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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

 

Revelation 4

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1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.

3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.

4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.

5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

6 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.

7 And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.

8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.

9 And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,

10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Explained #288

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288. (Verse 9) And when the animals gave glory and honour and thanks. That this signifies Divine truth, Divine good and glorification, is evident from the signification of glory and honour, when said of the Lord, as being Divine truth and Divine good; glory denotes Divine truth, and honour Divine good, concerning which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of thanks, as being glorification. What is here meant by glorification shall be first explained. Glorification, when from the Lord, is the perpetual influx of Divine good united to Divine truth with angels and with men; and with both the former and the latter, glorification of the Lord is reception and acknowledgment in heart that all good and truth are from the Lord, and consequently all intelligence, wisdom and happiness; this is signified, in the spiritual sense, by giving thanks. All glorification also of the Lord which comes from the angels of heaven and the members of the church, is not from themselves, but flows into them from the Lord. The glorification which is from men and not from the Lord is not from the heart, but only from the activity of the memory, and so from the mouth; and what proceeds only from the memory and the mouth, and not by means of them from the heart, is not heard in heaven, consequently is not received by the Lord, but passes into the world like any other sonorous words. This glorification is not acknowledgment in heart that all good and all truth are from the Lord. It is said acknowledgment in heart, by which is meant from the life of the love; for the heart, in the Word signifies love, and love is a life according to the Lord's precepts. When man is in this life, then there is glorification of the Lord, which is the acknowledgment from the heart that all good and all truth are from the Lord.

This is also meant by being glorified in these words in John:

"If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; and that ye shall be my disciples" (15:7, 8).

[2] The reason why the four animals, which were cherubim, gave glory and honour and thanks, is that Divine truth and Divine good and glorification, which are signified by glory, honour and thanks, proceed and flow-in from the Lord; for those cherubim signify the Lord as to providence and guardianship (see above, n. 277). They were in the midst of the throne and about the throne (as is clear from the 6th verse of this chapter) and upon the throne was the Lord (verse 2). It is therefore evident that those things were from the Lord. But reception and acknowledgment in heart are meant by the words of the verse following, where it is said, that after these things were heard, "The four-and-twenty elders fell down before him that sat upon the throne, and worshipped him that liveth unto the ages of the ages, and cast their crowns before the throne."

[3] In the Word mention is frequently made of glory and honour, and glory everywhere signifies truth, and honour good. The reason why they are mentioned together is because in each particular of the Word there is the heavenly marriage, which is the conjunction of truth and good. And the reason why such marriage is in each particular of the Word is that the Divine which proceeds from the Lord is Divine truth united to Divine good; and because these together constitute heaven, and also the church, therefore they are together in every particular of the Word, and similarly, the Divine from the Lord, and the Lord Himself. This is why the Word is most holy. (That there is such a marriage in all things of the Word, may be seen above, n. 238, and in Arcana Coelestia 2516, 2712, 3004, 3005, 3009, 4138, 5138, 5194, 5502, 6343, 7022, 7945, 8339, 9263, 9314). That glory signifies Divine truth from the Lord, may be seen above (n. 33).

[4] That honour signifies Divine good, follows from what has been said concerning the heavenly marriage in every part of the Word; as is also evident from the following passages. In David:

"Jehovah made the heavens, glory and honour are before him, strength and beauty are in his sanctuary" (Psalms 96:5, 6).

By the heavens is meant the Divine which proceeds from the Lord, because the heavens are from that; and because the Divine which proceeds, and which constitutes the heavens, is Divine truth and Divine good, it is therefore said, "glory and honour are before him"; by sanctuary is meant the church; the Divine good and the Divine truth therein are meant by strength and beauty. (That the Divine of the Lord constitutes the heavens, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell 7-12, and that the Divine of the Lord in the heavens is Divine truth and Divine good, n. 7, 13, 133, 137, 139, 140).

[5] Again:

"O Jehovah, God very great; thou art clothed with glory and honour" (Psalms 104:1).

By being clothed with glory and honour, when said of Jehovah, is signified His girding Himself with Divine truth and Divine good, for these proceed from Him, and thence gird Him, and thus constitute the heavens; therefore in the Word they are called His garments and covering (as may be seen above, n. 65 and 271).

[6] Again:

"The works of Jehovah are great. Glory and honour are his work" (Psalms 111:2, 3).

By the works of Jehovah are meant all things that proceed from, and are effected by Him; and because they have reference to Divine truth and good, it is therefore said, "Glory and honour are his work."

[7] Again:

"Generation to generation shall praise thy works, and shall declare thy virtues. I will speak of the honour of the magnificence of thy glory, and will meditate on the words of thy wonders, and I will make known to the sons of men his virtues, and the glory of the honour of his kingdom" (Psalms 145:4, 5, 12).

The honour of the magnificence of Thy glory, denotes the Divine good united to the Divine truth, and the glory of the honour, denotes the Divine truth united to the Divine good. The reason of this form of expression is that the union is reciprocal. For from the Lord proceeds the Divine good united to the Divine truth; but by the angels in heaven, and by men in the church, Divine truth is received, and is united to Divine good; hence it is said, the glory of the honour of his kingdom; for by His kingdom are meant heaven and the church.

[8] Again:

"Glory and honour thou wilt lay upon him. For thou makest him a blessing for ever" (Psalms 21:5, 6).

These things are spoken concerning the Lord, and by glory and honour upon Him are meant all Divine truth and Divine good.

[9] Again:

"Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O powerful one, in thy glory and thine honour; in thine honour mount, ride upon the word of truth" (Psalms 45:3, 4).

This passage treats also of the Lord; and to gird the sword upon the thigh signifies Divine truth fighting from Divine good (that this is signified by a sword upon the thigh, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 10488). And because from Divine truth He subjugated the hells, and brought the heavens into order, therefore it is said, O powerful one in glory and honour, and also, in honour mount and ride upon the word of truth. In honour mount and ride upon the word of truth signifies to act from Divine good by means of Divine truth.

[10] Again:

"Thou hast made him to lack a little of the angels, but thou hast crowned him with glory and honour" (Psalms 8:5).

This also is spoken of the Lord. His state of humiliation is described by causing Him to lack a little of the angels, His state of glorification by His being crowned with glory and honour. By glorifying is meant the uniting of the Lord's Divine itself with His Human, and the making this latter also Divine.

[11] In Isaiah:

"Be glad ye wilderness and dry place, and let the plain of the wilderness exult and flourish as a rose, in flourishing let it flourish and exult; the glory of Lebanon is given to it, the honour of Carmel and Sharon; they shall see the glory of Jehovah and the honour of our God" (35:1, 2).

Here the enlightenment of the nations is treated of; their ignorance of truth and good is signified by the wilderness and the dry place; their joy in consequence of instruction in truths and enlightenment therefrom is signified by being glad, exulting and flourishing; the glory of Lebanon which shall be given to them signifies Divine truth; and the honour of Carmel and Sharon signifies the Divine good which they receive. It is therefore said that they shall see the glory of Jehovah and the honour of our God.

[12] Again, in the Apocalypse:

"And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it, and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it" (21:24, 26).

This is said of the New Jerusalem, by which is signified the New Church in the heavens and on earth. By the nations therefore are signified all those who are in good; and by the kings of the earth are signified all those who are in truths from good; concerning both of these it is said that "they shall bring their glory and honour into it," by which is meant worship from the good of love to the Lord, and from the truths of faith which are from the good of charity towards the neighbour.

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

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