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Daniel 7

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1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream; he told the sum of the matters.

2 Daniel spoke and said, I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of the heavens broke forth upon the great sea.

3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, different one from another.

4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till its wings were plucked; and it was lifted up from the earth, and made to stand upon two feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.

5 And behold, another beast, a second, like unto a bear, and it raised up itself on one side; and [it had] three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and they said thus unto it: Arise, devour much flesh.

6 After this I saw, and behold, another, like a leopard, and it had four wings of a bird upon its back; and the beast had four heads; and dominion was given to it.

7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and exceeding strong; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the rest with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.

8 I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another, a little horn, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots; and behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.

9 I beheld till thrones were set, and the Ancient of days did sit: his raiment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was flames of fire, [and] its wheels burning fire.

10 A stream of fire issued and came forth from before him; thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.

11 I beheld therefore, because of the voice of the great words that the horn spoke; I beheld till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed, and it was given up to be burned with fire.

12 As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away; but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.

13 I saw in the night visions, and behold, there came with the clouds of heaven [one] like a son of man, and he came up even to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.

14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom [that] which shall not be destroyed.

15 As for me Daniel, my spirit was grieved in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me.

16 I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the certainty of all this. And he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things:

17 These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, [that] shall arise out of the earth.

18 But the saints of the most high [places] shall receive the kingdom, and they shall possess the kingdom for ever, even to the ages of ages.

19 Then I desired to know the certainty concerning the fourth beast, which was different from them all, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and its nails of brass; which devoured, broke in pieces, and stamped the rest with its feet;

20 and concerning the ten horns that were in its head, and the other that came up, and before which three fell: even that horn that had eyes, and a mouth speaking great things, and whose look was more imposing than its fellows.

21 I beheld, and that horn made war with the saints, and prevailed over them;

22 until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most high [places]; and the appointed time arrived, and the saints possessed the kingdom.

23 He said thus: The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom upon the earth, which shall be different from all the kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.

24 And as to the ten horns, out of this kingdom shall arise ten kings; and another shall arise after them; and he shall be different from the former, and he shall subdue three kings.

25 And he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High [places], and think to change seasons and the law; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and a half time.

26 And the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.

27 But the kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heavens, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most high [places]. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

28 So far is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my thoughts much troubled me, and my countenance was changed in me; but I kept the matter in my heart.

   

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Arcana Coelestia #4691

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4691. 'Are you indeed going to reign over us? Or are you indeed going to have dominion over us?' means, Were the concepts in their understandings and the desires in their wills to be made subject to it? This is clear from the meaning of 'reigning' as the subjection of concepts in the understanding, and from the meaning of 'having dominion' as the subjection of desires in the will. This meaning of 'reigning over them' and 'having dominion over them' - being made subject to - is self-evident; but the reason both expressions are used here is that one has regard to concepts in the understanding, the other to desires in the will. It is common in the Word, especially in the prophetical part, for one particular matter to be described by a dual expression. Anyone unaware of the arcanum lying behind this inevitably supposes that it is no more than a repetition made for the sake of emphasis. But that is not the case. Within every single part of the Word the heavenly marriage is present, namely the marriage of truth to good and of good to truth, just as there is a marriage of understanding and will in the human being. One part of a dual expression has reference to truth, the other to good, so that one has to do with the understanding since that is where truth belongs, the other with the will since this is where good belongs. Expressions used in the Word consist of words which in every case mean things like these. This is the arcanum lying behind the use of a dual expression to describe one particular matter, see 683, 793, 801, 2173, 2516, 2712, 4138(end). So that is the case here also with 'reigning over them' and 'having dominion over them'. 'Reigning' has regard to truth which belongs in the understanding, while 'dominion' has regard to good which belongs in the will; also, 'a kingdom' is used in reference to truth, 1672, 2547, and 'dominion' to good, as is also the case in Daniel where again the Lord's Divine Human is the subject,

To Him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, so that all peoples, nations and languages might worship Him. His dominion is an eternal dominion which will not pass away, and His kingdom one that will not perish. Daniel 7:14.

And in David,

Your kingdom is a kingdom to all eternity, and Your dominion to every generation after generation. Psalms 145:13.

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

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Apocalypse Explained #536

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536. And there was given unto him the key of the pit of the abyss, signifies communication and conjunction with the hells. This is evident from the signification of "key," which is opening (of which presently); and from the signification of "the pit of the abyss," as meaning the hells where and from which are the falsities of evil (of which in the following articles). It is said that the key of the pit of the abyss was given to "the star from heaven fallen unto the earth," because the "star" signifies the knowledges of truth from the Word falsified by application to evils and falsities therefrom; and the evils of falsity and the falsities of evil that are with man open the hells where there are like evils and falsities. But what is meant by opening the hells will also be explained in the following article, for immediately it is said, "and he opened the pit of the abyss."

[2] It is from the appearance in the spiritual world that a "key" signifies opening; in that world there are houses and chambers, there are doors through which there is entrance, and locks and keys by which they are opened, and every one of these things signifies such things as are with man. The house itself corresponds to the interiors of his disposition and mind; likewise the chambers; and the doors correspond to the communication between the interior things of the mind and disposition; and a "key" corresponds to the admission and opening from one part into another; in a word, each particular thing in a house in which angels and spirits dwell corresponds to the particular things within them. Few of the spirits know this, because few know anything about correspondences, for being in them they do not reflect upon them. It is the same as it is with men in the world; few of whom know what their affections and thoughts are, because being in them they thence do not reflect upon them, and yet they are innumerable, as can be seen from the results of mental analysis set forth by many of the learned, all which are operations of the mind. This makes clear why a "key" is mentioned, and that it signifies admission and opening.

[3] So elsewhere in the Word, as in Matthew:

Jesus said to Peter, I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of the heavens (Matthew 16:19).

(This may be seen explained above, n. 206.) Also in Isaiah (Isaiah 22:20, 22), where the like is said of Eliakim (this, too, is explained above, n. 206.

Also in Revelation:

I have the keys of hell and of death (Revelation 1:18). (Respecting this see above, n. 86.)

Again:

These things saith the Holy, the True, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth and no one shutteth, and shutteth and no one openeth (Revelation 3:7). (See above, n. 205, 206.)

And again:

I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a great chain upon his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, and bound him a thousand years (Revelation 20:1, 2). (This will be explained hereafter.)

And in Luke:

Woe unto you lawyers! For 1 ye take away the keys of heaven; 2 ye enter not in yourselves, and those entering in ye hinder (Luke 11:52).

Those were called "lawyers" who searched the Scriptures and taught how their contents must be understood; and as it is by means of the Sacred Scripture or the Word that there is communication and consequent conjunction with heaven, as was said in the article just above, and as truths are what open the communication, and the goods of truth are what constitute conjunction, while truths falsified, which in themselves are the falsities of evil, are what cause disjunction, so they are said "to take away the keys of heaven," that is, that they are able by means of truths to open communication with heaven to those whom they teach; but because they perverted the Word by applications to their loves and to false principles therefrom, therefore it is said, "Ye enter not in yourselves, and those entering in ye hinder." From this it can be seen that "the key that opened the pit" signifies communication and conjunction with the hells by means of the falsities into which the truths of the Word are turned by those who falsify them by applying them to the evils of life and to the false principles derived therefrom.

Фусноти:

1. Latin "who," Greek "for."

2. Latin "heaven," Greek "knowledge."

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