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Hemelse Verborgenheden in Genesis en Exodus#4299

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4299. Omdat ik God van aangezichten tot aangezichten heb gezien en mijn ziel bevrijd is geweest; dat dit betekent dat Hij de zwaarste verzoekingen doorstond, alsof zij uit het Goddelijke waren, staat vast uit de betekenis van ‘God zien’, namelijk de toenadering tot Hem door de innerlijke dingen, namelijk door de goede en ware dingen, vandaar de tegenwoordigheid, zie nr. 4198 en uit de betekenis van de aangezichten, nrs. 1999, 2434, 3527, 3573, 4066;

en dus het denken en de aandoeningen, want deze beide zijn de innerlijke dingen, omdat zij van de ziel en van het gemoed zijn en zich in het aangezicht openbaren; en uit de betekenis van ‘mijn ziel is bevrijd geweest’ namelijk doorstaan, namelijk de Goddelijke tegenwoordigheid. Dat door al die dingen wordt aangeduid dat Hij de zwaarste verzoekingen doorstond alsof zij uit het Goddelijke waren, kan nergens anders vandaan blijken dan uit de naastgelegen en de verderaf gelegen oorzaken van de verzoekingen; de naastgelegen oorzaken zijn de boze en valse dingen bij de mens, die hem in verzoekingen leiden, dus de boze geesten en genieën die ze ingieten, nr. 4249; toch kan niemand verzocht worden, dat wil zeggen, enige geestelijke verzoeking ondergaan, dan alleen degene die een geweten heeft, want de geestelijke verzoeking is niets anders dan een marteling van het geweten; dus kunnen geen anderen verzocht worden dan zij die in het hemels en geestelijk goede zijn, want dezen hebben een geweten; de overigen hebben het niet en weten zelfs niet eens wat een geweten is; het geweten is de nieuwe wil en het nieuwe verstand uit de Heer; en dus is het de tegenwoordigheid van de Heer bij de mens en deze tegenwoordigheid is des te dichter nabij, hoe meer de mens in de aandoening van het goede of van het ware is; indien de tegenwoordigheid van de Heer dichter nabij is dan de mens naar verhouding in de aandoening van het goede of het ware is, dan komt de mens in verzoeking; de oorzaak hiervan is dat de boze en valse dingen die bij de mens zijn, die getemperd zijn met de goede en ware dingen bij hem, de nadere tegenwoordigheid niet kunnen doorstaan; dit kan vaststaan uit wat in het andere leven bestaat, namelijk dat de boze geesten geenszins enig hemels gezelschap kunnen naderen of zij beginnen angstig en gemarteld te worden; verder dat de boze geesten het niet verdragen dat de engelen hen onderzoeken, want zij worden terstond gemarteld en vallen in onmacht; en eveneens hieruit dat de hel van de hemel is verwijderd, met als oorzaak dat de hel de hemel niet verdraagt, dat wil zeggen, de tegenwoordigheid van de Heer die in de hemel is; vandaar komt het, dat in het Woord van hen gezegd wordt:

‘Dan zullen zij aanvangen te zeggen tot de bergen: Valt op ons en tot de heuvelen; Verbergt ons’, (Lukas 23:30);

en elders:

‘Zij zullen tot de bergen en tot de steenrotsen zeggen: Stort over ons en verbergt ons van het aangezicht van Degene die op de troon zit’, (Openbaring 6:16);

ook verschijnt de nevelachtige en duistere sfeer die uitwasemt van de boze en valse dingen van degenen die in de hel zijn, in de gedaante van een berg of een steenrots, waaronder zij verborgen worden, zie de nrs. 1265, 1267, 1270. Hieruit nu kan men weten dat ‘ik heb God van aangezichten tot aangezichten gezien en mijn ziel is bevrijd geweest’ de zwaarste verzoekingen betekent, alsof die uit het Goddelijke waren. De verzoekingen en de martelingen verschijnen alsof zij uit het Goddelijke waren, omdat ze, zoals gezegd, door de Goddelijke tegenwoordigheid van de Heer ontstaan, toch zijn ze niet vanuit het Goddelijke of uit de Heer, maar uit de boze en valse dingen die bij degene zijn die verzocht of gemarteld wordt; uit de Heer immers gaat niet dan het heilige, goede, ware en barmhartige voort; het is dit heilige, namelijk het goede, het ware en het barmhartige, dat diegenen die in de boze en valse dingen zijn, niet kunnen uithouden, omdat die dingen tegenovergesteld of strijdig zijn; de boze dingen, de valse dingen en de onbarmhartigheid streven aanhoudend daarnaar om die heilige dingen te schenden en voor zoveel als zij ze aanvallen voor zoveel worden zij gemarteld; en wanneer zij aanvallen en vandaar gemarteld worden, dan menen zij dat het het Goddelijke is dat hen martelt; dit is het wat wordt verstaan onder ‘alsof zij uit het Goddelijke waren’. Dat niemand Jehovah van aangezicht tot aangezicht kan zien en leven, was aan de Ouden bekend en van daar ging de erkentenis daarover over op de nakomelingen van Jakob; daarom waren zij zozeer verheugd wanneer zij enig engel hadden gezien en toch leefden; zoals in het Boek Richteren:

‘Gideon zag, dat het een engel van Jehovah was; daarom zei Gideon: Heer Jehovah, daarom omdat ik een engel van Jehovah gezien heb van aangezicht tot aangezicht; en Jehovah zei tot hem: Vrede zij u, vrees niet, omdat gij niet sterven zult’, (Richteren 6:22, 23). In hetzelfde Boek:

‘Manoach zei tot zijn echtgenote: Stervende zullen wij sterven, omdat wij God gezien hebben’, (Richteren 13:22);

en bij Mozes:

‘Jehovah zei tot Mozes:

‘Gij zult Mijn aangezichten niet kunnen zien, omdat de mens Mij niet zal zien en leven’, (Exodus 33:20). Dat van Mozes wordt gezegd dat hij met Jehovah sprak van aangezicht tot aangezicht, (Exodus 33:11) en dat ‘Jehovah hem gekend heeft van aangezicht tot aangezicht’, (Deuteronomium 34:10), is omdat Hij hem verscheen in een menselijke vorm die aangepast was aan zijn opneming en die uiterlijk was, namelijk als een oude man met een baard, die bij hem gezeten was, zoals ik door de engelen hierover ben onderricht; vandaar hadden ook de Joden geen andere voorstelling dan zoals van een zeer oud mens met een lange en sneeuwwitte baard, die meer dan de andere goden wonderen kon doen; niet dat Hij de Allerheiligste was, omdat zij niet wisten wat het heilige was; te minder zouden zij ooit het heilige hebben kunnen zien dat uit Hem voortgaat, omdat zij in een lichamelijke en aardse liefde waren, zonder heilig innerlijke, nrs. 4289, 4293.

  
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Nederlandse vertaling door Henk Weevers. Digitale publicatie Swedenborg Boekhuis, van 2012 t/m 2021 op www.swedenborg.nl

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Over het Nieuwe Jeruzalem en haar Hemelse Leer#248

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今のところ、この翻訳には#325までの箇所が含まれている。おそらくまだ未完成だろう。左の矢印を押すと、翻訳された最後の数字が見つかります。

  
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Published by Swedenborg Boekhuis.

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Apocalypse Explained#413

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413. Verse 17. For the great day of His anger is come, signifies the Last Judgment upon the evil. This is evident from the following passages from the Word. The Last Judgment, which is signified by "the great day," is upon the evil and also upon the good; the judgment upon the evil is called "a day of indignation," "of wrath," "of anger," and "of vengeance," while the judgment upon the good is called "the time of the Lord's coming," "the year of His good pleasure," "the year of the redeemed," "the year of salvation." Everyone, whether evil or good, is judged immediately after death, when he enters the spiritual world, where he is to live to eternity, for man is then immediately marked out either for heaven or for hell; he that is marked out for heaven is connected with some heavenly society into which he will afterwards come, and he that is marked out for hell is connected with the infernal society into which he will afterwards come. There is, however, an interval of time before they go thither, chiefly for the purpose of preparation; for the good, that the evils that adhere to them from the body in the world may be wiped away; and for the evil, that the goods that adhere to them outwardly from teachers and from religion may be taken away; according to the Lord's words in Matthew:

Whosoever hath, to him shall be given, that he may have more abundantly; whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath (Matthew 13:32; 25:29).

This delay occurs for this reason also, that the affections, which are of many kinds, may be so arranged and reduced to the ruling love that the man-spirit may become wholly his own love. Yet many of them, both evil and good, were reserved for the Last Judgment; but only such of the evil as from habit acquired in the world had been able to lead a moral life in externals, and such of the good as from ignorance and from their religion had been imbued with falsities; but the rest, when their time had been fulfilled, were separated from these, the good were elevated into heaven, and the evil were cast into hell, and this before the Last Judgment.

[2] The Last Judgment is called "the great day of the anger of God" because to the evil who are cast down into hell it appears as if it were God who did this from anger and wrath, for the destruction that then comes upon them comes from above, and also from the east where the Lord is as a sun, and they are then in terrors, griefs, and also in torments. But the Lord has no anger whatever, for He is love and mercy itself and good itself; and pure love and good itself cannot be angry; for this is contrary to its essence. But it so appears for this reason: when the last state is reached, which is when evils on the earth and at the same time then in the spiritual world have so increased that the supremacy inclines to their side, and thereby the equilibrium between heaven and hell is perishing, and this perishing, the heavens where the angels dwell begin to labor, then the Lord from the sun directs His energy, that is His love, to protecting the angels and restoring the state which labors and begins to totter; and by this energy and power Divine truth united to Divine good, which in its essence is Divine love, penetrates through the heavens to the places below, where the evil have associated themselves together; and because they cannot endure such influx and presence of the Divine love they begin to tremble, and to be in anguish and torment; for thereby the goods and truths which they have learned to feign by speech and action merely in externals, are dispersed, and their internals, which are nothing but evils and falsities, are opened; and as these are in direct opposition to the goods and truths that flow in from within, although they have made evils and falsities their life, they experience such tremor, anguish and torment, that they can no longer maintain themselves, therefore they flee away and cast themselves into the hells which are under the mountains and rocks, where they can be in evils and in the falsities of their evils. This in particular is signified by the words explained above, "They said to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the anger of the Lamb."

[3] From this it can be seen why the words "the anger of the Lamb" are used, and why the Last Judgment is called "the great day of His anger," although it is the Divine love that is meant, the operation of which viewed in itself is to save all, for it is a will to save, thus not anger at all, but love. The like is true when an evil spirit who can feign himself an angel of light ascends into heaven. When he comes thither, as he cannot endure the Divine good and the Divine truth that are there, he begins to feel anguish and torment to the extent even that he casts himself down with all his might, nor does he rest until he is in the hell corresponding to his evil.

It is from this appearance, and because when they do evils they are punished, that indignation, anger, wrath, and even fury and vengeance, are so often in the Word attributed to Jehovah, that is, the Lord; but a presentation of all the passages where these are attributed to Jehovah, that is, to the Lord, is here omitted because there are so many of them, and a few only will be cited, in which the Last Judgment is called "the day of the indignation," "of the anger," "of the wrath," and "of the vengeance" of Jehovah and God, as in the following.

[4] In Isaiah:

Behold the day of Jehovah cometh, cruel and of indignation and of the glowing of anger, to lay the land waste, and He shall destroy its sinners out of it. I will make heaven to tremble, the land shall quake out of its place, in the indignation of Jehovah of Hosts, and in the day of the glowing of His anger (Isaiah 13:9, 13).

"A day cruel and of the glowing of Jehovah's anger" means the Last Judgment; and because it is evil that glows, and falsity that is angry, it is called "a day of the glowing of anger." "The land that shall be laid waste, and that shall quake out of its place," means the land that is in the spiritual world, for there are lands there the same as on our globe; and those lands, while the Last Judgment is going on, are "laid waste" and "quake out of their place," for the mountains and hills are then overturned, and the valleys sink down into marshes, and the face of all things there is changed. Nevertheless, "land" in the spiritual sense means the church everywhere, for in the spiritual world the face of the land is similar to the state of the church with those who dwell upon the land there, consequently when the church perishes the land also perishes, for they make one; and then in place of the former land a new one comes into existence; but these changes are unknown to us on our earth. Nevertheless they must be made known, in order that it may be understood what is meant by "the land shall be laid waste, and shall quake out of its place."

[5] In Zephaniah:

When the glowing of the anger of Jehovah hath not yet come upon you; when the day of the anger of Jehovah hath not yet come upon you, it may be ye shall be hid in the day of Jehovah's anger (Zephaniah 2:2-3).

Here, too, "the glowing of anger" and "the day of Jehovah's anger" mean the Last Judgment. In Lamentations:

He doth not remember the footstool of His feet in the day of His anger (Lamentations 2:1).

"The footstool of Jehovah's feet" means the worship of the Lord in the natural world, for the reason that the whole heaven, together with the church in the world, is before the Lord a semblance of one man (as may be seen in Heaven and Hell 78-86), the inmost heaven constituting the head, the other heavens the breast and legs, and the church on earth the feet; consequently the feet signify also the natural; moreover, the heavens rest upon the church which is with mankind as a man does upon his feet (as can be seen from what is shown in the same work, n. 87-102, also 291-302). Since the Last Judgment comes when there is no longer any faith because there is no charity, thus when the church is at an end, it is evident what is meant by "He doth not remember the footstool of His feet in the day of His anger." And elsewhere:

There was none that escaped nor any residue in the day of Jehovah's anger; those whom I brought up and nourished hath mine enemy consumed (Lamentations 2:22).

"The day of Jehovah's anger" is the Last Judgment; that there is then no longer any good of love nor any truth of faith in the church, but evil and falsity is signified by "there was none that escaped nor any residue; those whom I brought up and nourished hath mine enemy consumed;" "there was none that escaped nor any residue" signifying that there was no good nor truth; "whom I brought up and nourished" meaning those who are of the church, who have all spiritual food or the knowledge of good and truth from the Word; "the enemy that consumed them" meaning evil and falsity.

[6] In Revelation:

Thine anger came, the time of judging the dead, and of giving the reward to Thy servants, and to those that fear Thy name, and of destroying them that destroy the earth (Revelation 11:18).

This makes clear that "anger" or "the day of anger" means the Last Judgment, for it is said "Thine anger came, the time of judging the dead." In Isaiah:

The day of vengeance is in My heart, and the year of My redeemed hath come. I have trodden down the peoples in Mine anger, and made them drunk in My wrath (Isaiah 63:4, 6).

This treats of the combats of the Lord, by which He subjugated the hells, thus of a Last Judgment which was accomplished by Him when He was in the world; for by combats, which were temptations admitted into Himself, He subjugated the hells and wrought a Last Judgment. It is this judgment that is meant by "the day of Jehovah's anger and wrath" in the Word of the Old Testament; but the Last Judgment, which has at the present time been accomplished is meant by "the day of His anger" in Revelation. (That a Last Judgment was performed by the Lord when He was in the world, see Last Judgment 46.) The subjugation of the hells is here signified by "I have trodden them down in Mine anger, and have made them drunk in My wrath;" "the year of the redeemed" signifies the judgment upon the good who are saved.

[7] In the same:

The spirit of the Lord Jehovih is upon me, to proclaim the year of Jehovah's good pleasure, and the day of vengeance for our God; to comfort all that mourn (Isaiah 61:1, 2).

The day of vengeance of Jehovah, the year of retributions for the controversy of Zion (Isaiah 34:8).

"The day of vengeance of Jehovah," like "the day of His anger and wrath," signifies the Last Judgment. This is because vengeance is attributed to Jehovah or the Lord for the same reason anger and wrath are-namely, from the appearance that those who have denied the Divine and have been hostile in heart and mind to the goods and truths of the church, consequently hostile to the Lord who is the source of these, are cast down into hell (as are all who live wickedly). And because these are treated as enemies, vengeance, like anger, is attributed to the Lord (See above). "The year of retributions" signifies the like as "the day of vengeance," but it is predicated of falsities, while "the day of vengeance" is predicated of evils; "the controversy of Zion" signifies the rejection of the truth and good of the church; "Zion" meaning the church. In other places also, the time of the Last Judgment is called "the day of Jehovah," "the day of visitation," "the day of slaughter," and "the day of the coming":

The day of the Lord's coming (Malachi 3:2; Matthew 24:3, 27, 37, 39).

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