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 #664

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664. And after three days and a half.- That this signifies when completed, thus the end of the old church, and the beginning of a new church, is evident from the signification of three days and a half, as denoting fulness or completion at the end of the old church, when there is the beginning of a new church, concerning which see above (n. 658). The reason why it is said, after three days and a half, is, that days, in the Word, signify states, here, the last state of the church. For all times, in the Word, as hours, days, weeks, months, years, and ages, signify states in the Word, as in this case, the last state of the church, when there is no longer any good of love or truth of faith remaining. Because days signify states, and since in the first chapter of Genesis the establishment of the Most Ancient Church is treated of which was accomplished successively from one state to another, therefore it is said there that there was evening and there was morning the first, the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth, and sixth days, unto the seventh, when it was completed (Genesis 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31), and the days there do not mean days, but the successive states of the regeneration of men at that time, and the consequent establishment of the church with them. So also elsewhere in the Word.

  
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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

 

Arcana Coelestia #2360

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2360. He calls them 'brothers' because it was from good that he made his appeal. This is clear from the meaning of 'brother', for 'brother' in the Word has the same meaning as 'neighbour', the reason being that everyone ought to love his neighbour as himself. Thus 'brothers' were called such out of love, or what amounts to the same, from good. The origin of naming and greeting the neighbour in this way lies in heaven where the Lord is Father of all and loves all as His children; and so love is spiritual conjunction. From this the whole of heaven resembles so to speak one family born from love and charity, 685, 917.

[2] All the children of Israel therefore, since they represented the Lord's heavenly kingdom, that is, the kingdom of love and charity, were among themselves called 'brothers' and also 'companions', though they were called 'companions' not from the good of love but from the truth of faith, as in Isaiah,

Every one helps his companion and says to his brother, Be firm. Isaiah 41:6.

In Jeremiah,

Thus shall you say, every one to his companion and every one to his brother, What has Jehovah answered? and what has Jehovah spoken? Jeremiah 23:35.

In David,

For my brothers' and my companions' sakes I will say. Peace be within you! Psalms 122:8.

In Moses,

He shall not press his companion and his brother, because Jehovah's release has been proclaimed. Deuteronomy 15:2-3.

In Isaiah,

I will confound Egypt with Egypt, and they will fight, every one against his brother, and every one against his companion. Isaiah 19:2.

In Jeremiah,

Take heed, every one, of his companion and put no trust in any brother, for every brother will supplant wholly, and every companion will utter slanders. Jeremiah 9:4.

[3] The fact that all belonging to that Church were called by the one name 'brothers' may be seen in Isaiah,

They will bring all your brothers from all nations as an offering to Jehovah, on horses, and in chariots, and in covered wagons, and on mules, and on dromedaries, to My holy mountain, Jerusalem. Isaiah 66:20.

People, like the Jews, who know nothing beyond the sense of the letter believe that none else are meant than the descendants of Jacob, and also that those descendants will be brought back to Jerusalem on horses, and in chariots, and in covered wagons, and on mules by those whom they call the gentiles. But the word 'brothers' is used to mean all who are governed by good, 'horses, chariots, and wagons' to mean the things that belong to truth and good, and 'Jerusalem' the Lord's kingdom.

[4] In Moses,

When there is a needy person among you, one of your brothers, within one of your gates, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand against your needy brother. Deuteronomy 15:7, 11.

In the same author,

From among your brothers shall you set a king over you; you may not place over you a foreigner, who is not your brother. And his heart shall not be lifted up above his brothers. Deuteronomy 17:15, 20.

In the same author,

Jehovah your God will raise up for you from the midst of you, from your brothers, a prophet like me; Him shall you obey. Deuteronomy 18:15, 18.

[5] From these quotations it is evident that the Jews and Israelites all called one another brothers, but allies they called companions. But because they discerned nothing beyond the historical and worldly descriptions of the Word they consequently believed that they called one another brothers because they were all children of one forefather, namely Abraham. They were not called brothers in the Word for this reason however but from the good which they represented. Furthermore 'Abraham' in the internal sense means nothing else than love itself, that is, the Lord, 1893, 1965, 1989, 2011, whose sons who therefore are brothers - are those who are governed by good, all those in fact who are called 'the neighbour', as the Lord teaches in Matthew,

One is your Master, Christ, and all you are brothers. Matthew 23:8.

[6] In the same gospel,

Whoever is angry with his brother without cause will be liable to judgement; whoever says to his brother, Raca! will be liable to the Sanhedrin. If you offer your gift on the altar and there remember that your brother-has something against you, leave the gift there before the altar, go away and first be reconciled to your brother. Matthew 5:22-24.

In the same gospel,

Why do you notice the speck which is in your brother's eye? How will you say to your brother, Let me cast the speck out of your eye? Matthew 7:2-4.

In the same gospel,

If your brother sins against you, go and rebuke him, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. Matthew 18:15.

In the same gospel,

Peter came and said to Him, Lord, how many times shall my brother sin against me and I ought to forgive him? Matthew 18:21.

In the same gospel,

So also My heavenly Father will do to you if you from your hearts do not forgive - everyone his brother's trespasses. Matthew 18:35.

[7] From all this it is plain that all men everywhere, being the neighbour, are called brothers. They are called 'brothers' because everyone ought to love the neighbour as himself, so that they are called such from love or good. And because the Lord is Good itself and views everyone from good, and is Himself the Neighbour in the highest sense of all, He Himself refers to them as 'brothers', as in John,

Jesus said to Mary, Go to My brothers. John 20:17.

And in Matthew,

The king will answer them and say, Truly I say to you, insofar as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers you did it to Me. Matthew 25:40.

From this it is now clear that 'brother' is a term expressive of love.

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