The Bible

 

Joel 2

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1 Blow ye a trumpet in Zion, And shout ye in My holy hill, Tremble do all inhabitants of the earth, For coming is the day of Jehovah, for [it is] near!

2 A day of darkness and thick darkness, A day of cloud and thick darkness, As darkness spread on the mountains, A people numerous and mighty, Like it there hath not been from of old, And after it there is not again -- till the years of generation and generation.

3 Before it consumed hath fire, And after it burn doth a flame, As the garden of Eden [is] the land Before it, And after it a wilderness -- a desolation! And also an escape there hath not been to it,

4 As the appearance of horses [is] its appearance, And as horsemen, so they run.

5 As the noise of chariots, on the tops of the mountains they skip, As the noise of a flame of fire devouring stubble, As a mighty people set in array for battle.

6 From its face pained are peoples, All faces have gathered paleness.

7 As mighty ones they run, As men of war they go up a wall, And each in his own ways they do go, And they embarrass not their paths.

8 And each his brother they press not, Each in his way they go on, If by the missile they fall, they are not cut off.

9 In the city they run to and fro, On the wall they run, Into houses they go up by the windows, They go in as a thief.

10 At their face trembled hath the earth, Shaken have the heavens, Sun and moon have been black, And stars have gathered up their shining.

11 And Jehovah hath given forth His voice before His force, For very great [is] His camp, For mighty [is] the doer of His word, For great [is] the day of Jehovah -- very fearful, And who doth bear it?

12 And also now -- an affirmation of Jehovah, Turn ye back unto Me with all your heart, And with fasting, and with weeping, And with lamentation.

13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, And turn back unto Jehovah your God, For gracious and merciful [is] He, Slow to anger, and abundant in kindness, And He hath repented concerning the evil.

14 Who knoweth -- He doth turn back, Yea -- He hath repented, And He hath left behind Him a blessing, A present and libation of Jehovah your God?

15 Blow ye a trumpet in Zion, Sanctify a fast -- proclaim a restraint.

16 Gather the people, sanctify an assembly, Assemble the aged, Gather infants and sucklings of the breasts, Go out let a bridegroom from his inner chamber, And a bride out of her closet.

17 Between the porch and the altar weep let the priests, ministrants of Jehovah, And let them say: `Have pity, O Jehovah, on Thy people, And give not Thy inheritance to reproach, To the ruling over them of nations, Why do they say among peoples, Where [is] their God?'

18 And let Jehovah be zealous for His land, And have pity on His people.

19 Let Jehovah answer and say to His people, `Lo, I am sending to you the corn, And the new wine, and the oil, And ye have been satisfied with it, And I make you no more a reproach among nations,

20 And the northern I put far off from you, And have driven him unto a land dry and desolate, With his face unto the eastern sea, And his rear unto the western sea, And come up hath his stink, And come up doth his stench, For he hath exerted himself to work.

21 Do not fear, O land! joy and rejoice, For Jehovah hath exerted Himself to work.

22 Do not fear, O cattle of the field! For sprung forth have pastures of a wilderness, For the tree hath borne its fruit, Fig-tree and vine have given their strength!

23 And ye sons of Zion, joy and rejoice, In Jehovah your God, For He hath given to you the Teacher for righteousness, And causeth to come down to you a shower, Sprinkling and gathered -- in the beginning.

24 And full have been the floors [with] pure corn, And overflown have the presses [with] new wine and oil.

25 And I have recompensed to you the years That consume did the locust, the cankerworm, And the caterpillar, and the palmer-worm, My great force that I did send against you.

26 And ye have eaten, eating and being satisfied, And have praised the name of Jehovah your God, Who hath dealt with you wonderfully, And not ashamed are My people to the age.

27 And ye have known that in the midst of Israel [am] I, And I [am] Jehovah your God, and there is none else, And not ashamed are My people to the age.

28 And it hath come to pass afterwards, I do pour out My Spirit on all flesh, And prophesied have your sons and your daughters, Your old men do dream dreams, Your young men do see visions.

29 And also on the men-servants, and on the maid-servants, In those days I do pour out My Spirit.

30 And I have given wonders in the heavens, and in the earth, Blood and fire, and columns of smoke.

31 The sun is turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, Before the coming of the day of Jehovah, The great and the fearful.

32 And it hath come to pass, Every one who calleth in the name of Jehovah is delivered, For in mount Zion and in Jerusalem there is an escape, As Jehovah hath said, And among the remnants whom Jehovah is calling!

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

The Last Judgement #3

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3. Thus far it has remained unknown that a new earth means a new church on earth, because everyone has understood earth in the Word as meaning the earth, when it really means the church. In the natural sense earth is the earth, but in the spiritual sense the church. The reason is that those who grasp the spiritual sense, those, that is, who are spiritual like the angels, do not understand the actual earth when earth is mentioned in the Word, but the people on it, and their worship of God. That is why earth means the church. Proof of this is to be found in ARCANA CAELESTIA; see below. 1 I should like to quote one or two passages from the Word, which allow one to grasp to some extent that earth means the church:

The flood-gates on high have been opened, and the foundations of the earth have been shaken. The earth was utterly shattered, the earth quaked exceedingly. The earth reels to and fro like a drunken man; it sways like a hut; and its transgression weighs heavy on it. Isaiah 24:18-20.

I will make mankind scarcer than pure gold. Therefore I shall shake the heaven, and the earth will be shaken from its place on the day when Jehovah's anger is kindled. Isaiah 13:12-13.

The earth quaked before Him; the heavens trembled, the sun and the moon were darkened, and the stars withdrew their shining. Joel 2:10.

The earth was shaken and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains trembled and were shaken. Psalms 18:7-8.

There are very many other such passages.

Footnotes:

1. Earth in the Word means the Lord's kingdom and the church: (662, 1066, 1067, 1262, 1413, 1607, 2928, 3355, 4447, 4535, 5577, 8011, 9325, 9643). In particular, because earth means the land of Canaan and from the earliest times the church was there, this too is why heaven is called the heavenly Canaan (567, 3686, 4447, 4454, 4516, 4517, 5136, 6516, 9325, 9327). Also because earth in the spiritual sense means the people on it and their worship (1262). As a result earth means a number of things connected with the church (620, 636, 1066, 2571, 3368, 3379, 3404, 8732). The people of the earth means those who belong to the spiritual church (2928). An earthquake is a change in the condition of the church (3355). A New heaven and a new earth means a new church (1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 3355, 4535, 10373). The Most Ancient church, which existed before the flood, and the Ancient church which followed the flood, were in the land of Canaan (567, 3686, 4447, 4454, 4516, 4517, 5136, 6516, 9327). At that time all the places there became representative of things in the Lord's kingdom and in the church (1585, 3686, 4447, 5136). Abraham was therefore ordered to go there, since a representative church was to be set up among his descendants starting from Jacob, and among them the Word was to be written; the last sense of this was to be composed of the things there which represented and stood for spiritual ideas (3686, 4447, 5176, 6516). Thus it is that earth and the land of Canaan mean the church (3038, 3481, 3705, 4447, 4517, 5757, 10568).

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