The Bible

 

Joel 2

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1 Tocai a trombeta em Sião, e dai o alarma no meu santo monte. Tremam todos os moradores da terra, porque vem vindo o dia do Senhor; já está perto;

2 dia de trevas e de escuridão, dia de nuvens e de negrume! Como a alva, está espalhado sobre os montes um povo grande e poderoso, qual nunca houve, nem depois dele haverá pelos anos adiante, de geração em geração:

3 Diante dele um fogo consome, e atrás dele uma chama abrasa; a terra diante dele é como o jardim do Édem mas atrás dele um desolado deserto; sim, nada lhe escapa.

4 A sua aparência é como a de cavalos; e como cavaleiros, assim correm.

5 Como o estrondo de carros sobre os cumes dos montes vão eles saltando, como o ruído da chama de fogo que consome o restelho, como um povo poderoso, posto em ordem de batalha.

6 Diante dele estão angustiados os povos; todos os semblantes empalidecem.

7 Correm como valentes, como homens de guerra sobem os muros; e marcham cada um nos seus caminhos e não se desviam da sua fileira.

8 Não empurram uns aos outros; marcham cada um pelo seu carreiro; abrem caminho por entre as armas, e não se detêm.

9 Pulam sobre a cidade, correm pelos muros; sobem nas casas; entram pelas janelas como o ladrão.

10 Diante deles a terra se abala; tremem os céus; o sol e a lua escurecem, e as estrelas retiram o seu resplendor.

11 E o Senhor levanta a sua voz diante do seu exército, porque muito grande é o seu arraial; e poderoso é quem executa a sua ordem; pois o dia do Senhor é grande e muito terrível, e quem o poderá suportar?

12 Todavia ainda agora diz o Senhor: Convertei-vos a mim de todo o vosso coração; e isso com jejuns, e com choro, e com pranto.

13 E rasgai o vosso coração, e não as vossas vestes; e convertei-vos ao Senhor vosso Deus; porque ele é misericordioso e compassivo, tardio em irar-se e grande em benignidade, e se arrepende do mal.

14 Quem sabe se não se voltará e se arrependerá, e deixará após si uma bênção, em oferta de cereais e libação para o Senhor vosso Deus?

15 Tocai a trombeta em Sião, santificai um jejum, convocai uma assembléia solene;

16 congregai o povo, santificai a congregação, ajuntai os anciãos, congregai os meninos, e as crianças de peito; saia o noivo da sua recâmara, e a noiva do seu tálamo.

17 Chorem os sacerdotes, ministros do Senhor, entre o alpendre e o altar, e digam: Poupa a teu povo, ó Senhor, e não entregues a tua herança ao opróbrio, para que as nações façam escárnio dele. Por que diriam entre os povos: Onde está o seu Deus?

18 Então o Senhor teve zelo da sua terra, e se compadeceu do seu povo.

19 E o Senhor, respondende, disse ao seu povo: Eis que vos envio o trigo, o vinho e o azeite, e deles sereis fartos; e vos não entregarei mais ao opróbrio entre as nações;

20 e removerei para longe de vós o exército do Norte, e o lançarei para uma terra seca e deserta, a sua frente para o mar oriental, e a sua retaguarda para o mar ocidental; subirá o seu mau cheiro, e subirá o seu fedor, porque ele tem feito grandes coisas.

21 Não temas, ó terra; regozija-te e alegra-te, porque o Senhor tem feito grandes coisas.

22 Não temais, animais do campo; porque os pastos do deserto já reverdecem, porque a árvore o seu fruto, e a vide e a figueira dão a sua força.

23 Alegrai-vos, pois, filhos de Sião, e regozijai-vos no Senhor vosso Deus; porque ele vos em justa medida a chuva temporã, e faz descer abundante chuva, a temporã e a serôdia, como dantes.

24 E as eiras se encherão de trigo, e os lagares trasbordarão de mosto e de azeite.

25 Assim vos restituirei os anos que foram consumidos pela locusta voadora, a devoradora, a destruidora e a cortadora, o meu grande exército que enviei contra vós.

26 Comereis abundantemente e vos fartareis, e louvareis o nome do Senhor vosso Deus, que procedeu para convosco maravilhosamente; e o meu povo nunca será envergonhado.

27 Vós, pois, sabereis que eu estou no meio de Israel, e que eu sou o Senhor vosso Deus, e que não há outro; e o meu povo nunca mais será envergonhado.

28 Acontecerá depois que derramarei o meu Espírito sobre toda a carne; vossos filhos e vossas filhas profetizarão, os vossos anciãos terão sonhos, os vossos mancebos terão visões;

29 e também sobre os servos e sobre as servas naqueles dias derramarei o meu Espírito.

30 E mostrarei prodígios no céu e na terra, sangue e fogo, e colunas de fumaça.

31 O sol se converterá em trevas, e a lua em sangue, antes que venha o grande e terrível dia do Senhor.

32 E há de ser que todo aquele que invocar o nome do Senhor será salvo; pois no monte Sião e em Jerusalém estarão os que escaparem, como disse o Senhor, e entre os sobreviventes aqueles que o Senhor chamar.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Explained #1189

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1189. And the voice of the bridegroom, and of the bride, shall be heard in thee no more.- That this signifies no joy from the conjunction of good and truth, is evident from the signification of a bridegroom, as denoting, in the highest sense, the Lord; and from the signification of a bride, as denoting in the highest sense, the church. And because the Lord enters into man by influx from the Divine Good of Divine Love, and is conjoined to the man of the church in Divine Truth, therefore by bridegroom and bride is meant the conjunction of the Lord with the church, and also the conjunction of good with truth. As all spiritual joy springs from that conjunction, it follows, that by the voice of the bridegroom and the bride is signified joy therefrom. The angels also have all their wisdom and intelligence, and consequently all their joy and happiness, from and according to that conjunction. Because this is signified by the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride, therefore heavenly joy is described also by the bridegroom and bride in other parts of the Word.

As in Jeremiah:

"I will take away from them the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of the millstones, and the voice of the lamp" (25:10).

Again:

"Behold I will cause to cease out of this place the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride" (16:9).

And again:

"I will cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride" (7:34).

In Joel:

"Let the bridegroom go forth out of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet" (2:16).

In Jeremiah:

"As yet shall be heard in this place the voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, of them that say, confess ye Jehovah Zebaoth" (33:10, 11).

In these passages the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride signifies joy and gladness from the conjunction of the Lord with the church, and therefore from the conjunction of good and truth; for the subject there is the state of the church, and it is also said plainly, joy and gladness, joy from good and gladness from truth.

[2] Similarly in Isaiah:

"I will be glad in Jehovah, my soul shall exult in my God; as the bridegroom putteth on the mitre (eidaris), and as the bride adorneth herself with her vessels (vasis suis)" (61:10).

To put on the mitre is to put on wisdom, and to adorn herself with vessels, means with the knowledges of truth.

Again:

"As the joy of the bridegroom over the bride, thy God shall rejoice over thee" (62:5).

That the Lord is meant in the highest sense by the bridegroom, and the church by the bride, is evident in the Evangelists. When the disciples of John enquired concerning fasting, Jesus said,

"So long as the bridegroom is with them, the sons of the nuptials cannot fast. The days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, then shall they fast" (Matthew 9:15; Mark 2:19, 20; Luke 5:34, 35).

There the Lord calls Himself the bridegroom, and the men of the church the sons of the nuptials; fasting signifies mourning on account of a deficiency of truth and good.

In Matthew:

"The kingdom of the heavens is like unto ten virgins, who, taking their lamps, went forth to meet the bridegroom" (25:1, 2, and following verses).

There also the bridegroom means the Lord, the virgins mean the church, and the lamps the truths of faith.

In John:

"He who hath the bride is the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom, who standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth with joy because of the bridegroom's voice" (3:29).

John the Baptist spoke these words concerning the Lord, He being meant by the bridegroom, and the church by the bride.

That the church is meant by the bride, is evident from the following passages in the Apocalypse:

"I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband" (21:2).

By the New Jerusalem is meant a new church.

Again:

"Come, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife; and he shewed me the city Jerusalem" (21:9, 10).

And again:

"The Spirit and the bride say Come, and he that heareth, let him say Come" (22:17).

By the spirit and the bride is signified the church as to good and as to truth.

[3] Continuation.- Since the love of rule and the love of wealth universally prevail in the Christian world, and these loves at the present day are so deeply inrooted, that their power of leading astray is not recognised, it is therefore of importance that their nature should be known. They lead every man astray who does not shun evils because they are sins; for he who does not shun evils on this ground does not fear God, and therefore remains natural. And because the loves proper to the natural man are the love of rule and the love of wealth, therefore he does not see with interior acknowledgment the quality of those loves in himself. He does not see it unless he is reformed, and he is reformed only by combat against evils. It is believed that reformation is effected by means of faith; but the faith of God does not exist in man previous to his combat against evils. When man is reformed in this way, then light enters by influx from the Lord through heaven imparting to him the affection and also the faculty to see what the nature of those loves is, whether they rule in him, or are subservient, thus whether they are in the first place, and form as it were the head, or are in the second place, and form as it were the feet. If they rule and are in the first place, they then lead astray, and become curses; if they are subservient and in the second place, then they do not lead astray, but become blessings.

[4] I can solemnly declare that all those with whom the love of rule occupies the first place, are inwardly devils. This love is known from the gratification that it affords, which surpasses every other in man's life. It is continually breathed forth from hell, and this exhalation appears like the fire of a great furnace, and it inflames the hearts of those men whom the Lord does not protect. The Lord protects all who are reformed. Still the Lord leads even the former, but it is in hell, though it is only by means of outward restraints, such as fear of the penalties of the law, fear for the loss of reputation, of honour, of gain, and of the pleasures which these afford; and also by means of rewards. He cannot lead them out of hell, because the love of rule does not admit of internal restraints, which are the fear of God, and the affections for good and truth, these being the means by which the Lord leads to heaven and in heaven all who follow.

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