Apocalypse Explained # 278
278. Verse 7. And the first animal was like a lion, signifies the appearance, in ultimates, of Divine truth proceeding from the Lord in respect to power and effect. This is evident from the signification of "lion," as being Divine truth proceeding from the Lord in respect to power and effect (of which in what follows). It means appearance in ultimates, because the cherubim were seen as animals, and this first one like a lion. It is said in ultimates, because that appearance was before John when he was in the spirit, and he saw all things in ultimates, in which Divine celestial and Divine spiritual things are variously represented, now by gardens and paradises, now by palaces and temples, now by rivers and waters, now by living creatures of various kinds, such as lions, camels, horses, oxen, bullocks, sheep, lambs, doves, eagles, and many others. Like things were seen by the prophets through whom the Word was written, in order that the Word in its ultimates, which are the things contained in the sense of the letter, might consist of such things as exist in the world, which might be representations and correspondences of celestial and spiritual things, and thus might serve as a basis and foundation to the spiritual sense. For this reason also the cherubim (which signify the guard and providence of the Lord that the higher heavens be not approached except from the good of love and charity) were seen by John and also by Ezekiel, in respect to their faces, as animals.
Since it is the Lord who guards and provides, and this through Divine truth and Divine good, thus through His Divine wisdom and intelligence, four animals were seen, which were like a lion, a calf, a man, and an eagle; for thus by "lion" Divine truth in respect to power was represented, by "calf" Divine good in respect to protection, by "man" the Divine wisdom, and by "eagle" the Divine intelligence; which four things are included in the Lord's Divine Providence in its guarding the higher heavens, that they be not approached except from the good of love and charity.
[2] That a "lion" signifies Divine truth proceeding from the Lord in respect to power is evident from the passages in the Word in which "lion" is mentioned; as from the following, in Moses:
Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, thou are gone up; he couched, he lay down as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? (Genesis 49:9).
"Judah" here signifies the Lord's celestial kingdom, where all are in power from the Lord through Divine truth; this power is meant by a "lion's whelp," and by an "old lion;" "the prey from which he goeth up" signifies the dispersion of falsities and evils; "to couch" signifies to put oneself into power; "lying down" signifies to be in security from every falsity and evil; therefore it is said, "Who shall rouse him up?" (That "Judah" in the Word signifies the celestial kingdom of the Lord, see Arcana Coelestia, n. 3654, 3881, 5603, 5782, 6363; that "prey," in reference to that kingdom and to the Lord, signifies the dispersion of falsities and evils, and the rescue and deliverance from hell, n. 6368, 6442; that "couching" in reference to a lion, signifies to put oneself into power, n. 6369; and that "lying down" signifies a state of security and tranquillity, n. Arcana Coelestia 3696[1-5])
[3] In the same:
At this time it shall be said to Jacob and to Israel, What hath God wrought? Behold the people riseth up as an old lion, and as a young lion doth he lift himself up; he shall not lie down until he eat of what is torn (Numbers 23:23, 24).
In the same:
He coucheth, he lieth down as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee (Numbers 24:9).
This is said of "Jacob and Israel," who signify the Lord's spiritual kingdom; their power is described by an "old lion" and a "young lion" rising, lifting himself up, and couching; the dispersion of falsities and evils is signified by "eating of what is torn," and a state of security and tranquillity by "he lieth down, who shall rouse him up?" (That "Jacob" and "Israel" in the Word signify the Lord's spiritual kingdom, see Arcana Coelestia 4286, 4570, 5973, 6426, 8805, 9340; what the Lord's celestial kingdom is, and what His spiritual kingdom is, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 20-28). That "to couch" is to put oneself into power; that "prey" and "spoil" mean the dispersion of falsities and evils; and that "lying down" means a state of security and tranquillity, when these things are said of a lion, see just above.
[4] In Nahum:
Where is the abode of the lions, and the feeding place of the young lions? where walked the lion, the old lion, the lion's whelp, and none maketh them afraid? (Nahum 2:11).
Here also "lions" signify those who are in power through Divine truth; "their abode" signifies where there are such in the church; their "feeding place" signifies the knowledges of truth and good; their "walking and none making them afraid" signifies their state of security from evils and falsities.
[5] In Micah:
The remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples, as dew from Jehovah, as the drops upon the herb. As a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who if he go through shall tread down and tear in pieces so that none delivereth, thine hand shall be lifted up above thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off (Micah 5:7-9).
The "remnant of Jacob" signifies the truths and goods of the church; "dew from Jehovah" signifies spiritual truth; "drops upon the herb" natural truth; "a lion among the beasts of the forest," and "a young lion among the flocks of sheep," and "treading down and tearing, and none delivering," signify power over evils and falsities; because of this signification it is said, "thine hand shall be lifted up above thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off;" for "adversaries" signify evils, and "enemies" falsities (See Arcana Coelestia 2851[1-15], 8289, 9314, 10481).
[6] In Isaiah:
The Lord said, Go set a watchman, who may look and announce. And he saw a chariot, a pair of horsemen, an ass chariot, a camel chariot; and he harkened a hearkening; a lion upon a watch-tower called out, O lord, I stand continually in the daytime, and I am set upon my watch all the nights: Babylon is fallen, is fallen (Isaiah 21:6-9).
This treats of the coming of the Lord and a new church at that time. "A lion upon a watch-tower" signifies the Lord's guard and providence; therefore it is said, "I stand continually in the daytime, and I am set upon my watch all the nights." A "chariot" and a "pair of horsemen" signify the doctrine of truth from the Word; "harkening a harkening" signifies a life according to that doctrine. (That "chariot" signifies the doctrine of truth, see Arcana Coelestia 2761, 2762, 5321, 8029, 8215; that "horseman" signifies the Word in respect to the understanding, see n. 2761, 6401, 6534, 7024, 8146, 8148.)
[7] In the same:
Like as the lion and the young lion roareth over what he hath torn which 1 a multitude of shepherds meeteth, so shall Jehovah come down to fight upon Mount Zion and upon the hill thereof (Isaiah 31:4).
Here Jehovah is compared to "a roaring lion," because a "lion" signifies power to lead forth from hell or from evils, and to "roar" signifies defense against evils and falsities; therefore it is said, "so shall Jehovah Zebaoth come down to fight upon Mount Zion and upon the hill thereof," "Mount Zion and the hill thereof" meaning the celestial church and the spiritual church; and "that which is torn over which the lion and the young lion roar" signifying deliverance from evils, which are from hell.
[8] To "roar" when attributed to a lion, has the same signification in Hosea:
I will not return to destroy Ephraim. They shall go after Jehovah as a lion roareth (Hosea 11:9-10).
In Amos:
The lion hath roared, who does not fear? The Lord Jehovih hath spoken, who will not prophesy (Amos 3:8).
In Revelation:
The angel cried with a great voice, as a lion roared (Revelation 10:3).
In David:
The lions roaring after their prey and seeking their food from God. The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together and lie down in their abodes (Psalms 104:21-22).
These words in David describe the state of the angels of heaven when they are not in a state of intense love and of wisdom therefrom, and when they return into that state; the former state is described by "lions roaring after their prey, and seeking their food from God;" the latter state by "the sun ariseth, they gather themselves together and lie down in their abodes." By the "lions" the angels of heaven are meant; their "roaring," means desire; "prey" and "food" mean the good which is of love and the truth which is of wisdom; "the sun arising" means the Lord in respect to love and wisdom therefrom; "gathering themselves together" means returning into a celestial state; and "lying down in their abodes," a state of tranquility and peace. (Of these two states of the angels in heaven see in the work on Heaven and Hell 154-161.)
[9] Because Jehovah is compared to a lion from Divine truth in respect to power, therefore the Lord is called a "lion" in Revelation:
Behold the lion that is of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, hath overcome (Revelation 5:5).
And because all power is from the Lord through Divine truth, this also is signified by a "lion," as in Moses:
Of Gad he said, Blessed is he who hath given the breadth to Gad; as a lion he dwelleth, he teareth the arm, yea, the crown of the head (Deuteronomy 33:20).
"Gad" in the highest sense signifies omnipotence, and therefore in the representative sense the power that is of truth (See Arcana Coelestia 3934[1-8], 3935); therefore it is said, "Blessed is he who hath given breadth to Gad," for "breadth" signifies truth (Arcana Coelestia 1613, 34 33, 3434, 4482, 9487, 10179; that all power is from Divine truth, see in the work on Heaven and Hell, in the chapter on The Power of the Angels in Heaven, n. 228-233).
[10] Because a "lion" signifies power, therefore in the lamentations of David over Saul and Jonathan it is said:
Saul and Jonathan were lovely, they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions (2 Samuel 1:23). "Saul" here as king, and "Jonathan" as the son of a king, mean truth protecting the church, since the doctrine of truth and good is here treated of, for that lamentation was written "to teach the sons of Judah the bow" (verse 18); and "bow" signifies that doctrine (See Arcana Coelestia, 2686, 2709, 6422).
[11] Because "the kings of Judah and Israel" represented the Lord in respect to Divine truth, and because a "throne" represented the judgment, which is effected according to Divine truth, and because "lions" represented power, guard, and protection against falsities and evils, therefore near the two stays of the throne built by Solomon there were two lions, and twelve lions on the six steps on the one side and on the other (1 Kings 10:18-20). From this it can be seen what "lions" in the Word signify when the Lord, heaven, and the church are treated of. "Lions" in the Word signify also the power of falsity from evil by which the church is destroyed and devastated. As in Jeremiah:
The young lions roar against her, 2 they give forth their voice, they reduce the land to wasteness (Jeremiah 2:15).
In Isaiah:
A nation whose arrows are sharp, and all his bows bent, the hoofs of his horses are accounted as rock, his roaring like that of a lion, he roareth like a young lion, and he growleth and seizeth the prey (Isaiah 5:28-29).
Besides many other places (as in Isaiah 11:6; 35:9; Jeremiah 4:7; 5:6; 12:8; 50:17; 51:38; Ezekiel 19:3, 5-6; Hosea 13:7, 8; Joel 1:6-7; Psalms 17:12; 22:13; 57:4; 58:6; 91:13).
Poznámky pod čarou:
1. For "which" the Hebrew has "when . . . meeteth him," as found in Arcana Coelestia 1664.
2. For "her" the Hebrew has "him"; cf. Apocalypse Explained 601.
Ezekiel 40
1
In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth [day] of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was struck, in the same day, the hand of Yahweh was on me, and he brought me there.
2
In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me down on a very high mountain, whereon was as it were the frame of a city on the south.
3
He brought me there; and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate.
4
The man said to me, Son of man, see with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart on all that I shall show you; for, to the intent that I may show them to you, you are brought here: declare all that you see to the house of Israel.
5
Behold, a wall on the outside of the house all around, and in the man's hand a measuring reed six cubits long, of a cubit and a handbreadth each: so he measured the thickness of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed.
6
Then came he to the gate which looks toward the east, and went up its steps: and he measured the threshold of the gate, one reed broad; and the other threshold, one reed broad.
7
Every lodge was one reed long, and one reed broad; and [the space] between the lodges was five cubits; and the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate toward the house was one reed.
8
He measured also the porch of the gate toward the house, one reed.
9
Then measured he the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and its posts, two cubits; and the porch of the gate was toward the house.
10
The lodges of the gate eastward were three on this side, and three on that side; they three were of one measure: and the posts had one measure on this side and on that side.
11
He measured the breadth of the opening of the gate, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits;
12
and a border before the lodges, one cubit [on this side], and a border, one cubit on that side; and the lodges, six cubits on this side, and six cubits on that side.
13
He measured the gate from the roof of the one lodge to the roof of the other, a breadth of twenty-five cubits; door against door.
14
He made also posts, sixty cubits; and the court [reached] to the posts, around the gate.
15
[From] the forefront of the gate at the entrance to the forefront of the inner porch of the gate were fifty cubits.
16
There were closed windows to the lodges, and to their posts within the gate all around, and likewise to the arches; and windows were around inward; and on [each] post were palm trees.
17
Then brought he me into the outer court; and behold, there were rooms and a pavement, made for the court all around: thirty rooms were on the pavement.
18
The pavement was by the side of the gates, answerable to the length of the gates, even the lower pavement.
19
Then he measured the breadth from the forefront of the lower gate to the forefront of the inner court outside, one hundred cubits, [both] on the east and on the north.
20
The gate of the outer court whose prospect is toward the north, he measured its length and its breadth.
21
The lodges of it were three on this side and three on that side; and its posts and its arches were after the measure of the first gate: its length was fifty cubits, and the breadth twenty-five cubits.
22
The windows of it, and its arches, and the palm trees of it, were after the measure of the gate whose prospect is toward the east; and they went up to it by seven steps; and its arches were before them.
23
There was a gate to the inner court over against the [other] gate, [both] on the north and on the east; and he measured from gate to gate one hundred cubits.
24
He led me toward the south; and behold, a gate toward the south: and he measured its posts and its arches according to these measures.
25
There were windows in it and in its arches all around, like those windows: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth twenty-five cubits.
26
There were seven steps to go up to it, and its arches were before them; and it had palm trees, one on this side, and another on that side, on its posts.
27
There was a gate to the inner court toward the south: and he measured from gate to gate toward the south a hundred cubits.
28
Then he brought me to the inner court by the south gate: and he measured the south gate according to these measures;
29
and its lodges, and its posts, and its arches, according to these measures: and there were windows in it and in its arches all around; it was fifty cubits long, and twenty-five cubits broad.
30
There were arches all around, twenty-five cubits long, and five cubits broad.
31
The arches of it were toward the outer court; and palm trees were on its posts: and the ascent to it had eight steps.
32
He brought me into the inner court toward the east: and he measured the gate according to these measures;
33
and its lodges, and its posts, and its arches, according to these measures: and there were windows therein and in its arches all around; it was fifty cubits long, and twenty-five cubits broad.
34
The arches of it were toward the outer court; and palm trees were on its posts, on this side, and on that side: and the ascent to it had eight steps.
35
He brought me to the north gate: and he measured [it] according to these measures;
36
its lodges, its posts, and its arches: and there were windows therein all around; the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth twenty-five cubits.
37
The posts of it were toward the outer court; and palm trees were on its posts, on this side, and on that side: and the ascent to it had eight steps.
38
A room with its door was by the posts at the gates; there they washed the burnt offering.
39
In the porch of the gate were two tables on this side, and two tables on that side, to kill thereon the burnt offering and the sin offering and the trespass offering.
40
On the [one] side outside, as one goes up to the entry of the gate toward the north, were two tables; and on the other side, which belonged to the porch of the gate, were two tables.
41
Four tables were on this side, and Four tables on that side, by the side of the gate; eight tables, whereupon they killed [the sacrifices].
42
There were four tables for the burnt offering, of cut stone, a cubit and a half long, and a cubit and a half broad, and one cubit high; whereupon they laid the instruments with which they killed the burnt offering and the sacrifice.
43
The hooks, a handbreadth long, were fastened within all around: and on the tables was the flesh of the offering.
44
Outside of the inner gate were rooms for the singers in the inner court, which was at the side of the north gate; and their prospect was toward the south; one at the side of the east gate having the prospect toward the north.
45
He said to me, This room, whose prospect is toward the south, is for the priests, the keepers of the duty of the house;
46
and the room whose prospect is toward the north is for the priests, the keepers of the duty of the altar: these are the sons of Zadok, who from among the sons of Levi come near to Yahweh to minister to him.
47
He measured the court, one hundred cubits long, and a hundred cubits broad, foursquare; and the altar was before the house.
48
Then he brought me to the porch of the house, and measured each post of the porch, five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side: and the breadth of the gate was three cubits on this side, and three cubits on that side.
49
The length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the breadth eleven cubits; even by the steps by which they went up to it: and there were pillars by the posts, one on this side, and another on that side.
