The Gist Of Swedenborg - free ebook by Emanuel Swedenborg

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The Gist Of Swedenborg

Emanuel Swedenborg

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FOREWORD

FOREWORD

The reason for a compilation such as is here presented should be obvious. Swedenborg's theological writings comprise some thirty or more substantial volumes, the result of the most concentrated labor extending over a period of twenty-seven years. To study these writings in their whole extent, to see them in their minute unfoldment out of the Word of God, is a work of years. It is doubtful if there is a phase of man's religious experience for which an interpretation is not here to be found. Notwi

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BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Emanuel Swedenborg was born at Stockholm, January 29, 1688. A devout home (the father was a Lutheran clergyman, and afterwards Bishop of Skara) stimulated in the boy the nature which was to become so active in his culminating life-work. A university education at Upsala, however, and studies for five years in England, France, Holland and Germany, brought other interests into play first. The earliest of these were mathematics and astronomy, in the pursuit of which he met Flamsteed and Halley. His

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THE GIST OF SWEDENBORG

THE GIST OF SWEDENBORG

John , XIV, 1 John , XX , 28...

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ONE AND INFINITE

ONE AND INFINITE

God is One, and Infinite. The true quality of the Infinite does not appear; for the human mind, however highly analytical and exalted, is itself finite, and the finiteness in it cannot be laid aside. It is not fitted, therefore, to see the Infinity of God, and thus God, as He is in Himself, but can see God from behind in shadow; as it is said of Moses, when he asked to see God, that he was placed in a cleft of the rock, and saw His hinder side. It is enough to acknowledge God from things finite,

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"INTO HIS MARVELLOUS LIGHT"

"INTO HIS MARVELLOUS LIGHT"

We read in the Word that Jehovah God dwells in light inaccessible. Who, then, could approach Him, unless He had come to dwell in accessible light, that is, unless He had descended and assumed a Humanity and in it had become the Light of the world? Who cannot see that to approach Jehovah the Father in His light is as impossible as to take the wings of the morning and to fly with them to the sun? — True Christian Religion, n. 176...

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THE CHRIST-GOD

THE CHRIST-GOD

We ought to have faith in God the Saviour, Jesus Christ, because that is faith in the visible God in Whom is the Invisible; and faith in the visible God, Who is at once Man and God, enters into man. For while faith is spiritual in essence it is natural in form, for everything spiritual, in order to be anything with a man, is received by him in what is natural. — True Christian Religion, n. 339 Man's conjunction with the Lord is not with His supreme Divine Being itself, but with His Divine Humani

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GOD-MAN

GOD-MAN

In the Lord, God and Man are not two but one Person, yea, altogether one, as soul and body are. This is plain in many of the Lord's own utterances; as that the Father and He are one; that all things of the Father are His, and all His the Father's; that He is in the Father, and the Father in Him; that all things are given into His hand; that He has all power; that whosoever believes in Him has eternal life; that He is God of heaven and earth. — Doctrine Concerning the Lord, n. 60 There is one God

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WHY HE CAME

WHY HE CAME

The Lord from eternity, Who is Jehovah, came into the world to subdue the hells and to glorify His Humanity. Without Him no mortal could have been saved; and they are saved who believe in Him. — True Christian Religion, n. 2 The Lord came into the world to save the human race which would otherwise have perished in eternal death. This salvation the Lord effected by subjugating the hells, which infested every man coming into the world and going out of the world, and by glorifying His Humanity; for

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HOW HE CAME

HOW HE CAME

Because, from His essence, God burned with the love of uniting Himself to man, it was necessary that He should cover Himself around with a body adapted to reception and conjunction. He therefore descended and assumed a human nature in pursuance of the order established by Him from the creation of the world. That is, He was to be conceived by a power produced from Himself; He was to be carried in the womb; He was to be born, and then to grow in wisdom and in love, and so was to approach to union

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THE LIFE ON EARTH

THE LIFE ON EARTH

The Lord had at first a human nature from the mother, of which He gradually divested Himself while He was in the world. Accordingly He kept experiencing two states: a state of humiliation or privation, as long and as far as He was conscious in the human nature from the mother; and a state of glorification or union with the Divine, as long and as far as He was conscious in the Humanity received from the Father. In the state of humiliation He prayed to the Father as to One other than Himself; but

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THE LOVE OF HIS LIFE

THE LOVE OF HIS LIFE

When the Lord was in the world, His life was altogether the life of a love for the whole human race, which He burned to save forever. That life was of the intensest love by which He united Himself to the Divine and the Divine to Himself. For being itself, or Jehovah, is pure mercy from love for the whole human race; and that life was one of sheer love, as it can never be with any man. — Arcana Coelestia, n. 2253...

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"COME UNTO ME"

"COME UNTO ME"

Do you, my friend, flee evil, and do good, and believe in the Lord with your whole heart and with your whole soul, and the Lord will love you, and give you love for doing, and faith for believing. Then will you do good from love, and from a faith which is confidence will you believe. If you persevere in this, a reciprocal conjunction will take place, and one that is perpetual, indeed is salvation itself, and everlasting life. — True, Christian Religion, n. 484...

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THE TRINITY; THE FULNESS OF HIS BEING

THE TRINITY; THE FULNESS OF HIS BEING

They who are truly men of the Church, that is, who are in love to the Lord and in charity toward the neighbor, know and acknowledge a Trine. Still, they humble themselves before the Lord, and adore Him alone, inasmuch as they know that there is no approach to the Divine Itself, called the Father, but by the Son; and that all that is holy, and of the Holy Spirit, proceeds from Him. When they are in this idea, they adore no other than Him, by Whom and from Whom are all things; consequently they ad

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GOD'S UNRELAXED EFFORT

GOD'S UNRELAXED EFFORT

The object of creation was an angelic heaven from the human race; in other words, mankind, in whom God might be able to dwell as in His residence. For this reason man was created a form of Divine order. God is in him, and as far as he lives according to Divine order, fully so; but if he does not live according to Divine order, still God is in him, but in his highest parts, endowing him with the ability to understand truth and to will what is good. But as far as man lives contrary to order, so fa

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AN INSTRUMENT OF LIFE

AN INSTRUMENT OF LIFE

Man is an instrument of life, and God alone is life. God pours His life into His instrument and every part of him, as the sun pours its heat into a tree and every part of it. God also gives man to feel this life in himself as his own. God wills that he should do so, that man may live as of himself according to the laws of order, which are as many as there are precepts in the Word, and may dispose himself to receive the love of God. But still God perpetually holds with His finger the perpendicula

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"ABIDE IN ME"

"ABIDE IN ME"

Man is so created that he can be more and more closely united to the Lord. He is so united not by knowledge alone, nor by intelligence alone, nor even by wisdom alone, but by a life in accordance with these. The more closely he is united to the Lord, the wiser and happier he becomes, the more distinctly he seems to himself to be his own, and the more clearly he perceives that he is the Lord's. — Divine Providence, nn. 32 et al....

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TWO MINDS: TWO WORLDS

TWO MINDS: TWO WORLDS

Man is so created as to live simultaneously in the natural world and in the spiritual world. Thus he has an internal and an external nature or mind; by the former living in the spiritual world, by the latter in the natural world. — Heavenly Doctrine , n. 36...

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INALIENABLE POWERS

INALIENABLE POWERS

There are in man from the Lord two capacities by which the human being is distinguished from the beasts. One capacity is the ability to understand what is true and what is good. It is called rationality, and is a capacity of his understanding. The other capacity is the ability to do the true and the good. It is called freedom, and is a power of the will. By virtue of his rationality, man can think what he pleases, as well against God as with Him, and with his neighbor or against his neighbor. He

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THE DRAG OF HEREDITY

THE DRAG OF HEREDITY

Man inclines to the nature he derives hereditarily, and lapses into it. Thus he strengthens any evil in it, and also adds others of himself. These evils are quite opposed to the spiritual life. They destroy it. Unless, therefore, a man receives new life from the Lord, which is spiritual life, he is condemned; for he wills nothing else and thinks nothing else than concerns him and the world. — Heavenly Doctrine, n. 176...

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LOVES OF SELF AND THE WORLD

LOVES OF SELF AND THE WORLD

The reason why the love of self and the love of the world are infernal loves, and yet man has been able to come into them, and thus to ruin will and understanding in him, is as follows: By creation the love of self and the love of the world are heavenly loves; for they are loves of the natural man serving his spiritual loves, as a foundation does a house. From the love of self and the world, a man wishes well by his body, desires food, clothing and habitation, takes thought for his household, se

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THE NEED FOR SELF-ACTION

THE NEED FOR SELF-ACTION

No one can cleanse himself of evils by his own power and abilities; but neither can this be done without the power and abilities of the man, used as his own. If this strength were not to all appearance his own, no one would be able to fight against the flesh and its lusts, which, nevertheless, is enjoined upon all men. He would not think of combat. Because man is a rational being, he must resist evils from the power and the abilities given him by the Lord, which appear to him as his own; an appe

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"TO HIM THAT OVERCOMETH"

"TO HIM THAT OVERCOMETH"

Because man is reformed by conflicts with the evils of his flesh and by victories over them, the Son of Man says to each of the seven Churches, that He will give gifts "to him that overcometh." — True Christian Religion, n. 610 Without moral struggle no one is regenerated, and many spiritual wrestlings succeed one after another. For, inasmuch as regeneration has for its end that the life of the old man may die and the new and heavenly life be implanted, there will unfailingly be combat. The life

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REPENTANCE AND THE REMISSION OF SINS

REPENTANCE AND THE REMISSION OF SINS

He who would be saved, must confess his sins, and do repentance. To confess sins is to know evils, to see them in oneself, to acknowledge them, to make oneself guilty and condemn oneself on account of them. Done before God, this is to confess sins. To do repentance is to desist from sins after one has thus confessed them and from a humble heart has besought forgiveness, and then to live a new life according to the precepts of charity and faith. He who merely acknowledges generally that he is a s

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TEMPTATION AND PRAYER

TEMPTATION AND PRAYER

When a man shuns evils as sins, he flees them because they are contrary to the Lord and to His Divine laws; and then he prays to the Lord for help and for power to resist them—a power which is never denied when it is asked. By these two means a man is cleansed of evils. He cannot be cleansed of evils if he only looks to the Lord and prays; for then, after he has prayed, he believes that he is quite without sins, or that they have been forgiven, by which he understands that they are taken away. B

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THE GREAT ARENA

THE GREAT ARENA

In temptations the hells fight against man, and the Lord for him. To every falsity which the hells inject, there is an answer from the Divine. The falsities inflow into the outward man, the answer into the inward man, coming to perception scarcely otherwise than as hope, and the resulting consolation, in which, however, there is a multitude of things of which the man is unaware. — Arcana Coelestia, n. 8159 In temptations a man is left, to all appearance, to himself alone; yet he has not been lef

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"BY LITTLE AND LITTLE"

"BY LITTLE AND LITTLE"

When man is being regenerated, he is not regenerated speedily but slowly. The reason is that all things which he has thought, purposed and done since infancy, have added themselves to his life and have come to constitute it. They have also formed such a connection among themselves that no one thing can be removed unless all are at the same time. Regeneration, or the implantation of the life of heaven in man, begins in his infancy, and continues to the last of his life in the world, and is perfec

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A NEW MAN

A NEW MAN

When a man is regenerated, he becomes altogether another, and a new, man. While his appearance and his speech are the same, yet his mind is not; for his mind is then open toward heaven, and there dwell in it love for the Lord, and charity toward the neighbor, together with faith. It is the mind which makes another and a new man. The change of state cannot be perceived in man's body, but in his spirit. When it [the body] is put off then his spirit appears, and in altogether another form, too, whe

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CHILDHOOD

CHILDHOOD

— Matthew , XVIII , 14 Never could a man live,—certainly not as a human being,—unless he had in himself something vital, that is, some innocence, neighborly love, and mercy. This a man receives from the Lord in infancy and childhood. What he receives then is treasured up in him, and is called in the Word the remnant or remains , which are of the Lord alone with him, and they make it possible for him truly to be a man on reaching adult age. These states are the elements of his regeneration, and h

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PRAYER

PRAYER

— Psalm , LXV , 2 Prayer, in itself considered, is speech with God. There is then some inward view of the objects of the prayer, and answering to that something like an influx into the perception or thought. Thus there is a kind of opening of the man's interiors toward God, with a difference according to the man's state and according to the nature of the object of the prayer. If one prays out of love and faith and only about and for things heavenly and spiritual, then there appears in the prayer

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THE SERVICE OF WORSHIP

THE SERVICE OF WORSHIP

— Psalm , V , 7 One should not omit the practice of external worship. Things inward are excited by external worship; and outward things are kept in holiness by external worship, so that things inward can flow in. Moreover, a man is imbued in this way with knowledge, and prepared to receive celestial things, so as to be endowed with states of holiness, though he is unaware of it. These states of holiness the Lord preserves to him for the use of eternal life; for in the other life all one's states

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THE SACRAMENTS

THE SACRAMENTS

Baptism and the Holy Supper are the holiest acts of worship. Baptism and the Holy Supper are as it were two gates, through which a man is introduced into eternal life. After the first gate there is a plain, which he must traverse; and the second is the goal where the prize is, to which he directed his course; for the palm is not given until after the contest, nor the reward until after the combat. — True Christian Religion, nn. 667, 721...

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I. BAPTISM

I. BAPTISM

Baptism was instituted for a sign that a man is of the Church and for a memorial that he is to be regenerated. For the washing of baptism is no other than spiritual washing, which is regeneration. All regeneration is effected by the Lord through truths of faith and a life according to them. Baptism, therefore, testifies that a man is of the Church and that he can be regenerated; for it is in the Church that the Lord is acknowledged, Who regenerates man, and there the Word is, where are truths of

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II. THE HOLY SUPPER

II. THE HOLY SUPPER

The Holy Supper was instituted that by means of it there might be conjunction of the Church with heaven, and thus with the Lord. When one takes the bread, which is the Body, one is conjoined with the Lord by the good of love to Him, from Him; and when one takes the wine, which is the Blood, one is conjoined to the Lord by the good of faith in Him, from Him. — Heavenly Doctrine, nn. 210, 213 In the Holy Supper the Lord is fully present, both as to His glorified Humanity, and as to the Divine. And

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THE RESPONSIBLE LIFE IN THE WORLD

THE RESPONSIBLE LIFE IN THE WORLD

— Matthew , XI , 29 There are those who believe that it is difficult to live the life which leads to heaven, which is called the spiritual life, because they have heard that one must renounce the world, must divest himself of the lusts called the lusts of the body and the flesh, and must live spiritually. They take this to mean that they must cast away worldly things, which are especially riches and honors; that they must go continually in pious meditation on God, salvation, and eternal life; an

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THE DECALOGUE

THE DECALOGUE

— Jeremiah , L , 5 The conjunction of God with man, and of man with God, is taught in the two Tables which were written with the finger of God, called the Tables of the Covenant. These Tables obtain with all nations who have a religion. From the first Table they know that God is to be acknowledged, hallowed and worshipped. From the second Table they know that a man is not to steal, either openly or by trickery, nor to commit adultery, nor to kill, whether by blow or by hatred, nor to bear false

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A PRICELESS JEWEL

A PRICELESS JEWEL

The conjugial inclination of one man to one wife is the jewel of human life and the depository of the Christian religion. — Conjugial Love, n. 457...

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THE PROGRESSIVE CHASTITY OF MARRIAGE

THE PROGRESSIVE CHASTITY OF MARRIAGE

The love in marriage is from its origin and correspondence heavenly, spiritual, holy, pure and clean above every other love which the angels of heaven or men of the Church have from the Lord. It is such from its origin, which is the marriage of good and truth; also from its correspondence with the marriage of the Lord and the Church. If it be received from its Author, Who is the Lord, sanctity from Him follows, which continually cleanses and purifies it. Then, if there be in man's will a longing

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THE HEIGHT OF SERVICE

THE HEIGHT OF SERVICE

Conjugial love is the love at the foundation of all good loves, and is inscribed on all the least life of the human being. Its delights therefore surpass the delights of all other loves, and it also gives delight to other loves, in the measure of its presence and union with them. Into it all delights from first to last are collected, on account of the superior excellence of its use, which is the propagation of the human race, and from it of an angelic heaven. As this service was the supreme end

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ITS WHOLE ESTATE

ITS WHOLE ESTATE

The states of conjugial love are Innocence, Peace, Tranquillity, Inmost Friendship, full Confidence, and mutual desire of mind and heart to do each other every good. From all of these come blessedness, satisfaction, agreeableness and pleasure; and as the eternal fruition of them, heavenly happiness. These states can be realized only in the marriage of one man with one wife. — Conjugial Love, nn. 180, 181 — John , V , 39...

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GOD'S WORD

GOD'S WORD

In its inmosts the Sacred Scripture is no other than God, that is, the Divine which proceeds from God.... In its derivatives it is accommodated to the perception of angels and men. In these it is Divine likewise, but in another form, in which this Divine is called "Celestial," "Spiritual," and "Natural." These are no other than coverings of God. Still the Divine, which is inmost, and is covered with such things as are accommodated to the perceptions of angels and men, shines forth like light thr

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IN ITS BOSOM SPIRITUAL

IN ITS BOSOM SPIRITUAL

The Word in its bosom is spiritual. Descending from Jehovah the Lord, and passing through the angelic heavens, the Divine (in itself ineffable and imperceptible) became level with the perception of angels and finally the perception of man. Hence the Word has a spiritual sense, which is within the natural, just as the soul is in the body, or as thought is in speech, or volition in action. — True Christian Religion, n. 193...

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THE LETTER OF THE WORD

THE LETTER OF THE WORD

The truths of the sense of the letter of the Word are in part appearances of truth, and are taken from things in nature, and thus accommodated and adapted to the grasp of the simple and also of little children. But being correspondences, they are receptacles and abodes of genuine truth; and are like enclosing and containing vessels. The naked truths themselves, which are enclosed and contained, are in the Word's spiritual sense; and the naked goods in its celestial sense. The doctrine of genuine

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ITS LANGUAGE

ITS LANGUAGE

The whole natural world corresponds to the spiritual world; not only generally, but in detail. Whatever comes forth in the natural world from the spiritual, is therefore called correspondent. The world of nature comes forth and subsists from the spiritual world, just as an effect does from its efficient cause. — Heaven and Hell, n. 89 What is Divine presents itself in the world in what corresponds. The Word is therefore written wholly in correspondence. Therefore the Lord, too, speaking as He di

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ITS FUNCTION

ITS FUNCTION

Divine truth, in passing from the Lord through the three heavens to men in the world, is written and made the Word in each heaven. The Word, therefore, is the union of the heavens with one another, and of the heavens with the Church in the world. Hence there flows in from the Lord through the heavens a holy Divine with the man who acknowledges the Divine in the Lord and the holy in the Word, while he reads it. Such a man can be instructed and can draw wisdom from the Word as from the Lord Himsel

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HOW TO USE IT

HOW TO USE IT

They who, in reading the Word, look to the Lord, by acknowledging that all truth and all good are from Him, and nothing from themselves,—they are enlightened, and see truth and perceive what is good from the Word. That enlightenment is from the light of heaven. — Arcana Coelestia, n. 9405...

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ITS DISSEMINATION OF LIGHT

ITS DISSEMINATION OF LIGHT

There cannot be any conjunction with heaven unless somewhere upon the earth there is a Church where the Word is and by it the Lord is known. It is sufficient that there be a Church where the Word is, even though it should consist of few relatively. The Lord is present by it, nevertheless, in the whole world. The light is greatest where those are who have the Word. Thence it extends itself as from a centre out to the last periphery. Thence comes the enlightenment of nations and peoples outside th

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A CANON ON A NEW PRINCIPLE

A CANON ON A NEW PRINCIPLE

The books of the Word are all those which have an internal sense. In the Old Testament they are the five books of Moses, the book of Joshua, the book of Judges, the two books of Samuel, the two books of Kings, the Psalms of David, the Prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zecharaiah, Malachi; and in the New Testament the four Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John; and the Apocalypse. — Arcana Coele

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THE LAW OF CHARITY

THE LAW OF CHARITY

Not to do evil to the neighbor is the first thing of charity, and to do good to him fills the second place.... That a man cannot do good which in itself is good before evil has been removed, the Lord teaches in many places: "Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit"— Matt. XVI, 18. So in Isaiah: "Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before Mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well" (I, 16,17). — True Chr

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GOOD IN ITS WHOLENESS

GOOD IN ITS WHOLENESS

Before repentance good is not done from the Lord, but from the man. It has not, therefore, the essence of good within it, however it appears like good outwardly. Good after repentance is another thing altogether. It is a whole good, unobstructed from the Lord Himself. It is lovely; it is innocent; it is agreeable, and heavenly. The Lord is in it, and heaven. Good itself is in it. It is alive, fashioned of truths. Whatever is thus from good, in good, and toward good, is nothing less than a use to

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THE MAN OF CHARITY

THE MAN OF CHARITY

Every man who looks to the Lord and shuns evils as sins, if he sincerely, justly and faithfully performs the work which belongs to his office and employment, becomes an embodiment of charity. — The Doctrine of Charity , VII In common belief charity is nothing else than giving to the poor, succoring the needy, caring for widows and orphans, contributing to the building of hospitals, infirmaries, asylums, orphanages, and especially churches, and to their decoration and income. But most of these th

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THE ACTIVITY OF CHARITY

THE ACTIVITY OF CHARITY

Charity is an inward affection, moving man to do what is good, and this without recompense. So to act is his life's delight. The life of charity is to will well and to do well by the neighbor; in all work, and in every employment, acting out of regard to what is just and equitable, good and true. In a word, the life of charity consists in the performance of uses. — Heavenly Doctrine, nn. 106, 124...

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FAITH THE PARTNER OF CHARITY

FAITH THE PARTNER OF CHARITY

Neither charity alone nor faith alone can produce good works, any more than a husband alone or a wife alone can have offspring. The truths of faith not only illuminate charity, but qualify it, too; and, moreover, they nourish it. A man, then, who has charity and not truths of faith, is like one walking in a garden in the night-time, snatching fruit from the trees without knowing whether it is of a good or evil use. — True Christian Religion, n. 377...

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THE PATRIOTISM OF CHARITY

THE PATRIOTISM OF CHARITY

One's country is the neighbor more than a society, for it consists of many societies, and consequently the love of it is a more extended and a higher love. Besides, to love one's country is to love the public welfare. A man's country is the neighbor because it is like a parent; for there he was born; it has nourished and still nourishes him; it has protected him from harm, and still protects him. From love for it he ought to do good to his country according to its needs, some of which are natura

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FAITH AND DOUBT

FAITH AND DOUBT

There are those who are in doubt before they deny, and there are those who are in doubt before they affirm. Those in doubt before they deny, are men who incline to a life of evil. When that life sways them, they deny things spiritual and celestial to the extent that they think of them. But those in doubt before they affirm, are men who incline to a life of good. When they suffer themselves to be turned to this life by the Lord, they then affirm things spiritual and celestial to the extent that t

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THE FAITH OF THE FAITHFUL

THE FAITH OF THE FAITHFUL

It is one thing to know truths, another to acknowledge them, and yet another to have faith in them. Only the faithful can have faith. — Arcana Coelestia, n. 896 The only faith that endures with man springs from heavenly love. Those without love have knowledge merely, or persuasion. Just to believe in truth and in the Word is not faith. Faith is to love truth, and to will and do it from inward affection for it. — Heaven and Hell, n. 482 If a man thinks to himself or says to another, "Who can have

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NEIGHBORS

NEIGHBORS

Not only is the individual man the neighbor, but the collective man, too. A society, smaller or larger, is the neighbor; the Church is; the Kingdom of the Lord is; and above all the Lord Himself. These are the neighbor, to whom good is to be done from love. These are also the ascending degrees of the neighbor; for a society consisting of many is the neighbor in a higher degree than is the individual; one's country in a still higher degree; the Church in a still higher degree than one's country;

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DIVERSIONS

DIVERSIONS

There is an affection in every employment, which puts the mind upon the stretch and keeps it intent upon its work or study. If it is not relaxed, this becomes heavy, and its desire meaningless; as salt, when it loses its saltness, no longer stimulates, and as the bow on the stretch, unless it is unbent, loses the force it gets from its elasticity. Continuously intent upon its work, the mind wants rest; and dropping to the physical life, it seeks pleasures there that answer to its activities. As

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THE DIVINE PURPOSE

THE DIVINE PURPOSE

The Divine Providence has for an end a heaven which shall consist of men who have become angels or who are becoming angels, to whom the Lord can impart from Himself all the blessedness and felicity of love and wisdom. — Divine Providence, n. 27...

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THE LAWFUL ORDER OF PROVIDENCE

THE LAWFUL ORDER OF PROVIDENCE

In all that proceeds from the Lord the Divine Providence is first. Indeed, we may say that the Lord is Providence, as we say that God is Order; for the Divine Providence is Divine Order with regard above all to the salvation of man. As order is impossible without laws, it follows that as God is order so is He the Law of His order. And as the Lord is His Providence, He is also the Law of His Providence. The Lord cannot act contrary to the laws of His Providence, for to act contrary to them would

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A WORLD-WIDE LEADING

A WORLD-WIDE LEADING

The Lord provides that there shall be religion everywhere, and in each religion the two essentials of salvation, which are, to acknowledge God, and not to do evil because it is contrary to God. It is provided furthermore that all who have lived well and acknowledge God should be instructed by angels after death. Then, they who, in the world, were in the two essentials of religion, accept the truths of the Church, such as they are in the Word, and acknowledge the Lord as the God of heaven and the

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THE DIVINE PERSEVERANCE

THE DIVINE PERSEVERANCE

The Divine Providence differs from all other leading and guidance in this, that it continually regards what is eternal, and continually leads to salvation, and this through various states, now glad, now sad,—states which a man cannot understand at all, and yet they all conduce to his life to eternity. — Arcana Coelestia, n. 8560...

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IN THE STREAM OF PROVIDENCE

IN THE STREAM OF PROVIDENCE

The Divine Providence is universal, that is, in the leasts of all things. They who are in the stream of Providence are borne along continually to happiness, whatsoever the appearance of the means may be. They are in the stream of Providence, who put their trust in the Divine, and ascribe all things to Him. They are not in the stream of Providence who trust themselves alone and ascribe all things to themselves. As far as one is in the stream of Providence, so far one is in a state of peace. Such

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CARE FOR THE MORROW

CARE FOR THE MORROW

It is not contrary to order to look out for one's self and one's dependents. Those have "care for the morrow" who are not content with their lot, who do not trust in the Divine but themselves, and who regard only worldly and earthly things and not heavenly. With such there prevails universally a solicitude about things future, a desire to possess everything, and to rule over all. They grieve if they do not get what they desire, and suffer torment when they lose what they have. Then they grow ang

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THE SUFFERANCE OF EVIL

THE SUFFERANCE OF EVIL

The chief aim and effort of the Lord's Divine Providence is that a man shall be in what is good and in what is true at the same time; for thereby man is man, since he is then an image of the Lord. But because, in his life in the world, he can be in what is good and in what is false at the same time, and also in what is evil and what is true at the same time, nay, even in evil and at the same time in good, and thus be a double man, as it were, and because this division destroys God's image and so

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IMMORTAL BY ENDOWMENT

IMMORTAL BY ENDOWMENT

Man has been so created that as to his inward being he cannot die; for he can believe in God, and also love God, and thus be united to God in faith and love; and to be united to God is to live to eternity. — Heavenly Doctrine, n. 223...

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FROM WORLD TO WORLD

FROM WORLD TO WORLD

When the body is no longer able to perform its functions in the natural world, a man is said to die. Still the man does not die; he is only separated from the bodily part which was of use to him in the world. The man himself lives. He lives, because he is man by virtue, not of the body, but of the spirit; for it is the spirit in man which thinks; and thought together with affection makes the man. It is plain, then, that when a man dies, he only passes from one world into the other.... The spirit

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UNHURT BY DEATH

UNHURT BY DEATH

When a man passes from the natural world into the spiritual, he takes with him everything that belongs to him as a man except his earthly body. (This he leaves when he dies, nor does he ever resume it. [A] ) He is in a body as he was in the natural world; and to all appearance there is no difference. But his body is spiritual, and is therefore separated or purified from things terrestrial. And when what is spiritual touches and sees what is spiritual, it is just the same as when what is natural

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THE WORLD OF SPIRITS

THE WORLD OF SPIRITS

Every man at death comes first into the world of spirits, which is midway between heaven and hell; and there he passes through his own states, and is prepared either for heaven or for hell according to his life.... It is to be observed that the world of spirits is one thing, and the spiritual world another. The spiritual world embraces the world of spirits and heaven and hell. — Divine Love and Wisdom, n. 140...

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THE WAY OF ONE'S OWN LOVE

THE WAY OF ONE'S OWN LOVE

After death every one goes the way of his love—he who is in a good love, to heaven, and he who is in a wicked love, to hell. Nor does he rest until he is in that society where his ruling love is. What is wonderful, every one knows the way. Every one's state after death is spiritual, which is such that he cannot be anywhere but in the delight of his own love, which he has acquired for himself by his life in the natural world. From this it appears plainly that no one can be let into the delight of

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CONTINUATION OF THE OUTWARD LIFE

CONTINUATION OF THE OUTWARD LIFE

There are three states through which a man passes after death, before he enters either heaven or hell. The first state is that of his outward nature and life; the second, that of his inward nature and life; and the third, one of preparation. A man passes through these states in the world of spirits. The first state of a man after death is like his state in the world, because he is then similarly in things outward. His appearance is similar, and so are his speech, his mental habit, and his moral

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REVELATION OF THE INNER LIFE

REVELATION OF THE INNER LIFE

After the first state is past, which is the state of the outward nature and life, a spirit is admitted into the state of his inward will and thought, in which, on being left to himself to think freely and unchecked, he had been in the world. He slips unawares into this state, just as he did in the world. When he is in this state, he is in himself, and in his very life; for to think freely from the affection properly one's own, is the very life of man, and is the man. When a spirit is in the stat

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INSTRUCTED FOR HEAVEN

INSTRUCTED FOR HEAVEN

The third state of a man after death is a state of instruction. This is a state in the experience of those who enter heaven and become angels. Instruction in heaven differs from instruction on earth, in that knowledge is not committed to memory, but to life; for the memory of spirits is in their life, inasmuch as they receive and become imbued with everything that agrees with their life, and they do not receive, still less do they become imbued with, anything that disagrees with it; for spirits

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"THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS WITHIN YOU"

"THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS WITHIN YOU"

Heaven is in a man; and they who have heaven within themselves, come into heaven. Heaven in a man is to acknowledge the Divine, and to be led by the Divine. Every angel receives the heaven which is around him according to the heaven which is within him. Unless heaven is within a man, none of the heaven around him flows in and is received. Love to the Lord is the love regnant in the heavens; for there the Lord is loved above all things. Thus the Lord is All in all there. He flows into all the ang

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AN ACTUAL WORLD

AN ACTUAL WORLD

In general, what appears in heaven, appears the same as it does in our material world of three kingdoms. Things appear before the eyes of angels just as objects of the three kingdoms do before the eyes of men in the world. Still there is this difference: the things which appear in heaven, have a spiritual origin, and those which appear in our world a material origin. Objects of a spiritual origin affect the senses of angels because these senses are spiritual, as those of a material origin affect

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A WORLD OF ACTION

A WORLD OF ACTION

All heaven's delights are united to uses and inhere in them, because uses are the goods of love and charity, in which the angels are. The angels find all their happiness in use, from use, and according to use. There is the highest freedom in this because it proceeds from interior affection, and is conjoined with ineffable delight. Uses exist in the heavens in all variety and diversity. Never is the use of one angel quite the same as that of another; nor the delight. What is more, the delights of

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OUR CHILDREN IN HEAVEN

OUR CHILDREN IN HEAVEN

Every little child, wheresoever born, whether within the Church or out of it, whether of pious parents or of impious, is received by the Lord at death; is educated in heaven; is taught and imbued with affections of good and by these with knowledges of truth; and then, as he is perfected in intelligence and wisdom, is introduced into heaven and becomes an angel. When children die, they are still children in the other life. They have the same infantile mind, the same innocence in ignorance, and th

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TOWARD THE MORNING OF LIFE

TOWARD THE MORNING OF LIFE

The Lord is present with every human being, urgent and instant to be received; and when a man receives Him, as he does when he acknowledges Him as his God, Creator, Redeemer and Saviour, then is His first Coming, which is called the dawn. From this time the man begins to be enlightened, as to understanding in things spiritual, and to advance into a more and more interior wisdom. As he receives this wisdom from the Lord, so he advances through morning into day, and this day lasts with him into ol

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EVIL IS HELL

EVIL IS HELL

Evil with man is hell with him; for it is the same thing whether we say evil or hell. And as a man is the cause of his own evil, therefore he, and not the Lord, also leads himself into hell. So far is the Lord from leading man into hell, that He delivers him from it as far as a man does not will and love to be in his own evil. All a man's will and love remains with him after death. He who wills and loves evil in the world, wills and loves the same evil in the other life; and then he no longer su

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EVIL AND PUNISHMENT

EVIL AND PUNISHMENT

All evil bears its punishment with it. Evil spirits are punished because the fear of punishment is the one means of subduing evils in this state. Exhortation no longer avails, nor instruction, nor fear of the law nor fear for one's reputation; for now the spirit acts from a nature which cannot be coerced or broken except by punishment. — Heaven and Hell, n. 509 It is a law in the other life that no one shall become worse than he had been in the world. — Arcana Coelestia, n. 6559...

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GOD WILLS THE DAMNATION OF NONE

GOD WILLS THE DAMNATION OF NONE

If men could be saved by immediate mercy, all would be saved, even those in hell; and indeed there would be no hell, because the Lord is mercy itself and good itself. Therefore it is contrary to His Divine Nature to say that He can save all immediately, and does not save them. We know from the Word that the Lord wills the salvation of all and the damnation of none. — Heaven and Hell, n. 524...

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MASTER PASSIONS OF HELL

MASTER PASSIONS OF HELL

Love of self and love of the world rule in the hells and also constitute them. Love to the Lord and love toward the neighbor rule in the heavens and also constitute them. These loves are diametrically opposite. Love of self consists in wishing well to oneself alone, and not to others except for the sake of oneself, not even to the Church, to one's country, or to any human society; also in doing good to them, but for the sake of one's reputation, honor and glory. Unless he sees these in the servi

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"OUR NAME IS LEGION"

"OUR NAME IS LEGION"

Men have believed hitherto that there is some one devil who is over the hells, and that he was created an angel of light; but that after he turned rebel, he was cast down with his crew into hell. Men have had this belief because the Devil is named in the Word, and Satan, and also Lucifer, and in these passages the Word has been understood according to the sense of the letter, when yet hell is meant in them by the Devil and Satan.... That there is no single Devil to whom the hells are subject, is

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ONE'S SPIRITUAL COMPANY

ONE'S SPIRITUAL COMPANY

The mind of a man is his spirit which lives after death; and a man's spirit is constantly in company with spirits like himself in the spiritual world. Man does not know that in respect to his mind he is in the midst of spirits because the spirits with whom he is in company in that world, think and speak spiritually. The spirit of man, however, while in the material body, thinks and speaks naturally; and spiritual thought and speech cannot be understood, nor perceived, by the natural human being;

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"MINISTERS OF HIS, THAT DO HIS PLEASURE"

"MINISTERS OF HIS, THAT DO HIS PLEASURE"

Man is quite ignorant that he is governed by the Lord through angels and spirits, and that there are at least two spirits with a man and two angels. Through the spirits a communication of the man with the world of spirits is effected; and through the angels, with heaven. As long as a man is not regenerated, he is governed quite otherwise than when he is regenerated. While unregenerated, there are evil spirits with him, who dominate him so fully that the angels, though present, can scarcely do mo

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WHOLESOME AND UNWHOLESOME COMMUNICATION

WHOLESOME AND UNWHOLESOME COMMUNICATION

Many believe that a man can be taught by the Lord through spirits who speak with him. They who believe so, and will this communication, do not know, however, that it is attended with danger to their souls. While a man is living in the world, he is in the midst of spirits as to his spirit; nevertheless spirits do not know they are with man, nor a man that he is with spirits. But as soon as spirits begin to speak with a man, they come out of their spiritual state into the man's natural state; and

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AN UNBROKEN ASSOCIATION

AN UNBROKEN ASSOCIATION

Married partners, who have lived in truly conjugial love, are not separated in the death of one of them. For the spirit of the deceased partner lives continually with the spirit of the other, not yet deceased, and this even to the death of the other, when they meet again and reunite, and love each other more tenderly than before; for now they are in the spiritual world. — Conjugial Love, n. 321 "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people,

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THE CHURCH IN GOD'S SIGHT

THE CHURCH IN GOD'S SIGHT

The Church is in man, and not outside of him; and the Church at large consists of the men who have the Church in them.—The Church consists of those who from the heart acknowledge the Divine of the Lord, who learn truths from Him by the Word, and do them.—Every one who lives in the good of charity and of faith is a Church and a Kingdom of the Lord.—The Church in general is constituted of those who are severally Churches, however remote they are from one another.—The Church of the Lord is scattere

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A SUCCESSION OF CHURCHES

A SUCCESSION OF CHURCHES

There have been four Churches on this earth since the day of creation; a first, to be called the Adamic, a second, to be called the Noachic; a third, the Israelitish; and a fourth, the Christian. After these four Churches, a new one will arise, which is to be truly Christian, foretold in Daniel and in the Apocalypse , and by the Lord Himself in the Evangelists, and looked for by the Apostles. — Coronis , Summary, I, VIII...

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EARLY CHRISTIANITY AND ITS DECLINE

EARLY CHRISTIANITY AND ITS DECLINE

When a Church is raised up by the Lord, it is in the beginning blameless; and one then loves the other as his brother, as we know of the primitive Church after the Lord's advent. At that time, all the sons of the Church lived together like brothers, and also called one another brother, and mutually loved each other. But in the course of time charity diminished, and vanished; and as it vanished, evils succeeded; and together with evils falsities insinuated themselves. Hence came schisms and heres

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THE LORD'S SECOND COMING: WHEN? HOW?

THE LORD'S SECOND COMING: WHEN? HOW?

Now is the Lord's Second Coming, and a New Church is to be instituted. The Second Coming of the Lord is not a coming in Person, but in the Word, which is from Him, and is Himself. We read in many places that the Lord will come in the clouds of heaven. The "clouds of heaven" mean the Word in its natural sense, and "glory" the Word in its spiritual sense, and "power" the Lord's power by means of the Word. So the Lord is now to appear in the Word. He is not to appear in Person because, since His as

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A NEW CHURCH

A NEW CHURCH

It was foretold in the Apocalypse (XXI, XXII) that at the end of the former Church a New Church was to be instituted, in which this would be the chief teaching: that God is One in Person as well as in Essence, in Whom is the Trinity, and that that God is the Lord. This Church is what is there meant by the New Jerusalem, into which only he can enter who acknowledges the Lord alone as God of Heaven and earth. — Divine Providence, n. 263 The descent of the New Jerusalem cannot take place in a momen

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THE ULTIMATE GOAL

THE ULTIMATE GOAL

Were it received as a principle, that love to the Lord and charity to the neighbor are what the whole Law hangs on and are what all the Prophets speak of, and thus are the essentials of all doctrine and worship, then the mind would be enlightened in innumerable things in the Word, which otherwise lie hidden in the obscurity of a false principle. In fact, heresies would be scattered then, and out of many one Church would come to be, however the doctrines flowing therefrom or leading thereto, and

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MEMORABLE SAYINGS

MEMORABLE SAYINGS

All religion has relation to life; and the life of religion is to do good. Love in act is work and deed. Heaven is a kingdom of uses. No one who believes in God and lives well is condemned. Shunning evils as sins is the mark of faith. To resist one evil is to resist many; for every evil is united with countless evils. If you wish to be led by the Divine Providence, employ prudence as a servant and attendant who faithfully dispenses his Lord's goods. Where men know doctrine and think according to

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