Apocalypse Explained #258
258. CHAPTER 4.
1. AFTER this I saw, and, behold, a door opened in heaven; and the first voice which I heard, as it were of a trumpet, speaking with me, said, Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must come to pass hereafter.
2. And immediately I was in the spirit; and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and upon the throne one sitting.
3. And he that sat was in aspect like a jasper and a sardius and there was a rainbow round about the throne in aspect like unto an emerald.
4. And round about the throne were four-and-twenty thrones; and upon the thrones I saw four-and-twenty elders sitting, clothed in white garments; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.
5. And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices; and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
6. And before the throne there was a glassy sea like unto crystal; and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four animals full of eyes before and behind.
7. And the first animal was like a lion, and the second animal like a calf, and the third animal had a face like a man, and the fourth animal was like a flying eagle.
8. And the four animals had each by itself six wings round about; and they were full of eyes within; and they had no rest day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come.
9. And when the animals gave glory and honour and thanks to him that sitteth on the throne, who liveth unto the ages of the ages)
10. The four-and-twenty elders fell down before him that sitteth on the throne, and worshipped him that liveth unto the ages of the ages, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
11. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power; for thou hast created all things, and by thy will they are, and were created.
THE EXPLANATION.
IT was stated above (n. 5), that the subject treated of in this prophetical book is not the successive states of the Christian church from its beginning to its end, as has been hitherto believed, but the state of the church and of heaven in the last times, when there would be a new heaven and a new earth, that is, when there would be a new church formed in the heavens and on earth, thus when judgment takes place. It is said a new church in the heavens, because there is a church there just as on earth (as may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell 221-227). Because these are the subjects treated of in this book, therefore the first chapter treats of the Lord, who is the Judge; and the second and third of those who belong to the church, and of those who do not belong to the church, thus it treats of those who are in the former heaven, which is to be abolished, and of those who are in the new heaven, which is to be formed. (That by the seven churches which are treated of in the second and third chapters, are meant all those who are in the church, and also everything pertaining to the church, may be seen above, n. 256, 257.) The subject now treated of in this fourth chapter is the arrangement of all things, especially in the heavens, before judgment; therefore a throne was now seen in heaven, and round about it twenty-four thrones, upon which were twenty-four elders; also, near the throne, four animals, which are cherubim. That by those things is described the arrangement of all things before the judgment, and for judgment, will be seen in the explanation of this chapter. It should be known that before any change takes place everything is pre-arranged and prepared for the future event; for all things are foreseen by the Lord, and according to this foresight are disposed and provided for. By the throne, therefore, in the midst of heaven is meant judgment, and by Him who sat upon it, the Lord; by the four-and-twenty thrones upon which were four-and-twenty elders, are meant all truths in their whole extent, from which and according to which judgment is. By the four animals, which are cherubim, is meant the Lord's Divine Providence, lest the former heavens should suffer harm by the remarkable change about to take place, and that afterwards everything might be done according to order; that is to say, that those who are interiorly evil might be separated from those who are interiorly good, and the latter be elevated into heaven, but the former cast down to hell.
Leviticus 14
1
Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
2
"This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing. He shall be brought to the priest,
3
and the priest shall go forth out of the camp. The priest shall examine him, and behold, if the plague of leprosy is healed in the leper,
4
then the priest shall command them to take for him who is to be cleansed two living clean birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop.
5
The priest shall command them to kill one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water.
6
As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water.
7
He shall sprinkle on him who is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird go into the open field.
8
"He who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and bathe himself in water; and he shall be clean. After that he shall come into the camp, but shall dwell outside his tent seven days.
9
It shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave off. He shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his body in water, then he shall be clean.
10
"On the eighth day he shall take two male lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb a year old without blemish, and three tenths of an ephah of fine flour for a meal offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil.
11
The priest who cleanses him shall set the man who is to be cleansed, and those things, before Yahweh, at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
12
"The priest shall take one of the male lambs, and offer him for a trespass offering, with the log of oil, and wave them for a wave offering before Yahweh.
13
He shall kill the male lamb in the place where they kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the place of the sanctuary; for as the sin offering is the priest's, so is the trespass offering. It is most holy.
14
The priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.
15
The priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand.
16
The priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle some of the oil with his finger seven times before Yahweh.
17
The priest shall put some of the rest of the oil that is in his hand on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, upon the blood of the trespass offering.
18
The rest of the oil that is in the priest's hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed, and the priest shall make atonement for him before Yahweh.
19
"The priest shall offer the sin offering, and make atonement for him who is to be cleansed because of his uncleanness: and afterward he shall kill the burnt offering;
20
and the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the meal offering on the altar. The priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean.
21
"If he is poor, and can't afford so much, then he shall take one male lamb for a trespass offering to be waved, to make atonement for him, and one tenth of an ephah of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal offering, and a log of oil;
22
and two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, such as he is able to afford; and the one shall be a sin offering, and the other a burnt offering.
23
"On the eighth day he shall bring them for his cleansing to the priest, to the door of the Tent of Meeting, before Yahweh.
24
The priest shall take the lamb of the trespass offering, and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before Yahweh.
25
He shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering. The priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering and put it on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.
26
The priest shall pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand;
27
and the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before Yahweh.
28
Then the priest shall put some of the oil that is in his hand on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the place of the blood of the trespass offering.
29
The rest of the oil that is in the priest's hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before Yahweh.
30
He shall offer one of the turtledoves, or of the young pigeons, such as he is able to afford,
31
even such as he is able to afford, the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, with the meal offering. The priest shall make atonement for him who is to be cleansed before Yahweh."
32
This is the law for him in whom is the plague of leprosy, who is not able to afford the sacrifice for his cleansing.
33
Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,
34
"When you have come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put a spreading mildew in a house in the land of your possession,
35
then he who owns the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, 'There seems to me to be some sort of plague in the house.'
36
The priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest goes in to examine the plague, that all that is in the house not be made unclean: and afterward the priest shall go in to inspect the house.
37
He shall examine the plague; and behold, if the plague is in the walls of the house with hollow streaks, greenish or reddish, and it appears to be deeper than the wall;
38
then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days.
39
The priest shall come again on the seventh day, and look. If the plague has spread in the walls of the house,
40
then the priest shall command that they take out the stones in which is the plague, and cast them into an unclean place outside of the city:
41
and he shall cause the inside of the house to be scraped all over, and they shall pour out the mortar, that they scraped off, outside of the city into an unclean place.
42
They shall take other stones, and put them in the place of those stones; and he shall take other mortar, and shall plaster the house.
43
"If the plague comes again, and breaks out in the house, after he has taken out the stones, and after he has scraped the house, and after it was plastered;
44
then the priest shall come in and look; and behold, if the plague has spread in the house, it is a destructive mildew in the house. It is unclean.
45
He shall break down the house, its stones, and its timber, and all the house's mortar. He shall carry them out of the city into an unclean place.
46
"Moreover he who goes into the house while it is shut up shall be unclean until the evening.
47
He who lies down in the house shall wash his clothes; and he who eats in the house shall wash his clothes.
48
"If the priest shall come in, and examine it, and behold, the plague hasn't spread in the house, after the house was plastered, then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed.
49
To cleanse the house he shall take two birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop.
50
He shall kill one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water.
51
He shall take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird, and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times.
52
He shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the running water, with the living bird, with the cedar wood, with the hyssop, and with the scarlet;
53
but he shall let the living bird go out of the city into the open field. So shall he make atonement for the house; and it shall be clean."
54
This is the law for any plague of leprosy, and for an itch,
55
and for the destructive mildew of a garment, and for a house,
56
and for a rising, and for a scab, and for a bright spot;
57
to teach when it is unclean, and when it is clean. This is the law of leprosy.
