The Inner Meaning of the Prophets and Psalms #401
401. Internal Meaning of The Historical Parts of the Word
The Historical parts of the Word, like the prophetical parts, contain a spiritual sense within themselves, in which there is nothing Historical of the world, as in the sense of the letter, but there are heavenly things which relate to the church, and in the highest sense to the Lord, just like the prophetical parts. The Historical parts there are representative, and all the senses with their expressions are correspondences.
It ought to be known, that all the churches, down to the Coming of the Lord, were representative churches; they represented the church, and in the highest sense, the Lord; it is from this that the Word is spiritual and Divine. But the representative churches ceased when the Lord came into the world, because all things of the Word, those that are prophetical, as also those that are Historical, signified and represented Him and this is why the Lord is called the Word.
There were three notable changes of the representative churches: the first, which was before the flood, shall be called the Most Ancient Church; the second, which was after the flood, the Ancient Church; and the third, which followed the Ancient, the Israelitish and Jewish church. (2)
The Most Ancient Church is described briefly by Adam and His posterity; the Ancient Church, by Noah and His posterity; and the Israelitish and Jewish church by the Historical portions of the Word.
The former churches are described in like manner, but by more interior correspondences, in the Word that is mentioned by Moses; but this Word has been effaced, and in its place the Word was given that exists at the present day.
The church that followed these three is the Christian church, which church is internal, differing from the Jewish church as a moonlight night differs from a dark night. But as this church has come to its end, by the accomplishment of the last judgment, a new church is now being instituted by the Lord, which is called, in Revelation, the new Jerusalem, to which the things that are being published by me at the present day will be of service; it is also being instituted elsewhere. (1)
The Historical parts of the Word involve in a summary the things that follow.
Genesis 1
1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2
Now the earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep. God's Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters.
3
God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.
4
God saw the light, and saw that it was good. God divided the light from the darkness.
5
God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." There was evening and there was morning, one day.
6
God said, "Let there be an expanse in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters."
7
God made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so.
8
God called the expanse "sky." There was evening and there was morning, a second day.
9
God said, "Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear;" and it was so.
10
God called the dry land "earth," and the gathering together of the waters he called "seas." God saw that it was good.
11
God said, "Let the earth put forth grass, herbs yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with its seed in it, on the earth;" and it was so.
12
The earth brought forth grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with its seed in it, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.
13
There was evening and there was morning, a third day.
14
God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of sky to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years;
15
and let them be for lights in the expanse of sky to give light on the earth;" and it was so.
16
God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He also made the stars.
17
God set them in the expanse of sky to give light to the earth,
18
and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good.
19
There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
20
God said, "Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of sky."
21
God created the large sea creatures, and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind. God saw that it was good.
22
God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth."
23
There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
24
God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind, livestock, creeping things, and animals of the earth after their kind;" and it was so.
25
God made the animals of the earth after their kind, and the livestock after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind. God saw that it was good.
26
God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
27
God created man in his own image. In God's image he created him; male and female he created them.
28
God blessed them. God said to them, "Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
29
God said, "Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food.
30
To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food;" and it was so.
31
God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. There was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.
