Apocalypse Revealed (Coulsons) n. 903

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903. 'And in them the names of the Lamb's twelve apostles' signifies all the things of the doctrine derived from the Word concerning the Lord and concerning a life in accordance with His precepts. The reason why 'the names of the Lamb's twelve apostles' were written in the foundations is because by 'the twelve apostles' is signified the Lord's Church as to all the things thereof (n. 79, 233, 790), here as to all the things of its doctrine, because their names 'were written upon the twelve foundations', by which are signified all the things of the doctrine of the New Jerusalem (n. 902). By 'the twelve names' is signified every quality thereof, and every quality of it has reference to two things in the doctrine and in the Church therefrom, concerning the Lord and concerning a life in accordance with His precepts. Therefore these are signified. The reason why all the things of the doctrine of the New Jerusalem have reference to these two is because they are its universals upon which all the details (singularia) depend, and they are the essentials out of which all the formal things proceed, consequently they are as the soul and life of all its doctrine. There are indeed the two, but the one cannot be separated from the other, for to separate them would be like separating the Lord from man and man from the Lord, and then the Church would not exist. These two have been conjoined like the two tables of the Law, of which the one contains the things that are the Lord's and the other those that are man's. They are therefore called a covenant and a 'covenant' signifies conjunction. Think what would be the case with these tables of the Law if the first only remained and the second were torn away. Would it not be as if God were not seeing man or as if man were not seeing God, and as if the one were receding from the other. These things have been said so that it may be known that all the things of the doctrine of the New Jerusalem are related to love directed to the Lord and to love towards the neighbour. Love directed to the Lord is to have faith in the Lord and do His precepts, and to do His precepts is love towards the neighbour, since to do His precepts is to do uses to the neighbour. That those love the Lord who do His precepts, the Lord Himself teaches in John (xiv 21-24); also that love directed to the Lord and love towards the neighbour are the two precepts upon which the Law and the Prophets depend (Matt. xxii 37-40 [Schm. 35-38]). By 'the Law and the Prophets' is understood the Word as a complete whole.


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