The Bible

 

Revelation 22

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1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

3 And there shall be no more curse: 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 in their foreheads.

5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

6 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.

7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

8 And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.

9 Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.

11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst Come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are 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 the things which are written in this book.

20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Explained #460

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460. Saying, Salvation unto our God who sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, signifies confession that eternal life is from the Lord alone. This is evident from the signification of "saying," as being to confess, for the confession follows; also from the signification of "unto Him who sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb," as being the Lord in relation to Divine good and in relation to Divine truth; that the "one sitting upon the throne" means the Lord in relation to Divine good, and "the Lamb" the Lord in relation to Divine truth may be seen above (n. 134, 253, 297, 314). It is evident also from the signification of "salvation" as being eternal life, for eternal life means in the Word eternal salvation.

[2] "Salvation unto Him," signifies that salvation is from Him, since He is salvation; for everything of salvation and of eternal life is from the Lord and is with man and angel; for all the good of love and all the truth of faith with man are the Lord's with him, and not the man's; for it is the Divine proceeding, which is the Lord in heaven with the angels and in the church with men, and from the good of love and the truth of faith come salvation and eternal life; so when it is said that salvation is the Lord's, and that the Lord Himself is salvation, it is clear how this is to be understood, as in the following passages. In Isaiah:

Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him that He may save us; this is Jehovah; we have waited for Him; let us exult and be glad in His salvation (Isaiah 25:9).

In the same:

My salvation shall not delay; and I will give salvation in Zion, My splendor in Israel (Isaiah 46:13).

In the same:

I have given Thee for a light to the nations, that Thou mayest be My salvation unto the end of the earth (Isaiah 49:6).

In the same:

Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold thy salvation cometh (Isaiah 62:11).

In David:

Jehovah shall give out of 1 Zion the salvation of Israel, when He shall bring back the captivity of His people (Psalms 14:7; 53:6).

This is said of the Lord, who is here called salvation, from the act of saving, and for the reason that He is salvation with man, for so far as the Lord is with man so far man has salvation. So in Luke:

Simeon said, Mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples (Luke 2:30, 31).

Again, this is why the Lord was called "Jesus," for Jesus means salvation.

[3] It is said, "who sitteth upon the throne, and the Lamb," both of these meaning the Lord, "who sitteth upon the throne," meaning the Lord in relation to Divine good, and "the Lamb" meaning the Lord in relation to Divine truth, both from His Divine Human (as has been shown above in the passages cited). Wherefore, elsewhere, the Lamb alone upon the throne is mentioned, as in Revelation(Revelation 5:6), "Behold in the midst of the throne a Lamb standing," also (Revelation 7:17), "The Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall feed them;" also in this chapter, the Lamb alone is called God (verses 11, 12), "They fell down before the throne, and worshiped God, saying, Strength unto our God." The meaning here is similar as when the Lord speaks of "the Father" and "the Son" as if they were two, when yet by "the Father" He meant the Divine in Itself, and by "the Son" His Human from that Divine; this He again clearly teaches when He says that the Father is in Him and He in the Father and that He and the Father are one. The meaning is similar in these words, "who sitteth upon the throne, and the Lamb." (That also "the Lamb" means the Lord's Divine Human, and in a relative sense the good of innocence, see above, n. 314.)

Footnotes:

1. The photolithograph has "in Zion," the Hebrew "out of Zion" is found in AE 811.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for their permission to use this translation.

The Bible

 

Revelation 5

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

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

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

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

5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, 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 beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been 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 beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.

9 And they sung 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 kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;

10 And 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 beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;

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

13 And every creature which is in 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 power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

14 And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.