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Ezekiel 31

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1 En la dek-unua jaro, en la tria monato, en la unua tago de la monato, aperis al mi vorto de la Eternulo, dirante:

2 Ho filo de homo, diru al Faraono, regxo de Egiptujo, kaj al lia tuta popolo:Al kiu vi similigas vin en via grandeco?

3 Jen Asirio estis kiel cedro sur Lebanon, kun belaj brancxoj, kun densa foliaro, kun alta kresko, kaj gxia supro estis inter la nuboj.

4 Akvo elkreskigis gxin, la profundo altigis gxin, cxirkauxante gxian junan trunkon per siaj riveroj kaj sendante siajn fluojn al cxiuj arboj de la kampo.

5 Tial gxi farigxis pli alta ol cxiuj arboj de la kampo; gxi ricevis multe da brancxoj, kaj gxiaj brancxoj longigxis, cxar gxi havis multe da akvo, por disetendigxi.

6 Sur gxiaj brancxoj havis siajn nestojn cxiaj birdoj de la cxielo, sub gxiaj brancxoj naskis idojn cxiaj bestoj de la kampo, kaj sub gxia ombro logxis cxiaj grandaj popoloj.

7 Kaj gxi estis bela per sia grandeco kaj per la longeco de siaj brancxoj, cxar gxiaj radikoj trovigxis apud abunda akvo.

8 La cedroj en la gxardeno de Dio ne estis pli altaj ol gxi, la cipresoj ne estis egalaj al gxiaj brancxoj, la platanoj ne povis sin kompari kun gxiaj brancxoj; neniu arbo en la gxardeno de Dio estis simila al gxi per sia beleco.

9 Mi faris gxin bela per la multo de gxiaj brancxoj; kaj cxiuj Edenaj arboj, kiuj estas en la gxardeno de Dio, enviis gxin.

10 Tial tiele diras la Sinjoro, la Eternulo:Pro tio, ke gxi tro altigxis kaj levis sian supron inter la nubojn kaj gxia koro fierigxis pro gxia alteco -

11 pro tio Mi transdonos gxin en la manon de la plej potenca el la nacioj, kiu agos kun gxi konforme al gxia malboneco kaj elpusxos gxin.

12 Kaj elhakos gxin fremduloj, la plej teruraj el la nacioj, kaj disjxetos gxin; sur la montojn kaj sur cxiujn valojn falos gxiaj brancxoj, kaj gxiaj brancxetoj rompigxos sur cxiuj torentoj de la lando, kaj cxiuj popoloj de la tero foriros el sub gxia ombro kaj forlasos gxin.

13 Kaj sur gxia renversigxinta trunko sidos cxiaj birdoj de la cxielo, kaj sur gxiaj brancxoj sidos cxiaj bestoj de la kampo,

14 por ke neniu el la arboj apudakvaj fierigxu pri sia alteco, nek levu sian supron inter la nubojn, kaj por ke neniu akvonutrata arbo levigxu super ilin; cxar cxiuj ili estas destinitaj al la morto, en la profundon subteran, kune kun la homoj, kiuj iris en la tombon.

15 Tiele diras la Sinjoro, la Eternulo:En la tago, kiam gxi iros en SXeolon, Mi faros funebron, Mi fermos pro gxi la abismon, Mi haltigos gxiajn riverojn, ke starigxu la grandaj akvoj, Mi mallumigos pro gxi Lebanonon, kaj cxiuj arboj de la kampo estos afliktitaj.

16 Per la bruo de gxia falo Mi ektremigos la naciojn, kiam Mi pusxos gxin en SXeolon al tiuj, kiuj iris en la tombon; kaj konsoligxos en la profundo subtera cxiuj arboj de Eden, la plej elektitaj kaj plej bonaj de Lebanon, cxiuj akvonutrataj.

17 CXar ankaux ili iros en SXeolon, al tiuj, kiuj estis mortigitaj de glavo, kaj gxiaj kunuloj, kiuj sidis sub gxia ombro inter la nacioj.

18 Al kiu el la arboj de Eden vi estis simila per majesto kaj grandeco? tamen kune kun la arboj de Eden vi estos jxetita en la profundon subteran; kaj vi kusxos meze de necirkumciditoj kune kun tiuj, kiuj mortis de glavo. Tio estas dirita pri Faraono kaj pri lia tuta granda popolo, diras la Sinjoro, la Eternulo.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #7090

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7090. 'And said to Pharaoh' means an admonition [from them] to those who are opposed to the Church's truths. This is clear from the meaning of 'saying' - since it came by Divine command from Moses and Aaron - as an admonition, as also in 7033; and from the representation of 'Pharaoh' as factual knowledge that is opposed to the Church's truths, dealt with in 6651, 6673, 6683, thus people who are opposed to them. Here and in what follows the subject is those belonging to the spiritual Church who were saved through the Lord's Coming into the world but who before His Coming had been held back on the lower earth, where they were harassed by falsities, that is, by those from hell steeped in falsities stemming from evil. That lower earth is situated below the soles of the feet and is surrounded by hells - in front of it those who have falsified truths and adulterated forms of good; to the right those who pervert Divine order and thereby strive to obtain power; to the rear the evil genii who, motivated by self-love, have secretly devised evil against their neighbour; and deep down underneath those who have rejected the Divine with utter contempt and worshipped nature, and in so doing have banished from themselves everything spiritual. Such are the hells surrounding those on the lower earth, where before the Lord's Coming people belonging to the spiritual Church were held in safe keeping. Though they were molested there the Lord protected them, and they were brought into heaven with the Lord when He rose again. See what has been stated and shown already regarding these people in 6854, 6865, 6914, 6945, 7035.

[2] The lower earth where those who belonged to the spiritual Church were held in safe keeping up to the Lord's Coming is mentioned a number of times in the Word, as in Isaiah,

Sing, O heavens, for Jehovah has done [it]! Shout, you lower parts of the earth! Be filled, O mountains, with singing, O forest and every tree in it! For Jehovah has redeemed Jacob, and made Himself glorious in Israel. Isaiah 44:23.

This refers to those on the lower earth, to the fact that they were saved by the Lord. 'Jacob' and 'Israel' are the spiritual Church, 'Jacob' being the external Church, 'Israel' the internal Church, 3305, 4286, 6426. In Ezekiel,

I will cause you to go down with those going down to the pit, to the people of old, 1 and I will cause you to dwell in the land of the lower ones in desolations. Ezekiel 16:20.

In the same prophet,

. . . to the lower earth in the midst of the sons of men, to those going down to the pit. Consequently all the trees of Eden, the choicest and the most excellent of Lebanon, all those drinking water, will comfort themselves on the lower earth. Ezekiel 31:14, 16.

This refers to the lower earth where those who belonged to the spiritual Church were.

[3] At the present day too those belonging to the Church who have filled their minds with worldly and also earthly ideas and have acted in such a way that the truths of faith have become tied up with them are sent down to the lower earth, where they likewise have battles to fight. These battles continue until their worldly and earthly ideas have been separated from the truths of faith and other notions have been introduced, of such a nature that they cannot be linked together any longer. Once this has been accomplished those people are raised from there into heaven; for until such ideas of theirs have been removed they cannot possibly be in the company of angels, since those ideas are full of darkness and defilement that do not accord with the light and purity of heaven. Those worldly and earthly ideas cannot be separated and removed except by means of battles against falsities, battles which take place in the following manner: Those on that lower earth are molested by illusions and by falsities based on them which emanate from inhabitants of the surrounding hells; but the Lord employs heaven to rebut those illusions and falsities and at the same time to introduce truths. These truths seem to reside with those undergoing the conflicts.

[4] All this being so, the spiritual Church ought to be spoken of as a militant Church. But at the present day it is rarely militant with anyone in the world; for while a member of the Church is living in the world he does not experience conflict, because of the wicked crowded around him and because of the weakness of the flesh in which he lives. In the next life a person may be held firmly by the bonds of conscience, but not so in the world, for if in the world he is subjected to any degree of despair, as normally happens to those undergoing conflicts, he instantly breaks those bonds. And if he breaks them he gives in; and if he gives in he is done for so far as his salvation is concerned. This explains why the Lord allows few within the Church at the present day to enter into battles against falsities on behalf of truths; those battles are spiritual temptations. See also what has been shown already regarding the lower earth and vastations that take place there, in 4728, 4940-4951, 6854.

Footnotes:

1. literally, eternity

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