<< Ezekiel XXXIX >>

PARABLES: INVITATION TO THE GREAT SACRIFICE

1 And thou, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal:
 2 and I will turn thee about, and will lead thee on, and will cause thee to come up from the uttermost parts of the north; and I will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel;
 3 and I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
 4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy hordes, and the peoples that are with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
 5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field; for I have spoken it, saith the Lord Jehovah.
 6 And I will send a fire on Magog, and on them that dwell securely in the isles; and they shall know that I am Jehovah.
 7 And my holy name will I make known in the midst of my people Israel; neither will I suffer my holy name to be profaned any more: and the nations shall know that I am Jehovah, the Holy One in Israel.
 8 Behold, it cometh, and it shall be done, saith the Lord Jehovah; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
 9 And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall make fires of the weapons and burn them, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall make fires of them seven years;
 10 so that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall make fires of the weapons; and they shall plunder those that plundered them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord Jehovah.
 11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place for burial in Israel, the valley of them that pass through on the east of the sea; and it shall stop them that pass through: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude; and they shall call it The valley of Hamon-gog.
 12 And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying them, that they may cleanse the land.
 13 Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown in the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord Jehovah.
 14 And they shall set apart men of continual employment, that shall pass through the land, and, with them that pass through, those that bury them that remain upon the face of the land, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search.
 15 And they that pass through the land shall pass through; and when any seeth a man's bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamon-gog.
 16 And Hamonah shall also be the name of a city. Thus shall they cleanse the land.
 17 And thou, son of man, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Speak unto the birds of every sort, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh and drink blood.
 18 Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.
 19 And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.

 20 And ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord Jehovah.
 21 And I will set my glory among the nations; and all the nations shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.
 22 So the house of Israel shall know that I am Jehovah their God, from that day and forward.
 23 And the nations shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they trespassed against me, and I hid my face from them: so I gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and they fell all of them by the sword.
 24 According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions did I unto them; and I hid my face from them.
 25 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Now will I bring back the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for my holy name.
 26 And they shall bear their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they shall dwell securely in their land, and none shall make them afraid;
 27 when I have brought them back from the peoples, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations.
 28 And they shall know that I am Jehovah their God, in that I caused them to go into captivity among the nations, and have gathered them unto their own land; and I will leave none of them any more there;
 29 neither will I hide my face any more from them; for I have poured out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord Jehovah.

1 And thou, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal:

1-6. Those who are in the mere sense of the letter and in external worship will come into the church, but will perish. These are meant by Gog. P. P.
1-16. See Chapter XXXVIII., 1-23. R. 859.
1-29. This chapter treats of those who are in the sense of the letter of the Word alone, and in external worship, that they will come into the church, which is Gog, but that they will perish. This will be done when the Lord comes, and institutes a church. R. 859.
1, 2, 4. See Chapter XXXVIII., 2, 6, 8. A. 1151.
1, 2, 4, 5. See Chapter XXXVIII., I4-16,  A. 3708.
1, 17. See Chapter XXXII., 2, 18. L. 28.

2 and I will turn thee about, and will lead thee on, and will cause thee to come up from the uttermost parts of the north; and I will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel;
3 and I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy hordes, and the peoples that are with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field; for I have spoken it, saith the Lord Jehovah.

2. Here six, and to reduce to a sixth, stand for dispersion, the north for falsities, Gog for those who derive matters of doctrine from things external, whereby they destroy internal worship. A. 737.
    Signifies that with Gog every tru th of good in the Word was entirely destroyed. R. 610.
2, 16-29. See Chapter XXXVIII., 8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16, add: There will be then a new church from the Lord. R. 862.
40 See Chapter XXIX., 5. A. 778.
    See Chapter XXIX., $. A. 988.
    See Chapter XXIX., 5. R. 567.
    This is spoken concerning Gog by whom is signified external worship separate from internal, which in itself is no worship, being the worship of the natural man separate from the spiritual. Falling upon the mountains of Israel means their having nothing of the good of charity. To fall upon them signifies to perish. E. 388.
    See Chapter XXIX., 5. E. 650·
    See Chapter LXIX., 5. E. 1100.

6 And I will send a fire on Magog, and on them that dwell securely in the isles; and they shall know that I am Jehovah.

6. See Chapter XXXVIII., 22. R. 863.
Islands signify the falsities opposed to the truths, which are in the natural man. E. 406.

7 And my holy name will I make known in the midst of my people Israel; neither will I suffer my holy name to be profaned any more: and the nations shall know that I am Jehovah, the Holy One in Israel.

7. The Holy One of Israel is the Lord. A. 3305.
The Holy One of Israel is the Lord as to the Divine Human. A. 7091 .
    Because the Lord alone is holy, therefore He is called in the Old Testament the Holy One of Israel. A. 9229
    That it is the Lord from Whom is all the holy, and that He is the very holy of holies, therefore also He is called the Holy One of Israel. A. 9680.
7, 8. This will take place when the Lord comes and establishes the church. P. P.

8 Behold, it cometh, and it shall be done, saith the Lord Jehovah; this is the day whereof I have spoken.

8, 9. A bow signifies the doctrine of truth combating against falsities, and in the opposite sense falsity combating against truth. War in the Word signifies spiritual war, therefore the arms of war, as the sword, the spear, the shield, the buckler, the bow, the arrows, signify such things as belong to war. R. 299.
    Gog is treated of, meaning those who are in external worship and in no internal. These as they are opposed to the spiritual affection of tru th, which is to love truths for their own sake, are thence in falsities of doctrine, and evils of life. The inhabitants of the cities of Israel are those who are in the affection of truth from good, which is spiritual. E. 357.
8, 11, 22. By day and by time is meant the coming of the Lord. L.4.

9 And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall make fires of the weapons and burn them, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall make fires of them seven years;
10 so that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall make fires of the weapons; and they shall plunder those that plundered them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord Jehovah.

9. The arms here mentioned are all arms of spiritual war, the bows with arrows stand for doctrine and its truth. In the other life, truths themselves also, separate from good, appear like arrows. A. 2686.
See Chapter XXIII., 24. R. 436.
9, 10. Thus is described the consuming and devouring of good and truth by lusts. They who dwell in the cities of Israel are the goods of the doctrine of the church, and in the opposite sense those goods turned into evils and falsities. The shield, buckler, and arrows are truths of doctrine drawn from the Word, by which is protection from falsities of evil. A. 9141.
    This church will then disperse all the evils and falsities of such. P. P.
9-12. The subject is the destruction of falsity. The weapons which are enumerated are falsities by which the evil fight against truths. To kindle fire seven years signifies entire destruction by the lusts of the loves of self and of the world. No wood out of the field, nor cut down any out of the forests means until nothing of good remains. A. 9228.
Profanation is here described. Seven involves holiness or profanation. it signifies all and full. R. 10.
    The desolation of all things in the church is treated of. Dwelling in the cities of Israel signify all the goods derived from truths, to set on fire and burn means to consume by evils. The weapons mentioned stand for all things pertaining to doctrine. To burn with fire seven years means to consume them all and fully by evils. Gog stands for those in external worship without internal. To bury them and cleanse the land means to destroy them all, and completely to purge the church of them. E. 257.

11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place for burial in Israel, the valley of them that pass through on the east of the sea; and it shall stop them that pass through: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude; and they shall call it The valley of Hamon-gog.

11-13. The land means the church, because the land of Canaan represented the Lord's kingdom, and thus the church, for the Lord's kingdom on earth is the church. Gog external worship separate from internal. A. 2928.
    They will bury Gog, in the day that I shall be glorified.
    Gog those who are in external worship with nothing internal. D. P., Page 28.
11-16. And will wholly destroy them. P. P.
11, 15. A valley stands for worship in externals. A. 1292.
    Gog standing for those who are in external worship without internal, whence his burial place is called a valley. A. 4715.

12 And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying them, that they may cleanse the land.
13 Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown in the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord Jehovah.
14 And they shall set apart men of continual employment, that shall pass through the land, and, with them that pass through, those that bury them that remain upon the face of the land, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search.

12. See Chapter XXIV., 13. A. 10296.
12, 14. Seven here stands for the last limit of vastation, and the first of visitation. A. 728.

15 And they that pass through the land shall pass through; and when any seeth a man's bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamon-gog.
16 And Hamonah shall also be the name of a city. Thus shall they cleanse the land.

15, 16. By Gog and Magog are also signified in the Hebrew language a roof and a floor which are external.
    Because their number is so vast, the valley of their burial is called the multitudes of Gog, and the names of the city where they are: Multitude (Hamonah). R. 860.

17 And thou, son of man, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Speak unto the birds of every sort, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh and drink blood.

17. Every creature signifies what is reformed and regenerated. E. 342.
17-19. Flesh here does not mean flesh, but goods of
every kind. E. 1082.
17-20. Falsity which results from man's intellectual proprium, in the internal sense is blood, and the evil thence resulting is flesh. Consequently by flesh in general is meant every man. A. 3813
17-21. The subject here is the calling together of all to the Lord's kingdom, and in particular the establishment of the church among the Gentiles. By eating flesh and drinking blood is signified appropriating to themselves Divine good and Divine truth, thus the holy which preceeds from the Lord's Divine Human. A. 4735.
The Lord's flesh is the Divine good of His Divine love, and His blood is the Divine truth proceeding from His Divine good. These are what nourish the spiritual life of man. A. 9127.
    Blood signifies Divine truth, princes primary truths, a sacri fice those things which are of worship, a horse the intellectual of truth, a chariot doctrine, and a man of war truth cornbating against falsity. A. 9393.
    See paragraph A. 4735, Chapter XXXIX., 17, 21, repeated. N. 222.
    The spiritual sense teaches that by eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the sacrifice which the Lord Jehovah will make upon the mountains of Israel, is signified to appropriate Divine good and Divine truth from the Word. S. IS.
    The Lord's church is treated of, which He was to establish with the Gentiles. Blood signifies the"Divine truth, and in the opposite sense the Divine truth of the Word falsified and profaned. R. 379.
    See Chapter XXIX., 5. R. 567.
    The good of the church from the Lord through the Word is signified by flesh, and the truth of the church by blood. R. 832.
    Treats of the church which the Lord was about to establish among the nations. T. 706.
    The subject is the restoration of the church. By Israel and Jacob are understood all who are of the church. By a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel all things belonging to worship, by flesh and by fat the good of love, by blood truth derived from that good. E. 329.
    Spoken of the church to be established by the Lord among the Gentiles. By feathered fowl, and beast of the field, invited to assemble, and come to the sacrifice, are signified all who are in the affection of truth and good. By the flesh which they shall eat is signified the good of love, and by the blood which they shall drink, the truth from that good. E. 388.
    The calling of all to the kingdom of the Lord, and especially the establishment of the church with the Gentiles or nations. By the mighty, or oxen, are signified the affections of good, by the princes the affections of truth, by the eating of fat to satiety, and drinking blood to drunkenness the full fruition of good and truth. Being filled at the table of the Lord. By horse is signified the understanding of the Word, by chariot doctrine from the Word, by the mighty and men of war, good and truth combating with evil and falsity, and destroying them. E. 617.
    The calling of the Gentiles or nations to the church, and the reception by them of the tru th of doctrine in the good of love, which is the good of life; and of their intelligence thence in spiritual things. By rams, lambs, kids, heifers, fatlings of Bashan, are signified all things belonging to innocence, love, charity, and good. Fatlings from Bashan stand for the goods of the natural man from spiritual origin. E. 650.
    The states of the church are described by beasts in the Word. Coro. 3.
    The new church that will be established by the Lord will be instructed in truths and goods of every kind. P. P.
17-22. What is signified by blood, the princes, fat, etc. cannot be known, except by means of the spiritual sense. Blood is Divine truth, princes of the earth the primary truths of the church, fat Divine good, horses the internal sense of the Word, and chariots the doctrine therefrom. A. 10033.
    When interior things were opened, then to those who were in them, that is in faith and love to the Lord, would be appropriated Divine truth, and Divine good. This was affected among the nations when the Lord came into the world. A. 10033.
Of the great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, so the house of Israel shall know that I am their God from that day and forward. D. P., Page 28.
17, 20, 21. Horse signifies the understanding of truth in the church, and chariot doctrine thence derived. W.H.A.
    A horse signifies the understanding of the Word. R.298.
    The calling of all to the kingdom of the Lord, and specifically the restoration of the church with the nations or Gentiles. The spiritual captivity in which the nations were is here treated of, and also their liberation from it. The sacrifice means all worship of the Lord. E. 355.
17, 21. See Chapter XXXVIII., 20. R. 757.
    The establishment of the church among the nations or Gentiles is here described, and the invitation and convocation thereto. The bird of every wing, and every wild beast of the field mean all who are in the affection for good, and in the understanding of truth. E. 1100.

18 Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan.

18. By calves and bullocks are understood general goods corresponding to general truths. A. 9391 .

19 And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.

19. In the feast which Jehovah will make, they shall eat fat to satiety, and shall drink blood to drunkenness. Fat things are the affections of good. R. 782.
By fat is here signified all good of heaven and the church, and by blood all the truth thereof. E. 1159.

20 And ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord Jehovah.

20. The coming of the Lord is treated of horses and chariots are the intellectuals and doctrinals of good and truth. A. 5321.
    A chariot signifies doctrine. R. 437.

21 And I will set my glory among the nations; and all the nations shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.
22 So the house of Israel shall know that I am Jehovah their God, from that day and forward.

21-29. See Chapter XXXIV., 11-16. E.433.

23 And the nations shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they trespassed against me, and I hid my face from them: so I gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and they fell all of them by the sword.
24 According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions did I unto them; and I hid my face from them.

23. It is said that Jehovah, that is the Lord, hides His face. It means leaving man in his proprium, and in the evils and falsities which flow from it, for man viewed in himself is nothing but what is evil and false, and is withheld by the Lord. E·4I 2 .
23, 24. The Lord is never angry, and never turns away or hides His face, but it is so said from the appearance with the man who is in evil, for that man turns himself away, and hides from himself the Lord's face, that is, removes the Divine mercy from himself. A. 5585.
    And the former church will be destroyed because of evils and falsities. P. P.
23, 27, 28. See Chapter V., 10, 12, 15. A. 7051.
23, 28, 29. See Chapter VII., 22. R. 939·

25 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Now will I bring back the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for my holy name.

25. Being zealous means having mercy. A. 8875. Zeal in the Lord is not wrath, it only appears in externals as if it were, interiorly it is love. R. 216.

26 And they shall bear their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they shall dwell securely in their land, and none shall make them afraid;
27 when I have brought them back from the peoples, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations.
28 And they shall know that I am Jehovah their God, in that I caused them to go into captivity among the nations, and have gathered them unto their own land; and I will leave none of them any more there;
29 neither will I hide my face any more from them; for I have poured out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord Jehovah.

26-29. The Lord will then gather together a church from all nations. P. P.
28, 29. The Lord never withdraws or hides His Divine good and Divine truth, which are signified by His face, for He is Divine love itself, and mercy itself, and desires the salvation of all. He is therefore present with all, and with everyone, even with those who are iniquities and sins. E. 4 1 2 .
29. See Chapter XXXVII., 14. A. 9818.
    Said concerning Israel, by whom is signified the church. E. 329.

Author: Emanuel Swedenborg (Compiled by Robert S. Fischer 1925)