<< Revelation 22 >>

 1. And he showed me a pure river of water of life, bright as crystal, going forth from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2. In the midst of the street of it, and of the river, on  this side and on that, was the tree of life, bearing twelve fruits, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3. And no accursed thing shall be there; and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall minister unto 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 have no need of a lamp and the light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light; and they shall reign for ages of ages.
6. And He said unto me, These words are faithful and true. And the Lord God of the holy prophets hath sent His angel to show unto His servants the things which must shortly be done. 7. And I come quickly; happy is he that keepeth the words of the prophecy of this book. 8. And I John saw these things and heard; and when I heard and saw, I fell down to adore before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. 9. And he saith unto me, See thou do it not; for I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them that keep the words of this book; adore God. 10. And he saith unto me, Seal not the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand.

11. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is just, let him be just still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still. 12. And behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to render to everyone according as his work shall be. 13. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the End, the First and the Last. 14. Happy are they that do His commandments, that their power may be in the tree of life, and they may enter in through the gates into the city. 15. But without are dogs and sorcerers, and whoremongers and murderers and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and doeth a lie. 16. I Jesus have sent My angel to testify unto you these things in the churches; I am the Root, and the Offspring of David, 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 thirsteth come; and let him that willeth take the water of life freely. 18. For I testify unto everyone that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if anyone shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book. 19. And if anyone 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 the things which are written in this book. 20. He who testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Yea come, Lord Jesus. 21. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

The contents of the whole chapter That church is still described as to intelligence from Divine truths from the Lord (verses 1-5). That Revelation was manifested by the Lord, and that it is to be revealed in its own time (verses 6-10). Concerning the coming of the Lord, and His conjunction with those who believe in Him, and live according to His commandments (verses 11-17). That the things which are revealed are by all means to be kept (verses 18-19). The Betrothal (verses 17, 20-21).

 Verse 1. "And he showed me a pure river of water of life, bright as crystal, going forth from the throne of God and of the Lamb," 
 
 Revelation now opened and explained as to its spiritual sense, where Divine truths in abundance are revealed by the Lord, for those who will be in His New Church, which is the New Jerusalem.
 
 Verse 2. "In the midst of the street of it, and of the river, on this side and on that, was the tree of life, bearing twelve fruits,"
 
 That in the inmosts of the truths of doctrine and thence of life in the New Church is the Lord in His Divine love, from Whom all the goods, which man there does apparently as of himself, flow forth.
 
 "Yielding its fruit every month,"
 
 The Lord produces goods with man according to every state of truth with him.
 
 "And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations,"
 
 Rational truths therefrom, by which they who are in evils and thence in falsities are led to think soundly and to live becomingly.
 
 Verse 3. "And no accursed thing shall be there; and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall minister unto Him,"
 
 In the church which is the New Jerusalem, there will not be any who are separated from the Lord, because the Lord Himself will reign there, and they who are in truths from Him through the Word, and do His commandments, will be with Him, because conjoined with Him.
 
 Verse 4. "And they shall see His face, and His name shall be in their foreheads," 
 
  They will turn themselves to the Lord, and the Lord will turn Himself to them, because they are conjoined by love.
 
 Verse 5. "And there shall be no night there, and they have no need of a lamp and the light of the sun, for the Lord giveth them light,"
 
 There will not be any falsity of faith in the New Jerusalem, and that men there will not be in knowledges concerning God there from natural light which is their own intelligence, and from glory arising from pride, but will be in spiritual light from the Word from the Lord alone.
 
 "And they shall reign for ages of ages,"

 They will be in the Lord's kingdom and in conjunction with Him to eternity.

Verse 6. "And He said unto me, These words are faithful and true,"
 
They may know this for certain, because the Lord Himself has testified and said it.

 "And the Lord God of the holy prophets hath sent His angel to show unto His servants the things which must shortly be done,"
 
 The Lord, from Whom is the Word of both Covenants, has revealed through heaven to those who are in truths from Him, the things which are certainly to be.

 Verse 7. "Behold, I come quickly; happy is he that keepeth the words of this prophecy,"
 
 The Lord will certainly come, and will give eternal life to those who keep and do the truths or precepts of doctrine of this book now opened by the Lord.
 
 Verse 8. "And I John saw these things and heard; and when I heard and saw, I fell down to adore before the feet of the angel who showed me these things,"
 
  John thought that the angel who was sent to him by the Lord, that he might be kept in a state of the spirit, was God Who revealed those things; when yet it was not so, for the angel only showed what the Lord manifested.
 
 Verse 9. "And he said unto me, See thou do it not, for I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them that keep the words of this book, adore God,"
 
 The angels of heaven are not to be adored and invoked, because nothing Divine belongs to them; but that they are associated with men as brethren with brethren, with those who are in the doctrine of the New Jerusalem, and do its commandments; and that the Lord alone is to be adored in consociation with them.
 
 Verse 10. "And he said unto me, Seal not the words of this prophecy, for the time is at hand,"
 
 Revelation must not be closed up, but is to be opened; and that this is necessary in the end of the church, that any may be saved.
 
 Verse 11. "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is just, let him be just still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still,"
 
 The state of all in particular after death, and before his judgment, and in general before the Last Judgment, that goods will be taken away from those who are in evils, and truths from those who are in falsities; and on the other hand, that evils will be taken away from those who are in goods, and falsities from those who are in truths.
 
 Verse 12. "And behold, I come quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to everyone according as his work shall be,"
 
 The Lord will certainly come, and that He is heaven and the happiness of eternal life to everyone according to his faith in Him, and his life according to His commandments.
 
 Verse 13. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last,"
 
 The Lord is the God of heaven and earth, and by Him all things in the heavens and on earth were made, and are ruled by His Divine providence, and are done according to it .
 
 Verse 14. "Happy are they that do His commandments, that their power may be in the tree of life, and they may enter through the gates into the city,"
 
 They have eternal happiness who live according to the Lord's commandments, for the end that they may be in the Lord and the Lord in them by love, and in His New Church by knowledges concerning Him.
 
 Verse 15. "But without are dogs, and sorcerers and whoremongers, and murderers and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and doeth a lie,"
 
 No one is received into the New Jerusalem, who makes the precepts of the Decalogue of no account, and does not shun any evils there named as sins, and therefore lives in them.

 Verse 16. "I Jesus have sent My angel to testify unto you these things in the churches,"
 
 A testification by the Lord before the whole Christian world, that it is true that the Lord alone manifested the things which are described in this book, as also those which are now opened.
 
 "I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright and morning Star,"
 
 He is the Lord Himself who was born in the world, and was then the Light, and who will come with new light, which will arise before His New Church, which is the holy Jerusalem.
 
 Verse 17. "And the Spirit and the Bride say, Come,"
 
  Heaven and the church desire the coming of the Lord.
 
 "And let him that heareth say, Come; and let him that thirsteth come; and let him that willeth take the water of life freely,"
 
 He who knows anything of the Lord's coming, and of the New Heaven and the New Church, and thus of the Lord's kingdom, should pray that it may come; and that he who desires truths should pray that the Lord may come with light; and that he who loves truths will then receive them from the Lord without labor of his own.
 
 Verse 18. "For I testify unto everyone that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if anyone shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book,"
 
 They who read and know the truths of the doctrine of this book now opened by the Lord, and still acknowledge any other God than the Lord, and any other faith than in Him, by adding anything by which they may destroy these two, cannot do otherwise than perish from the falsities and evils which are signified by the plagues described in this book.
 
 Verse 19. "And if anyone shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and the things which are written in this book,"
 
 They who read and know the truths of the doctrine of this book now opened by the Lord, and still acknowledge any other God than the Lord, and any other faith than in Him, by taking away anything by which they may destroy these two, cannot be wise in and appropriate to themselves anything from the Word, nor be received into the New Jerusalem, nor have their lot with those who are in the Lord's kingdom.
 
 Verse 20. "He who testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly; yea, come, Lord Jesus,"
 
 The Lord, who revealed Revelation, and has now opened it, testifying this Gospel, that in His Divine Human, which He assumed in the world and glorified, He comes as the Bridegroom and Husband; and that the church desires Him as a Bride and Wife.

Author: Emanuel Swedenborg (Apocalypse Revealed)