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Joel 2

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1 Støt i basun på Sion og blås alarm på mitt hellige berg, alle som bor i landet, beve! For Herrens dag kommer - den er nær,

2 en dag med mørke og mulm, en dag med skyer og skodde, utbredt over fjellene som morgenrøde - et stort og sterkt folk, som det ikke har vært make til fra fordums tid og heller ikke siden kommer make til gjennem årene, fra slekt til slekt.

3 Foran det fortærer ild, og efter det brenner lue; som Edens have er landet foran det, og efter det er det en øde ørken, og det er intet som slipper unda det.

4 Som hester er det å se til, og som ryttere løper de avsted.

5 Det lyder som larm av vogner når de hopper over fjelltoppene, det lyder som når ildsluen fortærer halm, de er som et sterkt folk, rustet til krig.

6 Folkeslag skjelver for det; alle ansikter blir blussende røde*. / {* JES 13, 8.}

7 Som helter løper de avsted, som krigsmenn stiger de op på murene; de drar frem hver sin vei og bøier ikke av fra sine stier.

8 De trenger ikke hverandre til side; de går frem hver på sin egen vei; mellem kastespyd styrter de frem og stanser ikke i sitt løp.

9 I byen vanker de om, på muren løper de, i husene stiger de op, gjennem vinduene går de inn som tyver.

10 Foran dem skjelver jorden og ryster himmelen; sol og måne sortner, og stjernene holder op å lyse.

11 Og Herren lar sin røst høre foran sin fylking, for hans hær er såre stor, og sterk er den som fullbyrder hans ord; for stor er Herrens dag og såre forferdelig - hvem kan utholde den?

12 Men endog nu, sier Herren, vend om til mig med hele eders hjerte og med faste og gråt og klage,

13 og sønderriv eders hjerte og ikke eders klær, og vend om til Herren eders Gud! For han er nådig og barmhjertig, langmodig og rik på miskunnhet, og han angrer det onde.

14 Hvem vet? Han torde vende om og angre og la en velsignelse bli igjen efter sig, til matoffer og drikkoffer for Herren eders Gud.

15 Støt i basun på Sion, tillys en hellig faste, utrop en festforsamling!

16 Samle folket, tillys en hellig sammenkomst, kall de gamle sammen, Samle de små barn, endog dem som dier morsbryst! La brudgommen gå ut av sitt rum og bruden av sitt kammer!

17 Mellem forhallen og alteret skal prestene, Herrens tjenere, stå gråtende og si: Spar, Herre, ditt folk, og overgi ikke din arv til vanære, så hedninger får råde over den! Hvorfor skal de si blandt folkene: Hvor er deres Gud?

18 Da blir Herren nidkjær for sitt land, og han sparer sitt folk.

19 Og Herren svarer og sier til sitt folk: Se, jeg sender eder korn og most og olje, så I blir mette; og jeg vil ikke mere overgi eder til vanære blandt hedningene.

20 Og fienden fra Norden vil jeg drive langt bort fra eder og jage ham avsted til et tørt og øde land, hans fortropp til havet i øst og hans baktropp til havet i vest; og det skal stige op en stank fra ham, en motbydelig lukt; for altfor store ting har han tatt sig fore.

21 Frykt ikke, du land! Fryd dig og vær glad! For store ting har Herren gjort.

22 Frykt ikke, I markens dyr! For ørkenens beitemarker grønnes, trærne bærer sin frukt, fikentreet og vintreet gir sin kraft.

23 Og I, Sions barn, fryd og gled eder i Herren eders Gud! For han gir eder læreren til rettferdighet; og så sender han regn ned til eder, høstregn og vårregn, først*. / {* JOE 3, 1.}

24 Treskeplassene blir fulle av korn, og persekarene flyter over av most og olje.

25 Og jeg godtgjør eder de år da vrimleren åt op alt, og slikkeren og skaveren og gnageren, min store hær, som jeg sendte mot eder.

26 Og I skal ete og bli mette og prise Herrens, eders Guds navn, han som har stelt så underfullt med eder, og mitt folk skal aldri i evighet bli til skamme.

27 Og I skal kjenne at jeg bor midt i Israel, og at jeg er Herren eders Gud, og ingen annen; og mitt folk skal aldri i evighet bli til skamme.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Explained #783

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783. And the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. That this signifies that those who separate faith from life, by reasonings based on fallacies, establish their doctrinals, and confirm them, and thereby powerfully deceive, is evident from the signification of the beast to which the dragon gave his powers, as denoting reasonings from the natural man confirming the separation of faith from life (concerning which see above, n. 774). The reason why those reasonings are from the fallacies of the senses is, that that beast appeared like a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear; and by the feet of a bear are signified fallacies; concerning which also see above (n. 781); and from the signification of giving his power, his seat, and great authority, as denoting to establish doctrinals and thus to confirm them; power signifying validity; the seat, the church as to doctrine, which is from falsities; and great authority signifying strengthening and confirmation thence. That these things coincide with reasonings and their fallacies was shown above.

[2] That those who separate faith from life, that is, from good works, have power, a seat, and great authority is not because the falsities in which they are have any power in themselves; for falsities from evil have no power at all, because all power is in truths from good. But falsities have power against falsities, as like over like. This is quite clear from the power of infernal spirits amongst themselves, which they exercise by means of imaginary things which resemble correspondences from which they desire to appear very powerful and strong; nevertheless they have no power at all against truths, and so completely so, that it is nothing. This might be confirmed from much experience were there space to enlarge so far in these explanations of the Apocalypse. It is evident solely from this fact, that the hells, in which there are myriads of myriads, are kept bound by the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, so that not one of them dare venture to raise a finger of his hand. It is also evident from this fact, that a thousand companies of evil spirits may be led, restrained, bound, and dispersed by one angel, by means of truths from the Lord; and this by merely looking at them from an intention of the will. Such power has been sometimes granted to me also, from the Lord.

That the church when at its end is in falsities and hence in evils, and in evils and hence in falsities, and yet that all power pertains to truths from good, which seem to be able to be given from the Lord by means of truths from the Word, may appear wonderful. The reason, however, is that falsities have power against those who are in falsities from evil; and at the end of the church those falsities govern; and when they do so, truths are not received. For this reason falsities cannot be dispersed by truths, and hence it is that the devil in such case is called powerful, and loosed from bonds.

[3] Hence it is that infernal falsity is called in the Word a lion, a bear, a wolf, and a beast; also a wild beast, strong and rapacious.

It is for this reason, that those who are in falsities are called, in the Word, powerful, mighty, robust, strong, heroes, rulers, terrible, formidable, and devastators; as is evident from various passages where they are treated of, as from the following in Jeremiah:

"Behold I bring upon you a nation from afar, O house of Israel, a mighty nation, all men of might" (5:15, 16).

Again:

"Go up ye horses, rage ye chariots, let the mighty men go forth" (46:9).

And again:

"A sword against the mighty that they may be dismayed" (50:36).

In Ezekiel:

"I will give" Pharaoh "into the hand of a mighty one of the nations" (31:11, 12).

In Hosea:

"Thou hast trusted to thy way, to the multitude of the mighty" (10:13).

And in Joel:

"A people great and strong, like heroes they run, they climb over the wall" (2:2, 7).

In Amos:

"The refuge of the swift perisheth, and the mighty shall not confirm his strength, neither shall the powerful deliver his soul, the mighty in his heart among heroes shall flee naked in that day" (2:14, 16).

In David:

"Rebuke the wild beast of the reed; the congregation of the mighty" (Psalm 68:30).

In 1 Samuel:

"The bows of the mighty are broken" (2:4).

In the Apocalypse:

"All the kings, and great men, and rich men, and chief captains, and the powerful, hid themselves in the dens, and in the rocks" (6:15).

In Matthew:

"The princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion, and the great men exercise power" (20:25).

In Luke:

"This is your hour and the power of darkness" (22:53).

Besides various other passages.

[4] To what has been said above it may be added, that infernal spirits believe themselves to be strong and powerful more than others. But this is because they prevail only against those who are in evils and in falsities therefrom; for thus one infernal spirit prevails over another, or one evil and its falsity against another evil and its falsity; and it is from this appearance that they believe themselves to be powerful. Such power, however, may be compared to that of a mite against a mite, or of a flea against a flea, of dust against dust, and of a straw against a straw; the power of these is only relative to their mutual strength. Add to this that infernal spirits are proud, and wish to be regarded as strong, mighty, and heroes for the most trivial reasons.

[5] Because the subject here treated of is the power and great authority which the dragon gave from himself to the beast rising up out of the sea, and hence the power of infernal spirits among each other, some mysteries shall here be disclosed concerning the arts they practise to acquire power in the spiritual world. There are some who procure to themselves power by means of the Word; for they are acquainted with some of its passages, which they repeat, and, by means of this, communication is effected with those who are in simple good, and thence conjunction with them as to externals; and in proportion as they are in that conjunction, they prevail over others. The reason is, that all things in the Word are truths, and all power belongs to truths, and the simple good are in truths; whence power is derived from conjunction with them, but only so long as that conjunction exists. This, however, does not continue long, because they are soon afterwards separated from one another by the Lord.

Some procure to themselves power by pretended affections of good and truth, and by affections pertaining to the love of what is sincere and just; by means of which also they induce the simple good to think favourably of them, and cherish goodwill towards them; and so they attract and adjoin them to themselves. And so long as that benevolent attitude intercedes as it were mutually, so long they are powerful more than others.

Some also procure to themselves power by means of representatives of various kinds, which are abuses of correspondences; and some by means of another kind. And because all power is in truths from good, and resides in the angels, therefore nothing is more earnestly desired by evil spirits than to attract good spirits to their side, because the evil prevail by this means. As soon, however, as they are separated from them, they are in the falsities of their own evil; and when they are in these, they are deprived of all power.

[6] This is the reason, moreover, why all the evil who flock out of the world, are first separated from the goods and truths which they knew only from memory, and thence professed with their lips; and when they are separated from these, their inner states appear, which consist of nothing but quantities of falsities from evils. And because, when they are in these, they have no longer any power, they fall down headlong into hell, as heavy bodies in the air fall to the earth. That goods and truths are taken away from the evil, is known from the Word; for the Lord says,

"Take away the talent from him, and give it to him that hath ten talents; for to every one that hath shall be given, that he may have abundance; but from him that hath not shall be taken even that which he hath; but cast out the useless servant into outer darkness, there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 25:28, 29, 30. Also Mark 4:25; Luke 8:18; 19:26.)

  
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Translation by Isaiah Tansley. Many thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.

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