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Jóel 2

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1 Fújjátok a kürtöt a Sionon, és rivalgjatok az én szent hegyemen! Rémüljenek meg e föld minden lakói; mert eljõ az Úrnak napja; mert közel van [az.]

2 Sötétségnek és homálynak napja; felhõnek és borulatnak napja; mint a hegyekre ráterülõ alkonyat! Nagy és hatalmas nép, a milyen nem volt öröktõl fogva és nem is lesz utána többé, nemzetségrõl nemzetségre.

3 Elõtte tûz emészt, utána láng lobog; elõtte a föld olyan, mint az Éden kertje, utána pedig kietlen pusztaság; meg sem menekülhet tõle semmi.

4 A milyen a lovak alakja, olyan annak alakja, és száguldoznak, mint a lovasok.

5 Rohannak a hegyek tetején, mintha hadi szekerek robognának; mintha tarlót emésztõ láng ropogna; a milyen az ütközetre kész hatalmas nép.

6 Elrémülnek tõle a népek; minden arcz elsáppad.

7 Száguldoznak, mint a hõsök, felhágnak a kõfalakra, mint a bajnokok; mindenik a maga útján halad, nem bontják meg soraikat.

8 Egymást nem szorongatják; mindenik a maga útján halad; néki rohannak a fegyvernek, és nem esik seb rajtok.

9 Betörnek a városba, futkároznak a kõfalon, felhágnak a házakra, betörnek az ablakokon, mint a tolvaj.

10 Reszket elõttök a föld, és megrendülnek az egek; a nap és hold elsötétednek, a csillagok is bevonják fényöket.

11 És megzendül az Úrnak szava az õ serege elõtt, mert felette nagy az õ tábora; mert hatalmas az õ rendeletének végrehajtója. Bizony nagy az Úrnak napja és igen rettenetes! Ki állhatja ki azt?

12 De még most is így szól az Úr: Térjetek meg hozzám teljes szívetek szerint; bõjtöléssel is, sírással is, kesergéssel is.

13 És szíveteket szaggassátok meg, ne ruháitokat, úgy térjetek meg az Úrhoz, a ti Istenetekhez; mert könyörülõ és irgalmas õ; késedelmes a haragra és nagy kegyelmû, és bánkódik a gonosz miatt.

14 Ki tudja, hátha visszatér és megbánja, és áldást hagy maga után; étel- és italáldozatot az Úrnak, a ti Isteneteknek?!

15 Fújjatok kürtöt a Sionon; szenteljetek bõjtöt, hirdessetek gyûlést!

16 Gyûjtsétek össze a népet, szenteljétek meg a gyülekezetet; hívjátok egybe a véneket, gyûjtsétek össze a kisdedeket és a csecsszopókat; menjen ki a võlegény az õ ágyasházából és a menyasszony is az õ szobájából.

17 A tornácz és az oltár között sírjanak a papok, az Úr szolgái, és mondják: Légy kegyelmes, oh Uram, a te népedhez, és ne bocsásd szidalomra a te örökségedet, hogy uralkodjanak rajtok a pogányok. Miért mondanák a népek között: Hol az õ Istenök?

18 Erre buzgó lõn az Úrnak szeretete az õ földe iránt, és kegyelmezett az õ népének.

19 És választ tõn az Úr, és mondá az õ népének: Ímé, adok néktek gabonát, bort és olajat, hogy megelégedtek vele, és nem adlak többé titeket szidalomra a pogányok között.

20 Az északi [népet] is elûzöm tõletek, és puszta és sivatag vidékre vetem azt; elejét a keleti tengerbe, hátulját a nyugoti tengerbe, és bûze magasra száll; felszáll büdössége, mert nagy dolgokat cselekedett.

21 Ne félj, te föld! Örülj és vígadozz, mert nagy dolgokat cselekeszik az Úr!

22 Ne féljetek, ti mezei vadak! mert zöldülnek a pusztának virányai; mert a fa megtermi gyümölcsét; a füge és szõlõ is kitárják gazdagságukat.

23 Ti is, Sionnak fiai! örvendezzetek és vígadjatok az Úrban, a ti Istenetekben; mert megadja néktek az esõt igazság szerint, és korai és kései esõt hullat néktek az elsõ [hónapban.]

24 És megtelnek a csûrök gabonával, és bõven öntik a sajtók a mustot és az olajat.

25 És kipótolom néktek az esztendõket, a melyeket tönkre tett a szöcskõ, a cserebogár és a hernyó és a sáska; az én nagy seregem, a melyet reátok küldöttem.

26 És esztek bõven és megelégesztek, és magasztaljátok az Úrnak, a ti Isteneteknek nevét, a ki csodálatosan cselekedett veletek, és soha többé nem pironkodik az én népem.

27 És megtudjátok, hogy az Izráel között vagyok én, és hogy én vagyok az Úr, a ti Istenetek és nincs más! És soha többé nem pironkodik az én népem.

28 És lészen azután, hogy kiöntöm lelkemet minden testre, és prófétálnak a ti fiaitok és leányaitok; véneitek álmokat álmodnak; ifjaitok pedig látomásokat látnak.

29 Sõt még a szolgákra és szolgálóleányokra is kiöntöm azokban a napokban az én lelkemet.

30 És csodajeleket mutatok az égen és a földön; vért, tüzet és füstoszlopokat.

31 A nap sötétséggé válik, a hold pedig vérré, minekelõtte eljõ az Úrnak nagy és rettenetes napja.

32 De mindaz, a ki az Úrnak nevét hívja segítségül, megmenekül; mert a Sion hegyén és Jeruzsálemben lészen a szabadulás, a mint megigérte az Úr, és a megszabadultak közt lesznek azok, a kiket elhí az Úr!

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 9987

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9987. 'And this is the word which you shall do to them' means a law of order. This is clear from the meaning of 'the word' as Divine Truth, and consequently a law of order, dealt with below. The ordinary meaning of 'word' is an expression spoken by the mouth, or utterance; and since utterance is thought taking place in the mind which is expressed by means of vocal sounds, 'word' also means a thing that is being thought about. This explains why in the original language whatever comes into actual being and is indeed something is called 'a word'. But a grander meaning of 'word' is Divine Truth, because the source of all that comes into being and is indeed something is Divine Truth. This accounts for the statement in David,

By the Word of Jehovah were the heavens made, and all their host by the Spirit of His mouth. Psalms 33:6.

Here 'the Word of Jehovah' is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord; 'the Spirit of Jehovah's mouth' is the life brought by His Truth; and 'the heavens' made by His Word, also 'all their host', are angels, to the extent that they are recipients of Divine Truth. The reason why angels are meant by 'the heavens' is that they constitute heaven. Furthermore, since angels are recipients of Divine Truth, Divine Truths coming from the Lord are meant by them in the abstract sense, see 8192; and in that same sense 'the host of the heavens' means Divine Truths, 3448, 7236, 7988.

[2] From this it becomes clear what 'the Word' means in John,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory. John 1:1, 3, 14.

Here it is self-evident that the Word is used to mean the Lord, for it says that the Word became flesh. The Lord is the Word because while He was in the world the Lord was Divine Truth itself; and since His departure from the world Divine Truth has emanated from Him, see the places referred to in 9199 (end), 9315 (end).

[3] In the highest sense the Word is the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, or what amounts to the same thing, the Word is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord. This is clear from very many places, for example in David,

They cried out to Jehovah, and He sent His Word and healed them. Psalms 107:19-20.

In John,

You do not have the Father's word abiding in you, because the One whom He has sent, Him you do not believe; nor are you willing to come to Me that you may have life. John 5:38, 40.

In the same gospel,

I have given them Your word; therefore the world hates them. Sanctify them in Your truth; Your word is truth. John 17:14, 17.

And in the Book of Revelation,

The One seated on the white horse was clothed in a garment dyed with blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And on His garment and on His thigh He had a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. Revelation 19:13, 16.

From these and many other places it is clear that Divine Truth emanating from the Lord is meant by 'the Word', and in the highest sense the Lord in respect of Divine Truth; for it says that the name of the One seated on the white horse is The Word of God, and that He is King of kings and Lord of lords. And since the Word is Divine Truth it says that He was clothed in a garment dyed with blood, for 'garment' means truth, 9952, and 'blood' truth from good, 9393. For a fuller explanation of these things, see 2760-2762.

[4] This now explains why every truth that comes from God is called His word, as in Joel,

Jehovah uttered His voice before His army, His camp is exceedingly great; for those who execute His word are uncountable. Joel 2:11.

'The voice' which Jehovah utters is the truth from God, 9926, Jehovah's 'camp' is heaven, 4236, 8193, 8196, from which it is evident that 'those who execute His word are uncountable' means those who do God's truth. In Matthew,

[As for the one] who hears the word of the kingdom and does not give heed to it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. [The one] who has been sown on stony ground is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root. [The one] who is sown among thorns is he who hears the word but the cares of this world 1 and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word. [The one] who is sown in good soil is he who hears the word and gives heed to it, and consequently bears fruit. Matthew 13:19-23.

It is evident without explanation that 'the word' here is God's truth. The expression 'the word of the kingdom' is used because it is the truth that is heaven and the Church's; for 'the kingdom' means heaven and the Church.

[5] From all this it becomes clear that 'words' means Divine Truths that come from the Lord, as in John,

The words that I speak to you, they are spirit and they are life. John 6:63.

Therefore also the ten commandments are called Ten Words in Exodus 34:28. The reason why 'the word' is a law of order is that Divine Truth emanating from the Lord brings order to the heavens, to such an extent that it constitutes order there. Consequently the laws of heavenly order consist of Divine Truths, see 1728, 1919, 2258, 2447, 4839, 5703, 7995, 8513, 8700, 8988. The law of order meant by 'the word' in this chapter is the manner in which the Lord glorified His Human, that is, made it Divine. This is the subject here in the internal sense, the subject in the relative sense consequently being human regeneration, since human regeneration is an image of the glorification of the Lord, 3138, 3212, 3245, 3246, 3296, 4402, 5688. The reason why this in particular is a law of order is that the Lord's Divine Human constitutes order in the heavens and everyone who is being regenerated is being remade to conform to that order. Those therefore with whom that order exists abide in the Lord.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. literally, the age

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

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Arcana Coelestia # 1326

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1326. That 'therefore He called the name of it Babel' means such worship, namely that meant by 'Babel', is clear from what has been stated so far - about worship which inwardly contains self-love and therefore everything that is filthy and unholy. Self-love is nothing else than the proprium, and how filthy and unholy this is becomes clear from what has been shown already about the proprium in 210, 215. From philautia, 1 that is, from self-love or the proprium, flow all evils, such as those of hatred, revenge, cruelty, adultery, deceit, hypocrisy, and irreligion. Consequently when self-love or the proprium is present in worship, such evils are present too - but the particular kind of evils and their intensity being determined by the extent and nature of what flows from that self-love. This is the origin of all profanation in worship. The fact of the matter is that insofar as self-love or the proprium introduces itself into worship, internal worship departs, that is, internal worship ceases to exist. Internal worship consists in the affection for good and in the acknowledgement of truth, but to the extent that self-love or the proprium intrudes or enters in, the affection for good and the acknowledgement of truth depart or go away. Holiness cannot possibly co-exist with unholiness, any more than heaven can with hell. Instead one must depart from the other. Such is the state and proper order existing in the Lord's kingdom. This is the reason why among the kind of people whose worship is called 'Babel' no internal worship exists, but instead something dead and indeed inwardly corpse-like is worshipped. This shows what their external worship which is inwardly such is like.

[2] That such worship is 'Babel' is clear from many parts of the Word where Babel is described, as in Daniel, where the description of the statue which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel saw in a dream - whose head was gold, breast and arms silver, belly and thighs bronze, legs iron, and feet partly iron and partly clay - means that true worship finally deteriorated into the kind of worship called 'Babel', and therefore also a stone cut out of the rock smashed the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold, Daniel 2:31-33, 44-45. The statue of gold which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel set up, and which people were to adore, had no other meaning, Daniel 3:1-end. The same applies to the description of the king of Babel with his nobles drinking wine from the vessels of gold that had come from the Temple in Jerusalem, of their praising the gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, and stone, and of writing therefore appearing on the wall, Daniel 5:1-end; to the description of Darius the Mede commanding that he be adored instead of God, Daniel 6:1-end; and to that of the beasts seen by Daniel in a dream, Daniel 7:1-end, as well as to that of the beasts and Babel in John's Revelation.

[3] That such worship was meant and represented is quite clear not only in Daniel and John but also in the Prophets: in Isaiah,

Their faces were faces of flames; the stars of the heavens and their constellations do not give their light The sun is darkened in its coming up and the moon does not shed its light Tziim lie down there, and their houses are full of ochim, and daughters of the owl dwell there, and satyrs dance there, and iim answer in its palaces, and dragons in its halls of pleasure. Isaiah 13:8, 10, 21-22

This refers to Babel and describes the internal aspect of such worship by 'faces of flames', which are evil desires; by 'the stars', which are truths of faith, 'not giving their light'; by 'the sun', which is holy love, 'being darkened'; by 'the moon', which is the truth of faith, 'not shedding its light'; by 'tziim, ochim, daughters of the owl, satyrs, dim, and dragons', which are the more interior aspects of worship. For such things belong to self-love or the proprium. This also is why Babel in John is called 'the mother of whoredoms and abominations', Revelation 17:5; and in the same book,

A dwelling-place of demons, 2 and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird. Revelation 18:2.

From these places it is evident that when such things are within, it is impossible for any good or truth of faith to be there, and that to the extent that those things enter in, the goods which are the objects of affection, and the truths of faith, depart. They are also called in Isaiah 21:9 'the graven images of the gods of Babel'.

[4] That it is self-love or the proprium which lies within their worship, or that it is worship of self, is quite clear in Isaiah,

Prophesy this parable against the king of Babel, You said in your heart, I will go up the heavens, above the stars of God I will raise my throne, and I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the uttermost parts of the north. I will go up above the heights of the cloud, I will make myself like the Most High. But you will be brought down to hell. Isaiah 14:4, 13-15.

Here, it is plain, Babel means the person who wishes to be worshipped as a god, that is, worship of self is meant.

[5] In the same prophet,

Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babel; sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans. You trusted in your wickedness, you said, No one sees me. Your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray; you said in your heart, I am, and there is no one besides me. Isaiah 47:1, 10.

In Jeremiah,

Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, destroying the whole earth; and I will stretch out My hand over you and roll you down from the rocks and will make you into a mountain of burning. Though Babel rise up into the heavens, and though she fortify the height of her strength, yet from Me those who lay waste will come to her. Jeremiah 51:25, 53.

This again shows that 'Babel' is worship of self.

[6] The fact that such people have no light of truth, but only total darkness, that is, that they do not possess the truth of faith, is described in Jeremiah,

The word which Jehovah spoke against Babel, against the land of the Chaldeans, There will come up upon her a nation from the north, which will make her land a desolation, and none will dwell in it; both man and beast will scatter themselves, they will go away. Jeremiah 50:1, 3.

'The north' stands for thick darkness, or absence of truth. 'No man and no beast' stands for the absence of good. For more about Babel, see at verse 28 3 below, where Chaldea is referred to.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. A Greek word, also used in late Medieval or Neo-Latin, which means self-love, self-regard.

2. The Latin means dragons, but the Greek means demons, which Swedenborg has in other pieces where he quotes this verse.

3. i.e. 1368

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