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

 

Arcana Coelestia #1020

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1020. That these things are meant becomes clear from the fact that everything put together as history from Genesis 1 down to Eber in Chapter 11 means something different from what appears in the letter, and from the consideration that the historical narratives there are purely made-up history customary among the most ancient people. When attesting the truth of some matter they would say that 'Jehovah said it'. Here however 'God' is used because the subject is the spiritual Church. And they did the same when anything true was being, or had been, put into effect.

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Explained #536

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536. And there was given unto him the key of the pit of the abyss, signifies communication and conjunction with the hells. This is evident from the signification of "key," which is opening (of which presently); and from the signification of "the pit of the abyss," as meaning the hells where and from which are the falsities of evil (of which in the following articles). It is said that the key of the pit of the abyss was given to "the star from heaven fallen unto the earth," because the "star" signifies the knowledges of truth from the Word falsified by application to evils and falsities therefrom; and the evils of falsity and the falsities of evil that are with man open the hells where there are like evils and falsities. But what is meant by opening the hells will also be explained in the following article, for immediately it is said, "and he opened the pit of the abyss."

[2] It is from the appearance in the spiritual world that a "key" signifies opening; in that world there are houses and chambers, there are doors through which there is entrance, and locks and keys by which they are opened, and every one of these things signifies such things as are with man. The house itself corresponds to the interiors of his disposition and mind; likewise the chambers; and the doors correspond to the communication between the interior things of the mind and disposition; and a "key" corresponds to the admission and opening from one part into another; in a word, each particular thing in a house in which angels and spirits dwell corresponds to the particular things within them. Few of the spirits know this, because few know anything about correspondences, for being in them they do not reflect upon them. It is the same as it is with men in the world; few of whom know what their affections and thoughts are, because being in them they thence do not reflect upon them, and yet they are innumerable, as can be seen from the results of mental analysis set forth by many of the learned, all which are operations of the mind. This makes clear why a "key" is mentioned, and that it signifies admission and opening.

[3] So elsewhere in the Word, as in Matthew:

Jesus said to Peter, I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of the heavens (Matthew 16:19).

(This may be seen explained above, n. 206.) Also in Isaiah (Isaiah 22:20, 22), where the like is said of Eliakim (this, too, is explained above, n. 206.

Also in Revelation:

I have the keys of hell and of death (Revelation 1:18). (Respecting this see above, n. 86.)

Again:

These things saith the Holy, the True, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth and no one shutteth, and shutteth and no one openeth (Revelation 3:7). (See above, n. 205, 206.)

And again:

I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a great chain upon his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, and bound him a thousand years (Revelation 20:1, 2). (This will be explained hereafter.)

And in Luke:

Woe unto you lawyers! For 1 ye take away the keys of heaven; 2 ye enter not in yourselves, and those entering in ye hinder (Luke 11:52).

Those were called "lawyers" who searched the Scriptures and taught how their contents must be understood; and as it is by means of the Sacred Scripture or the Word that there is communication and consequent conjunction with heaven, as was said in the article just above, and as truths are what open the communication, and the goods of truth are what constitute conjunction, while truths falsified, which in themselves are the falsities of evil, are what cause disjunction, so they are said "to take away the keys of heaven," that is, that they are able by means of truths to open communication with heaven to those whom they teach; but because they perverted the Word by applications to their loves and to false principles therefrom, therefore it is said, "Ye enter not in yourselves, and those entering in ye hinder." From this it can be seen that "the key that opened the pit" signifies communication and conjunction with the hells by means of the falsities into which the truths of the Word are turned by those who falsify them by applying them to the evils of life and to the false principles derived therefrom.

Footnotes:

1. Latin "who," Greek "for."

2. Latin "heaven," Greek "knowledge."

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