Arcana Coelestia # 9295
9295. This second feast, which was called 'the feast of the harvest of the firstfruits of works', also 'of the firstfruits of wheat' as well as 'the feast of weeks', means the planting of truth in good. This is clear from the establishment of it, spoken of in Moses as follows,
Say to the children of Israel, When you have come into the land which I am giving you, and you reap its harvest, you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, who shall wave the sheaf before Jehovah, so that you may be acceptable; on the day after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. And you shall offer on that day a he-lamb 1 as a burnt offering, also a minchah and a drink-offering. But you shall not eat bread or parched ears or green ones until that very day. After this you shall count for yourselves from the day after the sabbath, from the day you bring the sheaf of the wave-offering, seven sabbaths shall there be complete. Until the day after the seventh sabbath you shall count fifty days, and offer a new gift to Jehovah. You shall bring from your dwellings the bread of the wave-offering; it shall be baked with yeast, as firstfruits to Jehovah. Besides the bread you shall offer seven lambs, one young bull, and two rams, as a burnt offering, together with their minchah and drink-offering. Leviticus 23:10-21; Deuteronomy 16:9-12.
[2] No one can know what the meaning is of these details except from their internal sense. In that sense the seeds which are sown in the field are truths of faith which are planted in good. Harvest means their growing ripe when forms of good develop from them; for wheat and barley are forms of good, and ears containing them are truths accordingly linked to good. A sheaf is an ordered sequence and bringing together of such truths; for the truths have been arranged into sheaf-like groups. Waving means giving life to, for truths with a person are not living ones until they are rooted in good. The priest who waved the sheaf, that is, who gave life to forms of the good of truth, represented the Lord; for He is the Source of life in its entirety. Doing this on the day after the sabbath meant the holiness of goodness and truth joined together. Their not being permitted before then to eat bread, parched ears, or green ones meant not making the life of good their own before then, bread being the good of love, parched ears the good of charity, green ones the good of truth, and eating making one's own. The requirement that from then seven sabbaths were to be counted until the feast, which therefore was held on the fiftieth day, meant a complete planting of truth in good until the first phase of a new state. Bread made with yeast which was offered then meant good not as yet completely purified. The waving of it meant giving it life. The burnt offering of the lambs, young bull, and rams, together with minchah and drink-offerings meant worship of the Lord that has all the essential characteristics of that good. These are the things that are meant by this feast and what happened then. And from all this it is evident that a second state in deliverance from damnation was meant, which was a state when truth was planted in good.
[3] Since this feast was called the feast of the firstfruits of harvest one needs to know what 'harvest' means in the Word. In a broad sense 'the field' that contains the harvest means the whole human race or the whole world, in a less broad sense the Church, in a narrower sense a member of the Church, and in an even narrower sense the good present in a member of the Church since this good receives the truths of faith as the field receives seeds. From the meaning of 'the field' it is evident what 'harvest' means. That is to say, in the broadest sense it means the state of the whole human race in respect of its reception of good through truth, in a less broad sense the state of the Church in respect of the reception of the truths of faith in good, in a narrower sense the state of a member of the Church in respect of that reception, and in a still narrower sense the state of good in respect of the reception of truth, and so the planting of truth in good.
[4] All this shows what 'harvest' means in the following places, as in Matthew,
He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world; the seed is the sons of the kingdom; the tares are the sons of the kingdom of the evil one; 2 the enemy who sows them is the devil; but the harvest is the close of the age, while the harvesters are the angels. Matthew 13:37-39.
'The good seed' is the truths of faith received from the Lord; 'the Son of Man' is the Lord in respect of the Church's truths; 'the world' which 'the field' stands for is the entire human race; 'the sons of the kingdom' whom 'the seed' stands for are the Church's truths of faith; 'the sons of the kingdom of the evil one' whom 'the tares' stand for are the Church's falsities of faith; 'the devil' whom 'the enemy' stands for and who sows them is hell; 'the close of the age' which 'the harvest' stands for is the final state of the Church in respect of the reception of the truths of faith in good; and 'the angels' whom 'the harvesters' stand for are truths from the Lord. That such things are meant by those words spoken by the Lord may be recognized from their internal sense indicated throughout this explanation of them. All this also shows the manner in which the Lord spoke when He was in the world, namely by the use of images that carried a spiritual meaning, and the reason why He did so was in order that the Word might exist not only for the world but also for heaven.
[5] In Revelation,
An angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, Thrust in 3 your sickle and reap, for the hour of harvesting has come for you; for the harvest of the earth has become dry. The one sitting on the cloud therefore thrust 4 his sickle into the earth, and the earth was harvested. Revelation 14:15-16.
'The harvest' here also stands for the final state of the Church in respect of the reception of the truths of faith in good. In Joel,
The priests have been mourning, the ministers of Jehovah. The field has been devastated, the land has been mourning because the grain has been laid waste, the new wine has failed, the oil languishes. Farmers have been put to shame, vinedressers have wailed over the wheat and over the barley, for the reason that the harvest of the field has perished. Joel 1:9-11.
This describes the ruination of the Church in respect of truths of faith and forms of the good of charity by means of such things as belong to the field, vineyard, and olive-grove. The Church itself is 'the field', and its final state, which the Lord called 'the close of the age', is 'the harvest'.
[6] In the same prophet,
Send out the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down, for the winepress is full, the vats overflow - for great is their wickedness. Joel 3:13.
Here also 'the harvest' means the close of the age or final state of a Church laid waste. In Jeremiah,
Cut off the sower from Babel, and the one handling the sickle in the time of harvest. Jeremiah 50:16.
In the same prophet,
The daughter of Babel is like a threshing-floor; it is time to thresh her. Only a little while, and the time of harvest comes [to her]. Jeremiah 51:33.
'The time of harvest' stands for the final state of the Church there.
[7] In Isaiah,
Wail, O ships of Tarshish! For Tyre has been laid waste, so that there is no house nor anyone to go in. The inhabitants of the island are silent, O merchant of Sidon passing over the sea; they have replenished you. And through the great waters the seed of Shihor is the harvest of the Nile, her produce, to be the merchandise of nations. Isaiah 23:1-3.
The holy things of the Church that are described in these verses cannot be known to anyone except from the internal sense. Everyone knows that the holy things of heaven and of the Church are present throughout the Word, and that for this reason the Word is holy. The literal sense of those verses describes things connected with the commerce of Tyre and Sidon, but without a holy and more internal sense those descriptions are not holy. What their meaning is in this more internal sense is evident if they are brought to the surface. 'Ships of Tarshish' are doctrinal teachings about truth and good; 'Tyre and Sidon' are cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth; 'no house, so that there is not anyone to go in' means that there is no longer any good in which truth can be planted; 'the inhabitants of the island who are silent' are more remote forms of good; 'the seed of Shihor' is true factual knowledge; and 'the harvest of the Nile, her produce' is good resulting from that knowledge, outside the Church.
Poznámky pod čarou:
1. literally, son of a lamb
2. The Latin means the sons of that of the evil one. Swedenborg derives this wording from the Latin Bible of Sebastian Schmidt. The Greek means simply the sons of the evil one.
3. literally, Send
4. literally, sent
Daniel 5
1
Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.
2
Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein.
3
Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them.
4
They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
5
In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.
6
Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.
7
The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.
8
Then came in all the king's wise men: but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof.
9
Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were astonied.
10
Now the queen, by reason of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banquet house: and the queen spake and said, O king, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed:
11
There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers;
12
Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and shewing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will shew the interpretation.
13
Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Jewry?
14
I have even heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee.
15
And now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation thereof: but they could not shew the interpretation of the thing:
16
And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom.
17
Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation.
18
O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour:
19
And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down.
20
But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him:
21
And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will.
22
And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this;
23
But hast lifted up thyself against the LORD of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:
24
Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written.
25
And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
26
This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.
27
TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.
28
PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.
29
Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
30
In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.
31
And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.
