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Ezekiel 10

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1 καὶ εἶδον καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐπάνω τοῦ στερεώματος τοῦ ὑπὲρ κεφαλῆς τῶν χερουβιν ὡς λίθος σαπφείρου ὁμοίωμα θρόνου ἐπ' αὐτῶν

2 καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς τὸν ἄνδρα τὸν ἐνδεδυκότα τὴν στολήν εἴσελθε εἰς τὸ μέσον τῶν τροχῶν τῶν ὑποκάτω τῶν χερουβιν καὶ πλῆσον τὰς δράκας σου ἀνθράκων πυρὸς ἐκ μέσου τῶν χερουβιν καὶ διασκόρπισον ἐπὶ τὴν πόλιν καὶ εἰσῆλθεν ἐνώπιόν μου

3 καὶ τὰ χερουβιν εἱστήκει ἐκ δεξιῶν τοῦ οἴκου ἐν τῷ εἰσπορεύεσθαι τὸν ἄνδρα καὶ ἡ νεφέλη ἔπλησεν τὴν αὐλὴν τὴν ἐσωτέραν

4 καὶ ἀπῆρεν ἡ δόξα κυρίου ἀπὸ τῶν χερουβιν εἰς τὸ αἴθριον τοῦ οἴκου καὶ ἔπλησεν τὸν οἶκον ἡ νεφέλη καὶ ἡ αὐλὴ ἐπλήσθη τοῦ φέγγους τῆς δόξης κυρίου

5 καὶ φωνὴ τῶν πτερύγων τῶν χερουβιν ἠκούετο ἕως τῆς αὐλῆς τῆς ἐξωτέρας ὡς φωνὴ θεοῦ σαδδαι λαλοῦντος

6 καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ ἐντέλλεσθαι αὐτὸν τῷ ἀνδρὶ τῷ ἐνδεδυκότι τὴν στολὴν τὴν ἁγίαν λέγων λαβὲ πῦρ ἐκ μέσου τῶν τροχῶν ἐκ μέσου τῶν χερουβιν καὶ εἰσῆλθεν καὶ ἔστη ἐχόμενος τῶν τροχῶν

7 καὶ ἐξέτεινεν τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ εἰς μέσον τοῦ πυρὸς τοῦ ὄντος ἐν μέσῳ τῶν χερουβιν καὶ ἔλαβεν καὶ ἔδωκεν εἰς τὰς χεῖρας τοῦ ἐνδεδυκότος τὴν στολὴν τὴν ἁγίαν καὶ ἔλαβεν καὶ ἐξῆλθεν

8 καὶ εἶδον τὰ χερουβιν ὁμοίωμα χειρῶν ἀνθρώπων ὑποκάτωθεν τῶν πτερύγων αὐτῶν

9 καὶ εἶδον καὶ ἰδοὺ τροχοὶ τέσσαρες εἱστήκεισαν ἐχόμενοι τῶν χερουβιν τροχὸς εἷς ἐχόμενος χερουβ ἑνός καὶ ἡ ὄψις τῶν τροχῶν ὡς ὄψις λίθου ἄνθρακος

10 καὶ ἡ ὄψις αὐτῶν ὁμοίωμα ἓν τοῖς τέσσαρσιν ὃν τρόπον ὅταν ᾖ τροχὸς ἐν μέσῳ τροχοῦ

11 ἐν τῷ πορεύεσθαι αὐτὰ εἰς τὰ τέσσαρα μέρη αὐτῶν ἐπορεύοντο οὐκ ἐπέστρεφον ἐν τῷ πορεύεσθαι αὐτά ὅτι εἰς ὃν ἂν τόπον ἐπέβλεψεν ἡ ἀρχὴ ἡ μία ἐπορεύοντο καὶ οὐκ ἐπέστρεφον ἐν τῷ πορεύεσθαι αὐτά

12 καὶ οἱ νῶτοι αὐτῶν καὶ αἱ χεῖρες αὐτῶν καὶ αἱ πτέρυγες αὐτῶν καὶ οἱ τροχοὶ πλήρεις ὀφθαλμῶν κυκλόθεν τοῖς τέσσαρσιν τροχοῖς αὐτῶν

13 τοῖς δὲ τροχοῖς τούτοις ἐπεκλήθη γελγελ ἀκούοντός μου

15 καὶ ἦραν τὰ χερουβιν τοῦτο τὸ ζῷον ὃ εἶδον ἐπὶ τοῦ ποταμοῦ τοῦ χοβαρ

16 καὶ ἐν τῷ πορεύεσθαι τὰ χερουβιν ἐπορεύοντο οἱ τροχοί καὶ οὗτοι ἐχόμενοι αὐτῶν καὶ ἐν τῷ ἐξαίρειν τὰ χερουβιν τὰς πτέρυγας αὐτῶν τοῦ μετεωρίζεσθαι ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς οὐκ ἐπέστρεφον οἱ τροχοὶ αὐτῶν

17 ἐν τῷ ἑστάναι αὐτὰ εἱστήκεισαν καὶ ἐν τῷ μετεωρίζεσθαι αὐτὰ ἐμετεωρίζοντο μετ' αὐτῶν διότι πνεῦμα ζωῆς ἐν αὐτοῖς ἦν

18 καὶ ἐξῆλθεν δόξα κυρίου ἀπὸ τοῦ οἴκου καὶ ἐπέβη ἐπὶ τὰ χερουβιν

19 καὶ ἀνέλαβον τὰ χερουβιν τὰς πτέρυγας αὐτῶν καὶ ἐμετεωρίσθησαν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς ἐνώπιον ἐμοῦ ἐν τῷ ἐξελθεῖν αὐτὰ καὶ οἱ τροχοὶ ἐχόμενοι αὐτῶν καὶ ἔστησαν ἐπὶ τὰ πρόθυρα τῆς πύλης οἴκου κυρίου τῆς ἀπέναντι καὶ δόξα θεοῦ ισραηλ ἦν ἐπ' αὐτῶν ὑπεράνω

20 τοῦτο τὸ ζῷόν ἐστιν ὃ εἶδον ὑποκάτω θεοῦ ισραηλ ἐπὶ τοῦ ποταμοῦ τοῦ χοβαρ καὶ ἔγνων ὅτι χερουβιν ἐστίν

21 τέσσαρα πρόσωπα τῷ ἑνί καὶ ὀκτὼ πτέρυγες τῷ ἑνί καὶ ὁμοίωμα χειρῶν ἀνθρώπου ὑποκάτωθεν τῶν πτερύγων αὐτῶν

22 καὶ ὁμοίωσις τῶν προσώπων αὐτῶν ταῦτα τὰ πρόσωπά ἐστιν ἃ εἶδον ὑποκάτω τῆς δόξης θεοῦ ισραηλ ἐπὶ τοῦ ποταμοῦ τοῦ χοβαρ καὶ αὐτὰ ἕκαστον κατὰ πρόσωπον αὐτῶν ἐπορεύοντο

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Revealed #332

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332. And the sun became as black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. This symbolically means that all goodness of love was adulterated in those people, and every truth of faith falsified.

The sun symbolizes the Lord in respect to His Divine love, and thus the goodness of love emanating from Him; and in an opposite sense it symbolizes the Lord's Divinity denied, and thus the goodness of love adulterated. See no. 53 above. And because the sun symbolizes the goodness of love, therefore the moon symbolizes the truth of faith. For the sun has a reddish glow owing to its fire, while the moon glows white from the light radiating from the sun, and fire symbolizes the goodness of love, while light symbolizes the truth arising from that goodness. Regarding the moon, see also the places cited above in no. 53.

The sun is said to have become as black as sackcloth of hair because good adulterated is, in itself, evil, and evil is black.

The moon is said to have become like blood because blood symbolizes Divine truth, and in an opposite sense Divine truth falsified. See nos. 379, 684 below.

The sun and moon are described in almost the same way in Joel:

The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and terrible day of Jehovah. (Joel 2:31)

  
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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.