The Bible

 

John 5:25-29 : The End is the New Beginning

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25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.

26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;

27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.

28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,

29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

Commentary

 

The End is the New Beginning

By Junchol Lee


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We use a calendar that has 12 months and 365 days in it. As it nears December 31st, we feel as though something is getting close to an end, and yet on January 1st it feels like a new beginning. Our life is composed of many endings and beginnings. We may live one life, but within this one life we have many different journeys.

(References: Habakkuk 3:17)

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #2033

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2033. 'You shall keep My covenant' means an even closer union. This is clear from the meaning of 'a covenant' as union and conjunction, dealt with already at verses 2, 4, 7, and in Volume One, in 665, 666, 1023, 1038. The further reference here to the covenant which has been mentioned so many times already denotes a closer union. In the historical sense which has to do with Abraham, nothing else may be said than that he was to keep the covenant; but in the internal sense, in which the Lord is the subject, the historical aspects disappear and things take their place which have to do with being united more closely. The union of the Lord's Human Essence with His Divine Essence was not accomplished all at once but gradually throughout the whole course of His life from early childhood to the end of His life in the world. Thus He was ascending continuously towards glorification, that is, towards union, which is what is stated in John,

Jesus said, Father, glorify Your name. A voice came from heaven, I have both glorified it and will glorify it again. John 12:28.

See what has appeared already in 1690, 1864.

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