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Danijel 7

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1 Prve godine Baltazara, kralja babilonskoga, usni Daniel san: utvare mu se na postelji vrzle glavom. Sažeto zapisa što je usnio.

2 Kazivaše ovako: Noću u viđenju pogledah, kad eno: četiri vjetra nebeska uzbibaše veliko more.

3 Četiri goleme nemani iziđoše iz mora, svaka drukčija. Prva bijaše kao lav, a krila joj orlovska.

4 Dok je promatrah, krila joj se iščupaše, diže se ona sa zemlje i uspravi na noge kao čovjek, i bijaše joj dano srce čovječje.

5 Kad eno druga neman: gle, sasvim drukčija: kao medvjed, s jedne strane uspravljena, tri joj rebra u raljama, među zubima. I bijaše joj rečeno: "Ustani, nažderi se mesa!"

6 Gledah dalje, i evo: treća neman kao leopard, na leđima joj četiri ptičja krila: imaše četiri glave, i dana joj je moć.

7 Zatim, u noćnim viđenjima, pogledah, kad eno: četvrta neman, strahovita, užasna, izvanredno snažna: imaše velike gvozdene zube; ona žderaše, mrvljaše, a što preostade, gazila je nogama. Razlikovala se od prijašnjih nemani i imaše deset rogova.

8 Promatrah joj rogove, i gle: među njima poraste jedan mali rog; i pred tim se rogom iščupaše tri prijašnja roga. I gle, na tome rogu oči kao oči čovječje i usta koja govorahu velike hule.

9 Gledao sam: Prijestolja bjehu postavljena i Pradavni sjede. Odijelo mu bijelo poput snijega; vlasi na glavi kao čista vuna. Njegovo prijestolje kao plamenovi ognjeni i točkovi kao žarki oganj.

10 Rijeka ognjena tekla, izvirala ispred njega. Tisuću tisuća služahu njemu, mirijade stajahu pred njim. Sud sjede, knjige se otvoriše.

11 Ja gledah tada, zbog buke velikih hula što ih govoraše rog, i dok gledah, neman bi ubijena, njezino tijelo raskomadano i predano ognju.

12 Ostalim nemanima vlast bi oduzeta, ali im duljina života bi na jedno vrijeme i rok.

13 Gledah u noćnim viđenjima i gle, na oblacima nebeskim dolazi kao Sin čovječji. On se približi Pradavnome i dovedu ga k njemu.

14 Njemu bi predana vlast, čast i kraljevstvo, da mu služe svi narodi, plemena i jezici. Vlast njegova vlast je vječna i nikada neće proći, kraljevstvo njegovo neće propasti.

15 Meni, Danielu, smete se zbog toga sav duh, viđenja mi se vrzoše glavom, svega me prestraviše.

16 Pristupih jednome od onih koji stajahu ondje i zamolih ga da mi rekne istinu o svemu tome. On mi odgovori i kaza mi značenje:

17 "One četiri goleme nemani jesu četiri kralja koji će se dići na zemlji.

18 Ali će od njih kraljevstvo preuzeti Sveci Svevišnjega i oni će ga posjedovati za vijeke vjekova."

19 Zaželjeh tada saznati istinu o četvrtoj nemani, onoj koja se razlikovaše od svih drugih, bila izvanredno strašna, imala gvozdene zube i mjedene pandže i koja je žderala i mrvila i nogama gazila što preostajaše;

20 i o deset rogova što bijahu na njezinoj glavi, i o drugom rogu koji poraste dok tri prva otpadoše - o rogu koji imaše oči i usta što govorahu velike hule i koji bijaše veći nego drugi rogovi.

21 I gledao sam kako ovaj rog ratuje protiv Svetaca te ih nadvladava,

22 dok ne dođe Pradavni, koji dosudi pravdu Svecima Svevišnjega, i dok ne dođe vrijeme kad Sveci zaposjedoše kraljevstvo.

23 On reče: "Četvrta neman bit će četvrto kraljevstvo na zemlji, različito od svih kraljevstava. Progutat će svu zemlju, zgazit' je i smrviti.

24 A deset rogova: Od ovoga kraljevstva nastat će deset kraljeva, a iza njih će se podići jedan drugi različit od onih prvih - i oborit će tri kralja.

25 On će huliti na Svevišnjega, zatirati Svece Svevišnjega; pomišljat će da promijeni blagdane i Zakon, i Sveci će biti predani u njegove ruke na jedno vrijeme i dva vremena i polovinu vremena.

26 Tada će sjesti Sud, vlast mu oduzeti, razoriti, sasvim uništiti.

27 A kraljevstvo, vlast i veličanstvo pod svim nebesima dat će se puku Svetaca Svevišnjega. Kraljevstvo njegovo kraljevstvo je vječno, i sve vlasti služit će mu i pokoravati se njemu."

28 Ovdje se završava izvještaj. Ja, Daniel, bijah vrlo potresen u svojim mislima i lice mi problijedje, ali sve ovo sačuvah u srcu svojemu.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

De Verbo (The Word) #10

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10. X. The ultimate sense of the Word, 1 which is the literal sense alone, corresponds to the beard and hair of the head of an angelic person.

It may seem surprising the first time it is said or we hear it said that the hair of the head and the beard correspond to the Word at its ultimate level. But this correspondence is due to the fact that everything in the Word corresponds to everything in heaven, and heaven corresponds to everything in a person. For heaven taken as a whole is like a single person in the Lord's sight; on this correspondence see Heaven and Hell [87-102, 307].

[2] I was allowed to perceive that everything in the Word corresponds to everything in heaven from the fact that each chapter in the books of the prophets corresponds to one particular community in heaven. For on reading through the prophetic parts of the word from Isaiah to Malachi, I was allowed to see that the communities of heaven were aroused one after the other, and they perceived the spiritual sense which corresponded to them. So from this and other proofs it was plain to me that the whole of heaven has, part by part, a correspondence to the Word. Now since there is such a correspondence of the Word to heaven, and heaven as a whole and in its parts corresponds to a person, this is why the ultimate level of the Word corresponds to the ultimate in a person. The ultimate level in the Word is the literal sense, and the ultimate level in a person is the hair of his head and his beard.

[3] This is why when people who have loved the Word even at its ultimate level after death become spirits, they are to be seen with a fair head of hair; and so are the angels. When these same people become angels, they also let their beards grow. On the other hand, all who have despised the literal sense of the Word, on becoming spirits after death, turn bald. This is also a sign that they are devoid of truths. So to avoid embarrassing others, they cover their heads with a head-dress.

[4] Since the hair and the beard mean the ultimate level of heaven, and so also the ultimate level of Divine Truth or the Word, the Ancient of Days is described as having the hair of his head like clean wool (Daniel 7:9). Likewise the Son of Man or the Lord as regards the Word (Revelation 1:14). For the same reason the strength of Samson lay in his hair, and he was weakened by having it cut off. The condition of a Nazarite also lay in his hair; for the Nazarite represented the Lord at His ultimate level, and so also heaven at its ultimate level. This was the reason why the forty-two children were torn in pieces by bears for calling Elisha bald (2 Kings 2:23-24).

[5] Elisha, like Elijah and the other prophets, represented the Lord as regards the Word; and the Word without its ultimate, that is, its literal sense, is no longer the Word. For the literal sense of the Word is like a bottle filled with fine wine; so if the bottle is broken, all the wine is lost. The literal sense of the Word is like the bones and skin of the human body; take them away and the whole person falls to pieces. That is why what holds the Word together and in fact gives it its power is its ultimate sense, the literal sense; for this sustains and holds together all the Divine truth it contains.

[6] Since baldness means the absence of truth, when the Jewish church, since it lacks the ultimate level, abandoned Jehovah and despised the Word, it was called bald, as in Jeremiah:

Every head is bald and every beard is shorn. Jeremiah 48:37.

In Isaiah:

Baldness on their heads, and a shorn beard. Isaiah 15:2.

In Ezekiel:

To shave his head and beard with a razor. Ezekiel 5:1.

Shame on all their faces, and baldness on all heads. Ezekiel 7:18.

Every head has been made bald. Ezekiel 29:18.

And in other places, such as Amos 8:10, Micah 1:16.

[7] But the sense of the Word known as the literal sense corresponds at its ultimate level to the hair of the head, but in other respects to various parts of the human body, as its head, chest, loins and feet. But where those correspondences occur in that sense, the Word is so to speak clothed, and so corresponds to the clothing of those parts. For in general clothes mean truths, and really correspond to them. But there are still many things in the literal sense of the Word which are bare and so to speak unclothed; and they correspond to a person's face and his hands, which are the parts left uncovered. Those parts of the Word serve for the teaching of the church, because they are in themselves spiritual-natural truths. From this it can be established that there is no obstacle to prevent a person being able to find and see bare truths there too.

Footnotes:

1. Added in the margin: 'As the result of the correspondence between natural and spiritual things the ultimate sense of the Word is to be understood by the twelve precious stones composing the foundations of the wall of the New Jerusalem'.

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

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