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Daniel 11

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1 And as for me, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to confirm and strengthen him.

2 And now will I show thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and when he is waxed strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece.

3 And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.

4 And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion wherewith he ruled; for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others besides these.

5 And the king of the south shall be strong, and [one] of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion.

6 And at the end of years they shall join themselves together; and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement: but she shall not retain the strength of her arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm; but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in those times.

7 But out of a shoot from her roots shall one stand up in his place, who shall come unto the army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail.

8 And also their gods, with their molten images, [and] with their goodly vessels of silver and of gold, shall he carry captive into Egypt; and he shall refrain some years from the king of the north.

9 And he shall come into the realm of the king of the south, but he shall return into his own land.

10 And his sons shall war, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall come on, and overflow, and pass through; and they shall return and war, even to his fortress.

11 And the king of the south shall be moved with anger, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north; and he shall set forth a great multitude, and the multitude shall be given into his hand.

12 And the multitude shall be lifted up, and his heart shall be exalted; and he shall cast down tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail.

13 And the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former; and he shall come on at the end of the times, [even of] years, with a great army and with much substance.

14 And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south: also the children of the violent among thy people shall lift themselves up to establish the vision; but they shall fall.

15 So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mound, and take a well-fortified city: and the forces of the south shall not stand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to stand.

16 But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him; and he shall stand in the glorious land, and in his hand shall be destruction.

17 And he shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and with him equitable conditions; and he shall perform them: and he shall give him the daughter of women, to corrupt her; but she shall not stand, neither be for him.

18 After this shall he turn his face unto the isles, and shall take many: but a prince shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease; yea, moreover, he shall cause his reproach to turn upon him.

19 Then he shall turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land; but he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found.

20 Then shall stand up in his place one that shall cause an exactor to pass through the glory of the kingdom; but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle.

21 And in his place shall stand up a contemptible person, to whom they had not given the honor of the kingdom: but he shall come in time of security, and shall obtain the kingdom by flatteries.

22 And the overwhelming forces shall be overwhelmed from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant.

23 And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully; for he shall come up, and shall become strong, with a small people.

24 In time of security shall he come even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them prey, and spoil, and substance: yea, he shall devise his devices against the strongholds, even for a time.

25 And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall war in battle with an exceeding great and mighty army; but he shall not stand; for they shall devise devices against him.

26 Yea, they that eat of his dainties shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow; and many shall fall down slain.

27 And as for both these kings, their hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table: but it shall not prosper; for yet the end shall be at the time appointed.

28 Then shall he return into his land with great substance; and his heart [shall be] against the holy covenant; and he shall do [his pleasure], and return to his own land.

29 At the time appointed he shall return, and come into the south; but it shall not be in the latter time as it was in the former.

30 For ships of Kittim shall come against him; therefore he shall be grieved, and shall return, and have indignation against the holy covenant, and shall do [his pleasure]: he shall even return, and have regard unto them that forsake the holy covenant.

31 And forces shall stand on his part, and they shall profane the sanctuary, even the fortress, and shall take away the continual [burnt-offering], and they shall set up the abomination that maketh desolate.

32 And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he pervert by flatteries; but the people that know their God shall be strong, and do [exploits].

33 And they that are wise among the people shall instruct many; yet they shall fall by the sword and by flame, by captivity and by spoil, [many] days.

34 Now when they shall fall, they shall be helped with a little help; but many shall join themselves unto them with flatteries.

35 And some of them that are wise shall fall, to refine them, and to purify, and to make them white, even to the time of the end; because it is yet for the time appointed.

36 And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods; and he shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished; for that which is determined shall be done.

37 Neither shall he regard the gods of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall magnify himself above all.

38 But in his place shall he honor the god of fortresses; and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.

39 And he shall deal with the strongest fortresses by the help of a foreign god: whosoever acknowledgeth [him] he will increase with glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for a price.

40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south contend with him; and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass through.

41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many [countries] shall be overthrown; but these shall be delivered out of his hand: Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.

42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries; and the land of Egypt shall not escape.

43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.

44 But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him; and he shall go forth with great fury to destroy and utterly to sweep away many.

45 And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the sea and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 426

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426. As regards 'iron' meaning natural truth, this is clear from the places quoted already, and from the following as well: In Ezekiel in reference to Tyre,

Tarshish was your trader because of the vastness of all your wealth - in silver, iron, tin, and lead they provided Your wares. Dan and Javan, and Meusal, exchanged wrought iron in your tradings; cassia and calamus were in your market. Ezekiel 27:12, 19.

From these verses, and from those before and after them in the same chapter, it is quite clear that celestial and spiritual riches are meant. Each commodity, and also each name mentioned there, has some specific meaning, for the Word of the Lord is spiritual and not just verbal in content.

[2] In Jeremiah,

Can one smash iron, iron from the north, and bronze? Your resources and your treasures I will give as spoil, without price, even for all your sins. Jeremiah 15:12-13.

Here 'iron' and 'bronze' stand for natural truth and good. 'That which comes from the north' means that which is sensory and natural, for natural in comparison with spiritual and celestial is as thick darkness or the north to light or the south. The natural also resembles shade, which is also the meaning here of 'Zillah' who was the mother. It is also quite plain that 'resources and treasures' are celestial and spiritual riches.

[3] In Ezekiel,

Take an iron pan and place it as an iron wall between you and the city, and set your face 1 towards it, and let it be in a state of siege, and oppress it. Ezekiel 4:3.

Here too it is clear that 'iron' means truth. Great strength is attributed to truth because nothing is able to withstand it. This in addition is why iron, which means truth, that is, the truth of faith, is referred to as smashing and crushing to pieces, as in Daniel 2:33, 40. And in John,

He who overcomes, to him will I give power over the nations to rule 2 them with an iron rod as when earthen pots are broken in pieces. Revelation 2:26-27.

In the same author,

The woman gave birth to a male child, who was to rule 2 all nations with an iron rod. Revelation 12:5.

[4] The explanation appears in John that an 'iron rod' means truth which belongs to the Word of the Lord,

I saw heaven opened, when behold, a white horse! And He who sat upon it was called faithful and true, and in righteousness He judges and fights. He was clothed in a robe dipped in blood and His name is called the Word of God. From His mouth issues a sharp sword, and with it He will smite the nations, and will rule 2 them with an iron rod. Revelation 19, 11, 13, 15.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. literally, faces

2. literally, pasture

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

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Revelation 19

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1 After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, "Hallelujah! Salvation, power, and glory belong to our God:

2 for true and righteous are his judgments. For he has judged the great prostitute, who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality, and he has avenged the blood of his servants at her hand."

3 A second said, "Hallelujah! Her smoke goes up forever and ever."

4 The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne, saying, "Amen! Hallelujah!"

5 A voice came forth from the throne, saying, "Give praise to our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, the small and the great!"

6 I heard something like the voice of a great multitude, and like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of mighty thunders, saying, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns!

7 Let us rejoice and be exceedingly glad, and let us give the glory to him. For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife has made herself ready."

8 It was given to her that she would array herself in bright, pure, fine linen: for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

9 He said to me, "Write, 'Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.'" He said to me, "These are true words of God."

10 I fell down before his feet to worship him. He said to me, "Look! Don't do it! I am a fellow bondservant with you and with your brothers who hold the testimony of Jesus. worship God, for the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy."

11 I saw the heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it is called Faithful and True. In righteousness he judges and makes war.

12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has names written and a name written which no one knows but he himself.

13 He is clothed in a garment sprinkled with blood. His name is called "The Word of God."

14 The armies which are in heaven followed him on white horses, clothed in white, pure, fine linen.

15 Out of his mouth proceeds a sharp, double-edged sword, that with it he should strike the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He treads the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God, the Almighty.

16 He has on his garment and on his thigh a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."

17 I saw an angel standing in the sun. He cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the sky, "Come! Be gathered together to the great supper of God,

18 that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, and small and great."

19 I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him who sat on the horse, and against his army.

20 The beast was taken, and with him the false prophet who worked the signs in his sight, with which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.

21 The rest were killed with the sword of him who sat on the horse, the sword which came forth out of his mouth. All the birds were filled with their flesh.