Spiritual Meaning of REVELATION 3:12
Jesus said to the Jews, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up; He spake of the temple of His body (John 2:19, 21).
I saw no temple in the New Jerusalem, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it (Apoc. 21:22).
Behold, the Lord shall suddenly come to His temple, and the angel of the covenant whom ye seek (Mal. 3:1).
I will bow down towards the temple of Thy holiness (Ps. 138:2).
Yet I will again look to the temple of Thy holiness and my prayer shall come to Thee, to the temple of Thy holiness (Jonah 2:4, 7; Hab. 2:20).
"The temple of holiness of Jehovah," or the Lord, is His Divine Human, for that is bowed down to, looked to, and prayed to, and not to the temple only, for the temple in itself is not holy. It is called "the temple of holiness," because holiness is predicated of the Divine truth (n. 173). The temple which sanctifieth the gold (Matt. 23:16, 17) means nothing else than the Lord’s Divine Human. That by "temple" in a representative sense, is signified the Lord‘s church in heaven, appears from these passages:--
The voice of Jehovah from the temple (Isa. 66:6).
There came a great voice out of the temple of heaven (Apoc. 16:17).
The temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in the temple the ark of His covenant (Apoc. 11:19).
The temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened; and the seven angels came out of the temple; and the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God (Apoc. 15:5, 6, 8).
I called upon Jehovah, and cried unto my God; He heard my voice out of His temple (Ps. 18:6).
I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple (Isa. 6:1).
That temple signifies the church in the world is manifest from these passages:--
Our house of holiness has become a conflagration (Isa. 64:11).
I will shake all nations, that I may fill this house with glory: the glory of the latter house shall be greater than of the former (Haggai. 2:7, 9).
The church to be established by the Lord is described by the "new temples in Ezekiel 40 to 48; and is meant by" the temple which the angel measured" (Apoc. 11:1); and so in other places; as (Isa. 44:28; Jer. 7:2-4, 9-11; Zech. 8:9).
The disciples came to Jesus, to show Him the buildings of the temple; and Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, there shall not be left stone upon stone, which shall not be thrown down (Matt. 24:1, 2; Mark 13:1-5; Luke 21:5-7).
By "the temple" here is signified the church at this day; and by its dissolution that "there is not one stone upon another," is signified the end of this church, in that no truth whatever would then be left. For when the disciples spoke to the Lord concerning the temple, the Lord foretold the successive states of this church even to its end, or "the consummation of the age," and by "the consummation of the age" is meant its last time, which is at this day. This was represented by that temple being destroyed to its foundation. "The temple" signifies these three, namely the Lord, the church in heaven, and the church in the world, because these three make one, and cannot be separated, consequently one of them cannot be meant without the other. Therefore he who separates the church in the world from the church in heaven, and these from the Lord, is not in the truth. The reason why the church in heaven is here meant by "the temple," is because the church in the world is treated of afterwards (n. 194).)
. And he shall go no more out, signifies that they will remain there to eternity, as is evident without explanation. . And I will write upon him the name of My God, signifies that the Divine truth will be written in their hearts. "To write" upon anyone, signifies to inscribe, so that it may be in him as his own; and "the name of My God" signifies the Divine truth. Here something shall be said of this, that "My God" is the Divine truth. In the Word of the Old Testament, in innumerable places, "Jehovah God" occurs, as also separately, sometimes "Jehovah," and sometimes "God," and by "Jehovah" is meant the Lord as to the Divine good, and by "God" is meant the Lord as to the Divine truth; or what is the same, by "Jehovah" is meant the Lord as to the Divine love, and by "God" is meant the Lord as to the Divine wisdom; both terms are used for the sake of the heavenly marriage in all the particulars of the Word, which is the marriage of love and wisdom, or the marriage of good and truth, concerning which marriage see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the Sacred Scripture (Sacred n. 80-90). But in the Word of the New Testament it is not said Jehovah God, but "Lord God"; for "Lord," like "Jehovah," signifies the Divine good or the Divine love. From these things it may appear, that by "the name of My God" is signified the Divine truth of the Lord. That "name," when spoken of the Lord, is the all by which He is worshiped, may be seen in (n. 81); and the all by which He is worshiped, has relation to the Divine good and the Divine truth. As it is not known what is meant by the following words of the Lord, it shall be told:--Father, glorify Thy name; then came forth a voice from heaven, I have glorified it, and will glorify it again (John 12:28).
The Lord, when He was in the world, made His Human the Divine truth, which also is the Word, and when He went out of the world, He fully united the Divine truth to the Divine good, which was in Him from conception; for the Lord glorified His Human, that is, made it Divine, as He makes man spiritual; for He first introduces into man truths from the Word, and afterwards unites them to good, and by that union man is made spiritual.
. And the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, signifies that the doctrine of the New Church shall be written in their hearts. By "the New Jerusalem" is signified the New Church, and by the same, when it is called "city," is signified the New Church as to doctrine; therefore by "writing upon him the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem," is signified that the doctrine of the New Church will be written in their hearts. That by "Jerusalem" is signified the church, and by it as a city, the church as to doctrine, may be seen below (n. 880, 881). A city signifies doctrine, because "land," and in particular "the land of Canaan," signifies the church in the aggregate, and thence by the inheritances into which the land of Canaan was divided, are signified the various things of the church, and, by the cities in them, doctrinals. It is from this that the angels understand nothing else by cities when they are named in the Word; which has also been testified to me by much experience. Similar is the signification of mountains, hills, valleys, fountains, rivers, all which signify such things as are of the church. That "cities" signify doctrinals, may in some measure appear from the following passages:--The land shall be emptied, the land shall be confounded, the land shall be profaned, the empty city shall be broken, the remnant in the city is a waste, and the gate shall be beaten down even to devastation (Isa. 24:3, 4, 10, 12).
The lion has come up from the thicket, to reduce the land to a waste; thy cities shall be destroyed; I saw Carmel a wilderness, and her cities desolate: the land shall mourn; the whole city shall flee, being deserted (Jer. 4:7, 26-29).
"The land" here is the church, and" the city" is its doctrine. Thus is described the devastation of the church by the falsities of doctrine.
The waster shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape, and the valley shall perish, and the plain be destroyed (Jer. 48:8).
In like manner:--
Behold, I have made thee a fortified city against the whole land (Jer. 1:18).
This was said to the prophet, because by "a prophet" the doctrine of the church is signified (n. 8).
In that day it shall be sung in the land of Judah, We have a strong city; salvation will He put for walls, and bulwarks (Isa. 26:1).
The great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell (Apoc. 16:19).
The prophet saw upon a high mountain the structure of a city to the south, and an angel measured the wall, the gates, the chambers, the porch of the gate; and the name of the city was Jehovah there (Ezek. 40:1).
A river, whose streams made glad the city of God (Ps. 46:4).
I will confound Egypt with Egypt, that city may fight against city, and kingdom against kingdom (Isa. 19:2).
Every kingdom divided against itself is desolated, and every city divided against itself shall not stand (Matt. 12:25).
In these places by cities, in the spiritual sense, are meant doctrines; as also in (Isa. 6:11; 14:12, 17, 21; 19:18, 19; 25:1-3; 33:8, 9; 54:3; 64:10; Jer. 7:17, 34; 13:18, 19; 32:42, 44; 33:4; Zeph. 3:6; Ps. 48:2; 55:9; 107:4, 7; Matt. 5:14, 15). From the signification of "city" it may appear what is meant by cities in this parable of the Lord:--
A nobleman going away to receive for himself a kingdom, gave his servants pounds to trade with: when he returned, he called the servants: the first approached, saying, Thy pound hath gained ten pounds; to whom he said, Good servant, thou shalt have authority over ten cities; and the second came, saying, Thy pound hath gained five pounds; to whom he said, Be thou over five cities (Luke 19:12-19).
By "cities" here, also, doctrinals or truths of doctrine are signified, and "by being over them" is meant to be intelligent and wise, thus to give "authority over them" is to give intelligence and wisdom; "ten" signifies much, and "five" something; that by "trading" and "gaining" is meant to acquire intelligence by the exercise of one’s faculties, is evident. That "the holy city Jerusalem" signifies the doctrine of the New Church, is plainly manifest from the description of it (Apocalypse 21); for it is described as to its dimensions, also as to the gates, and as to the wall, and its foundations, which, when Jerusalem signifies the church, cannot signify any other than things belonging to its doctrines. The church is a church from no other source. Since by "the city of Jerusalem" is meant the church as to doctrine, therefore it is called "the city of truth" (Zech. 8:3, 4), and in many places "the holy city," and this because holy is predicated of truths from the Lord (n. 173).
. Which cometh down out of heaven from My God, signifies which will be from the Divine truth of the Lord, such as it is in heaven. Since by "My God" is signified the Divine truth (n. 193), it follows, that by "coming down out of heaven from God," when it is said of the Lord, and of the doctrine of the New Church, is signified which will be from the Divine truth from the Lord, such as it is in heaven. . And My new name, signifies the worship of the Lord alone, with new things which were not in the former church. That by "the name of the Lord" is signified all that by which He is worshiped, may be seen in (n. 81), therefore here the worship of the Lord alone, with new things which were not in the former church. That in the New Church the Lord alone is worshiped, is evident from (Apoc. 21:9, 10), where that church is called the Lamb‘s Wife. That there are new things in that church, appears from (Apoc. 21:5), where it is said, "Behold, I make all things new." Such therefore is the signification of "My new name," which was to be written upon them. REVELATION 3:12 previous - next - text - summary - Revelation - Full Page
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