The Bible

 

Jezekilj 44

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1 I odvede me opet k vratima spoljašnjim od svetinje, koja gledaju na istok, a ona behu zatvorena.

2 I reče mi Gospod: Ova vrata neka budu zatvorena i da se ne otvaraju, i niko da ne ulazi na njih, jer je Gospod Bog Izrailjev ušao na njih; zato neka budu zatvorena.

3 Za kneza su; sam knez neka seda na njima da jede hleb pred Gospodom; kroz trem od ovih vrata neka ulazi i istim putem neka izlazi.

4 I odvede me k severnim vratima pred dom; i videh, i gle, dom Gospodnji beše pun slave Gospodnje, i padoh na lice svoje.

5 I reče mi Gospod: Sine čovečji, pazi srcem svojim i vidi očima svojim i slušaj ušima svojim šta ću ti kazati za sve uredbe doma Gospodnjeg i za sve zakone Njegove; pazi srcem svojim na sve ulaze u dom i na sve izlaze iz svetinje.

6 I reci odmetničkom domu Izrailjevom: Ovako veli Gospod Gospod: Dosta je gadova vaših, dome Izrailjev,

7 Što uvodiste tuđince neobrezanog srca i neobrezanog tela da budu u mojoj svetinji da skvrne dom moj, i prinosiste moj hleb, pretilinu i krv, i tamo prestupaše moj zavet osim svih gadova vaših;

8 I ne izvršavaste šta treba za moju svetinju, nego postaviste ljude po svojoj volji da izvršuju šta treba u mojoj svetinji.

9 Ovako veli Gospod Gospod: Ni jedan tuđin neobrezanog srca i neobrezanog tela da ne dolazi u moju svetinju, ni jedan od svih tuđinaca koji su među sinovima Izrailjevim.

10 A Leviti koji odstupaše od mene kad zađe Izrailj, koji zađoše od mene za gadnim bogovima svojim, nosiće bezakonje svoje.

11 I biće sluge u mojoj svetinji u službi na vratima od doma služeći domu; oni će klati žrtve paljenice i druge žrtve narodu, i stajaće pred njima služiće im.

12 Što im služiše pred gadnim bogovima njihovim i biše domu Izrailjevom spoticanje na bezakonje, zato podigoh ruku svoju na njih, govori Gospod Gospod, da će nositi bezakonje svoje,

13 I neće pristupati k meni da mi vrše svešteničku službu, niti kojoj svetinji mojoj, ni svetinji nad svetinjama neće pristupati, nego će nositi sramotu svoju i gadove svoje, koje činiše.

14 Nego ću ih postaviti za čuvare domu na svaku službu njegovu i na sve što biva u njemu.

15 A sveštenici Leviti sinovi Sadokovi, koji izvršavahu šta treba u mojoj svetinji, kad sinovi Izrailjevi zađoše od mene, oni će pristupati k meni da mi služe, i stajaće preda mnom prinoseći mi pretilinu i krv, govori Gospod Gospod.

16 Oni neka ulaze u moju svetinju i oni neka pristupaju k stolu mom da mi služe i neka izvršuju šta sam zapovedio da se izvršuje.

17 I kad ulaze na vrata unutrašnjeg trema, neka obuku lanene haljine, i ništa da ne bude na njima vuneno kad služe na vratima unutrašnjeg trema i u njemu.

18 Na glavama neka im budu kape lanene i gaće lanene po bedrima, i da se ne pašu ničim oda šta bi se znojili.

19 A kad izlaze u trem spoljašnji, u spoljašnji trem k narodu, neka svuku sa sebe haljine u kojima služe, i ostave ih u kletima svetim, pa neka obuku druge haljine, da ne osvećuju narod haljinama svojim.

20 I glave svoje da ne briju, a ni kose da ne ostavljaju, nego neka strižu glave svoje.

21 I vino da ne pije nijedan sveštenik kad hoće da uđe u unutrašnji trem.

22 I udovicom ni puštenicom da se ne žene, nego devojkom od semena doma Izrailjevog ili udovicom svešteničkom neka se žene.

23 I narod moj neka uče šta je sveto šta li nije sveto, i neka ih uče raspoznavati nečisto od čistog.

24 A u raspri neka stanu da sude, po mojim zakonima neka sude, i zakone moje i uredbe moje neka drže o svim praznicima mojim, i subote moje neka svetkuju.

25 I k mrtvacu da ne idu da se ne oskvrne; samo za ocem i za materom i za sinom i za kćerju, za bratom i za sestrom neudatom mogu se oskvrniti.

26 A kad se očisti, neka mu se broji sedam dana.

27 I u koji bi dan ušao u svetinju, u trem unutrašnji, da služi u svetinji, neka prinese žrtvu za greh svoj, govori Gospod Gospod.

28 A nasledstvo što će imati, ja sam njihovo nasledstvo; i vi im ne dajte dostojanja u Izrailju, ja sam njihovo dostojanje.

29 Dar i žrtvu za greh i žrtvu za krivicu oni će jesti; i sve zavetovano u Izrailju njihovo će biti.

30 I prvine od svakog prvog roda i svi prinosi podizani od svega između svih prinosa vaših biće sveštenicima; i prvine od testa svog davaćete svešteniku da bi počivao blagoslov na domovima vašim.

31 Sveštenici da ne jedu mrcino ni šta zverka raskine, bilo ptica ili šta od stoke.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Revealed #904

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904. 21:15 And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. This symbolically means that to people who possess the goodness of love, the Lord grants a faculty for understanding and knowing the nature of the Lord's New Church as regards its doctrine and its introductory truths, and as regards the Word from which they are drawn.

He who spoke with me symbolizes the Lord speaking from heaven, because it was an angel speaking, one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls mentioned in verse 9, who means the Lord speaking from heaven (no. 895). A reed symbolizes a power or ability springing from the goodness of love - a reed symbolizing power or ability (no. 485), and gold the goodness of love (nos. 211, 726). To measure means, symbolically, to learn the character of a thing, thus to understand and know it (no. 486). The city, the holy Jerusalem, symbolizes the church in respect to its doctrine (nos. 879, 880). Its gates symbolize concepts of truth and goodness from the Word's literal sense, which are truths and goods owing to the spiritual life in them (no. 899). And the wall symbolizes the Word in its literal sense from which the doctrine and concepts come (no. 898).

It is apparent from this that "he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall," symbolically means that to people who possess the goodness of love, the Lord grants a faculty for understanding and knowing the nature of the Lord's New Church as regards its doctrine and its introductory truths, and as regards the Word from which they are drawn.

[2] These symbolic meanings cannot be seen at all in the literal sense, for one sees in it only that an angel speaking with John had a gold reed with which to measure the city and its gates and wall. But even so, that these words contain another meaning, a spiritual meaning, is clearly apparent from the fact that the city Jerusalem does not mean a real city, but the church. Consequently everything said about Jerusalem as a city symbolizes such things as have to do with the church, and everything having to do with the church is, in itself, spiritual.

Such a spiritual meaning is present also in what is said in chapter 11 above, where we are told the following:

I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood by, saying, "Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there." (Revelation 11:1)

A similar spiritual meaning is present, too, in everything that the angel measured with a reed in Ezekiel 40; 41; 42; 43; 44; 45; 46; 47; 48. Also in these verses in Zechariah:

I raised my eyes and looked, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand. So I said, "Where are you going?" And he said to me, "To measure Jerusalem, to see what its width is and what its length." (Zechariah 2:1-2)

Indeed, such a spiritual meaning is present in everything connected with the Tabernacle and in everything connected with the Temple in Jerusalem, whose measurements we are told, and also in the measurements themselves. And yet nothing of this can be seen in the literal sense.

  
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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

 

Ezekiel 47

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1 He brought me back to the door of the house; and behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward; (for the forefront of the house was toward the east;) and the waters came down from under, from the right side of the house, on the south of the altar.

2 Then he brought me out by the way of the gate northward, and led me round by the way outside to the outer gate, by the way of [the gate] that looks toward the east; and behold, there ran out waters on the right side.

3 When the man went forth eastward with the line in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits, and he caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the ankles.

4 Again he measured one thousand, and caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the knees. Again he measured one thousand, and caused me to pass through [the waters], waters that were to the waist.

5 Afterward he measured one thousand; [and it was] a river that I could not pass through; for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed through.

6 He said to me, Son of man, have you seen [this]? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the bank of the river.

7 Now when I had returned, behold, on the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.

8 Then he said to me, These waters issue forth toward the eastern region, and shall go down into the Arabah; and they shall go toward the sea; into the sea [shall the waters go] which were made to issue forth; and the waters shall be healed.

9 It shall happen, that every living creature which swarms, in every place where the rivers come, shall live; and there shall be a very great multitude of fish; for these waters are come there, and [the waters of the sea] shall be healed, and everything shall live wherever the river comes.

10 It shall happen, that fishermen shall stand by it: from En Gedi even to En Eglaim shall be a place for the spreading of nets; their fish shall be after their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.

11 But the miry places of it, and its marshes, shall not be healed; they shall be given up to salt.

12 By the river on its bank, on this side and on that side, shall grow every tree for food, whose leaf shall not wither, neither shall its fruit fail: it shall bring forth new fruit every month, because its waters issue out of the sanctuary; and its fruit shall be for food, and its leaf for healing.

13 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: This shall be the border, by which you shall divide the land for inheritance according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph [shall have two] portions.

14 You shall inherit it, one as well as another; for I swore to give it to your fathers: and this land shall fall to you for inheritance.

15 This shall be the border of the land: On the north side, from the great sea, by the way of Hethlon, to the entrance of Zedad;

16 Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazer Hatticon, which is by the border of Hauran.

17 The border from the sea, shall be Hazar Enon at the border of Damascus; and on the north northward is the border of Hamath. This is the north side.

18 The east side, between Hauran and Damascus and Gilead, and the land of Israel, shall be the Jordan; from the [north] border to the east sea you shall measure. This is the east side.

19 The south side southward shall be from Tamar as far as the waters of Meriboth Kadesh, to the brook [of Egypt], to the great sea. This is the south side southward.

20 The west side shall be the great sea, from the [south] border as far as over against the entrance of Hamath. This is the west side.

21 So you shall divide this land to you according to the tribes of Israel.

22 It shall happen, that you shall divide it by lot for an inheritance to you and to the aliens who live among you, who shall father children among you; and they shall be to you as the native-born among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.

23 It shall happen, that in what tribe the stranger lives, there you shall give him his inheritance, says the Lord Yahweh.