Apocalypse Revealed #949
949. 22:12 "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work." This symbolically means that the Lord will surely come, and His presence is heaven and the felicity of eternal life for everyone in accordance with his faith in the Lord and his life in obedience to the Lord's commandments.
"Behold, I am coming quickly" symbolically means that the Lord will surely come, namely, to execute judgment and to establish a new heaven and a new church. That immediacy in time means certainty may be seen in nos. 4, 943, 944, 947. "My reward is with Me" symbolically means that the Lord's very presence is heaven and the felicity of eternal life. That the reward is heaven and eternal happiness may be seen in no. 526. That it is the Lord's very presence will be seen below.
To give to everyone according to his work means, symbolically, to do so in accordance with a person's conjunction with the Lord through faith in the Lord and living in obedience to His commandments. This is the symbolic meaning because good works symbolize charity and faith internally, and at the same time the effects of these outwardly. And because charity and faith come from the Lord, and are received in accordance with a person's conjunction with Him, it is apparent that these are what are symbolically meant. The meaning here thus coheres as well with what has been said before.
That good works are charity and faith inwardly and at the same time the effects of these outwardly may be seen in nos. 641, 868, 871 above.
[2] People know that charity and faith come not from man, but from the Lord. And because they come from the Lord, they are received in accordance with a person's conjunction with Him, and a conjunction with Him is formed through faith in Him and living in accordance with His commandments. Faith in Him means a confidence that He will save, and this confidence is found in people who turn to Him directly and refrain from evils as being sins. Such a faith is not possible in others.
We said that "My reward is with Me" symbolically means that the Lord's very presence is heaven and the felicity of eternal life, for the reward is an inward bliss, called peace, and a consequent outer joy. This is possible only from the Lord, and whatever comes from the Lord not only emanates from Him, but also constitutes His very presence. For the Lord cannot emit anything from Himself without His being present in it. Indeed, He is omnipresent in everyone in accordance with some conjunction, and the conjunction depends on reception, and the reception on love and wisdom, or if you please, on charity and faith, and charity and faith on the person's way of life, and the person's way of life on an aversion to evil and falsity, and an aversion to evil and falsity on knowing what evil and falsity are, and on repenting then and at the same time looking to the Lord.
[3] That the reward not only comes from the Lord but also constitutes His very presence is apparent from passages in the Word where we are told that those people who are conjoined with Him are in Him and have Him in them, as may be seen in John 14:20-24, 1 15:4, 15:5ff., 2 17:19, 17:21-22, 17:26, 3 and elsewhere (see no. 883 above). And also where we are told that the Holy Spirit is in them 4 - the Holy Spirit being the Lord, for it is His Divine presence. So, too, when we pray that God may dwell in people, teaching them, leading them, giving them a tongue to preach and a body to do what is good, and other like things as well.
The Lord, indeed, is love itself and wisdom itself. These two do not exist in some location, but are present wherever they are received, in accordance with the character of the reception.
But this arcanum can be understood only by people who are wise owing to their receiving the light of heaven from the Lord. It is for them what we wrote in two works, one being Divine Providence and the other Divine Love and Wisdom, where we showed that the Lord Himself is present in people in accordance with their reception, and not some Divine quality apart from Him. This is the concept that angels have when they conceive of the Divine omnipresence, and I do not doubt that some Christians have a similar concept.
Бележки под линия:
1. "At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him." Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?" Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me."
2. "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."
3. "And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth..., that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one... And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."
4. E.g., John 20:22
Apocalypse Revealed #173
173. "'These things says He who is holy, who is true.'" This symbolically means the Lord in relation to Divine truth.
Clearly it means the Lord. He who is holy, who is true, is the Lord in relation to Divine truth, because the Lord is called holy owing to His Divine truth, and called just or righteous owing to His Divine goodness. It is in consequence of this that His emanating Divinity - which is Divine truth - is called the Holy Spirit; and here the Holy Spirit is He who is holy, who is true.
[2] Holiness is often mentioned in the Word, and it is everywhere predicated of truth; and because all truth that is true in itself originates from goodness and from the Lord, it is that truth that is called holy. In contrast, the goodness from which truth originates is called just or righteous. It is owing to this that angels governed by truths of wisdom, called spiritual angels, are termed holy, while angels governed by the goodness of love, called celestial angels, are termed just or righteous. The same is the case with people in the church.
It is because of this also that prophets and apostles are called saints, or holy, for prophets and apostles symbolize the church's doctrinal truths.
It is because of this, too, that the Word is called holy, for the Word is Divine truth. That is why the Law in the ark in the Tabernacle was called the most holy place and also the sanctuary.
That, too, is why Jerusalem is called holy, for Jerusalem symbolizes a church which possesses Divine truths.
For the same reason the altar, the Tabernacle, and the garments of Aaron and his sons were called holy after they were anointed with oil; for oil symbolizes the goodness of love, and this sanctifies or makes a thing holy, and everything made holy relates to truth.
[3] From the following passages it is apparent that the Lord alone is holy, because He is Divine truth itself:
Who shall not... O Lord..., glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. (Revelation 15:4)
...your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of the whole earth shall He be called. (Isaiah 54:5)
Thus said Jehovah, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One... (Isaiah 49:7)
As for our Redeemer, Jehovah of Hosts is His name, the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 47:4)
Thus said Jehovah, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel... (Isaiah 43:14)
...in that day... they will depend on Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. (Isaiah 10:20)
And also elsewhere, as Isaiah 1:4; 5:19; 12:6; 17:7; 29:19; 30:11-12; 41:16; 45:11, 15; 48:17; 55:5; 60:9, Jeremiah 50:29, Daniel 4:13, 23, Psalms 78:41.
Since the Lord is holiness itself, therefore the angel said to Mary,
...the holy thing that will be born of you shall be called the Son of God. (Luke 1:35)
And regarding Himself the Lord said,
(Father,) sanctify them with the truth. Your word is truth... ...for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified with truth. (John 17:17, 19)
[4] It is apparent from this that the truth that comes from the Lord is holiness itself, because He alone is holy - concerning which the Lord says the following:
When... the Spirit of Truth has come, He will guide you into all truth. ...He will not speak on His own... ...He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. (John 16:13-15)
The Counselor, the Holy Spirit..., He will teach you all things... (John 14:26)
To be shown that the Holy Spirit is the life in the Lord's wisdom, thus Divine truth, see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem Regarding the Lord 51.
It can be seen from this that He who is holy, who is true, is the Lord in relation to Divine truth.
That holiness is predicated of truth, and justice or righteousness of goodness, is apparent from passages in the Word where the two are mentioned, as in the following:
He who is just, let him be just still; he who is holy, let him be holy still. (Revelation 22:11)
Just and true are Your ways, O King of saints! (Revelation 15:3)
...to serve Him, in holiness and righteousness. (Luke 1:75)
...Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man... (Mark 6:20)
...the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. (Revelation 19:8)
