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

 

Arcana Coelestia #3094

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3094. 'And said, I will draw for your camels also until they have finished drinking' means the affirmative response as regards the enlightenment of all facts within the natural man. This is clear from the meaning of 'camels' as general facts in the natural man, dealt with in 3048, 3071, and from the meaning of 'drawing', that is to say, drawing water, as giving instruction and also enlightening, dealt with in 3058, 3071. It is evident that an affirmative response is meant from the consideration that she said what she intended to do and then did it, that is to say, she drew water for the camels. The enlightenment which is the subject here comes from the part where truth is, though in fact it comes from good by way of truth. As regards the enlightenment of facts in the natural man, the source of all that enlightenment is good, for good which is fired by love may be compared to the flame of the sun, from which flame warmth and light are received, while truth may be compared to an object through which the flame shines as light, and from that light comes enlightenment. But as is the light from that source, so is the enlightenment.

[2] Nothing else exists to receive good except truth; but as is the truth so is the reception, and so consequently the enlightenment. When therefore enlightenment comes by way of truth, the enlightenment from truth in that case appears to be attributable to truth, though in fact it is attributable to the good which is shining, as described, through the truth. Enlightenment from good by way of truth also penetrates further and affects more deeply, and it produces that lower affection for truth to be dealt with shortly. The light of heaven flows from the Lord's Divine Good by way of His Divine Truth. And because it comes by way of the Divine Truth in His Human it reaches not only celestial people but also spiritual, and enlightens all who are in heaven with wisdom and intelligence. This being the source of these, the internal sense of the Word therefore deals so much with Divine Good and Divine Truth within the Lord's Human. In the present context it deals with the initial enlightenment of truth from good and of good by means of truth.

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