The Bible

 

Genesis 1

Study

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.

Commentary

 

#160 Another Breach: The Bible Seems Crude, Archaic, Irrational and Unscientific

By Jonathan S. Rose

Dili Bay with Jesus statue

Title: Another Breach: The Bible Seems Crude and Archaic, Irrational and Unscientific

Topic: Second Coming

Summary: We look at how Scripture is viewed from a "scientific" standpoint, and ponder the future of religion and science.

Use the reference links below to follow along in the Bible as you watch.

References:
Exodus 4:24-26
Matthew 11:7-9
Esther 8:11
Genesis 1:26
Matthew 27:3-6
Acts of the Apostles 1:16
Isaiah 19:23-25
Ezekiel 29:1-ff

Play Video
Spirit and Life Bible Study broadcast from 11/13/2013. The complete series is available at: www.spiritandlifebiblestudy.com

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #9849

Study this Passage

  
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9849. 'As stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel' means out of mercy, for evermore for the spiritual kingdom. This is clear from the meaning of 'stones of remembrance' on the shoulders of the ephod as the preservation of good and truth out of mercy, for evermore (the fact that the preservation of good and truth is meant by 'stones on the shoulders' is clear from what has been shown in 9836; and the fact that mercy is meant by 'remembrance', when attributed to the Lord, will be clear from what follows below); and from the meaning of 'the sons of Israel' as the Lord's spiritual kingdom, dealt with above in 9842. There are places in the Word which say of Jehovah, that is, the Lord, that He remembers or does not remember. When either is said of Him the meaning is that whatever takes place then, whether preservation or deliverance, is done out of mercy. The same applies to places saying that He sees, hears, or knows, or does not see, hear, or know; His pity or failure to pity are meant there. Such things are said of Him on account of His being likened to a human being and on account of what seems to happen. For when a person turns away from the Lord, as is the case when he does anything bad, it seems to that person, since the Lord is now behind his back, as though the Lord fails to see him, does not hear or know him, indeed fails to remember him, when in fact the failure is in the person. It is because of this appearance therefore that in the Word such things are said of the Lord. The situation is completely different however when a person turns towards the Lord, as is the case when he does what is right, see the places referred to in 9306. Anyone may recognize that the Lord cannot really be said to remember or call to mind, because in Him things that are past and those that are future are eternal, that is, they are ever present from eternity to eternity.

[2] The fact that 'remembering', when attributed to the Lord, means having compassion, and so preserving or delivering out of mercy, is clear from the following places: In David,

Jehovah has made known His salvation, before the eyes of the nations He has revealed His righteousness. He has remembered His mercy and His truth to the house of Israel. Psalms 98:2-3.

In the same author,

Jehovah has remembered us in our lowly state, for His mercy is forever. Psalms 136:23.

In the same author,

Do not remember the sins of my youth, 1 nor my transgressions. According to Your mercy remember me, for Your goodness' sake, O Jehovah. Psalms 25:7.

In the same author,

For their sake He remembered His covenant, and relented because of the multitude of His mercies. Psalms 106:45.

In the same author,

He has made His wonderful works to be remembered; 2 Jehovah is gracious and merciful. He has given food to those fearing Him; forever He remembers 3 His covenant. Psalms 111:4-5.

In the same author,

Do not remember former iniquities. Let Your tender mercies come to meet [us]. Psalms 79:8.

[3] In Luke,

God has accepted His servant Israel, so that He remembered His mercy ... to perform mercy to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant. Luke 1:54, 72.

In David,

What is man that You remember him? Psalms 8:4.

In the same author,

Remember me, O Jehovah, in the good pleasure of Your people. Psalms 106:4.

In the same author,

Jehovah has remembered us, He blesses [us]. Psalms 115:12.

In the first Book of Samuel,

If You will indeed look on the misery of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant ... 1 Samuel 1:11.

These words begin the vow made by Hannah, Samuel's mother; and verse 19 says that when she bore him Jehovah remembered her, that is, He looked on her misery and had mercy on her. 'Remember' has a similar meaning in many other places, such as Leviticus 26:41-42, 45; Numbers 10:9; Isaiah 43:25; 49:1; 64:9; Jeremiah 31:34.

Footnotes:

1. literally, childhood

2. literally, He has made a remembrance (or memorial) for His wonders

3. Reading recordatur (remembers) for recordatus (has remembered)

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.