False Gods: Mysteries of the 10 Commandments Explained
Po Jonathan S. Rose, Curtis Childs
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)
Arcana Coelestia #7989
7989. 'This was the night when Jehovah was keeping watch' means the Lord's presence with those governed by truth and good and with those ruled by evil and consequently by utter falsity. This is clear from the meaning of 'night' as a state of damnation, dealt with in 7851; and from the meaning of 'Jehovah's keeping watch' as the Lord's presence and consequent protection. For through the Lord's presence those governed by good and therefore guided by truth are given light, and those ruled by evil and consequently by falsity are made blind. Also through the Lord's presence those who are to be raised into heaven are brought out of damnation, for they are held back from evil and maintained in good by the Lord, and with great force. And through the Lord's presence too those who are to be cast down into hell are brought to damnation, for as the Lord presents Himself to them more completely, so they descend into evil, 7643, 7926. This then is why that state and that time are called 'the night when Jehovah was keeping watch'. Further on, the Lord's presence is described by the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, present there to lead them, Exodus 13:21. And His presence both with those guided by goodness and truth and with those steeped in evil and falsity is described when it says that the pillar positioned itself between the camp of Israel and the camp of the Egyptians, and that when Jehovah looked from it towards the camp of the Egyptians, the Egyptians were drowned in the Sea Suph, Exodus 14:19-20, 24-27.