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 #5268

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5268. 'And the seven thin and bad cows coming up after them are seven years' means a state when falsity attacking the interior natural is multiplied. This is clear from the meaning of 'cows' in the genuine sense as truths within the interior natural, dealt with in 5198, 5265, but in the contrary sense as falsities there, dealt with in 5202, so that the former are called 'good cows', but the latter 'thin and bad'; from the meaning of 'coming up' as an advance made towards things that are interior, dealt with in 5202; and from the meaning of 'years' as states, dealt with just above in 5265. Even as 'seven' means that which is holy, so in the contrary sense it means that which is unholy. For most things in the Word have a contrary meaning as well, the reason for this being that when the selfsame things as come into being in heaven pass downwards in the direction of hell, they are converted into things of an opposite nature and become in actual fact their opposites. Consequently things that are holy, meant by 'seven', are made in that place into those that are unholy.

[2] Let references to the number seven found solely in the Book of Revelation serve to prove that 'seven' is used to mean both holy things and unholy ones. The following are places where holy things are meant,

John to the seven Churches: Grace and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before His throne. Revelation 1:4.

These things says He who has the seven spirits and the seven stars. Revelation 3:1.

From the throne there were coming seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. Revelation 4:5.

I saw on the right hand of Him sitting on the throne a book written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. Revelation 5:1.

I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne, a Lamb standing as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Revelation 5:6.

To the seven angels were given seven trumpets. Revelation 8:1.

In the days of the voice of the seventh angel the mystery of God was to be fulfilled. Revelation 10:7.

Out of the temple came the seven angels having the seven plagues, clothed in linen, white and splendid, and girded around their breasts with golden girdles. Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls. Revelation 15:6-7.

[3] The fact that 'seven' in the contrary sense means things that are unholy is evident from the following places, also in the Book of Revelation,

Behold, a great fiery-red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven jewels. Revelation 12:3.

I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, which had seven heads and ten horns, and on its horns ten jewels, but on its heads a blasphemous name. Revelation 13:1.

I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names; and it had seven heads and ten horns. Here is the understanding of this - if anyone has the wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; and they are seven kings. The beast which was, and is not, he is the eighth king, and is of the seven, and is going away into perdition. Revelation 17:3, 7, 9-11.

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

The Bible

 

Revelation 15:6

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6 And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.