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.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Explained #1069

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1069. (Verse 12) And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings. That this signifies the power of the truths of the Word, is evident from the signification of horns, as denoting the power of truth (concerning which see n. 316, 567, 776, 1041); there were ten horns, because ten signifies many persons and also many things, also all persons and all things, as may be seen above (n. 675). Hence by ten horns, when said of the truths of the Word, is signified all power. And from the signification of ten kings, as denoting the truths of the Word and thence of the church, of which we have spoken frequently above.

In these three verses, and also in verses 16 and 17, what is signified by the ten horns of the beast is explained, that is, those Divine truths, which the Babylonish nation has profaned, the chief of which are, that the Lord has power over heaven and over earth, and that the Word alone is holy and Divine. For these two truths make the Lord's church itself on earth; the church being a church from the worship of the Lord and the reading of the Word. For the Lord reforms men and the Word teaches how they are to live, that they may be reformed by the Lord. If, therefore, these two truths are not acknowledged and received, the church itself must perish; for upon these two truths the church is founded.

Hence it is that it came to pass, of the Lord's Divine Providence, that some churches separated themselves from the Babylonish [church]; these acknowledge the Lord's Divine power over heaven and earth to be equal to the power of God the Father, and also attribute Divine sanctity to the Word alone. This was provided by the Lord, lest the Christian Church in Europe should fall utterly. That these things are signified by the ten horns which are ten kings will be seen from what follows.

Continuation concerning the Word:-

[2] Because the Word is Divine truth, and this proceeds from the Lord's Divine Esse as light from the sun, it follows that the Lord is the Word, because He is Divine truth. The reason why the Lord is the Word, because He is Divine truth, and that this proceeds from His Divine Esse, which is Divine love is, that the Divine love was in Him while in the world, as the soul in the body. And because from Divine love proceeds Divine truth like light from the sun, as was said, therefore the Lord's Human in the Word was Divine truth proceeding from the Divine love which was in Him.

That the Divine itself, which is called Jehovah, and the Father, which is Divine love, was in the Lord from conception, is evident in the evangelists Matthew and Luke. In Matthew from these words:

When Mary the mother of Jesus was espoused to Joseph, "before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit." And the angel said to Joseph in a dream, "Fear not to take unto thee Mary thy spouse, for that which is begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit." This came to pass that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord through the prophet; Behold a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son. And Joseph "knew her not, till she had brought forth her first-born son, and he called his name Jesus" (1:18-25).

And in Luke in these words:

The angel said unto Mary, "Behold, thou shalt conceive in the womb, and shalt bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus; He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest. But Mary said unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? The angel said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; wherefore also, the holy thing which shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:30-55).

Because He was conceived of Jehovah, therefore in the Word He is so often called the Son of God, and Jehovah is called His Father. And Jehovah as to His Being (Esse) is Divine love; and as to His Manifestation (Existere) He is Divine good united with Divine truth.

[3] From these things it may be seen what is meant by the

Word which was with God, and which was God; and also which was the light which enlighteneth every man (John 1:1-10),

namely, that it was Divine truth proceeding from the Lord; thus, the Lord as to His Existere. That the Lord as to His Existere was Divine truth, and that this was His Divine Human, because this existed from His Divine Esse, as the body from the soul, is openly testified in these words in John:

"The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father" (ver. 14 of the same chapter).

The Word is the Divine truth, which also is glory. Flesh is the Divine Human. The only begotten of the Father is the existent or proceeding from the Divine Esse in Him.

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

The Bible

 

John 1:4-5

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4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.