643# “若有人想要害他们，必须这样被杀”表示他们照着他们造成邪恶的努力或企图而灭亡。这从“想要害”和“被杀”的含义清楚可知：“想要害”是指造成邪恶的努力或企图，因为“想要”是指努力或企图；“被杀”是指灭亡，在此是指在属灵生命方面灭亡，这生命唯因邪恶和邪恶之虚假灭亡，因为这就是属灵死亡的原因，或属灵的死亡由此而来(参看AE 315, 589节)。此处之所以又说“若有人想要害他们”，是因为这句话的意思是，每个人都照着他造成邪恶的努力或企图灭亡，正是意愿构成每个人的生命。每个人都照着他伤害“两个见证人”，即“两棵橄榄树和两个灯台”，也就是爱与仁之良善，以及教义与信仰之真理的渴望或愿望而灭亡，因为他处于对立的意愿，与爱之良善和教义之真理对立的意愿就是与这种对立成正比的地狱；所以经上才说“他必须这样被杀”，也就是说，只要他想伤害他们，就会灭亡。
此外，每个人和每个灵人都在主的保护之下，无论恶人还是善人；邪恶不可能发生在一个在主的保护之下的人身上，因为主的意愿是，任何人都不应灭亡或受到惩罚。每个人都在主的保护之下，只要他避免作恶；但只要他不避免，就会使自己远离主的保护；他如此使自己远离到何等程度，就在何等程度上被来自地狱的恶灵伤害；因为地狱灵持续不断地渴望向他人行恶；只要任何人在主的神性保护之外，也就是说，只要他们行恶，他们就会落入那些通过实施惩罚，并剥夺他们诸如属于属灵生命的那类事物而向他们行恶之人的权柄。简言之，任何人渴望伤害爱之良善和教义之真理到何等程度，他就在何等程度上被火烧灭、被杀，也就是说，被邪恶和邪恶之虚假占据，他也在何等程度上属灵地死亡，这一切的发生不是因为神性，而是因为他所行的邪恶本身。
643. And if any one shall desire to hurt them, he must thus be killed.- That this signifies that they perish, according to their attempt to inflict evil, is evident from the signification of desiring to hurt, as denoting the attempt to inflict evil, for to desire is to attempt; and from the signification of being killed, as denoting to perish, in the present case, as to spiritual life, which perishes solely from evils and the falsities of evil, for thence comes spiritual death, as may be seen above (n. 315, 589). The reason why "if any shall desire to hurt them" is here repeated, is, that it means that every one perishes according to the will, or according to the attempt to inflict evil, for the will makes the life of every one. The reason why every one perishes according to the desire to hurt the two witnesses, who are the two olives and the two lampstands, that is, the good of love and of charity, and the truth of doctrine and of faith, is, that they are in an opposite will, and the will that is in opposition to the good of love and the truth of doctrine is hell in proportion to the amount of such opposition, and it is therefore said that he must in this manner be killed, that is to say, perish as far as he desires to hurt them.
[2] Moreover, every man and every spirit is under the Lord's protection, the evil equally as the good; and no evil can happen to him who is under the Lord's protection, for it is the Lord's will that no one should perish or be punished. Every one is under the protection of the Lord, so far as he abstains from doing evil, but in the measure that he does not abstain, so far does he remove himself from the protection of the Lord; and in the measure that he thus removes himself, so far he is hurt by evil spirits from hell. For [infernal] spirits have a constant desire to do evil to others, and so far as any are beyond (extra) the Divine protection of the Lord, that is, so far as they do evil, they come into the power of those who injure them by punishing and depriving them of such things as pertain to spiritual life. In a word, so far as any one desires to injure the goods of love and the truths of doctrine, so far "he is devoured by fire and is killed," that is to say, he is so far possessed by evils and the falsities of evil, and so far spiritually dies, and this takes place not from the Divine but from the very evil which he does.
643. And if anyone will hurt them, thus must he be killed, signifies that according to their endeavor to inflict evil they perish. This is evident from the signification of "will hurt," as being the endeavor to inflict evil, for to will is to endeavor; also from the signification of "to be killed," as being to perish, here in respect to spiritual life, which is destroyed solely by the evils and the falsities of evil, for such are the cause of spiritual death (See above, n. 315, 589). It is here again said "If any will hurt them," because it is meant that everyone perishes according to his wish or endeavor to inflict evil, for it is the will that makes the life of everyone. Everyone perishes according to his wish to hurt "the two witnesses," who are the "two olive trees and the two lampstands," that is, the good of love and charity, and the truth of doctrine and faith, because he is in the opposite will, and the will that is opposite to the good of love and the truth of doctrine is hell in the measure of such opposition; consequently "thus must he be killed," that is, perish, so far as he desires to hurt them. Moreover, every man and spirit is under the Lord's protection, the evil as well as the good; and to him who is under the Lord's protection no evil can happen: for it is the Lord's will that no one should perish or be punished. But so far as anyone is under the Lord's protection he abstains from doing evil, but so far as he does not abstain he removes himself from the Lord's protection, and so far as he so removes himself he is hurt by the evil spirits who are from hell; for infernal spirits have an unceasing desire to do evil to others; and so far as any are outside of the Lord's Divine protection, that is, so far as they do evil, they come into the power of those who do evil to them by inflicting punishment and depriving them of such things as belong to spiritual life. In a word, so far as anyone desires to hurt the goods of love and the truths of doctrine he is "devoured by fire and is killed," that is, he is possessed by evils and the falsities of evil, and so far he spiritually dies, and this comes to pass not from the Divine but from the evil itself that he does.
643. "Et si quis illis voluerit nocere, ita oportet illum occidi." - Quod significet quod secundum conatum inferendi malum pereant, constat ex significatione "velle nocere", quod sit conatus inferendi malum, nam velle est conari; et ex significatione "occidi", quod sit perire, hic quoad vitam spiritualem, quae perit unice a malis et falsis mali, inde enim est mors spiritualis (videatur supra, n. 315, 589). Quod hic iterum dicatur, "Si quis voluerit illis nocere", est quia intelligitur quod quisque pereat secundum voluntatem seu secundum conatum inferendi malum; nam voluntas facit vitam cujusvis. Quod quisque pereat secundum voluntatem nocendi "binis testibus, qui sunt binae olivae et bina candelabra", hoc est, bonum amoris et charitatis ac verum doctrinae et fidei, est quia in voluntate opposita sunt, et voluntas opposita contra bonum amoris et verum doctrinae est infernum, in tantum quanta oppositio est; inde est quod "ita oporteat eum occidi", hoc est, perire, quantum illis voluerit nocere. Praeterea unusquisque homo et spiritus in tutela Domini est, aeque malus ac bonus; et qui in tutela Domini est, ei non malum contingit; nam Domini voluntas est ut nemo pereat, nec ut puniatur: sed quisque tantum in tutela Domini est quantum abstinet a faciendo malum; at quantum non abstinet tantum se ipsum removet a tutela Domini; et quantum se removet tantum a malis spiritibus qui ab inferno laeditur, nam spiritibus inest continua cupido malefaciendi aliis; et quantum extra Divinam Domini tutelam sunt, hoc est, quantum faciunt malum, tantum veniunt in potestatem illorum qui illis malefaciunt puniendo et deprivando talibus quae vitae spiritualis sunt. Verbo, quantum aliquis nocere vult bonis amoris et veris doctrinae tantum "devoratur ab igne et occiditur", hoc est, tantum occupatur a malis et a falsis mali, et tantum spiritualiter moritur; et hoc non fit ex Divino, sed ex ipso malo quod quisque facit.