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 Revealed #656

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656. REVELATION: CHAPTER 15

1. Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete.

2. And I saw as though a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over its image and over its mark and over the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass, having harps of God.

3. They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying:

"Great and marvelous are Your works,

Lord God Almighty!

Just and true are Your ways,

O King of the saints!

4. Who does not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name?

For You alone are holy.

Therefore all nations shall come and worship before You,

For Your judgments have been manifested."

5. After these things I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened.

6. And out of the temple came the seven angels having the seven plagues, clothed in clean bright linen, and having their chests girded with golden sashes.

7. Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever.

8. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, and no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were ended.

THE SPIRITUAL MEANING

The Contents of the Whole Chapter

A preparation to reveal the last state of the church and expose the evils and falsities in which those who belonged to that church were caught up (verses 1, 5-8). The separation from them of those who had confessed the Lord and lived in accordance with His commandments (verses 2-4).

The Contents of the Individual Verses:

Verse ContentsSpiritual Meaning
1. Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous:A revelation from the Lord regarding the state of the church on earth and its character with respect to love and faith.
seven angels having the seven last plagues,The evils and falsities that exist in the church in its last state exposed in their entirety by the Lord.
for in them the wrath of God is complete.The destruction of the church and its end then.
2. And I saw as though a sea of glass mingled with fire,The farthest boundary of the spiritual world, where those people were gathered who had religion and consequently worshiped, but lacked any goodness of life.
and those who have the victory over the beast, over its image and over its mark and over the number of its name,People who rejected faith alone and its accompanying doctrine, and so did not acknowledge or become imbued with its falsities, and did not falsify the Word.
standing beside the sea of glass, having harps of God.The Christian heaven at the boundaries [of the spiritual world], and the faith accompanying charity in the people there.
3. They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb,A confession springing from charity, thus from a life in accordance with the precepts of the Law contained in the Ten Commandments, and from a faith in the Divinity of the Lord's humanity.
saying: "Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty!Everything in the world, in heaven and in the church was created and formed by the Lord out of Divine love by means of Divine wisdom.
For just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints!Everything that emanates from the Lord is just and true, because He is Divine goodness itself and Divine truth itself in heaven and in the church.
4. Who does not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name?The Lord alone is to be loved and worshiped.
For You alone are holy.He embodies the Word, truth, and enlightenment.
Therefore all nations shall come and worship before You,People who possess the goodness of love and charity will acknowledge the Lord alone to be God.
For Your judgments have been manifested."The truths in the Word openly attest to this.
5. After these things I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened.The inmost of heaven appeared, where the Lord is present in His holiness in the Word and in the Law contained in the Ten Commandments.
6. And out of the temple came the seven angels having the seven plagues,A preparation by the Lord for influx from the inmost of heaven into the church, to expose its evils and falsities and so to separate evil people from the good,
clothed in clean bright linen, and having their chests girded with golden sashes.this in accordance with the pure and genuine truths and goods in the Word.
7. Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowlsThe truths and goods by which evils and falsities in the church are exposed, drawn from the literal sense of the Word.
full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever.The evils and falsities that will be exposed to view by the pure and genuine truths and goods present in the Word.
8. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power,The inmost of heaven filled with the Lord's spiritual and celestial Divine truth,
and no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were ended.to such a degree there that no higher truth could be endured, and this until that church was destroyed and its end became apparent.

THE EXPOSITION

15:1 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous. This symbolizes a revelation from the Lord regarding the state of the church on earth and its character with respect to love and faith.

This is the subject of the present chapter and the next, and it is symbolically meant, therefore, by a sign in heaven, great and marvelous. That a sign in heaven symbolizes a revelation from the Lord regarding heaven and the church and their state, may be seen in nos. 532, 536 above. That it has to do with love and faith is because it is called great and marvelous, and greatness in the Word is predicated of things having to do with affection and love, while marvelousness is predicated of things having to do with thought and faith.

  
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Many thanks to the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and to Rev. N.B. Rogers, translator, for the permission to use this translation.

The Bible

 

Revelation 15:1

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1 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.