June 18

And one of the elders answered, saying to me, Who are these who are arrayed in white robes? And whence came they? And I said to him, Lord, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they who come out of great affliction, and have washed their robes, and whitened their robes in the blood of the Lamb. On this account they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne shall dwell in a tabernacle among them. They shall not hunger any more, neither shall they thirst anymore, neither shall the sun fall on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall shepherd them, and shall guide them to living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes. (Revelation 7:13-17)

Who are these that are arrayed in white robes, and whence came they? And I said unto him, Lord, thou knowest, signifies the desire of knowing, and the will to ask, and the answer and information. The reason why John was questioned concerning these things is because it is common in all Divine worship that man should first will, desire, and pray, and the Lord then answer, inform, and do; otherwise, man does not receive anything Divine. (Apocalypse Revealed 376)

By “washing,” in the Word, is signified to cleanse from evils and falsities; and by “robes” are signified general truths (n. 328). General truths are the knowledges of good and truth from the sense of the letter of the Word, according to which they have lived, and thence they are religious principles; and as every religious principle relates to good and truth, therefore robes are mentioned twice, namely, “they have washed their robes” and “have made their robes white.” “Robes,” or religious principles, are cleansed only with those who fight against evils, and so reject falsities; thus by temptations, which are signified by “great affliction.” (Apocalypse Revealed 378)

It is said, “they made white their robes in the blood of the Lamb,” because “white” is predicated of truths, thus, that they purified falsities by truths. It also signifies that thus they were reformed by the Lord, because all who have fought against evils in the world and have believed in the Lord, after their departure out of the world are taught by the Lord, and are withdrawn from the falsities of their religion by truths, and thus are reformed….

...Because in this way the Lord fully glorified His Human, that is made it Divine, therefore nothing else can be meant by His “flesh” and “blood” but the Divine in Him and from Him; by “flesh,” the Divine good of the Divine love, and by “blood,” the Divine truth from that good. (Apocalypse Revealed 379)

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