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Joel 2

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1 σαλπίσατε σάλπιγγι ἐν σιων κηρύξατε ἐν ὄρει ἁγίῳ μου καὶ συγχυθήτωσαν πάντες οἱ κατοικοῦντες τὴν γῆν διότι πάρεστιν ἡμέρα κυρίου ὅτι ἐγγύς

2 ἡμέρα σκότους καὶ γνόφου ἡμέρα νεφέλης καὶ ὁμίχλης ὡς ὄρθρος χυθήσεται ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη λαὸς πολὺς καὶ ἰσχυρός ὅμοιος αὐτῷ οὐ γέγονεν ἀπὸ τοῦ αἰῶνος καὶ μετ' αὐτὸν οὐ προστεθήσεται ἕως ἐτῶν εἰς γενεὰς γενεῶν

3 τὰ ἔμπροσθεν αὐτοῦ πῦρ ἀναλίσκον καὶ τὰ ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ ἀναπτομένη φλόξ ὡς παράδεισος τρυφῆς ἡ γῆ πρὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ ὄπισθεν αὐτοῦ πεδίον ἀφανισμοῦ καὶ ἀνασῳζόμενος οὐκ ἔσται αὐτῷ

4 ὡς ὅρασις ἵππων ἡ ὄψις αὐτῶν καὶ ὡς ἱππεῖς οὕτως καταδιώξονται

5 ὡς φωνὴ ἁρμάτων ἐπὶ τὰς κορυφὰς τῶν ὀρέων ἐξαλοῦνται καὶ ὡς φωνὴ φλογὸς πυρὸς κατεσθιούσης καλάμην καὶ ὡς λαὸς πολὺς καὶ ἰσχυρὸς παρατασσόμενος εἰς πόλεμον

6 ἀπὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ συντριβήσονται λαοί πᾶν πρόσωπον ὡς πρόσκαυμα χύτρας

7 ὡς μαχηταὶ δραμοῦνται καὶ ὡς ἄνδρες πολεμισταὶ ἀναβήσονται ἐπὶ τὰ τείχη καὶ ἕκαστος ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ αὐτοῦ πορεύσεται καὶ οὐ μὴ ἐκκλίνωσιν τὰς τρίβους αὐτῶν

8 καὶ ἕκαστος ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἀφέξεται καταβαρυνόμενοι ἐν τοῖς ὅπλοις αὐτῶν πορεύσονται καὶ ἐν τοῖς βέλεσιν αὐτῶν πεσοῦνται καὶ οὐ μὴ συντελεσθῶσιν

9 τῆς πόλεως ἐπιλήμψονται καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν τειχέων δραμοῦνται καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς οἰκίας ἀναβήσονται καὶ διὰ θυρίδων εἰσελεύσονται ὡς κλέπται

10 πρὸ προσώπου αὐτῶν συγχυθήσεται ἡ γῆ καὶ σεισθήσεται ὁ οὐρανός ὁ ἥλιος καὶ ἡ σελήνη συσκοτάσουσιν καὶ τὰ ἄστρα δύσουσιν τὸ φέγγος αὐτῶν

11 καὶ κύριος δώσει φωνὴν αὐτοῦ πρὸ προσώπου δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ ὅτι πολλή ἐστιν σφόδρα ἡ παρεμβολὴ αὐτοῦ ὅτι ἰσχυρὰ ἔργα λόγων αὐτοῦ διότι μεγάλη ἡ ἡμέρα τοῦ κυρίου μεγάλη καὶ ἐπιφανὴς σφόδρα καὶ τίς ἔσται ἱκανὸς αὐτῇ

12 καὶ νῦν λέγει κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὑμῶν ἐπιστράφητε πρός με ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας ὑμῶν καὶ ἐν νηστείᾳ καὶ ἐν κλαυθμῷ καὶ ἐν κοπετῷ

13 καὶ διαρρήξατε τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν καὶ μὴ τὰ ἱμάτια ὑμῶν καὶ ἐπιστράφητε πρὸς κύριον τὸν θεὸν ὑμῶν ὅτι ἐλεήμων καὶ οἰκτίρμων ἐστίν μακρόθυμος καὶ πολυέλεος καὶ μετανοῶν ἐπὶ ταῖς κακίαις

14 τίς οἶδεν εἰ ἐπιστρέψει καὶ μετανοήσει καὶ ὑπολείψεται ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ εὐλογίαν θυσίαν καὶ σπονδὴν κυρίῳ τῷ θεῷ ἡμῶν

15 σαλπίσατε σάλπιγγι ἐν σιων ἁγιάσατε νηστείαν κηρύξατε θεραπείαν

16 συναγάγετε λαόν ἁγιάσατε ἐκκλησίαν ἐκλέξασθε πρεσβυτέρους συναγάγετε νήπια θηλάζοντα μαστούς ἐξελθάτω νυμφίος ἐκ τοῦ κοιτῶνος αὐτοῦ καὶ νύμφη ἐκ τοῦ παστοῦ αὐτῆς

17 ἀνὰ μέσον τῆς κρηπῖδος τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου κλαύσονται οἱ ἱερεῖς οἱ λειτουργοῦντες κυρίῳ καὶ ἐροῦσιν φεῖσαι κύριε τοῦ λαοῦ σου καὶ μὴ δῷς τὴν κληρονομίαν σου εἰς ὄνειδος τοῦ κατάρξαι αὐτῶν ἔθνη ὅπως μὴ εἴπωσιν ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ποῦ ἐστιν ὁ θεὸς αὐτῶν

18 καὶ ἐζήλωσεν κύριος τὴν γῆν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐφείσατο τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτοῦ

19 καὶ ἀπεκρίθη κύριος καὶ εἶπεν τῷ λαῷ αὐτοῦ ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἐξαποστέλλω ὑμῖν τὸν σῖτον καὶ τὸν οἶνον καὶ τὸ ἔλαιον καὶ ἐμπλησθήσεσθε αὐτῶν καὶ οὐ δώσω ὑμᾶς οὐκέτι εἰς ὀνειδισμὸν ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσι

20 καὶ τὸν ἀπὸ βορρᾶ ἐκδιώξω ἀφ' ὑμῶν καὶ ἐξώσω αὐτὸν εἰς γῆν ἄνυδρον καὶ ἀφανιῶ τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν τὴν πρώτην καὶ τὰ ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν τὴν ἐσχάτην καὶ ἀναβήσεται ἡ σαπρία αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀναβήσεται ὁ βρόμος αὐτοῦ ὅτι ἐμεγάλυνεν τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ

21 θάρσει γῆ χαῖρε καὶ εὐφραίνου ὅτι ἐμεγάλυνεν κύριος τοῦ ποιῆσαι

22 θαρσεῖτε κτήνη τοῦ πεδίου ὅτι βεβλάστηκεν πεδία τῆς ἐρήμου ὅτι ξύλον ἤνεγκεν τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ ἄμπελος καὶ συκῆ ἔδωκαν τὴν ἰσχὺν αὐτῶν

23 καὶ τὰ τέκνα σιων χαίρετε καὶ εὐφραίνεσθε ἐπὶ τῷ κυρίῳ θεῷ ὑμῶν διότι ἔδωκεν ὑμῖν τὰ βρώματα εἰς δικαιοσύνην καὶ βρέξει ὑμῖν ὑετὸν πρόιμον καὶ ὄψιμον καθὼς ἔμπροσθεν

24 καὶ πλησθήσονται αἱ ἅλωνες σίτου καὶ ὑπερεκχυθήσονται αἱ ληνοὶ οἴνου καὶ ἐλαίου

25 καὶ ἀνταποδώσω ὑμῖν ἀντὶ τῶν ἐτῶν ὧν κατέφαγεν ἡ ἀκρὶς καὶ ὁ βροῦχος καὶ ἡ ἐρυσίβη καὶ ἡ κάμπη ἡ δύναμίς μου ἡ μεγάλη ἣν ἐξαπέστειλα εἰς ὑμᾶς

26 καὶ φάγεσθε ἐσθίοντες καὶ ἐμπλησθήσεσθε καὶ αἰνέσετε τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ ὑμῶν ἃ ἐποίησεν μεθ' ὑμῶν εἰς θαυμάσια καὶ οὐ μὴ καταισχυνθῇ ὁ λαός μου εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα

27 καὶ ἐπιγνώσεσθε ὅτι ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ ισραηλ ἐγώ εἰμι καὶ ἐγὼ κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὑμῶν καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἔτι πλὴν ἐμοῦ καὶ οὐ μὴ καταισχυνθῶσιν οὐκέτι πᾶς ὁ λαός μου εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Revealed #312

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312. So I looked, and behold, a black horse. This symbolizes an understanding of the Word among them extinguished as to truth, thus extinguished as regards their doctrine.

We showed above that a horse symbolizes an understanding of the Word. Blackness symbolizes a lack of truth, thus falsity, because blackness is the opposite of whiteness, and whiteness is predicated of truth (nos. 167, 231, 232). Whiteness is also the result of light, while blackness results from darkness, thus from the absence of light, and light means truth.

In the spiritual world, however, blackness has a double origin, one resulting from the absence of a flaming light, the light possessed by inhabitants of the Lord's celestial kingdom, and the other resulting from the absence of a bright white light, the light possessed by inhabitants of the Lord's spiritual kingdom. The first kind of blackness has the same symbolism as a thick darkness, the second the same as a gloomy darkness. The two kinds differ from each other. One is dreadful, the other not so dreadful. It is the same with the falsities that they symbolize. The spirits who appear in a terrible darkness are called devils. They also abhor truth as owls do the light of the sun. In contrast, the spirits who appear in a darkness that is not so dreadful are called satanic spirits. They do not abhor truth, though they are still averse to it, and therefore they may be likened to barn owls, but the first to eagle owls.

The fact that blackness in the Word is predicated of falsity can be seen from the following passages:

Her Nazirites were brighter than snow... Darkened more than blackness is their form. (Lamentations 4:7-8)

...on the prophets... the day shall grow black. (Micah 3:6)

On the day that you go down to hell..., I will make Lebanon dark over you... (Ezekiel 31:15)

...the sun became as black as sackcloth of goat's hair... (Revelation 6:12)

The sun, moon and stars are darkened in Jeremiah 4:27-28, Ezekiel 32:7, Joel 2:10; 3:15, and elsewhere.

It was the third living creature that displayed the black horse because it had a face like a human being, which symbolized the Divine truth of the Word in respect to its wisdom (no. 243). Consequently it was this living creature that displayed the fact that there was no longer any truth of wisdom in the people who were third in order.

  
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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.

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