296. CHAPTER 5.

1. AND I saw the right hand of him that sat upon the throne, a book written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals.

2. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a great voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?

3. And no one in heaven, neither upon the earth, nor under the earth, was able to open the book, or to look thereon.

4. And I wept much, that no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look therein.

5. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not; behold, the Lion which is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

6. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne, and of the four animals, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing as it were slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth.

7. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.

8. And when he had taken the book, the four animals and the four-and-twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

9. And they sang a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every tribe and tongue, and people and nation;

10. And thou hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

11. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the animals and the elders: and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands;

12. Saying with a great voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

13. And every created thing, which is in the heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and strength, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb to ages of ages.

14. And the four animals said, Amen. And the four-and-twenty elders fell down and adored him that liveth unto ages of ages.

THE EXPLANATION.

VERSE 1. And I saw in the right hand of him that sat upon the throne, a book written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals.

"And I saw in the right hand of him that sat upon the throne," signifies the Lord as to omnipotence and as to omniscience: "a book written within and on the back," signifies the state of life of all in heaven and on earth, in general and in particular: "sealed with seven seals," signifies, altogether hidden.

Instead, spiritual reality is structured on the basis of spiritual state, or the loves and thoughts of angels. These loves and thoughts connect in chains of cause and effect, which angels experience much as we experience time. One thought flows into another on the spiritual level, and angels sense that progression the same way we sense the progression of one moment flowing into another. And when angels have thoughts and feelings that are similar, they experience a closeness that is very much the same as our experience of physical closeness; their idea of “space” is the variation in thoughts and affections held by spirits throughout the spiritual world.When the Bible describes something as “after” something else, then, the spiritual meaning has to do with the progression of spiritual states; it is a new spiritual state emerging from the one before it. And since higher states flow into lower states, the things coming “after” tend to be the lower, more external ones. For instance, the deep, internal desire to be good to others flows of its own accord into specific ideas of specific good things we can do. Those specific ideas, then, would be “after” the desire to be good.According to Swedenborg, time and space don’t exist in spiritual reality; they are purely natural things that exist only on the physical plane. This means that one spiritual thing can’t happen “after” another spiritual thing in time, because there is no time. And one spiritual thing can’t follow “after” another in space because there is no space.