Revelation 22
1
And he showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
2
In the midst of the street thereof, and on both sides of the river, was the tree of life, bearing twelve fruits, yielding its fruits every month, and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
3
And there shall be no curse any more; but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall serve him.
4
And they shall see his face: and his name shall be on their foreheads.
5
And night shall be no more: and they shall not need the light of the lamp, nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God shall enlighten them, and they shall reign for ever and ever.
6
And he said to me: These words are most faithful and true. And the Lord God of the spirits of the prophets sent his angel to shew his servants the things which must be done shortly.
7
And, Behold I come quickly. Blessed is he that keepeth the words of the prophecy of this book.
8
And I, John, who have heard and seen these things. And after I had heard and seen, I fell down to adore before the feet of the angel, who shewed me these things.
9
And he said to me: See thou do it not: for I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them that keep the words of the prophecy of this book. Adore God.
10
And he saith to me: Seal not the words of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.
11
He that hurteth, let him hurt still: and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is just, let him be justified still: and he that is holy, let him be sanctified still.
12
Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to render to every man according to his works.
13
I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.
14
Blessed are they that wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb: that they may have a right to the tree of life, and may enter in by the gates into the city.
15
Without are dogs, and sorcerers, and unchaste, and murderers, and servers of idols, and every one that loveth and maketh a lie.
16
I Jesus have sent my angel, to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the root and stock of David, the bright and morning star.
17
And the spirit and the bride say: Come. And he that heareth, let him say: Come. And he that thirsteth, let him Come: and he that will, let him take the water of life, freely.
18
For I testify to every one that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book: If any man shall add to these things, God shall add unto him the plagues written in this book.
19
And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from these things that are written in this book.
20
He that giveth testimony of these things, saith, Surely I come quickly: Amen. come, Lord Jesus.
21
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
Apocalypse Explained #593
593. Verse 1. And I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven, signifies the Lord as to the Word, here as to its ultimate sense, which is called the sense of the letter. This is evident from the signification of a "strong angel," as being the Lord as to the Word (of which presently); it means as to the Word in its ultimate sense, which is called the sense of the letter, because it is from that sense that the Lord is called "strong," for all the strength and all the power of Divine truth exist and consist in its ultimate, consequently in the sense of the letter of the Word (of which also presently).
[2] Because it is the sense of the letter of the Word that is meant, therefore it is said that the angel was seen "coming down out of heaven." The like is said of the Word, which is the Divine truth; this comes down from the Lord through the heavens into the world, consequently it is adapted to the wisdom of the angels who are in the three heavens, and is also adapted to men who are in the natural world. For this reason the Word in its first origin of all is wholly Divine, afterward celestial, then spiritual, and lastly natural; it is celestial for the angels of the inmost or third heaven, who are called celestial angels, it is spiritual for the angels of the second or middle heaven who are called spiritual angels, and it is celestial-natural and spiritual-natural for the angels of the ultimate or first heaven who are called celestial-natural and spiritual-natural angels, and it is natural for men in the world; for so long as men live in a material body they think and speak naturally. This then is why the Word is with the angels of each heaven, but with a difference according to the degrees of their wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge [scientia]; and although it differs in its sense in each heaven, still it is the same Word, because it is the Divine itself, which is in the Word from the Lord that becomes Divine celestial when it comes down to the inmost or third heaven, and becomes Divine spiritual when it comes down therefrom to the middle or second heaven, and becomes Divine celestial-natural or spiritual-natural when it comes down from that heaven to the ultimate or first heaven, and when it comes down therefrom into the world becomes a Divine natural Word, such as it is with us in the letter. These successive derivations of Divine truth proceeding from the Lord Himself exist by virtue of correspondences, established from creation itself, between things higher and lower, respecting which, the Lord willing, more will be said hereafter.
[3] All strength and all power are in the ultimates of Divine truth, thus in the natural sense of the Word, which is the sense of the letter, because this sense is the containant of all the interior senses, that is, of the spiritual and celestial (spoken of above); and as it is the containant it is also the base, and in the base lies strength itself. For if higher things do not rest upon their base they fall and are scattered. So would it be if the spiritual and celestial things of the Word did not rest upon its natural or literal sense, for this not only sustains the interior senses, but also contains them, consequently the Word or Divine truth is not only in its power, but also in its fullness in this sense. (But on this subject more may be seen above; namely, that strength is in the ultimate, because the Divine is there in its fullness, n. 346, 567. That interior things flow in successively into exteriors, even into the most external or ultimate, and that they coexist there, see Arcana Coelestia 634, 6239, 6465, 9215, 9216; that they not only flow in successively, but also form in their ultimate what is simultaneous, in what order, n. 5897, 6451, 8603, 10099. That therefore there is strength and power in ultimates, n. 9836; that therefore responses and revelations were given in ultimates, n. 9905, 10548; that therefore the ultimate is more holy than the interiors, n. 9824.) From this, too, it follows that everything of doctrine of the church ought to be formed and confirmed from the literal sense of the Word, and that also doctrine has its power from that (See above, n. 356). This is why the "angel coming down out of heaven" is said to be "strong." That "angel" in the Word means in the highest sense the Lord, in a relative sense every recipient of Divine truth from the Lord, and in an abstract sense Divine truth itself, may be seen above (n. 130, 302); here, therefore, "angel" means the Lord as to the Word, because the Word is Divine truth itself. That the Lord Himself is here meant by "angel" can be seen from a like representation of the Lord Himself as to face and feet in the first chapter of this book, where it is said of the Son of man, who is the Lord:
That His face shone as the sun in his power, and that His feet were like unto burnished brass glowing in a furnace (verses Revelation 1:15, 16).
