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Zephaniah 1:1-3
"The word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah the son
of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of
Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah. ‘I
will utterly consume everything from the face of the land,’ says the
Lord; ‘I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of the
heavens, the fish of the sea, and the stumbling blocks along with the
wicked. I will cut off man from the face of the land,’ says the Lord."
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Passages From The Writings
Prophets and Psalms (P&P)
- "All knowledge (cognitio) and understanding of truth will perish."
AC 411
- "That the last time of vastation must exist before a new church can
arise, is frequently declared by the Lord in the Prophets, and is called
‘vastation’ or ‘laying waste,’ in reference to the celestial things of
faith; and ‘desolation,’ in relation to the spiritual things of faith.
It is also spoken of as ‘consummation’ and ‘cutting off.’" Zephaniah
1:1-18 is cited as an example.
Apocalypse Revealed (AR) 290
- "[By]…‘every created thing which is in heaven, and on the earth, and
under the earth, and in the sea,’ are meant angels… Their being called
‘created thing’ is according to the style of the Word, in which, by all
created things, as well those which belong to the animal kingdom as
those which belong to the vegetable kingdom, are signified various
things with man, in general such things as belong to his will or
affection, and such as pertain to his understanding or thought…since the
Word is written by mere correspondences, similar things are said of the
angels of heaven and the men of the church; in proof of which a few
passages…shall be adduced…" Zephaniah 1:2-3 is cited.
AR 567
- "…harmless and useful beasts signify man as to good affections, and
noxious and useless beasts signify man as to his evil affections… The
reason is, because the affections of a man, in the spiritual world,
appear at a distance as beasts…and beasts, considered in themselves, are
nothing but forms of natural affections… That men, as to their
affections, are meant by ‘beasts,’…‘by beasts’ are signified men as to
their affections. By ‘man and beasts’ together is signified man as to
spiritual and natural affection (as in the following passages)…"
Zephaniah 1:2-3 and Zephaniah 2:13-14 are cited.
AE 342 [9]
- "‘Man and beast’ when mentioned together signify the interior and
exterior affections of good…and ‘the fowl of the heavens and the fishes
of the sea’ signify the affections of truth and the thoughts spiritual
and natural, but in the passages here cited, that these are about to
perish." Zephaniah 1:2-3 is cited.
AE 650 [17]
- "In these passages [Zephaniah 1:2-3] ‘man and beast’ signifies what
is interior or spiritual, and ‘beast’ what is exterior or natural; and
therefore ‘man’ signifies the spiritual affection of truth, from which
is all intelligence, and ‘beast’ the natural affection corresponding to
the spiritual. What is exterior or natural is signified by ‘beast,’
because man, in respect to his external or natural man is nothing but a
beast; for he enjoys like desires and also pleasures, appetites and
senses, so that in these respects man is entirely similar to the beast;
therefore the natural man may be called the animal man. But what is
internal or spiritual is signified by ‘man,’ because it is in respect to
his internal or spiritual that man is man…"
AC 776 [4]
- "Here [Zephaniah 1:3] ‘man and beast’ denote the things which are of
love and of good; the ‘fowls of the heaven and the fishes of the sea,’
the things which are of the understanding, thus which are of truth.
These are called ‘stumbling-blocks’ because goods and truths are
stumbling-blocks to the wicked, but not beasts and birds; and they are
also plainly spoken of ‘man’."
AC 991
- "In [Zephaniah 1:3] the ‘fowls of the heavens’ denote things of
reason, and the ‘fishes of the sea’ lower rational things, that is,
man’s thought from sensuous memory-knowledges."
AC 7523 [1&2]
- "…‘beast’ denotes the affection of good, and in the opposite sense
the cupidity of evil… ‘Man and beast’ denote interior and exterior
good…" Zephaniah 1:3 is cited as an example.
AR 405
- "…[in the spiritual world] the affections and the perceptions and
the thoughts of spirits and angels appear at a distance in the forms of
animals or creatures upon the earth, which are called beasts, of
creatures in the air which are called birds, and of creatures in the sea
which are called fishes, therefore in the Word mention is so often made
of ‘beasts,’ ‘birds,’ and ‘fishes,’ by which nothing else is meant…"
Zephaniah 1:3 is cited as an example.
AR 757
- "…by ‘bird’ is signified everything that is of the thought or the
understanding and thence of the design…" Zephaniah 1:3 is listed
among many examples from the Word.
AE 280 [8]
- "In Zephaniah (1:3)…‘To take away man and beast’ means to take away
the spiritual affection of truth; ‘to take away the fowl of the heavens
and the fishes of the sea’ means to take away spiritual truths and
natural truths; and ‘to cut off man from the surfaces of the earth’
means to cut off the affection of truth and wisdom."
AE 513 [8]
- "In Zephaniah (1:3)…‘the beast of the field’ means man’s voluntary
faculty, ‘the fowl of heaven’ his intellectual faculty, and ‘the fish of
the sea’ his knowing faculty…"
AE 1100 [16]
- "In Zephaniah (1:3) ‘To consume man and beast’ signifies to destroy
spiritual and natural affection; ‘to consume the birds of the heavens
and the fishes of the sea’ signifies to destroy the perceptions and
knowledges of truth; and as these signify things pertaining to the
church it is said, ‘I will cut off man from the faces of the land,’
‘man’ signifying everything of the church."
Derived Doctrine
"The word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah…"
- "Coming" denotes communication by influx. (AC 5249)
- AC 5272 teaches that "the Word of the Lord" signifies divine
truth, from which all things, which are things, exist.
- Most importantly, we get the sense that we are being shown that all
that follows in this prophecy is the Lord speaking and not the prophet.
His word is the "all" for our spiritual good and truth.
"…the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of
Amariah, the son of Hezekiah…"
- Four generations are mentioned in this first verse. We need to
reflect on the possible correspondential meaning of Zephaniah’s lineage.
It is necessary for us to consider the meaning of the number four, the
idea of a generation, and the offices (uses) that some of Zephaniah’s
forefathers served. Especially must we note Zephaniah’s connection with
the royal family of king Hezekiah and king Josiah.
- Four signifies union, or disunion in a negative sense, because it is
two pairs. (AC 1686) Four signifies the duration and state of
temptation. (AC 1856) Four signifies what is conjoined to the
full in repayment for an injury or injustice. Four signifies the
restoration of interior good to the full. (AC 9103 [2])
- Generations signify those who are perpetually being regenerated, or
created anew. (AC 1041) Passages in AC 208 and 280 to
285 help us to reflect on the meaning of "fourth posterity." "…the
fourth posterity of the Most Ancient Church [occurred when they allowed]
themselves to be seduced by self-love and were unwilling to believe what
was revealed, unless they saw it confirmed by the things of sense and of
memory-knowledge."
- AC 280-285
gives us the meaning of seven posterities. The fourth
posterity denotes a state where "natural good [begins] to be
dissipated…"
- I cannot find a representation of the name Cushi, nor can I find a
meaning for his name. Is his name a shortening of the name Cushite?
- Gedaliah’s name means "Jehovah is great." Other then this insight,
we have no doctrinal teachings about him.
- Amariah’s name means "Jehovah has spoken." Amariah was a son of
Hezekiah, and he was a subordinate Levite, one of six assistants
appointed to help in the distribution of offerings. (II Chronicles
31:15)
- Hezekiah’s name means "Jehovah is my strength." Hezekiah succeeded
his pagan-minded father, Ahaz, and led his people through some
frightening days when the Assyrians were on a campaign to conquer all
the nations around them. Hezekiah sought to bring the people out of
their pagan worship. He destroyed shrines, high places, pillars, Asherah
images, and any venerated icon he found being worshipped in the kingdom.
- Unfortunately, Manasseh, his son, did not continue with the work of
spiritual cleansing. Instead, Manasseh brought the nation to a low point
of spirituality by rebuilding the "high places," restoring the altars of
Ashtoreth, Chemosh, Milcom, and Baal. Manasseh allowed the worship of
the stars, sun, moon, and astral bodies within the temples. To keep
Assyria from attacking his kingdom, he paid tribute to their deity
Esarhaddon.
- All of this information is useful when we consider Josiah’s reign.
He succeeded Manasseh and sought to restore the worship of the Lord
among the people. Zephaniah was called during this period of
reformation. Josiah’s name means "may Jehovah give."
- Priestly uses represent the Lord as to the Divine good and the work
of salvation. (AR 854) Priests are to teach truth, and so lead to
good, and to the Lord. (AC 10794)
- Kings and rulers signify divine truth and divine good in the Lord
and from Him. (AE 446 [16])
All of these derived doctrines seem to offer us important
clues when we consider the importance and meaning of "four generations" in
this passage. Their names, the successive seed that passed on the
inherited tendencies toward good and evil in their souls, and their uses
testify what tendencies toward good and evil the generations had inherited
and to what state Zephaniah was called to speak the words of the Lord.
Remember that the purpose of derived doctrine is to help
us see the spiritual sense more fully. Without doctrine, the words about
the Lord consuming everything from the face of the earth—men, beasts,
birds, and fish of the sea—seem harsh and vindictive.
Putting It All Together
"All knowledge and understanding of truth will perish."
(P&P) "I will utterly consume everything from the face of the land. I
will consume man and beast…the birds…the fish and the stumbling blocks
along with the wicked. I will cut off man from the face of the land, says
the Lord."
Taken at face value, these are chilling words. How could
Zephaniah’s listeners ignore or brush off the Lord’s promise to "utterly
consume" and "cut off man from the face of the earth"?
The direct teachings of doctrine indicate such things were
to happen within the hearts and minds of the people of Judah. "Vastations
must exist before a new church can arise…" (AC 411)
There were 20 kings of Judah prior to the great exiles. Of
those 20, 12 were bad kings and 8 were good kings. Manasseh, a bad king,
ruled 55 years. During that reign, he allowed serious spiritual disorders
to exist and thrive in the kingdom. His evil leadership provided the means
and example for the people to move away from the Lord. So the minds and
hearts of the people were in great errors, evils, and sins. In the words
of our text, their hearts and minds were providing "stumbling blocks"
to all that was holy and good.
The Writings picture the "spawning medium" of hell as a
self-love out of order. If a church is to be saved or preserved, the
stumbling blocks of self-love must be emptied and consumed. AC 5258
expresses what this consuming means: falsities that are not of charity or
of faith must be exterminated. This cleansing occurs in the voluntary
(love), in the intellectual (wisdom), and in the knowing (use) faculties.
Hence we have the representations of the beast, the fowl, and the fish.
Each of these inner vessels required a Divine purging to be saved and to
make room for the new church to rise up.
Read and Review
Read the selection from P&P.
Read Zephaniah 1:1-3.
Questions To Stimulate Reflection
- As you read the literal sense about the utter consummation that the
Lord would bring about, did you sense or anticipate that this was a
spiritual event? Why?
- Can we imagine what it would be like to live under total spiritual
chaos for 55 years? What effect would so many years of worshipping
multiple gods have on us and our children? How would this confuse our
understanding of the true nature of the Lord?
- Spiritual stumbling blocks are something we experience daily. For
example, when we express a doctrinally based personal belief, it is not
always welcomed. An exchange of views on doctrine may bring us into a
"point and counterpoint" argument with someone. Stumbling blocks are
troublesome and hurtful. How can we face them? Can we avoid them? How
can we overcome them without compromising the Lord’s truth? How can we
faithfully present the Lord’s truth with charity and conviction?
- What did you take from the information about the four generations of
Zephaniah? What correspondence was most interesting to you? How did the
representation of generations add to your reflection? Was the
possibility that Zephaniah’s lineage linked him to a royal family of any
significance?
- What do you understand about the concept of vastations? Are
vastations welcome, to a degree, as a necessary event for the New Church
to begin and flourish?
- Please note that the Lord promises to empty the church of falsity.
Doesn’t that promise give us some hope and confidence while we are
waging war against hell?
Zephaniah 1:4-6
"I will stretch out My hand against Judah, and against
all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. I will cut off every trace of Baal
from this place, the names of the idolatrous priests with the pagan
priests – those who worship the host of heaven on the housetops; those
who worship and swear oaths by the Lord, but who also swear by Milcom;
those who have turned back from following the Lord, and have not
sought the Lord, nor inquired of Him."
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Passages From The Writings
P&P
- "The church will perish because it is in mere falsities and evils in
respect to doctrine and in respect to worship."
AE 608 [7]
- "As the ancients were allowed to swear by Jehovah God, it follows
that it was an enormous evil to swear falsely or to swear to a lie, as
is evident from these passages." Zephaniah 1:4-6 is cited.
AC 10184 [3]
- "As a ‘roof’ signified good, therefore the ancients had roofs on
their houses where they walked, and where they worshiped, as can be seen
in…Zephaniah 1:5."
AR 919
- "Since by ‘the sun,’ in the opposite sense, is signified self-love,
and by ‘the moon’ one’s own intelligence and faith from himself,
therefore, it was an abomination to adore the sun, moon, and stars, as
may appear…in Zephaniah 1:5; and that such were stoned."
AE 573 [8]
- "In Zephaniah (1:5)…‘the host of the heavens’ means the sun, moon,
and stars, because these signify all goods and truths in the complex,
but here all evils and falsities in the complex; for the ‘sun’ in the
contrary sense, as here, signifies all the evil flowing from the love of
self, the ‘moon’ the falsity of faith, and the ‘stars’ falsities in
general (that the ‘sun, moon, and stars,’ in the natural world, when
they are worshiped instead of the sun and moon of the angelic heaven,
signify direful evils and falsities….)."
Derived Doctrine
"I will stretch out My hand against Judah…"
- AC 7205 offers us an insight into the meaning of stretching out.
"…from the signification of a ‘stretched out arm,’ as being Divine
power… [That a] ‘stretched out arm’ denotes omnipotence or Divine power,
is because when an arm appears stretched out in the heavens, there is
represented power from the Divine… Hence then it is, that in the Word,
Divine power is very often expressed by a ‘stretched out arm,’ and by a
‘strong hand,’…" AE 684 instructs us that the hand
signifies the omnipotence of truth from good, and the arm
represents the omnipotence of good by truth.
- The Lord opposing or being against Judah seems obvious. Judah was
worshiping idols and other gods, and making unholy pledges. The Lord’s
omnipotence and power would come against such evils and sins.
"…against all of the inhabitants of Jerusalem."
- AE 741 indicates that to "inhabit" signifies those of the church
who are in (or lacking) the good of doctrine, and thence the good of
life. AR 558 says inhabiting signifies those who are principled
in the doctrine of faith alone and thence in the evils of life.
- Jerusalem has a positive and negative correspondence. AC 2909
notes that Jerusalem signifies the Lord’s spiritual church and His
celestial church. AC 2466 [3] notes that in the opposite sense,
Jerusalem represents the church perverted as to truths.
"I will cut off every trace of Baal…the names of
idolatrous priests with the pagan priests…"
- AE 315 [23] explains that to "cut" signifies that divine truth
shall be taken from the people but shall live again in a new church.
AC 9316 explains that to "cut out" signifies that hell is to be
removed solely through the protection of heaven and by the hand of the
Lord.
- Baal signifies worship motivated by the evils of self-love and love
of the world. (AE 160 [2])
- Idolatrous priests represent those who should have known better but
chose to blaspheme and falsify the truths.
- Pagan priests were gentiles. They polluted truth because of their
ignorance. Both idolatrous and pagan forms of worship need to have their
names (essence or qualities) wiped out by the Lord when He establishes
His new church.
"…those who swear by Milcom…"
- Milcom or Malcam is an Ammonite god also called Molech. Scholars
believe that Molech was a pagan deity to whom children were sacrificed
as a means of making the most binding vows or pledges, to emphasis the
sanctity of a vow.
- The literal sense describes the followers of Molech as people who
turn their backs on the Lord. Does the word "traitor" seem to be implied
here?
Putting It All Together
P&P sums up these verses by saying, "The church will
perish because it is in mere falsities and evils in respect to doctrine
and in respect to worship."
The people of Judah were swearing by the name of the Lord
and yet not meaning it. There was a showy appearance (the rooftop walk)
that they were doing the right things. They tried to mix all forms of
faith together to please everyone, to accommodate the preferences for
differing forms of worship. Those who turned away from following the Lord
had "not sought Him nor inquired of Him."
Throughout the Word, the Lord reminds His people to
"choose this day whom you will serve." He asks them how long they will
limp between opinions. He tells us that we cannot serve God and mammon. We
will love one and hate the other.
The Lord said He would stretch out His hand. His divine
omnipotence of truth from good would eradicate the vain promises of Judah.
The twisted doctrines of the Jewish priests and the ignorance of the pagan
priests had to be cut out of the heart and mind of Judah. Cutting it out
seems like an appropriate representation. Like a cancer, self-love has to
be completely removed along with all its extending tentacles. When the
Lord deals with evil and sin, there is no room for a compromise with the
hells. No deals. It has to be done the Lord’s way. He sees and knows the
way of truth—doctrine—and He builds the New Church where open and loving
worship will flow from the heart and mind.
Read and Review
Read the selection from P&P.
Read Zephaniah 1:4-6.
Questions To Stimulate Reflection
- As you read this short section, how did you respond to the imagery
of the Lord’s "stretched arm"? The Divine power of the Lord’s arm and
hand stretching to cover all things gives us a sense of His protective,
controlling power. It is a powerful image to hold onto, especially when
hell tries to convince us the Lord’s arms are too short or small to help
everyone.
- What images are conjured up by the picture of the people of Judea
walking on the housetop swearing vows to the Lord? Why does this seem
representative of what a vain, pompous, spiritually empty person would
be like? Can you think of stories in the Word that show a contrasting
type of person?
- The inhabitants of Judah lapsed into a forgetful spirit; they did
not seek the Lord, nor did they ask about Him. How can we learn from
their mistakes? How can we sincerely "inquire" about the Lord with
interest and care?
- Once again, let’s think about the cutting off or cutting out of dead
falsity within our hearts. How does this "surgery" feel? Painful or
bearable? Is it life saving? How is it accomplished?
- Can you identify with what traitor priests and pagan priests do to
our lives? Any current examples come to mind?
- Have you ever "sworn by the Lord’s name" and not kept the promise?
Can you imagine a situation where someone intentionally "swears to a
lie"?
- Perjury is an action the courts hold to be a heinous crime. Do life
experiences sometimes justify or excuse "white" lies? Why or why not? Is
there a limit after which you won’t tolerate false "swearing"?
Zephaniah 1:7-8
"Be silent in the presence of the Lord God; for the
day of the Lord is at hand, for the Lord has prepared a sacrifice; He
has invited His guests. And it shall be, in the day of the Lord’s
sacrifice, that I will punish the princes and the king’s children, and
all such as are clothed with foreign apparel."
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Passages From The Writings
P&P
- "The Lord will come and gather [men] together to the church."
Doctrine of the Lord 4
- "…I shall in this first chapter merely adduce passages from the Word
which contain the expressions ‘that day,’ ‘in that day,’ and ‘in that
time;’ In…Zephaniah 1:7, 8, 10, 12, 14-16, 18…"
True Christian Religion (TCR) 82
- "See…the places where the Lord’s coming is called ‘the day of
Jehovah’…Zephaniah 1:7-18…"
TCR 688-689
- "…John was the prophet sent to make ready the way of Jehovah God,
who should descend into the world and accomplish redemption…by means
of…baptism…men were introduced into the future church of the Lord, and
in heaven were inserted among those who were there looking for and
longing for the Messiah; and they were thus guarded by angels, that
devils from hell might not break forth and destroy them. Wherefore it is
written in…Zephaniah 1:7-18… From all this it is clear that unless a way
had been made ready for Jehovah…the effect of which in heaven was to
close up the hells and guard the Jews against total destruction [they
would all have perished]."
AR 704
- "That ‘the great day of God Almighty" signifies the coming of the
Lord, and then the New Church, is evident from many passages in the
Word, as from these…Zephaniah 1:7, 14; Zephaniah 2:2, 3 and Zephaniah 3:
11, 16, 19, 20…"
AC 10287 [15]
- "In Zephaniah (1:8)…‘those clothed in the clothing of a foreigner’
denote those who are in falsities; for ‘princes and the king’s sons,’
upon whom was visitation, denote the chief truths, and in the opposite
sense the chief falsities (that princes have this signification, see n.
1482, 2089, 5044; and that ‘kings’ denote truths themselves, and in the
opposite sense falsities themselves…) consequently ‘the king’s sons’
denote that which is derived therefrom."
AR 20
- "He who does not know the spiritual signification of ‘kings and
priests,’ may be hallucinated by many things which are related
concerning them in the prophets…as in these in the prophets…"
Zephaniah 1:8 is one of many passages cited.
AR 166
- "The Jewish church is here described, that to it were given truths,
because it had the Word; but that they falsified them…" Zephaniah 1:8
is one many examples cited.
AE 31 [5]
- "‘Kings’ are also frequently mentioned by the prophets in the Old
Testament; and there likewise are meant those who, from the Lord, are in
truths from good, and in a contrary sense, those who are in falsities
from evil; as in…Zephaniah 1:8…"
AE 195 [12]
- "In Zephaniah (1:8)…‘Princes’ and ‘king’s sons’ signify those who
are in truths, and in the contrary sense, as here, those who are in
falsities; these are said to be ‘clothed with the garment of the alien,’
because ‘garment’ signifies falsity, and ‘alien’ those who are out of
the church and do not acknowledge the truths of the church."
Doctrine of the Lord 14 [4-5]
- The Lord’s advent into the world, and His subsequent victory in the
Word are described as "…they are dismayed, and that their strong ones
being beaten down… His advent into the world for this purpose is meant
by, ‘that day is to the Lord Jehovih Zebaoth a day of vengeance, that He
may take vengeance of His enemies." Zephaniah 1:8, 15-16 are
cited among other verses.
Derived Doctrine
"Be silent in the presence of the Lord God…"
- AC 8176 explains that "silence" signifies an awareness that
nothing can or will be accomplished by one’s own strength. Psalm
46:10 carries this theme: "Be still and know that I am God; I will
be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth." Psalm
4:4 urges us to "Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be
still." "The Lord is in His holy temple; let all the earth keep silence
before Him." (Habakkuk 2:20) "When He opened the seventh seal,
there was silence in heaven for about half an hour." (Revelation 8:1)
- AE 487
explains the meaning of the words in Revelation 8:1:
"When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven…"
This "signifies astonishment that the church is such and that its end is
at hand… [and signifies] the destruction of the church and the damnation
of all in whom there was no church; that is, in whom there was no
conjunction of truth and good or of faith and charity; for this
conjunction makes the church in every one."
"For the Lord has prepared a sacrifice; He has invited His
guests."
- AC 5998 explains that a sacrifice signifies worship from
charity, or from truths which are from good.
- A worthy sacrifice will have a Divine influx that comes from the
Divine Intellectual. Thus, we can see why it is said in our verse that
the Lord has prepared a sacrifice. He gives His people a special
sacrifice of worship from charity and invites guests to His sacrifice.
- AC 4205 (Elliott translation) explains the meaning of "guest"
this way: "…good flows in from the Lord, but does not become fixed
within anything apart from truths, for truths receive good as a guest
since the two are congenial…good flowing in from the Lord is able to be
received as a guest."
"And it shall be."
- The word "Amen" means may it ever be so. Doctrine of Faith 6
explains: "…truth and faith are one word in the Hebrew language, namely
Amuna or Amen." "And it shall be" seems to be an utterance of the word
Amen.
Putting It All Together
"The Lord will come and gather [men] together to the
church." (P&P)
Within your heart and mind, picture Zephaniah speaking
these words to the people of the church: "Be silent in the presence of the
Lord God." In the place of any terror, focus on this calming thought: The
Lord is asking us to be still. For just a moment, put aside all other
plans and worries. Let your soul drink in the message that the Lord is in
charge. His plan, His Providence wants to give us a sacrifice that is full
of holiness and a sense of joyous worship. The Lord wants us to receive an
influx of His Love and Wisdom, so that we recognize that we can welcome
Him in as our desired guest.
There is a required state that we need to create in
ourselves and offer up to the Lord. We need to get rid of the "princes and
the king’s children." We need to throw off such things that are like
"foreign apparel," the pretense, the act of looking good on the outside
with evil and sin underneath.
The words of the Lord, "Be still and know that I am God…"
carry a soothing message that is important to hear in our "as-of-self"
lifestyle. The Lord is in charge, and all will be well with those who
trust in His providential guidance.
His first advent defeated all of the disorder the hells
sought to use against Him. None of their tricks worked. Now we have a
prophetical message that the Lord will "come and gather together the
church." Which church? The New Church. How do we know this? The prophets
repeat this message over and over again. They are wonderful words of life.
They are words to carry in the heart and mind while battling the bullies
of hell. They are words worth repeating often.
Let us prayerfully recite these quotes from the Word:
- "Be silent in the presence of the Lord God."
- "The Lord is in His holy temple; let all the earth keep silence
before Him."
- "Be still and know that I am God."
- "Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still."
Read and Review
Read the selection from P&P.
Read Zephaniah 1:7-8.
Questions To Stimulate Reflection
- Are you a calm soul, or are you a hard-driven, schedule-minded soul?
Do you recognize that you need some moments of silence to hear the Lord?
What can you do to find the time for spiritual silence? Can you spare
five minutes each day?
- What would you describe as foreign or alien clothes one puts over
the mind?
- Are you aware that all of the prophets are messengers of the New
Church? Why is this important?
- The "day of the Lord is at hand." The Lord has prepared a sacrifice,
and He is going to invite His guests. What application can be made of
this in our day? Are we on the guest list? Are those outside of the New
Church on the guest list? What might the "sacrifice" be?
- Please share in the discussion other questions you have thought
about while reading this portion of the chapter.
Zephaniah 1:9-11
"In the same day I will punish all those who leap over
the threshold, who fill their masters’ houses with violence and
deceit. And there shall be on that day, says the Lord, the sound of a
mournful cry from the Fish Gate, a wailing from the Second Quarter,
and a loud crashing from the hills. Wail, you inhabitants of Maktesh!
For all the merchant people are cut down; all those who handle money
are cut off."
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Passages From The Writings
P&P
- "Then those who have adulterated the truths of the Word will perish,
and are to be cast into hell."
AR 624
- "…by ‘deceit’ is signified speech, preaching, and doctrine…and by
‘deceit’ is signified persuasion to evil by falsity, properly from
cunning and design; for he who persuades to anything from cunning or
deceit also persuades from design; for cunning or deceit proposes
something to itself, conceals its purpose, and does it when opportunity
offers …" Zephaniah 1:9 is cited among many other references.
AE 866 [3-4]
- "…‘deceit signifies falsity that is not from ignorance of truth, but
from deliberation, thus from the purpose of deceiving…‘violence and
blood’ signify perversion of truth and falsification of the Word…"
Zephaniah 1:9 is cited as an example.
AC 375
- "A ‘voice crying,’ and the ‘voice of a cry,’ are common forms of
expression in the Word, and are applied to every case where there is
noise, tumult, or disturbance, and also on the occasion of any happy
event… In the present passage it denotes accusation." Zephaniah
1:9-10 is cited as one of many examples.
AC 2240 [3]
- "In Zephaniah (1:10, 13) where…a ‘cry’ is predicated of the
falsities which lay waste."
AR 885
- "That ‘crying,’ in the Word, is said of grief and fear of falsities
from hell, and thence of devastation by them, appears from the following
passages…" Zephaniah 1:10, 13 are cited as examples.
Derived Doctrine
"In the same day I will punish all those who leap over the
threshold…"
- The words "in the same day remind us that on the same day that He
invites guests to the special holy sacrifice, He will deal with those
not invited. The uninvited are those who chose to ignore the Lord’s
invitation. Plain and simple, they did not want to come. Watching the
Lord gather His church together caused them anguish. They hated the
Lord, and they hated the church. What the church had to offer the soul
made them uncomfortable, troubled, and sick.
- What did the uninvited do to bring this on themselves? They leapt
over the threshold. What does this represent? A threshold
signifies introductory truths. "Spirits who are in the knowledge of the
doctrinals of faith, without love, are in such a coldness of life and
obscurity of light that they cannot even approach the first threshold of
the court of the heavens, but flee…" AC 3833 [3] records this
arcanum against those who will not believe: "…it may be known in what
obscurity such persons are, and that they do not even see, much less
touch, the first threshold of wisdom."
- Leaping in the positive sense signifies having a joy from the
perception of truth. (AE 455 [20]) It would seem, then, that in
the negative sense, leaping for the evil would be a joy at closing off,
evicting, the introductory truths from their lives. The remains of their
youth and the first things of faith were stifled and allowed to wither
and die.
"Who fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit."
- Check AC 3041-45 regarding the meaning of a master. A master
signifies knowledge of good in the natural person that exacts a sacred
obligation or obedience. It is the pledging of the natural person to the
good of marriage love. AE 409 [8] explains that master signifies
the internal human whom the external human serves.
- Can we not, with what is given above, see that those who turn away
from the Lord wish to fill the master’s house with things that are
destructive of the internal or conjugial principles of doctrine?
"…a mournful cry from the Fish Gate…"
- Let’s first look at this from the literal sense. The Fish Gate was
the main gate of Jerusalem. There, fish were sold. The fisherman
unloaded their catch for sale in the market. Manasseh made some changes,
or modifications, at this gate. He fortified the entrance way.
- Nebuchadnezzar made his triumphant entry through the Fish Gate.
Indeed, when the city was attacked, there must have been a mournful
sound heard as his army pressed on to the next gate.
- Fish signify items of information that arise or spring from
sense-impressions and external learning. (AC 991)
- A gate signifies the teachings that introduce one to the truth of
faith. (AC 2943)
- A mournful cry signifies grief because truth and good are being
destroyed. (AE 1129 [2])
"A wailing from the Second Quarter…"
- This second gate was second in dignity to the Fish Gate, but it had
its place of importance because it had V-shaped defensive walls and some
of the oldest ramparts of the city. Huldah the prophetess dwelt there.
Josiah sent the newly found scroll of Deuteronomy to her. She read the
scroll and warned that the day of God’s reckoning was fast approaching.
See II Kings 22:14 and II Chronicles 34:22.
- Again, can we see some of the importance of this literal sense to
the spiritual sense of our study?
"Wail, you inhabitants of Maktesh!"
- Another name for Maktesh is "the Mortar." Its importance to the city
of Jerusalem was its silver industry. Silver traders and silversmiths
conducted their business there.
- Silver signifies truth; in the opposite sense, it represents
falsity. (AC 1551)
- Did the merchants use the silver to make idols?
- To wail signifies to have grief on account of damnation. (AE 659
[4]) To wail signifies the grief of sensuous people in their
opposition to truths. (AR 435)
"All of the merchant people are cut down; all those who
handle money are cut off."
- Merchants signify those who falsify the Word, speak out, and offer
for sale. (AE 543 [10])
- Money handlers signify those who make gain for themselves. (AE
840 [4])
- Both of these are "cut down" or "cut off.’ This action by the Lord
signifies that hell is removed through the protection of heaven. (AC
9316)
Putting It All Together
"Then those who have adulterated the truths of the Word
will perish, and are to be cast into hell." (P&P)
Choices are so important. If we listen to the Lord, we are
invited to His Church. If we ignore and reject the invitation, we wall
ourselves off from Him. Instead of filling the Master’s home with good
things, those who reject Him fill their house with violence and deceit.
The inhabitants of a house of deceit and violence never
get to, or past, the threshold. Like blind people, they grope and stumble,
never finding the entrance or threshold. The sad part is that these people
had the innocence of remains from their childhood. The great spiritual
Fish Gate was there. The Second Quarter had its prophetess to read the
newly found Deuteronomy. But those intent on their evil ways wanted to
hone their skills, to twist the silver truths, to make idols. They were
more interested in making money for their own interests than in heeding
the Lord’s call. What is to be the end for them? Mourning and wailing, to
be cut down and cut off from eternity.
In these passages, we have contrasts. There is the
invitation from the Lord to leap for joy, and there is the "leaping over"
the spiritual conjunction with the Lord. Obviously, there is a silent
question here: Which choice will we want for our soul?
Read and Review
Read the selection from P&P.
Read Zephaniah 1:9-11.
Questions To Stimulate Reflection
- What did the brief historical overview of the Fish Gate, the Second
Quarter, and Maktesh help you discover about the deeper meaning of the
spiritual sense?
- What ideas did you have regarding the Master’s house? Is the house
representative of our mind or soul? Is it both? Do we have a way to
periodically clear our spiritual house of unhealthy spiritual clutter?
- Hell always thinks it can win against the Lord. No matter how many
times the hells are defeated, their insanity continues to cloud their
sense of reality. Do you think we pay unnecessary attention to their
bragging? Do you think they will leave us alone if we remind ourselves
often enough of the stories of the prophets (the Word)?
- Have you ever noticed how often the Word uses the correspondences of
fish? Think for a moment about the Lord’s ministry. He called fisherman
to be His disciples. He sent them out several times to catch many fish
after they had toiled all night with no results. Following His
directions, they came back with record catches. The Lord used the
correspondence of fish in His parables. He fed the multitude with the
loaves and fish. He multiplied the fish and bread so as to have 12 full
baskets left over. When the question of taxes came up, He sent the
disciples to a brook to catch a fish. In the mouth of the fish was a
coin. After His resurrection, He sat on the shore and cooked fish for
the disciples and called them in from fishing to sup with Him. Can you
think of other uses the Word makes of fish?
- Can you understand the spiritual reason why Nebuchadnezzar invaded
the city of Jerusalem through the Fish Gate first and then worked his
way toward the Second Quarter Gate?
Zephaniah 1:12-13
"And it shall come to pass at that time that I will
search Jerusalem with lamps, and punish the men who are settled in
complacency, who say in their heart, ‘The Lord will not do good, nor
will He do evil.’ Therefore their goods shall become booty, and their
houses a desolation; they shall build houses, but not inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards, but not drink their wine."
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Passages From The Writings
P&P
- "No truth will then be left in the church."
AC 1488 [2]
- "‘Houses’ mean where there are wisdom and intelligence, thus where
there are the knowledges of good and truth… ‘House’ is used in the
opposite sense in Zephaniah (1:12 & 13)…‘houses’ denote
memory-knowledges by which, through reasonings, come falsities."
AC 1071 [5]
- "…planting vineyards and drinking the wine thereof is predicated,
when [the spiritual church] becomes such as to have faith from charity.
In Zephaniah (1:13)…is described the opposite condition, when the
spiritual church is vastated."
AR 316
- Note that this number states: "Nearly the same words occur in Hosea
9:2, 3; Zephaniah 1:13; Lamentations 2:11, 12; Micah 6:15; Amos 5:11,
Isaiah 24:6, 7, 9, 11."
AE 376 [16]
- "In Zephaniah (1:13) the ‘wealth that shall be for plunder’
signifies spiritual wealth, which is the knowledges of good and truth;
‘the houses that shall be for devastation’ signify the things of the
church in man; that from these when devastated one profits nothing and
receives nothing, even though he listens to them, and sees them in the
Word, is signified by ‘building and not inhabiting, and planting
vineyards and not drinking the wine thereof,’ ‘houses’ meaning the goods
of the church, and ‘vineyards’ with ‘wine’ its truths."
AE 919
- "That a ‘vineyard’ signifies the spiritual church is evident from
the passages in the Word where ‘vineyard’ is mentioned…" (Zephaniah
1:13 is cited among many other passages.) "From the signification of
‘vineyard’ it can be seen that ‘to gather the vintage’ signifies to
collect for uses those things that will be serviceable to the
understanding, and which give intelligence and wisdom; and in the
contrary sense it signifies to lay waste the church as to spiritual
good… In the contrary sense ‘vintage’…[is] used in the sense…this
signifies…that all spiritual good, and thus all truth that is truth…is
destroyed; and this especially effected in the church by falsifications
of the Word, likewise when evil of life corrupts all good, and falsity
of doctrine perverts all truth…"
Derived Doctrine
"I will search Jerusalem with lamps…"
- AR 140 explains that by "searching" is signified "to see all the
things which a man believes and loves, thus the quality of his truth and
of his good."
- "Lamps" signify "the light of truth from the Divine Human of the
Lord." (AC 2832 [3]). AR 796 explains that lamps signify
an illumination from the Lord.
- "Jerusalem," as explained in AR 880, signifies the church as
to worship and its doctrine. "For worship is prescribed in doctrine and
performed according to it…"
"…and punish the men…"
- TCR 459 [15] has a helpful explanation for punishment. In
essence, this number teaches that punishment has as its end or use
amendment. Punishment is to bring the offender into order, and it is to
protect the greater good of society and heaven. Anger has nothing to do
with punishment when administered by the Lord.
"…who are settled in complacency…"
- The Writings don’t seem to deal specifically with the word
"complacent." But if we look for the synonyms of complacent, we find:
contentment; satisfaction; and self - satisfaction.
- The Lord with His lamps will show what is at the core of the heart.
The people to whom Zephaniah was speaking had no drive to undertake
self-examination. They had no desire to make themselves guilty for any
transgressions. Nor were they willing to supplicate the Lord for help.
They did not want a new spiritual life. They liked what and where they
were spiritually. They were content with themselves.
"The Lord will not do good, nor will He do evil."
- Do we hear arrogance (the hells) speaking? Do we hear them saying
the Lord is a do-nothing deity?
- The prophet Zephaniah tells how wrong they are in this assessment.
He speaks for the Lord of action.
Putting It All Together
"No truth will be left in the church." (P&P) How do
we know this? With the help of the internal sense, the truth of this
statement is easily ratified.
The Lord says that He will come with His Divine lamp
(light) and search the heart and mind of all within the church. He will
examine what the people believe. He will look at their faith and
doctrines. For those who believed in their own prudence, for those who
were satisfied with life’s status quo (complacency), there is not good
news: their evil ways will bring them self-punishment. They will not find
heaven. In spite of their pronouncements of Divine inaction, good will
come from the Lord. Rejection of the Lord will bring the evil to their
knees. These things are so because the Divine order will serve as the
amending force to bring about His new church.
For the evil, the plundering of their houses, the
vineyards from which they could not drink wine, their goods becoming
booty, the building of houses that they could not inhabit, all illustrate
the fruitlessness of their choices. They do not have much to look forward
to.
Is this a hard message to consider? It depends on what
choice has been made. For the faithful, it is an encouraging and
reassuring prophecy. For those who hate the Lord and His ways, it is an
ominous prophecy.
Read and Review
Read the selection from P&P.
Read Zephaniah 1:12-13.
Questions To Stimulate Reflection
- Do you think the complacent will believe the words of this prophecy?
- Can you anticipate what arguments they might offer to neutralize the
potency of the Lord’s promised examination?
- Do you recall the words of the serpent to Adam and Eve when they
were tempted to eat of the forbidden fruit? How might those words relate
to this story?
- The "punishment" of the Lord seems to spring from anger. What do you
know about the distinction between anger and zeal? The Lord never acts
from anger. He acts from a zeal that is based on love.
- Order is a state that comes from the Lord. When the Lord establishes
order, hell will be curbed. The greater good will be protected, and good
people will feel free to perform uses. What other thoughts come to your
mind when you hear this promise of the Lord’s?
-
Do you think the complacent will believe the words of
this prophecy?
- Can you anticipate what arguments they might offer to neutralize the
potency of the Lord’s promised examination?
- Do you recall the words of the serpent to Adam and Eve when they
were tempted to eat of the forbidden fruit? How might those words relate
to this story?
- The "punishment" of the Lord seems to spring from anger. What do you
know about the distinction between anger and zeal? The Lord never acts
from anger. He acts from a zeal that is based on love.
- Order is a state that comes from the Lord. When the Lord establishes
order, hell will be curbed. The greater good will be protected, and good
people will feel free to perform uses. What other thoughts come to your
mind when you hear this promise of the Lord’s?
Zephaniah 1:14-17
"The great day of the Lord is near; it is near and
hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the Lord is bitter; there the
mighty men shall cry out. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble
and distress, a day of devastation and desolation, a day of darkness
and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet
and alarm against the fortified cities and against the high towers. I
will bring distress upon men, and they shall walk like blind men,
because they have sinned against the Lord; their blood shall be poured
out like dust, and their flesh like refuse."
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Passages From The Writings
P&P
- "They will perish on the day of the judgment by the Lord."
AC 1839 [5]
- "In Zephaniah (1:14, 15)…the ‘day of Jehovah’ denotes the last time
and state of the church; ‘darkness and thick darkness’ falsities and
evils."
AR 340
- "That ‘the day of the Lord’s anger’ signifies the Last Judgment is
evident from the following passages…Zephaniah 1:14, 15…"
AR 413
- "Who…cannot see that the sun, the moon, and the stars of the world
are not meant in these cases? That falsities of various kinds are
signified by ‘darkness,’ is evident from these passages…" Zephaniah
1:15 is cited among the many references.
AE 526 [5]
- "…by ‘the day of Jehovah great and terrible;’ and as this comes when
the church is in darkness and in thick darkness, that day is also called
‘a day of darkness and thick darkness,’ and also ‘a day of cloud and
obscurity,’ as also in the following passages…In Zephaniah (1:14, 15)…"
AC 5376 [12]
- "In Zephaniah (1:14-18)…it is evident that desolation is the
apparent deprivation of truth with those who are being regenerated, but
is the absolute deprivation of it with those who are not being
regenerated."
AC 1860 [3]
- "In Zephaniah (1:15)…‘the day of Jehovah’ denotes the last time of
the church, which is here treated of; ‘darkness’ denotes falsities,
‘thick darkness’ evils; both therefore are mentioned; otherwise it would
be repetition of the same thing, or an unmeaning amplification. But the
word in the original language that in this verse is rendered ‘thick
darkness’ involves falsity as well as evil, that is dense falsity from
which is evil, and also dense evil from which is falsity."
AC 7688 [2]
- "[In Zephaniah 1:15]…‘darkness’ signifies falsities. In the Word
‘darkness’ also signifies ignorance of truth, such as the Gentiles are
in who have not the Word and know nothing of the Lord."
AC 7711 [3]
- "[In Zephaniah 1:15]…‘darkness’ denotes the privation of truth; and
‘thick darkness,’ the privation of truth and good; if ‘thick darkness’
signified nothing more than ‘darkness,’ it would be an empty repetition
which would be far from the Holy Word."
TCR 761 [3]
- "…all the truth of the church will be consummated, and then it will
be night, because the truth of the church is light." Zephaniah 1:15
is cited as one of the examples.
AE 594 [19]
- "So the Last Judgment, when those who are in the falsities of evil
are to perish, is called: ‘A day of cloud and of obscurity’ (Zephaniah
1:15)."
Coronis 58 [5]
- "Full consummation…is described thus in…(Zephaniah 1:15; 2:9)."
AR 397 [3]
- "…[that] by…trumpets…is signified the exploration and manifestation
of what the state of the church is with those whose religion is faith
alone…may be seen in the following passages…" Zephaniah 1:15-16
is cited.
Derived Doctrine
"The noise of the day of the Lord is bitter; there the
mighty men shall cry out."
- AE 618 offers us this insight regarding "bitter." "‘Bitter (or
bitterness)’ signifies what is undelightful because of adulterated
truth…what is sweet becomes bitter and thus undelightful by a mixture
with something offensive…‘sweet’ signifies what is delightful from the
good of truth and the truth of good, so ‘bitter’ signifies what is
undelightful because of adulterated truth."
- "The noise of the Lord is bitter…" signifies that the Lord’s
presence will bring a sense of disturbance to those who adulterate
truth. He "disturbs" their falsities. The angels view ‘noise’, generated
by the Lord, as a form of celebration. (AC 375)
- "…the mighty men shall cry out." The positive meaning of mighty men
denotes those who are in the good of love. (AR 832)
- Conversely, "mighty ones" signify those who are intoxicated with
self-love. (AC 583)
- AR 885 instructs us that "cry" in the Word is said of every
affection that breaks out from the heart. It can be a cry of
lamentation, of imploring, of supplication, of indolence, of
indignation, of confession, and of exultation.
"That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and
distress, a day of devastation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of
clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet and alarm against the
fortified cities and against the high towers."
- Heaven and Hell (HH) 155 tells us that "day" and "year" in the
Word signify the states of life in general.
- "Day of anger and wrath" relates to the Last Judgment executed at
the Lord’s Second Advent. (AE 413)
- A day of "devastation" is predicated of good. (AE 960)
- A day of darkness signifies a state of ignorance caused by the
deprivation of truth. (AE 526)
- "Thick darkness" signifies the presence of hatred, instead of
charity. (AC 1860) The light of heaven effectively appears as
darkness to those who are in the love of self and of the world. (AC
2441)
- A "trumpet" of alarm signals, or announces, that the intellectual of
the church has been laid to waste. (AC 4592 [10])
- "A day of darkness and gloominess…" "They…who are in truth and not
yet in good, are in shade [gloom] and darkness; because truth has no
light from itself, and the light which they have from good is faint,
like a light which is going out…" (AC 6400)
- In TCR 755, we read "‘desolation signifies the consummation
of truth, ‘devastation’ the consummation of good…"
- "High towers" signify the worship of self which manifests itself
when a people exalt themselves above others. (AC 1302) The
"highest towers" signify doctrines of falsity, or those who love to
dominate by misusing the holy things of the church. (AC 315 [15])
"…they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned
against the Lord…"
- To be "blind" signifies being ignorant of truth and so being without
understanding. (AE 239 [22])
- To "walk" signifies to live (or not live) according to the doctrine,
or truth, of faith. (AC 519)
- The church, from its high tower of self-love, became like "blind
men." The people of the church sinned against the Lord. Their eyes lost
the heavenly light. They stumbled and tripped through life, missing the
light of the Word because of their sins.
"…their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their
flesh like refuse."
- "Blood" in the positive sense represents charity, or love of the
neighbor. (AC 1000 [2])
- Blood being poured out like "dust" intends to show us something
quite the opposite of charity. "Dust" signifies the sensuous life. Thus,
blood being poured out like dust signifies a "charity" that lives only
from what is physical and material, or the body and earth. (AC 242)
- "Refuse," or litter or rubbish, signifies the worthlessness of such
a life of pretense. Real charity begins with the shunning of evils as
sins. This kind of life keeps our "blood" rich and contributing to the
health and well-being of our spiritual life and vitality. (AE 374
[5])
Putting It All Together
"They [the high and lofty abusers of the Word in the
church] will perish on the day of the judgment by the Lord."
The spiritual sense of this portion of Zephaniah deals
with the things that will occur following the Last Judgment. The Second
Advent of the Lord will cause a positive internal conflict within the
church. It is a necessary overturning and emptying of falsities that
misled the hearts and minds of the people within the church. His spiritual
coming will cause the church to face the most grievous and heart-searching
temptations. Those who sought to hold the course of truth will find
themselves on the edge of momentary anxiety and despair. But His Second
Advent will be worth the temporary anguish. This Last Judgment will
inspire the unification of the faithful throughout the heavens. The
Doctrine of the Lord will draw the good and faithful away from the
influence of hell.
Hell does not like losing to the Lord. The mere mention of
His presence and of restoration of the heavens causes the inhabitants of
hell to speak words of condemnation about His uncharitableness to them. He
is made to appear dark, gloomy, stormy, terrifying, vengeful, and a
destroyer of people.
Those in hell like puffing themselves up. Their blood,
their life, is one of pomposity. They love their lofty towers where they
speak words and make "erudite" pronouncements solely to attain adulation
from those who have joined them in a life of "dust" blood and "refuse."
The representation of the "dust" blood and "refuse" is powerful, a stark
picture of spiritual reality from the Lord but ever so true. The Lord sees
motives and intentions. His heavenly light exposes all corners and dark
places where evil loves to hide and cover up its corrupt essence.
The Lord watches the extent of the shallowness of evil
people. He permits the pompous pretenders their brief moment of flaunting
good and truth. But it is only for a moment. The Lord wants all to know it
will not last. It cannot last because it has no light and wisdom. Like a
flickering candle in the wind of the Lord’s refreshing truth, their flame
will go out.
The hellish spirits lament this. They cry out in protest.
They deny that it is of their own choice and actions that these things
will come to fruition. No, they say, it is the Lord’s fault. He is the one
who causes the dark, gloomy, fierce, vindictiveness that is so unfair.
The Lord’s Second Coming, the Last Judgment, is the great
liberator of good and truth. To hell, the trumpet of the Lord is like a
piercing "bitter" noise that hurts them. To the angels, the trumpet of the
Lord is a delightful "sweet" noise of great celebration and victory.
Read and Review
Read the selection from P&P.
Read Zephaniah 1:14-17.
Questions To Stimulate Reflection
- Are you anxious about the things that have to come to clear the way
for the spiritual New Church? What makes you anxious?
- The hells protest the Lord’s presence. They love to find examples of
"unfair" things in life. Do we assist them in any fashion if we allow
negative states to enter our mind? What negative issues capture your
attention? How can you counteract this?
- Hell’s lofty towers seem clear in the mind as a representation. Can
you put any natural specifics with the spiritual imagery?
- Bitter noise versus sweet noise of the Lord’s trumpet is an
interesting concept. It seems to go along with the idea that one
person’s meat is another person’s poison. Can you relate to times of
bitter and sweet music from the Word?
- Any thoughts regarding the blood like dust and the flesh like
refuse? How can we illustrate these states?
Zephaniah 1:18
"Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able
to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath; but the whole land
shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy. For He will make speedy
riddance of all those who dwell in the land."
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Passages From The Writings
P&P
- "They cannot be preserved."
AC 4535 [4]
- "…by ‘land’ in the Word is signified the church…From this it is
manifest what is meant …in Zephaniah by the ‘speedy consummation of all
that dwell in the land.’ That the Jewish nation which dwelt in that land
was not consummated, but the holy of worship with them…"
AR 216
- "…‘zeal’ in the Lord is not wrath; it only appears so in externals,
interiorly it is love. It appears so in externals, because the Lord
seems to be angry when He rebukes man, especially when man’s own evil
punishes him. It is so permitted from love, that his evil may be
removed; just like a parent, who, if he loves his children, suffers
[allows] them to be chastised for the sake of removing their evils."
This explanation follows the citing of Zephaniah 1:18 and 3:8.
AR 658
- "…by ‘the anger of God’ is signified evil with men, which, because
it is against God, is called the anger of God; not that God is angry
with man, but because man, from his evil, is angry with God, and because
it appears to man, when he is punished and tormented for it, as is the
case after death in hell, as if it were from God, therefore, in the
Word, anger and wrath, yea evil, is attributed to God." Zephaniah
1:18 is cited as an example of this truth.
TCR 755
- "…[that] the consummation of the age is the last time of the church,
can be seen from those passages in the Word where it is spoken
of…(Zephaniah 1:18)…In these passages ‘the land’ signifies the church…"
AE 397 [3]
- "In Zephaniah (1:18)…‘Consummation’ signifies the last state of the
church, a state in which there is no longer any truth because there is
no good, or in which there is no longer any faith because there is no
charity; and when this is the state of the church, then comes the Last
Judgment. The Last Judgment then comes, for the further reason that the
human race is the basis or foundation of the angelic heaven, for the
conjunction of the angelic heaven with the human race is perpetual…when
therefore the basis does not correspond the angelic heaven totters;
consequently there must then be a judgment…"
Derived Doctrine
"Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to
deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath…"
- "Silver" signifies truth, and in the opposite sense, falsity. (AC
1551) Silver also signifies rational truth. (AC 2575)
- "Gold" signifies good. It is representative of good from love and
the good of faith from love. (AC 110)
- Gold and silver signify knowledge of celestial things and knowledge
of spiritual things. (AC 1551 [3])
- The word "deliver" means to be saved or to be rescued. To be
delivered in the positive sense means to be withdrawn from falsities.
(AE 714 [14])
- "The Lord’s wrath" signifies the advent of the Lord to judgment.
(Divine Love and Wisdom [DLW] 5) This kind of wrath comes about when
the Lord turns away the opposition and the consequent penalties the
opposition feels from His judgment. (AC 5798 [6])
"…the whole land shall be devoured…"
- AC 2571 offers us a wide view of what "land" represents. Land
may represent the internal man or woman of the church; the region where
the church is; the church itself; also in the universal sense, the
Lord’s kingdom in heaven and on earth; the doctrine of love and charity,
hence the faith of the church.
- To be devoured signifies to destroy goods and truths. It also
signifies the destruction of doctrine from its inception. (AR 542)
"By the fire of His jealousy…He will make speedy riddance
of all those who dwell in the land."
- "Fire" signifies the good of love. (AC 2799) Fire in the
opposite sense represents the love of self and the hell of falsities
therefrom. (AC 2444)
- "Jealousy" signifies that divine truth is perceived as falsity and
divine good as evil by those who do not receive the divine truth of the
Lord’s divine good; so they attribute anger and wrath to the Divine,
for to be jealous in the case of the Lord means to be zealous. The words
jealous and zealous come from the same root meaning. (AC 8875)
- Jealousy signifies the Lord’s love of saving humankind. (AC 5071)
- "Zeal" signifies a kind of fire, but within it is the love of doing
good to others, or, with the Lord, the love of saving humankind. (AC
5071)
- Can we now see the meaning of speedy riddance in the land? The
Lord’s love is alive. It is quick, meaning it is fervent, thorough, and
lively in its task of removing the hells and their attendant evils.
Nothing of disorder shall be left when the Lord completes the
consummation of the church.
Putting It All Together
"They [the great deceivers within the falsified church]
cannot be preserved." (P&P)
Those who sought to be deceivers of the doctrines of the
church cannot use the silver of "rational truths" to talk their way out of
the Lord’s spiritual assessment. Nor can they present the gold of imagined
celestial knowledge to justify their actions. What looked beautiful and
precious on the outside was a veneer—a cover-up—of a valueless base.
TCR 519 likens the pretense of hell to coins made of dung and covered
over with gold. Their fine coverings will not save them. So committed to
evil were the people of Zephaniah’s time that there was no love left
within their hearts to be changed. If they had asked for help, it would
have been given to them. But the great falsifiers wanted nothing to do
with the Lord.
When the Lord cleans and purifies His church, He does so
completely. The whole "land" will receive His cleansing. The "fire" of His
jealousy is the way the Word explains what zeal He has to save humankind.
The warmth of His love is strong and comforting. He will not tarry over
the removal of disorder. Speedy. Complete. Thorough. Hell has nothing, no
power, to stop the Divine process of reformation and regeneration.
Will this happen in our lifetime? Let the people say Amen,
which is to say, "may it ever be so."
Read and Review
Read the selection from P&P.
Read Zephaniah 1:18.
Questions To Stimulate Reflection
- Is there any uncertainty in your mind about what the Lord says will
happen during the Last Judgment? What does this section teach you about
the refreshing changes the Lord will introduce in His New Church?
- Will the false charges against the Lord, by the deceivers, stand up
in the end? Discuss this.
- Remember when the Lord called Moses by the burning bush. Do you see
something in that story that shows the fire of His love as a
preservation of our freedom? The bush burned, but it was not consumed.
What does this tell us about how the Lord leads us?
The promise of the Lord’s thorough emptying of the
vastated church shows that He offers no compromises to the rebellious.
Therefore, we can rest assured that there are no compromises with hell
either. Comments?
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