1020. That these things are meant becomes clear from the fact that everything put together as history from Genesis 1 down to Eber in Chapter 11 means something different from what appears in the letter, and from the consideration that the historical narratives there are purely made-up history customary among the most ancient people. When attesting the truth of some matter they would say that 'Jehovah said it'. Here however 'God' is used because the subject is the spiritual Church. And they did the same when anything true was being, or had been, put into effect.

'The six days' represent the various consecutive states in a person's regeneration. They are, in general, as follows: The first state is the state which precedes both the state from earliest childhood onwards and which existed immediately before regeneration. This state is called 'a void, emptiness, and thick darkness.' And the first motion, which is the Lord's mercy, is 'the Spirit of God hovering over the face of the waters.' The second state is when a distinction is made between the things that belong to the Lord and those that are a person's own. The things which are the Lord's are called in the Word 'remnants,' and here they are mainly the thoughts about faith which a person has learned since he was a small child. These are stored away and do not come out into the open until he reaches this state. Nowadays, this state rarely occurs without temptation, misfortune, and sorrow, which lead to the inactivity and, so to speak, the death of bodily and worldly concerns -- the things which are a person's own. In this way, what belongs to the external self is segregated from what belongs to the internal. Within the internal are the remnants, stored away by the Lord until this time and for this purpose. The third state is one of repentance, a state in which he speaks piously and devoutly from the internal self and does good things, such as charitable acts which are still soulless because he imagines that they originate in himself. They are called 'a tender plant,' then 'a seed-bearing plant,' and finally 'a fruit tree.' The fourth state is when the person is moved by love and enlightened by faith. Prior to this, he would utter pious words and do good deeds, but he did so from a state of temptation and anguish, and not from faith and charity. However, these are now kindled in his internal self, and are called 'the two great lights.' The fifth state is when the person speaks from faith, and in so doing, he confirms himself in truth and good. What he does at this point have life and are called 'the fish of the sea and the birds of the air.' The sixth state is when the person speaks truth and performs good deeds from faith and so from love. What he does at this point are 'living creatures' and 'beasts.' At this point, he starts to act from faith and simultaneously from love, and he becomes a spiritual person, which is called 'an image.' The spiritual life of this person finds its delight in, and is sustained by the things which are associated with thoughts about faith and charitable acts, which are called 'his food.' His natural life finds its delight in, and is sustained by things which relate to the body and the senses. These things give rise to conflict until love rules and he becomes a celestial person. People who are regenerating do not all arrive at this final state, but some, and the most in the present day only to the first, some only to the second, some to the third, fourth, and fifth, few to the sixth, and hardly anyone to the seventh.

(References: Arcana Coelestia 6-13, Genesis 1)