New Christian Bible Study

The Bible

 

Jeremiah 50

Study

   

1 The word that Yahweh spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by Jeremiah the prophet.

2 Declare among the nations and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and don't conceal: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is disappointed, Merodach is dismayed; her images are disappointed, her idols are dismayed.

3 For out of the north there comes up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they are fled, they are gone, both man and animal.

4 In those days, and in that time, says Yahweh, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together; they shall go on their way weeping, and shall seek Yahweh their God.

5 They shall inquire concerning Zion with their faces turned toward it, [saying], Come, and join yourselves to Yahweh in an everlasting covenant that shall not be forgotten.

6 My people have been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray; they have turned them away on the mountains; they have gone from mountain to hill; they have forgotten their resting place.

7 All who found them have devoured them; and their adversaries said, We are not guilty, because they have sinned against Yahweh, the habitation of righteousness, even Yahweh, the hope of their fathers.

8 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the male goats before the flocks.

9 For, behold, I will stir up and cause to come up against Babylon a company of great nations from the north country; and they shall set themselves in array against her; from there she shall be taken: their arrows shall be as of an expert mighty man; none shall return in vain.

10 Chaldea shall be a prey: all who prey on her shall be satisfied, says Yahweh.

11 Because you are glad, because you rejoice, O you who plunder my heritage, because you are wanton as a heifer that treads out [the grain], and neigh as strong horses;

12 your mother shall be utterly disappointed; she who bore you shall be confounded: behold, she shall be the least of the nations, a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.

13 Because of the wrath of Yahweh she shall not be inhabited, but she shall be wholly desolate: everyone who goes by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues.

14 Set yourselves in array against Babylon all around, all you who bend the bow; shoot at her, spare no arrows: for she has sinned against Yahweh.

15 Shout against her all around: she has submitted herself; her bulwarks are fallen, her walls are thrown down; for it is the vengeance of Yahweh: take vengeance on her; as she has done, do to her.

16 Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him who handles the sickle in the time of harvest: for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn everyone to his people, and they shall flee everyone to his own land.

17 Israel is a hunted sheep; the lions have driven him away: first, the king of Assyria devoured him; and now at last Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has broken his bones.

18 Therefore thus says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel: Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria.

19 I will bring Israel again to his pasture, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and in Gilead.

20 In those days, and in that time, says Yahweh, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I leave as a remnant.

21 Go up against the land of Merathaim, even against it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod: kill and utterly destroy after them, says Yahweh, and do according to all that I have commanded you.

22 A sound of battle is in the land, and of great destruction.

23 How is the hammer of the whole earth cut apart and broken! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!

24 I have laid a snare for you, and you are also taken, Babylon, and you weren't aware: you are found, and also caught, because you have striven against Yahweh.

25 Yahweh has opened his armory, and has brought forth the weapons of his indignation; for the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, has a work [to do] in the land of the Chaldeans.

26 Come against her from the utmost border; open her storehouses; cast her up as heaps, and destroy her utterly; let nothing of her be left.

27 Kill all her bulls; let them go down to the slaughter: woe to them! for their day is come, the time of their visitation.

28 The voice of those who flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the vengeance of Yahweh our God, the vengeance of his temple.

29 Call together the archers against Babylon, all those who bend the bow; encamp against her all around; let none of it escape: recompense her according to her work; according to all that she has done, do to her; for she has been proud against Yahweh, against the Holy One of Israel.

30 Therefore her young men will fall in her streets, and all her men of war will be brought to silence in that day, says Yahweh.

31 Behold, I am against you, you proud one, says the Lord, Yahweh of Armies; for your day has come, the time that I will visit you.

32 The proud one shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up; and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all who are around him.

33 Thus says Yahweh of Armies: The children of Israel and the children of Judah are oppressed together; and all who took them captive hold them fast; they refuse to let them go.

34 Their Redeemer is strong; Yahweh of Armies is his name: he will thoroughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.

35 A sword is on the Chaldeans, says Yahweh, and on the inhabitants of Babylon, and on her princes, and on her wise men.

36 A sword is on the boasters, and they shall become fools; a sword is on her mighty men, and they shall be dismayed.

37 A sword is on their horses, and on their chariots, and on all the mixed people who are in the midst of her; and they shall become as women: a sword is on her treasures, and they shall be robbed.

38 A drought is on her waters, and they shall be dried up; for it is a land of engraved images, and they are mad over idols.

39 Therefore the wild animals of the desert with the wolves shall dwell there, and the ostriches shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited forever; neither shall it be lived in from generation to generation.

40 As when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbor cities of it, says Yahweh, so shall no man dwell there, neither shall any son of man live therein.

41 Behold, a people comes from the north; and a great nation and many kings shall be stirred up from the uttermost parts of the earth.

42 They lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roars like the sea; and they ride on horses, everyone set in array, as a man to the battle, against you, daughter of Babylon.

43 The king of Babylon has heard the news of them, and his hands wax feeble: anguish has taken hold of him, [and] pangs as of a woman in travail.

44 Behold, [the enemy] shall come up like a lion from the pride of the Jordan against the strong habitation: for I will suddenly make them run away from it; and whoever is chosen, him will I appoint over it: for who is like me? and who will appoint me a time? and who is the shepherd who can stand before me?

45 Therefore hear the counsel of Yahweh, that he has taken against Babylon; and his purposes, that he has purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely they shall drag them away, [even] the little ones of the flock; surely he shall make their habitation desolate over them.

46 At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth trembles, and the cry is heard among the nations.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Revealed #342

Study this Passage

  
/ 962  
  

342. CHAPTER 7

1. After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree.

2. Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea,

3. saying, "Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads."

4. And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of Israel:

5. of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand were sealed;

6. of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed;

7. of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand were sealed;

8. of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand were sealed; of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed.

9. After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,

10. and crying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"

11. And all the angels stood around the throne, with the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,

12. saying, "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving, and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen."

13. Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?"

14. And I said to him, "Lord, you know." So he said to me, "These are the ones who are coming out of the great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made their robes white in the blood of the Lamb.

15. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.

16. They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; neither shall the sun strike them, nor any heat;

17. for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

THE SPIRITUAL MEANING

The Contents of the Whole Chapter

This chapter describes people who are and who will be in the Christian heaven. It describes first their separation from evil people (verses 1-3); after that, those of them who are impelled by love toward the Lord and so by wisdom, of whom the higher heavens consist (verses 4-8); and those who are impelled by charity from the Lord and its accompanying faith because they fought against evils, of whom the lower heavens consist (verses 9-17).

The Contents of the Individual Verses:

Verse ContentsSpiritual Meaning
1. After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth,The whole of heaven now in an effort to execute the Last Judgment.
holding back the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree.The Lord's holding back and restraining a closer and thus stronger influx into the lower regions where good people were attached to evil ones.
2. Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun,The Lord providing and moderating,
having the seal of the living God.who alone knows the character of each and every person, and can distinguish and separate them from each other.
And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, 3. saying, "Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the treesThe Lord's restraining and holding back the closer and stronger influx into the lower regions,
till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads."before those people were separated who were governed by truths springing from goodness from the Lord.
4. And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and forty-four thousand,All people who acknowledge the Lord as God of heaven and earth and are governed by truths of doctrine springing from the goodness of love, received from Him through the Word.
sealed out of every tribe of Israel:The heaven and the Lord's church formed from them.
5. of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed;Celestial love, which is love toward the Lord, and this in all those people who will be in the New Heaven and in the New Church.
of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were sealed;Wisdom springing from celestial love in those people who will be there.
of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand were sealed;Useful life endeavors, which are the exercises of wisdom springing from that love, in those people who will be there.
6. of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand were sealed;Mutual love in those people.
of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand were sealed;A perception of useful endeavor, and of what is useful, in those people.
of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed;A will to serve and to put into practice in those people.
7. of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand were sealed;Spiritual love, which is love for the neighbor, in those people.
of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand were sealed;An affection for truth springing from goodness, producing intelligence in those people.
of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand were sealed;Goodness of life in those people.
8. of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed;The conjugal love of goodness and truth in those people.
of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand were sealed;A doctrine of goodness and truth in those people.
of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed.A life of truth springing from goodness in accord with doctrine in those people.
9. After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no one could number,All other people who are not among those enumerated and yet are in the New Heaven and the Lord's New Church, who form the lowest heaven and the external church, and whose character is known to the Lord alone.
of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues,All in the Christian world who have some religion springing from goodness and are guided by truths from doctrine,
standing before the throne and before the Lamb,listening to the Lord and doing what He commands.
clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,A communication and conjunction with the higher heavens, and a confession springing from Divine truths.
10. and crying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"An acknowledgment from the heart that the Lord is their Savior.
11. And all the angels stood around the throne, with the elders and the four living creatures,All in the whole of heaven listening and doing what the Lord commands.
and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,A humbling of their heart, and in their humility an adoration of the Lord.
12. saying, "Amen!Divine truth and an affirmation in response to it.
Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving,The Lord's spiritual Divine attributes;
and honor and power and might,the Lord's celestial Divine attributes;
be to our God forever and ever.these being in the Lord and emanating from the Lord to eternity.
Amen."The agreement of all.
13. Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?" 14. And I said to him, "Lord, you know."Their desire to know and wish to inquire, and the reply and instruction given.
So he said to me, "These are ones who are coming out of the great tribulation,They are people who have undergone temptations or trials, and have fought against evils and falsities,
and have washed their robeswho have cleansed their religious beliefs of the evils accompanying falsity,
and made their robes white in the blood of the Lamb.and by truths have purified those religious beliefs from the falsities accompanying evil, and so have been reformed by the Lord.
15. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.They are in the Lord's presence, and live constantly and faithfully in His church in accordance with the truths that they receive from Him.
16. They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore;Hereafter they will not lack goods and truths.
neither shall the sun strike them, nor any heat;Hereafter they will not possess lusts for evil, nor for the falsity accompanying evil.
17. for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd themThe Lord alone will teach them
and lead them to living fountains of waters.and lead them by the truths in the Word to conjunction with Him.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."They will be caught up no longer in battles against evils and the accompanying falsities, and so will no longer experience times of distress, but will be surrounded by goods and truths and thus by heavenly joys emanating from the Lord.

THE EXPOSITION

After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth. (7:1) This symbolizes the whole of heaven now in an effort to execute the Last Judgment on the people who were in the world of spirits.

There follows now much concerning the state of the spiritual world just before the Last Judgment, which no one could know without its being revealed by the Lord. And because I have been given to see how the Last Judgment was executed, including the transformations which preceded it and the dispositions following it, I can relate therefore the symbolic meaning of everything in this chapter and in the chapters that follow.

[2] The four angels here symbolize the whole of heaven. The four corners of the earth symbolize the entire world of spirits, which is midway between heaven and hell. For the Last Judgment was executed on people who were in the world of spirits, and not on anyone in heaven, nor on anyone in hell.

Angels symbolize heaven because an angel in the highest sense means the Lord in respect to His Divine humanity (no. 344), and as heaven is heaven owing to the Lord, angels symbolize heaven as well.

[3] The four angels here symbolize the whole of heaven because they were seen standing at the four corners of the earth, and the four corners symbolize the four quarters of the compass.

They symbolize that the whole of heaven was now in an effort to execute the Last Judgment for the reason that when the Last Judgment was at hand, the Lord caused the heavens to draw closer over the world of spirits, and the closeness of the heavens produced such a change in the state of the inner constituents of the people's minds below that they saw nothing but terrors before their eyes.

[4] That corners symbolize quarters of the compass, and thus the four quarters all points, can be seen from the following passages:

You shall measure, outside the city, the corner toward the east..., the corner toward the south..., the corner toward the west..., and the corner toward the north... (Numbers 35:5)

You shall make the boards for the Tabernacle, ...for the south corner..., and for... the north corner... (Exodus 26:18, 20, 23)

And... the court..., for the south corner..., for the north corner..., for the west corner..., and... for the east corner... (Exodus 27:9, 11-13)

[5] The four quarters are also called four corners often in Ezekiel, as in Ezekiel 47:18-20, and 48.

Since corners symbolize the quarters of the compass, they also therefore symbolize everything, such as everything in heaven or in hell, or everything pertaining to goodness or to truth, as is apparent from the following:

(Satan) will go out to lead astray the nations which are at the four corners of the earth... (Revelation 20:8)

I will cut off nations, (and) their corners will be devastated. (Zephaniah 3:6)

...(Israel) gathered together as one man... And the corners of all the people stationed themselves... (Judges 20:1-2)

A scepter shall rise out of Israel, and crush the corners of Moab... (Numbers 24:17)

A day of trumpet and alarm... upon the high corners. (Zephaniah 1:16)

I will cast them into the ends of the corners. (Deuteronomy 32:26)

[6] That a corner symbolizes the lowest component supporting higher ones, as a foundation does a house, and so symbolizes also everything, is apparent from the following:

(He) will lay in Zion a corner stone..., the price of the laying of a foundation. (Isaiah 28:16)

They shall not take from it a stone for a corner... (Jeremiah 51:26)

From (Judah) shall come the corner stone... (Zechariah 10:4)

The stone which (they) rejected has become the corner stone. (Psalms 118:22, Matthew 21:42, Mark 12:10, Luke 20:17-18)

  
/ 962  
  

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

The Bible

 

Exodus 27:11-13

Study

      

11 Likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings one hundred cubits long, and its pillars twenty, and their sockets twenty, of brass; the hooks of the pillars, and their fillets, of silver.

12 For the breadth of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits; their pillars ten, and their sockets ten.

13 The breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits.

      

©2024 New Christian Bible Study Corporation. All rights reserved. Printed from newchristianbiblestudy.org