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Exodus 19

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1 In the third month after the departure of the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they [into] the wilderness of Sinai:

2 they departed from Rephidim, and came [into] the wilderness of Sinai, and encamped in the wilderness; and Israel encamped there before the mountain.

3 And Moses went up to God, and Jehovah called to him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel:

4 Ye have seen what I have done to the Egyptians, and [how] I have borne you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.

5 And now, if ye will hearken to my voice indeed and keep my covenant, then shall ye be my own possession out of all the peoples -- for all the earth is mine --

6 and ye shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak to the children of Israel.

7 And Moses came and called the elders of the people, and laid before the mall these words which Jehovah had commanded him.

8 And all the people answered together, and said, All that Jehovah has spoken will we do! And Moses brought the words of the people back to Jehovah.

9 And Jehovah said to Moses, Lo, I will come to thee in the cloud's thick darkness, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee also for ever. And Moses told the words of the people to Jehovah.

10 And Jehovah said to Moses, Go to the people, and hallow them to-day and to-morrow, and let them wash their clothes;

11 and let them be ready for the third day; for on the third day Jehovah will come down before the eyes of all the people on mount Sinai.

12 And set bounds round about the people, saying, Take heed to yourselves, [not] to go up unto the mountain nor touch the border of it: whatever toucheth the mountain shall certainly be put to death:

13 not a hand shall touch it, but it shall certainly be stoned, or shot through; whether it be a beast or a man, it shall not live. When the long drawn note of the trumpet soundeth, they shall come up to the mountain.

14 And Moses came down from the mountain to the people, and hallowed the people; and they washed their clothes.

15 And he said to the people, Be ready for the third day; do not come near [your] wives.

16 And it came to pass on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunders and lightnings and a heavy cloud on the mountain, and the sound of the trumpet exceeding loud; and the whole people that was in the camp trembled.

17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the foot of the mountain.

18 And the whole of mount Sinai smoked, because Jehovah descended on it in fire; and its smoke ascended as the smoke of a furnace; and the whole mountain shook greatly.

19 And the sound of the trumpet increased and became exceeding loud; Moses spoke, and God answered him by a voice.

20 And Jehovah came down on mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain; and Jehovah called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

21 And Jehovah said to Moses, Go down, testify to the people that they break not through to Jehovah to gaze, and many of them perish.

22 And the priests also, who come near to Jehovah, shall hallow themselves, lest Jehovah break forth on them.

23 And Moses said to Jehovah, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai; for thou hast testified to us, saying, Set bounds about the mountain, and hallow it.

24 And Jehovah said to him, Go, descend, and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee; but the priests and the people shall not break through to go up to Jehovah, lest he break forth on them.

25 So Moses went down to the people, and told them.

   

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Apocalypse Explained # 273

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273. Verse 5. And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunders and voices, signifies illustration, understanding, and the perception of the Divine truth in the heavens from the Lord. This is evident from the signification of "lightnings, thunders, and voices," as predicated of Divine truth; "lightnings" referring to its illustration, "thunders" to its understanding, and "voices" to the perception of it; that these things are thereby signified will be made clear by passages in the Word where they are mentioned. But let something first be said in respect to the origin of these significations. All things that appear before the eyes of men in the visible heaven, as the sun, the moon, the stars, the air, the ether, light, heat, clouds, mists, showers, and many more, are correspondences; they are correspondences for the reason that all things in the natural world correspond to those in the spiritual world. These are also correspondences in heaven where the angels are, because like things are seen by them but there they are not natural but spiritual (as can be seen from what is shown respecting them in the work on Heaven and Hell, On the Sun and Moon in Heaven, n. 116-125; On Light and Heat in Heaven, n. 126-140; and in general, On the Correspondence of Heaven with all Things of the Earth, n. 103-115; and on Appearances in Heaven, n. 170-176), Therefore "lightnings" and "thunders" also are correspondences; and because they are correspondences, they have the like significance as the things have to which they correspond. Their significance in general is Divine truth received and uttered by the highest angels; which, when it descends to the lower angels sometimes appears as lightning, and is heard as thunder with voices. From this it is that "lightning" signifies Divine truth in respect to illustration; "thunder" Divine truth in respect to understanding; and "voices" Divine truth in respect to perception. It is said in respect to the understanding and in respect to the perception, since what enters into the mind through the hearing is both seen and perceived; seen in the understanding, and perceived through communication with the will. (What perception is, strictly, such as the angels in heaven have, may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 140.)

[2] From this then it is that "lightnings" and "thunders" in the Word signify Divine truth in respect to illustration and in respect to the understanding, as can be seen from the following passages. In David:

Thou hast with Thine arm redeemed Thy people. The clouds poured out waters; the skies gave forth a voice; Thine arrows also went forth; the voice of Thy thunder into the world; the lightning lightened the world (Psalms 77:15, 17-18).

Here the establishment of the church is treated of; "the clouds poured out waters" signifies truths from the sense of the letter of the Word; "the skies gave forth a voice" (that is, the higher clouds), signifies truths from the spiritual sense of the Word; "the arrows that went forth" (meaning thunderbolts, from which there is an appearance as of arrows from a bow and which are present when there are thunders and lightnings) signify Divine truths; "the voice of thunder into the world" signifies Divine truth in respect to perception and understanding in the church; and "the lightnings lightened the world" signifies Divine truth in respect to illustration thence; "the world" signifies the church.

[3] In the same:

A fire shall go before Jehovah, and burn up His enemies round about; His lightnings shall lighten the world (Psalms 97:3-4).

From these words also it is clear that "lightnings" signify Divine truth in respect to illustration, for it is said "His lightnings shall lighten the world."

[4] In Jeremiah:

The Maker of the earth by His power, He prepareth the world by His wisdom, and by His intelligence stretcheth out the heavens; at the voice that He giveth forth there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and He maketh the vapors to go up from the end of the earth, He maketh lightnings for the rain (Jeremiah 10:12-13; 51:16; Psalms 135:7-8).

Here again the establishment of the church is treated of. That "the voice of thunder" signifies Divine truth in respect to perception and understanding, and "lightnings" Divine truth in respect to illustration, can be seen from its being said, "The Maker of the earth prepareth the world by His wisdom, and by His intelligence stretcheth out the heavens;" and then, "at the voice that He giveth forth there is a multitude of waters in the heavens," and "He maketh lightnings for the rain;" "earth" and "world" signifying the church; "waters in the heavens" spiritual truths; "rain" these truths when they descend and become natural; "lightnings" their illustration.

[5] In the second book of Samuel:

Jehovah thundered from heaven, and the Most High gave forth His voice and sent forth His arrows and scattered them, lightning, and discomforted them (2 Samuel 22:14-15).

Thunders are here described by "thundering from heaven" and by "giving forth a voice," flying thunderbolts by "arrows," and all these signify Divine truths, and "lightning" their light; and as these vivify and illustrate the good, so they terrify and blind the evil, which is meant by "He sent forth arrows and scattered them, lightning, and discomfited them;" for the evil cannot bear Divine truths, nor any light at all from heaven, therefore they flee away at their presence.

[6] Likewise in David:

Jehovah thundered in the heavens, and the Most High gave forth His voice; and He sent forth His arrows and scattered them, and many lightnings and discomfited them (Psalms 18:13-14).

Lighten forth lightning and scatter them; send forth Thine arrows and discomfit them (Psalms 144:6).

That "thunders" and "lightnings" signify Divine truth in respect to the understanding and illustration is still further evident from the following passages.

In David:

In distress thou didst call and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place with thunder (Psalms 81:7).

In Revelation:

I heard one of the four animals saying, as with a voice of thunder, Come and see (Revelation 6:1).

Again:

And the angel took the censer and filled it from the fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth; and there followed thunders and voices and lightnings (Revelation 8:5).

Again:

The angel cried with a great voice, as a lion, and when he cried the seven thunders uttered their voices (Revelation 10:3-4

Again:

The temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in the temple the ark of the covenant; and there followed lightnings and voices and thunders (Revelation 11:19).

Again:

I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of great thunder (Revelation 14:2).

And again:

I heard the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, as the voice of vehement thunders, saying, Alleluia; for the Lord our God, the Almighty, hath received the kingdom (Revelation 19:6).

Moreover, since "thunders" and "lightnings" signify Divine truths, when Jehovah came down upon Mount Sinai to promulgate these truths:

There were voices and lightnings, and also the voice of a trumpet (Exodus 19:16).

That "the voice of a trumpet" signifies Divine truth in respect to revelation, see above (n. 55, 262);

A voice out of heaven to the Lord was heard as thunder (John 12:28-29).

That James and John were called Boanerges, sons of thunder (Mark 3:14, 17).

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