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Daniel 12

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1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

5 Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river.

6 And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?

7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.

8 And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?

9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.

10 Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.

11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.

12 Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.

13 But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.

   

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Apocalypse Revealed # 256

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256. CHAPTER 5

1. And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals.

2. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the book and to loose its seals?"

3. And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the book, or to look in it.

4. So I wept much, that no one was found worthy to open and read the book, or to look in it.

5. But one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the book and to loose its seven seals."

6. And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing as though slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

7. Then He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.

8. Now when He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a lyre, and a golden bowl full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

9. And they sang a new song, saying, "You are worthy to take the book and to open its seals, because You were slain and have redeemed us to God by Your blood, out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,

10. and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth."

11. Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands,

12. saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and... honor and glory and blessing!"

13. And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying, "Blessing and honor and glory and strength be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!"

14. Then the four living creatures said, "Amen!" And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.

THE SPIRITUAL MEANING

The Contents of the Whole Chapter

The meaning is that the Lord in His Divine humanity will execute a judgment based on the Word and in accordance with it, because He embodies the Word; and that all in the three heavens acknowledge this.

The Contents of the Individual Verses:

Verse ContentsSpiritual Meaning
1. And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back,The Lord in respect to His underlying Divinity from eternity, to whom belongs omnipotence and omniscience, and who embodies the Word,
sealed with seven seals.the Word completely hidden from angel and man.
2. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice,Divine truth flowing in from the Lord deeply in angels and people.
"Who is worthy to open the book and to loose its seals?"Who has the power to know the states of life of all in heaven and on earth and to judge each one according to his state?
3. And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was ableNo one in the higher heavens or in the lower heavens [had the power]
to open the book,to know the states of life of all and to judge each one according to his state.
or to look in it.Not the least power.
4. So I wept much, that no one was found worthy to open and read the book, or to look in it.Grief of heart, that if no one could do this, all would perish.
5. But one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep.Consolation.
Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailedThe Lord, who by His own power conquered the hells and put everything into order when He was in the world, through the Divine goodness united to the Divine truth in His humanity.
to open the book and to loose its seven seals."The same here as before [verses 2, 3].
6. And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders,From the inmost elements of heaven, the Word, and the church, and so in all their constituents.
a Lamb standing as though slain,The Lord in respect to His humanity not acknowledged in the church as Divine.
having seven hornsHis omnipotence.
and seven eyes,His omniscience and Divine wisdom,
which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.that from it emanates Divine truth throughout the whole world, wherever religion is found.
7. Then He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.The Lord in respect to His Divine humanity embodies the Word, and this from His Divinity within Him, and thus He will execute judgment based on His Divine humanity.
8. Now when He had taken the book,When the Lord prepared to execute judgment, and thereby put back into order everything in heaven and on earth.
the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb,A humility and worship of the Lord on the part of the higher heavens.
each having a lyre,A confession of the Lord's Divine humanity springing from spiritual truths.
and a golden bowl full of incense,A confession of the Lord's Divine humanity springing from spiritual goods.
which are the prayers of the saints.Thoughts that are matters of faith springing from affections that are matters of charity in people who worship the Lord in accord with spiritual goods and truths.
9. And they sang a new song,An acknowledgment and glorification of the Lord as being the only judge, redeemer and savior, thus God of heaven and earth.
saying, "You are worthy to take the book and to open its seals,The same here as before [verses 2, 3].
because You were slain and have redeemed us to God by Your blood,Deliverance from hell and salvation by conjunction with Him.
out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,The Lord has redeemed those in the church or in any other religion who are impelled by truths in respect to their doctrine and by goods in respect to their life.
10. and have made us kings and priests to our God;They have from the Lord wisdom from Divine truths and love from Divine goods.
and we shall reign on the earth."And they will dwell in His kingdom, He in them and they in Him.
11. Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders;A confession and glorification of the Lord by angels of the lower heavens,
and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands,all possessing truths and goods.
12. saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and... honor and gloryA confession from the heart that to the Lord in His Divine humanity belong omnipotence, omniscience, Divine good and Divine truth -
and blessing!"all these being in Him, and from Him in them.
13. And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying,A confession and glorification of the Lord by angels of the lowest heavens,
"Blessing and honor and glory and strength be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!"that present in the Lord from eternity and so in His Divine humanity is everything of heaven and the church - Divine good and truth, and Divine power - and that these are present in them from Him.
14. Then the four living creatures said, "Amen!"A Divine confirmation from the Word.
And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.Humility before the Lord on the part of all in the heavens, and out of humility worship of Him, from whom and in whom is eternal life.

THE EXPOSITION

And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back. (5:1) This symbolizes the Lord in respect to His underlying Divinity from eternity, to whom belongs omnipotence and omniscience, and who embodies the Word, who also of Himself knows the states of life of all in heaven and on earth, in every particular and in their entirety.

He who sat on the throne means the Lord in respect to His underlying Divinity from which His humanity originates, for the statement follows that the Lamb took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne (verse 7), and the Lamb means the Lord in respect to His humanity. The book written inside and on the back means the Word in every particular and in its entirety - "inside" meaning in every particular, and "on the back," in its entirety. Inside and on the back also mean the inner meaning of the Word, which is spiritual, and its outer meaning, which is natural. The right hand means the Lord in respect to His omnipotence and omniscience, because the subject is the exploration of all in heaven and on earth on whom the Last Judgment would fall, and their separation.

As the embodiment of the Word, the Lord knows of Himself the states of life of all in heaven and on earth, because He is Divine truth itself, and Divine truth itself, of itself, knows everything. This, however, is a secret which we disclosed in Angelic Wisdom Regarding Divine Love and Wisdom.

The fact that the Lord was the Word, that is to say, Divine truth, in respect to His Divinity from eternity is apparent from this statement in John:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)

And the fact that the Lord came to embody the Word even in respect to His humanity, from this statement also in John:

And the Word became flesh... (John 1:14)

It can be seen from this what is meant by the testimony that the book was in right hand of Him who sat on the throne, and that the Lamb took the book from it (verse 7).

[2] Since the Lord embodies the Word, and the Word is the Divine truth which forms heaven and the church in general, and each angel in particular so as to have heaven in him, and each person so as to have the church in him, and because the Word is here meant by the book on the basis of which and according to which all are to be judged, therefore we find references here and there to being written in the book, to being judged on the basis of the book, and to being blotted out from the book, where the subject is someone's state of eternal life, as in the following places:

(The Ancient of Days) sat in judgment, and the books were opened. (Daniel 7:10)

...your people shall be delivered, every one who is found written in the book. (Daniel 12:1)

My frame was not hidden from You... ...on Your book were written all the days..., and not one of them is missing. (Psalms 139:15-16)

(Moses said,) ."..I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written." And Jehovah said..., "He who has sinned against Me, him I will blot out of My book." (Exodus 32:32-33)

Let them be blotted out of the book of life, and not be written with the righteous. (Psalms 69:28)

I saw (that) books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to the things which were written in the Book, according to their works..., and if anyone was not found written in the Book of Life, he was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:12-15)

There shall not enter into (the New Jerusalem) anything... but those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. (Revelation 21:27)

All... will worship (the beast), whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb... (Revelation 13:8, cf. 17:8)

That the Book means the Word may be seen in the book of Psalms:

In the scroll of the book it is written of me. (Psalms 40:7)

And in Ezekiel:

I looked, and lo, there was a hand stretched out to me, and... in it the scroll of a book... written in front and in back... (Ezekiel 2:9-10)

...the book of the words of Isaiah... (Luke 3:4)

...the Book of Psalms... (Luke 20:42)

  
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Many thanks to the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and to Rev. N.B. Rogers, translator, for the permission to use this translation.