New Christian Bible Study

From Swedenborg's Works

 

The Inner Meaning of the Prophets and Psalms #0

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Table of Subjects 1

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1. The Lord's advent.

2. The successive vastation of the church.

3. The church totally devastated, and its rejection.

4. The rejection of the Lord by the church.

5. Temptations of the Lord in general.

6. Temptation even to despair.

7. The combats of the Lord with the hells.

8. Victory over them, or their subjugation.

9. The passion of the cross.

10. The glorification of the Human of the Lord, or its union with the Divine.

11. A new church in place of the former.

12. A new church together with a new heaven.

13. The state of humiliation before the Father.

14. 2

15. A last judgment by the Lord.

16. Celebration and worship of the Lord.

17. Redemption and salvation by the Lord.

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Editor's Introduction: In this work, Emanuel Swedenborg outlined the internal meaning of all the Prophetical Books, from Isaiah to Malachi, and the Psalms, and then the first 16 chapters of Genesis. It provides a survey of the inner meaning of a substantial portion of the Old Testament, in one place.

This work was written by Swedenborg in Latin, in 1761. It was translated from Latin into English by Rev. J. E. Schreck, and this translation was published by the Swedenborg Foundation, in New York, in 1900. This modified version of Schreck's 1900 translation does not update the text; instead just modifying numbering and formatting for clarity of use online.

Each chapter of each book of the Prophets has one corresponding numbered section in Swedenborg's explanation of its inner meaning, or internal sense. Swedenborg listed the verses that relate to each outlined point. We have added hyperlinks to the verse references, shown to the left of each outlined point. The Psalms and initial chapters of Genesis are treated in a similar fashion.

This work was not published by Swedenborg, but it is consistent with other more detailed treatments made in his published works. For example, Swedenborg refers to this work in Doctrine of the Lord 37.

Readers may also find these comparisons useful:

- No. 124 of this work, explaining Ezekiel 1, with The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem Regarding the Sacred Scripture 97,

- Nos. 161, 162, explaining Ezekiel 38, and 39, with Apocalypse Revealed 859,

- No. 236, explaining Zechariah 4, with Apocalypse Revealed 43, and

- Nos. 244-246 of this work, explaining Zechariah 12, 13, 14, with Apocalypse Revealed 707.

In the manuscript, at the beginning, Swedenborg wrote out a list of works that he intended to write and publish. While it's clearly related to the project of outlining the internal meaning of the Prophets, Psalms, and historical parts of the Word, it seems to be an independent list. We reproduce Rev. Schreck's translation of that list here:

"To Be Published:

1. Concerning the Lord.

2. Concerning the Sacred Scripture or concerning the Word of the Lord.

3. All things of religion and of the worship of God in one complex in the Decalogue.

4. Concerning Faith.

5. Angelic wisdom concerning the Divine Providence.

6. Angelic wisdom concerning the Divine omnipotence and omniscience, and concerning infinity and eternity.

7. Angelic wisdom concerning life.

8. Angelic wisdom concerning the Divine love and Divine wisdom."

Footnotes:

1. In the original Latin manuscript, Swedenborg cross-referred the outlined internal sense to a more general Table of Subjects, shown above. In the following passages, those references are shown in parentheses, e.g. (3) would refer to subject number 3 above. We received the Latin text for this "front matter" from the Heavenly Doctrines Publishing Foundation.

2. Editor's Note (Schreck): No. 14 is crossed out by Swedenborg in his MS., and is never referred to in the text. It reads, "The state of unition with His Divine," which is the same as No. 10.

Doctrine of the Lord 3 for an outline of a similar set of themes that form the internal sense of the prophetical books.

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

The Bible

 

Ezekiel 1

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1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.

2 In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin's captivity,

3 The word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was there upon him.

4 And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire.

5 Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.

6 And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings.

7 And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass.

8 And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings.

9 Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.

10 As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.

11 Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies.

12 And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went.

13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning.

14 And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.

15 Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces.

16 The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.

17 When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went.

18 As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about them four.

19 And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.

20 Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.

21 When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.

22 And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature was as the colour of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above.

23 And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other: every one had two, which covered on this side, and every one had two, which covered on that side, their bodies.

24 And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of an host: when they stood, they let down their wings.

25 And there was a voice from the firmament that was over their heads, when they stood, and had let down their wings.

26 And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.

27 And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.

28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.

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