La Bibbia

 

Éxodo 20

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1 Y HABLO Dios todas estas palabras, diciendo:

2 Yo soy JEHOVA tu Dios, que te saqué de la tierra de Egipto, de casa de siervos.

3 No tendrás dioses ajenos delante de mí.

4 No te harás imagen, ni ninguna semejanza de cosa que esté arriba en el cielo, ni abajo en la tierra, ni en las aguas debajo de la tierra:

5 No te inclinarás á ellas, ni las honrarás; porque yo soy Jehová tu Dios, fuerte, celoso, que visito la maldad de los padres sobre los hijos, sobre los terceros y sobre los cuartos, á los que me aborrecen,

6 Y que hago misericordia en millares á los que me aman, y guardan mis mandamientos.

7 No tomarás el nombre de Jehová tu Dios en vano; porque no dará por inocente Jehová al que tomare su nombre en vano.

8 Acordarte has del día del reposo, para santificarlo:

9 Seis días trabajarás, y harás toda tu obra;

10 Mas el séptimo día será reposo para Jehová tu Dios: no hagas en él obra alguna, tú, ni tu hijo, ni tu hija, ni tu siervo, ni tu criada, ni tu bestia, ni tu extranjero que está dentro de tus puertas:

11 Porque en seis días hizo Jehová los cielos y la tierra, la mar y todas las cosas que en ellos hay, y reposó en el séptimo día: por tanto Jehová bendijo el día del reposo y lo santificó.

12 Honra á tu padre y á tu madre, porque tus días se alarguen en la tierra que Jehová tu Dios te da.

13 No matarás.

14 No cometerás adulterio.

15 No hurtarás.

16 No hablarás contra tu prójimo falso testimonio.

17 No codiciarás la casa de tu prójimo, no codiciarás la mujer de tu prójimo, ni su siervo, ni su criada, ni su buey, ni su asno, ni cosa alguna de tu prójimo.

18 Todo el pueblo consideraba las voces, y las llamas, y el sonido de la bocina, y el monte que humeaba: y viéndolo el pueblo, temblaron, y pusiéronse de lejos.

19 Y dijeron á Moisés: Habla tú con nosotros, que nosotros oiremos; mas no hable Dios con nosotros, porque no muramos.

20 Y Moisés respondió al pueblo: No temáis; que por probaros vino Dios, y porque su temor esté en vuestra presencia para que no pequéis.

21 Entonces el pueblo se puso de lejos, y Moisés se llegó á la osbcuridad en la cual estaba Dios.

22 Y Jehová dijo á Moisés: Así dirás á los hijos de Israel: Vosotros habéis visto que he hablado desde el cielo con vosotros.

23 No hagáis conmigo dioses de plata, ni dioses de oro os haréis.

24 Altar de tierra harás para mí, y sacrificarás sobre él tus holocaustos y tus pacíficos, tus ovejas y tus vacas: en cualquier lugar donde yo hiciere que esté la memoria de mi nombre, vendré á ti, y te bendeciré.

25 Y si me hicieres altar de piedras, no las labres de cantería; porque si alzares tu pico sobre él, tú lo profanarás.

26 Y no subirás por gradas á mi altar, porque tu desnudez no sea junto á él descubierta.

   

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Apocalypse Explained #78

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78. As dead. That this signifies the failing of his own life, is evident from the signification of as dead, when the Divine presence with man is treated of, as being the failing of one's own life. For a man's own life is that into which he is born, which in itself is nothing but evil, for it is altogether inverted, regarding only itself and the world, and therefore turning itself backwards from God and from heaven. The life which is not man's own, is that into which he is led when he is regenerated by the Lord; and when he comes into this life, he looks to God and heaven in the first place, and himself and the world in the second. This life flows into man when the Lord is present; hence it is clear, that, so far as it flows in, so far there is effected a turning of the life; this turning, when it is effected suddenly, causes man to appear to himself as dead; hence it is that by these words is signified the failing of his own life. But these two states cannot be described to the apprehension; they are different also with man from what they are with a spirit, and they differ altogether with the evil and with the good.

[2] It is impossible for man to live in the body in the presence of the Divine; and they who do live are surrounded with a column of angels, which moderates the Divine influx; for the body of no man whatever is capable of receiving of the Divine, therefore it dies and is cast off. That man cannot live in the body in the presence of the Divine, is evident from the words of the Lord to Moses, "Thou canst not see my face; for there shall no man see me, and live" (Exodus 33:20); therefore Moses, because he desired to see Him, was placed in the hole of a rock, and covered until the Lord had passed by. It was known also to the ancients that man could not see God and live, as is evident from the book of Judges: "Manoah said unto his wife, Dying we shall die, because we have seen God" (13:22).

This was also testified among the sons of Israel, when the Lord was seen from Mount Sinai, concerning which it is thus written in Moses:

"Be ready against the third day; for the third day Jehovah will come down in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai. And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves that ye go not up into the mountain, or touch the border of it; whosoever toucheth the mountain, dying he shall die;" and because terror seized upon them, they said to Moses, "Speak thou with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die" (Exodus 19:11, 12; 20:19).

(That by Mount Sinai is signified heaven, where the Lord is, and that by touching is signified to communicate, to transfer, and to receive, and that for this reason it was forbidden to touch the border of that mountain, may be seen in the explanation of that chapter in Arcana Coelestia.)

[3] The reason why Jehovah was seen by many, as recorded in the Word, was, that they were at the time surrounded with a column of spirits, and thus preserved, as said above; thus also the Lord has been oftentimes seen by me. But the state of spirits before the Divine presence differs from the state of man; spirits cannot die; therefore, if they are evil, they undergo a spiritual death at the Divine presence, the nature of which death will be presently described; but those who are good, are taken to societies, where the sphere of the Divine presence is tempered and accommodated to reception. This is why there are three heavens, and in each heaven many societies, and those who are in the higher heavens are nearer to the Lord, and those who are in the lower are more remote from Him (concerning this see what is said in the work, Heaven and Hell 20-28, 29-40, 41-50, 206-209). What the spiritual death is which evil spirits undergo at the Divine presence, shall be briefly stated.

[4] Spiritual death is an aversion and removal from the Lord; but, when evil spirits who are not yet vastated, that is, determined to their ruling love, enter any angelic society, then, because the Divine of the Lord is there present, they are direfully tortured, and not only avert themselves, but also cast themselves into the deep, where no light from heaven enters; some into dark caverns of rocks; in a word, into the hells (concerning this see what is shown in the work, Heaven and Hell 54, 400, 410, 525, 527). This aversion and removal from the Lord is called spiritual death; the spiritual of heaven is also dead with them.

  
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Translation by Isaiah Tansley. Many thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.

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Heaven and Hell #400

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400. But it must be understood that the delight of those who are in the loves of self and of the world, when they draw near to any heavenly society, is the delight of their lust, and thus is directly opposite to the delight of heaven. And such enter into this delight of their lust in consequence of their taking away and dispelling heavenly delight in those that are in such delight. When the heavenly delight is not taken away or dispelled it is different, for they are then unable to draw near; for so far as they draw near they bring upon themselves anguish and pain; and for this reason they do not often venture to come near. This also I have been permitted to learn by repeated experience, something of which I would like to add.

[2] Spirits who go from this world into the other life desire more than any thing else to get into heaven. Nearly all seek to enter, supposing that heaven consists solely in being admitted and received. Because of this desire they are brought to some society of the lowest heaven. But as soon as those who are in the love of self and of the world draw near the first threshold of that heaven they begin to be distressed and so tortured inwardly as to feel hell rather than heaven to be in them; and in consequence they cast themselves down headlong therefrom, and do not rest until they come into the hells among their like.

[3] It has also frequently occurred that such spirits have wished to know what heavenly joy is, and having heard that it is in the interiors of angels, they have wished to share in it. This therefore was granted; for whatever a spirit who is not yet in heaven or hell wishes is granted if it will benefit him. But as soon as that joy was communicated they began to be so tortured as not to know how to twist or turn because of the pain. I saw them thrust their heads down to their feet and cast themselves upon the ground, and there writhe into coils like serpents, and this in consequence of their interior agony. Such was the effect produced by heavenly delight upon those who are in the delights of the love of self and of the world; and for the reason that these loves are directly opposite to heavenly loves, and when opposite acts against opposite such pain results. And since heavenly delight enters by an inward way and flows into the contrary delight, the interiors which are in the contrary delight are twisted backwards, thus into the opposite direction, and the result is such tortures.

[4] They are opposite for the reason given above, that love to the Lord and love to the neighbor wish to share with others all that is their own, for this is their delight, while the loves of self and of the world wish to take away from others what they have, and take it to themselves; and just to the extent that they are able to do this they are in their delight. From this, too, one can see what it is that separates hell from heaven; for all that are in hell were, while they were living in the world, in the mere delights of the body and of the flesh from the love of self and of the world; while all that are in the heavens were, while they lived in the world, in the delights of the soul and spirit from love to the Lord and love to the neighbor; and as these are opposite loves, so the hells and the heavens are entirely separated, and indeed so separated that a spirit in hell does not venture even to put forth a finger from it or raise the crown of his head, for if he does this in the least he is racked with pain and tormented. This, too, I have frequently seen.

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