Bibliorum

 

Ezekiel 23

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1 HE ENs Ord kom til mig således:

2 Meneskesøn! Der var to Kvinder, Døtre af en og samme Moder.

3 De bolede i deres Ungdom i Ægypten: der krammedes deres Bryster, der krænkede man deres Jomfrubarm.

4 Den ældste hed Ohola, hendes Søster Oholiba. Og de blev mine og fødte Sønner og Døtre. Ohola er Samaria, Oholiba Jerusalem.

5 Men i Stedet for at holde sig til mig bolede Ohola og var i Brynde for sine Elskere, Assurs Sønner, der nærmede sig hende

6 klædt i Purpur, Statholdere og Landshøvdinger, alle sammen smukke unge Mænd, yttere højt til Hest;

7 og hun gav dem sin bolerske Elskov, alle Assurs ypperste Sønner, og alle Vegne, hvor hun kom i Brynde, gjorde hun sig uren ved deres Afgudsbilleder.

8 Men sin Bolen med Ægypterne opgav hun ikke, thi de hade ligget hos hende i hendes Ungdom; de havde skændet hendes Jomfrubarm og udøst deres bolerske Attrå over hende.

9 Derfor gav jeg hende i hendes Elskeres, Assurs Sønners, Hånd, for hvem hun var i Brynde;

10 og de blottede hendes Blusel, tog hendes Sønner og Døtre og dræbte hende selv med Sværd, så hun fik Vanry blandt Kvinder; således fuldbyrdede de Dommen over hende.

11 Det så hendes Søster Oholiba, og dog kom hun i endnu værre Brynde og bolede endnu værre end Søsteren.

12 Hun kom i Brynde for Assurs Sønner, Statholdere og Landshøvdinger, der nærmede sig hende herligt klædt, yttere højt til Hest, alle sammen smukke unge Mænd.

13 Og jeg så, at hun blev uren; begge fulgte samme Vej.

14 Men hun drev sin Bolen videre endnu; thi da hun så Mænd afbildede på Muren, Billeder af Kaldæere, malet med rødt,

15 med Bælte om Lænd og nedhængende Hovedbind, alle at se til som Høvedsmænd, en Afbildning af Babels Sønner, hvis Hjemstavn Kaldæa er,

16 så kom hun i Brynde for dem, så snart hun fik Øje på dem, og hun sendte Bud til dem i Kaldæa:

17 Og Babels Sønner gik ind til hende, lå hos hende i Elskov og gjorde hende uren ved deres Bolen; og hun blev uren ved dem, til hun følte Lede ved dem.

18 Da hun havde åbenbaret sin bolerske Attrå og blottet sin Blusel, følte jeg Lede ved hende, som jeg var blevet led ved hendes søster.

19 Men hun drev sin Bolen videre endnu, idet hun kom sin Ungdoms Dage i Hu, da hun havde bolet i Ægypten,

20 og hun kom i Brynde ved dets Bolere, der havde Kød som Æsler og var gejle som Hingste;

21 og hun optog sin Ungdoms Skændsel, dengang Ægypterne krænkede hendes Jomfrubarm og krammede hendes unge Bryster,

22 Derfor, Oholiba, så siger den Herre HE EN: Jeg hidser dine Elskere på dig, dem, du følte Lede ved, og fører dem mod dig fra alle Kanter,

23 Babels Sønner og alle Kaldæerne, Pekod, Sjoa og Koa og med dem alle Assurs Sønner, alle sammen smukke unge Mænd, Statholdere og Landshøvdinger, Høvedsmænd og navnkundige Mænd, alle højt til Hest;

24 og de skal komme imod dig med en Vrimmel af Vogne og Hjul og en Hærskare af Folkeslag; store og små Skjolde og Hjelme skal de rette imod dig fra alle Kanter. Jeg overlader dem Dommen, og de skal dømme dig efter deres et.

25 Jeg retter min Nidkærhed imod dig, og de skal handle med dig i Vrede; din Næse og dine Ører skal de skære af, dit Afkom skal falde for Sværdet; de skal tage dine Sønner og Døtre, og dit Afkom skal fortæres af Ild;

26 de skal rive Klæderne af dig og tage alle dine Smykker;

27 jeg gør Ende på din Skændsel og din Bolen, som du hengav dig til i Ægypten, og du skal ikke mere løfte dit Blik til dem eller komme Ægypten i Hu.

28 Thi så siger den Herre HE EN: Se, jeg giver dig i deres Hånd, som du hader og ledes ved;

29 de skal handle med dig i Had og tage alt dit Gods og efterlade dig nøgen og bar, så din bolerske blussel blottes.

30 Det kan du takke din Skændsel og din Bolen for, thi du bolede med Folkene og gjorde dig uren med deres Afgudsbilleder.

31 Du vandrede i din Søsters Spor; derfor giver jeg dig hendes Bæger i Hånden.

32 siger den Herre HE EN: Du skal drikke af din Søsters Bæger, som er både dybt og bredt; du skal blive til Latter og Spot; Bægeret rummer meget;

33 det er fuldt af Beruselse og Stønnen, et Bæger med Gru og ædsel er din Søster Samarias Bæger.

34 Du skal drikke det ud til sidste Dråbe, gnave dets Skår og sønderrive dine Bryster, så sandt jeg har talet, lyder det fra den Herre HE EN.

35 Derfor, så siger den Herre HE EN: Fordi du glemte mig og kastede mig bag din yg, skal du bære Følgen af din Skændsel og Bolen.

36 Og HE EN sagde til mig: Menneskesøn! Vil du dømme Ohola og Oholiba, så forehold dem deres Vederstyggeligheder,

37 at de horede og har Blod på Hænderne; de horede med deres Afgudsbilleder, og til Føde for dem lod de Børnene, de fødte mig, gå igennem Ilden.

38 Fremdeles har de gjort mig dette: De har gjort min Helligdom uren og vanhelliget mine Sabbater;

39 endog samme Dag de havde slagtet deres Børn til Afgudsbillederne, kom de til min Helligdom og vanhelligede den. Sandelig, således gjorde de i mit Hus.

40 Ja, for Mænd, som kom langvejs fra, straks der var sendt dem Bud, badede du dig, sminkede du dine Øjne og tog dine Smykker på;

41 og du satte dig på et prægtigt Leje, og foran det dækkedes et Bord, på hvilket du satte min øgelse og min Olie.

42 Og det ligefrem larmede hos Søstrene; så mange Mænd kom der fra Ørkenen; og de lagde Spange om deres Arme og satte en herlig Krone på deres Hoved.

43 sagde jeg: Således har de horet, på Skøgevis har de bolet.

44 Man gik ind til dem som til en Skøge; således gik man ind til Ohola og Oholiba og øvede Skændsel.

45 Uvildige Mænd skal dømme dem efter Ægteskabsbryderskers og Morderskers et; thi de horede og har Blod på Hænderne.

46 Thi så siger den Herre HE EN: En Forsamling skal sammenkaldes imod dem, og de skal gives hen til at mishandles og udplyndres;

47 Forsamlingen skal stene dem og hugge dem sønder og sammen med Sværd; deres Sønner og Døtre skal man dræbe, og deres Huse skal man brænde.

48 Jeg gør Ende på Skændselen i Landet, og alle kvinder skal lade sig advare derved og ikke efterligne eders Skændsel.

49 Man skal lade eders Skændsel komme over eder, og I skal bære Følgen af de Synder, I gjorde med eders Afgudsbilleder; og I skal kende, at jeg er den Herre HE EN.

   


The Project Gutenberg Association at Carnegie Mellon University

from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg

 

Apocalypse Revealed #434

Studere hoc loco

  
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434. They had hair like women's hair. (9:8) This symbolically means that they seemed to themselves to have an affection for truth.

In the Word a man symbolizes an understanding of truth, and a woman an affection for truth, because a man is by birth a form of the intellect, and a woman a form of affection, as we say in Angelic Wisdom Regarding Marriage. 1 Hair in the Word symbolizes the lowest level of a person's life, which is the sensual level, as said in no. 424. It is on this level that it seems to these people that they have an affection for truth, when in fact they have an affection for falsity, since they believe it to be true.

That a woman symbolizes an affection for truth can be seen from many passages in the Word. So it is that the church is called a wife, woman, daughter, and virgin. The church, moreover, is a church by virtue of its love or affection for truth, for this is what gives rise to an understanding of truth.

[2] The church is called a woman in the following places:

...there were two women, the daughters of one mother, (who) committed harlotry in Egypt..., Oholah (being) Samaria, and Oholibah (being) Jerusalem. (Ezekiel 23:2-4)

...Jehovah has called you like a woman forsaken and afflicted in spirit, and a youthful woman... (Isaiah 54:6-7)

...Jehovah has created a new thing in the earth - a woman shall encompass a man. (Jeremiah 31:21-22)

The woman clothed with the sun, whom the dragon pursued (Revelation 12), symbolizes the New Church, which is the New Jerusalem.

Women symbolize affections for truth, by virtue of which the church is a church, in many other places, as in the following:

The women of My people you cast out from its delightful house. (Micah 2:9)

(The families of the houses shall mourn by themselves,) and... women by themselves... (Zechariah 12:11-13)

Rise up, you women at ease, hear... my speech. (Isaiah 32:9)

Why do you do... evil..., to cut off from you man and woman...? (Jeremiah 44:7)

...I will scatter man and woman... (Jeremiah 51:22)

A man and woman, here and elsewhere, mean, symbolically in the spiritual sense, an understanding of truth and an affection for truth.

V:

1. A reference to a work by that title never published by the writer. Extant in manuscript are a brief outline, a relatively short preliminary draft, and two indices for a longer draft on the subject of marriage that has not been found. The content of the existing material makes clear that these manuscripts, including the missing longer draft, were written in preparation for Delights of Wisdom Relating to Married Love (or Conjugial Love), Followed By Pleasures of Insanity Relating to Licentious Love, which the writer published in 1768, two years after publishing the present work on the Apocalypse.

  
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Many thanks to the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and to Rev. N.B. Rogers, translator, for the permission to use this translation.

from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg

 

Arcana Coelestia #4622

Studere hoc loco

  
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4622. CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE GRAND MAN - continued

IN THIS SECTION THE CORRESPONDENCE OF SMELL AND OF THE NOSTRILS WITH THAT GRAND MAN

The dwelling-places of the blessed in the next life are many and varying. They are built so elegantly that they are so to speak the embodiments of architectural art itself or the direct products of that art. Concerning the dwelling-places of the blessed, see what has been described already from experience, in 1119, 1626-1630. The blessed are aware of these dwelling-places not only through the sense of sight but also through that of touch; for everything in that life is suited to the sensory powers which spirits and angels possess. Consequently their dwelling-places are not of the same nature as the objects perceived by man with his physical senses, but as the objects perceived by the senses which those in the next life possess. I realize that many cannot believe this, and the reason they cannot do so lies in their lack of belief in anything which they cannot see with their bodily eyes or touch with their physical hands. As a consequence man today, the interiors of whose being are closed, has no knowledge of the things which come into being in the spiritual world or in heaven. He does, it is true, say - because the Word and doctrine so teach it - that there is a heaven, where angels live in joy and glory; but beyond that he knows nothing. He would indeed like to know what it is like there, but when he is told this he still fails to believe it, because in his heart he denies the very existence of heaven. The reason he would like to know stems from no more than curiosity aroused by what is taught in doctrine; it does not stem from any delight to know because of any real belief. Those who do not have any real belief in heaven also deny its existence in their hearts, whereas those who do have such belief acquire to themselves ideas about heaven, its joy and glory, from various sources. Each individual does so from whatever knowledge or understanding he has gained, or in the case of the simple from what they discern by means of their bodily senses.

[2] Even so, the majority of people do not grasp the idea that spirits and angels have sensory powers that are far keener than men's in the world; that is to say, they have the powers of sight, hearing, smell, something analogous to taste, and touch, and above all else delights belonging to affections. If people did but believe that the inner essence of their being is spirit and that the body, and the senses and members of this, are suited solely to uses that are served in the world, whereas the spirit, and the senses and organs of this, are suited to uses that are served in the next life, they would arrive unaided and almost spontaneously at ideas about the state of their spirit after death. For in that case they would think of a person's spirit as his true self which thinks, has longings, has desires, and feels emotions, and after that they would think of each sensory power manifested in the body as that which belongs to the spirit, and to the body only through influx from this. These thoughts they would subsequently confirm for themselves from many other pieces of evidence, and so at length they would take more delight in the powers of their spirit than in those of their body.

[3] There is something further to be said on this matter, namely that it is not the body which sees, hears, smells, and feels through touch, but a person's spirit. That being so, when the spirit sheds its body it retains the sensory powers it possessed when within the body; indeed these are now far keener. For that which belongs to the body, being gross compared with that belonging to the spirit, has blunted those sensory powers; and these have been made even blunter because of the person's immersion of them in earthly and worldly interests. I can say this quite definitely, that a spirit has far keener eyesight than man has in the body, as well as far keener hearing. A spirit also has - and this fact will astonish people - the sense of smell, and especially the sense of touch. For spirits can see one another, hear one another, and touch one another. Anyone who believes in a life after death would also deduce this from the fact that no life is possible without the senses, and that the exact nature of that life is determined by that of the senses. Indeed he would deduce that the power of understanding is nothing else than a keener sensory awareness of interior things, a more superior power of understanding being a sensory awareness of spiritual realities. This also explains why the powers of the understanding and their perception of things are called the internal senses.

[4] So far as a person's sensory powers immediately after death are concerned, the position is this: As soon as he dies and the parts of the body grow cold, he is raised up into life, into a state which involves each of his sensory powers. At first he is scarcely aware that he is not still in the body, for the experience of his senses leads him to think he is still in it. But when he notices that his sensory powers are keener than before, and especially when he starts to speak to other spirits, he realizes that he is in the next life and that the death of his body has been a continuation of the life of his spirit. I have spoken to two of my acquaintances on the very day they were to be buried, and to one who through my eyes beheld his own coffin and bier. Since he still possessed each of the senses he had in the world, he spoke to me about his burial service even as I was taking part in the funeral procession. Regarding his body he said that they were putting this away because he was alive.

[5] But it should be recognized that those in the next life cannot see anything whatever of what is in the world through the eyes of anyone in the world. The reason they have been able to do so through my eyes is that in my spirit I am present with them at the same time as I am present in my body with those who are in the world; see also 1880. In addition to this it should be recognized that I have not used the eyes of my body to see those I have spoken to in the next life, but the eyes of my spirit. I have seen them as clearly, and sometimes more clearly, than with my bodily eyes, for in the Lord's Divine mercy the sensory powers of my spirit have been opened.

[6] But I realize that what has been stated up to now is not going to be believed by people who are concerned solely with bodily, earthly, and worldly interests, that is, by those of them who have these interests as their end in view. For such people have no conception of anything apart from that which is dissipated by death. I also realize that what has been stated up to now is not going to be believed by those who have thought a lot about the soul and have asked many questions about it, without at the same time grasping the point that man's soul is his spirit and that his spirit is his real self living within the body. For these people have been unable to conceive of the soul as anything else than something like thought, or flame, or what is ethereal, which operates solely within the organic forms of the body, not within purer forms belonging to his spirit within the body, and so is the kind of thing that is dissipated along with the body. This applies especially to those who have convinced themselves of ideas like these because the picture they have of themselves has been magnified out of all proportion by the false notion that they are wiser than others.

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