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Números 21

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1 Ora, ouvindo o cananeu, rei de Arade, que habitava no Negebe, que Israel vinha pelo caminho de Atarim, pelejou contra Israel, e levou dele alguns prisioneiros.

2 Então Israel fez um voto ao Senhor, dizendo: Se na verdade entregares este povo nas minhas mãos, destruirei totalmente as suas cidades.

3 O Senhor, pois, ouviu a voz de Israel, e entregou-lhe os cananeus; e os israelitas os destruíram totalmente, a eles e às suas cidades; e chamou-se aquele lugar Horma.

4 Então partiram do monte Hor, pelo caminho que vai ao Mar Vermelho, para rodearem a terra de Edom; e a alma do povo impacientou-se por causa do caminho.

5 E o povo falou contra Deus e contra Moisés: Por que nos fizestes subir do Egito, para morrermos no deserto? pois aqui não há pão e não há água: e a nossa alma tem fastio deste miserável pão.

6 Então o Senhor mandou entre o povo serpentes abrasadoras, que o mordiam; e morreu muita gente em Israel.

7 Pelo que o povo veio a Moisés, e disse: Pecamos, porquanto temos falado contra o Senhor e contra ti; ora ao Senhor para que tire de nós estas serpentes. Moisés, pois, orou pelo povo.

8 Então disse o Senhor a Moisés: Faze uma serpente de bronze, e põe-na sobre uma haste; e será que todo mordido que olhar para ela viverá.

9 Fez, pois, Moisés uma serpente de bronze, e pô-la sobre uma haste; e sucedia que, tendo uma serpente mordido a alguém, quando esse olhava para a serpente de bronze, vivia.

10 Partiram, então, os filhos de Israel, e acamparam-se em Obote.

11 Depois partiram de Obote, e acamparam-se em Ije-Abarim, no deserto que está defronte de Moabe, para o nascente.

12 Dali partiram, e acamparam-se no vale de Zerede.

13 E, partindo dali, acamparam-se além do Arnom, que está no deserto e sai dos termos dos amorreus; porque o Arnom é o termo de Moabe, entre Moabe e os amorreus.

14 Pelo que se diz no livro das guerras do Senhor: Vaebe em Sufa, e os vales do Arnom,

15 e o declive dos vales, que se inclina para a situação Ar, e se encosta aos termos de Moabe

16 Dali vieram a Beer; esse é o poço do qual o Senhor disse a Moisés: Ajunta o povo, e lhe darei água.

17 Então Israel cantou este cântico: Brota, ó poço! E vós, entoai-lhe cânticos!

18 Ao poço que os príncipes cavaram, que os nobres do povo escavaram com o bastão, e com os seus bordões. Do deserto vieram a Matana;

19 de Matana a Naaliel; de Naaliel a Bamote;

20 e de Bamote ao vale que está no campo de Moabe, ao cume de Pisga, que dá para o deserto.

21 Então Israel mandou mensageiros a Siom, rei dos amorreus, a dizer-lhe:

22 Deixa-me passar pela tua terra; não nos desviaremos para os campos nem para as vinhas; as águas dos poços não beberemos; iremos pela estrada real até que tenhamos passado os teus termos.

23 Siom, porém, não deixou Israel passar pelos seus termos; pelo contrário, ajuntou todo o seu povo, saiu ao encontro de Israel no deserto e, vindo a Jaza, pelejou contra ele.

24 Mas Israel o feriu ao fio da espada, e apoderou-se da sua terra, desde o Arnom até o Jaboque, até os amonitas; porquanto a fronteira dos amonitas era fortificada.

25 Assim Israel tomou todas as cidades dos amorreus e habitou nelas, em Hesbom e em todas as suas aldeias.

26 Porque Hesbom era a cidade de Siom, rei dos amorreus, que pelejara contra o precedente rei de Moabe, e tomara da mão dele toda a sua terra até o Arnom.

27 Pelo que dizem os que falam por provérbios: Vinde a Hesbom! edifique-se e estabeleça-se a cidade de Siom!

28 Porque fogo saiu de Hesbom, e uma chama da cidade de Siom; e devorou a Ar de Moabe, aos senhores dos altos do Arnom.

29 Ai de ti, Moabe! perdido estás, povo de Quemós! Entregou seus filhos como fugitivos, e suas filhas como cativas, a Siom, rei dos amorreus.

30 Nós os asseteamos; Hesbom está destruída até Dibom, e os assolamos até Nofá, que se estende até Medeba.

31 Assim habitou Israel na terra dos amorreus.

32 Depois Moisés mandou espiar a Jazer, e tomaram as suas aldeias e expulsaram os amorreus que ali estavam.

33 Então viraram-se, e subiram pelo caminho de Basã. E Ogue, rei de Basã, saiu-lhes ao encontro, ele e todo o seu povo, para lhes dar batalha em Edrei.

34 Disse, pois, o Senhor a Moisés: Não o temas, porque eu to entreguei na mão, a ele, a todo o seu povo, e à sua terra; e far-lhe-ás como fizeste a Siom, rei dos amorreus, que habitava em Hesbom.

35 Assim o feriram, a ele e seus filhos, e a todo o seu povo, até que nenhum lhe ficou restando; também se apoderaram da terra dele.

   

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Apocalypse Revealed # 468

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468. And his feet like pillars of fire. This symbolizes the Lord's Divinity on the natural plane in respect to His Divine love, which sustains all things.

This, too, is apparent, from the explanation in no. 49 above, where it is said of the Son of Man that "His feet were like fine brass, as though fired in a furnace."

The angel's feet looked like pillars of fire because the Lord's Divinity on the natural plane - which fundamentally is the Divine humanity that He took on in the world - supports His Divinity from eternity, as the body does the soul, and likewise as the Word's natural meaning supports its spiritual and celestial meanings, on which subject see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem Regarding the Sacred Scripture, nos. 27-49. To be shown that feet symbolize something natural, see no. 49, and a pillar something that supports, no. 191.

Fire symbolizes love because spiritual fire is nothing else. Therefore it is customary in worship to pray that heavenly fire, that is to say, heavenly love, may kindle the worshipers' hearts. People know that there is a correspondence between fire and love from the fact that a person grows warm with love, and cold with its loss. Nothing else produces vital warmth but love, in both senses. The origin of these correspondences is owing to the existence of two suns, one in the heavens, which is pure love, and the other in the world, which is nothing but fire. This, too, is the reason for the correspondence between all spiritual and natural things.

[2] Since fire symbolizes Divine love, therefore on Mount Horeb Jehovah appeared to Moses in a bush on fire (Exodus 3:1-3). Moreover He descended upon Mount Sinai in fire (Deuteronomy 4:36). For this reason, too, the seven lamps of the lampstand in the Tabernacle were lit every evening, so as to burn before Jehovah (Leviticus 24:2-4). For the same reason fire burned continually on the altar and was not extinguished (Leviticus 6:13), and the priests took fire from the altar in their censers and burned incense (Leviticus 16:12-13).

Therefore Jehovah went before the children of Israel by night in a pillar of fire (Exodus 13:21-22). Fire from heaven consumed the burnt offerings on the altar, as a sign of His being well pleased (Leviticus 9:24, 1 Kings 18:38). The burnt offerings were called offerings by fire to Jehovah, and offerings by fire for a restful aroma to Jehovah (Exodus 29:18; Leviticus 1:9, 13, 17; 2:2, 9-11; 3:5, 16; 4:35; 5:12; 7:30; 21:6; Numbers 28:2; Deuteronomy 18:1).

Therefore in the book of Revelation the Lord's eyes looked like a flame of fire (Revelation 1:14; 2:18; 19:12, cf. Daniel 10:5-6). And seven lamps of fire burned before the throne (Revelation 4:5).

It is apparent from this what lamps containing oil and lamps without oil symbolize (Matthew 25:1-11). The oil means fire, and thus love.

And so on in many other places.

In an opposite sense fire symbolizes hellish love, and this is plain from so many passages in the Word that it would be impossible to cite them all because of their number. See something on the subject in the book Heaven and Hell, published in London, nos. 566-575.

  
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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.

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Apocalypse Revealed # 295

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295. CHAPTER 6

1. Now I saw when the Lamb opened the first of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying, as though with a voice of thunder, "Come and see."

2. And I looked, and behold, a white horse. And he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

3. When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, "Come and see."

4. And another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, so that people might kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.

5. When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come and see." So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a scale in his hand.

6. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine."

7. When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, "Come and see."

8. So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with famine, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.

9. When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.

10. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, who are holy and true, will You not judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"

11. Then white robes were given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until the number of both their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was complete.

12. Then I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became as black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood.

13. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind.

14. Then the sky departed like a book rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.

15. And the kings of the earth and the great men, the rich men and the commanders, and the powerful, and every slave and every freeman, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains,

16. and they said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!

17. For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?"

THE SPIRITUAL MEANING

The Contents of the Whole Chapter

This describes the examination of those people on whom the Last Judgment would fall, and they were examined to see what understanding of the Word they had among them, and so what their state of life was. Some were found to possess truths springing from goodness (verses 1, 2); some to be without any goodness (verses 3, 4); some to have a contempt for the truth (verses 5, 6); and some to be utterly devastated and purged as regards both goodness and truth (verses 7, 8).

Described, too, is the state of people who, because of the evil, were protected by the Lord in a lower earth, who would be set free at the time of the Last Judgment (verses 9-11).

Also the state of people who were caught up in evils and so in falsities - what it would be like on the day of the Last Judgment (verses 12-17).

The Contents of the Individual Verses:

Verse ContentsSpiritual Meaning
1. Now I saw when the Lamb opened the first of the seals;An examination by the Lord of all those people on whom the Last Judgment would fall, as to their understanding of the Word and thus their states of life,
and I heard one of the four living creatures saying, as though with a voice of thunder,in accordance with the Divine truth in the Word.
"Come and see."A manifestation regarding the people first in order.
2. And I looked, and behold, a white horse.An understanding of truth and goodness from the Word among them.
And he who sat on it had a bow;Their having a doctrine of truth and goodness from the Word, from which they fought against falsities and evils emanating from hell.
and a crown was given to him,A token of their combat.
and he went out conquering and to conquer.Their victory over evils and falsities to eternity.
3. When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, "Come and see."The same here as before [verse 1].
4. And another horse, fiery red, went out.An understanding of the Word among them extinguished as to goodness and thus extinguished as regards their life.
And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth,The abolition of charity, of spiritual security, and of inner rest.
so that people might kill one another;Intestine hatreds, infestations by the hells, and inner anxieties.
and there was given to him a great sword.The destruction of truth by the falsities accompanying evil.
5. When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come and see."The same here as before [verse 1].
So I looked, and behold, a black horse,An understanding of the Word among them extinguished as to truth, thus extinguished as regards their doctrine.
and he who sat on it had a scale in his hand.Their valuation of goodness and truth, what it was like among them.
6. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying,The Divine protection of the Word by the Lord,
"A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius;because the value they placed on goodness and truth was so little as to be scarcely anything.
and do not harm the oil and the wine."The Lord's provision that they not violate and profane the goods and truths concealed inwardly in the Word.
7. When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, "Come and see."The same here as before [verse 1].
8. So I looked, and behold, a pale horse.An understanding of the Word extinguished as to both goodness and truth.
And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hell followed with him.The extinction of spiritual life and thus damnation.
And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to killThe destruction of all good in the church
with sword, with famine, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.by doctrinal falsities, by evil practices, by self-love, and by lusts.
9. When He opened the fifth seal,An examination by the Lord of the states of life of people who would be saved on the day of the Last Judgment, and who in the meantime were sequestered.
I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.People who, having been expelled by the evil because of their life in accordance with the Word's truths and their acknowledgment of the Lord's Divine humanity, were protected by the Lord to keep them from being led astray.
10. And they cried with a loud voice,Pain of heart
saying, "How long, O Lord, who are holy and true, will You not judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"over the fact that the Last Judgment was so long delayed, and that those who did violence to the Word and to the Lord's Divinity were not being removed.
11. Then white robes were given to each of them;A communication and conjunction of them with angels possessing Divine truths,
and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until the number of both their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was complete.that the Last Judgment would be delayed a little while longer, until those people should be gathered together who likewise were expelled by the evil.
12. Then I looked when He opened the sixth seal,An examination by the Lord of the states of life of people who were inwardly evil, on whom the Last Judgment would fall.
and behold, there was a great earthquake;The state of the church among them completely changed, and their terror.
and the sun became as black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood.All goodness of love was adulterated in them, and every truth of faith falsified.
13. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth,All concepts of goodness and truth were dispelled
as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind.by reasonings of the natural self divorced from the spiritual self.
14. Then the sky departed like a book rolled up,The people's separation from heaven and conjunction with hell.
and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.All goodness of love and truth of faith vanished.
15. And the kings of the earth and the great men, the rich men and the commanders, and the powerful, and every slave and every freeman,Those who before the separation had possessed an understanding of truth and good, a knowledge of their concepts, and learning, acquired from others or on their own, and yet who lacked a life in accordance with them,
hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains,were now caught up in evils and in the falsities accompanying evil.
16. and they said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!Affirmations of evil by falsities springing from evil, until they did not acknowledge anything of the Lord's Divinity.
17. For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?"They became of such a character of themselves as a result of their separation from good and faithful people, because of the Last Judgment, which they could not otherwise endure.

THE EXPOSITION

Now I saw when the Lamb opened the first of the seals. (6:1) This symbolizes an examination by the Lord of all those people on whom the Last Judgment would fall, as to their understanding of the Word and thus their states of life.

This is the symbolic meaning because there follows next in order an examination of all the people on whom the Last Judgment would fall as to their states of life, and this by the Lord in accordance with the Word. Consequently this is what is symbolically meant by the Lamb's opening the seals of the book.

To be shown that to open the book and loose its seals means, symbolically, to know the states of life of all people and to judge each one according to his state, see nos. 259, 265-267, 273, 274 above.

  
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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.