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

 

Way, the truth, and the life

  

In John 14:6, 'the way' is doctrine, 'the truth' is every thing pertaining to doctrine, and 'the life' is the essential good which is the life of truth.

(References: Arcana Coelestia 2531; John 6, 14)

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Explained #1024

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1024. (Verse 20) And every island fled. That this signifies that there was no longer any truth of faith, is evident from the signification of an island, as denoting the church as to the truths of the natural man, which are called scientific truths, also, the knowledges of good and truth (concerning which see n. 406); in this case the church as to the truths of faith; for the truths that are called truths of faith are the truths of the natural man; and that these are no more is signified by every island fled.

The reason why an island denotes the church as to the truths of faith is, that an island is land encompassed by the sea. And by land is signified the church; and by sea the scientific and knowledge in general, which pertains to the natural man.

By islands, in the Word, are also signified the churches with the Gentiles, with whom there are only appearances of truth, these being truths more remote from genuine truths. The reason of this signification was, that the islands of the sea were far removed from the land of Canaan, which was the terra firma; by which the church which was in genuine truths was signified.

Concerning the Precepts of the Decalogue in general:-

[2] The precepts of the Decalogue are called the ten words or Ten Precepts, because by ten are signified all; consequently, by the Ten Words are signified all the things of the Word, and therefore all the things of the church, in a summary.

The reason why they are all the things of the Word and all the things of the church in summary is, that in each precept there are three interior senses, each sense for its own heaven, for there are three heavens. The first sense is the spiritual-moral sense, this is for the first or ultimate heaven; the second sense is the celestial-spiritual sense, which is for the second or middle heaven; and the third sense is the Divine-celestial, which is for the third or inmost heaven. There are also as many internal senses in everything contained in the Word; for the Word is from the Lord, who is in its supreme things. It was sent down, in order, through the three heavens even to the earth, and thence was accommodated to each heaven; consequently, also the Word is in each heaven, and almost with every angel, in its own sense; it is read by them daily, and there are also preachings from it, just as on the earth.

[3] For the Word is Divine truth itself, thus Divine wisdom proceeding from the Lord as a Sun and appearing in the heavens as light. The Divine truth is the Divine that is called the Holy Spirit; for it not only proceeds from the Lord, but also enlightens man, and teaches him, as is said concerning the Holy Spirit.

Because the Word, in its descent from the Lord, has been accommodated to the three heavens, and the three heavens are conjoined, like inmost things with ultimates by media, thus also the three senses of the Word, it is therefore evident, that the Word was given, in order that the three heavens may be conjoined one with another; and also that there may be a conjunction of the heavens with the human race, for whom the literal sense is given, this being purely natural, and therefore the basis of the other three senses. That the Ten Precepts of the Decalogue are all the things of the Word in a summary can be seen only from those precepts in their three senses, such as above described.

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