402. Internal Meaning of Genesis, Chapter 1 (1)

1-31 In the spiritual sense the new creation or the regeneration of the men of the Most Ancient Church is here described; the process of their regeneration from firsts to lasts is here contained in its order.

8421. 'And it shall be on the sixth day' means at the end of each state. This is clear from the meaning of 'day' is state, dealt with in 23, 487, 488, 493, 2788, 3462, 3785, 4850, 7680; and from the meaning of 'the sixth' as the end of a state. The reason why 'the sixth day' means the end of a state is that 'seven days' or 'a week' means a whole period or complete state, 2044, 3845, 6508, and therefore the day before the seventh, which is 'the sixth', means the end of that state, while the day after, which is 'the eighth', means the beginning of the same state, 2044, 8400.