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Exodus 20

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1 Toen sprak God al deze woorden, zeggende:

2 Ik ben de HEERE uw God, Die u uit Egypteland, uit het diensthuis, uitgeleid heb.

3 Gij zult geen andere goden voor Mijn aangezicht hebben.

4 Gij zult u geen gesneden beeld, noch enige gelijkenis maken, van hetgeen boven in den hemel is, noch van hetgeen onder op de aarde is, noch van hetgeen in de wateren onder de aarde is.

5 Gij zult u voor die niet buigen, noch hen dienen; want Ik, de HEERE uw God, ben een ijverig God, Die de misdaad der vaderen bezoek aan de kinderen, aan het derde, en aan het vierde lid dergenen, die Mij haten;

6 En doe barmhartigheid aan duizenden dergenen, die Mij liefhebben, en Mijn geboden onderhouden.

7 Gij zult den Naam des HEEREN uws Gods niet ijdellijk gebruiken; want de HEERE zal niet onschuldig houden, die Zijn Naam ijdellijk gebruikt.

8 Gedenkt den sabbatdag, dat gij dien heiligt.

9 Zes dagen zult gij arbeiden en al uw werk doen;

10 Maar de zevende dag is de sabbat des HEEREN uws Gods; dan zult gij geen werk doen, gij, noch uw zoon, noch uw dochter, noch uw dienstknecht, noch uw dienstmaagd, noch uw vee, noch uw vreemdeling, die in uw poorten is;

11 Want in zes dagen heeft de HEERE den hemel en de aarde gemaakt, de zee en al wat daarin is, en Hij rustte ten zevenden dage; daarom zegende de HEERE den sabbatdag, en heiligde denzelven.

12 Eert uw vader en uw moeder, opdat uw dagen verlengd worden in het land, dat u de HEERE uw God geeft.

13 Gij zult niet doodslaan.

14 Gij zult niet echtbreken.

15 Gij zult niet stelen.

16 Gij zult geen valse getuigenis spreken tegen uw naaste.

17 Gij zult niet begeren uws naasten huis; gij zult niet begeren uws naasten vrouw, noch zijn dienstknecht, noch zijn dienstmaagd, noch zijn os, noch zijn ezel, noch iets, dat uws naasten is.

18 En al het volk zag de donderen, en de bliksemen, en het geluid der bazuin, en den rokenden berg; toen het volk zulks zag, weken zij af, en stonden van verre.

19 En zij zeiden tot Mozes: Spreek gij met ons, en wij zullen horen; en dat God met ons niet spreke, opdat wij niet sterven!

20 En Mozes zeide tot het volk: Vreest niet, want God is gekomen, opdat Hij u verzocht, en opdat Zijn vreze voor uw aangezicht zou zijn, dat gij niet zondigdet.

21 En het volk stond van verre; maar Mozes naderde tot de donkerheid, alwaar God was.

22 Toen zeide de HEERE tot Mozes: Aldus zult gij tot de kinderen Israels zeggen: Gij hebt gezien, dat Ik met ulieden van den hemel gesproken heb.

23 Gij zult nevens Mij niet maken zilveren goden, en gouden goden zult gij u niet maken.

24 Maakt Mij een altaar van aarde, en offert daarop uw brandofferen, en uw dankofferen, uw schapen, en uw runderen; aan alle plaats, waar Ik Mijns Naams gedachtenis stichten zal, zal Ik tot u komen, en zal u zegenen.

25 Maar indien gij Mij een stenen altaar zult maken, zo zult gij dit niet bouwen van gehouwen steen; zo gij uw houwijzer daarover verheft, zo zult gij het ontheiligen.

26 Gij zult ook niet met trappen tot Mijn altaar opklimmen, opdat uw schaamte voor hetzelve niet ontdekt worde.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Explained #967

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967. And every living soul in the sea died, signifies that there was no longer anything from the Word from the spiritual man in the natural man. This is evident from the signification of "living soul in the sea," as being what has in itself spiritual life (of which presently); also from the signification of "sea," as being the generals of truth in the natural man, and thus also the knowledges of truth from the Word (of which just above, n. 965. When these have no life from the spiritual world or from heaven they are called dead. "Living soul in the sea" means fishes of various kinds, and these signify knowledges [scientifica] of the natural man (See above, n. 531); they also signify the knowledges of truth from the Word with natural men, for with natural men the knowledges [cognitiones] of truth from the Word do not differ from the knowledges [scientifica] of the world, and for the reason that with such these knowledges have in them no life from the spiritual, and unless the spiritual flows in out of heaven into the knowledges from the Word they are not living but dead.

[2] Knowledges of truth from the Word are not living with man until the internal spiritual man has been opened; and this is opened by the Lord while man is being regenerated; and then through the opened spiritual man the spiritual out of heaven flows into the knowledges of truth and good that are from the Word in the natural man and vivifies them. It vivifies them in such a way that the knowledges of truth and good in the natural man become correspondences of the spiritual things that are in the internal spiritual man; and when they are correspondences they are living, for then the spiritual is enclosed in the particular knowledges or truths as the soul is in its body. For this reason man after death comes into these spiritual things, and the knowledges to which they corresponded serve them for a basis. But it is otherwise with those in whom the knowledges from the Word have not been vivified. The spiritual that flows into the knowledges out of heaven is the affection of truth, the affection of good, and the affection of bearing fruit; for it is spiritual heat which is the love or the affection of good, and spiritual light which is the affection of truth. These are the spiritual things that flow in and vivify the knowledges of truth from the Word with those who are in the life of charity and in faith therefrom. But these same knowledges with those who are in faith separated from a life of charity are dead. This, therefore, is what is signified by the words "every living soul in the sea died."

[3] The fifth commandment is, "Thou shalt not steal." By "thefts" are meant thefts that are manifest and those not manifest, such as unlawful usury and gains, which are effected by fraud and craft under various pretenses to make them appear lawful, or so done clandestinely as not to appear at all. Such gains are commonly made by higher and lower managers of the goods of others, by merchants, also by judges who sell judgments and thus make justice purchasable. These and many other things are thefts that must be abstained from and shunned, and finally renounced as sins against God, because they are against the Divine laws that are in the Word and against this law, which is one among the fundamental laws of all religions in the whole globe. For these ten commandments are universals, given to the end that in living from these a man may live from religion, since by a life from religion man is conjoined with heaven, while a life according to these from obedience to civil and moral law conjoins man with the world and not with heaven, and to be conjoined with the world and not with heaven is to be conjoined with hell.

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Explained #965

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965. Verse 3. And the second angel poured out his vial into the sea, signifies the state of the church manifested as to the knowledges of truth in the natural man. This is evident from the signification of "the angel pouring out the vial," as being the state of the church manifested (See above, n. 960, 961); also from the signification of the "sea," as being the generals of truth in the natural man (See n. 275, 342, 511, 876, 931, 934), here from the Word, the generals of truth from which are knowledges; therefore the "sea" signifies the natural man as to the knowledges of truth from the Word, also the knowledges of good therefrom, for the knowledges of good are also the knowledges of truth; for it is a truth to know that a thing is good, and that it is such a good; also to see by the understanding various goods and their differences, and their opposites which are called evils; these so far as they are knowledges are truths; nor are these essentially goods until they are felt as delightful or not delightful, that is, when they are perceived by some sense or from some love.

(Continuation: The Third Commandment)

[2] Now follows the third commandment, which is, to keep the sabbath holy.

The third and fourth commandments of the Decalogue contain things that must be done, namely, that the sabbath must be kept holy, and that parents must be honored. The other commandments contain things that are not to be done, namely, that other gods must not be worshiped; that the name of God must not be profaned; that one must not steal, must not commit adultery, must not bear false witness, must not covet the goods of others. These two commandments are commandments to be done, because the sanctification of the rest of the commandments depends upon these, for the "sabbath" signifies the union in the Lord of the Divine Itself and the Divine Human, also His conjunction with heaven and the church, and thus the marriage of good and truth with the man who is being regenerated. This being the signification of the sabbath, it was the chief representative of all things of worship in the Israelitish Church, as is evident in Jeremiah (Jeremiah 17:20-27), and elsewhere. It was the chief representative of all things of worship, because the first thing in all things of worship is the acknowledgment of the Divine in the Lord's Human, for without that acknowledgment man can believe and do only from self, and to believe from self is to believe falsities, and to do from self is to do evils, as is also evident from the Lord's words in John:

To those asking, What shall we do that we might work the works of God? Jesus said, This is the work of God, that ye believe in Him whom God hath sent (John 6:28, 29).

And in the same:

He that abideth in Me and I in him, the same beareth much fruit; for without Me ye can do nothing (John 15:5).

[3] That the sabbath represented that union and the holy acknowledgment of it, has been shown in many places in the Arcana Coelestia, namely, that the "sabbath" signified in the highest sense the union of the Divine Itself and the Divine Human in the Lord, in the internal sense the conjunction of the Lord's Human with heaven and with the church, in general the conjunction of good and truth, thus the heavenly marriage (n. 8495, 10356, 10730). Therefore the rest on the sabbath day signified the state of that union, because the Lord then has rest; also through that union there is peace and salvation in the heavens and on the earth. In a relative sense it signified the conjunction of man with the Lord, because man then has peace and salvation (n. 8494, 8510, 10360, 10367, 10370, 10374, 10668, 10730). The six days preceding the sabbath signified the labors and combats that precede union and conjunction (n. 8510, 8888, 9431, 10360, 10667).

[4] The man who is being regenerated is in two states, the first when he is in truths and by means of truths is being led to good and into good, the other when he is in good. When man is in the first state he is in combats or temptations; but when he is in the second state he is in the tranquility of peace. The former state is signified by the six days of labor that precede the sabbath; and the latter state is signified by the rest on the sabbath day (n. 9274, 9431, 10360). The Lord also was in two states; the first when He was Divine truth and from it fought against the hells and subjugated them, the other when He was made Divine good by union with the very Divine in Himself. The former state was signified in the highest sense by the six days of labor, and the latter by the sabbath (n. 10360). Because such things were represented by the sabbath it was the chief representative of worship, and the holiest of all (n. 10357, 10372). "To do work on the sabbath day" signified to be led not by the Lord but by self, thus to be disjoined (n. 7893, 8495, 10360, 10362, 10365). The sabbath day is not now representative, but is a day of instruction (n. 10360 at the end).

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