The Bible

 

Ezekiel 39:29

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From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Revealed #757

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757. "A prison for every foul spirit, and a prison for every unclean and loathsome bird!" This symbolically means that the evils willed and so done by the people in those hells, and the falsities entertained in thought and in consequent intention, are diabolical, because the people have turned away from the Lord to themselves.

A prison symbolizes a hell, because these Roman Catholics were imprisoned there. A spirit symbolizes everything pertaining to their affection or will and of the consequent action, and a bird symbolizes everything pertaining to the thought or intellect and consequent intention. A foul spirit and an unclean bird accordingly symbolize all the evils willed and so done, and all the falsities entertained in thought and consequent intention. Moreover, since the evils and falsities entertained by these people are found in the hells, therefore the symbolical meaning is that their evils and falsities are diabolical. In addition, because these people have turned away from the Lord to themselves, every unclean bird is also called loathsome.

Similar symbolism is used to describe Babylon in the Prophets, as in Isaiah:

Babylon... will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It will never be inhabited..., so that Arabs will not tarry there... But ziyyim 1 will lie there, their houses will be full of 'ochim, 2 the offspring of owls will dwell there, and satyrs will caper there. 'Iyyim 3 also will reply in its palaces, and dragons in its pleasant palaces. (Isaiah 13:19-22)

I will... cut off from Babylon the name and remnant... I will make it a possession of the bittern... (Isaiah 14:22-23)

And in Jeremiah:

...in Babylon shall dwell ziyyim 1 and 'iyyim 3 and the offspring of owls... As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors..., no son of man shall dwell in it. (Jeremiah 50:39-40)

It is apparent from this that a prison for every foul spirit, and a prison for every unclean and loathsome bird, means symbolically that the evils willed and so done by the people in those hells, and the falsities entertained in thought and consequent intention, are diabolical, because the people have turned away from the Lord to themselves.

[2] It is apparent from the Word that birds symbolize such things as have to do with the intellect and thought and consequent intention, and this in both senses, bad and good. They are found in a bad sense in the following passages there:

In the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice... (At length) on the bird of abominations shall be desolation. Even until the consummation... there shall rain down devastation. (Daniel 9:27)

The pelican and the bittern shall possess (the land). The screech owl and the raven shall dwell in it. (Isaiah 34:11)

Nothing else than hellish falsities are symbolized by 'ochim, 2 ziyyim, 1 the offspring of owls, and dragons in the passages cited above, as also by the birds that came down on the carcasses which Abram drove away (Genesis 15:11), by the birds which were given human corpses for food (Jeremiah 7:33; 15:3; 16:4; 19:7; 34:20; Ezekiel 29:5; Psalms 79:1-2).

[3] Birds are found in a good sense in the following passages:

Creeping thing and bird... shall praise the name of Jehovah. (Psalms 148:10, 13)

In that day I will make a covenant for them... with the birds of the sky, and the creeping things of the ground. (Hosea 2:18)

...ask the beasts, and they will teach you, and the birds of the sky, and they will tell you... Who among all these does not know that the hand of Jehovah does this? (Job 12:7-9)

I looked, when behold, there was no man; all the birds of the sky had flown away. (Jeremiah 4:24-26)

Both the birds of the sky and the beasts have fled away..., (because) I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a den of dragons. (Jeremiah 9:10-11)

There is no truth, no mercy, no knowledge of God... Therefore the land will mourn... as regards the beasts of the field and the birds of the sky. (Hosea 4:1, 3)

I am God... calling a bird from the east, a man of My counsel from a far country. (Isaiah 46:9, 11)

Assyria, a cedar in Lebanon... In its branches all the birds of the sky made their nests..., and in its shade all great nations dwelled. (Ezekiel 31:3, 6)

[4] Similar statements to that made of Assyria as a cedar here are found elsewhere, as in Ezekiel 17:23, Daniel 4:10-14, 20-21, Mark 4:32, Luke 13:19.

Speak to every sort of bird and to every beast of the field: ."..come... to... a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel...." (Thus) I will set My glory among the nations. (Ezekiel 39:17, 21, cf. Revelation 19:17)

And so on regarding birds elsewhere, as in Isaiah 18:1, 6; Ezekiel 38:20; Hosea 9:11; 11:10-11.

That birds symbolize such things as have to do with the intellect and its consequent thought and intention is clearly apparent from birds in the spiritual world. There, too, one sees birds of every kind and every species - in heaven very beautiful ones, birds of paradise, turtle doves, and doves - in hell dragons, screech owls, eagle owls, and others of that kind - all of which are objective representations of thoughts springing from good affections in heaven, and of thoughts springing from evil affections in hell.

Footnotes:

1. A Hebrew word (צִיִּים), appearing six times in the Old Testament (Psalms 72:9; 74:14). It seems to refer to desert dwellers, and in contexts suggesting animals, to desert creatures, but the actual identity is unknown. It may not be a precise term.

2. Another Hebrew word (אֹחִים), appearing only once in the Old Testament (Isaiah 13:21:4 identifies them as birds of the night.

3. Another Hebrew word (אִיִּים), appearing only three times in the Old Testament (Isaiah 13:22; 34:14

  
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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.

The Bible

 

Mark 4

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1 Again he began to teach by the seaside. A great multitude was gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat in the sea, and sat down. All the multitude were on the land by the sea.

2 He taught them many things in parables, and told them in his teaching,

3 "Listen! Behold, the farmer went out to sow,

4 and it happened, as he sowed, some seed fell by the road, and the birds came and devoured it.

5 Others fell on the rocky ground, where it had little soil, and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of soil.

6 When the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.

7 Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.

8 Others fell into the good ground, and yielded fruit, growing up and increasing. Some brought forth thirty times, some sixty times, and some one hundred times as much."

9 He said, "Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear."

10 When he was alone, those who were around him with the twelve asked him about the parables.

11 He said to them, "To you is given the mystery of the Kingdom of God, but to those who are outside, all things are done in parables,

12 that 'seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest perhaps they should turn again, and their sins should be forgiven them.'"

13 He said to them, "Don't you understand this parable? How will you understand all of the parables?

14 The farmer sows the word.

15 The ones by the road are the ones where the word is sown; and when they have heard, immediately Satan comes, and takes away the word which has been sown in them.

16 These in the same way are those who are sown on the rocky places, who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with joy.

17 They have no root in themselves, but are short-lived. When oppression or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they stumble.

18 Others are those who are sown among the thorns. These are those who have heard the word,

19 and the cares of this age, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

20 Those which were sown on the good ground are those who hear the word, and accept it, and bear fruit, some thirty times, some sixty times, and some one hundred times."

21 He said to them, "Is the lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Isn't it put on a stand?

22 For there is nothing hidden, except that it should be made known; neither was anything made secret, but that it should come to light.

23 If any man has ears to hear, let him hear."

24 He said to them, "Take heed what you hear. With whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you, and more will be given to you who hear.

25 For whoever has, to him will more be given, and he who doesn't have, even that which he has will be taken away from him."

26 He said, "The Kingdom of God is as if a man should cast seed on the earth,

27 and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, he doesn't know how.

28 For the earth bears fruit: first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.

29 But when the fruit is ripe, immediately he puts forth the sickle, because the harvest has come."

30 He said, "How will we liken the Kingdom of God? Or with what parable will we illustrate it?

31 It's like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, though it is less than all the seeds that are on the earth,

32 yet when it is sown, grows up, and becomes greater than all the herbs, and puts out great branches, so that the birds of the sky can lodge under its shadow."

33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it.

34 Without a parable he didn't speak to them; but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.

35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let's go over to the other side."

36 Leaving the multitude, they took him with them, even as he was, in the boat. Other small boats were also with him.

37 A big wind storm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so much that the boat was already filled.

38 He himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion, and they woke him up, and told him, "Teacher, don't you care that we are dying?"

39 He awoke, and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" The wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

40 He said to them, "Why are you so afraid? How is it that you have no faith?"

41 They were greatly afraid, and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"