'And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him... I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the Name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them'
C. W. Leadbeater from the Theosophical Society points out that; "A wrong conception of God is one of the most serious hindrances under which a man can suffer. The idea of the Jehovah of the Old Testament, bloodthirsty, jealous, mean and cruel, has been responsible for an amount of harm in the world that cannot be easily estimated. Any thought of God which induces fear of Him is absolutely disastrous, and precludes all hope of real progress; it shuts a man up in the darkest of dungeons instead of leading him onward and upward into the glory of the sunlight...When a man is in that parlous condition it is all but impossible to help him; wherefore to teach a man (still more a child) such a blasphemous doctrine is one of the worst crimes that anyone can commit. The disciple must be utterly free from all cramping superstitions of this kind." ('The Masters and the Path' by C. W. Leadbeater pp64-65)
"The Lord of the first Astral Plane, who governs the physical world in its hierarchy, has many names: Jehovah by the Jews; Ganesha by the Hindus... But it is the same God ruling the same world." ('The Tiger's Fang' by Paul Twitchell p142-143)
Arcana Coelestia, by Emanuel Swedenborg, [1749-56], tr. by John F. Potts [1905-10], at sacred-texts.com
[5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
7 And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
-Genesis 6:5-7 King James Version (KJV)]
586.
...Verse 6. And it repented Jehovah that He made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart. That He "repented" signifies mercy; that He "grieved at the heart" has a like signification; to "repent" has reference to wisdom; to "grieve at the heart" to love.
587.
That it repented Jehovah that He made man on the earth signifies mercy, and that "He grieved at the heart" has a like signification, is evident from this, that Jehovah never repents, because He foresees all things from eternity both in general and in particular; and when He made man, that is, created him anew, and perfected him till he became celestial, He also foresaw that in process of time he would become such as is here described, and because He foresaw this He could not repent. This appears plainly from what Samuel said: The invincible one of Israel doth not lie, nor repent, for He is not a man that He should repent (1 Sam. 15:29). And in Moses: God is not a man that He should lie, or the son of man that He should repent; hath He said, and shall He not do? or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good? (Num. 23:19). But to "repent" signifies to be merciful. The mercy of Jehovah, or of the Lord, includes everything that is done by the Lord toward mankind, who are in such a state that the Lord pities them, each one according to his state; thus He pities the state of him whom He permits to be punished, and pities him also to whom He grants the enjoyment of good; it is of mercy to be punished, because mercy turns all the evil of punishment into good; and it is of mercy to grant the enjoyment of good, because no one merits anything that is good; for all mankind are evil, and of himself everyone would rush into hell, wherefore it is of mercy that he is delivered thence; nor is it anything but mercy, inasmuch as He has need of no man. Mercy has its name from the fact that it delivers man from miseries and from hell; thus it is called mercy in respect to mankind, because they are in such a state of misery, and it is the effect of love toward them all, because all are so.
588.
But it is predicated of the Lord that He "repents" and "is grieved at heart" because there appears to be such a feeling in all human mercy, so that what is said here of the Lord's "repenting" and "grieving" is spoken according to the appearance, as in many other passages in the Word. What the mercy of the Lord is none can know, because it infinitely transcends the understanding of man; but what the mercy of man is we all know to be to repent and grieve; and unless a man were to form his idea of mercy according to his own apprehension, he could not have any conception of it, and thus he could not be instructed; and this is the reason why human properties are often predicated of the attributes of Jehovah or the Lord, as that Jehovah or the Lord punishes, leads into temptation, destroys, and is angry; when yet He never punishes anyone, never leads any into temptation, never destroys any, and is never angry... But as even such things as these are predicated of the Lord, it follows that repentance also and grief may be predicated of Him; for the predication of the one follows from that of the other, as plainly appears from the following passages in the Word... [3] ...So in Joel: ...If that nation turn from their evil, it shall repent Me of the evil (Jer. 18:8); where also to "repent" denotes to have mercy provided they would turn. For it is man who turns the Lord's mercy away from himself: the Lord never turns it away from man.
589.
From these and many other passages it is evident that the Word was spoken according to the appearances with man. Whoever therefore desires to confirm false principles by the appearances according to which the Word was spoken, can do so by passages without number. But it is one thing to confirm false principles by the Word, and another to believe in simplicity what is in the Word. He who confirms false principles, first assumes a principle which he will not at all recede from, nor in the least yield, but scrapes together and accumulates confirmations wherever he can, thus also from the Word, until he so strongly persuades himself that he can no longer see the truth. But he who simply or with simple heart believes, does not first assume principles, but thinks that because the Lord has thus said it is true; and if instructed from other sayings of the Word how it is to be understood, he acquiesces and rejoices in his heart. Even the man who in simplicity believes that the Lord is angry, punishes, repents, and grieves, and so believing is afraid of evil and does good, takes no harm; for this belief causes him to believe also that the Lord sees everything; and being in such a belief he is afterwards enlightened in other matters of faith, if not before, then in the other life. Very different is the case with those who in agreement with a foul love of self or of the world persuade themselves to believe certain things that are deduced from the principles they have already adopted...
591.
Verse 7. And Jehovah said, I will destroy man whom I have created from upon the faces of the ground; both man and beast, and creeping thing, and fowl of the heavens; for it repenteth Me that I have made them. "Jehovah said, I will destroy man" signifies that man would extinguish himself; "whom I have created, from upon the faces of the ground" signifies the man of the posterity of the Most Ancient Church...
592.
Jehovah said, I will destroy man. That this signifies that man would extinguish himself, is evident from what has been explained before, namely, that it is predicated of Jehovah or the Lord that He punishes, that He tempts, that He does evil, that He destroys or kills, and that He curses... As for example, ...In John: Seven golden vials full of the wrath of God who liveth forever and ever (Rev. 15:1, 7; 16:1). All these things are predicated of Jehovah, although entirely contrary to His nature. They are predicated of Him for the reason explained before; and also in order that men may first form the very general idea that the Lord governs and disposes all things both in general and in particular; and may afterwards learn that nothing of evil is from the Lord, much less does He kill; but that it is man who brings evil upon himself, and ruins and destroys himself-although it is not man, but evil spirits who excite and lead him; and yet it is man, because he believes that he is himself the doer. So now here it is said of Jehovah that He would "destroy man" when in fact it was man who would destroy and extinguish himself. [2] The state of the case may be very evident from those in the other life who are in torment and in hell, and who are continually lamenting and attributing all the evil of punishment to the Lord. So in the world of evil spirits there are those who make it their delight, even their greatest delight, to hurt and punish others; and those who are hurt and punished think it is from the Lord. But they are told, and it is shown them, that not the least of evil is from the Lord, but they bring it upon themselves; for such is the state and such the equilibrium of all things in the other life that evil returns upon him who does evil, and becomes the evil of punishment; and for the same reason it is inevitable. This is said to be permitted for the sake of the amendment of the evil. But still the Lord turns all the evil of punishment into good; so that there is never anything but good from the Lord...
"The Lord of the first Astral Plane, who governs the physical world in its hierarchy, has many names: Jehovah by the Jews; Ganesha by the Hindus... But it is the same God ruling the same world." ('The Tiger's Fang' by Paul Twitchell p142-143)
Arcana Coelestia, by Emanuel Swedenborg, [1749-56], tr. by John F. Potts [1905-10], at sacred-texts.com
[5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
7 And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
-Genesis 6:5-7 King James Version (KJV)]
586.
...Verse 6. And it repented Jehovah that He made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart. That He "repented" signifies mercy; that He "grieved at the heart" has a like signification; to "repent" has reference to wisdom; to "grieve at the heart" to love.
587.
That it repented Jehovah that He made man on the earth signifies mercy, and that "He grieved at the heart" has a like signification, is evident from this, that Jehovah never repents, because He foresees all things from eternity both in general and in particular; and when He made man, that is, created him anew, and perfected him till he became celestial, He also foresaw that in process of time he would become such as is here described, and because He foresaw this He could not repent. This appears plainly from what Samuel said: The invincible one of Israel doth not lie, nor repent, for He is not a man that He should repent (1 Sam. 15:29). And in Moses: God is not a man that He should lie, or the son of man that He should repent; hath He said, and shall He not do? or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good? (Num. 23:19). But to "repent" signifies to be merciful. The mercy of Jehovah, or of the Lord, includes everything that is done by the Lord toward mankind, who are in such a state that the Lord pities them, each one according to his state; thus He pities the state of him whom He permits to be punished, and pities him also to whom He grants the enjoyment of good; it is of mercy to be punished, because mercy turns all the evil of punishment into good; and it is of mercy to grant the enjoyment of good, because no one merits anything that is good; for all mankind are evil, and of himself everyone would rush into hell, wherefore it is of mercy that he is delivered thence; nor is it anything but mercy, inasmuch as He has need of no man. Mercy has its name from the fact that it delivers man from miseries and from hell; thus it is called mercy in respect to mankind, because they are in such a state of misery, and it is the effect of love toward them all, because all are so.
588.
But it is predicated of the Lord that He "repents" and "is grieved at heart" because there appears to be such a feeling in all human mercy, so that what is said here of the Lord's "repenting" and "grieving" is spoken according to the appearance, as in many other passages in the Word. What the mercy of the Lord is none can know, because it infinitely transcends the understanding of man; but what the mercy of man is we all know to be to repent and grieve; and unless a man were to form his idea of mercy according to his own apprehension, he could not have any conception of it, and thus he could not be instructed; and this is the reason why human properties are often predicated of the attributes of Jehovah or the Lord, as that Jehovah or the Lord punishes, leads into temptation, destroys, and is angry; when yet He never punishes anyone, never leads any into temptation, never destroys any, and is never angry... But as even such things as these are predicated of the Lord, it follows that repentance also and grief may be predicated of Him; for the predication of the one follows from that of the other, as plainly appears from the following passages in the Word... [3] ...So in Joel: ...If that nation turn from their evil, it shall repent Me of the evil (Jer. 18:8); where also to "repent" denotes to have mercy provided they would turn. For it is man who turns the Lord's mercy away from himself: the Lord never turns it away from man.
589.
From these and many other passages it is evident that the Word was spoken according to the appearances with man. Whoever therefore desires to confirm false principles by the appearances according to which the Word was spoken, can do so by passages without number. But it is one thing to confirm false principles by the Word, and another to believe in simplicity what is in the Word. He who confirms false principles, first assumes a principle which he will not at all recede from, nor in the least yield, but scrapes together and accumulates confirmations wherever he can, thus also from the Word, until he so strongly persuades himself that he can no longer see the truth. But he who simply or with simple heart believes, does not first assume principles, but thinks that because the Lord has thus said it is true; and if instructed from other sayings of the Word how it is to be understood, he acquiesces and rejoices in his heart. Even the man who in simplicity believes that the Lord is angry, punishes, repents, and grieves, and so believing is afraid of evil and does good, takes no harm; for this belief causes him to believe also that the Lord sees everything; and being in such a belief he is afterwards enlightened in other matters of faith, if not before, then in the other life. Very different is the case with those who in agreement with a foul love of self or of the world persuade themselves to believe certain things that are deduced from the principles they have already adopted...
591.
Verse 7. And Jehovah said, I will destroy man whom I have created from upon the faces of the ground; both man and beast, and creeping thing, and fowl of the heavens; for it repenteth Me that I have made them. "Jehovah said, I will destroy man" signifies that man would extinguish himself; "whom I have created, from upon the faces of the ground" signifies the man of the posterity of the Most Ancient Church...
592.
Jehovah said, I will destroy man. That this signifies that man would extinguish himself, is evident from what has been explained before, namely, that it is predicated of Jehovah or the Lord that He punishes, that He tempts, that He does evil, that He destroys or kills, and that He curses... As for example, ...In John: Seven golden vials full of the wrath of God who liveth forever and ever (Rev. 15:1, 7; 16:1). All these things are predicated of Jehovah, although entirely contrary to His nature. They are predicated of Him for the reason explained before; and also in order that men may first form the very general idea that the Lord governs and disposes all things both in general and in particular; and may afterwards learn that nothing of evil is from the Lord, much less does He kill; but that it is man who brings evil upon himself, and ruins and destroys himself-although it is not man, but evil spirits who excite and lead him; and yet it is man, because he believes that he is himself the doer. So now here it is said of Jehovah that He would "destroy man" when in fact it was man who would destroy and extinguish himself. [2] The state of the case may be very evident from those in the other life who are in torment and in hell, and who are continually lamenting and attributing all the evil of punishment to the Lord. So in the world of evil spirits there are those who make it their delight, even their greatest delight, to hurt and punish others; and those who are hurt and punished think it is from the Lord. But they are told, and it is shown them, that not the least of evil is from the Lord, but they bring it upon themselves; for such is the state and such the equilibrium of all things in the other life that evil returns upon him who does evil, and becomes the evil of punishment; and for the same reason it is inevitable. This is said to be permitted for the sake of the amendment of the evil. But still the Lord turns all the evil of punishment into good; so that there is never anything but good from the Lord...
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