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John 1

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1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 The same was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made through him; and without him was not anything made that hath been made.

4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

5 And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness apprehended it not.

6 There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John.

7 The same came for witness, that he might bear witness of the light, that all might believe through him.

8 He was not the light, but [came] that he might bear witness of the light.

9 There was the true light, [even the light] which lighteth every man, coming into the world.

10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world knew him not.

11 He came unto his own, and they that were his own received him not.

12 But as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become children of God, [even] to them that believe on his name:

13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father), full of grace and truth.

15 John beareth witness of him, and crieth, saying, This was he of whom I said, He that cometh after me is become before me: for he was before me.

16 For of his fulness we all received, and grace for grace.

17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared [him].

19 And this is the witness of John, when the Jews sent unto him from Jerusalem priests and Levites to ask him, Who art thou?

20 And he confessed, and denied not; and he confessed, I am not the Christ.

21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elijah? And he saith, I am not. Art thou the prophet? And he answered, No.

22 They said therefore unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?

23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said Isaiah the prophet.

24 And they had been sent from the Pharisees.

25 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why then baptizest thou, if thou art not the Christ, neither Elijah, neither the prophet?

26 John answered them, saying, I baptize in water: in the midst of you standeth one whom ye know not,

27 [even] he that cometh after me, the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to unloose.

28 These things were done in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

29 On the morrow he seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world!

30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man who is become before me: for he was before me.

31 And I knew him not; but that he should be made manifest to Israel, for this cause came I baptizing in water.

32 And John bare witness, saying, I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven; and it abode upon him.

33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize in water, he said unto me, Upon whomsoever thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and abiding Upon him, the same is he that baptizeth in the Holy Spirit.

34 And I have seen, and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.

35 Again on the morrow John was standing, and two of his disciples;

36 and he looked upon Jesus as he walked, and saith, Behold, the Lamb of God!

37 And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.

38 And Jesus turned, and beheld them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? And they said unto him, Rabbi (which is to say, being interpreted, Teacher), where abideth thou?

39 He saith unto them, Come, and ye shall see. They came therefore and saw where he abode; and they abode with him that day: it was about the tenth hour.

40 One of the two that heard John [speak], and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.

41 He findeth first his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah (which is, being interpreted, Christ).

42 He brought him unto Jesus. Jesus looked upon him, and said, Thou art Simon the son of John: thou shalt be called Cephas (which is by interpretation, Peter).

43 On the morrow he was minded to go forth into Galilee, and he findeth Philip: and Jesus saith unto him, Follow me.

44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter.

45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, come and see.

47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!

48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.

49 Nathanael answered him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art King of Israel.

50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee underneath the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.

51 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye shall see the heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.

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Apocalypse Explained #64

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64. Clothed with a garment down to the foot, signifies Divine truth proceeding from Him. This is evident from the signification of "garments" as being truths that clothe good (See Arcana Coelestia, n. 1073, 2576, 5248, 5319, 5954, 9212, 9216, 9952, 10536). Here is only mentioned "a garment down to the foot," which is a general covering; by which, as the Lord is treated of, all Divine truth in general is meant. Since the Lord is here described in respect to the Divine Human, which is here the "Son of man seen in the midst of the lampstands," and it is said that He was "clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about at the paps with a golden girdle," and afterwards that "His face shone as the sun in his power," I wish to give an explanation of what is said in the Evangelists about the Lord when He was transfigured, where some similar expressions are used; and afterwards of what is said about the soldiers dividing His garments, and casting the lot upon His tunic.

[2] Of the Lord's transfiguration it is thus written:

Jesus took Peter, James, and John, into a very high mountain, and He was transfigured before them; and His face did shine as the sun, and His garments became white as the light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah speaking with Him. And behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him (Matthew 17:1-5; Mark 9:2-8; Luke 9:28-36).

The Lord took Peter, James, and John, because by them the church in respect to faith, charity, and the works of charity was represented; He took them "into a high mountain," because "mountain" signifies heaven; "His face did shine as the sun," because "face" signifies the interiors, and it did shine as the sun because His interiors were Divine, for the "sun" is Divine love; "His garments became white as the light," because "garments" signify Divine truth proceeding from Him; the like is signified by "light." "Moses and Elijah" appeared, because the two signify the Word, "Moses" the historical Word, and "Elijah" the prophetical Word; "a bright cloud overshadowed them," because "a bright cloud" signifies the Word in the letter within which is the internal sense; "a voice out of the cloud said, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye Him," because "a voice out of the cloud" signifies Divine truth out of the Word, and "beloved Son," the Lord's Divine Human. And because Divine truth is from Him, and thence all truth of the church, it was said out of the cloud, "in whom I am well pleased, hear ye Him."

[3] It was plainly the Divine Human of the Lord that was thus seen, for the Divine Itself cannot be seen by anyone, except through the Divine Human. This the Lord also teaches in John:

No man hath seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath brought Him forth to view (John 1:18).

And in another place:

Ye have neither heard the voice of the Father at any time, nor seen His shape (John 5:37).

(That such things are signified by these words in the Evangelists, can be seen in the Arcana Coelestia where the particulars are made known, namely, that by "Peter," "James," and "John," in the Word, are signified faith, charity, and the works of charity, n. 3750, and above, n. 8-9; by "high mountain" is signified heaven, n. 8327, 8805, 9420, 9422, 9434, 10608; by "face," the interiors which are of the mind, n. 1999, 2434, 3527, 4066, 4796, 5102, 9306, 9546; and by "the face of the Lord," mercy, peace, and every good, n. 222-223, 5585, 9306, 9546, 9888; by "the sun," Divine Love, n. 2495, 4060, 7083; and in the work on Heaven and Hell 116-125; by "garments," when the Lord is treated of, Divine truth, n. 9212, 9216; and the like by "light," n. 3195, 3222, 5400, 8644, 9399, 9548, 9684; and in the work on Heaven and Hell, n. 126-140. That "Moses and Elias" signify the Word; "Moses," see Arcana Coelestia 5922, 6723, 6752, 6771, 6827, 7010, 7014, 7089, 7382, 9372, 10234; and "Elias," see n. 2762, 5247. That "clouds" signify the Word in the letter, see above, n. 36; that "beloved Son" is the Divine Human of the Lord is evident.) From the fact that the "Lord's garments" signify Divine truth, it may be known what is signified by the soldiers dividing the garments of the Lord among them, and casting a lot upon His tunic, of which it is thus written in John:

The soldiers took His garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part, also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore one to another, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for whose it shall be; that the Scripture might be fulfilled which saith, They parted My garments among them, and upon My vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did (John 19:23-24).

[4] He who is not aware that in every particular of the Word there is an internal sense which is spiritual, cannot see any arcanum in these things; he knows only that the soldiers divided the garments and not the tunic; and beyond this he knows nothing; when not only in this fact is there a Divine arcanum, but also in every particular of what is recorded concerning the passion of the Lord. The arcanum in this fact is that the garments of the Lord signified Divine truth, thus the Word, because the Word is Divine truth; the "garments" that they divided, the Word in the letter, and the "tunic" the Word in the internal sense; to "divide them" signifies to disperse and falsify; and "the soldiers" signify those that are of the church, who should fight in behalf of Divine truth. This is why it is said, "These things therefore the soldiers did." From this it is clear that the meaning of these words in the spiritual sense is that the Jewish Church dispersed the Divine truth which is in the sense of the letter, but could not disperse the Divine truth which is in the internal sense. That the "garments of the Lord" signified Divine truth, thus the Word, was shown above; that His "tunic" signified Divine truth, or the Word, in the internal sense, see Arcana Coelestia n.9826, 9942; that to "divide" is to disperse and separate from good and truth, thus to falsify, see n. 4424, 6360, 6361, 9094; that "the soldiers" signify those that are of the church, here of the Jewish church, who should fight in behalf of Divine truth, is clear from the spiritual sense of "warfare" and of "war;" that "war" signifies spiritual combats, which are of truth against falsity, see n. 1659, 1664, 8295, 10455; it is therefore said of the Levites, whose function pertained to such things as are of the church, that they were discharging military duty and were serving in war, when they were exercising their ministry in the tent of the assembly (Numbers 4:23, 35, 39, 43, 47; 8:23, 24).

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