The Bible

 

Genesis 1:2

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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.

Commentary

 

Explanation of Genesis 1:2

By New Christian Bible Study Staff (machine translated into English)

1. Genesis 1:2: The earth is chaotic and empty, and darkness is above the depths.

Earth refers to a person before being born again. In the uncultivated land, it was symbolized by following the state of a person before being reborn, a land full of weeds and no grain, a land full of thorns and stones.

It is confused and emptiness, and it is written as void and emptiness in the English Bible, which is interpreted as emptiness and emptiness. Void means nothing that belongs to goodness, and darkness is a state of ignorance that does not know anything, and darkness is a state of ignorance that does not know what faith in the Lord is or what spiritual and heavenly life is. Those who are above the depths and who do not know what true faith is, only means the state of being deeply immersed in their greed and lies. Just as children who are unborn and who do not know anything about the world, the state of a person before being born again is about love and faith. It is a word that expresses the nature of humans who know nothing and are deeply immersed in greed and desire to dominate.

Genesis 1:2: The Spirit of God moved on the surface.

It is said that God's mercy means that he is providing love with love to save the ignorant mankind. It's as if a hen embraces an egg and wraps it until it wakes up. Sleep means knowledge of good and truth. It is the Word that showed the providence of the Lord to teach and realize what is good and what is true. Running on the surface means that the Lord is working to awaken ignorant humans.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #17

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17. Verse 2 And the earth was a void and an emptiness, and there was thick darkness over the face 1 of the deep; and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face 1 of the waters. The person who has yet to be regenerated is called 'a void and an empty earth', and also 'ground', in which no good or truth at all has been sown - 'void' where there is no good, and 'empty' where there is no truth. Consequently there is 'thick darkness', or stupidity and lack of knowledge about anything that has to do with faith in the Lord and so anything that has to do with spiritual and celestial life. This kind of person is described by the Lord through Jeremiah,

My people are foolish, they know Me not; they are stupid children, having no understanding; they are wise to do evil, and know not how to do good. I looked to the earth, and, behold, a void and an emptiness; and towards the heavens, and they had no light. Jeremiah 4:22-23, 25.

Footnotes:

1. literally, the faces

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