70. Since the Lord alone is acknowledged as the God of heaven and earth by those who are of His New Church in the heavens, and by those who will be of His New Church upon earth; therefore, in the first chapter of Revelation the Lord alone is treated of; and in the two following chapters, it is He alone who speaks to the churches, and He alone who will give the happy things of eternal life. That it is He alone who speaks to the churches is evident from these passages:
Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write, These things saith He who holdeth the seven stars in His right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden lampstands (Rev. 2:1). Unto the angel of the church of Smyrna write, These things saith the First and the Last (Rev. 2:8). To the angel of the church of Pergamos write, These things saith He which hath the sharp two-edged sword (Rev. 2:12). Unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write, These things saith the Son of God, who hath His eyes like unto a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass (Rev. 2:18). Unto the angel of the church in Sardis write, These things saith He that hath the seven spirits of God, and the seven stars (Rev. 3:1). To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, These things saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David (Rev. 3:7). And unto the angel of the church in Laodicea write, These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God (Rev. 3:14). These are taken from the first chapter, in which the Lord alone is treated of, and He Himself is there described by all these things.
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