Spiritual Meaning of GENESIS 6:13
[2] And for these reasons they do not know that there is in every man something that is interior, and something still interior to that, and indeed an inmost; and that his corporeal and sensuous part is only the outermost. Desires, and things of the memory, are interior; affections and rational things are interior still to these; and the will of good and understanding of truth are inmost. And these are so distinct from each other that nothing can ever be more distinct. The corporeal man makes all these into a one, and confounds them. This is why he believes that when his body dies all things are to die; though in fact he then first begins to live, and this by his interiors following one another closely in their order. If his interiors were not thus distinct, and did not thus succeed each other, men could never be in the other life spirits, angelic spirits, and angels, who are thus distinguished according to their interiors. For this reason there are three heavens, most distinct from each other. From these considerations it may now in some measure be evident what, in the proper sense, are the understanding of truth and the will of good; and that they can be predicated only of the celestial man, or of the angels of the third heaven.
. What is said in the preceding verse and in this signifies that in the end of the days of the antediluvian church all understanding of truth and will of good had perished, so that among the antediluvians who were imbued with dreadful persuasions and filthy cupidities not even a vestige appeared. But with those who are called "Noah" there continued to be remains, which however could not bring forth anything of understanding and will, but only rational truth and natural good. For the operation of remains is according to the nature of the man. Through remains these people could be regenerated; and persuasions did not obstruct and absorb the Lord’s operation through remains. Persuasions, or principles of falsity, when rooted in impede all operation; and unless these are first eradicated the man can never be regenerated, concerning which subject, of the Lord‘s Divine mercy hereafter. . I will destroy them with the earth. That this signifies that together with the church the human race would perish, is evident from its being said "with the earth;" for the "earth" in a wide sense signifies love, as before said, and thus the celestial of the church. Here, since no love and nothing whatever that is celestial remained, the "earth" signifies the love of self, and whatever is contrary to the celestial of the church. And yet there was a man of the church, for they had doctrinal things of faith. For, as before stated, the earth is the containant of the ground, and the ground is the containant of the field; as love is the containant of faith, and faith is the containant of the knowledges of faith. . That "I will destroy them with the earth" signified that together with the church the human race would perish, is on this account: If the Lord’s church should be entirely extinguished on the earth, the human race could by no means exist, but one and all would perish. The church, as before said, is as the heart: so long as the heart lives, the neighboring viscera and members can live; but as soon as the heart dies, they one and all die also. The Lord‘s church on earth is as the heart, whence the human race, even that part of it which is outside the church, has life. The reason is quite unknown to any one, but in order that something of it may be known, it may be stated that the whole human race on earth is as a body with its parts, wherein the church is as the heart; and that unless there were a church with which as with a heart the Lord might be united through heaven and the world of spirits, there would be disjunction; and if there were disjunction of the human race from the Lord, it would instantly perish. This is the reason why from the first creation of man there has always been some church, and whenever the church has begun to perish it has yet remained with some.[2] This was also the reason of the Lord’s coming into the world. If in His Divine mercy He had not come, the whole human race on this earth would have perished, for the church was then at its last extremity, and there was scarcely any good and truth surviving. The reason why the human race cannot live unless it is conjoined with the Lord through heaven and the world of spirits, is that in himself regarded man is much viler than the brutes. If left to himself he would rush into the ruin of himself and of all things; for he desires nothing else than what would be for the destruction of himself and of all. His order should be that one should love another as himself; but now every one loves himself more than others, and thus hates all others. But with brute animals the case is quite different: their order is that according to which they live. Thus they live quite according to the order in which they are, and man entirely contrary to his order. Therefore unless the Lord should have compassion on him, and conjoin him with Himself through angels, he could not live a single moment; but this he does not know.
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| Author: E. Swedenborg (1688-1772). | Design: I.J. Thompson, Feb 2002. | www.BibleMeanings.info |