The Bible

 

Revelation 21

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1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.

10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;

12 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:

13 On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.

14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

15 And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.

16 And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.

17 And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

18 And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.

19 And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;

20 The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.

21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.

22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.

23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.

24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.

25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.

26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.

27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Explained #128

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128. He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. That this signifies that he who continues in the genuine affection of truth to the end of his life in the world shall come into the new heaven, is evident from the signification of overcoming, when said of those who desire the knowledges of truth and good from the Word, as being to continue in the genuine affection of truth, even to the end of life in the world. It is said "he that overcometh" because these are they who undergo spiritual temptation, which is from evils and falsities, and fight against them; and to resist evils and falsities and to tame and subdue them as enemies, is to overcome. But no one overcomes, unless he continues in the spiritual affection of truth, even to the end of his life in the world. The work is then finished, for a man remains to eternity such as he then is, that is, such as his life has been up to that time: death is its completion. But no one can overcome except the Lord alone; the man who believes that he overcomes of himself, and not the Lord with him, does not overcome, but falls; for it is spiritual faith which overcomes, and nothing of spiritual faith is from man, but it is entirely from the Lord. (What spiritual faith is may be seen in the small work,The Last Judgment 33-39; and in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 108-120; and what spiritual temptation is, n. 187-201 in the same.) That "shall not be hurt of the second death," denotes to come into the New Heaven, cannot be understood unless it be known what is meant by the former heaven, and what by the New Heaven, which are treated of in chap. 21 of the Apocalypse. (What is meant by the former heaven is shown in the small work, The Last Judgment 65-72; and what by the New Heaven, in The New Jerusalem and its Doctrine, n. 1-7.) But what is meant by the first death and by the second death, as also by the first and second resurrection, is shown in the explanation of chaps. 20 and 21, where it is said:

"The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection; on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ" (20:5, 6).

"Their part shall be in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death" (21:8).

It is therefore evident that the second death is damnation: to be hurt of it, is to be damned, and, on the contrary, not to be hurt of it is to be saved. And because all those who are saved come into the New Heaven, therefore to come into the new heaven is what is signified by not being hurt of the second death. (Concerning which heaven and those of whom it consists, see the small work, The New Jerusalem and its Doctrine, n. 2-6.)

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