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.

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

950. 22:13 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last." This symbolically means, for the Lord is God of heaven and earth, and He created all things in heaven and earth, and they are governed by His Divine providence and take place in accordance with it.

That this is the symbolical meaning of these words and more may be seen in no. 888 above.