----中文待译----
THE APOCALYPSE EXPLAINED.
CHAPTER 1
[Note: The text from the Book of Revelation is shown first, followed by an explanation of its meaning.]
1. THE Revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he signified [this], sending by his angel unto his servant John,
2. Who bare witness of the Word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, whatsoever things he saw.
3. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear, the words of the prophecy, and keep the things which are written therein; for the time is at hand.
4. John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you, and peace, from him who is, and who was and who is to come; and from the seven spirits which are in sight of his throne;
5. And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first born from the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. To him that loveth us, and washeth us from our sins in his blood,
6. And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be the glory and the strength (robur) unto the ages of the ages. Amen.
7. Behold, he cometh with the clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they who pierced him; and all the tribes of the earth shall wail over him. Even so; Amen.
8. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, saith the Lord, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.
9. I John, who also am your brother and companion in affliction, and in the kingdom and patient expectation of Jesus Christ, was in the island called Patmos, for the Word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
10. I was in the spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
11. Saying, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last; what thou seest write in a book, and send to the churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
12. And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And, being turned, I saw seven golden lampstands;
13. And in the midst of the seven lampstands one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the breasts with a golden girdle.
14. And his head and his hairs were white as white wool, as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
15. And his feet like unto burnished brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the voice of many waters.
16. And he had in his right hand seven stars; and out of his mouth went forth a sharp two-edged sword; and his face was as the sun shineth in his power.
17. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the First and the Last;
18. And am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold I am alive unto the ages of the ages, Amen; and I have the keys of hell and of death.
19. Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter.
20. The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands; the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches; and the seven lampstands which thou sawest are the seven churches.
MANY have expounded this prophetical book which is called the Apocalypse; but none of them have understood the internal or spiritual sense of the Word, therefore they have applied the particulars which it contains to the successive states of the church, which they have learnt from history; and in addition to this they have applied many things to civil affairs. Consequently such expositions are mostly conjectures, which can never appear in such light that they can be approved as truths; and therefore they are cast aside as mere opinions as soon as they are read. The reason why the current explanations of the Apocalypse are of this description is, as just observed, that their authors know nothing of the internal or spiritual sense of the Word; when, nevertheless, all things in the Apocalypse are written in a style similar to that of the prophetical parts of the Old Testament, and of the whole Word. And the Word is natural in the letter, but in its inner content spiritual; and consequently it contains a sense within, which does not appear at all in the letter. The nature of the difference between these two senses may be seen from what is said and shown in the small work concerning The White Horse, and in the Appendix there, taken from Arcana Coelestia.
1. APOCALYPSE. CHAPTER 1.
[Note: The text from the Book of Revelation is shown first, followed by an explanation of its meaning.]
1. The Revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave Him to show unto His servants the things which must quickly come to pass, and signified, sending by His angel, unto His servant John.
2. Who bare witness to the Word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, whatsoever things he saw.
3. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear, the words of the prophecy, and keep the things which are written therein; for the time is near.
4. John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you, and peace, from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come; and from the seven spirits which are in sight of His throne;
5. And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the Firstborn from the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth. Unto Him that loveth us, and washeth us from our sins in His blood;
6. And hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father: to Him be the glory and the might unto the ages of the ages. Amen.
7. Behold, He cometh with the clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth shall lament over Him. Even so; Amen.
8. I am the Alpha and the Omega, Beginning and End, saith the Lord, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.
9. I, John, who also am your brother and partaker in the affliction and in the kingdom and patient expectation of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, 1for the Word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
10. I was in the spirit on the Lord's day; and I heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
11. Saying, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last; and what thou seest write in a book, and send to the churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and Smyrna, and Pergamum, and Thyatira, and Sardis, and Philadelphia, and Laodicea.
12. And I turned to see the voice which spake with me. And having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands,
13. And in the midst of the seven lampstands one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about at the paps with a golden girdle.
14. And His head and hairs white as white wool, as snow: and His eyes as a flame of fire.
15. And His feet like unto burnished brass, as if glowing in a furnace; and His voice as the voice of many waters.
16. And having in His right hand seven stars; and out of His mouth a sharp two-edged sword going forth; and His face as the sun shineth in his power.
17. And when I saw Him I fell at His feet as dead. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the First and the Last;
18. And the Living One; and I became dead; and behold I am alive unto the ages of the ages, Amen: and I have the keys of hell and of death.
19. Write the things which thou sawest, and the things which are, and the things which are to be hereafter.
20. The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches; and the seven lampstands which thou sawest are the seven churches.
1. Many have expounded this prophetical book called Revelation, but none of them understood the internal or spiritual sense of the Word. They have therefore applied the particular things in the book to the successive states of the church, which they have learned from histories; many things, moreover, they have applied to civil affairs. For this reason those expositions are for the most part conjectures, which can never appear in such light that they can be affirmed as truths. As soon, therefore, as they are read, they are put aside as speculations. The expositions of Revelation now extant are of this character, because, as has been said, their authors had no knowledge of the internal or spiritual sense of the Word. Yet, in fact, all things recorded in Revelation are written in a style similar to that of the Old Testament prophecies, and to the style, in general in which everything in the Word is written. The Word in the letter is natural, but in its bosom it is spiritual; and being such, it contains within it a sense that is not at all apparent in the letter. How the one sense differs from the other may be seen from what is said and shown in the small work on the White Horse and in the appendix there from the Arcana Coelestia.
Footnotes:
1. The Photolithograph has in every case "Parmos" for "Patmos."
1. Apocalypsis CAPUT I.
1. Revelatio Jesu Christi, quam dedit illi Deus indicare servis suis, quae oportet fieri cito et significavit mittens per angelum suum servo suo Johanni.
2. Qui testatus est Verbum Dei, et testimonium Jesu Christi, quaecunque vidit.
3. Beatus legens, et audientes verba prophetiae, et servantes quae in ea scripta; quia tempus prope.
4. Johannes septem Ecclesiis, quae in Asia: Gratia vobis et pax ab Ipso qui est et qui fuit et qui venturus; et a septem Spiritibus qui sunt in conspectu throni Ipsius.
5. Et a Jesu Christo, Ipse Testis fidelis, Ipse Primogenitus ex mortuis, et Ipse Princeps regum terrae; amanti nos, et lavanti nos a peccatis nostris in sanguine suo.
6. Et fecit nos reges et sacerdotes Deo et Patri suo: Ipsi gloria et robur in saecula saeculorum, amen.
7. Ecce venit cum nubibus, et videbit Ipsum omnis oculus, et qui Ipsum transfixerunt; et plangent super Ipsum omnes tribus terrae; etiam, amen.
8. Ego sum Alpha et Omega, Principium et Finis, dicit Dominus, qui est et qui fuit et qui venturus, qui omnipotens.
9. Ego Johannes, qui et frater vester, et consocius In afflictione, et in regno, et patiente exspectatione Jesu Christi: eram in insula vocata 1
Patmos, propter Verbum Dei et propter testimonium Jesu Christi.
10. Factus sum in spiritu in Dominica die, et audivi post me vocem magnam, tanquam tubae,
11. 2
Dicentis, Ego sum Alpha et Omega, Primus et Ultimus; quod vides scribe in libro, et mitte Ecclesiis, illis in Asia; Ephesum, et Smyrnam, et Pergamum, et Thyatira, et Sardes, et Philadelphiam, et Laodiceam.
12. Et conversus videre vocem quae loquebatur mecum; et conversus vidi septem candelabra aurea.
13. Et in medio septem candelabrorum similem Filio hominis, indutum talari, et praecinctum ad mamillas zona aurea.
14. Et caput Ipsius et capilli candidi tanquam lana candida, tanquam nix; et oculi Ipsius tanquam flamma ignis.
15. Et pedes Ipsius similes chalcolibano, tanquam in camino igniti, et vox Ipsius tanquam vox aquarum multarum.
16. Et habens in dextra sua manu stellas septem; et ex ore Ipsius romphaea anceps acuta exiens; et facies Ipsius tanquam sol lucet in potentia sua.
17. Et cum vidi Ipsum, cecidi ad pedes Ipsius tanquam mortuus; et imposuit dextram suam manum super me, dicens mihi, Ne time, Ego sum Primus et Ultimus.
18. Et qui vivens, et factus sum mortuus, et ecce vivens sum in saecula saeculorum, amen: et habeo claves inferni et mortis.
19. Scribe, quae vidisti, et quae sunt, et quae futura sunt posthac.
20. Mysterium septem stellarum, quas vidisti in dextra mea; et septem candelabra aurea: septem stellae angeli septem Ecclesiarum sunt, et septem candelabra quae vidisti septem Ecclesiae sunt.
Sunt plures qui librum hunc propheticum, qui Apocalypsis vocatur, exposuerunt, sed omnes illi non sensum internum seu spiritualem Verbi intellexerunt, et ideo applicuerunt singula quae inibi sunt ad successivos status ecclesiae, quos ex historiis de illis notos sibi fecerunt; et praeterea applicuerunt plura ad status civiles. Inde est quod pleraque conjecturae sint, quae nusquam apparere possunt in tali luce ut potuissent affirmari sicut vera; quapropter postquam lecta sunt, etiam inter opiniones rejecta sunt. Causa, quod explicationes quae exstant tales sint, est, quia nihil de sensu interno seu spirituali Verbi, ut dictum est, noverunt; cum tamen omnia quae in Apocalypsi scripta sunt, simili stylo quo prophetica Veteris Testamenti, scripta sunt; in genere, simili stylo quo omnia Verbi; et Verbum in littera est naturale, at in sinu suo est spirituale; et quod tale est, hoc continet in se sensum qui prorsus non apparet in littera. Qualis differentia est utriusque sensus, constare potest ex illis quae in opusculo De Equo Albo, et in appendice ibi ex Arcanis Caelestibus dicta et Ostensa sunt.
Footnotes:
1. The editors made a correction or note here.
2. The editors made a correction or note here.