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Ezechiele 15

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1 E la parola dell’Eterno mi fu rivolta in questi termini:

2 "Figliuol d’uomo, il legno della vite che cos’è egli più di qualunque altro legno? che cos’è il tralcio ch’è fra gli alberi della foresta?

3 Se ne può egli prendere il legno per farne un qualche lavoro? Si può egli trarne un cavicchio da appendervi un qualche oggetto?

4 Ecco, esso è gettato nel fuoco, perché si consumi; il fuoco ne consuma i due capi, e il mezzo si carbonizza; è egli atto a farne qualcosa?

5 Ecco, mentr’era intatto, non se ne poteva fare alcun lavoro; quanto meno se ne potrà fare qualche lavoro, quando il fuoco l’abbia consumato o carbonizzato!

6 Perciò, così parla il Signore, l’Eterno: com’è fra gli alberi della foresta il legno della vite che io destino al fuoco perché lo consumi, così farò degli abitanti di Gerusalemme.

7 Io volgerò la mia faccia contro di loro; dal fuoco sono usciti, e il fuoco li consumerà; e riconoscerete che io sono l’Eterno, quando avrò vòlto la mia faccia contro di loro.

8 E renderò il paese desolato, perché hanno agito in modo infedele, dice il Signore, l’Eterno".

   

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Works

  

'Works,' as in Revelation 16:11, signify falsities of faith, and the resulting evils of life.

In Revelation, 'I know thy works,' is said frequently. This makes it clear that 'works' signify, generally, every aspect of the church.

'Works,' as in Genesis 46:33, denote goods, because they are from the will, and anything from the will is either good or evil, but anything from the understanding, like spoken words, are either truths or falsities.

In Genesis 2:2, the work signifies the celestial man, the highest use of God; or the accomplishment when the spiritual man becomes celestial. (Arcana Coelestia 84, 88)

In Exodus 5:9, work signifies assault for the purpose of subjugation. (Arcana Coelestia 7120)

In Genesis 39:11, it signifies the process when the Lord was conjoining Himself with spiritual good in the natural. (Arcana Coelestia 5004)

In Genesis 47:3; Psalms 8:3; 44:1; 63:12, works concern offices and uses which are done for the neighbor, the country, the church, and the Lord's kingdom.

In Exodus 5:4, work signifies that the people were not to be exempted from things that were hard to bear. (Arcana Coelestia 6073, Arcana Coelestia 7104)

In Revelation 2:2, works signify that the Lord sees man's exterior as well as his interior things. (Apocalypse Revealed 76)

In Revelation 2:6, it signifies that people do not want to claim personal merit. (Apocalypse Revealed 86)

In Revelation 2:19, 23, 26, it signifies all things of charity and faith. (Apocalypse Revealed 138, 141)

In Revelation 9:20, it signifies that they did not shun as sins their own things, which are evils of every kind. (Apocalypse Revealed 457)

(Odkazy: Arcana Coelestia 6048)


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Apocalypse Revealed # 86

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86. "'But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.'" (2:6) This symbolically means that owing to their truths they know this and therefore do not wish works to be merit-seeking, as this is contrary to the Lord's merit and righteousness.

That the deeds of the Nicolaitans are merit-seeking works is something I have been granted to know by revelation.

We are told that the people of this church hate those works, because the church knows this owing to the truths of its doctrine, and therefore does not will them, which is why the verse says, "But this you have."

Nevertheless, people who put truths of faith in first place, and goods of charity second, all do works that are merit-seeking. But not people who put goods of charity in first place. The reason is that genuine charity does not wish to be rewarded, as it loves to do good. For it is prompted by goodness, and acts out of goodness, and from goodness looks to the Lord, knowing from its truths that all good comes from the Lord. It is therefore averse to seeking reward.

Now because people who regard truths of faith in first place cannot help but do works that are merit-seeking, and yet know from their truths that such works are to be hated, therefore the present statement comes after their being told that if they do not have charity in first place, they do works that they ought to be averse to.

We say that it is contrary to the Lord's merit and righteousness, because those who place merit in their works claim righteousness for themselves. For they say that righteousness is on their side because they have earned it, even though it is the height of unrighteousness, as the Lord alone has merited it and He alone does the good in them.

That the Lord alone is righteous is taught in Jeremiah:

Behold, the days are coming... when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch... And this is His name by which He will be called: JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. (Jeremiah 23:5-6, cf. 33:15-16)

  
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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.