Title: Father Abraham

Topic: The Word

Summary: The true, spiritual meaning why many people in the Old and New Testaments are said to refer to Abraham as their father is that both "Abraham" and "father" mean love. A state of love is the "land of Abraham" that has been promised to us all, if we want it.

Use the reference links below to follow along in the Bible as you watch.

References:
Genesis 11:27-32; 12:1-3; 17:1-5; 26:3-5, 15, 18, 24; 28:4, 10-13; 32:9; 48:15-16
Exodus 2:1; 3:6, 15
Joshua 24:1-3
Isaiah 51:1-3; 63:16
Matthew 3:2, 9-11
Luke 1:67-75; 16:22-31
John 8:33, 37-39, 52-58
James 2:21-23
Matthew 23:9
Genesis 27:9, 14; 44:20
Deuteronomy 7:8; 30:19-20
1 Kings 3:3
Proverbs 3:11-12; 29:3
John 3:35; 5:20; 8:42; 13:1; 14:21

This video is a part of the Spirit and Life Bible Study series, whose purpose is to look at the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible through a Swedenborgian lens.

1440. 'Abram went through the land as far as the place of Shechem' means the Lord's second state, when the celestial things of love became apparent to Him. This becomes clear from what has gone before and from the whole sequence of events in what has gone before, that He drew closer to and attained to the celestial things of love, meant by 'they came out to go into the land of Canaan' and by 'they came into the land of Canaan'; from the whole sequence of events, that after He had drawn closer to and attained to celestial things, these at that point became apparent to Him. Celestial things have the very light of the soul within them, because they have the Divine itself, that is, Jehovah Himself, within them. And because the Lord was to join the Human Essence to the Divine Essence when He attained to celestial things, it was inevitable that Jehovah should appear to Him.