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Ezekiel 3

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1 sagde han til mig: "Menneskesøn, slug hvad du her har for dig, slug denne Bogrulle og gå så hen og tal til Israels Hus!"

2 Så åbnede jeg Munden, og han lod mig sluge Bogrullen

3 og sagde til mig: "Menneskesøn! Lad din Bug fortære den Bogrulle, jeg her giver dig, og fyld dine Indvolde dermed!" Og jeg slugte den, og den var sød som Honning i min Mund.

4 sagde han til mig: "Menneskesøn, gå til Israels Hus og tal mine Ord til dem!

5 Thi du sendes til Israels Folk, ikke til et Folk med dybt Mål og tungt Mæle,

6 ikke til mange Hånde Folkeslag med dybt Mål og tungt Mæle, hvis Tale du ikke fatter, hvis jeg sendte dig til dem, vilde de høre dig.

7 Men Israels Hus vil ikke høre dig, thi de vil ikke høre mig; thi hele Israels Hus har hårde Pander og stive Hjerter.

8 Se, jeg gør dit Ansigt hårdt som deres Ansigter og din Pande hård som deres Pander;

9 som Diamant, hårdere end Flint gør jeg din Pande. Frygt ikke for dem og vær ikke ræd for deres Ansigter, thi de er en genstridig Slægt!"

10 Videre sagde han til mig: "Menneskesøn, alle mine Ord, som jeg taler til dig, skal du optage i dit Hjerte og høre med dine Ører;

11 og gå så hen til dine landflygtige Landsmænd og tal til dem og sig: Så siger den Herre HE EN! - hvad enten de så hører eller ej!"

12 Så løftede Ånden mig, og jeg hørte bag mig Larmen af et vældigt Jordskælv, da HE ENs Herlighed hævede sig fra sit Sted,

13 og Suset af de levende Væseners Vinger, der rørte hverandre, og samtidig Lyden af Hjulene og Larmen af Jordskælvet.

14 Og Ånden løftede mig og førte mig bort, og jeg vandrede bitter og gram i Hu, idet HE ENs Hånd var over mig med Vælde.

15 kom jeg til de landflygtige i Tel-Abib, de, som boede ved Floden Kebar, og der sad jeg syv Dage iblandt dem og stirrede hen for mig.

16 Syv Dage senere kom HE ENs Ord til mig således:

17 Menneskesøn! Jeg sætter dig til Vægter for Israels Hus; hører du et Ord af min Mund, skal du advare dem fra mig.

18 Når jeg siger til den gudløse: "Du skal visselig !" og du ikke advarer ham eller for at bevare hans Liv taler til ham om at omvende sig fra sin gudløse Vej, så skal samme gudløse for sin Misgerning, men hans Blod vil jeg kræve af din Hånd.

19 Advarer du derimod den gudløse, og han ikke omvender sig fra sin Gudløshed og sin Vej, så skal samme gudløse for sin Misgerning, men du har reddet din Sjæl.

20 Og når en retfærdig vender sig fra sin etfærdighed og gør Uret, og jeg lægger Anstød for ham, så han dør, og du ikke har advaret ham, så dør han for sin Synd, og den etfærdighed, han har øvet, skal ikke tilregnes ham, men hans Blod vil jeg kræve af din Hånd.

21 Har du derimod advaret den retfærdige mod at synde, og han ikke synder, så skal samme retfærdige leve, fordi han lod sig advare, og du har reddet din Sjæl.

22 Siden kom HE ENs Hånd over mig der, og han sagde til mig: "Stå op og gå ud i dalen, der vil jeg tale med dig!"

23 stod jeg op og gik ud i Dalen, og se, der stod HE ENs Herlighed, som jeg havde set denved Floden Kebar. Da faldt jeg på mit Ansigt.

24 Men Ånden kom i mig og rejste mig på mine Fødder. Så taIede han til mig og sagde: Gå hjem og luk dig inde i dit Hus!

25 Og du, Menneskesøn, se, man skal lægge Bånd på dig og binde dig, så du ikke kan gå ud iblandt dem;

26 og din Tunge lader jeg hænge ved Ganen, så du bliver stum og ikke kan være dem en evser; thi de er en genstridig Slægt.

27 Men når jeg taler til dig, vil jeg åbne din Mund, og du skal sige til dem: Så siger den Herre HE EN! Så får den, der vil høre, høre, og den, der ikke vil, får lade være; thi de er en genstridig Slægt.

   


The Project Gutenberg Association at Carnegie Mellon University

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #728

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728. That 'seven days' time' here means the onset of temptation is clear from the internal sense of all the details in this verse, where the subject is the temptation of the man called Noah. In general the subject concerns not only the temptation of that man but also the utter vastation of those who belonged to the Most Ancient Church and who had become such as described. Consequently 'seven days' time' means not only the onset of temptation but also the finish of vastation. The reason 'seven days' time' means those things is that seven Is a holy number, as stated and shown at verse 2 of this chapter, at Genesis 4:15, 24, and in 84-87. It means the Lord's Coming into the world, and also His coming into glory. In particular it means every coming He makes. Every one of His comings involves a beginning for those who are being regenerated and the end of those who are being vastated. And so for the member of this Church His coming marked the onset of temptation, for when someone is being tempted he starts to become a new man and be regenerated. At the same time it was the end of those from the Most Ancient Church who had become of such a character that inevitably they perished. It was similar when the Lord came into the world; at that time the Church had entered the final stages of its vastation, and a new one came into being.

[2] That 'seven days' time' means these things is clear in Daniel,

Seventy weeks have been decreed concerning your people and your holy city to bring transgression to a close and to seal up sins and to atone for iniquity and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophet, and to anoint the Most Holy Place. And you will know and perceive that from the going forth of the Word to restore and to build Jerusalem until the Messiah, the Prince, there will be SEVEN WEEKS. Daniel 9:24-25.

Here 'seventy weeks' and 'seven weeks' are similar in meaning to seven days, namely the Coming of the Lord. But because it is plain prophecy here, periods of time are presented in an even more holy and decided fashion by numbers involving seven. From this quotation it is clear that, when applied in this way to periods of time, 'seven' means not only the Coming of the Lord, but also - in the words stating that He was to anoint the Most Holy Place and that He was to restore and build Jerusalem - the beginning of a new Church at that time, and simultaneously - in the words stating that [seventy] weeks were decreed concerning the holy city to bring transgression to a close and to seal up sin - final vastation.

[3] Similar usages occur elsewhere in the Word, as in Ezekiel where he describes a personal experience,

I came to those in captivity at Tel-abib, who were sitting by the river Chebar, and I sat there seven days, astonished among them And at the end of seven days the Word of Jehovah came to me. Ezekiel 3:15-16.

Here also 'seven days' stands for the onset of visitation, for when he had sat seven days among those in captivity, the Word of Jehovah came to him. In the same prophet,

They will bury Gog, that they may cleanse the land in seven months. At the end of seven months they will make their search. Ezekiel 39:12, 14.

This similarly stands for the final phase of vastation and the first of visitation. In Daniel,

The heart of Nebuchadnezzar will be changed from a man and the heart of a beast given to him, and seven times will pass over him. Daniel 4:16, 25, 31.

This likewise stands for the finish of vastation and the beginning of a new man.

[4] The seventy years of captivity in Babylon represented the same. Whether the number is seventy or seven what is embodied is the same. The same applies whether it is seven days, or seven years, or seven decades which make seventy years. Vastation was represented by the years of captivity, the beginning of a new Church by the liberation and by the rebuilding of the Temple. Jacob's serving in the house of Laban also represented things of a similar nature - where the following is stated,

I will serve you for seven years for Rachel. And he served for seven years. Laban said, Complete the week of this one, and we will give you also the other one for the service you render with me for another seven years. And Jacob did so, and completed the week of this one. Genesis 29:18, 20, 27-28.

Here 'the service of seven years' embodies something similar. And after the period of seven years marriage and freedom followed. The period of these seven years was called a week, as also in Daniel.

[5] Something similar was also represented by the command to go around the city of Jericho seven times, and the wall would collapse. It is also said that they rose at dawn on the seventh day and went around the city, as they were accustomed to do, seven times. And after the seventh time round, the seven priests blew on their seven trumpets and the wall collapsed, Joshua 6:10-20. Unless these events had also had this meaning the command would never have been given to go round seven times, or that there were to be seven priests and seven trumpets. From these and many other places, for example in Job 2:13; Revelation 15:1, 6-7; 21:9, it becomes clear that 'seven days' time' means the beginning of a new Church and the end of the old. Since the subject here is not only the member of the Church called Noah and his temptation, but also the final descendants of the Most Ancient Church who destroyed themselves, 'seven days' time' can mean nothing other than the onset of the temptation of Noah and the finish of the Most Ancient Church, which was the final destruction and extinction of it.

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