IBhayibheli

 

Genesis 14

Funda

   

1 And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim,

2 that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar).

3 All these joined together in the vale of Siddim (the same is the Salt Sea).

4 Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.

5 And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim,

6 and the Horites in their mount Seir, unto Elparan, which is by the wilderness.

7 And they returned, and came to En-mishpat (the same is Kadesh), and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt in Hazazon-tamar.

8 And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar); and they set the battle in array against them in the vale of Siddim;

9 against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings against the five.

10 Now the vale of Siddim was full of slime pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell there, and they that remained fled to the mountain.

11 And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way.

12 And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

13 And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew: now he dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner; and these were confederate with Abram.

14 And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued as far as Dan.

15 And he divided himself against them by night, he and his servants, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.

16 And he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.

17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him, after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, at the vale of Shaveh (the same is the King's vale).

18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was priest of God Most High.

19 And he blessed him, and said, blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth:

20 and blessed be God Most High, who hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him a tenth of all.

21 And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.

22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted up my hand unto Jehovah, God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth,

23 that I will not take a thread nor a shoe-latchet nor aught that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:

24 save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men that went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. Let them take their portion.

   

Okususelwe Emisebenzini kaSwedenborg

 

True Christianity #756

Funda lesi Sigaba

  
Yiya esigabeni / 853  
  

756. Various things in the physical world can serve to illustrate the close of the age. Each and every thing on earth grows old and becomes worn out through patterns that recur, which are called cycles; both long and short spans of time go through these cycles. In a longer cycle, the year goes from spring to summer and on into fall, and comes to an end in winter. After winter, spring comes again. This cycle relates to heat. In a shorter cycle, the day goes from morning to afternoon and on into evening, and comes to an end in the night. After night, morning comes again. This cycle relates to light.

We ourselves also go through a natural cycle like this. We begin our lives as a child; we come into youth and adulthood, and move on into old age. Then we die. Every bird in the sky and every animal on earth goes through the same kind of cycle as well.

Every tree begins as a shoot, grows up to its full height, and then weakens progressively until it falls over. Every bush and shrub goes through a similar cycle; in fact, every leaf and every flower blossom goes through one as well. Even the ground itself goes through something similar; in time it becomes unproductive. Water, too, that is not moving becomes more and more stagnant.

These are all examples of end times that recur. They are physical and time-bound, and yet the cycle comes around again. When the cycle comes to an end, it begins again. Every type of thing, then, is being born, and is dying, and is being born again. The purpose of all this is to ensure that creation continues.

The same thing happens with a church, for the reason that humankind is the church and constitutes it in a multigenerational way. One generation follows another. Human minds are always changing and different. Once wickedness is rooted in one generation, it is passed on to the next in the form of a tendency toward that wickedness. It is not uprooted except through the process of regeneration, which is something only the Lord can do for us.

  
Yiya esigabeni / 853  
  

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