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 #281

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281. "Because You were slain and have redeemed us to God by Your blood." This symbolizes deliverance from hell and salvation by conjunction with the Lord.

We need not have recourse to the spiritual sense to explain the specific symbolic meanings of the particulars here, such as what it means to be slain, to redeem us to God, and the meaning of His blood, for they are arcana which are not apparent in the literal sense. It is enough to say that it is redemption that is thus described. And because redemption is deliverance from hell and salvation by conjunction with the Lord, these are what are symbolically meant.

Here we will simply confirm from the Word that Jehovah Himself came into the world, was born a human being, and became the Redeemer and Savior for all who by a life of charity and its faith are conjoined with His Divine humanity, and that Jehovah is the Lord from eternity, so that the Lord's Divine humanity, with which one must be conjoined, is the Divine humanity of Jehovah Himself.

[2] We will accordingly cite here passages which confirm that Jehovah and the Lord are one, and that because they are one and not two, the Lord from eternity, who is Jehovah Himself, is, by assuming a human form, the Redeemer and Savior. This is apparent from the following:

You, O Jehovah, are our Father; our Redeemer from of old is Your name. (Isaiah 63:16)

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

Thus said Jehovah, your Redeemer, and He who formed you...: "I am Jehovah, who makes all things and... alone... by Myself. (Isaiah 44:24)

Thus says Jehovah, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am Jehovah your God...." (Isaiah 48:17)

...Jehovah, my rock, and my Redeemer. (Psalms 19:14)

Their Redeemer is strong; Jehovah of Hosts is His name. (Jeremiah 50:34)

...Jehovah of Hosts is His name; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He shall be called the God of the whole earth. (Isaiah 54:5)

...that all flesh may know that I, Jehovah, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. (Isaiah 49:26; 60:16)

As for our Redeemer, Jehovah of Hosts is His name... (Isaiah 47:4)

."..with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you." Thus said Jehovah your Redeemer. (Isaiah 54:8)

...said Jehovah, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 43:14)

...said Jehovah, the Redeemer of Israel, His Holy One... (Isaiah 49:7)

You have redeemed me, O Jehovah, God of truth. (Psalms 31:5)

Let Israel hope in Jehovah, for... with Him is abundant redemption. He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. (Psalms 130:7-8)

Arise (O Lord) for our help, and redeem us for Your mercies' sake. (Psalms 44:26)

(Jehovah God said,) I will redeem them from the power of hell; I will redeem them from death. (Hosea 13:4, 14)

(O Jehovah,) hear my voice... He will redeem my soul... (Psalms 55:17-18)

See also Psalms 49:15; 69:18; 71:23; 103:1, 4; 107:2, Jeremiah 15:20-21.

[3] People in the church do not deny that the Lord is the Redeemer in His humanity, because it accords with Scripture, including this statement:

Who... comes from Edom..., traveling in the greatness of His strength? ...the year of My redeemed has come... ...He redeemed them... (Isaiah 63:1, 4, 9)

Say to the daughter of Zion, "Surely your salvation is coming; behold, His reward is with Him, and... they shall call them The Holy People, The Redeemed of Jehovah." (Isaiah 62:11-12)

Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people... (Luke 1:68)

And so, too, elsewhere.

For still more passages confirming that the Lord from eternity, who is Jehovah Himself, came into the world and assumed human form in order to redeem mankind, see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem Regarding the Lord, nos. 37-46.

Jehovah is also called a Savior in many places, too many to cite them here.

  
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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

 

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.