The Bible

 

Genesis 3

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1 Ang ahas nga ay lalong tuso kay sa alin man sa mga hayop sa parang na nilikha ng Panginoong Dios. At sinabi niya sa babae, Tunay bang sinabi ng Dios, Huwag kayong kakain sa alin mang punong kahoy sa halamanan?

2 At sinabi ng babae sa ahas, Sa bunga ng mga punong kahoy sa halamanan ay makakakain kami:

3 Datapuwa't sa bunga ng punong kahoy na nasa gitna ng halamanan ay sinabi ng Dios, Huwag kayong kakain niyaon, ni huwag ninyong hihipuin, baka kayo'y mamatay.

4 At sinabi ng ahas sa babae, Tunay na hindi kayo mamamatay:

5 Sapagka't talastas ng Dios na sa araw na kayo'y kumain niyaon ay madidilat nga ang inyong mga mata, at kayo'y magiging parang Dios, na nakakakilala ng mabuti at masama.

6 At nang makita ng babae, na ang bunga ng punong kahoy ay mabuting kanin, at nakalulugod sa mga mata, at kahoy na mananasa upang magpapantas sa tao, ay pumitas siya ng bunga niyaon at kinain; at binigyan din niya ang kaniyang asawang kasama niya, at ito'y kumain.

7 At nadilat kapuwa ang kanilang mga mata, at kanilang nakilalang sila'y mga hubad; at sila'y tumahi ng mga dahon ng puno ng igos, at kanilang ginawang panapi.

8 At narinig nila ang tinig ng Panginoong Dios na lumalakad sa halamanan sa kulimlim ng araw: at nagtago ang lalake at ang kaniyang asawa sa harapan ng Panginoong Dios sa pagitan ng mga punong kahoy sa halamanan.

9 At tinawag ng Panginoong Dios ang lalake at sa kaniya'y sinabi, Saan ka naroon?

10 At sinabi niya, Narinig ko ang iyong tinig sa halamanan, at ako'y natakot, sapagka't ako'y hubad; at ako'y nagtago.

11 At sinabi niya, Sinong nagsabi sa iyong ikaw ay hubad? nakakain ka ba ng bunga ng punong kahoy, na iniutos ko sa iyong huwag mong kanin?

12 At sinabi ng lalake, Ang babaing ibinigay mong aking kasamahin, ay siyang nagbigay sa akin ng bunga ng punong kahoy at aking kinain.

13 At sinabi ng Panginoong Dios sa babae, Ano itong iyong ginawa? At sinabi ng babae, Dinaya ako ng ahas, at ako'y kumain.

14 At sinabi ng Panginoong Dios sa ahas, Sapagka't ginawa mo ito, ay sumpain ka ng higit sa lahat ng hayop, at ng higit sa bawa't ganid sa parang; ang iyong tiyan ang ilalakad mo, at alabok ang iyong kakanin sa lahat ng mga araw ng iyong buhay:

15 At papagaalitin ko ikaw at ang babae, at ang iyong binhi at ang kaniyang binhi: ito ang dudurog ng iyong ulo, at ikaw ang dudurog ng kaniyang sakong.

16 Sinabi niya sa babae, Pararamihin kong lubha ang iyong kalumbayan at ang iyong paglilihi; manganganak kang may kahirapan; at sa iyong asawa ay pahihinuhod ang iyong kalooban, at siya'y papapanginoon sa iyo.

17 At kay Adam ay sinabi, Sapagka't iyong dininig ang tinig ng iyong asawa, at kumain ka ng bunga ng punong kahoy na aking iniutos sa iyo na sinabi, Huwag kang kakain niyaon; sumpain ang lupa dahil sa iyo; kakain ka sa kaniya sa pamamagitan ng iyong pagpapagal sa lahat ng mga araw ng iyong buhay;

18 Ang isisibol niyaon sa iyo ay mga tinik at mga dawag; at kakain ka ng pananim sa parang;

19 Sa pawis ng iyong mukha ay kakain ka ng tinapay, hanggang sa ikaw ay mauwi sa lupa; sapagka't diyan ka kinuha: sapagka't ikaw ay alabok at sa alabok ka uuwi.

20 At tinawag na Eva ng lalake ang kaniyang asawa, sapagka't siya ang naging ina ng lahat ng mga nabubuhay.

21 At iginawa ng Panginoong Dios si Adam at ang kaniyang asawa ng mga kasuutang balat at sila'y dinamitan.

22 At sinabi ng Panginoong Dios, Narito't ang tao'y naging parang isa sa atin, na nakakakilala ng mabuti at ng masama; at baka ngayo'y iunat ang kaniyang kamay at pumitas naman ng bunga ng punong kahoy ng buhay, at kumain at mabuhay magpakailan man:

23 Kaya pinalayas siya ng Panginoong Dios sa halamanan ng Eden, upang kaniyang bukirin ang lupaing pinagkunan sa kaniya.

24 Ano pa't itinaboy ang lalake; at inilagay sa silanganan ng halamanan ng Eden ang mga Querubin at ang isang nagniningas na tabak na umiikot, upang ingatan ang daang patungo sa kahoy ng buhay.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Revealed #565

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565. And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and it went off to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. (12:17) This symbolizes the hatred ignited in those people who believe themselves wise because of their arguments in support of the mystical union of the Divine and the human in the Lord and in support of justification by faith alone, against those who acknowledge the Lord alone as God of heaven and earth and the Ten Commandments as law to be lived, and their attacking new converts with the intention of leading them astray.

All of this is contained in these few words, because they follow in sequence from those of the preceding verse, where we are told that the earth helped the woman, and opened its mouth and swallowed up the river which the dragon had spewed out of its mouth, which means, symbolically, that their reasonings flowing from falsities came to nothing (no. 564), and accordingly that they tried in vain to destroy the New Church. The dragon's being enraged with the woman symbolizes, therefore, hatred ignited and a longing for vengeance seething against the Church. The rage or wrath of the dragon symbolizes hatred (no. 558). To make war means, symbolically, to attack and assail with reasonings flowing from falsities (no. 500).

The rest of her offspring or seed who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ means newcomers who accept the doctrine regarding the Lord and the Ten Commandments. What the testimony of Jesus Christ is may be seen in nos. 6 and 490 above.

[2] The dragon here means people who believe themselves wise because of their arguments in support of the mystical union of the Divine and the human in the Lord and in support of justification by faith alone, because they pride themselves on their wisdom and know how to reason. From that pride or conceit then springs hatred, and from that hatred rage and a longing for vengeance against people who do not believe as they do. By the mystical union, also called a hypostatic union, we mean their fictions regarding the influx and operation of the Lord's Divinity into His humanity as though into another entity, their not knowing that God and man, or the Divine and the human in the Lord, are not two persons, but one, united like soul and body, in accordance with the doctrine accepted throughout the Christian world which has its name from Athanasius. But this is not the place to cite their fictions regarding the mystical union, as they are absurd.

[3] That the offspring or seed of the woman here means people of the New Church, who possess its doctrinal truths, can be seen from the symbolic meaning of offspring in the following passages:

Their offspring shall be known among the nations, and their descendants among peoples. All who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the offspring whom Jehovah has blessed. (Isaiah 61:9)

...they are the offspring of the blessed of Jehovah... (Isaiah 65:23)

...as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before Me..., so shall your offspring... remain. (Isaiah 66:22)

Offspring that will serve Him shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation... (Psalms 22:30)

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and the offspring (of the woman). (Genesis 3:15)

Does the one seek the offspring of God? (Malachi 2:15)

Behold, the days are coming..., (when) I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man... (Jeremiah 31:27)

If he makes His soul a guilt offering, he shall see his offspring... (Isaiah 53:10)

Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east... (Isaiah 43:5-6)

...you shall break out to the right and to the left, and your offspring will inherit the nations... (Isaiah 54:3)

I had planted you a noble vine, the offspring of truth. How then have you turned before Me into the offshoots of an alien vine? (Jeremiah 2:21)

Their fruit You shall destroy from the earth, and their offspring from among the children of men. (Psalms 21:10)

...the... seeds are the children of the kingdom... (Matthew 13:38)

The offspring or seed of Israel has the same symbolic meaning, because "Israel" is the church (Isaiah 41:8-9; 44:3). So likewise the seed of the field, in many places, because a field symbolizes the church.

On the other hand, the offspring or seed of evil people has an opposite meaning (Isaiah 1:4; 14:20; 57:3-4).

565. [repeated]. Then I stood on the sand of the sea. 1 (12:18) This symbolizes John's spiritual state now natural, like that of people in the first or lowest heaven.

The sand of the sea symbolizes that state, because the sea symbolizes the external component of the church. We call this state spiritually natural, like the state of people in the first or lowest heaven.

John had previously been up above in heaven when he saw the dragon, its battle with Michael, its being cast down, and its pursuing the woman. But now that the dragon has been cast down, and it continues to be dealt with in the following chapter, John was conveyed down in spirit in order to see the further events involving the dragon beneath the heavens and describe them. In that state he saw the two beasts, one rising up out of the sea and the other coming up out of the earth, which he could not have seen from heaven, since it is not granted to any angel to look down from heaven into lower regions, though if he wishes, he may descend.

It should be known that a place in the spiritual world corresponds to the inhabitants' state, for no one can be anywhere else than where his state of life is found. And because John now stood on the sand of the sea, it follows that his state was now a spiritually natural one.

Footnotes:

1. In most manuscripts, the Textus Receptus, the received text of the Greek New Testament, makes this verse part of the first verse of the next chapter (13:1), as do numerous translations into other languages. The Alexandrian text, however, and the text of Westcott and Hort, together with some translations, including those Latin versions consulted by the writer, make it verse 18 of the present chapter.

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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.