The Bible

 

Amos 3

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1 Hear this word that Yahweh has spoken against you, children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up out of the land of Egypt, saying:

2 "You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth. Therefore I will punish you for all of your sins."

3 Do two walk together, unless they have agreed?

4 Will a lion roar in the thicket, when he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out of his den, if he has caught nothing?

5 Can a bird fall in a trap on the earth, where no snare is set for him? Does a snare spring up from the ground, when there is nothing to catch?

6 Does the trumpet alarm sound in a city, without the people being afraid? Does evil happen to a city, and Yahweh hasn't done it?

7 Surely the Lord Yahweh will do nothing, unless he reveals his secret to his servants the prophets.

8 The lion has roared. Who will not fear? The Lord Yahweh has spoken. Who can but prophesy?

9 Proclaim in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, "Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria, and see what unrest is in her, and what oppression is among them."

10 "Indeed they don't know to do right," says Yahweh, "Who hoard plunder and loot in their palaces."

11 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: "An adversary will overrun the land; and he will pull down your strongholds, and your fortresses will be plundered."

12 Thus says Yahweh: "As the shepherd rescues out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so shall the children of Israel be rescued who sit in Samaria on the corner of a couch, and on the silken cushions of a bed."

13 "Listen, and testify against the house of Jacob," says the Lord Yahweh, the God of Armies.

14 "For in the day that I visit the transgressions of Israel on him, I will also visit the altars of Bethel; and the horns of the altar will be cut off, and fall to the ground.

15 I will strike the winter house with the summer house; and the houses of ivory will perish, and the great houses will have an end," says Yahweh.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Revealed #471

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471. And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars. (10:3) This symbolizes a grievous lamentation that the church was taken from Him.

That to cry aloud as when a lion roars symbolizes a grievous lamentation over the church, which was taken from Him, is apparent from the explanations in the preceding chapter, where the states of life of people in the church were examined and exposed, states that were lamentable. It is apparent also from the following declaration in this chapter, that the angel swore by Him who lives forever and ever that there should be no more time, which symbolically means that there would be no more church. And in the next chapter as well, that the beast ascending from the bottomless pit killed His two witnesses. Especially is it apparent from the fact that people do not acknowledge the Lord and turn to Him, even though He is God of heaven and earth.

A lamentation over this is what the angel's roaring like a lion symbolizes; for a lion roars when it sees its enemies and is attacked by them, and when it sees its young or its prey carried off. The same is comparatively the case with the Lord when He sees His church carried off by devils.

[2] That this is the symbolic meaning of roaring like a lion can be seen from the following passages:

As a lion roars, and a young lion over his prey, when a multitude of shepherds comes against him..., so Jehovah of Hosts will come down to fight upon Mount Zion... (Isaiah 31:4)

...the anger of Jehovah is kindled against His people... His roaring is like that of a lion, He roars like young lions; He growls and lays hold of the prey... (For) behold, darkness and distress; and the light is darkened in its ruins. (Isaiah 5:25-30)

Jehovah will roar from on high, and utter His voice from His holy habitation; He will roar mightily against His habitations. (Jeremiah 25:30)

Jehovah will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem. (Joel 3:16)

I will not... destroy Ephraim... They shall go after Jehovah. He will roar like a lion, for He will roar... (Hosea 11:9-10)

A lion roars. Who does not fear? The Lord Jehovih has spoken. Who will not prophesy? (Amos 3:8)

(God) roars with His voice; He thunders with His majestic voice... (Job 37:4-5)

That roaring symbolizes a grievous lamentation is clear from the following passages:

...my bones grew old through my roaring all the day long. (Psalms 32:3)

I am feeble and worn; I have roared because of the roaring of my heart. (Psalms 38:8)

...my sighing comes before bread, and my roarings pour out like water. (Job 3:24)

  
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Many thanks to the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and to Rev. N.B. Rogers, translator, for the permission to use this translation.