The Bible

 

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

Study

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 #5626

Study this Passage

  
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5626. 'And take your brother' means that by that self-submission they would receive the good of faith. This is clear from the representation of Simeon, 1 to whom 'brother' whom they were to take refers here, as faith in the will, dealt with in 3869-3872, 4497, 4502, 4503, 5482, and so the good of faith since the truth of faith becomes the good of faith when it passes over into the will. For when this happens that truth passes over into the person's life, and when it is there it is not seen as something to be known but as something to be done. That truth then changes its essential nature and becomes truth realized in action, as a consequence of which it is no longer called truth but good.

Footnotes:

1. The brother referred to at this point was in fact Benjamin, whose spiritual representation is indicated in 5600

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