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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 #956

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956. And let him who hears say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. This symbolically means that anyone who has any knowledge of the Lord's coming and of the New Heaven and New Church, thus of the Lord's kingdom, let him pray for the Lord's coming; and anyone who desires truths, let him pray for the Lord to come with light. And anyone who loves truths will then receive them from the Lord apart from any endeavors of his own.

"Let him who hears say, 'Come!'" symbolically means that anyone who hears about the Lord's coming and about the New Heaven and New Church, thus about the Lord's kingdom, and so has some knowledge of these, should pray for the Lord to come. "Let him who thirsts say, 'Come!'" symbolically means that anyone who longs for the Lord's kingdom and truths at that time should pray for the Lord to come with light. "Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely" symbolically means that whoever is moved by love to learn truths and assimilate them into himself will receive them from the Lord apart from any endeavors of his own. To desire symbolizes love, because whatever a person desires from the heart is something he loves, and whatever he loves is something he desires from the heart. The water of life symbolizes Divine truths obtained from the Lord through the Word (no. 932), and to obtain them freely means, symbolically, apart from any endeavors of his own.

Something similar to the symbolic meaning in this verse is that of the wish contained in the Lord's Prayer, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done, as in heaven, so upon the earth" (no. 839). The Lord's kingdom is the church that is united with heaven. So it is that we are now told, "Let him who hears say, 'Come!' And let him who thirsts come."

[2] That thirsting symbolizes a longing for truths is clear from the following:

...I will pour water on him who is thirsty...; I will pour My spirit on your offspring... (Isaiah 44:3)

Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters... buy wine and milk without money... (Isaiah 55:1)

...Jesus... cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me..., out of his belly will flow rivers of living water." (John 7:37-38)

My soul thirsts... for the living God. (Psalms 42:2)

O God, You are my God...; my soul thirsts for You; ...I am weary, without water. (Psalms 63:1)

Blessed are those who... thirst for righteousness... (Matthew 5:6)

To him who thirsts I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely. (Revelation 21:6)

The last symbolically means that to those who desire truths for some useful spiritual purpose, the Lord will give of Himself through the Word everything conducive to that useful purpose.

[3] Thirst and thirsting also symbolize perishing from a lack of truth, as is clear from the following:

...my people will go into exile, because they have no acknowledgment... their multitude dried up with thirst. (Isaiah 5:13)

...the foolish person speaks foolishness, and his heart works iniquity..., and he causes the soul... of the thirsty for drink to fail. (Isaiah 32:6)

The poor and needy seek water, but there is none, their tongues fail for thirst. I, Jehovah, will hear them. (Isaiah 41:17)

Contend with your mother..., lest I strip her naked... and slay her with thirst. (Hosea 2:2-3)

The prophet's mother there is the church.

Behold, the days are coming... when I will send a hunger on the land, not a hunger for bread, nor a thirst for water, but for hearing the words of Jehovah... In that day the fair virgins and young men shall faint from thirst. (Amos 8:11, 13)

On the other hand, not thirsting symbolically means to have no lack of truth, in the following:

Jesus... said..., "Whoever drinks... of the water that I shall give him will not thirst to eternity." (John 4:13-15)

Jesus said..., ."..he who believes in Me shall never thirst." (John 6:35)

Jehovah has redeemed... Jacob. Then they will not thirst... He caused the waters to flow from the rock for them. (Isaiah 48:20-21)

  
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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 91:9

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9 Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;