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Genesis 6

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1 καὶ ἐγένετο ἡνίκα ἤρξαντο οἱ ἄνθρωποι πολλοὶ γίνεσθαι ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ θυγατέρες ἐγενήθησαν αὐτοῖς

2 ἰδόντες δὲ οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ θεοῦ τὰς θυγατέρας τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὅτι καλαί εἰσιν ἔλαβον ἑαυτοῖς γυναῖκας ἀπὸ πασῶν ὧν ἐξελέξαντο

3 καὶ εἶπεν κύριος ὁ θεός οὐ μὴ καταμείνῃ τὸ πνεῦμά μου ἐν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τούτοις εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα διὰ τὸ εἶναι αὐτοὺς σάρκας ἔσονται δὲ αἱ ἡμέραι αὐτῶν ἑκατὸν εἴκοσι ἔτη

4 οἱ δὲ γίγαντες ἦσαν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις καὶ μετ' ἐκεῖνο ὡς ἂν εἰσεπορεύοντο οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ θεοῦ πρὸς τὰς θυγατέρας τῶν ἀνθρώπων καὶ ἐγεννῶσαν ἑαυτοῖς ἐκεῖνοι ἦσαν οἱ γίγαντες οἱ ἀπ' αἰῶνος οἱ ἄνθρωποι οἱ ὀνομαστοί

5 ἰδὼν δὲ κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὅτι ἐπληθύνθησαν αἱ κακίαι τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ πᾶς τις διανοεῖται ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ ἐπιμελῶς ἐπὶ τὰ πονηρὰ πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας

6 καὶ ἐνεθυμήθη ὁ θεὸς ὅτι ἐποίησεν τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ διενοήθη

7 καὶ εἶπεν ὁ θεός ἀπαλείψω τὸν ἄνθρωπον ὃν ἐποίησα ἀπὸ προσώπου τῆς γῆς ἀπὸ ἀνθρώπου ἕως κτήνους καὶ ἀπὸ ἑρπετῶν ἕως τῶν πετεινῶν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ὅτι ἐθυμώθην ὅτι ἐποίησα αὐτούς

8 νωε δὲ εὗρεν χάριν ἐναντίον κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ

9 αὗται δὲ αἱ γενέσεις νωε νωε ἄνθρωπος δίκαιος τέλειος ὢν ἐν τῇ γενεᾷ αὐτοῦ τῷ θεῷ εὐηρέστησεν νωε

10 ἐγέννησεν δὲ νωε τρεῖς υἱούς τὸν σημ τὸν χαμ τὸν ιαφεθ

11 ἐφθάρη δὲ ἡ γῆ ἐναντίον τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἐπλήσθη ἡ γῆ ἀδικίας

12 καὶ εἶδεν κύριος ὁ θεὸς τὴν γῆν καὶ ἦν κατεφθαρμένη ὅτι κατέφθειρεν πᾶσα σὰρξ τὴν ὁδὸν αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς

13 καὶ εἶπεν ὁ θεὸς πρὸς νωε καιρὸς παντὸς ἀνθρώπου ἥκει ἐναντίον μου ὅτι ἐπλήσθη ἡ γῆ ἀδικίας ἀπ' αὐτῶν καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ καταφθείρω αὐτοὺς καὶ τὴν γῆν

14 ποίησον οὖν σεαυτῷ κιβωτὸν ἐκ ξύλων τετραγώνων νοσσιὰς ποιήσεις τὴν κιβωτὸν καὶ ἀσφαλτώσεις αὐτὴν ἔσωθεν καὶ ἔξωθεν τῇ ἀσφάλτῳ

15 καὶ οὕτως ποιήσεις τὴν κιβωτόν τριακοσίων πήχεων τὸ μῆκος τῆς κιβωτοῦ καὶ πεντήκοντα πήχεων τὸ πλάτος καὶ τριάκοντα πήχεων τὸ ὕψος αὐτῆς

16 ἐπισυνάγων ποιήσεις τὴν κιβωτὸν καὶ εἰς πῆχυν συντελέσεις αὐτὴν ἄνωθεν τὴν δὲ θύραν τῆς κιβωτοῦ ποιήσεις ἐκ πλαγίων κατάγαια διώροφα καὶ τριώροφα ποιήσεις αὐτήν

17 ἐγὼ δὲ ἰδοὺ ἐπάγω τὸν κατακλυσμὸν ὕδωρ ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν καταφθεῖραι πᾶσαν σάρκα ἐν ᾗ ἐστιν πνεῦμα ζωῆς ὑποκάτω τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ὅσα ἐὰν ᾖ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς τελευτήσει

18 καὶ στήσω τὴν διαθήκην μου πρὸς σέ εἰσελεύσῃ δὲ εἰς τὴν κιβωτόν σὺ καὶ οἱ υἱοί σου καὶ ἡ γυνή σου καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες τῶν υἱῶν σου μετὰ σοῦ

19 καὶ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν κτηνῶν καὶ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν ἑρπετῶν καὶ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν θηρίων καὶ ἀπὸ πάσης σαρκός δύο δύο ἀπὸ πάντων εἰσάξεις εἰς τὴν κιβωτόν ἵνα τρέφῃς μετὰ σεαυτοῦ ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ ἔσονται

20 ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν ὀρνέων τῶν πετεινῶν κατὰ γένος καὶ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν κτηνῶν κατὰ γένος καὶ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν ἑρπετῶν τῶν ἑρπόντων ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς κατὰ γένος αὐτῶν δύο δύο ἀπὸ πάντων εἰσελεύσονται πρὸς σὲ τρέφεσθαι μετὰ σοῦ ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ

21 σὺ δὲ λήμψῃ σεαυτῷ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν βρωμάτων ἃ ἔδεσθε καὶ συνάξεις πρὸς σεαυτόν καὶ ἔσται σοὶ καὶ ἐκείνοις φαγεῖν

22 καὶ ἐποίησεν νωε πάντα ὅσα ἐνετείλατο αὐτῷ κύριος ὁ θεός οὕτως ἐποίησεν

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Revealed #748

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748. "And eat her flesh and burn her with fire." This symbolically means that Protestants will with hatred condemn and destroy in themselves the evils and falsities inherent in the Roman Catholic religion, and will renounce the religion itself and expunge it in themselves.

This is said of Protestants, who will deal thus with the harlot, that is, with the Roman Catholic religion. To eat her flesh means, symbolically, with hatred to condemn and destroy in themselves the inherent characteristics of that religion, which are evils and falsities, about which we will say more below. And to burn her with fire means, symbolically, to renounce that religion as profane and expunge it in themselves.

This is what burning with fire means because the penalty for profaning something holy was burning. Therefore, according to Divine law, people who profaned the name of Jehovah by worshiping other gods were burned with fire - they and all their belongings (Deuteronomy 13:12-18). Therefore Moses burned with fire the golden calf that the children of Israel were profanely worshiping (Exodus 32:20, Deuteronomy 9:21). Moreover, because two of Aaron's sons profaned holy things, they were consumed by fire from heaven (Leviticus 10:1-6). Nor is anything else symbolized by the fire and pyre in Tophet but the fire of hell, which awaits those who profane holy things (Isaiah 30:33, Jeremiah 7:11, 31-32; 19:5-6, 2 Kings 23:10), for there the people worshiped Molech with a heinous sacrifice. 1

[2] Since the fourth beast in Daniel 7 symbolizes a religion that profanes the Word and consequently the sanctities of the church (no. 717), therefore we are told that it was burned with fire (Daniel 7:11).

Now, because it is profane worship to worship a person instead of the Lord, we are accordingly told here that they burnt the harlot with fire, which symbolically means that they renounced the religion itself and expunged it in themselves.

To eat her flesh means, symbolically, with hatred to condemn and destroy in themselves the inherent characteristics of that religion, which are evils and falsities, because that is the symbolic meaning of eating her flesh. For flesh symbolizes the inherent characteristics of a thing which relate to goods and truths, and in an opposite sense, to evils and falsities, and to eat means, symbolically, to consume, thus to destroy.

That flesh symbolizes a person's inherent character, which in itself is evil, is clear from the following passages:

It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh profits nothing. (John 6:63)

That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (John 3:6)

As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to be children of God...: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh... (John 1:12-13)

(God) remembered that they were flesh, a breath that passes away and does not come again. (Psalms 78:39)

The Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses are flesh, and not spirit. (Isaiah 31:3)

(Jerusalem) committed harlotry with the Egyptians..., great of flesh. (Ezekiel 16:26)

Jesus... said to (Peter), ."..flesh and blood has not revealed this to you...." (Matthew 16:17)

Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his arm... (Jeremiah 17:5)

[3] Because flesh symbolizes a person's inherent character, and people who hate others attack their personal character with the intention of destroying it, therefore to eat the flesh has also this symbolic meaning, as in the following passages:

Let the dying die, and the cut off be cut off. Those that are left eat each other's flesh. (Zechariah 11:9)

They shall devour Israel with the whole mouth... Every man shall eat the flesh of his own arm - Manasseh, Ephraim, and Ephraim, Manasseh. (Isaiah 9:12, 20-21)

I will feed those who oppress you with their own flesh... (Isaiah 49:26)

...everyone shall eat the flesh of his friend... (Jeremiah 19:9)

To eat the flesh of sons and daughters (Jeremiah 19:9, Leviticus 26:29, Deuteronomy 28:53) means, symbolically, to destroy truths and goods in oneself, for sons symbolize truths, and daughters goods, as may be seen in nos. 139, 543, 545, 612[1-4] above.

Moreover, in the Word we find reference to "all flesh," and this symbolically means all mankind (Genesis 6:12-13, 17, 19).

Footnotes:

1. The heinous sacrifice consisted of "passing infants through the fire to Molech," by burning them alive on a sacrificial altar. Vestiges of this worship have been found elsewhere, as far as northern Africa. Tophet was a site in the valley of Hinnom at the foot of Mount Zion on the south side. Because of the nature of its worship, the valley of Hinnon (Ge' Hinnom = Gehenna) became synonymous with Hades or hell.

  
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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.

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