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Joel 4

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1 διότι ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις καὶ ἐν τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ ὅταν ἐπιστρέψω τὴν αἰχμαλωσίαν ιουδα καὶ ιερουσαλημ

2 καὶ συνάξω πάντα τὰ ἔθνη καὶ κατάξω αὐτὰ εἰς τὴν κοιλάδα ιωσαφατ καὶ διακριθήσομαι πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἐκεῖ ὑπὲρ τοῦ λαοῦ μου καὶ τῆς κληρονομίας μου ισραηλ οἳ διεσπάρησαν ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν καὶ τὴν γῆν μου καταδιείλαντο

3 καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν λαόν μου ἔβαλον κλήρους καὶ ἔδωκαν τὰ παιδάρια πόρναις καὶ τὰ κοράσια ἐπώλουν ἀντὶ οἴνου καὶ ἔπινον

4 καὶ τί καὶ ὑμεῖς ἐμοί τύρος καὶ σιδὼν καὶ πᾶσα γαλιλαία ἀλλοφύλων μὴ ἀνταπόδομα ὑμεῖς ἀνταποδίδοτέ μοι ἢ μνησικακεῖτε ὑμεῖς ἐπ' ἐμοὶ ὀξέως καὶ ταχέως ἀνταποδώσω τὸ ἀνταπόδομα ὑμῶν εἰς κεφαλὰς ὑμῶν

5 ἀνθ' ὧν τὸ ἀργύριόν μου καὶ τὸ χρυσίον μου ἐλάβετε καὶ τὰ ἐπίλεκτά μου καὶ τὰ καλὰ εἰσηνέγκατε εἰς τοὺς ναοὺς ὑμῶν

6 καὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς ιουδα καὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς ιερουσαλημ ἀπέδοσθε τοῖς υἱοῖς τῶν ἑλλήνων ὅπως ἐξώσητε αὐτοὺς ἐκ τῶν ὁρίων αὐτῶν

7 ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἐξεγείρω αὐτοὺς ἐκ τοῦ τόπου οὗ ἀπέδοσθε αὐτοὺς ἐκεῖ καὶ ἀνταποδώσω τὸ ἀνταπόδομα ὑμῶν εἰς κεφαλὰς ὑμῶν

8 καὶ ἀποδώσομαι τοὺς υἱοὺς ὑμῶν καὶ τὰς θυγατέρας ὑμῶν εἰς χεῖρας υἱῶν ιουδα καὶ ἀποδώσονται αὐτοὺς εἰς αἰχμαλωσίαν εἰς ἔθνος μακρὰν ἀπέχον ὅτι κύριος ἐλάλησεν

9 κηρύξατε ταῦτα ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἁγιάσατε πόλεμον ἐξεγείρατε τοὺς μαχητάς προσαγάγετε καὶ ἀναβαίνετε πάντες ἄνδρες πολεμισταί

10 συγκόψατε τὰ ἄροτρα ὑμῶν εἰς ῥομφαίας καὶ τὰ δρέπανα ὑμῶν εἰς σειρομάστας ὁ ἀδύνατος λεγέτω ὅτι ἰσχύω ἐγώ

11 συναθροίζεσθε καὶ εἰσπορεύεσθε πάντα τὰ ἔθνη κυκλόθεν καὶ συνάχθητε ἐκεῖ ὁ πραῢς ἔστω μαχητής

12 ἐξεγειρέσθωσαν καὶ ἀναβαινέτωσαν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη εἰς τὴν κοιλάδα ιωσαφατ διότι ἐκεῖ καθιῶ τοῦ διακρῖναι πάντα τὰ ἔθνη κυκλόθεν

13 ἐξαποστείλατε δρέπανα ὅτι παρέστηκεν τρύγητος εἰσπορεύεσθε πατεῖτε διότι πλήρης ἡ ληνός ὑπερεκχεῖται τὰ ὑπολήνια ὅτι πεπλήθυνται τὰ κακὰ αὐτῶν

14 ἦχοι ἐξήχησαν ἐν τῇ κοιλάδι τῆς δίκης ὅτι ἐγγὺς ἡμέρα κυρίου ἐν τῇ κοιλάδι τῆς δίκης

15 ὁ ἥλιος καὶ ἡ σελήνη συσκοτάσουσιν καὶ οἱ ἀστέρες δύσουσιν φέγγος αὐτῶν

16 ὁ δὲ κύριος ἐκ σιων ἀνακεκράξεται καὶ ἐξ ιερουσαλημ δώσει φωνὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ σεισθήσεται ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ ὁ δὲ κύριος φείσεται τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐνισχύσει κύριος τοὺς υἱοὺς ισραηλ

17 καὶ ἐπιγνώσεσθε διότι ἐγὼ κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὑμῶν ὁ κατασκηνῶν ἐν σιων ἐν ὄρει ἁγίῳ μου καὶ ἔσται ιερουσαλημ πόλις ἁγία καὶ ἀλλογενεῖς οὐ διελεύσονται δι' αὐτῆς οὐκέτι

18 καὶ ἔσται ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἀποσταλάξει τὰ ὄρη γλυκασμόν καὶ οἱ βουνοὶ ῥυήσονται γάλα καὶ πᾶσαι αἱ ἀφέσεις ιουδα ῥυήσονται ὕδατα καὶ πηγὴ ἐξ οἴκου κυρίου ἐξελεύσεται καὶ ποτιεῖ τὸν χειμάρρουν τῶν σχοίνων

19 αἴγυπτος εἰς ἀφανισμὸν ἔσται καὶ ἡ ιδουμαία εἰς πεδίον ἀφανισμοῦ ἔσται ἐξ ἀδικιῶν υἱῶν ιουδα ἀνθ' ὧν ἐξέχεαν αἷμα δίκαιον ἐν τῇ γῇ αὐτῶν

20 ἡ δὲ ιουδαία εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα κατοικηθήσεται καὶ ιερουσαλημ εἰς γενεὰς γενεῶν

21 καὶ ἐκδικήσω τὸ αἷμα αὐτῶν καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀθῳώσω καὶ κύριος κατασκηνώσει ἐν σιων

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Revealed #651

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651. And threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. This symbolizes an examination of the character of the people's works, revealing that their works were evil.

To throw clusters of grapes into a winepress means, symbolically, to examine people's works, for clusters of grapes symbolize works (see no. 649 above). But because the winepress is called the great winepress of the wrath of God, it symbolizes a finding that their works were evil; for the wrath of God is predicated of evil (no. 635).

A winepress symbolizes examination because in presses the juice is expressed from grapes, and oil from olives, and one perceives the character of the grapes and olives from the juice and oil expressed. Moreover, because the vineyard symbolizes the Christian Church, and its clusters of grapes the people's works, therefore throwing the clusters into a winepress symbolizes an examination among people in the Christian Church. But because they have divorced faith from charity and made faith saving without the works of the law, and because a faith divorced from charity produces only evil works, the winepress is therefore called the great winepress of the wrath of God.

An examination of people's works is symbolized also by a winepress in the following passages:

My beloved had a vineyard on a fruitful hill. He... planted it with a choice vine. He also... hewed out a winepress in it; and he expected it to produce good grapes, but it produced wild grapes. (Isaiah 5:1-2)

Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. ...go down, for the winepress is full, the vats have overflowed; for their wickedness is great. (Joel 3:13)

The threshing floor and the winepress shall not feed them, and the new wine shall deceive them. (Hosea 9:1-2)

The plunderer has fallen on... your grape harvest... I have caused wine to fail from the winepress; no one will tread with joyous shouting. There is no joyous shouting! (Jeremiah 48:32-33)

...a householder... planted a vineyard..., and dug in it a wine-press..., and leased it to farmers... (Matthew 21:33)

But they killed the servants he sent to them, and finally killed his son. 1

A winepress mentioned in Joel refers to goods of charity from which spring truths of faith:

Rejoice, you children of Zion... The threshing floors are full of grain, and the presses overflow with new wine and oil. (Joel 2:23-24)

Footnotes:

1. Matthew 21:34-39

  
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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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