18. Verses4-6. John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you, and peace, from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come; and from the seven spirits which are in sight of His throne; and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the Firstborn of the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth. Unto Him that loveth us, and washeth us from our sins in His blood; and hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be the glory and the might unto the ages of the ages. Amen.

4. "John," signifies the Lord in respect to doctrine (n. 19); "to the seven churches," signifies to all who are in truths from good, or in faith from charity (n. 20); "in Asia," signifies those who are in the light of intelligence (n. 21); "Grace to you, and peace," signifies the delight of truth and good (n. 22); "from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come," signifies from Him who is the All in all things of heaven and of the church from eternity to eternity (n. 23); "and from the seven spirits," signifies the Divine in heaven (n. 24); "which are in sight of His throne," signifies presence and providence (n. 25).

5. "And from Jesus Christ," signifies from the Lord in respect to the Divine Human (n. 26); "the faithful witness," signifies from whom is all truth in heaven (n. 27[1-4]); "the Firstborn from the dead," signifies from whom is all good in heaven n. 28; "and the Prince of the kings of the earth," signifies from whom is all truth from good in the church n. 29; "Unto Him that loveth us, and washeth us from our sins in His blood," signifies His love, and regeneration from Him through truths that are from Him n. 30.

6. "And hath made us kings and priests," signifies that from Him we are in His spiritual and celestial kingdom n. 31; "unto God and His Father," signifies by Divine truth and Divine good (n. 32); "to Him be the glory and the might unto the ages of the ages," signifies that these things are from Him alone to eternity (n. 33); "Amen," signifies Divine confirmation (n. 34).

22. Grace to you and peace, signifies the delight of truth and good. This is evident from the signification of "grace" as being the delight of truth (about which more presently); and from the signification of "peace," as being the delight of the good of innocence and love (on which see in the work on Heaven and Hell, where the State of Peace in Heaven is treated of, n. 284-290). "Grace" means the delight of truth, because there are two things that proceed from the Lord, united in their origin, but separated with those that receive them. For there are those that receive more the Divine truth than the Divine good, and those that receive more the Divine good than the Divine truth. Those that receive more the Divine truth than the Divine good are in the Lord's spiritual kingdom, and are therefore called spiritual; but those that receive more the Divine good than the Divine truth are in the Lord's celestial kingdom, and are therefore called celestial (On these two kingdoms in heaven and in the church, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 20-28.) To those in the spiritual kingdom it is granted by the Lord to be in the affection of truth for the sake of truth; and this Divine is what is called grace; so far, therefore, as anyone is in that affection is he in the Lord's Divine grace; nor is there any other Divine grace with man, spirit, or angel, than to be affected by truth, because it is truth, since in that affection there is heaven and blessedness for them (See in The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine, n.232, 236, 238; and Heaven and Hell 395-414). Whether we say the affection of truth or the delight of truth it is the same; for there is no affection without delight.

[2] This in particular is what is meant by "grace" in the Word; as in John:

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt in us, and we beheld His glory, a glory as of the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth, of His fullness we all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:14, 16-17).

It is said "grace and truth," because grace is the affection and the delight of truth. And in Luke, after the Lord had explained in the synagogue the prophesy of Isaiah respecting Himself, that is, the Divine truth, it is said:

All wondered at the words of grace proceeding out of His mouth (Luke 4:22).

the Divine truths that the Lord spoke are called "words of grace proceeding out of His mouth," because they are acceptable, grateful, and delightful. In general, Divine grace is all that is given from the Lord; and as all that is so given has relation to faith and love, and faith is the affection of truth from good, this is meant in particular by Divine grace: for to be gifted with faith and love, or with the affection of truth from good, is to be gifted with heaven, thus with eternal blessedness.