აქ ჩვენ 21-ე საუკუნეში ვართ. ვიცით, რომ სამყარო უზარმაზარი ადგილია. ჩვენ მხოლოდ მეცნიერული ცოდნით ვიფეთქებთ. როგორ უნდა მოვიქცეთ უფრო დიდი იდეებით? როგორც ჩანს, ჩვენი ადამიანური საზოგადოებები მათ წაშლის, ან უგულებელყოფს მათ - შესაძლოა, ჩვენ ვფიქრობთ, რომ ჩვენ ძალიან დატვირთული ვართ მათთვის.

აქ, ახალი ქრისტიანული ბიბლიის შესწავლის ადგილზე, ჩვენ ტენდენციას მივიღებთ. ჩვენ გვინდა გამოვიკვლიოთ დიდი იდეები, რომლებიც გვაძლევს ჩარჩოს უკეთესი ცხოვრების უკეთესობისკენ. აი დასაწყისი ახალი იდეების ჩამონათვალში ახალი ქრისტიანული თვალსაზრისით. თითოეული იდეისთვის, არსებობს სქოლიო, რომელიც ჩამოთვლის ზოგიერთ ცნობას შვედბორგის სასულიერო ნაშრომებში:

1. ღმერთი არსებობს. მხოლოდ ერთი ღმერთი, რომელმაც შექმნა და შეინარჩუნა მთელი სამყარო ყველა განზომილებაში, სულიერი და ფიზიკური. ¹

2. ღვთის არსს თავად სიყვარული წარმოადგენს. ეს არის ძალა, რომელიც მართავს ყველაფერს. ²

3. ღვთის არსება იქმნება, ანუ ის არსებობს, ქმნიან და ქმნიან. ³

4. არსებობს შექმნის დონეები ან ხარისხები - სულიერიდან დაწყებული, რომელთა ფიზიკური შეგრძნებებით ან სენსორებით ჩვენ ვერ ვიპოვნებთ ფიზიკურ სამყაროს იმ დონემდე, სადაც არის ჩვენი ცნობიერების უმეტესი ნაწილი, როდესაც ჩვენ აქ ცოცხლები ვართ. ⁴

5. შექმნილი სამყარო ღმერთისგან წარმოიშვა და ის შენარჩუნებულია ღმერთის მიერ, მაგრამ მნიშვნელოვანი გზით იგი ღმერთისაგან დამოუკიდებელია. მას სურს რომ ეს იყოს ცალკე, რათა თავისუფლება არსებობდეს. ⁵

6. ღმერთი მოქმედებს სიბრძნიდან სიბრძნით - კეთილი ნებით სურს და იმის გაგება, თუ როგორ უნდა მიაღწიოს მათ. ⁶

7. ქმნილების ფიზიკური დონე არსებობს იმისთვის, რომ ადამიანს ჰქონდეს შესაძლებლობა აირჩიონ თავისუფლებაში, რაციონალურობით, აღიარონ თუ არა ღმერთთან თანამშრომლობა. ⁷

8. ღმერთი ყველა ადამიანს უშვებს ყველგან, მიუხედავად მათი რელიგიისა, თავისუფლება აირჩიონ ცხოვრების სიყვარული ღვთისა და მოყვასისათვის. ⁸

9. ღმერთს უყვარს ყველას. მან იცის, რომ ჭეშმარიტი ბედნიერება მხოლოდ მაშინ ხდება, როდესაც ჩვენ უანგარო ვიყავით; როდესაც ჩვენ ნამდვილად მოტივირებულნი ვართ უფლის სიყვარულით, რომელიც საფუძვლიანად მეზობლის სიყვარულია. ის ცდილობს ყველას უხელმძღვანელოს, მაგრამ არ აიძულებს ჩვენს ნებისყოფის შესრულებას. ⁹

10. ღმერთი არ გმობს. ის გვეუბნება რა არის კარგი და რა არის ბოროტება და გონებაში მიედინება, რომ სიკეთისკენ მიგვიყვანოს. ამასთან, ჩვენ თავისუფლად შეგვიძლია უარვყოთ მისი წამყვანი და ამის ნაცვლად, ჩვენ ყველაზე მეტად ვუყვარვართ საკუთარ თავს. ყოველდღიურად ვქმნით სიკეთის ან ეგოიზმის ჩვევებს და ვცხოვრობთ ცხოვრებას ამ ჩვევების შესაბამისად. ეს ჩვევები ხდება ნამდვილი "ჩვენ", ჩვენი მმართველი სიყვარული. ¹⁰

11. ჩვენი ფიზიკური სხეულები საბოლოოდ იღუპებიან, მაგრამ ჩვენი გონების სულიერი ნაწილი გრძელდება. ეს უკვე მუშაობს სულიერ თვითმფრინავში, მაგრამ ჩვენი ცნობიერება იცვლება - ასე რომ, ჩვენ სულიერ რეალობას სრულად ვაცნობიერებთ. ¹¹

სქოლიოები:

5079. 'Against their lord the king of Egypt' means that these - the external or bodily senses, meant by 'the cupbearer and the baker' - were contrary to the new state in the natural man. This is clear from the meaning of 'the king of Egypt' as factual knowledge in general, dealt with in 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462, 4749, 4964, 4966; for, the king being the head of the nation, 'the king of Egypt' is similar in meaning to 'Egypt', the same as in other places where the king of any nation is referred to or named, 4789. Since factual knowledge in general is meant by 'the king of Egypt', so also is the natural man meant by him; for all factual knowledge is truth as it exists in the natural man, 4967. While the actual good there is meant by 'the lord', 4973. The reason a new state in the natural man is meant is that the previous chapter dealt with the interior aspects of the natural, which were made new, or - in the highest sense, in which the Lord is the subject - were glorified, whereas the present chapter deals with the exterior aspects of the natural which are to be brought into accord or agreement with those interior ones. These interior aspects of the natural which have been made new - or, what amounts to the same, a new state in the natural man - are what are meant by 'the lord the king of Egypt', while the exterior aspects which have not been brought into a state of order and are consequently contrary to it are meant by 'the cupbearer and the baker'.

[2] There are interior aspects of the natural and there are exterior ones. The interior aspects of the natural are known facts and the affections for them, but the exterior aspects are both kinds of sensory perception spoken of above in 5077. When a person dies he leaves behind those exterior aspects of the natural; but the interior aspects of the natural he takes with him into the next life where they serve as the foundation on which spiritual and celestial things can be based; for when a person dies he loses nothing apart from his flesh and bones. He keeps his memory in which everything he has done, spoken, or thought is recorded, and he keeps every natural affection and desire, and so every interior aspect of the natural. He does not need its exterior aspects, for he does not see anything that is in the world, or hear anything that is in the world, or smell, taste, or touch anything that is in the world, only what is in the next life. Things in the next life, it is true, seem for the most part to be like those in the world, but they are not, for they hold what is living within them, such as things proper to the natural world do not hold within them. For every single thing in the next life owes the beginning and the continuance of its existence to the Sun there, which is the Lord, as a consequence of which it has that which is living within it. But every single thing in the natural world owes the beginning and the continuance of its existence to the sun there, which is material fire, as a consequence of which it does not have that which is living within it. What gives it the appearance of having life within it is that its origin lies solely in the spiritual world, that is, in the Lord through the spiritual world.

3540. 'And she put the skins of the kids of the she-goats' means the external truths clothing homeborn good. This is clear from the meaning of 'skins' as external things, dealt with below, and from the meaning of 'the kids of the she-goats', coming as they did from the flock bred within the homestead, as the truths which clothe homeborn good, dealt with in 3518, 3519, where it is also evident what homeborn good is and what truths from that source are. Any good whatever has its own truths, and any truths whatever have their own good. And they must be joined together - good to truths - if anything at all is to exist. The reason why 'skins' means external things is that the skin is the outer covering of an animal to which its exterior parts extend, even as the skin or the cuticles is such with a human being. The latter receives its spiritual meaning from what is representative in the next life, where there are people who belong to the province of the skin. These will in the Lord's Divine mercy be described at the ends of chapters below where the Grand Man will be presented as a separate subject. They are people in whom none but external good and the truths which go with this are present. This is why the skin, human or animal, means things that are external. The same is also evident from the Word, as in Jeremiah,

On account of the greatness of your iniquity your skirts have been uncovered, your heels have suffered violence. Can the Ethiopian change his skin and the leopard its spots? Also are you able to do good, having been taught to do evil? Jeremiah 13:22-23.

Here 'skirts' means external truths, 'heels' the lowest goods - 'the heel' and 'shoes' being the lowest natural things, see 259, 1748. And because those truths and goods, as it is said, spring from evil, they are compared to an 'Ethiopian', who was black, and his 'skin', and also to 'a leopard and its spots'.

[2] In Moses,

If you take your neighbour's clothing as a pledge you shall restore it to him before the sun goes down; for this is his only covering; it is his clothing for his skin, in which he will lie down. Exodus 22:26-27.

Inasmuch as all the laws contained in the Word, including civil and judicial ones, have a correspondence with laws in heaven concerning what is good and true, and from this correspondence came to be laid down, so it was with the law just quoted. For why else would it have ever been laid down that they were to restore clothing that had been pledged before the sun went down, and why else is it said that 'it is his clothing for his skin, in which he lies down'? The correspondence is evident from the internal sense, which is that people were not to cheat their neighbour of external truths, which are the matters of doctrine by which they conduct their lives, and also religious observances - 'clothing' meaning such truths, see 297, 1073, 2576, and 'the sun' the good of love or of life that ensues from those truths, 1529, 1530, 2441, 2495. The prevention of that good from perishing is meant by the statement about the restoration of the pledge before the sun went down. And since the things laid down in those laws are the external coverings of interior things, or the outermost aspects of these, the words 'his clothing for his skin in which he lies down' are used.

[3] Because 'skins' meant external things it was commanded that there should be for the tent a covering made of red ram skins and over that a covering of badger skins, Exodus 26:14. For the tent was representative of the three heavens, and so of the celestial and spiritual things of the Lord's kingdom. The curtains enveloping it represented natural things, which are external, 3478; and these are the ram skins and the badger skins. And since external things are those which cover internal, or natural things are those which cover spiritual and celestial, in the way that the body does the soul, that command was therefore given. It was for a like reason commanded that when the camp was on the move Aaron and his sons were to cover the ark of the testimony with the veil and were to place a badger-skin covering over it. And over the table and what was on it they were to spread a twice-dyed scarlet cloth and then cover that with a badger-skin covering. They were likewise required to place the lampstand and all its vessels under a covering made of badger skin - also all the vessels for ministering they were to place under a violet cloth, and then cover them with a badger-skin covering, Numbers 4:5-6, 8, 10-12. Anyone who thinks about the Word in a devout way may see that Divine things were represented by all these objects, such as the ark, the table, the lampstand, and the vessels for ministering, also the coverings of twice-dyed scarlet and of violet, as well as the coverings of badger skin, and that these objects represented Divine things contained within external ones.

[4] Because the prophets represented those who teach, and therefore represented teaching from the Word concerning what is good and true, 2534; and because Elijah represented the Word itself, 2762, as also did John, who for that reason is called the Elijah who is to come, Matthew 17:10-13; and in order that these might represent the nature of the Word in its external form, that is, in the letter,

Elijah wore a skin girdle around his loins. 2 Kings 1:8. And John had a garment of camel hair and a skin girdle around his waist. Matthew 3:4.

Because animal 'skin' and human 'skin' means external things, which in relation to spiritual and celestial are natural things, and because it was customary in the Ancient Church to speak and to write by means of meaningful signs, reference is also made to both types of skin, and with the same meaning, in Job, a book of the Ancient Church. This becomes clear from a number of places in that book, including the following,

I know my Redeemer; He is alive; and at the last He will rise above the dust; and afterwards these things will be encompassed by my skin, and out of my flesh shall I see God. Job 19:25-26.

'Encompassed by skin' stands for the natural as it exists with someone after he has died, dealt with in 3539. 'Out of one's flesh seeing God' is doing so from a proprium made alive. For the proprium is meant by 'flesh', see 148, 149, 780; and the Book of Job is a book of the Ancient Church, a fact which is evident, as has been stated, from its style which draws on representatives and meaningful signs. It is not however one of the books called the Law and the Prophets, the reason being that it has no internal sense in which the one subject is the Lord and His kingdom. For it is this alone that determines whether any book is a Book of the true Word.