The Bible

 

但以理書 9

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1 瑪代族亞哈隨魯的兒子大利烏立為迦勒底國的王元年,

2 就是他在位第一年,我但以理從上得知耶和華的臨到先知耶利米,論耶路撒冷荒涼的年數,七十年為滿。

3 我便禁食,披麻蒙灰,定意向主祈禱懇求。

4 我向耶和華─我的祈禱、認罪,啊,而可畏的,向、守誡命的人守約施慈愛

5 我們犯罪作孽,行惡叛逆,偏離你的誡命典章,

6 沒有聽從你僕人先知奉你名向我們君、首領、列祖,和國中一切百姓所的話。

7 主啊,你是公的,我們是臉上蒙羞的;因我們猶大耶路撒冷居民,並以色列,或在近處,或在遠處,被你趕到各國的,都得罪了你,正如今日一樣。

8 主啊,我們我們的君、首領、列祖因得罪了你,就都臉上蒙羞。

9 主─我們的是憐憫饒恕人的,我們卻違背了他,

10 也沒有聽從耶和華我們的話,沒有遵行他藉僕人先知我們所陳明的律

11 以色列眾人都犯了你的律法,偏行,不從你的話;因此,在你僕人摩西律法上所的咒詛和誓言都傾在我們身上,因我們得罪了

12 他使災禍臨到我們,成就了警戒我們和審判我們官長的;原來在普未曾行過像在耶路撒冷所行的。

13 這一切災禍臨到我們身上是照摩西律法上所的,我們卻沒有求耶和華我們的恩典,使我們回頭離開罪孽,明白你的真理。

14 所以耶和華留意使這災禍臨到我們身上,因為耶和華我們在他所行的事上都是公我們並沒有聽從他的話。

15 主─我們的啊,你曾用大能的領你的子民出埃及,使自己得了名,正如今日一樣。我們犯了罪,作了惡。

16 主啊,求你按你的大仁大,使你的怒氣和忿怒離你的城耶路撒冷,就是你的耶路撒冷和你的子民,因我們罪惡我們列祖的罪孽被四圍的人羞辱。

17 我們的啊,現在求你垂僕人的祈禱懇求,為自己使臉光你荒涼的聖所。

18 我的啊,求你側耳而,睜眼而,眷顧我們荒涼之地和稱為你名下的城。我們在你面前懇求,原不是因自己的,乃因你的大憐憫。

19 求主垂,求主赦免,求主應允而行,為你自己不要遲延。我的啊,因這城和這民都是稱為你名下的。

20 我說話,禱告,承認我的和本國之民以色列的,為我,在耶和華─我面前懇求。

21 我正禱告的時候,先前在異象中所見的那位加百列,奉命迅速飛來,約在獻晚祭的時候,按手在我身上。

22 他指教我:但以理啊,現在我出來要使你有智慧,有聰明。

23 你初懇求的時候,就發出命令,我告訴你,因你大蒙眷愛;所以你要思想明白這以下的事和異象。

24 為你本國之民和你城,已經定了十個。要止住罪過,除淨罪惡,贖盡孽,引進(或譯:彰顯)永,封住異象預言,並者(者:或譯所)。

25 你當知道,當明白,從出令重新建造耶路撒冷,直到有受膏君的時候,必有六十。正在艱難的時候,耶路撒冷城連街帶濠必重新建造

26 過了六十個七,那(或譯:有)受膏者必被剪除,一無所有;必有一王的民毀滅這城和所,至終必如洪水沖沒。必有爭戰,一直到底,荒涼的事已經定了。

27 七之內,他必與許多人堅定盟約;七之半,他必使祭祀與供獻止息。那行毀壞可憎的(或譯:使地荒涼的)如飛而來,並且有忿怒傾在那行毀壞的身上(或譯:傾在那荒涼之地),直到所定的結局。

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

The Lord #64

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64. The reason Jerusalem in the Word means the church in regard to its teachings is that that was the only place in the land of Canaan where the Temple was, where the altar was, where sacrifices were performed, and therefore where there was actual worship of God. That was also why the three annual feasts were celebrated there and why every male in the whole land was commanded to go there. This is why Jerusalem means the church in regard to worship and therefore also the church in regard to its teachings, since worship is defined by teachings and carried out in accord with them. It is also because the Lord was in Jerusalem and taught in its Temple and afterward glorified his human nature there.

Moreover, in the Word as spiritually understood a city means a body of teaching, so a holy city means a body of teaching based on divine truth that comes from the Lord. 1

[2] We can also see that Jerusalem means a church in regard to its teachings from other passages in the Word, such as this in Isaiah:

For Zion’s sake I will not be silent and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest until her justice goes forth like radiance and her salvation burns like a lamp. Then the nations will see your justice and all monarchs will see your glory, and a new name will be given you that the mouth of Jehovah will utter. And you will be a crown of beauty in the hand of Jehovah and a diadem of the kingdom in the hand of your God. Jehovah will be well pleased with you and your land will be married. Behold, your salvation will come. See, his reward is with him. And they will call them a holy people, the redeemed of Jehovah; and you will be called a city sought out, not deserted. (Isaiah 62:1-4, 11-12)

This whole chapter is about the Lord’s Coming and about the new church that he is about to establish. This is the new church meant by the Jerusalem that will be given a new name that the mouth of Jehovah will utter and that will be a crown of beauty in the hand of Jehovah and a diadem of the kingdom in the hand of God, with which Jehovah will be well pleased, and which will be called a city sought out, not deserted. This cannot mean the Jerusalem where Jews were living when the Lord came, because this was the opposite in all respects, more properly called “Sodom, ” as it is in Revelation 11:8, Isaiah 3:9, Jeremiah 23:14, Ezekiel 16:46, 48.

[3] Another passage from Isaiah:

Behold, I am creating a new heaven and a new earth; the former ones will not be remembered. Be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating. Behold, I am going to create Jerusalem as a rejoicing and her people as a gladness, so that I may rejoice over Jerusalem and be glad about my people. Then the wolf and the lamb will feed together; they will do no evil in all my holy mountain. (Isaiah 65:17-19, 25)

This chapter too is about the Lord’s Coming and the church that he is going to establish-a church that was not established among people in Jerusalem but among people who were outside it. This church, then, is meant by the Jerusalem that would be a rejoicing for the Lord and whose people will be a gladness for him, and where the wolf and the lamb will feed together, and where they will do no evil.

Here it is also saying, as it does in the Book of Revelation, that the Lord is going to create a new heaven and a new earth, meaning much the same thing; and it also says that he is going to create Jerusalem.

[4] Another passage from Isaiah:

Wake up! Wake up! Put on your strength, O Zion. Put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, holy city. No more will the uncircumcised or the unclean come into you. Shake yourself from the dust, rise up, and sit [in a higher place], Jerusalem. The people will acknowledge my name on that day, because I am the one saying “Here I am!” Jehovah has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem. (Isaiah 52:1-2, 6, 9)

This chapter too is about the Lord’s Coming and the church that he is going to establish. So the Jerusalem into which the uncircumcised or the unclean will no longer come, and which the Lord will redeem, means the church; and Jerusalem the holy city means the church’s teachings that come from the Lord.

[5] In Zephaniah:

Rejoice, O daughter of Zion! Be glad with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The King of Israel is in your midst. Do not fear evil anymore. He will be glad over you with joy; he will rest in your love; he will rejoice over you with singing. I will give you a name and praise among all the peoples of the earth. (Zephaniah 3:14-17, 20)

Again, this is about the Lord and the church from him, the church over which the King of Israel (who is the Lord) will rejoice with singing and be glad with joy, in whose love he will be at rest, and to whom he will give a name and praise among all the peoples of the earth.

[6] In Isaiah:

Thus says Jehovah your Redeemer and your Maker, who says to Jerusalem, “You will be inhabited,” and to the cities of Judah, “You will be built.” (Isaiah 44:24, 26)

And in Daniel:

Know and understand: from [the time] the word goes forth that Jerusalem must be restored and built until [the time of] Messiah the Leader will be seven weeks. (Daniel 9:25)

We can see that here too Jerusalem means the church because this latter was restored and built up by the Lord, but Jerusalem, the capital city of the Jews, was not.

[7] Jerusalem means the church that comes from the Lord also in the following passages. In Zechariah:

Thus says Jehovah: “I will return to Zion and dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Jerusalem will be called the city of truth, and the mountain of Jehovah Sabaoth will be called the holy mountain.” (Zechariah 8:3; see also 8:20-23)

In Joel:

Then you will know that I am Jehovah your God, dwelling on Zion, my holy mountain. Jerusalem will be holy. And on that day it will happen that the mountains will drip with new wine and the hills will flow with milk; and Jerusalem will abide from generation to generation. (Joel 3:17-21)

In Isaiah:

On that day the branch of Jehovah will be beautiful and glorious. And it will happen that those remaining in Zion and those left in Jerusalem will be called holy-all who are written as alive in Jerusalem. (Isaiah 4:2-3)

In Micah:

At the very last of days the mountain of the house of Jehovah will be established on the top of the mountains. Teaching will go forth from Zion and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem. To you the former kingdom will come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem. (Micah 4:1-2, 8)

In Jeremiah:

At that time they will call Jerusalem the throne of Jehovah, and all nations will gather at Jerusalem because of the name of Jehovah. They will no longer follow the stubbornness of their own evil heart. (Jeremiah 3:17)

In Isaiah:

Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts! Your eyes will see Jerusalem as a peaceful abode and as a tabernacle that will not be taken down; its tent pegs will never be removed and not one of its cords will be torn away. (Isaiah 33:20)

There are other passages elsewhere, such as Isaiah 24:23; 37:32; 66:10-14; Zechariah 12:3, 6, 9-10; 14:8, 11-12, 21; Malachi 3:2, 4; Psalms 122:1-7; 137:4-6.

[8] As for Jerusalem in these passages meaning the church that the Lord was going to establish and that has in fact been established, and not the Jerusalem in the land of Canaan that was inhabited by Jews, this too we can tell from the places in the Word where this latter city is described as totally lost and as destined for destruction, passages such as Jeremiah 5:1; 6:6-7; 7:17-18, and following; 8:6-8, and following; 9:10-11, 13, and following; 13:9-10, 14; 14:16; Lamentations 1:8-9, 17; Ezekiel 4:1; 5:9; 12:18-19; 15:6-8; 16:1-63; 23:1-49; Matthew 23:37, 39; Luke 19:41-44; 21:20-22; 23:28-30; and in many other places.

Footnotes:

1. [Swedenborg’s Footnote] A city in the Word means the teachings of a church and of a religion: see Arcana Coelestia 402, 2712, 2943, 3216, 4492-4493. The gate of a city means the teachings through which we come into the church: 2943, 4477. That is why the elders sat in the gate of the city and gave judgment: 2943. Going out of the gate means departing from the teachings: 4492-4493. Representations of cities and palaces appear in heaven when angels are discussing specific teachings: 3216.

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

The Bible

 

Luke 22

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1 Now the feast of unleavened bread, which is called the Passover, drew near.

2 The chief priests and the scribes sought how they might put him to death, for they feared the people.

3 Satan entered into Judas, who was surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered with the twelve.

4 He went away, and talked with the chief priests and captains about how he might deliver him to them.

5 They were glad, and agreed to give him money.

6 He consented, and sought an opportunity to deliver him to them in the absence of the multitude.

7 The day of unleavened bread came, on which the Passover must be sacrificed.

8 He sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat."

9 They said to him, "Where do you want us to prepare?"

10 He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered into the city, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him into the house which he enters.

11 Tell the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room, Where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?"'

12 He will show you a large, furnished upper room. Make preparations there."

13 They went, found things as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

14 When the hour had come, he sat down with the twelve apostles.

15 He said to them, "I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer,

16 for I tell you, I will no longer by any means eat of it until it is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God."

17 He received a cup, and when he had given thanks, he said, "Take this, and share it among yourselves,

18 for I tell you, I will not drink at all again from the fruit of the vine, until the Kingdom of God comes."

19 He took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and gave to them, saying, "This is my body which is given for you. Do this in memory of me."

20 Likewise, he took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

21 But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table.

22 The Son of Man indeed goes, as it has been determined, but woe to that man through whom he is betrayed!"

23 They began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.

24 There arose also a contention among them, which of them was considered to be greatest.

25 He said to them, "The kings of the nations lord it over them, and those who have authority over them are called 'benefactors.'

26 But not so with you. But one who is the greater among you, let him become as the younger, and one who is governing, as one who serves.

27 For who is greater, one who sits at the table, or one who serves? Isn't it he who sits at the table? But I am in the midst of you as one who serves.

28 But you are those who have continued with me in my trials.

29 I confer on you a kingdom, even as my Father conferred on me,

30 that you may eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom. You will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel."

31 The Lord said, "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan asked to have you, that he might sift you as wheat,

32 but I prayed for you, that your faith wouldn't fail. You, when once you have turned again, establish your brothers."

33 He said to him, "Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death!"

34 He said, "I tell you, Peter, the rooster will by no means crow today until you deny that you know me three times."

35 He said to them, "When I sent you out without purse, and wallet, and shoes, did you lack anything?" They said, "Nothing."

36 Then he said to them, "But now, whoever has a purse, let him take it, and likewise a wallet. Whoever has none, let him sell his cloak, and buy a sword.

37 For I tell you that this which is written must still be fulfilled in me: 'He was counted with transgressors.' For that which concerns me has an end."

38 They said, "Lord, behold, here are two swords." He said to them, "That is enough."

39 He came out, and went, as his custom was, to the Mount of Olives. His disciples also followed him.

40 When he was at the place, he said to them, "Pray that you don't enter into temptation."

41 He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and he knelt down and prayed,

42 saying, "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done."

43 An angel from heaven appeared to him, strengthening him.

44 Being in agony he prayed more earnestly. His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground.

45 When he rose up from his prayer, he came to the disciples, and found them sleeping because of grief,

46 and said to them, "Why do you sleep? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation."

47 While he was still speaking, behold, a multitude, and he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He came near to Jesus to kiss him.

48 But Jesus said to him, "Judas, do you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?"

49 When those who were around him saw what was about to happen, they said to him, "Lord, shall we strike with the sword?"

50 A certain one of them struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear.

51 But Jesus answered, "Let me at least do this"--and he touched his ear, and healed him.

52 Jesus said to the chief priests, captains of the temple, and elders, who had come against him, "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs?

53 When I was with you in the temple daily, you didn't stretch out your hands against me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness."

54 They seized him, and led him away, and brought him into the high priest's house. But Peter followed from a distance.

55 When they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard, and had sat down together, Peter sat among them.

56 A certain servant girl saw him as he sat in the light, and looking intently at him, said, "This man also was with him."

57 He denied Jesus, saying, "Woman, I don't know him."

58 After a little while someone else saw him, and said, "You also are one of them!" But Peter answered, "Man, I am not!"

59 After about one hour passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, "Truly this man also was with him, for he is a Galilean!"

60 But Peter said, "Man, I don't know what you are talking about!" Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed.

61 The Lord turned, and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the Lord's word, how he said to him, "Before the rooster crows you will deny me three times."

62 He went out, and wept bitterly.

63 The men who held Jesus mocked him and beat him.

64 Having blindfolded him, they struck him on the face and asked him, "Prophesy! Who is the one who struck you?"

65 They spoke many other things against him, insulting him.

66 As soon as it was day, the assembly of the elders of the people was gathered together, both chief priests and scribes, and they led him away into their council, saying,

67 "If you are the Christ, tell us." But he said to them, "If I tell you, you won't believe,

68 and if I ask, you will in no way answer me or let me go.

69 From now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God."

70 They all said, "Are you then the Son of God?" He said to them, "You say it, because I am."

71 They said, "Why do we need any more witness? For we ourselves have heard from his own mouth!"