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Ezekiel 2

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1 He said to me, Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.

2 The Spirit entered into me when he spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard him who spoke to me.

3 He said to me, Son of man, I send you to the children of Israel, to a nation of rebels who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me even to this very day.

4 The children are impudent and stiff-hearted: I am sending you to them; and you shall tell them, Thus says the Lord Yahweh.

5 They, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house), yet shall know that there has been a prophet among them.

6 You, son of man, don't be afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you, and you do dwell among scorpions: don't be afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house.

7 You shall speak my words to them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear; for they are most rebellious.

8 But you, son of man, hear what I tell you; don't be rebellious like that rebellious house: open your mouth, and eat that which I give you.

9 When I looked, behold, a hand was put forth to me; and, behold, a scroll of a book was therein;

10 He spread it before me: and it was written within and without; and there were written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.

   

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Revelation 4:6

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6 Before the throne was something like a sea of glass, similar to crystal. In the midst of the throne, and around the throne were four living creatures full of eyes before and behind.

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Apocalypse Revealed # 659

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659. 15:2 And I saw as though a sea of glass mingled with fire. This symbolizes the farthest boundary of the spiritual world, where those people were gathered who had religion and consequently worshiped, but lacked any goodness of life.

The sea of glass in chapter 4:6 symbolized a new heaven formed of Christians who possessed general truths taken from the literal sense of the Word (no. 238). Those who possess general truths are also at the boundaries of heaven, and from a distance they appear, therefore, as though in the sea (nos. 398, 403, 404, 470). Here, however, the sea of glass symbolizes the farthest boundary of the spiritual world, where those people were gathered who had religion and consequently worshiped, but lacked any goodness of life. Because the gathering of these is symbolically meant, therefore the verse says as though a sea of glass, and the sea also appeared to be mingled with fire - the fire there symbolizing a love of evil and the accompanying evilness of life (nos. 452, 468, 494, 766, 767, 787), thus no goodness of life. For where good is absent, there evil is present.

That the gathering of these people is meant by the description, as though a sea mingled with fire, is apparent also from the depiction that follows next, that standing beside the sea of glass were those who had the victory over the beast and over his image. These symbolize people who, because of their rejection of a faith divorced from charity, had led a good life and were therefore in heaven (no. 660).

This sea is also the one meant in chapter 21:1, the sea which was no more (no. 878).

What this sea was like, and the character of the people there, is something I was also given to see. They were people who had religion, went regularly to church, listened to sermons, and partook of the Holy Supper, but beyond this gave no thought to God, salvation or eternal life, not knowing what sin is. Consequently they were human in visage, and most of them human also as regards their civic and moral life, but not at all as regards any spiritual life, which is the life that nevertheless makes a person human.

  
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Many thanks to the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and to Rev. N.B. Rogers, translator, for the permission to use this translation.