Arcana Coelestia #25
25. 'Spreading out the earth and stretching out the heavens' is a common expression in the Prophets when the subject is man's regeneration, as in Isaiah,
Thus said Jehovah, your Redeemer, He who formed you from the womb, I am Jehovah who makes all things, who stretches out the heavens Alone, and who spreads out the earth by Myself. Isaiah 44:24.
Also, when it is speaking of the Lord's Coming,
A bruised reed He does not break off and a smoking wick He does not quench; He brings forth judgement towards truth; that is, He neither shatters man's illusions nor stifles his desires. Instead He bends them towards truth and good. This verse in Isaiah continues,
The God Jehovah creates the heavens and stretches them out: He spreads out the earth and what comes from it: He gives breath 1 to the people upon it, and spirit to those who walk on it. Isaiah 42:3-5.
Such phrases recur several times elsewhere.
Footnotes:
1. literally, soul
Six
Like most numbers in the Bible, "six" can have various meanings depending on context, but has a couple that are primary. When used in relation to time -- six days, six hours, six years, etc. -- six generally represents a state of labor, struggle and conflict, especially the conflict involved with spiritual growth. The six days of creation, for instance, represent the stages we go through in our lives, working toward the peaceful seventh day, in which our evil desires are removed from us and we can rest. In most other references, six represents all desires for good and all the true ideas that come from those desires for good -- or in the contrary sense, all evil and all the resulting false thinking.