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Ezekiel 21

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1 6 And the word of Jehovah was to me, saying,

2 7 Son of man, set thy face toward Jerusalem, and cause thy word to drop·​·down toward the sanctuaries, and prophesy to the ground of Israel,

3 8 and say to the ground of Israel, Thus says Jehovah; Behold, I am against thee, and will bring·​·out My sword from its sheath, and will cut·​·off from thee the just and the wicked.

4 9 Because I will cut·​·off from thee the just and the wicked, therefore shall My sword go·​·out from its sheath to all flesh from south to north.

5 10 And all flesh shall know that I, Jehovah, have brought·​·out My sword from its sheath; it shall not return any·​·more.

6 11 And sigh, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy loins; and with bitterness sigh before their eyes.

7 12 And it shall be, that they shall say to thee, Over what dost thou sigh? And thou shalt say, For the report, that it comes; and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be·​·slack, and every spirit shall be·​·dim, and all knees shall go as water: behold, it comes, and shall be, says the Lord Jehovih*.

8 13 And the word of Jehovah was unto me, saying,

9 14 Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says Jehovah: say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also is·​·furbished;

10 15 so·​·that it is sharpened to butcher a butchering; so·​·that it is furbished so·​·that it may have lightning; or we have·​·joy in the scepter of My son, rejecting every tree.

11 16 And He has given it to be·​·furbished, to lay·​·hold of in the palm of the hand; this sword is sharpened, and it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the killer.

12 17 Cry and howl, son of man; for it shall be upon My people, it shall be upon all the chiefs of Israel: hurlings to the sword shall be with My people; slap therefore upon the thigh.

13 18 For it is a test; and what if the sword reject even the scepter? It shall not be, says the Lord Jehovih.

14 19 And thou, son of man, prophesy, and smite palm to palm*, and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the slain; it is the sword of the great who are slain, penetrating* to them in their chambers.

15 20 In·​·order·​·to dissolve the heart and to multiply the stumblingblocks, against all their gates I have given the point of the sword. Ah, it is made into lightning, sharpened for the butchering!

16 21 Unite thyself to turn·​·right; set thyself to turn·​·left, wherever thy faces congregate.

17 22 And even I will smite My palm to my palm, and I will cause My fury to rest; I, Jehovah, have spoken.

18 23 And the word of Jehovah was unto me, saying,

19 24 And thou son of man, set for thee two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to come; from one land shall the two of them go·​·out: and cut·​·down a space, at the head of the way of the city, cut· it ·down.

20 25 Thou shalt set a way for the sword to come to Rabbath of the sons of Ammon, and to Judah into Jerusalem the fortified.

21 26 For the king of Babylon stood at the parting* of the way, at the head of the two ways, to divine with divination; he was·​·swift with his arrows, asking of the teraphim, he saw into the liver.

22 27 At his right·​·hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to set rams, to open the mouth with murder, to lift·​·up the voice with shouting, to set rams against the gates, to pour·​·out an embankment, to build a ramp.

23 28 And it shall be to them as vain divining in their eyes of those who have promised promises to them; but He will bring·​·to·​·remembrance the iniquity of those who are caught.

24 29 Therefore thus says the Lord Jehovih: Because you have caused your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are revealed, so that in all your actions your sins are seen; because, I say, that you are remembered, you shall be caught in the palm of the hand.

25 30 And thou, the slain wicked one, the chief of Israel, whose day has come, in the time of iniquity it is the end.

26 31 Thus says the Lord Jehovih, Remove the miter, and lift·​·up the crown; this shall not be this; the low shall be made·​·lofty, and the lofty shall be made·​·low.

27 32 Upside·​·down, upside·​·down, upside·​·down, I will set it; even this shall not be, until He come who has the judgment; and I will give it.

28 33 And thou, son of man, prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord Jehovih to the sons of Ammon, and to their reproach; and say, The sword, the sword is exposed, it is·​·furbished for the butchering, to eat·​·up for the sake of the lightning;

29 34 when they behold vanity for thee, when they divine a lie unto thee, to put thee upon the necks of the slain, of the wicked, whose day is come; in the time of their iniquity it is the end.

30 35 Shall I cause it to return into its sheath? I will judge thee in the place where thou wast created, in the land of thy negotiations.

31 36 And I will spill·​·out My indignation upon thee, I will puff against thee in the fire of My wrath, and give thee into the hand of burning men, craftsmen of corruption.

32 37 Thou shalt be for food for the fire; thy blood shall be in the midst of the land; thou shalt not be remembered; for I, Jehovah, have spoken.

   


Thanks to the Kempton Project for the permission to use this New Church translation of the Word.

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Apocalypse Revealed # 52

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52. And issuing from His mouth a sharp two-edged sword. This symbolizes a dispersion of falsities by the Lord by means of the Word and doctrine drawn from it.

Swords are often mentioned in the Word, and they symbolize nothing else than truth combating falsities and destroying them. In an opposite sense they also symbolize falsity combating truths. For wars in the Word symbolize spiritual wars, which are those of truth against falsity, and of falsity against truth. Therefore the weapons of war symbolize the means by which the combat is carried on in these wars.

It is apparent that the sword here means a dispersion of falsities by the Lord, because it was seen to issue from His mouth, and to issue from the Lord's mouth is to do so from the Word, for the Lord spoke it with His mouth. Furthermore, because the Word is understood by means of doctrine drawn from it, this too is symbolically meant.

It is called a sharp two-edged sword because it pierces the heart and soul.

[2] To show that the sword here means a dispersion of falsities by the Lord by means of the Word, we will cite some passages which mention a sword, from which the reality of this can be seen. Namely:

A sword against... Babylon, ...her princes and her wise men! A sword against the liars, that they may become fools! A sword against her mighty men, that they may be dismayed! A sword against her horses and her chariots...! A sword against her treasures, that they may be plundered! A drought upon her waters, that they may be dried up! (Jeremiah 50:35-38)

The subject here is Babylon, and by it are meant people who falsify and adulterate the Word. Consequently the liars who are to become fools, the horses and chariots with a sword upon them, and the treasures that will be plundered symbolize their doctrinal falsities. The waters that will have a drought upon them that they may be dried up symbolize truths, as may be seen just above in no. 50.

[3] ...prophesy and say..., "A sword... is sharpened and also polished! Sharpened to make a great slaughter... Let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the slain, a sword for a great slaughter, piercing the innermost recesses, that... stumbling blocks may be multiplied." (Ezekiel 21:9-15, 19-20)

A sword here means also the laying waste of truth in the church.

Jehovah will contend... with His sword against all flesh, and the slain by Jehovah shall be multiplied. (Isaiah 66:16)

Here and elsewhere in the Word, the slain by Jehovah are what people are called who perish as a result of falsities.

On all the desolate heights in the wilderness the plunderers have come, ...the sword of Jehovah devouring from one end of the land to the other. (Jeremiah 12:12)

At the peril of our lives we bring in our bread, because of the sword in the wilderness. (Lamentations 5:9)

Woe to the worthless shepherd who deserts the flock! A sword shall be against his arm and against his right eye. (Zechariah 11:17)

The sword against the shepherd's right eye is falsity in his intellect.

...the sons of men are set on fire..., their tongue a sharp sword. (Psalms 57:4)

Behold, they belch with their mouth; a sword is in their lips. (Psalms 59:7)

(The workers of iniquity) sharpen their tongue like a sword... (Psalms 64:3)

A sword has similar symbolic meanings elsewhere, as in Isaiah 13:15; 21:14-15; 37:6-7, 38; 31:7-8, Jeremiah 2:30; 5:12; 11:22; 14:13-18, Ezekiel 7:15; 32:10-12.

[4] It can be seen from this what the Lord meant by a sword in the following places:

(Jesus said that He did not come) to bring peace on the earth... but a sword. (Matthew 10:34)

(Jesus said,) ."..he who does (not) have a purse... and... knapsack..., let him sell his garments and buy (a sword)...." (The disciples) said, "Lord, look, here are two swords." And He said..., "It is enough." (Luke 22:36, 38)

...all who take the sword will perish by the sword. (Matthew 26:51-52)

Regarding the end of the age, Jesus says,

They will fall by the edge of the sword, and be taken captive among all the nations. And (finally) Jerusalem will be trampled... (Luke 21:24)

The end of the age is the final period of the church. The sword is falsity destroying truth. The nations are evils. The Jerusalem which will be trampled is the church.

[5] It is apparent from this, now, that a sharp sword issuing from the mouth of the Son of Man symbolizes a dispersion of falsities by the Lord by means of the Word.

So, too, in the following places in the book of Revelation:

...to the one who sat on (the fiery red horse)...there was given... a great sword. (Revelation 6:4)

From the mouth (of Him who sat on the white horse) came a sharp sword, that with it He might strike the nations... ...the rest were killed with the sword... of Him who sat on the horse. (Revelation 19:15, 21)

He who sat on the white horse means the Lord in relation to the Word, something that is openly stated there in verses 13 and 16.

The like is meant in the book of Psalms:

Gird Your sword upon Your thigh, O Mighty One... ride upon the word of truth... Your arrows are sharp... (Psalms 45:3-5)

The subject is the Lord. Moreover, elsewhere:

Let the saints exult... and let a two-edged sword be in their hand. (Psalms 149:5-6)

And in Isaiah:

(Jehovah) has made My mouth like a sharp sword. (Isaiah 49:2)

  
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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.