Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 10392

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10392. This shows what should be understood by the Lord's words in Mark,

One who believes and is baptized will be saved; but one who does not believe will be condemned. Mark 16:16.

'One who believes' is one who acknowledges the Lord and receives Divine Truths from Him through the Word; and 'one who is baptized' is one who is being regenerated by the Lord by means of those truths.

EXODUS 32

  1. And the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain. And the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, Rise, make us gods to go before us; for this Moses, that man who caused us to come up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.
  2. And Aaron said to them, Pull away the ear-jewels of gold which are on the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them to me.
  3. And all the people pulled away the ear-jewels of gold which were on their ears, and brought them to Aaron.
  4. And he received [the gold] from their hands, and fashioned it with a chisel, and made out of it a calf of molded [metal]; and they said, These are your gods, O Israel, who caused you to come up out of the land of Egypt.
  5. And Aaron saw it and built an altar in front of it, and Aaron made a proclamation and said, Tomorrow there will be a feast to Jehovaha.
  6. And they rose up in the morning of the next day, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
  7. And Jehovah spoke to Moses, Go! go down; for your people have corrupted themselves, whom you caused to come up out of the land of Egypt.
  8. They have suddenly departed from the way which I have commanded them; they have made for themselves a calf of molded [metal], and worshipped it, and sacrificed to it, and said, These are your gods, O Israel, who caused you to come up out of the land of Egypt.
  9. And Jehovah said to Moses, I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people.
  10. And you, let Me alone, and let My anger grow hot against them, and let Me consume them; and let Me make you into a great nation.
  11. And Moses entreated the face ofb Jehovah his God, and said, Why, O Jehovah, does Your anger grow hot against Your people, whom You have led out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a strong hand?
  12. Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, For evil He led them out, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from upon the face of the earth? Turn back from the heat of Your anger, and repentc of the evil against Your people.
  13. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Yourself, and spoke to them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens; and all this land which I have spoken of I will give to your seed, and they will inherit it into the aged.
  14. And Jehovah repentedc of the evil which He said He would do to His people.
  15. And Moses looked back and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand; the tablets were written on across them both, from the edge of one and from the edge of the other they were written one.
  16. And the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.
  17. And Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shoutedf, and he said to Moses, There is the noise of war in the camp.
  18. And he said, It is not the noise of the cry in victory, and it is not the noise of the cry in defeat; the noise of a wretched cry I hear.
  19. And it happened, as he came near the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dances; and Moses grew hot with anger, and threw the tablets out of his hand and broke them beneath the mountain.
  20. And he took the calf which they had made, and burned it in the fire, and ground it up till it was powder, and sprinkled it on the face of the water, and made the children of Israel drink it.
  21. And Moses said to Aaron, What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?
  22. And Aaron said, Do not let your anger grow hot, O my lord; you know the people, that they [are set] on evil.
  23. And they said to me, Make us gods to go before us; for this Moses, that man who caused us to come up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.
  24. And I said to them, Whoever has gold, pull it away; and they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and this calf came out.
  25. And Moses saw that the people had become undisciplined; for Aaron had caused them to become so undisciplined that those rising up against them would annihilate themg.
  26. And Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Whoever is for Jehovah, [come] to me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves to him.
  27. And he said to them, Thus says Jehovah the God of Israel, Put everyone his sword on his thigh; go to and froh from gate to gate in the camp, and kill [every] man his brother, and [every] man his companion, and [every] man his neighbour.
  28. And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses; and there fell of the people on that day up to three thousand men.
  29. And Moses said, Fill your handi today to Jehovah (for [every] man has been against his son and against his brother), so that He may bestow a blessing on you today.
  30. And it happened on the next day, that Moses said to the people, You have committed a great sin. And now I shall go up to Jehovah; perhaps I shall make expiation for your sin.
  31. And Moses returned to Jehovah and said, I implore You; this people has committed a great sin, and they have made gods of gold for themselves.
  32. And now, if You forgive their sin - and if not, blot me out, I beg You, from Your book which You have written.
  33. And Jehovah said to Moses, The one who has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book.
  34. And now, go! lead the people to what I have spoken of to you. Behold, My angel will go before you; and on the day of My visitation I will visit their sin upon themj.
  35. And Jehovah struck the people because they made the calf which Aaron made.

Notes

a in this chapter Sw. does not use a capital letter for the Divine name in this particular expression; i.e. he writes jehovah, not Jehovah.
b i.e. Moses pleaded with
c repent is not used here in the sense of being penitent or contrite over personal wrong-doing but in the sense of sorrow or regret over any past decision or course of action.
d i.e. forever
e lit. the tablets were written on the two goings across; from here and from here they were written i.e. the writing ran from the edge of one tablet right across, and then continued from the edge of the second tablet right across
f The word rendered noise (vox) in verses 17,18 means more literally voice; and the word rendered shouting (vociferatio) means more literally raising the voice.
g lit. And Moses saw the people, that they had been unloosed, because Aaron had made them unloosed, to annihilation by their insurgents
h lit. go across (or through) and come back
i i.e. Consecrate yourselves
j i.e. on the day when I come to punish I will punish them for their sin


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