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Apocalypse Explained #102

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102. And for My name's sake hast toiled, is the acknowledgment of the Lord and of the knowledges of truth that have respect to Him. This is evident from the signification of "the name" of Jehovah, or of the Lord, as being, in the highest sense, His Divine Human (See Arcana Coelestia 2628, 6887), and in a relative sense, all things of love and faith by which the Lord is worshiped, because these are things Divine that proceed from His Divine Human (n. 2724, 3006, 6674, 9310). This is evident also from the signification of "toiling," as being to strive with mind and zeal that these things may be known and acknowledged; for this is signified by "toiling" when it is said of those who apply themselves to the knowledges of truth and good. From this it follows that "for My name's sake hast toiled" signifies the acknowledgment of the Lord, and of the knowledges that have respect to Him. The knowledges that have respect to the Lord are all things that are of love and faith. In many passages of the Word it is said, "for the sake of Jehovah's name," "for the sake of the Lord's name," "for the sake of the name of Jesus Christ," that "the name of God should be sanctified," and the like. Those whose thoughts do not go beyond the sense of the letter suppose that the name alone is meant; but what is meant is not the name, but everything whereby the Lord is worshiped; and all of this has relation to love and faith. Therefore by "the Lord's name" in the Word all things of love and of faith by which He is worshiped are meant; here the acknowledgment of the Lord and of the knowledges of truth that have respect to Him, because this is said to those who are only zealous about knowledges.

[2] That "Jehovah's name" or the "Lord's name" does not mean the name itself, but all things of love and faith, is from the spiritual world. There the names used on the earth are not uttered; but the names of the persons who are spoken of are formed from the idea of all things known about them combined into a single word. In this way names in the spiritual world are expressed; consequently names there, like all the other things, are spiritual The names "Lord" and "Jesus Christ," even, are not uttered there as on the earth, but in place of those names a name is formed from the idea of all things known and believed respecting Him; and this idea is made up of all things of love to Him and faith in Him. This is because these in the complex are the Lord in them; for the Lord is in everyone in the goods of love and of faith that are from Him. As this is so, the quality of everyone there, in respect to love to the Lord and faith in the Lord, is immediately known if he only utters "Lord" or "Jesus Christ" by a spiritual expression or spiritual name; and for the same reason also, those who are not in any love to Him or faith in Him are unable to speak His name, that is, to form any spiritual name of Him. From this it is now clear why by the "name" of Jehovah, of the Lord, or of Jesus Christ, name is not meant in the Word, but everything of love and of faith whereby He is worshiped.

[3] Lest, therefore, the opinion that is entertained by many should prevail, that the mere name Jesus Christ, without love to Him or faith in Him, thus without the knowledges by which love and faith exist, contributes something to salvation, I will introduce some passages from the Word in which the expressions "for His name's sake" and "in His name" are used, from which those who think more deeply may see that name alone is not meant:

Jesus said, Ye shall be hated of all for My name's sake (Matthew 10:22, 24:9, 10).

Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20).

As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become sons of God; even to them that believe in His name (John 1:12).

When Jesus was in Jerusalem many believed in His name (John 2:23).

He that believeth not hath been judged already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God (John 3:17, 18).

These are written that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye may have life in His name (John 20:31).

Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord (Matthew 21:9; 23:39; Luke 13:35; 19:35).

Everyone that hath left houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or fields, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundred-fold, and eternal life (Matthew 19:29).

(What is here signified by "houses, brethren, sisters, father, mother, wife, children, and fields," which are to be left for the name of the Lord, see Arcana Coelestia 10490.)

Jesus said, Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that I will do (John 14:13, 14);

"to ask in My name" is to ask from love and faith.

Many shall come in My name, saying, I am He; go ye not therefore after them (Luke 21:8; Mark 13:6);

"to come in My name" and "to say that I am He" is to proclaim falsities and to say that they are truths, and thus to lead astray. The like is signified by saying that they are the Christ, when they are not, in Matthew:

Many shall come in My name, saying, I am the Christ, and shall lead many astray (Matthew 24:5, 11, 23-27);

for by "Jesus" is meant the Lord in respect to Divine good; and by "Christ" the Lord in respect to Divine truth (Arcana Coelestia 3004-3005, 3009, 5502), and by not being Christ, truth not Divine, but falsity.

[4] The "name of the Lord," in the New Testament means the like as the "name of Jehovah" in the Old, because the Lord there is Jehovah.

Thus in Isaiah:

And in that day shall ye say, Confess ye to Jehovah, call upon His name (Isaiah 12:4).

In the same:

O Jehovah, we have waited for Thee; to Thy name and to Thy memorial is the desire of our soul. By Thee will we make mention of Thy name (Isaiah 26:8, 13).

In the same:

From the rising of the sun shall My name be called upon (Isaiah 41:25).

In Malachi:

From the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same My name is great among the nations; and in every place incense is offered unto My name; for My name is great among the nations (Malachi 1:11).

In Isaiah:

Everyone that is called by My name I have created for My glory, I have formed him (Isaiah 43:7).

In Micah:

All peoples walk in the name of their god, and we will walk in the name of Jehovah our God (Micah 4:5).

In Moses:

Thou shalt not take the name of thy God in vain; for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that hath taken His name in vain (Deuteronomy 5:11).

In the same:

Jehovah separated the tribe of Levi, that they should minister and bless in the name of Jehovah (Deuteronomy 10:8).

In the same:

They shall worship Jehovah in one place, where He shall place His name (Deuteronomy 12:5, 11, 13, 14, 18, 26; 16:2, 6, 11, 15, 16).

"Where He shall place His name" means where there shall be worship from the good of love and the truths of faith. This was done at Jerusalem; and therefore by "Jerusalem" the church in respect to doctrine and worship is signified (See in the small work on The New Jerusalem and its Doctrine 6).

[5] Since by the "name of Jehovah" or the "name of the Lord" is signified in the spiritual sense all worship from the good of love and the truths of faith, therefore in the highest sense by "name of Jehovah" is meant the Lord in respect to the Divine Human, for the reason that from His Divine Human everything of love and of faith proceeds. That by "name of Jehovah," in the highest sense, the Lord is meant, is evident in John:

Jesus said, Father, glorify Thy name. There came a voice out of heaven, saying, I have both glorified and will glorify again (John 12:28).

In Isaiah:

I will give thee for a covenant to the people, for a light of the nations. I am Jehovah, this is My name, and My glory will I not give to another (Isaiah 42:6, 8);

the coming of the Lord is here treated of.

In Jeremiah:

Behold the days come that I will raise unto David a righteous shoot, and He shall reign as King, and this is His name, by which they shall call Him, Jehovah, our righteousness (Jeremiah 23:5, 6).

From this it is clear what is meant in the Lord's prayer by the words:

Hallowed be Thy name (Matthew 6:9);

namely, that the Divine Human of the Lord is to be accounted holy, and to be worshiped.

[6] As this is meant by "the name of the Lord," the meaning of the following passages can be seen.

In John:

The shepherd of the sheep calleth his own sheep by their name (John 10:3).

In Luke:

Rejoice that your names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20).

And in Revelation:

Thou hast a few names in Sardis (Revelation 3:4).

He who does not know what "name" signifies in the Word cannot possibly know how these words are to be understood, in Matthew:

He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous one in the name of a righteous one shall receive a righteous one's reward; and whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold [water] in the name of a disciple only, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward (Matthew 10:41, 42).

"To receive a prophet in the name of a prophet," "a righteous one in the name of a righteous one," and "to give drink in the name of a disciple," signifies to love truth for the sake of truth, good for the sake of good, and to exercise charity from the faith of truth; for by "prophet" is signified truth, by "righteous one" is signified good, and by "disciple" good from truth; and "to give to drink of cold [water]" is to exercise charity from obedience; "in the name" of these is for the sake of what they are, thus for their sake. Who could ever understand these things unless he knew what "name" signifies?

[7] To love and to do truth for the sake of truth, and good for the sake of good, is to have affection for truth and good for their sake, and not for the sake of one's own reputation, honor, or gain. Such affection of truth and good is a truly spiritual affection; but the affection of truth and good for the sake of one's own reputation, honor, or gain, is a merely natural affection. And as those who love truth and good for the sake of truth and good, or because they are truth and good, are in the spiritual affection of truth and good, therefore it is said that they shall receive "a prophet's reward" and "a righteous one's reward;" which means that they are in the spiritual affection of truth and good, and this affection has reward in itself, because it has heaven in itself. (That the happiness of heaven is in the affection of loving and doing truth and good, without regard to reward as an end, thus for the sake of truth and good, see Arcana Coelestia 6388, 6478, 9174, 9984. That "prophet" signifies one who teaches truth, thus also, in the abstract, truth that is taught, see n. 2534, 7269. That a "righteous one" signifies the good of love to the Lord, n. 2235, 9857. That "disciple" signifies good from truth, which is the good of charity, n. 2129, 3354, 3488, 3858, 6397. That "to give drink" is to instruct in the goods and truths of faith, and thus to exercise charity, n. Arcana Coelestia 3069, 3772, 4017, 4018, 8562, 9412; and that "name" signifies the quality of a thing, n. 144, 145, 1754, 1896, 2009, 3237; hence "the name of Jehovah," or "the name of the Lord," signifies every quality by which He is worshiped, n. Arcana Coelestia 2724[1-3], 3006, 6674, 9310).

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

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Apocalypse Explained #778

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778. And upon his heads a name of blasphemy, signifies the falsifications of the Word. This is evident from the signification of "heads," as being the knowledge of the holy things of the Word, which are falsified and adulterated (See above, n. 775); also from the signification of "name," as being the quality of a thing and its state (See above, n. 102, 135, 696); here the quality of the reasonings from the natural man confirming the separation of faith from life, which are signified by this "beast;" also from the signification of "blasphemy," as being the falsification of the Word (of which presently). From this it is evident that "upon his heads a name of blasphemy" signifies the quality of those who by reasonings from the natural man confirm the separation of faith from life, and that the quality of such is the falsification of the Word. "Blasphemy" signifies the falsification of the Word, because in what follows by this beast is described the way in which those who are meant by the dragon pervert the sense of the letter of the Word by reasonings from the natural man, that they may confirm the justification and salvation by faith alone without good works; and this cannot be done except by their falsifying the Word, which in each and every particular conjoins truths to goods and goods to truths, thus faith to charity and charity to faith (as shown above, n. 775. This is why falsifications of the Word are signified by "blasphemy," which is said to be the name of this beast.

[2] But how the Word is blasphemed by the falsification of it shall be illustrated by the following example. Those who separate faith from good works say:

That God the Father removed and even rejected from Himself the human race on account of their evils; and for this reason His Son was sent into the world, or the Son Himself, moved by pity, came into the world, and by the punishment of extreme condemnation, which was the passion of the cross, and by His own blood upon it, and finally by His death, He reconciled mankind to the Father, by thus interceding for it.

As this is among the chief things of the doctrine of those who separate faith from its life, which is charity, I will state briefly how the Divine is thereby blasphemed. It is blasphemed by this, that they believe and think that the Divine removed or rejected the human race from itself, when yet God is love itself, mercy itself, and goodness itself, and these are His Esse; evidently, therefore, it is impossible for God to remove or reject a single one of the human race, for this would be to act against His own Esse, which, as has been said, is the source of all love, all mercy, and all good. It would be impossible even for any angel or any man who is in love, mercy, and good from the Lord, to do this; and yet their love is finite, while the Divine love is infinite. God the Father's removing or rejecting the human race they call vindictive justice, of which they cherish no other idea than that of a king or judge avenging an evil done to him, consequently that it is like their vengeance, in which there cannot but be something of anger. To confirm this they cite passages from the Word where God is called an avenger, a revenger, jealous, angry, wrathful; and these passages of the Word they thus falsify, since these expressions are used in the sense of the letter of the Word according to appearances. For when a man after death becomes a spirit, if he is in evils from his life in the world he turns himself away from the Lord; and when he turns himself away from the Lord and denies Him he can no longer be so under the Lord's protection that his evil does not punish him, for the punishment of evil is in the evil, as the reward of good is in the good. But because the punishment of evil by the evil, or by those who are evil, appears as if it were punishment by the Divine, so from that appearance the Divine is said in the Word to be angry, to condemn, to cast into hell, and the like. Yet the Lord condemns and punishes no one (as can be seen in the work on Heaven and Hell 545-550, under the head, The Lord casts no one down into Hell, but the spirit casts himself down). From this can be seen how the Divine is blasphemed by the falsification of the Word. For it is thought that God is in some respect an avenger, or revenger, that He is angry, that He casts into hell and punishes, when in fact it is evil that punishes itself, that is, hell from which evil is, and not the Divine. The Divine is blasphemed by the falsification of the Word also by their believing and thinking that God the Father wished to be reconciled to the human race by the punishment of extreme condemnation, which was the passion of the cross, thus by the blood of His Son; and that by this He was moved and is moved to mercy. Who that has an enlightened understanding does not see that this, too, is contrary to the Divine, and therefore contrary to the genuine truth of the Word? For as what is contrary to the Divine is blasphemy, so to wrest the sense of the letter of the Word to confirm this doctrine is blasphemy. But more about this in what follows.

[3] What, then, is signified by "blasphemy" can be seen from passages in the Word where it is mentioned; from which I am only allowed to cite the following. In the Gospels:

Jesus said, Every sin and blasphemy shall be remitted unto men, but the blasphemy of the Spirit shall not be remitted unto men. And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man it shall be remitted unto him, but whosoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit it shall not be remitted unto him, neither in this age nor in that which is to come (Matthew 12:31, 32).

I say unto you, All sins shall be remitted unto the sons of man. But whosoever shall blaspheme against the Spirit hath no remission to eternity, but shall be subject to an eternal judgment (Mark 3:28, 29).

Everyone who shall speak a word against the Son of man it shall be remitted unto him, but unto him that blasphemeth the Holy Spirit it shall not be remitted (Luke 12:10).

What is signified by "sin and blasphemy against the Holy Spirit," and what by "a word against the Son of man," has not hitherto been known in the church, and for the reason that it has not been known what is properly meant by "the Holy Spirit," and what by "the Son of man." "The Holy Spirit" means the Lord in relation to Divine truth such as it is in the heavens, that is, the Word such as it is in the spiritual sense, for this is Divine truth in heaven. And "the Son of man" means Divine truth such as it is on the earth, that is, the Word such as it is in the natural sense, for this is Divine truth on the earth. When it is known what is meant by "the Holy Spirit," and what by "the Son of man," it can also be known what is signified by "sin and blasphemy against the Holy Spirit," and by "a word against the Son of man;" also why "a word against the Son of man" can be remitted, and "sin and blasphemy against the Holy Spirit" cannot. "Sin and blasphemy against the Holy Spirit" means to deny the Word, and to adulterate its essential goods and falsify its essential truths; while "a word against the Son of man" means to interpret the natural sense of the Word, which is the sense of its letter, according to appearances.

[4] To deny the Word is a sin that "cannot be remitted in this age nor in that which is to come," that is, to eternity, and he who does it "is subject to an eternal judgment," because those who deny the Word deny God, deny the Lord, deny heaven and hell, and deny the church and all things pertaining to it; and those who deny these are atheists, who, although with their lips they attribute the creation of the universe to some Supreme Entity, or Deity, or God, yet in heart ascribe it to nature. Because such by denial have dissolved all bond of connection with the Lord they must needs be separated from heaven and conjoined to hell. To adulterate the essential goods of the Word and to falsify its essential truths is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit that cannot be remitted, because "the Holy Spirit" means the Lord in relation to Divine truth such as it is in the heavens, that is, the Word such as it is in the spiritual sense, as has been said above. In the spiritual sense are genuine goods and genuine truths; but in the natural sense these same are as it were clothed, and only here and there are naked. They are therefore called apparent goods and truths. These are what are adulterated and falsified; and they are said to be adulterated and falsified when they are so explained as to be contrary to genuine goods and truths, for heaven then removes itself and man is separated from it; and for the reason, as has been said, that genuine goods and truths constitute the spiritual sense of the Word in which the angels of heaven are. For example, heaven is removed from man when the Lord and His Divine are denied, as was done by the Pharisees who said that the Lord wrought miracles by Beelzebub and had an unclean spirit; and because they thus denied Him and His Divine He said that this was sin and blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, because it was against the Word, as may be seen in the preceding verses of these chapters in the Gospels. For the same reason also the Socinians and Arians, who deny the Divine of the Lord, although they do not deny the Lord, are out of heaven, and cannot be received by any angelic society.

[5] Take, as another example, those who exclude the goods of love and the works of charity from among the means of salvation, and who claim that faith, exclusive of these, is the sole means of salvation, and who confirm this opinion not only by doctrine but also by their life, saying in heart, Goods do not save me nor evils condemn, because I have faith. Such also blaspheme the Holy Spirit, for they falsify the genuine good and truth of the Word, and this in a thousand passages, where love and charity and deeds and works are mentioned. Moreover, as has been said above, in each and every thing of the Word there is the marriage of good and truth, thus of charity and faith; consequently when good or charity is taken away that marriage perishes, and instead there is adultery; the nature of this adultery will be explained elsewhere. This is why these, too, cannot be received into heaven; and for the further reason that they have put earthly love in place of heavenly love and evil works in place of good works, because their works are from earthly love, and when this is separated from heavenly love it is infernal love. But it is otherwise with those who believe, indeed, from the doctrine of the church and from their teachers, that faith is the only means of salvation, or who know this, but inwardly neither affirm it nor deny it, and who, nevertheless, live a good life from the Word, that is, because the Lord has so commanded in the Word. Such do not blaspheme the Holy Spirit, for they do not adulterate the goods of the Word nor falsify its truths, wherefore they have conjunction with the angels of heaven. Moreover, few of such know that faith is anything else than believing in the Word. The dogma of justification by faith alone without the works of the law they do not apprehend, because it transcends their understanding.

[6] These two examples are cited to make known what is meant by "sin and blasphemy against the Holy Spirit," that is, that sin against it is to deny the Divine truth, thus the Word, and that blasphemy against it is to adulterate the essential goods of the Word and falsify its essential truths. Let it be noted that the good of the Word when adulterated is evil, and that its truth when falsified is falsity. A word against the Son of man, signifies to interpret the natural sense of the Word, which is the sense of its letter, according to appearances, because the Son of man means the Lord in relation to Divine truth such as it is on earth, thus such as it is in the natural sense. Such a word is remitted unto men, because most things in the natural sense of the Word, or the sense of its letter, are goods and truths clothed, and some only are naked, as they are in the spiritual sense; and goods and truths that are clothed are called appearances of truth. For the Word in its ultimates is like a man clothed with a garment, but with his face and hands naked; and where the Word is thus naked its goods and truths appear naked, as they do in heaven, thus such as they are in the spiritual sense. There is, therefore, nothing to hinder those who are enlightened by the Lord from seeing, or to hinder those who are not so enlightened from confirming, the doctrine of genuine good and genuine truth from the sense of the letter of the Word. The Word is such in the sense of the letter that it may be a basis for the spiritual sense; thus, too, it is accommodated to the comprehension of the simple, who, unless things are so stated, are unable to perceive them, and when perceived, to believe and do them.

[7] Moreover, because the Divine truths in the sense of the letter of the Word are for the most part appearances of truth, and the simple in faith and heart cannot be raised above them, it is not sin or blasphemy to interpret the Word according to appearances, provided principles are not formed from these appearances and so confirmed as to destroy Divine truth in its genuine sense. For example, where it is said:

Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29);

and:

This is My blood, that of the new Testament, which is poured out for many for the remission of sins (Matthew 26:28);

and again:

Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. And they overcame him through the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 12:7, 11);

and when from these words it is believed in simplicity that the Lord suffered the passion of the cross on account of our sins, and that through this suffering and His blood He redeemed us from hell-since this is an apparent truth, and can be stated and believed, therefore it does not condemn the simple in faith and heart. But to establish a principle from these words, and to confirm that principle so far as to hold that God the Father was and is in this way reconciled to man, and that man is justified and saved by his faith alone without the good things of charity, which are good works, and to be in that principle in life as well as in doctrine-this cannot be remitted.

[8] From this it can be seen that "blasphemy against the Holy Spirit" signifies the falsification of the Word even to the destruction of Divine truth in its genuine sense. Therefore "a name of blasphemy" signifies the falsification of Divine truth, thus of the Word, because it is called blasphemy when anyone speaks against God; and to speak against God is to speak against the Divine truth, for the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord is what is meant in the Word by "God;" and Divine good is meant by "Jehovah," and by "the Lord." And as it is blasphemy to speak against God, thus also against the Word, since the Word is Divine truth, it follows that blasphemy is to falsify the Word. For those who falsify the Word make its truth to be falsity, and falsity continually speaks against truth, and even assaults it. This is why "blasphemy" signifies the falsification of the Word, even to the destruction of its genuine good and genuine truth.

[9] The like is said of the "scarlet beast" further on in Revelation:

The woman sitting upon the scarlet beast was full of the names of blasphemy (Revelation 17:3).

That beast with the woman sitting on it there means Babylon; and "the names of blasphemy" mean the adulterations of the good and the falsifications of the truth of the Word; and these, as has been said, are blasphemies against the Lord.

[10] That "blasphemies" signify to believe and speak wickedly and falsely about God and about Divine truth can also be seen from other passages in the Word. As in Isaiah:

Jehovah said, Fear not on account of the words which thou hast heard, wherewith the young men of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. And Hezekiah the king prayed, and said, Hear, O Jehovah, all the words of Sennacherib, who hath sent to blaspheme the living God. And Jehovah spake concerning him, Whom hast thou blasphemed and reviled, and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice and lifted up thine eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel! By the hand of thy servants thou hast blasphemed the Lord (Isaiah 37:6, 15, 17, 23, 24).

From this, too, it can be seen that blasphemy is predicated of false speaking against God. For "the king of Assyria," who at that time was Sennacherib, signifies the rational, but here the rational perverted, which speaks against Divine truth, treats it shamefully, and censures it by falsities; and this is to falsify it, as has been said above. The falsities spoken against Divine truth are signified by the things mentioned in verses 10-13, 24, 25, which were all not only blasphemies against God but also falsifications of Divine truth.

[11] In Moses:

As to the soul that doeth with a high hand, the same blasphemeth Jehovah, in that he hath despised the word of Jehovah and hath rendered void His commandment, that soul shall be utterly cut off, its iniquity shall be upon it (Numbers 15:30, 31).

This treats of those who act against the commandments of God given through Moses, both through error, and also from purpose (as is clear from verse 23 and those that follow in that chapter); here those who so act from purpose are treated of, and this is meant by "doing with a high hand." And since to act against a commandment is to act against Divine truth, and to act against this from purpose is to act from the intention of the will, and from that to speak falsity, which is the actual adulteration and falsification of the Word, therefore it is said "he blasphemeth Jehovah." And as this is similar to the sin and blasphemy against the Holy Spirit it is said, "that soul shall be utterly cut off, its iniquity shall be upon it;" "its iniquity shall be upon it" signifying that it cannot be remitted.

[12] That blasphemy is predicated of evil speaking and false speaking about God, and thus about Divine truth, it is unnecessary to confirm here by many passages from the Word; not only because anyone can see that blasphemy is nothing else in the spiritual sense, but also because there are various kinds of it; consequently in human languages, as in the Hebrew, there are various terms by which the kinds of blasphemy of God and of the Divine truth are expressed, such as calumny, contumely, ignominy, opprobrium, reproach, rebuke, jesting, scoffing, mocking, and others, each of which is used in the Word with a generic and specific difference, to analyze and explain which would require many pages.

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