IBhayibheli

 

Revelation 22

Funda

   

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.

   

Okususelwe Emisebenzini kaSwedenborg

 

Apocalypse Revealed #700

Funda lesi Sigaba

  
Yiya esigabeni / 962  
  

700. And its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the rising of the sun might be made ready. This symbolically means that the falsities in those reasonings were removed in the case of people who possess truths from the Lord that spring from goodness, and who are to be introduced into the New Church.

That the water was dried up means symbolically that the falsities in those interior reasonings were removed. Its being dried up symbolizes their removal - water symbolizing truths, and in an opposite sense falsities (nos. 50, 614), here the falsities in people's interior reasonings, because the water was the water of the river Euphrates, which symbolizes those reasonings (no. 699). The kings for whom the way was made ready symbolize people who possess truths from the Lord that spring from goodness (nos. 18, 483). The rising of the sun symbolizes the beginning of the New Church from the Lord, the same as morning (no. 151). Preparing the way symbolizes a preparation to introduce.

It is apparent from this that the water's being dried up, so that the way of the kings from the rising of the sun might be made ready, symbolically means that the falsities in their interior reasonings were removed in the case of people who possess truths from the Lord that spring from goodness, and who are to be introduced into the New Church.

[2] The context of this is as follows: The subject here is the final period or end of the present church and the establishment or beginning of a new church and its struggles. The people of the present church caught up in faith alone are meant by the dragon, beast, and false prophet, spoken of next, and their conflicts with people who will belong to the New Church are meant by the gathering of the kings of the earth to do battle. Those people who will belong to the New Church, on the other hand, with whom they will conflict, are meant by those for whom the water of the river Euphrates was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the rising of the sun might be made ready.

This involves an occurrence similar to one in the introduction of the children of Israel into the land of Canaan, with the difference that for the Israelites the river Jordan was dried up, while for the people here it is the river Euphrates. It is the river Euphrates for the people here because they use interior reasonings to carry on the conflict, reasonings that must be dried up, that is, removed, before the introduction can occur. This is also the reason that their interior reasonings are being exposed in this book. If they were not exposed, an unwitting person, no matter how intelligent, might easily be led astray.

  
Yiya esigabeni / 962  
  

Many thanks to the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and to Rev. N.B. Rogers, translator, for the permission to use this translation.

IBhayibheli

 

Revelation 16:12

Funda

       

12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.