The Bible

 

Joel 3

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1 CXar jen en tiuj tagoj kaj en tiu tempo, kiam Mi revenigos la forkaptitojn de Judujo kaj de Jerusalem,

2 Mi kolektos cxiujn naciojn kaj venigos ilin en la valon de Jehosxafat; kaj tie Mi faros super ili jugxon pro Mia popolo kaj Mia heredajxo Izrael, kiun ili disjxetis inter la naciojn, dividinte Mian landon;

3 kaj pro tio, ke ili lotis pri Mia popolo, fordonis knabon pro mangxajxo kaj knabinon vendis pro vino, kaj drinkis.

4 Kaj kion vi volas de Mi, ho Tiro, Cidon, kaj cxiuj distriktoj Filisxtaj? cxu vi volas repagi al Mi? kaj se vi volos repagi al Mi, Mi facile kaj baldaux turnos vian repagon sur vian kapon.

5 Mian argxenton kaj Mian oron vi prenis, kaj Miajn plej bonajn valorajxojn vi transportis en viajn templojn,

6 kaj la filojn de Judujo kaj la filojn de Jerusalem vi vendis al la filoj de la Grekoj, por malproksimigi ilin de iliaj limoj;

7 sed jen Mi vekos ilin el tiu loko, kien vi vendis ilin, kaj vian agon Mi turnos sur vian kapon;

8 kaj Mi vendos viajn filojn kaj viajn filinojn en la manojn de la Judoj, kaj cxi tiuj vendos ilin al la SXebaanoj, al popolo malproksima; cxar la Eternulo tion diris.

9 Proklamu tion inter la nacioj; pretigxu al milito, veku la kuragxulojn; cxiuj militistoj levigxu kaj eliru.

10 Forgxu el viaj plugiloj glavojn, kaj el viaj rikoltiloj lancojn; la malfortulo diru:Mi estas forta.

11 Rapidu kaj venu, cxiuj nacioj de cxiuj flankoj, kaj kolektigxu; tien alkonduku, ho Eternulo, Viajn fortulojn.

12 La popoloj levigxu kaj iru en la valon de Jehosxafat; cxar tie Mi sidigxos, por jugxi cxiujn naciojn de cxiuj flankoj.

13 Svingu la rikoltilon, cxar la rikoltajxo estas matura; venu malsupren, cxar la premejoj estas plenaj kaj la tinoj troplenigxis; cxar granda estas ilia malboneco.

14 Amasoj post amasoj kolektigxas en la valo de la jugxo, cxar alproksimigxas la tago de la Eternulo en la valo de la jugxo.

15 La suno kaj la luno senlumigxos, kaj la steloj perdos sian brilon.

16 Kaj la Eternulo ektondros el Cion kaj auxdigos Sian vocxon el Jerusalem; ektremos la cxielo kaj la tero; sed la Eternulo estos rifugxejo por Sia popolo, kaj fortikajxo por la idoj de Izrael.

17 Kaj vi ekscios, ke Mi, la Eternulo, estas via Dio, kiu logxas en Cion, sur Mia sankta monto; kaj Jerusalem estos sanktejo, kaj fremduloj ne plu iros tra gxi.

18 En tiu tago la montoj elgutigos dolcxan sukon, el la montetoj fluos lakto, kaj cxiuj torentoj de Judujo estos plenaj de akvo; kaj fonto eliros el la domo de la Eternulo kaj liveros akvon al la valo SXitima.

19 Egiptujo farigxos dezerto, kaj Edom farigxos senviva dezerto, pro tio, ke ili premis la idojn de Jehuda kaj versxis senkulpan sangon en sia lando.

20 Sed Judujo estos logxata eterne, kaj Jerusalem en cxiuj generacioj.

21 Kaj Mi vengxos pro ilia sango, kiu ne estis vengxita de Mi; kaj la Eternulo logxados en Cion.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

A Brief Exposition of New Church Doctrine #78

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78. BRIEF ANALYSIS

In the prophetic parts of the Word, statements similar to the one in Matthew 24:29, occur concerning the sun, moon and stars. Thus it is written in Isaiah:

Behold the cruel day of Jehovah cometh . . . the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened at his rising and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. Isaiah 13:9-10.

In Ezekiel:

When I shall extinguish thee, I will cover the heavens and darken the stars thereof; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light; . . . and I will set darkness upon thy land.Ezekiel 32:7-8.

In Joel:

The day of Jehovah cometh, ... a day of darkness, . . . the sun and moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.Joel 2:1-2, 10.

The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and the terrible day of Jehovah cometh. Joel 2:31.

The day of Jehovah is near in the valley of decision, the sun and moon shall be darkened. Joel 3:14-15.

In the Revelation:

The fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars, . . . and the day shone not for a third part of it. Revelation 8:12.

The sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood. Revelation 6:12.

All these passages treat of the last time of the Jewish Church, when the Lord came into the world. The meaning here is similar in Matthew and the Revelation, but they refer to the last time of the Christian Church, when the Lord would come again in the Word which is Himself, and in which He is. Wherefore, immediately after those words in Matthew 24:29, it is said:

And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man . . . coming in the clouds of the heavens.Matthew 24:30.

By the sun in the above passages is meant love, by the moon faith, and by the stars the cognitions of good and truth. By the powers of the heavens are meant those three essentials as the supports and foundations of the heavens where the angels are, and of the Churches where men are. Therefore, by the foregoing passages collected into one idea is meant that neither love nor faith, nor any cognitions of good and truth remain in the Christian Church, in the last time thereof when it draws to its end. That the sun signifies love has been shown in THE APOCALYPSE REVEALED 53-54, 413, 796, 831, 961; that the moon signifies faith, THE APOCALYPSE REVEALED 53, 332, 413, 423, 533; and that stars signify cognitions of good and truth, THE APOCALYPSE REVEALED 51, 74, 333, 408, 419, 954.

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Revealed #51

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51. Having in His right hand seven stars. (1:16) This symbolizes all concepts of goodness and truth in the Word, which exist therefore in angels in heaven and in people in the church.

When angels are below the heavens, a great number of what look like little stars appear around them, and likewise around spirits who, when they lived in the world, acquired concepts of goodness and truth for themselves from the Word, or truths of life and doctrine. These little stars appear fixed, however, in the case of those who possess genuine truths from the Word, but wandering in the case of those who possess falsified truths.

(Regarding these little stars, and the stars appearing in the sky there, I could relate marvelous things, but that is not the subject of this work.)

It is apparent from this that stars symbolize concepts of goodness and truth from the Word.

The Son of Man's having them in His right hand means, symbolically, that they come from the Lord alone through the Word. Seven symbolically means all, as may be seen in no. 10 above.

[2] That stars symbolize concepts of goodness and truth from the Word may be seen also from the following passages:

(I will) turn the earth into a wasteland... ...the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light. (Isaiah 13:9-10)

The earth that will be turned into a wasteland is the church, in which, having been laid waste, concepts of goodness and truth in the Word are not seen.

When I put out your light, I will cover the heavens... All the bright lights of the heavens I will make dark over you, and bring darkness upon your land. (Ezekiel 32:7-8)

Darkness upon the land is the darkness of falsities in the church.

The sun and moon grow dark, and the stars diminish their brightness. (Joel 2:10; 3:15)

...after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven... (Matthew 24:29, cf. Mark 13:24)

The stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs... (Revelation 6:13)

...a star (fell) from heaven to the earth. (Revelation 9:1)

Stars falling from heaven do not mean stars, but concepts of goodness and truth perishing.

[3] This is still more apparent from the statement that a dragon swept down a third of the stars from heaven, in Revelation 12:4, and the statement that a he-goat cast down some of the stars and trampled them, in Daniel 8:8-11. That is why the next verse in Daniel goes on to say that it cast truth to the ground (Daniel 8:12).

Stars also symbolize concepts of goodness and truth in the following passages:

(Jehovah) counts... the stars; He gives all of them names. (Psalms 147:4)

Praise (Jehovah), all you stars of light! (Psalms 148:3)

The stars from their courses fought... (Judges 5:20)

From this it is apparent what is meant by the following statement in Daniel:

The intelligent shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, ...those turning many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. (Daniel 12:3)

The intelligent are people concerned with truths, and those turning many to righteousness are those concerned with goodness.

  
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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.