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Daniel 5

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1 βαλτασαρ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐποίησεν ἑστιατορίαν μεγάλην τοῖς ἑταίροις αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔπινεν οἶνον

2 καὶ ἀνυψώθη ἡ καρδία αὐτοῦ καὶ εἶπεν ἐνέγκαι τὰ σκεύη τὰ χρυσᾶ καὶ τὰ ἀργυρᾶ τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ θεοῦ ἃ ἤνεγκε ναβουχοδονοσορ ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ ιερουσαλημ καὶ οἰνοχοῆσαι ἐν αὐτοῖς τοῖς ἑταίροις αὐτοῦ

3 καὶ ἠνέχθη καὶ ἔπινον ἐν αὐτοῖς

4 καὶ ηὐλόγουν τὰ εἴδωλα τὰ χειροποίητα αὐτῶν καὶ τὸν θεὸν τοῦ αἰῶνος οὐκ εὐλόγησαν τὸν ἔχοντα τὴν ἐξουσίαν τοῦ πνεύματος αὐτῶν

5 ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ ὥρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἐξῆλθον δάκτυλοι ὡσεὶ χειρὸς ἀνθρώπου καὶ ἔγραψαν ἐπὶ τοῦ τοίχου τοῦ οἴκου αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τοῦ κονιάματος κατέναντι τοῦ φωτὸς ἔναντι τοῦ βασιλέως βαλτασαρ καὶ εἶδε χεῖρα γράφουσαν

6 καὶ ἡ ὅρασις αὐτοῦ ἠλλοιώθη καὶ φόβοι καὶ ὑπόνοιαι αὐτὸν κατέσπευδον ἔσπευσεν οὖν ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ ἐξανέστη καὶ ἑώρα τὴν γραφὴν ἐκείνην καὶ οἱ συνεταῖροι κύκλῳ αὐτοῦ ἐκαυχῶντο

7 καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐφώνησε φωνῇ μεγάλῃ καλέσαι τοὺς ἐπαοιδοὺς καὶ φαρμακοὺς καὶ χαλδαίους καὶ γαζαρηνοὺς ἀπαγγεῖλαι τὸ σύγκριμα τῆς γραφῆς καὶ εἰσεπορεύοντο ἐπὶ θεωρίαν ἰδεῖν τὴν γραφήν καὶ τὸ σύγκριμα τῆς γραφῆς οὐκ ἐδύναντο συγκρῖναι τῷ βασιλεῖ τότε ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐξέθηκε πρόσταγμα λέγων πᾶς ἀνήρ ὃς ἂν ὑποδείξῃ τὸ σύγκριμα τῆς γραφῆς στολιεῖ αὐτὸν πορφύραν καὶ μανιάκην χρυσοῦν περιθήσει αὐτῷ καὶ δοθήσεται αὐτῷ ἐξουσία τοῦ τρίτου μέρους τῆς βασιλείας

8 καὶ εἰσεπορεύοντο οἱ ἐπαοιδοὶ καὶ φαρμακοὶ καὶ γαζαρηνοί καὶ οὐκ ἠδύνατο οὐδεὶς τὸ σύγκριμα τῆς γραφῆς ἀπαγγεῖλαι

9 τότε ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐκάλεσε τὴν βασίλισσαν περὶ τοῦ σημείου καὶ ὑπέδειξεν αὐτῇ ὡς μέγα ἐστί καὶ ὅτι πᾶς ἄνθρωπος οὐ δύναται ἀπαγγεῖλαι τῷ βασιλεῖ τὸ σύγκριμα τῆς γραφῆς

10 τότε ἡ βασίλισσα ἐμνήσθη πρὸς αὐτὸν περὶ τοῦ δανιηλ ὃς ἦν ἐκ τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας τῆς ιουδαίας

11 καὶ εἶπε τῷ βασιλεῖ ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐπιστήμων ἦν καὶ σοφὸς καὶ ὑπερέχων πάντας τοὺς σοφοὺς βαβυλῶνος

12 καὶ πνεῦμα ἅγιον ἐν αὐτῷ ἐστι καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις τοῦ πατρός σου τοῦ βασιλέως συγκρίματα ὑπέρογκα ὑπέδειξε ναβουχοδονοσορ τῷ πατρί σου

13 τότε δανιηλ εἰσήχθη πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ βασιλεὺς εἶπεν αὐτῷ

16 ὦ δανιηλ δύνῃ μοι ὑποδεῖξαι τὸ σύγκριμα τῆς γραφῆς καὶ στολιῶ σε πορφύραν καὶ μανιάκην χρυσοῦν περιθήσω σοι καὶ ἕξεις ἐξουσίαν τοῦ τρίτου μέρους τῆς βασιλείας μου

17 τότε δανιηλ ἔστη κατέναντι τῆς γραφῆς καὶ ἀνέγνω καὶ οὕτως ἀπεκρίθη τῷ βασιλεῖ αὕτη ἡ γραφή ἠρίθμηται κατελογίσθη ἐξῆρται καὶ ἔστη ἡ γράψασα χείρ καὶ αὕτη ἡ σύγκρισις αὐτῶν

23 βασιλεῦ σὺ ἐποιήσω ἑστιατορίαν τοῖς φίλοις σου καὶ ἔπινες οἶνον καὶ τὰ σκεύη τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ζῶντος ἠνέχθη σοι καὶ ἐπίνετε ἐν αὐτοῖς σὺ καὶ οἱ μεγιστᾶνές σου καὶ ᾐνέσατε πάντα τὰ εἴδωλα τὰ χειροποίητα τῶν ἀνθρώπων καὶ τῷ θεῷ τῷ ζῶντι οὐκ εὐλογήσατε καὶ τὸ πνεῦμά σου ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸ βασίλειόν σου αὐτὸς ἔδωκέ σοι καὶ οὐκ εὐλόγησας αὐτὸν οὐδὲ ᾔνεσας αὐτῷ

26 τοῦτο τὸ σύγκριμα τῆς γραφῆς ἠρίθμηται ὁ χρόνος σου τῆς βασιλείας ἀπολήγει ἡ βασιλεία σου συντέτμηται καὶ συντετέλεσται ἡ βασιλεία σου τοῖς μήδοις καὶ τοῖς πέρσαις δίδοται

29 τότε βαλτασαρ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐνέδυσε τὸν δανιηλ πορφύραν καὶ μανιάκην χρυσοῦν περιέθηκεν αὐτῷ καὶ ἔδωκεν ἐξουσίαν αὐτῷ τοῦ τρίτου μέρους τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ

30 καὶ τὸ σύγκριμα ἐπῆλθε βαλτασαρ τῷ βασιλεῖ καὶ τὸ βασίλειον ἐξῆρται ἀπὸ τῶν χαλδαίων καὶ ἐδόθη τοῖς μήδοις καὶ τοῖς πέρσαις

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

True Christianity #754

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754. There are various factors that cause the demise of a church. A primary factor is things that make what is false appear to be true. When what is false is taken to be true, then goodness that is truly and intrinsically good - which is called spiritual goodness - no longer exists. In that state, what we believe to be good is merely the earthly goodness that results from a moral life. The factors that cause the loss of truth, and therefore of goodness as well, are the two earthly kinds of love that are completely opposite to the two spiritual kinds of love. These two earthly kinds of love are known as love for ourselves and love of the world. When love for ourselves is dominant, it becomes the opposite of loving God. When love of the world is dominant, it becomes the opposite of loving our neighbor. Loving ourselves is wanting what is best for ourselves alone and not for anyone else unless we ourselves will benefit. Loving the world is similarly self-centered. When these types of love are deeply embedded in us they spread, like gangrene does through the body, and progressively destroy everything within us.

The biblical descriptions of Babylon make it very clear that a love like this has invaded the churches (Genesis 11:1-9; Isaiah 13; 14; 47; Jeremiah 50; Daniel 2:31-47; 3:1-7; ; ; ; and Revelation 17 and 18 from beginning to end). Babylon eventually developed such an exalted idea of itself that it not only transferred all the Lord's divine power to itself but also put tremendous effort into steering all the wealth in the world toward itself.

[2] There is also fairly substantial evidence that many of the leaders of the churches that separated from Babylon would themselves have developed loves that were similar if their power had not been restrained and curtailed. Where else does this path lead but to viewing oneself as God and the world as heaven? And yet taking this view corrupts every true teaching of the church. People who are exclusively earthly are incapable of recognizing or acknowledging truth that is actually and genuinely true; such people are incapable of being given such truth by God, because it rapidly turns into its opposite inside them and becomes false.

Besides these two kinds of love there are many other factors that bring truth and goodness to an end and cause the demise of the church, but they are only secondary and subordinate to the loves just mentioned.

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

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