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Genesis 15

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1 After these words*, the word of Jehovah was to Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram; I am a shield for thee, thy reward is multiplied exceedingly.

2 And Abram said, Lord Jehovih*, what wilt Thou give to me, and I am walking childless, and the son, the steward of my house, he is Eliezer the Damascene?

3 And Abram said, Lo, to me Thou hast not given seed, and behold a son of my house is the heir with me.

4 And behold the word of Jehovah was to him, saying, This one shall not be thine heir; for he that shall go·​·out from thy bowels shall be thine heir.

5 And He brought· him ·forth outside, and said, Look now toward the heavens, and number the stars, if thou be·​·able to number them; and He said to him, Thus shall thy seed be.

6 And he believed in Jehovah, and He reckoned* it to him for justice.

7 And He said to him, I am Jehovah who brought· thee ·out from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give to thee this land, to possess her.

8 And he said, Lord Jehovih, By what shall I know that I shall possess her?

9 And He said to him, Take for me a heifer of·​·three years, and a she-goat of·​·three years, and a ram of·​·three years, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.

10 And he took to him all these and parted them in the midst, and put each part to meet its companion; and the birds he did not part.

11 And the swooping fowls came·​·down upon the corpses, and Abram caused them to fly* away.

12 And it was that the sun set* and a deep·​·sleep fell on Abram; and behold a terror of great darkness falling on him.

13 And He said to Abram, Knowing thou shalt know that thy seed shall be a sojourner in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years.

14 And also upon the nation whom they shall serve will I make·​·judgment; and after thus shall they go·​·out with great acquisition.

15 And thou shalt come to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age*.

16 And in the fourth generation they shall return hither, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not consummated* even·​·until now.

17 And it was that the sun set*, and there was deep·​·darkness; and behold, a smoking oven, and a torch of fire that passed between those pieces that·​·were·​·severed.

18 In that day Jehovah cut a covenant with Abram, saying, To thy seed will I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates;

19 the Kenite, and the Kenezzite, and the Kadmonite;

20 and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Rephaim;

21 and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.

   


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

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Arcana Coelestia # 1799

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1799. 'Behold, a son of my house is my heir' means that in the Lord's kingdom there would be only that which is external. This is clear from the meaning in the internal sense of 'an heir' and of 'inheriting'. 'Becoming an heir' or inheriting means eternal life in the Lord's kingdom. All who are in the Lord's kingdom are heirs, for the source of the life in them is the Lord's life, which is the life of mutual love, and for that reason they are called 'sons'. The Lord's sons or heirs consist of all who have His life in them, for it is from Him that their life comes, and it is from Him that they have been born, that is, regenerated. Those born of another are that other's heirs; and so it is with all who are being regenerated by the Lord, for in that case they are receiving the life that is the Lord's.

[2] In the Lord's kingdom there are those who are external, those who are more interior, and those who are internal. Good spirits who dwell in the first heaven are external, angelic spirits who dwell in the second heaven are more interior, and angels who dwell in the third heaven are internal. Those who are external are not as close to or near the Lord as those who are more interior, and these in turn are not so close or near as those who are internal. Out of Divine love, or mercy, the Lord wills to have everyone near to Himself, so that they do not stand outside, that is, in the first heaven. His will is that they should dwell in the third heaven, and if possible not merely with Him but abiding in Him. Such is the nature of Divine or the Lord's love. But since at that time none but external things existed with the Church, He complained of this in the words that occur here - 'Behold, a son of my house is my heir' - by which is meant that in His kingdom there would thus be only that which is external. But comfort followed, and a promise of internal things, as described in the verses that follow next. What the external aspect of the Church is has been stated already in 1083, 1098, 1100, 1151, 1153.

[3] By itself doctrine does not constitute the external aspect of the Church, still less the internal, as stated above. Nor on the Lord's part is it its teachings that make one Church distinct and separate from another, but its life in accordance with those teachings, all of which, as long as they present what is true, regard charity as their basic principle. What else does doctrine do but teach men the kind of people they ought to be?

[4] In the Christian world it is their doctrines that cause Churches to be distinct and separate, and because of these they call themselves Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Calvinists or the Reformed, and Evangelicals, among other names. It is solely by reason of their doctrines that they are called by these names. This situation would never exist if they were to make love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour the chief thing of faith. In this case their doctrinal differences would be no more than shades of opinion concerning the mysteries of faith which truly Christian people would leave to individual conscience, and in their hearts would say that a person is truly a Christian when he lives as a Christian, that is, as the Lord teaches. If this were so all the different Churches would become one, and all the disagreements which stem from doctrine alone would disappear. Indeed the hatred one man holds against another would be dispelled in an instant, and the Lord's kingdom on earth would come.

[5] The Ancient Church which existed immediately after the Flood, though scattered among many kingdoms, was of this nature. That is to say, people differed much from one another in matters of doctrine, but for all that, they made charity the chief thing. Also they regarded worship, not from the standpoint of doctrinal teachings which are matters of faith, but from that of charity which is a matter of life. This is what is meant by 'they all had one lip and their words were one', Genesis 11:1, regarding which see 1285.

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