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 #51

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51. As regards what the image is, an image is not a likeness but is 'according to a likeness'. Therefore it is said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness'. A spiritual man is an image, whereas a celestial man is a likeness or exact replica. The spiritual man is the subject in this present chapter, the celestial man in the next. The spiritual man, who is an image, is called by the Lord 'a son of light', as in John,

He who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may be sons of light. John 12:35-36.

He is also called 'a friend',

You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. John 15:14-15

The celestial man however, who is a likeness, is called 'a son of God', in John,

As many as received Him, to them He gave power to be sons of God, to those believing in His Name, who were born, not of blood, 1 nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:12-13.

Footnotes:

1. literally, of bloods

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #6650

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6650. Verses 8-14 And a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are many and numerous, more than ourselves. Come, let us use prudence with them; perhaps they will multiply, and it will be when wars occur, that they also will join themselves to our enemies and fight against us, and go up out of the land. And they set princes of tributes 1 over them, to afflict them with burdens. And they built cities of store-houses for Pharaoh - Pithom and Raamses. And according as they afflicted them, so they multiplied and so they grew; and they were filled with loathing because of the children of Israel. And the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigour. And they made their life bitter with hard service, in clay and in bricks, and in all [manner of] service in the field, with all their [other] service in which they made them serve with rigour.

'And a new king arose over Egypt' means separated factual knowledge, which is opposed to the Church's truths. 'Who did not know Joseph' means which is completely alienated from the internal. 'And he said to his people' means subordinated factual knowledge. 'Behold, the people of the children of Israel are many and numerous, more than ourselves' means that the Church's truths are prevailing over alienated factual knowledge. 'Come, let us use prudence with them' means guile. 'Perhaps they will multiply, and it will be when wars occur' means superior strength if they increase. 'That they also will join themselves to our enemies and fight against us' means that in that way allied forces who inflict harm will be made stronger. 'And go up out of the land' means that the Church will have thereby been established. ' And they set princes of tributes over them' means falsities which would compel them to serve. 'To afflict them with burdens' means increasing distress caused by forms of hard service. 'And they built cities of store-houses for Pharaoh' means teachings composed of falsified truths in the natural where alienated factual knowledge resides. 'Pithom and Raamses' means the essential nature of those teachings. 'And according as they afflicted them, so they multiplied' means that in the measure that there were molestations, so the truths increased. 'And so they grew' means that they became strong. 'And they were filled with loathing because of the children of Israel' means greater aversion. 'And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve' means the aim to bring them under their control. 'With rigour means without showing any mercy. 'And they made their life bitter with hard service' means to such an extent that the aim to bring them under their control became vexatious. 'In clay and in bricks' means on account of the evils which they devised and the falsities which they fabricated. 'And in all [manner of] service in the field' means the aim to bring things of the Church under their control. 'With all their [other] service in which they made them serve with rigour' means the aim to bring them under their control by the use of many methods, without showing them any mercy.

Footnotes:

1. i.e. taskmasters

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