The Bible

 

Ezekiel 1

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1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Kebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.

2 In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin's captivity,

3 The word of the LORD came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Kebar; and the hand of the LORD was there upon him.

4 And I looked, and behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and from the midst of it as the color of amber, from the midst of the fire.

5 Also from the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.

6 And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings.

7 And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot: and they sparkled like the color of burnished brass.

8 And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings.

9 Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.

10 As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.

11 Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies.

12 And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went.

13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning.

14 And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.

15 Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces.

16 The appearance of the wheels and their work was like the color of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.

17 When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they returned not when they went.

18 As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes around them four.

19 And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.

20 Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.

21 When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.

22 And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature was as the color of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above.

23 And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one towards the other: every one had two, which covered on this side, and every one had two, which covered on that side, their bodies.

24 And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of a host: when they stood, they let down their wings.

25 And there was a voice from the firmament that was over their heads, when they stood, and had let down their wings.

26 And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.

27 And I saw as the color of amber, as the appearance of fire around within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness on all sides.

28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness around. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one speaking.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #8813

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8813. 'That there were voices and lightnings' means a Divine state in which revelation took place. This is clear from the meaning of 'voices', which are the sounds made by claps of thunder, as God's truths; and from the meaning of 'lightnings' as the radiance and brilliance which those truths possess, for God's truths are made brilliant and radiant by the fiery brightness of light that shines from the sun of heaven. This is why 'voices and lightnings' means a Divine state in which revelation takes place, a Divine state being meant by the fact that they come down out of the sky, and revelation by the fact that 'voices' and 'lightnings' mean God's truths. For the meaning of 'voices', which are the products of lightning from the sky, as God's truths, see 7573; and the fact that 'lightnings' means brilliant flashes from them which strike a person's inward eye, enlightening those guided by truth derived from good and bewildering those steeped in falsity arising from evil, is clear from places in the Word where 'lightnings' are mentioned, as in David,

The clouds dropped water, the skies gave voice; and Your arrows went out The voice of Your thunder went into the world, 1 the lightnings lit up the earth, the earth was shaken violently and quaked. Psalms 77:17-18.

Here 'the voice of thunder' stands for God's truth, 7573, 'lightnings' for its brilliance, and 'the earth' for the Church. Consequently ' the lightnings lit up the earth' stands for the enlightenment of the Church by God's truth.

[2] Something similar occurs in the same author,

His lightnings will enlighten the earth, the earth will see and fear; the mountains will melt like wax before Jehovah. Psalms 97:4-5.

In the same author,

What Jehovah wills He does in heaven and on earth, in the seas and in all deep places. He causes the vapours to go up from the ends of the earth, He makes lightnings for the rain. Psalms 135:6-7; Jeremiah 10:13; 51:16.

'Lightnings for the rain' stands for the brightness of the truth coming down from heaven. In John,

There were lightnings, voices, and thunders. Revelation 11:19; 16:18.

'Voices, lightnings, and thunders' stands for God's truths which enlighten the good and terrify the evil.

[3] In Ezekiel,

The appearance of the living creatures (who were cherubs) was like burning coals of fire, Like the appearance of lamps. It was moving between the living creatures, so that there was the brightness of fire, and out of the fire went forth lightning. And the living creatures ran forth and back, in appearance like a flash of lightning. Ezekiel 1:13-14.

Here 'fire' stands for the good of love, and 'out of the fire went forth lightning' for God's truth derived from that good. The Lord's Divine providence, which is God's truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Good, is described here by 'the cherubs'.

[4] In Daniel, behold, one clothed in linen whose loins were girded with gold of Uphaz, and his body was like tarshish; 2 his face was like the appearance of lightning, and his eyes were like fiery torches. Daniel 10:5-6.

'A face like the appearance of lightning' stands for the love of truth; for truth radiated by love carries with it a characteristic, meant by 'lightning', which is like a flame flashing from fire.

[5] In Zechariah,

Jehovah will appear over them, and His arrow will go forth like lightning; and the Lord Jehovih will sound a blast on the trumpet, and move forward in storms of the south. Zechariah 9:14.

'The arrow which will go forth like lightning' stands for God's truth which strikes and penetrates, 'an arrow' being truth coming from doctrine, see 2686, 2709, so that 'an arrow from Jehovah' is truth coming from God.

[6] In Nahum,

The glitter of the sword, the lightning-flash of the spear, 3 and the multitude of the slain. Nahum 3:3

In Moses,

I will sharpen My flashing sword 4 . Deuteronomy 32:41.

This stands for the penetration of God's truth as experienced by the evil, 'sword' standing for truth engaged in conflict, 2799, 8294, and 'lightning' for its brightness which strikes the understanding and deprives it of the ability to see truth. Something similar occurs in Ezekiel 21:15, 28. From all this it is also evident that 'lightning' is used to mean God's truth in Matthew 28:3, and Luke 17:24.

Footnotes:

1. The Hebrew, word here means a wheel or a whirlwind.

2. A Hebrew word for a particular kind of stone, possibly a beryl.

3. literally, The brightness of the sword, the lightning of the spear

4. literally, the lightning of My sword

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