스웨덴보그의 저서에서

 

백마론 #1

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1. 백마론

요한계시록에서는 영적 또는 내적 의미에 대한 말씀을 다음과 같이 기술하고 있다.

내가 하늘이 열린 것을 보니, 보라, 백마와 탄 자가 있으니, 그 이름이 충신과 진실이라. 그가 정의로 심판하며 싸우더라. 그의 눈은 불꽃같고, 머리에는 많은 면류관이 있고, 또 이름 쓴 것이 하나 있으니, 자기 밖에 아는 자가 없더라, 그는 또 피에 젖은 옷을 입었더라. 그의 이름을 일러 하나님의 말씀이라 칭하더라. 하늘에 있는 군대들이 희고 깨끗한 아마포로 만든 옷을 입고 백마를 타고 그의 뒤를 따르더라. 그의 옷과 다리에 적힌 이름이 있으니, 만왕(萬王)의 왕이요 만주(萬主)의 주라 하더라 (요한계시록19:11-14, 16)

위의 표현이 내포하고 있는 의미 하나 하나를 알아낼 수 있는 사람은 아무도 없다. 오직 이들 표현의 내적 의미를 이해하는 이만이 알 수 있을 뿐이다. 하나 하나의 표현이 모두 표징적이고 의미심장함이 분명하다. 말하자면, ”하늘이 열렸다”, “백마가 그 곳에 있었더라”, ”정의로 심판하여 싸우더라”, “그의 눈은 불꽃같고”, ”머리에 많은 면류관이 있고”, ”이름 쓴 것이 하나 있으니 자기 밖에 아는 자가 없더라”., ”그는 또 피에 젖은 옷을 입었더라”, “하늘에 있는 군대가 백마를 타고 그를 따르더라.”, ” 그들은 희고 깨끗한 아마포로 만든 옷을 입었더라”, ” 그의 옷과 다리에 적힌 이름이 있으니”라는 표현이 모두 그러하다는 것이다. 분명히 알 수 있는 것은 이러한 서술이 ”말씀”이요, 말씀이 곧 주(Lord)라는 것이다. ”그의 이름을 일러 하나님의 말씀이라”라고 언급되어 있고 뒤이어 “그의 옷과 다리에 이름 쓴 것이 있으니, 만왕의 왕이오, 만주의 주라 하였더라”라고 언급되어 있기 때문이다. 하나 하나의 표현을 해석해 보면 이 곳에 언급된 말씀이 모두 영적이고 내밀한 의미를 지니고 있음이 분명하다. .”하늘이 열렸다”라는 표현은, 말씀의 내밀한 의미는 천국에서만 이해될 수 있으며 이 세상에 있는 자라도 천국이 열린 자에게만 이해될 수 있다는 것을 표징하고 의미한다. 하얀 백마는 말씀의 내밀한 의미를 이해한다는 것을 표징적으로 나타내는 것이다. 이 점이 백마가 표징하는 것이라는 점은 곧 밝혀질 것이다. ”백마를 탄 자”라는 표현은 말씀과 관련된 주요, 그러므로 주는 말씀 그 자체임이 분명하다 .”그의 이름을 일러 하나님의 말씀이라 칭하더라”라는 언급이 나와있기 때문이다. 선(善)을 근본으로 삼을 때에는”신실하고 정의로 심판하는”이로 호칭되며, 진리를 근본으로 할 때에는”정의로 심판하여 싸우는” 이로 호칭된다. 왜냐하면 주님 자신이 정의이기 때문이다. “그의 눈은 불꽃같고”라는 표현은 주님의 신성한; (Divine)사랑에 속하는 신성한 선(善)을 근본으로 하는 신성한 진실을 의미한다. ”그의 머리에 많은 면류관이 있고” 라는 표현은 믿음에 속하는 모든 선과 진리를 의미한다. ”이름 쓴 것이 하나 있으니 자신 밖에 아는 자가 아무도 없고”라는 표현은 내밀한 의미에서의 말씀의 본질은 주님과 주님이 그 의미를 드러내어주신 자만이 이해할 수 있다는 것을 의미한다. ”피에 젖은 옷을 입었더라”라는 표현은 /불경스러움과 곡해가 개재된 문자로 된 말씀을 의미한다. ”하늘에 있는 군대가 백마를 타고 그를 따르더라”라는 표현은 말씀의 내면을 이해하고 있는 사람들을 의미한다. ”희고 깨끗한 아마포로 만든 옷을 입고”라는 표현은 선을 근본으로 하는 진리 속에 존재하는 같은 부류의 사람들을 의미한다 .”그의 옷과 다리에 이름 적힌 것이 있으니” 라는 표현은 진리와 선, 그리고 그런 것들의 본질을 의미한다. 이같은 세부적인 사항과 19장의 전, 후에 보이는 세부적인 사항을 근거로, 우리는 교회의 마지막 시대에 말씀의 영적 또는 내적인 의미가 열릴 것이며 그 시대에 무슨 일이 벌어질 것인지에 대해서도 그러한 세부적인 사항에 이미 예견되어 있음을 분명히 알 수 있다 (시편17-21). 이것이 언급된 말씀의 의미라는 것을 여기에서 새삼 증명할 필요는 없다. 왜냐하면 그 점은 “천국의 비밀”에 상세히 설명되어있고 또 주님이 신적 진리인 까닭에 주님이 말씀임을 .밝히고 있기 때문이다. (천국의 비밀 2533, 2803, 2884, 5272, 7835)

그러므로 말씀은 하나님의 신성한 진리이다. (천국의 비밀 4692, 5075, 9987)

주님은 정의이신 까닭에 ”그는 백마를 타고 정의로 심판하며 싸우더라” 라고 언급되어 있으며 , 이러한 이유 때문에 그리고 자신의 권세를 인류를 위해 비축해 두셨기 때문에 ”정의”로 호칭된다. (천국의 비밀 1813, 2025-2027, 9715, 9809, 10019, 10152).

그러므로 “정의”는 오로지 주님에게만 속하는 미덕이다 (천국의 비밀 9715, 9979).

“그의 눈은 불꽃같고”라는 표현이 신성한 하나님의 사랑에 속하는 신성한 선을 근본으로 삼는 신성한 진리를 의미한다는 것은 “눈”은 믿음에 속하는 진리와 이해를 의미하며 (천국의 비밀 2701, 4403-4421, 4523, 4534, 9023, 9051, 10519), ”불꽃”은 사랑에 속하는 선을 의미한다는 것이다. (천국의 비밀 934, 4906, 5215, 6314, 6832)

”그의 머리 위의 많은 면류관”은 믿음에 속하는 모든 선과 진리를 의미한다. (천국의 비밀 114, 3858, 6335, 6640, 9863, 9865, 9868, 9873, 9905)

”이름 쓴 것이 하나 있으니 자기 밖에 아는 자가 없더라”라는 표현이 내적 의미에서의 말씀의 의미의 본질은 주님 자신과 주님께서 말씀의 내적 의미를 드러내어 주신 자만이 이해할 수 있다는 것을 의미한다는 것은 ”이름”이 어떤 것의 본질을 의미한다는 것이다. (천국의 비밀 144, 145, 1754, 1896, 2009, 2724, 3006, 3237, 3421, 4674, 9310)

”피에 젖은 옷을 입었더라”라는 표현이 곡해가 개재된 문자로 된 말씀을 의미한다는 것은 ”옷”이란 진리를 의미한다는 것이다. 진리는 선으로 나타나기 때문이라는 것이다. (천국의 비밀 1073, 2576, 5428, 5319, 5954, 9212, 9216, 9952, 10536)

특히 궁극에 있어서의 진리를 의미한다는 것이다. 그러므로 문자로 된 말씀을 의미한다는 것이다. (천국의 비밀 5428, 6918, 9158, 9212버). 그리고 “피”란 불경스러움이 개재된 그릇된 진리를 의미하기 때문이다.

”하늘에 있는 군대가 백마를 타고 그를 따르더라”라는 표현이 말씀의 내면을 이해하고 있는 자들을 의미한다는 것은 ”군대”란 천국과 교회의 진리와 선 속에 있는 자들을 의미한다는 것이다. (천국의 비밀 3448, 7326, 7988, 8019).

”말”은 이해를 의미한다. (천국의 비밀 3217, 5321, 6125, 6400, 6531, 6534, 7024, 8146, 8318)

그리고 “흰 색”은 천국의 빛 가운데에 있는 진리를, 그러므로 내면의 (interior) 진리를 의미한다 (천국의 비밀 3301, 3993, 4007, 5319).

“희고 깨끗한 아마포로 만든 옷을 입고”라는 표현이 선을 근본으로 하는 진리 속에서 살아가는 같은 부류의 사람들을 의미한다는 것은, ”깨끗한 아마포” 또는”아마포”는 선을 근본으로 하는 진리인 천적인 기원(celestial origin)을 근본으로 하는 진리를 의미한다는 것이다. (천국의 비밀 5319, 9469)

“옷과 다리에 이름 적힌 것이 있으니”라는 표현이 진리와 선, 그리고 그 본질을 의미한다는 것은 ”옷”은 진리를, ”이름”은 앞에서 언급한 바와 같이 본질을, 그리고 “다리”는 사랑으로 이루어진 선을 의미한다는 것이다. (천국의 비밀 3021, 4277, 4280, 9961, 10485).

”만왕의 왕이요, 만주의 주”는 신적 진리와 신적 선과 관련된 주이며 주는 신적 진리를 근본으로 삼는 ”왕”으로 호칭된다. (천국의 비밀 3009, 5068, 6148)

그러므로 그는 신적 선을 근본으로 삼는”주”로 호칭된다 (천국의 비밀 4973, 9169, 9174)

이러한 사실에서 영적 또는 내적 의미에서의 말씀의 본질이 무엇인지 분명해지며 또 말씀 속에는 어떤 영적인 것, 말하자면 천국과 교회에 대한 그 어떤 것을 의미하지 않는 표현은 하나도 없음이 분명하다.

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스웨덴보그의 저서에서

 

Arcana Coelestia #3021

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3021. 'Put now your hand under my thigh' means being bound, as regards its power, to the good of conjugial love. This is clear from the meaning of 'the hand' as power, dealt with in 878, and from the meaning of 'the thigh' as the good of conjugial love, dealt with in what follows. A binding of this good to that power is indeed the meaning, as is clear from the consideration that those who were bound by an obligation to carry out some matter connected with conjugial love put their hand, according to ancient custom, under the thigh of the one to whom they were so bound, and in so doing swore by him. This was done because 'the thigh' meant conjugial love, and 'the hand' power, or the full extent of whatever one's capability might be. For all parts of the human body correspond to spiritual and celestial things in the Grand Man, which is heaven, as shown in 2996, 2998, and will in the Lord's Divine mercy be shown more extensively later on. The thighs themselves, together with the loins, correspond to conjugial love. Those things were well known to the most ancient people, and for that reason so many customs came down from them, including that of putting their hands under the thigh when being bound by an obligation to carry out something connected with the good of conjugial love. Their knowledge of such things, which was valued most highly by the ancients, and belonged among the chief things that constituted their knowledge and intelligence, is totally lost today, so much so that not even the existence of any such correspondence is known, and for this reason people will probably be astounded that such things are meant by that custom. Here, because the subject is the betrothal of Isaac his son to another member of Abraham's family, and the oldest servant was called on to perform that task, this custom was therefore followed.

[2] It has been stated that 'the thigh', because of its correspondence, means conjugial love, and this may also be seen from other places in the Word, for example, from the procedure to be followed when a woman was accused by her husband of adultery, in Moses,

The priest shall make the woman take the oath of a curse, and the priest shall say to the woman, Jehovah will make you a curse and an oath in the midst of your people, when Jehovah makes your thigh fall away and your belly swell. When he has made her drink the water, then it will happen, if she has defiled herself and committed a trespass against her husband, that the water causing the curse will enter into her and become bitter, and her belly will swell, and her thigh will fall away; and the woman will be a curse in the midst of her people. Numbers 5:21, 27.

'The falling away of the thigh' means the evil of conjugial love, which is adultery. Every other detail in the same procedure had some specific meaning, so that not even the smallest detail fails to embody something, though anyone reading the Word who has no concept of its sacredness will wonder why such things are included there. It is because 'the thigh' means the good of conjugial love that the expression 'those coming out of the thigh' is used frequently, as in a reference to Jacob,

Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations will be from you, and kings will go out from your thighs. Genesis 35:11.

And elsewhere in the same author,

Every soul coming with Jacob to Egypt, who came out of his thigh. Genesis 46:26; Exodus 1:5.

And in a reference to Gideon, Gideon had seventy sons, who came out of his thigh. Judges 8:30.

[3] Since 'the thigh' and 'the loins' mean the things that belong to conjugial love they also mean those that belong to love and charity, the reason being that conjugial love underlies every other kind of love, see 686, 2733, 2737-2739. These all have the same source - the heavenly marriage - which is a marriage of good and truth, regarding which see 2727-2759. For 'the thigh' means the good of celestial love and the good of spiritual love, as may be seen from the following places: In John,

He who sat on the white horse had on His robe and on His thigh the name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords. Revelation 19:16.

'He who sat on the white horse' is the Word, and so the Lord, who is the Word, see 2760-2762. 'Robe' means Divine Truth, 2576, and for that reason He is called 'King of kings', 3009. From this it is evident what 'the thigh' means, namely the Divine Good which flows from His love, on account of which He is also named 'Lord of lords', 3004-3011. And this being the Lord's essential nature, it is said that He had a name written on His robe and on His thigh, for 'name' means essential nature, 1896, 2009, 2724, 3006.

[4] In David,

Gird Your sword on Your thigh, O Mighty One, in Your glory and honour! Psalms 45:3.

This refers to the Lord. 'Sword' stands for truth engaged in conflict, 2799, 'thigh' for the good of love. 'Girding the sword on the thigh' means that the truth which He was to use in the fight was allied to the good of love. In Isaiah,

Righteousness will be the girdle of His loins, and truth the girdle of His thighs. Isaiah 11:5.

This too refers to the Lord. Because 'righteousness' has reference to the good that flows from love, 2235, it is called 'the girdle of His loins', while 'truth' because it comes from good, is called 'the girdle of His thighs'. Thus 'loins' is used in reference to the love within good, and 'thighs' to the love within truth.

[5] In the same prophet'

None will be weary, and none will stumble in Him. He will not slumber nor sleep. Nor has the girdle of His thighs been loosed, nor the thong of His shoes torn away. Isaiah 5:27.

This refers to the Lord. 'The girdle of His thighs' stands, as above, for the love within truth. In Jeremiah Jehovah told the prophet to buy a linen girdle and put it over his loins but not dip it in water. He was then told to go away to the Euphrates and hide it in a cleft of the rock. When he went back at a later time to retrieve it from that place it was spoiled, Jeremiah 13:1-7. 'A linen girdle' stands for truth, but the placing of it over his loins was representative of the fact that truth was the outward expression of good. Anyone may see that these actions are representative. Their meaning however cannot be known except from correspondences, which will in the Lord's Divine mercy be dealt with at the ends of certain chapters further on.

[6] It is similar with the meaning of the things seen by Ezekiel, Daniel, and Nebuchadnezzar: Ezekiel saw,

Above the firmament that was above the heads of the cherubim, in appearance like a sapphire stone, there was the likeness of a throne, and above the likeness of a throne, there was a likeness, as the appearance of a Man (Homo) upon it above. And I saw as it were the shape of fiery coals, as the shape of fire, within it round about. From the appearance of His loins and upwards, and from the appearance of His loins and downwards, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, whose brightness was round about it like the appearance of the rainbow which is in the cloud on the day of rain; so was the appearance of the brightness round about, thus was the appearance of the likeness of the Glory of Jehovah. Ezekiel 1:26-28.

This scene was clearly representative of the Lord and His kingdom. 'The appearance of His loins upwards and the appearance, of His loins downwards' is descriptive of His love, as is evident from the meaning of 'fire' as love, 934, and from the meaning of 'brightness' and of 'the rainbow' as wisdom and intelligence from that love, 1042, 1043, 1053.

[7] Daniel saw,

A man clothed in linen whose loins were girded with gold of Uphaz, and whose body was like tarshish, 1 and whose face was like the appearance of lightning and whose eyes were like fiery torches, and whose arms and feet were like the shine of burnished bronze. Daniel 10:5-6.

What each of these expressions means - the loins, the body, the face, the eyes, the arms, and the feet - does not become clear to anyone except from representations and correspondences involved in these. From these it is evident that in what Daniel saw the Lord's heavenly kingdom was represented, in which Divine Love constitutes the loins, and 'the gold of Uphaz' with which He was girded, the good resulting from wisdom that is grounded in love, 113, 1551, 1552.

[8] In Daniel: Nebuchadnezzar saw a statue whose head was fine gold, breast and arms silver, belly and thighs bronze, feet partly iron, partly clay, Daniel 2:32-33. This statue represented consecutive states of the Church. The head of gold represented the first state, which was celestial because it was a state of love to the Lord; the breast and arms of silver represented the second state, which was spiritual because it was a state of charity towards the neighbour; the belly and thighs of bronze represented the third state, which was a state of natural good meant by 'bronze', 425, 1551 - natural good being love or charity towards the neighbour as this exists on a lower level than spiritual good - while the feet of iron and clay were the fourth state, which was a state of natural truth meant by 'iron', 425, 426, and also a state involving complete lack of cohesion with good, which is meant by 'clay'.

From all this one may see what is meant by the thighs and loins, namely conjugial love primarily, and from this love every genuine kind of love, as is evident from the places quoted and also from Genesis 32:25, 31-32; Isaiah 20:2-4; Nahum 2:1; Psalms 69:23; Exodus 12:11; Luke 12:35-36. The thighs and loins also mean in the contrary sense those loves that are the reverse of conjugial love and all genuine loves, namely self-love and love of the world, 1 Kings 2:5-6; Isaiah 32:10-11; Jeremiah 30:6; 48:37; Ezekiel 29:7; Amos 8:10.

각주:

1. A Hebrew word for a particular kind of precious stone, possibly a beryl.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.

스웨덴보그의 저서에서

 

Arcana Coelestia #3301

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3301. 'A hairy garment' means the truth of the natural. This is clear from the meaning of 'a tunic' as something that clothes another thing - that something being in this case truth because this serves to clothe good (for truth is like a garment, 1073, 2576, or what amounts almost to the same, truth is the recipient vessel for good, 1469, 1496, 1832, 1900, 2063, 2261, 2269); and also from the meaning of 'hairy' as the natural as regards truth. Hair, or the hair on the head, is mentioned several times in the Word, and in those places means that which is natural, the reason being that hairs are outgrowths on the most exterior parts of a person, as also is the natural in relation to its rational and to the interior parts of the rational. During his lifetime it seems to everyone as though the natural within him is all there is to him, but this is so far from being true, that the natural is rather an outgrowth from the internal parts of him, like hairs from the parts of the body. They also stem from internal parts in almost the same way. This also is why people who have been wholly natural during their lifetime are seen in the next life to have faces covered almost entirely with hair when a visual presentation is made of that state. What is more, man's natural is represented by 'the hair'. When it is an outgrowth from good it is represented by attractive and neatly arranged hair, but when it is not the outgrowth from good by unattractive and dishevelled hair.

[2] It is from this representation that in the Word 'hair', or 'the hair on the head' is used to mean the natural, especially as regards truth, as in Zechariah,

It will happen on that day, that the prophets will be ashamed, [every] man on account of his vision when he has prophesied. And he will not put on a hairy garment in order to deceive. Zechariah 13:4.

'The prophets' stands for people who teach truths, here for those who teach falsities, 2534. 'Vision' stands for truths, here for falsities, 'hairy garment' for the natural as regards truth. But because it was not truth but falsity the phrase 'in order to deceive' is used. Such clothing was worn by the prophets so that truth, being external, might be represented by them. This also was why, dressed in a similar way, Elijah the Tishbite is called a hairy man, 2 Kings 1:8, and why John, the last of the prophets, had a garment of camel hair, Matthew 3:4 - 'camels' being facts in the natural man, see 3048, 3071, 3143, 3145, and facts being the truths of the natural man, 3293.

[3] That 'the hair' meant the natural as regards truth is quite clear from the Nazirites who were commanded not to shave their heads with a razor all the days of their Nazirite vow, not until their days of abstinence to Jehovah had been completed. Then they were to let down the hair on their heads and at the door of the Tent of Meeting were to shave the head of their Naziriteship and put the hair on to the fire which was beneath the eucharistic sacrifice, Numbers 6:5, 18-19. They represented the Lord's Divine Human, and from this the person belonging to the celestial Church, who was a likeness of the Lord, 51 - representing that person's natural man by 'the hair'. When they were being sanctified therefore they were to lay aside their old or previous natural man into which they had been born and were to assume the new. This was meant by the requirement, when the days of abstinence to Jehovah had been completed, to let down the hair on their heads and to put it on to the fire beneath the sacrifice. For the state of the celestial man is a state in which good is present in him and from that good he has a knowledge of all truths. He never thinks and talks from truths about good, still less from facts about good, see 202, 337, 2715, 2718, 3246. Furthermore those who are celestial are of such a nature that before they lay aside that state into which they were born their natural has become so powerfully equipped with truth that they are capable of fighting with the hells; for it is truth, never good, that goes into battle. The hells cannot make even the remotest approach towards good. That truth is of such a nature, and good of such a nature, see 1950, 1951.

[4] From this it is evident how it was that Samson had strength from his hair, referred to as follows,

The angel of Jehovah appeared to Samson's mother, saying, Behold, you will conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come up over his head; the boy shall be a Nazirite of God from the womb. Judges 13:3, 5.

Later on he revealed to Delilah that if he were shaved his strength would leave him and he would be rendered powerless. And immediately he had been shaved, his strength did leave him and the Philistines seized him. And when subsequently the hair on his head started to grow again, where he had been shaved, his strength returned to him, enabling him to dislodge the pillars of the house, Judges 16:1-end. Who does not see that this description holds a heavenly arcanum within it, and that nobody knows what that arcanum is unless he has been taught regarding representatives, that is to say, that a Nazirite portrayed the celestial man, and as long as he had his hair he portrayed the natural part of that man, with whom, as has been stated, such strong and powerful truth was present? And Samson had such strength because at that period of time all representatives which the Lord had commanded had such force and effect. But he was not a consecrated Nazirite like those mentioned above, that is to say, someone who had put on a state of good instead of truth. The chief reason why the ultimate existence of his strength lay in his hair was so that he might represent the Lord who from the natural man as regards truth was to fight the hells and overcome them. This He did before putting on Divine Good and Truth even as regards the natural man.

[5] From this it is also evident why the high priest, on whose head the anointing oil had been poured and who had been consecrated 1 to wear the garments, was commanded not to shave his head or to rend his garments, Leviticus 21:10. And in a similar way where the new Temple is referred to the Levitical priests were commanded not to shave their head or to let their hair grow long, Ezekiel 44:20; that is to say, they represented the Lord's Divine Natural as regards truth that is derived from good and is called truth grounded in good. That 'hair' or the hair on the head means the natural as regards truth is clear also from the prophetical parts of the Word, as in Ezekiel,

I gave you to be like the seed of the field, from which you grew up and became tall to full beauty; your breasts were formed and your hair had grown. Ezekiel 16:7.

This refers to Jerusalem, which is the Ancient Church here and which in process of time became perverted. 'Breasts were formed' stands for natural good, 'hair which has grown' for natural truth.

[6] In Daniel,

I saw, until thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days was seated. His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was a flame of fire. Daniel 7:9.

And in John,

In the midst of the seven lampstands one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and surrounded by a golden girdle around the breasts. His head however and hair were white, like white wool, like snow; but His eyes were like a flame of fire. Revelation 1:13-14.

'Hair white like pure wool' stands for the Divine Natural as regards truth. In the Word, and in the religious observances of the Jewish Church, truth itself was represented by 'white', and because truth is derived from good is called 'pure wool'. The reason why truth was represented by 'white' and good by 'red' was that truth is akin to light and good to fire, the source of the light.

[7] As with everything else in the Word 'the hair' also has a contrary sense and means the natural as regards truth when perverted, as in Isaiah,

On that day the Lord will shave by means of a razor hired at the crossing-places of the River - by means of the King of Asshur - the head and the hair of the feet; and it will consume the beard also. Isaiah 7:20.

In Ezekiel,

Son of man, take for yourself a sharp sword, use it as a barber's razor which you shall run over your head and over your beard. Then you are to take balances and you are to divide it. A third you are to burn with fire in the midst of the city; a third you are to strike with the sword round about it; and a third you are to scatter to the wind. You shall take from it a small number, and bind it in your skirts. Finally you are to take from these again and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them with fire, and from this, fire will come forth to the whole house of Israel. Ezekiel 5:1-4.

All this, by the use of representatives, describes how natural truth, interior and exterior, meant by 'the hair' and 'the beard', ceased to exist any longer. Its destruction by lusts is meant by its being burned with fire, by reasonings by its being struck with the sword round about the city, by false assumptions by its being scattered to the wind. These statements are similar in content to what the Lord teaches in Matthew about some seed, which is the truth, falling among thorns, some on stony ground, and some along the path, Matthew 13:1-9.

[8] That 'the heir' means the unclean truths and the falsities belonging to the natural man was also represented by the requirement that when a woman from among enemies who had been taken captive was to be married to [an Israelite], she was to be brought to his home, the hair on her head was to be shaved off, her nails were to be pared, and the garments of her captivity were to be removed, Deuteronomy 21:12-13. Also when Levites were consecrated, the water of expiation was to be sprinkled over them, they were to pass a razor over their entire flesh, and to wash their clothes, and so be pure, Numbers 8:7. Also, Nebuchadnezzar was driven from among men so that he ate grass like oxen, and his body was wet from the dew of heaven, till his hair grew to be like eagles' feathers and his nails like birds' claws, Daniel 4:33. In the case of leprosy they were required to note the colours of hair and beard, whether these were white, reddening, yellow, or black. They were to look for the same in garments. And the person who was cleansed from leprosy was required to shave all the hair on his head, his beard, and his eyebrows, Leviticus 13:1-59; 14:8-9. The latter meant the unclean falsities that result from unholiness, which is leprosy in the internal sense.

[9] 'Baldness' however meant the natural when no truth at all is present in it, as in Isaiah,

He is going up to Bayith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep over Nebo; and Moab will howl over Medeba. On all their heads is baldness; every beard is shaved off. Isaiah 15:2.

In the same prophet, Instead of well-set hair there will be baldness, branding instead of beauty. Isaiah 3:24

The children who said to Elisha, Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead! and who were torn apart by the bears out of the forest, 2 Kings 2:23-24, represent people who blaspheme the Word as though it had no truth within it; for Elisha represented the Lord as regards the Word, 2762. From this it is also evident how prevalent representatives were at that period of time.

각주:

1. literally, whose hand had been filled

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.