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Expanded Comments | Additional Comments |
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| 1 Then lifted I up mine eyes and looked, and lo! a Man,–and, in his hand, a Measuring Line. |
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| 2 And I said, Whither art thou going? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what [should be] the breadth thereof, and what the length thereof. |
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| 3 And lo! the messenger who was talking with me, coming forward,–and another messenger, coming forward to meet him. |
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| 4 So he said unto him, Run, speak unto this young man, saying: Like open villages, shall Jerusalem remain, for the multitude of men and cattle in her midst; |
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| 5 And, I, will become to her, declareth Yahweh, A wall of fire round about,–and, a glory, will I become in her midst. |
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| 6 Ho! ho! flee ye, therefore, out of the land of the North, urgeth Yahweh. For, as the four winds of the heavens, have I spread you abroad, declareth Yahweh.
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As the four winds of heaven – This does not say that they were spread to the four winds as that would imply given over to the powers of spiritual control (i.e., fallen angels). |
| 7 Ho! Zion, deliver thyself,–thou that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon. For, |
O Zion – The Kingdom of God, the Church. A297; T33
Daughter of Babylon – The nominal church. D38, D39, D42, D43
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Deliver thyself O Zion – Zion, the true church, cannot simply wait for the Lord to miraculously deliver her. She must be willing to take positive action in accordance with the principles of truth and righteousness. This expression does not remove the Lord from the equation, rather it is simply reminding us that we need to be active in His service. The result of this positive action will (due to the Lord's arrangements) result in the Zion class being delivered.
Daughter of Babylon – If this is a specific reference to "Babylon the great, the mother of harlots," then the true church is here described as dwelling with the various "daughter" systems, i.e., protestantism.
If this is a more general reference to the whole of Christendom (both mother and daughter systems) then this phrase "dwellest with daughter of Babylon" would simply indicate the true church is (at the time of the fulfillment of this prophecy) still in Babylon, thus dwelling with her daughters. |
| 8 Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts, For his own honour, hath he sent me unto the nations that are spoiling you,–Surely, he that toucheth you, toucheth the pupil of mine eye. |
He that toucheth you – Those who afflict or injure the spiritual seed injure the apple of the Lord's eye. R2847:3
Apple of his eye – The true Church, an object of special care. D29; OV380:3; OV423:3; R2847:3[R2847:4]
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| 9 For behold me! brandishing my hand over them, and they shall become a spoil unto their own slaves,–and ye shall know that, Yahweh of hosts, hath sent me. |
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| 10 Sing out and rejoice, O daughter of Zion,–For behold me! coming in, and I will make my habitation in thy midst, declareth Yahweh. |
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| 11 Then shall many nations, join themselves, unto Yahweh, in that day, and shall become my people,–and I will make my habitation in thy midst, so shalt thou know that, Yahweh of hosts, hath sent me unto thee. |
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| 12 Thus will Yahweh inherit Judah, his portion, on the soil of the sanctuary,–and make choice, yet again, of Jerusalem. |
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| 13 Hush! all flesh, before Yahweh,–For he hath roused himself up out of his holy dwelling. |
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