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

 

Arcana Coelestia #4697

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4697. 'And the eleven stars' means cognitions of good and truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'stars' as cognitions of good and truth. The reason 'stars' in the Word means those cognitions is that they are tiny sources of light shining in the night, which send out flickers of light at that time into our sky, even as cognitions transmit glimmers of goodness and truth. This meaning of 'stars' as those cognitions may be seen from many places in the Word, as in Jeremiah,

[Thus] said Jehovah who gives the sun for light by day and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar. Jeremiah 31:35.

This refers to a new Church. 'Giving the sun for light by day' means good flowing from love and charity, and 'the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for light by night' means truth and cognitions.

[2] Similarly in David,

Jehovah who made the great lights, the sun to have dominion by day, the moon and stars to have dominion by night. Psalms 136:7-9.

Anyone unacquainted with the internal sense of the Word will presume that here 'the sun' is used to mean the sun of this world, and 'the moon and stars' to mean the moon and the stars, but no spiritual and heavenly meaning comes out of that presumption. Yet the Word in every individual part is heavenly. From this it is also evident that it is the goods of love and charity, and the truths of faith, together with cognitions of these, that are meant.

[3] This is similar to what occurs in Chapter 1 of Genesis, where the new creation of the heavenly man is the subject,

God said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens, to make a distinction between the day and the night; and they will be for signs, and for set times, and for days and for years. And they will be for lights in the expanse of the heavens, to give light upon the earth; and it was so. And God made the two great lights, the greater light to have dominion over the day, and the lesser light to have dominion over the night, and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth, and to have dominion over the day and the night, and to make a distinction between the light and the darkness. Genesis 1:14-18.

See [in Volume One, paragraphs] 30-38.

[4] In Matthew,

Immediately after the affliction of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Matthew 24:29.

Here 'the sun' and 'the moon' mean love and charity, or good and truth, while 'stars' means cognitions - see 4060; and because the last day or last state of the Church is the subject here, 'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light' means that at that time the good of love and charity will perish, and 'the stars will fall from heaven' means that the cognitions of good and truth will perish too. That these things are meant is evident from the prophetical parts of the Word where similar descriptions occur regarding the day or state of the Church.

[5] As in Isaiah,

Behold, the day of Jehovah will come, cruel, to make the earth a waste, and He will destroy sinners from it. For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not shine with their light. The sun will be obscured in its rising, and the moon will not give its light. Isaiah 13:9-10.

In Joel,

The day of Jehovah is near. The sun and the moon have been darkened, and the stars have withdrawn their shining. Joel 3:14-15.

In Ezekiel,

When I have blotted you out, I will cover the heavens and darken their stars, I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give its light. All the bright lights in heaven I will make dark over you, and I will put darkness over your land. Ezekiel 32:7-8.

And in John,

The fourth angel sounded, and a third part of the sun was struck, and a third part of the moon, and a third part of the stars, so that a third part of them was darkened and the day did not shine for a third part of it; and the night likewise. Revelation 8:12.

[6] This meaning of 'stars' as cognitions of good and truth is in addition evident from the following places: In Daniel,

Out of one horn of the he-goat of the she-goats there grew one small-sized horn and it grew exceedingly towards the south, and towards the east, and towards the glorious [land]; and it grew even towards the hosts of heaven, and it cast down to the earth some of the host, and of the stars, and trampled on them. Daniel 8:9-10.

And in John,

The great dragon drew with his tail a third part of the stars of heaven and cast them down to the earth. Revelation 12:4.

Clearly the actual stars are not meant here, the subject in Daniel and John being the state of the Church in the last times.

[7] Similarly in David,

Jehovah counts the number of stars; He gives names to them all. Psalms 147:4.

In the same author,

Praise Jehovah, sun and moon; praise Him, all stars of light. Psalms 148:3.

In John,

A great sign was seen in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. Revelation 12:1.

[8] Since cognitions of good and truth are meant by 'stars', the teachings of the Church are meant too, since these are cognitions. Teaching to do with faith separated from charity in the last times is described as 'a star' in the following verses in John,

The third angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and It fell onto a third part of the rivers, and onto the fountains of waters. The name of the star is called Wormwood; and a third part of the waters became wormwood, and many people died in the waters, because they were made bitter. Revelation 8:10-11.

'The waters' which were made bitter by that star are truths, and 'the rivers' and 'the fountains of waters' are intelligence imparted by those truths, and wisdom from the Word. For 'waters' meaning truths, see 2702, 3058, 3424; for 'rivers' intelligence, 3051; and for 'fountains' wisdom from the Word, 2702, 3424.

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

The Bible

 

Luke 8

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1 It happened soon afterwards, that he went about through cities and villages, preaching and bringing the good news of the Kingdom of God. With him were the twelve,

2 and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out;

3 and Joanna, the wife of Chuzas, Herod's steward; Susanna; and many others; who served them from their possessions.

4 When a great multitude came together, and people from every city were coming to him, he spoke by a parable.

5 "The farmer went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell along the road, and it was trampled under foot, and the birds of the sky devoured it.

6 Other seed fell on the rock, and as soon as it grew, it withered away, because it had no moisture.

7 Other fell amid the thorns, and the thorns grew with it, and choked it.

8 Other fell into the good ground, and grew, and brought forth fruit one hundred times." As he said these things, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

9 Then his disciples asked him, "What does this parable mean?"

10 He said, "To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of God, but to the rest in parables; that 'seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'

11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

12 Those along the road are those who hear, then the devil comes, and takes away the word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved.

13 Those on the rock are they who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; but these have no root, who believe for a while, then fall away in time of temptation.

14 That which fell among the thorns, these are those who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.

15 That in the good ground, these are such as in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, hold it tightly, and bring forth fruit with patience.

16 "No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a container, or puts it under a bed; but puts it on a stand, that those who enter in may see the light.

17 For nothing is hidden, that will not be revealed; nor anything secret, that will not be known and come to light.

18 Be careful therefore how you hear. For whoever has, to him will be given; and whoever doesn't have, from him will be taken away even that which he thinks he has."

19 His mother and brothers came to him, and they could not come near him for the crowd.

20 It was told him by some saying, "Your mother and your brothers stand outside, desiring to see you."

21 But he answered them, "My mother and my brothers are these who hear the word of God, and do it."

22 Now it happened on one of those days, that he entered into a boat, himself and his disciples, and he said to them, "Let's go over to the other side of the lake." So they launched out.

23 But as they sailed, he fell asleep. A wind storm came down on the lake, and they were taking on dangerous amounts of water.

24 They came to him, and awoke him, saying, "Master, master, we are dying!" He awoke, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water, and they ceased, and it was calm.

25 He said to them, "Where is your faith?" Being afraid they marveled, saying one to another, "Who is this, then, that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?"

26 They arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee.

27 When Jesus stepped ashore, a certain man out of the city who had demons for a long time met him. He wore no clothes, and didn't live in a house, but in the tombs.

28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, "What do I have to do with you, Jesus, you Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don't torment me!"

29 For Jesus was commanding the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For the unclean spirit had often seized the man. He was kept under guard, and bound with chains and fetters. Breaking the bands apart, he was driven by the demon into the desert.

30 Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" He said, "Legion," for many demons had entered into him.

31 They begged him that he would not command them to go into the abyss.

32 Now there was there a herd of many pigs feeding on the mountain, and they begged him that he would allow them to enter into those. He allowed them.

33 The demons came out from the man, and entered into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake, and were drowned.

34 When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled, and told it in the city and in the country.

35 People went out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus' feet, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.

36 Those who saw it told them how he who had been possessed by demons was healed.

37 All the people of the surrounding country of the Gadarenes asked him to depart from them, for they were very much afraid. He entered into the boat, and returned.

38 But the man from whom the demons had gone out begged him that he might go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying,

39 "Return to your house, and declare what great things God has done for you." He went his way, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

40 It happened, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him.

41 Behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. He fell down at Jesus' feet, and begged him to come into his house,

42 for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. But as he went, the multitudes pressed against him.

43 A woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her living on physicians, and could not be healed by any,

44 came behind him, and touched the fringe of his cloak, and immediately the flow of her blood stopped.

45 Jesus said, "Who touched me?" When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, "Master, the multitudes press and jostle you, and you say, 'Who touched me?'"

46 But Jesus said, "Someone did touch me, for I perceived that power has gone out of me."

47 When the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared to him in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately.

48 He said to her, "Daughter, cheer up. Your faith has made you well. Go in peace."

49 While he still spoke, one from the ruler of the synagogue's house came, saying to him, "Your daughter is dead. Don't trouble the Teacher."

50 But Jesus hearing it, answered him, "Don't be afraid. Only believe, and she will be healed."

51 When he came to the house, he didn't allow anyone to enter in, except Peter, John, James, the father of the child, and her mother.

52 All were weeping and mourning her, but he said, "Don't weep. She isn't dead, but sleeping."

53 They were ridiculing him, knowing that she was dead.

54 But he put them all outside, and taking her by the hand, he called, saying, "Child, arise!"

55 Her spirit returned, and she rose up immediately. He commanded that something be given to her to eat.

56 Her parents were amazed, but he commanded them to tell no one what had been done.