Arcana Coelestia (Potts) n. 9454

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9454. This is what is meant in John:

As many as received Him, to them gave He power to be sons of God, to them that believe in His name; who were born, not of bloods, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:12, 13);

"of bloods" denotes those who are opposed to the goods of faith and of charity; "of the will of the flesh" denotes those who are in evils from the loves of self and of the world; "of the will of man" denotes those who are in falsities thence derived; to be "born of God" denotes to be regenerated. That no one can come into heaven unless he is regenerated, is taught in the same:

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God (John 3:3, 5);

"to be born of water" denotes through the truth of faith; and "to be born of the spirit" denotes through the good of love. From all this it can now be seen who they are whose sins have been forgiven; and who they are whose sins have not been forgiven.

EXODUS 25

1. And Jehovah spoke unto Moses, saying, 2. Speak unto the sons of Israel, and let them take for Me a collection; from every man whom his heart hath moved willingly ye shall take My collection. 3. And this is the collection which ye shall take from them; gold, and silver, and brass;

4. And blue, and crimson, and scarlet double-dyed, and fine linen, and goats' wool;

5. And skins of red rams, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood;

6. Oil for the luminary, spices for the oil of anointing, and for the incense of spices;

7. Onyx stones, and stones for filling, for the ephod, and for the breastplate. 8. And let them make for Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in the midst of them. 9. According to all that I show thee, the form of the Habitation, and the form of all the vessels thereof, even so shall ye make it. 10. And let them make an ark of shittim wood; two cubits and a half the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. 11. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, from within and from without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a border of gold round about. 12. And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them upon the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be on the one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it. 13. And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. 14. And thou shalt put the staves into the rings on the sides of the ark, to carry the ark withal. 15. The staves shall be in the rings of the ark; they shall not be removed from it. 16. And thou shalt put into the ark the Testimony which I shall give thee. 17. And thou shalt make a propitiatory [mercy seat] of pure gold; two cubits and a half the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. 18. And thou shalt make two cherubs, of solid gold shalt thou make them, at the two ends of the propitiatory [mercy seat]. 19. And make one cherub at the one end, and one cherub at the other end; out of the propitiatory [mercy seat] shall ye make the cherubs upon the two ends thereof. 20. And the cherubs shall spread out their wings upward, covering with their wings over the propitiatory [mercy seat], and their faces a man's to his brother; toward the propitiatory [mercy seat] shall be the faces of the cherubs. 21. And thou shalt put the propitiatory [mercy seat] upon the ark from above; and unto the ark thou shalt put the Testimony that I shall give unto thee. 22. And there I will meet with thee, and I will speak with thee from above the propitiatory [mercy seat], from between the two cherubs which are over the ark of the Testimony, all that I shall command thee for the sons of Israel. 23. And thou shalt make a table of shittim wood; two cubits the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. 24. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and make thereto a border of gold round about. 25. And thou shalt make unto it a closure of a hand-breadth round about, and thou shalt make a border of gold for the closure thereof round about. 26. And thou shalt make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings upon the four corners that are on the four feet thereof. 27. Over against the closure shall the rings be, for houses for the staves to carry the table. 28. And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, and the table shall be carried with them. 29. And thou shalt make the little dishes thereof, and the cups thereof, and the salvers thereof, and the little brooms thereof, with which it shall be covered; of pure gold shalt thou make them. 30. And thou shalt set upon the table the bread of faces, unto My faces continually. 31. And thou shalt make a lampstand of pure gold; solid shall the lampstand be made, its shaft, and its reed; its cups, its pomegranates, and its flowers, shall be out of it;

32. And there shall be six reeds going out of the sides thereof; three reeds of the lampstand out of the one side thereof, and three reeds of the lampstand out of the other side thereof;

33. Three almond-shaped cups in one reed, a pomegranate and a flower; and three almond-shaped cups in one reed, a pomegranate and a flower; so for the six reeds going out of the lampstand. 34. And in the lampstand four almond-shaped cups, its pomegranates and its flowers. 35. And a pomegranate under two reeds out of it, and a pomegranate under two reeds out of it, and a pomegranate under two reeds out of it, for the six reeds going out of the lampstand. 36. Their pomegranates and their reeds shall be out of it, all of them, one solid of pure gold. 37. And thou shalt make the lamps thereof seven; and it shall make its lamps go up, to give light over against the faces of it. 38. And the tongs thereof, and the basins thereof, shall be of pure gold. 39. A talent of pure gold shall it be made, with all these vessels. 40. And see and make them in the form which thou wast made to see in the mountain.


This page is part of the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg

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