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Joel 2

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1 Sound ye the shophar* in Zion, and blast on it in the mountain of My holiness; let all those who dwell in the land tremble, for the day of Jehovah comes, for it is near:

2 a day of darkness and of thick·​·darkness, a day of cloud and of dense·​·darkness, as the dawn spread on the mountains; a people, many and numerous; there has not been from eternity as this, and it shall not again be after it, even·​·to the years of generation and generation.

3 A fire devours before him, and behind him a flame sets·​·flame; for the land is as the garden of Eden before him, and behind him a desolate wilderness; and there shall not even be to him deliverance.

4 The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses, and as horsemen, so shall they run.

5 As the voice of chariots on the heads of mountains shall they skip, as the voice of a flame of fire that devours the stubble, as a numerous people set·​·in· battle ·array.

6 Before their face peoples shall travail; all faces shall bring·​·together a blackening.

7 They shall run as heroes; they shall go·​·up the wall as men of war; and they shall walk, as a man in his ways, and they shall not take their paths;

8 and a man shall not thrust·​·out his brother; as a mighty·​·man on his highway shall they walk; and against the sword they shall fall, and they shall not gain anything.

9 They shall jostle in the city; they shall run on the wall, they shall go·​·up on the houses; they shall come·​·in through the windows as a thief.

10 The earth shall tremble before them; the heavens shall quake; the sun and the moon shall be blackened, and the stars shall gather·​·in their brightness.

11 and Jehovah shall give forth His voice before His host, for His camp is very many, for they are numerous who do His word; for great is the day of Jehovah, and very fearful, and who will sustain it?

12 And even now, says Jehovah, return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with wailing,

13 and rend your heart, and not your garments, and return to Jehovah your God; for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, and of much mercy, and repents of the evil.

14 Who knows if He will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind Him, a gift·​·offering and a poured·​·offering to Jehovah your God?

15 Sound the shophar in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a day of restraint*.

16 gather the people, sanctify the assembly, bring·​·together the elders, gather the babes, and them who nurse at the breasts; let the bridegroom go·​·forth from his chamber, and the bride from her bridal·​·chamber.

17 Let the priests, the ministers of Jehovah, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare Thy people, O Jehovah, and give not Thine inheritance for a reproach, that the nations should rule them; why should they say among the peoples, Where is their God?

18 And will Jehovah be·​·zealous for His land, and have·​·pity on His people.

19 And Jehovah will answer and say to His people, Behold, I will send you the grain, and the must*, and the olive·​·oil, and you shall be satisfied with it; and I will no more put you as a reproach among the nations.

20 And the northerner I will cause to be·​·far·​·away from against you, and will expel him into a land arid and desolate, with his face toward the eastern sea, and his back* toward the sea behind, and his stink shall come·​·up, and his stench shall come·​·up, for he has become·​·great to do.

21 Fear not, O ground; Rejoice and be·​·glad, for Jehovah will become·​·great to do.

22 Fear not, ye beasts of the field, for your homes of the wilderness bring forth the tender·​·herb, for the tree bears its fruit, the fig·​·tree and the vine give their force.

23 And rejoice, ye sons of Zion, and be·​·glad in Jehovah your God; for He has given you the earlier·​·rain for justice, and He will cause the shower to come·​·down for you, the earlier·​·rain, and the later·​·rain in the first month.

24 And the threshing·​·floors shall be·​·full of grain, and the winepresses shall spill·​·over with must and olive·​·oil.

25 And I will repay to you the years that the locust, the grub, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm have eaten; My great force which I sent among you.

26 And eating you shall eat, and be satisfied, and praise the name of Jehovah your God, who has done wonders with you; and My people shall not be·​·ashamed to eternity.

27 And you shall know that I am in the midst·​·of Israel, and that I am Jehovah your God, and there is none else; and My people shall not be·​·ashamed to eternity.

28 3:1 And it shall be so afterwards, that I will spill·​·out My spirit on all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your elders shall dream dreams, your young·​·men shall see visions;

29 3:2 and also on the servants and on the handmaids in those days will I spill·​·out My spirit.

30 3:3 And I will put miracles in the heavens and in the earth: blood, and fire, and columns of smoke.

31 3:4 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the fearsome day of Jehovah shall come.

32 3:5 And it shall be, that for everyone who shall call on the name of Jehovah there shall be deliverance; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be an escape, as Jehovah has said, and among the survivors whom Jehovah shall call.

   


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

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Apocalypse Explained # 72

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72. Verse 16. And having in His right hand seven stars, signifies all knowledges of good and truth from Him. This is evident from the signification of "having in His right hand," as being from Him; for "hand" signifies power, thus it signifies whatever pertains to one, and so also whatever is from him. It is said "right hand," because "right hand" signifies the power of good through truth. (That "hand" signifies power, see Arcana Coelestia, n. Arcana Coelestia 878, 3091, 4931-4937, 6947, 10019; and consequently that it signifies whatever pertains to one, and so also whatever is from him, 9133, 10019, 10405; that the "right hand" signifies the power of good through truth, see n. 9604, 9736, 10061; and that "the right hand of Jehovah" signifies the Lord's Divine power, thus omnipotence, see n. 3387, 4592, 4933, 7518, 7673, 8281, 9133, 10019.) This is evident also from the signification of "stars," as being the knowledges of good and truth, of which more in what follows; and from the signification of "seven," as being all (See above, n. 20, 24).

[2] That "stars" signify the knowledges of good and truth, thus goods and truths, is from the appearance in the spiritual world; for there the Lord appears as a sun, and angels from afar off as stars. Angels appear thus from their reception of light from the Lord as a sun, thus from their reception of Divine truth, which is from the Lord, for this is the light of heaven. From this it is that it is said in Daniel:

The intelligent shall shine as the brightness of the expanse; and they that justify many, as the stars for ever and ever (Daniel 12:3).

The "intelligent" are they that are in truths, and "they that justify" are those that are in good (See the work on Heaven and Hell 346-348).

[3] When it is known to any that the "sun" signifies the Lord in respect to Divine love, thus also Divine love from the Lord, and that "stars" signify the truths of the church and knowledges thereof, these can also know what is signified in the Word where it is said that "the sun shall be darkened," and that "the stars shall not give light," also that they "shall fall from heaven;" and also what "stars" signify when mentioned elsewhere in the Word, as in the following passages. In Isaiah:

I will make the land a waste, and destroy the sinners thereof out of it; the stars of the heaven and the constellations thereof shall not shine forth with their light; the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not make bright her light (Isaiah 13:9-10).

The vastation of the church is here treated of, which is when there is no good of love any more, nor any truths of faith. The "land" that shall be laid waste is the church; the "land" is the church (as may be seen above, n. 29.

[4] In Ezekiel:

When I shall extinguish thee I will cover the heavens, and will make the stars dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not make her light to shine; all the luminaries of light will I make dark over thee, and I will set darkness upon the land (Ezekiel 32:7-8

"Darkness upon the land" means falsities in the church. In Joel:

The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars withdraw their brightness (Joel 2:10-11; 3:15).

In Matthew:

In the consummation of the age, after the affliction of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken (Matthew 24:29; Mark 13:24).

In Daniel:

From one of the horns of the he-goat went forth a horn, a little one, and it waxed exceeding great towards the south, and towards the east, and towards splendor; and it waxed great towards the host of the heavens; and some of the host and of the stars it cast down and trampled upon them. Yea, it magnified itself even to the Prince of the host (Daniel 8:9-11).

By the "host of the heavens" the goods and truths of the church in the complex are meant (See Arcana Coelestia 3448, 7236, 7988, 8019); in particular, such as combat against falsities (See n. 7277). From this Jehovah is called "Jehovah Zebaoth," that is, Jehovah of Hosts (See n. 3448, 7988).

[5] In Revelation:

The dragon with his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven to the earth (Revelation 12:4).

The "stars" here also are the goods and truths of the church, and the knowledges thereof; the "third part" is the greater part; but what is signified by the "dragon" will be told in what follows. In the same:

The stars of heaven fell unto the earth (Revelation 6:13).

In the same:

A star from heaven is fallen unto the earth (Revelation 9:1).

In the same:

There fell from heaven a great star burning as a torch; it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters (Revelation 8:10).

As "stars" signify the goods and truths of the church and the knowledges thereof, by their "falling from heaven" is signified that these perish. In David:

Jehovah telleth the number of the stars, He calleth them all by names (Psalms 147:4).

In the same:

Praise ye Jehovah, sun and moon; praise Him, all ye stars of light (Psalms 148:3).

In the book of Judges:

The kings came, they fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought (Judges 5:19-20).

Since the angels in the spiritual heaven shine as stars, and since all the truths and goods that are with the angels are from the Lord, therefore the Lord, as He is called an "Angel," is likewise called a "Star," as in Moses:

There shall arise a star out of Jacob, and a Scepter shall arise out of Israel (Numbers 24:17).

In Revelation:

Jesus, the bright and morning Star (Revelation 22:16).

From this it can be seen:

Why the wise men from the east saw a star, and followed it, and why it stood where Jesus had been born (Matthew 2:1-2, 9).

From this it can now be known what is signified by the "seven stars" that were in the right hand of the Son of man, who there is the Lord in respect to the Divine Human (See above, n. 63).

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