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Ezekiel 38

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1 And the word of Jehovah was unto me, saying,

2 Son of man, set thy face to Gog, the land of Magog, the chief, the head of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,

3 and say, Thus says the Lord Jehovih*; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief, the head of Meshech and Tubal:

4 and I will turn· thee ·back, and put hooks into thy cheeks, and I will bring· thee ·out, and all thy host, horses and horsemen, all of them perfectly clothed, an assembly of many with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:

5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Put with them; all of them with shield and helmet;

6 Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north flanks, and all his bands; and many people with thee.

7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thine assembly that are assembled unto thee, and be thou for a guard to them.

8 After many days thou shalt be visited; in the later years thou shalt come to the land that is returned from the sword, and is brought·​·together out·​·of many peoples, on the mountains of Israel, which have been continually wasted; but she is brought·​·out from the peoples, and they shall dwell securely, all of them.

9 And thou shalt go·​·up as vastation, thou shalt come, as a cloud to cover the land thou shalt be, thou, and all thy bands, and many peoples with thee.

10 Thus says the Lord Jehovih: It shall be, in that day that the words come·​·up in thy heart, and thou shalt think an evil thought;

11 and thou shalt say, I will go·​·up on the land of the countryside; I will come to those who are quiet, who dwell securely, all of them dwelling with no walls, and there are no bars and doors for them,

12 to spoil for spoil, and to plunder for plunder; to return thy hand on the wastes that are dwelt·​·in, and to the people gathered from the nations, who have worked with livestock and substance, who dwell upon the navel* of the land.

13 Sheba, and Dedan, and the traders of Tarshish, and all her young·​·lions, shall say to thee, Art thou come to spoil a spoil? hast thou assembled thine assembly to plunder a plunder, to lift silver and gold, to take livestock and substance, to spoil a great spoil?

14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus says the Lord Jehovih; In that day when My people of Israel dwells securely, shalt thou not know it?

15 And thou shalt come from thy place out·​·of the north flanks, thou, and many peoples with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great assembly, and a host of many:

16 and thou shalt come·​·up against My people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against My land, in·​·order·​·that the nations may know Me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.

17 Thus says the Lord Jehovih: Art thou he of whom I have spoken in ancient days by the hand of My servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days for years that I would bring thee against them?

18 And it shall be in that day, in the day Gog shall come against the ground of Israel, says the Lord Jehovih, that My fury shall go·​·up in My anger.

19 And in My zeal, in the fire of My wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great quaking upon the ground of Israel;

20 and the fish of the sea, and the fowls of the heavens, and the animals of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the ground, and all of man who is upon the face of the ground, shall quake before My face, and the mountains shall be broken·​·down, and the stairs shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the earth.

21 And I will call for a sword against him throughout all My mountains, says the Lord Jehovih; a man’s sword shall be against his brother.

22 And I will judge against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many peoples that are with him, an overflowing shower, and great·​·hail stones, fire and sulfur.

23 And I will magnify Myself, and sanctify Myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am Jehovah.

   


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

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Arcana Coelestia # 2446

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2446. 'Brimstone' means the hell of the evils of self-love, and 'fire' the hell of falsities deriving from these. This is clear from the meaning in the Word of 'brimstone' and of 'fire' produced by it as self-love together with its evil desires and derivative falsities, and so as hell, for hell consists of such. That 'brimstone' and 'fire' have these meanings is clear in David,

Jehovah will rain on the wicked, snares, fire and brimstone. Psalms 11:6.

The fact that it is not fire or brimstone but something else that is meant here by 'fire and brimstone' becomes clear also from its being said that 'Jehovah will rain snares'. In Ezekiel,

I will dispute with him with pestilence and blood; and deluging rain and hailstones, fire and brimstone will I rain on him and on his hordes, and on the many peoples that are with him. Ezekiel 38:22.

This refers to Gog who lays waste the land of Israel, that is, the Church. What Gog is, see 1151. 'Fire' stands for falsities, 'brimstone' for derivative evils, and at the same time for the hells of those who lay waste. In John,

Those who worshipped the beast were thrown into the lake burning with brimstone. Revelation 19:20.

Here they stand for hell. In the same book,

The devil was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. Revelation 20:10.

Here they plainly stand for hell. In the same book,

As for abominable people, and murderers, and adulterers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their lot will be in the lake burning with fire and brimstone. Revelation 21:8.

Here also 'fire and brimstone' plainly stands for hell.

[2] That these two stand for the evils of self-love and for falsities deriving from these, in which the hells have their origin, is seen in Isaiah,

The day of Jehovah's vengeance - the year of retributions in the controversy of Zion - and her streams will be turned into pitch, and her dust into brimstone, and her land will become burning pitch. Isaiah 34:8-9.

Here 'burning pitch', mentioned instead of fire, stands for dense and dreadful falsities, 'brimstone' for evils which are the product of self-love. In the same prophet,

Its pyre is fire and much wood; the breath of Jehovah is like a stream of burning brimstone in it. Isaiah 30:33.

In this reference to Tophet, 'a stream of burning brimstone' stands for falsities which are the product of the evils of self-love. In Luke,

On the day Lot went out of Sodom fire and brimstone rained from heaven and destroyed them all - so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. Luke 17:29-30.

[3] Anyone may see that it is not fire and brimstone that will rain down at that time but that the falsities and desires of self-love, which are meant by 'fire and brimstone' and which make up hell, will be predominant. 'Fire' in the Word means evil desires and at the same time the hells, in which case the smoke from the fire means falsity which arises from and exists in those hells, see 1861. And in John,

I saw horses in the vision, and those seated on them had breastplates of fire and of brimstone. And the heads of the horses were like lions' heads, and out of their mouths there went forth fire, smoke, and brimstone. By these three a third part of mankind was killed - by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone. Revelation 9:17-18.

'Fire, smoke, and brimstone' stands for evils and falsities of every kind, in which, as stated, the hells have their origin.

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