At face value, the Ten Commandments can seem intense and unforgiving. But Emanuel Swedenborg’s understanding of the internal sense of the Bible—spiritual meanings that lie beneath the literal words—can give us a new perspective on these familiar rules.

In this episode of their Swedenborg and Life web series, hosts Curtis Childs and Jonathan Rose study the inner meaning of the first commandment.

(Referencias: Apocalypse Revealed 950; Arcana Coelestia 8864, 8865, 8868, 8869, 8875, 8878, 8879, 8880, 8881)

8302. 'Who is like You in holiness' means that He is the Source of everything holy. This is clear from the meaning of 'who is like You in holiness?' as the fact that nobody is so holy; but the meaning in the internal sense is that He is the Source of everything holy since He is Holiness itself. By 'that which is holy' is meant the Divine Truth emanating from the Lord. This Truth is called holy, and is meant also by the Holy Spirit, of whom it is therefore said that He is 'the Spirit of Truth', John 14:16-17; 15:26-27; 16:13, has been sent by the Lord, John 15:26-27, and will take from the Lord what He will declare, John 16:15. Since holiness is an attribute of Divine Truth which emanates from the Lord, angels - being recipients of that Truth - are therefore called 'holy', Matthew 25:31; Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26; so too are prophets, and in particular the Word, which is God's truth itself. The Lord as well - by virtue of the Divine Truth, which He is since He is its Source - is called 'the Holy One of Israel', 'the Holy One of Jacob', and 'the Holy One of God'.