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

  
/ 10837  
  

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.

  
/ 10837  
  

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Explained #299

Study this Passage

  
/ 1232  
  

299. A book written within and on the back. That this signifies the state of life of all in heaven and on the earth, in general and in particular, is evident from the signification of a book, in this case of the book of life, as denoting what is inscribed or implanted by the Lord in the spirit of man, that is, in the heart and soul, or what is the same thing, in the love and faith (concerning which see above, n. 199): hence by the book is here signified the state of life of all in heaven and on earth, and by its being written, is signified what is implanted by the Lord; (that to write signifies to implant, may be seen also above, n. 222); and from the signification of within and on the back, as denoting its being in the heart and soul, or in the love and faith. For with man and spirit love is within, because it constitutes his life; whereas faith, unless it is in his love, is not within, but behind or at the back; for the faith which is faith, makes entirely one with the love, for what a man loves belongs to his faith, but what he does not love does not belong to his faith. That appears, indeed, to be faith which any one thinks from the memory, and teaches from doctrine, but if he loves it only from a natural and not a spiritual love, it is the sight only of the thought of the external man, which sight counterfeits faith; but this faith, being without life before it is implanted in the internal man and its love, is not in the man, but behind him, or at his back. The faith implanted in the internal man and its love, is to believe and love the truth because it is truth, and not to love it chiefly for the sake of a reputation for learning, and of honour or gain therefrom. From these considerations it is evident what is signified by being written within and on the back.

[2] The subject treated of in this chapter is, that the Lord alone knows the states of the life of all in general and of each in particular, and that no one [knows this] besides Him. This is representatively set forth by the book written, which no one could open, read, and look into, but the Lamb alone, that is, the Lord. The reason why no one knows this except the Lord alone, is, because He is God alone, and because He formed the angelic heaven to the image of Himself, and man to the image of heaven: therefore He knows all things of heaven in general, and He who knows all things of heaven in general, also knows everything in particular; for a man who is in truths from good, and an angel, is an image of heaven, for he is a form of it; hence it also follows, that no one knows the states of any one in particular but he who knows the general state of all, for the one depends inseparably upon the other. But these things cannot be described in a few words; therefore see what is shown in the work concerning Heaven and Hell, where they are more distinctly and clearly described, in the following articles: That the Divine of the Lord makes heaven (n. 7-12); That every angel is a heaven in the least form (n. 51-58); That the whole heaven in the aggregate has reference to one man (n. 59-67); Similarly each society there (n. 68-72); That hence every angel is in a perfect human form (n. 73-77); That heaven, which is from the Divine Human of the Lord, in the whole and in part, has reference to man (n. 78-86); That there is a correspondence of all things of heaven with all things of man (n. 87-102); Concerning the conjunction of heaven with mankind (n. 291-302).

[3] It must be noted that here and elsewhere in the Word a book is mentioned, but by this a scroll (volumen) is meant; for in ancient times they wrote upon parchments, which were rolled together, and the parchment was called a book, and a scroll of a book, as may be seen in the Word.

As in Ezekiel:

"I looked, when behold, a hand sent unto me; and lo, in it a scroll of a book written within and without" (2:9, 10).

And in David:

"Then said I, Lo, I come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me" (Psalms 40:7).

Wherefore also, it is said in Isaiah:

"All the host of the heavens shall waste away, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll" (34:4).

Also in the Apocalypse:

"The heaven departed, as a book when it is rolled together" (6:14).

From these considerations it can be known how the book, which John saw, was written within and on the back.

  
/ 1232  
  

Translation by Isaiah Tansley. Many thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.