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 #75

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75. Verses 17-20. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last. And am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive unto the ages of the ages, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be; the mystery of the seven stars, which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches; and the seven lampstands which thou sawest are the seven churches. "And when I saw him," signifies the presence of the Divine majesty; "I fell at his feet," signifies adoration from humiliation of heart on account of the Divine; "as dead," signifies the failing of his own life. "And he laid his right hand upon me," signifies life from Him; "saying to me, Fear not," signifies renewal; "I am the first and the last," signifies who rules all things from primaries by means of ultimates, and thus all things of heaven.

"And am he that liveth," signifies who is from eternity; "And was dead," signifies that He is rejected; "and behold, I am alive unto the ages of the ages," signifies eternal life from Him. "Amen," signifies Divine confirmation; "and have the keys of hell and of death," signifies that He has the power of saving.

"Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be," signifies that all these things are for posterity, because they are Divine.

"The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand," signifies revelation concerning all goods and truths which are from Him; "and the seven golden lampstands," signifies, and concerning those things in the new heaven and new earth. "The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches," signifies those who receive goods and truths from the Lord; "and the seven lampstands which thou sawest are the seven churches," signifies that all such are in the new heaven and in the New Church.

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

The Bible

 

Revelation 1:20

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20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.