The Bible

 

Genesis 1

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1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first Day.

6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.

14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven 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 firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

26 And 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 fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

The Bible

 

Psalms 33:9

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9 For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Explained #476

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476. And make their robes white in the blood of the Lamb.- This signifies the implantation of Divine Truth from the Lord, as is evident from the signification of making their robes white, as denoting to put off falsities and to put on truths, for white, and to whiten are said in reference to truths, which are signified by robes. That white, and to whiten, are said in reference to truths, may be seen above (n. 196); and that robes signify truths in general may also be seen above (n. 395). It is said that they made their robes white, because the garments of those who are in falsities in the spiritual world appear to be dusky, and also spotted, and the garments of those who are in temptations appear squalid; but as soon as they come out of temptations, because they are then imbued with Divine Truths, they appear to be clad in garments white and shining, without blemishes, as mentioned just above; therefore by making their robes white is signified that they had put off falsities and put on truths. The blood of the Lamb, signifies the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord; see above (n. 329); and because falsities are shaken off in temptations, and truths implanted, therefore, in general, by making their robes white in the blood of the Lamb, is signified the implantation of Divine Truth from the Lord. In the sense of the letter of the Word, the blood of the Lamb means the passion of the cross, but in the internal or spiritual sense it means the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord; for by means of this, man is purified from falsities and evils, that is, his garments are made white.

The passion of the cross was the last temptation of the Lord, through which He completely subjugated the hells, and glorified His Human; and having fulfilled and completed these things, the Lord sent the Paraclete (Paracletum), the Spirit of Truth, by which is meant the Divine Truth proceeding from His glorified Human, as the Lord Himself teaches in John (7:39), and elsewhere. Man then is reformed and regenerated by the Lord, and saved by means of the Divine Truth when received, but not by the shedding of blood upon the cross. On this subject more may be seen in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 293, 294); and in the passages cited therein from the Arcana Coelestia. The same is also evident from this fact, that the garments of the angels appear to shine with a white and bright appearance, not from faith and from thought concerning the blood of the Lord [shed] upon the cross, but from the Divine Truth from the Lord with the angels. For, as stated above, all their garments accord with the truths which they have, neither is any angel allowed to think of the passion of the Lord, but of His glorification, and of the reception of the Divine from Him.

  
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Translation by Isaiah Tansley. Many thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.