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Daniel 7

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1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head on his bed; then he wrote the dream, the sum of the words that he said.

2 Daniel answered and said, I was seeing in my vision by night, and, lo, the four winds of the heavens rushed at the great sea.

3 And four great animals came·​·up from the sea, different* this from that.

4 The foremost was as a lion, and had wings of an eagle; I was seeing until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted·​·up from the earth, and was raised·​·up on the feet as a man, and a heart of a man was given to it.

5 And lo, another animal, a second, was·​·like a bear, and it raised· itself ·up on one side, and there was three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and they said thus to it, Arise, eat much flesh.

6 In the place of this I was seeing, and lo, another, as a leopard, and it had on the back of it four wings of a fowl; and the animal had four heads; and dominion was given to it.

7 In the place of this I was seeing in the night visions, and lo, a fourth animal, fearful and dreadful, and exceedingly strong; and it had great teeth of iron; it ate·​·up and crushed·​·thin, and trampled what was left with its feet; and it was different from all the animals that were before it; and it had ten horns.

8 I was considering* the horns, and, behold, there came·​·up between them another little horn, from before which there were three from the foremost horns uprooted; and, behold, in this horn were eyes as the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.

9 I was seeing until the thrones were cast·​·out, and the Ancient of Days did sit, whose clothing was white as snow, and the hair of His head as the pure wool; His throne was like the fiery flame, and His rolling wheels as chasing fire.

10 A river of fire emanated and came·​·out from before Him; a thousand thousands ministered to Him, and a myriad of myriads rose·​·up before Him; the judgment did sit, and the books were·​·opened.

11 I was seeing then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spoke; I was seeing even until the animal was killed, and his body perished, and was given to the burning fire.

12 And what was left of the animals, their dominion was made to pass·​·away; but a lengthening in their lives was given to them until a season and a time.

13 I was seeing in the night visions and lo, one as the Son of Man was coming with the clouds of the heavens, and reached even·​·to the Ancient of Days, and they brought· Him ·near before Him.

14 And there was given to Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and tongues, should serve Him; His dominion is an eternal dominion, which shall not pass·​·away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

15 I Daniel was pierced in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head vexed me.

16 I came·​·near upon one of those who stood by, and sought from him the certainty concerning all this. And he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the thing.

17 These great animals, which are these four, are four kings, which shall arise from the earth.

18 But the holy·​·ones of the Most·​·High shall receive the kingdom, and secure the kingdom even·​·for the age, and even·​·for ages of ages.

19 Then I desired certainty concerning the fourth animal, which was different from all of them, exceedingly fearful, whose teeth were of iron and his nails of bronze, which ate·​·up, crushed·​·thin, and trampled what was left with his feet;

20 and concerning the ten horns that were on its head, and the other which came·​·up, and before whom the three fell; and that horn had eyes, and a mouth that spoke great things, and its vision was greater than its friend.

21 I was seeing, and that horn made war* with the holy·​·ones, and prevailed against them,

22 until this Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given to the holy·​·ones of the Most·​·High; and the time was reached and the holy·​·ones secured the kingdom.

23 Thus he said, The fourth animal shall be the fourth kingdom in the earth, which shall be changed from all the kingdoms, and shall eat·​·up all the earth, and shall tread·​·on her, and crush· her ·thin.

24 And the ten horns from the kingdom are the ten kings that shall arise; and another shall arise after them, and he shall be different* from the foremost, and he shall make·​·low the three kings.

25 And he shall speak words against the Most·​·High, and shall wear·​·down the holy·​·ones of the Most·​·High, and think to change times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and a division of time.

26 But the judgment shall sit, and they shall make his dominion to pass·​·away, to blot·​·out and to make it perish until the end.

27 And the kingdom and the dominion, and the majesty of the kingdom under all of the heavens, shall be given to the people of the holy·​·ones of the Most·​·High. His kingdom is an eternal kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.

28 Even·​·for now is the end of the thing*. As for me, Daniel, my concerns much vexed me, and my countenance changed upon me; but I kept the thing in my heart.

   


Thanks to the Kempton Project for the permission to use this New Church translation of the Word.

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Under

  

In the Bible, things that are lower down, or under, physically, generally represent things that are lower or more external spiritually. In some cases, the lower things have been separated and put away to protect the good, but in others, it can mean that a less exalted idea or good desire is supporting a more exalted one.

(Odkazy: Arcana Coelestia 4564 [1-2], 8610, 9656)

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Arcana Coelestia # 4564

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4564. 'And was buried below Bethel under an oak' means cast away for ever. This is clear from the meaning of 'being buried' as being cast away, for that which is buried is cast away; and from the meaning of 'under an oak' as for ever, dealt with above in 4552. 'Below Bethel' means outside the natural, for that which is said to be beneath or below is in the internal sense outside, 2148; 'Bethel' is the Divine Natural 4089, 4539.

[2] The implication of this is that with a person who is being regenerated, neither hereditary evil nor that of his own doing is removed in such a way as to disappear or be eliminated, but is merely separated and through the rearrangement effected by the Lord is cast away to the most outlying parts, 4551, 4552. It accordingly remains with that person, and does so for ever, but he is withheld from evil by the Lord and maintained in good. When this happens it seems as though evils have been cast away and the person has been purified from them or, as it is said, made righteous. All the angels of heaven confess that in their case, insofar as anything originates in themselves it is entirely evil and consequently false, but insofar as it originates in the Lord it is good and consequently true.

[3] People who have adopted any other notion concerning this matter, and who from the teaching they received while living in the world have become convinced that they have been made righteous and are in that case without sins, and so are holy, are taken back to the state where their evils reigned - both those of their own doing and those received through heredity. They are then kept in that state until they know from personal experience that of themselves they are nothing but evil and the good which had seemed to them to be their own came from the Lord, and that therefore it was not theirs but the Lord's. This is the situation with angels, as it is with the regenerate among men.

[4] But in the Lord's case it was different. He entirely removed, cast out, and cast away from Himself all hereditary evil from His mother, for being conceived from Jehovah He had no evil by heredity from His Father, only from His Mother. This is the difference; and this is what is meant by the Lord's being made Righteousness, the Holy itself, and the Divine.

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