631# “因为它已经给了列族”表示因为它已经被生活的邪恶和教义的虚假败坏了。这从“列族”的含义清楚可知，“列族”是指那些在生活上处于邪恶，由此在教义上处于虚假的人，在抽象意义上是指生活的邪恶和教义的虚假。“列族”表示邪恶和虚假(参看AE 175b, 331b, 625节)。圣言、因而教会和敬拜的外在之所以被生活的邪恶和教义的虚假败坏，是因为被称为圣言字义的圣言的外在是照着世上的表象来写的，还因为它是给孩子和心智简单的人的；这些人对违反表象的任何东西都没有感知，故随着年龄增长，他们通过真理的表象在其中的字义被引入内层真理，表象由此逐渐被脱去，内层真理则被植入以取而代之。这一点可通过无数例子来说明；如我们要向神祷告不要把我们引入试探；这样说是因为看起来好像是神如此引领，然而神并不将任何人引入试探；再者，经上说，神发怒，惩罚，投入地狱，使邪恶临到恶人，以及其它许多类似的事；而事实上，神从不发怒，从不惩罚，从不投入地狱，根本不向任何人行恶；相反，是恶人将这些东西带给自己，或说通过自己的邪恶向自己如此行，因为邪恶本身就包含惩罚的邪恶在自己里面。尽管如此，圣言中的许多经文说到这些事，是因为表象就是这样。另举一例，经上说：
不要称呼父亲为父亲，也不要称呼师傅为师傅。(马太福音23:8–10)
尽管他们应该被如此称呼；但经上这样说，是因为“父亲”表示主，主重新创造并生出我们，还因为唯独祂教育和教导人；因此，当人处于属灵观念时，他会认为唯有主是父亲和师傅；但当人处于属世观念时，情况则不同。此外，在灵界或天堂，除了主以外，没有人知道其他任何父、老师或师傅，因为属灵生命来自祂；其它情况也一样。
由此可见，圣言的外在、因而教会和敬拜的外在，由表面真理构成；因此，那些在生活上处于邪恶的人将它用于支持自己的爱和由此孕育的原则。这就是为何经上说，表示圣言外在的“院子已经给了列族”，后来又说“他们将践踏圣城”。这一切会发生在教会的末了，那时人们如此世俗、属世和肉体化，以至于完全不能看见被称为属灵真理的内层真理；由此可推知，那时他们完全败坏了圣言的外在，也就是圣言的字义。对圣言字义的这种败坏也发生在犹太人中间的教会末了的犹太人身上，这就是以下经文在灵义上的意思：
兵丁分了主的衣服，但没有分里衣。(约翰福音19:23, 24)
这句话表示，那些属于教会的人败坏了圣言字义上的圣言的一切事物，但没有败坏灵义上的圣言，因为他们不知道这灵义。这就是这些事物在灵义上所表示的(可参看AE 64节)。如今教会的情况也一样，因为教会已经走到尽头；事实上，如今圣言不是根据属灵真理，而是根据字义的表象来解释的，这些表象被用于确认生活的邪恶和教义的虚假；由于内层真理，也就是属灵真理，既不为人知，也不被接受，所以可知，圣言的字义被意愿的邪恶和由此而来的思维的虚假败坏了。因此，这就是“院子已经给了列族”的含义。
631. Because it is given to the nations.- That this signifies because it is perverted by evils of life and falsities of doctrine, is evident from the signification of nations as denoting those who are in evils as to life, and thence in falsities as to doctrine, and, in the abstract sense, evils of life and falsities of doctrine. That evils and falsities are signified by nations, may be seen above (n. Matthew 23:8-10), although they must be so called. But it is so stated because by Father is meant the Lord, who creates and begets us anew, and because He alone teaches and instructs; therefore when a man is in a spiritual idea, he will then think of the Lord alone as the Father and Master; but the case is otherwise when a man is in a natural idea. Moreover, in the spiritual world or in heaven, no one knows any other father, teacher, or master, but the Lord, because spiritual life is from Him; the case is the same in other instances.
[2] From these considerations it is evident that the external of the Word, and thence the external of the church and of worship, consists of apparent truths, therefore those who are in evils of life apply it to favour their own loves, and the principles arising from them. It is therefore said, that the court, by which the external of the Word also is signified, "is given to the nations," and afterwards, that "they shall tread the holy city under foot." This comes to pass at the end of the church, when men are so far worldly, natural, and corporeal, that interior truths, called spiritual truths, cannot be at all seen, so it follows that they then entirely pervert the external of the Word which is the sense of its letter. Such a perversion of the sense of the letter of the Word took place also with the Jews at the end of the church with them; this is meant in the spiritual sense by the soldiers dividing the garments of the Lord, but not the coat (tunica, chiton [transliterated Greek]); this signifies that those who were of the church perverted all things of the Word as to the sense of its letter, but not the Word as to the spiritual sense, for they had no knowledge of this. A fuller explanation of this is given above (n. 64). The case is similar in the church at this day, because it is at its end; for at this day the Word is not explained according to spiritual truths, but according to the appearances of the sense of the letter, which are not only applied to confirm evils of life, but also falsities of doctrine; and because interior or spiritual truths are neither known nor received, it follows that the sense of the letter of the Word is perverted by evils of the will and thence falsities of the thought. This therefore is the signification of the court being given to the nations.
631. For it is given to the nations, signifies since it has been perverted by evils of life and falsities of doctrine. This is evident from the signification of "the nations," as being those who are in evils in respect to life and thence in falsities in respect to doctrine, and in the abstract sense evils of life and falsities of doctrine. (That evils and falsities are signified by "nations" see above, n. Matthew 23:8-10).
Yet they ought to be so called; but this is said because the "Father" means the Lord, who creates and begets us anew, and because He alone teaches and instructs; so when man is in a spiritual idea he will think of the Lord alone as the Father and Master; but it is otherwise when man is in a natural idea. Moreover, in the spiritual world or in heaven, no one knows any other father, teacher, or master than the Lord, because from Him is spiritual life. So in other instances.
[2] From this it can be seen that the external of the Word, and thence the external of the church and of worship, consists of apparent truths, therefore those who are in evils in respect to life apply it to favor their own loves and the principles conceived therefrom. This is why it is said that the "court," which signifies the external of the Word, "is given to the nations," and afterwards that "they shall trample down the holy city." This comes to pass in the end of the church, when men are so far worldly, natural, and corporeal that they are wholly unable to see interior truths, which are called spiritual truths; and from this it follows that they then wholly pervert the external of the Word, which is the sense of its letter. Such perversion of the sense of the letter of the Word took place also with the Jews at the end of the church with them, which is meant in the spiritual sense by:
The soldiers dividing the garments of the Lord, but not the tunic (64.) It is similar in the church at this day, because this is its end; for at this day the Word is not explained according to spiritual truths, but according to the appearances of the sense of the letter, which are applied to confirm both evils of life and falsities of doctrine; and because interior truths, which are spiritual truths, are unknown and are not received, it follows that the sense of the letter of the Word is perverted by evils of the will and falsities of thought therefrom. This, therefore, is what is meant by "the court is given to the nations."
631. "Quia datum est gentibus." - Quod significet quoniam id perversum est per mala vitae et falsa doctrinae, constat ex significatione "gentium", quod sint qui in malis quoad vitam, et inde in falsis quoad doctrinam, et in sensu abstracto mala vitae et falsa doctrinae. (Quod mala et falsa per "gentes" significentur, videatur supra, n. 175 [b] , 331 [b] , 625.) Quod externum Verbi, et inde ecclesiae et cultus, sit perversum per mala vitae et falsa doctrinae, est quia externum Verbi, quod vocatur sensus litterae ejus, est secundum apparentias in mundo, quia pro infantibus et simplicibus, qui non aliquid quod contra apparentias est percipiunt; quare hi per sensum litterae, ubi apparentiae veri sunt, introducuntur in vera interiora sicut aetate adolescunt, et sic apparentiae per gradus exuuntur, et loco illarum vera interiora implantantur. Haec res innumerabilibus exemplis potest illustrari: sicut quod oremus ne Deus inducat nos in tentationes; hoc ita dicitur quia apparet sicut Deus inducat, cum tamen neminem in tentationes inducit: similiter quod Deus irascatur, puniat, conjiciat in infernum, malum faciat impiis, et plura similia; cum tamen Deus nusquam irascitur, punit et conjicit in infernum, et prorsus non alicui malum facit; sed impius ipse sibi per mala, nam ipsis malis insunt mala poenae: ita usque permultis in locis in Verbo dicitur, quia ita apparet. Sit quoque pro exemplo,
Quod nemo appellaturus sit patrem suum Patrem, nec magistrum Magistrum (Matth. 23:8-10 1
),
cum tamen vocandi sunt; sed ita dicitur quia per "Patrem" intelligitur Dominus, qui nos e novo creat et generat, et quia unice docet et instruit; quare cum homo in idea spirituali est, tunc cogitabit de Domino solo ut Patre et Magistro, aliter vero cum homo in idea naturali est: praeterea in mundo spirituali seu in caelo nemo novit alium patrem, doctorem seu magistrum quam Dominum, quia ab Ipso vita spiritualis: sic in reliquis.
[2] Ex his constare potest quod externum Verbi, et inde externum ecclesiae et cultus, consistat ex apparentibus veris; quare illi qui in malis quoad vitam sunt, applicant id ad favorem suorum amorum, et inde captorum principiorum; ideo dicitur quod "atrium", per quod etiam significatur externum Verbi, "datum sit gentibus", et postea "et civitatem sanctam conculcabunt." Hoc fit in fine ecclesiae, quando tantum mundani, naturales et corporei sunt, ut vera interiora, quae vocantur vera spiritualia, prorsus non videre possint; inde sequitur quod tunc plane pervertant externum Verbi, quod est sensus litterae ejus. Talis perversio sensus litterae Verbi etiam facta est apud Judaeos in fine ecclesiae apud illos, quod in sensu spirituali intelligitur per
Quod milites vestes Domini diviserint, non autem tunicam [(Johannes 19:23, 24)] ;
per quod significatur quod illi qui ab ecclesia perverterint omnia Verbi quoad sensum litterae ejus, non autem Verbum quoad sensum spiritualem, quia eum non noverunt. (Quod id in sensu spirituali intelligatur per illa, videatur supra, n. 64.) Simile fit etiam hodie in ecclesia, quia finis ejus est; explicatur enim hodie Verbum non secundum vera spiritualia, sed secundum apparentias sensus litterae, quae non modo applicantur ad confirmandum mala vitae, sed etiam falsa doctrinae; et quia non sciuntur vera interiora quae sunt vera spiritualia, nec recipiuntur, sequitur quod sensus litterae Verbi per mala voluntatis et inde falsa cogitationis perversus sit; hoc itaque est quod intelligitur per quod "atrium datum sit gentibus."
Footnotes:
1. The editors made a correction or note here.