The Bible

 

Genesis 6:21

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21 And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.

Commentary

 

The Meaning of Noah and the Flood

By OffTheLeftEye Staff

Is the Noah’s Ark story in the book of Genesis really about God destroying creation? A spiritual Bible interpretation of the story reveals its true meaning.

In this video, host Curtis Childs guides us through the revelations about the Old Testament parable that eighteenth-century philosopher Emanuel Swedenborg had during his spiritual experiences. Swedenborg’s perspectives transcend literal interpretations to provide a hopeful lesson about salvation. While it may seem like the Bible story is about God destroying creation, Swedenborg’s spiritual perspectives suggest that it symbolizes God’s still-ongoing efforts to save us from self-destruction.

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This video is a product of the Swedenborg Foundation. Follow these links for further information and other videos: www.youtube.com/user/offTheLeftEye and www.swedenborg.com

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #918

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918. 'Going out of the ark' also embodies a state of freedom. This is clear from what has just been stated at verse 16 above about going out of the ark. The nature of the spiritual man's freedom becomes clear from the fact that he is governed by the Lord by means of conscience. Anyone who is governed by means of conscience, that is, who acts according to conscience, is acting in freedom. Nothing is more repugnant to him than acting contrary to conscience. For him acting contrary to conscience is hell, while acting according to it is heaven. From this anyone may see that acting according to it is freedom. The Lord governs the spiritual man by means of a conscience for good and truth. This conscience, as has been stated, is formed in the understanding part of his mind, and so separated from things belonging to his will. Now because it has been totally separated from the things of his will, it is perfectly clear that a person never performs anything good from himself. And since every truth of faith derives from the good of faith it is clear that a person never thinks anything true from himself, but does so from the Lord alone. He does indeed seem to do these things from himself, but that is only the appearance. Such being the reality of the situation, the truly spiritual man acknowledges and believes it to be so. From this it is evident that the conscience which the Lord grants to the spiritual man is so to speak a new will, and thus that a person who has been created anew is provided with a new will and from this with a new understanding.

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