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Ezekiel 10

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1 Og jeg skuede og se, over hvælvingen over kerubernes hoveder var der noget som Safir; noget ligesom en Trone viste sig over dem.

2 sagde han til Manden i det linnede Klædebon: "Gå ind mellem Hjulene under keruberne og tag Hænderne fulde af glødende Kul fra ummet mellem Keruberne og strø det ud over Byen!" Og jeg så ham gå derhen.

3 Keruberne stod sønden for Templet, da Manden gik derhen, og Skyen fyldte den indre Forgård.

4 Og HE ENs Herlighed hævede sig fra Keruberne og flyttede sig hen til Templets Tærskel; da fyldtes Templet af Skyen, og Forgården fyldtes af HE ENs Herligheds Glalans.

5 Og Suset af Kerubernes Vinger hørtes helt ud i den ydre Forgård som Gud den Almægtiges øst, når han taler.

6 Så bød han Manden i det linnede Klædebon: "Tag Ild fra ummet mellem Hjulene, inde mellem keruberne!" Og Manden stillede sig hen ved Siden af det ene Hjul

7 og rakte Hånden ind i Ilden, som brændte mellem Keruberne, og kom ud med noget deraf.

8 Under Kerubernes Vinger sås noget, der lignede en Menneskehånd;

9 og jeg skuede, og se, der var fire Hjul ved Siden af Keruberne, eet ved hver Kerub, og Hjulene var som funklende Krysolit at se til.

10 De så alle fire ens ud, og det var, som om der i hvert Hjul var et andet Hjul,

11 De kunde gå til alle fire Sider de vendte sig ikke, når de gik. Thi de gik i den etning, den forreste vendte, og de vendte sig ikke, når de gik.

12 Hele deres Legeme, yg, Hænder og Vinger og ligeledes Hjulene var fulde af Øjne rundt om; således var det med alle fire Hjul.

13 Og jeg hørte, at Hjulene kaldtes Galgal.

14 Hver af dem havde fire Ansigter; det ene var et Kerubansigt, det andet et Menneskeansigt, det tredje et Løveansigt og det fjerde et Ørneansigt.

15 Og Keruberne hævede sig i Vejret. Det var det samme levende Væsen, jeg så ved Floden Kebar.

16 Når Keruberne gik, gik også Hjulene ved Siden af, og når Keruberne løftede Vingerne for at hæve sig fra Jorden, vendte Hjulene sig ikke fra dem;

17 når de standsede, standsede også de; og når de hævede sig, hævede de sig med, thi Væsenets Ånd var i dem.

18 Så forlod HE ENs Herlighed Templets Tærskel og stillede sig over Keruberne.

19 Og jeg så, hvorledes Keruberne løftede Vingerne og hævede sig fra Jorden, da de gik, og Hjulene med dem; og de standsede ved Indgangen til HE ENs Huses Østport, og Israels Guds Herlighed var oven over dem.

20 Det var det samme levende Væsen, jeg så under Israels Gud ved Floden Kebar; og jeg skønnede, at det var Keruber.

21 Hver af dem havde fire Ansigter og fire Vinger og noget ligesom Menneskehænder under Vingerne.

22 Og deres Ansigter var ligesom de Ansigter, jeg så ved Floden Kebar. De gik alle lige ud.

   


The Project Gutenberg Association at Carnegie Mellon University

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #9509

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9509. 'And you shall make two cherubs' means that there is no admission or access to the Lord except through the good of love. This is clear from the meaning of 'cherubs' as watchfulness and providence, guarding against access to the Lord except through the good of love. Since this was meant by the cherubs, they were placed over the mercy-seat that was over the ark; and they were for the same reason made from solid gold. For 'the ark' means heaven where the Lord is, 9485, and 'gold' means the good of love, 9490. The reason why there is no access to the Lord except through the good of love is that love is spiritual togetherness, and all good belongs to love. Those therefore who are governed by the good of love to the Lord are brought to Him in heaven, because they have been joined together with Him. So too are those who are governed by the good of love towards the neighbour; for the neighbour is the good of a fellow-citizen, the good of one's country, the good of the Church, the good of the whole of the Lord's kingdom, and in the highest sense the Lord Himself since He is the source of that good present with a person.

[2] There are two states that a person passes through while being regenerated, one of which follows the other. The first is a state during which he is led by means of the truths of faith to the good of love; the other is one in which he is governed by the good of love, and when governed by it he is in heaven with the Lord. From this it is evident that this good is heaven itself present with the person, that good being the Lord present with him because its source is the Lord. Regarding these two states that a person who is being regenerated passes through, one of which follows the other, see 7923, 7992, 8505, 8506, 8510, 8512, 8516, 8643, 8648, 8658, 8685, 8690, 8701, 9224, 9227, 9230, 9274; and the fact that a person comes into heaven when governed by good, that is, when led by the Lord by means of good, 8516, 8539, 8722, 8772, 9139.

[3] It is clear from places in the Word where 'cherubs' are mentioned that they mean watchfulness and providence, guarding against access to the Lord or to heaven except through the good of love, that is, except by those governed by the good of love, and also guarding against any harm being done to the good from the Lord which is present in heaven and with a person, as for instance in Genesis,

And He expelled the man, and away from the east towards the garden of Eden He caused the cherubs to dwell, and the flame of a sword turning itself this way and that to guard the way to the tree of life. Genesis 3:24.

Here it is self-evident that things which serve as guards are meant by 'the cherubs', since it says 'to guard the way to the tree of life'. 'The tree of life' is the good of love, which comes from the Lord and for that reason is the Lord; and it is guarded by the prevention of any access except through the good of love.

[4] It is thought that the Lord is accessible through the truths of faith. But there can be no access to Him, nor even to heaven, through those truths if they have been separated from the good of love. As soon as separated truths wish to enter, heaven, which is the way to the Lord, is closed. And since truth cannot enter by itself unless it has good within it, and by virtue of this has come to consist of good, neither can understanding do so, still less factual knowledge, if separated from good desired by the will.

[5] Because watchfulness and providence guarding against access to the Lord, or for that reason to heaven, except through the good of love is meant by 'the cherubs', the Word says that Jehovah is seated on the cherubs, also rides and dwells upon the cherubs, as in David,

Turn Your ears, O Shepherd of Israel; You who are seated upon the cherubs, shine forth. Psalms 80:1.

In the same author,

Jehovah will reign, the peoples will be shaken. He is seated on the cherubs. Psalms 99:1.

In the same author,

Jehovah rode on a cherub, and flew. Psalms 18:10.

And in Isaiah,

Jehovah Zebaoth is dwelling on the cherubs. Isaiah 37:16.

For the same reasons there were cherubs upon the curtains of the dwelling-place, and upon the veil, Exodus 26:1, 31; 36:35; they were also upon the walls of the temple round about and upon the doors there, 1 Kings 6:23-29, 31-35, and similarly in the new temple, as described in Ezekiel 41:18-20. The presence of the cherubs on the curtains of the dwelling-place, on the veil, on the walls of the temple, and on the doors there, was a sign of the Lord's watchfulness, guarding against access to Divine Holiness except through the good of love; and the presence of the cherubs over the ark was a sign that no one should gain access to the Lord Himself except through that good. This also explains why the cherubs were made from solid gold, and in the Jerusalem temple from olive wood; for 'gold' and 'olive oil' mean the good of love.

[6] That watchfulness and providence of the Lord is described in Ezekiel by 'the four living creatures', each of which had four faces, under the throne where the Lord was, Ezekiel 1:1-end; 10:1-end, and also in John by 'four living creatures' around the throne where the Lord was, 10:Revelation 4:6-10; 5:6, 8-9, 14. By 'the four living creatures' is meant the good, varying in appearance, which emanates from the Lord, and which watches and guards against the letting in of anything other than the good of love to the Lord and the good of love towards the neighbour. By 'the throne' on which the Lord was seated heaven is meant, 5313.

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