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Eliro 10

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1 Kaj la Eternulo diris al Moseo:Iru al Faraono, cxar Mi obstinigis lian koron kaj la korojn de liaj servantoj, por ke Mi faru cxi tiujn Miajn signojn inter ili;

2 kaj por ke vi rakontu al via filo kaj al via nepo, kion Mi plenumis sur la Egiptoj, kaj pri Miaj signoj, kiujn Mi faris inter ili; kaj por ke vi sciu, ke Mi estas la Eternulo.

3 Moseo kaj Aaron venis al Faraono, kaj diris al li:Tiel diris la Eternulo, Dio de la Hebreoj:GXis kiam vi rifuzos humiligxi antaux Mi? forliberigu Mian popolon, ke gxi faru al Mi servon.

4 CXar se vi rifuzos forliberigi Mian popolon, jen Mi venigos morgaux akridojn en vian regionon;

5 kaj ili kovros la suprajxon de la tero tiel, ke oni ne povos vidi la teron; kaj ili formangxos cxion, kio restis cxe vi savita kontraux la hajlo, kaj ili cxirkauxmangxos cxiujn arbojn, kiuj kreskas cxe vi sur la kampo;

6 kaj ili plenigos viajn domojn kaj la domojn de cxiuj viaj servantoj kaj la domojn de cxiuj Egiptoj tiel, kiel ne vidis viaj patroj kaj viaj prapatroj de post la tago, kiam ili aperis sur la tero gxis la nuna tago. Kaj li turnigxis kaj eliris for de Faraono.

7 Tiam la servantoj de Faraono diris al li:GXis kiam tiu homo estos por ni suferilo? forliberigu tiujn homojn, por ke ili faru servon al la Eternulo, ilia Dio; cxu vi ankoraux ne vidas, ke Egiptujo pereas?

8 Kaj oni revenigis denove Moseon kaj Aaronon al Faraono, kaj cxi tiu diris al ili:Iru, faru servon al la Eternulo, via Dio; sed kiuj estas la irontoj?

9 Tiam Moseo diris:Kun niaj junuloj kaj maljunuloj ni iros, kun niaj filoj kaj niaj filinoj, kun niaj sxafoj kaj niaj bovoj ni iros, cxar ni havas feston de la Eternulo.

10 Kaj li diris al ili:Tiel la Eternulo estu kun vi, se mi forliberigos vin kaj viajn infanojn! cxu vi ne havas ian malbonan intencon?

11 Ne; iru nur la viroj kaj faru servon al la Eternulo, cxar tion vi petas. Kaj oni elpelis ilin for de Faraono.

12 Tiam la Eternulo diris al Moseo:Etendu vian manon super la landon Egiptan pro la akridoj, ke ili venu sur la landon Egiptan, kaj formangxu cxiujn herbojn de la tero, cxion, kion restigis la hajlo.

13 Kaj Moseo etendis sian bastonon super la landon Egiptan, kaj la Eternulo direktis orientan venton sur la landon dum tiu tuta tago kaj dum la tuta nokto. Kiam farigxis mateno, la orienta vento alportis la akridojn.

14 Kaj la akridoj venis sur la tutan landon Egiptan kaj sidigxis en la tuta Egipta regiono en tre granda amaso; antaux ili neniam estis akridaro simila al ili, kaj poste neniam estos tia.

15 Kaj ili kovris la tutan suprajxon de la tero, kaj la tero farigxis malluma; kaj ili formangxis la tutan herbon de la kampo, kaj cxiujn arbajn fruktojn, kiujn restigis la hajlo; kaj restis nenia verdajxo sur la arboj aux inter la herboj de la kampo en la tuta lando Egipta.

16 Tiam Faraono rapide alvokis Moseon kaj Aaronon, kaj diris:Mi pekis antaux la Eternulo, via Dio, kaj antaux vi.

17 Sed nun pardonu mian pekon nur cxi tiun fojon, kaj pregxu al la Eternulo, via Dio, ke Li forigu de mi nur cxi tiun morton.

18 Kaj li eliris for de Faraono kaj pregxis al la Eternulo.

19 Kaj la Eternulo venigis de la kontrauxa flanko venton okcidentan tre fortan, kaj gxi levis la akridojn kaj jxetis ilin en la Rugxan Maron; ne restis ecx unu akrido en la tuta Egipta regiono.

20 Sed la Eternulo obstinigis la koron de Faraono, kaj li ne forliberigis la Izraelidojn.

21 Tiam la Eternulo diris al Moseo:Etendu vian manon al la cxielo, kaj farigxos mallumo en la lando Egipta, palpebla mallumo.

22 Kaj Moseo etendis sian manon al la cxielo, kaj farigxis densa mallumo en la tuta lando Egipta dum tri tagoj.

23 Oni ne vidis unu alian, kaj neniu levigxis de sia loko dum tri tagoj; sed cxiuj Izraelidoj havis lumon en siaj logxejoj.

24 Tiam Faraono alvokis Moseon, kaj diris:Iru, faru servon al la Eternulo; nur viaj sxafoj kaj viaj bovoj restu; ankaux viaj infanoj iru kun vi.

25 Sed Moseo diris:Vi devas ankaux doni en niajn manojn oferojn kaj bruloferojn, kiujn ni alportos al la Eternulo, nia Dio.

26 Ankaux niaj brutoj iros kun ni, ne restos ecx unu hufo; cxar el ili ni prenos, por fari servon al la Eternulo, nia Dio; kaj ni ne scias, per kio ni devas servi al la Eternulo, gxis ni venos tien.

27 Kaj la Eternulo obstinigis la koron de Faraono, kaj li ne volis forliberigi ilin.

28 Kaj Faraono diris al li:Iru for de mi! gardu vin, ke vi ne venu plu antaux mian vizagxon; cxar en la tago, en kiu vi venos antaux mian vizagxon, vi mortos.

29 Tiam Moseo diris:Tiel vi diris; mi ne venos do plu antaux vian vizagxon.

   

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Apocalypse Revealed # 424

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424. Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth. (9:3) This symbolically means that from them issued falsities of the lowest sort, such as are found in the case of people who have become sensual and who view and judge everything in accordance with the senses and their fallacies.

Falsities that we term falsities of the lowest sort are those which occur on the lowest level of a person's life, called sensual, which we will speak of below. These falsities are symbolized in the Word by locusts. It should be known, however, that the locusts here did not look like the locusts found in fields, which hop about and devastate pastures and crops. Instead they looked like pygmies or midgets, as is apparent also from their description, as for instance, that they had crowns on their heads, faces like the faces of men, hair like women's hair, teeth like lions' teeth, breastplates of iron, and the angel of the bottomless pit as king over them.

Ancient peoples, too, called midgets locusts, as we can conclude from these verses:

(Those who spied out the land of Canaan said:) ."..we saw the Nephilim, the descendants of the Anakim..., and we were like locusts... in their sight." (Numbers 13:33)

(Jehovah) who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants like locusts... (Isaiah 40:22)

[2] However, because falsities of the lowest sort, such as existed in the people here, are in the Word symbolized by locusts, therefore in Nahum the people are called locusts, as well as being termed crowned and commanders:

...the fire will devour you..., it will eat you up like a locust's larva. Make yourself many like the locust's larva! Make yourself many like locusts! ...Your crowned ones are like locusts, and your commanders like great locusts... (Nahum 3:15-17)

Because falsities of the lowest sort devour the growing truths and goods of the church in a person, they are symbolized by locusts which devour the grasses in fields and the vegetation on farms, as is clear from the following passages:

You shall carry much seed out to the field, but... the locust shall consume it. (Deuteronomy 28:38)

What the caterpillar left, the locust will eat; what the locust left, the beetle grub will eat; and what the beetle grub left, the locust's larva will eat. (Joel 1:4)

I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten, the beetle grub, the locust's larva, and the caterpillar... (Joel 2:25)

[3] The locusts in Egypt have the same symbolic meaning, of which we read the following in Exodus:

Moses stretched out his rod over the land of Egypt, and... the east wind brought the locusts. And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt...; previously there had been no such locusts...; and they ate every herb... of the field... (Exodus 10:12ff.)

And afterward Moses stretched out his rod, and the locusts were cast into the Red Sea.

Further, in the book of Psalms:

He gave their produce to the locust's larva, and their labor to the locust. (Psalms 78:46, cf. 105:34-35)

The miracles in Egypt describe the devastation of the church, and this particular miracle, its devastation by falsities of the lowest sort. And when the inner levels of a person's life are closed, on which the lowest levels depend, the lowest levels become hellish. Therefore the locusts were cast into the Red Sea, which symbolizes hell.

[4] Since few people today know what we mean by the sensual level, or what the character of a sensual person is, and since this is what locusts symbolize, therefore we will introduce from our Arcana Coelestia (The Secrets of Heaven) the following extracts regarding it:

The sensual level is the lowest of a person's mental life, attaching to and uniting with his five physical senses (nos. 5077 5767, 9212, 9216, 9331, 9730).

That person is called sensual who judges of everything in accordance with his physical senses, and who believes in nothing but what he can see with his eyes and touch with his hands, saying that if he can, it is real, and rejecting everything else (nos. 5094 7693).

The inner levels of that person's mind, which see in the light of heaven, are closed, so that he sees no truth on those levels which has to do with heaven and the church (nos. 6564, 6844, 6845).

A person like that thinks on the lowest levels, and not interiorly in any spiritual light (nos. 5089 5094, 6564, 7693).

In a word, people like that have a crude natural sight (nos. 6201 6310, 6564, 6844, 6845, 6612, 6614, 6622, 6624).

Inwardly they are therefore hostile to matters having to do with heaven and the church, though it is possible for them to speak in favor of them outwardly, even ardently, according to the power they have by virtue of them (nos. 6201, 6316, 6844, 6845, 6948, 6949).

The educated and learned who have deeply confirmed themselves in falsities, and still more those who are hostile to the Word's truths, are more sensual than others (no. 6316).

Sensual people reason keenly and skillfully, because their thinking is so near to speech as to almost reside in it, and to be, so to speak, on the lips, and because they place all intelligence in speech from the memory alone; moreover, some of them can cleverly defend falsities, and after they have done so, believe they are true (nos. 195 196, 5700, 10236).

They reason from fallacies of the senses and defend them, which they use to captivate and persuade the populace (nos. 5084 6948, 6949, 7693).

Sensual people are craftier and more malicious than others (nos. 7693, 10236).

Greedy people, adulterers, hedonists, and the deceitful are especially sensual, even though to the world they do not appear so (no. 6310).

The interiors of their minds are foul and filthy (no. 6201).

Through them they are in communication with the hells (no. 6311).

People residing in the hells are sensual, and the more so the deeper the hell (nos. 4623 6311).

The atmosphere of spirits in hell mixes with a person's sensual level from behind (no. 6312).

People who have based their reasoning on the evidence of the senses only, and so are hostile to the genuine truths of the church, were called by ancient peoples serpents of the tree of knowledge (nos. 195, 196, 197, 6398, 6399, 10313).

In addition, a person's sensual level and the sensual person are described (no. 10236), together with the extent of the sensual things in a person (no. 9731).

Sensual things ought to be held in last place, and not in first place, and in a wise and intelligent person they are held in last place, subject to more interior ones, while in a foolish person they are in first place and dominant; the latter are those properly called sensual (nos. 5077 5125, 5128, 7645).

If sensual things are in last place, they are the means by which a path is opened to understanding, and truths are refined by a process of abstraction (no. 5580).

These sensual things are the closest to the world, and they admit things that flow in from the world and, so to speak, sift them (no. 9726).

By these sensual things a person is in communication with the world, and by rational things with heaven (no. 4009).

Sensual things supply materials that are of service to the interior levels of the mind (nos. 5077 5081).

Some sensual things are of service to the intellectual faculty, and some are of service to the volitional faculty (no. 5077).

If a person does not raise his thought from sensual things, he is hardly wise (no. 5089).

A wise person thinks above the level of sensual things (nos. 5089, 5094).

When a person raises his thinking above the level of sensual things, he comes into a clearer sight, and finally into the light of heaven (nos. 6183 6313, 6315, 9407, 9730, 9922).

An elevation above the level of sensual things and withdrawal from them was something known to ancient peoples (no. 6313).

A person can be conscious in his spirit of things that occur in the spiritual world, if he can be withdrawn from sensual things by the Lord and elevated into the light of heaven (no. 4622). That is because it is not the body that thinks, but a person's spirit in the body, and to the extent that it dwells in the body, it thinks dimly and in a state of darkness; however, to the extent that it does not dwell in the body, it thinks clearly and in a state of light - but only as regards spiritual matters (nos. 4622, 6614, 6622).

The lowest level of the intellect is sensual knowledge, and the lowest level of the will is sensual delight (no. 9996).

The difference between sensual characteristics possessed in common with animals, and those not possessed in common with them (no. 10236).

Some sensual people are not evil, because their interior levels have not been closed: their state in the other life (no. 6311).

  
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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.