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Deuteronomy 12

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1 These are the precepts and judgments, that you must do in the land, which the Lord the God of thy fathers will give thee, to possess it all the days that thou shalt walk upon the earth.

2 Destroy all the places in which the nations, that you shall possess, worshipped their gods upon high mountains, and hills, and under every shady tree:

3 Overthrow their altars, and break down their statues, burn their groves with fire, and break their idols in pieces: destroy their names out of those places.

4 You shall not do so to the Lord your God:

5 But you shall come to the place, which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes, to put his name there, and to dwell in it:

6 And you shall offer in that place your holocausts and victims, the tithes and firstfruits of your hands and your vows and gifts, the firstborn of your herds and your sheep.

7 And you shall eat there in the sight of the Lord your God: and you shall rejoice in all things, whereunto you shall put your hand, you and your houses wherein the Lord your God hath blessed you.

8 You shall not do there the things we do here this day, every man that which seemeth good to himself.

9 For until this present time you are not come to refit, and to the possession, which the Lord your God will give you.

10 You shall pass over the Jordan, and shall dwell in the land which the Lord your God will give you, that you may have rest from all enemies round about: and may dwell without any fear,

11 In the place, which the Lord your God shall choose, that his name may be therein. Thither shall you bring all the things that I command you, holocausts, and victims, and tithes, and the firstfruits of your hands: and whatsoever is the choicest in the gifts which you shall vow to the Lord.

12 There shall you feast before the Lord your God, you and your sons and your daughters, your menservants and maid- servants, and the Levite that dwelleth in your cities. For he hath no other part and possession among you.

13 Beware lest thou offer thy holocausts in every place that thou shalt see:

14 But in the place which the Lord shall choose in one of thy tribes shalt thou offer sacrifices. and shalt do all that I command thee.

15 But if thou desirest to eat, and the eating of flesh delight thee, kill, and eat according to the blessing of the Lord thy God, which he hath given thee, in thy cities: whether it be unclean, that is to say, having blemish or defect: or clean, that is to say, sound and without blemish, such as may be offered, as the roe, and the hart, shalt thou eat it:

16 Only the blood thou shalt not eat, but thou shalt pour it out upon the earth as water.

17 Thou mayst not eat in thy towns the tithes of thy corn, and thy wine, and thy oil, the firstborn of thy herds and thy cattle, nor any thing that thou vowest, and that thou wilt offer voluntarily, and the firstfruits of thy hands:

18 But thou shalt eat them before the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, thou and thy son and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and maidservant, and the Levite that dwelleth in thy cities: and thou shalt rejoice and be refreshed before the Lord thy God in all things, whereunto thou shalt put thy hand.

19 Take heed thou forsake not the Levite all the time that thou livest in the land.

20 When the Lord thy God shall have enlarged thy borders, as he hath spoken to thee, and thou wilt eat the flesh that thy soul desireth:

21 And if the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, that his name should be there, be far off, thou shalt kill of thy herds and of thy docks, as I have commanded thee, and shalt eat in thy towns, as it pleaseth thee.

22 Even as the roe and the hart is eaten, so shalt thou eat them: both the clean and unclean shall eat of them alike.

23 Only beware of this, that thou eat not the blood, for the blood is for the soul: and therefore thou must not eat the soul with the flesh:

24 But thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water,

25 That it may be well with thee and thy children after thee, when thou shalt do that which is pleasing in the sight of the Lord.

26 But the things which thou hast sanctified and vowed to the Lord, thou shalt take, and shalt come to the place which the Lord shall choose:

27 And shalt offer thy oblations the flesh and the blood upon the altar of the Lord thy God: the blood of thy victims thou shalt pour on the altar: and the flesh thou thyself shalt eat.

28 Observe and hear all the things that I command thee, that it may be well with thee and thy children after thee for ever, when thou shalt do what is good and pleasing in the sight of the Lord thy God.

29 When the Lord thy God shall have destroyed before thy face the nations, which then shalt go in to possess, and when thou shalt possess them, and dwell in their land:

30 Beware lest thou imitate them, after they are destroyed at thy coming in, and lest thou seek after their ceremonies, saying: As these nations have worshipped their gods, so will I also worship.

31 Thou shalt not do in like manner to the Lord thy God. For they have done to their gods all the abominations which the Lord abhorreth, offering their sons and daughters, and burning them with fire.

32 What I command thee, that only do thou to the Lord: neither add any thing, nor diminish.

   

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Apocalypse Explained # 102

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102. And for My name's sake hast toiled, is the acknowledgment of the Lord and of the knowledges of truth that have respect to Him. This is evident from the signification of "the name" of Jehovah, or of the Lord, as being, in the highest sense, His Divine Human (See Arcana Coelestia 2628, 6887), and in a relative sense, all things of love and faith by which the Lord is worshiped, because these are things Divine that proceed from His Divine Human (n. 2724, 3006, 6674, 9310). This is evident also from the signification of "toiling," as being to strive with mind and zeal that these things may be known and acknowledged; for this is signified by "toiling" when it is said of those who apply themselves to the knowledges of truth and good. From this it follows that "for My name's sake hast toiled" signifies the acknowledgment of the Lord, and of the knowledges that have respect to Him. The knowledges that have respect to the Lord are all things that are of love and faith. In many passages of the Word it is said, "for the sake of Jehovah's name," "for the sake of the Lord's name," "for the sake of the name of Jesus Christ," that "the name of God should be sanctified," and the like. Those whose thoughts do not go beyond the sense of the letter suppose that the name alone is meant; but what is meant is not the name, but everything whereby the Lord is worshiped; and all of this has relation to love and faith. Therefore by "the Lord's name" in the Word all things of love and of faith by which He is worshiped are meant; here the acknowledgment of the Lord and of the knowledges of truth that have respect to Him, because this is said to those who are only zealous about knowledges.

[2] That "Jehovah's name" or the "Lord's name" does not mean the name itself, but all things of love and faith, is from the spiritual world. There the names used on the earth are not uttered; but the names of the persons who are spoken of are formed from the idea of all things known about them combined into a single word. In this way names in the spiritual world are expressed; consequently names there, like all the other things, are spiritual The names "Lord" and "Jesus Christ," even, are not uttered there as on the earth, but in place of those names a name is formed from the idea of all things known and believed respecting Him; and this idea is made up of all things of love to Him and faith in Him. This is because these in the complex are the Lord in them; for the Lord is in everyone in the goods of love and of faith that are from Him. As this is so, the quality of everyone there, in respect to love to the Lord and faith in the Lord, is immediately known if he only utters "Lord" or "Jesus Christ" by a spiritual expression or spiritual name; and for the same reason also, those who are not in any love to Him or faith in Him are unable to speak His name, that is, to form any spiritual name of Him. From this it is now clear why by the "name" of Jehovah, of the Lord, or of Jesus Christ, name is not meant in the Word, but everything of love and of faith whereby He is worshiped.

[3] Lest, therefore, the opinion that is entertained by many should prevail, that the mere name Jesus Christ, without love to Him or faith in Him, thus without the knowledges by which love and faith exist, contributes something to salvation, I will introduce some passages from the Word in which the expressions "for His name's sake" and "in His name" are used, from which those who think more deeply may see that name alone is not meant:

Jesus said, Ye shall be hated of all for My name's sake (Matthew 10:22, 24:9, 10).

Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20).

As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become sons of God; even to them that believe in His name (John 1:12).

When Jesus was in Jerusalem many believed in His name (John 2:23).

He that believeth not hath been judged already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God (John 3:17, 18).

These are written that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye may have life in His name (John 20:31).

Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord (Matthew 21:9; 23:39; Luke 13:35; 19:35).

Everyone that hath left houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or fields, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundred-fold, and eternal life (Matthew 19:29).

(What is here signified by "houses, brethren, sisters, father, mother, wife, children, and fields," which are to be left for the name of the Lord, see Arcana Coelestia 10490.)

Jesus said, Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that I will do (John 14:13, 14);

"to ask in My name" is to ask from love and faith.

Many shall come in My name, saying, I am He; go ye not therefore after them (Luke 21:8; Mark 13:6);

"to come in My name" and "to say that I am He" is to proclaim falsities and to say that they are truths, and thus to lead astray. The like is signified by saying that they are the Christ, when they are not, in Matthew:

Many shall come in My name, saying, I am the Christ, and shall lead many astray (Matthew 24:5, 11, 23-27);

for by "Jesus" is meant the Lord in respect to Divine good; and by "Christ" the Lord in respect to Divine truth (Arcana Coelestia 3004-3005, 3009, 5502), and by not being Christ, truth not Divine, but falsity.

[4] The "name of the Lord," in the New Testament means the like as the "name of Jehovah" in the Old, because the Lord there is Jehovah.

Thus in Isaiah:

And in that day shall ye say, Confess ye to Jehovah, call upon His name (Isaiah 12:4).

In the same:

O Jehovah, we have waited for Thee; to Thy name and to Thy memorial is the desire of our soul. By Thee will we make mention of Thy name (Isaiah 26:8, 13).

In the same:

From the rising of the sun shall My name be called upon (Isaiah 41:25).

In Malachi:

From the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same My name is great among the nations; and in every place incense is offered unto My name; for My name is great among the nations (Malachi 1:11).

In Isaiah:

Everyone that is called by My name I have created for My glory, I have formed him (Isaiah 43:7).

In Micah:

All peoples walk in the name of their god, and we will walk in the name of Jehovah our God (Micah 4:5).

In Moses:

Thou shalt not take the name of thy God in vain; for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that hath taken His name in vain (Deuteronomy 5:11).

In the same:

Jehovah separated the tribe of Levi, that they should minister and bless in the name of Jehovah (Deuteronomy 10:8).

In the same:

They shall worship Jehovah in one place, where He shall place His name (Deuteronomy 12:5, 11, 13, 14, 18, 26; 16:2, 6, 11, 15, 16).

"Where He shall place His name" means where there shall be worship from the good of love and the truths of faith. This was done at Jerusalem; and therefore by "Jerusalem" the church in respect to doctrine and worship is signified (See in the small work on The New Jerusalem and its Doctrine 6).

[5] Since by the "name of Jehovah" or the "name of the Lord" is signified in the spiritual sense all worship from the good of love and the truths of faith, therefore in the highest sense by "name of Jehovah" is meant the Lord in respect to the Divine Human, for the reason that from His Divine Human everything of love and of faith proceeds. That by "name of Jehovah," in the highest sense, the Lord is meant, is evident in John:

Jesus said, Father, glorify Thy name. There came a voice out of heaven, saying, I have both glorified and will glorify again (John 12:28).

In Isaiah:

I will give thee for a covenant to the people, for a light of the nations. I am Jehovah, this is My name, and My glory will I not give to another (Isaiah 42:6, 8);

the coming of the Lord is here treated of.

In Jeremiah:

Behold the days come that I will raise unto David a righteous shoot, and He shall reign as King, and this is His name, by which they shall call Him, Jehovah, our righteousness (Jeremiah 23:5, 6).

From this it is clear what is meant in the Lord's prayer by the words:

Hallowed be Thy name (Matthew 6:9);

namely, that the Divine Human of the Lord is to be accounted holy, and to be worshiped.

[6] As this is meant by "the name of the Lord," the meaning of the following passages can be seen.

In John:

The shepherd of the sheep calleth his own sheep by their name (John 10:3).

In Luke:

Rejoice that your names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20).

And in Revelation:

Thou hast a few names in Sardis (Revelation 3:4).

He who does not know what "name" signifies in the Word cannot possibly know how these words are to be understood, in Matthew:

He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous one in the name of a righteous one shall receive a righteous one's reward; and whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold [water] in the name of a disciple only, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward (Matthew 10:41, 42).

"To receive a prophet in the name of a prophet," "a righteous one in the name of a righteous one," and "to give drink in the name of a disciple," signifies to love truth for the sake of truth, good for the sake of good, and to exercise charity from the faith of truth; for by "prophet" is signified truth, by "righteous one" is signified good, and by "disciple" good from truth; and "to give to drink of cold [water]" is to exercise charity from obedience; "in the name" of these is for the sake of what they are, thus for their sake. Who could ever understand these things unless he knew what "name" signifies?

[7] To love and to do truth for the sake of truth, and good for the sake of good, is to have affection for truth and good for their sake, and not for the sake of one's own reputation, honor, or gain. Such affection of truth and good is a truly spiritual affection; but the affection of truth and good for the sake of one's own reputation, honor, or gain, is a merely natural affection. And as those who love truth and good for the sake of truth and good, or because they are truth and good, are in the spiritual affection of truth and good, therefore it is said that they shall receive "a prophet's reward" and "a righteous one's reward;" which means that they are in the spiritual affection of truth and good, and this affection has reward in itself, because it has heaven in itself. (That the happiness of heaven is in the affection of loving and doing truth and good, without regard to reward as an end, thus for the sake of truth and good, see Arcana Coelestia 6388, 6478, 9174, 9984. That "prophet" signifies one who teaches truth, thus also, in the abstract, truth that is taught, see n. 2534, 7269. That a "righteous one" signifies the good of love to the Lord, n. 2235, 9857. That "disciple" signifies good from truth, which is the good of charity, n. 2129, 3354, 3488, 3858, 6397. That "to give drink" is to instruct in the goods and truths of faith, and thus to exercise charity, n. Arcana Coelestia 3069, 3772, 4017, 4018, 8562, 9412; and that "name" signifies the quality of a thing, n. 144, 145, 1754, 1896, 2009, 3237; hence "the name of Jehovah," or "the name of the Lord," signifies every quality by which He is worshiped, n. Arcana Coelestia 2724[1-3], 3006, 6674, 9310).

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