It is common in the Bible for people to “rise up,” and it would be easy to pass over the phrase as simply describing a physical action. But in fact, according to Swedenborg, it represents an elevation in spiritual state, moving to a more internal frame of mind, closer to the Lord. Often it has to do with understanding a new or important idea; we “rise up” to a state of greater perception and enlightenment.
Obviously context is crucial to the exact meaning of the phrase in a given passage – it matters greatly who it is that is rising up, and why. And like most correspondences, its meaning can be inverted, showing people lowering themselves spiritually to embrace evil (as when people “rise up” against others and kill them).
Passages from Swedenborg
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 2401
2401. ‘And said, Rise up, go out of this place’ means that they were not to remain in a state of evil. This is clear from the meaning of ‘rising up’ and ‘going out’, and also of ‘place’. ‘Rising up’ occurs often in the Word, being one of the common expressions found there, but little thought is given to what else it may mean. In the internal sense however it entails, as it does here, being raised up from evil to good, for the mind is raised up when it draws back from evil, 2388. ‘Going out’ means drawing back or not remaining, while ‘place’ means a state of evil, 2393. From this it is evident what the meaning is here.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 3171
3171. ‘And they rose up in the morning’ means a degree of raising up. This is clear from the meaning of ‘rising up’ as implying a raising up, dealt with in 2401, 2785, 2912, 2927, and from the meaning of ‘the morning’ as the Lord, also His kingdom, as well as the state of peace which this brings, dealt with in 2405, 2780. The natural is said to be raised up when spiritual things are made over to it as its own. All raising up originates in spiritual and celestial things, for it is by means of these that a person is raised up to heaven and so nearer to the Lord.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 3723
3723. ‘In the morning Jacob rose up early’ means a state of enlightenment. This is clear from the meaning of ‘in the morning rising up early’ as a state of enlightenment, dealt with in 3458, for where ‘rising up’ is mentioned in the Word it implies some kind of a raising up, 2401, 2785, 2912, 2927, 3171. And ‘morning’ means the arrival of heavenly light, in this case a raising up from obscurity into that light, and so means a state of enlightenment.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 4103
4103. ‘Jacob rose up’ means a raising up of the good meant by ‘Jacob’. This is clear from the meaning of ‘rising up’ as that which implies a raising up, dealt with in 2410, 2785, 2912, 2927, and from the representation of ‘Jacob’ as the good of the natural, often dealt with already, at this point good which is coming closer to the Divine because it is to be separated from intermediate good, or ‘Laban’, 4073. By the raising up that is meant by ‘rising up’ one should understand a coming closer to the Divine. As regards man, he is said to be raised up when he comes closer to heavenly things, and the reason for this is the belief that heaven exists raised up or on high. But this description of where heaven is is due to the appearance; for heaven and therefore the things that belong to heaven, namely celestial and spiritual ones, do not exist on high but in what is internal, see 450, 1735, 2148. Consequently a person is in heaven inwardly when spiritual love and faith are present in him.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 4160
4160. ‘Let there not be any anger in my lord’s eyes, for I cannot rise up before you’, means that they are unable to be revealed. This too becomes clear from the train of thought in the internal sense, and is consequently clear without any further explanation. For ‘rising up’ would amount to an uncovering, and consequently a revealing, of the truths which are meant by ‘the teraphim’. So ‘being unable to rise up’ means that they were unable to be revealed.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 4881
4881. ‘And she rose up’ means a raising up. This is clear from the meaning of ‘rising up’ as implying some kind of raising up, dealt with in 2401, 2785, 2912, 2927, 3171, 4103. The raising up meant by ‘rising up’ describes in the spiritual sense a raising up from an obscure state into a clearer one, such as from a state of being without knowledge into a state of intelligence; for when this happens a person is raised from a state of the light of the world into a state of the light of heaven.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 5605
5605. ‘And we will rise up and go, and we will live and not die’ means spiritual life entered into by degrees. This is clear from the meaning of ‘rising up’ as a raising up to higher or more internal things, and therefore to those that constitute spiritual life, dealt with in 2401, 2785, 2912, 2927, 3171, 4103, 4881; from the meaning of ‘going’ as living, dealt with in 3335, 3690, 4882, 5493 (and since ‘and we will live’ follows, ‘going’ means the earliest stage of spiritual life); from the meaning of ‘living’ as spiritual life, for no other kind of life is meant in the internal sense of the Word; and from the meaning of ‘not dying’ as standing condemned no longer, that is, standing outside a state of condemnation, for no other kind of death is meant in the internal sense of the Word than spiritual death, which is condemnation. From all this it is evident that ‘we will rise up and go, and we will live and not die’ means life entered into by degrees. That is to say, an introductory phase leading into life is meant by ‘rising up’, the earliest stage of that life by ‘going’, that life fully under way by ‘living’, and guidance away from everything alien to that life by ‘not dying’.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 7435
7435. ‘Rise up in the morning early’ means being raised to an even greater sign of power. This is clear from the meaning of ‘rising up in the morning’ as being raised; for ‘rising up’ means being raised, see 2401, 2785, 2912, 2927, 3171, 4103, and so too does ‘morning’ mean being raised, 7306. Strictly speaking ‘rising up in the morning’ means a state of enlightenment, 3458, 3723. But since no enlightenment, which the Divine provides by an inflow of goodness and truth, is possible with the evil who are represented by Pharaoh and the Egyptians, only being raised to a state of awareness, ‘rising up in the morning early’ here therefore means the latter kind of raising. The fact that it is a raising to be made aware of an even greater sign of power is evident from what follows in which yet another new sign is referred to.