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 Revealed #951

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951. 22:14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have their power in the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. This symbolically means that eternal happiness awaits those who live in accordance with the Lord's commandments, in order that through love, and in His New Church through concepts of Him, they may be in the Lord and have the Lord in them.

The blessed symbolize people who possess the felicity of eternal life (nos. 639, 852, 944). To do the Lord's commandments means, symbolically, to live in accordance with His commandments. That they may have their power in the tree of life means, symbolically, in order that through love, that is, for the Lord's sake, they may be in the Lord and have the Lord in them, which we explain below. To enter through the gates into the city means, symbolically, that they may be in the Lord's New Church through concepts of Him. The gates in the wall of the New Jerusalem symbolize concepts of goodness and truth from the Word (nos. 899, 900, 922), and because each gate consisted of a single pearl, the gates symbolize principally concepts of the Lord (no. 916). The city, that is, Jerusalem, symbolizes the New Church together with its doctrine (nos. 879, 880).

[2] That they may have their power in the tree of life means, symbolically, in order that through love, that is, for the Lord's sake, they may be in the Lord and have the Lord in them, because the tree of life symbolizes the Lord in respect to His Divine love (nos. 89, 933). And the power in that tree symbolizes power from the Lord, because they are in the Lord and have the Lord in them. The symbolic meaning of this is similar to that of the declaration that they will reign with the Lord (nos. 284, 849).

That people who are in the Lord and have the Lord in them possess all the power needed to be able to do whatever they will, the Lord Himself says in John:

He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing... If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. (John 15:5, 7)

Something similar is said about this power in Matthew 7:7, Mark 11:24, Luke 11:9-10. Indeed, we read in Matthew:

Jesus... said..., ."..if you have faith..., ...if you say to this mountain, 'Raise yourself up... cast yourself into the sea,' it will be done. (Indeed,) everything you ask..., believing, you will receive." (Matthew 21:21-22)

This describes the power those people have who are in the Lord. They do not wish for and so do not ask for anything that does not come from the Lord; and whatever they wish for and ask from the Lord, this comes to pass, for the Lord says, "without Me you can do nothing. Abide in Me, and I in you." Such is the power that angels in heaven have, that they have only to wish for something in order to obtain it. But still they wish only for things that may be of useful service, wishing this as though of themselves, but in fact from the Lord.

  
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Many thanks to the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and to Rev. N.B. Rogers, translator, for the permission to use this translation.

The Bible

 

Exodus 15:13

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13 Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.