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Ezekijel 1

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1 Godine tridesete, četvrtoga mjeseca, petoga dana, kad bijah među izgnanicima na rijeci Kebaru, otvoriše se nebesa i ja ugledah božanska viđenja.

2 Petoga dana istoga mjeseca - godine pete otkako odvedoše u izgnanstvo kralja Jojakima -

3 riječ Jahvina dođe Ezekielu, sinu Buzijevu, svećeniku u zemlji kaldejskoj, na rijeci Kebaru. Spusti se na me ruka Jahvina.

4 Pogledah, kad ono sa sjevera udario silan vihor, velik oblak, bukteći oganj obavijen sjajem; usred njega, usred ognja, nešto nalik na sjajnu kovinu.

5 Usred toga nešto kao četiri bića, obličjem slična čovjeku;

6 svako od njih sa četiri obraza, u svakoga četiri krila.

7 Noge im ravne, a stopala kao u teleta; sijevahu poput glatke mjedi.

8 Ispod krila imahu na sve četiri strane ruke čovječje. I svako od njih četvero imaše svoj obraz i svoja krila.

9 Krila im se spajahu jedno s drugim. Idući, ne okretahu se: svako se naprijed kretaše.

10 I u sva četiri bijaše lice čovječje; u sva četiri zdesna lice lavlje; u sva četiri slijeva lice volujsko; i lice orlovsko u sva četiri.

11 Krila im bijahu gore raskriljena. Svako imaše dva Krila što se spajahu i dva Krila kojim tijelo pokrivahu.

12 I svako iđaše samo naprijed. A iđahu onamo kamo ih je duh gonio. I ne okretahu se idući.

13 A posred tih bića vidjelo se kao neko užareno ugljevlje, kao goruće zublje koje se među njima kretahu; iz ognja sijevaše i munje bljeskahu.

14 Bića trčahu i opet se vraćahu poput munje.

15 Dok ja promatrah, gle: na zemlji uza svako od četiri bića po jedan točak.

16 Točkovi bijahu slični krizolitu, sva četiri istoga oblika; oblikom i napravom bijahu kao da je jedan točak u drugome.

17 U kretanju mogli su ići u sva četiri smjera a nisu se morali okretati.

18 Naplatnice im bijahu visoke, a kad bolje promotrih, gle, na sve strane pune očiju.

19 Kad bi bića krenula, krenuli bi s njima i točkovi; kad bi se bića sa tla podigla, i točkovi se podizahu.

20 Kuda ih je duh gonio, onuda se kretahu, a zajedno se s njima i točkovi podizali, jer duh bića bijaše u točkovima.

21 Pa kad su bića krenula, i točkovi bi krenuli, a kad bi se ona zaustavila, ustavljali se i točkovi; kad se ona sa tla dizahu, i točkovi se s njima podizahu, jer duh bića bijaše u točkovima.

22 Nad glavama bića bijaše nešto kao svod nebeski, nalik na sjajan prozirac, uzdignut nad njihovim glavama.

23 A pod svodom raskriljena krila, jedno prema drugome: svakome po dva krila pokrivahu tijelo.

24 Čuh lepet njihovih krila kao huk velikih voda, kao glas Svesilnog, kao silan vihor, kao graju u taboru. Kad bi se bića zaustavila, spustila bi krila.

25 Sa svoda nad njihovim glavama čula se grmljavina.

26 Ispod svoda nad njihovim glavama bijaše nešto kao kamen safir, poput prijestolja: na tom kao prijestolju, gore na njemu, kao neki čovjek.

27 I vidjeh kao sjajnu kovinu, iznutra i uokolo kao oganj; od njegovih bokova naviše i od njegovih bokova naniže nešto poput ognja i blijeska na sve strane.

28 Taj blijesak na sve strane bijaše poput duge što se za kišnih dana javlja u oblaku. To bijaše nešto kao slava Jahvina. Vidjeh, padoh ničice i čuh glas koji mi govoraše.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #8763

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8763. 'You have seen what I did to the Egyptians' means remembrance of all that happened to the evil who engaged in molestation. This is clear from the meaning of 'you have seen' as remembrance; and from the representation of 'the Egyptians' as the evil who engaged in molestation, dealt with in 7097, 7107, 7110, 7126, 7142, 7317. From all this it is evident that 'you have seen what I did to the Egyptians' means remembrance of all that happened to those who engaged in molestation.

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #3387

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3387. 'For he was afraid to say, My wife, [thinking,] The men of the place may perhaps kill me on account of Rebekah' means that it was impossible for Divine Truths themselves to be disclosed, and so for Divine Good to be received. This is clear from the meaning of 'being afraid to say' as an inability to disclose; from the meaning of 'wife', who is Rebekah here, as the Lord's Divine Rational in respect to Divine Truth, dealt with in 3012, 3013, 3077; from the meaning of 'killing me' as good not being received, for 'Isaac', to whom 'me' refers here, represents the Divine Good of the Lord's Rational, 3012, 3194, 3210 - good being said 'to be killed' or to perish when it is not received, for it ceases to exist with that person; and from the meaning of 'the men of the place' as people who possess matters of doctrine concerning faith, dealt with just above in 3385. From these meanings it is now evident what the internal sense of these words is, namely: If Divine truths themselves were disclosed they would not be received by those who possess matters of doctrine concerning faith because those truths go beyond the whole range of their rational grasp of things, and so go beyond the whole of their faith, and as a consequence of this no good at all could flow in from the Lord. For good from the Lord, or Divine good, cannot flow in except into truths, for truths are the vessels for good, as shown many times.

[2] Truths or appearances of truth are given to a person to enable Divine Good to develop the understanding part of his mind, and so the person himself, for truths exist to the end that good may flow in. Indeed without vessels or receptacles good has nowhere to go, for it can find no condition answering to itself. Where no truths exist therefore, that is, where they have not been received, neither does any rational or human good exist; and as a consequence the person does not possess any spiritual life. Therefore, so that a person may nevertheless possess truths, and from these receive spiritual life, appearances of truth are given, to everyone according to his ability to grasp them; and these appearances are acknowledged as truths because they have the capacity to hold Divine things within them.

[3] So that it may be known what appearances are and that they are what serve a person as Divine truths, let the following be used by way of illustration: If man were told that in heaven angels have no concept of place, and so no concept of distance, but that instead they have concepts of state, he could not possibly grasp it, for he would suppose from this that nothing distinct and separate existed but that everything was fused together, that is to say, all the angels were together in a single place. Yet everything there is so distinct and separate that nothing could ever be more so. Places, distances, and intervals of space which exist in the natural order exist in heaven as states, see 3356. From this it is evident that all the things that are stated in the Word about places and intervals of space between objects, also ideas that are formed from these and expressed through them, are appearances of truth; and unless everything were stated by means of those appearances it would in no way be received and would as a consequence be scarcely anything; for the concept of space and time is present in almost every single detail of a person's thought as long as he is in the world, that is, living within space and time.

[4] The fact that the Word speaks according to appearances involving space is clear from almost every single part of it, as in Matthew,

Jesus said, How is it that David says, The Lord [said] to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool? Matthew 22:43-44.

Here the expression 'sitting at the right hand' is derived from the concept of place and so according to the appearance - when in fact it is a state of the Lord's Divine power which is described by that expression. In the same gospel,

Jesus said, Hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven. Matthew 26:64.

Here similarly 'sitting at the right hand' and also 'coming on clouds' are expressions derived from men's concept of place, whereas the concept angels have is one of the state of the Lord's power. In Mark,

The sons of Zebedee said to Jesus, Grant us to sit in Your glory, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left. Jesus replied, To sit at My right hand and at My left is not Mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared. Mark 10:37, 40.

From this it is evident what kind of concept the disciples had of the Lord's kingdom, that is to say, one that involved sitting on the right hand and on the left. Such being the concept they had of it the Lord also replied to them in a way they could understand and so by an appearance that could be seen by them.

[5] In David,

Like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, he rejoices as a mighty man to run the course. From the end of the heavens is His going forth, and His circuit to the ends of them. Psalms 19:5-6.

This refers to the Lord, the state of whose Divine power is described by means of such things as belong to space. In Isaiah,

How you have fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the dawn! You said in your heart, I will go up into the heavens, above the stars of God 1 I will raise my throne. I will go up above the heights of the clouds. Isaiah 14:12-14.

'Falling from heaven', 'going up the heavens', 'raising a throne above the stars of God', 'going up above the heights of the clouds' are all expressions derived from the concept and appearance of space or a place, and are used to describe self-love profaning holy things. Since celestial and spiritual things are presented to man by means of and according to visual objects like these, heaven too is therefore described as being on high when in fact it is not on high but in that which is internal, 450, 1380, 2148.

Footnotes:

1. The Latin means heaven; but the Hebrew means God which Swedenborg has in other places where he quotes this verse.

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