Genesis: Chapter 1.

This is basically Swedenborg’s deep dive into the very first chapter of Genesis, showing that the biblical story of creation isn’t just about the physical world popping into existence. It’s really about the spiritual rebirth or regeneration of a person, and specifically, the story of the earliest, most innocent church on earth, which he calls the Most Ancient Church.

It’s a big deal because Swedenborg claims the Bible has a hidden internal sense—like a soul inside the body of the literal words. He argues you’d never know this just by reading the plain text, but everything in the Old Testament, down to the smallest detail, is secretly about Jesus Christ (the Lord), heaven, the church, and all things related to true belief.

The Word’s Inner Meaning (The Setup)

First off, Swedenborg lays down the law: the Bible is alive because it’s packed with stuff about the Lord, who is the very source of life. Reading the Bible only in its literal sense is like looking at a dead body—it misses the soul (the internal sense) that gives it meaning. He insists that Genesis 1, which talks about creation, is not primarily a history of the world but a symbolic history of how a person gets recreated, or regenerated, into a heavenly being.

The Six Days of Regeneration (Genesis 1, Verses 1–31)

Swedenborg goes through the creation story, verse by verse, giving each element a spiritual correspondence. This creation narrative maps out the six successive states (or “days”) a person goes through on their journey to spiritual life.

The First State: Chaos and Mercy

The person starts off a mess: “The earth was a void and emptiness, and thick darkness was upon the faces of the deep.” Spiritually, this means the person is just a mix of false ideas and evil desires—a big, dark chaos. But then, “the Spirit of God moved upon the faces of the waters.” This is the first bit of hope: the Lord’s mercy starting to work, even when the person doesn’t realize it, gently bringing some truth (the waters) into the mess. The “waters” here are just raw, external bits of knowledge and memory, not real spiritual truth yet.

The Second State: Let There Be Light!

When “God said, Let there be light, and there was light,” it means the person gets their first spark of understanding. They start to see the difference between what’s True (the light) and what’s False (the darkness). This isn’t full, perfect understanding yet, but a crucial shift.

The Third State: Separating the Mind

The next day is about creating an “expanse” or firmament in the middle of the “waters” (knowledge). This is the person’s spiritual mind forming. The “waters above the expanse” are the spiritual truths that belong to the inner, heavenly mind, while the “waters under the expanse” are the natural knowledge in the outer memory. The mind now has a way to distinguish and organize its thoughts based on this difference.

The Fourth State: Good and Affection

The earth and dry land appearing means Goodness (or Charity) starts to emerge and become a solid, visible part of the person’s life. “Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together in one place, and let the dry [land] appear.” This is when the person’s actions and outer life start reflecting their inner truths. Also, this state is where the person develops a real love for what is good and true, like how the earth brings forth grass and fruit—which symbolize different types of spiritual knowledge and good actions.

The Fifth State: New Sight

When the sun, moon, and stars are set in the sky, it’s about the Lord working from the inside. The Sun represents Love and Goodness from the Lord, and the Moon represents Faith (which shines by the Sun’s light). These aren’t just for looking at—they’re now active, affecting the person’s inner and outer life, guiding them and marking their spiritual “seasons” and “years.”

The Sixth State: Becoming Truly Human

This is where the new, spiritual person really takes shape. The creation of living creatures (birds and fish) and then man represents the person becoming useful and fully functional. The Fish (swimming in the “waters” of knowledge) symbolize outer, natural knowledges, while the Birds (flying high) represent rational, spiritual thoughts. Finally, Man—male and female—is created, symbolizing the union of the good will (man) and the true understanding (woman) in the individual. This is the internal church being perfected in them. Man is given “dominion” over the animals, meaning the person’s spiritual self now controls their lower, natural desires. This whole state is “very good.”

The Importance of “Remains”

Throughout this chapter, Swedenborg keeps bringing up the concept of “Remains”. This is a super important idea for him. Remains are all the good things and truths a person learns, often in childhood, that are stored up by the Lord in their inner spirit. They’re like spiritual savings bonds that the Lord only brings out during times of spiritual crisis or temptation. The state of “void and emptiness” (the beginning of the first day) is where these hidden Remains are protected and ready to be used to kick-start the whole regeneration process.

Spiritual Experiences (The Intermissions)

It’s worth noting that in the Arcana Coelestia, Swedenborg breaks up his biblical commentary with sections called “Memorable Relations” or something similar, where he describes things he’s seen and heard in the spiritual world. In the sections around Chapter 1, he starts talking about how people wake up after they die and enter the eternal world—the process of their resuscitation and how they realize they are now a spirit, not a body. He uses these real-life (or real-afterlife) experiences to back up the idea that the soul is what’s truly alive and that there’s a constant connection between the material and spiritual worlds.

Summary.

Don’t take Genesis literally as a historical account of Earth’s creation. It’s actually a symbolic blueprint for your own spiritual journey from being a messy, self-focused person (chaos and darkness) to a loving, wise, and truly human one (the creation of man). The six “days” are the six steps of your personal regeneration, all powered by the Lord’s mercy and love, using the bits of truth you’ve saved up (Remains). It’s all about realizing that the Bible is a heavenly message hidden inside earthly words.

Taken from Arcana Coelestia Volume 1.

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