The Bible

 

Ezekiel 24

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1 And in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth of the month, the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

2 Son of man, write thee the name of the day, of this selfsame day: on this selfsame day the king of Babylon draws near to Jerusalem.

3 And propose a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Set on the pot, set [it] on, and also pour water into it.

4 Gather the pieces thereof into it, every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder; fill [it] with the choice bones:

5 take the choice of the flock; and also [put] a pile of wood under it, for the bones; make it boil well, and let the bones of it seethe therein.

6 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose rust is therein, and whose rust is not gone out of it! Bring it out piece by piece; let no lot fall upon it:

7 for her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon the bare rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust.

8 That it might cause fury to come up to execute vengeance, I have set her blood upon the bare rock, that it should not be covered.

9 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Woe to the bloody city! I also will make the pile great.

10 Heap on the wood, kindle the fire, boil thoroughly the flesh, and spice it well, and let the bones be burned.

11 Then set it empty upon its coals, that it may be hot, and the brass of it may burn, and that its filthiness may be molten in it, [and] that its rust may be consumed.

12 She hath exhausted [her] labours, yet her great rust goeth not forth out of her: let her rust be in the fire.

13 In thy filthiness is lewdness, for I have purged thee, and thou art not pure. Thou shalt no more be purged from thy filthiness, till I have satisfied my fury upon thee.

14 I Jehovah have spoken [it]: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, nor will I repent. According to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord Jehovah.

15 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

16 Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke; yet thou shalt not mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down.

17 Sigh in silence, make no mourning for the dead; bind thy turban upon thee, and put thy sandals upon thy feet, and cover not the beard, and eat not the bread of men.

18 -- And I spoke unto the people in the morning; and at even my wife died. And I did in the morning as I was commanded.

19 And the people said unto me, Wilt thou not tell us what these things are to us, which thou doest?

20 And I said to them, The word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

21 Say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your strength, the desire of your eyes, and your soul's longing; and your sons and your daughters whom ye have left behind shall fall by the sword.

22 And ye shall do as I have done: ye shall not cover the beard, neither eat the bread of men;

23 and your turbans shall be upon your heads, and your sandals upon your feet: ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall waste away in your iniquities and moan one toward another.

24 Thus Ezekiel shall be unto you a sign; according to all that he hath done shall ye do: when it cometh, then ye shall know that I [am] the Lord Jehovah.

25 And thou, son of man, shall it not be in the day when I take from them their strength, the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereunto they lift up their soul, their sons and their daughters,

26 that in that day he that escapeth shall come unto thee, to cause [thine] ears to hear [it]?

27 In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him that is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb. So shalt thou be a sign unto them; and they shall know that I [am] Jehovah.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Revealed #704

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704. That perform signs to go away to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. This symbolizes assertions that their falsities are true, and efforts to stir up all those throughout the church who are caught up in the same falsities to attack the truths of the New Church.

To perform signs is to testify and also to assert that something is true, as may be seen in nos. 598, 599 above, here that their falsities are true. Kings of the earth and of the whole world symbolize people who are caught up primarily in falsities springing from evil, here all who are caught up in the same falsities throughout the church. For kings symbolize people impelled by truths that spring from goodness, and in an opposite sense people impelled by falsities springing from evil (no. 483). The earth symbolizes the church (no. 285), and so likewise does the world (no. 551). To go away to gather them to battle means, symbolically, to stir those people to fight or attack; for war symbolizes a spiritual war, which is one of falsity against truth and of truth against falsity (nos. 500, 586). It is to attack the truths of the New Church because it is called the battle of that great day of God Almighty, and that day symbolizes the Lord's advent and a new church then. That this is the symbolic meaning of the great day there will be seen below.

We are told that the spirits of demons would do this, because the spirits of demons symbolize lusts to falsify truths and to reason on the basis of falsities, as just said in no. 703 above.

It is apparent from this that spirits of demons performing signs to go away to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty, symbolize assertions by the people meant by the dragon, the beast and the false prophet, as described in nos. 701, 702 above, that their falsities are true, and efforts to stir up all those throughout the church who are caught up in the same falsities to attack the truths of the New Church.

[2] That the great day of God Almighty symbolizes the Lord's advent and a new church then, is clear from many passages in the Word, as from the following:

Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day. (Isaiah 2:11)

...in that day... Israel... will depend on Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. (Isaiah 10:20)

In that day a Root of Jesse... shall the Gentiles seek, and His resting place shall be glorious. (Isaiah 11:10-11)

In that day... eyes will look to the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 17:7, 9)

They will say in that day: "Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, to set us free." (Isaiah 25:9)

...My people shall know My name...(and) in that day, I am He who speaks: "Behold, it is I." (Isaiah 52:6)

Alas! ...great is (the day of Jehovah, and) there is none like it. (Jeremiah 30:7)

Behold, the days are coming... when I will make a new covenant... and the city shall be built for Jehovah... (Jeremiah 31:27, 31, 38)

In those days... I will cause to grow up to David a righteous Branch... (Jeremiah 33:15)

(They will not) stand in battle on the day of Jehovah. (Ezekiel 13:5)

In that day Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the children of your people... In that day... shall be delivered everyone who is found written in the book. (Daniel 12:1)

...in that day... you will call Me "My Husband."... In that day I will make a covenant for them... ...in that day I will hear... (Hosea 2:16, 18, 21).

Behold, I am sending you Elijah... before the coming of the great... day of Jehovah. (Malachi 4:5)

Jehovah... will save them in that day, as the flock of His people. (Zechariah 9:16)

In that day Jehovah will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem. (Zechariah 12:8)

Behold, the day of Jehovah is coming... It shall be one day which is known to Jehovah... In that day Jehovah shall be one and His name one... In that day there shall be a great tumult... In that day "Holiness to the Lord" shall be engraved on the bells of the horses. (Zechariah 14:1, 4, 6-9, 13, 20-21)

There are many other passages in addition to these in which "the day of Jehovah" means the Lord's advent and a new church from Him then, as in the following: Isaiah 4:2; 19:16, 18, 21, 24; 22:20; 28:5; 29:18; 30:25-26; 31:7; and elsewhere.

Since the end of an age or final period of a former church is the time when the Lord's advent takes place and a new church begins, therefore the day of Jehovah in many places symbolizes the end of a previous church, and we are told that then there will be rumors, tumult, and wars. 1 See the passages collected in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem Regarding the Lord, nos. 4, 5.

Footnotes:

1. E.g., Matthew 24:6

  
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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.