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Exodus 39

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1 Of the blue, purple, and scarlet, they made finely worked garments, for ministering in the holy place, and made the holy garments for Aaron; as Yahweh commanded Moses.

2 He made the ephod of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen.

3 They beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it into wires, to work it in the blue, in the purple, in the scarlet, and in the fine linen, the work of the skillful workman.

4 They made shoulder straps for it, joined together. At the two ends it was joined together.

5 The skillfully woven band that was on it, with which to fasten it on, was of the same piece, like its work; of gold, of blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen; as Yahweh commanded Moses.

6 They worked the onyx stones, enclosed in settings of gold, engraved with the engravings of a signet, according to the names of the children of Israel.

7 He put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod, to be stones of memorial for the children of Israel, as Yahweh commanded Moses.

8 He made the breastplate, the work of a skillful workman, like the work of the ephod; of gold, of blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen.

9 It was square. They made the breastplate double. Its length was a span, and its breadth a span, being double.

10 They set in it four rows of stones. A row of ruby, topaz, and beryl was the first row;

11 and the second row, a turquoise, a sapphire, and an emerald;

12 and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst;

13 and the fourth row, a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in gold settings.

14 The stones were according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names; like the engravings of a signet, everyone according to his name, for the twelve tribes.

15 They made on the breastplate chains like cords, of braided work of pure gold.

16 They made two settings of gold, and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.

17 They put the two braided chains of gold in the two rings at the ends of the breastplate.

18 The other two ends of the two braided chains they put on the two settings, and put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod, in its front.

19 They made two rings of gold, and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, on its edge, which was toward the side of the ephod inward.

20 They made two rings of gold, and put them on the two shoulder straps of the ephod underneath, in its front, close by its coupling, above the skillfully woven band of the ephod.

21 They bound the breastplate by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it might be on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastplate might not come loose from the ephod, as Yahweh commanded Moses.

22 He made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue.

23 The opening of the robe in its midst was like the opening of a coat of mail, with a binding around its opening, that it should not be torn.

24 They made on the skirts of the robe pomegranates of blue, purple, scarlet, and twined linen.

25 They made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates around the skirts of the robe, between the pomegranates;

26 a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, around the skirts of the robe, to minister in, as Yahweh commanded Moses.

27 They made the coats of fine linen of woven work for Aaron, and for his sons,

28 and the turban of fine linen, and the linen headbands of fine linen, and the linen breeches of fine twined linen,

29 and the sash of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, the work of the embroiderer, as Yahweh commanded Moses.

30 They made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote on it a writing, like the engravings of a signet: "holy TO YAHWEH."

31 They tied to it a lace of blue, to fasten it on the turban above, as Yahweh commanded Moses.

32 Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting was finished. The children of Israel did according to all that Yahweh commanded Moses; so they did.

33 They brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent, with all its furniture, its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, its sockets,

34 the covering of rams' skins dyed red, the covering of sea cow hides, the veil of the screen,

35 the ark of the testimony with its poles, the mercy seat,

36 the table, all its vessels, the show bread,

37 the pure lampstand, its lamps, even the lamps to be set in order, all its vessels, the oil for the light,

38 the golden altar, the anointing oil, the sweet incense, the screen for the door of the Tent,

39 the bronze altar, its grating of brass, its poles, all of its vessels, the basin and its base,

40 the hangings of the court, its pillars, its sockets, the screen for the gate of the court, its cords, its pins, all the instruments of the service of the tabernacle, for the Tent of Meeting,

41 the finely worked garments for ministering in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office.

42 According to all that Yahweh commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did all the work.

43 Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it as Yahweh had commanded, even so had they done it: and Moses blessed them.

   

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Apocalypse Explained # 1143

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1143. And fine linen and crimson.- That these signify truths and goods from a celestial origin, profaned, is evident from the signification of fine linen, which denotes truths from a celestial origin, of which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of crimson, which denotes goods from a celestial origin (concerning which see above, n. 1042), but in this case those truths and goods profaned, because the fine linen and crimson are called the merchandise of Babylon, and Babylon as a harlot and the mother of the whoredoms and abominations of the earth, signifies profanations of truth and good. Truths and goods from a celestial origin are the truths and goods with those who are in love to the Lord, which are called celestial, and are distinguished from the truths and goods from a spiritual origin, signified by the silk and scarlet, which we shall refer to presently. They profane truths and goods from a celestial origin, especially in this, that they have arrogated to themselves the Lord's Divine Power of saving mankind, and thus also love to Him they have diverted [to the pope] as his vicar and to his ministers. But the Lord cannot be loved when the power of salvation is taken away from Him, and a man is loved instead of Him. They say, indeed, that the Lord is loved for giving that power to man, and that he is loved, and also reverently honoured by those who have received that power, and is worshipped by the rest. But love to the Lord cannot exist with such, the love of ruling over heaven and the Church being altogether contrary to it; for that love is the love of self, which is diabolical love, and from this the Lord cannot be loved. Such love, regarded in itself, is rather hatred against the Lord, into which also it is changed when they become spirits, and domination is taken away from them then they also persecute all those who are in love to the Lord. From these things it is evident how they profane truths and goods which are from a celestial origin.

[2] That fine linen signifies truths from a celestial origin, is evident from the following passages.

Thus in Ezekiel:

"I clothed thee with broidered-work, I shod thee with badger's skin (taxus), and I girded thee with fine linen, and covered thee with silks; thus wast thou adorned with gold and silver, and thy garments were fine linen, silk, and broidered-work" (16:10, 13).

This is said of Jerusalem, by which the Church is meant, in this case, at its first establishment. Broidered-work and badger's skin there signify the knowledges of truth and good from the Word. Fine linen and silk signify truths from a celestial origin and truths from a spiritual origin; these are described as garments, because garments signify truths, with which good is clothed or invested.

Again in the same:

"Fine linen in broidered-work [from Egypt] was thine expansion, and crimson from the isle of Elisha was thy covering" (27:7).

This refers to Tyre, which signifies the Church as to the knowledges of good and truth; those knowledges are signified by broidered-work from Egypt, truths by fine linen, and good by crimson, both from a celestial origin.

So in Luke:

"There was a certain rich man who was clothed in crimson and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day" (16:19).

The rich man here means the Jewish race, which is said to be clothed in crimson and fine linen, because they possessed the Word, from which they were in possession of goods and truths; goods are there meant by crimson, and truths by fine linen, both from a celestial origin. By Lazarus, who lay at the rich man's porch, are meant the nations who had not the Word.

[3] Because fine linen (byssus), which also is xylinum, signified truths from a celestial origin, and the garments of Aaron represented Divine truths, he himself representing the Lord, therefore fine linen and xyhinum were interwoven in his mitre and belt (Exodus 28:39; 39:27); they were also interwoven in the curtains of the tabernacle and its coverings, because they represented those things of the Church which inclose, and these are truths (Exodus 26:1; 27:9, 18; 36:8; 38:9, 16).

The signification of fine linen (byssus) in the following passages of the Apocalypse is similar:

"The time of the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready; and it was given unto her that she should be clothed in fine linen, clean and shining" (19:7, 8);

The armies of him that sat upon the white horse "followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean" (19:14).

The reason why fine linen signifies truth from a celestial origin is, because that kind of linen was a species of very white flax, of which garments are made. Flax, and also whiteness, signify truth, and a garment made from it signifies according to its brightness, truth pure and clean.

[4] Continuation of the Athanasian Creed.- The hell where those are who are called devils is the love of self; and the hell where those who are called satans is the love of the world. The reason why the diabolical hell is the love of self, is, that that love is the opposite of celestial love, which is love to the Lord; and the reason why the satanical hell is the love of the world, is, that this love is the opposite of spiritual love, which is love towards the neighbour.

Now, since the two loves of hell are the opposite of the two loves of heaven, therefore hell and the heavens are in opposition to each other. For all who are in the heavens have regard to the Lord and to the neighbour, but all who are in the hells have regard to themselves and the world. All who are in the heavens love the Lord and the neighbour, but all who are in the hells love themselves and the world, and hence bear hatred to the Lord and to the neighbour. All who are in the heavens think what is true and will what is good, because they think and will from the Lord; but all who are in the hells think what is false and will what is evil, because they think and will from themselves. It is for this reason that all who are in the hells appear averted, their faces being turned away from the Lord, they also appear inverted, their feet being upwards and their heads downwards; this appearance arises from their loves being the opposite of the loves of heaven.

[5] Since hell is the love of self, it is also fire; for all love corresponds to fire, and in the spiritual world is so presented as to seem at a distance like fire, yet still it is not fire but love. For this reason the hells appear within as if they were on fire, and without like ejections of fire in the midst of smoke rising from furnaces or conflagrations; sometimes the devils themselves also appear like fires of charcoal. The heat which they have from that fire is like an effervescence from impurities, which is lust, and the light which they receive from that fire is merely an appearance of light from phantasies, and from confirmations of evils by falsities; but yet, it is not light, for whenever the light of heaven enters by influx it becomes thick darkness to them, and when the heat of heaven enters it becomes cold to them. They see, however, from their own light, and live from their own heat; but their sight is like that of owls, birds of night, and bats, whose eyes are dim to the light of heaven, and they live in a semi-torpid state. The living principle pertaining to them consists merely in their ability to think and will, to speak and act, and hence to see, hear, taste, smell, and feel. It is merely a faculty derived from that life which is God acting upon them from without, according to order, and continually impelling them to order. It is from this faculty that they live for ever. The dead principle pertaining to them is from the evils and falsities derived from their loves; hence it is, that their life, viewed from their loves, is not life, but death; and therefore hell, in the Word is called "death," and its inhabitants are called "dead."

  
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Translation by Isaiah Tansley. Many thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.