The Bible

 

Ezekiel 2

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1 And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak with thee.

2 And the Spirit entered into me when he spoke unto me, and set me upon my feet; and I heard him that spoke unto me.

3 And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to nations that are rebellious, which have rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me unto this very day;

4 and these children are impudent and hard-hearted: I am sending thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah.

5 And they, whether they will hear or whether they will forbear -- for they are a rebellious house -- yet shall they know that there hath been a prophet among them.

6 And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, and be not afraid of their words; for briars and thorns are with thee, and thou dwellest among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, and be not dismayed at their faces; for they are a rebellious house.

7 And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear or whether they will forbear; for they are rebellious.

8 And thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.

9 And I looked, and behold, a hand was put forth toward me; and behold, a roll of a book therein.

10 And he spread it out before me; and it was written within and without; and there were written in it lamentations, and mourning, and woe.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Revealed #425

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425. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. This symbolizes their power to persuade that their falsities are true.

A scorpion symbolizes a deadly persuasiveness, and a scorpion of the earth a deadly persuasiveness in matters having to do with the church, as the earth symbolizes the church (no. 285). For when a scorpion stings a person, it produces a numbness in the limbs, and if it is not treated, death. Persuasiveness does something similar to the intellect. A scorpion, moreover, has the same symbolism in the following places:

...do not be afraid of them or... of their words; they are... thorny..., ...you dwell among scorpions... ...they are brazen-faced and hard-hearted... (Ezekiel 2:4, 6)

(Jesus said to the seventy He had sent out,) "Behold, I give you the power to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, even so that nothing whatever hurts you. (Luke 10:19)

  
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Many thanks to the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and to Rev. N.B. Rogers, translator, for the permission to use this translation.