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Joel 3

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1 Sillä katso, niinä päivinä ja sillä ajalla, kuin minä Juudan ja Jerusalemin vankiuden palautan,

2 Tahdon minä koota kaikki pakanat, ja viedä heitä alas Josaphatin laaksoon; ja tahdon siellä heidän kanssansa riidellä, minun kansani ja minun perimiseni Israelin tähden, jonka he pakanain sekaan hajoittivat, ja jakoivat minun maani itsellensä,

3 Ja ovat minun kansastani arpaa heittäneet; ja ovat pojan porton edestä antaneet, ja piian myyneet viinan edestä, ja sen juoneet.

4 Mitä myös minun on teidän kanssanne, te Tyrosta ja Zidonista, ja te kaikki Philistealaisten rajat? vai tahdotteko te minulle kaiketi kostaa? Jos te minulle tahdotte kostaa, niin minä tahdon sen äkisti ja pian kostaa teidän päänne päälle.

5 Sillä te olette minun hopiani ja kultani ottaneet, ja minun kauniit kappaleeni teidän kirkkoihinne vieneet;

6 Ja myyneet Juudan ja Jerusalemin lapset Grekiläisille, heitä kauvas heidän rajoistansa saattaaksenne.

7 Katso, minä tahdon heidät sieltä herättää, johonka te heidät myyneet olette; ja tahdon sen kostaa teidän päänne päälle;

8 Ja tahdon myydä jälleen teidän poikanne ja tyttärenne Juudan lasten kautta; ne pitää heidät rikkaasen Arabiaan, kaukaisen maan kansalle myymän; sillä Herra on sen puhunut.

9 Julistakaat näitä pakanain seassa, pyhittäkäät sota, herättäkäät väkevät, käyköön edes, ja menköön ylös kaikki sotaväki.

10 Tehkäät vannanne miekoiksi ja viikahteenne keihäiksi. Ja joka heikko on, se sanokaan: minä olen väkevä.

11 Kootkaat teitänne, ja tulkaat tänne kaikki pakanat ympäristöltä, ja kootkaat teitänne; anna, Herra, sinun väkevät sinne astua alas.

12 Nouskaat pakanat ja menkäät ylös Josaphatin laaksoon; sillä minä tahdon siellä istua, ja tuomita kaikki pakanat ympäristöltä.

13 Sivaltakaat viikahteella, sillä elo on kypsä; tulkaat ja astukaat alas; sillä kuurnat ovat täydet, ja kuurna-astiat kuohuvat; sillä heidän pahuutensa on suuri.

14 Paljo kansaa pitää oleman ympärillä joka paikassa Tuomiolaaksossa; sillä Herran päivä on läsnä Tuomiolaaksossa.

15 Aurinko ja kuu pimenevät, ja tähdet peittävät valkeutensa.

16 Ja Herra on Zionista kiljuva, ja antaa kuulla äänensä Jerusalemista, että taivaan ja maan pitää vapiseman. Mutta Herra on kansansa turva, ja linna Israelin lapsille.

17 Ja teidän pitää tietämän, että minä Herra teidän Jumalanne asun Zionissa minun pyhällä vuorellani; silloin on Jerusalem pyhäksi tuleva, ja ei pidä muukalaisen käymän enään sen lävitse.

18 Sillä ajalla pitää vuoret makiaa viinaa tiukkuman, ja kukkulat rieskaa vuotaman, ja kaikki Juudan ojat pitää vettä täynnä oleman; ja lähde pitää Herran huoneessa käymän, ja Sittimin ojaan juokseman.

19 Vaan Egyptin pitää autioksi tuleman, ja Edom synkiäksi erämaaksi; sen vääryyden tähden, mikä Juudan lapsille tehty on, että he viattoman veren heidän maassansa vuodattaneet ovat.

20 Mutta Juudassa pitää ijankaikkisesti asuttaman, ja Jerusalemissa ijankaikkiseen aikaan.

21 Ja minä tahdon puhdistaa heidän verensä, jota en minä ennen ole puhdistanut; ja Herra on asuva Zionissa.

   


SWORD version by Tero Favorin (tero at favorin dot com)

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Sacred Scripture # 13

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13. In chapter 9 of Revelation we read,

The fifth angel sounded. And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit. And out of the smoke locusts came onto the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. The shapes of the locusts were like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were what seemed to be golden crowns, and their faces were like human faces. They had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like those of lions. They had breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle. And they had tails like scorpions, and there were stingers in their tails. Their power was to hurt people for five months. And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon. [Revelation 9:1-3, 7-11]

Readers will not understand this either unless the spiritual meaning has been unveiled to them, because nothing in it is an empty statement. Everything, every detail, has meaning. It is about the state of the church when all the truth it has recognized in the Word lies in ruins, and when those who have become limited to their physical senses therefore convince themselves that falsities are truths.

[2] The star fallen from heaven means the ruined state of the truth that was once recognized.

The darkened sun and air mean the light of truth turned into darkness.

The locusts that came out of the smoke of the pit mean false beliefs built on the outward kind of thinking characteristic of people who have become limited to their physical senses and see and evaluate everything on the basis of deceptive appearances.

Scorpions mean the force of their rhetoric.

The locusts looking like horses prepared for battle means their rationalizing as though they understood what was true.

The locusts having what seemed to be golden crowns on their heads and having faces that looked human means that it seemed to them that they were triumphant and wise.

Their having hair like women’s hair means that it seemed to them that they were genuinely devoted to truth.

Their having teeth like those of lions means that their sensory impressions (which are the most superficial aspects of the earthly self) seemed to them to have power over everything.

[3] Their having breastplates like breastplates of iron means the arguments from deceptive appearances that they use in order to fight and prevail.

The sound of their wings being like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle means their rationalizations, based on supposedly true teachings from the Word, for which they feel compelled to fight.

Their having tails like scorpions means their persuasive ability.

Their having stingers in their tails means their skills in using this ability to deceive.

Their having power to hurt people for five months means that they induce a kind of stupor in people who are devoted to understanding what is true and perceiving what is good.

Their having as king over them the angel of the abyss whose name is Abaddon and Apollyon means that their false principles come from hell, where all the people are totally materialistic and in love with their own intelligence.

[4] This is the spiritual meaning of these words, none of which is obvious in the literal meaning. It is the same throughout the Book of Revelation.

Bear in mind that, when spiritually understood, everything is bound together in an ongoing connection, and every single word in the literal or earthly meaning contributes to its elegant construction. So if one little word were taken away, a connection would be broken and a link would be lost. To prevent this from happening, the command not to take away a word is appended to the end of this prophetic book (Revelation 22:19). It is the same with the prophetic books of the Old Testament: so that nothing would be lost, the Lord’s divine providence arranged that their details were counted right down to the letters, which was done by the Masoretes.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for their permission to use this translation.

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Stars

  

In Genesis 1:16, this signifies goods and truths, or, in the opposite sense, evils and falsities. (Arcana Coelestia 1808)

In Matthew 24:29, this signifies knowledge of faith which falls from heaven. (Arcana Coelestia 32, 1984[3])

'Stars' signify the knowledge of truth and good. 'Stars' are frequently mentioned in the Word, and always signify goods and truths, but in an opposite sense, evils and falsities. In the same way, they signify angels, or societies of angels, in the opposite sense, evil spirits and their bands. When they signify angels, or societies of angels, then they are fixed stars, but when they signify evil spirits and their fellowships, then they are wandering stars. 'The seven stars' in Revelation 1, denote the knowledge of everything pertaining to good and truth, and so every variety of good and truth.

(Odkazy: Apocalypse Revealed 51)