Nahum 1
1
The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
2
God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.
3
The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: The LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
4
He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers: Bashan languisheth, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth.
5
The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein.
6
Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him.
7
The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.
8
But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.
9
What do ye imagine against the LORD? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time.
10
For while they be folden together as thorns, and while they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry.
11
There is one come out of thee, that imagineth evil against the LORD, a wicked counseller.
12
Thus saith the LORD: Though they be quiet, and likewise many, yet thus shall they be cut down, when he shall pass through. Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more.
13
For now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder.
14
And the LORD hath given a commandment concerning thee, that no more of thy name be sown: out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image and the molten image: I will make thy grave; for thou art vile.
15
Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.
Arcana Coelestia # 7828
7828. 'The first shall it be for you in the months of the year' means the starting point of all states following for evermore. This is clear from the meaning of 'being the first', when used in reference to months of the year and in the internal sense to states of life, as the starting point; from the meaning of 'the months' as states, dealt with immediately above in 7827; and from the meaning of 'the year' as the period of life from start to finish, dealt with in 2906. Here, since it is speaking about members of the spiritual Church in the next life, whose period of life has a starting point but no finish, 'the year' means the period of life from the start and continuing for evermore (as 'year' can also mean, see end of 2906). The reason why this month became 'the head of months' and the first of all is that it means the starting point in the deliverance of those belonging to the spiritual Church who till then were in a state of captivity, since they were held back on the lower earth, where they were molested by the evil ones represented by Pharaoh and the Egyptians. The reason why their first state when they were delivered is the chief one of all and why it is the starting point of all following for evermore is that those who were there were delivered by the Lord's Coming into the world. They could not possibly have been saved without the Lord's Coming into the world; and their deliverance took place when the Lord rose again. From this it is evident that that state - when they were delivered - was for them the chief of all states. It was to be the same after that for all who belonged to the spiritual Church. They too could not have been saved unless the Lord had come into the world and glorified His Human, that is, made it Divine. With regard to those who belonged to the spiritual Church before the Lord's Coming, that they were held back on the lower earth, and that the Lord delivered and saved them, see 6854, 6914; and in general, that members of the spiritual Church were saved by the Lord's Coming, 2661, 1716, 6372, 7035, 7091 (end). So it is that the words under consideration here mean in the highest sense that the glorification and resurrection of the Lord, of His Human, are the source of all salvation.
