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Deuteronomy 18

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1 The priests, the Levites, [and] the whole tribe of Levi, shall have no portion nor inheritance with Israel: Jehovah's offerings by fire, and his inheritance shall they eat,

2 but they shall have no inheritance among their brethren: Jehovah, he is their inheritance, as he hath said unto them.

3 And this shall be the priest's due from the people, from them that sacrifice a sacrifice, whether ox, or sheep: they shall give unto the priest the shoulder, and the jawbones, and the maw.

4 The firstfruits [also] of thy corn, of thy new wine, and of thine oil, and the firstfruits of the shearing of thy sheep, shalt thou give him;

5 for Jehovah thy God hath chosen him out of all thy tribes, that he may stand to serve in the name of Jehovah, he and his sons continually.

6 And if the Levite shall come from one of thy gates out of all Israel, where he sojourneth, and shall come according to all the desire of his soul unto the place which Jehovah will choose,

7 and shall serve in the name of Jehovah his God, as all his brethren the Levites that stand there before Jehovah,

8 -- they shall have like portions to eat, besides that which he hath sold of his patrimony.

9 When thou art come into the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do according to the abominations of those nations.

10 There shall not be found among you he that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, that useth divination, that useth auguries, or an enchanter, or a sorcerer,

11 or a charmer, or one that inquireth of a spirit of Python, or a soothsayer, or one that consulteth the dead.

12 For every one that doeth these things is an abomination to Jehovah, and because of these abominations Jehovah thy God doth dispossess them from before thee.

13 Thou shalt be perfect with Jehovah thy God.

14 For these nations, which thou shalt dispossess, hearkened unto those that use auguries, and that use divination; but as for thee, Jehovah thy God hath not suffered thee [to do] so.

15 Jehovah thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him shall ye hearken;

16 according to all that thou desiredst of Jehovah thy God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of Jehovah my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.

17 And Jehovah said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken.

18 A prophet will I raise up unto them from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.

19 And it shall come to pass that the man who hearkeneth not unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.

20 But the prophet who shall presume to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.

21 And if thou say in thy heart, How shall we know the word that Jehovah hath not spoken?

22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of Jehovah, and the thing followeth not, nor cometh to pass, that is the word which Jehovah hath not spoken; the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: be not afraid of him.

   

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Apocalypse Explained # 1191

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1191. Because by thy sorcery (veneficium) have all the nations been seduced.- That this signifies that by wicked arts and persuasions they compelled all the simple good of that church to believe and do those things that result in domination and opulence is evident from the signification of sorcery, which denotes arts and persuasions, of which we shall speak presently; from the signification of nations, as denoting those who are in good, thus the simple good, concerning which see above (n. 175, 331, 625, 1077; and from the signification of being seduced, as denoting to be led by means of those arts and persuasions into believing and doing those things which would bring them domination and opulence. Sorcery [veneficium] signifies, in the Word, nearly the same as enchantment, and enchantment signifies persuasion of such a kind that a man does not at all perceive but that the thing is so. Such a kind of persuasion exists with certain spirits so that they, as it were, close up the understanding of another, and suffocate the faculty of perceiving. And because upright men in the Babylonish nation are compelled and persuaded to believe and to do what the monks say, therefore it is here said that they were seduced by their sorcery. The enchantments mentioned in Isaiah (chap. 47:9, 12), where Babylon also is treated of, have a similar signification. So in David (Psalm 58:4, 5). Enchantment is also mentioned among the arts approximating to magic, which were prohibited the sons of Israel (Deuteronomy 18:10, 11).

[2] Continuation.- The eminence and opulence of the angels of heaven shall also be described. There are in the societies of heaven higher and lower rulers [praefecti], all ordered and subordinated by the Lord, according to their wisdom and intelligence. The highest of these, who excels the rest in wisdom, dwells in the midst, in a palace so magnificent that nothing in all the world can be compared to it. Its architectural features are so amazing that I can say, of a truth, that they cannot be described in natural language, even as to a hundredth part, for Art itself is there in its very art.

In the interior of the palace are apartments and chambers, all the furniture and ornaments of which are brilliant with gold and various precious stones, and in such forms as cannot be imitated, either in painting or sculpture, by any artist in the world. What again is marvellous is that every individual thing, even to objects the most minute, is adapted for use. Every one who enters sees the use for which they are designed, and also perceives it as if from the out-flowing of the uses through their own forms. But no wise person on entering keeps his eye long fixed upon the forms, but in his mind he contemplates the uses, because these impart delight to his wisdom. Surrounding the palace are porticos, paradisiacal gardens, and smaller palaces, each being in itself the abode of heavenly delightfulness in the forms of its own beauty. In addition to these and other magnificent objects, there are attendant guards, each of them clad in shining garments. The subordinate rulers enjoy similar magnificence and splendour, according to the degrees of their wisdom, and their wisdom again is according to the degrees of the love of uses. Not only is this the case with those in authority, but also with the inhabitants, all of whom love uses, and perform them by means of various occupations.

[3] There are, however, but few things that it is possible to describe, while those which surpass description are innumerable. The latter being spiritual in their origin, do not fall within the ideas of the natural man, and therefore are not capable of being expressed in words, except so far as this, that wisdom builds herself a habitation, making it suitable for herself, and that then everything which lies inmostly concealed in any knowledge (scientia) or in any art comes to her assistance and does her bidding. These things are now stated in order that it may be known that all things in the heavens also refer to eminence and opulence, but that eminence there is the eminence of wisdom, and opulence the opulence of knowledge (scientia); and that such are the things to which man is led of the Lord by means of His Divine Providence.

  
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Translation by Isaiah Tansley. Many thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.