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Joel 2

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1 Stød i horn på Zion, blæs alarm på mit hellige Bjerg! Alle i landet skal bæve, thi HE ENs Dag, den kommer;

2 ja, nær er Mulms og Mørkes Dag, Skyers og Tåges Dag. Et stort, et vældigt Folk er bredt som Gry over Bjerge. Dets Lige har aldrig været, skal aldrig komme herefter til fjerneste Slægters År.

3 Foran det æder Ild, og bag det flammer Lue; foran det er Landet som Eden og bag det en øde Ørk; fra det slipper ingen bort.

4 At se til er de som Heste, som Hingste farer de frem;

5 det lyder som raslende Vogne, når de hopper på Bjergenes Tinder, som knitrende Lue, der æder Strå, som en vældig Hær, der er rustet til Strid.

6 Folkeslag skælver for dem, alle Ansigter blusser.

7 Som Helte haster de frem, som Stridsmænd stormer de Mure; enhver går lige ud, de bøjer ej af fra vejen.

8 De trænger ikke hverandre, hver følger sin egen Sti. Trods Våbenmagt styrter de frem uden at lade sig standse, de kaster sig over Byen,

9 stormer Mulen i Løb; i Husene trænger de ind, gennem Vinduer kommer de som Tyve.

10 Foran dem skælver Jorden, Himlen bæver; Sol og Måne sortner, Stjernerne mister deres Glans.

11 Foran sin Stridsmagt løfter HE EN sin øst, thi såre stor er hans Hær, ja, hans Ords Fuldbyrder er vældig; thi stor er HE ENs Dag og såre frygtelig; hvem holder den ud?

12 Selv nu, så lyder det fra HE EN, vend om til mig af ganske Hjerte, med Faste og Gråd og Klage!

13 Sønderriv Hjerterne, ej eders Klæder, vend om til HE EN eders Gud! Thi nådig og barmhjertig er han, langmodig og rig på Miskundhed, han angrer det onde.

14 Måske slår han om og angrer og levner Velsignelse efter sig, Afgrødeoffer og Drikoffer til HE EN eders Gud.

15 Stød i Horn på Zion, helliger Faste, udråb festlig Samling,

16 kald Folket sammen, helliger et Stævne, lad de gamle samles, kald Børnene sammen, også dem, som dier Bryst; lad Brudgom gå ud af sit Kammer, Brud af sit Telt!

17 Imellem Forhal og Alter skal Præsterne, HE ENs Tjenere, græde og sige: "HE E, spar dog dit Folk! Overgiv ej din Arv til Skændsel, til Hedningers Spot! Hvi skal man sige blandt Folkene: Hvor er deres Gud?"

18 Og HE EN blev nidkær for sit Land og fik Medynk med sit Folk.

19 Og HE EN svarede sit Folk: Se, jeg sender eder korn, Most og Olie, så I kan mættes deraf; og jeg vil ikke længer gøre eder til Skændsel iblandt Hedningerne.

20 Fjenden fra Nord driver jeg langt bort fra eder og støder ham ud i et tørt og øde Land, hans Fortrop ud i Havet i Øst og hans Bagtrop i Havet i Vest, og han skal udsprede Stank og ilde Lugt; thi han udførte store Ting.

21 Frygt ikke, Jord, fryd dig, vær glad! Thi HE EN har udført store Ting.

22 Frygt ikke, I Markens Dyr! Thi Ørkenens Græsmarker grønnes, og Træerne bærer Frugt; Figentræ og Vinstok giver alt, hvad de kan.

23 Og I, Zions Sønner, fryd eder, vær glade i HE EN eders Gud! Thi han giver eder Føde til Frelse, idet han sender eder egn, Tidligregn og Sildigregn, som før.

24 Tærskepladserne skal fyldes med Korn, Persekummerne løbe over med Most og Olie.

25 Og jeg godtgør eder de År, da Græshoppen, Springeren, Æderen og Gnaveren hærgede, min store Hær, som jeg sendte imod eder.

26 I skal spise og mættes og love HE EN eders Guds Navn, fordi han handler underfuldt med eder; og mit Folk skal i Evighed ikke blive til Skamme.

27 Og I skal kende, at jeg er i Israels Midte, og at jeg, og ingen anden er HE EN eders Gud; og mit Folk skal i Evighed ikke blive til Skamme.

28 Og det skal ske derefter, at jeg vil udgyde min ånd over alt kød, eders Sønner og eders Døtre skal profetere, eders gamle skal drømme drømme og eders unge skue Syner;

29 også over Trælle og Trælkvinder vil jeg udgyde min Ånd i de Dage.

30 Og jeg lader ske Tegn på Himmelen og på Jorden, Blod, Ild og øgstøtter.

31 Solen skal vendes til Mørke og Månen til Blod, før HE ENs store og frygtelige Dag kommer.

32 Men enhver, som påkalder HE ENs Navn, skal frelses; thi på Zions Bjerg og i Jerusalem skal der være Frelse, som HE EN har sagt; og til de undslupne skal hver den høre, som HE EN kalder.

   


The Project Gutenberg Association at Carnegie Mellon University

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #1066

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1066. That 'from them the whole earth was overspread' means that from these three all doctrines have been derived, both true and false, is clear from the meaning of 'the earth'. In the Word 'the earth' has various meanings. In the universal sense it stands for the place or region where the Church is or once was, for example, the land of Canaan, the land of Judah, the land of Israel. It thus stands in that universal sense for every member of the Church, for a land takes its name from the people who inhabit it, as is also well known from everyday speech. In ancient times therefore when people spoke of 'the whole earth' they did not mean every land throughout the world but only that part of the earth where the Church existed, and so the Church itself, as becomes clear from the following places in the Word: In Isaiah,

Jehovah is emptying the earth, the earth will be utterly emptied. The earth will mourn and be turned upside down. And the earth will be polluted under its inhabitants. Therefore a curse will devour the earth, therefore the inhabitants of the earth will be scorched and few men left. The floodgates from on high have been opened, and the foundations of the earth have been shaken. The earth has been utterly broken. The earth has been utterly rent asunder. The earth is violently shaken. The earth staggers altogether like a drunken man, and sways to and fro like a hut. Its transgression will lie heavily upon it, and it will fall, and it will not rise again. Isaiah 24:1, 3-6, 18-21.

'Earth' stands for the people inhabiting it, in particular the people of the Church, and so stands for the Church itself, and the things that are the Church's that have been vastated. These when being vastated are spoken of as 'being emptied', 'being shaken', 'staggering like a drunken man', 'swaying', 'falling and not rising'.

[2] That 'earth' or 'land' means man, and consequently the Church which is made up of men, is seen in Malachi,

All the nations will declare you blessed, for you will be a land of delight. Malachi 3:12.

That 'the earth' stands for the Church is seen in Isaiah,

Do you not understand the foundations of the earth? Isaiah 40:21.

Here 'foundations of the earth' stands for the foundations of the Church. In the same prophet,

Behold I am creating new heavens and a new earth. Isaiah 65:17; 66:22; Revelation 21:1.

'New heavens and a new earth' stands for the Lord's kingdom and the Church. In Zechariah,

Jehovah is He who stretches out the heavens and founds the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him. Zechariah 12:1.

'Earth' stands for the Church, as in earlier chapters,

In the beginning God created heaven and earth. Genesis 1:1.

The heavens and the earth were finished. Genesis 2:1.

These are the generations of heaven and earth. Genesis 2:4.

In each instance 'earth' stands for the Church being 'created', 'formed', and 'made'. In Joel,

The earth quaked before Him, the heavens trembled. The sun and the moon were darkened. Joel 2:10.

'Earth' stands for the Church, and for the things that are the Church's. When these things are being vastated, 'heaven and earth' are said to quake, 'the sun and moon' to grow dark, that is, love and faith.

[3] In Jeremiah,

I looked to the earth, when behold, that which is void and empty; and to the heavens, and they had no light. Jeremiah 4:23.

Here 'the earth' plainly stands for the person who does not have anything of the Church within him. In the same prophet,

The whole earth will be desolate, yet I will not bring it to a close. For this the earth will mourn and the heavens be black. Jeremiah 4:27, 18.

Here likewise the Church is meant, whose exterior things are 'the earth' and interior 'the heavens'. These are referred to as 'being black and having no light' when there is no longer any wisdom arising from good or intelligence from truth. In that case the earth is also 'void and empty', as is the member of the Church who ought to be an embodiment of the Church. That 'the whole earth' is also used in other places to mean the Church alone is seen in Daniel,

The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which will be different from all the kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, and trample it down, and break it in pieces. Daniel 7:23.

'The whole earth' stands for the Church and for the things that are the Church's; for the Word does not deal, as secular authors do, with the powers of monarchs, but with sacred matters, and with states of the Church, which are meant by 'kingdoms of the earth'.

[4] In Jeremiah,

A great tempest will be raised up from the sides of the earth, and the slain 1 of Jehovah on that day will be from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth. Jeremiah 25:32, 33.

Here 'from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth' stands for the Church and for everything that is the Church's. In Isaiah,

The whole earth is at rest and is quiet; they burst into cries of joy. Isaiah 14:7.

Here 'the whole earth' stands for the Church.

In Ezekiel,

As the whole earth rejoices. Ezekiel 35:14.

Here too 'the whole earth' stands for the Church.

In Isaiah,

I swore that the waters of Noah should go no more over the earth. Isaiah 54:9.

Here 'the earth' stands for the Church since the Church is the subject here. Because in the Word the earth means the Church it also means what is not the Church, for every such expression has a contrary or opposite sense. This applies, for example, to the various lands of the gentiles, in general to all lands outside the land of Canaan. 'Land' also stands therefore for the people and for the individual outside of the Church, and from this for the external man - for his will, for his proprium, and so on.

[5] In the Word 'earth' rarely stands for the whole world except when it is used to mean the state of the whole human race, whether of the Church or not of the Church. And because the earth includes the ground, which also means the Church, and the ground includes the field, the expression 'earth', entailing many things, has many meanings. But what it means is evident from the subject under discussion to which it refers. From this it now becomes clear that here 'the whole earth was overspread by the sons of Noah' does not mean the whole world, that is, the whole human race, but all doctrines, both true and false, which Churches possessed.

Footnotes:

1. literally, the pierced

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine #1

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1. THE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW EARTH, AND WHAT IS MEANT BY THE NEW JERUSALEM.

It is written in the Apocalypse:

I saw a New Heaven and a New Earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride before her husband. The city had a wall, great and high, which had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, in which were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The city itself lieth four-square, and the length is as great as the breadth. And he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand stadia; the length and the breadth and the height of it were equal. And he measured the wall thereof, a hundred forty-four cubits, the measure of a man, which is, of an angel. And the wall of it was of jasper; and the city itself was pure gold, like unto pure glass; and the foundations of the wall of the city were of every precious stone. The twelve gates were twelve pearls. And the street of the city was pure gold, as it were pellucid glass. The glory of God did lighten it, and the lamp of it was the Lamb. The nations which were saved shall walk in the light of it; and the Kings of the earth shall bring their glory and honor into it. (Revelation 21:1-2, 12-24.)

The man who reads these things, understands them only according to the sense of the letter; namely, that the visible heaven and earth will perish, and a new heaven will exist, and that the holy city Jerusalem, answering to the measures above described, will descend upon the new earth; but the angels understand these things altogether differently; namely, what man understands naturally, they understand spiritually; and as the angels understand, so they signify; and this is the internal or spiritual sense of the Word. In the internal or spiritual sense, "a New Heaven and a New Earth" means a New Church, both in the heavens and on the earth, which will be more particularly spoken of hereafter. "The city Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven" signifies its heavenly doctrine; "the length," "the breadth," and "the height," which are equal, signify all the goods and truths of that doctrine in the aggregate. By "the wall" of it is meant the truths which protect it; "the measure of the wall," which is "a hundred forty-four cubits, which is the measure of a man, that is, of an angel," signifies all those protecting truths in the aggregate, and their quality. "The twelve gates" of pearl mean introductory truths; "the twelve angels at the gates" signify the same. "The foundations of the wall" which are "of every precious stone," mean the knowledges on which that doctrine is founded. "The twelve tribes of Israel," and "the twelve apostles," mean all things of the church in general and in particular. The city and its streets being of "gold like unto pure glass," signifies the good of love from which the doctrine and its truths are pellucid. "The nations" who are saved, and "the kings of the earth" who bring glory and honor into it, mean all of the church who are in goods and truths. "God" and "the Lamb" mean the Lord as to the Divine itself and the Divine Human. Such is the spiritual sense of the Word, to which the natural sense, which is that of the letter, serves as a basis; but still these two senses, the spiritual and the natural, form a one by correspondences. It is not the design of the present work to show that there is such a spiritual meaning in the afore-mentioned passages, but the proof of it may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia, in the following places: In the Word by "land" [earth] the church is signified, particularly when it is applied to the land of Canaan (n. 662, 1066-1067, 1262, 1413, 1607, 2928, 3355, 4447, 4535, 5577, 8011, 9325, 9643). Because by "land" in the spiritual sense is meant the nation dwelling therein, and its worship (n. 1262), "the people of the land" signify those who are of the spiritual church (n. 2928). "A New Heaven and a New Earth" signify something new in the heavens and on earth, as to goods and truths, thus as to those things that relate to the church in each (n. 1733, 1850, 2117-2118, 3355, 4535, 10373). What is meant by "the first heaven and the first earth" which passed away, may be seen in Last Judgment and Babylon Destroyed, from beginning to end, but particularly n. 65-72.

"Jerusalem" signifies the church as to doctrine (n. 402, 3654, 9166). "Cities" signify doctrines which are of the church and religion (n. 402, 2449, 2712, 2943, 3216, 4492-4493). "The wall of a city" signifies the truth of doctrine defending (n. 6419). "The gates of a city" signify truths introducing to doctrine, and through doctrine to the church (n. 2943, 4477, 4492-4493). "The twelve tribes of Israel" represented, and thence signified, all the truths and goods of the church in general and in particular, thus all things of faith and love (n. 3858, 3926, 4060, 6335). The same is signified by "the Lord's twelve apostles" (n. 2129, 3272, 3354, 3488, 3858, 6397). When it is said of the apostles, that "they shall sit upon twelve thrones, and judge the twelve tribes of Israel," it signifies that all are to be judged according to the goods and truths of the church, thus by the Lord from whom they are (n. 2129, 6397). "Twelve" signifies all things in the aggregate (n. 577, 2089, 2129-2130, 3272, 3858, 3913). Also "a hundred forty-four" signifies the same because that number is the product of twelve multiplied by twelve (n. 7973); "twelve thousand" has also the same signification (n. 7973). All numbers in the Word signify things (n. 482, 487, 647-648, 755, 813, 1963, 1988, 2075, 2252, 3252, 4264, 6175, 9488, 9659, 10217, 10253). Numbers multiplied into each other have the same signification as the simple numbers from which they arise by multiplication (n. 5291, 5335, 5708, 7973). "Measure" signifies the quality of a thing as to truth and good (n. 3104, 9603, 10262). "The foundations of a wall" signify the knowledges of truth on which doctrinals are founded (n. 9643). "Quadrangular" or "square" signifies what is perfect (n. 9717, 9861). "Length" signifies good and its extension, and "breadth" truth and its extension (n. 1613, 9487). "Precious stones" signify truths from good (n. 114, 9863, 9865). What "the precious stones" in the Urim and Thummim signify, both in general and in particular (n. 3862, 9864, 9866, 9891, 9895, 9905). What the "jasper" of which the wall was built signifies (n. 9872). "The street of the city" signifies the truth of doctrine from good (n. 2336). "Gold" signifies the good of love (n. 113, 1551-1552, 5658, 6914, 6917, 9510, 9874, 9881). "Glory" signifies the Divine truth, such as it is in heaven, and the intelligence and wisdom thence (n. 4809, 5068, 5922, 8267, 8427, 9429[1-7], 10574). "Nations" signify those in the church who are in good, and, in the abstract sense, the good of the church (n. 1059, 1159, 1258, 1261, 1285, 1416, 1849, 4574, 7830, 9255-9256). "Kings" signify those in the church who are in truths, and thence abstractly the truth of the church (n. 1672, 2015, 2069, 4575, 5044). The rites at the coronation of kings, involve such things as are of the Divine truth, but the knowledge of these things is at this day lost (n. 4581, 4966).

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for their permission to use this translation.