The Bible

 

Ezekiel 47

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1 καὶ εἰσήγαγέν με ἐπὶ τὰ πρόθυρα τοῦ οἴκου καὶ ἰδοὺ ὕδωρ ἐξεπορεύετο ὑποκάτωθεν τοῦ αἰθρίου κατ' ἀνατολάς ὅτι τὸ πρόσωπον τοῦ οἴκου ἔβλεπεν κατ' ἀνατολάς καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ κατέβαινεν ἀπὸ τοῦ κλίτους τοῦ δεξιοῦ ἀπὸ νότου ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον

2 καὶ ἐξήγαγέν με κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν τῆς πύλης τῆς πρὸς βορρᾶν καὶ περιήγαγέν με τὴν ὁδὸν ἔξωθεν πρὸς τὴν πύλην τῆς αὐλῆς τῆς βλεπούσης κατ' ἀνατολάς καὶ ἰδοὺ τὸ ὕδωρ κατεφέρετο ἀπὸ τοῦ κλίτους τοῦ δεξιοῦ

3 καθὼς ἔξοδος ἀνδρὸς ἐξ ἐναντίας καὶ μέτρον ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ διεμέτρησεν χιλίους ἐν τῷ μέτρῳ καὶ διῆλθεν ἐν τῷ ὕδατι ὕδωρ ἀφέσεως

4 καὶ διεμέτρησεν χιλίους καὶ διῆλθεν ἐν τῷ ὕδατι ὕδωρ ἕως τῶν μηρῶν καὶ διεμέτρησεν χιλίους καὶ διῆλθεν ὕδωρ ἕως ὀσφύος

5 καὶ διεμέτρησεν χιλίους καὶ οὐκ ἠδύνατο διελθεῖν ὅτι ἐξύβριζεν τὸ ὕδωρ ὡς ῥοῖζος χειμάρρου ὃν οὐ διαβήσονται

6 καὶ εἶπεν πρός με εἰ ἑώρακας υἱὲ ἀνθρώπου καὶ ἤγαγέν με ἐπὶ τὸ χεῖλος τοῦ ποταμοῦ

7 ἐν τῇ ἐπιστροφῇ μου καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐπὶ τοῦ χείλους τοῦ ποταμοῦ δένδρα πολλὰ σφόδρα ἔνθεν καὶ ἔνθεν

8 καὶ εἶπεν πρός με τὸ ὕδωρ τοῦτο τὸ ἐκπορευόμενον εἰς τὴν γαλιλαίαν τὴν πρὸς ἀνατολὰς καὶ κατέβαινεν ἐπὶ τὴν ἀραβίαν καὶ ἤρχετο ἕως ἐπὶ τὴν θάλασσαν ἐπὶ τὸ ὕδωρ τῆς διεκβολῆς καὶ ὑγιάσει τὰ ὕδατα

9 καὶ ἔσται πᾶσα ψυχὴ τῶν ζῴων τῶν ἐκζεόντων ἐπὶ πάντα ἐφ' ἃ ἂν ἐπέλθῃ ἐκεῖ ὁ ποταμός ζήσεται καὶ ἔσται ἐκεῖ ἰχθὺς πολὺς σφόδρα ὅτι ἥκει ἐκεῖ τὸ ὕδωρ τοῦτο καὶ ὑγιάσει καὶ ζήσεται πᾶν ἐφ' ὃ ἂν ἐπέλθῃ ὁ ποταμὸς ἐκεῖ ζήσεται

10 καὶ στήσονται ἐκεῖ ἁλεεῖς ἀπὸ αινγαδιν ἕως αιναγαλιμ ψυγμὸς σαγηνῶν ἔσται καθ' αὑτὴν ἔσται καὶ οἱ ἰχθύες αὐτῆς ὡς οἱ ἰχθύες τῆς θαλάσσης τῆς μεγάλης πλῆθος πολὺ σφόδρα

11 καὶ ἐν τῇ διεκβολῇ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν τῇ ἐπιστροφῇ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν τῇ ὑπεράρσει αὐτοῦ οὐ μὴ ὑγιάσωσιν εἰς ἅλας δέδονται

12 καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ποταμοῦ ἀναβήσεται ἐπὶ τοῦ χείλους αὐτοῦ ἔνθεν καὶ ἔνθεν πᾶν ξύλον βρώσιμον οὐ μὴ παλαιωθῇ ἐπ' αὐτοῦ οὐδὲ μὴ ἐκλίπῃ ὁ καρπὸς αὐτοῦ τῆς καινότητος αὐτοῦ πρωτοβολήσει διότι τὰ ὕδατα αὐτῶν ἐκ τῶν ἁγίων ταῦτα ἐκπορεύεται καὶ ἔσται ὁ καρπὸς αὐτῶν εἰς βρῶσιν καὶ ἀνάβασις αὐτῶν εἰς ὑγίειαν

13 τάδε λέγει κύριος θεός ταῦτα τὰ ὅρια κατακληρονομήσετε τῆς γῆς ταῖς δώδεκα φυλαῖς τῶν υἱῶν ισραηλ πρόσθεσις σχοινίσματος

14 καὶ κατακληρονομήσετε αὐτὴν ἕκαστος καθὼς ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ εἰς ἣν ἦρα τὴν χεῖρά μου τοῦ δοῦναι αὐτὴν τοῖς πατράσιν αὐτῶν καὶ πεσεῖται ἡ γῆ αὕτη ὑμῖν ἐν κληρονομίᾳ

15 καὶ ταῦτα τὰ ὅρια τῆς γῆς πρὸς βορρᾶν ἀπὸ τῆς θαλάσσης τῆς μεγάλης τῆς καταβαινούσης καὶ περισχιζούσης τῆς εἰσόδου ημαθ σεδδαδα

16 βηρωθα σεβραιμ ηλιαμ ἀνὰ μέσον ὁρίων δαμασκοῦ καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον ὁρίων ημαθ αὐλὴ τοῦ σαυναν αἵ εἰσιν ἐπάνω τῶν ὁρίων αυρανίτιδος

17 ταῦτα τὰ ὅρια ἀπὸ τῆς θαλάσσης ἀπὸ τῆς αὐλῆς τοῦ αιναν ὅρια δαμασκοῦ καὶ τὰ πρὸς βορρᾶν

18 καὶ τὰ πρὸς ἀνατολὰς ἀνὰ μέσον τῆς αυρανίτιδος καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον δαμασκοῦ καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τῆς γαλααδίτιδος καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τῆς γῆς τοῦ ισραηλ ὁ ιορδάνης διορίζει ἐπὶ τὴν θάλασσαν τὴν πρὸς ἀνατολὰς φοινικῶνος ταῦτα τὰ πρὸς ἀνατολάς

19 καὶ τὰ πρὸς νότον καὶ λίβα ἀπὸ θαιμαν καὶ φοινικῶνος ἕως ὕδατος μαριμωθ καδης παρεκτεῖνον ἐπὶ τὴν θάλασσαν τὴν μεγάλην τοῦτο τὸ μέρος νότος καὶ λίψ

20 τοῦτο τὸ μέρος τῆς θαλάσσης τῆς μεγάλης ὁρίζει ἕως κατέναντι τῆς εἰσόδου ημαθ ἕως εἰσόδου αὐτοῦ ταῦτά ἐστιν τὰ πρὸς θάλασσαν ημαθ

21 καὶ διαμερίσετε τὴν γῆν ταύτην αὐτοῖς ταῖς φυλαῖς τοῦ ισραηλ

22 βαλεῖτε αὐτὴν ἐν κλήρῳ ὑμῖν καὶ τοῖς προσηλύτοις τοῖς παροικοῦσιν ἐν μέσῳ ὑμῶν οἵτινες ἐγέννησαν υἱοὺς ἐν μέσῳ ὑμῶν καὶ ἔσονται ὑμῖν ὡς αὐτόχθονες ἐν τοῖς υἱοῖς τοῦ ισραηλ μεθ' ὑμῶν φάγονται ἐν κληρονομίᾳ ἐν μέσῳ τῶν φυλῶν τοῦ ισραηλ

23 καὶ ἔσονται ἐν φυλῇ προσηλύτων ἐν τοῖς προσηλύτοις τοῖς μετ' αὐτῶν ἐκεῖ δώσετε κληρονομίαν αὐτοῖς λέγει κύριος θεός

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Revealed #191

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191. "'I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God.'" This symbolically means that the truths they possess, springing from goodness derived from the Lord, sustain the Lord's church in heaven.

A temple symbolizes the church, and the temple of My God symbolizes the Lord's church in heaven. It is apparent from this that a pillar symbolizes what sustains and stabilizes the church, and that is the Divine truth in the Word.

In the highest sense, a temple symbolizes the Lord in respect to His Divine humanity, particularly in respect to Divine truth. In a representative sense, however, a temple symbolizes the Lord's church in heaven, and so also the Lord's church in the world.

That a temple in the highest sense symbolizes the Lord in respect to His Divine humanity, and particularly in respect to Divine truth, is apparent from the following passages:

(Jesus said to the Jews,) "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." ...He was speaking of the temple of His body. (John 2:19, 21)

I saw no temple in (the New Jerusalem), for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. (Revelation 21:22)

Behold..., the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, and the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire. (Malachi 3:1)

I will bow myself toward Your holy temple... (Psalms 138:2)

...I will look again toward Your holy temple... And my prayer went to You, to Your holy temple. (Jonah 2:4, 7)

Jehovah is in His holy temple. (Habakkuk 2:20)

The holy temple of Jehovah or of the Lord is His Divine humanity, for it is to this that people bow, look to, and pray, and not to the temple merely, as the temple is not, in itself, holy. It is called a holy temple, because holiness is predicated of Divine truth (no. 173).

"The temple that sanctifies the gold" in Matthew 23:16-17 means nothing else than the Lord's Divine humanity.

[2] That a temple in a representative sense symbolizes the Lord's church in heaven, is apparent from the following passages:

(The) voice (of Jehovah) from the temple...! (Isaiah 66:6)

...a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven... (Revelation 16:17)

The temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. (Revelation 11:19)

...the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. And out of the temple came the seven angels... And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God... (Revelation 15:5-6, 8)

I called upon Jehovah, and cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple... (Psalms 18:6)

I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty, and His skirts filled the temple. (Isaiah 6:1)

[3] That a temple symbolizes the church in the world is apparent from these passages:

Our holy... temple... has become a conflagration... (Isaiah 64:11)

I will shake all nations..., that I may fill this house with glory... The glory of this latter house shall be greater than the former... (Haggai 2:7, 9)

The new temple in Ezekiel 40; 41; 42; 43; 44; 45; 46; 47; 48 describes a church to be established by the Lord. A church is also meant in Revelation 11:1 by the temple that the angel measured. So likewise elsewhere, as in Isaiah 44:28, Jeremiah 7:2-4, 9-11, Zechariah 8:9.

...the disciples (of Jesus) came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, ."..Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left... upon another, that shall not be demolished." (Matthew 24:1-2)

The temple here symbolizes the church today; and its demolition means, symbolically, that not one stone would be left upon another. This symbolizes the end of that church, when not any truth would remain. For when the disciples spoke with the Lord about the temple, the Lord foretold the consecutive states of this church, even to its last one, or the end of the age; and the end of the age means the final period of the church, which is the one that exists today. This was represented by the destruction of that temple to its foundations.

[4] A temple has these three symbolic meanings, namely the Lord, the church in heaven, and the church in the world. Because these three are bound up together, they cannot be separated. Consequently one cannot be meant without the other. Therefore anyone who divorces the church in the world from the church in heaven, or the one or the other from the Lord, is without the truth.

The temple here means the church in heaven, because reference to the church in the world follows after this (no. 194).

  
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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.