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.

Commentary

 

Resurrection, the first

  

'The first resurrection,' mentioned in Revelation 20:5, 6, does not mean a first resurrection, but the essence and primary part of resurrection, which is salvation and eternal life. There is only one resurrection to life. A second does not happen, and is not mentioned anywhere in the Bible.

(References: Apocalypse Explained 6; Apocalypse Revealed 851; Revelation 20:5-6)

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Explained #394

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394. Saying, How long, O Lord, who art holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood upon them that dwell on the earth? That this signifies sighings to the Lord, who is Justice, concerning judgment and the removal of those who persecute and infest them that profess the Lord, and live a life of charity, is plain from the signification of crying, and saying, How long, O Lord, as denoting to utter to the Lord sighs from grief, for these are expressions of those that groan and sigh, and supplicate for justice; from the signification of, "who art holy and true," as denoting Him who is justice; for justice, when said of the Lord, signifies that He does not tolerate such things, and this because He is holy and true; and from the signification of judging and avenging our blood, as denoting to judge and to remove those who persecute and infest them that profess the Lord, and live the life of charity. The reason why these things are signified by those words is, because by blood is signified all violence offered to Divine good and Divine truth, thus to the Lord; consequently, violence offered to those who live the life of charity and faith. To offer violence to them is to offer violence to the Lord Himself, according to the words of the Lord Himself in Matthew:

"Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me" (25:40, 45).

That this is signified by blood in that sense, may be seen above (n. 329); and from the signification of them that dwell on the earth, as denoting those who were in the former heaven, which afterwards passed away; for they dwelt upon the earth, upon mountains, hills, and rocks, in the spiritual world, and those who acknowledged the Lord and led the life of charity then abode under the earth, or under heaven, and were there hid and reserved (see above, n. 391, 392).

[2] From these things it is evident what is meant by those words in their genuine sense. But no one can know that such things are meant but him to whom it is revealed. For who otherwise could know who are meant by the souls of the slain, and what is meant by avenging their blood on them who dwell upon the earth? He who does not know from revelation who they are, would imagine that the martyrs only are meant, when, nevertheless, they were not the martyrs, but all those who suffered persecution, and were infested by those who were in the former heaven which passed away; for the latter were such as to thrust out from themselves all who professed the Lord and were in the life of charity, because they were inwardly evil (as has been said above, n. 391, 392). To which I shall add these statements: All those in the spiritual world, who are inwardly evil, however moral the life in externals they have led in the world, cannot at all bear any one who worships the Lord, and lives a life of charity; as soon as they see such persons, they infest and either injure them or treat them with contumely. I have frequently wondered that it should be so, and all must also do so who are unacquainted with it, because the same persons, in the world, tolerated preachings concerning the Lord, and also concerning charity, and also they themselves spoke doctrinally upon such things, but yet when they become spirits they cannot bear them. The reason, however, is, that this aversion is inherent in the evil in which they are; for in their evil there exists enmity, indeed, hatred against the Lord, and also against those who are led by the Lord, these being those who live the life of charity; but this enmity and hatred lie concealed in their spirit, therefore they are in them when they become spirits; then that antipathy or opposition inherent in evil, comes forth.

[3] Take, for example, those in whom the love of ruling has predominated. Their delight is to rule over others, and, if they can, over all; this delight remains with them after death, nor can it be removed, because every delight belongs to the love, and the predominating love constitutes the life of every one; and this life remains to eternity. When such persons become spirits, they continually seek dominion over others from the delight of their love, as in the world, and when they cannot obtain it, they are enraged against the Lord; and because they are unable to injure the Lord Himself, they exercise their rage against those who profess Him; for the delight of their love is opposed to the delight of celestial love, the latter delight being that the Lord may rule, whereas the former delight is that they themselves may rule, which is the reason why hatred against the Lord is implanted in this delight, and against all who are led by Him, these being those who lead the life of charity. From these things the reason may be seen why those who professed the Lord, and led a life of charity, were taken away by the Lord from the violence of such spirits, and concealed in the lower earth, and there reserved by the Lord until the judgment; and why after the judgment, those who dwelt above the earth, upon the mountains, hills, and rocks, who were as said above inwardly evil, were cast out, and those who had been hid under the earth, or under heaven, were elevated, and allotted an inheritance in the places whence the former were ejected. From these things it may now be more fully comprehended what is meant by these words which follow in the verse, that it was told them that they should rest for a little time, until they should be fulfilled.

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