What Is Universally Reigning In Life

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

Every man has something of his own which he loves above all things. This is called that which rules, or if you will, that which reigns universally with him. This is constantly present in his thought, and also in his will, and makes his veriest life.

As for example, he who loves wealth above all things, whether money or possessions, is continually revolving in his mind how he may procure it; he inmostly rejoices when he acquires it; he inmostly grieves when he loses it; his heart is in it. He who loves himself above all things is mindful of himself in everything, thinks of himself, speaks of himself, acts for the sake of himself; for his life is a life of self.

A man has as the end that which he loves above all things; in each and all things he has regard to this; it is in his will like the hidden current of a river which draws and bears him away, even when he is doing something else, for it is what animates him. It is this which one man searches out in another, and also sees, and according to it either leads him, or acts with him.

When a man is being regenerated, charity is implanted by means of faith, even until it becomes that which rules and when charity has become this, he has a new life, for it is then continually present in his thought, and continually in his will, nay, in every single thing of them, even when he is meditating about other things, and when he is engaged in business.

The case is the same with love to the Lord. When this love is that which rules, it is present in every single thing of the man's life; as for instance with him who loves his king, or his parent, his love toward them shines forth in their presence from every feature of his face, it is heard in every expression of his speech, and is seen in his every gesture. This is meant by having God continually before the eyes, and by loving Him above all things, with all the soul and with all the heart.

A man is wholly such as is the ruling principle of his life; by this he is distinguished from others; according to this is formed his heaven if he is good, and his hell if he is evil; for it is his veriest will, and thus the very being of his life, which cannot be changed after death. From all this it is evident what is the nature of the life of one who is regenerate, and what is the nature of the life of one who is not regenerate.

(Arcana Coelestia 8853-8858)

The Correspondence of Diseases with the Spiritual World

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

As the correspondence of diseases is to be treated of, be it known that all diseases in man have correspondence with the spiritual world; for whatever in universal nature has not correspondence with the spiritual world cannot exist, having no cause from which to exist, consequently from which to subsist. The things that are in nature are nothing but effects; their causes are in the spiritual world, and the causes of these causes, which are ends, are in the interior heaven. Nor can the effect subsist unless the cause is constantly in it, because the effect ceases when the cause ceases.

Regarded in itself the effect is nothing else than the cause, but so clothed outwardly as to enable the cause to act as a cause in a lower sphere.

Similar to the relation of the effect to the cause is that between the cause and the end; unless a cause also exists from its cause, which is an end, it is not a cause; for a cause without an end is a cause in no order, and where there is no order nothing is effected.

From this it is now plain that regarded in itself an effect is a cause, and that regarded in itself a cause is an end, and that an end of good is in heaven and proceeds from the Lord; consequently that an effect is not an effect unless a cause is in it, and constantly in it; and that a cause is not a cause unless an end is in it, and constantly in it; and that an end is not an end of good unless the Divine which proceeds from the Lord is in it. Hence it is also plain that as each and all things in the world have come forth from the Divine, they continue to come forth from the Divine

These things have been said in order that it may be known that diseases also have correspondence with the spiritual world; not a correspondence with heaven, which is the Grand Man, but with those who are in what is opposite, thus with those who are in the hells.

By the spiritual world in the universal sense is meant both heaven and hell; for when man dies he passes out of the natural into the spiritual world.

That diseases have correspondence with such is because they correspond to the cupidities and passions [desires and cravings] of the lower mind, which are also their origins;

for the origins of diseases are, in general, intemperance, luxury of various kinds, mere bodily pleasures, as also feelings of envy, hatred, revenge, lewdness, and the like, which destroy man's interiors;

and when these are destroyed the exteriors suffer, and drag man into disease, and so into death. It is known in the church that the death of man is from evils, or on account of sin; and it is the same with diseases, for these belong to death.

From all this it is evident that even diseases have correspondence with the spiritual world, but with unclean things there; for diseases are in themselves unclean, because as before said they spring from unclean things.

All the infernals induce diseases, but with a difference, for the reason that all the hells are in the desires and lusts of evil, and thus are contrary to the things of heaven; wherefore they act upon man from what is opposite.

Heaven, which is the Grand Man, holds all things together in connection and safety; hell, being in what is opposite, destroys and severs all things.

Consequently if the infernals are applied, they induce diseases and at last death. Yet they are not permitted to flow as far as into the solid parts of the body, or into the parts of which man's viscera, organs, and members consist, but merely into his cupidities and falsities.

It is only when the man falls into disease that they flow into such unclean things as belong to the disease; for as before said nothing ever takes place in man without a cause in the spiritual world.

If the natural with man were separated from the spiritual, it would be separated from all cause of existence, and thus from all that is vital.

Yet this does not hinder man's being healed in a natural way; for the Lord's providence concurs with such means.

That this is so has been given me to know by much experience, and this so often and for so long that no doubt was left; for evil spirits from such places have been applied to me often and long, and according to their presence they induced pains, and also diseases. I was shown where they were, and what they were, and was told also where they came from.

(from Arcana Coelestia 5711-5713)

The End With A Man Is His Very Life

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

The people is said to be "one," and their "lip one," when all have as their end the common good of society, the common good of the church, and the kingdom of the Lord; for when this is the case the Lord is in the end, and all are a one from Him.

But the Lord cannot possibly be present with a man whose end is his own good; the Own itself of man estranges the Lord, because thereby the man twists and turns the common good of society, and that of the church itself, and even the kingdom of the Lord, to himself, insomuch that it is as if it existed for him. He thus takes away from the Lord what is HIS, and puts himself in HIS place. When this condition reigns in a man, there is the like of it in every single thought he has, and even in the least particulars of his thoughts; for such is the case with whatever is regnant in any man.

This does not appear so manifestly in the life of the body as it does in the other life, for there whatever is regnant in anyone manifests itself by a certain sphere which is perceived by all around him, and which is of this character because it exhales from every single thing in him. The sphere of him who has regard to himself in everything appropriates to itself, and, as is said there, absorbs everything that is favorable to itself, and therefore it absorbs all the delight of the surrounding spirits and destroys all their freedom, so that such a person has to be banished from society.

But when the people is one, and the lip one, that is, when the common good of all is regarded, one person never appropriates to himself another's delight, or destroys another's freedom, but insofar as he can he promotes and increases it. This is the reason why the heavenly societies are as a one, and this solely through mutual love from the Lord; and the case is the same in the church.
***
Whatever may be his thoughts and deeds — which vary in ways innumerable — provided the end is made good, they are all good; whereas if the end is evil, they are all evil. It is the end that reigns in everything a man thinks and does. The angels with a man, being the Lord's angels, rule nothing in the man but his ends; for when they rule these, they rule also his thoughts and actions, seeing that all these are of the end. The end with a man is his very life; and all things that he thinks and does have life from the end, for, as was said, they are of the end; and therefore such as is the end, such is the man's life. The end is nothing else than the love; for a man cannot have anything as an end except that which he loves. He who thinks one thing and does another, still has as the end that which he loves; in the dissimulation itself, or in the deceit, there is the end, which is the love of self or the love of the world, and the derivative delight of his life. From these considerations, anyone may conclude that such as is a man's love, such is his life.
***
The end with a man can never be withheld, that is, changed, unless his state is changed; for the end is the very life of a man, as was said. When the state is changed, the end also is changed; and with the end the thought.

(from Arcana Coelestia 1316-1318)

Why Man Ought To Be In Internal Things

Selection from Arcana Cœlestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

Everyone who reflects is able to know that it is by means of internal things that man has communication with heaven, for the whole heaven is in internal things, and unless a man is in heaven in respect to his thoughts and affections, that is, in respect to the things of his understanding and of his will, he cannot go to heaven after death, because he has no communication with it. This communication is acquired by a man during his bodily life by means of truths that belong to his understanding and goods that belong to his will, and unless he acquires it then he cannot do so afterwards, because after death his mind cannot be opened toward interior things unless it has been opened during the life of the body.

A man is not aware that he is encompassed with a certain spiritual sphere that is in accordance with the life of his affections, and that to the angels this sphere is more perceptible than is the sphere of an odor to the finest sense on earth. If a man's life has been passed in mere external things, that is to say in the pleasures that come from hatred against his neighbor, from the consequent revenge and cruelty, from adulteries, from the exaltation of self and the attendant contempt for others, from clandestine robberies, from avarice, from deceit, from luxury, and from other like evils, then the spiritual sphere which encompasses him is as foul as is in this world the sphere of the odor from carcasses, dung, stinking garbage, and the like. The man who has lived such a life carries with him after death this foul sphere, and as he is wholly in it he must needs be in hell, the place of spheres of this character.

But those who are in internal things, that is to say those who have felt delight in benevolence and charity toward the neighbor, and above all those who have felt blessedness in love to the Lord, are encompassed with a grateful and pleasant sphere which is the heavenly sphere itself, and therefore they are in heaven. All the spheres which are perceived in the other life originate from the loves and the derivative affections in which the men have been, consequently from their life — for the loves and derivative affections make the life itself. As the spheres in question originate from the loves and their derivative affections, they originate from the intentions and ends for the sake of which the man so wills and acts — for everyone has for his end that which he loves — therefore a man's ends determine his life and constitute its quality, and this is the main source of his sphere. This sphere is most exquisitely perceived in heaven, because the universal heaven is in the sphere of ends. We can now see of what quality is the man who is in internal things, and also of what quality is he who is in external things, and also the reason why it is necessary to be in internal things and not in external things only.

But these are matters of perfect indifference to the man who is in external things only, no matter how clever he may be as regards the things of civil life, or what may be the reputation for learning he has acquired on account of what he knows, for he is the kind of man who believes in nothing that he cannot see with his eyes and feel with his touch, consequently not in heaven or hell; and if he were told that he will enter the other life immediately after death, and will then see, hear, speak, and enjoy the sense of touch more perfectly than in the body, he would reject the statement as a paradox or fancy, although such is actually the case; and it would be the same if he were told that the soul or spirit which lives after death is the man himself, and not so the body which he carries about in the world.

It follows from this that they who are in external things alone care nothing for what is said of internal things, although it is these which make men blessed and happy in the kingdom into which they are about to come, and in which they will live to eternity. Most Christians are in such unbelief, as I am permitted to know from those who have come from the Christian world into the other life, and with whom I have spoken; for in the other life they cannot conceal what they have thought, because the thoughts there show themselves openly; nor can they conceal what they have had as their ends, that is, what they have loved, because this manifests itself by their sphere.

(Arcana Cœlestia 4464)

Exploring and Knowing from What Origin are Our Affections

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

As regards the affections of truth and of good the case is this: The genuine affections of truth and of good which are perceived by man are all from a Divine origin, because from the Lord; but on the way, as they descend, they diverge into various and diverse streams, and there form for themselves new origins; for as they flow into affections not genuine but spurious, and into the affections of evil and falsity in the man, so are they varied. In the external form these affections often present themselves like the genuine ones; but in the internal form they are of this spurious character.

The sole characteristic from which they [affections] are known is their end.

If as regards their end they are for the sake of self or the world, then these affections are not genuine; but if as regards their end they are for the sake of the good of the neighbor, the good of societies, the good of our country, and especially if for the good of the church and the good of the Lord's kingdom, then they are genuine, because in this case they are for the sake of the Lord, inasmuch as the Lord is in these goods.

It is therefore the part of a wise man to know the ends that are in him.

Sometimes it appears as if his ends were for self when yet they are not so; for it is the nature of man to reflect upon himself in everything, and this from custom and habit. But if anyone desires to know the ends that are within him, let him merely pay attention to the delight he perceives in himself from the praise and glory of self, and to the delight he perceives from use separate from self; if he perceives this latter delight, he is in genuine affection. He must also pay attention to the various states in which he is, for the states themselves very much vary the perception.

A man can explore these things in himself, but not in others; for the ends of each man's affection are known to the Lord alone.

This is the reason why the Lord said: Judge not, that ye be not judged; condemn not, that ye be not condemned (Luke 6:37); for a thousand persons may appear to be in a like affection in respect to truth and good, and yet every one of them be in an affection unlike in respect to origin, that is, in respect to end.

That the end determines the quality of the affection, that is to say, whether it is genuine, spurious, or false, is because a man's end is his very life; for a man has that for his end which is of his life, or what is the same, of his love. When the good of his neighbor, the general good, the good of the church and of the Lord's kingdom, is the end, then as to his soul, the man is in the Lord's kingdom, thus in the Lord; for the Lord's kingdom is nothing else than a kingdom of ends and uses for the good of the human race.

The angels themselves who are with man are solely in his ends. Insofar as a man is in such an end as that in which is the Lord's kingdom, so far the angels are delighted with him, and conjoin themselves with him as with a brother; but insofar as a man is in the end of self, so far the angels retire, and evil spirits from hell draw near, for there reigns in hell no other end than this; from all of which we can see how important it is to explore and know from what origin the affections are, and this can be known solely from the end.

(Arcana Coelestia 3796)

Entangled In The Thickets

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
Entangled in Natural Memory-knowledge in Respect to The Truths of Faith

Everyone forms for himself some idea respecting the things he has learned, and also respecting the goods and truths of faith; for without an idea, nothing remains in the memory otherwise than as an empty thing. Confirmatory things are added thereto, and fill up the idea of the thing, from other knowledges, even from memory-knowledges. The confirmation of the idea itself by many things causes not only that it sticks in the memory, so that it can be called forth into the thought, but also that faith can be insinuated into it.

As regards perception in general, since few know what perception is, this must be declared.
• There is perception of what is good and true in celestial and spiritual things;
• There is perception of what is just and equitable in civil life;
• There is perception of what is honorable in moral life.

As regards the perception of what is good and true in celestial and spiritual things, the interior angels have this perception from the Lord, the men of the Most Ancient Church had it, and the celestial, who are in love to the Lord, have it. These know at once, from a kind of internal observation, whether a thing is good and whether it is true; for this is insinuated by the Lord, because they are conjoined with Him by love.

The spiritual have not perception of good and truth, as the celestial have, but instead of it conscience formed from the goods and truths of faith which they have imbibed from infancy from their parents and masters, and afterwards from the doctrine of faith into which they were born. They who have no perception of good and truth have to be confirmed by knowledges.

Spiritual men, however, have no such perception of good and truth in celestial and spiritual things, but instead of it have conscience which dictates; but as before said, this conscience is formed from the knowledges of good and truth which they have imbibed from their parents and masters, and afterwards from their own study in doctrine and in the Word; and in these, even though not entirely good and true, they put their faith. Hence it is that men can have conscience from any doctrine whatever; even the Gentiles have something not unlike conscience from their religion.

That the spiritual have no perception of the good and truth of faith, but say and believe that to be true which they have learned and apprehended, is sufficiently evident from the fact that everyone says that his own dogma is true, heretics more than others; and that they are not able to see the truth itself, still less to acknowledge it, although thousands of things should declare it. Let everyone explore himself and see if he is able to perceive from any other source whether a thing is true; and if when a thing most true is made manifest to him he still does not fail to acknowledge it. As for example, one who makes faith the essential of salvation, and not love: even if all should be read before him which the Lord spoke concerning love and charity

The reason why they who are in evil within the church reject charity more than they deny the Lord, is that in this way they can favor their concupiscences by a kind of religion, and have external worship with no internal (that is, worship of the lips and not of the heart), and the more they make this worship to be Divine and holy, so much the greater are their dignities and wealth, besides many other causes that are hidden and yet are manifest.

Nevertheless the truth really is that he who rejects the one (that is, does so in doctrine and at the same time in life) rejects also the other (for even if he dare not do this openly he does it in his heart). (from Arcana Coelestia 2373) .

and if he should know from the Word that all the Law and the Prophets hang upon love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor, he will nevertheless remain in the idea of faith, and will say that this alone saves. It is otherwise with those who are in celestial and spiritual perception.

As regards the perception of what is just and equitable in civil life, however, those in the world who are rational have this, and also the perception of what is honorable in moral life. These two perceptions distinguish one man from another, but by no means do such men, for this reason, have the perception of the good and truth of faith, because this perception is higher or more internal, and flows in from the Lord through the inmost of the rational.

The reason also why the spiritual have no perception of the good and truth of faith, is that good and truth are not implanted in their will part, as with celestial men, but in their intellectual part. Hence it is that the spiritual cannot arrive at the first degree of the light in which the celestial are (n. 2718), but have what is obscure in comparison (n. 1043, 2708 at the beginning, 2715). That the spiritual are entangled in natural memory-knowledge in respect to the truths of faith, follows from this.
... ... ....
The reason why in the Word memory-knowledges are called "thickets," is that they are comparatively of such a character, especially when the cupidities of the love of self and of the world, and the principles of falsity, seek for them.

Celestial and spiritual love is that which disposes into order the knowledges which are of the exterior memory

and

The love of self and of the world is that which perverts the order, and disturbs all things in it.

These things the man does not take notice of, because he places order in perverted order, good in evil, and truth in falsity. On this account, these things are in entanglement; and also on this, that the things of the exterior memory, where these knowledges are, compared with those in the interior memory, where rational things are, are as in "a thicket," or as in a dark forest. How shady, opaque, and dark it is there in comparison, a man cannot know so long as he is living in the body; for he then supposes that all wisdom and intelligence are from this source; but he will know in the other life, when he comes into the things of his interior memory. That in the exterior memory, which is proper to man while he is living in the world, nothing is less to be found than the light of intelligence and wisdom; but that all is relatively dark, disorderly, and entangled there ...

(from Arcana Coelestia 2831)

Care For The Morrow

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat.  This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents.  And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.  And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating. And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning.     Exodus 16:15-19

Let no one make a residue of it till the morning. That this signifies that they should not be solicitous about acquiring it from themselves, is evident from the fact that the manna was to be given every morning, and that worms would be bred in that which was left over, by which is signified that the Lord daily provides necessaries, and that therefore they ought not to be solicitous about acquiring them from themselves. This also is meant by the "daily bread" in the Lord's Prayer, and likewise by the Lord's words in Matthew:

Be not solicitous for your soul, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on; why are ye solicitous about things to put on? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: therefore be ye not solicitous, saying, What shall we eat? and what shall we drink? or, wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the nations seek; doth not your Heavenly Father know that ye have need of all these things? Seek ye first the kingdom of the heavens, and His righteousness; then shall all these things be added to you; therefore be ye not solicitous for the morrow, for the morrow will take care of the things of itself (6:25, 28, 31-34).

In like manner in Luke:

And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.

And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest? Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, Nither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. (12:11, 12, 22-31)

... in the internal sense care for the morrow is treated of, and as this care is not only forbidden, but is also condemned (that it is forbidden is signified by that they were not to make a residue of the manna till the morning, and that it is condemned is signified by that the worm was bred in the residue, and it stank),

he who looks at the subject no deeper than from the sense of the letter may believe that all care for the morrow is to be cast aside, and thus that the necessaries of life are to be awaited daily from heaven;

but he who looks at the subject deeper than from the letter, as for instance he who looks at it from the internal sense, is able to know what is meant by "care for the morrow."

It does not mean the care of procuring for oneself food and raiment, and even resources for the time to come; for it is not contrary to order for anyone to be provident for himself and his own.

But those have care for the morrow who are not content with their lot; who do not trust in the Divine, but in themselves; and who have regard for only worldly and earthly things, and not for heavenly things. With such there universally reigns solicitude about things to come, and a desire to possess all things and to dominate over all, which is kindled and grows according to the additions thus made, and finally does so beyond all measure. They grieve if they do not obtain the objects of their desire, and feel anguish at the loss of them; and they have no consolation, because of the anger they feel against the Divine, which they reject together with everything of faith, and curse themselves. Such are they who have care for the morrow.

Very different is the case with those who trust in the Divine.

These, notwithstanding they have care for the morrow, still have it not, because they do not think of the morrow with solicitude, still less with anxiety. Unruffled is their spirit whether they obtain the objects of their desire, or not; and they do not grieve over the loss of them, being content with their lot. If they become rich, they do not set their hearts on riches; if they are raised to honors, they do not regard themselves as more worthy than others; if they become poor, they are not made sad; if their circumstances are mean, they are not dejected. They know that for those who trust in the Divine all things advance toward a happy state to eternity, and that whatever befalls them in time is still conducive thereto.

Be it known that the Divine Providence is universal, that is, in things the most minute; and that they who are in the stream of Providence are all the time carried along toward everything that is happy, whatever may be the appearance of the means; and that those are in the stream of Providence who put their trust in the Divine and attribute all things to Him;

and that those are not in the stream of Providence who trust in themselves alone and attribute all things to themselves, because they are in the opposite, for they take away providence from the Divine, and claim it for themselves.

Be it known also that insofar as anyone is in the stream of Providence, so far he is in a state of peace; also that insofar as anyone is in a state of peace from the good of faith, so far he is in the Divine Providence. These alone know and believe that the Divine Providence of the Lord is in everything both in general and in particular, nay, is in the most minute things of all ... and that the Divine Providence regards what is eternal.

But they who are in the opposite are scarcely willing to hear Providence mentioned, for they ascribe everything to their own sagacity; and what they do not ascribe to this they ascribe to fortune or chance; some to fate, which they do not educe from the Divine, but from nature. They call those simple who do not attribute all things to themselves or to nature. From all this again it can be seen what is the quality of those who have care for the morrow, and what the quality of those who have no care for the morrow.

(Arcana Coelestia 8478)

Contrasting an Angel-man and a Devil-man

Selection from Apocalypse Explained ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

In the world there are angel-men and devil-men.
Heaven is constituted of angel-men, and hell of devil-men.

With an angel-man all the degrees of his life are open to the Lord; but with a devil-man only the lowest degree is open, and the higher degrees are closed.

• An angel-man is led by the Lord both from within and from without;
• A devil-man is led by himself from within, and by the Lord from without.

• An angel-man is led by the Lord according to order, from within from order, and from without to order;
• A devil-man is led by the Lord to order from without, but by himself against order from within.

• An angel-man is continually led away from evil by the Lord, and led to good;
• A devil-man also is continually led away from evil by the Lord, but from a more to a less grievous evil, for he cannot be led to good.

• An angel-man is continually led away from hell by the Lord, and is led into heaven more and more interiorly;
• A devil-man is also continually led away from hell, but from a more grievous to a milder hell, for he cannot be led into heaven.

• Because an angel-man is led by the Lord, he is led by civil law, by moral law, and by spiritual law, for the sake of the Divine in them;
• A devil-man is led by the same laws, but for the sake of himself [suum] in them.

• An angel-man from the Lord loves the goods of the church, which are the goods of heaven, because they are goods, also its truths because they are truths; but he loves from self the goods of the body and of the world because they are for use and because they are for pleasure, likewise the truths that belong to the sciences; but although he loves all these in appearance from self, in reality he loves them from the Lord.
• A devil-man also loves from self the goods of the body and of the world, because they are for use and because they are for pleasure, likewise the truths that belong to the sciences; but although he loves all these in appearance from self, in reality he loves them from hell.

• An angel-man is in freedom and in the delight of his heart when he is doing good from good, and when he is not doing evil;
• A devil-man is in freedom and in the delight of his heart when he is doing good from evil, and when he is doing evil.

An angel-man and a devil-man in externals appear alike, but in internals they are wholly unlike; therefore when external things are laid aside by death they are manifestly unlike. The one is taken up into heaven, and the other is taken down into hell.

(from Apocalypse Explained 1145)

Counterfeiting The Spiritual Life

Selection from Apocalypse Explained ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

When the king came in to behold those reclining to eat, he saw there a man that had not on a wedding garment; and he said unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? He was speechless. Then said the king, Bind him hand and foot, and cast him out into outer darkness (Matt. 22:11-13).

A "wedding garment" signifies the intelligence of the spiritual man, which is from the knowledges of truth and good; but "he that had not on a wedding garment" signifies a hypocrite, who by a moral life counterfeits the spiritual life when yet he is merely natural; "to bind him hand and foot" signifies the deprivation of the knowledges from the Word, by which he has put on the likeness of a spiritual man; "to be cast out into outer darkness" signifies among those who are in falsities from evil (for "outer darkness" signifies falsities from evil).

(from Apocalypse Explained 195:11)

A Fight for Regeneration

Selection from Arcana Cœlestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles. (Mark 2:21-22)

They who have not been instructed about man's regeneration suppose that a man can be regenerated without temptation; and some that he has been regenerated when he has undergone one temptation. But be it known that without temptation no one is regenerated, and that many temptations follow on, one after another. The reason is that regeneration takes place to the end that the life of the old man may die, and the new heavenly life be insinuated, which shows that there must needs be a fight, for the life of the old man resists, and is not willing to be extinguished, and the life of the new man cannot enter except where the life of the old man has been extinguished. Hence it is evident that there is a fight on both sides, and this fight is a fiery one, because it is for life.

He who thinks from enlightened reason can see and perceive from this that no man can be regenerated without a fight, that is, without spiritual temptation; and also that he is not regenerated by one temptation, but by many. For very many kinds of evil have made the delight of his former life, that is, have made his old life; and it is impossible for all these evils to be suddenly and simultaneously mastered, because they cling to the man very firmly, having been rooted in parents from time immemorial, and consequently are innate in him, besides having been confirmed in him from his infancy through his own actual evils. All these evils are diametrically opposite to the heavenly good that is to be insinuated, and that is to make the new life.

(Arcana Cœlestia 8403:2,3)

Illustration of the Spiritual Sense of the Word

Selection from The Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
The Parable of the Ten Virgins

The Lord when He was in the world spoke by correspondences, and thus both spiritually and naturally at the same time, may appear from His parables, in which every single expression contains a spiritual sense. Take for example, the parable of the ten virgins. He said:

The kingdom of the heavens is like unto ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise. Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying (A.V. Not so) lest there be not enough for us and you; but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came: and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage; and the door was shut. Afterwards came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said; Verily I say unto you, I know you not. (Matt. 25:1-12)

That in every part of this parable there is a spiritual sense, and consequently a Divine holiness, none can see but those who know that there is a spiritual sense, and are acquainted with the nature of it.

In the spiritual sense:
• by the kingdom of God is meant heaven and the Church;
• by the bridegroom, the Lord;
• by the wedding, the marriage of the Lord with heaven and the Church by means of the good of love and of faith;
• by the virgins are meant those who belong to the Church;
• by ten are meant all:
• by five a certain part;
• by lamps are meant the truths of faith, and by oil, the good of love;
• by sleeping and waking are meant the natural life of man in the world, and his spiritual life after death;
• by buying is meant to procure for themselves;
• by going to those that sell, and buying oil, is meant to procure for themselves after death the good of love from others. Because this can no longer be acquired after death, therefore, although they came to the marriage door with their lamps and the oil they had purchased, still the bridegroom said to them, "I know you not". This is because man, after his life in the world, remains such as he had been in the world.

From these things it is evident that the Lord spoke by pure correspondences, and this because He spoke from the Divine that was in Him and was His own.

• the bridegroom signifies the Lord, the kingdom of the heavens, the Church;
• the wedding signifies the marriage of the Lord with the Church by means of the good of love and of faith;
• virgins signify those who belong to the Church;
• by ten are meant all;
• by five a certain part;
• sleeping means a natural state, buying, procuring for themselves;
• the door means entrance into heaven;
• not to know, when spoken by the Lord, not to be in His love;

All this may appear from many passages in the prophetic Word, where these expressions have a similar signification.

Because virgins signify those who belong to the Church, therefore, in the prophetic Word is there such frequent mention of virgin, and daughter of Zion, of Jerusalem and of Israel, and because oil signifies the good of love, that all the holy things of the Israelitish Church were anointed with oil. The case is the same with the other parables, and with all the words spoken by the Lord and recorded in the Evangelists. For this reason the Lord declares that

His words are spirit and life. (John 6:63)

It is the same with all the Lord's miracles. These were Divine because they signified the various states of those with whom the Church was to be established by the Lord. Thus, when the blind received sight, it signified that those who were in ignorance of truth should receive understanding; when the deaf received hearing, it signified that those who had previously heard nothing concerning the Lord and the Word, should hear and obey; when the dead were raised, it signified that those who otherwise would have spiritually perished, should become alive; and so on. This is meant by the Lord's reply to the disciples of John when he sent them to inquire whether it was He who should come:

Go and tell John those things which ye do hear and see:
The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them. (Matt. 11 3-5)

Moreover, all the miracles recorded in the Word contain within them such things as relate to the Lord, to heaven and to the Church. On this account these miracles are Divine, and are distinguished from miracles not Divine. These few examples may serve to illustrate what the spiritual sense of the Word is, and to show that it is present in the whole of the Word, in general and in particular.

(Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture 17)

The Quality of the Spiritual Church

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
Charity or Good ~ The Principal Thing

The church is called spiritual when it acts from charity, or from the good of charity-never when it says that it has faith without charity, for then it is not even a church. For what is the doctrine of faith but the doctrine of charity? And to what purpose is the doctrine of faith, but that men should do what it teaches? It cannot be merely to know and think what it teaches, but only that what it teaches should be done. The spiritual church is therefore first called a church when it acts from charity, which is the very doctrine of faith. Or, what is the same thing, the man of the church is then first a church. Just in the same way, what is a commandment for? not that a man may know, but that he may live according to the commandment. For then he has in himself the kingdom of the Lord, since the kingdom of the Lord consists solely in mutual love and its happiness.

Those who separate faith from charity, and make salvation consist in faith without the good works of charity, are Cainites who slay the brother Abel, that is, charity. And they are like birds which hover about a carcass; for such faith is a bird, and a man without charity is a carcass. Thus they also form for themselves a spurious conscience, so that they may live like devils, hold the neighbor in hatred and persecute him, pass their whole life in adulteries, and yet be saved, as is well known in the Christian world. What can be more agreeable to a man than to hear and be persuaded that he may be saved, even if he live like a wild beast? The very Gentiles perceive that this is false, many of whom abhor the doctrine of Christians because they see their life. The real quality of such a faith is evident also from the fact that nowhere is there found a life more detestable than in the Christian world.

(from Arcana Coelestia 916)

To Those In Faith Alone

Selection from Apocalypse Explained ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

All prophecies, like all things else in the Word, are written by correspondences, to the end that by means of these there may be conjunction of heaven with the church.

Conjunction is effected by means of correspondences; for heaven, or the angels in heaven, understand spiritually all those things that man understands naturally, and between natural and spiritual things there is a perpetual correspondence, and by means of correspondences there is conjunction like that between soul and body. On this account the Word is written in the style that it is; otherwise there would be no soul within it, consequently no heaven within it; and if heaven were not in it, the Divine would not be in it. For this reason then it is said that from the internal or spiritual sense of all things in what is written to each church, it is made manifest what essential of the church is meant; thus that what is written to the angel of this church treats of those who are in faith alone, that is, in faith separate from charity. It is said faith separate from charity, by which is meant faith separate from the life, for charity is of the life.  Consequently, when faith has been separated from the life, it is not in the man but outside of him; for whatever has place in the memory only, and is taken up from the memory into the thought, without entering into man's will and from the will into act, that is not within man but outside of him; for the memory, and thought therefrom, is only as a court, through which there is entrance into the house; the house is the will. Such is faith alone, or faith separate from charity.

(Apocalypse Explained 227)