Arcana Coelestia # 7553
7553. 'Behold, about this time tomorrow I am causing it to rain an extremely heavy hail' means falsities destroying all things of the Church among them. This is clear from the meaning of 'rain in the form of hail' as falsities arising from evil that destroy forms of the truth and good of faith, thus things of the Church. Those falsities are meant by 'rain in the form of hail' because then the raindrops are like stones and can destroy both men and beasts, as well as crops in the field, and also because they are pieces of ice. In general 'rain' means a blessing, or in the contrary sense a curse, 1445. When it means a blessing a flowing in and receiving of the truth of faith and the good of charity is meant; for that is a blessing. But when 'rain' means a curse falsity opposed to the truth of faith and evil opposed to the good of charity is meant, for these are a curse. 'Rain in the form of hail' however in general means a curse which is brought on by falsity arising from evil, in particular of falsity arising from evil that is opposed to the Church's truths and forms of good.
[2] These kinds of falsity are meant by 'rain in the form of hail' in the following places: In Ezekiel,
I will dispute with Gog with pestilence and blood; and deluging rain and hailstones, fire and brimstone will I cause to rain on him and on his hordes, and on the many peoples that are with him. Ezekiel 38:22.
'Gog' stands for external worship separated from internal, thus for those who, when charity has been annihilated, make Divine worship consist entirely in external observances. 'Hailstones' stands for falsities that arise from evil.
[3] In the same prophet,
Let My hand be against the prophets who see vanity and divine a lie. Say to those who daub [the wall] with what is not suitable that it will fall. There will come deluging rain from which you, O hailstones, will fall; and stormy wind will tear it apart. Ezekiel 13:9, 11.
'Prophets who are seers of vanity and diviners of a lie' stands for those who are teachers of evils and falsities. 'Those who daub [the wall] with what is unsuitable' stands for the fact that they fabricate falsities and make them look like the truth. These people are called 'hailstones' because of their falsities. But in the original language a different word, meaning intense hail, is used here and in the preceding quotation.
[4] In Isaiah,
Then Jehovah will cause His glorious voice 1 to be heard, and His arm will see repose, in the indignation of [His] anger, and the flame of a devouring fire, [in] scattering and deluging, and hailstones. Isaiah 30:30-31.
'Hailstones' stands for the laying waste of truth by means of falsities. In the same prophet,
Behold, powerful and strong is the Lord, like a deluge of hail, a killing tempest, like a deluge of mighty overflowing waters, He will cast them down to the earth with His hand. The hail will overturn the refuge of a lie, and the waters will deluge the hiding-place. 2 Isaiah 28:2, 17.
'A deluge' stands for being plunged into falsities, and so for undergoing vastation of truth, 705, 739, 790, 5725, 6853, 'a deluge of hail' for the destruction of truth by means of falsities. In David,
He struck their vine with hail, and their sycamore-fig trees with heavy hail. And He gave up 3 their beasts to the hail, and their flocks to coals of fire. He let loose on them His fierce anger. Psalms 78:47-49.
[5] In the same author,
He made their rain into hail, a flaming fire in their land; and He struck their vines and their fig trees, and broke to pieces the trees of their borders. Psalms 105:32-33.
'Hail' and 'rain' stand for the laying waste of truth and good by means of falsities arising from evil. 'Vine' stands for the truth and goodness of the internal Church, 'sycamore-fig' and 'fig' for the truths and forms of good of the external Church. In the same author,
He who gives snow like wool, He sprinkles the hear-frost like dust; He who discharges His hail like balls - who can stand before His cold? Psalms 147:16-17.
'Hail' stands for falsities arising from evils. In the same author,
He made darkness His hiding-place, and His surroundings His tent - darkness of waters, clouds of the heavens. From the brightness before Him, clouds passed with hail and coals of fire. Jehovah thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered His voice, hail, and coals of fire, so that He sent His arrows and scattered them. Psalms 18:11-14.
'Hail' stands for falsities arising from evils which lay waste truths and forms of good.
[6] In John,
The first angel sounded and there came hail, and fire mixed with blood; and it fell onto the earth so that a third part of the trees were burned, and all green grass was burned up. Revelation 8:7.
'Hail' stands for falsities arising from evil; 'fire mixed with blood' stands for evil desires together with falsified truths; 'the trees which were burned' stands for cognitions of truth that were destroyed by evil desires; and 'the green grass that was burned up' stands for known facts about truth that were destroyed in a similar way. For the meaning of 'fire' as evil desires, see 1297, 1861, 2446, 5071, 5215, 6314, 6832, 7314; of 'blood' as falsified truth, 4775, 6878, 7317, 7326; and of 'trees' as cognitions, 2722 (end), 2972.
[7] In Joshua,
It happened, when they fled before Israel on the descent of Beth Horon, that Jehovah cast down on them large [hail]stones from heaven, as far as Azekah, so that they died. Those who died from the hailstones were more than those whom the children of Israel killed with the sword. Joshua 10:11.
This refers to the five kings who camped against Gibeon. These kings and their peoples represented those who, being steeped in falsities arising from evils, therefore died from the hailstones. Balls of hail are called stones because 'stones' too mean falsities.
From all this one may see what is meant by 'hail' and by 'rain in the form of hail', namely falsities arising from evils. And since these falsities are meant, the laying waste of truth and good is also meant, for falsities arising from evils are what lay them waste.
Poznámky pod čarou:
1. literally, the glory of His voice
2. The Latin means they will deluge the hiding-place of waters, but the Hebrew means the waters will deluge the hiding-place, which Swedenborg has in his rough draft.
3. literally, shut up
Genesis 23
1
Sarah lived one hundred twenty-seven years. This was the length of Sarah's life.
2
Sarah died in Kiriath Arba (the same is Hebron), in the land of Canaan. Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.
3
Abraham rose up from before his dead, and spoke to the children of Heth, saying,
4
"I am a stranger and a foreigner living with you. Give me a possession of a burying-place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight."
5
The children of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him,
6
"Hear us, my lord. You are a prince of God among us. Bury your dead in the best of our tombs. None of us will withhold from you his tomb. Bury your dead."
7
Abraham rose up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth.
8
He talked with them, saying, "If it be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and entreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar,
9
that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he has, which is in the end of his field. For the full price let him give it to me among you for a possession of a burying-place."
10
Now Ephron was sitting in the middle of the children of Heth. Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the children of Heth, even of all who went in at the gate of his city, saying,
11
"No, my lord, hear me. I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the presence of the children of my people I give it to you. Bury your dead."
12
Abraham bowed himself down before the people of the land.
13
He spoke to Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, "But if you will, please hear me. I will give the price of the field. Take it from me, and I will bury my dead there."
14
Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him,
15
"My lord, listen to me. What is a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver between me and you? Therefore bury your dead."
16
Abraham listened to Ephron. Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver which he had named in the audience of the children of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, according to the current merchants' standard.
17
So the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all of its borders, were deeded
18
to Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city.
19
After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre (that is, Hebron), in the land of Canaan.
20
The field, and the cave that is in it, were deeded to Abraham for a possession of a burying place by the children of Heth.
