The Bible

 

Genesis 8

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1 Siis Jumal mõtles Noale ja kõigile metsloomadele ja kõigile kariloomadele, kes temaga laevas olid; ja Jumal laskis tuult puhuda üle maa ja vesi alanes.

2 Ja sügavuse allikad ja taevaluugid suleti, ja sadu taevast keelati.

3 Ja vesi taganes maa pealt, taganes üha, ja saja viiekümne päeva pärast oli vesi vähenenud.

4 Ja seitsmenda kuu seitsmeteistkümnendal päeval peatus laev Ararati mägede kohal.

5 Ja vesi vähenes üha kümnenda kuuni; kümnenda kuu esimesel päeval paistsid mägede tipud.

6 Ja kui nelikümmend päeva oli möödunud, siis Noa avas laeva akna, mille ta oli teinud,

7 ja laskis välja ühe kaarna; see lendas sinna ja tänna, kuni vesi maa pealt oli kuivanud.

8 Siis ta laskis enese juurest välja ühe tuvi, et näha, kas vesi on maa pealt kahanenud.

9 Aga tuvi ei leidnud oma jalavarvastele puhkepaika ja tuli tagasi tema juurde laeva, sest vesi oli veel kogu maa peal; siis ta pistis oma käe välja ja võttis tema ning pani enese juurde laeva.

10 Ja ta ootas veel teist seitse päeva ning laskis taas ühe tuvi laevast välja.

11 Ja õhtul tuli tuvi tema juurde, ja vaata, tal oli nokas õlipuu haljas leht. Siis Noa mõistis, et vesi oli maa pealt kahanenud.

12 Ja ta ootas veel teist seitse päeva ning laskis ühe tuvi välja, aga see ei tulnud enam tagasi tema juurde.

13 Ja kuuesaja esimesel Noa eluaastal, esimese kuu esimesel päeval, oli vesi maa pealt kuivanud. Ja Noa võttis ära laeva katuse ja vaatas, ja ennäe, maapind oli tahenenud.

14 Ja teise kuu kahekümne seitsmendal päeval oli maa täiesti kuiv.

15 Ja Jumal kõneles Noaga ning ütles:

16 'Mine laevast välja, sina ja su naine ja su pojad ja su poegade naised koos sinuga!

17 Kõik loomad, kes su juures on, kõik liha, niihästi linnud kui loomad, ja kõik roomajad, kes maa peal roomavad, vii enesega koos välja, et nad sigineksid maa peal, oleksid viljakad ja et neid maa peale saaks palju!'

18 Ja Noa läks välja ja ta pojad ja ta naine ja ta poegade naised koos temaga.

19 Kõik loomad, kõik linnud ja kõik roomajad, kes liiguvad maa peal, läksid laevast välja sugukondade kaupa.

20 Ja Noa ehitas Issandale altari ja võttis kõigist puhtaist loomadest ja kõigist puhtaist lindudest ning ohverdas altaril põletusohvreid.

21 Ja Issand tundis meeldivat lõhna ja Issand mõtles oma südames: 'Ma ei nea enam maad inimese pärast, sest inimese südame mõtlemised on kurjad ta lapsepõlvest peale; ma ei hävita ka enam kõike, mis elab, nõnda nagu ma olen teinud.

22 Niikaua kui püsib maa, ei lõpe külv ega lõikus, külm ega kuum, suvi ega talv, päev ega öö.'

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #934

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934. 'Cold' means the absence of love, that is, of charity and faith, 'heat' or 'fire' the presence of love or of charity and faith. This becomes clear from the following places in the Word: In John, in the letter to the Church at Laodicea,

I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! But because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot I will spew you out of My mouth. Revelation 7:15, 16.

Here 'cold' stands for no charity, 'hot' for much. In Isaiah,

Thus said Jehovah, I will be still and I will behold in My place; like clear heat on the light, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest. Isaiah 18:4.

The subject here is a new Church that is to be founded. 'Heat on the light' and 'the heat of harvest' stand for love and charity. In the same prophet,

Jehovah's fire is in Zion, and His furnace in Jerusalem. Isaiah 3:9.

'Fire' stands for love. Concerning the cherubim seen by Ezekiel,

As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches, moving between the living creatures. And the five was bright and out of the fire went forth lightning. Ezekiel 1:13.

[2] And concerning the Lord in the same prophet,

Above the firmament that was above the heads of the cherubim, in appearance like a sapphire stone, there was the likeness of a throne, and above the likeness of a throne, there was a likeness as the appearance of a man upon it above. And I saw as it were the shape of fiery coals, as the shape of fire, within it round about, from the appearance of His loins upwards. And from the appearance of His loins and downwards I saw as it were the appearance of fire, whose brightness was round about it. Ezekiel 1:26-27; 8:2.

Here 'fire' stands for love. In Daniel,

The Ancient of Days was seated. His throne was flames of fire, its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issued and came forth from before Him, a thousand thousands served Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. Daniel 7:9-10.

'Fire' stands for the Lord's love. In Zechariah,

I will be to her, said Jehovah, a wall of fire round about. Zechariah 2:5.

This refers to the New Jerusalem. In David,

Jehovah makes winds His messengers, and flaming fire His ministers. Psalms 104:4.

'Flaming fire' stands for that which is celestial-spiritual.

[3] Because 'fire' meant love, fire also became a representative of the Lord. This is clear from 'the five on the altar of burnt offering that was to be kept burning all the time', Leviticus 6:9, 12-13, representing the Lord's mercy. For this reason 'before Aaron entered the place of atonement he had to burn incense with fire taken from the altar of burnt offering', Leviticus 16:12-14. And also, to signify that worship was acceptable to the Lord, 'fire was sent down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering', as in Leviticus 9:24, and elsewhere. In the Word 'fire' also means self-love and its attendant desire. With that love heavenly love can never agree; consequently it is also said that Aaron's two sons were devoured by fire because they employed strange fire, Leviticus 10:1-2. 'Strange fire' means all self-love and love of the world, and every desire accompanying those loves. In addition heavenly love seems to wicked people like nothing else than a burning and devouring fire; and this is why in the Word devouring fire is attributed to the Lord. The fire on Mount Sinai, for example, which represented the Lord's love or mercy, was perceived by the people as a consuming fire, as a consequence of which they told Moses not to make them hear the voice of Jehovah God, or see the great Fire lest they died, Deuteronomy 18:16. This is how the Lord's love or mercy appears to people engulfed in the fire of self-love and love of the world.

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