Arcana Coelestia # 7679
7679. 'And Jehovah brought an east wind' means an agent of destruction. This is clear from the meaning of 'an east wind' as an agent of destruction. 'An east wind' has this meaning because it was dry and turbulent, and because it therefore withered the produce of that land, and by its force shattered trees, and ships at sea. This is why that wind, acting as an agent [of destruction], describes the effect that Divine power can have. In addition 'the east' means the good of love and charity, for the Lord is meant by it in the highest sense, 101, 1250, 3708. Also, being Divine, the good of love and charity is in origin very gentle, and consequently is also such in its movements when it passes into heaven. But when it comes down into hell it becomes rough and fierce, because the inhabitants of hell make it so. Therefore the inflow and presence there of that Divine good not only torments them but also devastates them. This too explains why a wind from the east or 'an east wind' means an agent of destruction.
[2] The fact that this wind means an agent of destruction is evident from the places in which it is mentioned in the Word, as in Jeremiah,
Like an east wind I will scatter them before the enemy. Jeremiah 18:17.
In Ezekiel,
The vine that was planted, will it thrive? 1 When the east wind strikes it, will it not wither completely?. Ezekiel 17:10.
In the same prophet,
That vine has been plucked up in anger, it has been cast down onto the ground, the east wind has dried its fruit. Ezekiel 19:12.
In Hosea,
He will be among his brothers a ferocious one; an east wind will come, Jehovah's wind rising up from the desert, and his spring mill become dry, and his fountain dried up. Hosea 13:15.
In David,
By an east wind You will shatter the ships of Tarshish. Psalms 48:7.
In Ezekiel,
They brought you down to many waters, those who despise you; the east wind broke you in the heart of the seas. Ezekiel 27:26.
From these places it is evident that 'an east wind' means an agent of destruction, because it was a dry wind and a turbulent one. It therefore also means an agent of devastation, as in Hosea,
Ephraim feeds the wind, and pursues the east wind. All the day long he multiplies lies and devastation. Hosea 12:1.
'Ephraim' stands for the Church's understanding, 5354, 6222, 6238. 'Feeding the wind' is multiplying lies, and 'pursuing the east wind' is multiplying devastation. A state of devastation and temptation is also called 'the day of the east wind' in Isaiah 27:7-8.
Poznámky pod čarou:
1. Reading num prosperabitur (will it thrive?), which Swedenborg has in another place where he quotes this verse and which is the meaning of the Hebrew, for non prosperabitur (it will not thrive)
Isaiah 40
1
"Comfort, Comfort my people," says your God.
2
"Speak comfortably to Jerusalem; and call out to her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received of Yahweh's hand double for all her sins."
3
The voice of one who calls out, "Prepare the way of Yahweh in the wilderness! Make a level highway in the desert for our God.
4
Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The uneven shall be made level, and the rough places a plain.
5
The glory of Yahweh shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken it."
6
The voice of one saying, "Cry!" One said, "What shall I cry?" "All flesh is like grass, and all its glory is like the flower of the field.
7
The grass withers, the flower fades, because Yahweh's breath blows on it. Surely the people are like grass.
8
The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God stands forever."
9
You who tell good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who tell good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with strength. Lift it up. Don't be afraid. Say to the cities of Judah, "Behold, your God!"
10
Behold, the Lord Yahweh will come as a mighty one, and his arm will rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.
11
He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom. He will gently lead those who have their young.
12
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and marked off the sky with his span, and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?
13
Who has directed the Spirit of Yahweh, or has taught him as his counselor?
14
Who did he take counsel with, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?
15
Behold, the nations are like a drop in a bucket, and are regarded as a speck of dust on a balance. Behold, he lifts up the islands like a very little thing.
16
Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor its animals sufficient for a burnt offering.
17
All the nations are like nothing before him. They are regarded by him as less than nothing, and vanity.
18
To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to him?
19
A workman has cast an image, and the goldsmith overlays it with gold, and casts silver chains for it.
20
He who is too impoverished for such an offering chooses a tree that will not rot. He seeks a skillful workman to set up an engraved image for him that will not be moved.
21
Haven't you known? Haven't you heard, yet? Haven't you been told from the beginning? Haven't you understood from the foundations of the earth?
22
It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in;
23
who brings princes to nothing; who makes the judges of the earth like meaningless.
24
They are planted scarcely. They are sown scarcely. Their stock has scarcely taken root in the ground. He merely blows on them, and they wither, and the whirlwind takes them away as stubble.
25
"To whom then will you liken me? Who is my equal?" says the Holy One.
26
Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these, who brings out their army by number. He calls them all by name. by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power, Not one is lacking.
27
Why do you say, Jacob, and speak, Israel, "My way is hidden from Yahweh, and the justice due me is disregarded by my God?"
28
Haven't you known? Haven't you heard? The everlasting God, Yahweh, The Creator of the ends of the earth, doesn't faint. He isn't weary. His understanding is unsearchable.
29
He gives power to the weak. He increases the strength of him who has no might.
30
Even the youths faint and get weary, and the young men utterly fall;
31
But those who wait for Yahweh will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run, and not be weary. They will walk, and not faint.
