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Ելք 23:13

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13 Ինչ որ ասացի ձեզ, կը կատարէք: Օտար աստուածներ մի՛ պաշտէք, նրանց անունները ձեր բերանից չլսուեն»:

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Arcana Coelestia # 9298

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9298. 'You shall not sacrifice the blood of My sacrifice with anything made with yeast' means that worship of the Lord arising from the Church's truths must not be mingled together with falsities arising from evil. This is clear from the meaning of 'sacrificing' and 'sacrifice' as worship of the Lord, dealt with in 922, 923, 2180, 2805, 2807, 2830, 3519, 6905, 8680, 8936; from the meaning of 'something made with yeast' as something falsified and falsity arising from evil, dealt with in 2342, 7906, 8051, 8058; and from the meaning of 'blood' as truth derived from good, thus the Church's truth, dealt with in 4735, 6978, 7317, 7326, 7846, 7850, 7877, 9127. From these meanings it is evident that 'you shall not sacrifice the blood of My sacrifice with anything made with yeast' means that worship of the Lord arising from the Church's truths must not be mingled together with falsities arising from evil. What falsity arising from evil and falsity not arising from evil are, see 1679, 2408, 4729, 6359, 7272, 8298, 9258.

[2] The reason why truths derived from good, which are the Church's truths, must not be mingled together with falsities arising from evil is that they are in total disagreement. They are opposites, which causes them to clash, as a result of which either good perishes or evil is put to flight; for good comes from heaven, that is, from the Lord by way of heaven, and evil from hell. Truths may, it is true, exist with the evil, and also falsities with the good; but truths present with the evil are not mingled together with falsities arising from evil present with them as long as they reside solely in the memory, serving as the means to evil. As long as this is so the truths are devoid of life. But if the truths are falsified to lend support to evil, which is also brought about by perverse interpretation, they are mingled together. This leads to the profanation of truth, the nature of which, see 1008, 1010, 1059, 1327, 1328, 2051, 2426, 3398, 3399, 3402, 3489, 4601, 6348, 6595, 6959, 6963, 6971, 8394, 8943, 9188.

[3] The fact that accompanying a sacrifice with something made with yeast was forbidden is evident from the following law regarding a minchah, which was burned on the altar together with a sacrifice, the words of that law in Moses being,

Every minchah which you bring to Jehovah shall be made without yeast; no yeast nor any honey shall be used along with the fire-offering you burn to Jehovah. Leviticus 2:11.

From all that has been said it is clear that the profanation of truth is meant by this law. It also explains why the words 'the blood of [My] sacrifice' are used and not simply 'the sacrifice'; for 'the blood' is truth derived from good.

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

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Arcana Coelestia # 1010

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1010. That 'shedding man's blood in man' means destroying charity, and 'in man' means residing with man, is clear from the meaning of 'blood', dealt with already, as the holiness of charity, and from the fact that the expression 'man's blood in man' is used, that is, his internal life, which does not reside in him but with him. For the Lord's life is charity, which does not reside within man, since man is filthy and unholy, but with him. That 'shedding blood' is doing violence to charity is clear from places in the Word, including those quoted already in 374, 376, where it has been shown that violence done to charity is called 'blood'.

[2] In the sense of the letter 'shedding blood' is killing, but in the internal sense it is hating the neighbour, as the Lord teaches in Matthew,

You have heard that it was said to the men of old, You shall not kill, and whoever skills will be liable to judgement. But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without cause will be liable to judgement. Matthew 5:21-22.

Here 'being angry' means departing from charity - about which see what has been said already in 357 - and consequently hatred. Someone who hates not only has no charity but also does violence to it, that is, he 'sheds blood'. It is in hatred that murder lies, as is quite clear from the fact that the one desire of him who hates another is to have him killed. And but for the external restraints holding him back he would kill him. This is why killing 'a brother' and 'shedding his blood' is hatred. And being hatred, it is present in every idea he has against him. It is similar with profanation. As has been stated, a person who profanes the Word not only hates the truth but also annihilates it or slays it. This is quite clear in the next life from people who have been guilty of profanation. Although in outward appearance they have been honest, wise, and devout during their lifetime, in the next life they hold in deadly hatred the Lord, and also all goods that stem from love, and all truths of faith, the reason being that these are contrary to all their inner hatred, robbery, and adultery which they have covered over with a display of holiness while adulterating those goods and truths to their own advantage.

[3] That profanation is meant by 'blood' is clear from the following in Moses, in addition to the places quoted already in 374,

Anyone from the house of Israel who slays an ox or a lamb or a goat in the camp, or who slays it outside the camp, and does not bring it to the door of the Tent of Meeting, to offer it as a gift to Jehovah before the dwelling-place of Jehovah, blood will be imputed to that man; he has shed blood, and that man will be cut off from among his people. Leviticus 17:3-4.

Sacrificing anywhere else than on the altar at the Tent of Meeting represented profanation, for 'offering sacrifice' was holy, but offering it 'in the camp' or 'outside the camp' was unholy.

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