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

 

The Last Judgement #18

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18. A further proof that heaven comes from the human race is the likeness between the minds of angels and human beings. Both enjoy the ability to understand, perceive and will. Both are designed to receive heaven. For the human mind is just as wise as that of angels, but its wisdom is restricted in the world, because it is then in an earthly body, and in this a person's spiritual mind thinks naturally. For the spiritual thought which he possesses as much as an angel then descends into natural ideas corresponding to the spiritual ones, and is so there perceived. It is different when a person's mind is released from the shackles of that body. Then it ceases to think naturally, and thinks spiritually; and when it does that, its thoughts become to the natural man incomprehensible and ineffable, that is, like an angel's. From this it may be deduced that a person's internal, what is called his spirit, is in essence an angel. 1 See HEAVEN AND HELL 73-77 for a demonstration that an angel has a perfect human form. But when a person's internal is not open upwards and only downwards, then although on release from the body it still has a human form, it is a dreadful and devilish one. For it is unable to look up to heaven, but only down to hell.

Footnotes:

1. A person's life has as many levels as there are heavens; and these are opened to him after death depending on how he lived (3747, 9594). Heaven is inside people (3884). People whose lives are dictated by love and charity have angelic wisdom in them, but it is then hidden, only being made available after death (2494). People in the Word are described as angels, if they receive the good of love and of faith from the Lord (10528).

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #3155

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3155. It would be superfluous to explain all these individual meanings since they have already been explained above in this chapter. They have been repeated for the sake of informing the natural man. In fact the introduction and joining of truth to good is like the betrothing and after that the wedding of a virgin to her husband; that is to say, she has to be informed about everything before she gives her consent. Though not visible to him these are nevertheless the things that take place in a person when truths in the natural man are being introduced and joined to good, that is, when he is being reformed. That is to say, an informing takes place first - good is informed about truth, and truth about good - and after that both parties give their consent, which is the subject in what follows next.

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