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

 

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

 

True Christian Religion #358

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358. (iii) A person can acquire for himself a life of faith and charity.

It is the same with this, for he acquires it when he approaches the Lord, who is life itself. Nor is the approach to Him blocked for anyone, since He constantly invites everyone to come to Him. For He said:

He who comes to me will not be hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. And I will not cast out anyone who comes to me, John 6:35, 37.

Jesus stood and cried, If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink, John 7:37.

Elsewhere:

The kingdom of the heavens is like [a king] 1 , who held his son's wedding, and sent his servants to summon the guests. And finally he said, Go to the ends of the streets 2 , and invite to the wedding anyone you find, Matthew 22:1-9.

Surely no one can help knowing that the invitation or summons is addressed to everyone, and so is the grace shown in receiving them.

The reason why a person is given life by approaching the Lord is that the Lord is life itself, not only the life of faith, but also the life of charity. It is evident from the following passages that the Lord is life, and man's life comes from the Lord:

In the beginning was the Word. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men, John 1:1, 4.

As the Father raises up the dead and makes them live, so the Son makes him whom He wishes live, John 5:21.

As the Father has life in Himself, so did He grant the Son to have life in Himself, John 5:26.

The bread of God it is which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world, John 6:33.

The words which I speak to you are spirit and life, John 6:63.

Jesus said, He who follows me will have the light of life, John 8:12.

I have come so that they may have life, and have it in abundance, John 10:10.

He who believes in me, though he die, shall live, John 11:25.

I am the way, truth and life, John 14:6.

Because I live, you too shall live, John 14:19.

These things have been written so that you may have life in His name, John 20:31.

He is everlasting life. 1 John 5:20.

Life in faith and charity means spiritual life, which is given to a person by the Lord during his natural life.

Footnotes:

1. These words, omitted in the Latin, were added in the author's copy.

2. The Latin has 'waters', but this is corrected in the author's copy.

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