How the Human Race Continues to Exist

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

THROUGH THE CHURCH
THOSE ARE SAVED
WHO ARE OUT OF THE CHURCH

THE SALVATION OF ALL WHO ARE IN GOOD

No others are in the faith of charity than those within the church, for the faith of charity is — truth of doctrine adjoined to good of life.

There is no faith except where there is charity, it is charity itself which is meant in the internal sense by "seed."

SEED — THE FAITH OF CHARITY

It is evident that not only the man who is within the church is meant, but also the man who is without the church, thus the whole human race. Wherever there is charity, even among nations most remote from the church, there is "seed" — for heavenly seed is charity.  No man can do anything of good from himself, but all good is from the Lord.  The good which the Gentiles do is also from the Lord.

And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.   (Genesis 3:14, 15)

That the "seed of God" is faith.  By faith there, and elsewhere, is meant the charity from which is faith; for there is no other faith that is faith, than the faith of charity.   (from Arcana Coelestia 1025)

The case is this: The Lord's kingdom on earth consists of all those who are in good, who though scattered over the whole earth, are still one, and as members constitute one body.  Such is the Lord's kingdom in the heavens, where the whole heaven represents one man, which is therefore also called the Grand Man, and what is wonderful and hitherto unknown, all parts of the human body correspond to societies in heaven.

THE SOCIETIES WHICH CONSTITUTE HEAVEN

 

There are three heavens: the First is the abode of good spirits, the Second of angelic spirits, and the Third of angels. And one heaven is more interior and pure than another, so that they are most distinct. Each heaven, the first, the second, and the third, is distinguished into innumerable societies; and each society consists of many individuals, who by their harmony and unanimity constitute as it were one person; and all the societies together are as one man. The societies are distinct from one another according to the differences of mutual love, and of faith in the Lord. These differences are so innumerable that not even the most universal genera of them can be computed; and there is not the least of difference that is not disposed in most perfect order, so as to conspire most harmoniously to a common unity, and the common unity to unanimity of individuals, and thereby to the happiness of all from each, and of each from all. Each angel and each society is therefore an image of the universal heaven, and is as it were a little heaven.   (Arcana Coelestia 684)

And therefore it is sometimes said that some societies belong to the province of the head, some to the province of the eye, others to that of the chest, and so on, which correspondence will of the Lord's Divine mercy be spoken of by itself.

WITHOUT A CHURCH SOMEWHERE ON THE EARTH
THE HUMAN RACE COULD NOT SUBSIST

The case is the same with the Lord's church on earth, where the church is like the heart and lungs; while those outside the church answer to the parts of the body which are supported and live from the heart and lungs. Hence it is manifest that without a church somewhere on the earth the human race could not subsist, as the body could not without the heart and lungs.

From this cause it is that whenever any church is consummated, that is, becomes no church because there is no longer any charity, a new one is of the Lord's providence always raised up; as when the Most Ancient Church called "Man" perished, a new one was created by the Lord, which was called "Noah," and was the Ancient Church that was after the flood; and when this degenerated and became none, the Jewish and Israelitish representative Church was instituted; and when this became altogether extinct, the Lord then came into the world, and set up again a new one; and this for the purpose that there might be conjunction of heaven with the human race through the church.

(from Arcana Coelestia 2853)

The 'Miraculous' Change

Selections from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.  (Genesis 1:26, 27)

In the Most Ancient Church, with the members of which the Lord conversed face to face — the Lord appeared as a Man... On this account they called no one "man" but the Lord Himself, and the things which were of Him; neither did they call themselves "men" but only those things in themselves — as all the good of love and all the truth of faith — which they perceived they had from the Lord. These they said were "of man" because they were of the Lord.  (from Arcana Coelestia 49)

Male and female created He them. What is meant by "male and female" in the internal sense, was well known to the Most Ancient Church, but when the interior sense of the Word was lost among their posterity, this arcanum also perished.

Their marriages were their chief sources of happiness and delight, and whatever admitted of the comparison they likened to marriage, in order that in this way they might perceive its felicity. Being also internal men, they were delighted only with internal things. External things they merely saw with the eyes, but thought of what was represented. So that outward things were nothing to them, save as these could in some measure be the means of causing them to turn their thoughts to internal things, and from these to celestial things, and so to the Lord who was their all, and consequently to the heavenly marriage, from which they perceived the happiness of their marriages to come. The understanding in the spiritual man they therefore called male, and the will female, and when these acted as a one they called it a marriage.  (from Arcana Coelestia 54)

• The state of the Most Ancient Church was such that they had from the Lord a perception of good and the derivative truth.

• The state of the Ancient Church, or "Noah" became such that they had a conscience of good and truth.

Such as is the difference between having perception and having conscience, such was the difference of state of the Most Ancient and the Ancient Churches.

• Perception is not conscience: the celestial have perception; the spiritual have conscience.

The Most Ancient Church was celestial — The Ancient was spiritual.

With the celestial man, who possesses perception from the Lord; for in him particulars and singulars of particulars can be insinuated.

For example:

True marriage is that of one man with one wife; and that such marriage is representative of the heavenly marriage, and therefore heavenly happiness can be in it, but never in a marriage of one man with a plurality of wives.

The spiritual man, who knows this from the Word of the Lord, acquiesces in it, and hence admits as a matter of conscience — that marriage with more wives than one is a sin; but he knows no more.

The celestial man however perceives thousands of things which confirm this general, so that marriage with more wives than one excites his abhorrence.

As the spiritual man knows generals only, and has his conscience formed from these, and as the generals of the Word have been accommodated to the fallacies of the senses, it is evident that innumerable falsities, which cannot be dispersed, will adjoin and insinuate themselves into them.  (from Arcana Coelestia 865)

The Most Ancient Church had immediate revelation from the Lord by consort with spirits and angels, as also by visions and dreams; whereby it was given them to have a general knowledge of what was good and true; and after they had acquired a general knowledge, these general leading principles, as we may call them, were confirmed by things innumerable, by means of perceptions; and these innumerable things were the particulars or individual things of the general principles to which they related. Thus were the general leading principles corroborated day by day; whatever was not in agreement with the general principles they perceived not to be so; and whatever was in agreement with them they perceived to be so. Such also is the state of the celestial angels.

The general principles of the Most Ancient Church were heavenly and eternal truths — as that the Lord governs the universe, that all good and truth is from the Lord, that all life is from the Lord, that man's Own is nothing but evil, and in itself is dead; with many others of similar character. And they received from the Lord a perception of countless things that confirmed and supported these truths. With them love was the principal of faith. By love it was given them of the Lord to perceive whatever was of faith, and hence with them faith was love, as was said before.

But the Ancient Church became entirely different.  (Arcana Coelestia 597)

~~~

And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. ... And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; and with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth.  (Genesis 9:1;8,9)

And I, behold, I establish My covenant. That this signifies the presence of the Lord in charity, is evident from the signification of "covenant" — a "covenant" signifies regeneration, and indeed the conjunction of the Lord with the regenerate man by love; and that the heavenly marriage is that veriest covenant itself, and consequently so is the heavenly marriage with every regenerate man.

With the man of the Most Ancient Church the heavenly marriage was in the Own of his will part, but with the man of the Ancient Church the heavenly marriage was effected in the Own of his intellectual part. For when man's will part had become wholly corrupt, the Lord miraculously separated the Own of his intellectual part from that corrupt Own of his will part, and in the Own of his intellectual part He formed a new will, which is conscience, and into the conscience insinuated charity, and into the charity innocence, and thus conjoined Himself with man, or what is the same, made a covenant with him. So far as the Own of man's will part can be separated from this Own of the intellectual part, the Lord can be present with him, or conjoin Himself, or enter into a covenant with him. Temptations and the like means of regeneration cause the Own of man's will part to be quiescent, to become as nothing, and as it were to die. So far as this is done the Lord through conscience implanted in the Own of man's intellectual part can work in charity. And this is what is here called a "covenant."

(Arcana Coelestia 1023)

When Charity is Principle

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.

And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?

And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.  (Genesis 15:1-3) 

• In the internal sense are continued the things concerning the Lord after He had endured in childhood the most severe combats of temptations, which were directed against the love which He cherished toward the whole human race, and in particular toward the church; and therefore being anxious concerning their future state a promise was made Him; but it was shown at the same time what the state of the church would become toward its end when it would begin to expire; but that still a new church should revive, which would take the place of the former, and the heavenly kingdom would be immensely increased.

• The Lord's consolation after the combats of temptations.

• The Lord's complaint respecting the church, that it was in externals only.

• These are true historicals, but still each and all of them, even to the least of what was done, are representative; and the words themselves by which they are described, are, as to the smallest iota, significative. That is to say, in each and all of these things there is an internal sense; for each and all of the things contained in the Word are inspired, and being inspired they cannot but be from a heavenly origin; that is, they must necessarily store up within them celestial and spiritual things, for otherwise it could not possibly be the Word of the Lord.

• These are the things contained in the internal sense; and when this sense lies open, the sense of the letter is obliterated, as if there were none; and on the other hand, when attention is given solely to the historical sense or that of the letter, the internal sense is obliterated, as if there were none.



HEAVENLY LIGHT TO THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD


These two are related as is heavenly light to the light of the world; and, conversely, as is the light of the world to heavenly light. When heavenly light appears, then the light of the world is as thick darkness; as has been made known to me by experience; but when anyone is in the light of the world, then heavenly light, if it appeared, would be as thick darkness.

The same as with human minds: to him who places everything in human wisdom, or in memory-knowledges, heavenly wisdom appears as an obscure nothing; but to him who is in heavenly wisdom, human wisdom is as a kind of obscure general affair, which, if there were not heavenly rays in it, would be as thick darkness.

(from Arcana Coelestia 1778-1780; 1783)

~~~

THE CHURCH WAS THEN ONLY IN EXTERNALS

He in these words complained, saying, "Behold, a son of my house is mine heir," by which is signified that there would thus be only what is external [before Ishmael or Isaac] in His kingdom.  But consolation follows, and a promise concerning what is internal, in the verses that follow.

Behold a son of my house is mine heir.  That this signifies that there would be only what is external in the Lord's kingdom, is evident from the signification in the internal sense of an "heir" and of "inheriting."

To become an heir, or to inherit, signifies eternal life in the Lord's kingdom.

All who are in the Lord's kingdom are heirs; for they live from the Lord's life, which is the life of mutual love; and from this they are called sons. The Lord's sons or heirs are all who are in His life, because their life is from Him, and they are born of Him, that is, are regenerate. They who are born of anyone are heirs — and so are — all who are being regenerated by the Lord, for in this case they receive His life.

In the Lord's kingdom there are —

• Those who are external
• Those who are interior
• Those who are internal

• Good spirits, who are in the first heaven, are external
• Angelic spirits, who are in the second heaven, are interior
• Angels, who are in the third, are internal

They who are external are not so closely related or so near to the Lord, as they who are interior; nor are these so closely related or so near to the Lord, as they who are internal.

The Lord, from the Divine love or mercy, wills to have all near to Himself, so that they do not stand at the doors, that is, in the first heaven (see Psalms 84:10).

He wills that they should be in the third; and, if it were possible, not only with Himself, but in Himself. Such is the Divine love, or the Lord's love ...

What pertains to doctrine does not itself make the external, still less the internal, as before said; nor with the Lord does it distinguish churches from each other, but that which does this is a life according to doctrinals, all of which, provided they are true, look to charity as their fundamental.

WHAT IS DOCTRINE BUT THAT WHICH TEACHES HOW A MAN MUST LIVE?

In the Christian world it is doctrinal matters that distinguish churches; and from them men call themselves Roman Catholics, Lutherans, and Calvinists, or the Reformed and the Evangelical, and by other names.  It is from what is doctrinal alone that they are so called; which would never be if they would make love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor the principal of faith.  Doctrinal matters would then be only varieties of opinion concerning the mysteries of faith, which truly Christian men would leave to everyone to hold in accordance with his conscience, and would say in their hearts that —

A man is truly a Christian
when he lives as a Christian
that is
as the Lord teaches.

Thus from all the differing churches there would be made one church; and all the dissensions that come forth from doctrine alone would vanish; yea, all hatreds of one against another would be dissipated in a moment, and the Lord's kingdom would come upon the earth.

The Ancient Church just after the flood, although spread through many kingdoms, was yet of this character, that is, men differed much among themselves as to doctrinal matters, but still made charity the principal; and they looked upon worship, not from doctrinal matters which pertain to faith, but from charity which pertains to life. This is meant where it is said (Genesis 11:1), that they all had one lip, and their words were one.

GENESIS 11:1-9

And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.

And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.

And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.

So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. (Genesis 11:1-9)

THE STATE OF THE ANCIENT CHURCH

In this verse, and by these few words, is described THE STATE OF THE ANCIENT CHURCH as it had been, that it had one doctrine in general; but in the following verse it is described how it began to be falsified and adulterated; and from that to the ninth verse, how it became altogether perverted, so that it no longer had any internal worship. Then, a little further on, the subject treated of is the second Ancient Church, that was begun by Eber; and, finally, the third Ancient Church, which was the beginning of the Jewish Church. For after the flood there were three churches in succession.

As regards the first Ancient Church, in that although it was so widely spread over the earth it was still one in lip and one in words, that is, one in doctrine in general and in particular, when yet its worship both internal and external was everywhere different - as shown in the preceding chapter, where by each nation there named a different doctrinal and ritual were signified.  the case is this:

In heaven there are innumerable societies, and all different, and yet they are a one, for they are all led as a one by the Lord.

THE RESULT OF THE MUTUAL LOVE

In this respect the case is the same as it is with man, in whom, although there are so many viscera, and so many little viscera within the viscera, organs, and members, each one of which acts in a different way, yet all and each are governed as a one, by the one soul; or as it is with the body, wherein the activities of the powers and motions are different, yet all are governed by one motion of the heart and one motion of the lungs, and make a one. That these can thus act as a one, comes from the fact that in heaven there is one single influx, which is received by every individual in accordance with his own genius; and which influx is an influx of affections from the Lord, from His mercy, and from His life; and notwithstanding that there is only one single influx, yet all things obey and follow as a one. This is the result of the mutual love in which are they who are in heaven.

THEY ALL HAD ONE DOCTRINE

The case was the same in the first Ancient Church; for although there were as many kinds of worship — some being internal and some external — as in general there were nations, and as many specifically as there were families in the nations, and as many in particular as there were men of the church, yet they all had one lip and were one in words; that is, they all had one doctrine, both in general and in particular.

The doctrine is one when all are in mutual love, or in charity.  Mutual love and charity cause them all to be a one, although they are diverse, for they make a one out of the varieties. All men how many soever they may be, even myriads of myriads, if they are in charity or mutual love, have one end, namely, —

the common good, the Lord's kingdom, and the Lord Himself.

Varieties in matters of doctrine and of worship are like the varieties of the senses and of the viscera in man, as has been said, which contribute to the perfection of the whole. For then, through charity, the Lord inflows and works in diverse ways, in accordance with the genius of each one; and thus, both in general and in particular, disposes all into order, on earth as in heaven. And then the will of the Lord is done, as He Himself teaches, as in the heavens, so also upon the earth.

(from Arcana Coelestia 1799; 1285)