|
1 And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, what is the vine-tree more than any tree, the vine-branch which is among the trees of the forest?
3 Shall wood be taken thereof to make any work? or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon?
1-3. There is no longer any spiritual good. P. P
2. The prophet Ezekiel was called son of man. L. 28.
3. By nail or pin on which anything is hung are signified things which conjoin and strengthen. When used in regard to idols they mean doctrines of falsity, because from self-intelligence. A. 9777.
4 Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire hath devoured both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned: is it profitable for any work?
5 Behold, when it was whole, it was meet for no work: how much less, when the fire hath devoured it, and it is burned, shall it yet be meet for any work!
6 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: As the vine-tree among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
4, 5. No spiritual good, since that good has been utterly destroyed by evil love. P. P.
4, 6-8. Fire, which in its origin is Divine love, when it descends out of heaven and is received by the evil, becomes a consuming fire, therefore such fire in the Word is predicated of Jehovah. Infernal fire is from no other source than the change of the Divine love into evil loves, and into direful lusts of injuring, and of doing evil. E. 504.
6. Such are those who are in the church. P. P.
6-8. See Chapter IV., 1-17. L. 64.
See Whole Chapter IV. R. 350 .
See Whole Chapter IV. R. 880.
See Chapter IV., 1-17. B. 100.
See Chapter IV., 1-17. T. 782.
7 And I will set my face against them; they shall go forth from the fire, but the fire shall devour them; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah, when I set my face against them.
8 And I will make the land desolate, because they have committed a trespass, saith the Lord Jehovah.
7. See Chapter XIV., 7, 8. R. 939.
See Chapter XIV., 7,8. E.412 .
7, 8. From evil love they will perish, and thus they will have no church. P. P.
8. I will make the earth a devastation (the land desolate) because they have committed prevarication (trespass). This is similar to what the Lord foretold in Matthew XXIV., 29, concerning the consummation of the present Christian church. Coro. 59.
Author: Emanuel Swedenborg (Compiled by Robert S. Fischer 1925)
|
