Apocalypse Revealed #239
239. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures. This symbolizes the Word of the Lord from the firsts of it in its lasts, and its protections.
I know people will be surprised at my saying that the four living creatures symbolize the Word. This is nevertheless their symbolic meaning, as we will later show.
The four living creatures here are the same as the cherubim in Ezekiel. In chapter 1 there they are called likewise living creatures, but cherubim in chapter 10, and they were, as here, a lion, an ox, a human being, and an eagle. 1
In the Hebrew there they are called hayyoth, 2 a word which indeed means creatures, but one derived from hayyoh, 3 meaning life, from which the name of Adam's wife, Hawwah, 4 also was derived (Genesis 3:20). In Ezekiel a creature is also called hayyah, so that these creatures can be called living ones.
It does not matter that the Word is described by creatures, since the Lord Himself is sometimes called in the Word a lion, and often a lamb, and people possessing charity from the Lord are called sheep. Moreover, an understanding of the Word, too, is in subsequent chapters called a horse.
It is apparent that these living creatures or cherubim symbolize the Word from the fact that they were seen in the midst of the throne and around the throne. The Lord was in the midst of the throne, and because the Lord embodies the Word, it could not appear elsewhere. They were also seen around the throne, because they were seen in the angelic heaven, where the Word exists also.
[2] The fact that cherubim symbolize the Word and its protection is something we showed in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem Regarding the Sacred Scripture 97, , where we said the following:
...the literal sense of the Word is a protection for the genuine truths which lie within; and the protection consists in the fact that the literal sense can be turned this way or that, (or) explained in accordance with one's comprehension, and yet without harming or violating the Word's inner meaning. For it does no harm for the literal sense to be interpreted differently by different people. But harm is done if the Divine truths that lie within are distorted, for this does violence to the Word.
The literal sense protects this from happening, and it does so in the case of people caught up in falsities derived from their religion, who do not defend those falsities; for they do not inflict any violence.
This protection is symbolized by the cherubim and also described by them in the Word. The same protection is symbolized by the cherubim which, after Adam and his wife were cast out of the Garden of Eden, were placed at its entrance, regarding which we read the following:
(When) Jehovah God... drove out the man..., He caused cherubim to dwell at the east of the Garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life. (Genesis 3:23-24)
The cherubim symbolize a protection. The way to the tree of life symbolizes an entryway to the Lord, which people have through the Word. The flaming sword which turned every way symbolizes Divine truth in outmost expressions, which is like the Word in its literal sense, which can (as we said) be turned in the way stated.
[3] The cherubim of gold positioned on either end of the mercy seat which was on top of the ark (Exodus 25:18-21) have the same meaning. Because this is what the cherubim symbolized, therefore Jehovah spoke with Moses from between them (Exodus 25:22; 30:6, 36, Numbers 7:89)....
This, too, was what the cherubim on the curtains of the Tabernacle and on the veil in it symbolized (Exodus 26:1, 31). For the curtains and veils of the Tabernacle represented the outmost elements of heaven and the church, thus also the outmost expressions of the Word.
This was also what the cherubim inside the temple at Jerusalem symbolized (1 Kings 6:23-28), and what the cherubim carved on the walls and doors of the temple symbolized (1 Kings 6:29, 32, 35). Likewise the cherubim in the new temple (Ezekiel 41:18-20)....
[4] Since cherubim symbolized a protection to prevent a direct approach to the Lord and heaven and to Divine truth such as it is inwardly in the Word, so that people must approach indirectly through its outward expressions, therefore the following is said of the king of Tyre:
You, the seal of the measure, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty, were in Eden, the garden...; every precious stone was your covering... You were the cherub, the spreader of a covering... I destroyed you, O covering cherub, in the midst of fiery stones. (Ezekiel 28:12-14, 16)
Tyre symbolizes the church in respect to its concepts of truth and goodness, and therefore its king symbolizes the Word where those concepts are found and from which they are drawn. It is apparent that here he symbolizes the Word in its outmost expression, which is its literal meaning, and the cherub, its protection, for the passage says, "You, the seal of the measure," "every precious stone was your covering," "You were the cherub, the spreader of a covering." The precious stones mentioned here as well symbolize the truths in the Word's literal sense (no. 231).
[5] Since cherubim symbolize Divine truth in outmost expressions as a protection, therefore we are told in the book of Psalms:
...O Shepherd of Israel..., You who sit upon the cherubim, shine forth! (Psalms 80:1)
Jehovah..., sitting upon the cherubim. (Psalms 99:1)
(Jehovah) bowed the heavens and came down... And He rode upon cherubim... (Psalms 18:9-10)
To ride upon cherubim, to sit on them and be seated on them is to do so upon the outmost meaning of the Word.
The Divine truth in the Word and its character is described by cherubim in the first, ninth and tenth chapters in Ezekiel. But inasmuch as no one can know what the particulars of their description symbolize except one to whom the spiritual meaning has been disclosed, and inasmuch as this meaning has been disclosed to me, we will relate briefly what is symbolized by each of the particulars mentioned regarding the four creatures or cherubim in the first chapter in Ezekiel. They are as follows:
[6] The outward Divine atmosphere of the Word is described in verse 4.
It is represented as human in verse 5; as conjoined with spiritual and celestial qualities in verse 6.
The character of the natural component of the Word is described in verse 7.
The character of the spiritual and celestial components of the Word conjoined with the natural one, in verses 8-9.
The Divine love of the celestial, spiritual and natural goodness and truth present in it, separately and together, in verses 10-11.
Their looking to a single end, in verse 12.
The atmosphere of the Word emanating from the Lord's Divine goodness and truth, which give the Word life, in verses 13-14.
The doctrine of goodness and truth present in the Word and emanating from the Word, in verses 15-21.
The Lord's Divinity transcending it and present in it, in verses 22-23; and emanating from it, in verses 24-25.
The Lord's transcending the heavens, in verse 26.
His possessing Divine love and wisdom, in verses 27-28.
These are the symbolic meanings in summary form.
각주:
Leviticus 13
1
Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,
2
"When a man shall have a rising in his body's skin, or a scab, or a bright spot, and it becomes in the skin of his body the plague of leprosy, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest, or to one of his sons, the priests:
3
and the priest shall examine the plague in the skin of the body: and if the hair in the plague has turned white, and the appearance of the plague is deeper than the body's skin, it is the plague of leprosy; and the priest shall examine him, and pronounce him unclean.
4
If the bright spot is white in the skin of his body, and its appearance isn't deeper than the skin, and its hair hasn't turned white, then the priest shall isolate the infected person for seven days.
5
The priest shall examine him on the seventh day, and, behold, if in his eyes the plague is arrested, and the plague hasn't spread in the skin, then the priest shall isolate him for seven more days.
6
The priest shall examine him again on the seventh day; and behold, if the plague has faded, and the plague hasn't spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean. It is a scab. He shall wash his clothes, and be clean.
7
But if the scab spreads on the skin, after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he shall show himself to the priest again.
8
The priest shall examine him; and behold, if the scab has spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is leprosy.
9
"When the plague of leprosy is in a man, then he shall be brought to the priest;
10
and the priest shall examine him. Behold, if there is a white rising in the skin, and it has turned the hair white, and there is raw flesh in the rising,
11
it is a chronic leprosy in the skin of his body, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean. He shall not isolate him, for he is unclean.
12
"If the leprosy breaks out all over the skin, and the leprosy covers all the skin of the infected person from his head even to his feet, as far as it appears to the priest;
13
then the priest shall examine him; and, behold, if the leprosy has covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce him clean of the plague. It has all turned white: he is clean.
14
But whenever raw flesh appears in him, he shall be unclean.
15
The priest shall examine the raw flesh, and pronounce him unclean: the raw flesh is unclean. It is leprosy.
16
Or if the raw flesh turns again, and is changed to white, then he shall come to the priest;
17
and the priest shall examine him; and, behold, if the plague has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce him clean of the plague. He is clean.
18
"When the body has a boil on its skin, and it has healed,
19
and in the place of the boil there is a white rising, or a bright spot, reddish-white, then it shall be shown to the priest;
20
and the priest shall examine it; and behold, if its appearance is lower than the skin, and its hair has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is the plague of leprosy. It has broken out in the boil.
21
But if the priest examines it, and behold, there are no white hairs in it, and it isn't deeper than the skin, but is dim, then the priest shall isolate him seven days.
22
If it spreads in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is a plague.
23
But if the bright spot stays in its place, and hasn't spread, it is the scar from the boil; and the priest shall pronounce him clean.
24
"Or when the body has a burn from fire on its skin, and the raw flesh of the burn becomes a bright spot, reddish-white, or white,
25
then the priest shall examine it; and behold, if the hair in the bright spot has turned white, and its appearance is deeper than the skin; it is leprosy. It has broken out in the burning, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is the plague of leprosy.
26
But if the priest examines it, and behold, there is no white hair in the bright spot, and it isn't lower than the skin, but is faded; then the priest shall isolate him seven days.
27
The priest shall examine him on the seventh day. If it has spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is the plague of leprosy.
28
If the bright spot stays in its place, and hasn't spread in the skin, but is faded, it is the swelling from the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him clean; for it is the scar from the burn.
29
"When a man or woman has a plague on the head or on the beard,
30
then the priest shall examine the plague; and behold, if its appearance is deeper than the skin, and the hair in it is yellow and thin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is an itch, it is leprosy of the head or of the beard.
31
If the priest examines the plague of itching, and behold, its appearance isn't deeper than the skin, and there is no black hair in it, then the priest shall isolate him the person infected with itching seven days.
32
On the seventh day the priest shall examine the plague; and behold, if the itch hasn't spread, and there is no yellow hair in it, and the appearance of the itch isn't deeper than the skin,
33
then he shall be shaved, but he shall not shave the itch; and the priest shall shut him up who has the itch seven more days.
34
On the seventh day, the priest shall examine the itch; and behold, if the itch hasn't spread in the skin, and its appearance isn't deeper than the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean. He shall wash his clothes, and be clean.
35
But if the itch spreads in the skin after his cleansing,
36
then the priest shall examine him; and behold, if the itch has spread in the skin, the priest shall not look for the yellow hair; he is unclean.
37
But if in his eyes the itch is arrested, and black hair has grown in it; the itch is healed, he is clean. The priest shall pronounce him clean.
38
"When a man or a woman has bright spots in the skin of the body, even white bright spots;
39
then the priest shall examine them; and behold, if the bright spots on the skin of their body are a dull white, it is a harmless rash, it has broken out in the skin; he is clean.
40
"If a man's hair has fallen from his head, he is bald. He is clean.
41
If his hair has fallen off from the front part of his head, he is forehead bald. He is clean.
42
But if there is in the bald head, or the bald forehead, a reddish-white plague; it is leprosy breaking out in his bald head, or his bald forehead.
43
Then the priest shall examine him; and, behold, if the rising of the plague is reddish-white in his bald head, or in his bald forehead, like the appearance of leprosy in the skin of the flesh,
44
he is a leprous man. He is unclean. The priest shall surely pronounce him unclean. His plague is on his head.
45
"The leper in whom the plague is shall wear torn clothes, and the hair of his head shall hang loose. He shall cover his upper lip, and shall cry, 'Unclean! Unclean!'
46
All the days in which the plague is in him he shall be unclean. He is unclean. He shall dwell alone. Outside of the camp shall be his dwelling.
47
"The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in, whether it is a woolen garment, or a linen garment;
48
whether it is in warp, or woof; of linen, or of wool; whether in a skin, or in anything made of skin;
49
if the plague is greenish or reddish in the garment, or in the skin, or in the warp, or in the woof, or in anything made of skin; it is the plague of leprosy, and shall be shown to the priest.
50
The priest shall examine the plague, and isolate the plague seven days.
51
He shall examine the plague on the seventh day. If the plague has spread in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in the skin, whatever use the skin is used for, the plague is a destructive mildew. It is unclean.
52
He shall burn the garment, whether the warp or the woof, in wool or in linen, or anything of skin, in which the plague is: for it is a destructive mildew. It shall be burned in the fire.
53
"If the priest examines it, and behold, the plague hasn't spread in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in anything of skin;
54
then the priest shall command that they wash the thing in which the plague is, and he shall isolate it seven more days.
55
Then the priest shall examine it, after the plague is washed; and behold, if the plague hasn't changed its color, and the plague hasn't spread, it is unclean; you shall burn it in the fire. It is a mildewed spot, whether the bareness is inside or outside.
56
If the priest looks, and behold, the plague has faded after it is washed, then he shall tear it out of the garment, or out of the skin, or out of the warp, or out of the woof:
57
and if it appears again in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in anything of skin, it is spreading. You shall burn with fire that in which the plague is.
58
The garment, either the warp, or the woof, or whatever thing of skin it is, which you shall wash, if the plague has departed from them, then it shall be washed the second time, and it will be clean."
59
This is the law of the plague of mildew in a garment of wool or linen, either in the warp, or the woof, or in anything of skin, to pronounce it clean, or to pronounce it unclean.
