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Hesekiel 11

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1 Siis Vaim tõstis minu üles ja viis mu Issanda koja Idaväravasse, mis on ida poole; ja vaata, värava suus oli kakskümmend viis meest ja ma nägin nende keskel Jaasanjat, Assuri poega, ja Pelatjat, Benaja poega, rahva ülemaid.

2 Ja ta ütles mulle: 'Inimesepoeg, need on mehed, kes kavatsevad nurjatust ja peavad kurja nõu selle linna vastu;

3 nad ütlevad: 'Aeg ei ole käes, et ehitada kodasid. See linn on pott ja meie oleme liha.'

4 Seepärast kuuluta neile prohvetlikult, kuuluta prohvetlikult, inimesepoeg!'

5 Siis langes mu peale Issanda Vaim ja ütles mulle: 'Räägi: Nõnda ütleb Issand: Nii te ütlete, Iisraeli sugu, ja mis teil mõttes on, seda ma tean!

6 Palju on teie poolt mahalööduid selles linnas ja te olete mahalöödutega täitnud selle tänavad.

7 Seepärast ütleb Issand Jumal nõnda: Teie mahalöödud, keda te olete pannud selle keskele, on liha, ja see linn on pott, aga ma viin teid sellest välja.

8 Mõõka te kardate, aga mina toon mõõga teie kallale, ütleb Issand Jumal.

9 Ma viin teid välja selle keskelt ja annan teid võõraste kätte; otsused teie kohta viin ma täide.

10 Te langete mõõga läbi, Iisraeli piiril mõistan ma kohut teie üle ja te saate tunda, et mina olen Issand.

11 See linn ei ole teile potiks ja teie ei ole lihaks selle sees: Iisraeli piiril mõistan ma kohut teie üle.

12 Ja te saate tunda, et mina olen Issand, sest te ei ole käinud mu määruste järgi ega ole teinud mu seaduste järgi, vaid olete teinud nende paganate seaduste järgi, kes asuvad teil ümberkaudu.'

13 Aga kui ma prohvetlikult kuulutasin, suri Pelatja, Benaja poeg; siis ma langesin silmili ja kisendasin suure häälega ning ütlesin: 'Oh Issand Jumal! Kas sa teed lõpu Iisraeli jäägile?'

14 Ja mulle tuli Issanda sõna; ta ütles:

15 'Inimesepoeg, su vennad, su vennad, sugulased ja kogu Iisraeli sugu üheskoos on need, kelle kohta Jeruusalemma elanikud ütlevad: 'Nad on Issandast kaugel, maa on antud omandiks meile!'

16 Seepärast ütle: Nõnda ütleb Issand Jumal: Kuigi ma olen nad viinud kaugele paganate sekka ja kuigi ma olen nad pillutanud mööda maid, olen ma siiski pisut olnud neile pühamuks maades, kuhu nad on sattunud.

17 Seepärast ütle: Nõnda ütleb Issand Jumal: Mina kogun teid rahvaste seast ja korjan teid maadest, kuhu teid on pillutatud, ja ma annan teile Iisraeli maa.

18 Siis nad tulevad sinna ja kõrvaldavad sealt kõik selle põlastusväärsused ja kõik selle jäledused.

19 Mina annan neile ühesuguse südame ja annan nende sisse uue vaimu: ma kõrvaldan nende ihust kivise südame ja annan neile lihase südame,

20 et nad käiksid mu määruste järgi ning peaksid mu seadusi ja täidaksid neid; siis on nad mulle rahvaks ja mina olen neile Jumalaks.

21 Aga kelle süda käib nende põlastusväärsuste ja nende jäleduste meele järgi, nende eluviisid panen ma nende oma pea peale, ütleb Issand Jumal.'

22 Siis tõstsid keerubid oma tiivad ja üheaegselt nendega tõusid rattad ning ülal nende kohal oli Iisraeli Jumala auhiilgus.

23 Ja Issanda auhiilgus tõusis üles linna keskelt ning jäi seisma mäele, mis on ida pool linna.

24 Aga Vaim tõstis mind üles ja viis mind Kaldeasse vangide juurde nägemuses, Jumala Vaimus; siis kadus mul nägemus, mida ma olin näinud.

25 Ja ma jutustasin vangidele kõigist Issanda sõnadest, mis ta mulle oli ilmutanud.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #9228

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9228. The fact that 'seven' means a whole period from start to finish, thus what is complete, is clear from a large number of places in the Word, as in Isaiah,

The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, on the day when Jehovah will bind up the hurt 1 of His people. Isaiah 30:26.

This refers to the salvation of faithful believers and their intelligence and wisdom in the Lord's kingdom. 'The moon' is faith received from the Lord, thus belief in the Lord, and 'the sun' is love derived from the Lord, thus love to the Lord, 30-38, 1521, 1529-1531, 2441, 2495, 3636, 3643, 4060, 4321 (end), 4696, 5377, 7078, 7083, 7171, 8644. 'The light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days' means a complete state of intelligence and wisdom because of love to and belief in the Lord.

[2] In Ezekiel,

The inhabitants of the cities of Israel will go out, and they will set alight and burn the weapons, both shield and buckler, together with bow and arrows, and hand-staff, and spear; they will set fire to them for seven years, that they may not bring wood from the field nor cut down any from the forests. And they will cleanse the land in seven months. Ezekiel 39:9-10, 12.

This refers to the destruction of falsity. 'The weapons' that are listed here are falsities used by those who are evil to fight against the Church's truths. 'Setting fire to them for seven years' means complete destruction brought about by the desires of self-love and love of the world. 'In order that they may bring no wood from the field or cut down any from the forests' means when no good at all survives, neither in the internal man nor in the external. 'Cleansing the land in seven months' means the complete restoration of goodness and truth within the Church. It has been shown in very many places that 'weapons' are truths fighting against falsities, and in the contrary sense falsities fighting against truths; that 'bow and arrows' means teachings that present truth, and in the contrary sense teachings that present falsity; that 'hand-staff' means the power of truth, and in the contrary sense the power of falsity; that 'setting alight and burning' means laying waste through the desires of self-love and love of the world; that 'wood from the field' means the Church's forms of interior good, and 'wood from the forests' factual knowledge of goodness and truth; and that 'the land' means the Church. Anyone can see that different things are meant here from those which present themselves in the letter, as when it says that they will burn the weapons, and set them alight for seven years, in order that they may bring no wood from the field or cut down any from the forests. People do indeed know that things of a holy and Divine nature are meant, because the Word is holy and comes from God. But they cannot by any means know which things of a holy and Divine nature are contained in these words unless they know what the meaning is of 'weapons', 'seven years' and 'seven months', 'wood from the field' and 'wood from the forests'. From this it is evident that without knowledge gained from the internal sense those prophetic utterances are completely unintelligible.

[3] In David,

Seven times in the day I praise You over the judgements of Your righteousness. Psalms 119:164.

In the same author,

Repay [our] neighbours sevenfold into their bosom. Psalms 79:12.

'Sevenfold' means completely. The meaning is similar in Moses, where it says that they would be punished sevenfold if they went against commandments and statutes, Leviticus 26:18, 21, 24, 28. Anyone who does not know that 'seven' means a whole period from start to finish, and therefore what is complete, will suppose that 'seven weeks' in Daniel means seven lengths of time,

Know and perceive that from the going forth of the Word to restore and to build Jerusalem until the Messiah, the Prince, there will be seven weeks. Daniel 9:25.

But 'seven weeks until the Messiah, the Prince' means what is said of the Lord, namely that He will come in the fullness of time, so that 'seven weeks' means a whole period. From this it is evident that the seven spirits before God's throne, Revelation 1:4, the book sealed with seven seals, Revelation 5:1, and the seven angels holding 'the seven bowls, which are the seven last plagues, Revelation 15:1, 6-7; 21:9, do not mean seven spirits, seven seals, or seven angels, bowls, and plagues, but all things even to completeness. The statement in 1 Samuel 2:5 that the barren has borne seven in like manner does not mean seven but a great amount, even to a complete amount.

[4] Because 'seven' had this meaning it was stipulated that a priest at his initiation should wear the garments for seven days, Exodus 29:30; that his hands should be filled for seven days, 2 Exodus 29:35; that the altar should be sanctified for seven days, Exodus 29:37; and that those initiated into the priesthood should not depart from the tent [of meeting] for seven days, Leviticus 8:33-34. So too with the reference to the unclean spirit going out of a person and returning with seven others, Matthew 12:43-45; Luke 11:26; also where it says that if a brother sins seven times in a day and is seven times converted he is to be forgiven, Luke 17:4; and that the heart of Nebuchadnezzar was changed from [that of] a human being and the heart of a beast was given to him while seven times passed by, Daniel 4:15, 25, 32. For the same reasons also Job's friends sat down with him on the earth seven days and seven nights and spoke nothing to him, Job 2:13. Seventy in a similar way means that which is complete, see 6508, as also does a week, 2044, 3845. From all this it now becomes clear that 'the eighth day' means the initial phase of the following state.

Footnotes:

1. literally, break

2. i.e. his consecration should continue for seven days

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #2805

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2805. 'Where is the animal for a burnt offering?' means, Where are those members of the human race who are to be sanctified? This is clear from the representation of sacrifices, in particular burnt offerings. Burnt offerings and sacrifices were representative of internal worship, see 922, 923; they were made from the flock and from the herd - when from the flock, lambs, sheep, she-goats, kids, rams, or he-goats were used, when from the herd, oxen, young bulls, or calves, all of which meant various kinds of celestial and spiritual things - see 922, 1823, 2180; and by means of them people were sanctified, 2776. From all this it may become clear that Isaac's question, 'Where is the animal for the burnt offering?' means, Where are those members of the human race who are to be sanctified? The same is more plainly evident from what comes next, that is to say, from the reply made by Abraham his father, 'God will see for Himself to the animal for a burnt offering', verse 8, which means that the Divine Human will provide those who are to be sanctified; from the fact that later on he saw a ram behind him caught by its horns in a thicket, and offered that as the burnt offering, verse 13, which means members of the human race who belong to the Lord's spiritual Church; as well as from the details that follow after this in verses 14-17.

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