Apocalypse Revealed (Coulsons) n. 958

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958. [verse 19] 'And if anyone takes 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 written in this book' signifies that those who read and know the truths of the doctrine of this book now opened by the Lord, and go on acknowledging a God other than the Lord, and a faith other than directed to Him, by taking away anything by which they may destroy these two, cannot be wise in and appropriate to themselves anything out of the Word, nor be received into the New Jerusalem, nor have their lot with those who are in the Lord's kingdom. Similar things are signified by these words as by those above, only that here it is said of those who take away and there of those who add, consequently of those who either by adding or by taking away destroy those two truths. By 'to take away [his] part out of the book of life' is signified that they cannot be wise in or appropriate to themselves anything out of the Word, 'the book of life' being the Word and also the Lord as to the Word (n. 256, 469, 874, 925). This is because the Lord is the Word, for the Word treats of Him Only, as has been fully shown in the TWO DOCTRINES OF THE NEW JERUSALEM, the one CONCERNING THE LORD and the other CONCERNING THE SACRED SCRIPTURE, and therefore those who do not approach the Lord directly cannot see any truth out of the Word. By 'to take away [his] part out of the holy city' is signified out of the New Church, which is the holy Jerusalem. For into that Church no one is received who does not approach the Only Lord. By 'to take away [his] part out of the things written in this book' is signified not to have their lot with those who are in the Lord's kingdom, for all the things that have been written in this book regard as the end a new Heaven and a new Church, which make the Lord's kingdom, and the end is that to which all the things that are written in the book have relation.


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