The Bible

 

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

 

Canons of the New Church #27

  
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27. CHAPTER IV. THE PROGRESSION OF A CHURCH TOWARDS ITS END, AND THE END ITSELF, ARE DESCRIBED IN VERY MANY PLACES IN THE WORD

1. A successive decreasing of good and truth and increasing of evil and falsity in a Church is termed in the Word its "being laid waste" and "becoming desolate".

2. Its final state, when there is nothing of good or truth remaining, is there termed "consummation" and "being cut off".

3. The end itself of a Church is the "fullness [of time]".

4. The same things also are meant in the Word by "evening" and "night".

5. And also by these things in the Prophets and in the Gospels: then shall the sun be darkened, the moon shall not give her light, the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. 1

6. Then the Church exists no longer except in name; nevertheless, there is this "remnant" in it, that a man, if he wishes, can know and understand truths, and can do goods. 2

Footnotes:

1. See Isa. 13:10; Ezek. 32:7; Joel 2:10, 31; 3:15; Amos 8:9; Matt. 24:29; Mark 13:24; Luke 21:25-26; Rev. 6:12-13 8:10, 12.

2. In the margin of the Nordenskjold manuscript by another hand are the words: "But now hardly one in the whole of Christendom wishes to know."

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.