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Ezekiel 42

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1 And he brought me forth into the outward court by the way that leadeth to the north, and he brought me into the chamber that was over against the separate building, and over against the house toward the north.

2 In the face of the north door was the length of a hundred cubits, and the breadth of fifty cubits.

3 Over against the twenty cubits of the inner court, and Over against the pavement of the outward court that was paved with stone, where there was a gallery joined to a triple gallery.

4 And before the chambers was a walk ten cubits broad, looking to the inner parts of a way of one cubit. And their doors were toward the north.

5 Where were the store chambers lower above: because they bore up the galleries, which appeared above out of them from the lower parts, and from the midst of the building.

6 For they were of three stories, and had not pillars, as the pillars of the courts: therefore did they appear above out of the lower places, and out of the middle places, fifty cubits from the ground.

7 And the outward wall that went about by the chambers, which were towards the outward court on the forepart of the chambers, was fifty cubits long.

8 For the length of the chambers of the outward court was fifty cubits: and the length before the face of the temple, a hundred cubits.

9 And there was under these chambers, an entrance from the east, for them that went into them out of the outward court.

10 In the breadth of the outward wall of the court that was toward the east, over against the separate building, and there were chambers before the building.

11 And the way before them was like the chambers which were toward the north: they wore as long as they, and as broad as they: and all the going is to them, and their fashions, and their doors were alike.

12 According to the doors of the chambers that were towards the south : there was a door in the head of the way, which way was before the porch, separated towards the east as one entereth in.

13 And he said to me: The chambers of the north, and the chambers of the south, which are before the separate building: they are holy chambers, in which the priests shall eat, that approach to the Lord into the holy of holies: there they shall lay the most holy things, and the offering for sin, and for trespass: for it is a holy place.

14 And when the priests shall have entered in, they shall not go out of the holy places into the outward court: but there they shall lay their vestments, wherein they minister, for they are holy: and they shall put on other garments, and so they shall go forth to the people.

15 Now when he had made an end of measuring the inner house, he brought me out by the way of the gate that looked toward the east: and he measured it on every side round about.

16 And he measured toward the east with the measuring reed, five hundred reeds with the measuring reed round about.

17 And he measured toward the north five hundred reeds with the measuring reed round about.

18 And towards the south he measured five hundred reeds with the measuring reed round about.

19 And toward the west he measured five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed.

20 By the four winds he measured the wall thereof on every side round about, five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits broad, making a separation between the sanctuary and the place of the people.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 9603

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9603. 'All the curtains shall have one measure' means that the state of affairs shall be the same [with each one]. This is clear from the meaning of 'measure' as the state of affairs as regards truth, dealt with in 3104, so that 'all the curtains shall have one measure' means that the state of affairs shall be the same with every truth. The expression 'the same state of affairs', when applied to the truths of faith in the spiritual kingdom, means that they all look towards good, and through good towards the Lord, the Source of it. Truths which do not look in this direction are not the truths of faith, nor consequently are they truths of the Church or of heaven. Truths which look in some other direction may indeed to outward appearance seem like truths, but they are not truths because they are devoid of life. For the life of truth is good, and good comes from the Lord, who Alone is life. Truths that look in any other direction are like members of a body without a soul, which are not the members of any body because they are devoid of life and so are useless.

[2] The fact that 'measure' means the state of affairs as regards truth, and also the state of affairs as regards good, is evident from the places in the Word where the measures of the new Jerusalem, and also those of the new temple, are the subject. The new or holy Jerusalem means the Lord's New Church, as does the new temple; therefore by their measures states of affairs as regards truth and as regards good are meant, as in John,

The angel had a gold reed to measure the holy Jerusalem, and its gates, and its wall. And he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. He measured its wall, a hundred and forty-four cubits, which is the measure of a man (homo), that is, of an angel. Revelation 21:15-17.

The measures stated here, it is plainly evident, mean states as regards good and truth, for 'the holy Jerusalem' is the Lord's New Church, 'its gates and wall' being the protective truths of faith. 'Twelve thousand' means all the truths and forms of good in their entirety; and 'a hundred and forty-four' has a similar meaning, 7973, for this number is similar in meaning to the number twelve because it is the product of twelve multiplied by twelve, and 'twelve' means all truths and forms of good in their entirety, see 577, 2089, 2129 (end), 2130 (end), 3272, 3858, 3913. 'The measure of a man, that is, of an angel' means that this is what the state of the Church and of heaven is like as regards forms of the good of love and truths of faith; for 'a man' is the Church and 'an angel' is heaven. Without knowledge of what is meant by 'the holy Jerusalem', by 'its gates and wall', by the number 'twelve thousand furlongs', and by the measure of the wall being 'a hundred and forty-four [cubits]', and also what is meant by 'the measure', 'a man', and 'an angel', would anyone ever know [the real meaning of the description] that the measure of the city was twelve thousand furlongs, or that the measure of a wall of 144 cubits was the measure of a man, that is, of an angel?

[3] Much the same is meant by the measuring in Zechariah,

I raised my eyes and saw, and behold, a man (vir) who had a measuring line in his hand. I said, Where are you going? And he said, To measure Jerusalem to see how broad it is and how long it is. Zechariah 2:1-2.

Also in Chapters 40-42 of Ezekiel, which speak about the man with a measuring rod, who measured the houses of the new city, and also the temple - the walls, gates, footings, thresholds, windows, and steps. Unless the measurements in these places had meant the states of the thing as regards truth and good, such details would never have been mentioned. 'Measuring' generally means the state of the truth and good: In Jeremiah,

Thus said Jehovah, If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth beneath searched out, behold, I will nevertheless reject the seed of Israel on account of all that they have done. Behold, the days are coming in which the city for Jehovah will be built. And the measuring line will again go out over the hill of Gareb, and around towards Goah. Jeremiah 31:37-39.

And also in Isaiah,

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, marked off 1 the heavens with His span, and gathered the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in a balance, and the hills on the scales? Isaiah 40:12.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. literally, weighed

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