The Bible

 

Amos 1

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1 The words of Amos, who was among the herdman of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

2 And he said, The LORD will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.

3 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron:

4 But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Ben-hadad.

5 I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden: and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, saith the LORD.

6 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they carried away captive the whole captivity, to deliver them up to Edom:

7 But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall devour the palaces thereof:

8 And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holdeth the sceptre from Ashkelon, and I will turn mine hand against Ekron: and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord GOD.

9 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Tyrus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant:

10 But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus, which shall devour the palaces thereof.

11 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever:

12 But I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.

13 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border:

14 But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind:

15 And their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes together, saith the LORD.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Revealed #344

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344. Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun. (7:2) This symbolizes the Lord providing and moderating.

The angel here means the Lord in respect to Divine love, because he ascended from the rising of the sun, and from the rising of the sun or from the east means from Divine love. For in the spiritual world the Lord is the sun and the east, and He is called that in respect to that love. His providing and moderating is apparent from His commandment to the four angels not to harm the earth and sea till the servants of God had been sealed on their foreheads.

That in the highest sense an angel means the Lord's Divine humanity is apparent from the following verses:

...the Angel of (Jehovah's) presence delivered them because of His love and His clemency. He redeemed them, and took them up, and carried them all the days of eternity. (Isaiah 63:9)

The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless (them). (Genesis 48:16)

The Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Angel of the covenant, whom you are desiring. (Malachi 3:1)

...I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way... Beware of his presence...; for My name is in the midst of him. (Exodus 23:20-23)

"Angel" and "one sent" are, in Hebrew, the same word. That is why the Lord so often calls Himself one sent by the Father, meaning by it His Divine humanity.

In a relative sense, on the other hand, an angel is anyone who accepts the Lord, whether in heaven or in the world.

  
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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.