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 #108

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108. (Verse 7) He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. That this signifies that he who understands should hearken to what Divine truth proceeding from the Lord teaches and says to those who belong to His church, is evident from the signification of he who hath an ear let him hear, as being that he who understands should hearken or obey (that to hear denotes to understand and to do, or to hearken, may be seen above, n. 14); from the signification of the Spirit, in this case the Spirit of God, as being Divine truth proceeding from the Lord (concerning which see Arcana Coelestia 3704, 5307, 6788, 6982, 6993, 7004, 7499, 8302, 9199, 9228, 9229, 9303, 9407, 9818, 9820, 10330); and from the signification of the churches, as denoting, those who are in truths from good, or in faith from charity, thus those who belong to the church, for no others are of the church. These words, namely, "He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches," are said to each of the churches (here to the church of Ephesus, and afterwards to the church of Smyrna, 1:11; to the church in Pergamos, 1:17; in Thyatira, 2:29; in Sardis, 3:6; in Philadelphia, 3:13; and in Laodicea, 3:22); because every one who belongs to the church may know that to know and understand the truths and goods of faith, or doctrinals, and also the Word, does not constitute the church, but to hearken, that is, to understand and to do, constitutes the church; for this is signified by the words, "he that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches," because this constitutes the church, and forms heaven with man, but not knowing and understanding without doing; therefore the Lord also occasionally uses the same words,

"He that hath all ear to hear let him hear" (as in Matthew 11:15; 13:43; Mark 4:9, 23; 7:16; Luke 8:8; 14:35).

In the Apocalypse it is added, "What the Spirit saith unto the churches," because by this is signified what Divine truth teaches and says to those who belong to the church, or, what is the same thing, what the Lord teaches and says, for all Divine truth proceeds from Him (see the work, Heaven and Hell 13, 133, 137, 139); therefore also the Lord himself did not use the words, "What the Spirit saith," because He Himself was the Divine truth that said it.

That to know and understand Divine truths does not constitute the church and form heaven with man, but to know, to understand and to do, the Lord teaches plainly in very many passages; as in Matthew,

"Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, and every one that heareth, and doeth not, shall be likened unto a foolish man" (7:24, 26).

Again:

"He that received seed into the good ground, is he that heareth the Word, and understandeth it, which also beareth fruit" (13:23).

And in Luke:

"Whosoever cometh to me and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like. He is like a man which built a house, and laid the foundation on a rock. But he that heareth and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built a house upon the earth" (6:47, 48, 49).

In the same:

"My mother and my brethren are those who hear the Word of God and do it" (8:21);

besides in many other passages. In these passages, to hear simply signifies to hear, which is to know and to understand to hear also, in common discourse, has this signification when a man is said to hear anything; but it signifies both to understand and to do, when he is said to give ear, or to be attentive; so also when he is said to hearken. Moreover, those who separate life from faith, are like those of whom the Lord speaks in Matthew:

"Seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand" (13:13, 14, 15; Ezekiel 12:2).

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

The Bible

 

Matthew 13:19-24

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19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;

21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: