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Ezekiel 40

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1 In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, the tenth day of the month, the fourteenth year after the city was destroyed: in the selfsame day the hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me thither.

2 In the visions of God he brought me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain: upon which there was as the building of a city, bending towards the south.

3 And he brought me in thither, and behold a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed in his hand, and he stood in the gate.

4 And this man said to me: Son of man, see with thy eyes, and hear with thy ears, and set thy heart upon all that I shall shew thee: for thou art brought hither that they may be shewn to thee: declare all that thou seest, to the house of Israel.

5 And behold there was a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man's hand a measuring reed of six cubits and a handbreadth: and he measured the breadth of the building one reed, and the height one reed.

6 And he came to the gate that looked toward the east, and he went up the steps thereof: and he measured the breadth of the threshold of the gate one reed, that is, one threshold was one reed broad:

7 And every little chamber was one reed long, and one reed broad: and between the little chambers were five cubits:

8 And the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate within, was one reed.

9 And he measured the porch of the gate eight cubits, and the front thereof two cubits: and the porch of the gate was inward.

10 And the little chambers of the gate that looked eastward were three on this side, and three on that side: all three were of one measure, and the fronts of one measure, on both parts.

11 And he measured the breadth of the threshold of the gate ten cubits: and the length of the gate thirteen cubits:

12 And the border before the little chambers one cubit: and one cubit was the border on both sides: and the little chambers were six cubits on this side and that side.

13 And he measured the gate from the roof of one little chamber to the roof of another, in breadth five and twenty cubits: door against door.

14 He made also fronts of sixty cubits: and to the front the court of the gate on every side round about.

15 And before the face of the gate which reached even to the face of the porch of the inner gate, fifty cubits.

16 And slanting windows in the little chambers, and in their fronts, which were within the gate on every side round about: and in like, manner there wore also in the porches windows round about within, and before the fronts the representation of palm trees.

17 And he brought me into the outward court, and behold there were chambers, and a pavement of stone in the court round about: thirty chambers encompassed the pavement.

18 And the pavement in the front of the gates according to the length of the gates was lower.

19 And he measured the breadth from the face of the lower gate to the front of the inner court without, a hundred cubits to the east, and to the north.

20 He measured also both the length and the breadth of the gate of the outward court, which looked northward.

21 And the little chambers thereof three on this side, and three on that side: and the front thereof, and the porch thereof according to the measure of the former gate, fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad.

22 And the windows thereof, and the porch, and the gravings according to the measure of the gate that looked to the east, and they went up to it by seven steps, and a porch was before it.

23 And the gate of the inner court was over against the gate of the north, and that of the ease: and he measured from gate to gate a hundred cubits.

24 And he brought me out to the way of the south, and behold the gate that looked to the south : and he measured the front thereof, and the porch thereof according to the former measures.

25 And the windows thereof, and the porches round about, as the other windows: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.

26 And there were seven steps to go up to it: and a porch before the doors thereof: and there were graven palm trees, one on this side, and another on that side in the front thereof.

27 And there was a gate of the inner court towards the south: and he measured from gate to gate towards the south, a hundred cubits.

28 And he brought me into the inner court at the south gate : and he measured the gate according to the former measures.

29 The little chamber thereof, and the front thereof, and the porch thereof with the same measures: and the windows thereof, and the porch thereof round about it was fifty cubits in length, and five and twenty cubits in breadth.

30 And the porch round about was five and twenty cubits long, and five cubits broad.

31 And the porch thereof to the outward court, and the palm trees thereof in the front: and there were eight steps to go up to It.

32 And he brought me into the inner court by the way of the east: and he measured the gate according to the former measures.

33 The little chamber thereof, and the front thereof, and the porch thereof as before: and the windows thereof, and the porches thereof round about it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad.

34 And the porch thereof, that is, of the outward court: and the graven palm trees in the front thereof on this side and on that side: and the going up thereof was by eight steps.

35 And he brought me into the gate that looked to the north: and he measured according to the former measures.

36 The little chamber thereof, and the front thereof, and the porch thereof, and the windows thereof round about it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad.

37 And the porch thereof looked to the outward court: and the graving of palm trees in the front thereof was on this side and on that side: and the going up to it was by eight steps.

38 And at every chamber was a door in the forefronts of the gates: there they washed the holocaust.

39 And in the porch of the gate were two tables on this side, and two tables on that side: that the holocaust, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering might be slain thereon.

40 And on the outward side, which goeth up to the entry of the gate that looketh toward the north, were two tables. and at the other side before the porch of the gate were two tables.

41 Four tables were on this side, and Four tables on that side: at the sides of the gate were eight tables, upon which they slew the victims.

42 And the four tables for the holocausts were made of square stones: one cubit and a half long, and one cubit and a half broad, and one cubit high: to lay the vessels upon, in which the holocaust and the victim is slain.

43 And the borders of them were of one handbreadth, turned inwards round about: and upon the tables was the flesh of the offering.

44 And without the inner gate were the chambers of the singing men in the inner court, which was on the side of the gate that looketh to the north: and their prospect was towards the south, one at the side of the east gate, which looketh toward the north.

45 And he said to me: This chamber, which looketh toward the south shall be for the priests that watch in the wards of the temple.

46 But the chamber that looketh towards the north shall be for the priests that watch over the ministry of the altar. These are the sons of Sadoc, who among the sons of Levi, come near to the Lord, to minister to him.

47 And he measured the court a hundred cubits long, and a hundred cubits broad foursquare: and the altar that was before the face of the temple.

48 And he brought me into the porch of the temple: and he measured the porch five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side: and the breadth of the gate three cubits on this side, and three cubits on that side.

49 And the length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the breadth eleven cubits, and there were eight, steps to go up to it. And there were pillars in the fronts: one on this side, and another on that side.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 7601

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7601. 'And the flax' means the truth of the exterior natural. This is clear from the meaning of' the flax' as truth, but the truth of the exterior natural, dealt with below. The natural is exterior and interior, see 4570, 5118, 5497, 5649, and therefore the truth and good there are interior and exterior, 3293, 3294. The truth and good of the exterior natural are meant by 'the flax and the barley', and the good and truth of the interior natural by 'the wheat and the spelt'.

[2] This verse and the next deal with the truths and forms of good that were destroyed and laid waste, and the forms of good and truths that were not destroyed or laid waste. Thus they deal with the truths and forms of good that were stored away and placed in safe keeping for [future] use, and those which were not stored away and placed in safe keeping. For when those who are evil undergo vastation, that is, when they are being separated from truths and forms of good and are left with their own evils and falsities, those truths and forms of good that are present in the exterior natural - where they have become linked to falsities and evils - are what are laid waste. These truths and forms of good look downwards and cannot for that reason be safely stored away, as will be seen below in 7604, 7607. But the truths and forms of good of the interior natural are not laid waste but are taken to an even more interior position, where they are held in safe keeping for [future] use. Communication between the interior natural and the exterior is then closed to such an extent that no good or truth at all can pass from there into the exterior natural, apart from just a general kind of communication of them which enables those people to engage in reasoning and put together arguments to lend support to falsities and evils. Those forms of good and truths that are placed in safe keeping are meant in the Word by 'the remnant', dealt with in 468, 530, 560, 561, 576, 661, 798, 1738, 1906, 2284, 5135, 5342, 5344, 5897-5899, 6156, 7556. These then are the things which the two present verses deal with and which are meant by 'the flax and the barley were struck; for the barley was a ripening ear, and the flax a stem', and by 'the wheat and the spelt were not struck because they were hidden'.

[3] The meaning of 'flax' or 'linen' as truth has its origin in representatives in heaven. In heaven those who are guided by the truth of the natural are seen clothed in white, like the whiteness of linen. The actual truth of the natural is also represented there as fabric made from the finer kind of flaxen threads. These threads have the appearance of silken ones, and clothing made from them has a similar appearance - brilliant, wonderfully translucent, and soft - if the truth represented in that way is rooted in good. But on the other hand those threads which look flaxen do not have a translucent, brilliant, or soft appearance, but a hard and brittle appearance, though they are still white, if the truth that is represented in that way is not rooted in good.

[4] From all this one may now recognize what is meant when it says that the angels whom people saw appeared in garments of flax or linen, such as those referred to in John,

Out of the temple came the seven angels having the seven plagues, clothed in linen, white and splendid, and girded around their breasts with golden girdles. Revelation 15:6.

In Daniel,

I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, a man clothed in linen whose loins were girded with gold of Uphaz. Daniel 10:5.

In Ezekiel,

Behold, six men coming from the direction of the upper gate, each with a weapon of dispersion in his hand. But one man in the midst of them was clothed in linen and had a writer's inkhorn at his side. 1 Ezekiel 9:2.

More is said about this angel [clothed in linen] in verses 3 and 4 of the same chapter and in Chapter 10:2-7. The same prophet also says, in reference to the angel who measured the new temple, that he had a line of flax and a measuring rod in his hand, Ezekiel 40:ff. Also, the angels who were seen in the Lord's tomb appeared clothed in white, splendid and flashing like lightning, Matthew 28:3; Mark 16:5; Luke 14:4; John 20:11-12.

[5] Since 'linen' or 'flax' meant the truth of the exterior natural, and the exterior natural is what clothes things more internal, that truth is what was represented by the linen garments with which angels were seen to be clothed. It is also meant by the linen garments worn by Aaron whenever he ministered in the Holy Place, spoken of in Moses as follows, When Aaron comes into the Holy Place, he shall put on the holy linen tunic, and gird himself with a linen sash, and place the linen turban on himself. These are holy garments. Leviticus 16:3-4.

Similarly in Ezekiel,

The priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, when they enter the gates of the inner court they shall put on the linen garments, and no wool shall come upon them. When they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within, the linen turbans shall be on their heads, the linen under garments shall be over their loins. Ezekiel 44:17-18.

This is referring to the new temple and the New Jerusalem, which mean the Lord's kingdom. For the same reason also the priests wore linen ephods, 1 Samuel 22:18; when the boy Samuel ministered before the Lord he wore a linen ephod, 1 Samuel 1:18; and David too wore a linen ephod when the ark was brought into his city, 2 Samuel 6:14.

[6] From all this one can also see why the Lord girded Himself with a linen towel when He washed the disciples' feet, and wiped their feet with the linen towel with which He was girded, John 13:4-5. Washing of the feet was a sign of purification from sins, which is accomplished by the truths of faith, since these teach a person how he ought to live.

[7] 'Linen' means truth in the following places too: In Jeremiah,

Jehovah said to the prophet, Go, buy yourself a linen girdle, and place it over your loins; but you are not to pass it through water. Take the girdle, and arise, go away to the Euphrates, and hide it in the cleft of a rock. At the end of many days, when he took the girdle from where he had hidden it, behold, the girdle was spoiled; it was profitable for nothing. Jeremiah 13:1-7.

'The linen girdle over the loins' represented truth arising from good, as it is in the beginning when the Church is established by the Lord, and as it becomes subsequently, when around the end it is has become spoiled and profitable for nothing. In Isaiah,

Those that make linen out of silk threads, and the weavers of curtains, will blush. Isaiah 19:9.

This refers to Egypt. 'Making linen out of silk threads' stands for counterfeiting truths.

[8] In Moses,

You shall not plough with an ox and an ass together. You shall not put on a mingled garment made of wool and linen together. Deuteronomy 22:10-11.

'Ox' means the good of the natural, 'ass' its truth; and much the same is meant by 'wool and linen'. Their being forbidden to plough with an ox and ass together or to put on a mingled garment made of wool and linen together meant that they were forbidden to be in two states at the same time, that is to say, in a state of good from which they looked to truth and at the same time in a state of truth from which they looked to good. These prohibitions embody much the same as those declared by the Lord in Matthew,

Let him who is on the roof of the house not go down to take anything out of his house; and let him who is in the field not turn back to get his clothing. Matthew 24:17-18.

Regarding these prohibitions see 3652 (end). For those who look from good to truth are in the inner part of heaven, whereas those who look from truth to good are in the outer part. The latter look from the world towards heaven, the former from heaven towards the world. Consequently they are in a kind of inverse ratio to each other, and therefore if they were put together the one would destroy the other.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. literally, on his loins

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.