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Joel 2

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1 Hipan ninyo ang pakakak sa Sion, at mangagpatunog kayo ng hudyat sa aking banal na bundok; manginig ang lahat na mananahan sa lupain: sapagka't ang kaarawan ng Panginoon ay dumarating, sapagka't malapit na;

2 Araw ng kadiliman at ng pagkukulimlim, araw ng mga ulap at ng pagsasalimuot ng dilim, gaya ng liwayway na namumukadkad sa mga bundok; isang malaking bayan at matibay; hindi nagkaroon kailan man ng gaya niyaon, ni magkakaroon pa man pagkatapos ng mga yaon, hanggang sa mga taon ng maraming sali't saling lahi.

3 Isang apoy ang sumusupok sa harap nila; at sa likuran nila'y isang liyab ang sumusunog: ang lupain ay parang halamanan sa Eden sa harap nila, at sa likuran nila'y isang sirang ilang; oo, at walang nakatanan sa kanila.

4 Ang anyo nila ay parang anyo ng mga kabayo; at kung paano ang mga mangangabayo, gayon sila nagsisitakbo.

5 Parang ingay ng mga karo sa mga taluktok ng mga bundok nagsisilukso sila, parang hugong ng liyab ng apoy na sumusupok sa dayami, parang isang matibay na bayan na humahanay sa pagbabaka.

6 Sa kanilang harapan ay nangahihirapan ang mga bayan; lahat ng mukha ay nangamumutla.

7 Sila'y nagsisitakbong parang mga malakas na lalake; sila'y nagsisipagalambitin sa kuta na parang mga lalaking mangdidigma; at sila'y nagsisilakad bawa't isa ng kanikaniyang mga lakad, at hindi nila binabago ang kanilang mga hanay.

8 Ni nagtutulakan mang isa'y isa; sila'y lumalakad bawa't isa sa kanikaniyang landas; at sila'y magsisisagupa sa mga almas, at hindi sila malalansag.

9 Kanilang nilulukso ang bayan; kanilang tinatakbo ang kuta; kanilang pinagaalambitinan ang mga bahay; sila'y nagsisipasok sa mga dungawan na parang magnanakaw.

10 Ang lupa ay nayayanig sa harap nila; ang langit ay nanginginig; ang araw at ang buwan ay nagdidilim at itinitigil ng mga bituin ang kanilang kislap:

11 At pinatutunog ng Panginoon ang kaniyang tinig sa harap ng kaniyang hukbo; sapagka't ang kaniyang kampamento ay totoong malaki; sapagka't malakas na nagsasagawa ng kaniyang salita; sapagka't ang kaarawan ng Panginoon ay dakila at totoong kakilakilabot; at sinong makatatahan?

12 Gayon ma'y ngayon, sabi ng Panginoon, magsipanumbalik kayo sa akin ng inyong buong puso, na may pagaayuno, at may pananangis, at may pananambitan:

13 At papagdalamhatiin ninyo ang inyong puso, at hindi ang mga damit ang inyong hapakin, at kayo'y magsipanumbalik sa Panginoon ninyong Dios; sapagka't siya'y maawain at puspos ng kahabagan, banayad sa pagkagalit, at sagana sa kagandahang-loob, at nagsisisi siya sa kasamaan.

14 Sinong nakakaalam kung siya'y hindi magbabalik-loob, at magsisisi, at magiiwan ng isang pagpapala sa likuran niya, ng handog na harina, at ng inuming handog sa Panginoon ninyong Dios?

15 Hipan ninyo ang pakakak sa Sion: magsipangilin kayo ng isang ayuno, magsitawag kayo ng isang takdang kapulungan;

16 Tipunin ninyo ang bayan, banalin ang kapisanan, pisanin ang mga matanda, tipunin ang mga bata, at yaong mga pasusuhin; lumabas ang bagong kasal na lalake sa kaniyang silid, at ang bagong kasal na babae sa kaniyang silid.

17 Manangis ang mga saserdote, ang mga tagapangasiwa ng Panginoon, sa pagitan ng portiko at ng dambana, at kanilang sabihin, Maawa ka sa iyong bayan, Oh Panginoon, at huwag mong ibigay ang iyong bayan sa kakutyaan, na ang mga bansa baga'y magpuno sa kanila: bakit nila sasabihin sa gitna ng mga bayan, Saan nandoon ang kanilang Dios?

18 Noong ang Panginoon ay naging masikap sa kanilang lupain, at nahabag sa kaniyang bayan.

19 At ang Panginoon ay sumagot, at nagsabi sa kaniyang bayan, Narito, ako'y magdadala sa inyo ng trigo, at alak, at langis, at inyong kabubusugan; at hindi ko na gagawin pa kayo na kakutyaan sa gitna ng mga bansa;

20 Kundi aking ihihiwalay na malayo sa inyo ang hukbo sa hilagaan, at aking itataboy siya sa isang lupaing basal at sira, ang kaniyang unaha'y sa dagat silanganan, at ang kaniyang pinakahuling bahagi ay sa dagat kanluran; at ang kaniyang baho ay aalingasaw, at ang masamang amoy ay iilanglang, sapagka't siya'y gumawa ng mga malaking bagay.

21 Huwag kang matakot, Oh lupain, ikaw ay matuwa at magalak; sapagka't ang Panginoon ay gumawa ng dakilang mga bagay.

22 Huwag kayong mangatakot, kayong mga hayop sa parang; sapagka't ang mga pastulan sa ilang ay lumalago, sapagka't ang punong kahoy ay nagbubunga, ang puno ng higos at ang puno ng ubas ay nagbubunga.

23 Kayo nga'y mangatuwa, kayong mga anak ng Sion, at mangagalak sa Panginoon ninyong Dios; sapagka't kaniyang ibinibigay sa inyo ang maagang ulan sa tapat na sukat, at kaniyang pinalalagpak ang ulan dahil sa inyo, ang maagang ulan at ang huling ulan, sa unang buwan.

24 At ang mga lapag ay mangapupuno ng trigo, at ang mga kamalig ay aapawan ng alak at langis.

25 At aking isasauli sa inyo ang mga taon na kinain ng balang, ng uod, at ng kuliglig, at ng tipaklong na siyang aking malaking hukbo, na aking sinugo sa gitna ninyo.

26 At kayo'y magsisikaing sagana, at mangabubusog, at inyong pupurihin ang pangalan ng Panginoon ninyong Dios, na gumawa ng kababalaghan sa inyo; at ang aking bayan ay hindi mapapahiya kailan man.

27 At inyong malalaman na ako'y nasa gitna ng Israel, at ako ang Panginoon ninyong Dios, at wala nang iba; at ang aking bayan ay hindi mapapahiya magpakailan man.

28 At mangyayari pagkatapos, na ibubuhos ko ang aking Espiritu sa lahat ng laman; at ang inyong mga anak na lalake at babae ay manganghuhula, ang inyong mga matanda ay magsisipanaginip ng mga panaginip, ang inyong mga binata ay mangakakakita ng mga pangitain:

29 At sa mga lingkod na lalake at babae naman ay ibubuhos ko sa mga araw na yaon ang aking Espiritu.

30 At ako'y magpapakita ng mga kababalaghan sa langit at sa lupa, dugo, at apoy, at mga haliging usok.

31 Ang araw ay magiging kadiliman, at ang buwan ay dugo, bago dumating ang dakila at kakilakilabot na kaarawan ng Panginoon.

32 At mangyayari na ang sinomang tumawag sa pangalan ng Panginoon ay maliligtas, sapagka't sa bundok ng Sion at sa Jerusalem doroon yaong nangakatanan, gaya ng sinabi ng Panginoon, at sa nangalabi ay yaong mga tinatawag ng Panginoon.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 3580

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3580. 'And abundance of grain' means natural good from this, 'and of new wine' means natural truth from the same. This is clear from the meaning of 'grain' as good, and from the meaning of 'new wine' as truth. When these two are used in reference to the natural they mean natural good and truth, but when they are used in reference to the rational they are 'bread and wine' - 'bread' being celestial good, see 276, 680, 1798, 2165, 2177, 3464, 3478, and 'wine' that which is spiritual, namely truth deriving from good, 1071, 1798. These meanings of 'grain' and 'wine' may also be seen from the following places in the Word:

In Haggai,

The heavens have withheld their dew, and the earth has withheld its increase. And I have called for a drought over the land, and over the mountains, and over the grain, and over the new wine, and over that which the earth brings forth. Haggai 1:10-11.

Here 'a drought' stands for a lack of dew and rain, and so for a lack of truth deriving from any good. 'A drought over the grain' is the lack of good, and 'a drought over the new wine' the lack of truth.

[2] In Moses,

Israel will dwell securely, alone at Jacob's spring, in a land of grain and new wine; and his heavens will distill dew. Deuteronomy 33:28.

'Alone' stands for those who are not infested by evils and falsities, 139, 471. 'A land of grain and new wine' stands for the good and truth of the Church.

In Hosea,

I will be as the dew to Israel, he will blossom 1 as the lily, and strike root like Lebanon. His branches will go out, and his beauty will be like the olive, and his odour like that of Lebanon. Those dwelling in its shadow will turn back, they will quicken the grain and will blossom as the vine; the memory of it will be as the wine of Lebanon. Hosea 14:5-7.

Here 'the grain' stands for spiritual good, 'the wine' for spiritual truth.

In Isaiah,

A curse will consume the earth. The new wine will mourn, the vine will languish; all the merry-hearted will sigh. Isaiah 24:6-7.

This refers to the vastation of the spiritual Church. 'The new wine will mourn' stands for the fact that truth will come to an end.

[3] In Jeremiah,

Jehovah has redeemed Jacob. They will come and sing on the height of Zion, and they will converge towards the goodness of Jehovah. towards the grain, and towards the new wine, and towards the oil, and towards the young 2 of the flock and of the herd. Jeremiah 31:11-12.

'The grain' and 'the new wine' stand for good and for truth derived from good, 'the oil' for the good which is both a producer and a product of these, 'the young of the flock and of the herd' for the truth which is acquired in this manner. This being the meaning of those things they are called 'the goodness of Jehovah'.

In Hosea,

She did not know that it was I who gave her the grain and the new wine and the oil, and who multiplied the silver and the gold which they made for Baal. Therefore I will return and take back My grain and My new wine in its season, and I will snatch away My wool and My flax. Hosea 2:8-9.

This refers to the Church when perverted, and it is evident that 'grain' is not used to mean grain, nor 'new wine' new wine, nor yet oil, silver, gold, wool, and flax to mean such material things. Rather, spiritual things are meant, that is, those which consist in what is good and true.

Something similar is the case where in the same prophet a new Church is dealt with,

I will betroth you to Me in faith, and you will know Jehovah. And it will be on that day, that I shall hear the heavens, and they will hear the earth, and the earth will hear the grain, and the new wine, and the oil, and these will hear Jezreel. Hosea 2:20-22.

'Jezreel' stands for a new Church.

In Joel,

Awake, you drunkards, and weep; and wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the new wine that has been cut off from your mouth. The field has been laid waste, the land is mourning because the grain has been laid waste; the new wine has dried up, the oil languishes. Joel 1:5, 10.

[4] In the same prophet,

Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in Jehovah your God, for He has given you the morning rain for righteousness, and will cause the morning and the evening rain to come down on you in the first [month]. And the threshing-floors will be full of perfect grain, and the presses will overflow with new wine and oil. Joel 2:23-24.

In the same prophet,

It will happen on that day, that the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will flow with milk, and all the streams of Judah will flow with water, and a spring will come forth from the house of Jehovah. Joel 3:18.

This refers to the Lord's kingdom, it being spiritual things that are meant by 'new wine', 'milk', and 'water', the abundance of which is being described in this fashion.

In Zechariah,

Jehovah their God will serve them on that day, as a flock His people. For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine the virgins. Zechariah 9:16-17.

In David,

You visit the earth and delight in it; You greatly enrich it; the stream of God is full of water; You prepare their grain. The meadows clothe themselves with flocks, and the valleys are covered over with grain; let them clap their hands, let them also sing. Psalms 65:9, 13.

From all these places it is now evident what 'grain' is and what 'new wine' is.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. literally, sprout

2. literally, the sons

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

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Arcana Coelestia # 2177

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2177. That 'meal of fine flour' means the spiritual and celestial ingredients [of the rational] which were present at that time with the Lord, and 'cakes' the same when both had been joined together, is quite clear from the sacrifices of the representative Church and from the minchah presented at the same time, which consisted of fine flour mixed with oil and made into cakes. Representative worship consisted primarily in burnt offerings and sacrifices. What these represented has been stated above where 'bread' was the subject, in 2165, namely the celestial things of the Lord's kingdom in heaven and of the Lord's kingdom on earth, which is the Church, and also the things of the Lord's kingdom or Church as it exists with every individual, and in general everything that is in essence love and charity, since these are celestial entities. In those times all the sacrifices were called 'bread'. Along with those sacrifices a minchah was included - which, as has been stated, consisted of fine flour mixed with oil to which also incense was added - and also a wine-offering.

[2] What these latter represented becomes clear too, namely things similar to those represented by sacrifices but of a lower order, thus the things which belong to the spiritual Church, and also those which belong to the external Church. It may become clear to anyone that such things would never have been prescribed unless they had represented Divine things, and also that each one represented some specific thing. For unless they had represented Divine things they would have been no different from similar things found among gentiles, among whom also there were sacrifices, minchahs, libations, and incense, as well as perpetual fires and many other things which had come down to them from the Ancient Church, especially from the Hebrew Church. But because they were separated from the internal, that is, the Divine things represented by them, those external forms of worship were nothing but idolatrous, as they also came to be among the Jews, who likewise sank into all kinds of idolatry. From this it may become clear to anyone that heavenly arcana were present within every form of ritual, especially so within the sacrifices and every detail of them.

[3] As regards the minchah, the nature of it and how it was to be made into cakes is described in a whole chapter in Moses - in Leviticus 2; also Numbers 15, and elsewhere. The law regarding the minchah is described in Leviticus in the following words,

Fire shall be kept burning unceasingly on the altar; it shall not be put out. And this is the law of the minchah: Aaron's sons shall bring it before Jehovah to the front of the altar, and he shall take up from it a fistful of fine flour of the minchah and of the oil of it and all the frankincense which is on the minchah, and he shall burn it on the altar; it is an odour of rest for a memorial to Jehovah. And the rest of it Aaron and his sons shall eat. Unleavened bread shall be eaten in a holy place. In the court of the tent of meeting shall they eat it. It shall not be cooked leavened; I have given it as their portion from My fire-offerings; it is most holy. Leviticus 6:13-17.

[4] The fire which was to be kept burning unceasingly on the altar represented the Lord's love, that is, His mercy, which is constant and eternal. 'Fire' in the Word means love, see 934, and therefore 'the fire-offerings made for an odour of rest' means the good pleasure which the Lord takes in those things that belong to love and charity. That 'odour' means good pleasure, that is, that which is pleasing, see 925, 1519. Their 'taking a fistful' represented their being required to love with all their soul or strength, for 'the hand' or 'the palm' of the hand means power, as shown in 878, from which 'the fist' also means the same. 'The fine flour together with the oil and the frankincense' represented all things of charity - 'fine flour' the spiritual ingredient of it, 'oil' the celestial, and 'frankincense' that which was in this manner pleasing. That 'fine flour' represents the spiritual ingredient is evident from what has just been stated and from what is stated below. That 'oil' represents the celestial ingredient, or the good or charity, see 886, and that 'frankincense' on account of its odour represents that which is pleasing and acceptable, 925.

[5] Its being 'unleavened bread' or not fermented means that it was to be genuine, thus something offered from genuineness of heart and having no uncleanness. The eating of the rest by Aaron and his sons represented man's reciprocation and his making it his own, and thus represented conjunction by means of love and charity; and it is for this reason that they were commanded to eat it 'in a holy place'. Hence it is called something most holy. These were the things which were represented by the minchah. It was also the way in which the representatives themselves were perceived in heaven; and when the member of the Church understood them in the same way his ideas were like the perception which the angels possess, so that he was in the Lord's kingdom in heaven even though he was on earth.

[6] For more about the minchah - what it was to consist of in any particular kind of sacrifice; the way in which it was to be baked into cakes; what kind was to be offered by those who were being cleansed, and also what kinds on other occasions (all of which would take too long to introduce and explain here) - see what is said about it in Exodus 29:39-41; Leviticus 5:11-13; 6:16-17, 19-21; 10:12-13; 23:10-13, 6, 17; Numbers 5:15 and following verses; 6:15-17, 19-20; 7: in various places; 28:5, 8, 9, 12-13, 20-21, 28-29; 29:3-4, 9-10, 14-15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 37

[7] 'Fine flour made into cakes' had in general the same representation as bread, namely the celestial ingredient of love, while 'meals represented its spiritual ingredient, as becomes clear in the places indicated above. The loaves which were called 'the bread of the Presence' or 'the shewbread' consisted of fine flour, which was made into cakes and placed on the table to provide an unceasing representation of the Lord's love, that is, of His mercy, towards the whole human race, and man's reciprocation. These loaves are spoken of in Moses as follows,

You shall take fine pour and bake it into twelve cakes; two-tenths [of an ephah] shall there be in one cake And you shall place them in two rows, six in a row, on the clean table before Jehovah. And you shall put pure frankincense on each row, and it shall be bread serving as a memorial, a fire-offering to Jehovah. Every sabbath day [Aaron] shall set it out in order before Jehovah continually; it is from the children of Israel as an eternal covenant. And it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place, for it is to him the most holy of fire-offerings to Jehovah, by an eternal statute. Leviticus 24:5-9.

Every item and smallest detail mentioned here represented the holiness of love and charity, 'fine flour' having the same representation as meal of fine flour, namely that which is celestial and that which is spiritual that goes with it, and 'cake' the two when joined together.

[8] From this it is clear what the holiness of the Word is to those who possess heavenly ideas, and indeed what holiness was present within this particular representative observance, on account of which it is called 'most holy'. It is also clear how devoid of holiness the Word is to those who imagine that it does not have anything heavenly within it and who keep solely to externals. Exemplifying the latter are those who in the present verse under consideration perceive 'the meal' to be merely meal, 'the fine flour' merely fine flour, and 'the cake' merely a cake, and who imagine that these things have been stated without each one that is mentioned embodying something of the Divine within it. Their attitude is similar to that of those who imagine that the bread and wine of the Holy Supper are no more than a certain religious observance that does not have anything holy within it. Yet in fact it possesses such holiness that the minds of men are linked by means of it to the minds of those in heaven, when from an internal affection they think that the bread and wine mean the Lord's love and man's reciprocation, and by virtue of that interior thought and affection they abide in holiness.

[9] Much the same was implied by the requirement that when the children of Israel entered the land they were to present as a heave-offering to Jehovah a cake made from the first of their dough, Numbers 15:20. The fact that such things are meant is also evident in the Prophets, from' among whom for the moment let this one place in Ezekiel be introduced here,

You were adorned with gold and silver, and your raiment was of fine linen and silk and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil. You became exceedingly beautiful, and attained to a kingdom. Ezekiel 16:13.

This refers to Jerusalem, by which is meant the Church, which Church in its earliest days bore an appearance such as this, that is to say, the Ancient Church, which is described by means of raiment and many other adornments. Its affections for truth and good are also described by 'the fine flour, honey, and oil'. It may become clear to anyone that all these details mean in the internal sense something altogether different from what they do in the sense of the letter. And the same applies to Abraham's saying to Sarah, 'Take quickly three measures of meal of fine flour, knead it, and make cakes'. That 'three' means things that are holy has been shown already in 720, 901.

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