The Bible

 

Genesis 1:22

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22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Explained #651

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651. And shall overcome them and kill them, signifies the consequent destruction of every good and truth of the church. This is evident from the signification of "to overcome and kill the two witnesses," as being to destroy the things signified by "the two witnesses," which are the good of love and charity and the truth of doctrine and faith. That these will be destroyed by the affections of the natural man separated from the affections of the spiritual man, which are evil cupidities of every kind arising from infernal loves, is signified by "the beast that cometh up out of the abyss;" and that it was foretold that this would come to pass at the end of the church, when the Last Judgment takes place, has been said above. "To kill" signifies in the Word to kill spiritually, which means here to destroy the good of love and the truth of doctrine, as may be seen above n. 315.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for their permission to use this translation.

Commentary

 

Fill

  
The Milkmaid by Johannes Vermeer

Being "filled" means being endowed with a spiritual quality. When the material in question is good -- water, food, people who represent good things, etc. -- it means getting a desire for good and an understanding of truth from the Lord. When the material is bad -- dust, flies, emotions like despair or terror, etc. -- it means being overwhelmed and enslaved by the desire for evil and the false, twisted logic that supports it. There are a number of references in the Bible to "filling the hand," which has a specific meaning and is dealt with separately.