The Bible

 

Miquéias 2

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1 Ai daqueles que nas suas camas maquinam a iniqüidade e planejam o mal! quando raia o dia, põem-no por obra, pois está no poder da sua mão.

2 E cobiçam campos, e os arrebatam, e casas, e as tomam; assim fazem violência a um homem e à sua casa, a uma pessoa e à sua herança.

3 Portanto, assim diz o Senhor. Eis que contra esta família maquino um mal, de que não retirareis os vossos pescoços; e não andareis arrogantemente; porque o tempo sera mau.

4 Naquele dia surgirá contra vós um motejo, e se levantará pranto lastimoso, dizendo: Nós estamos inteiramente despojados; a porção do meu povo ele a troca; como ele a remove de mim! aos rebeldes reparte os nossos campos.

5 Portanto, não terás tu na cogregação do Senhor quem lance o cordel pela sorte

6 Não profetizeis; assim profetizam eles, - não se deve profetizar tais coisas; não nos alcançará o opróbrio.

7 Acaso dir-se-á isso, ó casa de Jacó: tem-se restringido o Espírito do Senhor? são estas as suas obras? e não é assim que fazem bem as minhas palavras ao que anda retamente?

8 Mas há pouco se levantou o meu povo como um inimigo; de sobre a vestidura arrancais o manto aos que passam seguros, como homens contrários à guerra.

9 As mulheres do meu povo, vós as lançais das suas casas agradáveis; dos seus filhinhos tirais para sempre a minha glória.

10 Levantai-vos, e ide-vos, pois este não é lugar de descanso; por causa da imundícia que traz destruição, sim, destruição enorme.

11 Se algum homem, andando em espírito de falsidade, mentir, dizendo: Eu te profetizarei acerca do vinho e da bebida forte; será esse tal o profeta deste povo.

12 Certamente te ajuntarei todo, ó Jacó; certamente congregarei o restante de Israel; pô-los-ei todos juntos, como ovelhas no curral, como rebanho no meio do seu pasto; farão estrondo por causa da multidão dos homens.

13 Subirá diante deles aquele que abre o caminho; eles romperão, e entrarão pela porta, e sairão por ela; e o rei irá adiante deles, e o Senhor à testa deles.

   

Commentary

 

Enemy

  
Charge of the Huns, by Ulpiano Checa

An enemy in the Bible refers to people who are in the love of evil and the false thinking that springs from evil. On a deeper level it refers to the forces of hell itself, and on an abstract level it refers to evil itself and falsity itself – which are, obviously, the ultimate enemies we have to fight.

(References: Apocalypse Explained 671; Arcana Coelestia 2851 [1-15], 8282, 8289, 9255 [1-2], 9313)

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Explained #671

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671. And their enemies beheld them, signifies the knowledge and acknowledgment with those who are interiorly opposed to the goods and truths of the Word and of the church. This is evident from the signification of "to behold," as being to understand, consequently to know and to acknowledge (of which above, n. 11, 37, 260, 354, 529); also from the signification of "enemies," as being those who are opposed to the goods of love and the truths of doctrine, consequently those who are in evils and falsities, for these are meant in the Word in its spiritual sense by "enemies and adversaries." Thence it is clear that "their enemies beheld them" signifies the knowledge and acknowledgment with those who are against "the two witnesses," that is, against the goods of love and the truths of doctrine.

[2] The arcanum here involved is this: "Enemies" here mean those who are inwardly opposed to the goods of love and the truths of doctrine, but still not outwardly; for such with the mouth act like friends, but in heart they are enemies; therefore before the world they profess a belief in goods and truths, but in their spirit, in which they are when they meditate alone with themselves, they reject them. These are the "enemies who behold," for when such are in corporeal-natural thought, in which they are whenever they are in company with others, they see, that is, know and acknowledge, goods and truths. But when they are in their spiritual-natural thought, in which they are whenever they are alone and are thinking about matters of belief, they do not acknowledge. This is why it is said that "these two witnesses went up into heaven in the cloud;" for the "cloud" signifies the external of the Word, of the church, and of worship, which they see and from which they see. That the "cloud" here signifies this external may be seen in the article just above.

[3] In a multitude of passages in the Word, "adversaries" and "enemies" are mentioned, and by them evils and falsities are meant, evils by "adversaries," and falsities by "enemies;" for the Word in its bosom is spiritual, therefore in that sense no other than spiritual adversaries and enemies can be meant by "adversaries and enemies." That this is so can be seen from the following passages. In David:

Jehovah, how are my adversaries multiplied, many are they that rise up against me, that say of my soul, There is no salvation for him in God (Psalms 3:1, 2).

In the same:

Make wonderful Thy mercy, O Thou Savior of them that confide in Thee from them that rise up against me, 1 keep me by Thy right hand from the wicked who are against my soul, who compass me about (Psalms 17:7-9).

In the same:

Give me not up to the desire of my adversaries, for witnesses of a lie are risen up against me, who puff out violence; unless I had believed to see good in the land of life (Psalms 27:12, 13).

In the same-

Deliver me from my adversaries, O my God, set me on high from them that rise against me, deliver me from the workers of iniquity; behold they lie in wait for my soul (Psalms 59:1-3).

In Isaiah:

The wicked man acteth perversely in the land of uprightness; but Jehovah, Thy hand is exalted, fire shall devour Thine enemies (Isaiah 26:10, 11);

besides many other passages in the prophetic Word, where "adversaries and enemies" are mentioned, and also in the historic Word, where "adversaries," "wars," and "battles" are treated of. For as "war" signifies spiritual war, which is between truths and falsities, and thence weapons of war, such as "spears," "bows," "arrows," and "swords," signify such things as belong to spiritual warfare, so also do "adversaries and enemies." (That "wars" in the Word have this signification, also weapons of war, such as "bows," "arrows," and "swords," has here and there been shown in the preceding pages.)

Footnotes:

1. The Hebrew has "that raise themselves up."

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