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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

 

True Christian Religion #687

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687. Moreover, baptism as representing regeneration is evidenced by many things in heaven and in the world. In heaven, as just said, by white and purple clothing, and besides by the wedding of the church with the Lord; also by the new heaven and the new earth, and the New Jerusalem coming down from there, of which He who sits upon the throne said:

Behold, I shall make all things new, Revelation 21:1-5.

It is also meant by the river of water of life 1 which issues from the throne of God and the Lamb (Revelation 22:1-2); and also by the five wise virgins who had lamps and oil, and went in with the bridegroom to the wedding (Matthew 25:1-2, 10). One who is baptised, that is, regenerated, is meant by every creature (Mark 16:15; Romans 8:19-21) and by a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15); for creature is derived from being created, which also means being regenerated (see Apocalypse Revealed 254).

[2] In the world there are various representations of regeneration, such as the way all the earth's products flower in springtime, and then stage by stage develop until they bear fruit; and likewise by the way any tree, shrub or flower grows from the first month of warm weather until the last. Another representation is the stages by which all fruits gradually ripen from the first rudiments to the full development. Then again it is represented by early morning and late evening showers, and by dew, which when it falls makes flowers open, and the shades of night make them close again; or again by the fragrant smells from gardens and fields. Another representation is by the rainbow in the cloud (Genesis 9:14-17), as well as by the glorious colours of sunrise. In general it is represented by the way everything in the body is continually renewed by means of the chyle and animal spirit, and so by the blood, which perpetually undergoes purification from exhausted matter, and is so renewed and, so to speak, regenerated.

[3] If we turn our attention to the humblest creatures on earth, there is a wonderful picture of regeneration presented by the way silk-worms and many caterpillars are transformed into nymphs and butterflies, and other insects which as time goes on are adorned with wings. To these examples even more trivial ones can be added, such as the fondness of certain birds for plunging in water in order to wash and cleanse themselves, after which they revert to their role as song-birds. In short, the whole world from first to last is full of representations and models of regeneration.

Footnotes:

1. Reading vitae for vivae in accordance with the Greek; so also in AR.

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

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