THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 65)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE
for the
NEW JERUSALEM
FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Series —
(pt. 65)
MURDERS, ADULTERIES, THEFTS, FALSE WITNESS, TOGETHER WITH ALL CONCUPISCENCE,
FOR THESE THINGS ARE THE EVILS WHICH MUST BE SHUNNED AS SINS.

All nations in the wide world who have religion possess precepts like those in the Decalogue, and all who from religion live them are saved, and all who do not live them from religion are damned.

When those who live them from religion are instructed after death by the angels, they receive truths, and acknowledge the Lord; the reason of which is that they shun evils as sins, and are consequently in good, and good loves truth, and from the desire of this love, receives it (as has been shown above, n. 32-41). This is meant by the words of the Lord to the Jews:

The kingdom of God shall be taken away from you, and shall be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof (Matt. 21:43).

And also by these:
When therefore the Lord of the vineyard shall come, He will destroy those evil men, and will let out his vineyard to other husbandmen, who shall render him the fruits in their season (Matt. 21:40-41).

And by these:
I say unto you that many shall come from the east and the west, and from the north and the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God, but the sons of the kingdom shall be cast forth into the outer darkness (Matt. 8:11-12; Luke 13:29).

(LIFE 65)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 64)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE
for the
NEW JERUSALEM
FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Series —
(pt. 64)
MURDERS, ADULTERIES, THEFTS, FALSE WITNESS, TOGETHER WITH ALL CONCUPISCENCE,
FOR THESE THINGS ARE THE EVILS WHICH MUST BE SHUNNED AS SINS.

It is a common principle of every religion that a man ought to examine himself, repent, and desist from sins, and that if he fails to do so he is in a state of damnation.

Teaching the Decalogue is also a common thing throughout the whole Christian world, and by it little children are commonly initiated into the Christian religion, for it is in the hands of all young children. Their parents and teachers tell them that to commit these evils is to sin against God, and in fact while speaking to the children they know nothing different.

We may well wonder that these same persons, and the children too when they become adults, think that they are not under this Law, and that they are not able to do the things that belong to it.

Can there be any other cause for their learning to think in this way, than that they love evils and consequently the false notions that favor them? These therefore are the people who do not make the commandments of the Decalogue a matter of religion. And that these same persons live without religion

(LIFE 64)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 63)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE
for the
NEW JERUSALEM
FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Series —
(pt. 63)
MURDERS, ADULTERIES, THEFTS, FALSE WITNESS, TOGETHER WITH ALL CONCUPISCENCE,
FOR THESE THINGS ARE THE EVILS WHICH MUST BE SHUNNED AS SINS.

A religious tenet has prevailed to the effect that no one is able to fulfill the law; the law being not to kill, not to commit adultery, not to steal, and not to bear false witness.

Every civic man and moral man is able to fulfill these commandments of the law by a civic and moral life; but this tenet denies that he can do so by a spiritual life; from which it follows that his not doing these evils is only for the sake of avoiding penalties and losses in this world, and not for the sake of avoiding penalties and losses after he has left it. It is for this reason that a man with whom this tenet has prevailed, thinks these evils allowable in the sight of God, but not so in that of the world.

And in consequence of such thought from this his tenet, the man is in concupiscence for all these evils, and refrains from doing them merely for the world's sake; and therefore after death such a man, although he had not committed murders, adulteries, thefts, and false witness, nevertheless desires to commit them, and does commit them when the external possessed by him in this world is taken away from him. Every concupiscence he has had remains with him after death. It is owing to this that such persons act as one with hell, and cannot but have their lot among those who are there.

Very different is the lot of those who are unwilling to kill, to commit adultery, to steal, and to bear false witness for the reason that to do these things is contrary to God. These persons, after some battling with these evils, do not will them, thus do not desire to commit them: they say in their hearts that they are sins, and in themselves are infernal and devilish. After death, when the external which they had possessed for this world is taken away from them, they act as one with heaven, and as they are in the Lord they come into heaven.

(LIFE 63)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 62)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE
for the
NEW JERUSALEM
FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Series —
(pt. 62)
MURDERS, ADULTERIES, THEFTS, FALSE WITNESS, TOGETHER WITH ALL CONCUPISCENCE,
FOR THESE THINGS ARE THE EVILS WHICH MUST BE SHUNNED AS SINS.

It is well known that the Law of Sinai was written on two tables —

• The first table contains all things that belong to God
• The second all that belong to man

That the first table contains all things that belong to God, and the second all that belong to man does not appear in the letter, yet are they all in them, and it is for this reason that they are called the Ten Words, by which are signified all truths in the complex . . . . But in what way all things are in them cannot be set forth in a few words, but may be apprehended . . . . This is why it is said "murders, adulteries, thefts, and false witness of every kind."

(LIFE 62)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 61)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE
for the
NEW JERUSALEM
FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Series —
(pt. 61)
THE DECALOGUE TEACHES WHAT EVILS ARE SINS.

The commandments of this Law were called the "Ten Words," (see Exod. 34:28; Deut. 4:13; 10:4.)

They are so called because "ten" signifies all, and "words" signifies truths, for there were more than ten words. As "ten" signifies all,

The curtains of the tabernacle were ten (Exod. 26:1);

And for the same reason the Lord said

That a certain man who was to receive a kingdom, called ten of his servants, and gave them ten pounds to trade with (Luke 19:13).

And for the same reason also the Lord

Likened the kingdom of the heavens to ten virgins (Matt. 25:1).

For the same reason also,

The dragon is described as having ten horns, and upon his horns ten diadems (Rev. 12:3).

In like manner the beast that came up out of the sea (Rev. 13:1).

And another beast also (Rev. 17:3, 7).

Likewise the beast in Daniel (7:7, 20, 24).

The like is signified by ten in Leviticus 26:26, and in Zechariah 8:23, and in other places.
This is the origin of tithes, for "tithes" (or "tenths") signify something from all.

(LIFE 61)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 60)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE
for the
NEW JERUSALEM
FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Series —
(pt. 60)
THE DECALOGUE TEACHES WHAT EVILS ARE SINS.

The tables of stone on which the Law was written were called "the tables of the covenant," and that from them the ark was called "the ark of the covenant," and the Law itself "the covenant," (see Num. 10:33; Deut. 4:13, 23; 5:2, 3; 9:9; Josh. 3:11; 1 Kings 8:19, 21; Rev. 11:19; and in many other places.

The reason why the Law was called the "covenant," is that "covenant" signifies conjunction; and it is therefore said of the Lord that:

He shall be for a covenant to the people (Isa. 42:6; 49:8);

and He is called:

The messenger of the covenant (Mal. 3:1);

and His blood:

The blood of the covenant (Matt. 26:28; Zech. 9:11; Exod. 24:4-10).

And therefore the Word is called the "Old Covenant," and the "New Covenant."

Moreover covenants are made for the sake of love, friendship, association, and thus for the sake of conjunction.

(LIFE 60)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 59)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE
for the
NEW JERUSALEM
FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Series —
(pt. 58)
THE DECALOGUE TEACHES WHAT EVILS ARE SINS.

What has been said [previously] (pt. 54-56) respecting the promulgation, holiness, and power of that Law, will be found in the following places in the Word:

• That Jehovah came down on Mount Sinai in fire, and that the mountain smoked and quaked, and that there were thunderings, lightnings, and a thick cloud, and the voice of a trumpet (Exod. 19:16, 18; Deut. 4:11; 5:22-26).
• That before the descent of Jehovah the people prepared and sanctified themselves for three days (Exod. 19:10, 11, 15).
• That bounds were set round the mountain, lest anyone should come near its base, and should die and that not even were the priests to come near, but Moses only (Exod. 19:12, 13, 20-23; 24:1, 2).
• That the Law was promulgated from Mount Sinai (Exod. 20:2-17; Deut. 5:6-21).
• That that Law was written by the finger of God on two tables of stone (Exod. 31:18; 32:15, 16; Deut. 9:10).
• That when Moses brought those tables down from the mountain the second time, his face shone (Exod. 34:29-35).
• That the tables were kept in the ark (Exod. 25:16; 40:20; Deut. 10:5; 1 Kings 8:9).
• That upon the ark was placed the mercy-seat, and upon this the golden cherubs (Exod. 25:17-21).
• That the ark, together with the mercy-seat and the cherubs, constituted the inmost of the tabernacle, and that the golden lampstand, the golden altar of incense, and the table overlaid with gold on which were the loaves of faces, constituted the exterior of the tabernacle and the ten curtains of fine linen, bright-crimson, and scarlet, its outermost (Exod. 25:1-end; 26:1-end; 40:17-28).
• That the place where the ark was, was called the holy of holies (Exod. 26:33).
• That the whole people of Israel encamped around the habitation in order according to their tribes, and marched in order after it (Num. 2:1-end).
• That there was then over the habitation a cloud by day and a fire by night (Exod. 40:38; Num. 9:15-end; 14:14; Deut. 1:33).
• That the Lord spoke with Moses from over the ark between the cherubs (Exod. 25:22; Num. 7:89).
• That the ark, from the Law within it, was called Jehovah-There, for when the ark set forward, Moses said, Rise up, Jehovah; and when it rested be said, Return Jehovah (Num. 10:35, 36), and see further 2 Sam. 6:2; Ps. 132:7, 8.
• That on account of the holiness of that Law Aaron was not allowed to enter within the veil except with sacrifices and with incense (Lev. 16:2-14, etc.).
• That the ark was brought into Zion by David with sacrifices and with shouting (2 Sam. 6:1-19). That on that occasion, Uzzah, who touched it, died (verses 6 and 7).
• That the ark was placed in the midst of the temple in Jerusalem, where it constituted the shrine (1 Kings 6:19, etc. 8:3-9).
• That by the Lord's presence and power in the Law that was in the ark, the waters of Jordan were cleft asunder, and so long as the ark rested in the midst of it, the people passed over on dry ground (Josh. 3:1-17; 4:5-20).
• That when the ark was carried around them, the walls of Jericho fell (Josh. 6:1-20).
• That Dagon the god of the Philistines fell to the earth before the ark, and afterwards lay upon the threshold of the temple headless (1 Sam. 5:1-4).
• That on account of the ark the Bethshemites were smitten, to the number of many thousands (1 Sam. 6:19).

(LIFE 58)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 58)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE
for the
NEW JERUSALEM
FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Series —
(pt. 58)
THE DECALOGUE TEACHES WHAT EVILS ARE SINS.

In the second table, which is for man, it is not said that man must do this or that good, but that he must not do this or that evil, as for example, "Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet."

The reason is that man cannot do any good whatever from himself, but when he no longer does evils, then he does good, not from himself but from the Lord. That by the power of the Lord a man is able to shun evils as of himself if he begs for that power, will be seen in the following . . .

(LIFE 58)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 57)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE
for the
NEW JERUSALEM
FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Series —
(pt. 57)
THE DECALOGUE TEACHES WHAT EVILS ARE SINS.

As by means of this Law there is a conjunction of the Lord with man and of man with the Lord, it is called the "Covenant," and the "Testimony," — the "Covenant" because it conjoins — the "Testimony" because it bears witness.

• A "covenant" signifies conjunction
• A "testimony" the attestation of it.

For this reason there were two tables, one for the Lord and the other for man.

The conjunction is effected by the Lord, but only when the man does the things that have been written in his table. For the Lord is constantly present and working, and wills to enter in, but man must open to the Lord in the freedom which he has from Him; for the Lord says:

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me (Rev. 3:20).

(LIFE 57)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 56)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE
for the
NEW JERUSALEM
FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Series —
(pt. 56)
THE DECALOGUE TEACHES WHAT EVILS ARE SINS.

So great a power and so great a holiness existed in that Law for the further reason that it was a complex of all things of religion for it consisted of two tables of which the one contains all things that are on the part of God, and the other in a complex all things that are on the part of man. The commandments of this Law are therefore called the "Ten Words," and are so called because "ten" signifies all.

(LIFE 56)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 55)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE
for the
NEW JERUSALEM
FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Series —
(pt. 55)
THE DECALOGUE TEACHES WHAT EVILS ARE SINS.

. . . these laws were the first-fruits of the Word, and therefore the first-fruits of the church that was to be again set up by the Lord with the Israelitish nation, and as they were in a brief summary a complex of all those things of religion by means of which there is conjunction of the Lord with man and of man with the Lord, they were so holy that nothing is more so.

That they were most holy is evident from the fact that —
• Jehovah Himself (that is, the Lord) came down upon Mount Sinai in fire, and with angels, and promulgated them from it by a living voice, and that the people had prepared themselves for three days to see and to hear;
• that the mountain was fenced about lest anyone should go near it and should die; that neither were the priests nor the elders to draw near, but Moses only;
• that those laws were written by the finger of God on two tables of stone;
• that when Moses brought the tables down from the mountain the second time, his face shone;
• that the tables were afterwards laid away in the ark, and the ark in the inmost of the tabernacle, and upon it was placed the mercy-seat, and upon this cherubs of gold;
• that this was the most holy thing of their church, being called the holy of holies;
• that outside the veil that hung before it there were placed things that represented holy things of heaven and the church, namely, the lampstand with its seven golden lamps, the golden altar of incense, and the table overlaid with gold on which were the loaves of faces, and surrounded with curtains of fine linen, bright-crimson, and scarlet.

The holiness of this whole tabernacle had no other source than the Law that was in the ark.

On account of this holiness of the tabernacle from the Law in the ark, the whole people of Israel, by command, encamped around it in the order of their tribes, and marched in order after it, and there was then a cloud over it by day, and a fire by night.

On account of the holiness of that Law, and the presence of the Lord in it, the Lord spoke with Moses above the mercy-seat between the cherubs, and the ark was called "Jehovah there." Aaron also was not allowed to enter within the veil except with sacrifices and incense.

Because that Law was the very holiness of the church, the ark was brought by David into Zion; and later it was kept in the midst of the temple at Jerusalem, and constituted its shrine.

On account of the Lord's presence in that Law and around it, miracles were wrought by the ark in which was that Law:
• the waters of Jordan were cleft asunder, and so long as the ark was resting in the midst of it, the people passed over on dry ground;
• when the ark was carried round the walls of Jericho they fell;
• Dagon the god of the Philistines fell down before it, and afterwards lay on the threshold of the temple without his head;
• the Bethshemites were smitten to the number of many thousands not to mention other miracles. These were all performed solely by the Lord's presence in His Ten Words, which are the commandments of the decalogue.

(LIFE 55)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 53-54)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE
for the
NEW JERUSALEM
FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Series —
(pt. 53-54)
THE DECALOGUE TEACHES WHAT EVILS ARE SINS.

What nation in the wide world is not aware that it is evil to steal, to commit adultery, to kill, and to bear false witness? If men were not aware of this, and if they did not by laws guard against the commission of these evils, it would be all over with them;

for without such laws the community, the commonwealth, and the kingdom would perish. 

Who can imagine that the Israelitish nation was so much more senseless than other nations as not to know that these were evils? One might therefore wonder why these laws, known as they are the world over, were promulgated from Mount Sinai by Jehovah Himself with so great a miracle. But listen:

They were promulgated with so great a miracle in order that men may know that these laws are not only civic and moral laws, but are also spiritual laws; and that to act contrary to them is not only to do evil to a fellow-citizen and to the community, but is also to sin against God. 

For this reason those laws, through promulgation from Mount Sinai by Jehovah, were made laws of religion; for it is evident that whatever Jehovah God commands, He commands in order that it may be of religion, and that it is to be done for His sake, and for the sake of the man that he may be saved.

As these laws were the first-fruits of the Word, and therefore the first-fruits of the church that was to be again set up by the Lord with the Israelitish nation, and as they were in a brief summary a complex of all those things of religion by means of which there is conjunction of the Lord with man and of man with the Lord, they were so holy that nothing is more so.

(LIFE 53-54)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 51-52)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE
for the
NEW JERUSALEM
FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Series —
(pt. 51-52)
IN PROPORTION AS ANYONE SHUNS EVILS AS SINS, IN THE SAME PROPORTION HE HAS FAITH, AND IS SPIRITUAL.

All the foregoing is confirmed by the following passages in the Word:

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil, for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh (Luke 6:45; Matt. 12:35).

The "heart" in the Word means man's will, and as man thinks and speaks from this, it is said: "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh."

Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth the man; but that which goeth out of the heart, this defileth the man (Matt. 15:11, 18).

The "heart" here too means the will. Jesus said of the woman who anointed His feet with ointment:

Her sins are forgiven for she loved much; thy faith hath saved thee (Luke 7:47, 50);

from which it is evident that when sins have been remitted or forgiven, thus when they exist no longer, faith saves. That those are called "sons of God" and "born of God" who are not in the Own of their will, and consequently are not in the Own of their understanding; that is to say, who are not in evil and from this in falsity; and that these are they who believe in the Lord, He Himself teaches in John 1:12, 13:

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

From these premises there follows this conclusion: - That no man has in him a grain of truth more than he has of good; thus that he has not a grain of faith more than he has of life. In the understanding indeed there may exist the thought that such or such a thing is true, but not the acknowledgment which is faith, unless there is consent thereto in the will. Thus do faith and life keep step as they walk.

From all this it is now evident that in proportion as anyone shuns evils as sins, in the same proportion he has faith and is spiritual.

(LIFE 51-52)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 50)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE
for the
NEW JERUSALEM
FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Series —
(pt. 50)
IN PROPORTION AS ANYONE SHUNS EVILS AS SINS, IN THE SAME PROPORTION HE HAS FAITH, AND IS SPIRITUAL.

Spiritual faith exists with those who do not commit sins, for those who do not commit sins do things that are good, not from themselves but from the Lord (see above, n. 18-21), and through faith become spiritual. Faith with these is the truth. This the Lord teaches in John:

This is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light, because their works were evil. For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, and cometh not to the light, lest his works should be reproved. But he that doeth the truth cometh to the light, that his works may be made manifest, that they have been wrought in God (John 3:19-21).

(LIFE 50)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 49)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE
for the
NEW JERUSALEM
FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Series —
(pt. 49)
IN PROPORTION AS ANYONE SHUNS EVILS AS SINS, IN THE SAME PROPORTION HE HAS FAITH, AND IS SPIRITUAL.

. . .those who are in evils have no faith, no matter how much they may suppose themselves to have it, has been shown in the spiritual world in the case of persons of this character. They were brought into a heavenly society, which caused the spiritual sphere of faith as existing with the angels to enter into the interiors of their faith, and the result was that the angels perceived that those persons possessed only what is natural or external of faith, and not what is spiritual or internal of it, and therefore those persons themselves confessed that they had nothing whatever of faith, and that in the world they had persuaded themselves that to believe or have faith consists in thinking a thing to be true, no matter what the ground for so thinking.

Very different was perceived to be the faith of those who had not been in evil.

(LIFE 49)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 48)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE
for the
NEW JERUSALEM
FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Series —
(pt. 48)
IN PROPORTION AS ANYONE SHUNS EVILS AS SINS, IN THE SAME PROPORTION HE HAS FAITH, AND IS SPIRITUAL.

. . . thought of the understanding derives its coming into manifest being [trahit suum existere] from the love of the will, which is the inmost being [qui est esse] of the thought in the understanding, as has been said above (n. 43). For whatever anyone wills from love, he wills to do, he wills to think, he wills to understand, and he wills to speak; or, what is the same, whatever anyone loves from the will, he loves to do, he loves to think, he loves to understand, and he loves to speak.

To this is also to be added, that when a man shuns what is evil as a sin, he is in the Lord, as shown above, and the Lord then works everything. And therefore to those who asked Him what they should do that they might work the works of God, He said:

This is the work of God, that ye believe in Him whom He hath sent (John 6:28-29).

To "believe in the Lord" is not only to think that He is, but also to do His words, as He teaches elsewhere.

(LIFE 48)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 47)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE
for the
NEW JERUSALEM
FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Series —
(pt. 47)
IN PROPORTION AS ANYONE SHUNS EVILS AS SINS, IN THE SAME PROPORTION HE HAS FAITH, AND IS SPIRITUAL.

There are many things that appear to be mere matters of faith, such as that there is a God; that the Lord, who is God, is the Redeemer and Saviour; that there is a heaven and a hell; that there is a life after death; and many other things of which it is not said that they are to be done, but that they are to be believed.

These things of faith also are dead with a man who is in evil, but are living with a man who is in good. The reason is that a man who is in good not only acts aright from the will but also thinks aright from the understanding, and this not only before the world but also before himself when he is alone. Not so a man who is in evil.

(LIFE 47)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 46)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE
for the
NEW JERUSALEM
FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Series —
(pt. 46)
IN PROPORTION AS ANYONE SHUNS EVILS AS SINS, IN THE SAME PROPORTION HE HAS FAITH, AND IS SPIRITUAL.

The faith of an evil man is an intellectual faith, in which there is nothing of good from the will. Thus it is a dead faith, which is like the breathing of the lungs without there being any life or soul in it from the heart.  Moreover the understanding corresponds to the lungs, and the will to the heart.

Such faith is also like a good-looking harlot dressed up in crimson and gold, but full of disease and corruption. A harlot also corresponds to the falsification of truth, and therefore in the Word signifies it.

Such faith is also like a tree luxuriant in foliage but barren of fruit, which the gardener cuts down. A tree moreover signifies a man, its leaves and blossoms signify the truths of faith, and its fruit the good of love.

But very different is that faith in the understanding which has in it good from the will. This faith is living, and is like a breathing of the lungs in which there is life and soul from the heart. It is also like a lovely wife whose chastity endears her to her husband. It is also like a tree that bears fruit.

(LIFE 46)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 45)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE
for the
NEW JERUSALEM
FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Series —
(pt. 45)
IN PROPORTION AS ANYONE SHUNS EVILS AS SINS, IN THE SAME PROPORTION HE HAS FAITH, AND IS SPIRITUAL.

. . . just insofar as a man shuns evils as sins, just so far has he faith, because just so far is he in good.

This is confirmed also by its contrary: that he who does not shun evils as sins, has not faith because he is in evil, and evil inwardly hates truth. Outwardly indeed he may act as a friend to truth, and suffer it to be in the understanding, may even love to have it there; but when what is outward is put off, as is done after death, he first casts out truth his friend in this world, then denies that it is truth, and finally feels aversion for it.

(LIFE 45)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 44)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE
for the
NEW JERUSALEM
FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Series —
(pt. 44)
IN PROPORTION AS ANYONE SHUNS EVILS AS SINS, IN THE SAME PROPORTION HE HAS FAITH, AND IS SPIRITUAL.

It has been shown above (articles n. 27-28) that a man may know many things, may think them over, may understand them, and yet may not be wise. And as it is the province of faith to know and to think, and still more to understand, that a thing is true, a man may well believe that he has faith and yet not have it. The reason why he has it not, is that he is in evil of life, and evil of life and truth of faith cannot possibly act as a one.

The evil of life destroys the truth of faith, because the evil of life is of the will and the truth of faith is of the understanding, and the will leads the understanding and makes it act as a one with itself, so that if there is anything in the understanding that is not in accord with the will, and the man is left to himself, and thinks from his own evil and the love of it, he then either casts out the truth that is in the understanding, or else by falsifying it forces it into oneness. 

Quite different is it with those who are in the good of life: such, when left to themselves, think from what is good, and love the truth that is in the understanding because it is in accord. In this way there takes place a conjunction of faith and life such as is that of truth and good, and both these conjunctions are like that of the understanding and the will.

(LIFE 44)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 43)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE
for the
NEW JERUSALEM
FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Series —
(pt. 43)
IN PROPORTION AS ANYONE SHUNS EVILS AS SINS, IN THE SAME PROPORTION HE HAS FAITH, AND IS SPIRITUAL.

Man possesses two faculties, one of which is called the WILL, and the other the UNDERSTANDING. They are distinct from each other, but are so created that they may be a one, and when they are a one they are called the Mind, so that the human mind consists of these two faculties, and the whole of man's life is in them.

Just as all things in the universe that are in accordance with Divine order bear relation to good and truth, so do all things in man bear relation to the will and the understanding — for the good in a man belongs to his will and the truth in him belongs to his understanding — these two faculties being their receptacles and subjects — the will, of all things of good, and the understanding of all things of truth.

The goods and truths in a man are nowhere else, and so therefore neither are the love and faith, because love is of good and good is of love, and faith is of truth and truth is of faith.

It is of the utmost importance to know how the will and the understanding make one mind. They do so in the same way that good and truth make a one, for there is a like marriage between the will and the understanding to that which exists between good and truth. The nature of this latter marriage has been in some measure told in [previous articles], and to this we should add that just as good is the very being [esse] of a thing, and truth is its derivative manifestation [existere], so the will in man is the very being of his life, and the understanding is its derivative manifestation, for the good that is of the will shapes itself forth in the understanding, and presents itself to view within fixed and settled outlines [certo modo].

(LIFE 43)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 42)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE
for the
NEW JERUSALEM
FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Series —
(pt. 42)
IN PROPORTION AS ANYONE SHUNS EVILS AS SINS, IN THE SAME PROPORTION HE HAS FAITH, AND IS SPIRITUAL.

Faith and life are distinct from each other in the same way as are thinking and doing — thinking is of the understanding — doing is of the will. It follows that faith and life are distinct from each other in the same way as are the understanding and the will. He who knows the distinction between the two latter knows that between the two former; and he who knows the conjunction of the two latter knows that of the two former. ...

(LIFE 42)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 40-41)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE
for the
NEW JERUSALEM
FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Series —
(pt. 40-41)
IN PROPORTION AS ANYONE SHUNS EVILS AS SINS,
IN THE SAME PROPORTION HE LOVES TRUTHS.

That good loves truth and wills to be conjoined with it, may also be illustrated by comparison with food and water, or with bread and wine. Both are necessary. Food or bread alone effects nothing in the body in the way of nourishment; it does so only together with water or with wine; and therefore the one has an appetite and longing for the other. Moreover in the Word "food" and "bread" mean good, in the spiritual sense; and "water" and "wine" mean truth.

From all that has been said [throughout this series] it is now evident that he who shuns evils as sins, loves truths and longs for them; and that the more he shuns them, so much the more love and longing does he feel, because so much the more he is in good. The result is that he comes into the heavenly marriage, which is the marriage of good and truth, in which is heaven, and in which must be the church.

(LIFE 40-41)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 39)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE
for the
NEW JERUSALEM
FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Series —
(pt. 39)
IN PROPORTION AS ANYONE SHUNS EVILS AS SINS,
IN THE SAME PROPORTION HE LOVES TRUTHS.

That good loves truth may be illustrated by comparison with a priest, a soldier, a trader, and an artificer.

With a priest:--If he is in the good of the priesthood, which is to care for the salvation of souls, to teach the way to heaven, and to lead those whom he teaches, then in proportion as he is in this good (thus from his love and its desire) he acquires the truths which he may teach, and by means of which he may lead. But a priest who is not in the good of the priesthood, but is in the delight of his office from the love of self and of the world, which to him is the only good, he too from his love and its desire acquires those truths in abundance in proportion as he is inspired by the delight which is his good.

With a soldier:--If he is in the love of military service, and is sensible of its good, whether it be that of national defense, or that of his own fame, from this good and according to it he acquires its special knowledge, and if he is a commander, its intelligence; these are like truths by which the delight of love which is his good is nourished and formed.

With a trader:--If he has taken up this calling from the love of it, he learns with avidity everything that enters into and makes up that love as its means; these also are like truths, while trading is his good.

With an artificer:--If he applies himself with earnestness to his work, and loves it as the good of his life, he purchases tools, and perfects himself by whatever pertains to a knowledge of it, and by these means he so does his work that it is a good.

From these comparisons it is evident that truths are the means through which the good of love comes into manifest being, and becomes something; consequently that good loves truths in order that it may do so. Hence in the Word to "do the truth" means to cause good to come into manifest being. This is meant by —

• Doing the truth (John 3:21);
• Doing the Lord's sayings (Luke 6:47);
• Keeping His commandments (John 14:24);
• Doing His words (Matt. 7:24);
• Doing the Word of God (Luke 8:21);
• Doing the statutes and judgments (Lev. 18:5).

And this also is to "do what is good," and to "bear fruit," for "good" and "fruit" are that which comes into manifest being [est id quod existit].

(LIFE 39)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 38)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE
for the
NEW JERUSALEM
FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Series —
(pt. 38)
IN PROPORTION AS ANYONE SHUNS EVILS AS SINS,
IN THE SAME PROPORTION HE LOVES TRUTHS.

In proportion as anyone is in good, and from good loves truths, in the same proportion he loves the Lord, because the Lord is good itself and truth itself. The Lord is therefore with man in good and in truth. If the latter is loved from good the Lord is loved, but not otherwise.

This the Lord teaches in John:

He that hath My commandments, and doeth them, he it is that loveth Me; He that loveth Me not keepeth not My words (John 14:21, 24).

If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love (John 15:10).

The "commandments" and "words" of the Lord are truths.

(LIFE 38)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 37)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE
for the
NEW JERUSALEM
FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Series —
(pt. 37)
IN PROPORTION AS ANYONE SHUNS EVILS AS SINS,
IN THE SAME PROPORTION HE LOVES TRUTHS.

As good is not good unless it is conjoined with truth, as already said, it follows that previous thereto good does not come into manifest being. But as it continually desires to come into manifest being it longs for and procures truths in order to do so, for truths are the agency of its nourishment and formation. This is the reason why a man loves truths in the same proportion that he is in good, consequently in the same proportion that he shuns evils as sins, for it is in proportion that he does this that anyone is in good.

(LIFE 37)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 36)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE
for the
NEW JERUSALEM
FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Series —
(pt. 36)
IN PROPORTION AS ANYONE SHUNS EVILS AS SINS,
IN THE SAME PROPORTION HE LOVES TRUTHS.

Good is of the will, truth of the understanding.

From the love of good in the will proceeds the love of truth in the understanding

From the love of truth proceeds the perception of truth

From the perception of truth comes thought about truth

From all of these together comes the acknowledgment of truth which in the true sense is faith.

(LIFE 36)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 34-35)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE
for the
NEW JERUSALEM
FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Series —
(pt. 34-35)
IN PROPORTION AS ANYONE SHUNS EVILS AS SINS,
IN THE SAME PROPORTION HE LOVES TRUTHS.

... in proportion as anyone shuns evils as sins, in the same proportion he loves truths ... for in the same proportion he is in good ... in proportion as anyone does not shun evils as sins, in the same proportion he does not love truths, because in the same proportion he is not in good.

It is indeed possible for a man to love truths who does not shun evils as sins; yet he does not love them because they are truths, but because they minister to his reputation, and thereby to his honors or gains, so that if they do not minister to it he loves them not.

(LIFE 34-35)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 33)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE
for the
NEW JERUSALEM
FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Series —
(pt. 33)
IN PROPORTION AS ANY ONE SHUNS EVILS AS SINS,
IN THE SAME PROPORTION HE LOVES TRUTHS.

As good and truth are a one in the Lord, and proceed as a one from Him, it follows that good loves truth and truth loves good, and they will to be a one.

It is the same with their opposites: evil loves falsity, and falsity loves evil, and these will to be a one.

In the following [articles] the conjunction of good and truth will be called the Heavenly Marriage, and that of evil and falsity the Infernal Marriage.

(LIFE 33)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 32)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE
for the
NEW JERUSALEM
FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Series —
(pt. 32)
IN PROPORTION AS ANY ONE SHUNS EVILS AS SINS,
IN THE SAME PROPORTION HE LOVES TRUTHS.

There are two universals that proceed from the Lord: Divine good, and Divine truth.

Divine good is of His Divine love, and Divine truth is of His Divine wisdom. In the Lord these two are a one, and therefore they proceed from Him as a one, but they are not received as a one by angels in the heavens, or by men on earth. There are both angels and men who receive more from Divine truth than from Divine good; and there are others who receive more from Divine good than from Divine truth. This is why the heavens are distinguished into two distinct kingdoms, one of which is called the celestial kingdom, and the other the spiritual kingdom. The heavens that receive more from Divine good constitute the celestial kingdom, and those which receive more from Divine truth constitute the spiritual kingdom. (Concerning these two kingdoms into which the heavens are divided, see the work on Heaven and Hell, n. 20-28.)

But still the angels of all the heavens are in wisdom and intelligence in proportion to the degree in which the good in them makes a one with truth. The good that does not make a one with truth is to them not good; and on the other hand the truth that does not make a one with good is to them not truth. From this we see that good conjoined with truth constitutes love and wisdom in both angel and man; and as an angel is an angel, and a man a man, from the love and wisdom in him, it is evident that good conjoined with truth causes an angel to be an angel of heaven, and a man a man of the church.

(LIFE 32)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 31)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE
for the
NEW JERUSALEM
FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Series —
(pt. 31)
IN PROPORTION AS A MAN SHUNS EVILS AS SINS,
IN THE SAME PROPORTION HE DOES GOODS,
NOT FROM HIMSELF BUT FROM THE LORD.

That no man can from himself do what is really good, is the truth. But so to use this truth as to do away with all the good of charity that is done by a man who shuns evils as sins is a great wickedness, for it is diametrically contrary to the Word, which commands that a man shall do.

It is contrary to the commandments of love to God and love toward the neighbor on which the Law and the Prophets hang, and it is to flout and undermine everything of religion. For everyone knows that religion is to do what is good, and that everyone will be judged according to his deeds.

Every man is so constituted as to be able (by the Lord's power, if he begs for it) to shun evils as of himself; and that which he afterwards does is good from the Lord.

(LIFE 31)