The Bible

 

Numbers 36

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1 And the chief fathers of the families of the children of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near, and spake before Moses, and before the princes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel:

2 And they said, The LORD commanded my lord to give the land for an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel: and my lord was commanded by The LORD to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother unto his daughters.

3 And if they be married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then shall their inheritance be taken from the inheritance of our fathers, and shall be put to the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received: so shall it be taken from the lot of our inheritance.

4 And when the jubile of the children of Israel shall be, then shall their inheritance be put unto the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received: so shall their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.

5 And Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the LORD, saying, The tribe of the sons of Joseph hath said well.

6 This is the thing which the LORD doth command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them marry to whom they think best; only to the family of the tribe of their father shall they marry.

7 So shall not the inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe: for every one of the children of Israel shall keep himself to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.

8 And every daughter, that possesseth an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel, shall be wife unto one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may enjoy every man the inheritance of his fathers.

9 Neither shall the inheritance remove from one tribe to another tribe; but every one of the tribes of the children of Israel shall keep himself to his own inheritance.

10 Even as the LORD commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad:

11 For Mahlal, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married unto their father's brothers' sons:

12 And they were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father.

13 These are the commandments and the judgments, which the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses unto the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Revealed #610

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610. And its number is 666. This symbolically means, their character being this, that by them all the Word's truth has been falsified.

The number of the beast symbolizes the character of the arguments the clergy use from the Word to defend their doctrine and faith (nos. 608, 609). Six hundred and sixty-six symbolizes every truth having to do with goodness, and because the statement is made in application to the Word, it symbolizes every truth in the Word having to do with goodness, in this case that truth falsified, because the number is the number of the beast.

This is the symbolic meaning because six has the same symbolism as three multiplied by two, and three symbolizes completeness and all and is predicated of truths (no. 505), while two symbolizes the marriage of truth and good. So, because six is composed of these two numbers multiplied together, therefore it symbolizes every truth in the Word having to do with goodness, in this case that truth falsified. That it also was falsified by the clergy may be seen in no. 566 above.

The number is said to be 666, because it contains the number six repeated three times, and tripling it makes it complete. Multiplying six by one hundred to make six hundred, and by ten to make sixty, does not change the number's symbolic meaning, as may be seen in no. 348 above.

[2] That the number six symbolizes completeness and all, and is used when the subject is truths having to do with goodness, may be seen from passages in the Word where that number is mentioned. However, the symbolism of the number appears clearly only to people who see the things contained in the spiritual sense. As for instance, the Lord's saying that the seeds that fell on good ground yielded fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred (Mark 4:8, 20, Matthew 13:8, 23); and that a landowner went out and hired laborers for his vineyard at the third hour and at the sixth hour (Matthew 20:3, 5). Also that the table in the Tabernacle had on it cakes of showbread arranged in two rows, each containing six cakes (Leviticus 24:6). That there were set six waterpots for the purification of the Jews (John 2:6). That there were six cities of refuge or of asylum (Numbers 35:6-7, Deuteronomy 19:1-9). That the measuring reed with which the angel measured all parts of the new temple and new city was six cubits long (Ezekiel 40:5). That the prophet drank water by measure, a sixth of a hin (Ezekiel 4:11). That they took as an offering a sixth of an ephah of a homer of wheat (Ezekiel 45:13).

Since the number six symbolizes completeness, therefore words for separating a sixth part came into use, which in the spiritual sense symbolizes something that is complete and entire, as that they gave a sixth part of an ephah of a homer of barley (Ezekiel 45:13). And regarding Gog, "I will turn you around and leave but a sixth part of you" (Ezekiel 39:2). This last symbolically means that in Gog all truth in the Word having to do with goodness is destroyed. Just who are meant by Gog may be seen in no. 859.

  
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Many thanks to the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and to Rev. N.B. Rogers, translator, for the permission to use this translation.

The Bible

 

Revelation 13

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1 Then I stood on the sand of the sea. I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads. On his horns were ten crowns, and on his heads, blasphemous names.

2 The beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.

3 One of his heads looked like it had been wounded fatally. His fatal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled at the beast.

4 They worshiped the dragon, because he gave his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?"

5 A mouth speaking great things and blasphemy was given to him. Authority to make war for forty-two months was given to him.

6 He opened his mouth for blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his dwelling, those who dwell in heaven.

7 It was given to him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them. Authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation was given to him.

8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been killed.

9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear.

10 If anyone is to go into captivity, he will go into captivity. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, he must be killed. Here is the endurance and the faith of the saints.

11 I saw another beast coming up out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke like a dragon.

12 He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. He makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.

13 He performs great signs, even making fire come down out of the sky to the earth in the sight of people.

14 He deceives my own people who dwell on the earth because of the signs he was granted to do in front of the beast; saying to those who dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast who had the sword wound and lived.

15 It was given to him to give breath to it, to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause as many as wouldn't worship the image of the beast to be killed.

16 He causes all, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, and the free and the slave, to be given marks on their right hands, or on their foreheads;

17 and that no one would be able to buy or to sell, unless he has that mark, the name of the beast or the number of his name.

18 Here is wisdom. He who has understanding, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is six hundred sixty-six.