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Joel 3

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1 Porque he aquí que en aquellos días, y en aquel tiempo en que haré tornar la cautividad de Judá y de Jerusalén,

2 juntaré todos los gentiles, y los haré descender al valle de Josafat, y allí entraré en juicio con ellos a causa de mi pueblo, y de Israel mi heredad, a los cuales esparcieron entre las naciones, y partieron mi tierra;

3 y echaron suertes sobre mi pueblo, y a los niños dieron por rameras, y vendieron las niñas por vino para beber.

4 Y también, ¿qué tengo yo con vosotras, Tiro y Sidón, y todos los términos de Palestina? ¿Queréis vengaros de mí? Y si de mí os vengáis, bien pronto haré yo recaer la paga sobre vuestra cabeza.

5 Porque habéis llevado mi plata y mi oro, y mis cosas preciosas y hermosas metisteis en vuestros templos;

6 y vendisteis los hijos de Judá y los hijos de Jerusalén a los hijos de los griegos, por alejarlos de sus términos.

7 He aquí los levantaré yo del lugar donde los vendisteis, y volveré vuestra paga sobre vuestra cabeza.

8 Y venderé vuestros hijos y vuestras hijas en la mano de los hijos de Judá, y ellos los venderán a los sabeos, nación apartada; porque el SEÑOR ha hablado.

9 Pregonad esto entre los gentiles, proclamad guerra, despertad a los valientes, lléguense, vengan todos los hombres de guerra.

10 Haced espadas de vuestros azadones, lanzas de vuestras hoces; diga el flaco: Fuerte soy.

11 Juntaos y venid, gentiles todos de alrededor, y congregaos; haz venir allí, oh SEÑOR, tus fuertes.

12 Los gentiles se despierten, y suban al valle de Josafat; porque allí me sentaré para juzgar a todos los gentiles de alrededor.

13 Echad la hoz, porque la mies está ya madura. Venid, descended; porque el lagar está lleno, rebosan las lagaretas; porque mucha es la maldad de ellos.

14 Muchos pueblos se juntarán en el valle del cortamiento; porque cercano está el día del SEÑOR en el valle del cortamiento.

15 El sol y la luna se oscurecerán, y las estrellas retraerán su resplandor.

16 Y el SEÑOR bramará desde Sion, y dará su voz desde Jerusalén, y temblarán los cielos y la tierra; mas el SEÑOR será la esperanza de su pueblo, y la fortaleza de los hijos de Israel.

17 Y conoceréis que yo soy el SEÑOR vuestro Dios, que habito en Sion, monte de mi santidad; y será Jerusalén santa, y extraños no pasarán más por ella.

18 Y será en aquel tiempo, que los montes destilarán mosto, y los collados fluirán leche, y por todos los arroyos de Judá correrán aguas; y saldrá una fuente de la Casa del SEÑOR, y regará el valle de Sitim.

19 Egipto será destruido, y Edom será vuelto en asolado desierto, por la injuria hecha a los hijos de Judá; porque derramaron en su tierra la sangre inocente.

20 Mas Judá para siempre será habitada, y Jerusalén por generación y generación.

21 Y limpiaré la sangre de los que no limpié; porque el SEÑOR mora en Sion.

   

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Arcana Coelestia #1151

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1151. 'Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras' were just so many nations with whom such worship existed, and who in the internal sense mean just so many differing types of doctrine which were one and the same as the forms of ritual which they observed devoutly. This is quite clear from the Word where these nations are mentioned in various places, for those nations everywhere mean external worship, sometimes external worship corresponding to internal, sometimes the contrary The reason the latter is sometimes meant is that all Churches everywhere altered in the course of time, and altered indeed into something contrary. The fact that the nations named here mean nothing other than external worship, and therefore their doctrinal teachings, which were forms of ritual, becomes clear, as has been stated, from other parts of the Word, chiefly in the Prophets.

[2] Magog, Meshech, Tubal, and Gomer are referred to in Ezekiel as follows,

Son of man, set your face 1 towards Gog, the land of Magog, the prince, the head of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, and say, Thus said the Lord Jehovih, Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince, the head of Meshech and Tubal; and I will turn you about, and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you back, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great company, with shield and buckler, all of them wielding swords: Persia, Cush, and Put with them; Gomer and all on his flanks; Bethtogarmah, the uttermost parts of the north, and all on his Ranks. In the latter years you will come upon the land that is brought back from the sword, that is gathered out of many peoples, upon the mountains of Israel, which have been made a waste. Ezekiel 38:2-6, 8.

The subject in the whole of this chapter is a Church that became corrupted and which at length focused the whole of worship in external things or religious observances once charity, meant by 'the mountains of Israel', had been destroyed. Here 'Gog and the land of Magog, the prince and head of Meshech and Tubal' is worship confined to external things. Anyone may see that Gog and Magog are not the subject, for the Word of the Lord does not deal with worldly things, but embodies Divine matters.

[3] In the same prophet,

Prophesy against Gog and say, Thus said the Lord Jehovih, Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince, the head of Meshech and Tubal; and I will bring you back, and will split you into six, and make you come up from the uttermost parts of the north and bring you on to the mountains of Israel. On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all on your flanks, and the peoples that are with you. Ezekiel 39:1-2, 4.

The subject in the whole of this chapter is likewise external worship separated from internal and made idolatrous. Such worship is meant here by 'Gog, Meshech and Tubal' who are also used to mean the matters of doctrine which people adopt and then confirm from the literal sense of the Word, and in so doing falsify truths and destroy internal worship. For, as has been stated, those same nations also mean contrary things.

[4] In John,

When the thousand years have come to an end, Satan will be loosed from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations which are at the four corners of the earth. Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle. They went up over the breadth 2 of the earth, and surrounded the camp of the saints, [and] the beloved city. Revelation 20:7-9.

Here also 'Gog and Magog' has a similar meaning. External worship separated from internal, that is, separated from love to the Lord and from love towards the neighbour, is nothing but idolatrous worship which 'surrounds the camp of the saints and the beloved city'.

[5] Meshech and Tubal are referred to in Ezekiel as follows,

Meshech and Tubal are there, and all their crowd; round about it are its graves; all of them are uncircumcised, pierced by the sword, for they spread their terror in the land of the living. Ezekiel 32:26.

This refers to Egypt, that is, to factual knowledge by means of which people wish to inquire into spiritual things. 'Meshech and Tubal' stands for doctrinal teachings, which were forms of ritual, which are called 'uncircumcised' when love does not exist. Consequently they are 'pierced by the sword, and a terror in the land of the living'.

[6] Javan is referred to in Joel,

You have sold the sons of Judah and the sons of Jerusalem to the sons of the Javanites, 3 to remove them far away from their border. Joel 3:6.

'The sons of Judah' stands for things on the celestial side of faith, 'the sons of Jerusalem' for those on the spiritual side, and so for things that are internal. 'The sons of the Javanites' stands for worship in external things that is separated from internal worship; and because this worship is so far removed from that which is internal it is said that they 'removed them far away from their border'.

[7] 'Javan and Tubal' in Isaiah stands for true external worship itself,

One is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they will come and see My glory, and I will set a sign among them And I will send survivors from them to the nations, to Tarshish, Put, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the islands far off that have not heard My fame and have not seen My glory; and they will declare My glory among the nations. Isaiah 66:18-19.

This refers to the Lord's kingdom and His Coming. 'Tubal and Javan' stands for those whose worship is external corresponding to internal and who are to be informed about internal things.

Footnotes:

1. literally, faces

2. literally, the plain

3. i.e. the Greeks

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