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Exodus 32

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1 Kui rahvas nägi, et Mooses viivitas mäelt tulekuga, siis rahvas kogunes Aaroni ümber ja ütles temale: 'Võta kätte ja tee meile jumalaid, kes käiksid meie ees, sest me ei tea, mis on juhtunud Moosesega, selle mehega, kes tõi meid Egiptusemaalt välja!'

2 Siis Aaron ütles neile: 'Rebige ära kuldrõngad, mis on kõrvus teie naistel, poegadel ja tütardel, ja tooge need mulle!'

3 Ja kogu rahvas rebis ära kuldrõngad, mis neil kõrvus olid, ja tõi need Aaronile.

4 Tema võttis need vastu nende käest, töötles lõikeriistaga ja valmistas valatud vasika. Siis nad ütlesid: 'See on su jumal, Iisrael, kes tõi sind Egiptusemaalt välja!'

5 Kui Aaron seda nägi, siis ta ehitas selle ette altari; ja Aaron hüüdis ning ütles: 'Homme on Issanda püha!'

6 Järgmisel päeval tõusid nad vara ning ohverdasid põletusohvreid ja tõid tänuohvreid; ja rahvas istus maha sööma ja jooma ning tõusis üles mängima.

7 Siis Issand rääkis Moosesega: 'Mine astu alla, sest su rahvas, kelle sa tõid Egiptusemaalt välja, on teinud pahasti!

8 Nad on kähku pöördunud teelt, mida ma neil käskisin käia. Nad on enestele teinud valatud vasika. Nad on seda kummardanud ja sellele ohverdanud, ja nad on öelnud: See on su jumal, Iisrael, kes tõi sind Egiptusemaalt välja.'

9 Ja Issand ütles Moosesele: 'Ma olen näinud seda rahvast, ja vaata, see on kangekaelne rahvas.

10 Jäta nüüd mind üksi, et mu viha saaks süttida põlema nende vastu ja ma saaksin nad hävitada! Aga sind ma teen suureks rahvaks.'

11 Mooses aga anus Issanda, oma Jumala ees ja ütles: 'Issand, miks süttib su viha põlema oma rahva vastu, kelle sa tõid Egiptusemaalt välja oma suure võimsuse ja vägeva käega?

12 Miks peaksid egiptlased rääkima ja ütlema: Kurja kavatsusega viis ta nad välja, et neid mägedes tappa ja maa pealt hävitada. Pöördu oma tulisest vihast ja kahetse kurja, mida sa kavatsed teha oma rahvale!

13 Meenuta oma sulaseid Aabrahami, Iisakit ja Iisraeli, kellele sa oled iseenese juures vandunud ja öelnud: Ma teen teie soo nõnda paljuks nagu tähti taevas; ja kogu selle maa, millest ma olen rääkinud, annan ma teie soole ja nad pärivad selle igaveseks.'

14 Ja Issand kahetses kurja, mida ta oli ähvardanud teha oma rahvale.

15 Ja Mooses pöördus ning astus mäelt alla, ja tal oli käes kaks tunnistuslauda, lauad, mille mõlema poole peale oli kirjutatud; neile oli kirjutatud nii ühe kui teise külje peale.

16 Lauad olid Jumala tehtud ja Jumala kirjutatud oli kiri, mis laudadesse oli uurendatud.

17 Kui Joosua kuulis rahva häält, valju karjumist, siis ta ütles Moosesele: 'Leeris on sõjakisa!'

18 Aga tema vastas: 'Ei see ole võiduhüüd, ei see ole kaotusekisa - mina kuulen lauluhäält.'

19 Ja kui Mooses ligines leerile ja nägi vasikat ning ringtantsu, siis ta viha süttis põlema ja ta viskas lauad käest ning purustas need mäejalamil.

20 Seejärel ta võttis vasika, mille nad olid teinud, ja põletas seda tules ning jahvatas, kuni see sai peeneks; siis ta puistas selle vette ja andis Iisraeli lastele juua.

21 Ja Mooses ütles Aaronile: 'Mida see rahvas sulle on teinud, et sa oled nende peale toonud nii suure patu?'

22 Aaron vastas: 'Ärgu süttigu mu isanda viha põlema! Sina ise tead, et see rahvas on paha.

23 Nad ütlesid mulle: Tee meile jumalad, kes käiksid meie ees, sest me ei tea, mis on juhtunud Moosesega, selle mehega, kes tõi meid Egiptusemaalt välja!

24 Ja mina ütlesin neile: Kellel on kulda, rebigu ära! Ja nad andsid selle minule, mina viskasin tulle ja välja tuli see vasikas.'

25 Kui Mooses nägi, et rahvas oli ohjest valla, sest Aaron oli ta valla päästnud kahjurõõmuks nende vaenlastele,

26 siis Mooses astus leeri väravasse ja ütles: 'Kes on Issanda poolt, tulgu minu juurde!' Ja tema juurde kogunesid kõik Leevi pojad.

27 Ja ta ütles neile: 'Nõnda ütleb Issand, Iisraeli Jumal: Igaüks pangu oma mõõk vööle! Käige edasi ja tagasi leeri väravast väravani ja tapke igaüks, olgu see ka oma vend, sõber või sugulane!'

28 Ja Leevi pojad tegid, nagu Mooses käskis; ja sel päeval langes rahva seast ligi kolm tuhat meest.

29 Ja Mooses ütles: 'Nad täitsid täna oma käed Issandale, sest igaüks oli oma poja ja venna vastu, selleks et teile täna õnnistus antaks!'

30 Ja järgmisel päeval ütles Mooses rahvale: 'Te olete teinud väga suurt pattu. Aga ma lähen nüüd üles Issanda juurde, vahest saan lepitada teie patu.'

31 Ja Mooses läks jälle Issanda juurde ning ütles: 'Oh häda! See rahvas on teinud suurt pattu ja on enesele valmistanud kuldjumalad.

32 Kui sa nüüd siiski annaksid andeks nende patu! Aga kui mitte, siis kustuta mind oma raamatust, mille oled kirjutanud!'

33 Aga Issand vastas Moosesele: 'Kes minu vastu on pattu teinud, selle ma kustutan oma raamatust.

34 Nüüd aga mine, juhi rahvas sinna paika, millest ma sulle olen rääkinud! Vaata, minu ingel käib su eel. Oma karistuspäeval ma karistan neid nende patu pärast.'

35 Ja Issand lõi rahvast, sellepärast et nad olid teinud vasika, mille Aaron valmistas.

   

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Apocalypse Revealed # 555

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555. "And they overcame it by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony." (12:11) This symbolizes victory gained by the Divine truth of the Word and thus by an acknowledgment that the Lord is God of heaven and earth and that the Ten Commandments are commandments for life in accordance with which a person should live.

It may be seen in no. 379 above that the blood of the Lamb is the Divine truth emanating from the Lord, which is the Divine truth of the Word; in nos. 6, 16 above, that the testimony is Divine truth; and in nos. 490, 506, that it is in particular these two tenets, that the Lord is God of heaven and earth, and that the Ten Commandments are commandments to be lived. The Ten Commandments are also accordingly called the testimony in Exodus 25:22; 31:7, 18; 32:15, Leviticus 16:13, Numbers 17:4, Psalms 78:5; 132:12.

People caught up in faith alone today believe that the blood of the Lamb refers to the Lord's suffering of the cross, principally because they make the Lord's suffering of the cross the chief tenet of their dogma, saying that by this He took upon Himself the condemnation of the Law, made satisfaction to the Father, and reconciled to Him the human race, and so on.

But that is not the case. Rather the Lord came into the world to conquer the hells and glorify His humanity, and His suffering of the cross was the last battle by which He completely overcame the hells and completely glorified His humanity, as may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem Regarding the Lord, nos. 12-14.

Consequently it can be seen that the blood of the Lamb does not mean here the suffering of the cross as maintained by current dogma.

That the blood of the Lamb means the Divine truth emanating from the Lord, which is the Divine truth of the Word, can be seen from the fact that the Lord embodies the Word, and that because He embodies the Word, the Divine truth in it is His blood, and the Divine goodness in it His body.

This may be clearly shown by asking whether everyone does not embody his own goodness and his own truth. And because goodness is a matter of the will, and truth a matter of the intellect, whether everyone does not embody his own will and his own intellect. What else constitutes the person? Is not a person in essence these two entities? The Lord, however, is goodness itself and truth itself, or Divine good and Divine truth, and these two also constitute the Word.

  
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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 # 379

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379. "And made their robes white in the blood of the Lamb." This symbolically means, and by truths have purified those religious beliefs from the falsities accompanying evil, and so have been reformed by the Lord.

Some evils are evils that accompany falsity, and some falsities are falsities that accompany evil. Evils that accompany falsity are found among people who, in accord with their religion, believe that evils do not condemn, provided they orally confess that they are sinners. And falsities that accompany evil are found among people who justify the evils they harbor.

As in no. 378 above, robes here symbolize general truths drawn from the Word, which constitute the people's religious beliefs. They are said to have made their robes white in the blood of the Lamb because the color white is predicated of truths (nos. 167, 231, 232), meaning therefore that they used truths to purify their falsities.

This symbolically means also that thus they were reformed by the Lord, because all who have fought against evils in the world and have believed in the Lord are, after their departure from the world, taught by the Lord and led by truths away from the falsities of their religion. And so they are reformed. That is because people who refrain from evils as being sins possess goodness of life, and goodness of life desires truths, and acknowledges and accepts them. But this is never the case with evil of life.

People believe that the blood of the Lamb here and elsewhere in the Word symbolizes the Lord's suffering of the cross. But the suffering of the cross was the final temptation or trial by which the Lord completely overcame the hells and fully glorified His humanity. By these two means He saved mankind (see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem Regarding the Lord, nos. 12-14, 15-17, and also no. 67 above). Moreover, because by His suffering of the cross the Lord fully glorified His humanity, which is to say, made it Divine, therefore nothing else can be meant by His flesh and blood but the Divinity in Him and emanating from Him - His flesh meaning the Divine goodness of His Divine love, and His blood meaning the Divine truth emanating from that goodness.

[2] Blood is mentioned many times in the Word, and everywhere it symbolizes, in the spiritual sense, either the Lord's Divine truth, which is the same as the Divine truth of the Word, or in an opposite sense, the Divine truth of the Word falsified or profaned, as can be seen from the following passages.

First, that blood symbolizes the Lord's Divine truth or the Divine truth of the Word can be seen from these passages:

Blood was called the blood of the covenant, and a covenant conjoins, a conjunction that the Lord accomplishes by His Divine truth. So, for example, in Zechariah:

By the blood of your covenant, I will set your prisoners free from the pit... (Zechariah 9:11)

After Moses read the Book of the Law in the hearing of the people, he sprinkled half the blood on the people and said,

This is the blood of the covenant which Jehovah has made with you in accordance with all these words. (Exodus 24:3-8)

Moreover,

(Jesus) took the cup..., and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. ...this is My blood, the blood of the new covenant... (Matthew 26:27-28, cf. Mark 14:24, Luke 22:20)

The blood of the new covenant or testament symbolizes nothing else than the Word, which is called a covenant or testament - the Old Covenant or Testament, and the New Covenant or Testament - thus symbolizing the Divine truth in it.

[3] Since blood has this symbolic meaning, the Lord therefore gave His disciples wine, saying, "This is My blood" - wine symbolizing Divine truth (no. 316). Wine is also on that account called "the blood of grapes" (Genesis 49:11, Deuteronomy 32:14).

This is still further apparent from these words of the Lord:

Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you will have no life in you... For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. (John 6:53-56).

It is clearly apparent that blood here means Divine truth, because the text says that he who drinks has life, and abides in the Lord, and the Lord in him. This is the effect of Divine truth and a life in accordance with it, and an effect confirmed by the Holy Supper, as everyone in the church may know.

[4] Since blood symbolizes the Lord's Divine truth, which is the same as the Divine truth of the Word, and this is the essence of the Old and New Covenants or Testaments, therefore blood was the holiest representative symbol in the Israelite Church, in which every single thing corresponded to something spiritual. So, for example, the people were to take some of the blood of the paschal lamb and put it on the doorposts and lintel of their houses to keep the plague from coming upon them (Exodus 12:7, 13, 22). The blood of the burnt offering was to be sprinkled on the altar, at the base of the altar, on Aaron and his sons, and on their vestments (Exodus 29:12, 16, 20-21).

[5] The blood of the Lamb has a like symbolism in the following verses in the book of Revelation:

...war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon... And they overcame it by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony... (Revelation 12:7, 11)

For no one can think that Michael and his angels overcame the dragon with anything other than the Lord's Divine truth in the Word. Angels in heaven, indeed, cannot think of any blood, nor do they think of the Lord's suffering, but of His Divine truth and resurrection. Consequently, when a person thinks about the Lord's blood, angels perceive His Divine truth, and when a person thinks about the Lord's suffering, they perceive His glorification, and then only His resurrection. I have been granted to know the reality of this by much experience.

[6] That blood symbolizes Divine truth is apparent also from these verses in the book of Psalms:

(God) will save the souls of the needy... Precious shall be their blood in His sight. And they shall live, and He will give them the gold of Sheba. (Psalms 72:13-15)

The blood, precious in the sight of God, stands for Divine truth among those people. The gold of Sheba is the resulting wisdom.

In Ezekiel:

Gather together... to My great sacrifice... on the mountains of Israel, that you may eat flesh and drink blood. You shall... drink the blood of the princes of the earth... You shall... drink blood till you are drunk at My sacrifice which I am sacrificing for you... (Thus) I will set My glory among the nations. (Ezekiel 39:17-21)

Blood here does not mean blood, because the statement is that they will drink the blood of the princes of the earth and that they will drink blood till they are drunk. But the true meaning of the word emerges when blood is understood to mean Divine truth. The subject there, too, is the Lord's church, which He would establish among gentiles.

[7] Second, that blood symbolizes Divine truth can be clearly seen from its opposite meaning, in which it symbolizes the Divine truth of the Word falsified or profaned, as is apparent from these passages:

He who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, and shuts his eyes from seeing evil... (Isaiah 33:15)

You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; Jehovah abhors the bloody and deceitful man. (Psalms 5:6)

...everyone recorded for life in Jerusalem, when the Lord has... rinsed away (her) blood... from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of purification. (Isaiah 4:3-4)

...on the day you were born... I saw you trampled in your blood, and I said to you in your blood, "Live!" ...I washed you and rinsed away the blood upon you... (Ezekiel 16:5-6, 9, 22, 36, 38)

They wandered blind in the streets; they have defiled themselves with blood, and what they cannot touch, they touch with their garments. (Lamentations 4:13-14)

The garment is polluted with blood. (Isaiah 9:5)

Also on your skirts is found the blood of the souls of the innocent... (Jeremiah 2:34)

Your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings... (Isaiah 1:15-16)

...your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken a lie... They make haste to shed innocent blood. (Isaiah 59:3, 7)

...Jehovah is coming out... to visit the iniquity... of the earth; then the earth will disclose her blood... (Isaiah 26:21)

...as many as received Him, to them He gave the ability to be children of God..., who were born, not of blood... (John 1:12-13)

In (Babylon) was found the blood of prophets and saints... (Revelation 18:24)

...the sea... became as the blood of a dead man... ...the springs of water... became blood. (Revelation 16:3-4. Cf. Isaiah 15:9, Psalms 105:29)

The like is symbolized by the rivers, ponds, and pools of water in Egypt being turned into blood (Exodus 7:15-25).

...the moon (shall be turned) into blood, before the coming of the great... day of Jehovah. (Joel 2:31)

...the moon became... blood. (Revelation 6:12)

In these places and many others, blood symbolizes the truth of the Word falsified, and also profaned. But this can be seen more clearly when these passages in the Word are read in context.

So, then, since blood in an opposite sense symbolizes the truth of the Word falsified or profaned, it is apparent that blood in a true sense symbolizes the truth of the Word not falsified.

  
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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.