The Bible

 

Genesis 1:19

Study

       

19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #22

Study this Passage

  
/ 10837  
  

22. Verse 5 And there was evening, and there was morning, the first day.

What 'evening' means, and what 'morning', is recognized from what is said above. 'Evening' means every prior state, because it is a state of shade, that is, of falsity and of absence of faith, while 'morning' is every subsequent state, because it is one of light, that is, of truth and of cognitions of faith. 'Evening' in general means all the things that are man's own, whereas 'morning' means all those that are the Lord's, as is said through David,

The Spirit of Jehovah has spoken within me, and His word is upon my tongue. The God of Israel has said, the Rock of Israel has spoken to me. He is like the morning light, when the sun is rising on a cloudless morning, shining bright, as when after rain tender grass [springs up] from the earth. 2 Samuel 23:4.

Because 'evening' is a time when there is no faith, and 'morning' when there is, the Lord's Coming into the world is called 'the morning', and the time at which He comes, since faith does not exist at that point, is called 'the evening', as in Daniel,

The Holy One said to me, Up to the evening when it is becoming morning, two thousand three hundred times. Daniel 8:13-14.

In the Word, 'morning' stands in a similar way for every coming of the Lord, and so is a term describing the new creation.

  
/ 10837  
  

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Explained #673

Study this Passage

  
/ 1232  
  

673. And in that hour.- That this signifies during that state, is evident from the signification of hour, as denoting state, in this case, therefore, that state when the two witnesses ascended into heaven, and their enemies saw them. Hour signifies state, because, in the Word, times, and all expressions referring to time, as hours, days, weeks, months, years, ages, and also morning, noon, evening, and night, as well as spring, summer, autumn, and winter, signify states of life. That such things are signified by times, is illustrated and shown in Heaven and Hell 162-169), where time in heaven is treated of, as also above in this work (n. 571, 610, 664); and that hour signifies some duration of state, greater and less, thus time and state, may be seen above (n. 194), and that the number employed determines the state as to its quality (n. 488).

  
/ 1232  
  

Translation by Isaiah Tansley. Many thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.