The Bible

 

Daniel 8

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1 Năm thứ ba, đời vua Bên-xát-sa, có sự hiện thấy tỏ ra cho ta, là Ða-ni-ên, sau sự hiện thấy đã tỏ ra cho ta khi trước.

2 Vậy ta thấy trong sự hiện thấy; vả khi ta thấy thì ta tại cung Su-sơ, về tỉnh Ê-lam; và trong sự hiện thấy, ta thấy mình ta ở cạnh sông U-lai.

3 Ta ngước mắt lên và thấy, nầy, có một con chiên đực đứng gần sông, có hai cái sừng; hai sừngcao, nhưng một cái thì cao hơn cái kia, và cái cao hơn thì mọc lên sau.

4 Bấy giờ ta thấy con chiên đực ấy húc sừng mình vào phía tây, phía bắc, và phía nam. Không có thú vật nào chống cự cùng nó được, và chẳng ai có thể cứu được khỏi tay nó. Nó muốn làm chi tùy ý, và nó càng lớn lên.

5 Khi ta nhìn xem sự đó, nầy, một con dê đực đến từ phía tây, đi khắp trên mặt đất; con dê đó có cái sừng mọc rõ ra giữa hai con mắt nó.

6 đến tận chỗ con chiên đực có hai sừng, mà ta đã thấy đứng gần sông; nó hết sức giận chạy đến nghịch cùng chiên đực ấy.

7 Ta thấy nó đến gần con chiên đực, nổi giận húc nó, làm gãy hai cái sừng; con chiên đực không có sức nào chống lại; con dê vật nó xuống đất, giày đạp lên trên, và chẳng ai có thể cứu con chiên đực khỏi tay nó được.

8 Con dê đực làm mình nên lớn lắm; nhưng khi nó đã mạnh, thì cái sừng lớn của nó gãy đi, và ở chỗ đó, có bốn cái sừng mọc rõ ra hướng về bốn gió trên trời.

9 Bởi một trong các sừng, có mọc ra một cái sừng nhỏ, lớn lên rất mạnh, về phương nam, phương đông, lại hướng về đất vinh hiển.

10 Nó lớn lên đến cơ binh trên trời; làm cho đổ xuống đất một phần cơ binh và một phần trong các ngôi sao, rồi nó giày đạp lên.

11 Nó làm mình nên lớn cho đến tướng cơ binh; nó cất của lễ hằng dâng khỏi Ngài, và nơi thánh của Ngài bị quăng xuống.

12 Vì cớ tội lỗi thì cơ binh được phó cho nó, lên với của lễ thiêu hằng dâng; và nó ném bỏ lẽ thật xuống đất, nó làm theo ý mình và được thạnh vượng.

13 Bấy giờ ta nghe một đấng thánh đương nói, và một đấng thánh khác nói cùng đấng đương nói, rằng: Sự hiện thấy nầy về của lễ thiêu hằng dâng và về tội ác sanh ra sự hủy diệt, đặng phó nơi thánh cùng cơ binh để bị giày đạp dưới chơn, sẽ còn có cho đến chừng nào?

14 Người trả lời rằng: Cho đến hai ngàn ba trăm buổi chiều và buổi mai; sau đó nơi thánh sẽ được thanh sạch.

15 Khi mà ta, Ða-ni-ên, nhìn xem sự hiện thấy đó, và ta tìm cách để rõ nghĩa, nầy, có như hình dạng người nam đứng trước ta.

16 Ta nghe tiếng một người nam từ giữa bờ sông U-lai, kêu và bảo rằng: Gáp-ri-ên, hãy cho người nầy hiểu sự hiện thấy đó.

17 Người bèn đến gần chỗ ta đứng; khi người đã đến, ta kinh hãi, và ngã sấp mặt xuống đất. Người bảo ta rằng: Hỡi con người, hãy hiểu biết; vì sự hiện thấy đó có quan hệ với kỳ sau rốt.

18 Khi người đương nói với ta, ta ngủ mê sấp mặt xuống đất; nhưng người đụng đến ta, khiến cho ta đứng dậy.

19 Người bảo ta rằng: Nầy, ta sẽ bảo cho ngươi biết điều sẽ đến trong kỳ sau rốt của sự thạnh nộ; vì điều nầy quan hệ đến kỳ định cuối cùng.

20 Con chiên đực mà ngươi đã thấy, có hai sừng, đó là các vua nước Mê-đi và Phe-rơ-sơ.

21 Con dê xờm đực, tức là vua nước Gờ-réc; và cái sừng lớn ở giữa hai con mắt, tức là vua đầu nhứt.

22 Về sừng đã gãy đi, có bốn sừng mọc lên trong chỗ nó: tức là bốn nước bởi dân tộc đó dấy lên, song quyền thế không bằng sừng ấy.

23 Ðến kỳ sau rốt của nước chúng nó, khi số những kẻ bội nghịch đã đầy, thì sẽ dấy lên một vua, là người có bộ mặt hung dữ và thấu rõ những lời mầu nhiệm.

24 Quyền thế người sẽ lớn thêm, nhưng không phải bởi sức mình. Người làm những sự tàn phá lạ thường; và được thạnh vượng, làm theo ý mình, hủy diệt những kẻ có quyền và dân thành.

25 Người dùng quyền thuật làm nên chước gian dối mình được thắng lợi. Trong lòng người tự làm mình nên lớn, và trong lúc dân ở yên ổn, người sẽ hủy diệt nhiều kẻ; người nổi lên chống với vua của các vua, nhưng người sẽ bị bẻ gãy chẳng bởi tay người ta.

26 Vả, sự hiện thấy về các buổi chiều và các buổi mai mà nói đến là thật. Nhưng ngươi hãy giữ kín sự hiện thấy đó, vì nó quan hệ với sau nhiều ngày.

27 Bấy giờ, ta, Ða-ni-ên, mê mẩn, và đau ốm trong mấy ngày; đoạn ta chổi dậy và làm việc vua. Ta rất lấy làm lạ về sự hiện thấy ấy, nhưng chẳng ai rõ ý nó.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Heaven and Hell #171

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171. There is no way to describe briefly how things look to angels in the heavens. To a considerable extent, they look like the things we see on earth, but they are more perfect in form and also more abundant.

We may conclude that there are things like this in the heavens because of what the prophets saw - for example what Ezekiel saw of the new temple and the new earth as described in chapters 40-48 [of his book], what Daniel describes in his chapters 7-12, what John saw as described from the first through the last chapter of Revelation, along with other visions presented in both the historical and the prophetic books of the Word. They saw things like this when heaven was opened to them, and heaven is said to be opened when our inner sight, the sight of our spirit, is opened. For the things that exist in heaven cannot be seen with our physical eyes, but only with the eyes of our spirit; and when it pleases the Lord, these are opened. At such times we are led out of the natural light that our physical senses are in and raised into the spiritual light in which we dwell because of our spirit. This is the light in which I have seen the things that exist in the heavens.

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

The Bible

 

Ezekiel 40

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1 In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth [day] of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was struck, in the same day, the hand of Yahweh was on me, and he brought me there.

2 In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me down on a very high mountain, whereon was as it were the frame of a city on the south.

3 He brought me there; and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate.

4 The man said to me, Son of man, see with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart on all that I shall show you; for, to the intent that I may show them to you, you are brought here: declare all that you see to the house of Israel.

5 Behold, a wall on the outside of the house all around, and in the man's hand a measuring reed six cubits long, of a cubit and a handbreadth each: so he measured the thickness of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed.

6 Then came he to the gate which looks toward the east, and went up its steps: and he measured the threshold of the gate, one reed broad; and the other threshold, one reed broad.

7 Every lodge was one reed long, and one reed broad; and [the space] between the lodges was five cubits; and the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate toward the house was one reed.

8 He measured also the porch of the gate toward the house, one reed.

9 Then measured he the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and its posts, two cubits; and the porch of the gate was toward the house.

10 The lodges of the gate eastward were three on this side, and three on that side; they three were of one measure: and the posts had one measure on this side and on that side.

11 He measured the breadth of the opening of the gate, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits;

12 and a border before the lodges, one cubit [on this side], and a border, one cubit on that side; and the lodges, six cubits on this side, and six cubits on that side.

13 He measured the gate from the roof of the one lodge to the roof of the other, a breadth of twenty-five cubits; door against door.

14 He made also posts, sixty cubits; and the court [reached] to the posts, around the gate.

15 [From] the forefront of the gate at the entrance to the forefront of the inner porch of the gate were fifty cubits.

16 There were closed windows to the lodges, and to their posts within the gate all around, and likewise to the arches; and windows were around inward; and on [each] post were palm trees.

17 Then brought he me into the outer court; and behold, there were rooms and a pavement, made for the court all around: thirty rooms were on the pavement.

18 The pavement was by the side of the gates, answerable to the length of the gates, even the lower pavement.

19 Then he measured the breadth from the forefront of the lower gate to the forefront of the inner court outside, one hundred cubits, [both] on the east and on the north.

20 The gate of the outer court whose prospect is toward the north, he measured its length and its breadth.

21 The lodges of it were three on this side and three on that side; and its posts and its arches were after the measure of the first gate: its length was fifty cubits, and the breadth twenty-five cubits.

22 The windows of it, and its arches, and the palm trees of it, were after the measure of the gate whose prospect is toward the east; and they went up to it by seven steps; and its arches were before them.

23 There was a gate to the inner court over against the [other] gate, [both] on the north and on the east; and he measured from gate to gate one hundred cubits.

24 He led me toward the south; and behold, a gate toward the south: and he measured its posts and its arches according to these measures.

25 There were windows in it and in its arches all around, like those windows: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth twenty-five cubits.

26 There were seven steps to go up to it, and its arches were before them; and it had palm trees, one on this side, and another on that side, on its posts.

27 There was a gate to the inner court toward the south: and he measured from gate to gate toward the south a hundred cubits.

28 Then he brought me to the inner court by the south gate: and he measured the south gate according to these measures;

29 and its lodges, and its posts, and its arches, according to these measures: and there were windows in it and in its arches all around; it was fifty cubits long, and twenty-five cubits broad.

30 There were arches all around, twenty-five cubits long, and five cubits broad.

31 The arches of it were toward the outer court; and palm trees were on its posts: and the ascent to it had eight steps.

32 He brought me into the inner court toward the east: and he measured the gate according to these measures;

33 and its lodges, and its posts, and its arches, according to these measures: and there were windows therein and in its arches all around; it was fifty cubits long, and twenty-five cubits broad.

34 The arches of it were toward the outer court; and palm trees were on its posts, on this side, and on that side: and the ascent to it had eight steps.

35 He brought me to the north gate: and he measured [it] according to these measures;

36 its lodges, its posts, and its arches: and there were windows therein all around; the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth twenty-five cubits.

37 The posts of it were toward the outer court; and palm trees were on its posts, on this side, and on that side: and the ascent to it had eight steps.

38 A room with its door was by the posts at the gates; there they washed the burnt offering.

39 In the porch of the gate were two tables on this side, and two tables on that side, to kill thereon the burnt offering and the sin offering and the trespass offering.

40 On the [one] side outside, as one goes up to the entry of the gate toward the north, were two tables; and on the other side, which belonged to the porch of the gate, were two tables.

41 Four tables were on this side, and Four tables on that side, by the side of the gate; eight tables, whereupon they killed [the sacrifices].

42 There were four tables for the burnt offering, of cut stone, a cubit and a half long, and a cubit and a half broad, and one cubit high; whereupon they laid the instruments with which they killed the burnt offering and the sacrifice.

43 The hooks, a handbreadth long, were fastened within all around: and on the tables was the flesh of the offering.

44 Outside of the inner gate were rooms for the singers in the inner court, which was at the side of the north gate; and their prospect was toward the south; one at the side of the east gate having the prospect toward the north.

45 He said to me, This room, whose prospect is toward the south, is for the priests, the keepers of the duty of the house;

46 and the room whose prospect is toward the north is for the priests, the keepers of the duty of the altar: these are the sons of Zadok, who from among the sons of Levi come near to Yahweh to minister to him.

47 He measured the court, one hundred cubits long, and a hundred cubits broad, foursquare; and the altar was before the house.

48 Then he brought me to the porch of the house, and measured each post of the porch, five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side: and the breadth of the gate was three cubits on this side, and three cubits on that side.

49 The length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the breadth eleven cubits; even by the steps by which they went up to it: and there were pillars by the posts, one on this side, and another on that side.