The Bible

 

Genesis 1:1-5 : First Day of Creation

Study

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first Day.

Commentary

 

"Let There Be Light" in our Minds

By OffTheLeftEye Staff

Swedenborg learned that the Biblical creation story is a parable about our spiritual development. See how that first light shining in the darkness represents the beginning of spiritual awareness.

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From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #883

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883. And the dove came back to him at eventide. That this signifies that little by little the goods and truths of faith began to appear, and that “eventide” means as in the twilight before morning, is likewise evident from what has been said above, at the eighth verse (Genesis 8:8); as well as from the fact that the time of evening is here mentioned. In regard to “evening” see what was said under the first chapter of Genesis, where it is said six times, “there was evening and there was morning.” “Evening” is a term of regeneration, and indeed of that state of it when the man is still in shade, or when as yet only a little light is apparent to him. The morning itself is described in the thirteenth verse (Genesis 8:13) by Noah’s removing the covering of the ark and seeing. It was because “evening” signified the twilight before morning, that “evening” is so many times mentioned in connection with the Jewish Church. For the same reason also they began their sabbaths and their feasts in the evening, and Aaron was commanded to light the holy lamp in the evening (Exodus 27:20-21).

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