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Genesis 18

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1 And Jehovah appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre. And he sat at the tent-door in the heat of the day.

2 And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, three men standing near him. And when he saw [them], he ran to meet them from the tent-door, and bowed himself to the earth,

3 and said, Lord, if now I have found favour in thine eyes, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant.

4 Let now a little water be fetched, that ye may wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.

5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread; and refresh yourselves; after that ye shall pass on; for therefore have ye passed on towards your servant. And they said, So do as thou hast said.

6 And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, Knead quickly three seahs of wheaten flour, and make cakes.

7 And Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf tender and good, and gave [it] to the attendant; and he hasted to dress it.

8 And he took thick and sweet milk, and the calf that he had dressed, and set [it] before them; and he stood before them under the tree, and they ate.

9 And they said to him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.

10 And he said, I will certainly return to thee at [this] time of the year, and behold, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah was listening at the tent-door, which was behind him.

11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old [and] advanced in age: it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.

12 And Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am become old, shall I have pleasure, and my lord old?

13 And Jehovah said to Abraham, Why is this, that Sarah laughs, saying, Shall I indeed bear, when I am become old?

14 Is [any] matter too wonderful for Jehovah? At the time appointed I will return to thee, at [this] time of the year, and Sarah shall have a son.

15 And Sarah denied, saying, I did not laugh; for she was afraid. And he said, No; but thou didst laugh.

16 And the men rose up thence, and looked toward Sodom; and Abraham went with them to conduct them.

17 And Jehovah said, Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing?

18 Since Abraham shall indeed become a great and mighty nation; and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him.

19 For I know him that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of Jehovah, to do righteousness and justice, in order that Jehovah may bring upon Abraham what he hath spoken of him.

20 And Jehovah said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grievous,

21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come to me; and if not, I will know [it].

22 And the men turned thence, and went towards Sodom; and Abraham remained yet standing before Jehovah.

23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also cause the righteous to perish with the wicked?

24 There are perhaps fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not forgive the place for the sake of the fifty righteous that are therein?

25 Far be it from thee to do so, to slay the righteous with the wicked, that the righteous should be as the wicked -- far be it from thee! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?

26 And Jehovah said, If I find at Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will forgive all the place for their sakes.

27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have ventured to speak unto the Lord; I, who am dust and ashes.

28 Perhaps there may want five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city on account of the five? And he said, If I shall find forty-five there, I will not destroy [it].

29 And he continued yet to speak with him, and said, Perhaps there may be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for the forty's sake.

30 And he said, Oh, let not the Lord be angry that I speak! Perhaps there may be thirty found there. And he said, I will not do it if I find thirty there.

31 And he said, Behold now, I have ventured to speak with the Lord. Perhaps there may be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy [it] for the twenty's sake.

32 And he said, Oh, let not the Lord be angry, that I speak yet but this time! Perhaps there may be ten found there. And he said, I will not destroy [it] for the ten's sake.

33 And Jehovah went away when he had ended speaking to Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.

   

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Apocalypse Revealed # 658

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658. For in them the wrath of God is complete. This symbolizes the destruction of the church and its end then.

Its being complete symbolizes the destruction of the church and its end then, as explained below. The wrath of God symbolizes the evil in people, which, because it is in opposition to God, is called the wrath of God. Not that God is angry at people, but that people's evil causes them to be angry at God. Moreover, because, when a person is punished or tormented on account of his evil - as happens in hell after death - it seems to him that it is God's doing, therefore in the Word we find anger and wrath, even evil, attributed to God. But that is the case only in the literal sense, because that sense has been written in terms of appearances and correspondences; but not so in the spiritual sense, for that sense contains no appearance or correspondent imagery, but truth in its own light. For more on the wrath of God, see nos. 525, 635 above.

This verse says that in the seven last plagues the wrath of God is complete, and we say that this symbolizes the destruction of the church and its end then. We need to explain why. The reason is that every church declines in the process of time as it turns away from the goodness of love and from truths of faith, until nothing is left of them, which is occasioned by gradually increasing evil and falsity. And then, when there is no longer any goodness of love and faith, there remains only evil and falsity, and when this is the case, the church is at an end. In this final state a person knows no better than to think that evil is good and that falsity is truth; for the delight he finds in them causes him to love evil and falsity and therefore to defend them.

This is the final state symbolized by an end, consummation or completion called a destruction in the following passages:

...I have heard from... Jehovah... a consummation and destruction upon the whole earth. (Isaiah 28:22)

A consummation is decreed, overflowing with righteousness. For the Lord, Jehovih of hosts, is making an end and destruction throughout the land. (Isaiah 10:22-23)

The whole land shall be devoured by the fire of (Jehovah's) zeal, for He will make speedy end of all those who dwell in the land. (Zephaniah 1:18)

(At length) on the bird of abominations shall be desolation, even until the consummation and destruction shall it drop upon the devastation. (Daniel 9:27)

The whole land shall be a wasteland, yet I will not make an end. (Jeremiah 4:27)

(Jehovah said,) "I will go down... and see whether they have come to an end according to the outcry... that has come to Me." (Genesis 18:21)

The last said in regard to Sodom.

...the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete. (Genesis 15:16)

The church's end is also meant by the end of the age spoken of by the Lord in the following passages:

(The disciples asked Jesus,) "What will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?" (Matthew 24:3)

...at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares... to burn them. Gather the wheat into my barn. ...so it will be at the end of the age. (Matthew 13:30, 40)

...at the end of the age... the angels will come forth and separate the wicked from among the just... (Matthew 13:49)

(Jesus said to His disciples,) "Lo, I am with you... even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:20)

Even to the end of the age means to the end of the church, when there will be a new church with which the Lord will then be present.

  
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Many thanks to the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and to Rev. N.B. Rogers, translator, for the permission to use this translation.