1071# “他喝了酒”象征想要探究属于信仰的那些事物，这一点从“酒”的象征意义中可以明确看出。“葡萄园”或“葡萄树”象征属灵教会或其成员；而“葡萄、葡萄串、葡萄球”象征仁义及其相关事物。相对地，“酒”则象征从中衍生的信仰及所有信仰相关事物。因此，在这个教会中，“葡萄”象征属天层面的事物，而“酒”则象征属灵层面的事物。前者关联于意志，后者关联于理智。“喝酒”象征通过推理来探索信仰的奥秘，这可以从“醉了”这一象征中看出，表示他陷入伪谬。
这个教会的人与上古教会的人不同，后者拥有直接领受，而前者必须通过学习上古教会通过直接领受收集并保存的信仰教义来理解善与真，这些教义构成了他们的圣经。信仰教义，如同圣经一样，如果缺乏直接领受，在许多方面看起来如此荒谬以至于难以置信。因为属灵和属天层面的事物远远超越了人类的理解范围，所以引发了推理。然而，如果有人只有在理解这些事物之后才愿意相信，那么他将永远无法相信，如先前在第128-130，195，196，215，232，233节中多次提到的那样。
【2】在圣经中，“葡萄”象征仁义及其果实，而“酒”则象征从仁义衍生的信仰及信仰相关的事物。例如，在《以赛亚书》中说：
我所亲爱的有葡萄园在肥美的山冈上；指望结好葡萄，反倒结了野葡萄。（以赛亚书5:1，2，4）
这里的“葡萄”象征仁义及其果实。在《耶利米书》中，耶和华说：
葡萄树上必没有葡萄，无花果树上必没有果子。（耶利米书8:13）
这里的“葡萄树”象征属灵的教会，“葡萄”象征仁义。在《何西阿书》中说：
我遇见以色列如葡萄在旷野；我看见你们的列祖如无花果树上春季初熟的果子。（何西阿书9:10）
这里“以色列”象征古教会，“葡萄”象征仁义的特质。而在《弥迦书》中，表达了相反的含义：
没有可吃的葡萄串，（也没有）我心所渴想的初熟果子；地上虔诚人灭尽，世间没有正直人。（弥迦书7:2）
这里的“葡萄串”象征仁义或圣洁，“初熟果子”则象征信仰或正直。
【3】在《以赛亚书》中写道：
耶和华如此说：“葡萄串中寻得新酒，人就说：‘不要毁坏，因为福在其中。’”（以赛亚书65:8）
在这里，“葡萄串”象征仁义，“新酒”象征仁义带来的良善和真理。在《创世记》中，有关主的预言说：
他在葡萄酒中洗了衣服，在葡萄汁中洗了袍褂。（创世记49:11）
这里，“酒”象征出自属天的属灵事物，“葡萄汁”则象征与灵性教会相关的属天事物。因此，“葡萄”象征仁义本身，“酒”则象征信仰本身。在《启示录》中说：
天使说：“伸出快镰刀来，收取地上葡萄树的果子，因为葡萄熟透了。”（启示录14:8）
这描述了末世，即没有信仰，也就是没有仁义的时代。因为信仰不是别的，而是仁义的体现，本质上就是仁义，因此当说到末世再无信仰时，意味着再无仁义。
【4】正如“葡萄”在圣经中象征仁义一样，“酒”则象征由“葡萄”产生的信仰，因为酒是由葡萄酿制而成。这一点不仅从之前提及的关于葡萄园和葡萄树的经文中可以看出，也可以从以下几段经文中明显看出。在《以赛亚书》中说：
从迦密夺去了欢喜快乐；在葡萄园里必无歌唱，也无欢呼的声音。葡萄园中踹酒的在酒榨中不得踹出酒来；我使他欢呼的声音止息。（以赛亚书16:10）
这象征着属灵的教会，即“迦密已经荒废；“酒榨中不得踹出酒来”象征信仰已不再存在。在同一卷书中还说：
地上的居民被火焚烧，剩下的人稀少。新酒悲哀，葡萄树衰残；……人必不得饮酒唱歌。喝浓酒的，必以为苦。……在街上因酒有悲叹的声音。（以赛亚书24:6，7，9，11）
这描述了属灵教会的荒废，其中“酒”象征信仰的真理，在人们心中变得无足轻重。在《耶利米哀歌》中说：
那时，他们在城内街上发昏，好像受伤的……对母亲说：“谷、酒在哪里呢？”（耶利米哀歌2:12）
“谷、酒在哪里呢？”表示哪里有爱、有信仰呢？城内的街道，和圣经其它地方一样，代表真理。“受伤的”表示不知道信仰的真理是什么。
【5】在《阿摩司书》中说：
我必使我民以色列被掳的归回；他们必重修荒废的城邑居住，栽种葡萄园，喝其中所出的酒。（阿摩司书9:14）
这里讨论的是属灵的教会或以色列，预言“栽种葡萄园，喝其中所出的酒”，就是当教会变得从仁义获得信仰时。还有：
他们必建造房屋，却不得住在其内；栽种葡萄园，却不得喝所出的酒。（西番雅书1:13；阿摩司书5:11）
相反的是，当属灵的教会荒废时。在《撒迦利亚书》中说：
以法莲人必如勇士；他们心中畅快如同喝酒；他们的儿女必看见而快活。（撒迦利亚书10:7）
这是关于犹大家，这表达了通过信仰的良善和真理带来的喜悦。在《启示录》中说：
油和酒不可糟蹋。（启示录6:6）
象征不要伤害属天和属天的事物，或者是属于爱和信仰的事物。
【6】因为“酒”象征对主的信仰，所以在犹太教会的祭祀中，信仰也通过献酒的奠祭表示，如在《民数记》15:2-15；28:11-15，18至结尾；29:7至结尾；《利未记》23:12， 13；《出埃及记》29:40中所述。因此，在《何西阿书》中说：
谷场和酒榨都不够以色列人使用；新酒也必缺乏。他们必不得住耶和华的地；以法莲却要归回埃及，必在亚述吃不洁净的食物。他们必不得向耶和华奠酒，即便奠酒也不蒙悦纳。（何西阿书9:2-4）
这是关于以色列或属灵的教会，以及那些通过知识和推理来扭曲和玷污信仰真理的人。“埃及”象征知识，“亚述”象征推理，“以法莲”象征那些进行推理的人。
1071、“他喝了酒”表示他想要探究信仰问题，这从“酒”的含义清楚可知。如前所示，“葡萄园”或“葡萄树”是指属灵教会，或属灵教会成员。而“葡萄”、“挂挂葡萄”和“串串葡萄”是它的果实，表示仁和属于仁的东西。然而，“酒”表示源于仁的信和属于信的一切。因此，“葡萄”是指该教会的属天一面，而“酒”是指该教会的属灵一面。如前面经常说的，属天一面构成意愿，而属灵一面构成理解力。“他喝了酒”表示他想要探究信仰问题，并且想通过推理来探究，这一点从他喝醉了，也就是陷入错误明显看出来。事实上，该教会成员没有诸如上古教会成员所拥有的那种感知，而是不得不通过信之教义事物来学习何为良善和真理；这些教义事物是从存在于上古教会中的感知那里搜集和保存下来的，并构成古教会的圣言。和圣言一样，在许多情况下，信之教义事物是诸如没有感知就无法被相信的那一类；因为属灵和属天事物无限超越人类的理解力，这就是为何会产生推理。一个在理解这些事物之前拒绝相信它们的人，永远不可能相信，这在前面已经频繁说明（参看128-130，195，196，215，232，233节）。
在圣言中，“葡萄”表示仁和属于仁的东西，“酒”表示源于仁的信和属于信的东西，这一点从以下经文明显看出来。以赛亚书：
我亲爱的有葡萄园在肥沃的山冈上（或油之子的角上）。他指望它结葡萄，反倒结了野葡萄。（以赛亚书5:1-2，4）
此处“葡萄”表示仁爱和仁爱的果子。耶利米书：
耶和华说，我必彻底收拾他们。葡萄树上必没有葡萄，无花果树上必没有无花果。（耶利米书8:13）
“葡萄树”表示属灵教会，“葡萄”表示仁爱。何西阿书：
我发现以色列如旷野的葡萄；我看见你们的列祖如起初无花果树上的初熟果子。（何西阿书9:10）
“以色列”表示古教会，“葡萄”表示他们被赋予仁爱。当“以色列”指的是雅各的儿子们时，这些话的意思是相反的。弥迦书：
没有一挂可吃的；我的灵魂渴想初熟的无花果。圣人从地上灭绝了，人间已无正直的人。（弥迦书7:1-2）
“一挂”表示仁或神圣，“初熟的无花果”表示信或正直。
以赛亚书：
耶和华如此说，挂挂葡萄中寻得新酒，人就说，不要毁坏，因为福在其中。（以赛亚书65:8）
“挂挂葡萄”是指仁爱，“新酒”是指仁之良善和源于这些的真理。摩西五经：
他在葡萄酒中洗了衣服，在葡萄血中洗了袍褂。（创世记49:11）
这是关于主的一个预言。“葡萄酒”是指源于属天之物的属灵之物，“葡萄血”是指在属灵教会中扮演属天角色的东西。因此，“葡萄”表示仁本身，而“酒”表示信本身。启示录：
一位天使说，伸出快镰刀来收取地上葡萄树的串串葡萄，因为葡萄熟透了。（启示录14:18）
此处论述的主题是末期，这时没有信，也就是没有仁。因为信只属于仁，本质上是仁本身。因此，当说不再有信时，如末期时的情形，意思是说没有仁。
正如“葡萄”表示仁，“葡萄酒”则表示源于仁的信，因为葡萄酒是从葡萄中获得的。这一点从前面引用的关于葡萄园和葡萄酒的经文，以及下列经文明显看出来。以赛亚书：
从迦密山（Carmel）中夺去了欢喜快乐，在葡萄园里必无歌唱，也无欢呼的响声。踹酒的在酒榨中不得踹出酒来；我使喘酒的高喊声止息了。（以赛亚书16:10）
这表示属灵教会，就是“迦密山”，已经荒废；“踹酒的在酒榨中不得踹出酒来”表示不再有任何人拥有信。同一先知书：
地上的居民被焚烧，剩下的人稀少。新酒悲哀，葡萄树衰残；他们必不得饮酒唱歌，喝烈酒的，必以为苦；在街上因酒有呼喊之声。（以赛亚书24:6，7，9，11）
此处论述的主题是荒凉的属灵教会，“酒”表示被视为毫无价值的信之真理。耶利米哀歌：
他们像被刺伤的人昏倒在城内街道上的时候，就对母亲说，谷、酒在哪里呢？（耶利米哀歌2:12）
“谷、酒在哪里呢”表示爱和信在哪里呢？“城内街道”在此和在圣言的别处一样，表示真理；“像被刺伤的人昏倒在街道上”表示他们不知道何为信之真理。
阿摩司书：
我必使我民以色列被掳的归回，他们必建造荒废的城邑，住在其中，栽种葡萄园，喝其所出的酒。（阿摩司书9:14）
这论及属灵教会或以色列，当它变成诸如从仁中获得信的那种教会时，论到它，经上就说“栽种葡萄园，喝其所出的酒”。西番雅书：
他们必建造房屋，却不得住在其内；栽种葡萄园，却不得喝所出的酒。（西番雅书1:13；阿摩司书5:11）
此处“葡萄园”和“葡萄酒”表示相反的情况，这时属灵教会已经荒废。撒迦利亚书：
他们必如强大的以法莲，他们的心必畅快如同喝酒，他们的儿子必看见而快活。（撒迦利亚书10:7）
这论及犹大家，它将凭信之良善和真理而变得如此。在启示录，不可糟蹋油和酒（启示录6:6）表示不可伤害属天和属灵之物，也就是爱和信的事物。
由于“酒”表示对主的信，所以在犹太教会，献祭时祭奠的酒也代表信（如民数记15:2-15；28:11-15，18-31；29:7-39；利未记23:12-13；出埃及记29:40）。因此，在何西阿书，经上说：
打谷场和榨酒池必不喂养他们，新酒也必使她失望。他们必不得住耶和华的陆地，以法莲却要归回埃及，必在亚述吃不洁之物。他们必不得向耶和华奠酒，即便奠酒，也不蒙祂悦纳。（何西阿书9:2-4）
此处论述的主题是以色列或属灵教会，以及其中那些因想要通过知识和推理来探究信之神圣事物和真理而歪曲和玷污它们的人。“埃及”是指记忆知识，“亚述”是指推理，“以法莲”是指进行推理的人。
New Century Edition
Cooper(2008,2013)
[NCE]1071. The fact that he drank wine means that they wanted to explore religious questions can be seen from the symbolism of wine. A vineyard or grapevine, as shown, is a spiritual religion, or the people of a spiritual church. Grapes, and clusters and bunches of grapes, are its fruit, and they symbolize charity and the effects of charity. Wine, though, symbolizes the faith that grows out of charity, and everything that goes to make up faith. So a grape is the heavenly side of that church, while wine is the spiritual side. The former — the heavenly part — belongs to the will, as noted so often before, while the latter — the spiritual part — belongs to the intellect.{*1} The fact that he drank some wine means that they wanted to explore religious questions, and do so by the use of false reasoning, can be seen from the circumstance that he became drunk, which is to say that they fell into error.
The people of this church did not have the perception that the people of the earliest church had. They needed instead to learn what was good and true by studying religious teachings that had been gathered from the perceptions of the earliest church and saved up — teachings that were their Word. Like the Word, these religious teachings in many areas were such that they could not be believed in the absence of perception, because spiritual and heavenly matters rise infinitely beyond human comprehension. That was the reason for their use of skewed reasoning. But people who refuse to believe a thing unless they grasp it [with the senses] are completely incapable of believing, as has been demonstrated many times already; see 128, 129, 130, 195, 196, 215, 232, 233.
[2] The symbolism in the Word of grapes as charity and all it entails, and that of wine as the resulting faith and all it entails, can be seen from the following passages. In Isaiah:
My beloved had a vineyard, on a horn of the offspring of oil; he waited for it to produce grapes, and it produced wild grapes. (Isaiah 5:1-2, 4)
The grapes stand for charity and its fruits. In Jeremiah:
"I will utterly destroy them," says Jehovah. "There are no grapes on the grapevine and no figs on the fig tree." (Jeremiah 8:13)
The grapevine stands for a spiritual religion and the grapes for charity. In Hosea:
Israel was like grapes in the wilderness when I discovered him. Your ancestors were like first fruit on a young fig tree when I saw them. (Hosea 9:10)
Israel stands for the ancient church, a grape for the fact that its people possessed the gift of charity. The meaning is just the opposite when Israel refers to Jacob's children.{*2} In Micah:
There is no cluster of grapes to eat; an early [fig] is what my soul has desired. The godly person has perished off the earth, and an upright person does not exist among humankind. (Micah 7:1-2)
The cluster of grapes stands for charity, or a godly quality, while the early fruit stands for faith, or what is upright.
[3] In Isaiah:
This is what Jehovah has said: "Just as new wine is found in the cluster, and they say, ‘Do not spoil it, because there is a blessing in it' ..." (Isaiah 65:8)
The cluster stands for charity, the new wine for the good effects of charity and the truth that they lead to. In Moses:
He washed his clothing in wine and his robe in the blood of grapes. (Genesis 49:11)
This prophesies of the Lord. The wine stands for a spiritual element that comes from a heavenly one, and the blood of grapes, for that which plays a heavenly role in spiritual religions. So the grapes stand for charity itself and the wine for faith itself. In John:
The angel said, "Send in the sharp sickle and harvest the earth's clusters, because its grapes have ripened." (Revelation 14:18)
This is about the final days, when there is no faith — that is, no charity. After all, there is no faith other than the faith that belongs to charity; in its essence, faith is charity. So when the statement is made that there is no longer any faith (as is true in the final days), it means that there is no charity.
[4] Just as grapes symbolize charity, wine symbolizes the faith that develops out of charity, since wine comes from grapes. In addition to the passages speaking of vineyards and grapevines cited here and earlier, the following quotations will demonstrate this fact. In Isaiah:
Gladness and exultation have been taken away from Carmel,{*3} and in the vineyards there is no singing, no jubilation. No treader treads the wine in the winepresses. I have put an end to the hedad.{*4} (Isaiah 16:10)
This stands for the fact that the spiritual church (Carmel) has been devastated. "No one to tread the wine in the winepresses" stands for the fact that there is no longer anyone with faith. In the same author:
The inhabitants of the land will be destroyed by fire, and the humanity left behind will be a pittance. The new wine will mourn; the grapevine will droop; they will not drink wine with a song. The strong drink will be bitter for those drinking it. A shouting over the wine in the streets! (Isaiah 24:6-7, 9, 11)
These verses deal with a spiritual church that has been devastated. The wine stands for religious truth held cheap. In Jeremiah:{*5} To their mothers they will say, "Where is the grain and the wine?" when they swoon as if stabbed, in the city's streets. (Lamentations 2:12)
"Where are the grain and the wine?" means "Where are love and faith?" City streets symbolize truths here, as they do elsewhere in the Word. Lying stabbed in the streets means that they do not know what truth to believe in.
[5] In Amos:
I will bring my people Israel back from captivity and they will rebuild the ruined cities and settle down and plant vineyards and drink wine from them. (Amos 9:14)
This is about a spiritual religion, or Israel, which is said to plant vineyards and drink wine when it is the kind of religion whose faith is inspired by charity. In Zephaniah:
They will build houses but not live in them, and plant vineyards but not drink wine from them. (Zephaniah 1:13; Amos 5:11)
This stands for the opposite situation, in which a spiritual religion has been devastated. In Zechariah:
They will be like mighty Ephraim, and their heart will rejoice as if with wine, and their children will see and rejoice. (Zechariah 10:7)
This is about the house of Judah, which would be as described because of the goodness and truth that characterize faith. In John:
... that they should not hurt the oil or the wine. (Revelation 6:6)
This stands for not hurting anything heavenly or spiritual, which is to say, any attributes of love and faith.
[6] Since wine symbolizes faith in the Lord, in the sacrifices of the Jewish religion faith was also represented by a libation of wine, as described in Numbers 15:2-15; 28:11-15, 18-end; 29:7-end; Leviticus 23:12-13; Exodus 29:40. As a result, these words appear in Hosea:
Threshing floor and winepress will not feed them, and the new wine will prove false in that [land]. They will not live in Jehovah's land, and Ephraim will return to Egypt, and in Assyria they will eat what is unclean. They will not pour a libation of wine to Jehovah; [their libations] will not be pleasing to him. (Hosea 9:2-3, 4)
In this case the discussion concerns Israel, or a spiritual religion, and those in it who pervert and defile the sanctity and truth of faith through their desire to investigate such things by the use of secular knowledge and sophistry. Egypt is factual knowledge, Assyria is sophistry, and Ephraim is those who engage in it.
Footnotes:
{*1} On the association of heavenliness with the will and of spirituality with the intellect, see, for instance, 52-54, 61, 142, 310, 793, 996:2. [LHC]
{*2} Swedenborg appears to mean here that Jacob's children lacked charity. For Swedenborg's attitude toward Jews in general, see note 4 in 259, as well as the reader's guide in volume 1, pages 51-55. [JSR]
{*3} "Carmel" in Hebrew (כַּרְמֶל [karmel]) is a place-name but also a word for land that is cultivated as a garden or orchard. [LHC]
{*4} Hedad is a Hebrew word (הֵידָד [hêḏāḏ]) for a joyful shouting. Compare Jeremiah 48:33, quoted in 1825:2. [LHC]
{*5} As was the custom in his day, Swedenborg refers to Lamentations as a book of Jeremiah. [Editors]
Potts(1905-1910) 1071
1071. And he drank of the wine. That this signifies that he desired to investigate the things which are of faith, is evident from the signification of "wine." The "vineyard" or the "vine" as has been shown, is the spiritual church, or the man of the spiritual church; the "grape" "bunches" and "clusters" are its fruit, and signify charity and what is of charity. But "wine" signifies the faith thence derived, and all things that belong to it. Thus the "grape" is the celestial of that church, and the "wine" is the spiritual of that church. The former, or the celestial, is of the will, as has been said before; the latter, or the spiritual, is of the understanding. That his "drinking of the wine" signifies that he desired to investigate the things of faith, and this by reasonings, is evident from his becoming drunken, that is, fallen into errors. For the man of this church had no perception, as had the man of the Most Ancient Church, but had to learn what was good and true from the doctrinal things of faith collected and preserved from the perception of the Most Ancient Church, which doctrinal things were the Word of the Ancient Church. Like the Word, the doctrinal things of faith were in many cases such as without perception could not be believed; for spiritual and celestial things infinitely transcend human apprehension, and hence arises reasoning. But he who will not believe them until he apprehends them, can never believe, as has been often shown before. (See n. 128-130, 195, 196, 215, 232, 233.) [2] That "grapes" in the Word signify charity and what is of charity, and that "wine" signifies the faith thence derived and the things that belong to it, is evident from the following passages. In Isaiah:
My beloved had a vineyard in a horn of the son of oil, and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes (Isa. 5:1-2, 4), where "grapes" denote charity and its fruits. In Jeremiah:
Gathering I will gather them, saith Jehovah; there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree (Jer. 8:13), where the "vine" denotes the spiritual church; "grapes" charity. In Hosea:
I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the first-ripe in the fig-tree, at the beginning (Hos. 9:10). "Israel" denotes the Ancient Church; "grapes" its being endued with charity. The sense is opposite when "Israel" denotes the sons of Jacob. In Micah:
There is no cluster to eat; my soul desireth the first-ripe fig. The holy man is perished out of the earth, and there is none upright among men (Micah 7:1). "Cluster" denotes charity, or what is holy; "first-ripe fig" faith, or what is right. [3] In Isaiah:
Thus saith Jehovah, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it (Isa. 65:8);
where "cluster" denotes charity, and "new wine" the goods of charity and the truths thence derived. In Moses:
He washed His garment in wine, and His vesture in the blood of grapes (Gen. 49:11);
a prophecy relating to the Lord. "Wine" denotes the spiritual from the celestial, the "blood of grapes" the celestial relatively to spiritual churches. Thus "grapes" denote charity itself, "wine" faith itself. In John:
The angel said, Put forth thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe (Rev. 14:18). Here the subject is the last times when there is no faith, that is, when there is no charity; for faith is no other than of charity, and essentially is charity itself; so that when it is said that there is no longer any faith, as in the last times, it is meant that there is no charity. [4] As "grapes" signify charity, so "wine" signifies the faith thence derived, for wine is from grapes. This will be evident from the passages already cited about the vineyard and the vine, and also from the following. In Isaiah:
Gladness is taken away, and exultation, from Carmel; and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither joyful noise; no treader shall tread out wine in the presses; I have made the vintage shout to cease (Isa. 16:10), meaning that the spiritual church, which is "Carmel" is vastated; "not treading out wine in the presses" means that there are no longer any who are in faith. Again:
The inhabitants of the earth are burned, and man shall be left feeble; the new wine shall mourn, the vine shall languish; they shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it; there is a crying in the streets because of the wine (Isa. 24:6-7, 9, 11).The subject here is the vastated church, and "wine" denotes the truths of faith, there held to be of no value. In Jeremiah:
They will say to their mothers, where is the corn and the wine? when they faint as one wounded in the streets of the city? (Lam. 2:12). "Where is the corn and the wine" signifies where is love and faith; the "streets of the city" signify here, as elsewhere in the Word, truths; "being wounded in them" signifies not to know what the truths of faith are. [5] In Amos:
I will bring again the captivity of My people Israel, and they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof (Amos 9:14). This is said of the spiritual church, or "Israel" of which planting vineyards and drinking the wine thereof is predicated, when it becomes such as to have faith from charity. In Zephaniah:
They shall build houses, but shall not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but shall not drink the wine thereof (Zeph. 1:13; Amos 5:11). Here is described the opposite condition, when the spiritual church is vastated. In Zechariah:
They shall be as the mighty Ephraim, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine; yea, their sons shall see it and be glad (Zech. 10:7);
said of the house of Judah, that it should be such from the goods and truths of faith. In John:
That they were not to hurt the oil and the wine (Rev. 6:6), meant that no injury is to be done to the celestial and the spiritual, or to what is of love and faith. [6] As "wine" signified faith in the Lord, in the Jewish Church faith was represented in the sacrifices by a libation of wine (Num. 15:2-15; 28:11-15, 18-31; 29:7-39; Lev. 23:12-13; Exod. 29:40). Wherefore it is said in Hosea: The threshing-floor and the wine-press shall not feed them, and the new wine shall deceive therein; they shall not dwell in the land of Jehovah; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat what is unclean in Assyria; they shall not pour out wine to Jehovah, neither shall [their libations] be pleasing to Him (Hos. 9:2-4). Here the subject is Israel, or the spiritual church, and those in it who pervert and defile the holy and true things of faith by desiring to investigate them by means of knowledges and reasonings. "Egypt" is memory-knowledge, "Assyria" reasoning, "Ephraim" one who reasons.
Elliott(1983-1999) 1071
1071. That 'he drank wine' means that he wished to probe into matters of faith is clear from the meaning of 'wine'. 'A vineyard' or 'a vine', as has been shown, is the spiritual Church, or member of the spiritual Church. The grape, clusters, and bunches are its fruit, and these mean charity and what belongs to charity. Wine however means faith deriving from charity, and all things that belong to faith. Thus 'grape means the celestial aspect of that Church, and 'wine' the spiritual. The celestial, as often stated already, comprises the will, while the spiritual comprises the understanding. That 'he drank of the wine' means that he wished to probe into matters of faith, and to do so indeed by means of reasonings, is clear from the reason given why 'he was drunk', that is, sank into errors. Indeed the member of this Church did not possess any perception at all as the member of the Most Ancient Church had done. Instead he had to acquire knowledge of what good and truth were by learning about them from doctrinal matters concerning faith which had been gathered together and preserved from the perception that had existed in the Most Ancient Church. And these matters of doctrine constituted the Word of the Ancient Church. As with the Word, doctrinal matters concerning faith were in many instances such that, without perception, they could not be believed; for spiritual and celestial things infinitely transcend human comprehension, and this is why reasoning enters in. But the person who refuses to believe those things until he comprehends them is never able to believe, as often shown already. See what appears in 128, 130, 195, 196, 215, 232, 233.
[2] That 'grapes in the Word means charity and what belongs to charity, and that 'wine' means both faith deriving from charity and also matters of faith, becomes clear from the following places: In Isaiah,
My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.a He looked for it to yield grapes, and it yielded wild grapes. Isa 5:1, 2, 4.
Here 'grapes' stands for charity and the fruits of charity. In Jeremiah,
I will surely gather them, says Jehovah; there will be no grapes on the vine nor figs on the fig tree. Jer 8:13.
'Vine' stands for the spiritual Church, 'grapes' for charity. In Hosea,
Like grapes in the wilderness I found Israel, like the first fruit on the fig tree, in the beginning, I saw your fathers. Hosea 9:10.
'Israel' stands for the Ancient Church, 'grape' for the fact that they were endowed with charity. These words are used in the contrary sense when 'Israel' stands for the sons of Jacob. In Micah, There was no cluster to eat; my soul desired the first fruit. The holy man has perished from the earth, and there is none upright among men. Micah 7:1, 2.
'Cluster' stands for charity or that which is holy, 'first fruit' for faith or that which is upright.
[3] In Isaiah,
Thus said Jehovah, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one says, Do not destroy it, for there is a blessing in it. Isa 65:8.
'Cluster' stands for charity, 'new wine' for goods that stem from charity, and truths deriving from these. In Moses,
He washes his clothing in wine, and His garment in the blood of grapes. Gen 49:11.
This is a prophecy concerning the Lord. 'Wine' stands for that which is spiritual deriving from what is celestial, 'blood of grapes' for the celestial in respect to spiritual Churches. So 'grapes' stands for charity itself, 'wine' for faith itself. In John,
The angel said, Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the earth, for its grapes have ripened. Rev 14:18.
This refers to the last times when there is no faith, that is, when there is no charity. For no faith exists other than that which inheres in charity, and in essence is charity itself. Consequently when it is said that there is no longer any faith, as in the last times, it means that there is no charity.
[4] As 'grapes' means charity, so 'wine' means faith deriving from charity, for wine is obtained from grapes. In addition to these and previous quotations concerning the vineyard and the vine, the following also make the point clear: In Isaiah,
Gladness and exaltation have been taken away from Carmel, and in the vineyards there is no singing, no joyful noise. No treader treads out wine in the presses; I have made the hedadb to cease. Isa 16:10.
This stands for the fact that the spiritual Church, meant by 'Carmel', has been vastated, 'none treading wine in the presses' for the fact that no longer are there any people who possess faith. In the same prophet,
The inhabitants of the earth will be scorched and few men left. The new wine will mourn, the vine will languish; they will not drink wine with singing, strong drink will be bitter to those drinking it; there will be an outcry in the streets over wine. Isa 24:6, 7, 9, 11.
The vastated spiritual Church being the subject, 'wine' stands for truths of faith that are considered valueless. In Jeremiah,
They will say to their mothers, Where is corn and wine? when they faint like one who has been run through in the streets of the city. Lam 2:12.
'Where is corn and wine?' means, Where is love and faith? 'Streets of the city' means truths here, as elsewhere in the Word. 'Those who have been run through in them' means that they do not know what the truths of faith are.
[5] In Amos,
I will bring again the captivity of My people Israel, and they will build the ruined cities and inhabit them. And they will plant vineyards and drink their wine. Amos 9:14.
This refers to the spiritual Church, meant by Israel, to which 'planting vineyards and drinking wine' is attributed when it becomes a Church such as derives faith from charity. In Zephaniah,
They will build houses but not inhabit them, and they will plant vineyards but not drink their wine. Zeph 1:13; Amos 5:11.
Here 'vineyard' and 'wine' stand for the contrary situation when the spiritual Church has been vastated. In Zechariah,
They will be like a mighty man of Ephraim, and their heart will rejoice as from wine, and their sons will see it and rejoice. Zech 10:7.
This refers to the house of Judah, that it would be such by virtue of the goods and truths of faith. In John the command not to do harm to oil and wine, Rev 6:6, stands for doing no harm to what is celestial and spiritual, that is, to things of love and faith.Hence the following is said in Hosea,[6] In the Jewish Church, since 'wine' meant faith in the Lord, the libation of wine in the sacrifices also represented faith, as in Num 15:1-15; 28:11-15, 18-end; 29:7-end; Lev 23:12, 13; Exod 29:40.
Threshing-floor and winepress will not feed them, and new wine will be deceptive in her. They will not dwell in Jehovah's land, but Ephraim will return to Egypt, and in Assyria they will eat what is unclean: They will not pour libations of wine to Jehovah, they will not be pleasing to Him. Hosea 9:1-4.
This refers to Israel, or the spiritual Church, and to those people in it who pervert and defile holy things and the truths of faith by wishing to probe into them by means of knowledge and reasonings. 'Egypt' is knowledge, 'Assyria' reasoning, and 'Ephraim' one who engages in reasoning.
Latin(1748-1756) 1071
1071. Quod 'bibit vinum' significet quod illa quae sunt fidei vellet investigare, constat ex significatione 'vini'; 'vinea aut vitis,' ut ostensum, est Ecclesia spiritualis, seu homo Ecclesiae spiritualis; 'uva, racemi, botri' sunt fructus ejus, et significant charitatem et quae sunt charitatis; vinum autem significat fidem inde, et omnia quae sunt fidei; ita 'uva' est Ecclesiae istius caeleste, 'vinum' est Ecclesiae istius spirituale; illud seu caeleste, ut saepe prius dictum, est voluntatis, hoc seu spirituale est intellectus: quod 'biberit de vino' significet quod investigare voluerit illa quae sunt fidei, et quidem per ratiocinia, constat inde quia 'inebriatus est,' hoc est, in errores lapsus: homo enim hujus Ecclesiae nullam perceptionem habuit sicut homo Ecclesiae Antiquissimae, sed quid bonum et verum esset, addiscere debuit ex doctrinalibus fidei a perceptione Antiquissimae Ecclesiae collectis et conservatis, quae doctrinalia erant illius Ecclesiae Verbum; doctrinalia fidei, sicut Verbum, absque perceptione in multis talia fuerunt ut non credi possent, spiritualia enim et caelestia infinite transcendunt captum humanum, inde ratiocinatio; sed qui non credere vult prius quam illa capiat, nusquam credere potest, ut prius saepe ostensum, videantur quae n. 128-130, 195, 196, 215, 232, 233. [2] Quod 'uvae' in Verbo significent charitatem et quae charitatis sunt, et quod 'vinum' significet fidem inde et quae fidei sunt, ex sequentibus his locis constare potest; apud Esaiam, Vinea fuit dilecto Meo in cornu filii olei, exspectavit ut faceret uvas, et fecit labruscas, v 1, 2, 4;ubi 'uvae' pro charitate et ejus fructibus: apud Jeremiam, Colligendo colligam eos {1}, dictum Jehovae, non uvae in vite, et non ficus in ficu, viii 13;
'vitis' pro Ecclesia spirituali, 'uvae' pro charitate: apud Hosheam, Sicut uvas in deserto inveni Israelem, sicut primitivum in ficu, in initio ejus, vidi patres vestros, ix 10; 'Israel' pro Antiqua Ecclesia, 'uva' pro quod charitate praediti; in opposito sensu cum Israel pro filiis Jacobi: apud Micham, Non botrus ad comedendum, primitivum {2} desideravit anima mea; periit sanctus e terra, et rectus inter hominem non, vii 1 [2;] 'botrus' pro charitate seu sancto, 'primitivum' pro fide seu recto: [3] apud Esaiam, Sic dixit Jehovah, Quemadmodum invenitur mustum in botro, et dicit, Ne corrumpe illud, quia benedictio in illo, lxv 8; 'botrus' pro charitate, 'mustum' pro charitatis bonis et inde veris: apud Mosen, Lavit in vino indumentum, et in sanguine uvarum velamen Suum, Gen. xlix 11;
de Domino prophetia; 'vinum' pro spirituali ex caelesti, 'sanguis uvarum' pro caelesti respective ad Ecclesias spirituales; ita 'uvae' pro ipsa charitate, 'vinum' pro ipsa fide: apud Johannem, Angelus dixit Mitte falcem acutam, et vindemia botros terrae, quia maturuerunt uvae ejus, Apoc. xiv 18; ibi de ultimis temporibus quando nulla fides, hoc est, quando nulla charitas; nam fides non alia est quam charitatis, estque essentialiter ipsa charitas, quare cum dicitur quod amplius nulla fides, ut ultimis temporibus, intelligitur quod nulla charitas. [4] Sicut 'uvae' significant charitatem, ita 'vinum' significat fidem inde, nam vinum est ex uvis; quod praeter a locis nunc et prius, ubi de vinea et vite, etiam a sequentibus constare potest; apud Esaiam, Ablata est laetitia et exsultatio de Carmel {3} et in vineis non cantatur, non jubilatur, vinum in torcularibus non calcat calcans, hedad {4} cessare feci, xvi 10;
pro quod vastata est Ecclesia spiritualis, quae est 'Carmel'; 'vinum in torcularibus non calcans' pro quod non amplius sint qui in fide: apud eundem, Exurentur habitatores terrae, et relictus erit homo pusillum; lugebit mustum, languescet vitis, in cantu non bibent vinum; amara erit sicera bibentibus illam, clamor super vino in plateis, xxiv 6, 7, 9, 11;
de vastata Ecclesia Spiritum, ibi vinum pro veris fidei quae nauci apud Jeremiam, Matribus suis dicent, Ubi frumentum et vinum? cum deficiunt sicut confossus in plateis urbis, Thren. ii 12;
'ubi frumentum et vinum' significat ubi amor et fides; 'plateae urbis' significant hic ut alibi in Verbo, veritates; 'ibi confossi' quod non sciant quid vera fidei: [5] apud Amos, Reducam captivitatem populi Mei Israelis, et aedificabunt urbes desolatas, et inhabitabunt, et plantabunt vineas, et bibent? vinum earum, ix 14;
de Ecclesia spirituali seu Israele, de qua praedicatur 'plantare vinea et bibere vinum' cum talis fit ut ex charitate habeat fidem: apud Zephaniam, Aedificabunt domos sed non inhabitabunt, et plantabunt vineas sed non bibent vinum earum, i 13; Amos v 11;
pro contrario, cum Ecclesia spiritualis vastata: apud Zachariam, Erunt sicut potens Ephraim, et laetabitur cor eorum, sicut vino, et filii eorum videbunt et laetabuntur, x 7;
ibi de domo Jehudae, quod ita ex fidei bonis et veris: apud Johannem, Quod oleo et vino non damnum inferent, Apoc. vi 6;
pro quod non caelesti et spirituali seu illis quae sunt amoris et fidei. [6] Quia 'vinum' significabat fidem in Dominum, etiam fides in Ecclesia Judaica repraesentabatur in sacrificiis per libamen vini, de quo Num xv 2-15; xxviii 11-15, 18 ad fin.; xxix 7 ad fin.; Lev. xxiii 12, 13 Exod. xxix 40, quare ita apud Hosheam, Area et torcular non pascet eos, et mustum mentietur in ea, non habitabant in terra Jehovae, et revertetur Ephraim Aegyptum, et in Assyria immundum comedent, non libabunt Jehovae vinum, non grata erant Ipsi, ix 2-4;
ubi de Israele seu Ecclesia spirituali, deque illis ibi qui pervertant et contaminant sancta et vera fidei per id quod investigare velint illa per scientias et ratiocinia; 'Aegyptus' est scientia, 'Assyria' est ratiocinatio, 'Ephraim' qui ratiocinatur. @1 Sch. has consumendo consumam eos, and this is followed by R.V. and A.V., but root meaning of Heb. [ ] ('asaph) is 'gather,' though it may also mean 'take out of the way, destroy.' In n. 5113, A.R. 334 and A.E. 403, S. has consumendo consumam, though n. 5117 has colligendo colligam.$ @2 primitivam I.$ @3 Heb. [ ] (Carmel)= fruitful place.' In R.V. it is here translated 'fruitful field.'$ @4 Heb. [ ] (hedad)= 'a shout (of exultation),' A.V. translates (vintage) shouting.$