127. Internal Meaning of Ezekiel, Chapter 4
Representation of the perverted church in the church. (2)
1-2 He should represent the falsities of the church, and the church besieged by them. (2)
3 He should represent the hardness of their heart, from which it is that they have no fear; (2)
4-8 he should also represent the church besieged by falsities of evil and evils of falsity. (2)
9-16 He should represent the falsification and adulteration of the sense of the letter of the Word, (2)
1
Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and pourtray upon it the city, even Jerusalem:
2
And lay siege against it, and build a fort against it, and cast a mount against it; set the camp also against it, and set battering rams against it round about.
3
Moreover take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face against it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.
4
Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity.
5
For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.
6
And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year.
7
Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of Jerusalem, and thine arm shall be uncovered, and thou shalt prophesy against it.
8
And, behold, I will lay bands upon thee, and thou shalt not turn thee from one side to another, till thou hast ended the days of thy siege.
9
Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof, according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof.
10
And thy meat which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day: from time to time shalt thou eat it.
11
Thou shalt drink also water by measure, the sixth part of an hin: from time to time shalt thou drink.
12
And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight.
13
And the LORD said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them.
14
Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! behold, my soul hath not been polluted: for from my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth.
15
Then he said unto me, Lo, I have given thee cow's dung for man's dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread therewith.
16
Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, behold, I will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat bread by weight, and with care; and they shall drink water by measure, and with astonishment:
17
That they may want bread and water, and be astonied one with another, and consume away for their iniquity.
782. 1 The reason why the new church is meant by the New Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven (Revelation 21), is that Jerusalem was the capital city in the land of Canaan. It was there that the temple was and the altar where sacrifices were made, and so the Divine worship to which three times a year every male in the whole land was commanded to come. It was also because Jerusalem is where the Lord was, and taught in its temple; and He afterwards there glorified His Human. These are the reasons why Jerusalem means the church. It is perfectly plain that Jerusalem means the church from the prophecies in the Old Testament about the new church to be founded by the Lord, since it is there called Jerusalem.
[2] It is only necessary to quote the passages themselves, for anyone possessed of inward reason to be able to see, that Jerusalem there means the church. Let the following passages suffice:
Behold, I create a new heaven and a new earth; the former ones will not be remembered. Look, I shall make Jerusalem an exultation, and its people happiness, so that I may exult over Jerusalem and rejoice over my people. Then the wolf and the lamb will feed together. They will do no harm in all the mountain of my holiness, Isaiah 65:17-19, 25.
For Zion's sake I will not be silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her righteousness goes forth like a beam of light, and her salvation burns like a lamp. Then the nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory. And you will be called by a new name, which the mouth of Jehovah will utter, and you will be a crown of beauty [in the hand of Jehovah] 2 and a diadem of kingship in the hand of your God. Jehovah will be pleased in you, and your land will be married. Behold, your salvation will come, behold, His reward is with Him. And they will call them the people of holiness, the redeemed of Jehovah. And you will be called a city sought after, not abandoned, Isaiah 62:1-4, 11-12.
[3] Awake, awake, Zion, put on your strength. Put on the clothes of your beauty, Jerusalem, city of holiness; for no more will the uncircumcised and the unclean come into you. Shake off the dust, arise and take your seat, Jerusalem. The people will know my name on that day, for I am he that speaks, here I am. Jehovah has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem, Isaiah 52:1-2, 6, 9.
Shout for joy, daughter of Zion, rejoice with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem. The king of Israel is in your midst. Fear evil no longer. He will rejoice over you with joy; he will be satisfied in his 3 love, he will exult over you with a shout of joy. I will make you a name and the object of praise to all the peoples of the earth, Zephaniah 3:14-17, 20.
Thus spoke Jehovah your Redeemer, telling Jerusalem, You will be dwelt in, Isaiah 44:24, 26.
Thus spoke Jehovah, I will return to Zion and dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Therefore Jerusalem will be called the city of truth, and the mountain of Jehovah Zebaoth the mountain of holiness, Zechariah 8:3, 20-23.
Then you will know that I am Jehovah your God, who dwell in Zion, the mountain of holiness; and Jerusalem will be holiness. And it will happen on that day that the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will flow with milk. And Jerusalem will stay fixed from one generation to another, Joel 3:17-21.
[4] On that day the shoot of Jehovah will be an adornment and a glory; and it will come about that the one who is left in Zion, the one who remains in Jerusalem, will be called holy, everyone enrolled with a view to life in Jerusalem, Isaiah 4:2-3.
At the end of days the mountain of Jehovah's house will be established on the head of mountains; for from Zion will come forth teaching, and the Word of Jehovah from Jerusalem, Micah 4:1-2, 8.
At that time they will call Jerusalem Jehovah's throne, and all nations will be gathered to Jerusalem for Jehovah's name's sake, and they will no longer follow the prompting of their evil hearts, Jeremiah 3:17.
Look to Zion, the city of our appointed feast, let you eyes behold Jerusalem, a tranquil dwelling, a tent which will not be blown away. Its pegs will never be removed, and its ropes will not be pulled up, Isaiah 33:20.
There are further passages such as Isaiah 24:23; 37:32; 66:10-14; Zechariah 12:3, 6-10; 14:8, 11-12, 21; Malachi 3:4; Psalms 122:1-7; 137:4-6.
[5] It is obvious from the details of the description of Jerusalem in the passages quoted that it means there the church to be founded by the Lord, and not the Jerusalem where the Jews lived. For instance, it is said Jehovah will create a new heaven and a new earth, and also at that time Jerusalem; that it will be a crown of beauty and a diadem of kingship; that it is to be called holiness and a city of truth, Jehovah's throne, a tranquil dwelling, a tent which will not be blown away. It is said that the wolf and the lamb will feed together there; that there the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills flow with milk, and it will stay fixed for one generation after another; and much more besides. It is also said of its people that they are holy, everyone enrolled with a view to life, and they are to be called Jehovah's redeemed. Moreover, all those passages deal with the Lord's coming, especially His second coming, when there will be a Jerusalem such as is there described; for it has not previously been married, that is, made the bride and wife of the Lamb, as the New Jerusalem is described in Revelation.
[6] The earlier, that is, the present-day church, is meant by Jerusalem in Daniel, and its beginnings are there described as follows:
Know and perceive, from the time the word went forth to restore and build Jerusalem, until the coming of the Messiah, the prince, will be seven weeks. Afterwards for sixty-two weeks the street and the moat will be restored and built, but at a time of distress, Daniel 9:25.
Its end is there described as follows:
At last upon the bird of abominations desolation, and it will drip upon devastation up to the point of ending and cutting off, Daniel 9:27.
It is this last passage which is meant by the Lord's words in Matthew:
When you see the abomination of desolation, foretold by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place - let him who reads take due note, Matthew 24:15.
It can be established that Jerusalem in the passages quoted above does not mean the Jerusalem inhabited by the Jews, from the passages in the Word which say that it has been utterly lost and is to be destroyed; for instance, Jeremiah 5:1; 6:6-7; 7:17ff; Jeremiah 8:6ff; Jeremiah 9:11-12, 14ff; Jeremiah 13:9-10, 14; 14:16; Lamentations 1:8-9, 17; Ezekiel 4:1 - end; Ezekiel 5:9- end; Ezekiel 12:18-19; 15:6-8; 16:1-63; 23; Matthew 23:37-38; Luke 19:41-44; 21:20-22; 23:28-30; and in many other passages. There are also passages where it is called Sodom: Isaiah 3:9; Jeremiah 23:14; Ezekiel 16:46, 48; and elsewhere.
Footnotes:
1. This section and 783 are repeated from Brief Exposition 100-101.
2. These words are missing from the printed text, but are added in the Author's copy.
3. The Latin has 'in your love', but this is corrected in the Author's copy.
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