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 Revealed #13

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13. From Him who is and who was and who is to come. This symbolically means, from the Lord who is eternal and infinite, and who is Jehovah.

That it is the Lord is clearly apparent from verses that follow in this chapter, where it is said that John heard a voice from the Son of Man saying, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last," and afterward, "I am the First and the Last" as well as in the next chapter, 2:8, and later in 21:6; 22:12-13). Also in Isaiah:

Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Jehovah of Hosts: "I am the First and I am the Last, and besides Me there is no God." (Isaiah 44:6; also 48:12)

Moreover, He who is the First and the Last is He who is, who was, and who is to come.

[2] This also is the meaning of "Jehovah." For the name "Jehovah" means "He is" and "He who is," or He who is being itself. 1 It also means "He was" and "He is to come," since the past and the future in Him are present. Consequently He is eternal independently of time, and infinite independently of place.

The church also confesses this in conformity with the doctrine of the trinity called the Athanasian Creed, where these words are found:

The Father is eternal and infinite, the Son is eternal and infinite, and the Holy Spirit is eternal and infinite. And yet there are not three eternal and infinite Gods, but one.

That one is the Lord, as we demonstrated in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem Regarding the Lord.

Footnotes:

1. See Exodus 3:13-15.

  
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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

 

Deuteronomy 12:11

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11 Then there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the LORD: