The Bible

 

Ezekiel 1:17

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17 When they went, they went in their four directions: they didn't turn when they went.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #1041

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1041. 'Into the generations of an age' means all unceasingly who are being created anew. This is clear from the meaning of 'generations of an age'. 'Generations' means descendants of those going before as their parents. 'An age' is that which continues unceasingly. Here the subject is those things that have been regenerated and therefore 'the generations of an age' is used to mean those people who are unceasingly being regenerated in this way, that is, who are being created anew. In the internal sense the meaning of everything is determined by the subject under discussion.

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

Commentary

 

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Journey of the Three Magi to Bethlehem, by Leonaert Bramer

In the physical world, the places we inhabit and the distances between them are physical realities, and we have to get our physical bodies through the physical space between to get from one physical place to another physical place. In the spiritual world, however, the "places" we inhabit and the “distances” between them are spiritual realities, which means they are reflections of our thoughts and affections. "Going" from one place to another, then, is a change in spiritual state -- exploring different thoughts and embracing different feelings. Since the Bible is a spiritual book, "going" there also indicates a change or progression in spiritual state, from one mode of thinking and feeling to another mode of thinking and feeling. Obviously, this makes the precise meaning of "go" in the Bible highly dependent on context: Who is going? Where are they going? Why are they going there? Are they following someone or something? Those questions are crucial to the precise meaning. Used on its own, though, "going" represents the normal progression of life, moving through spiritual states as the Lord intends. This has its roots in early Biblical times, when people were nomadic and moved from place to place in a regular progression of life.