Ezekiel 20
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And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the LORD, and sat before me.
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Then came the word of the LORD to me, saying,
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Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye come to inquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you.
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Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? cause them to know the abominations of their fathers:
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And say to them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up my hand to the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known to them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up my hand to them, saying, I am the Lord your GOD;
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In the day that I lifted up my hand to them, to bring them forth from the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands:
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Then said I to them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
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But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken to me: they did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt: then I said, I will pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.
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But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be profaned before the heathen, among whom they were, in whose sight I made myself known to them, in bringing them forth from the land of Egypt.
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Wherefore I caused them to go forth from the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness.
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And I gave them my statutes, and showed them my judgments, which if a man doeth, he shall even live in them.
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Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them.
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But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man doeth, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly profaned: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them.
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But I wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be profaned before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them out.
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Yet also I lifted up my hand to them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands;
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Because they despised my judgments, and walked not in my statutes, but profaned my sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols.
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Nevertheless my eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness.
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But I said to their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols:
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I am the LORD your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them;
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And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God.
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Notwithstanding the children rebelled against me: they walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judgments to do them, which if a man doeth, he shall even live in them: they profaned my sabbaths: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness.
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Nevertheless I withdrew my hand, and wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the heathen, in whose sight I brought them forth.
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I lifted up my hand to them also in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the heathen, and disperse them through the countries;
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Because they had not executed my judgments, but had despised my statutes, and had profaned my sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers' idols.
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Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments by which they should not live;
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And I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all the first-born, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am the LORD.
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Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel, and say to them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Yet in this your fathers have blasphemed me, in that they have committed a trespass against me.
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For when I had brought them into the land, for which I lifted up my hand to give it to them, then they saw every high hill, and all the thick trees, and they offered there their sacrifices, and there they presented the provocation of their offering: there also they made their sweet savor, and poured out there their drink-offerings.
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Then I said to them, What is the high place to which ye go? and its name is called Bamah to this day.
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Wherefore say to the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye polluted after the manner of your fathers? and commit ye lewd deeds after their abominations?
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For when ye offer your gifts, when ye make your sons to pass through the fire, ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, even to this day: and shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be inquired of by you.
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And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all, that ye say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.
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As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty hand, and with an out-stretched arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you:
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And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries in which ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with an out-stretched arm, and with fury poured out.
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And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face.
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As I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord GOD.
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And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant.
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And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
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As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken to me: but profane ye my holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols.
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For on my holy mountain, on the mountain of the hight of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve me: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the first fruits of your oblations, with all your holy things.
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I will accept you with your sweet savor, when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries in which ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen.
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And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for which I lifted up my hand to give it to your fathers.
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And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings in which ye have been defiled; and ye shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed.
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And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have wrought with you for my name's sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the LORD GOD.
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Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
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Son of man, set thy face towards the south, and drop thy word towards the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field;
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And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the LORD GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
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And all flesh shall see that I the LORD have kindled it: it shall not be quenched.
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Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables?
Arcana Coelestia #402
402. 'A city that was built' means all doctrinal or heretical teaching founded on that heresy. This is clear from the Word wherever the name of any city occurs. In the Word 'city' never means a city but something doctrinal or else something heretical. For angels are totally ignorant of what a city is or what the name of any city is. They never do nor can have any city in mind, for their ideas are of spiritual and celestial things, as shown already. Their perception is solely of what is meant spiritually by cities, and the names of them. For example, by the Holy City, which is also called the Holy Jerusalem, they understand nothing other than the Lord's kingdom in general, or as it exists with each individual who has the Lord's kingdom within him. And the city of Zion or Mount Zion they understand in a similar way, the latter being the celestial degree of faith, the former the spiritual.
[2] And the celestial and spiritual itself is also described by cities, palaces, houses, walls, the foundations of walls, ramparts, gates, bars, and by the temple at the centre, as in Ezekiel 48, and in Revelation 21:15-end. In Revelation 21:2, 10, it is called 'the Holy Jerusalem'; in Jeremiah 31:38 ['the city for Jehovah']; in David, Psalms 46:4, 'the city of God, the holy place of the dwellings of the Most High'; and in Ezekiel 48:35, it is called 'the city, Jehovah is there'. And in Isaiah,
The sons of the foreigner will build up your walls. They will bend down to the soles of your feet, all who disapprove of you, and they will call you the City of Jehovah, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 60:10, 14.
In Zechariah,
Jerusalem [will be called] the city of truth, and Mount Zion the mountain of holiness. Zechariah 8:3
Here 'city of truth', which is Jerusalem, means the spiritual things of faith, and 'the holy mountain', which is Zion, the celestial things of faith. And whereas the celestial and spiritual things of faith were represented by a city, so all matters of doctrine were meant by the cities of Judah and Israel, each one, when mentioned by name, meaning some specific point of doctrine, though exactly which nobody can know except from the internal sense.
[3] As cities meant matters of doctrine, cities also meant heretical ideas, each one when mentioned by name meaning some specific heretical idea. But at this point solely the consideration that in general a city means doctrinal teaching or else heretical may be established from the following places:
[4] In Isaiah,
On that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt which speak in the lip of Canaan and swear to Jehovah Zebaoth. One of these will be called the city Heres. Isaiah 19:18.
This refers to man's knowledge of spiritual and celestial things at the time of the Lord's Coming. In the same prophet,
Full of tumults, a tumultuous city, an exultant city. Isaiah 22:1, 2.
This refers to 'the valley of vision', which is delusion. In Jeremiah,
The cities of the south are shut up, with none opening them. Jeremiah 13:10.
This refers to people who are in 'the south', that is, who dwell in the light of truth, but blot it out. In the same prophet,
Jehovah thought to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion. He causes rampart and wall to mourn; they have languished together. Her gates have sunk into the ground, He has destroyed and broken in pieces her bars. Lamentations 2:8-9.
Here anyone may see that nothing else is meant by 'wall, rampart, gates and bars' than matters of doctrine.
[5] Similarly in Isaiah,
This song will be sung in the land of Judah, Ours is a strong city, salvation will establish walls and a rampart. Open the gates that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in. Isaiah 26:1-2.
In the same prophet,
I will exalt You, I will confess Your name. You have made the city into a heap, the fortified city into a ruin; let not a palace of aliens be built of the city for ever. Therefore a strong people will honour You, the city of terrifying nations will fear You. Isaiah 25:1-3.
Nor does this refer to any actual city. In Balaam's prophecy,
Edom will be an inheritance, and out of Jacob one will have dominion, and he will accomplish the destruction of the remnant of the city. Numbers 24:18-19.
Here anyone may see that 'the city' does not mean an actual city. In Isaiah,
The city of hollowness has been broken down, every house has been shut up so that none may enter in. There is an outcry in the streets over the wine. Isaiah 24:10-11.
Here 'city of hollowness' stands for hollowness of doctrine. In this and other places 'streets' means the things that constitute a city, namely falsities or truths. In John,
When the seventh angel poured out his bowl the great city was split into three parts and the cities of the nations fell. Revelation 16:17, 19.
That 'a great city' means something heretical, as do 'the cities of the nations', may be clear to anyone. The explanation is also given in Revelation 17:18 that the great city means the woman whom John saw, 'the woman', as shown already, being a Church of that nature.
