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Joil 1

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1 Reč Gospodnja koja dođe Joilu sinu Fatuilovom.

2 Čujte, starci; slušajte, svi stanovnici zemaljski; je li ovako šta bilo za vašeg vremena ili za vremena vaših otaca?

3 Pripovedajte to sinovima svojim, i sinovi vaši svojim sinovima, i njihovi sinovi potonjem kolenu.

4 Šta osta iza gusenice izjede skakavac, i šta osta iza skakavca izjede hrušt, i šta osta iza hrušta izjede crv.

5 Otreznite se, pijanice, i plačite; i ridajte svi koji pijete vino, za novim vinom, jer se ote iz usta vaših.

6 Jer dođe na zemlju moju silan narod i nebrojen; zubi su mu kao u lava i kutnjaci kao u lavice.

7 Potre vinovu lozu moju, i smokve moje pokida, sasvim ih oguli i pobaca, te im se grane bele.

8 Ridaj kao mladica opasana kostreću za mužem mladosti svoje.

9 Nesta dara i naliva iz doma Gospodnjeg; tuže sveštenici, sluge Gospodnje.

10 Opuste polje, tuži zemlja; jer je potrveno žito, usahlo vino, nestalo ulja.

11 Stidite se ratari, ridajte vinogradari, pšenice radi i ječma radi, jer propade žetva na njivi;

12 Loza posahnu i smokva uvenu; šipak i palma i jabuka i sva drveta poljska posahnuše, jer nesta radosti između sinova ljudskih.

13 Opašite se i plačite sveštenici; ridajte koji služite oltaru, dođite, noćujte u kostreti, sluge Boga mog; jer se unosi u dom Boga vašeg dar i naliv.

14 Naredite post, oglasite praznik, skupite starešine, sve stanovnike zemaljske, u dom Gospoda Boga svog, i vapite ka Gospodu:

15 Jaoh dana! Jer je blizu dan Gospodnji, i doći će kao pogibao od Svemogućeg.

16 Nije li nestalo hrane ispred očiju naših, radosti i veselja iz doma Boga našeg?

17 Seme istruhnu pod grudama svojim, puste su žitnice, razvaljene spreme, jer posahnu žito.

18 Kako uzdiše stoka! Kako su se smela goveda! Jer nemaju paše; i ovce ginu.

19 K Tebi, Gospode, vičem, jer oganj sažeže paše u pustinji, i plamen popali sva drveta u polju.

20 I zverje poljsko pogleda za tobom, jer usahnuše potoci vodeni i oganj sažeže paše u pustinji.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

True Christian Religion #81

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81. CHAPTER TWO

THE LORD THE REDEEMER

The previous chapter dealt with God the Creator, and at the same time with creation; this chapter will deal with the Lord the Redeemer, and at the same time with redemption. The following chapter will deal with the Holy Spirit, and at the same time with the way God works. By the Lord the Redeemer we understand Jehovah in the Human; for the following pages will prove that Jehovah Himself came down and assumed human form in order to effect redemption. We say 'the Lord' and not 'Jehovah' because the Jehovah of the Old Testament is called the Lord in the New Testament, as can be established from the following passages; we read in Moses:

Hear, O Israel, Jehovah our 1 God is one Jehovah; you shall love Jehovah God with your whole heart and your whole soul, Deuteronomy 6:4-5.

but in Mark:

The Lord our God is one Lord; you shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart and your whole soul, Mark 12:29-30.

Also in Isaiah:

Prepare the way for Jehovah, make smooth in the desert a path for our God, Isaiah 40:3.

but in Luke:

You shall go before the face of the Lord to prepare the way for Him, Luke 1:76.

and in other passages. The Lord too ordered His disciples to call Him Lord, and He was therefore so called by the Apostles in their Epistles, and later by the Apostolic Church. This is plain from its creed, the so-called Apostles' Creed. The reason was that the Jews did not dare to name Jehovah on account of His holiness, and because 'Jehovah' means the Divine Being (Esse), which existed from eternity, while the Human, which He took upon Himself in time, was not that Being. I showed in the previous chapter (18-35) what the Divine Being or Jehovah is. For this reason, here and in what follows by the Lord we understand Jehovah in His Human.

[2] Now since knowledge of the Lord surpasses in excellence all other kinds of knowledge known to the church, or even in heaven, I shall adopt an ordered arrangement to bring that knowledge to light, as follows:

(i) Jehovah, the Creator of the Universe, came down and took upon Himself human form, in order to redeem and save mankind.

(ii) He came down as the Divine Truth, which is the Word, yet He did not separate the Divine Good from it.

(iii) He took upon Himself human form in accordance with His Divine order.

(iv) The Human by which He brought Himself into the world is what is called the Son of God.

(v) The Lord by acts of redemption made Himself righteousness.

(vi) By the same acts He united Himself with the Father, and the Father with Him. This too was in accordance with Divine order.

(vii) Thus God became man, and man God, in one person.

(viii) His progress towards union was His state of exinanition 2 , and the union itself is His state of glorification.

(ix) From this time on no one from Christian countries can come into heaven, unless he believes in the Lord God the Saviour, and approaches Him alone.

These propositions will be explained one by one.

Footnotes:

1. So changed in the author's own copy from 'your'.

2. Or being emptied; 104.

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