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.

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

8880. 'Who love Me' means who receive the good of love. This is clear from the meaning of 'those who love Jehovah', that is, people who love the Lord, as receivers of the good of love; for the love of those who love the Lord does not originate in themselves but comes from the Lord. This is so because all good flows in from Him, and the ones who love Him are those who refrain from evil; for evil stands in the way and repels the inflow of good from the Lord. Consequently once evil has been removed good, which is constantly present from the Lord and trying to enter, is received.