The Bible

 

Genesis 1:21

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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.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #15

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15. Throughout heaven they do not know any other Father than the Lord, for They are one, as He Himself has said,

I am the way, the truth, and the life. Philip said, Show us the Father. Jesus said to him, Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father. So why do you say, Show us the Father? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in Me? Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me. John 14:6, 8-11.

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

Commentary

 

Heavens

  

'The former heavens, which passed away,' as mentioned in Revelation 21:1, signify the societies of people in the spiritual world who were only in external or apparent good. (Apocalypse Explained 675) Heavens are celestial and spiritual things. Consequently, they are inmost things, both of the Lord's kingdom in heaven and in the earth. This also refers to the church, and every individual, who is a kingdom of the Lord, or a 'church.' Consequently, heavens denote all things pertaining to love and charity, and faith grounded in them, as well as all things pertaining to internal worship. In like manner they denote all things pertaining to the internal sense of the Word. All these things are heavens, and are called, 'the throne of the Lord.' (Arcana Coelestia 2162)

(References: Apocalypse Explained 21)