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 #167

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167. "'And they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.'" This symbolically means that they will live with the Lord in His spiritual kingdom, because they are governed by truths from Him.

This is the meaning of these words because to walk in the Word symbolically means to live, and to walk with God symbolically means to live from Him, and because to be in white means, symbolically, to be guided by truths. For the color white in the Word is predicated of truths, because it takes its origin from the light of the sun, while red is predicated of goods, because it takes its origin from the sun's fire, and blackness is predicated of falsities, because it takes its origin from the darkness of hell.

People who are governed by truths from the Lord, being conjoined with Him, are called worthy, for all worth in the spiritual world comes from conjunction with the Lord.

It is apparent from this that "they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy," means, symbolically, that they will live with the Lord, because they are governed by truths from Him.

We say that they will live with the Lord in His spiritual kingdom because the whole of heaven has been distinguished into two kingdoms - the celestial kingdom and the spiritual kingdom - and in the celestial kingdom live people who are governed by the goodness of love from the Lord, while in the spiritual kingdom live those who are governed by the truths of wisdom from the Lord. The latter are also said to walk with the Lord in white. Moreover, they are dressed in white garments.

[2] That to walk means, symbolically, to live, and to walk with God means to live with Him because it is to live from Him, is clear from the following passages:

He walked with Me in peace and rectitude... (Malachi 2:6)

You have delivered my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living. (Psalms 56:13)

...David... kept My commandments and... walked after Me with all his heart... (1 Kings 14:8)

Remember..., O Jehovah..., how I have walked before You in truth... (Isaiah 38:3)

If you... walk contrary to Me..., and... do not obey (My voice)..., I also will walk contrary to you... (Leviticus 26:23-24, 27-28)

They would not walk in the ways (of Jehovah). (Isaiah 42:24; cf. Deuteronomy 11:22; 19:9; 26:17)

...all people walk... in the name of (their) god, but we will walk in the name of Jehovah... (Micah 4:5)

A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light... ...believe in the light... (John 12:35-36; cf. 8:12)

...the scribes asked..., "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders...?" (Mark 7:5)

Walking is also said of Jehovah, that He walks among people, which is to say that He lives in them and together with them:

I will make My dwelling among you, and... I will walk among you and be your God... (Leviticus 26:11-12)

It is apparent from this what is meant by the statement,

These things says He... who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands. (Revelation 2:1)

  
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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

 

Psalms 45:7-8

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7 You have loved righteousness, and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.

8 All your garments smell like myrrh, aloes, and cassia. Out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made you glad.