The Bible

 

Ezekiel 40

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1 In the twenty-fifth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, on the tenth of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was smitten, on that same day the hand of Jehovah was upon me, and he brought me thither.

2 In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain; and upon it was as the building of a city, on the south.

3 And he brought me thither, and behold, there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a flax-cord in his hand, and a measuring-reed; and he stood in the gate.

4 And the man said unto me, Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, and set thy heart upon all that I shall shew thee; for in order that it might be shewn unto thee art thou brought hither. Declare to the house of Israel all that thou seest.

5 And behold, there was a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man's hand a measuring-reed of six cubits, [each] of one cubit and a hand breadth. And he measured the breadth of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed.

6 And he came to the gate which looked toward the east, and went up its steps; and he measured the threshold of the gate, one reed broad; and the other threshold one reed broad.

7 And [each] chamber was one reed long and one reed broad; and between the chambers were five cubits; and the threshold of the gate, beside the porch of the gate within, was one reed.

8 And he measured the porch of the gate within, one reed.

9 And he measured the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and the posts thereof, two cubits; and the porch of the gate was inward.

10 And the chambers of the gate which was toward the east were three on this side and three on that side: they three were of one measure; and the posts on this side and on that side had one measure.

11 And he measured the breadth of the entry of the gate, ten cubits; [and] the length of the gate, thirteen cubits.

12 And there was a border before the chambers of one cubit, and a border of one cubit on the other side; and the chambers were six cubits on this side, and six cubits on that side.

13 And he measured the gate from the roof of [one] chamber to the roof [of the other], a breadth of five and twenty cubits, entry opposite entry.

14 And he made posts, sixty cubits, and by the post was the court of the gate round about.

15 And from the front of the gate of the entrance unto the front of the porch of the inner gate were fifty cubits.

16 And there were closed windows to the chambers, and to their posts within the gate round about, and likewise to the projections; and the windows round about were inward; and upon [each] post were palm-trees.

17 And he brought me into the outer court, and behold, there were cells, and a pavement made for the court round about: thirty cells were upon the pavement.

18 And the pavement was by the side of the gates, answering to the length of the gates, [namely] the lower pavement.

19 And he measured the breadth from the front of the lower gate unto the front of the inner court outside, a hundred cubits eastward and northward.

20 And the gate of the outer court, that looked toward the north, he measured its length and its breadth.

21 And its chambers were three on this side and three on that side; and its posts and its projections were according to the measure of the first gate: its length was fifty cubits, and breadth five and twenty cubits.

22 And its windows, and its projections, and its palm-trees were according to the measure of the gate that looked toward the east; and they went up to it by seven steps; and the projections thereof were before them.

23 And the gate of the inner court was opposite to the gate toward the north, and toward the east; and he measured from gate to gate a hundred cubits.

24 And he brought me toward the south: and behold, there was a gate toward the south; and he measured its posts and its projections according to these measures.

25 And there were windows to it and to its projections round about, like those windows: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.

26 And there were seven steps to go up to it; and its projections were before them; and it had palm-trees, one on this side and one on that side, upon its posts.

27 And there was a gate to the inner court toward the south; and he measured from gate to gate toward the south, a hundred cubits.

28 And he brought me into the inner court by the south gate; and he measured the south gate according to these measures:

29 and its chambers, and its posts, and its projections, according to these measures; and there were windows to it and to its projections round about: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth twenty-five cubits.

30 And there were projections round about, twenty-five cubits long, and five cubits broad.

31 And its projections were toward the outer court; and there were palm-trees upon its posts: and its ascent was [by] eight steps.

32 And he brought me into the inner court toward the east; and he measured the gate according to these measures:

33 and its chambers, and its posts, and its projections, according to these measures; and there were windows to it and to its projections round about: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth twenty-five cubits.

34 And its projections were toward the outer court; and there were palm-trees upon its posts on this side and on that side: and its ascent was [by] eight steps.

35 And he brought me to the north gate, and he measured [it] according to these measures:

36 its chambers, its posts, and its projections; and there were windows to it round about: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth twenty-five cubits.

37 And its posts were toward the outer court; and there were palm-trees upon its posts, on this side and on that side: and its ascent was [by] eight steps.

38 And there was a cell and its entry by the posts of the gates; there they rinsed the burnt-offering.

39 And in the porch of the gate were two tables on this side, and two tables on that side, to slay thereon the burnt-offering and the sin-offering and the trespass-offering.

40 And at the side without, at the ascent to the entry of the north gate, were two tables; and on the other side, which was at the porch of the gate, were two tables:

41 four tables on this side, and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate, -- eight tables, whereon they slew [the sacrifice],

42 -- and at the ascent, four tables of hewn stone, of a cubit and a half long, and a cubit and a half broad, and one cubit high; whereon also they laid the instruments with which they slew the burnt-offering and the sacrifice.

43 And the double hooks of a hand breadth were fastened round about within; and upon the tables [they put] the flesh of the offering.

44 And outside the inner gate were two cells in the inner court, one at the side of the north gate, and its front towards the south; the other was at the side of the south gate, the front towards the north.

45 And he said unto me, This cell whose front is towards the south is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the house.

46 And the cell whose front is toward the north is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, those who, from among the sons of Levi, approach unto Jehovah to minister unto him.

47 And he measured the court, the length a hundred cubits, and the breadth a hundred cubits, four square: and the altar was before the house.

48 And he brought me to the porch of the house; and he measured the post of the porch, five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side; and the breadth of the gate, three cubits on this side, and three cubits on that side.

49 The length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the breadth eleven cubits, even by the steps whereby they went up to it; and there were pillars by the posts, one on this side, and one on that side.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Revealed #896

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896. 21:10 And he carried me away in the spirit onto a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. This symbolizes John's being transported into the third heaven and his sight opened there, and the Lord's New Church in respect to its doctrine being presented to him in the form of a city.

John's being carried away in the spirit onto a great and high mountain means, symbolically, that he was transported into the third heaven, where those people dwell who are impelled by love from the Lord and possess a doctrine of genuine truth from Him. Greatness is also predicated of goodness, and height of truths.

His being carried away onto a mountain symbolically means into the third heaven, because he is said to have been in the spirit, and someone who is in the spirit is as to his mind and sight in the spiritual world. Moreover, in the spiritual world angels of the third heaven dwell on mountains, angels of the second heaven on hills, and angels of the lowest heaven in valleys between the hills and mountains. Consequently, when someone is carried away in the spirit onto a mountain, it symbolically means into the third heaven. This carrying away takes place in a moment, because it is achieved by a change in the person's state of mind.

The angel's showing to John symbolizes his sight being opened then and a revelation. The great city, the holy Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God symbolizes the Lord's New Church, as in nos. 879, 880 above, where we also explained why it is called a holy city, and why it is said to be coming down out of heaven from God. It was seen in the form of a city because a city symbolizes doctrine (nos. 194, 712), and a church is a church by virtue of its doctrine and its living in accordance with that doctrine. It was also seen as a city in order that its whole character might be described, and this is described by the city's walls, gates, foundations, and various dimensions.

The church is similarly described in Ezekiel, where we are also told that the prophet was taken in the visions of God onto a very high mountain, where he saw a city to the south, whose wall and gates an angel also measured, together with its various widths and heights (Ezekiel 40:2ff.).

The following passage in Zechariah has a similar meaning:

I said (to the angel), "Where are you going?" He said..., "To measure Jerusalem, to see how great its width is and how great its length." (Zechariah 2:2)

  
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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.