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Hesekiel 1

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1 Und es geschah im dreißigsten Jahre, im vierten Monat, am Fünften des Monats, als ich inmitten der Weggeführten war, am Flusse Kebar, da taten sich die Himmel auf, und ich sah Gesichte Gottes.

2 Am Fünften des Monats, das war das fünfte Jahr der Wegführung des Königs Jojakin (Vergl. 2. Kön. 24,15,)

3 geschah das Wort Jehovas ausdrücklich zu Hesekiel, dem Sohne Busis, dem Priester, im Lande der Chaldäer, am Flusse Kebar; und daselbst kam die Hand Jehovas über ihn.

4 Und ich sah: und siehe, ein Sturmwind kam von Norden her, eine große Wolke und ein Feuer, sich ineinander schlingend (Eig. zusammengeballtes Feuer; nur hier und 2. Mose 9,24,) und ein Glanz rings um dieselbe; und aus seiner Mitte, aus der Mitte des Feuers her, strahlte es wie der Anblick von glänzendem Metall.

5 Und aus seiner Mitte hervor erschien die Gestalt (Eig. eine Ähnlichkeit; so auch nachher) von vier lebendigen Wesen; und dies war ihr Aussehen: Sie hatten die Gestalt eines Menschen.

6 Und jedes hatte vier Angesichter, und jedes von ihnen hatte vier Flügel.

7 Und ihre Füße waren gerade Füße, und ihre Fußsohlen wie die Fußsohle eines Kalbes; und sie funkelten wie der Anblick von leuchtendem (Viell. geglättetem) Erze.

8 Und Menschenhände waren unter ihren Flügeln an ihren vier Seiten; und die vier hatten ihre Angesichter und ihre Flügel.

9 Ihre Flügel waren verbunden (Eig. sich verbindend; d. h. der rechte Flügel des einen Cherubs rührte an den linken Flügel des anderen (vergl. Kap. 3,13 und 1,23), indem die Cherubim paarweise einander gegenüber standen und ein Ganzes bildeten (Vergl. v 22; Kap. 9,3;10,2. 4.15.)) einer mit dem anderen; sie wandten sich nicht, wenn sie gingen: Sie gingen ein jeder stracks vor sich hin.

10 Und die Gestalt ihres Angesichts war eines Menschen Angesicht; und rechts hatten die vier eines Löwen Angesicht, und links hatten die vier eines Stieres Angesicht, und eines Adlers Angesicht (nämlich an ihrer Hinterseite) hatten die vier.

11 Und ihre Angesichter und ihre Flügel waren oben getrennt; jedes hatte zwei Flügel miteinander verbunden (Eig. sich verbindend; d. h. der rechte Flügel des einen Cherubs rührte an den linken Flügel des anderen (vergl. Kap. 3,13 und 1,23), indem die Cherubim paarweise einander gegenüber standen und ein Ganzes bildeten (Vergl. v 22; Kap. 9,3;10,2. 4.15.),) und zwei, welche ihre Leiber bedeckten.

12 Und sie gingen ein jedes stracks vor sich hin; wohin der Geist gehen wollte, gingen sie; sie wandten sich nicht, wenn sie gingen.

13 Und die Gestalt der lebendigen Wesen: ihr Aussehen war wie brennende Feuerkohlen, wie das Aussehen von Fackeln. Das Feuer (Eig. es) fuhr umher zwischen den lebendigen Wesen; und das Feuer hatte einen Glanz, und aus dem Feuer gingen Blitze hervor.

14 Und die lebendigen Wesen liefen hin und her wie das Aussehen von Blitzstrahlen (Eig. von Zickzack des Blitzes.)

15 Und ich sah die lebendigen Wesen, und siehe, da war ein ad auf der Erde neben den lebendigen Wesen, nach ihren vier Vorderseiten (d. h. neben der Vorderseite eines jeden Cherubs.)

16 Das Aussehen der äder und ihre Arbeit war wie der Anblick eines Chrysoliths (O. eines Topases; so auch nachher,) und die vier hatten einerlei Gestalt; und ihr Aussehen und ihre Arbeit war, wie wenn ein ad inmitten eines ades wäre.

17 Wenn sie gingen, so gingen sie nach ihren vier Seiten hin: sie wandten sich nicht, wenn sie gingen.

18 Und ihre Felgen, sie waren hoch und furchtbar; und ihre Felgen waren voll Augen ringsum bei den vieren.

19 Und wenn die lebendigen Wesen gingen, so gingen die äder neben ihnen; und wenn die lebendigen Wesen sich von der Erde erhoben, so erhoben sich die äder.

20 Wohin der Geist gehen wollte, gingen sie, dahin, wohin der Geist gehen wollte; und die äder erhoben sich neben ihnen (Eig. gleichlaufend mit ihnen,) denn der Geist des lebendigen Wesens war in den ädern.

21 Wenn sie gingen, gingen auch sie, und wenn sie stehen blieben, blieben auch sie stehen; und wenn sie sich von der Erde erhoben, so erhoben sich die äder neben ihnen (Eig. gleichlaufend mit ihnen;) denn der Geist des lebendigen Wesens war in den ädern.

22 Und über den Häuptern des lebendigen Wesens war das Gebilde (Eig. eine Ähnlichkeit; so auch nachher) einer Ausdehnung (O. eines Firmaments; d. h. einer dem Himmelsgewölbe ähnlichen Wölbung,) wie der Anblick eines wundervollen (O. erschreckenden) Krystalls, ausgebreitet oben über ihren Häuptern.

23 Und unter der Ausdehnung waren ihre Flügel gerade (d. h. waagerecht) gerichtet, einer gegen den anderen; ein jedes von ihnen hatte zwei Flügel, welche ihre Leiber bedeckten (Eig. ein jedes von ihnen hatte zwei, bedeckend, und ein jedes von ihnen hatte zwei, bedeckend ihre Leiber; hieraus erhellt, daß die Cherubim in zwei Paare geteilt waren.)

24 Und wenn sie gingen, hörte ich das auschen ihrer Flügel wie das auschen großer Wasser, wie die Stimme des Allmächtigen, das auschen eines Getümmels, wie das auschen eines Heerlagers. Wenn sie still standen, ließen sie ihre Flügel sinken.

25 Und es kam eine Stimme (O. ein Donner) von oberhalb der Ausdehnung, die über ihren Häuptern war. Wenn sie still standen, ließen sie ihre Flügel sinken.

26 Und oberhalb der Ausdehnung, die über ihren Häuptern war, war die Gestalt eines Thrones wie das Aussehen eines Saphirsteines; und auf der Gestalt des Thrones eine Gestalt wie das Aussehen eines Menschen oben darauf.

27 Und ich sah wie den Anblick von glänzendem Metall, wie das Aussehen von Feuer innerhalb desselben ringsum; von seinen Lenden (Eig. von dem Aussehen seiner Lenden) aufwärts und von seinen Lenden (Eig. von dem Aussehen seiner Lenden) abwärts sah ich wie das Aussehen von Feuer; und ein Glanz war rings um denselben.

28 Wie das Aussehen des Bogens, der am egentage in der Wolke ist, also war das Aussehen des Glanzes ringsum. Das war das Aussehen des Bildes der Herrlichkeit Jehovas. -Und als ich es sah, fiel ich nieder auf mein Angesicht; und ich hörte die Stimme eines edenden.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Explained #70

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70. The feet are said to be "like unto burnished brass," because burnished brass is polished brass, shining from something fiery; and "brass" in the Word signifies natural good. Metals are equally significative with the rest in the Word. "Gold" in the Word signifies celestial good, which is inmost good; "silver" signifies the truth thereof, which is spiritual good: "brass" natural good which is outmost good, and "iron" the truth thereof, which is natural truth.

Metals have such significations from correspondence; for in heaven many things are seen shining as if from gold and silver, and also many things as if from brass and iron; and it is there known that by these the goods and truths mentioned above are signified. It was from this that the ancients, who had a knowledge of correspondences, named the ages according to these metals; calling the first age the "golden," because innocence, love, and wisdom therefrom then ruled; but the second "silver," because truth from that good, or spiritual good, and intelligence therefrom then ruled; the third age "brazen" or "copper," because mere natural good, which is justness and sincerity of moral life, then ruled; but the last age they called "iron," because mere truth without good then ruled, and when that rules, falsity also rules. All this was from the spiritual signification of these metals.

[2] From this it can be known what is signified by the image seen in a dream by Nebuchadnezzar:

The head of which was of gold, the breast and arms of silver, the belly and sides of brass, the legs of iron, and the feet partly of iron and partly of clay (Daniel 2:23, 33);

namely, the state of the church in respect to good and truth, from its first time to its last; its last time was when the Lord came into the world. When it is known that "gold" signifies celestial good, "silver" spiritual good, "brass" natural good, and "iron" natural truth, many arcana in the Word, where these metals are mentioned, can be understood. Thus what is signified by these words in Isaiah:

For brass I will bring gold, for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron; I will also make thy government peace, and thine exactors justice (Isaiah 60:17).

[3] But as the signification of "brass," as meaning natural good, is here treated of, I will cite only a few passages where "brass" is mentioned, as signifying that good. Thus in Moses:

Asher acceptable unto his brethren, and dipping his foot in oil. Thy shoe iron and brass, and as thy days thy fame (Deuteronomy 33:24-25).

"Asher," as one of the tribes, signifies the blessedness of life, and the delight of affections (See Arcana Coelestia 3938-3939, 6408); "to dip the foot in oil" signifies natural delight, "oil" is delight (See n. 9954), "foot" the natural (See just above, n. 69; "the shoe iron and brass" signifies the lowest natural from truth and good, "the shoe" is the lowest natural (See n. 1748, 1860, 6844), "iron" is its truth, and "brass" its good (as above). In the same:

Jehovah thy God will bring thee into a wealthy land; a land out of whose stones thou mayest hew out iron, and out of its mountains brass (Deuteronomy 8:7, 9).

In Jeremiah:

I will give thee unto this people for a fortified wall of brass, that they may fight against thee and not prevail against thee (Jeremiah 15:20).

And in Ezekiel:

Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy traffickers; with the soul of man and with vessels of brass they traded thy merchandise (Ezekiel 27:13).

In this chapter the traffickings of Tyre are treated of, by which are signified the knowledges of good and truth; by the names "Javan," "Tubal," and "Meshech," are signified such things as are of good and truth, of which knowledges treat; the "soul of man" is truth of life; "vessels of brass" are scientifics of natural good. (What is signified by "Tyre" may be seen in Arcana Coelestia 1201; what by "traffickings," n. 2967, 4453; what by "Tubal and Meshech," n. 1151; what by "Javan," n. 1152, 1153, 1155; what by the "soul of man," n. 2930, 9050, 9281; what by "vessels," n. 3068, 3079, 3316, 3318) In the same:

The feet of the cherubs sparkled like the appearance of polished brass (Ezekiel 1:7).

What "cherubs" and "feet" signify, see above n. 69.

[4] In the same:

I saw and behold there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, and a line of flax was in his hand; and he was standing in the gate (Ezekiel 40:3).

It was because this angel measured the wall and the gates of the house of God, which signify the externals of the church, that his appearance was seen as the appearance of brass. He who knows that "brass" signifies the external of the church, which in itself is natural, can in some measure know why:

The altar of burnt-offering was overlaid with brass, and the grating about it was of brass, and the vessels of brass (Exodus 27:1-4);

as also why:

The great vessel, which was called the sea, with the twelve oxen under it, and the ten lavers with the bases, and also all the vessels of the tabernacle for the house of God, were made by Solomon of polished brass (1 Kings 7:43-47).

[5] He who knows what "brass" signifies may also enter into the arcanum why it was commanded that a serpent of brass be set up for the people to look at, of which it is thus written in Moses:

Jehovah sent serpents among the people, and they bit the people. And He said unto Moses, Make thee a serpent, and set it upon a standard, and it shall come to pass that everyone that is bitten, and looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and set it upon a standard; and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, and he looked unto the serpent of brass, he lived (Numbers 21:6, 8-9).

That this "serpent" signified the Lord, He Himself teaches in John:

As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in Him may not perish, but may have everlasting life (John 3:14-15).

By the "serpent" is signified that which is the ultimate of life with man, and is called the external sensual, which is the natural. Because this ultimate in the Lord was Divine, a serpent of brass was made among the sons of Israel, with whom all things were representative; and this signified that if they would look to the Divine Human of the Lord they would live again, that is, if they would believe in Him they would have eternal life, as the Lord Himself also teaches. (That to "see" is in the spiritual sense to believe, see above, n. 37, 68; and that the "serpent" is the external sensual, which is the ultimate of man's life, see Arcana Coelestia 195-197, 6398, 6949, 10313) That "brass" and "iron" in the Word also signify what is hard (as in Isaiah 48:4; Daniel 7:19 where), will be seen in what follows.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for their permission to use this translation.

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Arcana Coelestia #3318

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3318. 'And he was weary' means a state of conflict. This becomes clear from the meaning of 'weary' or weariness as the state following conflict. Here however, because the subject is a state of conflict in which good and truth within the natural man are joined together, the state of conflict itself is meant. As regards 'weary' here meaning a state of conflict, this is not apparent except from the train of thought in the internal sense, and in particular from the fact that without conflicts, or what amounts to the same, without temptations, good is unable to be joined to truth in the natural man.

[2] So that the nature of this state may be known - though only as man experiences it - let a brief statement be made regarding it. Man is nothing other than an organ or vessel which receives life from the Lord, for man does not live of himself, 290, 1954, 2021, 2536, 2706, 2886-2889, 3001. The life flowing in with man from the Lord comes from His Divine Love. This Love, that is, the life from it, flows in and applies itself to the vessels that are in man's rational and that are in his natural. On account of the hereditary evil into which man is born, and on account of the evil of his own doing which man acquires to himself, these vessels with him are set the wrong way round for receiving that life. But insofar as it is possible for this inflowing life to do so, it resets those vessels to receive it. These vessels within the rational man and within his natural are such as are called truths. In themselves they are nothing else than perceptions of the variations in form possessed by those vessels and of the changes of state which in different ways give rise to those variations, which are produced in the most delicate of organic substances, and in ways that defy description, 2487. Good itself, which possesses life from the Lord, that is, which is life, is that which flows in and resets them.

[3] When therefore those vessels, varying in the forms they take, are set and turned, as has been stated, the wrong way round for inflowing life, they clearly have to be re-positioned to receive that life, that is, to be controlled by it. This cannot possibly be effected as long as the person remains in that condition into which he was born or which he has brought upon himself. Indeed at that time they are unsubmissive because they resolutely withstand and harden themselves against the heavenly order governing the way that life acts. Indeed the good which moves them, and to which they are subservient, is that which stems from self-love and love of the world. From the dull warmth it contains that good makes these vessels what they are. Consequently before they can be made submissive and capable of receiving any of the life that belongs to the Lord's love, they have to be softened. The only ways that such softening can be achieved is by temptations, for temptations take away the things that constitute self-love and contempt for others in comparison with oneself, consequently that constitute self-glory, and also hatred and revenge on account of that. When therefore they have to some extent been subdued and mellowed by means of temptations those vessels start to become yielding and compliant to the life which belongs to the Lord's love and which is constantly flowing in with man.

[4] From this point onwards good, first of all in the rational man and then in the natural, starts to be joined to the truths there, for as has been stated, truths are nothing else than perceptions of the variations in form which are determined by the states that are changing all the time - those perceptions being a product of the life that is flowing in. This is the reason why a person is regenerated, that is, is made new, by means of temptations, or what amounts to the same, by means of spiritual conflicts, and after that receives an inward disposition different from before, that is to say, becomes gentle, humble, single-minded, and contrite at heart. From these considerations one may now see the use served by temptations, which is that good from the Lord may not only flow in but also render the vessels subservient and so join itself to them. For truths are the recipient vessels of good, see 1496, 1832, 1900, 2063, 2261, 2269. Here therefore, since the subject is the joining together of good and truth in the natural man, and since the first stage of that conjunction comes about through the conflicts brought about by temptations, 'he was weary' clearly means a state of conflict.

[5] As for the Lord however, who is the subject here in the highest sense, He so imposed Divine order on everything within Himself by means of the very severe conflicts that went with temptations that nothing remained of the human He had derived from the mother, 1444, 1573, 2159, 2574, 2649, 3036, so that He was not made new as any other human being but was made altogether Divine. For man, who is made new through regeneration, nevertheless retains within himself the inclination towards evil; indeed he retains the evil itself but is withheld from it by the influx of the life that is the life of the Lord's love, and by an extremely powerful force. But the Lord cast out completely everything evil that was His by heredity from the mother and made Himself Divine, doing so even as to the vessels, that is, as to the truths. This is what in the Word is called Glorification.

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