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Luke 24

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1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came unto the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared.

2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.

3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.

4 And it came to pass, while they were perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel:

5 and as they were affrighted and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?

6 He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,

7 saying that the Son of man must be delivered up into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.

8 And they remembered his words,

9 and returned from the tomb, and told all these things to the eleven, and to all the rest.

10 Now they were Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the [mother] of James: and the other women with them told these things unto the apostles.

11 And these words appeared in their sight as idle talk; and they disbelieved them.

12 But Peter arose, and ran unto the tomb; and stooping and looking in, he seeth the linen cloths by themselves; and he departed to his home, wondering at that which was come to pass.

13 And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was threescore furlongs from Jerusalem.

14 And they communed with each other of all these things which had happened.

15 And it came to pass, while they communed and questioned together, that Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.

16 But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.

17 And he said unto them, What communications are these that ye have one with another, as ye walk? And they stood still, looking sad.

18 And one of them, named Cleopas, answering said unto him, Dost thou alone sojourn in Jerusalem and not know the things which are come to pass there in these days?

19 And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, The things concerning Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:

20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him.

21 But we hoped that it was he who should redeem Israel. Yea and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things came to pass.

22 Moreover certain women of our company amazed us, having been early at the tomb;

23 and when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive.

24 And certain of them that were with us went to the tomb, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.

25 And he said unto them, O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!

26 Behooved it not the Christ to suffer these things, and to enter into his glory?

27 And beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

28 And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they were going: and he made as though he would go further.

29 And they constrained him, saying, Abide with us; for it is toward evening, and the day is now far spent. And he went in to abide with them.

30 And it came to pass, when he had sat down with them to meat, he took the bread and blessed; and breaking [it] he gave to them.

31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.

32 And they said one to another, Was not our heart burning within us, while he spake to us in the way, while he opened to us the scriptures?

33 And they rose up that very hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them,

34 saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.

35 And they rehearsed the things [that happened] in the way, and how he was known of them in the breaking of the bread.

36 And as they spake these things, he himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace [be] unto you.

37 But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they beheld a spirit.

38 And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and wherefore do questionings arise in your heart?

39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye behold me having.

40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.

41 And while they still disbelieved for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here anything to eat?

42 And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish.

43 And he took it, and ate before them.

44 And he said unto them, These are my words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must needs be fulfilled, which are written in the law of Moses, and the prophets, and the psalms, concerning me.

45 Then opened he their mind, that they might understand the scriptures;

46 and he said unto them, Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer, and rise again from the dead the third day;

47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name unto all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

48 Ye are witnesses of these things.

49 And behold, I send forth the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city, until ye be clothed with power from on high.

50 And he led them out until [they were] over against Bethany: and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them.

51 And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven.

52 And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy:

53 and were continually in the temple, blessing God.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #9393

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9393. 'And Moses took half of the blood' means Divine Truth which has become a matter of life and of worship. This is clear from the meaning of 'the blood' as Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, dealt with in 4735, 6978, 7317, 7326, 7850, 9127. The reason why it is Divine Truth which has become a matter of life and of worship is that it was the blood which Moses sprinkled over the people, verse 8, and this blood means Divine Truth which a person has accepted, thus that which has become a matter of life and of worship; for that Truth is said to have been accepted by a person which becomes a matter of life and so of worship. And it becomes a matter of life and worship when the person has an affection for it or loves it, or what amounts to the same thing, when he wills it, and - in willing it, and so in loving and having an affection for it - does it. Till then it is indeed present with him in his memory, and is at times called forth from there and comes before his inward sight or understanding, from where it passes back into his memory. However, as long as God's truth goes no deeper than this, though it resides with the person it has not been implanted in his life and will; for a person's life consists in his will. Therefore when truth is called forth from the memory into the understanding, then passes from the understanding into the will, and goes out from the will into action, that truth becomes part of the person's life and is called good. All this shows what is meant by Divine Truth which has become a matter of life. The situation is the same with truth which becomes part of worship. Worship springing from truth which does no more than cling in the memory and make its appearance from there in the understanding is not worship. But worship springing from truth that goes out from the will, and so from affection and love, is worship. In the Word this worship is called worship of the heart, but the other, worship of the lips alone.

[2] It has indeed been shown already in the places referred to above that 'blood' means Divine Truth emanating from the Lord. Nevertheless since the majority belonging to the Church at the present day take the blood in the Holy Supper to mean nothing other than the Lord's blood that was shed on the Cross, and in a more general sense His whole Passion of the Cross, let something further be stated briefly to show that blood is not what is meant there but Divine Truth emanating from the Lord. The reason why this is unknown within the Church is that nothing whatever is known at the present day about correspondences, nor consequently about the internal sense of the Word, the sense understood by angels when someone in the world reads the Word.

[3] It becomes clear from many places in the Word that 'blood' does not mean blood but God's truth, and plainly so from the following in Ezekiel,

Say to every bird of the air and to every wild animal of the field, Assemble and come, gather yourselves from all around to My sacrifice which I am sacrificing for you, so that you may eat flesh and drink blood. You will eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth. You will eat fat till you are glutted, and drink blood till you are drunk, from My sacrifice which I will sacrifice for you. You will be glutted at My table with horse and chariot, and with every man of war. Thus will I set My glory among the nations. Ezekiel 39:17-21.

It is plainly evident that 'blood' is not used here to mean blood, for it says that they were going to drink the blood of the princes of the earth, and the blood from the sacrifice, till they were drunk, when yet drinking blood, especially the blood of princes, is something abominable and was forbidden to the children of Israel on pain of death, Leviticus 3:17; 7:26; Leviticus 17:1-end; Deuteronomy 12:16-25; 15:23. It also says that they were going to be glutted with horse, chariot, and every man of war. Anyone therefore who does not know that 'blood' means Divine Truth, 'princes' leading truths, 'sacrifice' the things that belong to worship, 'horse' the understanding of truth, 'chariot' doctrinal teachings, and 'man of war' truth engaged in conflict against falsity is bound to be bemused by each of the words used in this passage.

[4] His response would be the same to the Lord's words in John,

Jesus said, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you will have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise Him up at the last day. My flesh is truly food, and My blood is truly drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. John 6:53-56.

But see what has been shown already regarding these words, in 4735, 6978, 7317, 7326, 7850, 9127. The fact that flesh corresponds to good, as does bread, and that blood corresponds to truth, as does wine, has been told me very many times from heaven. I have likewise been told that angels understand the Word solely according to correspondences, and that as a result of this mankind is joined by means of the Word to heaven, and through heaven to the Lord.

[5] And in like manner I have been told that the Holy Supper was established by the Lord to be the means by which all things of heaven, that is, all things which are the Lord's, might be joined to members of the Church. For in the Holy Supper the flesh or bread is the Divine Good of the Lord's Divine Love towards the whole human race, and a person's love in return to the Lord, while the blood or wine is the Divine Truth emanating from the Divine Good of the Lord's Divine Love, and in turn the person's acceptance of it. In heaven, furthermore, eating and drinking those gifts implies making them one's own and joining them together. But see what has been shown already regarding these matters in 2165, 2177, 3464, 4211, 4217, 4581, 4735, 5915, 6789, 7850, 9323.

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