22 And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him.
23 And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought.
24 And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.
25 After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.
26 And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town.
27 And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am?
-Mark 8:22-27 King James Version (KJV)
Apocalypse Explained, by Emanuel Swedenborg, [1757-9], tr. by John Whitehead [1911], at sacred-texts.com
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...[20] In Mark: Jesus cometh to Bethsaida; where they bring to Him a blind man and beseech Him to touch him. And He took hold of the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and spitting on his eyes, He asked him if he saw aught. And looking up, he said, I see trees as men [For "trees as men" the Greek has "men as trees."] walking. After that He put His hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up; then he was restored, and saw all clearly (Mark 8:22-27). What these words involve cannot be known except from the internal or spiritual sense of the Word; he who does not understand this sees nothing except that these things were done, and his thought about it will perhaps be merely sensual [or based on the physical senses;] but all things that the Lord spoke and all things that He did in the world contained spiritual things in order from things highest to the [lowest] ultimates, thus in fullness as do all miracles and the accounts of them. The "blind" whom the Lord restored to sight signified the spiritually blind, who are those that do not know and understand truths. The blind man here was "led out of the town" of Bethsaida, because "Bethsaida" signified damnation, on account of its not receiving the Lord; "spitting on his eyes" has the same signification as "making clay of the spittle," before; ["The clay that the Lord made from spittle on the ground" signifies reformation by means of truths from the sense of the letter of the Word; "the ground" is the church where the Word is; "clay" is the ultimate [outer] Divine forming] that He then touched his eyes signifies that he was illustrated [enlightened] from the Divine; then the blind man at first "saw trees as men walking," which signifies common and obscure perception of truth from the sense of the letter," signifying knowledges, and "to walk" signifying to live. "His seeing all clearly" after he was touched by the Lord, signifies that after instruction and illustration from the Lord he understood truths; this meaning is in these words and this meaning is perceived by the angels... [21] Moreover, by all "the blind" whom the Lord healed those were meant who are in ignorance, and who receive Him and are illustrated by Him through the Word; and in general all the Lord's miracles signify such things as are of heaven and the church, thus spiritual things; from this it is that His miracles were Divine...
239
...[20] In Mark: Jesus cometh to Bethsaida; where they bring to Him a blind man and beseech Him to touch him. And He took hold of the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and spitting on his eyes, He asked him if he saw aught. And looking up, he said, I see trees as men [For "trees as men" the Greek has "men as trees."] walking. After that He put His hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up; then he was restored, and saw all clearly (Mark 8:22-27). What these words involve cannot be known except from the internal or spiritual sense of the Word; he who does not understand this sees nothing except that these things were done, and his thought about it will perhaps be merely sensual [or based on the physical senses;] but all things that the Lord spoke and all things that He did in the world contained spiritual things in order from things highest to the [lowest] ultimates, thus in fullness as do all miracles and the accounts of them. The "blind" whom the Lord restored to sight signified the spiritually blind, who are those that do not know and understand truths. The blind man here was "led out of the town" of Bethsaida, because "Bethsaida" signified damnation, on account of its not receiving the Lord; "spitting on his eyes" has the same signification as "making clay of the spittle," before; ["The clay that the Lord made from spittle on the ground" signifies reformation by means of truths from the sense of the letter of the Word; "the ground" is the church where the Word is; "clay" is the ultimate [outer] Divine forming] that He then touched his eyes signifies that he was illustrated [enlightened] from the Divine; then the blind man at first "saw trees as men walking," which signifies common and obscure perception of truth from the sense of the letter," signifying knowledges, and "to walk" signifying to live. "His seeing all clearly" after he was touched by the Lord, signifies that after instruction and illustration from the Lord he understood truths; this meaning is in these words and this meaning is perceived by the angels... [21] Moreover, by all "the blind" whom the Lord healed those were meant who are in ignorance, and who receive Him and are illustrated by Him through the Word; and in general all the Lord's miracles signify such things as are of heaven and the church, thus spiritual things; from this it is that His miracles were Divine...
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