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Daniel 8

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1 La troisième année du règne du roi Belschatsar, moi, Daniel, j'eus une vision, outre celle que j'avais eue précédemment.

2 Lorsque j'eus cette vision, il me sembla que j'étais à Suse, la capitale, dans la province d'Elam; et pendant ma vision, je me trouvais près du fleuve d'Ulaï.

3 Je levai les yeux, je regardai, et voici, un bélier se tenait devant le fleuve, et il avait des cornes; ces cornes étaient hautes, mais l'une était plus haute que l'autre, et elle s'éleva la dernière.

4 Je vis le bélier qui frappait de ses cornes à l'occident, au septentrion et au midi; aucun animal ne pouvait lui résister, et il n'y avait personne pour délivrer ses victimes; il faisait ce qu'il voulait, et il devint puissant.

5 Comme je regardais attentivement, voici, un bouc venait de l'occident, et parcourait toute la terre à sa surface, sans la toucher; ce bouc avait une grande corne entre les yeux.

6 Il arriva jusqu'au bélier qui avait des cornes, et que j'avais vu se tenant devant le fleuve, et il courut sur lui dans toute sa fureur.

7 Je le vis qui s'approchait du bélier et s'irritait contre lui; il frappa le bélier et lui brisa les deux cornes, sans que le bélier eût la force de lui résister; il le jeta par terre et le foula, et il n'y eut personne pour délivrer le bélier.

8 Le bouc devint très puissant; mais lorsqu'il fut puissant, sa grande corne se brisa. Quatre grandes cornes s'élevèrent pour la remplacer, aux Quatre vents des cieux.

9 De l'une d'elles sortit une petite corne, qui s'agrandit beaucoup vers le midi, vers l'orient, et vers le plus beau des pays.

10 Elle s'éleva jusqu'à l'armée des cieux, elle fit tomber à terre une partie de cette armée et des étoiles, et elle les foula.

11 Elle s'éleva jusqu'au chef de l'armée, lui enleva le sacrifice perpétuel, et renversa le lieu de son sanctuaire.

12 L'armée fut livrée avec le sacrifice perpétuel, à cause du péché; la corne jeta la vérité par terre, et réussit dans ses entreprises.

13 J'entendis parler un saint; et un autre saint dit à celui qui parlait: Pendant combien de temps s'accomplira la vision sur le sacrifice perpétuel et sur le péché dévastateur? Jusques à quand le sanctuaire et l'armée seront-ils foulés?

14 Et il me dit: Deux mille trois cents soirs et matins; puis le sanctuaire sera purifié.

15 Tandis que moi, Daniel, j'avais cette vision et que je cherchais à la comprendre, voici, quelqu'un qui avait l'apparence d'un homme se tenait devant moi.

16 Et j'entendis la voix d'un homme au milieu de l'Ulaï; il cria et dit: Gabriel, explique-lui la vision.

17 Il vint alors près du lieu où j'étais; et à son approche, je fus effrayé, et je tombai sur ma face. Il me dit: Sois attentif, fils de l'homme, car la vision concerne un temps qui sera la fin.

18 Comme il me parlait, je restai frappé d'étourdissement, la face contre terre. Il me toucha, et me fit tenir debout à la place où je me trouvais.

19 Puis il me dit: Je vais t'apprendre, ce qui arrivera au terme de la colère, car il y a un temps marqué pour la fin.

20 Le bélier que tu as vu, et qui avait des cornes, ce sont les rois des Mèdes et des Perses.

21 Le bouc, c'est le roi de Javan, La grande corne entre ses yeux, c'est le premier roi.

22 Les quatre cornes qui se sont élevées pour remplacer cette corne brisée, ce sont quatre royaumes qui s'élèveront de cette nation, mais qui n'auront pas autant de force.

23 A la fin de leur domination, lorsque les pécheurs seront consumés, il s'élèvera un roi impudent et artificieux.

24 Sa puissance s'accroîtra, mais non par sa propre force; il fera d'incroyables ravages, il réussira dans ses entreprises, il détruira les puissants et le peuple des saints.

25 A cause de sa prospérité et du succès de ses ruses, il aura de l'arrogance dans le coeur, il fera périr beaucoup d'hommes qui vivaient paisiblement, et il s'élèvera contre le chef des chefs; mais il sera brisé, sans l'effort d'aucune main.

26 Et la vision des soirs et des matins, dont il s'agit, est véritable. Pour toi, tiens secrète cette vision, car elle se rapporte à des temps éloignés.

27 Moi, Daniel, je fus plusieurs jours languissant et malade; puis je me levai, et je m'occupai des affaires du roi. J'étais étonné de la vision, et personne n'en eut connaissance.

   

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Apocalypse Explained #179

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179. (Verse 28) And I will give him the morning star. That this signifies intelligence and wisdom from the Divine Human of the Lord is evident from the signification of stars, as denoting the knowledges (cognitiones) of good and truth (concerning which see above, n. 72); and because they signify such knowledges, they also signify intelligence and wisdom; for all intelligence and wisdom are from the knowledges of good and truth; and from the signification of morning, as denoting the Lord as to His Divine Human, hence the morning star denotes intelligence and wisdom from Him. We often read of morning in the Word; and the signification of the term differs according to the series of things treated of in the internal sense: in the highest sense, it signifies the Lord, and also His coming: in the internal sense, it signifies His kingdom and church, and their state of peace. Moreover, it signifies the first state of a new church, and also a state of love, also a state of enlightenment, consequently a state of intelligence and wisdom, and also a state of the conjunction of good and truth, which is the state when the internal man is conjoined to the external. The reason why morning has such a variety of significations is, that, in the highest sense, it signifies the Lord's Divine Human, and hence it also signifies all those things that proceed from it; for the Lord is present in those things which proceed from Him, so that He Himself is there.

[2] The reason why the Lord's Divine Human, in the highest sense, is meant by morning is, that the Lord is the Sun of the angelic heaven; and the Sun of that heaven does not advance from morning to evening, or from rising to setting, as the sun of the world apparently does, but it remains stationary in its place, in front, above the heavens. This is why there is always morning and never evening there. And because all the intelligence and wisdom which the angels have exist with them from the Lord as a Sun, therefore also their state of love, wisdom and intelligence, and, in general, their state of enlightenment, is signified by morning; for those things proceed from the Lord as a Sun, and that which proceeds from Him is Himself; for from the Divine nothing proceeds but what is Divine, and everything Divine is Himself. (That the Lord is the Sun of the angelic heaven, and that from Him as a Sun exist all love, wisdom and intelligence, and, in general, all enlightenment as to Divine truths, from which wisdom is derived, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell 116-125, 126-143, 155, 156.)

[3] From these considerations it is now evident why it is that morning is so often mentioned in the Word when it treats of Jehovah or the Lord, of His advent, kingdom and church, and of the goods thereof; as in the following passages, which shall be adduced by way of illustration. In the second Book of Samuel:

"The God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel spake to me. He is as the light of the morning; the sun riseth, a morning without clouds" (23:3, 4).

The God of Israel, and the Rock, is the Lord as to his Divine Human, and the Divine truth proceeding therefrom. He is called the God of Israel, because Israel denotes His spiritual church, and the Rock, because His Divine in the church is Divine truth (see Arcana Coelestia 3720, 6426, 8581, 10580). Because the Lord in the angelic heaven is the Sun, and all the light of the angels is therefrom, and as the Sun there is continually in its morning, therefore it is said, "He is as the light of the morning, the sun riseth, a morning without clouds."

[4] In David:

"From the womb of the morning thou hast the dew of thy youth; thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek" (Psalms 110:3, 4).

This is said of the Lord, as about to come into the world. From the womb of the morning thou hast the dew of thy youth, denotes conception from the Divine itself, and hence the glorification of His Human: a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek, denotes that Divine good and Divine truth proceed from Him; for the Lord as a priest is Divine good, and as king of holiness, which is Melchizedek, is Divine truth (see Arcana Coelestia 1725).

[5] In Ezekiel:

The cherubs "stood at the eastern door of the gate of the house; the glory of the God of Israel was over them above" (10:19).

Cherubs signify the Lord as to providence, and as to protection lest any should approach except by means of the good of love; the eastern door of the gate of the house signifies approach; the house of God is heaven and the church; the east is where the Lord appears as a Sun, thus where He is continually in the morning; hence it is said the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.

[6] In the same:

The angel "led me to the gate which looketh towards the east. When, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east; and the earth was enlightened with his glory. And the glory of Jehovah came into the house by the way of the gate whose face is towards the east" (43:1, 2, 4).

In the internal sense here, is described the influx of the Lord into those who are in His kingdom and church; the God of Israel is the Lord as to the Divine Human and the Divine truth proceeding therefrom; the house of God is His kingdom and the church; glory is the Divine truth such as it is in heaven; to come by the way of the east into the house denotes from the sun where it is continually in its morning. (That glory is Divine truth such as it is in heaven, see Arcana Coelestia 4809, 5922, 8267, 8427, 9429; that the house of God denotes heaven and the church as to good, and temple the same as to truth, see n. 3720: and that the east, in the highest sense, is the Lord, because He is the Sun of heaven, which is always in its rising and morning, and that hence the east denotes the good of love from Him, see n. 3708, 5097, 9668.)

[7] In the same:

The angel "afterwards led me back to the door of the house, where, behold, waters issuing out from under the threshold of the house towards the east, will descend into the plain and come towards the sea, being sent forth into the sea that the waters may be healed; whence it comes to pass that every living soul that creepeth, whithersoever the rivers come, shall live; whence there is exceeding much fish, because these waters shall come thither, and they are healed, that everything may live whither the river shall come" (47:1, 2, 8, 9).

Here also is described, by pure correspondences, the influx of the Lord from His Divine Human into those who belong to His kingdom and church. By the waters issuing out from under the threshold of the house eastward is described the Divine truth proceeding from Him, and flowing into those who are in the east, that is, who are in the good of love to Him. By the waters going down into the plain and into the sea, and the waters of the sea being thence healed is signified influx into the natural man and into the knowledges (cognitiones) which are there. That hence there would be a very great multitude of fish signifies scientific truths (scientifica vera) in the natural man; that everything should live whither the river should come, signifies, that they should have life from Divine truth. No one can see that such things are signified except from the internal sense of the Word; when, notwithstanding, every single expression involves arcana concerning the regeneration of man by the Lord. But what is involved in each expression will be made known when we come to treat of the twenty-second chapter of the Apocalypse, where similar things are mentioned.

[8] In David:

"I have waited for Jehovah; my soul doth wait, my soul waiteth for the Lord more than they who watch for the morning; they who watch for the morning, because with him is plenteous redemption, and he will redeem Israel" (Psalms 130:5-8).

The coming of the Lord into the world is here treated of, and the reception of Him by those who are in the good of love. The coming of the Lord is signified by I have waited for Jehovah, my soul waiteth for the Lord, because with Him is plenteous redemption, and He will redeem Israel; and the reception of Him by those who are in the good of love is signified by more than they who watch for the morning, they who watch for the morning. Here, morning, in the highest sense, signifies the Lord, and, in the internal sense, His kingdom and church; and they who watch for the morning signify those who wait for the coming of the Lord, who are such as are in the good of love, because to them the Lord is the morning.

[9] That morning signifies the coming of the Lord into the world, and, at such a time, a new church, is evident from the following passages; as in Daniel:

"Until the evening and the morning, two thousand and three hundred, then what is holy shall be justified. The vision of the evening and the morning which was told is truth" (8:14, 26).

The evening signifies the last time of the former church, and the morning the first time of the new church, thus the coming of the Lord. In Isaiah:

"Crying to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? watchman, what of the night? The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night" (21:11, 12).

Here also the coming of the Lord is treated of; the night is the last time of the former church, and the morning the first of the new (what is signified by calling out of Seir, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 4240, 4384). In Ezekiel:

"The end cometh, the end cometh, the morning cometh upon thee, O thou inhabitant of the land; behold the day cometh, the morning is gone forth" (7:6, 7, 10).

This passage equally treats of the coming of the Lord and the end of the former church and the beginning of a new one. In Zephaniah:

"Jehovah in the morning, in the morning he shall bring his judgment to the light, nor shall he fail" (3:5).

[10] Here similar things are meant. Because morning signifies the coming of the Lord, also His kingdom and church, and also the good of love which is from Him, it is therefore obvious what is meant by morning in the following passages. In David:

"Cause me to hear thy mercy in the morning" (Psalm 143:8).

Again:

"I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning" (59:16).

Again:

"O satisfy us in the morning with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days" (90:14).

Again:

"O Jehovah, my voice shalt thou hear in the morning; in the morning I will set myself in order for thee" (5:3).

Again:

"God is in the midst of her; God shall help her at the dawn of the morning" (46:5).

Again:

"O God, my God; in the morning will I seek thee" (63:1)

In Isaiah:

"In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to blossom" (17:11).

Again:

"Jehovah be thou their arm every morning" (33:2).

Again:

"Jehovah hath given me the tongue of the learned; he hath awakened me every morning" (50:4).

In Jeremiah:

"I spake unto you every morning" (7:13; 11:7 25:3, 4).

From the signification of morning it is evident what is meant by

The manna falling in the morning (Exodus 16:12, 13, 21).

Jehovah descending in the morning upon Mount Sinai (Exod, 19:16);

And the priest being commanded to burn wood upon the altar all night until the morning (Leviticus 6:12).

Also what is involved in the command respecting the sacrifice of the passover is evident:

"Thou shalt sacrifice the passover at the going down of the sun. Afterwards thou shalt eat it; and thou shalt look back in the morning, and go unto thy tents" (Deuteronomy 16:6, 7).

The reason why they should sacrifice the passover when the sun went down was, that the setting of the sun signified the last time of the church; that they should look back in the morning, signified the establishment of a new church, thus the coming of the Lord. These passages have been adduced in order that it may be known that by the morning star which the Son of man would give is signified wisdom and intelligence from His Divine Human. And because those who receive wisdom and intelligence from the Lord also receive Him; for the Lord is in the wisdom and intelligence which are from Him, so that, He is Himself the wisdom and intelligence which they possess, therefore the Lord Himself is also called the morning star in the Apocalypse:

"I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright and morning star" (22:16).

He is similarly called a star (Numbers 24:17).

  
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Translation by Isaiah Tansley. Many thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.

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Arcana Coelestia #4240

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4240. 'To the land of Seir' means celestial-natural good. This is clear from the meaning of 'the land of Seir' in the highest sense as the Lord's celestial-natural good. The reason why 'the land of Seir' has this meaning is that Mount Seir formed a boundary to the land of Canaan on one side, Joshua 11:16-17, and all boundaries such as rivers, mountains, and stretches of land represented the things that came last, 1585, 1866, 4116. Indeed these boundaries acquired their individual representations from the land of Canaan contained within them, which land represented the Lord's heavenly kingdom, and in the highest sense His Divine Human, see 1607, 3038, 3481, 3705. Things that are last, existing as boundaries, are those which are called natural, for natural things are the boundaries holding spiritual and celestial realities within them. This is so in the heavens, for the inmost or third heaven is celestial because it is governed by love to the Lord; the intermediate or second heaven is spiritual because it is governed by love towards the neighbour; and the last or first heaven is celestial-natural and spiritual-natural because it is governed by simple good, which is the last degree of order there. And the same is true with the regenerate person who is a miniature heaven. From all this one may now see the origin of the meaning of 'the land of Seir' as celestial-natural good. 'Esau' too, who dwelt there, represents that good, as has been shown above, and therefore the land where he dwelt has the same meaning. For lands take on the particular representations of their inhabitants, 1675.

[2] From all this one may now see what is meant in the Word by 'Seir', as in Moses,

Jehovah came from Sinai, and dawned from Seir upon them; He shone from Mount Paran, and came out of myriads of holiness. Deuteronomy 33:2-3.

In the Song of Deborah and Barak in the Book of Judges,

O Jehovah, when You went forth from Seir, when You set out from the field of Edom, the earth trembled, the heavens also dropped, the clouds indeed dropped water, the mountains flowed down, this Sinai before Jehovah God of Israel. Judges 5:4-5.

In Balaam's prophecy,

I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near. A star will arise out of Jacob, and a sceptre will rise up out of Israel. And Edom will be an inheritance and Seir will be an inheritance of his enemies; and Israel is gaining strength. Numbers 24:17-18.

Anyone can see that in these places 'Seir' means some aspect of the Lord, since it is said that 'Jehovah dawned from Seir', that 'He went forth from Seir and set out from the field of Edom', and that 'Edom and Seir will be an inheritance'. But what aspect of the Lord is meant no one can know except from the internal sense of the Word. It is the Lord's Divine Human that is meant, and in particular the good of the Divine Natural within that Human, as may be seen from what has been mentioned above. 'Dawning from and going out of Seir' means that He made even the Natural Divine in order that this also might be a source of light, that is, of intelligence and wisdom, and in this way He might become Jehovah not only as regards the Human Rational but also as regards the Human Natural. This is why it is said that 'Jehovah dawned from Seir' and 'Jehovah went out of Seir' - the Lord being Jehovah, see 1343, 1736, 2004, 2005, 2018, 2025, 2156, 2329, 2921, 3023, 3035. Something similar is embodied in the prophetic utterance concerning Dumah,

One is calling to me from Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? The watchman said, Morning comes, and also the night. Isaiah 21:11-12.

[3] In the relative sense 'the land of Seir' strictly speaking means the Lord's kingdom existing with those outside the Church, that is, with gentiles when the Church is being established among them, while the previous or old Church is simultaneously falling away from charity and faith. As is clear from many places in the Word, light comes at that time to those who are in darkness. And this is strictly speaking the meaning of 'dawning from Seir', and of 'going forth from Seir and setting out from the field of Edom'. It is also the meaning of 'Seir will be an inheritance', as well as of the words in Isaiah, 'One is calling to me from Seir, Watchman, what of the night? The watchman said, Morning comes, and also the night.' 'Morning comes' means the Lord's advent, 2405, 2780, and as a consequence enlightenment coming to people who are 'in the night', that is, who dwell in ignorance; but that enlightenment is from the Lord's Divine Natural, 4211. Since most things in the Word also have a contrary sense, so too does the name 'Seir', as in Ezekiel 25:8-9; 35:2-15, and in various places in the historical parts of the Word.

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