The Bible

 

Ezekiel 7

Study

   

1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

2 And thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God to the land of Israel: The end is come, the end is come upon the four quarters of the land.

3 Now is an end come upon thee, and I will send my wrath upon thee, and I will judge thee according to thy ways: and I will set all thy abominations against thee.

4 And my eye shall not spare thee, and I will shew thee no pity: but I will lay thy ways upon thee, and thy abominations shall be in the midst of thee: and you shall know that I am the Lord.

5 Thus saith the Lord God: One affliction, behold an affliction is come.

6 An end is come, the end is come, it hath awaked against thee: behold it is come.

7 Destruction is come upon thee that dwellest in the land: the time is come, the day of slaughter is near, and not of the joy of mountains.

8 Now very shortly I will pour out my wrath upon thee, and I will accomplish my anger in thee: and I will judge thee according to thy ways, and I will lay upon thee all thy crimes.

9 And my eye shall not spare, neither will I shew mercy: but I will lay thy ways upon thee, and thy abominations shall be in the midst of thee: and you shall know that I am the Lord that strike.

10 Behold the day, behold it is come: destruction is gone forth, the rod hath blossomed, pride hath budded.

11 Iniquity is risen up into a rod of impiety: nothing of them shall remain, nor of their people, nor of the noise of them: and there shall be no rest among them.

12 The time is come, the day is at hand: let not the buyer rejoice: nor the seller mourn: for wrath is upon all the people thereof.

13 For the seller shall not return to that which he hath sold, although their life be yet among the living. For the vision which regardeth all the multitude thereof, shall not go back: neither shall man be strengthened in the iniquity of his life.

14 Blow the trumpet, let all be made ready, yet there is none to go to the battle: for my wrath shall be upon all the people thereof.

15 The sword without: and the pestilence, and the famine within: he that is in the field shall die by the sword: and they that are in the city, shall be devoured by the pestilence, and the famine.

16 And such of them as shall flee shall escape: and they shall be in the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them trembling, every one for his iniquity.

17 All hands shall be made feeble, and all knees shall run with water.

18 And they shall gird themselves with haircloth, and fear shall cover them, and shame shall be upon every face, and baldness upon all their heads.

19 Their silver shall be cast forth, and their gold shall become a dunghill. Their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord. They shall not satisfy their soul, and their bellies shall not be filled: because it hath been the stumblingblock of their iniquity.

20 And they have turned the ornament of their jewels into pride, and have made of it the images of their abominations, and idols: therefore I have made it an uncleanness to them.

21 And I will give it into the hands of strangers for spoil, and to the wicked of the earth for a prey, and they shall defile it.

22 And I will turn away my face from them, and they shall violate my secret place: and robbers shall enter into it, and defile it.

23 Make a shutting up: for the land is full of the judgment of blood, and the city is full of iniquity.

24 And I will bring the worse of the nations, and they shall possess their houses: and I will make the pride of the mighty to cease, and they shall possess their sanctuary.

25 When distress cometh upon them, they will seek for peace and there shall be none.

26 Trouble shall come upon trouble, and rumour upon rumour, and they shall seek a vision of the prophet, and the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the ancients.

27 The king shall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with sorrow, and the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled. I will do to them according to their way, and will judge them according to their judgments: and they shall know that I am the Lord.

   

The Bible

 

Ezekiel 21:12

Study

       

12 Cry, and howl, 0 son of man, for this sword is upon my people, it is upon all the princes of Israel, that are fled: they are delivered up to the sword with my people, strike therefore upon thy thigh,

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #9039

Study this Passage

  
/ 10837  
  

9039. 'Since he is his silver' means that which has been acquired from the self. This is clear from the meaning of 'silver' as truth, dealt with in 1551, 2954, 5658, 6112, 6914, 6917, at this point truth that has been acquired by the self since it refers to a slave who has been bought. The words 'truth that has been acquired by the self' describe that which a person believes to be the truth - even though it is not the truth - because he has drawn it from preconceptions adopted by the self. This is what truth is like with those who explain the Word without having been enlightened by the light of heaven, that is, who read it without an affection for truth for the sake of goodness of life, since they are unenlightened. If this truth is disposed of after full contemplation of it, there is no punishment of death, that is, no damnation, because it is not a spiritual Divine truth. But if it is disposed of before full contemplation, there is damnation, for it is a casting aside of the truth of faith itself. What has become part of anyone's faith, even though not the truth, must not be cast aside without full contemplation of it. If it is cast aside before this the tender beginnings of spiritual life in the person are rooted out. For this reason also the Lord never breaks this kind of truth with a person, but so far as is possible He bends it.

[2] Let an example serve to shed light on this. Take someone who believes that the glory and consequently the joy of heaven consist in domination over many, and who uses this accepted idea to explain the Lord's words which declare that the slaves who had earned ten minas and five minas were to have power over ten cities and over five cities, Luke 19:11-26, using also the Lord's words to the disciples, that they would sit on thrones and would judge the twelve tribes of Israel, Luke 22:30. If that person disposes of his faith, which is a belief in truth he has acquired from the literal sense of the Word, before full contemplation of it, he causes the loss of his spiritual life. But if after full contemplation he uses other words to explain what the Lord said - the Lord's words that whoever has the wish to be the greatest must be the least, and whoever has the wish to be the first must be the slave of all, Matthew 20:26-28; Mark 10:42-44; Luke 22:24-27 - then if he disposes of his belief that heavenly glory and joy come out of having dominion over many, he does not cause any loss of his spiritual life. For by 'the cities' over which those who had earned the mines were to have power are meant the truths of faith, 2268, 2449, 2712, 2943, 3216, and therefore intelligence and wisdom; and the same things are meant by 'the thrones' on which the disciples were going to sit, 2129, 6397.

[3] Those in heaven who by virtue of the truths of faith excel others in intelligence and wisdom are also so humble that they ascribe the whole of their power to the Lord and none whatever to themselves. Therefore they find no glory or joy at all in dominating, only in serving. And when this is their state they excel others in dominion, and also in glory and joy; but they do so not because of any wish to dominate, as has been stated, only because of a desire springing from love and charity, which is a desire to serve others. For the Lord flows in with power with those who are humble, but not with those who are haughty, because the humble accept His influx whereas the haughty reject it, 7489, 7491, 7492.

  
/ 10837  
  

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