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创世记 18

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1 耶和华在幔利橡树那里向亚伯拉罕显现出来。那时正热,亚伯拉罕在帐棚口,

2 举目观,见有个人在对面站着。他一见,就从帐棚口跑去迎接他们,俯伏在

3 :我,我若在你眼前蒙恩,求你不要离开仆人往前去。

4 容我拿点来,你们,在歇息歇息。

5 我再拿一点饼来,你们可以加添力,然往前去。你们既到仆人这里来,理当如此。他们:就照你的行罢。

6 亚伯拉罕急忙进帐棚见撒拉,:你速速拿细亚细面调和作饼。

7 亚伯拉罕又跑到牛群里,牵了一只又嫩又犊来,交仆人,仆人急忙预备了。

8 亚伯拉罕又取了奶油和奶,并预备好的牛犊来,摆在他们面前,自己在站在旁边,他们就吃了

9 他们问亚伯拉罕:你妻子撒拉在那里?他:在帐棚里。

10 三人中有一位:到明年这时候,我必要回到你这里;你的妻子撒拉必生一个儿子。撒拉在那人边的帐棚口也见了这话。

11 亚伯拉罕和撒拉年纪老迈,撒拉的月经已断绝了。

12 撒拉心里暗笑,:我既已衰败,我也老迈,岂能有这喜事呢?

13 耶和华亚伯拉罕:撒拉为甚麽暗笑,:我既已年老,果真能生养麽?

14 耶和华岂有难成的事麽?到了日期,明年这时候,我必回到你这里,撒拉必生一个儿子

15 撒拉就害怕,不承认,:我没有笑。那位:不然,你实在笑了。

16 三人就从那里起行,向所多玛观看,亚伯拉罕也与他们同行,要送他们一程。

17 耶和华:我所要作的事岂可瞒着亚伯拉罕呢?

18 亚伯拉罕必要成为强的国;上的万国都必因他得福。

19 我眷顾他,为要叫他吩咐他的众子和他的眷属遵守我的道,秉公行,使我所应许亚伯拉罕的话都成就了。

20 耶和华所多玛和蛾摩拉的恶甚重,声闻於我。

21 我现在要去,察他们所行的,果然尽像那达到我耳中的声音一样麽?若是不然,我也必知道

22 二人转身离开那里,向所多玛去;但亚伯拉罕仍旧站在耶和华面前。

23 亚伯拉罕前来,:无论善恶,你都要剿灭麽?

24 假若那城里有五十人,你还剿灭那地方麽?不为城里这五十人饶恕其中的人麽?

25 人与恶人同杀,将人与恶人一样看待,这断不是你所行的。审判全的主岂不行公麽?

26 耶和华:我若在所多玛城里见有五十人,我就为他们的缘故饶恕那地方的众人。

27 亚伯拉罕:我虽然是灰尘,还敢对主说话

28 假若这五十人短了五个,你就因为短了五个毁灭全城麽?他:我在那里若见有四十五个,也不毁灭那城。

29 亚伯拉罕又对他:假若在那里见有四十个怎麽样呢?他:为这四十个的缘故,我也不作这事。

30 亚伯拉罕:求主不要动怒,容我,假若在那里见有三十个怎麽样呢?他:我在那里若见有三十个,我也不作这事。

31 亚伯拉罕:我还敢对主说话,假若在那里见有二十个怎麽样呢?他:为这二十个的缘故,我也不毁灭那城。

32 亚伯拉罕:求主不要动怒,我再这一次,假若在那里见有个呢?他:为这个的缘故,我也不毁灭那城。

33 耶和华亚伯拉罕说完了话就走了;亚伯拉罕也回到自己的地方去了。

   

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Arcana Coelestia #4060

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4060. Therefore the words quoted above [in 4056] mean the state of the Church at that time as regards good, that is, as regards charity towards the neighbour and love to the Lord. This is clear from the internal sense of these words, which is as follows:

But immediately after the affliction of those days means the state of the Church as regards the truth of faith, which is dealt with in the verses immediately before this. In the Word desolation of truth is called 'affliction' in various places - 'days' being states, see 23, 487, 488, 493, 893, 2788, 3462, 3785. From this it is evident that these words mean that once faith no longer exists neither will any charity exist. For faith leads to charity because it teaches what charity is, and charity acquires its particular character from the truths of faith. The truths of faith however receive their essence and life from charity, as has been shown many times in previous volumes.

[2] The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light means love to the Lord, which is 'the sun', and charity towards the neighbour, which is 'the moon'. 'Being darkened' and 'not giving light' mean that that love and charity will not be in evidence and so will disappear. For 'the sun' means the celestial kind of love and 'the moon' the spiritual kind; that is, 'the sun' means love to the Lord, and 'the moon' charity towards the neighbour which comes through faith, see 1053, 1529, 1530, 2120, 2441, 2495. The reason why the sun and the moon have these meanings is that the Lord is seen in the next life as a sun by those in heaven who are governed by love to Him and are called celestial, and as a moon by those who are governed by charity towards the neighbour and are referred to as spiritual, see 1053, 1521, 1529-1531, 3636, 3643.

[3] The sun and the moon in heaven, or the Lord, are never darkened, nor do they lose their light but are shining unceasingly. Thus in heaven there is no darkening or loss of light in the love which celestial angels have for the Lord or in the charity which spiritual angels show towards the neighbour. Nor on earth is there any in people with whom angels are present, that is, in people who are governed by love and charity. But those who are not governed by any love or charity, only by self-love and love of the world, and consequently by feelings of hatred and revenge, bring that kind of obscurity to themselves. It is like the sun of this world which is shining constantly; yet when clouds intervene the sun is not visible, see 2441.

[4] And the stars will fall from heaven means that cognitions of good and truth will perish. When mentioned in the Word 'stars' have no other meaning than those cognitions, 1808, 2849.

And the powers of the heavens will be shaken means the foundations of the Church which are said to be shaken and jolted when those cognitions perish. This is because the Church on earth is heaven's foundation; for the influx of good and truth from the Lord through the heavens culminates ultimately in the goods and truths present with the member of the Church. Consequently when the state of the member of the Church is so perverse that he no longer allows good or truth to flow into him 'the powers of the heavens' are in that case said 'to be shaken'. That being so, the Lord always provides for some vestige of the Church to be left. And when the old Church perishes a new one is established.

[5] And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven means the manifestation of Divine truth - 'sign' meaning a manifestation, 'the Son of Man' the Lord as regards Divine truth, see 2803, 2813, 3704. This manifestation, or this 'sign', is what the disciples asked for when they said to the Lord,

Tell us, when will those things take place; what especially will be the sign of Your coming and of the close of the age? Matthew 24:3.

For they knew from the Word that when the age drew to a close the Lord would come, and they knew from the Lord that He would be coming again, by which they understood the Lord's coming a second time into the world since they were not yet aware of the fact that the Lord had come as often as the Church had been brought to ruin. Not that any of these comings had been a coming in person, as was the case when, through birth in the world, He took on the Human and made this Divine. Rather, those comings had been made through appearances or manifestations of Himself, such as when He appeared in Mamre to Abraham, in the bush to Moses, on Mount Sinai to the Israelites, and to Joshua when he entered the land of Canaan. There were other comings of a less visible nature, such as those at times when inspiration was received and the Word was given by means of it, and later on through the Word itself. For the Word has the Lord present within it; every detail there comes from Him and has reference to Him, as may be recognized from what has been shown many times up to now. This is the kind of appearance that is meant here by 'the sign of the Son of Man' and is the subject in the present verse under consideration.

[6] And then all the tribes of the earth will mourn means that all in whom the good of love and the truth of faith dwell will experience grief. This is what is meant by 'mourning', see Zechariah 12:10-14; and 'the tribes' means all aspects of good and truth, that is, of love and faith, 3858, 3926, and so consequently those in whom these things dwell. The phrase 'the tribes of the earth' is used because those inside the Church are meant - 'the earth' being the Church, see 662, 1066, 1067, 1262, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2928,

[7] And they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory means that at that time a revelation of the internal sense of the Word - the sense in which the Lord is present - will take place. 'The Son of Man' means Divine truth within the Word, 2803, 2813, 3704, 'the clouds' the literal sense. 'Power' has reference to the good and 'glory' to the truth present there. For this meaning of 'seeing the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven', see Preface to Genesis 18. This is the kind of coming of the Lord that is meant here, not a literal manifestation of Him in clouds. Next follows a reference to the establishment of a new Church, which takes place once the old has been brought to ruin and cast aside.

[8] He will send out His angels with a trumpet and a loud voice means election - not by visible angels, still less by trumpets and by loud voices, but by an influx of holy good and of holy truth from the Lord through angels, so that the expression 'angels' in the Word means something essentially the Lord's, 1925, 2821, 3039. In this instance it means things which come from the Lord and have reference to the Lord. 'A trumpet and a loud voice' means the proclamation of the Gospel, as in other places in the Word.

[9] And they will gather the elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other end of them means the establishment of a new Church, 'the elect' being people in whom the good of love and faith dwell, 3755 (end), 3900, 'the four winds' from which they will be gathered being all states of good and truth, 3708, and 'one end of the heavens to the other' the internal and the external features of the Church. These are the considerations that are meant by these words spoken by the Lord.

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