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1 Or avvenne, il settimo anno, il decimo giorno del quinto mese, che alcuni degli anziani d’Israele vennero a consultare l’Eterno, e si misero a sedere davanti a me.

2 E la parola dell’Eterno mi fu rivolta in questi termini:

3 "Figliuol d’uomo, parla agli anziani d’Israele, e di’ loro: Così parla il Signore, l’Eterno: Siete venuti per consultarmi? Com’è vero ch’io vivo, io non mi lascerò consultare da voi! dice il Signore, l’Eterno.

4 Giudicali tu, figliuol d’uomo! giudicali tu! Fa’ loro conoscere le abominazioni dei loro padri; e di’ loro:

5 Così parla il Signore, l’Eterno: Il giorno ch’io scelsi Israele e alzai la mano per fare un giuramento alla progenie della casa di Giacobbe, e mi feci loro conoscere nel paese d’Egitto, e alzai la mano per loro, dicendo: Io son l’Eterno, il vostro Dio,

6 quel giorno alzai la mano, giurando che li trarrei fuori dal paese d’Egitto per introdurli in un paese che io avevo cercato per loro, paese ove scorre il latte e il miele, il più splendido di tutti i paesi.

7 E dissi loro: Gettate via, ognun di voi, le abominazioni che attirano i vostri sguardi, e non vi contaminate con gl’idoli d’Egitto; io sono l’Eterno, il vostro Dio!

8 Ma essi si ribellarono contro di me, e non mi vollero dare ascolto; nessun d’essi gettò via le abominazioni che attiravano il suo sguardo, e non abbandonò gl’idoli d’Egitto; allora parlai di voler riversare su loro il mio furore e sfogare su loro la mia ira in mezzo al paese d’Egitto.

9 Nondimeno, io agii per amor del mio nome, perché non fosse profanato agli occhi delle nazioni in mezzo alle quali essi si trovavano, in presenza delle quali io m’ero fatto loro conoscere, allo scopo di trarli fuori dal paese d’Egitto.

10 E li trassi fuori dal paese d’Egitto, e li condussi nel deserto.

11 Diedi loro le mie leggi e feci loro conoscere le mie prescrizioni, per le quali l’uomo che le metterà in pratica vivrà.

12 E diedi pur loro i miei Sabati perché servissero di segno fra me e loro, perché conoscessero che io sono l’Eterno che li santifico.

13 Ma la casa d’Israele si ribellò contro di me nel deserto; non camminarono secondo le mie leggi e rigettarono le mie prescrizioni, per le quali l’uomo che le metterà in pratica vivrà, e profanarono gravemente i miei Sabati; perciò io parlai di riversare su loro il mio furore nel deserto, per consumarli.

14 Nondimeno io agii per amor del mio nome, perché non fosse profanata agli occhi delle nazioni, in presenza delle quali io l’avevo tratti fuori dall’Egitto.

15 E alzai perfino la mano nel deserto, giurando loro che non li farei entrare nel paese che avevo loro dato, paese ove scorre latte e miele, il più splendido di tutti i paesi,

16 perché avevano rigettato le mie prescrizioni, non avean camminato secondo le mie leggi e avevano profanato i miei Sabati, poiché il loro cuore andava dietro ai loro idoli.

17 Ma l’occhio mio li risparmiò dalla distruzione, e io non li sterminai del tutto nel deserto.

18 E dissi ai loro figliuoli nel deserto: Non camminate secondo i precetti de’ vostri padri, non osservate le loro prescrizioni, e non vi contaminate mediante i loro idoli!

19 Io sono l’Eterno, il vostro Dio; camminate secondo le mie leggi, osservate le mie prescrizioni, e mettetele in pratica;

20 santificate i miei sabati, e siano un segno fra me e voi, dal quale si conosca che io sono l’Eterno, il vostro Dio.

21 Ma i figliuoli si ribellarono contro di me; non camminarono secondo le mie leggi, e non osservarono le mie prescrizioni per metterle in pratica: le leggi per le quali l’uomo che le mette in pratica vivrà, profanarono i miei sabati, ond’io parlai di riversare su loro il mio furore e di sfogare su loro la mia ira nel deserto.

22 Nondimeno io ritirai la mia mano, ed agii per amor del mio nome, perché non fosse profanato agli occhi delle nazioni, in presenza delle quali li avevo tratti fuori dall’Egitto.

23 Ma alzai pure la mano nel deserto, giurando loro che li disperderei fra le nazioni e li spargerei per tutti i paesi,

24 perché non mettevano in pratica le mie prescrizioni, rigettavano le mie leggi, profanavano i miei sabati, e i loro occhi andavan dietro agli idoli dei loro padri.

25 E detti loro perfino delle leggi non buone e delle prescrizioni per le quali non potevano vivere;

26 e li contaminai coi loro propri doni, quando facevan passare per il fuoco ogni primogenito, per ridurli alla desolazione affinché conoscessero che io sono l’Eterno.

27 Perciò, figliuol d’uomo, parla alla casa d’Israele e di’ loro: Così parla il Signore, l’Eterno: I vostri padri m’hanno ancora oltraggiato in questo, conducendosi perfidamente verso di me:

28 quando li ebbi introdotti nel paese che avevo giurato di dar loro, portarono i loro sguardi sopra ogni alto colle, e sopra ogni alberi fronzuto, e quivi offrirono i loro sacrifizi, quivi presentarono le loro offerte provocanti, quivi misero i loro profumi d’odor soave, e quivi sparsero le loro libazioni.

29 Ed io dissi loro: Che cos’è l’alto luogo dove andate? E nondimeno, s’è continuato a chiamarlo "alto luogo" fino al dì d’oggi.

30 Perciò, di’ alla casa d’Israele: Così parla il Signore, l’Eterno: Quando vi contaminate seguendo le vie de’ vostri padri e vi prostituite ai loro idoli esecrandi

31 e quando, offrendo i vostri doni e facendo passare per il fuoco i vostri figliuoli, vi contaminate fino al dì d’oggi con tutti i vostri idoli, mi lascerei io consultare da voi, o casa d’Israele? Com’è vero ch’io vivo, dice il Signore, l’Eterno, io non mi lascerò consultare da voi.

32 E non avverrà affatto quello che vi passa per la mente quando dite: Noi saremo come le nazioni, come le famiglie degli altri paesi, e renderemo un culto al legno ed alla pietra!

33 Com’è vero ch’io vivo, dice il Signore, l’Eterno, con mano forte, con braccio disteso, con scatenamento di furore, io regnerò su voi!

34 E vi trarrò fuori di fra i popoli, e vi raccoglierò dai paesi dove sarete stati dispersi, con mano forte, con braccio disteso e con scatenamento di furore,

35 e vi condurrò nel deserto dei popoli, e quivi verrò in giudizio con voi a faccia a faccia;

36 come venni in giudizio con i vostri padri nel deserto del paese d’Egitto, così verrò in giudizio con voi, dice il Signore, l’Eterno;

37 e vi farò passare sotto la verga, e vi rimetterò nei vincoli del patto;

38 e separerò da voi i ribelli e quelli che mi sono infedeli; io li trarrò fuori dal paese dove sono stranieri, ma non entreranno nel paese d’Israele, e voi conoscerete che io sono l’Eterno.

39 Voi dunque, casa d’Israele, così parla il Signore, l’Eterno: Andate, servite ognuno ai vostri idoli, giacché non mi volete ascoltare! Ma il mio santo nome non lo profanerete più con i vostri doni e coi vostri idoli!

40 Poiché sul mio monte santo, e sull’alto monte d’Israele, dice il Signore, l’Eterno, là tutti quelli della casa d’Israele, tutti quanti saranno nel paese, mi serviranno; là io mi compiacerò di loro, là io chiederò le vostre offerte e le primizie dei vostri doni in tutto quello che mi consacrerete.

41 Io mi compiacerò di voi come d’un profumo d’odore soave, quando vi avrò tratto fuori di fra i popoli, e vi avrò radunati dai paesi dove sarete stati dispersi; e io sarò santifico in voi nel cospetto delle nazioni;

42 e voi conoscerete che io sono l’Eterno, quando v’avrò condotti nella terra d’Israele, paese che giurai di dare ai vostri padri.

43 E là vi ricorderete della vostra condotta e di tutte le azioni con le quali vi siete contaminati, e sarete disgustati di voi stessi, per tutte le malvagità che avete commesse;

44 e conoscerete che io sono l’Eterno, quando avrò agito con voi per amor del mio nome, e non secondo la vostra condotta malvagia, né secondo le vostre azioni corrotte, o casa d’Israele! dice il Signore, l’Eterno".

45 (H21-1) E la parola dell’Eterno mi fu rivolta in questi termini:

46 (H21-2) "Figliuol d’uomo, vòlta la faccia dal lato di mezzogiorno, rivolgi la parola al mezzogiorno, e profetizza contro la foresta della campagna meridionale,

47 (H21-3) e di’ alla foresta del mezzodì: ascolta la parola dell’Eterno! Così parla il Signore, l’Eterno: Ecco, io accendo in te un fuoco che divorerà in te ogni albero verde e ogni albero secco; la fiamma dell’incendio non si estinguerà, e tutto ciò ch’è sulla faccia del suolo ne sarà divampato, dal mezzogiorno al settentrione;

48 (H21-4) e ogni carne vedrà che io, l’Eterno, son quegli che ho acceso il fuoco, che non s’estinguerà".

49 (H21-5) E io dissi: "Ahimè, Signore, Eterno! Costoro dicon di me: Egli non fa che parlare in parabole".

   

От "Съчиненията на Сведенборг

 

Apocalypse Explained #619

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619. But in thy mouth it shall be sweet as honey, signifies outwardly delightful. This is evident from the signification of "mouth," as being what is exterior; for this treats of the little book and eating it up, and "the little book" signifies the Word, and "eating it up" signifies perception and exploration; thence "the mouth," which first receives, means the external of the Word. It is evident also from the signification of "sweet as honey," as being the delight of natural good. The external of the Word was "sweet as honey," that is, thus delightful, because the external of the Word is such that it can be applied to any love whatever, or to any principle derived therefrom; and these can be confirmed by it. The external of the Word, which is the sense of its letter, is such because many things in it are written in accordance with the appearances presented to the natural man, and many appearances, when not interiorly understood, are fallacies, like the fallacies of the senses. Those, therefore, who love to live for the body and for the world, by means of these appearances draw over the external of the Word to confirm evils of life and falsities of faith.

[2] This was done especially by the sons of Jacob, who applied all things of the Word to themselves, and from the sense of the letter they held the belief, and also maintain it to this day, that they were chosen in preference to others, and therefore were a holy nation; that their Jerusalem, the temple there, the ark, the altar, the sacrifices, with innumerable other things, were holy of themselves; they did not know, and did not wish to know, that the holiness of all those things proceeded solely from this, that they represented things Divine proceeding from the Lord that are called celestial and spiritual, and are the holy things of heaven and the church, and that to think that these are holy of themselves, and not because of the Divine things they represent, would be to falsify and adulterate the Word by applying it to themselves and to their own loves. It was similar with their belief respecting the Messiah, that he would be king of the world, and would raise them above all other nations and peoples throughout the globe; not to mention other things which they gathered from the mere sense of the letter of the Word, which to them were sweet as honey in the mouth. This is why the things in the spiritual sense of the Word are undelightful, for in that sense are the truths themselves which are not according to appearances; as that the Jewish nation itself was not holy, but worse than every other nation, consequently that it was not chosen; that the city of Jerusalem merely signifies the Lord's church and doctrine respecting Him and the holy things of heaven and the church; and that the temple, the ark, the altar, and the sacrifices represented the Lord and the holy things that proceed from Him, and that for this and no other reason were they holy. These are truths that are stored up inwardly in the sense of the letter of the Word, that is, in its internal spiritual sense; and these truths they deny, because, as was said, they have falsified and adulterated the Word in the sense of the letter; and these things therefore are undelightful to them, like foods that are bitter in the belly.

[3] It is said that the little book was "in the mouth sweet as honey," because "honey" signifies the delight of natural good; that "honey" signifies that delight can be seen from the following passages. In Ezekiel:

It was said to the prophet, Open wide thy mouth and eat that I give thee. And I saw and behold, a hand was put forth unto me, and lo, the roll of a book was therein; and when he had spread it before me it was written in front and behind, and written thereon were dirges, moaning, and woe. Then he said unto me, Son of man, eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. Then he said unto me, Feed thy belly and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee; and when I ate it, it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness. And he said, Go to the house of Israel and speak my words unto them (Ezekiel 2:8-10; 3:1-4).

These things involve things altogether similar to those in Revelation. The command to the prophet Ezekiel "to eat the roll of the book" involves something similar as the command to John "to eat the little book," namely, to explore how the Divine truth which is in the Word is yet received, perceived, and appropriated by those who are of the church; for the prophet Ezekiel and John represent the doctrine of truth and the Word, therefore the exploration was made with them. It was made by eating a book, because "to eat" signifies to perceive and thus to appropriate, as has been shown above; and when this has been ascertained, namely, how the Word was still perceived, it is said to the prophet Ezekiel that "he should go to the house of Israel and speak to them the words of God;" also to the prophet John that "he must prophesy," that is, still teach the Word in the church; and this because the book was perceived to be "in his mouth sweet as honey," that is, because the Word in the sense of the letter is still delightful, but for the reason that this sense can be applied to any principles of falsity and to any loves of evil, and can thus serve them in confirming the delights of the natural life separated from the delights of the spiritual life; and when these are separated they become mere delights of the loves of the body and of the world whence are principles of falsity from fallacies.

[4] In Isaiah:

A virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name God-with-us. Butter and honey shall He eat, that He may know to reject the evil and to choose the good (Isaiah 7:14, 15).

That this was said of the Lord is proved in Matthew (Matthew 1:23). Anyone can see that "butter and honey" do not mean here butter and honey, but something Divine corresponding to them, for it is added, "that He may know to reject the evil and to choose the good," and that is not known by eating butter and honey; but "butter" signifies the delight of spiritual good, and "honey" the delight of natural good, consequently the two signify the Lord's Divine spiritual and Divine natural, and thus His Human, interior and exterior. That the Lord's Human is meant can be seen from its being said that "a virgin shall conceive and bear a son;" and that it is Divine from its being said, "and shall call His name God-with-us," "to call a name" signifying the quality of a thing, here what the Divine is, for He was to be called "God-with-us."

[5] "Butter and honey" also signify the delight of spiritual and natural good in these words in the same chapter:

Butter and honey shall everyone eat that remains in the land (verse 22).

"That remains" mean those that are inwardly and also outwardly good from the Lord, consequently who receive the good proceeding from the Lord in truths; the blessedness therefrom of the internal or spiritual man, and also of the external or natural man, is signified by "butter and honey."

[6] In Job:

He shall suck the poison of asps; the viper's tongue shall slay him. He shall not see the streams, the flowings of the brooks of honey and butter (Job 20:16, 17).

This is said of hypocrites who talk well and smoothly about God, about the neighbor, and about heaven and the church, and yet think altogether otherwise; and because they cunningly contrive by these means to captivate minds, although in heart they cherish what is infernal, it is said, "He shall suck the poison of asps, the viper's tongue shall slay him." That such have no delight in natural good or spiritual good is meant by "He shall not see the streams, the flowings of the brooks of honey and butter," "streams" meaning the things of intelligence, and "the flowings of the brooks of honey and butter," the things therefrom that are of affection and love, which are the very delights of heavenly life. Every delight of life that abides to eternity is a delight of spiritual good and truth, and from that a delight of natural good and truth; but hypocritical delight is a natural delight separate from spiritual delight, and this delight is turned in the other life into what is direfully infernal. Evidently "butter and honey" do not mean here butter and honey, for where, in the world, can there be found "flowings of brooks of honey and butter"?

[7] "Milk and honey" have a similar signification as "butter and honey;" and as "milk" signifies the delight of spiritual good, and "honey" the delight of natural good, and these delights are with those who are of the Lord's church, therefore the land of Canaan, which signifies the church, was called:

A land flowing with milk and honey (Exodus 3:8, 17; Leviticus 20:24; Numbers 13:27; 14:8; Deuteronomy 6:3; 11:9; 26:9, 15; 27:3; 31:20; Joshua 5:6; Jeremiah 11:5; 32:22; Ezekiel 20:6).

That in the Word "the land of Canaan" means the church has been shown above (n. 29, 304, 431); and the church is with those only who are in spiritual good and at the same time in natural good; in such the church is formed by the Lord; for the church is in man and not outside of him, consequently is not with those with whom these goods are not. These goods with their delights are signified by "milk and honey."

[8] There was also much honey in the land of Canaan at that time, because at that time the church of the Lord was there, as can be seen from the first book of Samuel, where it is said:

That they came into the forest, where there was honey upon the face of the ground, and there was a stream of honey, and Jonathan's eyes were opened by tasting the honey (1 Samuel 14:25-27, 29).

"Jonathan's eyes were opened by tasting the honey" because "honey" corresponds to natural good and its delight, and this good gives intelligence and enlightens, from which Jonathan knew that he had done evil; as we read in Isaiah, "He shall eat butter and honey, that he may know to reject the evil and to choose the good." For at that time correspondences exhibited their effects outwardly, since all things of the Israelitish Church consisted of correspondences, which represented and signified things celestial and spiritual.

[9] Again, "oil and honey" have a similar signification as "butter and honey" in the following passages. In Moses:

He made him to ride on the high places of the earth, and fed him with the produce of the fields; he made him to suck honey out of the cliff, and oil out of the flint of the rock (Deuteronomy 32:13).

This is in the song of Moses, which treats of the church in its beginning, and afterward in its progress, and finally in its end. Those that constituted the Ancient Church are described by these words, not those however who constituted the Israelitish Church, for these were evil from the beginning even to the end, as can be seen from their fathers in Egypt, and afterwards in the wilderness; but the Ancient Church, the men of which are meant by "their fathers," was that which the Lord "made to ride on the high places of the earth, and fed with the produce of the fields." That to these the good of natural love and the good of spiritual love with their delights were given by means of truths, from which they had their intelligence and according to which they lived, is signified by "he made him to suck honey out of the cliff, and oil out of the flint of the rock," "honey" signifying the delight of natural love, "oil," the delight of spiritual love, and "the cliff" and "the flint of the rock," truth from the Lord. (That "oil" signifies the good of love and charity, may be seen above, n. 375; and that "cliffs" and "rocks" signify truth from the Lord, n. 411, 443)

[10] In David:

I fed 1 them with the fat of wheat, and with honey out of the rock I satisfied them (Psalms 81:16).

"The fat of wheat" signifies the delight of spiritual good, and "honey out of the rock," the delight of natural good through truths from the Lord (as above). It is to be known that natural good is not good unless there is also spiritual good; for all good flows in through the spiritual man or mind into the natural man or mind, and so far as the natural man or mind receives the good of the spiritual man or mind so far man receives good; that there may be good there must be both, or the two sides, consequently natural good separated from spiritual good is in itself evil, although by man it is still perceived as good. Since there must be both, it is said in the passages cited and yet to be cited, "butter and honey," "milk and honey;" "fat and honey," as also "oil and honey;" and "butter," "milk," "fat," and "oil" signify the good of spiritual love, and "honey" the good of natural love, together with their delights.

[11] In Ezekiel:

Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver, and thy garments were fine linen and silk and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, honey, and oil, whence thou didst become exceeding beautiful, and didst prosper even to a kingdom. But my bread which I gave thee, and the fine flour and oil and honey with which I fed thee, thou didst set before idols as an odor of rest (Ezekiel 16:13, 19).

This is said about Jerusalem, which signifies the church, first the Ancient Church, and afterwards the Israelitish Church. Of the Ancient Church it is said "she was decked with gold and silver," which signifies the love of good and truth that the men of that Church had; "the garments of fine linen, silk, and broidered work," signify the knowledges of celestial, spiritual, and natural truth, "fine linen" signifying truth from a celestial origin, "silk" truth from a spiritual origin, and "broidered work" truth from a natural origin, which is called knowledge [scientificum]. "She ate fine flour, honey and oil," signifies the perception of natural and spiritual truth and good, and their appropriation, "to eat" signifying to be appropriated, "fine flour" truth, "honey" natural good, and "oil" spiritual good, which were appropriated to them by a life according to the truths above mentioned. "She became exceeding beautiful and prospered even to a kingdom" signifies to become intelligent and wise so as to constitute a church, "beauty" signifying intelligence and wisdom, and a "kingdom" the church. But of the Israelitish Church, which was merely in externals without internals, whence the men of that church were idolatrous, it is said that "they set the fine flour, honey, and oil before the images of a male, or idols, as an odor of rest," that is, they perverted the truths and goods of the church into falsities and evils, and thus profaned them.

[12] In the same:

Judah and the land of Israel were thy merchants in the wheats of Minnith and Pannag, and honey and oil and balsam they gave for thy merchandise (Ezekiel 27:17).

This is said of Tyre, which signifies the church in respect to the knowledges of truth and good; so, too, "Tyre" signifies the knowledges of truth and good themselves belonging to the church; "oil and honey" have a similar signification as above. What is meant here in the spiritual sense by "Judah and the land of Israel," by "the wheats of Minnith and Pannag," and by "balsam," also by "the merchandise of Tyre," may be seen explained above n. 433.

[13] In Moses:

A land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths going forth from the valley and mountain; a land of wheat and barley, and of vine and fig-tree and pomegranate; and of olive oil and honey (Deuteronomy 8:7, 8).

This is said of the land of Canaan, which means the church which is in celestial, spiritual, and natural good, and in truths therefrom; but the contents of this verse are explained above (n. 374, 403), showing that "oil and honey" here signify the good of love in the internal or spiritual man and in the external or natural man.

[14] In David:

The judgments of Jehovah are truth, they are righteous altogether; more desirable than gold and than much fine gold; and sweeter than honey and the dropping of honeycombs (Psalms 19:9, 10).

In the same:

I have not departed from Thy judgment; for Thou hast instructed me. How sweet are Thy words to my palate, more than honey to my mouth (Psalms 119:102, 103).

"Judgments" signify the truths and goods of worship, therefore it is said "the judgments of Jehovah are truth, they are righteous altogether;" "righteous" signifies the good of life and worship therefrom; and as good is also signified by "gold" and "fine gold," it is said that "they are more desirable than gold and than much fine gold," "gold" meaning celestial good, "fine gold" spiritual good, and "desirable" means what belongs to affection and love. Since the goods by which a man is affected are delightful it is said that they are "sweeter than honey and the dropping of honeycombs," and that "the words of Jehovah are sweet to the palate, more than honey to the mouth," "sweet" signifying what is delightful, "honey" natural good, and "the dropping of honeycombs" natural truth. And because "honey" means natural good, and the "mouth" signifies what is external, it is said "more than honey to my mouth," as in Revelation, that "the little book was sweet as honey in the mouth."

[15] In Luke:

Jesus said to the disciples, who believed that they saw a spirit, See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; feel of Me and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see Me having. Then He said to them, Have ye here anything to eat? And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and of a honeycomb. And He took it and did eat it before them (Luke 24:39, 41-43).

From the series of these words regarded in the spiritual sense it is very evident that "honeycomb" and "honey" signify natural good, for the Lord disclosed to His disciples that He had glorified or made Divine His whole Human, even to its natural and sensual; this is signified by "hands and feet" and by "flesh and bones," which they saw and felt, "hands and feet" signifying the ultimate of man which is called the natural, "flesh" its good, and "bones" its truth; for all things that are in the human body correspond to spiritual things, the "flesh" corresponding to the good of the natural man, and the "bones" to its truths. (On this correspondence, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 87-102.) And this the Lord confirmed by eating before the disciples of the broiled fish and honeycomb; "the broiled fish" signifying the truth of good of the natural and sensual man, and "the honeycomb," the good of the truth of the same. The Lord, therefore, by letting them feel of Him, showed and confirmed that His whole Human, even to its ultimates, was glorified, that is, made Divine; and this He showed, too, by the eating, in that "He ate before them a piece of broiled fish and of a honeycomb."

[16] As "honey" signifies the good of the natural man, so also:

John the Baptist had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:4; Mark 1:6).

For John the Baptist represented something similar as Elijah; wherefore it is also said that "Elijah should come," by whom John is meant. Elijah represented the Lord in relation to the Word, or the Word from the Lord; John had a similar representation; and as the Word teaches that the Messiah or the Lord was about to come, John was sent before to preach respecting the Lord's coming, according to the predictions in the Word. And as John represented the Word, therefore he represented the ultimates of the Word, which are natural, by his raiment and also by his food, namely, by his raiment of camel's hair and the leathern girdle about his loins; "camel's hair" signifying the ultimates of the natural man, such as are the exterior things of the Word, and "the leathern girdle about the loins," the external bond and connection of these with the interior things of the Word, which are spiritual. "Locust and wild honey" have a like signification, "locust" signifying the truth of the natural man, and "wild honey" its good. It is the same whether you say the truth and good of the natural man or natural truth and good, such as the Word is in its ultimate sense, which is called the sense of the letter or the natural sense, for this was what John represented by his raiment and food.

[17] That:

No leaven and no honey were to be offered in the offerings made by fire to Jehovah (Leviticus 2:11);

because "leaven" signifies the falsity of the natural man, and "honey" the delight of good of the natural man, and in the contrary sense the delight of its evil; this is also like leaven when it is mixed with such things as signify things interiorly holy, for natural delight draws its own from the delights of the love of self and of the world; and as the Israelitish nation was in such delights more than other nations, therefore they were forbidden to use honey in their sacrifices. (On the signification of "honey," as meaning the delight of the good of the natural man, see Arcana Coelestia 5650, 6857, 8056, 10137, 10530)

[18] That:

When Samson had rent the young lion he found in its carcass a swarm of bees and honey, when he was about to take a wife from the Philistine nation (Judges 14:8);

signified the dissipation of faith separated from charity, which the Philistine nation represented; for this reason the Philistines were called "uncircumcised," and this term signified that they were without spiritual love and charity and only in natural love, which is the love of self and of the world. Because such a faith destroys the good of charity it was represented by a young lion that attacked Samson with intent to tear him in pieces, but as Samson was a Nazirite, and by his Naziriteship represented the Lord in respect to His ultimate natural, he rent the lion, and afterwards found in its carcass "a swarm of bees and honey," and this signifies that when such faith has been dissipated, the good of charity succeeds in its place. The other things related of Samson in the book of Judges have a like signification; for there is nothing written in the Word that does not represent and signify such things as belong to heaven and the church, and these can be known only by a knowledge of correspondences, and thus from the spiritual sense of the Word.

Бележки под линия:

1. Latin has "I fed," but "I would feed" is found in AC 5943; AR 314.

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

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The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Teachings #1

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1. The New Heaven and the New Earth, and What Is Meant by "the New Jerusalem"

It says in the Book of Revelation,

I saw a new heaven and a new earth, because the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. And I saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. The city had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and on the gates were twelve angels, and names written that are the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.

And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

The city was laid out as a square; its length was as great as its breadth.

And [the angel who talked with me] measured the city with a reed: twelve thousand stadia. 1 Its length, breadth, and height were equal.

Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, 2 which is the measure of a human being, that is, of an angel. 3

Its wall was made of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 4 The foundations of the wall of the city were made of precious stones of every kind.

The twelve gates were twelve pearls. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

The glory of God illuminated it, and the Lamb was its light.

The nations of those who are saved will walk in its light, and the monarchs of the earth will bring their glory and honor into it. (Revelation 21:1, 2, 12-24)

When people read this, they understand it only in literal terms. 5 They think that the visible heavens are going to be destroyed along with the earth and that new heavens are going to come into being and come down onto the new earth in the form of a holy city, a Jerusalem with the dimensions given in the description.

[2] Angels understand it in a completely different way, though. They understand in a spiritual way the details that we understand in an earthly way, 6 and they understand what those details really mean. This is the inner or spiritual meaning of the Word. 7 In the deeper or spiritual meaning that angels are engaged in, a new heaven and a new earth mean a new church both in heaven and on earth (both will be discussed later [§§2-5]). The holy city coming down from God out of heaven means its heavenly teachings. Its length, breadth, and height, which were equal, mean everything in those teachings that is good and true, all gathered together. Its wall means the truths that protect it. The measure of the wall, being one hundred and forty-four cubits, which is the measure of a human being, that is, of an angel means all those protective truths gathered together, as well as the nature of those truths. The twelve gates, which were pearls, mean introductory truths, as do the twelve angels on the gates. The foundations of the wall, which were made of precious stones of every kind, mean the knowledge on which the teachings are based. The twelve tribes of Israel mean all elements of the church in general and in particular, as do the twelve apostles. The gold like clear glass that the city and streets were made of means good actions done out of love, 8 which cause the teachings and their truths to shine. The nations of those who are saved and the monarchs of the earth who will bring their glory and honor into it mean everyone in the church who is devoted to what is good and true. 9 God and the Lamb mean the Lord's 10 divine nature itself and his divine-human nature. 11

[3] This is what the spiritual meaning of the Word is like; the earthly or literal meaning serves as its foundation. All the same, these two meanings, the spiritual and the earthly, are bound together by their correspondence. 12 I will not take the time here to show that this kind of spiritual meaning is present throughout because that is not my current task, but the reader may see what is presented in the following passages of Secrets of Heaven. 13

On earth in the Word as meaning the church, especially where earth means the land of Canaan: Secrets of Heaven §§662, 1066, 1067, 1262, 1413, 1607, 2928, 3355, 4447, 4535, 5577, 8011, 9325, 9643. This is because earth, spiritually understood, means the people who live there and their worship: 1262. The people of the earth [or the land] mean those who are part of the spiritual church: 2928. The new heaven and the new earth mean whatever is new in the heavens and on earth in terms of what is good and true, which means in matters of the church in both realms: 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 3355, 4535, 10373. On the meaning of the first heaven and the first earth that had passed away, see the booklet The Last Judgment and Babylon Destroyed 14 from beginning to end, especially §§65-72.

[4] On Jerusalem meaning the church in regard to its teachings, see Secrets of Heaven 402, 3654, 9166. On cities meaning the teachings that are part of a church and a religion, see 402, 2451, 2712, 2943, 3216, 4492, 4493. On the wall of the city meaning the protective truth of the teachings, see 6419. On the gates of the city meaning truths that lead us to a body of teaching and through that teaching into the church, see 2943, 4477, 4492, 4493. On the twelve tribes of Israel as representing and therefore symbolizing 15 everything good and true in the church both in general and in particular, and therefore all aspects of faith and love, see 3858, 3926, 6335, 6640. The meaning of the twelve apostles of the Lord is much the same: 2129, 3272, 3354, 3488, 3858, 6397. When it says that the apostles will sit on twelve thrones and will judge the twelve tribes of Israel [Matthew 19:28; Luke 22:30], it means that everyone will be judged according to the true and good principles of the church and therefore by the Lord who is their source: 2129, 6397. Twelve means everything taken together: 577, 2089, 2129, 2130, 3272, 3858, 3913.

[5] The same holds true for one hundred and forty-four because this is twelve times twelve: 7973. It holds true also for twelve thousand: 7973. All the numbers in the Word have definable meanings: 482, 487, 647, 648, 755, 813, 1963, 1988, 2075, 2252, 3252, 4264, 6175, 9488, 9659, 10217, 10253. Multiples mean much the same as the individual factors that are multiplied to produce them: 5291, 5335, 5708, 7973. The measure means what a given thing is like in regard to its truth and goodness: 3104, 9603, 10262. The foundations of the wall mean the knowledge of truth on which elements of the teachings are based: 9643. Square means complete: 9717, 9861. Length means goodness and its extent, and breadth means truth and its extent: 1613, 9861. Precious stones mean true perceptions that arise from what is good: 114, 9863, 9865. On the precious stones in the Urim and Thummim, 16 both in general and specifically, see 3862, 9864, 9866, 9891, 9905. On the jasper of which the wall was made, see 9872.

[6] The street of the city means the truth of the teachings that arises from what is good: 2336. Gold means good actions that come from love: 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 9510, 9874, 9881. Glory means divine truth as it exists in heaven and the intelligence and wisdom that result from it: 4809, 5922, 8267, 8427, 9429, 10574. Nations mean the people in the church who are committed to what is good, and in an abstract sense the good actions that are taught by the church: 1159, 1258, 1260, 1285, 1416, 1849, 4574, 7830, 9255, 9256. Monarchs mean the people in the church who are committed to what is true, and in an abstract sense the truths that are taught by the church: 1672, 2015, 2069, 4575, 5044. The rituals involved in royal coronations have to do with matters of divine truth, but nowadays awareness of this symbolism has vanished: 4581, 4966 (which contain further discussion about divine truth).

Бележки под линия:

1. A stadium ("stadia" is the plural) was an ancient Greek unit of distance. It was always equal to 600 feet in the local measuring units, but since that local value varied, the value of the stadium itself cannot be stated definitively. By one common estimate, it can be taken to equal about 607 (United States customary) feet, or 185 meters. A distance of twelve thousand stadia would then be approximately 1380 miles, or 2220 kilometers. See the Oxford Classical Dictionary, under "measures"; for examples of the variation in this unit in just one ancient Greek author, see the article cited there, Bauslaugh 1979, 5-6, with note 6 in New Jerusalem 2. [SS, JSR]

2. A cubit is the length from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow, approximately seventeen to eighteen inches (43. 18 to 45. 72 centimeters). The extent in question is presumably the height of the wall surrounding the city (which is far less than the height of the entire city), though some interpreters hold that the measurement refers to the thickness of the walls. In any case, the measurement would equate with approximately 204 to 216 feet (62. 18 to 65. 8 meters). [GFD, RS, SS]

3. The statement in Revelation 21:17 that "one hundred and forty-four cubits" is "the measure of a human being, that is, of an angel" is somewhat obscure. Given the reference to a measuring rod used by the angel in the preceding verses (Revelation 21:15-16), the natural inclination is to interpret this passage about the measurement of the wall as indicating that a cubit is the human standard of measurement that the particular angel in question was using, as many modern translations do; see, for example, the New Revised Standard Version, the New International Version, and the International Standard Version. However, Swedenborg interprets the wording nonidiomatically as indicating that both a human and an angel have the same measure; and since according to Swedenborg the inner meaning of "measure" is the quality of a thing (in the case of a person, the quality of her or his goodness and truth), the statement, he says, indicates that humans and angels have the same spiritual quality. See, for example, Secrets of Heaven 8988[4], 9603:2, 10217:9; Heaven and Hell 73; Revelation Unveiled 910; Revelation Explained (= Swedenborg 1994-1997a) §430:4. In the last cited section especially, Swedenborg states that the words in this verse mean specifically that one hundred and forty-four cubits (which has its own inner meaning), and not just a single cubit, is the measurement of a human being and also of an angel. In several of the passages cited he also says that this verse is unintelligible if the New Jerusalem is understood as a literal city. See also the similar line of argument in New Jerusalem 6. [LSW]

4. The literal meaning of the phrase "pure gold, like clear glass" in the biblical text here (Revelation 21:18), like the meaning of "pure gold, like transparent glass" in a later verse (Revelation 21:21), is not certain, but it probably is meant to suggest an idealized gold so free of opaque impurities as to take on the transparent qualities of crystalline glass. Compare 1 Kings 6:20-22, 28, 30, 32, in which the interior of Solomon's temple is said to be covered with pure gold. [SS]

5. Literal interpretations of the Book of Revelation are more common than allegorical or esoteric interpretations of the text. One of the earliest attestations of a literal interpretation can be found in the writings of the church father Justin Martyr (around 100-around 165 C. E.): "A man among us, named John, one of Christ's apostles, received a revelation and foretold that the followers of Christ would dwell in Jerusalem for a thousand years, and that afterward the universal and, in short, everlasting resurrection and judgment would take place" (Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho, §81 [= Justin Martyr 2003, 127]). Whether literal or otherwise, interpretations of Revelation have been broadly grouped into three categories: the eschatological, which see the text as dealing explicitly with the end times; the historical, which see it as reflecting current events at the time of the work's composition in the late first century of the Christian era; and the mythological, which view it as a compendium of earlier legendary material (McGinn 1979, 13). Swedenborg's interpretation does not fall into any of these categories. For more discussion, see the introduction, pages 70-72. [RS]

6. The Latin word here translated "in an earthly way" is naturaliter, traditionally translated "naturally. " In Swedenborg's terminology, the concept of "the natural" denotes a range of things from what is purely physical and material to what is earthly in the minds or preoccupations of angels and spirits, who are themselves nonmaterial beings. (On angels and spirits in Swedenborg's works, see note 2 in New Jerusalem 25.) [JSR]

7. By "the Word" Swedenborg generally means the Bible-a terminology that was prominent in the world of his Lutheran upbringing. However, though he does at times use the term in that general sense, especially in his later theological works, his predominant use of it refers to a biblical canon that is a subset of the Protestant canon. His canon is defined and listed in three parallel passages in his earlier theological works: Secrets of Heaven 10325, New Jerusalem266, and White Horse 16. In these passages Swedenborg defines "the Word" as those books of the Bible "that have an inner meaning" (more on this below), and provides a list of the books that qualify. In New Jerusalem 266 the relevant passage reads: "In the Old Testament, the books of the Word are the following: the five books of Moses, the Book of Joshua, the Book of Judges, the two books of Samuel, the two books of Kings, the Psalms of David, and the prophets-Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. In the New Testament: the four Gospels-Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John-and the Book of Revelation. " The books in the Protestant and Catholic canons of the Bible that are not on this list-namely, Ruth, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs (Song of Solomon) in the Old Testament; all the books now included in the Apocrypha; and Acts and the Epistles in the New Testament-are not part of "the Word" as Swedenborg most commonly uses the term. However, in his last theological works and manuscripts, which seem to be addressed more specifically to a traditional Christian audience, he often uses the term "the Word" to refer to the more familiar Protestant canon of Scripture, including Acts and the Epistles; see, for example, True Christianity 158, 176, 601, 675:2, 730:1; Draft for "Coda to True Christianity" (= Swedenborg 1996a) §§2:3, 23:2; Draft Invitation to the New Church (= Swedenborg 1996c) §Draft Invitation to the New Church 47. In one of these passages, for example, he cites a phrase that is "frequently mentioned in the Word of the New Testament, both in the Gospels and in the Acts of the Apostles and their Epistles" ( True Christianity 158). In two other passages, he apparently refers to Acts and the Epistles as "the Apostolic Word" (Draft for "Coda True Christianity" 1, 59:5; compare True Christianity 730:1). By contrast, he never overtly quotes or cites Acts or the Epistles in his earlier works, such as Secrets of Heaven and the works of 1758, although there are allusions to them. The first explicit reference to Acts or the Epistles in his published theological writings occurs in his 1764 work Divine Providence 115, in which he quotes Romans 3:28 and Romans 3:31. However, in his earlier works there are scattered explicit references to several books in the Protestant canon of the Old Testament that are not included in Swedenborg's canon: 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Job, and Song of Solomon. References to the Book of Job, in particular, are occasionally included in lists of references to passages from "the Word" (see, for example, Secrets of Heaven 46, 737, 3901, 9125, 9818), indicating that even in his earlier works Swedenborg sometimes uses that term in its more generally accepted meaning. Still, he is careful to point out that although Job and the Song of Solomon, in particular, are ancient books containing deeper meanings, they do not have the same kind of inner meaning that is contained in the books he defines more specifically as "the Word" (see, for example, Secrets of Heaven 1756:2, 3540:4, 9942:5; Sacred Scripture 20). The inner meaning of the books he includes in his canon of Scripture, he says, is characterized by a "vertical" series of layers of meaning that extend inward and upward all the way to the Lord, and whose subject is the Lord, his kingdom, and the church, which is the Lord's kingdom on earth (see Secrets of Heaven 1-4, 2343:2, 4442:2, 5275:2, 7417). He also describes that inner meaning as being "horizontally" continuous in the sense of extending seamlessly from one word, verse, and chapter to the next, without break or interruption (see Secrets of Heaven 1659:1-2, 2102:2, 4987, 7933:3, 9022). Without this type of "vertical" and "horizontal" series and continuity of deeper meaning, Swedenborg says, a book is not a book of "the Word" in the fullest and most proper sense of the term-which is the sense in which he most commonly uses that term in his theological writings. [JSR, LSW]

8. The Latin words here translated "good actions done out of love" are bonum amoris, literally, "the good of love," or "the good that arises from love. " The Latin word bonum (literally, "good thing"), as used by Swedenborg, very often has the sense of "goodness, or a good, that arises specifically out of an action performed," or "a good action," or "a good thing done. " See Chadwick and Rose 2008, under bonum, definition 4, and under bonus, definition 6. This use of the word is much in keeping with Swedenborg's focus on the importance of "doing" truth, goodness, and love rather than merely knowing or acknowledging the importance of those things. See, for example, Secrets of Heaven 4538:4-5, 5595:1, 9282; New Jerusalem 23:1 and note 1 in New Jerusalem 23 there. [SS]

9. "What is good" (Latin bonum) and "what is true" (Latin verum) and their respective equivalents "goodness," "good," or "the good," and "truth" are the most frequently occurring terms in Swedenborg's theological works. Echoing ancient philosophical and ethical traditions, in Swedenborg's theology these concepts stand in a complementary relationship to all things: that is, absolutely everything, whether physical, psychological, or spiritual, relates to goodness or truth or to a "marriage" of both (or to their opposites, evil and falsity). Their complementarity is so all-encompassing that in the relevant chapter in this work (New Jerusalem 11-19, with further references to Secrets of Heaven in §§20-27), Swedenborg defines them only in terms of each other. In Swedenborg's system, goodness encompasses affective qualities such as love, affection, desire, and caring, and corresponds to physical heat, while truth encompasses cognitive qualities such as wisdom, thought, perception, and faith, and corresponds to physical light (on "caring," see note 3 in New Jerusalem 2; on "correspondences," see note 12 in New Jerusalem 1). Swedenborg uses these terms almost algebraically to stand in for things ranging from the sublimely abstract to the utterly concrete. [JSR]

10. In Swedenborg's works, "the Lord" (Latin Dominus) generally refers to Jesus Christ as God, though sometimes to God previous to the Incarnation. A core concept in Swedenborg's theology is that there are not three persons in the Trinity; there is one person, whose soul is the unknowable Divine, whose human manifestation is Jesus Christ, and whose operative influence is the Holy Spirit. Of the many names and terms from philosophical and biblical backgrounds that Swedenborg uses to denote God (the Divine Being, the Divine, the Divine-Human One, the One, the Infinite, the First, the Creator, the Redeemer, the Savior, Jehovah, God Shaddai, and many more), "the Lord" is the most frequently met with. It is a title rather than a name, meaning "the one in charge," and referring to Jesus Christ as the manifestation of the one and only God. For Swedenborg's brief explanation of his reasons for using "the Lord," see Secrets of Heaven 14. See also chapter 2 of True Christianity. [JSR]

11. The Latin here translated "divine-human nature" is Divinum Humanum, in which two adjectives are put together to form a noun, meaning "that which is both divine and human. " The Latin is a term of neuter grammatical gender. Swedenborg also uses a parallel phrase made up of two nouns, Deus Homo, "God-Human. " In Swedenborg's theology, the divine-human nature generally refers to God existing and appearing in human form, and more specifically to the Lord (Jesus Christ) when fully "glorified" (see note 113) or made divine. For more on the divine-human nature as compared to the divine nature itself, see New Jerusalem 282-297; Secrets of Heaven 3061, 6280, 6880, 10579; True Christianity 82-84, 92-94, 101-102. See also the extensive references to Secrets of Heaven in New Jerusalem 298-306. [GFD, LSW]

12. The concept of correspondence is briefly defined in Divine Love and Wisdom 71as "the mutual relationship between spiritual and earthly things. " In its full formulation, it holds that there are two separate "universes" or worlds, one spiritual and one material, that are related to each other through similarity but not through any shared matter or direct continuity. The material world is caused by God through the spiritual world and therefore reflects that constantly changing world; physical phenomena and events offer images of-that is, are "responsive to" or "correspond to"-spiritual phenomena and events. Swedenborg sees his canon of "the Word" (see note 7 in New Jerusalem 1) as "written in pure correspondences" (Heaven and Hell 114), and so understands the earthly circumstances, characters, and events it describes as reflections or images of spiritual ones. [JSR, SS, GFD]

13. Secrets of Heaven was published by Swedenborg in London in eight volumes between 1749 and 1756. [Editors]

14. In this edition, the work Swedenborg mentions here is referred to by the short title Last Judgment. It was published by Swedenborg in London in 1758. [Editors]

15. The Latin word here translated "representing" is a form of the verb repraesentare; the Latin word translated "symbolizing" is a form of the verb significare. These terms are heavily used in Swedenborg's theology, and they have related but distinguishable meanings. Both indicate the presence of an inner meaning in an object, person, name, or action, but symbolism directs our attention to the meaning itself (especially as communicated by words), whereas representation generally directs our attention to the living enactment of that meaning (especially by persons). A typical example occurs in Secrets of Heaven 3131, which expounds a phrase in Genesis 24:29, "And Laban ran to the man outside at the spring. " Swedenborg describes this as symbolizing the predisposition that goodness has toward truth; running symbolizes predisposition, and a man symbolizes truth, as does a spring, but Laban represents a desire for what is good. These distinctions apply only where Swedenborg is using the word symbolize in a technical sense. Often he uses it much more broadly. For more on these distinctions in inner meaning in relation to various modes of biblical writing, see Secrets of Heaven 66. On representations in general, see Secrets of Heaven 4044. [LHC, GHO]

16. "Urim" and "Thummim" are transliterations of two plural Hebrew words, אוּרִים ('ûrîm) and תּוּמִּים (tummîm), meaning "the lights" and "the perfections," respectively. (Swedenborg adds that Thummim means "radiance" in the language of angels; see True Christianity 218.) The Urim and Thummim were associated with the breastplate of the high priest of the Israelites (Exodus 28:30; Leviticus 8:8). Their exact nature and function are unknown. Swedenborg equates them with the breastplate itself (as seems to be the case here), and also with the stones in it (see Secrets of Heaven 3858:9, 3862, 6335:2, 9905; True Christianity 218; Revelation Explained [= Swedenborg 1994-1997a] §431:3, 15). The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (37 or 38-after 93 C. E.) states: "God declared beforehand, by those twelve stones which the high priest bare on his breast, and which were inserted into his breastplate, when [the Israelites] should be victorious in battle; for so great a splendor shone forth from [the stones] before the army began to march, that all the people were sensible of God's being present for their assistance" (Flavius Josephus Antiquities of the Jews 3. 8. 9 = Josephus 1997, 105). Hence the common view that the Urim and Thummim were themselves the twelve stones and grew bright or dimmed in response to questions. This view is reflected in Swedenborg's discussions of them, as seen in the references above, and in Secrets of Heaven 6640:2. A comprehensive recent study (Van Dam 1997) does conclude that "Urim and Thummim" should be translated as "perfect light" and that they were believed to authenticate inspired prophecy. According to Van Dam's reconstruction of Jewish belief about their usage, military or political questions with existential significance for the kingdom of Israel would be ritually posed to the high priest; the high priest would then respond in the form of an ecstatic or prophetic utterance, and the Urim and Thummim on his breastplate would shine with "perfect light" if his words had been sent by Jehovah. Nevertheless, 1 Samuel 14:41-42, the most specific description of their use, suggests that they were a kind of lot. Other references in the Hebrew Bible give little indication of what they were or how they were used: Numbers 27:21; Deuteronomy 33:8; 1 Samuel 28:6; Ezra 2:63; Nehemiah 7:65. [LHC, RS, JSR, DNG, LSW]

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

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