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.

Clothing in general represents day-to-day knowledge about spiritual things, held in the memory so it can be used for the goodness of life. For someone to be naked, then, usually represents a state of ignorance and disregard for spiritual things and the resultant lack of the desire for good and the capacity to be good. There is, however, a positive meaning for nakedness -- for instance, Adam and Eve were naked and "not ashamed" in Genesis 2:25, just before the serpent came on the scene. In this case, Adam and Eve represented the Most Ancient Church, which was celestial -- meaning it was in a state of pure love of the Lord. People who are celestial have an understanding of what is true which arises from the love they have in their hearts, and do not need to hold true ideas in their memories. This is represented by their lack of clothing, and the innocence it entailed. There are also some specifics based on the various parts of the body. For the head to be naked -- for someone to be bald -- represents lacking an intellectual understanding of true ideas about life. For the genitals to be naked, meanwhile, represents something deeper. The genitals represent the true love of marriage in individuals and the love that can exist with a couple in a true spiritual marriage. Since this is the wellspring of human love and joy, it follows that having the genitals uncovered represents a lack of love and the good that comes from it.