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Ezequiel 10

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1 Depois olhei, e eis que no firmamento que estava por cima da cabeça dos querubins, apareceu sobre eles uma como pedra de safira, semelhante em forma a um trono.

2 E falou ao homem vestido de linho, dizendo: Vai por entre as rodas giradoras, até debaixo do querubim, enche as tuas mãos de brasas acesas dentre os querubins, e espalha-as sobre a cidade. E ele entrou à minha vista.

3 E os querubins estavam de pé ao lado direito da casa, quando entrou o homem; e uma nuvem encheu o átrio interior.

4 Então se levantou a glória do Senhor de sobre o querubim, e passou para a entrada da casa; e encheu-se a casa duma nuvem, e o átrio se encheu do resplendor da glória do Senhor.

5 E o ruído das asas dos querubins se ouvia até o átrio exterior, como a voz do Deus Todo-Poderoso, quando fala.

6 Sucedeu pois que, dando ele ordem ao homem vestido de linho, dizendo: Toma fogo dentre as rodas, dentre os querubins, entrou ele, e pôs-se junto a uma roda.

7 Então estendeu um querubim a sua mão de entre os querubins para o fogo que estava entre os querubins; e tomou dele e o pôs nas mãos do que estava vestido de linho, o qual o tomou, e saiu.

8 E apareceu nos querubins uma semelhança de mão de homem debaixo das suas asas.

9 Então olhei, e eis quatro rodas junto aos querubins, uma roda junto a um querubim, e outra roda junto a outro querubim; e o aspecto das rodas era como o brilho de pedra de crisólita.

10 E, quanto ao seu aspecto, as quatro tinham a mesma semelhança, como se estivesse uma roda no meio doutra roda.

11 Andando elas, iam em qualquer das quatro direções sem se virarem quando andavam, mas para o lugar para onde olhava a cabeça, para esse andavam; não se viravam quando andavam.

12 E todo o seu corpo, as suas costas, as suas mãos, as suas asas, e as rodas que os quatro tinham, estavam cheias de olhos em redor.

13 E, quanto às rodas, elas foram chamadas rodas giradoras, ouvindo-o eu.

14 E cada um tinha quatro rostos: o primeiro rosto era rosto de querubim, o segundo era rosto de homem, o terceiro era rosto de leão, e o quarto era rosto de águia.

15 E os querubins se elevaram ao alto. Eles são os mesmos seres viventes que vi junto ao rio Quebar.

16 E quando os querubins andavam, andavam as rodas ao lado deles; e quando os querubins levantavam as suas asas, para se elevarem da terra, também as rodas não se separavam do lado deles.

17 Quando aqueles paravam, paravam estas; e quando aqueles se elevavam, estas se elevavam com eles; pois o espírito do ser vivente estava nelas.

18 Então saiu a glória do Senhor de sobre a entrada da casa, e parou sobre os querubins.

19 E os querubins alçaram as suas asas, e se elevaram da terra à minha vista, quando saíram, acompanhados pelas rodas ao lado deles; e pararam à entrada da porta oriental da casa do Senhor, e a glória do Deus de Israel estava em cima sobre eles.

20 São estes os seres viventes que vi debaixo do Deus de Israel, junto ao rio Quebar; e percebi que eram querubins.

21 Cada um tinha quatro rostos e cada um quatro asas; e debaixo das suas asas havia a semelhança de mãos de homem.

22 E a semelhança dos seus rostos era a dos rostos que eu tinha visto junto ao rio Quebar; tinham a mesma aparência, eram eles mesmos; cada um andava em linha reta para a frente.

   

Komentar

 

Gate

  
People around a village gate, by Adrianus Eversen

Gates" in ancient times had a significance that does not hold in the modern world. Cities then were enclosed by walls for protection; gates in the walls let people in and out to do their business, but were also the weak points in the cities' defenses. In the Bible, cities on one level represent the minds of individual people. On a broader level, they represent beliefs shared by a community. The gates, then, represent openings where the Lord can feed us an understanding of truth and a desire for good. They also represent points where the hells can invade and sway us with false ideas and evil desires. We are kept in balance during our lifetimes, with influences from both the Lord and from hell. Ideally, we will over our lifetimes continue to invite the Lord farther and farther in and drive the hells back until ultimately the Lord can occupy our minds completely. And that point our belief in Him and His power and love will hold the gates and deny evil any entrance. As individuals, we at that point become angels. As communities, we at that point become part of the Lord's church. And at that point the gates become an entry point, introductory truths that allow people to enter churches and start bringing the Lord into their lives.

Iz Swedenborgovih djela

 

Arcana Coelestia #9434

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9434. 'And the sight of Jehovah's glory was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel' means Divine Truth beaming brightly with the good of love in heaven itself, but harmful and ruinous with those restricted to its outward level, separated from the inward. This is clear from the meaning of 'the sight of Jehovah's glory' as the appearance presented by Divine Truth emanating from the Lord (the fact that 'the sight of' means the appearance presented before the eyes is self-evident; and for the meaning of 'Jehovah's glory' as Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, see 9429); from the meaning of 'fire' as love in both senses, dealt with in 4906, 5215, 6314, 6832, 7324, in this instance God's love itself; from the meaning of 'the top of the mountain' as the inmost part of heaven, for 'Mount Sinai' means heaven, 9420, 9427, and its highest point, which is called 'the top' and the peak, means its inmost part, 9422; from the meaning of 'devouring' as consuming, and so harming and ruining; and from the representation of 'the children of Israel' as those restricted to outward things, apart from inward ones, dealt with often above. From all this it becomes clear that 'the sight of Jehovah's glory was like a [devouring] fire on the top of the mountain' means Divine Truth beaming brightly with the good of love in heaven itself; and the statement that it was 'like a devouring fire in the eyes of the children of Israel' means that with those restricted to its outward level, apart from the inward, it was harmful and ruinous.

[2] The implications of all this are that there are two kinds of love which are complete opposites, heavenly love and hellish love. Heavenly love consists of love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour; hellish love consists of self-love and love of the world. Those with whom hellish loves reign are in hell, whereas those with whom heavenly loves reign are in heaven. For love is what constitutes the actual life within a person; without the love there is no life whatever. In everyone the heat and fire that his life possesses originate in his love; without that animating heat and fire he has no life, as is plainly evident. From this it follows that the character of the love determines the character of the life, and therefore that the character of the love determines that of the person. This being so, anyone can know from what his loves are whether he has heaven within himself or hell. The love present in a person is like a fire or flame, and in addition constitutes, as has been stated, the fire or flame of life; and the faith present there is like the light radiating from that fire or flame, and in addition constitutes the light which enlightens the more internal parts of his understanding. This also reveals the character of the light which gives rise to faith among those governed by heavenly love and the character of the light which gives rise to faith among those ruled by hellish love. The latter kind of light gives rise to faith that is no more than persuasion, which in itself is not faith at all, only a conviction that something is so, dictated by selfishness and worldliness, see 9363-9369. In the Church at the present day spiritual life, which is eternal life, is thought to lie in faith alone, thus in faith without the good works of heavenly love. But anyone who gives thought to the matter can see from the things which have now been stated what the character of that life is.

[3] Something must be said next about what Divine fire, that is, Divine Love, is like among those governed by heavenly love and what it is like among those ruled by hellish love. Among those governed by heavenly love it is God's fire or love constantly creating and renewing the interior parts of the will and enlightening the interior parts of the understanding. But among those ruled by hellish love it is God's fire or love constantly harming and ruining; and the reason for this is that among these people God's love meets with contrary feelings that destroy it. For it is turned into the fire or love of self and the world, and so into contempt for others in comparison with themselves, into feelings of enmity towards all who do not support them, thus into feelings of hatred, feelings of vengeance, and finally the readiness to behave brutally. This is why Jehovah's fire appeared before the eyes of the children of Israel as a devouring or consuming one. For being restricted to outward things, apart from inward, they were ruled by selfish and worldly love.

[4] The fact that this fire was to them a devouring and consuming one is again evident elsewhere in Moses,

It happened, when you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, and the mountain was burning with fire, that you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders. And you said, Lo, Jehovah our God has caused us to see His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice out of the midst of the fire. Why therefore should we die? For this great fire will devour us; if we hear the voice of Jehovah our God any more we shall certainly die. Deuteronomy 5:23-25.

See also what has been shown in 6832, 8814, 8819, and the places quoted in 9380 showing that the character of this people was such. There are other places in the Word in which 'devouring fire' is used in reference to the wicked and means ruination, for example in Joel,

The day of Jehovah is coming, a day of darkness and thick darkness, a day of cloud and gloom. Fire devours before them, 1 and behind them a flame burns. The land before them is like the garden of Eden, but behind them a desolate wilderness. 2 Joel 2:1-3.

[5] In Isaiah,

Jehovah will cause His glorious voice 3 to be heard, in the flame of a devouring fire. Isaiah 30:30.

In the same prophet,

Who among us will dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us will dwell with the hearths of eternity? Isaiah 33:14.

In the same prophet,

You will be punished 4 by Jehovah with the flame of a devouring fire. Isaiah 29:6.

In Ezekiel,

Your descendants will be devoured by fire. Ezekiel 23:25.

In these places 'a devouring fire' is the fire of desires that spring from self-love and love of the world, for this fire is that which consumes a person and ruins the Church. This was also represented by the fire that went out from before Jehovah, which devoured Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu, because they put foreign 5 fire in their censers, Leviticus 10:1-2. 'Putting foreign fire in censers' means introducing worship that springs from a love other than that which is heavenly. Such fire means selfish and worldly love, and every desire arising from it, see 1297, 1861, 5071, 5215, 6314, 6832, 7324, 7575, 9141.

Bilješke:

1. i.e. the great and strong people who will invade the land

2. literally, a wilderness of ruination

3. literally, the glory of His voice

4. literally, visited

5. i.e. unauthorized or profane

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