Bible

 

Jérémie 51:59

Studie

       

59 C'est ici l'ordre que Jérémie le Prophète donna à Séraja, fils de Nérija, fils de Mahaséja, quand il alla de la part de Sédécias Roi de Juda en Babylone, la quatrième année de son Règne; or Séraja était principal Chambellan.

Ze Swedenborgových děl

 

Arcana Coelestia # 9926

Prostudujte si tuto pasáž

  
/ 10837  
  

9926. 'And his voice will be heard' means the inflow of truth among those in heaven and those on earth. This is clear from the meaning of 'being heard' as reception and perception, dealt with in 5017, 5471, 5475, 7216, 8361, 9311, and therefore also an inflowing, since things that are received and perceived must flow in; and from the meaning of 'voice' - when Aaron, who represents the Lord, is the subject - as Divine Truth, dealt with in 8813. For 'voice' means the declaration of that truth; and because the declaration is meant, truth among those in heaven and those on earth is meant. Divine Truth fills all things of heaven, and composes all things of the Church. Such declaration was represented by the 'voice' or sound made by the bells of gold when Aaron 'went into the holy place before Jehovah, and when he came out', as stated by the words that immediately follow in the present verse.

[2] The fact that 'voice' in the Word means Divine Truth that is heard and perceived in heaven and on earth is clear from the following places: In David,

The voice of Jehovah is upon the waters; the voice of Jehovah is powerful; the voice of Jehovah is majestic; the voice of Jehovah breaks the cedars; the voice of Jehovah strikes as a flame of fire; the voice of Jehovah causes the wilderness to shake; the voice of Jehovah causes the hinds to calve. But in His temple everyone says, Glory! Psalms 29:3-9.

The subject in this Psalm is the Divine Truth which destroys falsities and evils. This Divine Truth is meant by 'the voice of Jehovah', but by 'Glory' that is uttered is meant Divine Truth present in heaven and in the Church. For the meaning of 'glory' as Divine Truth, see 9429; and for that of 'temple' as heaven and the Church, 3720.

[3] In John,

He who is the Shepherd of the sheep, to him the gate-keeper opens, and the sheep hear His voice. The sheep follow Him, because they know His voice. A stranger they do not follow, because they do not know the voice of strangers. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice. But you are not of My sheep, for My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. John 10:2-5, 16, 26-27.

Here it is plainly evident that 'voice' means Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, which is the Word, 'the voice of strangers' being falsity.

[4] In Isaiah,

The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of Jehovah. For the glory of Jehovah will be revealed. The voice says, Cry! Get up on to the high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings. Lift it up; [say,] Behold, the Lord Jehovih comes with might. Isaiah 40:3, 5-6, 9-10; John 1:23.

'The voice' here means the declaration from the Word, telling about the Lord's Coming, and therefore also means Divine Truth, which the Word tells. 'The wilderness' is the state of the Church then, which is so to speak in the wilderness because the Word is no longer understood. 'The glory' which will be revealed is the Word on its more internal levels, for which meaning of 'glory' see 9429. 'Jehovah' for whom the way should be prepared, and 'the Lord Jehovih' who is to come in might, is plainly the Lord, for this is what it clearly says.

[5] In Isaiah,

The voice of your watchmen, they will lift up [their] voice, when they see eye to eye that Jehovah returns to Zion. Isaiah 52:8.

'Watchmen' stands for those who search the Scriptures regarding the Lord's Coming. Their 'voice' is the Word, which is Divine Truth, their source. In Jeremiah,

He who makes the earth, by His intelligence He spreads out the heavens; when He utters His voice, 1 there is a multitude of waters in the heavens. Jeremiah 10:12-13; 51:15-16.

'Voice' stands for Divine Truth, 'waters' for truths which are in the heavens and come from the heavens (for the meaning of 'waters' in the Word as truths, see 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668, 8568, 9323), as also in the Book of Revelation,

[6] ... the voice of the Son of Man as the sound of many waters. Revelation 1:15. I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters. Revelation 14:2.

And in David,

The voice of Jehovah is upon the waters, Jehovah is upon great waters. Psalms 29:3.

In Joel,

Jehovah uttered His voice before His army; for those who execute His Word are uncountable. Joel 2:11.

Here also 'voice' stands for Divine Truth, as does 'the Word' which they execute. In the same prophet,

Jehovah from Jerusalem will give forth His voice, that the heavens and the earth may be shaken. Joel 3:16.

In David,

O kingdoms of the earth, make melody to the Lord who rides above the heaven of the heaven of old. Behold, He will utter His voice, a mighty voice. 2 Psalms 68:32-33.

In John,

I say to you, that the hour will come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. John 5:25.

Here, it is evident, 'the voice' means Divine Truth and therefore the Word of the Lord.

[7] In Ezekiel,

The Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice 3 of a great earthquake, Blessed is the glory of Jehovah. And [I heard] the voice 3 of the wings of the living creatures, and the voice 3 of the wheels, and the voice 3 of the great earthquake. Ezekiel 3:12-13.

And after this,

The voice 3 of the wings of the cherubs was heard as far as the outer court, like the voice of God Shaddai when He speaks. Ezekiel 10:5.

Here also 'the voice' is Divine Truth, for by 'the cherubs' is meant the Lord's providence and watchfulness, guarding against access to Himself, or into heaven, except through the good of love, 9277 (end), 9509. 'The voice of the wings' and 'the voice of the wheels' are spiritual truths.

[8] In the present verse, in which Aaron is the subject, the sound or ring from the bells is what 'the voice' refers to. There are also places in the Word in which the sounds or blasts from trumpets, or else the sounds or peals of thunder, are called 'voices', and by these in like manner Divine Truths are meant, see 7573. Furthermore the sounds made by different types of musical instruments have a similar meaning, though those producing separate vibrating notes mean Divine Truths that are spiritual, whereas those producing notes continuing one into the next mean Divine Truths that are celestial, 418-420, 4138, 8337. From this it is evident that by the sounds or 'the voices' of the bells Divine Truths that are spiritual are meant; for Aaron's garments, and in particular the robe, which had the bells on its hem round about, represented the Lord's spiritual kingdom or heaven, 9814, 9825.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. literally, at [His] voice which He gives [forth]

2. literally, He will give in voice a voice of might

3. i.e. the noise

  
/ 10837  
  

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

Ze Swedenborgových děl

 

Arcana Coelestia # 2715

Prostudujte si tuto pasáž

  
/ 10837  
  

2715. Two arcana exist here, the first being that, compared with the good of the celestial man, that of the spiritual man is obscure, the second that this obscurity is brightened by light from the Lord's Divine Human. As regards the first of these - that the good residing with the spiritual man is obscure compared with the celestial man's - this may be seen from what has been stated above in 2708 about the state of the spiritual man in comparison with that of the celestial man. From a comparison of the two states the fact of that obscurity is quite evident. With those who are celestial good itself exists implanted in the will part of their mind, and from there light enters the understanding part. But with those who are spiritual the whole of the will part is corrupted, so that they have no good at all from there, and therefore the Lord implants good in the understanding part of their mind, see 863, 875, 895, 927, 928, 1023, 1043, 1044, 2124, 2256. The will part is, in the main, the part of man's mind that possesses life, whereas the understanding part receives life from the will. Since therefore the will part in the case of the spiritual man is so corrupted as to be nothing but evil, and yet evil is flowing in from there unceasingly and constantly into the understanding part, that is, into his thought, it is clear that the good there is obscure compared with the celestial man's good.

[2] As a consequence those who are spiritual do not have love to the Lord, as those who are celestial do; nor therefore does that humility exist with them which is essential in all worship and by means of which good can flow in from the Lord; for a heart that is haughty is not at all receptive, only one that is humble. Nor do those who are spiritual have love towards the neighbour, as those who are celestial do, because self-love and love of the world are constantly flowing in from the will part of their mind, bringing obscurity into the good that goes with that love towards the neighbour. This may also become clear to one who reflects from the fact that when he helps another he does so for worldly reasons; thus though he may not consciously have it in mind he is nevertheless thinking about what he will get in return either from those he helps or in the next life from the Lord, which being so his good is still defiled with merit-seeking. It may also become clear to him from the fact that when he has done anything good and is able to speak about it to others and so set himself up above others, he is in his element. But those who are celestial love the neighbour more than they love themselves, and do not ever think about repayment or in any way set themselves up above others.

[3] The good residing with those who are spiritual is in addition made obscure by persuasive beliefs that are the product of various assumptions, which likewise have their origin in self-love and love of the world. For the nature of their persuasive beliefs even in matters of faith, see 2682, 2689 (end). This too is a product of the influx of evil from the will part of their mind.

[4] It may in addition become clear that the good residing with the spiritual man is obscure compared with the celestial man's, from the fact that he does not know what truth is, as those who are celestial do, from any perception. Instead he knows what truth is from what he has learned from parents and teachers, and also from the doctrine into which he was born. And when he adds to this anything from himself and from his own thinking, it is for the most part the senses and the illusions of the senses, also the rational and the appearances present within the rational, that predominate, and these make it barely possible for him to acknowledge any pure truth like that acknowledged by those who are celestial. But in spite of this, within things that are seemingly true the Lord implants good, even though these truths are mere illusions or else appearances of truth. But this good is made obscure by such truths, for it derives its specific nature from the truths to which it is joined. It is like the light of the sun falling upon objects. The nature of the objects receiving the light causes the light to be seen within those objects in the form of colours, which are beautiful if the nature of the recipient form and the manner of its receiving are fitting and correspondent, hideous if the nature of the recipient form and the manner of its receiving are not fitting and so not correspondent. In the same way good itself acquires a specific nature from the truth [to which it is joined].

[5] The same arcanum is also evident from the fact that the spiritual man does not know what evil is. He scarcely believes that any other evils exist than actions contrary to the Ten Commandments. Of evils present in affection and thought, which are countless, he has no knowledge nor does he reflect on them or call them evils. All delights whatever that go with evil desires and pleasures he does not regard as other than good; and the actual delights that are part of self-love he both pursues, approves of, and excuses, without knowing that such things have an effect on his spirit and that he becomes altogether such in the next life.

[6] From this it is in a similar way clear that although the whole of the Word deals with scarcely any other matter than the good which goes with love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour, the spiritual man does not know that that good is the sum and substance of faith, nor even what the essential nature of love and charity is. It is also clear that though something which is a matter of faith may be known to him - faith being considered by him to be essential in itself - he nevertheless discusses whether it is true, unless he has been confirmed by much experience of life. Those who are celestial do not discuss the same because they know and have a perception that it is true hence the Lord's statement in Matthew,

Let your words be, Yes, yes; No, no; anything beyond this is from evil. 1 Matthew 5:37.

For those who are celestial are immersed in the truth itself about which those who are spiritual dispute. Consequently because those who are celestial are immersed in the truth itself, they are able to see from it numberless facets of that truth, and so from light to see so to speak heaven in its entirety. But those who are spiritual, because they dispute whether it is true, cannot - so long as they do so - arrive at the remotest boundary of the light existing with those who are celestial, let alone behold anything from their light.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. or from the evil one

  
/ 10837  
  

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