381.有些人是信仰的敌人，却仍享有一种他们称之为天堂般的外在快乐。如前所述（379节），有些正信的敌人不断与信仰抗争，煽动其他人不信，甚至引诱他们说，他们把自己算在蒙福者之列。但他们的快乐只是外在的，就像世上不信者的快乐，它甚至被高举：然而，它因只是一种外在快乐，与内在或真正的快乐相争，所以会耗尽，和世上不信者的快乐一样，并转变为不快乐和痛苦。有些原因可以解释为何这些人尚能忍受并保持在这种外在的祝福或表面的喜乐中。在此期间，他们剩下的真理和良善在减弱，最终他们保留如此少的真理和良善的余剩，以致他们几乎无法获得幸福，除非他们还有时间去悔改。这是对亚伯拉罕和前面（379节）所提到的他那伙人说的。那些仍徘徊在最末层天堂的灵人和狂怒者（223, 228-29节）也一样。因此，那些想进入真正的天堂喜乐之人必须经历试探、惩罚和净化，这是不可避免的，除非他们想留在外在祝福和表面喜乐中，由此随着时间推移而只有消耗殆尽的真理和良善的余剩。（1747年12月23日）
恶灵吹嘘他们的外在快乐，因此试图通过外在迷惑他人，如他们在世上通过各种生活快乐所行的那样；但他们经历严厉的荒凉，这种荒凉在来世会持续很长时间，如那龙及其某些同伙所经历的那样。
381. Some who are enemies of faith nevertheless enjoy a kind of outer pleasure, which they call heavenly
As said before [cf. 379], there are some enemies of genuine faith who are continually striving against belief and inciting others to disbelief, even alluring them by saying they count themselves among the blessed. But their pleasure is only an outer one such as that of disbelievers in the world, and even if it is more exalted, yet because it is only an outer pleasure and fights against inner or true pleasure, it comes to an end, like the pleasures of disbelievers in the world, and is turned into unpleasantness and grief.
There are reasons why these people are still tolerated and kept in that outer blessedness and apparent joy. Meanwhile, their remaining truths and goodness diminish, so that they finally retain such a small remnant of truth and goodness, that they can hardly be made happy unless they repent while there is still time.
This was told to Abraham and his crowd, about whom I spoke earlier [379]. The same is true of those spirits and furies who are still wandering about in the last heaven [223, 228-229].
Therefore, they who want to enter into truly heavenly joy must undergo temptations, punishments, purgings, which are unavoidable, unless they want to abide in outer [blessedness and apparent joy] and thereby have their remnant [of truth and goodness] eventually go to waste. 1747, the 23rd day of December.
381. THAT SOME WHO ARE ENEMIES OF THE FAITH, AS YET ENJOY A CERTAIN EXTERNAL DELIGHT WHICH THEY CALL HEAVENLY
As was said before [n. 379, there are some enemies of the true faith, who as yet continually contend against the faith and excite others to infidelity, even alluring them by this that they count themselves among the blessed. But their delight is only external, like that of the unfaithful in the world, and indeed still more exalted: but because it is only external, and fights against internal or the delight, like the delights of the unfaithful in the world, it comes to an end, and is turned into things undelightful and into pains. There are reasons why they are as yet tolerated and sustained in that external blessedness, or apparent joy. In the meanwhile their remaining truths and goods are diminished, so that at length they retain so little residue of truth and good that they can scarcely be rendered happy, unless they repent whilst there is yet time. This was said to Abraham and his crew mentioned before [n. 379 ]. It is similar with those spirits and furies who still wander about in the ultimate heaven. Therefore those who want to enter into truly heavenly joy must undergo the temptations, punishments, vastations which they cannot avoid, unless they are willing to remain in externals, and thus in course of time have their things that remain consumed. 1747, Dec. 23. 1
Footnotes:
1. The entry in the Index (s.v. Jucunditas) is: "Evil spirits boast of their external delights, and so try to seduce others by means of externals, as they do in the world by various delights of life; but they undergo severe vastations which last a long time in the other life; as the dragon and certain of his crew [have experienced]."
381. Quod quidam inimici fidei adhuc quadam externa jucunditate gaudeant, quam vocant coelestem
Ut prius dictum [cf. 379] sunt quidam inimici verae fidei, qui continue adhuc contendunt contra fidem, et excitant alios ad infidelitatem, etiam per id alliciendo, quod ii se inter beatos recenseant, verum eorum jucunditas est modo externa, qualis infidelium in mundo, et quidem adhuc magis exaltata, sed quia externa modo est, et contra internam seu veram pugnat, ea sicut jucunditates infidelium in mundo finitur, et in injucunditates et dolores vertitur causae sunt, quare adhuc tolerentur et in externa ista beatitudine, seu apparente gaudio 1
, sustinentur, interea eorum residua vera et bona diminuuntur, sic ut tandem tam parum residui veri et boni retineant, ut vix possint felices reddi, nisi poenitentiam agant quando tempus adhuc est hoc dictum est Abrahamo ac ejus turbae, de quo prius [379]; simile est cum istis spiritibus ac furiis, qui adhuc circumvagantur in ultimo coelo, quare qui in gaudium vere coeleste volunt intrare, subire debent tentationes, punitiones, vastationes, quas non evitare possunt, nisi in externis permanere velint sic eorum residua temporis tractu consumi. 1747, die 23 Dec.
Footnotes:
1. The Manuscript has gaudo