Ezechiele 13:22
To many Protestant and Evangelical Italians, the Bibles translated by Giovanni Diodati are an important part of their history. Diodati’s first Italian Bible edition was printed in 1607, and his second in 1641. He died in 1649. Throughout the 1800s two editions of Diodati’s text were printed by the British Foreign Bible Society. This is the more recent 1894 edition, translated by Claudiana.
Apocalypse Revealed # 500
500. The beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them. This symbolically means that those people who are caught up in the interior tenets of the doctrine regarding faith alone will oppose these two essential elements of the New Church, attack them, and reject them, in themselves and, as far as they are able, in others.
The beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit means the people who ascended out of the bottomless pit having the appearance of locusts in Revelation 9:1-12. That they were people caught up in the interior tenets of the doctrine regarding faith alone may be seen in the exposition there. To make war means, symbolically, to oppose and attack these two essential elements of the church, as we shall see next. To overcome them and kill them means, symbolically, to reject them and root them out, in themselves and, as far as they are able, in others.
[2] People caught up in the interior tenets of the doctrine regarding faith alone will attack and reject these two essential elements because they have established in themselves two ideas contrary to them, first, that it is not the Lord but God the Father to whom they should turn; and secondly, that a life in accordance with the Ten Commandments is not a spiritual life, but simply a moral and civic life, and they maintain this to keep anyone from believing that he is saved by works rather than by their faith alone.
All those people who in schools and universities have deeply impressed these dogmas on their minds do not afterward turn away from them. There are three reasons for this, hitherto unknown. First, they have introduced themselves as to their spirit into association with people in the spiritual world like themselves, where there are many satanic spirits who find delight only in falsities, and from these spirits they cannot possibly be set free unless they reject those falsities. Nor can they do that unless they turn to God the Savior directly and begin to live a Christian life in accordance with the Ten Commandments.
[3] The second reason is their belief that they are granted instant forgiveness for their sins and thus salvation in the act of faith, and afterward in the state or progression of it through the same act continued, preserved and retained by the Holy Spirit, apart from any exercises of charity. After that, then, once people have imbibed these ideas, they regard their sins as of no account in the sight of God, and so continue in their impure lives.
Moreover, because they know how to cleverly defend such ideas with falsifications of the Word in the presence of uneducated listeners, and with fallacious arguments in the presence of learned ones, we are told here that the beast from the bottomless pit overcame and killed the two witnesses. But this is the case only with people who love to live self-indulgently and are carried away by the delights of their appetites. Whenever these people think about salvation, they harbor at heart their lusts, and with both hands embrace that faith of theirs, because then they can be saved by uttering certain words in a confident tone and do not have to attend to anything having to do with their life for God's sake, but only for the sake of the world.
[4] The third reason is that people who in their youth have imbibed the interior tenets of that faith, called the mysteries of justification, when afterward promoted to a respectable ministry, do not think to themselves about God and heaven, but about themselves and the world, retaining the mysteries of their faith only for the sake of their reputation so as to be respected as wise, and because of their wisdom, accounted worthy to be rewarded with riches.
Such is the case as a result of that faith because it has nothing of religion in it. The reality of this may be seen in the third narrative account above, in no. 484.
[5] That wars in the Word symbolize spiritual wars, which are attacks on truth and are waged by reasonings based on falsities, is clear from the following passages:
...spirits of demons... go out... to gather them for war on the great day of God Almighty. (Revelation 16:14)
...the dragon was angry with the woman, and it went away to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 12:17)
It was granted to (the dragon's beast) to make war with the saints... (Revelation 13:7)
Prepare holy war against (the daughter of Zion)..., and let us go up at noon. (Jeremiah 6:4)
You have not gone up into the breaches... to stand in battle on the day of Jehovah. (Ezekiel 13:5)
In Salem is (God's) tabernacle, and His dwelling place in Zion, where He broke the flaming arrows, the bow... and... war. (Psalms 76:2-3)
Jehovah shall go forth like a mighty man; He shall stir up zeal like a man of war. (Isaiah 42:13, cf. Psalms 24:8)
In that day Jehovah... will be... for a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, ...to those who turn back the battle at the gate. (Isaiah 28:5-6)
Deliver me... from the evil man; preserve me from the violent man... All day they gather for war. They sharpen their tongues like serpents. (Psalms 140:1-3)
...many will come in My name, saying, "I am the Christ," and will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled. (Matthew 24:5-7, cf. Mark 13:6-8, Luke 21:8-10)
The wars of the kings of the north and south and other wars in Daniel 10, 11, and 12 symbolize no other than spiritual wars. And so, too, the wars in other places, as in Isaiah 2:3-5, 13:4, 21:14-15, 31:4; Jeremiah 49:25-26; Hosea 2:18; Zechariah 10:5, 14:3; Psalm 18:35 1 , 46:8-9.
[6] As wars in the Word symbolize spiritual wars, therefore the ministry of the Levites was called military service, as is apparent from the following, that the command was given for the Levites to be numbered, to "perform military service, to do the work in the tabernacle of meeting" (Numbers 4:23, 35, 39, 43, 47).
This is the service of the Levites: ...to perform military service in the ministry of the tabernacle of meeting; but at the age of fifty years he must cease the military service, and shall minister no more. (Numbers 8:24-25)
See also no. 447 above, where we established from the Word that armies symbolize the church's goods and truths, and in an opposite sense, its evils and falsities.
Poznámky pod čarou:
1. The citation in the first edition is in error. Either this or Psalms 27:3 was perhaps intended.
Luke 20
1
It happened on one of those days, as he was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the Good News, that the priests and scribes came to him with the elders.
2
They asked him, "Tell us: by what authority do you do these things? Or who is giving you this authority?"
3
He answered them, "I also will ask you one question. Tell me:
4
the baptism of John, was it from heaven, or from men?"
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They reasoned with themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say, 'Why didn't you believe him?'
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But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet."
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They answered that they didn't know where it was from.
8
Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."
9
He began to tell the people this parable. "A man planted a vineyard, and rented it out to some farmers, and went into another country for a long time.
10
At the proper season, he sent a servant to the farmers to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard. But the farmers beat him, and sent him away empty.
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He sent yet another servant, and they also beat him, and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty.
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He sent yet a third, and they also wounded him, and threw him out.
13
The lord of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. It may be that seeing him, they will respect him.'
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"But when the farmers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.'
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They threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do to them?
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He will come and destroy these farmers, and will give the vineyard to others." When they heard it, they said, "May it never be!"
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But he looked at them, and said, "Then what is this that is written, 'The stone which the builders rejected, the same was made the chief cornerstone?'
18
Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but it will crush whomever it falls on to dust."
19
The chief priests and the scribes sought to lay hands on him that very hour, but they feared the people--for they knew he had spoken this parable against them.
20
They watched him, and sent out spies, who pretended to be righteous, that they might trap him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the power and authority of the governor.
21
They asked him, "Teacher, we know that you say and teach what is right, and aren't partial to anyone, but truly teach the way of God.
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Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"
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But he perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test me?
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Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?" They answered, "Caesar's."
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He said to them, "Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."
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They weren't able to trap him in his words before the people. They marveled at his answer, and were silent.
27
Some of the Sadducees came to him, those who deny that there is a resurrection.
28
They asked him, "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies having a wife, and he is childless, his brother should take the wife, and raise up children for his brother.
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There were therefore seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died childless.
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The second took her as wife, and he died childless.
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The third took her, and likewise the seven all left no children, and died.
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Afterward the woman also died.
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Therefore in the resurrection whose wife of them will she be? For the seven had her as a wife."
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Jesus said to them, "The children of this age marry, and are given in marriage.
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But those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage.
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For they can't die any more, for they are like the angels, and are children of God, being children of the resurrection.
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But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush, when he called the Lord 'The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'
38
Now he is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for all are alive to him."
39
Some of the scribes answered, "Teacher, you speak well."
40
They didn't dare to ask him any more questions.
41
He said to them, "Why do they say that the Christ is David's son?
42
David himself says in the book of Psalms, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand,
43
until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet."'
44
"David therefore calls him Lord, so how is he his son?"
45
In the hearing of all the people, he said to his disciples,
46
"Beware of the scribes, who like to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts;
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who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers: these will receive greater condemnation."
