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Luke 1:26-38 : The Annunciation to Mary

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26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.

32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.

37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.

38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #4531

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4531. As it is intelligence and wisdom from the Lord which appear in heaven as light, and the angels are consequently called angels of light, so it is the folly and insanity deriving from the proprium which reign in hell, and those who are there are consequently referred to as those belonging to the darkness. Actually there is no darkness in hell but a dim light like that emitted from a coal fire, in which light they see one another. Without this they would not be able to live. This light of theirs originates in the light of heaven which is converted into that dull light when it enters into their manias, that is, into their falsities and evil desires. The Lord is present with light everywhere, even in the hells, otherwise they would not have any ability to think and consequently to speak; but the light is conditioned by the reception of it. The dim light of hell is that which in the Word is called the shadow of death and is compared to the darkness. With those there it is also converted into darkness when they go near the light of heaven; and when they are in darkness foolishness and stupidity reign. From this one may see that as light corresponds to truth, so darkness corresponds to falsity; and that those governed by falsities are said to be in a state of blindness.

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