Bible

 

Zechariah 2

Studie

   

1 I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand.

2 Then I asked, "Where are you going?" He said to me, "To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its breadth and what is its length."

3 Behold, the angel who talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him,

4 and said to him, "Run, speak to this young man, saying, 'Jerusalem will be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of men and livestock in it.

5 For I,' says Yahweh, 'will be to her a wall of fire around it, and I will be the glory in the midst of her.

6 Come! Come! Flee from the land of the north,' says Yahweh; 'for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the sky,' says Yahweh.

7 'Come, Zion! Escape, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon.'

8 For thus says Yahweh of Armies: 'For honor he has sent me to the nations which plundered you; for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye.

9 For, behold, I will shake my hand over them, and they will be a spoil to those who served them; and you will know that Yahweh of Armies has sent me.

10 Sing and rejoice, daughter of Zion; for, behold, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of you,' says Yahweh.

11 Many nations shall join themselves to Yahweh in that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell in the midst of you, and you shall know that Yahweh of Armies has sent me to you.

12 Yahweh will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem.

13 Be silent, all flesh, before Yahweh; for he has roused himself from his holy habitation!"

   

Ze Swedenborgových děl

 

Arcana Coelestia # 9603

Prostudujte si tuto pasáž

  
/ 10837  
  

9603. 'All the curtains shall have one measure' means that the state of affairs shall be the same [with each one]. This is clear from the meaning of 'measure' as the state of affairs as regards truth, dealt with in 3104, so that 'all the curtains shall have one measure' means that the state of affairs shall be the same with every truth. The expression 'the same state of affairs', when applied to the truths of faith in the spiritual kingdom, means that they all look towards good, and through good towards the Lord, the Source of it. Truths which do not look in this direction are not the truths of faith, nor consequently are they truths of the Church or of heaven. Truths which look in some other direction may indeed to outward appearance seem like truths, but they are not truths because they are devoid of life. For the life of truth is good, and good comes from the Lord, who Alone is life. Truths that look in any other direction are like members of a body without a soul, which are not the members of any body because they are devoid of life and so are useless.

[2] The fact that 'measure' means the state of affairs as regards truth, and also the state of affairs as regards good, is evident from the places in the Word where the measures of the new Jerusalem, and also those of the new temple, are the subject. The new or holy Jerusalem means the Lord's New Church, as does the new temple; therefore by their measures states of affairs as regards truth and as regards good are meant, as in John,

The angel had a gold reed to measure the holy Jerusalem, and its gates, and its wall. And he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. He measured its wall, a hundred and forty-four cubits, which is the measure of a man (homo), that is, of an angel. Revelation 21:15-17.

The measures stated here, it is plainly evident, mean states as regards good and truth, for 'the holy Jerusalem' is the Lord's New Church, 'its gates and wall' being the protective truths of faith. 'Twelve thousand' means all the truths and forms of good in their entirety; and 'a hundred and forty-four' has a similar meaning, 7973, for this number is similar in meaning to the number twelve because it is the product of twelve multiplied by twelve, and 'twelve' means all truths and forms of good in their entirety, see 577, 2089, 2129 (end), 2130 (end), 3272, 3858, 3913. 'The measure of a man, that is, of an angel' means that this is what the state of the Church and of heaven is like as regards forms of the good of love and truths of faith; for 'a man' is the Church and 'an angel' is heaven. Without knowledge of what is meant by 'the holy Jerusalem', by 'its gates and wall', by the number 'twelve thousand furlongs', and by the measure of the wall being 'a hundred and forty-four [cubits]', and also what is meant by 'the measure', 'a man', and 'an angel', would anyone ever know [the real meaning of the description] that the measure of the city was twelve thousand furlongs, or that the measure of a wall of 144 cubits was the measure of a man, that is, of an angel?

[3] Much the same is meant by the measuring in Zechariah,

I raised my eyes and saw, and behold, a man (vir) who had a measuring line in his hand. I said, Where are you going? And he said, To measure Jerusalem to see how broad it is and how long it is. Zechariah 2:1-2.

Also in Chapters 40-42 of Ezekiel, which speak about the man with a measuring rod, who measured the houses of the new city, and also the temple - the walls, gates, footings, thresholds, windows, and steps. Unless the measurements in these places had meant the states of the thing as regards truth and good, such details would never have been mentioned. 'Measuring' generally means the state of the truth and good: In Jeremiah,

Thus said Jehovah, If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth beneath searched out, behold, I will nevertheless reject the seed of Israel on account of all that they have done. Behold, the days are coming in which the city for Jehovah will be built. And the measuring line will again go out over the hill of Gareb, and around towards Goah. Jeremiah 31:37-39.

And also in Isaiah,

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, marked off 1 the heavens with His span, and gathered the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in a balance, and the hills on the scales? Isaiah 40:12.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. literally, weighed

  
/ 10837  
  

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