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Ezequiel 34

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1 Y vino Palabra del SEÑOR a mí, diciendo:

2 Hijo de hombre, profetiza contra los pastores de Israel; profetiza, y diles a los pastores: Así dijo el Señor DIOS: ¡Ay de los pastores de Israel, que se apacientan a sí mismos! ¿Los pastores no apacientan las ovejas?

3 Coméis la leche, y os vestís de la lana; la gruesa degolláis, no apacentáis las ovejas.

4 No fortalecisteis las flacas, ni curasteis la enferma; no ligasteis la perniquebrada, ni tornasteis la amontada, ni buscasteis la perdida; sino que os habéis enseñoreado de ellas con dureza y con violencia;

5 y están derramadas por falta de pastor; y fueron para ser comidas de toda bestia del campo, y fueron esparcidas.

6 Y anduvieron perdidas mis ovejas por todos los montes, y en todo collado alto; y en toda la faz de la tierra fueron derramadas mis ovejas, y no hubo quien buscase, ni quien requiriese.

7 Por tanto, pastores, oíd Palabra del SEÑOR:

8 Vivo yo, dijo el Señor DIOS, que por cuanto mi rebaño fue para ser robado, y mis ovejas fueron para ser comidas de toda bestia del campo, sin pastor; ni mis pastores buscaron mis ovejas, sino que los pastores se apacentaron a sí mismos, y no apacentaron mis ovejas;

9 por tanto, oh pastores, oíd palabra del SEÑOR:

10 Así dijo el Señor DIOS: He aquí, yo a los pastores; y requeriré mis ovejas de su mano, y yo les haré dejar de apacentar las ovejas; ni los pastores se apacentarán más a sí mismos; pues yo libraré mis ovejas de sus bocas, y no les serán más por comida.

11 Porque así dijo el Señor DIOS: He aquí yo, yo requeriré mis ovejas, y las reconoceré.

12 Como reconoce su rebaño el pastor el día que está en medio de sus ovejas esparcidas, así reconoceré mis ovejas, y las libraré de todos los lugares en que fueron esparcidas el día del nublado y de la oscuridad.

13 Y yo las sacaré de los pueblos, y las juntaré de las tierras; y las meteré en su tierra, y las apacentaré en los montes de Israel por las riberas, y en todas las habitaciones del país.

14 En buenos pastos las apacentaré, y en los altos montes de Israel será su majada; allí dormirán en buena majada, y en pastos gruesos serán apacentadas sobre los montes de Israel.

15 Yo apacentaré mis ovejas, y yo les haré tener majada, dijo el Señor DIOS.

16 Yo buscaré la perdida, y tornaré la amontada, y ligaré la perniquebrada, y fortaleceré la enferma; mas a la gruesa y a la fuerte destruiré. Yo las apacentaré en juicio.

17 Mas vosotras, ovejas mías, así dijo el Señor DIOS: He aquí yo juzgo entre oveja y oveja, entre carneros y machos cabríos.

18 ¿Os es poco que comáis los buenos pastos, sino que también holláis con vuestros pies lo que de vuestros pastos queda; y que bebiendo las profundas aguas, también holláis con vuestros pies las que quedan?

19 Y mis ovejas comen lo hollado de vuestros pies, y beben lo que con vuestros pies habéis hollado.

20 Por tanto, así les dijo el Señor DIOS: He aquí, yo, yo juzgaré entre la oveja gruesa y la oveja flaca,

21 por cuanto empujasteis con el lado y con el hombro, y acorneasteis con vuestros cuernos a todas las flacas, hasta que las esparcisteis fuera.

22 Yo salvaré a mis ovejas, y nunca más serán en rapiña; y juzgaré entre oveja y oveja.

23 Y despertaré sobre ellas un pastor, y él las apacentará; a mi siervo David: él las apacentará, y él les será por pastor.

24 Yo, el SEÑOR, les seré por Dios, y mi siervo David, príncipe en medio de ellos. Yo, el SEÑOR, he hablado.

25 Y estableceré con ellos pacto de paz, y haré cesar de la tierra las malas bestias; y habitarán en el desierto seguramente, y dormirán en los bosques.

26 Y daré a ellas, y a los alrededores de mi collado, bendición; y haré descender la lluvia en su tiempo, lluvias de bendición serán.

27 Y el árbol del campo dará su fruto, y la tierra dará su fruto, y estarán sobre su tierra seguramente; y sabrán que yo soy el SEÑOR, cuando yo quebrare las coyundas de su yugo, y las librare de mano de los que se sirven de ellas.

28 Y no serán más presa de los gentiles, y las bestias de la tierra nunca más las devorarán; sino que habitarán seguramente, y no habrá quien espante;

29 Y les despertaré una Planta por nombre, y no más serán consumidas de hambre en la tierra, ni serán más avergonzadas de los gentiles.

30 Y sabrán que yo el SEÑOR su Dios soy con ellas, y ellas son mi pueblo, la Casa de Israel, dijo el SEÑOR Dios.

31 Y vosotras, ovejas mías, ovejas de mi pasto, hombres sois, y yo vuestro Dios, dijo el Señor Dios.

   

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Apocalypse Explained #408

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408. (Verse 15) And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men. That this signifies all internal goods and truths, and all external goods and truths, by means of which there are wisdom and intelligence, is clear from the signification of kings, as denoting truths from good in their whole extent (concerning which see above, n. 31); from the signification of great men, and rich men, as denoting internal goods and truths, concerning which we shall speak presently; from the signification of chief captains, and mighty men, as denoting external goods and truths; the chief captains denoting such goods, and the mighty men such truths, concerning which also we shall speak presently. It is said also, by which there are wisdom and intelligence, because from internal goods and truths, which are spiritual goods and truths, there is wisdom, and from external goods and truths, which are natural goods and truths from spiritual, there is intelligence. Wisdom is distinguished from intelligence in this, that wisdom is from the light of heaven, and intelligence from the light of the world enlightened by the light of heaven. Hence it is that wisdom is said of spiritual goods and truths, and intelligence of natural goods and truths; for spiritual goods and truths are from the light of heaven, because the spiritual mind, or the internal mind, is in the light of heaven; and natural goods and truths are from the light of the world, because the natural and external mind is in the light of the world; but in proportion as this mind receives the light of heaven through the spiritual mind, in the same proportion it is in intelligence. He who supposes that intelligence is from the light of the world only, which is called natural light, is much deceived. To see goods and truths from themselves, whether they be civil, moral, or spiritual, is understood by intelligence; but to see them from another, is not intelligence but knowledge. But that it may be known how these things are to be understood, see what is said in the preceding article (n. 406), namely, that man has two minds, the one spiritual or internal, the other natural or external, and that the spiritual or internal mind is opened with those who apply the goods and truths of the Word to the life, but that it is not opened with those who do not apply the goods and truths of the Word to the life, but only the natural or external mind; hence the latter are called natural men, but the former spiritual; to which it must be added, that in proportion as the spiritual or internal mind is opened, in the same proportion spiritual light, which is the light of heaven, flows in thereby from the Lord into the natural or external mind, and enlightens it and imparts intelligence. The goods and truths that make the spiritual or internal mind are meant by the great men, and the rich men; goods by the great men, and truths by the rich men; and the goods and truths which make the natural or external mind are meant by the chief captains, and the mighty men; such goods by the chief captains, and such truths by the mighty men. Hence it is clear that these words, in the internal sense, include all things with man; for the extinction of all things is treated of in what follows. All things in man have reference to good and truth, as also all things in the universe, man having all wisdom and intelligence from and according to these.

[2] He who considers the sense of the letter only, cannot see otherwise than that kings, and the chief men in their kingdoms, are meant, and that so many are mentioned in order that the sense may be exalted. But no word in the Word is without meaning, because it is Divine in everything therein; therefore by them are meant things Divine pertaining to heaven and the church, which in general speech are called things celestial and spiritual, from which the Word is Divine, celestial, and spiritual. The Word also was given, that by its means there may be a conjunction of heaven with the church, or of the angels of heaven with the men of the church (as may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 303-310); and such conjunction cannot exist if nothing else were meant by these words but what appears in the sense of the letter, namely, that the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the chief captains, and the mighty men, also every bondman and every freeman, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, these things also being natural; but when thereby spiritual things are at the same time meant, then there is conjunction. For otherwise the angels could not be conjoined with men, since the angels are spiritual, because [they are] in the spiritual world, and hence think spiritually and also speak spiritually; but men are natural, because in the natural world, and hence think naturally and speak naturally. These observations are made in order that it may be known that by the kings of the earth, great men, rich men, chief captains, and mighty men are also signified spiritual things. That spiritual things are meant; namely, by great men and rich men, internal goods and truths, and by the chief captains and the mighty men, external goods and truths, is evident from their signification where they are mentioned in the Word.

[3] That great men in the Word signify internal goods, which are the goods of the internal or spiritual man, is because great and greatness, in the Word, are said of good, and many and multitude, of truth (as may be seen above, n. 336, 337). That internal goods are signified by great men, is, that by these four, namely, great men, rich men, chief captains, and mighty men, are signified all the goods and truths in man, thus both the goods and truths of the internal or spiritual man, and of the external or natural man. By the great men and the rich men [are meant] the goods and truths of the internal or spiritual man; and by the chief captains and the mighty men, the goods and truths of the external and natural man; therefore it is also added, every bondman and every freeman, the bondman signifying the external of man, which is called the natural man, and the freeman, the internal of man, which is called the spiritual man. Similar things are also signified by great men elsewhere in the Word (namely, in Jeremiah 5:5; in Nahum 3:9; and in Jonah 3:7). That rich men signify internal truths, which are spiritual truths, or those who are in such truths, is plain from what has been shown above (n. 118, 236). That chief captains signify external goods, which are goods of the natural man, was also shown above (n. 336); wherefore it is unnecessary to adduce more concerning them. But that the mighty men signify external truths, or truths of the natural man, is plain from many passages in the Word, where mighty men, and strong men, also power and strength, are mentioned; the reason is, that all power belongs to truths from good, and indeed to the truths that are in the natural man. That all power belongs to truths from good, is, because good does not act of itself, but by means of truths, for good forms itself into truths, and clothes itself with them, as the soul with the body, and so acts; the reason why it acts by means of truths in the natural man, is, that all interior things are together therein, and in their fulness. That all power pertains to truths from good, or to good by truths, may be seen above (n. 209, 333; and in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 231, 232, 539); and that all power is in ultimates, because the Divine is therein in its fulness, above (n. 346; and in the Arcana Coelestia 9836, 10044). From these things it is evident that by mighty men are meant external truths, or the truths of the natural man.

  
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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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Isaiah 65:9

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9 I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains; and my chosen shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.