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Jeremiah 17

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1 The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the nail of adamant*; it is inscribed* on the tablet of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars;

2 as their sons remember their altars and their groves by the green trees upon the tall hills.

3 O My mountain in the field, I will give thy belongings and all thy treasures for plunder, thy high·​·places are in sin, in all thy borders.

4 And thou shalt release thyself from thine inheritance that I gave to thee; and I will cause thee to serve thine enemies in the land which thou knowest not; for you have ignited a fire in My anger, which shall burn even·​·to eternity.

5 Thus says Jehovah: Cursed be the mighty·​·man who trusts in man, and sets flesh as his arm, and turns·​·aside his heart from Jehovah.

6 And he shall be as a naked shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes; but shall inhabit the blazing places in the wilderness, in a salty land and not dwelt·​·in.

7 Blessed is the mighty·​·man who trusts in Jehovah, and Jehovah is his trust.

8 And he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and by the river he shall send·​·out his roots, and shall not see when heat comes, but his leaf shall be green; and in the year of dearth he shall not be·​·anxious, and he shall not withdraw from making fruit.

9 The heart supplants above all, and it is desperate; who can·​·know it*?

10 I, Jehovah, search·​·out the heart, test the kidneys, even to give to each·​·man according·​·to his ways, according·​·to the fruit of his actions.

11 As the partridge gathers·​·together, and does not give·​·birth; so he who makes riches, but not by judgment, shall forsake them in half of his days, and at his latter end shall be a fool.

12 A high throne of glory from the first is the place of our sanctuary.

13 O Jehovah, the hope of Israel, all who forsake Thee shall be·​·ashamed, and they who turn·​·aside away from Me shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken Jehovah, the spring of living waters.

14 Heal me, O Jehovah, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved; for Thou art my praise.

15 Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of Jehovah? let it come now.

16 And as for me, I have not hurried to cease from shepherding in following after Thee; and I have not longed·​·for the desperate day; Thou knowest; that which goes·​·out of my lips was before Thee.

17 Be not a dismay unto me; Thou art my protection in the day of evil.

18 Let them be·​·ashamed that persecute me, but let me not be·​·ashamed; let· them ·be·​·dismayed, but let· me not ·be·​·dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and break them with double breaking.

19 Thus said Jehovah to me; Go and stand in the gate of the sons of the people, by which the kings of Judah come·​·in, and by which they Go·​·out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem;

20 and say to them, Hear ye the word of Jehovah, ye kings of Judah, and all of Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who come·​·in by these gates.

21 Thus says Jehovah: Take·​·heed for your souls, and lift no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem;

22 neither bring·​·out a burden from your houses on the Sabbath day, neither do ye any work*, but hallow ye the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.

23 But they hearkened not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck be·​·hard, that they might not hear, nor receive discipline.

24 And it shall be, if hearkening you hearken to Me, says Jehovah, not to bring a burden into the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but sanctify the Sabbath day, not to do any work in it;

25 then shall there come into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting on the throne of David, riding in the chariots and on the horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city shall dwell to eternity.

26 And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from all around Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the lowland, and from the mountain, and from the south, bringing burnt·​·offering, and sacrifice, and gift·​·offering, and frankincense, and bringing offerings of thanksgiving, to the house of Jehovah.

27 But if you will not hearken to Me to hallow the Sabbath day, and not lift a burden, also coming·​·in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in her gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be·​·quenched.

   


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

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Apocalypse Explained # 965

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965. Verse 3. And the second angel poured out his vial into the sea, signifies the state of the church manifested as to the knowledges of truth in the natural man. This is evident from the signification of "the angel pouring out the vial," as being the state of the church manifested (See above, n. 960, 961); also from the signification of the "sea," as being the generals of truth in the natural man (See n. 275, 342, 511, 876, 931, 934), here from the Word, the generals of truth from which are knowledges; therefore the "sea" signifies the natural man as to the knowledges of truth from the Word, also the knowledges of good therefrom, for the knowledges of good are also the knowledges of truth; for it is a truth to know that a thing is good, and that it is such a good; also to see by the understanding various goods and their differences, and their opposites which are called evils; these so far as they are knowledges are truths; nor are these essentially goods until they are felt as delightful or not delightful, that is, when they are perceived by some sense or from some love.

(Continuation: The Third Commandment)

[2] Now follows the third commandment, which is, to keep the sabbath holy.

The third and fourth commandments of the Decalogue contain things that must be done, namely, that the sabbath must be kept holy, and that parents must be honored. The other commandments contain things that are not to be done, namely, that other gods must not be worshiped; that the name of God must not be profaned; that one must not steal, must not commit adultery, must not bear false witness, must not covet the goods of others. These two commandments are commandments to be done, because the sanctification of the rest of the commandments depends upon these, for the "sabbath" signifies the union in the Lord of the Divine Itself and the Divine Human, also His conjunction with heaven and the church, and thus the marriage of good and truth with the man who is being regenerated. This being the signification of the sabbath, it was the chief representative of all things of worship in the Israelitish Church, as is evident in Jeremiah (Jeremiah 17:20-27), and elsewhere. It was the chief representative of all things of worship, because the first thing in all things of worship is the acknowledgment of the Divine in the Lord's Human, for without that acknowledgment man can believe and do only from self, and to believe from self is to believe falsities, and to do from self is to do evils, as is also evident from the Lord's words in John:

To those asking, What shall we do that we might work the works of God? Jesus said, This is the work of God, that ye believe in Him whom God hath sent (John 6:28, 29).

And in the same:

He that abideth in Me and I in him, the same beareth much fruit; for without Me ye can do nothing (John 15:5).

[3] That the sabbath represented that union and the holy acknowledgment of it, has been shown in many places in the Arcana Coelestia, namely, that the "sabbath" signified in the highest sense the union of the Divine Itself and the Divine Human in the Lord, in the internal sense the conjunction of the Lord's Human with heaven and with the church, in general the conjunction of good and truth, thus the heavenly marriage (n. 8495, 10356, 10730). Therefore the rest on the sabbath day signified the state of that union, because the Lord then has rest; also through that union there is peace and salvation in the heavens and on the earth. In a relative sense it signified the conjunction of man with the Lord, because man then has peace and salvation (n. 8494, 8510, 10360, 10367, 10370, 10374, 10668, 10730). The six days preceding the sabbath signified the labors and combats that precede union and conjunction (n. 8510, 8888, 9431, 10360, 10667).

[4] The man who is being regenerated is in two states, the first when he is in truths and by means of truths is being led to good and into good, the other when he is in good. When man is in the first state he is in combats or temptations; but when he is in the second state he is in the tranquility of peace. The former state is signified by the six days of labor that precede the sabbath; and the latter state is signified by the rest on the sabbath day (n. 9274, 9431, 10360). The Lord also was in two states; the first when He was Divine truth and from it fought against the hells and subjugated them, the other when He was made Divine good by union with the very Divine in Himself. The former state was signified in the highest sense by the six days of labor, and the latter by the sabbath (n. 10360). Because such things were represented by the sabbath it was the chief representative of worship, and the holiest of all (n. 10357, 10372). "To do work on the sabbath day" signified to be led not by the Lord but by self, thus to be disjoined (n. 7893, 8495, 10360, 10362, 10365). The sabbath day is not now representative, but is a day of instruction (n. 10360 at the end).

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for their permission to use this translation.

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Arcana Coelestia # 8495

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8495. 'A holy sabbath to Jehovah shall tomorrow be' means the joining together of goodness and truth into eternity. This is clear from the meaning of 'sabbath' as the joining together of goodness and truth, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'tomorrow' as into eternity, dealt with in 3998. Anyone who does not know what the sabbath represented, and what it was consequently a sign of, also cannot know why it was held to be the holiest institution of all. It was held to be the holiest because in the highest sense it represented the union of the Divine and the Divine Human within the Lord, and in the relative sense the joining together of the Lord's Divine Human and the human race. This is why the sabbath was the holiest. And since it represented those realities it also represented heaven in respect of the joining together of goodness and truth, that is, the joining together called the heavenly marriage. And since the joining together of goodness and truth is accomplished by the Lord alone and nothing at all of it by man, and since it is accomplished in a state of peace, people were most strictly forbidden to do any work on that day. The prohibition was so strict that the soul who did do any was to be cut off. This is stated in Moses as follows,

You shall keep the sabbath, for it is holy to you. He who profanes it must certainly die; for everyone who does work on that day, this soul shall be cut off from the midst of his people. Exodus 31:14.

This was why the one who merely gathered sticks on that day was stoned, Numbers 15:32-36. It is also why the command regarding the sabbath is the third of the Ten Commandments, coming immediately after the two regarding holy worship of Jehovah, Exodus 20:8; Deuteronomy 5:12. And it is why the sabbath is called 'an eternal covenant', Exodus 31:16; for 'a covenant' means a joining together, 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 6804.

[2] From all this one may now see what is meant in the internal sense by the things said about the sabbath in the following places, as in Isaiah,

Blessed is the person keeping the sabbath so that he does not profane it. Thus said Jehovah to the eunuchs who keep My sabbaths and choose that in which I delight, and hold fast to My covenant, I will give those in My house and within My walls a place and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an eternal name which will not be cut off. Whoever keeps the sabbath so that he does not profane it, and those who hold fast to My covenant, I will bring them onto My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Isaiah 56:2-7.

From these words it is evident that those who are joined to the Lord are meant by those who keep the sabbath holy. That they will be in heaven is meant by the promise that those in Jehovah's house will be given a place and a name better than sons and daughters, an eternal name which will not be cut off, and that they will be brought onto the holy mountain.

[3] In the same prophet,

If you turn away your foot from the sabbath, so that you do not do your own will on My holy day, but call the sabbath, Delights holy to Jehovah, honourable, and honour it, so that you do not do your own ways, nor find your own desire or speak [your own] words, then you will take delight in Jehovah, and I will convey you into the high places of the earth, and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob. Isaiah 58:13-14.

What was represented by the requirement that they should not do any work on the sabbath day is clearly evident here, namely that they must not do anything that begins in themselves, only what begins in the Lord. For the angelic state in heaven is such that they do not will or do, they do not even think or utter, anything that begins in themselves or what is properly their own. This is what their being joined to the Lord consists in. Not doing anything that begins in themselves is meant when it says that they should not do their own will, nor do their own ways, nor find their own desire, nor speak [their own] words. This state existing with the angels is the heavenly state itself; and when they are in it they experience peace and rest. Also the Lord has rest, for when they have been joined to Him their labour ceases; they now abide in the Lord. These things are meant by the words 'so shall you call the sabbath, Delights holy to Jehovah' and that they will take delight in Jehovah. The Lord's rest is meant where it says that after creating on six days 'He rested on the seventh day', Genesis 2:2.

[4] The same things are meant by the following words in Jeremiah,

If you most certainly hear Me, so that you do not bring a burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, and you keep the sabbath day holy, so that you do not do any work in it, then there will enter through the gates of this city kings and princes seated on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, the men (vir) of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And this city will be inhabited forever. Jeremiah 17:24-25

'Work on the sabbath' means everything that springs from the self. The state of people who are not led by self but by the Lord is what 'there will enter through the gates of the city kings and princes seated on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses' describes. 'Kings' means the truths of faith, 'princes' leading aspects of them, 'seated on the throne of David' the fact that they come from the Lord, and 'chariots and horses' religious teachings and intellectual concepts belonging to faith. It should be recognized that everything coming from a person's self is bad, and everything coming from the Lord is good. The fact that everything, in the case of those who are led by the Lord, flows in, down to the smallest particle of life in both their understanding and their will, thus down to every single part of the faith and charity they possess, see what has been shown abundantly from experience in 2886-2888, 6053-6058, 6189-6215, 6307-6327, 6466-6495, 6598-6626, 6982, 6985, 6996, 7004, 7055, 7056, 7058, 7147, 7270.

[5] As regards the sabbath and its being a representative of the joining together of the Lord and the human race, this is clear in Ezekiel,

I gave them My sabbaths, in order that they might be a sign between Me and them, to know that I am Jehovah who sanctifies them. Ezekiel 20:12.

See too Exodus 31:13. Therefore also it was forbidden to kindle fire on the sabbath day, Exodus 35:3, because 'fire' meant all that composed life, and 'kindling fire' that which composed life beginning from self. From all that has been stated it is evident that the Lord is Lord of the sabbath, in accordance with His words in Matthew 12:1-9. It is evident too why a large number of healings by the Lord were performed on sabbath days, Matthew 12:10-14; Mark 3:1-6; Luke 6:6-12; 13:10-17; 14:1-6; John 5:9-18; 7:22-23; 9:14, 16; for the sicknesses from which the Lord healed people involved spiritual sicknesses which exist as a result of evil, 7337, 8364.

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