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Ezequiel 8

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1 Y ACONTECIO en el sexto año, en el mes sexto, á los cinco del mes, que estaba yo sentado en mi casa, y los ancianos de Judá estaban sentados delante de mí, y allí cayó sobre mí la mano del Señor Jehová.

2 Y miré, y he aquí una semejanza que parecía de fuego: desde donde parecían sus lomos para abajo, fuego; y desde sus lomos arriba parecía como resplandor, como la vista de ámbar.

3 Y aquella semejanza extendió la mano, y tomóme por las guedejas de mi cabeza; y el espíritu me alzó entre el cielo y la tierra, y llevóme en visiones de Dios á Jerusalem, á la entrada de la puerta de adentro que mira hacia el aquilón, donde estaba la habi

4 Y he aquí allí estaba la gloria del Dios de Israel, como la visión que yo había visto en el campo.

5 Y díjome: Hijo del hombre, alza ahora tus ojos hacia el lado del aquilón. Y alcé mis ojos hacia el lado del aquilón, y he aquí al aquilón, junto á la puerta del altar, la imagen del celo en la entrada.

6 Díjome entonces: Hijo del hombre, ¿no ves lo que éstos hacen, las grandes abominaciones que la casa de Israel hace aquí, para alejarme de mi santuario? Mas vuélvete aún, y verás abominaciones mayores.

7 Y llevóme á la entrada del atrio, y miré, y he aquí en la pared un agujero.

8 Y díjome: Hijo del hombre, cava ahora en la pared. Y cavé en la pared, y he aquí una puerta.

9 Díjome luego: Entra, y ve las malvadas abominaciones que éstos hacen allí.

10 Entré pues, y miré, y he aquí imágenes de todas serpientes, y animales de abominación, y todos los ídolos de la casa de Israel, que estaban pintados en la pared alrededor.

11 Y delante de ellos estaban setenta varones de los ancianos de la casa de Israel, y Jaazanías hijo de Saphán estaba en medio de ellos, cada uno con su incensario en su mano; y del sahumerio subía espesura de niebla.

12 Y me dijo: Hijo del hombre, ¿has visto las cosas que los ancianos de la casa de Israel hacen en tinieblas, cada uno en sus cámaras pintadas? porque dicen ellos: No nos ve Jehová; Jehová ha dejado la tierra.

13 Díjome después: Vuélvete aún, verás abominaciones mayores que hacen éstos.

14 Y llevóme á la entrada de la puerta de la casa de Jehová, que está al aquilón; y he aquí mujeres que estaban allí sentadas endechando á Tammuz.

15 Luego me dijo: ¿No ves, hijo del hombre? Vuélvete aún, verás abominaciones mayores que éstas.

16 Y metióme en el atrio de adentro de la casa de Jehová: y he aquí junto á la entrada del templo de Jehová, entre la entrada y el altar, como veinticinco varones, sus espaldas vueltas al templo de Jehová y sus rostros al oriente, y encorvábanse al nacimient

17 Y díjome: ¿No has visto, hijo del hombre? ¿Es cosa liviana para la casa de Judá hacer las abominaciones que hacen aquí? Después que han llenado la tierra de maldad, y se tornaron á irritarme, he aquí que ponen hedor á mis narices.

18 Pues también yo haré en mi furor; no perdonará mi ojo, ni tendré misericordia, y gritarán á mis oídos con gran voz, y no los oiré.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #9475

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9475. 'And for the incense of spices' means for delightful perception. This is clear from the meaning of 'incense' as the things of worship that are perceived with delight, such as acts of thanksgiving, adoration, prayer, and the like; and from the meaning of 'spices' as truths of faith which are delightful because they originate in good. For sweet odours, such as spicy ones, mean that which is delightful; and whatever is delightful is such by virtue of the good made known through truths. So it is that 'the incense of spices' means the delightful perception that belongs to truth originating in good. The spices which went into the making of that incense are listed, and the preparation of it is described in the following words,

Take for yourself spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum - [these] spices, and pure frankincense. You shall make them an incense, salted, pure, holy. You shall beat some of it very small, and put some of it before the Testimony in the tent of meeting. Most holy 1 shall it be to you. The incense shall be to you holy for Jehovah. Exodus 30:34-38.

The altar of incense, along with the incense itself, is described as follows,

You shall make an altar for burning incense. You shall overlay it with pure gold. You shall put it before the veil that is over the ark of the Testimony before the mercy-seat, that Aaron may burn on it spicy incense every morning; when he trims the lamps he shall burn it, and between the evenings. Exodus 30:1-10; 37:25-end; 40:26-27.

And elsewhere,

When Aaron comes into the Holy Place he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire 2 from upon the altar, with his hands full of spicy incense beaten fine. 3 Then he shall bring it inside the veil, in order that he may put the incense onto the fire before Jehovah, and the cloud of incense may cover the mercy-seat which is over the Testimony. Leviticus 16:12-13.

[2] Since 'incense' meant acts of worship such as had their origin in good made known through truths, as do all expressions of faith that have their origin in the good of love, the fire was taken from the altar; for the fire on the altar meant the good of God's love, 934, 4906, 5071 (end), 5215, 6314, 6832, 6834, 6849, 7324, 7852. On this account when fire had been taken from any other source they were struck down by a plague and died, Leviticus 10:1-2ff; Numbers 16:45-48; for fire from any other source, or 'foreign fire', meant love that was not God's.

[3] The fact that expressions of faith having their origin in the good of love and charity, for example thanksgivings, acts of adoration, and prayers, are meant by 'incense' is clear in David,

My prayers are acceptable, [as] incense before You. Psalms 141:2.

In John,

The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Revelation 5:8.

In the same book,

An angel holding a golden censer ... And much incense was given to him, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. The smoke of the incense went up from the prayers of the saints. Revelation 8:3-4.

[4] The reason why such expressions of faith are meant by 'incense' is that they are matters of thought and consequently of the lips. But matters of affection and consequently of the heart are meant by 'the minchah' in Malachi 1:11, where it says that from the rising of the sun even to its setting Jehovah's name will be great among the nations, and 'in every place incense has been offered to My name, and a pure minchah'; and the same things are meant by 'the burnt offering' in Moses,

The sons of Levi will teach Jacob Your judgements and Israel Your law. They will put incense in Your nose, and burnt offering on Your altar. Deuteronomy 33:10.

'Incense' in these places stands for such things as are matters of thought and the lips and have regard to the truths of faith; 'minchah' and 'burnt offering' stand for such things as are matters of affection and the heart and have regard to forms of the good of love. All this being so, in the contrary sense worship arising from falsities of faith is meant by burning incense to other gods, Jeremiah 1:16; 44:3, 5; burning incense to idols, Ezekiel 8:11; 16:18; and burning incense to the baalim, Hosea 2:13.

Footnotes:

1. literally, The holy thing of holy things

2. literally, the fullness of a censer, burning coals of fire

3. literally, the fullness of his fists, spicy incense [beaten] fine

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