, quia unum est alterius.
[2] Nunc quia Dominus influit in amorem vitae cujusvis, et per ejus affectiones in perceptiones et cogitationes, et non vicissim, ut supra dictum est, sequitur quod non propius possit Se 1conjungere, quam sicut amor mali cum ejus affectionibus, quae sunt concupiscentiae, remotus est; et quia hae resident in naturali homine, et homo quicquid ex naturali homine agit, sentit sicut ex se agere, �quare� homo sicut ex se removere debet amoris illius mala, et tunc quantum removet illa, tantum Dominus propius accedit, et Se 2ei conjungit: quisque potest ex ratione videre, quod concupiscentiae cum illarum jucundis obstipent et claudant fores pro Domino, et quod a Domino ejici nequeant, quamdiu ipse homo tenet fores clausas, 3et ab extra urget et adigit ne aperiantur: quod ipse homo aperire debeat, patet a Domini verbis in Apocalypsi, "Ecce sto ad januam et pulso; si quis audiverit vocem meam, et aperuerit januam, ingrediar ad illum, et coenabo cum illo, et ille Mecum," Apocalypsis 3:20.
[3] Inde patet, quod quantum quis fugit mala sicut diabolica, et sicut obstantia ingressui Domini, tantum propius et propius conjungatur Domino, et ille proxime, qui abominatur illa sicut totidem furvos et ignitos diabolos, nam malum et diabolus unum sunt; ac falsum mali et satanas unum sunt; quoniam sicut influxus Domini est in amorem boni et in ejus affectiones, et per has in perceptiones et cogitationes, quae omnes trahunt ex bono, in quo homo est, quod vera sint, ita influxus diaboli, hoc est, inferni, est in amorem mali et ejus affectiones, quae sunt concupiscentiae, et per has in perceptiones et cogitationes, quae omnes trahunt ex malo, in quo homo est, quod falsa sint.
[4] Quomodo conjunctio illa propior et propior apparet; quo plus remota sunt mala in naturali homine per illorum fugam et aversationem, homo eo propius conjungitur Domino: et quia amor et sapientia, quae sunt Ipse Dominus, non sunt in spatio, affectio enim quae amoris, et cogitatio quae sapientiae, nihil commune habent cum spatio, ideo Dominus secundum conjunctionem per amorem et sapientiam propior apparet; et vicissim secundum rejectionem amoris et sapientiae remotior: spatium in spirituali mundo non datur, sed ibi distantiae et praesentiae sunt apparentiae secundum similitudines et dissimilitudines affectionum, nam, ut dictum est, affectiones quae sunt amoris et cogitationes quae sunt sapientiae, et in se spirituales, non sunt in spatio, de qua re videantur quae in Transactione de DIVINO AMORE ET DIVINA SAPIENTIA 7 ad 410, et 69-72, et alibi, ostensa sunt.
[5] Conjunctio Domini cum homine, apud quem mala remota sunt, intelligitur per haec Domini verba, "Mundi corde Deum videbunt," Matthaeus 5:8 : et per haec, "Qui habet praecepta mea, et facit illa, apud illum mansionem faciam," Johannes 14:21, 23; habere praecepta est scire, et facere praecepta est amare, nam etiam ibi dicitur, qui facit praecepta mea, ille est qui amat Me.
Footnotes:
1 Prima editio: se
2 Prima editio: se
3 Prima editio: clausas.
4 Prima editio: a