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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 by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

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

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

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

7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

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

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

12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

13 Which 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 was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

15 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.

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

17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

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

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

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

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

22 Then said they 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 the prophet Esaias.

24 And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.

25 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?

26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;

27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.

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

29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

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

31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.

32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.

33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.

34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.

35 Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples;

36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!

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

38 Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?

39 He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.

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

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

42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.

43 The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me.

44 Now Philip was of Bethsaida, 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, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can there 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 that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.

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

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

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Explained #228

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228. These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness. That this signifies from whom is all truth and the all of faith is evident from the signification of amen, as being verity and truth, which will be explained in what follows; and from the signification of the faithful and true witness, when said of the Lord, as being the all of faith from him; for witness, when said of the Lord, signifies Divine truth which is from Him, and hence the all of faith, for faith belongs to truth, and truth to faith. Divine truth proceeding from the Lord is called the witness, because it is His Divine in heaven and in the church, in which He is, and which is Himself there; for this proceeds from his Divine Human, and fills the whole heaven and forms it; this is why heaven in its whole extent has reference to one man. Such being the case with respect to Divine truth, its origin and quality, it is therefore here called the witness; for it bears witness concerning the Divine Human of the Lord, and manifests it to all who receive Divine truths from Him. It is from this fact that the angels of the higher heavens have no perception of any other Divine, nor can have, than that of the Lord's Divine Human; this arises from the influx of the whole heaven into their minds. It is therefore evident why "witness," when said of the Lord, signifies the Lord Himself as to Divine truth in heaven and in the church; and that to bear witness, when said of those who receive Divine truth from the Lord, signifies to acknowledge in heart the Lord's Divine in His Human (see above n. 27). That heaven in whole and in part has reference to one man, and that this is from the Lord's Divine Human, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell 59-86, and the following, and n. 101; and that the Divine proceeding from the Lord, which forms heaven, and the angels to the image of heaven, is Divine truth, ibid., n. 13, 133, 139-140).

[2] This Divine truth is called by the Lord, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, concerning which it is said that he should testify of Him, and that he is from Him. That he does testify, or bear witness of Him is declared in John:

"When the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall testify of me" (15:26).

And that it proceeds from Him is declared in the same Evangelist:

The Comforter, "the Spirit of truth, will guide you into all truth; for he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak. He shall glorify me; for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine; therefore said I, He shall take of mine, and show it unto you" (16:13-15).

That Divine truth is from the Lord, is meant by, He shall not speak of himself, but he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you; and that it is from the Divine Human of the Lord, is meant by; all things that the Father hath are Mine, therefore said I, that he shall take of Mine, and show it unto you. And that it manifests the Divine Human of the Lord is clear from, He shall glorify me.

To glorify, is to make known the Divine Human of the Lord. (That this is to glorify, when said of the Lord, may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 294.)

[3] The same is signified by these words of the Lord:

"I tell you the truth; it is expedient that I go away; if I go not away," the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, will not come "unto you" (John 16:7).

Hence it is clear that Divine truth is from the Lord's Divine Human. The reason why the Lord calls Himself the Amen is, that Amen signifies verity, thus the Lord Himself, because when He was in the world He was Divine verity itself, or Divine truth itself; which was also the reason why He so often said

"Amen," and "Amen, Amen;" as in Matthew 5:18, 26; 6:16; 10:23, 42; 17:20; 18:3, 13, 18; 24:2; 28:20; John 1:51; 3:11; 5:19, 24, 25; 6:26, 32, 47, 53; 8:34, 51, 58; 10:1, 7; 12:24; 13:16, 20, 21; 21:18, 25.

[4] That the Lord, when He was in the world, was the Divine truth itself, He teaches in John:

"I am the way, the truth, and the life" (14:6).

And again:

"For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified in the truth" (17:19).

That holiness in the Word is said of Divine truth, and to be sanctified of those who receive holiness, may be seen above (n. 204); hence by the Lord's sanctifying Himself is meant to make His Human Divine. (But these things are further treated of and shown in Arcana Coelestia, as may be seen by what is adduced from that work in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 303-306.) Moreover, that Amen signifies Divine confirmation, may be seen above (n. 34); as also in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 27:15-26; 1 Kings 1:36; Isaiah 65:16; Jeremiah 11:5; 28:6; Psalms 41:13; 72:19; 89:52; 106:48).

  
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Translation by Isaiah Tansley. Many thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Explained #27

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27. The faithful witness. That this signifies from whom is all truth in heaven, is evident from the signification of a faithful witness, when said of the Lord, as denoting the acknowledgment of the Divine Human, from whom is all truth in heaven; of which more will be said in what follows. The reason why it is said, "all truth in heaven," is, because Divine truth, going forth from the Divine good of the Lord, constitutes heaven in general, and with each angel there in particular. (That such is the case may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell 13, 126-140; and that it [viz., the Divine truth] is from His Divine Human, n. 7-12, 78-86.) The Lord, as to the Divine Human, is called the "faithful witness," because Divine truth going forth from Him in heaven bears witness of Him. This witness is universally present in Divine truth there; which is evident from the fact that the angels of the interior heaven cannot think of the Divine but as under a human form, and, consequently, of a Divine Human. The reason is, that the Divine Human of the Lord fills the whole heaven and forms it, and the thoughts of the angels proceed and flow according to the form of heaven (as may be seen in the work above mentioned, n. 59-102, 200-212, 265-275). Hence it is, that the witness of Jesus Christ signifies the acknowledgment of the Lord's Divine in His Human (concerning which see above, n. 10).

[2] From these considerations it is evident what is meant, in the spiritual sense, by witnessing and by witness in the following passages:

"John" (here, John the Baptist) "came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but came to bear witness of the Light. That was the true Light which enlighteneth every man. And I saw and bare witness" (John 1:7, 8, 34).

Light signifies Divine truth; therefore the Lord is there called the true Light which enlighteneth every man; and to bear witness of the Light signifies the acknowledgment of His Divine Human, from which Divine truth goes forth. (That light signifies Divine truth going forth from the Lord, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, in the article on the light of heaven, n. 126-140.)

[3] In the same:

"Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth: but I receive not witness from man" (5:33, 34).

In the same: "Jesus said, Verily I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and bear witness that we have seen. He that cometh from heaven is above all; and what he hath seen and heard, of that he witnesseth" (3:11, 31, 32).

In the same:

"Jesus said, Though I bear witness of myself, yet my witness is true: for I know whence I came and whither I go" (8:14);

which signifies, that He bare witness of Himself from Himself, because He was Divine truth.

In the same:

"When the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall bear witness of me" (15:26);

the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, is Divine truth going forth from the Lord (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 9818, 9820, 10330; and above, n. 25).

[4] In the same:

"Pilate said, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I might bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. Pilate said, What is truth?" (18:37, 38).

The reason why the Lord thus answered when he was asked whether he was a king, was, because the Lord as king, is Divine truth; for this is the regal characteristic of the Lord in heaven, but His Divine good is the priestly characteristic there. This is why the Lord said that He was a king, that to this end He was born, and for this cause He came into the world, that He might bear witness unto the truth, and that every one that is in the truth heareth His voice; and therefore Pilate asked, What is truth? thus whether it was a king. (That Divine truth is the regal characteristic of the Lord in the heavens, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 3009, 5068; and that therefore kings, in the Word, signify those who are in Divine truths, and thus, abstractedly from persons, Divine truths themselves, n. 1672, 2015, 2069, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044.) That kings signify those who are in Divine truths, will appear more clearly in the explanation of what follows in the Apocalypse, where kings are named; and presently below, where it is said, "he hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father." From these considerations it is evident that by, "from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness," is signified the Lord as to the acknowledgment of His Divine Human, from which goes forth all truth in heaven.

  
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Translation by Isaiah Tansley. Many thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.