The Bible

 

Genesis 2

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1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,

5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.

6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.

11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;

12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.

13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.

14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.

21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;

22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Explained #1118

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1118. As much as she hath glorified herself and lived delicatety.- That this signifies how much glory, and pleasure therefrom, they have gained for themselves from empire over heaven and the world, is evident from the signification of glorifying herself, as denoting to gain glory for themselves; and from the signification of living delicately, as denoting to enter into pleasures. That this is from their empire over heaven and over the world is clear, for this is the source of their glory and pleasure.

[2] Continuation concerning the Athanasian Creed, and concerning the Lord.- Since the idea of God as Man is implanted in every one, therefore several peoples and nations have worshipped as gods those who were either men or were regarded by them as men; for example in Greece and Italy, and in some kingdoms under their power, Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto, Apollo, Mercury, Juno, Minerva, Diana, Venus and her son, and others, were worshipped, and the government of the universe was attributed to them. The reason why they ascribed divinity to so many persons, was, that from an implanted [capability], they saw God as Man, and therefore they regarded all the attributes, properties, and qualities of God, and consequently also the virtues, affections, inclinations, and sciences (scientias) as persons.

[3] It was, also, from this implanted [capability], that the inhabitants of the lands round about Canaan, and, also, of the parts within it, worshipped Baalim, Astaroth, Beelzebub, Chemosh, Milcoha, Molech, and others, several of whom had lived as men. It is, also, from this implanted [capability], that, in the heathenism of the Christian world to-day, saints are worshipped as gods, men bending before their statues and kissing them, uncovering their heads before them in the roads where they are set up, and worshipping at their tombs; in fact, in the case of the pope they kiss his shoes, and some even his footprints; he would even have been honoured as a god, if religion had permitted it.

These and several other practices are from this implanted [capability]; for example, men incline to worship a God whom they see, and not something aerial which they regard as mere vapour, for this latter is smoke to them. But the idea of God as Man, which comes from heaven, is so far perverted with many, that even an ordinary man, or an idol, is worshipped instead of God; just as the bright light of the sun is turned into unbeautiful colours, and his summer heat into offensive odours, according to the nature of the objects upon which they fall. But it is for the reasons stated above that an idea is formed of God as that of a little cloud, or mist, or of the inmost things of nature; this is found among Christians, but rarely among other nations possessing any light of reason, as among the Africans and several others.

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

Commentary

 

Way, the truth, and the life

  

In John 14:6, 'the way' is doctrine, 'the truth' is every thing pertaining to doctrine, and 'the life' is the essential good which is the life of truth.

(References: Arcana Coelestia 2531)