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Postanak 15

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1 Posle ovih stvari dođe Avramu reč Gospodnja u utvari govoreći: Ne boj se, Avrame, ja sam ti štit, i plata je tvoja vrlo velika.

2 A Avram reče Gospode, Gospode, šta ćeš mi dati kad živim bez dece, a pa kome će ostati moja kuća to je Elijezer ovaj Damaštanin?

3 Još reče Avram: Eto meni nisi dao poroda, pa će sluga rođen u kući mojoj biti moj naslednik.

4 A gle, Gospod mu progovori: Neće taj biti naslednik tvoj, nego koji će izaći od tebe taj će ti biti naslednik.

5 Pa ga izvede napolje i reče mu: Pogledaj na nebo i prebroj zvezde, ako ih možeš prebrojati. I reče mu: Tako će ti biti seme tvoje.

6 I poverova Avram Bogu, a On mu primi to u pravdu.

7 I reče mu: Ja sam Gospod, koji te izvedoh iz Ura haldejskog da ti dam zemlju ovu da bude tvoja.

8 A on reče: Gospode, Gospode, po čemu ću poznati da će biti moja?

9 I reče mu: Prinesi mi junicu od tri godine i kozu od tri godine i ovna od tri godine i grlicu i golupče.

10 I on uze sve to, i raseče na pole, i metnu sve pole jednu prema drugoj; ali ne raseče ptice.

11 A ptice sletahu na te mrtve životinje; a Avram ih odgoniše.

12 A kad sunce beše na zalasku, uhvati Avrama tvrd san, i gle, strah i mrak velik obuze ga.

13 I Gospod reče Avramu: Znaj zacelo da će seme tvoje biti došljaci u zemlji tuđoj, pa će joj služiti, i ona će ih mučiti četiri stotine godina.

14 Ali ću suditi i narodu kome će služiti; a posle će oni izaći s velikim blagom.

15 A ti ćeš otići k ocima svojim u miru, i bićeš pogreben u dobroj starosti.

16 A oni će se u četvrtom kolenu vratiti ovamo; jer gresima amorejskim još nije kraj.

17 A kad se sunce smiri i kad se smrče, gle, pećse dimljaše, i plamen ognjeni prolažaše između onih delova.

18 Taj dan učini Gospod zavet s Avramom govoreći: Semenu tvom dadoh zemlju ovu od vode misirske do velike vode, vode Efrata,

19 Kenejsku, kenezejsku i kedmonejsku,

20 I hetejsku i ferezejsku i rafajsku,

21 I amorejsku i hananejsku i gergesejsku i jevusejsku.

   

Ze Swedenborgových děl

 

Arcana Coelestia # 1860

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1860. That 'there was thick darkness' means when hatred existed in place of charity is clear from the meaning of 'thick darkness'. In the Word 'darkness' means falsities, while 'thick darkness' means evils, as explained immediately below. 'Darkness' is when falsity exists in place of truth, and 'thick darkness' when evil exists in place of good, or what amounts entirely to the same, when hatred exists in place of charity. When hatred exists in place of charity the darkness is so thick that the person is not even aware of its being an evil, let alone of its being so great an evil as to thrust him down in the next life into hell; indeed people who are steeped in hatred find a certain delight and so to speak life in it. This very delight and life have the effect that he hardly knows other than that hatred is good. Whatever favors a person's pleasure and desire, because it favors his love, he feels as good - so much so that when he is told it is of hell he can hardly believe it. Even less can he believe it when he is told that such delight and life is converted in the next life into an utterly foul and corpse-like stench. Even less still can he believe that he is becoming a devil and a dreadful replica of hell; for hell consists of nothing else than varieties of hatred and other such forms.

[2] But of this anyone may know who has any power of thought; for if he were to describe hatred, or to represent it, or to portray it if he were able to in any way, he would not do so except by the use of devil-like forms such as these persons steeped in evil also assume after death. And what is extraordinary, such people can still declare that in the next life they will go to heaven, in some cases for merely saying that they have faith - though in fact the only forms occurring in heaven are those of charity, the nature of which may be seen in what has been told from experience in 553. Let those people now consider how these two forms - of hatred and of charity - can be in agreement in the same place.

[3] That 'darkness' means falsity and 'thick darkness' evil becomes clear from the following places in the Word: In Isaiah,

Behold, darkness is covering the earth, and thick darkness the peoples. Isaiah 60:2.

In Joel,

Let all the inhabitants of the earth tremble, for the day of Jehovah is coming, a day of darkness and thick darkness. Joel 2:1-2.

In Zephaniah,

A day of wrath is that day, a day of vastation and desolation, a day of darkness and thick darkness. Zephaniah 1:15.

In Amos,

Is not the day of Jehovah darkness and not light, and thick darkness, and no brightness in it? Amos 5:20.

In these places 'the day of Jehovah' stands for the final period of the Church, which is also the subject here. 'Darkness' stands for falsities, 'thick darkness' for evils; hence both are mentioned. Otherwise there would be a repetition of the same thing, or a pointless excess of words. The term used in the original language however to express thick darkness in this verse embodies both within itself - falsity as well as evil, or gross falsity that produces evil, as well as gross evil that produces falsity.

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