Ново христијанско проучување на Библијата

Библијата

 

Genesis 24

Студија

   

1 καὶ αβρααμ ἦν πρεσβύτερος προβεβηκὼς ἡμερῶν καὶ κύριος εὐλόγησεν τὸν αβρααμ κατὰ πάντα

2 καὶ εἶπεν αβρααμ τῷ παιδὶ αὐτοῦ τῷ πρεσβυτέρῳ τῆς οἰκίας αὐτοῦ τῷ ἄρχοντι πάντων τῶν αὐτοῦ θὲς τὴν χεῖρά σου ὑπὸ τὸν μηρόν μου

3 καὶ ἐξορκιῶ σε κύριον τὸν θεὸν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ τὸν θεὸν τῆς γῆς ἵνα μὴ λάβῃς γυναῖκα τῷ υἱῷ μου ισαακ ἀπὸ τῶν θυγατέρων τῶν χαναναίων μεθ' ὧν ἐγὼ οἰκῶ ἐν αὐτοῖς

4 ἀλλὰ εἰς τὴν γῆν μου οὗ ἐγενόμην πορεύσῃ καὶ εἰς τὴν φυλήν μου καὶ λήμψῃ γυναῖκα τῷ υἱῷ μου ισαακ ἐκεῖθεν

5 εἶπεν δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ παῖς μήποτε οὐ βούλεται ἡ γυνὴ πορευθῆναι μετ' ἐμοῦ ὀπίσω εἰς τὴν γῆν ταύτην ἀποστρέψω τὸν υἱόν σου εἰς τὴν γῆν ὅθεν ἐξῆλθες ἐκεῖθεν

6 εἶπεν δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸν αβρααμ πρόσεχε σεαυτῷ μὴ ἀποστρέψῃς τὸν υἱόν μου ἐκεῖ

7 κύριος ὁ θεὸς τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ὁ θεὸς τῆς γῆς ὃς ἔλαβέν με ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ πατρός μου καὶ ἐκ τῆς γῆς ἧς ἐγενήθην ὃς ἐλάλησέν μοι καὶ ὤμοσέν μοι λέγων σοὶ δώσω τὴν γῆν ταύτην καὶ τῷ σπέρματί σου αὐτὸς ἀποστελεῖ τὸν ἄγγελον αὐτοῦ ἔμπροσθέν σου καὶ λήμψῃ γυναῖκα τῷ υἱῷ μου ισαακ ἐκεῖθεν

8 ἐὰν δὲ μὴ θέλῃ ἡ γυνὴ πορευθῆναι μετὰ σοῦ εἰς τὴν γῆν ταύτην καθαρὸς ἔσῃ ἀπὸ τοῦ ὅρκου τούτου μόνον τὸν υἱόν μου μὴ ἀποστρέψῃς ἐκεῖ

9 καὶ ἔθηκεν ὁ παῖς τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ ὑπὸ τὸν μηρὸν αβρααμ τοῦ κυρίου αὐτοῦ καὶ ὤμοσεν αὐτῷ περὶ τοῦ ῥήματος τούτου

10 καὶ ἔλαβεν ὁ παῖς δέκα καμήλους ἀπὸ τῶν καμήλων τοῦ κυρίου αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν ἀγαθῶν τοῦ κυρίου αὐτοῦ μεθ' ἑαυτοῦ καὶ ἀναστὰς ἐπορεύθη εἰς τὴν μεσοποταμίαν εἰς τὴν πόλιν ναχωρ

11 καὶ ἐκοίμισεν τὰς καμήλους ἔξω τῆς πόλεως παρὰ τὸ φρέαρ τοῦ ὕδατος τὸ πρὸς ὀψέ ἡνίκα ἐκπορεύονται αἱ ὑδρευόμεναι

12 καὶ εἶπεν κύριε ὁ θεὸς τοῦ κυρίου μου αβρααμ εὐόδωσον ἐναντίον ἐμοῦ σήμερον καὶ ποίησον ἔλεος μετὰ τοῦ κυρίου μου αβρααμ

13 ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἕστηκα ἐπὶ τῆς πηγῆς τοῦ ὕδατος αἱ δὲ θυγατέρες τῶν οἰκούντων τὴν πόλιν ἐκπορεύονται ἀντλῆσαι ὕδωρ

14 καὶ ἔσται ἡ παρθένος ᾗ ἂν ἐγὼ εἴπω ἐπίκλινον τὴν ὑδρίαν σου ἵνα πίω καὶ εἴπῃ μοι πίε καὶ τὰς καμήλους σου ποτιῶ ἕως ἂν παύσωνται πίνουσαι ταύτην ἡτοίμασας τῷ παιδί σου ισαακ καὶ ἐν τούτῳ γνώσομαι ὅτι ἐποίησας ἔλεος τῷ κυρίῳ μου αβρααμ

15 καὶ ἐγένετο πρὸ τοῦ συντελέσαι αὐτὸν λαλοῦντα ἐν τῇ διανοίᾳ καὶ ἰδοὺ ρεβεκκα ἐξεπορεύετο ἡ τεχθεῖσα βαθουηλ υἱῷ μελχας τῆς γυναικὸς ναχωρ ἀδελφοῦ δὲ αβρααμ ἔχουσα τὴν ὑδρίαν ἐπὶ τῶν ὤμων αὐτῆς

16 ἡ δὲ παρθένος ἦν καλὴ τῇ ὄψει σφόδρα παρθένος ἦν ἀνὴρ οὐκ ἔγνω αὐτήν καταβᾶσα δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν πηγὴν ἔπλησεν τὴν ὑδρίαν καὶ ἀνέβη

17 ἐπέδραμεν δὲ ὁ παῖς εἰς συνάντησιν αὐτῆς καὶ εἶπεν πότισόν με μικρὸν ὕδωρ ἐκ τῆς ὑδρίας σου

18 ἡ δὲ εἶπεν πίε κύριε καὶ ἔσπευσεν καὶ καθεῖλεν τὴν ὑδρίαν ἐπὶ τὸν βραχίονα αὐτῆς καὶ ἐπότισεν αὐτόν

19 ἕως ἐπαύσατο πίνων καὶ εἶπεν καὶ ταῖς καμήλοις σου ὑδρεύσομαι ἕως ἂν πᾶσαι πίωσιν

20 καὶ ἔσπευσεν καὶ ἐξεκένωσεν τὴν ὑδρίαν εἰς τὸ ποτιστήριον καὶ ἔδραμεν ἔτι ἐπὶ τὸ φρέαρ ἀντλῆσαι καὶ ὑδρεύσατο πάσαις ταῖς καμήλοις

21 ὁ δὲ ἄνθρωπος κατεμάνθανεν αὐτὴν καὶ παρεσιώπα τοῦ γνῶναι εἰ εὐόδωκεν κύριος τὴν ὁδὸν αὐτοῦ ἢ οὔ

22 ἐγένετο δὲ ἡνίκα ἐπαύσαντο πᾶσαι αἱ κάμηλοι πίνουσαι ἔλαβεν ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐνώτια χρυσᾶ ἀνὰ δραχμὴν ὁλκῆς καὶ δύο ψέλια ἐπὶ τὰς χεῖρας αὐτῆς δέκα χρυσῶν ὁλκὴ αὐτῶν

23 καὶ ἐπηρώτησεν αὐτὴν καὶ εἶπεν θυγάτηρ τίνος εἶ ἀνάγγειλόν μοι εἰ ἔστιν παρὰ τῷ πατρί σου τόπος ἡμῖν καταλῦσαι

24 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ θυγάτηρ βαθουηλ εἰμὶ ἐγὼ τοῦ μελχας ὃν ἔτεκεν τῷ ναχωρ

25 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ καὶ ἄχυρα καὶ χορτάσματα πολλὰ παρ' ἡμῖν καὶ τόπος τοῦ καταλῦσαι

26 καὶ εὐδοκήσας ὁ ἄνθρωπος προσεκύνησεν κυρίῳ

27 καὶ εἶπεν εὐλογητὸς κύριος ὁ θεὸς τοῦ κυρίου μου αβρααμ ὃς οὐκ ἐγκατέλιπεν τὴν δικαιοσύνην αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἀπὸ τοῦ κυρίου μου ἐμὲ εὐόδωκεν κύριος εἰς οἶκον τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ τοῦ κυρίου μου

28 καὶ δραμοῦσα ἡ παῖς ἀπήγγειλεν εἰς τὸν οἶκον τῆς μητρὸς αὐτῆς κατὰ τὰ ῥήματα ταῦτα

29 τῇ δὲ ρεβεκκα ἀδελφὸς ἦν ᾧ ὄνομα λαβαν καὶ ἔδραμεν λαβαν πρὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἔξω ἐπὶ τὴν πηγήν

30 καὶ ἐγένετο ἡνίκα εἶδεν τὰ ἐνώτια καὶ τὰ ψέλια ἐπὶ τὰς χεῖρας τῆς ἀδελφῆς αὐτοῦ καὶ ὅτε ἤκουσεν τὰ ῥήματα ρεβεκκας τῆς ἀδελφῆς αὐτοῦ λεγούσης οὕτως λελάληκέν μοι ὁ ἄνθρωπος καὶ ἦλθεν πρὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἑστηκότος αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τῶν καμήλων ἐπὶ τῆς πηγῆς

31 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ δεῦρο εἴσελθε εὐλογητὸς κύριος ἵνα τί ἕστηκας ἔξω ἐγὼ δὲ ἡτοίμακα τὴν οἰκίαν καὶ τόπον ταῖς καμήλοις

32 εἰσῆλθεν δὲ ὁ ἄνθρωπος εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν καὶ ἀπέσαξεν τὰς καμήλους καὶ ἔδωκεν ἄχυρα καὶ χορτάσματα ταῖς καμήλοις καὶ ὕδωρ νίψασθαι τοῖς ποσὶν αὐτοῦ καὶ τοῖς ποσὶν τῶν ἀνδρῶν τῶν μετ' αὐτοῦ

33 καὶ παρέθηκεν αὐτοῖς ἄρτους φαγεῖν καὶ εἶπεν οὐ μὴ φάγω ἕως τοῦ λαλῆσαί με τὰ ῥήματά μου καὶ εἶπαν λάλησον

34 καὶ εἶπεν παῖς αβρααμ ἐγώ εἰμι

35 κύριος δὲ εὐλόγησεν τὸν κύριόν μου σφόδρα καὶ ὑψώθη καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ πρόβατα καὶ μόσχους ἀργύριον καὶ χρυσίον παῖδας καὶ παιδίσκας καμήλους καὶ ὄνους

36 καὶ ἔτεκεν σαρρα ἡ γυνὴ τοῦ κυρίου μου υἱὸν ἕνα τῷ κυρίῳ μου μετὰ τὸ γηρᾶσαι αὐτόν καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ ὅσα ἦν αὐτῷ

37 καὶ ὥρκισέν με ὁ κύριός μου λέγων οὐ λήμψῃ γυναῖκα τῷ υἱῷ μου ἀπὸ τῶν θυγατέρων τῶν χαναναίων ἐν οἷς ἐγὼ παροικῶ ἐν τῇ γῇ αὐτῶν

38 ἀλλ' ἢ εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ πατρός μου πορεύσῃ καὶ εἰς τὴν φυλήν μου καὶ λήμψῃ γυναῖκα τῷ υἱῷ μου ἐκεῖθεν

39 εἶπα δὲ τῷ κυρίῳ μου μήποτε οὐ πορεύσεται ἡ γυνὴ μετ' ἐμοῦ

40 καὶ εἶπέν μοι κύριος ᾧ εὐηρέστησα ἐναντίον αὐτοῦ αὐτὸς ἀποστελεῖ τὸν ἄγγελον αὐτοῦ μετὰ σοῦ καὶ εὐοδώσει τὴν ὁδόν σου καὶ λήμψῃ γυναῖκα τῷ υἱῷ μου ἐκ τῆς φυλῆς μου καὶ ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ πατρός μου

41 τότε ἀθῷος ἔσῃ ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρᾶς μου ἡνίκα γὰρ ἐὰν ἔλθῃς εἰς τὴν ἐμὴν φυλὴν καὶ μή σοι δῶσιν καὶ ἔσῃ ἀθῷος ἀπὸ τοῦ ὁρκισμοῦ μου

42 καὶ ἐλθὼν σήμερον ἐπὶ τὴν πηγὴν εἶπα κύριε ὁ θεὸς τοῦ κυρίου μου αβρααμ εἰ σὺ εὐοδοῖς τὴν ὁδόν μου ἣν νῦν ἐγὼ πορεύομαι ἐπ' αὐτήν

43 ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἐφέστηκα ἐπὶ τῆς πηγῆς τοῦ ὕδατος καὶ αἱ θυγατέρες τῶν ἀνθρώπων τῆς πόλεως ἐξελεύσονται ὑδρεύσασθαι ὕδωρ καὶ ἔσται ἡ παρθένος ᾗ ἂν ἐγὼ εἴπω πότισόν με μικρὸν ὕδωρ ἐκ τῆς ὑδρίας σου

44 καὶ εἴπῃ μοι καὶ σὺ πίε καὶ ταῖς καμήλοις σου ὑδρεύσομαι αὕτη ἡ γυνή ἣν ἡτοίμασεν κύριος τῷ ἑαυτοῦ θεράποντι ισαακ καὶ ἐν τούτῳ γνώσομαι ὅτι πεποίηκας ἔλεος τῷ κυρίῳ μου αβρααμ

45 καὶ ἐγένετο πρὸ τοῦ συντελέσαι με λαλοῦντα ἐν τῇ διανοίᾳ εὐθὺς ρεβεκκα ἐξεπορεύετο ἔχουσα τὴν ὑδρίαν ἐπὶ τῶν ὤμων καὶ κατέβη ἐπὶ τὴν πηγὴν καὶ ὑδρεύσατο εἶπα δὲ αὐτῇ πότισόν με

46 καὶ σπεύσασα καθεῖλεν τὴν ὑδρίαν αὐτῆς ἀφ' ἑαυτῆς καὶ εἶπεν πίε σύ καὶ τὰς καμήλους σου ποτιῶ καὶ ἔπιον καὶ τὰς καμήλους μου ἐπότισεν

47 καὶ ἠρώτησα αὐτὴν καὶ εἶπα τίνος εἶ θυγάτηρ ἡ δὲ ἔφη θυγάτηρ βαθουηλ εἰμὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ ναχωρ ὃν ἔτεκεν αὐτῷ μελχα καὶ περιέθηκα αὐτῇ τὰ ἐνώτια καὶ τὰ ψέλια περὶ τὰς χεῖρας αὐτῆς

48 καὶ εὐδοκήσας προσεκύνησα κυρίῳ καὶ εὐλόγησα κύριον τὸν θεὸν τοῦ κυρίου μου αβρααμ ὃς εὐόδωσέν μοι ἐν ὁδῷ ἀληθείας λαβεῖν τὴν θυγατέρα τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ τοῦ κυρίου μου τῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦ

49 εἰ οὖν ποιεῖτε ὑμεῖς ἔλεος καὶ δικαιοσύνην πρὸς τὸν κύριόν μου ἀπαγγείλατέ μοι εἰ δὲ μή ἀπαγγείλατέ μοι ἵνα ἐπιστρέψω εἰς δεξιὰν ἢ εἰς ἀριστεράν

50 ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ λαβαν καὶ βαθουηλ εἶπαν παρὰ κυρίου ἐξῆλθεν τὸ πρόσταγμα τοῦτο οὐ δυνησόμεθα οὖν σοι ἀντειπεῖν κακὸν καλῷ

51 ἰδοὺ ρεβεκκα ἐνώπιόν σου λαβὼν ἀπότρεχε καὶ ἔστω γυνὴ τῷ υἱῷ τοῦ κυρίου σου καθὰ ἐλάλησεν κύριος

52 ἐγένετο δὲ ἐν τῷ ἀκοῦσαι τὸν παῖδα τὸν αβρααμ τῶν ῥημάτων τούτων προσεκύνησεν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν κυρίῳ

53 καὶ ἐξενέγκας ὁ παῖς σκεύη ἀργυρᾶ καὶ χρυσᾶ καὶ ἱματισμὸν ἔδωκεν ρεβεκκα καὶ δῶρα ἔδωκεν τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτῆς καὶ τῇ μητρὶ αὐτῆς

54 καὶ ἔφαγον καὶ ἔπιον αὐτὸς καὶ οἱ ἄνδρες οἱ μετ' αὐτοῦ ὄντες καὶ ἐκοιμήθησαν καὶ ἀναστὰς πρωὶ εἶπεν ἐκπέμψατέ με ἵνα ἀπέλθω πρὸς τὸν κύριόν μου

55 εἶπαν δὲ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτῆς καὶ ἡ μήτηρ μεινάτω ἡ παρθένος μεθ' ἡμῶν ἡμέρας ὡσεὶ δέκα καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ἀπελεύσεται

56 ὁ δὲ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς μὴ κατέχετέ με καὶ κύριος εὐόδωσεν τὴν ὁδόν μου ἐκπέμψατέ με ἵνα ἀπέλθω πρὸς τὸν κύριόν μου

57 οἱ δὲ εἶπαν καλέσωμεν τὴν παῖδα καὶ ἐρωτήσωμεν τὸ στόμα αὐτῆς

58 καὶ ἐκάλεσαν ρεβεκκαν καὶ εἶπαν αὐτῇ πορεύσῃ μετὰ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τούτου ἡ δὲ εἶπεν πορεύσομαι

59 καὶ ἐξέπεμψαν ρεβεκκαν τὴν ἀδελφὴν αὐτῶν καὶ τὰ ὑπάρχοντα αὐτῆς καὶ τὸν παῖδα τὸν αβρααμ καὶ τοὺς μετ' αὐτοῦ

60 καὶ εὐλόγησαν ρεβεκκαν τὴν ἀδελφὴν αὐτῶν καὶ εἶπαν αὐτῇ ἀδελφὴ ἡμῶν εἶ γίνου εἰς χιλιάδας μυριάδων καὶ κληρονομησάτω τὸ σπέρμα σου τὰς πόλεις τῶν ὑπεναντίων

61 ἀναστᾶσα δὲ ρεβεκκα καὶ αἱ ἅβραι αὐτῆς ἐπέβησαν ἐπὶ τὰς καμήλους καὶ ἐπορεύθησαν μετὰ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου καὶ ἀναλαβὼν ὁ παῖς τὴν ρεβεκκαν ἀπῆλθεν

62 ισαακ δὲ ἐπορεύετο διὰ τῆς ἐρήμου κατὰ τὸ φρέαρ τῆς ὁράσεως αὐτὸς δὲ κατῴκει ἐν τῇ γῇ τῇ πρὸς λίβα

63 καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ισαακ ἀδολεσχῆσαι εἰς τὸ πεδίον τὸ πρὸς δείλης καὶ ἀναβλέψας τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς εἶδεν καμήλους ἐρχομένας

64 καὶ ἀναβλέψασα ρεβεκκα τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς εἶδεν τὸν ισαακ καὶ κατεπήδησεν ἀπὸ τῆς καμήλου

65 καὶ εἶπεν τῷ παιδί τίς ἐστιν ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐκεῖνος ὁ πορευόμενος ἐν τῷ πεδίῳ εἰς συνάντησιν ἡμῖν εἶπεν δὲ ὁ παῖς οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ κύριός μου ἡ δὲ λαβοῦσα τὸ θέριστρον περιεβάλετο

66 καὶ διηγήσατο ὁ παῖς τῷ ισαακ πάντα τὰ ῥήματα ἃ ἐποίησεν

67 εἰσῆλθεν δὲ ισαακ εἰς τὸν οἶκον τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔλαβεν τὴν ρεβεκκαν καὶ ἐγένετο αὐτοῦ γυνή καὶ ἠγάπησεν αὐτήν καὶ παρεκλήθη ισαακ περὶ σαρρας τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ

   

Од делата на Сведенборг

 

Arcana Coelestia #3209

Проучи го овој пасус

  
/ 10837  
  

3209. 'The servant told Isaac all the things that he had done' means perception from the Divine Natural showing how real things stood now. This is clear from the meaning of 'telling' as perceiving, for perception is so to speak an internal telling, and therefore perceiving is expressed in historical descriptions in the Word by the verb 'to tell', and also 'to say', 1741, 1815, 1819, 1822, 1898, 1919, 2080, 2619, 2862; from the meaning of 'the servant' here as the Divine Natural, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'the things' as real things, dealt with in 1785. From all this it is evident that 'the servant told all the things that he had done' means that Divine Rational Good perceived from the Divine Natural how real things stood now.

[2] The situation is that the rational part of the mind exists in the degree above the natural, and Rational Good within the Lord was Divine. Truth however which was to be raised up from the natural was not Divine until joined to the Divine Good of the Rational. So that the Good of the Rational might flow into the natural therefore, there had to be a means in between. This means could not be anything else than the natural which was to partake of the Divine. This is represented by the oldest servant of Abraham's house administering all that he had, 3019, 3020, for that servant means the Divine Natural, see 3191, 3192, 3204, 3206.

  
/ 10837  
  

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

Од делата на Сведенборг

 

Arcana Coelestia #1820

Проучи го овој пасус

  
/ 10837  
  

1820. 'By what shall I know that I shall inherit it?' means temptation directed against the Lord's love which wished to be made quite certain of the outcome. This becomes clear from the feeling of doubt which the words express. Anyone who is undergoing temptation experiences doubt as regards the end in view. That end is the love against which evil spirits and evil genii fight and in so doing place the end in doubt. And the greater his love is, the more they place it in doubt. Unless the end in view which a person loves is placed in doubt, and even in despair, there would be no temptation. A feeling of certainty about the outcome precedes, and is part of, victory.

[2] Since few people know what temptations really are, let a brief explanation of them be given here. Evil spirits never contend against any other things than those which a person loves, and the more intensely he loves them the more fiercely do those spirits contend. Evil genii are the ones that contend against the things of affection for what is good, and evil spirits are the ones that do so against the affection for what is true. As soon as they detect even the smallest thing that a person loves or get a scent, so to speak, of what is delightful and precious to him, they attack it instantly and try to destroy it, and so the whole person, since his life consists in his loves. Nothing ever gives them greater delight than to destroy a person; nor would they leave off but would continue even for ever, if the Lord did not drive them away. Those who are ill-disposed and deceitful worm their way into those very loves by flattering them, and in this way they bring a person in among themselves. And once they have so brought him in, they very soon try to destroy his loves and so to slay that person, which they do in a thousand unimaginable ways.

[3] Nor are the attacks which they make solely those in which they reason against goods and truths - the making of such attacks being nothing to them, for if they were defeated a thousand times over they would carry on with them because their supply of reasonings against goods and truths can never be exhausted. Rather, in their attacks, they pervert goods and truths, setting these ablaze with a certain kind of evil desire and of persuasion, so that the person himself does not know any other than that similar desire and persuasion reign within him. At the same time they infuse those goods and truths with delight which they seize from the delight which that person has in some other thing. In these ways they infect and infest him most deceitfully, doing it all so skillfully by leading him from the one thing to another that if the Lord did not come to his aid, that person would never know other than that it was indeed so.

[4] They act in similar ways against the affections for truth that constitute conscience. As soon as they become aware of anything, whatever the nature of it, that is a constituent part of that conscience, they mould an affection out of the falsities and weaknesses that exist with that person, and by means of that affection they dim the light of truth and so pervert it, or else they cause him anxiety and torment. In addition to this they keep his thought firmly fixed on one single thing; and they fill that thought with delusions, at the same time secretly incorporating evil desires within those delusions. Besides this they use countless other devices which cannot possibly be described so as to be understood. These are a few of the ways - and only very general ones - by which they are able to get at a person's conscience, which above all else they take the greatest delight in destroying.

[5] These few, indeed very few, observations show the nature of temptations - in general that the nature of a person's temptations is as the nature of his loves. They also show the nature of the Lord's temptations, that these were the most dreadful of all, for as is the intensity of the love so is the dreadfulness of the temptations. The Lord's love - a most ardent love - was the salvation of the whole human race; it was therefore a total affection for good and affection for truth in the highest degree. Against these all the hells contended, employing the most malicious forms of guile and venom, but the Lord nevertheless conquered them all by His own power. Victories have this effect, that after they have been won, wicked genii and spirits do not dare to attempt anything; for their life consists in their being able to destroy, but when they perceive that a person is able to withstand them, they flee even when they are making their first assault, as they usually do when they draw near to merely the threshold of heaven. They are straightaway gripped with horror and dread and hurl themselves back in retreat.

  
/ 10837  
  

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

©2024 New Christian Bible Study Corporation. All rights reserved. Printed from newchristianbiblestudy.org