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Daniel 8

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1 In the third year of the kingdom of king Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, to me Daniel, after that which appeared to me in the beginning.

2 And I saw in a vision, and it was, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the River Ulai.

3 And I lifted my eyes and saw, and, behold, one ram stood before the river, and it had two·​·horns; and the two·​·horns were tall; but the one was taller than the second, and the taller one came·​·up afterwards.

4 I saw the ram charging·​·out westward, and northward, and southward; and all animals stood not before him, and none could rescue from his hand; but he did according·​·to his good·​·pleasure, and became·​·great.

5 And I was understanding, and behold, a he-goat of the goats came from the sunset on the faces of all the earth, and touched not on the earth; and the he-goat had a horn to·​·behold between his eyes.

6 And he came to the ram, the owner* of two·​·horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran to him in the fury of his power.

7 And I saw him reaching beside the ram, and he was made·​·bitter toward him, and smote the ram, and broke his two horns; and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down toward the earth, and trampled him, and there was none to rescue the ram from his hand.

8 And the he-goat of the goats became· very ·great; and as he was strong, the great horn was broken; and instead·​·of it came·​·up four horns to·​·behold to the four winds of the heavens.

9 And from one of them came·​·out a little horn, and it became· exceedingly ·great, toward the south, and toward the sunrise, and toward the elegance.

10 And it became·​·great, even·​·to the army of the heavens; and it made some of the army and of the stars fall toward the earth, and trampled them.

11 And it magnified itself even·​·to the Prince of the army, and by Him the continual offering was lifted·​·up away, and the establishment of His sanctuary was cast down.

12 And an army was given over upon the continual offering into transgression, because it cast the truth to the earth; and so it did, and it prospered.

13 And I heard one holy·​·one speaking, and one other holy·​·one said to that certain holy·​·one who spoke, How long shall be the vision concerning the continual offering, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the army to be trampled?

14 And he said to me, Even·​·to evening when it becomes morning, two·​·thousand and three hundred; and the sanctuary shall be made·​·just.

15 And it was, when I Daniel saw the vision, that I sought understanding, and behold, there was standing in·​·front·​·of me as the appearance of a mighty·​·man.

16 And I heard the voice of man* between the banks of Ulai, and it called and said, Gabriel, make yonder man to understand the vision.

17 And he came beside where· I ·stood; and when he came, it alarmed me, and I fell on my face; but he said to me, Understand, O son of man, for at the time of the end shall be the vision.

18 And when he spoke with me, I was·​·in·​·a·​·deep·​·sleep on my face toward the earth; but he touched me, and caused me to stand, standing me up.

19 And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the uttermost·​·part of the indignation; for at the time·​·appointed the end shall be.

20 The ram which thou sawest, the owner* of two·​·horns, are the kings of Media and Persia.

21 And the hairy he-goat is the king of Javan*; and the great horn that is between his eyes, he is the first king.

22 And she shall be broken, and four shall stand instead·​·of her; four kingdoms out·​·of the nation shall stand, but not in its power.

23 And in the last times of their kingdom, when the transgressors reach·​·their·​·height, a king of strong faces, and understanding enigmas, shall stand.

24 And his power shall be numerous, but not by his own power; and he shall destroy wonders, and shall prosper, and do, and shall destroy the numerous and the people of the holy·​·ones.

25 And on·​·account·​·of his intelligence he shall make deceit prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by tranquility shall destroy many; and he shall stand against the Prince of princes; but with no hand he shall be broken.

26 And the vision of the evening and the morning which was said, it is true; and block· thou ·off the vision, for it shall be for many days.

27 And I, Daniel, became and was·​·sick for days; and afterward I arose, and did the business of the king; and I was·​·astonished over the sight, but none understood it.

   


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

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True Christian Religion # 157

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157. Since a person's spirit means his mind, 'being in the spirit', a phrase which occurs a number of times in the Word, means the state in which the mind is separated from the body. That was the state the Prophets were in when they saw the kind of things which happen in the spiritual world, so it is called 'the vision of God.' They were then in the same state as that of the spirits and angels of that world. In that state a person's spirit, as the visual capacity of his mind, can be transported from place to place while his body remains in one place. This is the state in which I have been for the last twenty-six years, with the difference that I have been simultaneously in the spirit and in the body, and only at times outside the body. Ezekiel, Zechariah, Daniel and John the writer of Revelation were evident from the following passages.

Ezekiel says: 'A spirit lifted me up, and brought me back to Chaldaea to the captives in a vision, in the spirit of God; so the vision which I had seen went up from me' (Ezekiel 11:1, 24). A spirit lifted him up and he heard behind him an earthquake (Ezekiel 3:12, 14). A spirit lifted him up between earth and heaven, and carried him off to Jerusalem, and he saw abominations (Ezekiel 8:3ff). He saw four creatures, which were Cherubim, and various sights with them (Ezek. chapters 1, 10); also a new earth and a new temple, and an angel measuring them (Ezek. chapters 40-48). He was then in receipt of a vision and in the spirit (Ezekiel 40:2; 13:5).

[2] Similar things happened to Zechariah, when he was with an angel and saw a man riding a horse among myrtles (Zechariah 1:8ff); four horns [Zechariah 1:18] and a man with a measuring line in his hand (Zechariah 2:1, 5ff); Joshua the high priest (Zechariah 3:1ff); four chariots coming out between two mountains, and their horses (Zechariah 6:1ff). Daniel was in the same state when he saw four beasts coming up out of the sea and various other details about them (Daniel 7:1ff); the fights between a ram and a he-goat (Daniel 8:1ff). He saw these things in a vision (Daniel 7:1-2, 7, 13; 8:2; 10:1, 7-8); the angel Gabriel appeared to him in a vision and spoke with him (Daniel 9:21).

[3] It was the same with John when he wrote Revelation. He says that he was in the spirit on the Lord's day (Revelation 1:10); that he was carried in the spirit into the desert (Revelation 17:3); onto a high mountain in the spirit (Revelation 21:10); that he saw [horses] in a vision (Revelation 9:17). Elsewhere he says that he saw what he described, as for instance the Son of Man in the midst of the seven lampstands; a tabernacle, a temple, an ark and an altar in heaven; a book sealed with seven seals, and horses that came out of it; four creatures around the throne; twelve thousand chosen from each tribe; then the Lamb upon Mount Zion; locusts coming up from the abyss; the dragon and his battle with Michael; a woman bearing a son, and fleeing into the desert because of the dragon; two beasts, one coming up from the sea, the other from the earth; a woman sitting on a scarlet beast; the dragon cast out into a lake of fire and brimstone; a white horse and a great banquet; the Holy City of Jerusalem coming down, with a description of its gates, wall and the foundations of the wall; a river of living water, and trees of life which bear fruit in every month; and much else besides. Peter, James and John were in a similar state when they saw Jesus transfigured; and so was Paul when he heard from heaven things past telling.

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