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 #670

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670. That 'living creature' 1 means things of the understanding, and 'all flesh' those of the will, becomes clear from what has been stated already, and also from what follows. In the Word 'living creature' means all animal life in general, as in Genesis 1:10, 21, 24; 2:19. Here however, because the phrase 'all flesh' is added immediately after, it means things which belong to the understanding, for the reason given already, that the regeneration of the member of this Church had to begin in the things of the understanding. This also is why in the next verse 'birds' are mentioned first, which mean things of the understanding or the rational, and 'beasts', which are those of the will, second. 'Flesh' in particular means bodily-mindedness which is a feature of the will.

Footnotes:

1. literally, living soul

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Heaven and Hell #365

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365. All this makes clear that the rich and the poor alike come into heaven, the one as easily as the other. The belief that the poor enter heaven easily and the rich with difficulty comes from not understanding the Word where the rich and the poor are mentioned. In the Word those that have an abundance of knowledges of good and truth, thus who are within the church where the Word is, are meant in the spiritual sense by the "rich;" while those who lack these knowledges, and yet desire them, thus who are outside of the church and where there is no Word, are meant by the "poor."

[2] The rich man clothed in purple and fine linen, and cast into hell, means the Jewish nation, which is called rich because it had the Word and had an abundance of knowledges of good and truth therefrom, "garments of purple" signifying knowledges of good, and "garments of fine linen" knowledges of truth. 1 But the poor man who lay at the rich man's gate and longed to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table, and who was carried by angels into heaven, means the nations that have no knowledges of good and truth and yet desired them (Luke 16:19-31). Also the rich that were called to a great supper and excused themselves mean the Jewish nation, and the poor brought in in their place mean the nations outside of the church (Luke 14:16-24).

[3] By the rich man of whom the Lord says:

It is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God (Matthew 19:24),

the rich in both the natural sense and the spiritual sense are meant. In the natural sense the rich are those that have an abundance of riches and set their heart upon them; but in the spiritual sense they are those that have an abundance of knowledges and learning, which are spiritual riches, and who desire by means of these to introduce themselves into the things of heaven and the church from their own intelligence. And because this is contrary to Divine order it is said to be "easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye," a "camel" signifying in general in the spiritual sense the knowing faculty and things known, and a "needle's eye" signifying spiritual truth. 2 That such is the meaning of a "camel" and a "needle's eye" is not at present known, because the knowledge that teaches what is signified in the spiritual sense by the things said in the literal sense of the Word has not up to this time been disclosed. In every particular of the Word there is a spiritual sense and also a natural sense; for the Word was made to consist wholly of correspondences between natural and spiritual things in order that conjunction of heaven with the world, or of angels with men might thereby be effected, direct conjunction having ceased. This makes clear who in particular are meant in the Word by the "rich man."

[4] That the "rich" in the Word mean in the spiritual sense those who are in knowledges of truth and good, and "riches" the knowledges themselves, which are spiritual riches, can be seen from various passages (as in Isaiah 10:12-14; Isaiah 30:6-7; Isaiah 45:3; Jeremiah 17:3; Jeremiah 48:7; Jeremiah 50:36-37; Jeremiah 51:13; Daniel 5:2-4; Ezek.Daniel 26:7, Daniel 26:12; Daniel 27:1-36 end; Zechariah 9:3-4; Psalm 45:12; Hosea 12:9; Revelation 3:17-18; Luke 14:33 and elsewhere). Also that the "poor" in the spiritual sense signify those who do not possess knowledges of good and of truth, and yet desire them (Matt. Luke 11:5; Luke 6:20-21; Luke 14:21; Isaiah 14:30; Isaiah 29:19; Isaiah 41:17-18; Zeph. Isaiah 3:12-13). All these passages may be seen explained in accordance with the spiritual sense in the Arcana Coelestia (10227).

Footnotes:

1. [Swedenborg's footnote] "Garments" signify truths, thus knowledges (Arcana Coelestia 1073, 2576, 5319, 5954, 9212, 9216, 9952, 10536).

"Purple" signifies celestial good (9467).

"Fine linen" signifies truth from a celestial origin (5319, 9469, 9744).

2. [Swedenborg's footnote] A "camel" signifies in the Word the knowing faculty and knowledge in general (3048, 3071, 3143, 3145).

What is meant by "needlework, working with a needle," and therefore by a "needle" (9688).

To enter from knowledge into the truths of faith is contrary to Divine order (10236).

Those that do this become demented in respect to the things of heaven and the church (128-130, 232-233, 6047).

And in the other life, when they think about spiritual things they become as it were drunken (1072).

Further about such (196).

Examples showing that when spiritual things are entered into through knowledges they cannot be comprehended (233, 2094, 2196, 2203, 2209).

It is permissible to enter from spiritual truth into knowledges which pertain to the natural man, but not the reverse, because there can be spiritual influx into the natural, but not natural influx into the spiritual (3219, 5119, 5259, 5427-5428, 5478, 6322, 9110).

The truths of the Word and of the church must first be acknowledged, after which it is permissible to consider knowledges, but not before (6047).

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