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 #8013

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8013. 'There shall be one law for the native and for the sojourner sojourning in the midst of you' means that someone who has received instruction in and accepted the Church's truth and good, and leads a life in keeping with them, will be as someone within the Church who has already been instructed and leads a life conforming to the commandments of faith and charity. This is clear from the meaning of 'there shall be one law' as a similar right, thus that it shall be as it is with another; from the meaning of 'the native' as one born within the Church who is in possession of its truth and good in respect of doctrine and in respect of life, dealt with just above in Sell; and from the meaning of 'the sojourner sojourning in the midst of you' as one who receives instruction in the Church's truth and good and accepts them, and leads a life in keeping with them, also dealt with above, in 8007.

[2] The expression 'in keeping with the commandments of faith and charity' is used because of the difference, which is that before regeneration one leads a life in keeping with the commandments of faith, but after regeneration in keeping with the commandments of charity. Before regeneration no one knows from affection what charity is, only from doctrine, whose commandments, which are called the commandments of faith, at that time direct a person's life. But after regeneration he does know from affection what charity is. This is because he now loves his neighbour and has a heartfelt desire for his welfare; his life is now directed by a law written on his heart, for an affection that belongs to charity governs his actions. This state is entirely different from the previous one. People in the first state are in dim light so far as the truths and the forms of the good of faith are concerned, but those in the latter state are in comparison in bright light. They see truths and corroborate them in a state of enlightenment, whereas the former see truths and corroborate them not in a state of enlightenment but because they have been convinced that the teachings of the Church are true. And since they do not see them in a state of enlightenment they are equally capable of corroborating falsities as truths, and having corroborated them they see them altogether as truths. From this one may recognize what is meant by leading a life in keeping with the commandments of faith, and what by leading a life in keeping with the commandments of charity.

[3] With regard to sojourners, the people were commanded several times in the Word not to make any distinction between 'the native of the land' and 'the sojourner sojourning with them'. The reason why was that gentile nations from whom sojourners came are just as much received into heaven as those within the Church are, after they have received instruction in and accepted the truths of faith. Regarding gentiles in the next life, see 932, 1032, 1059, 2049, 2284, 2589-2604, 2861, 1863, 3263, 4190, 4197. This was why it was commanded that as it was with the native, so it should be with the sojourner, as in Moses,

If a sojourner should sojourn with you who would make a fire-offering of an odour of rest to Jehovah, he shall do as you do. As for the assembly, one statute shall there be for you and for the sojourner who sojourns, an eternal statute throughout your generations. As you are, so shall the sojourner be before Jehovah. There shall be one law and one judgement for you and for the sojourner sojourning with you. Numbers 15:14-16.

In the same author,

As the native among you shall the sojourner sojourning with you be to you. Leviticus 19:34.

In the same author,

One judgement shall there be for you; it shall be for the sojourner as for the native. Leviticus 14:22.

In the same author,

When the sojourner has sojourned with you, he shall keep the Passover to Jehovah, according to the statute for the Passover, and according to the regulations 1 for it. There shall be one statute for you, both for the sojourner and for the native of the land. Numbers 9:14.

Footnotes:

1. literally, statutes

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