The Bible

 

Genesis 1

Study

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 #10238

Study this Passage

  
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10238. 'And put water in it' means the truths of faith by means of which purification in the natural is accomplished. This is clear from the meaning of 'water' as the truths of faith, dealt with in 28, 739, 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 5668, 8568, 9323; and from the meaning of 'the laver' as the natural, dealt with above in 10235. Anyone who does not know that 'water' means the truths of faith will fail to grasp the meaning of very many statements in the Word, such as unless a person is born of water and the spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God, John 3:5. Those who take water here to mean nothing other than water think that the water of baptism is the means by which a person is regenerated. But in fact the water does nothing towards regeneration, only the truth of faith and the good of love do so; for water washes away solely dirt that is on the body and by no means evils present in the heart.

[2] Anyone who does not know that 'water' means the truths of faith cannot know what baptism means, either. He thinks that the external act saves a person, when in fact the external act does not accomplish anything, only the inner reality meant by it, namely regeneration by means of the truths of faith. Baptism makes people belonging to the Church different from everyone else throughout the world, because unlike those outside the Church they are able to be regenerated by means of the truths of faith. For the Word, which contains the truths of faith, exists within the Church.

[3] Nor can anyone who does not know that 'water' means the truths of faith know what is meant in Genesis 1:6-10 by the waters above the expanse and the waters under the expanse. Truths of faith within the internal man are meant by 'the waters above the expanse', and truths of faith in the external by 'the waters under the expanse'; for the subject in that chapter is the new creation, thus the regeneration, of members of the Most Ancient Church.

[4] Nor can anyone who does not know that 'water' means the truths of faith know what is meant by 'water' in John,

He who drinks of the water that I shall give will never thirst. But the water that I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up into eternal life. John 4:13-14.

And in Isaiah,

The poor and the needy are seeking water, but there is none; their tongue is parched with thirst. I will open streams on the sloping heights, and I will place springs in the midst of valleys; I will make the wilderness into a pool of water, and the dry land into wellsprings of water. Isaiah 41:17-18.

And again in the same prophet,

They will not thirst. He will make water flow for them from the rock; and He will cleave the rock so that water flows out. Isaiah 48:20-21.

And in very many other places. But see what has been stated and shown previously on these matters,

Purification from evils and falsities is accomplished by means of the truths of faith, 2799, 5954(end), 7044, 7918, 9089, 10229.

So too is regeneration, see the places referred to in 9959.

'Baptism' means regeneration by means of the truths of faith, 4255, 5120(end), 9089.

Purification is accomplished within the natural, 3147, 9572.

And so is regeneration, see the places referred to in 9325.

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

The Bible

 

Genesis 32

Study

   

1 Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.

2 When he saw them, Jacob said, "This is God's army." He called the name of that place Mahanaim.

3 Jacob sent messengers in front of him to Esau, his brother, to the land of Seir, the field of Edom.

4 He commanded them, saying, "This is what you shall tell my lord, Esau: 'This is what your servant, Jacob, says. I have lived as a foreigner with Laban, and stayed until now.

5 I have cattle, donkeys, flocks, male servants, and female servants. I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight.'"

6 The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, "We came to your brother Esau. Not only that, but he comes to meet you, and four hundred men with him."

7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and was distressed. He divided the people who were with him, and the flocks, and the herds, and the camels, into two companies;

8 and he said, "If Esau comes to the one company, and strikes it, then the company which is left will escape."

9 Jacob said, "God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, Yahweh, who said to me, 'Return to your country, and to your relatives, and I will do you good,'

10 I am not worthy of the least of all the loving kindnesses, and of all the truth, which you have shown to your servant; for with just my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I have become two companies.

11 Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he come and strike me, and the mothers with the children.

12 You said, 'I will surely do you good, and make your seed as the sand of the sea, which can't be numbered because there are so many.'"

13 He lodged there that night, and took from that which he had with him, a present for Esau, his brother:

14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,

15 thirty milk camels and their colts, forty cows, ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten foals.

16 He delivered them into the hands of his servants, every herd by itself, and said to his servants, "Pass over before me, and put a space between herd and herd."

17 He commanded the foremost, saying, "When Esau, my brother, meets you, and asks you, saying, 'Whose are you? Where are you going? Whose are these before you?'

18 Then you shall say, 'They are your servant, Jacob's. It is a present sent to my lord, Esau. Behold, he also is behind us.'"

19 He commanded also the second, and the third, and all that followed the herds, saying, "This is how you shall speak to Esau, when you find him.

20 You shall say, 'Not only that, but behold, your servant, Jacob, is behind us.'" For, he said, "I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face. Perhaps he will accept me."

21 So the present passed over before him, and he himself lodged that night in the camp.

22 He rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two handmaids, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford of the Jabbok.

23 He took them, and sent them over the stream, and sent over that which he had.

24 Jacob was left alone, and wrestled with a man there until the breaking of the day.

25 When he saw that he didn't prevail against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh, and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was strained, as he wrestled.

26 The man said, "Let me go, for the day breaks." Jacob said, "I won't let you go, unless you bless me."

27 He said to him, "What is your name?" He said, "Jacob."

28 He said, "Your name will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have fought with God and with men, and have prevailed."

29 Jacob asked him, "Please tell me your name." He said, "Why is it that you ask what my name is?" He blessed him there.

30 Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for, he said, "I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved."

31 The sun rose on him as he passed over Peniel, and he limped because of his thigh.

32 Therefore the children of Israel don't eat the sinew of the hip, which is on the hollow of the thigh, to this day, because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew of the hip.