The Bible

 

Revelation 22

Study

   

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

 

True Christian Religion #102

Study this Passage

  
/ 853  
  

102. The current belief of Christians is that the Lord as far as His Human is concerned not only was, but is, the Son of Mary, but this is a delusion. It is true that He was the Son of Mary, but not that He still is, since by His redeeming actions He put off the human He had from His mother and put on the Human from His Father. That is why the Lord's Human is Divine, and in Him God is man and man God. It can also be seen that He put off the human from His mother and put on the Human from his Father, that is, the Divine Human, by noticing that He never called Mary His mother, as is evident from the following passages:

Jesus' mother said to Him, They have no wine. Jesus said to her, What have I to do with you, woman? My hour has not yet come, John 2:3-4.

and elsewhere:

Jesus from the cross saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing next to her. He says to His mother, Woman, behold your son; then He says to the disciple, Behold your mother, John 19:26-27.

and on one occasion He did not acknowledge her:

People reported to Jesus, saying, Your mother and your brothers are standing outside and want to see you. In answer Jesus said, My mother and my brothers are those who hear the Word of God and do it, Luke 8:20-21; Matthew 12:46-50; Mark 3:31-35.

So the Lord did not call her mother, but woman, and He gave her to be a mother to John. In other passages she is called His mother, but never by the Lord himself.

[2] This is also proved by the fact that He did not acknowledge Himself to be the Son of David, for we read in the Gospels:

Jesus asked the Pharisees, saying, What is your opinion of the Christ? Whose son is he? They say to Him, David's. He said to them, How then does David call him in spirit his Lord, saying, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies the footstool for your feet? If then David calls Him Lord, how is He his son? And no one could say a word in reply to Him, Matthew 22:41-46; Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:41-44; Psalms 110:1.

[3] Here I shall add something new.

I was once allowed to speak with Mary the mother of Jesus. She happened to be passing, and appeared in heaven above my head, dressed in white garments that looked like silk. Then she paused for a moment to say that she had been the Lord's mother, and He was born to her, but became God putting off everything human He had from her, and she therefore worships Him as her God, and she did not want anyone to acknowledge Him as her Son, because all the Divine is in Him.

The truth now shines out from these statements, that Jehovah is thus man in first things as in last, as it is written:

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, He who is, who was and who is to come, the Almighty, Revelation 1:8, 11.

John, on seeing the Son of Man in the midst of the seven lampstands, fell at His feet as if dead. But He laid His right hand upon him, saying, I am the first and the last, Revelation 1:13, 17; 21:6.

Behold, I come quickly, to give to each according to his deeds. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last, Revelation 22:12-13.

Also in Isaiah:

Thus spoke Jehovah, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, Jehovah Zebaoth, I am the first and the last, Isaiah 44:6; 48:12.

  
/ 853  
  

Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.

The Bible

 

Revelation 5

Study

   

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.