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Numbers 9

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1 And Jehovah spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying,

2 Moreover let the children of Israel keep the passover in its appointed season.

3 In the fourteenth day of this month, at even, ye shall keep it in its appointed season: according to all the statutes of it, and according to all the ordinances thereof, shall ye keep it.

4 And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, that they should keep the passover.

5 And they kept the passover in the first [month], on the fourteenth day of the month, at even, in the wilderness of Sinai: according to all that Jehovah commanded Moses, so did the children of Israel.

6 And there were certain men, who were unclean by reason of the dead body of a man, so that they could not keep the passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day:

7 and those men said unto him, We are unclean by reason of the dead body of a man: wherefore are we kept back, that we may not offer the oblation of Jehovah in its appointed season among the children of Israel?

8 And Moses said unto them, Stay ye, that I may hear what Jehovah will command concerning you.

9 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,

10 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your generations shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be on a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the passover unto Jehovah.

11 In the second month on the fourteenth day at even they shall keep it; they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs:

12 they shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break a bone thereof: according to all the statute of the passover they shall keep it.

13 But the man that is clean, and is not on a journey, and forbeareth to keep the passover, that soul shall be cut off from his people; because he offered not the oblation of Jehovah in its appointed season, that man shall bear his sin.

14 And if a stranger shall sojourn among you, and will keep the passover unto Jehovah; according to the statute of the passover, and according to the ordinance thereof, so shall he do: ye shall have one statute, both for the sojourner, and for him that is born in the land.

15 And on the day that the tabernacle was reared up the cloud covered the tabernacle, even the tent of the testimony: and at even it was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire, until morning.

16 So it was alway: the cloud covered it, and the appearance of fire by night.

17 And whenever the cloud was taken up from over the Tent, then after that the children of Israel journeyed: and in the place where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel encamped.

18 At the commandment of Jehovah the children of Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of Jehovah they encamped: as long as the cloud abode upon the tabernacle they remained encamped.

19 And when the cloud tarried upon the tabernacle many days, then the children of Israel kept the charge of Jehovah, and journeyed not.

20 And sometimes the cloud was a few days upon the tabernacle; then according to the commandment of Jehovah they remained encamped, and according to the commandment of Jehovah they journeyed.

21 And sometimes the cloud was from evening until morning; and when the cloud was taken up in the morning, they journeyed: or [if it continued] by day and by night, when the cloud was taken up, they journeyed.

22 Whether it were two days, or a month, or a year, that the cloud tarried upon the tabernacle, abiding thereon, the children of Israel remained encamped, and journeyed not; but when it was taken up, they journeyed.

23 At the commandment of Jehovah they encamped, and at the commandment of Jehovah they journeyed: they kept the charge of Jehovah, at the commandment of Jehovah by Moses.

   

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Apocalypse Revealed # 657

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657. Seven angels having the seven last plagues. This symbolizes the evils and falsities that exist in the church in its last state exposed in their entirety by the Lord.

Seven angels symbolize the whole of heaven. However, because heaven is heaven owing not to the angels' own inherent qualities, but to the Lord, therefore the seven angels symbolize the Lord. Moreover, only the Lord can expose the evils and falsities that are present in the church. That angels symbolize heaven, and in the highest sense the Lord, may be seen in nos. 5, 258, 344, 465, 644, 647, 648 above.

Plagues symbolize evils and falsities - evils that are matters of love, and falsities that are matters of faith. For these are what are described in the following chapter, symbolized by the foul and noxious sore; by the blood as though of someone dead, causing every living creature to die; by the blood into which the waters of the rivers and springs were turned; by the heat of the fire that scorched people; by the unclean spirits looking like frogs, which were demons; and by the great hail.

The evils and falsities symbolized by all of these are the plagues here. Last plagues symbolize evils and falsities in the church's last state. Seven means, symbolically, all (nos. 10, 390). However, because the evils symbolized by the plagues in the following chapter are not all evils in particular, but all evils in general, seven here symbolically means all universally; for a universal entity embraces all of its constituents in particular.

It is apparent from this that John's seeing seven angels having the seven last plagues means symbolically that the evils and falsities that exist in the church and their character in its last state were exposed in their entirety by the Lord.

[2] That plagues symbolize spiritual plagues, which afflict people with respect to their souls and destroy them, and that these plagues or afflictions are evils and falsities, can be seen from the following passages:

From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness..., but a fresh wound not lanced; neither has it been bound up or softened... (Isaiah 1:6)

(Jehovah) is striking the peoples wrathfully with an incurable plague... (Isaiah 14:6)

(Jehovah,) remove Your plague from me; I am consumed by the blow of Your hand. (Psalms 39:10)

Your fracture is beyond hope...; for I have struck you with the affliction of an enemy... for the multitude of your iniquities; your sins have become many... But I will... heal you of your afflictions... (Jeremiah 30:12, 14, 17)

If you do not carefully keep all the words of (the Law)..., Jehovah will bring upon you... extraordinary plagues - great and prolonged plagues - (and) every plague... which is not written in this book of the Law... until you are destroyed. (Deuteronomy 28:58-59, 61)

No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your tent. (Psalms 91:10)

Edom shall become a desolation. Everyone who goes by... will hiss at all its plagues. (Jeremiah 49:17)

...she shall be a desolation. Everyone who passes by Babylon shall be dumbfounded, and hiss over all her plagues. (Jeremiah 50:13)

...plagues will come (upon Babylon) in one day... (Revelation 18:8)

(The two witnesses will) strike the earth with every plague... (Revelation 11:6)

The plagues in Egypt, which were in part like the plagues described in the following chapter, symbolized nothing else but evils and falsities. You may find the plagues in Egypt enumerated in no. 503 1 above. They are also called plagues in Exodus 9:14; 11:1.

It is apparent from this that plagues and afflictions mean, symbolically, nothing other than spiritual plagues and afflictions, which afflict people with respect to their souls and destroy them. So also in Isaiah 30:26; Zechariah 14:12, 15; Psalms 38:5, 11; Revelation 9:20; 16:21; Exodus 12:13; 30:12; Numbers 11:33; Luke 7:21; and elsewhere.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. No. 503:4.

  
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Many thanks to the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and to Rev. N.B. Rogers, translator, for the permission to use this translation.

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Apocalypse Revealed # 258

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258. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice. (5:2) This symbolizes Divine truth flowing in from the Lord deeply into the thought of angels and people, and investigation.

In the spiritual sense an angel proclaiming means the Lord, because an angel does not proclaim and instruct on his own, but from the Lord, even though he does so as though on his own. The angel is called a strong angel because he acts with power, and something proclaimed with power flows deeply into the thought. A loud voice symbolizes Divine truth from the Lord with power or force.

Investigation is symbolically meant as well, because the angel asks, "Who is worthy to open the book?" which follows next.

  
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Many thanks to the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and to Rev. N.B. Rogers, translator, for the permission to use this translation.