[ 2 ] For what each detail means spiritually, see the explanations in Rev-
elation Unveiled 820 – 838. See also the small work White Horse.Because of
those treatments, I will forgo a detailed explanation here. There I have
shown that this passage describes the Lord in his role as the Word. His
eyes that were like a flame of fire mean the divine wisdom that comes
from his divine love. The gems on his head and the name that no one
knows except him mean the divine truths of the Word that come from
him and the fact that no one sees the nature of the Word in its spiritual
meaning except the Lord and anyone to whom he reveals it. The blood-
stained clothing means the Word’s earthly meaning, its literal meaning,
that has had violence inflicted upon it.
It is obvious that the Word is being described, because it says, “His
name is the Word of God.”It is also obvious that the passage refers to the
Lord, because it says that the name of the One sitting on the white horse
was King of Kings and Lord of Lords.This is like Revelation 17 : 14 , where
it says, “The Lamb will conquer them because he is Lord of Lords and
King of Kings.”
[ 3 ] The necessity for the Word’s spiritual aspect to be revealed when
the church comes to an end—this is the inner meaning of what is said of
the white horse and the One sitting on it. It is also the meaning of an
angel standing in the sun, extending an invitation to all to come and eat
the flesh of kings and commanders and so on. Eating these things means
our incorporation into ourselves of everything that is good from the Lord.
All the expressions in this passage would be pointless words, words
without life or spirit, if there were no spiritual meaning inside them like
the soul in a body.197 Revelation^21 gives the following description of the New Jerusalem:
In it there was a light like a highly precious stone, such as a jasper stone,
that looked like a dazzling crystal. The New Jerusalem had a wall that
was great and high and had twelve gates and twelve angels by the gates,
and the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel were written
there. The wall was 144 cubits high, which is the measure of a human
being, that is, of an angel. The construction of the wall was of jasper, and
its foundation was made of every precious stone: jasper, sapphire, chal-
cedony, emerald, sardonyx, sard, chrysolite, beryl, topaz, chrysoprase,
jacinth, and amethyst. The gates were twelve pearls. The city itself was
pure gold, like clear glass. It was square. Its length, width, and height
were equal: twelve thousand stadia. And so on.