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Daniel 12

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1 På den tid skal Mikael stå frem, den store fyrste som verner om ditt folks barn, og det skal komme en trengselstid som det ikke har vært fra den dag noget folk blev til, og like til den tid. Men på den tid skal alle de av ditt folk bli frelst som finnes opskrevet i boken.

2 Og de mange som sover i jordens muld, skal våkne op, somme til evig liv og somme til skam og evig avsky.

3 Men de forstandige skal skinne som himmelhvelvingen skinner, og de som har ført de mange til rettferdighet, skal skinne som stjernene, evindelig og alltid.

4 Og du, Daniel, gjem disse ord og forsegl boken inntil endens tid! Mange skal granske den, og kunnskapen skal bli stor.

5 Så fikk jeg, Daniel, i mitt syn se to andre som stod der, en på den ene elvebredd og en på den andre elvebredd.

6 Og en av dem sa til den mann som var klædd i linklær, og som stod ovenover elvens vann: Hvor lenge vil det vare før disse underfulle ting er til ende?

7 Og jeg hørte hvad den mann sa som var klædd i linklær, og som stod ovenover elvens vann; han løftet sin høire hånd og sin venstre hånd op mot himmelen og svor ved ham som lever evindelig: En tid og tider og en halv tid*, og når det hellige folks makt er fullstendig knust, skal alle disse ting fullendes. / {* DNL 7, 25.}

8 Og jeg hørte det, men forstod det ikke, og jeg sa: Herre! Hvad er det siste av disse ting?

9 Så sa han: Gå bort, Daniel! For disse ord skal være gjemt og forseglet inntil endens tid.

10 Mange skal bli renset og tvettet og prøvd; men de ugudelige skal bli ved å være ugudelige, og ingen ugudelig skal forstå det; men de forstandige skal forstå det.

11 Og fra den tid det stadige offer blir avskaffet, og den ødeleggende vederstyggelighet blir stilt op, skal det gå tusen, to hundre og nitti dager.

12 Salig er den som bier og når frem til tusen, tre hundre og fem og tretti dager.

13 Men gå du din ende i møte! Du skal hvile og stå op til din lodd ved dagenes ende.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Revealed #948

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948. 22:11 "He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still." This symbolizes the state of everyone in particular after death and before being judged, and in general before the Last Judgment, that those caught up in evils will have their goods taken away, and those caught up in falsities will have their truths taken away, and conversely, that people prompted by goods will have their evils taken away, and those prompted by truths will have their falsities taken away.

He who is unjust symbolizes someone caught up in evils, and he who is righteous someone prompted by goods (no. 668). He who is filthy or unclean symbolizes someone caught up in falsities (nos. 702, 728, 924), and he who is holy someone prompted by truths (nos. 173, 586, 666, 852). It follows from this that to let him who is unjust be unjust still means, symbolically, that someone caught up in evils will be still more caught up in evils, and that to let him who is filthy be filthy still means, symbolically, that someone caught up in falsities will be still more caught up in falsities; and conversely, that to let him who is righteous be righteous still means, symbolically, that someone prompted by goods will be still more prompted by goods, and that to let him who is holy be holy still means, symbolically, that someone prompted by truths will be still more prompted by truths.

Moreover, it also symbolically means that people caught up in evils will have their goods taken away, and those caught up in falsities will have their truths taken away, and conversely, that people prompted by goods will have their evils taken away, and those prompted by truths will have their falsities taken away. For someone caught up in evils is still more caught up in evils to the extent that his goods are taken away, and someone caught up in falsities is still more caught up in falsities to the extent that his truths are taken away; and conversely, someone governed by goods is still more governed by goods to the extent that his evils are taken away, and someone governed by truths is still more governed by truths to the extent that his falsities are taken away.

Either the one or the other befalls everyone after death, for thus they are prepared, the evil for hell, and the good for heaven. For an evil person cannot take goods and truths with him to hell, nor can a good person take evils and falsities with him into heaven, since that would throw both heaven and hell into disorder.

[2] It must be rightly known, however, that we mean the inwardly evil and the inwardly good. For the inwardly evil may be outwardly good, since they can behave and speak as though they were good, as hypocrites do, and the inwardly good may at times be outwardly evil, since they can do evil things and utter falsities, and yet repent and wish to be instructed in truths.

The case here is the same as that declared by the Lord:

...to everyone who has, more will be given, that he may have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away." (Matthew 13:12; 25:29; Mark 4:25; Luke 8:18; 19:26)

This befalls all people after death before being judged. It also was the case with people collectively who either perished or were saved at the time of the Last Judgment. For the Last Judgment could not take place before then, because as long as the evil held on to their goods and truths, they were conjoined in outward appearances with angels in the lowest heavens. And yet they had to be separated. This, too, was foretold by the Lord in Matthew 13:24-30, 38-40, an event that may be seen explained in nos. 324, 329, 343, 346, 398 above.

It can be seen from this what is symbolically meant in the spiritual sense by letting him who is unjust be unjust still, by letting him who is filthy be filthy still, by letting him who is righteous be righteous still, and by letting him who is holy be holy still.

Something similar is meant by these verses in Daniel:

Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purged and cleansed...; the wicked shall do wickedly, and none of the wicked shall understand; but those who understand shall understand. (Daniel 12:9-10)

  
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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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