The Bible

 

Amos 6

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1 Woe to them that are at ease in Zion and that are secure in the mountain of Samaria, the renowned of the first of the nations, to whom the house of Israel come.

2 Pass unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go to Hamath the great; and go down to Gath of the Philistines: are they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border?

3 Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;

4 that lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves from the midst of the stall;

5 that chant to the sound of the lute, [and] invent them instruments of music, like David;

6 that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments; but are not grieved for the breach of Joseph.

7 Therefore shall they now go captive, with the first that go captive, and the revelry of them that stretched themselves shall pass away.

8 The Lord Jehovah hath sworn by himself, saith Jehovah, the God of hosts, I abhor the pride of Jacob, and hate his palaces; and I will deliver up the city with all that is therein.

9 And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die.

10 And a man's uncle, and he that should burn him, shall take him up to bring out the bones from the house, and shall say unto him that is in the inner parts of the house, Is there yet [any] with thee? and he shall say, None. And he will say, Silence! for we may not make mention of Jehovah's name.

11 For behold, Jehovah commandeth, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts.

12 Shall horses run upon the rock? will [men] plough [thereon] with oxen? For ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood,

13 -- ye that rejoice in a thing of nought, that say, Have we not taken to us power by our own strength?

14 For behold, O house of Israel, saith Jehovah the God of hosts, I will raise up against you a nation; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hamath unto the torrent of the Arabah.

   

Commentary

 

Exploring the Meaning of Amos 6

By Helen Kennedy

Woe is called upon people who seem to live a life of ease and fill it with pleasures -- for example, those who “eat lambs from the flock.” (Amos 6:4)

Using the significations mentioned elsewhere in Swedenborg’s works, this could mean “those who attribute innocence (the lamb) to themselves,” or think they are blameless when they have actually sinned.

Also, to ask, “Do horses run on rocks?”(Amos 6:12) is a great image for when our understanding is filled with only literal or external truths but doesn’t delve into deeper ones that show the Lord’s leading more clearly.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

True Christian Religion #761

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761. The final period of the Christian church is absolute night, in which the previous churches ended, as can be established from the Lord's prediction about it in the Gospels and in Daniel. A passage from the Gospels states that they would see the abomination of desolation, and there would be great affliction such as had not been since the beginning of the world up to now, and would not be in the future; and that unless those days were shortened, no flesh could be saved; and finally the sun would be darkened, the moon would not give its light, and the stars would fall from the sky (Matthew 24:15, 21-22, 29). This period is also called night elsewhere in the Gospels, as in Luke:

On that night there will be two in one bed; one will be received, the other left behind, Luke 17:34.

And in John:

I must do the work of Him that sent me. The night will come, when no one will be able to work, John 9:4.

[2] Since all light departs in the middle of the night, and the Lord is the true light (John 1:4ff; John 8:12; 12:35-36, 46), He said to the disciples when He went up into heaven:

I am with you until the ending of the age, Matthew 28:20.

Then He leaves them for the new church. There is further proof in Daniel for this final period of the church being absolute night, in which the previous churches ended, in this passage:

Finally upon the bird of abominations desolation, to the point of ending and cutting off; it shall be poured drop by drop upon devastation, Daniel 9:27.

It is clear from the Lord's words in Matthew 24:15 that this is a prediction of the end of the Christian church. It is also clear from this passage of Daniel about the fourth kingdom, that is, the fourth church, represented by the statue Nebuchadnezzar saw:

As you saw iron mixed with common clay, so will people intermingle by means of human seed; but they will not hold together, one with another, just as iron does not with clay, Daniel 2:43.

Human seed there is the truth of the Word.

[3] It is also clear from this passage about the fourth church represented by the fourth beast coming up out of the sea:

I saw in visions of the night, and there was the fourth beast, dreadful and frightening; it will devour the whole earth and trample it and crush it, Daniel 7:7, 23.

This means that it would put an end to all the truth of the church. Then it would be night, because the truth of the church is light. There are many similar predictions about this church in Revelation, especially chapter 16, where it speaks of the bowls of God's wrath being poured out upon the earth. These mean the falsities which will then swamp and destroy the church. There are many similar passages in the Prophets, as for example:

Is not the day of Jehovah darkness and not light, thick darkness and no brilliance? Amos 5:18, 20; Zephaniah 1:15.

Also:

On that day Jehovah will look down on the earth, and behold, darkness, and the light will become dim in its ruins, Isaiah 5:30; 8:22.

The day of Jehovah is that of the Lord's coming.

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