The Bible

 

Revelation 19

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1 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:

2 For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.

3 And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.

4 And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.

5 And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.

6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.

13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;

18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.

19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.

20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #10569

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10569. 'And how will it ever be made known that I have found grace in Your eyes, I and Your people? Will it not be in Your going with us?' means acceptance in preference to others if the Divine shows Himself among them. This is clear from the meaning of 'being made known', when it has reference to the Divine among them, as being revealed; from the meaning of 'finding grace in Jehovah's eyes' as being accepted, dealt with above in 10563, in this instance being accepted in preference to others since the words that follow state that if accepted 'I and Your people will be made more distinguished than all the people who are on the face of the ground'; and from the meaning of 'going with us', when it has reference to Jehovah, as the Divine acting as leader, at this point into the land of Canaan, dealt with above in 10567. From all this it is evident that 'how will it ever be made known that I have found grace in Your eyes, I and Your people? Will it not be in Your going with us?' means acceptance in preference to others if the Divine shows Himself among them.

[2] When the words 'in Jehovah's eyes' are used the meaning is the Lord's Divine presence within the truths and forms of the good of faith and love residing with people on earth and with angels in heaven. The reason why the Lord is present within truths and forms of the good of faith and love is that these originate in the Lord Himself, and when the Lord is present within these things as they reside with people on earth or with angels, He is present in what is His residing with them and not in what is their own or their proprium, since this is evil. So it is also that in the Word, in places where people who are receptive of the things which are Divine and the Lord's are the subject, faith and also a receptive understanding is meant by 'the eyes'; for the understanding is the eye within, and faith is the truth that is seen and perceived by it. Regarding 'the eyes', that when people are the subject in the Word, faith and also the understanding are meant by them, see 2701, 4403-4421, 4523-4534, 9051.

[3] The origin of this sight must also be stated. A real light exists that enlightens the understanding, altogether distinct and separate from the light which enables the eyes of the body to see. The light which enlightens the understanding comes from heaven, whereas that which enables the eyes of the body to see exists in the world. The light of heaven flows from the Lord as the Sun there and is essentially Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Good. From this it is evident why it is that by 'the eyes', when they are attributed to Jehovah, the Lord's Divine presence is meant, and that by 'the eyes', when they are attributed to people receptive of the Lord's Divine Truth or His light, faith and an enlightened understanding are meant.

[4] The existence of the real light that enlightens human minds and forms the understanding is not known in the world, even though people attribute vision and light to the understanding, and even though very many times in the Word the Lord is called the Light, which is taken to mean that He is seen by means of faith and the light of faith. The fact that the real light is what enlightens human minds, and that Divine Truth emanating from the Lord as the Sun is that Light, imparting an intelligent understanding of truth where it is received, see in the places referred to in 9548, 9684, and also what is said in 9570, 9571(end), 9594.

[5] From all this it becomes clear what is meant in the Word by 'Jehovah's eyes', as in Isaiah,

Incline Your ear, O Jehovah, and hear; and open Your eyes, O Jehovah, and see. Isaiah 37:17.

In Jeremiah,

I will set My eye on them for good, and I will bring them back onto their land and build them. Jeremiah 24:6.

In David,

Behold, the eye of Jehovah is on those who fear Him. Psalms 33:18.

And in the same author,

Jehovah is in His holy temple, Jehovah's throne is in heaven; His eyes see, and His eyelids test the sons of man. Psalms 11:4.

And elsewhere.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.