A Summary of the Book of Revelation

The Book of the Revelation was written near the end of the first century by the Apostle John. John died of natural causes in AD 100, and he was born in AD 6, so at the time of his receiving and writing this revelation, he was an elderly man, probably in his 70’s to 80’s. The Roman Emperor Domitian, clamping down on the growing Christian movement, had exiled John to the isle of Patmos, in the Aegean Sea. It's there, that "in the spirit on the Lord's day", an angel is sent to John, and he sees the great visions of events in heaven that he describes in 22 chapters in the Book of Revelation.

The explanations in this commentary are drawn from Emanuel Swedenborg's exegetical work, "Apocalypse Revealed" (published in Latin in 1766) and later translated into English by John Whitehead, and re-printed in 2009 by the Swedenborg Foundation. The Scripture passages used in the original Latin work were largely drawn from Sebastian Schmidt's Latin Bible from 1696, and other Bibles in his personal library. Swedenborg was a scholar of Hebrew and Greek, and in some places used his own translations some of the scriptural passages from biblical Hebrew and Greek to better express the spiritual significations of the words in the original languages.

Synopsis of Revelation Chapter 1

The first chapter of Revelation tells the story of how John is chosen by God to write a book that can be used to enlighten people who are seeking his Divine truth and wisdom. John tells us how his spiritual eyes are opened, so that he can see things that are happening in heaven at that time (in the first century BC) and that will happen in the future. Overall, it's a prophecy regarding the changing spiritual states of the Christian Church -- the false doctrines that will grow up within it, and the spiritual battles that will take place as the Lord's genuine truth and love eventually win out over falsity and evil.

The stories in Revelation aren't just about events in heaven, either, or about the spiritual trials of the Christian church. They're personal, too. We have to seek help from the Lord to fight the dragons and beasts in our lives. It is from the Word that we can be enlightened. God tells John (and us) that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Only God can lead us away from hell and into heaven.

In the chapters to come the Lord will reveal our various states and what we must do to find eternal life with him in Heaven. To people who have genuinely loved the Lord, and who have been spiritually reborn, John encourages them to have patience in the Lord, that a new church is coming and it will be based on his Divine truths.

Revelation Chapter 1 - Verse by verse commentary

Chapter 1 opens with a statement or introduction from John, that the things in this book were revealed to him by our Lord Jesus Christ. He says that people who are in faith to the Lord, and in charity to their fellow man, will benefit from what is revealed in this book. Further, it goes on to say that the church in this world will reach a state sometime in the future, where it will lose its connection to God and will come to an end. For those who have received the Divine truth from the Word, thus from the Lord, and who believe that the Lord’s human became Divine, they will receive enlightenment from what the Book of Revelation reveals. Too, for people who live in spirit and are thus in communion with the angels in heaven, and who live according to the Divine truths revealed in the Word, you should know that the current church in this world cannot endure much longer. These things were revealed in the first three verses of this chapter, and are basically John’s way of leading us to what lies ahead. Verses four and beyond will begin an explanation of John’s vision from the Lord.

Revelation 1:4 starts with John hearing the Lord's messages that address the seven Christian churches of Asia. The use of the number seven indicates that this message actually applies everyone in the Christian world, for the number seven signifies all. (See Apocalypse Revealed 10).

The message is addressed to those who are in Asia. This signifies people who are in the light of truth from the Word. The east is where the sun rises, thus bringing light and warmth to the world. It represents the a place where we can see the Lord's truth. Asia is to the east of Jerusalem, and in the Word, it usually represents a place where truth is known. (See Apocalypse Revealed 11).

In verse 4, John indicates that the vision is being given to him from our Lord Jesus Christ, who is divine truth itself. Being the first born from the dead indicates that he, as to his divine human, is the truth itself, united to divine good, and that from him all men will live who are, in themselves, spiritually dead. (See Apocalypse Revealed 17). The Lord is the one who loves us, who leads us, who washes us of our sins, and regenerates us (rebirth) to purify us from our sins and evils.

Verse 6 indicates that the Lord, who leads us to rebirth by filling us with his Divine wisdom and love, leads us to Heaven, either here in this world or after death as we enter into the eternal realm. To be made a king is to be filled with wisdom, and to be made a priest means to be filled with love from the Lord. (See Apocalypse Revealed 20) It is the Lord who leads us, for he has all the wisdom, all the love, and all the power, to overcome evil for all of eternity.

Verse 7 indicates that at the time of the end of the Christian Church, the Lord will make himself known by opening up the spiritual understanding of the Word. In this way, he will remove the clouds from understanding and let the light of spiritual understanding shine through. (See Apocalypse Revealed 24.) At that time there will also be a realization of the falsities that the church is propagating when the truths and goods have been lost.(See Apocalypse Revealed 27.) When a church comes to its end, the Lord will always raise up a new Church, and this will be revealed in the coming chapters.

In verse 8 the Lord is saying, through John and to us, that he is the way, the truth, and the life for all of eternity. (See Apocalypse Revealed 29.) When we lose our way, as indicated of the Christian Church, he is the one we need to turn to as he provides everything we need, and has all the power to lead us away from our evil ways and guide us into heaven. It is his truths, his goodness, and his love that we need to seek and to convey.

In verse 9, John is saying to us, his brethren (those in good that comes from loving the neighbor), and their companions (people who are in truths of faith), that the church is becoming afflicted (infested by evils and falsity). As we wait patiently for the Lord to come and remove this affliction, John was being prepared to be enlightened as to the Divine truths of the Word and reveal the Divine human story of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

In verse 10, John tells of how his Spiritual Mind was opened so that he could hear and see things in the Heavenly realm, and be in the presence of God - when the voice of God comes to him as in the sound of a trumpet.

In verse 11, God tells John that he is the All, the Beginning, the Ending, the First, the Last, the Infinite, so that what John sees and hears he knows is from the Divine. God tells him to write this book (later called Revelation) and to send it to the various churches that they may know what is to come. Each church represents different levels of perception and understanding - similar to the usage in other parts of the Word when places or towns or countries are mentioned.

Verse 12 signifies that as we turn to the Lord, and as we live a life as he taught us - to Love God, love our neighbor, to be kind and generous to all whom we meet, we will be enlightened from the Lord through his Word. The seven golden lampstands (again seven meaning all) signify enlightenment from a new church that will come from the Lord. (See Apocalypse Revealed 43.)

In verse 13, as mentioned in the verse above, the lampstands signify the Lord’s Church. The foundation, or what is in the midst of that church, is the Lord’s Word, and the Word proceeds from the Divine which is the Lord himself who reveals himself as we learn from his Word.

Verse 14 describes how the Lord appears to John, in his vision of heaven. His head and hair were as white as snow and his eyes were as a flame of fire, indicating that he is divine wisdom and love, whose eyes reveal the All of intelligence because it comes from divine wisdom and love. (See Apocalypse Revealed 47.)

Verse 15 continues the prior verse, describing the Lord’s feet as being like fine brass. This symbolizes the divine nature of the Lord, for while in this world, he walked the path of divine goodness and love and overcame all evils and temptations of this world. (See Apocalypse Revealed 49.) In describing his voice, John says that it was the voice of many waters. Waters signify truths, and here, that the Lord is divine truth itself. (See Apocalypse Revealed 50.)

In verse 16, the Lord is revealing himself to John - and to us - through the Word. He is the bearer of all the knowledge of good and truth, and from his mouth, thus from the Word, he spoke the words of truth and goodness. These are to be used to dispel evil and falsity. The shining of the Lord's face reveals his essence as the light and warmth of divine wisdom and love. (See Apocalypse Revealed 53.)

In verse 17 John comes face to face with the Lord. He feels his unworthiness to be in the presence of the Almighty Eternal God. He falls at the feet of the Lord as if lifeless, from his own sinfulness. The Lord then touches him with his right hand saying, “Fear not” and as John feels the presence of the divine love. He listens to what the Lord is telling him, about what will follow.

In verse 18 the Lord tells John that he is the God who lives to eternity, who was or is rejected by the world, but who holds the keys to life. His divine plan, his hope, is to lead man away from hell and death and bring him into the loving kingdom of heaven.

Then, in Verse 19, the Lord tells John to write down what he sees, and that the things he will reveal are for the whole world, so we can use them to help us find salvation.

In the last verse of this chapter the Lord is saying that a new church will be established in Heaven and that from it a new church be established on earth.

97. It should be known, moreover, that the Word’s literal sense is a protection for the genuine truths that lie concealed within. The literal sense is a protection in that it can be turned this way and that and explained in accord with a person’s comprehension, and yet without the inner meaning’s being harmed or violated. For it does no harm if the Word’s literal sense is interpreted in one way by one person, and in another way by another person. But it does do harm if the Divine truths that lie concealed within are perverted; for this does violence to the Word.

This is guarded against by the literal sense. And it is guarded against among people who, owing to their religion, are caught up in falsities, but do not affirm those falsities, for they do not do any violence.

[2] This protection is symbolized by cherubim in the Word, and described by them, too.

It is symbolized by the cherubim that were placed at the entrance to the garden of Eden after Adam and his wife were cast out, about which we read the following:

(When Jehovah God) drove out the man..., He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword turning hither and thither, to guard the way to the tree of life. (Genesis 3:23-24)

The cherubim symbolize protection. The way to the tree of life symbolizes an entryway to the Lord, which people have through the Word. The flaming sword turning hither and thither symbolizes Divine truth in outmost expressions, which, like the literal sense of the Word, can be turned in this way.

[3] Protection is likewise meant by the cherubim of gold placed at the two ends of the mercy seat on top of the ark in the Tabernacle (Exodus 25:18-21). Because this is what the cherubim symbolized, therefore the Lord spoke with Moses from between them (Exodus 25:22, 30:6, 33:9, Numbers 7:89). It may be seen in nos. 37-49 above that the Lord speaks with a person only in fullness, and that the Word in its literal sense is Divine truth in its fullness; thus the Lord accordingly spoke with Moses from between cherubim.

Nor is anything else symbolized by the cherubim on the curtains and veil of the Tabernacle (Exodus 26:1, 31). For the curtains and veil of the Tabernacle represented the outmost constituents of heaven and the church, and so also those of the Word (see no. 46 above).

Nor is anything else symbolized by the cherubim inside the Temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 6:23-28). And by the cherubim carved on the walls and doors of the Temple (1 Kings 6:29, 32, 35). Likewise by the cherubim in the new temple (Ezekiel 41:18-20). (See also no. 47 above.)

[4] Since cherubim symbolize a protection to keep the Lord, heaven, and the Divine truth contained in the Word from being approached directly, so that they must be approached indirectly through outmost expressions, therefore we are told regarding the king of Tyre the following:

You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering.... You, O cherub, spread out a covering.... I destroyed you, O covering cherub, in the midst of stones of fire. (Ezekiel 28:12-14, 16)

Tyre symbolizes the church with respect to its concepts of truth and goodness, and its king accordingly symbolizes the Word which contains and is the source of those concepts. It is apparent that the Word here is symbolized as it is in its outmost expression, namely its literal sense, and its protection by a cherub; for the text says, “You were the seal of perfection, ” “every precious stone was your covering, ” and “You, O cherub, spread out a covering, ” including as well the phrase, “O covering cherub.” The precious stones listed here also mean truths in the Word’s literal sense, as may be seen in no. 45 above.

Since cherubim symbolize the outmost expression of Divine truth set as a protection, therefore we are told in the Psalms of David,

He bowed the heavens and came down..., and He rode upon a cherub.... (Psalms 18:9-10)

O Shepherd of Israel..., You who sit upon the cherubim, shine forth! (Psalms 80:1)

Jehovah...is seated upon the cherubim. (Psalms 99:1)

To ride upon cherubim, to sit on them and be seated on them, is to do so on the outmost sense of the Word.

[5] Divine truth and its character are described in the Word by cherubim in the first and ninth chapters in Ezekiel, and in the tenth. But because no one can know what the particulars in the description of them symbolize, unless he is someone for whom the spiritual sense has been laid open, therefore I have had disclosed to me what everything said about the cherubim in the first chapter in Ezekiel symbolizes, which in brief is as follows:

Verse 4: The Divine atmosphere surrounding the Word is described.

Verse 5: This represented as having the likeness of a man.

Verse 6: Its conjunction with spiritual and celestial elements.

Verse 7: The nature of the natural component of the Word.

Verses 8-9: The spiritual and celestial components of the Word conjoined with its natural one; their character.

Verses 10-11: The Divine love accompanying the celestial, spiritual and natural goodness and truth present in the Word, separately and together.

Verse 12: They look in one direction.

Verses 13-14: The atmosphere of the Word emanating from the Lord’s Divine goodness and Divine truth, which give the Word life.

Verses 15-21: The doctrine of goodness and truth found in the Word and emanating from the Word.

Verses 22-23: The Divinity of the Lord above the Word and in it.

Verses 24-25: And emanating from it.

Verse 26: The Lord’s being above the heavens.

Verses 27-28: And His possessing Divine love and Divine wisdom.

I have, moreover, compared these summaries with the Word in heaven and found them to be in conformity with it.