Page:Swedenborg, Harbinger of the New Age of the Christian Church.djvu/193

 or the most happy state of the faithful, especially concerning the doctrine of faith which is acknowledged in the whole heaven; on which subjects by the Divine mercy of the Lord many things will be said in the following pages."

Following this introduction is printed the whole of the first chapter of Genesis in Latin. Then is given a summary of the contents of the chapter in the internal sense:—

"The six days, or times, which are so many successive states of man's regeneration, are in general as follows:—

"The first state is that which precedes, both from infancy and immediately before regeneration, and is called a void, emptiness, and thick darkness. And the first movement, which is the mercy of the Lord, is the spirit of God moving itself upon the faces of the waters.

"The second state is when distinction is made between the things which are the Lord's and those which are man's own; those which are the Lord's are called in the Word 'remains,' and are here especially the knowledges of faith which man has acquired from infancy, which are stored up and are not manifest before he comes into this