The Bible

 

Daniel 7

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1 ἔτους πρώτου βασιλεύοντος βαλτασαρ χώρας βαβυλωνίας δανιηλ ὅραμα εἶδε παρὰ κεφαλὴν ἐπὶ τῆς κοίτης αὐτοῦ τότε δανιηλ τὸ ὅραμα ὃ εἶδεν ἔγραψεν εἰς κεφάλαια λόγων

2 ἐπὶ τῆς κοίτης μου ἐθεώρουν καθ' ὕπνους νυκτὸς καὶ ἰδοὺ τέσσαρες ἄνεμοι τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἐνέπεσον εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν τὴν μεγάλην

3 καὶ τέσσαρα θηρία ἀνέβαινον ἐκ τῆς θαλάσσης διαφέροντα ἓν παρὰ τὸ ἕν

4 τὸ πρῶτον ὡσεὶ λέαινα ἔχουσα πτερὰ ὡσεὶ ἀετοῦ ἐθεώρουν ἕως ὅτου ἐτίλη τὰ πτερὰ αὐτῆς καὶ ἤρθη ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς καὶ ἐπὶ ποδῶν ἀνθρωπίνων ἐστάθη καὶ ἀνθρωπίνη καρδία ἐδόθη αὐτῇ

5 καὶ ἰδοὺ μετ' αὐτὴν ἄλλο θηρίον ὁμοίωσιν ἔχον ἄρκου καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἑνὸς πλευροῦ ἐστάθη καὶ τρία πλευρὰ ἦν ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτῆς καὶ οὕτως εἶπεν ἀνάστα κατάφαγε σάρκας πολλάς

6 καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ἐθεώρουν θηρίον ἄλλο ὡσεὶ πάρδαλιν καὶ πτερὰ τέσσαρα ἐπέτεινον ἐπάνω αὐτοῦ καὶ τέσσαρες κεφαλαὶ τῷ θηρίῳ καὶ γλῶσσα ἐδόθη αὐτῷ

7 μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ἐθεώρουν ἐν ὁράματι τῆς νυκτὸς θηρίον τέταρτον φοβερόν καὶ ὁ φόβος αὐτοῦ ὑπερφέρων ἰσχύι ἔχον ὀδόντας σιδηροῦς μεγάλους ἐσθίον καὶ κοπανίζον κύκλῳ τοῖς ποσὶ καταπατοῦν διαφόρως χρώμενον παρὰ πάντα τὰ πρὸ αὐτού θηρία εἶχε δὲ κέρατα δέκα

8 καὶ βουλαὶ πολλαὶ ἐν τοῖς κέρασιν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἰδοὺ ἄλλο ἓν κέρας ἀνεφύη ἀνὰ μέσον αὐτῶν μικρὸν ἐν τοῖς κέρασιν αὐτοῦ καὶ τρία τῶν κεράτων τῶν πρώτων ἐξηράνθησαν δι' αὐτοῦ καὶ ἰδοὺ ὀφθαλμοὶ ὥσπερ ὀφθαλμοὶ ἀνθρώπινοι ἐν τῷ κέρατι τούτῳ καὶ στόμα λαλοῦν μεγάλα καὶ ἐποίει πόλεμον πρὸς τοὺς ἁγίους

9 ἐθεώρουν ἕως ὅτε θρόνοι ἐτέθησαν καὶ παλαιὸς ἡμερῶν ἐκάθητο ἔχων περιβολὴν ὡσεὶ χιόνα καὶ τὸ τρίχωμα τῆς κεφαλῆς αὐτοῦ ὡσεὶ ἔριον λευκὸν καθαρόν ὁ θρόνος ὡσεὶ φλὸξ πυρός

10 καὶ ἐξεπορεύετο κατὰ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ποταμὸς πυρός χίλιαι χιλιάδες ἐθεράπευον αὐτὸν καὶ μύριαι μυριάδες παρειστήκεισαν αὐτῷ καὶ κριτήριον ἐκάθισε καὶ βίβλοι ἠνεῴχθησαν

11 ἐθεώρουν τότε τὴν φωνὴν τῶν λόγων τῶν μεγάλων ὧν τὸ κέρας ἐλάλει καὶ ἀπετυμπανίσθη τὸ θηρίον καὶ ἀπώλετο τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐδόθη εἰς καῦσιν πυρός

12 καὶ τοὺς κύκλῳ αὐτοῦ ἀπέστησε τῆς ἐξουσίας αὐτῶν καὶ χρόνος ζωῆς ἐδόθη αὐτοῖς ἕως χρόνου καὶ καιροῦ

13 ἐθεώρουν ἐν ὁράματι τῆς νυκτὸς καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐπὶ τῶν νεφελῶν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ὡς υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου ἤρχετο καὶ ὡς παλαιὸς ἡμερῶν παρῆν καὶ οἱ παρεστηκότες παρῆσαν αὐτῷ

14 καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ ἐξουσία καὶ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη τῆς γῆς κατὰ γένη καὶ πᾶσα δόξα αὐτῷ λατρεύουσα καὶ ἡ ἐξουσία αὐτοῦ ἐξουσία αἰώνιος ἥτις οὐ μὴ ἀρθῇ καὶ ἡ βασιλεία αὐτοῦ ἥτις οὐ μὴ φθαρῇ

15 καὶ ἀκηδιάσας ἐγὼ δανιηλ ἐν τούτοις ἐν τῷ ὁράματι τῆς νυκτὸς

16 προσῆλθον πρὸς ἕνα τῶν ἑστώτων καὶ τὴν ἀκρίβειαν ἐζήτουν παρ' αὐτοῦ ὑπὲρ πάντων τούτων ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ λέγει μοι καὶ τὴν κρίσιν τῶν λόγων ἐδήλωσέ μοι

17 ταῦτα τὰ θηρία τὰ μεγάλα εἰσὶ τέσσαρες βασιλεῖαι αἳ ἀπολοῦνται ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς

18 καὶ παραλήψονται τὴν βασιλείαν ἅγιοι ὑψίστου καὶ καθέξουσι τὴν βασιλείαν ἕως τοῦ αἰῶνος καὶ ἕως τοῦ αἰῶνος τῶν αἰώνων

19 τότε ἤθελον ἐξακριβάσασθαι περὶ τοῦ θηρίου τοῦ τετάρτου τοῦ διαφθείροντος πάντα καὶ ὑπερφόβου καὶ ἰδοὺ οἱ ὀδόντες αὐτοῦ σιδηροῖ καὶ οἱ ὄνυχες αὐτοῦ χαλκοῖ κατεσθίοντες πάντας κυκλόθεν καὶ καταπατοῦντες τοῖς ποσί

20 καὶ περὶ τῶν δέκα κεράτων αὐτοῦ τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς καὶ τοῦ ἑνὸς τοῦ ἄλλου τοῦ προσφυέντος καὶ ἐξέπεσαν δι' αὐτοῦ τρία καὶ τὸ κέρας ἐκεῖνο εἶχεν ὀφθαλμοὺς καὶ στόμα λαλοῦν μεγάλα καὶ ἡ πρόσοψις αὐτοῦ ὑπερέφερε τὰ ἄλλα

21 καὶ κατενόουν τὸ κέρας ἐκεῖνο πόλεμον συνιστάμενον πρὸς τοὺς ἁγίους καὶ τροπούμενον αὐτοὺς

22 ἕως τοῦ ἐλθεῖν τὸν παλαιὸν ἡμερῶν καὶ τὴν κρίσιν ἔδωκε τοῖς ἁγίοις τοῦ ὑψίστου καὶ ὁ καιρὸς ἐδόθη καὶ τὸ βασίλειον κατέσχον οἱ ἅγιοι

23 καὶ ἐρρέθη μοι περὶ τοῦ θηρίου τοῦ τετάρτου ὅτι βασιλεία τετάρτη ἔσται ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἥτις διοίσει παρὰ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν καὶ ἀναστατώσει αὐτὴν καὶ καταλεανεῖ αὐτήν

24 καὶ τὰ δέκα κέρατα τῆς βασιλείας δέκα βασιλεῖς στήσονται καὶ ὁ ἄλλος βασιλεὺς μετὰ τούτους στήσεται καὶ αὐτὸς διοίσει κακοῖς ὑπὲρ τοὺς πρώτους καὶ τρεῖς βασιλεῖς ταπεινώσει

25 καὶ ῥήματα εἰς τὸν ὕψιστον λαλήσει καὶ τοὺς ἁγίους τοῦ ὑψίστου κατατρίψει καὶ προσδέξεται ἀλλοιῶσαι καιροὺς καὶ νόμον καὶ παραδοθήσεται πάντα εἰς τὰς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ ἕως καιροῦ καὶ καιρῶν καὶ ἕως ἡμίσους καιροῦ

26 καὶ ἡ κρίσις καθίσεται καὶ τὴν ἐξουσίαν ἀπολοῦσι καὶ βουλεύσονται μιᾶναι καὶ ἀπολέσαι ἕως τέλους

27 καὶ τὴν βασιλείαν καὶ τὴν ἐξουσίαν καὶ τὴν μεγαλειότητα αὐτῶν καὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν πασῶν τῶν ὑπὸ τὸν οὐρανὸν βασιλειῶν ἔδωκε λαῷ ἁγίῳ ὑψίστου βασιλεῦσαι βασιλείαν αἰώνιον καὶ πᾶσαι αἱ ἐξουσίαι αὐτῷ ὑποταγήσονται καὶ πειθαρχήσουσιν αὐτῷ

28 ἕως καταστροφῆς τοῦ λόγου ἐγὼ δανιηλ σφόδρα ἐκστάσει περιειχόμην καὶ ἡ ἕξις μου διήνεγκεν ἐμοί καὶ τὸ ῥῆμα ἐν καρδίᾳ μου ἐστήριξα

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Revealed #291

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291. "Blessing and honor and glory and strength be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!" This symbolically means that present in the Lord from eternity and so in His Divine humanity is everything of heaven and the church - Divine good and truth, and Divine power - and these are present from Him in people who are in heaven and in the church.

To be shown that the Lord from eternity is Jehovah, who in the process of time took on human form in order to redeem and save mankind, see no. 281 above. He who sits on the throne, therefore, means the Lord from eternity, who is called the Father, and the Lamb means the Lord in respect to His Divine humanity, which is the Son. Moreover, because the Father is in the Son, and the Son in the Father, so that they are one, it follows that both the one sitting on the throne and the Lamb mean the Lord. And because they are one, we are also told that the Lamb was in the midst of the throne (verse 6, and so, too, 7:17).

To be shown that blessing, when said in connection with the Lord, means everything of heaven and the church present in Him, and from Him in people who are in heaven and in the church, see no. 289 above; and that honor and glory mean Divine good and truth, also no. 249. It is apparent, moreover, that strength, when said in connection with the Lord, means Divine power.

That these are all properties of the Lord can be seen from the following verses in Daniel:

Behold, One like the Son of Man (came) with the clouds of heaven! And He came to the Ancient of Days... Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, and all peoples, nations, and languages will serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom one which shall not perish. (Daniel 7:13-14)

The Ancient of Days is the Lord from eternity, as is apparent from this verse in Micah:

You, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me One who will be Ruler in Israel, and whose goings forth are from of old, from the days of eternity. (Micah 5:2)

And so, too, from this verse in Isaiah:

...unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; ...the government will be upon His shoulder. ...His name will be called... Counselor, God, Hero, Father of eternity, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

  
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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.