Arcana Coelestia # 10023
10023. 'And Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the young bull' means a representative sign of the reception of goodness and truth in the natural or external man. This is clear from the meaning of 'laying hands on' as transmitting what is one's own to another, the reason why reception too is meant being that what is transmitted is received by another; from the meaning of 'the head' as the whole, dealt with in 10011; and from the meaning of 'the young bull' as the good of innocence and charity in the external or natural man, dealt with in 9391, 10021. The reason why 'laying the hand on' means transmission and reception is that by 'the hands' is meant power and since this power is the capacity to act, whatever resides with a person, thus the entire person engaged in action, is also meant by 'the hands', see the places referred to in 10019; and by 'laying on' is meant transmission on the part of the one who lays them on and reception on the part of the person on whom or thing on which they are laid. From this it is evident what 'laying the hand on' meant among the ancients, namely the transmission and transference of whatever thing it was that they had in mind, and also the reception of it by another, whether it was power, obedience, blessing, or testimony.
[2] The fact that 'laying the hand on' meant power is clear from the following places in Moses,
Jehovah told Moses to lay his hand on Joshua and to set him before Eleazar the priest in front of the whole congregation, and thereby place some of his glory on him, that all the congregation might be obedient to him. Numbers 27:18-20.
'Laying his hand on' here, it is evident, means a transmission and transference of power that Moses had, and the reception of it by Joshua. Therefore it says that he would thereby put some of his glory on him.
[3] In the same author,
It was commanded, when the Levites were to be purified and the priestly function under Aaron was to be assigned to them, that two young bulls together with a minchah should be brought forward, and that Aaron should bring the Levites before Jehovah. And the children of Israel were to lay their hands on the Levites, and the Levites were to lay their hands on the heads of the young bulls, one of which was to be offered as a sacrifice, the other as a burnt offering. And in this way were they to separate the Levites from among the children of Israel, and the Levites would be Jehovah's. Numbers 8:7-14.
The laying of hands on the Levites by the children of Israel was a sign of the transference of power to the Levites to minister on their behalf, and a sign of the reception of that power by the Levites, thus a sign of the separation of the Levites. And the laying of hands on the heads of the young bulls by the Levites was a sign of the transference of that power to Jehovah, that is, the Lord. This is why it says that in that way were they to be separated from among the children of Israel and were to be Jehovah's.
[4] In the same author,
After the children of Israel had confessed their sins Aaron was to lay both his hands on the head of the live he-goat Asasel, and he was to confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their sins; and he was to put them on the goat's head, and send it into the wilderness. Leviticus 16:21.
Laying hands on the he-goat, it is self-evident, meant the transmission and transference of all the iniquities and sins of the children of Israel onto that goat, and its reception of them, 'the wilderness' into which the goat was sent being hell. Leviticus 24:14 required that the witnesses and all who had heard should lay their hands on him who was to be stoned. This action was a sign that the witness borne by them had been transmitted and transferred to him, and once it was received he was delivered up to death.
[5] In the same author,
A person who brings from the herd or from the flock a burnt offering as a gift to Jehovah shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering; then it will be received with pleasure from him, to make expiation for him. Leviticus 1:2-4.
The hand had in like manner to be laid on the head of a gift offered as a sacrifice, Leviticus 3:1-2, 8, 13. A priest was required to do the same thing if he had sinned, and so were the elders, or the whole congregation, and also a leader if he had sinned; and any ordinary person 1 was required to do the same thing if he had sinned, Leviticus 4:4, 15, 24, 29. Laying their hands on the burnt offering or on the sacrifice was a sign of all the worship of the one presenting the offering. That is to say, it was a sign of the acknowledgement of sins, confession, and consequent purification, and a sign of the implantation of goodness and truth, thus of being joined to the Lord, all of which was brought about by transmission, transference, and reception. By transference and reception that which is meant by 'bearing iniquities', dealt with in 9937, 9938, should be understood.
[6] Since the laying-on of hands was a sign of transmission, transference, and reception, one may recognize what the laying-on of hands means in Matthew,
A ruler came to Jesus and said, My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live. Jesus went in, took her hand, and the girl arose. Matthew 9:18-19, 25.
In Mark,
Jesus laid hands on the blind man's eyes, and he was restored. Mark 8:25.
In the same gospel,
They brought a deaf man to Jesus, that He might lay His hand on him. Taking him aside from the people He put His finger into his ears and touched his tongue, and his powers of hearing were opened. Mark 7:32-33, 35.
In Luke,
There was a woman bent right over owing to a spirit of infirmity. Jesus laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight 2 . Luke 13:11, 13.
In Mark,
Jesus laid hands on the weak and healed them. Mark 6:5.
[7] In these places it is evident that when the Lord laid His hand on people, and also when He touched them, the meaning was the transmission and reception of Divine power. The fact that these things are meant is perfectly clear in Mark,
A certain woman came behind and touched Jesus' garment, saying, If I touch merely His garment I shall be healed. And immediately she was healed of the affliction. And Jesus perceived within Himself that power had gone out of Him. Mark 5:27-30.
In Luke,
The woman, touching Jesus' garment, was healed. Jesus said, Someone touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me. Luke 8:44, 46.
And in the same gospel,
The entire crowd sought to touch Jesus, because power went out from Him and healed them all. Luke 6:19.
[8] From this it is evident what 'touching with the hand' and 'touching with the finger' mean, and also what the following words in the same gospel mean,
Jesus came and touched the coffin in which the dead man was; and the bearers stood still. Then He said, Young man, I say to you, Arise. And the dead man sat up and began to speak. Luke 7:14-15.
It is also evident what laying His hands on children and young children means. Laying them on children is described in Matthew,
Children were brought to Jesus that He might lay His hands on them. Jesus said, Let the children be and do not forbid them to come to Me; of such is the kingdom of heaven. And He laid His hands on them. Matthew 19:13-15.
And laying His hands on young children is spoken of in Mark,
Jesus took the young children up in His arms, and put His hands on them, and blessed them. Mark 10:16.
This laying of His hand on children and on young children likewise means the transmission and reception of Divine power, enabling a person's interiors to be healed, which is salvation.
[9] The meaning of touch by the use of the hands has its origin in representatives in the next life. People there whose states of life are dissimilar appear far removed from one another, whereas those whose states of life are similar appear living in association with one another; and those who touch one another there transmit their state of life to another. If this is done by the use of the hands the whole of their life is transmitted, for as stated above, by the hands, by virtue of their correspondence, is meant power, which is a human being's capacity to act, thus whatever resides with a person. Such representatives occur in the world of spirits, but they do so as a result of influx from heaven, where only the ties associating people as to affections for goodness and truth are perceived.
Poznámky pod čarou:
1. literally, every soul
2. The Latin means He healed [her], but the Greek, also what appears in Swedenborg's rough draft, means she was made straight.
Matthew 18
1
In that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?"
2
Jesus called a little child to himself, and set him in the midst of them,
3
and said, "Most certainly I tell you, unless you turn, and become as little children, you will in no way enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
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Whoever therefore humbles himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
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Whoever receives one such little child in my name receives me,
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but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him that a huge millstone should be hung around his neck, and that he should be sunk in the depths of the sea.
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"Woe to the world because of occasions of stumbling! For it must be that the occasions come, but Woe to that person through whom the occasion comes!
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If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off, and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life maimed or crippled, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into the eternal fire.
9
If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the Gehenna of fire.
10
See that you don't despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.
11
For the Son of Man came to save that which was lost.
12
"What do you think? If a man has one hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, doesn't he leave the ninety-nine, go to the mountains, and seek that which has gone astray?
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If he finds it, most certainly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray.
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Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
15
"If your brother sins against you, go, show him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained back your brother.
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But if he doesn't listen, take one or two more with you, that at the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
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If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the assembly. If he refuses to hear the assembly also, let him be to you as a Gentile or a tax collector.
18
Most certainly I tell you, whatever things you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever things you release on earth will have been released in heaven.
19
Again, assuredly I tell you, that if two of you will agree on earth concerning anything that they will ask, it will be done for them by my Father who is in heaven.
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For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them."
21
Then Peter came and said to him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times?"
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Jesus said to him, "I don't tell you until seven times, but, until seventy times seven.
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Therefore the Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king, who wanted to reconcile accounts with his servants.
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When he had begun to reconcile, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.
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But because he couldn't pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, with his wife, his children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
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The servant therefore fell down and kneeled before him, saying, 'Lord, have patience with me, and I will repay you all!'
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The lord of that servant, being moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.
28
"But that servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants, who owed him one hundred denarii, and he grabbed him, and took him by the throat, saying, 'Pay me what you owe!'
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"So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will repay you!'
30
He would not, but went and cast him into prison, until he should pay back that which was due.
31
So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were exceedingly sorry, and came and told to their lord all that was done.
32
Then his lord called him in, and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt, because you begged me.
33
Shouldn't you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, even as I had mercy on you?'
34
His lord was angry, and delivered him to the tormentors, until he should pay all that was due to him.
35
So my heavenly Father will also do to you, if you don't each forgive your brother from your hearts for his misdeeds."
