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 #22

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22. Grace to you and peace, signifies the delight of truth and good. This is evident from the signification of "grace" as being the delight of truth (about which more presently); and from the signification of "peace," as being the delight of the good of innocence and love (on which see in the work on Heaven and Hell, where the State of Peace in Heaven is treated of, n. 284-290). "Grace" means the delight of truth, because there are two things that proceed from the Lord, united in their origin, but separated with those that receive them. For there are those that receive more the Divine truth than the Divine good, and those that receive more the Divine good than the Divine truth. Those that receive more the Divine truth than the Divine good are in the Lord's spiritual kingdom, and are therefore called spiritual; but those that receive more the Divine good than the Divine truth are in the Lord's celestial kingdom, and are therefore called celestial (On these two kingdoms in heaven and in the church, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 20-28.) To those in the spiritual kingdom it is granted by the Lord to be in the affection of truth for the sake of truth; and this Divine is what is called grace; so far, therefore, as anyone is in that affection is he in the Lord's Divine grace; nor is there any other Divine grace with man, spirit, or angel, than to be affected by truth, because it is truth, since in that affection there is heaven and blessedness for them (See in The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine, n.232, 236, 238; and Heaven and Hell 395-414). Whether we say the affection of truth or the delight of truth it is the same; for there is no affection without delight.

[2] This in particular is what is meant by "grace" in the Word; as in John:

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt in us, and we beheld His glory, a glory as of the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth, of His fullness we all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:14, 16-17).

It is said "grace and truth," because grace is the affection and the delight of truth. And in Luke, after the Lord had explained in the synagogue the prophesy of Isaiah respecting Himself, that is, the Divine truth, it is said:

All wondered at the words of grace proceeding out of His mouth (Luke 4:22).

the Divine truths that the Lord spoke are called "words of grace proceeding out of His mouth," because they are acceptable, grateful, and delightful. In general, Divine grace is all that is given from the Lord; and as all that is so given has relation to faith and love, and faith is the affection of truth from good, this is meant in particular by Divine grace: for to be gifted with faith and love, or with the affection of truth from good, is to be gifted with heaven, thus with eternal blessedness.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for their permission to use this translation.

The Bible

 

Revelation 1:4

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4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;