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Zacarias 1

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1 Nang ikawalong buwan, nang ikalawang taon ni Dario, dumating ang salita ng Panginoon kay Zacarias na anak ni Berechias, na anak ni Iddo, na propeta, na nagsasabi,

2 Ang Panginoo'y totoong naghinanakit sa inyong mga magulang.

3 Kaya't sabihin mo sa kanila, Ganito ang sabi ng Panginoon ng mga hukbo. Manumbalik kayo sa akin, sabi ng Panginoon ng mga hukbo, at ako'y manunumbalik sa inyo, sabi ng Panginoon ng mga hukbo.

4 Huwag kayong maging gaya ng inyong mga magulang, na siyang mga pinagsabihan ng mga unang propeta, na nangagsabi, Ganito ang sabi ng Panginoon ng mga hukbo, Manumbalik kayo ngayon na mula sa inyong mga masamang lakad, at sa inyong mga masamang gawain: nguni't hindi nila dininig, o pinakinggan man ako, sabi ng Panginoon.

5 Ang inyong mga magulang, saan nangandoon sila? at ang mga propeta, nangabubuhay baga sila ng magpakailan man?

6 Nguni't ang aking mga salita at ang aking mga palatuntunan, na aking iniutos sa aking mga lingkod na mga propeta, hindi baga nagsiabot sa inyong mga magulang? at sila'y nanumbalik at nangagsabi, Kung paano ang inisip na gawin ng Panginoon ng mga hukbo sa amin, ayon sa aming mga lakad, at ayon sa aming mga gawa, gayon ang ginawa niya sa amin.

7 Nang ikadalawang pu't apat na araw ng ikalabing isang buwan, na siyang buwan ng Sebath, nang ikalawang taon ni Dario, dumating ang salita ng Panginoon kay Zacarias, na anak ni Berechias, na anak ni Iddo, na propeta, na nagsasabi,

8 Aking nakita sa gabi, at, narito, ang isang lalaking nakasakay sa isang mapulang kabayo, at siya'y tumayo sa mga puno ng mirto, na nasa pinakamababa; at sa likuran niya'y may mga kabayong mapula, alazan, at maputi.

9 Nang magkagayo'y sinabi, Oh Panginoon ko, ano ang mga ito? At ang anghel na nakikipagusap sa akin ay nagsabi sa akin, Aking ipakikita sa iyo kung ano-ano ang mga ito.

10 At ang lalake na nakatayo sa mga puno ng mirto ay sumagot at nagsabi, Ang mga ito yaong mga sinugo ng Panginoon na magsilibot sa lupa.

11 At sila'y nagsisagot sa anghel ng Panginoon na nakatayo sa mga puno ng mirto, at nagsabi, Aming nilibot ang lupa, at, narito, ang buong lupa ay tahimik, at tiwasay.

12 Nang magkagayo'y ang anghel ng Panginoon ay sumagot at nagsabi, Oh Panginoon ng mga hukbo, hanggang kailan mawawalan ka ng habag sa Jerusalem at sa mga bayan ng Juda, laban sa iyong mga kinagalitan nitong pitong pung taon?

13 At ang Panginoo'y sumagot sa anghel na nakikipagusap sa akin ng mga mabuting salita, ng mga salitang pangaliw.

14 Sa gayo'y ang anghel na nakikipagusap sa akin ay nagsabi sa akin. Ikaw ay humiyaw, na iyong sabihin, Ganito ang sabi ng Panginoon ng mga hukbo: Ako'y naninibugho sa Jerusalem at sa Sion ng malaking paninibugho.

15 At ako'y totoong naghihinanakit sa mga bansa na mga tiwasay; sapagka't ako'y naghinanakit ng kaunti, at sila'y nagsitulong ng pagbubungad ng kadalamhatian.

16 Kaya't ganito ang sabi ng Panginoon, Ako'y nagbalik sa Jerusalem na may taglay na mga pagkahabag; ang aking bahay ay matatayo roon, sabi ng Panginoon ng mga hukbo, at isang pising panukat ay mauunat sa ibabaw ng Jerusalem.

17 Humiyaw ka pa uli, na iyong sabihin, Ganito ang sabi ng Panginoon ng mga hukbo, Ang aking mga bayan ay sasagana dahil sa pagkasulong; at aaliwin pa ng Panginoon ang Sion, at pipiliin pa ang Jerusalem.

18 At aking itinanaw ang aking mga mata, at aking nakita, at, narito, ang apat na sungay.

19 At aking sinabi sa anghel na nakikipagusap sa akin, Ano ang mga ito? At siya'y sumagot sa akin, Ito ang mga sungay sa nagpangalat sa Juda, sa Israel, at sa Jerusalem.

20 At ipinakita sa akin ng Panginoon ang apat na panday.

21 Nang magkagayo'y sinabi ko, Ano ang ipinaritong gawin ng mga ito? At siya'y nagsalita na nagsabi, Ito ang mga sungay na nagpangalat sa Juda, na anopa't walang lalake na nagtaas ng kaniyang ulo; nguni't ang mga ito'y naparito upang takutin sila, upang ihulog ang mga sungay ng mga bansa, na nagtaas ng kanilang mga sungay laban sa lupain ng Juda upang pangalatin.

Ze Swedenborgových děl

 

Divine Providence # 134

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134a. 2. No one is reformed by visions or by conversations with the dead, because they compel. There are two kinds of visions, divine and demonic. Divine visions are given by means of portrayals in heaven, while demonic visions are effected though magical events in hell. There are imaginary visions as well, visions that are the illusions of a mind that has lost its bearings.

Divine visions (which as just noted are given by means of portrayals in heaven) are the kind that happened to the prophets. When they were having these visions they were not in the body but in the spirit, because visions cannot happen to us while we are physically awake. So when the prophets saw visions, it says that they were in the spirit, as the following passages show.

Ezekiel said, "The spirit lifted me up and took me back to Chaldea to the captivity in a vision of God, in the spirit of God; so the vision that I saw came over me" (Ezekiel 11:1, 24). Then too, spirits held him up between earth and heaven and brought him to Jerusalem in visions of God (Ezekiel 8:3 and following). The same thing happened in a vision of God or in the spirit when he saw the four animals that were cherubim (Ezekiel chapters 1 and 10) and when he saw the new temple, the new earth, and the angel measuring them (Ezekiel chapters 40-48). It says in chapter Ezekiel 40:2, 26 that he was in visions of God at the time, and in chapter Ezekiel 43:5 that he was in the spirit.

[2] Zechariah was in the same kind of state when he saw the man on horseback among the myrtle trees (Zechariah 1:8 and following), when he saw the four horns and the man with a measuring line in his hand (Zechariah 1:18, 20, 21; Zechariah 2:1 and following), when he saw the lampstand and the two olive trees (Zechariah 4:1 and following), when he saw the flying scroll and the ephah (Zechariah 5:1, 6), and when he saw the four chariots coming out from the four mountains, and the horses (Zechariah 6:1 and following).

Daniel was in the same kind of state when he saw the four beasts rising from the sea (Daniel 6:1 [7:1] and following), and when he saw the battles of the ram and the goat (Daniel 8:1 and following). It says in Daniel 7:1-2, 7, and 13; in Daniel 8:2; and in Daniel 10:1, 7, and 8 that he saw these things in the vision of his spirit, and it says in Daniel 9:21 that he saw the angel Gabriel in a vision.

[3] John was in the vision of the spirit when he saw the things he describes in the Book of Revelation--for example, when he saw the seven lampstands with the Human-born One in their midst (Revelation 1:12-16), when he saw the throne in heaven with someone sitting on it, surrounded by the four animals that were cherubim (Revelation 4), when he saw the book of life taken by the Lamb (Revelation 5), when he saw the horses come out of the book (Revelation 6), when he saw the seven angels with their trumpets (Revelation 8), when he saw the pit of the abyss opened with the locusts coming out of it (Revelation 9), when he saw the dragon and its battle with Michael (Revelation 12), when he saw the two beasts rise up, one from the sea and one from the land (Revelation 13), when he saw the woman sitting on the scarlet beast (Revelation 17) and the destruction of Babylon (Revelation 18), when he saw the white horse with someone riding it (Revelation 18 [19]), when he saw the new heaven and the new earth and the holy Jerusalem coming down from heaven (Revelation 21), and when he saw the river of water of life (Revelation 22). It says that he saw these things in the vision of his spirit in Revelation 1:11 [1:10]; Revelation 4:2; Revelation 5:1; Revelation 6:1; and Revelation 21:12 [21:10].

These were the kinds of visions that were visible from heaven to the sight of their spirits and not to their physical sight.

Things like this do not happen nowadays, because if they did they would not be understood, since they happen by means of images whose details are pointing to inner features of the church and secrets of heaven. It was foretold in Daniel 9:24 that they would stop when the Lord came into the world.

However, demonic visions have sometimes occurred. They are brought about by spirits who inspire deceptive passions and visions and who call themselves the Holy Spirit because of a mental confusion that engulfs them. Now, however, these spirits have been gathered in by the Lord and consigned to a hell separate from the other hells.

We can see from all this that no one can be reformed by any visions except the ones that are in the Word. There are imaginary visions as well, but these are nothing but the illusions of a mind that has lost its bearings.

134b. The story that the Lord told about the rich man in hell and Lazarus in Abraham's lap shows that no one is reformed by conversations with the dead. The rich man said, "Father Abraham, I beg you to send Lazarus to my father's house where I have five brothers, to bear witness to them so that they do not come to this place of torment." Abraham said to him, "They have Moses and the prophets: let them heed them." But he said, "No, father Abraham, but if someone came to them from the dead, they would repent." He answered him, "If they do not heed Moses and the prophets, they would not be convinced if someone rose from the dead" (Luke 16:27-31).

Conversations with the dead may lead to the same results as miracles that I have just described. That is, we may be convinced and be constrained to worship for a short while. However, since this deprives us of rational functioning at the same time that it hems in our evils, as already noted [130-131, 133], this spell or inner restraint is released and the pent-up evils erupt in blasphemy and profanation. Still, this happens only when spirits have imposed some religious dogma. No good spirit--let alone any angel of heaven--would ever do this.

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