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 #593

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593. And I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven.- That this signifies the Lord as to the Word, in this case, as to its ultimate sense, which is called the sense of the letter, is evident from the signification of a strong angel, as denoting the Lord as to the Word, of which we shall speak presently. The reason why it denotes the Lord as to the Word in its ultimate sense, called the sense of the letter, is, that from that sense the Lord is called strong, for all the strength, and all the power of Divine Truth, exist and consist in its ultimate, consequently in the sense of the letter of the Word, of which also we shall speak presently.

[2] Because the sense of the letter of the Word is here meant, therefore it is said of the angel that he was seen coming down out of heaven, the same being said of the Word, which is Divine Truth; for this descends from the Lord through the heavens into the world, on which account it is adapted to the wisdom of the angels in the three heavens, and also to men in the natural world. For this reason the Word in the first origin of all is wholly Divine, afterwards celestial, then spiritual, and lastly natural. It is celestial for the angels of the inmost or third heaven, who are called celestial angels, spiritual for the angels of the second or middle heaven, who are called spiritual angels, and celestial-natural and spiritual-natural for the angels of the ultimate or first heaven, who are called celestial-natural and spiritual-natural angels, and natural for men in the world; for men, while they live in the material body, think and speak naturally.

This is the reason why the angels of each heaven possess the Word, but with a difference according to the degree of their wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge (scientia); and although it differs as to its sense in each heaven, still it is the same Word. For when the Divine itself, which is in the Word from the Lord, descends to the inmost or third heaven, it becomes celestial Divine; when it descends from this to the middle or second heaven, it becomes spiritual Divine; and when from this heaven it descends to the ultimate or first, it becomes celestial-natural or spiritual-natural Divine; and when it descends thence into the world, it becomes the natural Divine Word, such as it is with us in the letter. These successive derivations of the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord Himself, exist from correspondences established from creation itself between things higher and lower, on which subject, the Lord willing, more will be said elsewhere.

[3] The reason why all strength and all power are in the ultimates of Divine Truth, that is in the natural sense of the Word, which is the sense of the letter, is, that this sense is the containant of all the interior senses, namely, of the spiritual and celestial, spoken of above; and since it is the containant, it is also the base, and all strength is in the base; for if things higher do not rest upon their base, they fall down and are scattered. Such would be the case with spiritual and celestial things if they did not rest upon the natural or literal sense of the Word, for this not only sustains the interior senses, but also contains them, therefore the Word or Divine Truth, in this sense, is not only in its power, but also in its fulness. But upon this subject more may be seen above; namely, that strength is in the ultimate, because the Divine there is in its fulness (n. 346, 567). It is also further explained in the Arcana Coelestia that interior things successively flow into exterior, even into the extreme or ultimate, and that therein they co-exist (n. 634, 6239, 6465, 9215, 9216); that they not only flow in successively, but also form in their ultimate what is simultaneous; in what order (n. 5897, 6451, 8603, 10099); that therefore strength and power are in the ultimates (n. 9836); that consequently responses and revelations are given in ultimates (n. 9905, 10548); that therefore the ultimate is more holy than the interiors (n. 9824).

[4] From these things, it also follows, that everything of the doctrine of the church ought to be formed and confirmed from the sense of the letter of the Word, and that all the power of doctrine is therefrom (see above, n. 356); this is the reason why the angel coming down out of heaven is called strong. That an angel in the Word, in the highest sense, means the Lord, in the respective sense (sensu respectivo), every recipient of Divine Truth from the Lord, and in an abstract sense, Divine Truth itself, may be seen above (n. 130, 302); here therefore the angel means the Lord as to the Word, because the Word is the Divine Truth itself. That the Lord Himself is here meant by the angel, is evident from a similar representation of Him as to His face, and feet, in the first chapter of this book, where it is said of the Son of man, who is the Lord, that "his countenance shone as the sun in his strength, and that his feet were like unto burnished brass, as if they burned in a furnace" (ver. 15, 16).

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Explained #567

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567. And I heard one voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God.- That this signifies revelation from the Lord out of the spiritual heaven, is evident from the signification of hearing a voice, as denoting revelation, because what was revealed by that voice follows; and from the signification of the golden altar which is before God, as denoting the spiritual Divine of which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of the four horns of the altar, as denoting the spiritual Divine in its ultimates. For the horns were in the ultimates of both altars, as well the altar of burnt-offering, as the altar of incense which is the golden altar; and because the horns were the ultimates of those altars, therefore they signified the Divine as to power, for all power is in ultimates, and for this reason the horns of the altars signified the Divine as to omnipotence; concerning the signification of these, see above (n. 316). That the altar of burnt-offering signified the celestial Divine, which is the Divine Good, may be seen above (n. 391:1-21, 490, 496). But that the altar of incense, or the golden altar, represented and thence signified the spiritual Divine, which is the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord, is evident from its description to be dealt with below.

[2] It shall be first explained here why the voice was heard from the four horns of the altar. The horns, which projected and stood out from the altars above mentioned, signified every thing belonging to them as to power, as is evident from what has been said and shown above (n. 346, 417), and also from what has been said and shown concerning ultimates in the Arcana Coelestia, as, that interiors flow in successively into externals, even into the extremes or ultimates, and that there also they exist and subsist (n. 624, 6239, 6465, 9215, 9216); that they not only flow in successively, but also form in the ultimate what is simultaneous (in what order, n. 5897, 6451, 8603, 10099); that therefore strength and power are in ultimates (n. 9836); that therefore responses and revelations were given in ultimates (n. 9905, 10548). Since responses and revelations were given in ultimates, it is evident that the reason, why the voice was heard from the four horns of the golden altar, is that the golden altar signifies the spiritual Divine, which is the Divine Truth that reveals, and that the horns signify the ultimates thereof, by means of which revelation is made. The golden altar, upon which they offered incense, signifies the spiritual Divine, which is Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord, because the offerings of incense which were offered upon that altar, signified worship from spiritual good, and the hearing and reception thereof by the Lord; see above (n. 324, 491, 492, 494).

[3] That the altar of incense signified the spiritual Divine, and that the offerings of incense upon it signified worship from spiritual good, and the favourable hearing and reception of it by the Lord, is evident from the construction of that altar, the details of which represented and signified those things. The construction of the altar of incense is thus described in Moses:

"Thou shalt make an altar of the offering of incense; of Shittim wood, shalt thou make it. A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; foursquare shall it be; and two cubits shall be the height thereof; the horns thereof shall be out of it. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the walls thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto it a border of gold round about. And two golden rings shalt thou make to it, under the border of it, upon the two ribs thereof, upon the two sides of it shalt thou make it; and they shall be for places for the staves to bear it withal. And thou shalt make the staves of Shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. And thou shalt put it before the veil that is over the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee. And Aaron shall burn thereon incense of spices in the morning; in the morning, when he dresseth the lamps he shall burn incense upon it. And when Aaron lighteth the lamps between the evenings, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before Jehovah throughout your generations. Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt-sacrifice, nor meal-offering; neither shall ye pour drink-offering thereon. And Aaron shall make an expiation upon the horns of it once in a year of the blood of the expiations of sin; once in the year shall he make expiation upon it throughout your generations; this is the holy of holies unto Jehovah" (Exodus 30:1-10).

That these details concerning that altar, signify, in the internal sense, worship from spiritual good, which is the good of charity towards the neighbour, and also the favourable hearing and reception of it by the Lord, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia, (n. 10176-10213), where they are explained in their series.

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