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Genesis 19

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1 De to Engle kom nu til Sodoma ved Aftenstid. Lot sad i Sodomas Port, og da han fik Øje på dem, stod han op og gik dem i Møde, bøjede sig til Jorden

2 og sagde: "Kære Herrer, tag dog ind og overnat i eders Træls Hus og tvæt eders Fødder; i Morgen tidlig kan I drage videre!" Men de sagde: "Nej, vi vil overnatte på Gaden."

3 Da nødte han dem stærkt, og de tog ind i hans Hus; derpå tilberedte han dem et Måltid og bagte usyrede Kager, og de spiste.

4 Men endnu før de havde lagt sig, stimlede Byens Folk, Indbyggerne i Sodoma, sammen omkring Huset, både gamle og unge, alle uden Undtagelse,

5 og de råbte til Lot: "Hvor er de Mænd, der kom til dig i Nat kom herud med dem, for at vi kan stille vor Lyst på dem!"

6 Da gik Lot ud til dem i Porten, men Døren lukkede han efter sig.

7 Og han sagde: "Gør dog ikke noget ondt, mine Brødre!

8 Se, jeg har to Døtre, der ikke har kendt Mand; dem vil jeg bringe ud til eder, og med dem kan I gøre, hvad I lyster; men disse Mænd må I ikke gøre noget, siden de nu engang er kommet ind under mit Tags Skygge!"

9 Men de sagde: "Bort med dig! Her er den ene Mand kommet og bor som fremmed, og nu vil han spille Dommer! Kom, lad os handle værre med ham end med dem!" Og de trængte ind på Manden, på Lot, og nærmede sig Døren for at sprænge den.

10 Da rakte Mændene Hånden ud og trak Lot ind til sig og lukkede Døren;

11 men Mændene uden for Porten til Huset slog de med Blindhed, både store og små, så de forgæves søgte at finde Porten.

12 Derpå sagde Mændene til Lot: "Hvem der ellers hører dig til her, dine Svigersønner, dine Sønner og Døtre, alle, som hører dig til i Byen, må du føre bort fra dette Sted;

13 thi vi står i Begreb med at ødelægge Stedet her, fordi Skriget over dem er blevet så stort for HE EN, at HE EN har sendt os for at ødelægge dem."

14 Da gik Lot ud og sagde til sine Svigersønner, der skulde ægte hans Døtre: "Stå op, gå bort herfra, thi HE EN vil ødelægge Byen!" Men hans Svigersønner troede, at han drev Spøg med dem.

15 Da Morgenen så gryede, skyndede Englene på Lot og sagde: "Tag din Hustru og dine to Døtre, som bor hos dig, og drag bort, for at du ikke skal rives bort ved Byens Syndeslkyld!"

16 Og da han tøvede, greb Mændene ham,.hans Hustru og hans to Døtre ved Hånden, thi HE EN vilde skåne ham, og de førte ham bort og bragte ham i Sikkerhed uden for Byen.

17 Og idet de førte dem uden for Byen, sagde de: "Det gælder dit Liv! Se dig ikke tilbage og stands ikke nogensteds i Jordanegnen, men red dig op i Bjergene, for at du ikke skal omkomme!"

18 Men Lot sagde til dem: "Ak nej, Herre!

19 Din Træl har jo fundet Nåde for dine Øjne, og du har vist mig stor Godhed og frelst mit Liv; men jeg kan ikke nå op i Bjergene og undfly Ulykken; den indhenter mig så jeg mister Livet.

20 Se, den By der er nær nok til at jeg kan flygte derhen; den betyder jo ikke stort, lad mig redde mig derhen, den betyder jo ikke stort, og mit Liv er frelst!"

21 Da svarede han: "Også i det Stykke har jeg bønhørt dig; jeg vil ikke ødelægge den By, du nævner;

22 men red dig hurtigt derhen, thi jeg kan intet gøre, før du når derhen!" Derfor kaldte man Byen Zoar.

23 Da Solen steg op over Landet og Lot var nået til Zoar,

24 lod HE EN Svovl og Ild regne over Sodoma og Gomorra fra HE EN, fra Himmelen;

25 og han ødelagde disse Byer og hele Jordanegnen og alle Byernes Indbyggere og Landets Afgrøde.

26 Men hans Hustru, som gik efter ham, så sig tilbage og blev til en Saltstøtte.

27 Næste Morgen, da Abraham gik hen til det Sted, hvor han havde stået hos HE EN,

28 og vendte sit Blik mod Sodoma og Gomorra og hele Jordanegnen. så han øg stige til Vejrs fra Landet som øgen fra en Smelteovn.

29 Da Gud tilintetgjorde Jordanegnens Byer, kom han Abraham i Hu og førte Lot ud af Ødelæggelsen, som han lod komme over de Byer, Lot boede i.

30 Men Lot drog op fra Zoar og slog sig ned i Bjergene med sine Døtre, thi han turde ikke blive i Zoar; og han boede i en Hule med sine to Døtre.

31 Da sagde den ældste til den yngste: "Vor Fader er gammel, og der findes ingen Mænd her i Landet, som kunde komme til os på vanlig Vis.

32 Kom, lad os give vor Fader Vin at drikke og ligge hos ham for at få Afkom ved vor Fader!"

33 De gav ham da Vin at drikke samme Nat; og den ældste lagde sig hos sin Fader, og han sansede hverken, at hun lagde sig, eller at hun stod op.

34 Næste Dag sagde den ældste til den yngste: "Jeg lå i Går Nat hos min Fader; nu vil vi også give ham Vin at drikke i Nat, og gå du så ind og læg dig hos ham, for at vi kan få Afkom ved vor Fader!"

35 Så gav de atter den Nat deres Fader Vin at drikke, og den yngste lagde sig hos ham, og han sansede hverken, at hun lagde sig, eller at hun stod op.

36 Således blev begge Lots Døtre frugtsommelige ved deres Fader;

37 og den ældste fødte en Søn, som hun kaldte Moab; han er Moabs Stamfader den Dag i Dag.

38 Ligeså fødte den yngste en Søn, som hun kaldte Ben Ammi; han er Ammoniternes Stamfader den Dag i Dag.

   


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Arcana Coelestia # 2441

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2441. The sun was gone forth upon the earth. That this signifies the last period, which is called the Last Judgment, is evident from the signification of the “rising of the sun,” when the subject treated of is the times and states of the church. That in the internal sense the times of the day, and also the times of the year, signify the successive states of the church, has been shown before (n. 2323); and that the dawn or morning signifies the Lord’s advent, that is, the approach of His Kingdom (n. 2405) so that in the passage before us the rising of the sun, that is, his “going forth upon the earth,” signifies the Lord’s presence itself; and this for the reason that both the “sun” and the “east” signify the Lord. (As to the “sun,” seen. 31, 32, 1053, 1521, 1529-1531, 2120; as to the “east,” n. 101.)

[2] The reason why the Lord’s presence is the same as the last period, which is called the Judgment, is that His presence separates the good from the evil, and results in the good being elevated into heaven, and the evil casting themselves down into hell; for in the other life the Lord is the Sun to the universal heaven (see n. 1053, 1521, 1529-1531), for it is the Divine Celestial of His love that so appears before their eyes and actually makes the very light of heaven. In so far therefore as the inhabitants of the spiritual world are in celestial love, so far are they elevated into that celestial light which is from the Lord; but in so far as they are remote from celestial love, so far do they cast themselves away from this light into infernal darkness.

[3] This therefore is the reason why the “rising of the sun,” by which is signified the presence of the Lord, involves both the salvation of the good and the damnation of the evil; and this is why it is now said for the first time that “Lot came to Zoar,” that is, that they who are here represented by Lot were saved; and presently that “Jehovah caused it to rain upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire,” that is, that the evil were damned.

[4] To those who are in the evils of the love of self and of the world, that is, to those who are in hatreds against all things of love to the Lord and of charity toward the neighbor, the light of heaven actually appears as thick darkness; on which account it is said in the Word that to such the “sun was blackened;” by which is signified that they rejected everything of love and charity, and received everything that is contrary thereto. As in Ezekiel:

When I shall extinguish thee, I will cover the heavens, and make the stars thereof black; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not make her light to shine; all the luminaries of light in the heavens will I make black over thee, and will set darkness upon thy land (Ezekiel 31:7, 8).

Every one can see that by “covering the heavens,” “blackening the stars,” “covering the sun,” and “blackening the luminaries of heaven,” other things than these are signified.

[5] In like manner in Isaiah:

The sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine (Isaiah 13:10).

And in Joel:

The sun and the moon are blackened, and the stars withdraw their shining (Joel 2:2, 10).

It is therefore evident what is signified by the Lord’s words in Matthew, where He is speaking of the last period of the church, which is called the Judgment:

Immediately after the affliction of those days, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven (Matthew 24:29)

where by the “sun” is not meant the sun; nor by the “moon,” the moon; nor by the “stars,” the stars; but by the “sun” are signified love and charity; by the “moon,” the faith thence derived; and by the “stars,” the knowledges of good and truth; which are said to be “obscured,” to “lose their light,” and to “fall from heaven,” when there is no longer any acknowledgment of the Lord, nor any love to Him, nor any charity toward the neighbor; and when these have become nought, the love of self with its falsities takes possession of the man; for the one thing is a consequence of the other.

[6] Hence we read also in John:

The fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and it was given unto him to scorch men with fire, and men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God (Revelation 16:8-9)

where also the last times of the church are treated of, when all love and charity are being extinguished; or, speaking according to the common mode, when there is no longer any faith. The extinction of love and charity is meant by the “pouring out of the vial upon the sun;” so that it was the love of self and its cupidities by which men were then “scorched with fire,” and “scorched with great heat;” and from which came the “blaspheming of the name of God.”

[7] By the “sun” the Ancient Church understood nothing else than the Lord and the Divine Celestial of His love; and therefore they were accustomed to pray toward the sun rising, while not thinking at all about the sun. But after their posterity had lost this also, together with the rest of their representatives and significatives, they began to worship the sun itself and also the moon; which worship spread to many nations, so much so that they dedicated temples to them, and set up pillars; and because the sun and the moon then took on an opposite signification, they came to signify the love of self and of the world, which are diametrically contrary to heavenly and spiritual love. Hence in the Word by the “worship of the sun and the moon” is meant the worship of self and of the world.

[8] As in Moses:

Lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the army of the heavens, and thou be driven to bow down unto them, and serve them (Deuteronomy 4:19).

And again:

If he have gone and served other gods, and the sun and the moon, or any of the army of the heavens, which I have not commanded, then thou shalt stone them with stones, and they shall die (Deuteronomy 17:3, 5). (Deuteronomy 17:6)

Into such idolatry was the ancient worship turned when they no longer believed that anything internal was signified by the rites of the church, but only what was external.

[9] In like manner in Jeremiah:

At that time shall they spread out the bones of the kings of Judah, of the princes, of the priests, of the prophets, and of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, before the sun and the moon, and all the army of the heavens, which they have loved, and which they have served (Jeremiah 8:1-2).

The “sun” here denotes the love of self and its cupidities; their “spreading out the bones” signifies the infernal things that belong to such worshipers.

Again:

He shall break the pillars of the house of the sun, which are in the land of Egypt, and the houses of the gods of Egypt shall he burn with fire (Jeremiah 43:13).

The “pillars of the house” denote the worship of self.

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