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 #409

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409. And it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. This symbolically means that consequently all the Word's truths had been completely falsified.

Rivers symbolize truths in abundance, because waters symbolize truths (no. 50); and springs of water or fountains symbolize the Word (no. 384). The meaning is that the Word's truths had been completely falsified, because in the next verse we are told that a third of the waters became wormwood, and wormwood symbolizes hellish falsity (no. 410).

[2] That rivers symbolize truths in abundance can be seen from the following passages:

...I am doing a new thing... ...I will give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My people, My chosen. (Isaiah 43:19-20)

...I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and rivers on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your offspring, and My blessing on your descendants. (Isaiah 44:3)

Then... the tongue of the dumb shall sing; for waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert plain. (Isaiah 35:6)

I will open rivers in the heights, and put fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. (Isaiah 41:18)

(Jehovah) has founded (the world) upon the seas, ...established it upon the rivers. (Psalms 24:2)

I will set His hand over the sea, and His right hand on the rivers. (Psalms 89:25)

Was Jehovah angry with the rivers? Was Your anger against the rivers? Was Your wrath against the sea, that You rode on Your horses...? (Habakkuk 3:8)

There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God... (Psalms 46:4)

He showed me a pure river of water of life..., proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. (Revelation 22:1)

He split the rocks in the wilderness, and made the great abysses drink... ...He struck the rock..., and rivers flowed out... (Psalms 78:15-16, 20, cf. 105:41)

The waters will fail in the sea, and the river will be... dried up. (Isaiah 19:5-7; cf. 42:15; 50:2, Nahum 1:4, Psalms 107:33, Job 14:11)

(Jesus said, "If anyone comes to Me,) as the Scripture has said, out of his belly will flow rivers of living water." (John 7:37-38)

And so, too, elsewhere, such as Isaiah 33:21, Jeremiah 17:7-8, Deuteronomy 8:7.

[3] In an opposite sense, however, rivers symbolize falsities in abundance, as can be seen from the following:

(It) will send ambassadors by sea... to a nation... downtrodden, whose land the rivers have despoiled. (Isaiah 18:2)

If not for Jehovah on our side..., ...the waters would have overwhelmed us, (and) the river would have gone over our soul. (Psalms 124:2, 4-5)

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you. (Isaiah 43:2)

The cords of death surrounded me, and the rivers of Belial terrified me. (Psalms 18:5)

(The dragon) spewed water out of its mouth like a river after the woman, that it might cause her to be swallowed up by the stream. (Revelation 12:15)

...behold, Jehovah will cause to rise over them the waters of the river, strong and many..., and it will... overflow and pass through, and reach up to the neck. (Isaiah 8:7-8)

...the floods came, and... rushed upon that house; and (yet) it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. (Matthew 7:25; cf. 7:27, Luke 6:48-49)

Rivers here, too, stand for falsities in abundance, because the rock symbolizes the Lord in relation to Divine truth.

Rivers also symbolize temptations or trials, because temptations or trials are inundations of falsities.

  
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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

 

Ezekiel 37:26-27

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26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.

27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.