85、但是，那些从外在人的感官概念来判断一切事物的人，很难理解上帝是人。因为感官之人只能由尘世和其中的事物来思考上帝，因而会以思考肉体属世之人的方式来思想神性和属灵之人。由此他得出的结论是：如果上帝是人，那么祂必定和宇宙一样大；如果祂掌管天地，必定通过许多人来完成，如同世上的国王那样。若告知他天堂不像尘世那样有空间的延伸，他一点也不理解。因为仅由尘世及其光来思考的人，只会按照他眼前出现的延伸来思考。但以这种方式思考天堂就大错特错了。天堂的“延伸”与尘世的不同。在尘世，延伸是确定的，因而是可度量的；但在天堂，延伸是不确定的，因而是不可度量的。在下文关于灵界的空间和时间的章节，会进一步讲述天堂的延伸。｛注1｝
此外，人人都知道肉眼的视觉能延伸到多远，也就是能达到极其遥远的太阳和星宿那里。任何深入思考的人都知道，属于思维的内在视觉有更宽广的延伸；越内层的视觉延伸得越宽广，更何况至内和至高的神性视觉呢？由于思维有这样的延伸，所以天堂的所有事物都与那里的每个人共享，创造天堂并充满其中神性也是如此，如前几章所示。
｛注1｝：【英74】下文162-169节讨论时间； 191-199节讨论空间。有关扩展的讨论，参见注释【英80】。
------------
85. 但是, 那些基于外在人的感官经验判断一切事物的人几乎无法理解神是一个人. 因为感官人只能基于尘世和尘世之物来思想神, 因而以思想一个肉体和属世之人的方式来思想一个神性和属灵之人. 他由此得出的结论是: 神若是一个人, 必和宇宙一样大; 若统治天与地, 必如世上的国王那样借助许多人来统治. 若被告知, 天堂不像尘世那样有空间的延伸, 他一点也不明白. 因为凡仅出于自然界及其光来思考的人必照着诸如显现在他眼前的那种延伸来思考. 但是, 以这种方式思想天堂就大错特错了. 天堂的延伸不像尘世的. 在尘世, 延伸是确定的, 因而是可测量的; 但在天堂, 延伸是不确定的, 因而是不可测量的. 在下文关于灵界时空的章节, 我们会看到天堂的延伸是什么样. 此外, 人人都知道肉眼的视觉延伸得有多远, 即: 能延伸到极其遥远的太阳和恒星那里. 凡深入思考的人都知道, 属于思维的内在视觉延伸得更广泛, 而更内在的视觉必延伸得还要广泛. 那么至内和至高的神性视觉又该怎么说呢? 由于思维拥有这样的延伸, 所以天堂的一切事物与那里的每个人共享, 构成并充满天堂的神性也是如此, 如前面章节所说明的.
------------
85. 但是那些以外在感官判斷一切的人, 難以理解上帝是一個人的事實。事實上, 感官主義者只能根據人間的事物來思考上帝, 將神性或心靈之人也視如物質與肉體之人。所以他們得出結論:如果上帝是一個人, 那麼祂必定大如宇宙;如果上帝真的掌管天地, 那麼祂必定擁有許多臣子, 如同世間的君王通過官吏施行統治。你若告訴他們, 天國沒有人世間那種延伸的空間, 他們根本無法領會。在人世間以自然光為基礎, 就不可避免地以肉眼所看到的延伸空間來思考。很可惜, 他們如此揣摩天國就大錯特錯了。天國空間的"延伸"與人間不同。人間的空間是固定的, 可以度量。天國的空間不是固定的, 無法度量。後面我們會談到心靈世界的空間與時間, 到時再對天國空間的延伸概念作進一步的說明。
眾所周知, 人眼的視覺能達到遙遠的日月星宿。能深入思考的人不難看出, 屬於思維的內在視覺能達到更遠, 而且越內在, 所及範圍更遠, 何況至內至高的上帝呢？
思維既能如此伸展, 天國的一切自然就為所有天人所共用。這也意味著創造天國, 充滿天國的神性為所有天人所共用, 正如前面幾章所解釋的。
85. But people who judge everything on the basis of their outward senses have great difficulty grasping the fact that God is a person. In fact, the only way sense-centered people can think about the Divine Being is on the basis of this world and what it contains, so they can think about a divine and spiritual person only as they do about a physical and natural one. This leads to the conclusion that if God is to be a person, he must be as big as the universe, and if he does rule heaven and earth, it must be through many underlings the way kings on earth rule. If such individuals are told that in heaven there is not the kind of extended space we have in this world, they do not grasp it at all. People who think on the basis of nature and of its light alone cannot help thinking in terms of the kind of extended space that lies before our eyes. However, they are sadly mistaken when they think the same way about heaven. The "extension" that exists there is not like that in our world. In our world, it is fixed and therefore measurable, while in heaven it is not fixed and therefore not measurable. There will, though, be more about extension in heaven below, in the chapters on space and time in the spiritual world.
Further, everyone knows how far our eyesight reaches - all the way to the sun and stars, which are so very far away. Anyone who thinks more deeply also knows that the inner sight that pertains to thought reaches even farther, and that still deeper sight reaches still farther. What must we say, then, of the divine sight, which is the deepest and highest of all?
Since thoughts do have this kind of extension, everything of heaven is communicated to everyone there. This means all of the divine nature that makes heaven and fills it, as I have explained in the preceding chapters.
------------
85. But, that God is Man can scarcely be comprehended by those who judge all things from the sense-experiences of the external man. For the sensual man can think of the Divine only from the world and the things that are therein, thus of a Divine and Spiritual Man in the same way as of a corporeal and natural man. From this he concludes that, if God were a man He would be as large as the universe, and if He ruled heaven and earth it would be done through many, after the manner of kings in the world. If told that in heaven there is no extension of space as in the world, he would not in the least comprehend. For he who thinks from nature and its light only, never thinks otherwise than from an extension such as there is before his eyes. But they are completely deceived when they think in this way about heaven. The extension there is not like extension in the world. In the world, extension is determinate and thus measurable, but in heaven it is not determinate and therefore not measurable. What, however, extension in heaven is, will be seen in the pages to follow in connection with space and time in the spiritual world. Besides, everyone knows how far the sight of the eye extends, namely, to the sun and stars which are so remote. Whoever thinks more deeply knows that the internal sight, which is that of thought, has a still wider extension and therefore that a still more interior sight must extend even more widely. What, then, must not the Divine sight be which is the inmost and highest of all? Because thoughts are capable of such extension, all things of heaven are communicated with everyone there, so too are all things of the Divine which makes heaven and fills it-as has been shown in the preceding sections.
------------
85. But that God is man can scarcely be comprehended by those who judge all things from the sense-conceptions of the external man, for the sensual man must needs think of the Divine from the world and what is therein, and thus of a Divine and spiritual man in the same way as of a corporeal and natural man. From this he concludes that if God were a man He would be as large as the universe; and if He ruled heaven and earth it would be done through many others, after the manner of kings in the world. If told that in heaven there is no extension of space as in the world, he would not in the least comprehend it. For he that thinks only from nature and its light must needs think in accord with such extension as appears before his eyes. But it is the greatest mistake to think in this way about heaven. Extension there is not like extension in the world. In the world extension is determinate, and thus measurable; but in heaven it is not determinate, and thus not measurable. But extension in heaven will be further treated of hereafter in connection with space and time in the spiritual world. Furthermore, everyone knows how far the sight of the eye extends, namely, to the sun and to the stars, which are so remote; and whoever thinks deeply knows that the internal sight, which is of thought, has a still wider extension, and that a yet more interior sight must extend more widely still. What then must be said of Divine sight, which is the inmost and highest of all? Because thoughts have such extension, all things of heaven are shared with everyone there, so, too, are all things of the Divine which makes heaven and fills it, as has been shown in the preceding chapters.
------------
85. Sed quod Deus Homo sit, aegre potest comprehendi ab illis qui ex sensualibus externi hominis omnia judicant; sensualis enim homo non potest aliter de Divino quam ex mundo et ex illis quae ibi cogitare, ita de Divino et spirituali homine non aliter quam sicut de corporeo et naturali concludit inde, quod si Deus esset homo, foret magnitudine sicut universum, et si regeret caelum et terram, [quod] fieret per multos ad modum quo reges in mundo. Si ei diceretur, quod 1in caelo non sit extensio spatii qualis in mundo, prorsus non caperet qui enim ex natura et solo ejus lumine cogitat, nusquam aliter cogitat quam ab extenso quale est coram oculis sed falluntur quam maxime, cum similiter cogitant de caelo; extensum quod ibi, non est sicut extensum in mundo; in mundo est extensum determinatum et inde mensurabile, in caelo autem est extensum non determinatum, et inde non mensurabile; sed de extenso in caelo videbitur in sequentibus, ubi de Spatio et Tempore in Mundo spirituali. Praeterea quisque novit, quantum se visus oculi extendit, quod nempe ad solem et ad stellas, quae tantum distant novit etiam qui altius cogitat, quod visus internus qui est cogitationis se adhuc latius extendat, et inde quod visus adhuc interior adhuc latius; quid non visus Divinus qui omnium intimus et supremus est? Quia cogitationes talis extensionis sunt, ideo communicantur omnia caeli cum unoquovis ibi, ita omnia Divini quod facit caelum, et implet illud, ut ostensum est in articulis qui praecedunt.
Footnotes: