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Ezekiel 8

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1 And it cometh to pass, in the sixth year, in the sixth [month], in the fifth of the month, I am sitting in my house, and elders of Judah are sitting before me, and fall on me there doth a hand of the Lord Jehovah,

2 and I look, and lo, a likeness as the appearance of fire, from the appearance of His loins and downward -- fire, and from His loins and upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the colour of copper.

3 And He putteth forth a form of a hand, and taketh me by a lock of my head, and lift me up doth a spirit between the earth and the heavens, and it bringeth me in to Jerusalem in visions of God, unto the opening of the inner gate that is facing the north, where [is] the seat of the figure of jealousy that is making jealous,

4 and lo, there the honour of the God of Israel, as the appearance that I saw in the valley.

5 And He saith unto me, `Son of man, lift up, I pray thee, thine eyes the way of the north.' And I lift up mine eyes the way of the north, and lo, on the north of the gate of the altar this figure of jealousy, at the entrance.

6 And He saith unto me, `Son of man, art thou seeing what they are doing? the great abominations that the house of Israel are doing here, to keep far off from My sanctuary; and again thou dost turn, thou dost see great abominations.'

7 And He bringeth me in unto an opening of the court, and I look, and lo, a hole in the wall;

8 and He saith unto me, `Son of man, dig, I pray thee, through the wall;' and I dig through the wall, and lo, an opening.

9 And He saith to me, `Go in, and see the evil abominations that they are doing here.'

10 And I go in, and look, and lo, every form of creeping thing, and detestable beast -- and all the Idols of the house of Israel -- graved on the wall, all round about,

11 and seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel -- and Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing in their midst -- are standing before them, and each his censer in his hand, and the abundance of the cloud of perfume is going up.

12 And He saith unto me, `Hast thou seen, son of man, that which elders of the house of Israel are doing in darkness, each in the inner chambers of his imagery, for they are saying, Jehovah is not seeing us, Jehovah hath forsaken the land?'

13 And He saith unto me, `Again thou dost turn, thou dost see great abominations that they are doing.'

14 And He bringeth me in unto the opening of the gate of the house of Jehovah that [is] at the north, and lo, there the women are sitting weeping for Tammuz.

15 And He saith unto me, `Hast thou seen, son of man? again thou dost turn, thou dost see greater abominations than these.'

16 And He bringeth me in unto the inner court of the house of Jehovah, and lo, at the opening of the temple of Jehovah, between the porch and the altar, about twenty-five men, their backs toward the temple of Jehovah, and their faces eastward, and they are bowing themselves eastward to the sun.

17 And He saith unto me, `Hast thou seen, son of man? hath it been a light thing to the house of Judah to do the abomination that they have done here, that they have filled the land with violence, and turn back to provoke Me to anger? and lo, they are putting forth the branch unto their nose!

18 And I also deal in fury, Mine eye doth not pity, nor do I spare, and they have cried in Mine ears -- a loud voice -- and I do not hear them.'

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

The Lord #39

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39. We can see that the Lord is called “the God of Israel” and “the God of Jacob” from the following passages:

Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that Jehovah has made with you.” And they saw the God of Israel, under whose feet there was something like a work of sapphire stone and like the substance of heaven. (Exodus 24:8-10)

The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel. (Matthew 15:31)

Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, because he has visited and freed his people Israel, when he raised up the horn of our salvation in the house of David. (Luke 1:68-69)

I will give you treasures of darkness and the hidden wealth of secret places so that you may recognize that I, Jehovah, who have called you by your name, am the God of Israel. (Isaiah 45:3)

... the house of Jacob, people who swear by the name of Jehovah and of the God of Israel, for they are called by the name of the holy city and rely on the God of Israel: Jehovah Sabaoth is his name. (Isaiah 48:1-2)

Jacob will see his descendants in his midst. They will sanctify my name and will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob; and they will fear the God of Israel. (Isaiah 29:23)

In the very last of days many people will come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob, who will teach us about his ways so that we may walk in his paths.” (Isaiah 2:3; Micah 4:2)

... so that all flesh may know that I, Jehovah, am your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. (Isaiah 49:26)

I, Jehovah, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Powerful One of Jacob. (Isaiah 60:16)

In the presence of the Lord you give birth, O earth, in the presence of the God of Jacob. (Psalms 114:7)

David swore to Jehovah and made a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob, “[God forbid] that I enter the tent of my home until I have found a place for Jehovah, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.” We have heard of him in Ephrata [that is, Bethlehem]. (Psalms 132:2-3, 5-6)

Blessed be the God of Israel; the whole earth will be full of his glory. (Psalms 72:18-19)

There are also many other passages where the Lord is called “God of Israel, ” “Redeemer, ” and “Savior, ” such as Luke 1:47; Isaiah 45:15; 54:5; Psalms 78:35; plus many other places where we find only “the God of Israel, ” as in Isaiah 17:6; 21:10, 17; 24:15; 29:23; Jeremiah 7:3; 9:15; 11:3; 13:12; 16:9; 19:3, 15; 23:2; 24:5; 25:15, 27; 29:4, 8, 21, 25; 30:2; 31:23; 32:14-15, 36; 33:4; 34:2, 13; 35:13, 17-19; 37:7; 38:17; 39:16; 42:9, 15, 18; 43:10; 44:2, 7, 11, 25; 48:1; 50:18; 51:33; Ezekiel 8:4; 9:3; 10:19-20; 11:22; 43:2; 44:2; Zephaniah 2:9; Psalms 41:13; 59:5; 68:8.

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