Commentary

 

249 - Newness of Life

By Jonathan S. Rose

Title: Newness of Life

Topic: Salvation

Summary: What the Bible calls newness of life is not just a matter of changing our behaviors but of gaining a new heart and a new spirit.

Use the reference links below to follow along in the Bible as you watch.

References:
Romans 6:1, 4
Isaiah 65:17; 66:22
Jeremiah 31:31
Leviticus 3:1, 14, 17, Leviticus 3:23, Leviticus 3:26, Leviticus 3:33, Leviticus 3:40-41
Ezekiel 11:16; 18:30; 36:25
John 3:3
Romans 12:1-2
2 Corinthians 4:16; 5:17, 10
Galatians 6:12
Ephesians 4:17, 24
Colossians 3:5, 9-11
Titus 3:1-5
Revelation 21:1-5
Isaiah 62:1-2

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The Bible

 

Revelation 20

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1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,

8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Sacred Scripture #87

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87. It is much the same in the other instances - for example, where it says joy it also says gladness, as in the following examples.

Behold joy and gladness, [people] slaughtering an ox. (Isaiah 22:13)

They will obtain joy and gladness; sadness and groaning will flee. (Isaiah 35:10; 51:11)

Gladness and joy have been cut off from the house of our God. (Joel 1:16)

There will be an end to the voice of joy and the voice of gladness. (Jeremiah 7:34; 25:10)

The fast of the tenth month will become joy and gladness for the house of Judah. (Zechariah 8:19)

So that we may rejoice all our days, make us glad. (Psalms 90:14-15)

Be glad in Jerusalem; rejoice in her. (Isaiah 66:10)

Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom. (Lamentations 4:21)

Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice. (Psalms 96:11)

They will make me hear joy and gladness. (Psalms 51:8)

Joy and gladness will be found in Zion, praise and the voice of song. (Isaiah 51:3)

You will have gladness, and many will rejoice over his birth. (Luke 1:14)

I will make the voice of joy and the voice of gladness cease, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride. (Jeremiah 7:34; 16:9; 25:10)

Once again the voice of joy and the voice of gladness will be heard in this place, and the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride. (Jeremiah 33:10-11)

There are other passages as well.

[2] The reason it says both “joy” and “gladness” is that joy has to do with what is good and gladness with what is true, or joy has to do with love and gladness with wisdom. The underlying cause is that joy is of the heart and gladness is of the spirit, or joy arises from our will and gladness from our understanding.

We can see that this also involves a marriage of the Lord and the church from the fact that it speaks of “the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride” (Jeremiah 7:34; 16:9; 25:10; 33:10-11), and the Lord is the bridegroom and the church is the bride. On the Lord as the bridegroom, see Matthew 9:15; Mark 2:19-20; Luke 5:34-35; and on the church as the bride, see Revelation 21:2, 9; 22:17. That is why John the Baptist said, “The bridegroom is the one who has the bride” (John 3:29).

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for their permission to use this translation.