August 30, 2020

Goods of Charity Enriched

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
In order that good may become good, there must be truths to qualify it. The reason is that when anyone lives according to truths, the truths themselves then become goods; and therefore such as is the quality of the truth, such becomes the good. This good afterward associates and adjoins to itself no other truths than such as are in accord with its own quality, consequently no other than such as are helpful, thus which are in the neighborhood and in the house.
(from Arcana Coelestia 6916)

August 29, 2020

Those Who are in Falsity Set Themselves in Opposition to Those who are in Truths

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
In the world, they who are in falsity do not openly oppose themselves to those who are in truth, for external bonds restrain them, which are fears lest they should appear to be against the laws of the realm and of the church, so that they could not seem to be good citizens. In this world, everyone wishes to seem just and true in outward form, and the wicked more so than the well-disposed, in order that they may captivate the minds of others, and deceive for the sake of gain and honors. Nevertheless inwardly they set themselves in opposition, for whenever they hear anyone professing the truths of the church, not from his office but from zeal, they ridicule inwardly, and they would openly deride if external bonds did not then restrain them. When such come into the other life, external bonds no longer restrain them, for these are then taken away from them in order that everyone may appear in his true character — then they openly set themselves in opposition to those who are in truths, and infest them in every possible way. This is then the very delight of their life; and when they are warned not to do such things, because if they do not desist, they will at last be removed altogether and thrust down into hell, still they pay no attention to this, but constantly persist in the infestation as before, so greatly are they in the delight of life from falsity, and this taking such possession of them that they do not admit anything which is of intelligence.
These are the things signified by the words "the king of Egypt will not allow you to go," and which are represented by Pharaoh, in that he so often set himself in opposition.
The removal of such spirits, and the thrusting of them down into hell, is represented by the destruction of Pharaoh and the Egyptians in the sea Suph.

They who are in evil of life, and from this in falsity, are in the light of the world, for this is the light by which intellectual objects are seen; this light, with those who are in falsity from evil, has a ruddy glow, and the more so in proportion as they are more in falsity from evil. The glory of the world, which is from the love of self, kindles this light, and causes its glow; and because this is so, truths appear therein wholly as falsities, and falsities wholly as truths. The reason is:  heavenly light cannot flow into a beam of that light, but becomes thick darkness when with it. Hence it is that such are in a strong persuasion in favor of falsities against truths; because in that light they see them in this way.

But with those who are in truths from good, the light of the world does not glow, but is obscure; while the light of heaven with them is clear and bright, and because this light is so clear, truths appear in it as truths, and falsities as falsities. For when this light falls upon falsities, which in the light of the world separate from the light of heaven appear as truths, it not only obscures but altogether extinguishes them. This light, namely, the light of heaven, becomes successively brighter and brighter with them, and at last so much so that the light of the world cannot be compared to it. From all this appears the reason why they who are in falsities from evil, from so strong a persuasion oppose themselves to those who are in truths.
(from Arcana Coelestia 6907)

August 28, 2020

The Faith that Belongs to Charity in Form

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
There are two states with the man who is being regenerated and becoming a church; namely, -

• the first when he is led by means of the truths of faith to the good of charity
• the second when he is in the good of charity.

That there are these two states with the man who is being regenerated and becoming a church, has been heretofore unknown, chiefly for the reason that the man of the church has not made any distinction between truth and good, thus not between faith and charity; and also because he has had no distinct perception of the two faculties of man, which are the understanding and the will; and that the understanding sees truths and goods, and the will is affected with them and loves them.

For the same reason he could not know that the first state of the man who is being regenerated is learning truths and seeing them, and that the second state is willing and loving them. The things which a man has learned and seen are not appropriated to him until he wills and loves them; for the will is the man himself, and the understanding is his minister.

If these things had been known, it might have been known and perceived that the man who is being regenerated is endowed by the Lord with both a new understanding and a new will, and that unless he has been endowed with both, he is not a new man - for the understanding is merely the seeing of the things which the man wills and loves, and thus, as before said, is only a minister.

Consequently, the first state of the man who is being regenerated is to be led through truths to good, and the second state is to be led by means of good, and when he is in this latter state, the order has been inverted, and he is then led by the Lord; consequently, he is then in heaven, and hence in the tranquility of peace.
. . .
He who knows nothing about these two states must needs be ignorant of many things contained in the Word; for in the Word, especially the prophetic Word, the two states are distinctly described. Nay, without this knowledge, he cannot apprehend the internal sense of the Word, nor even many things which are in its literal sense, as for example the following which the Lord foretold concerning the last time of the present church, which is there called the "consummation of the age" in these passages:
Then let them that are in Judea flee unto the mountains; let him that is upon the house not go down to take anything out of his house; and let him that is in the field not return back to take his garments (Matt. 24:16-18).
In that day, whosoever shall be upon the house, and his vessels in the house, let him not go down to take them away; and whosoever is in the field let him likewise not return to the things that are behind him. Remember Lot's wife (Luke 17:31, 32).
The second state is here described, and that no one ought to return from that state to the first.

That these states are distinct from each other is also involved in these words in Moses:
When thou makest a new house, thou shalt make a compass to thy roof. Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard nor thy field with mixed seed. Thou shalt not plough with an ox and an ass together. Thou shalt not put on a mixed garment of wool and linen together (Deut. 22:8-11; Lev. 19:19);
by these words is signified that he who is in the state of truth, that is, in the first state, cannot be in the state of good, that is, in the second state, nor the converse. The reason is that the one state is the inverse of the other.

• In the first state the man looks from the world into heaven
• In the second state he looks from heaven into the world

Because in the first state truths enter from the world through the intellect into the will, and there become goods, because of love; but in the second state the goods so formed go forth from heaven through the will into the intellect, and there appear in the form of faith. It is this faith which is saving, because it is from the good of love, that is, through the good of love from the Lord; for this faith belongs to charity in form.
(from Arcana Coelestia 9274)

August 27, 2020

The Divine in the Heavens is the Divine Human of the Lord

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
No other Divine is acknowledged and worshiped in the heavens than the Divine Human of the Lord; for the Divine which the Lord called His "Father," was the Divine in Him. That in the heavens no other Divine is acknowledged and worshiped than the Lord as to the Divine Human, can be seen from many of the Lord's words in the Evangelists as from these:
All things are delivered unto Me by the Father (Matt. 11:27; Luke 10:22).
The Father hath given all things into the hand of the Son (John 3:34, 35).
The Father hath given to the Son power over all flesh (John 17:2).
Without Me ye can do nothing (John 15:5).
Father, all Mine are Thine, and all Thine are Mine (John 17:10).
All power hath been given unto Me in the heavens and on earth (Matt. 28:18).
Jesus said to Peter, I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of the heavens; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth, shall be bound in the heavens; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in the heavens (Matt. 16:19).
That this is so is also plain from the fact that no one can be conjoined by faith and love with the Divine Itself without the Divine Human;
for the Divine Itself, which is called the "Father," cannot be thought of, because it is incomprehensible, and what cannot be thought of cannot become a matter of faith, nor therefore an object of love; when yet the chief of all worship is to believe in God, and to love Him above all things.
That the Divine Itself, which is the "Father," is incomprehensible, the Lord also teaches in John:
No man hath ever seen God; the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath set Him forth (John 1:18).
Ye have neither ever heard the voice of the Father, nor seen His shape (John 5:37).
And that the Divine Itself, which is the "Father," is comprehensible in the Lord through His Divine Human, He again teaches in these passages:
He that seeth Me, seeth Him who sent Me (12:45).
If ye have known Me, ye have known My Father also; and henceforth ye have known Him, and have seen Him. He that seeth Me, seeth the Father (John 14:6-11).
All things have been delivered unto Me of My Father; and no one knoweth the Son, save the Father; neither doth anyone know the Father save the Son, and he to whom the Son shall be willing to reveal Him (Matt. 11:27; Luke 10:22).
That it is also said, "no one knoweth the Son but the Father," is because by the "Son" is meant the Divine truth, and by the "Father," the Divine good, both in the Lord; and the one cannot be known except from the other; and therefore the Lord first says that all things have been delivered to Him by the Father, and then that he knoweth Him to whom the Son willeth to reveal Him. From all this it is now evident that the Divine in the heavens is the Divine Human of the Lord.
. . .
... a reciprocal unition of Divine good and Divine truth, thus of the Divine Itself which is called the "Father," and of the Divine truth which is called the "Son."

That the unition was reciprocal is very evident from the words of the Lord in the following passages:
The Father and I are one; though ye believe not Me, believe the works; that ye may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father (John 10:30, 38).
Believest thou not that I am in the Father and the Father in Me? Believe Me, that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me (John 14:10-11).
Jesus said, Father, the hour is come; glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee. All things that are Mine are Thine, and all Thine are Mine (John 17:1, 10).
Now hath the Son of man been glorified; and God hath been glorified in Him; and God shall glorify Him in Himself (John 13:31-32).
From these passages it can be seen that the Divine good of the Divine love, which is the "Father," was united to the Divine truth, which is the "Son," reciprocally in the Lord; and hence that His Human itself is Divine good. The like is also signified by His "coming forth from the Father, and coming into the world, and going to the Father" (John 16:27-29); and by "all things of the Father being His" (John 16:15); and by "the Father and He being one" (John 10:30).

But these things can be better apprehended from the reciprocal conjunction of good and truth in the man who is being regenerated by the Lord, for as before said the Lord regenerates man as He glorified His Human.

When the Lord is regenerating man, He insinuates the truth which is to be of faith in the man's understanding, and the good which is to be of love in his will, and therein conjoins them; and when they have been conjoined, then the truth which is of faith has its life from the good which is of love, and the good which is of love has the quality of its life from the truth which is of faith. This conjunction is reciprocally accomplished by means of good, and is called the heavenly marriage, and is heaven with man. In this heaven the Lord dwells as in His own, for all the good of love is from Him, and also all the conjunction of truth with good. The Lord cannot dwell in anything of man's own, because it is evil.

This reciprocal conjunction is what is meant by the words of the Lord in John:
In that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you (John 14:20).
All thing of Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine, but I have been glorified in them. That they all may be one, as Thou Father art in Me, and I in them, and that they may be one in us (John 17:10, 21, 22).
Reciprocal conjunction is thus described; but still it is not meant that man conjoins himself with the Lord, but that the Lord conjoins with Himself the man who desists from evils;
for to desist from evils has been left to the man's decision, and when he desists, then is effected the reciprocal conjunction of the truth which is of faith and of the good which is of love from the Lord, and not at all from man; for that from himself man can do nothing of good, and thus can receive nothing of truth in good, has been known in the church;
and this also the Lord confirms in John:
Abide in Me, and I In you. He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit; for without Me ye can do nothing (John 15:4, 6).
This reciprocal conjunction can be illustrated from the conjunction of the understanding and will in man; his understanding is formed from truths, and his will from goods; and truths are of faith with him, and goods are of love. Man imbibes truths from hearing, through the sense of hearing; and from reading through the sight; and stores them up in his memory. These truths relate either to the civil state, or to the moral state, and are called memory-knowledges. The love of man which is of his will through the understanding looks into these things in the memory, and from it chooses those which are in agreement with the love; and those which it chooses, it summons to itself, and conjoins with itself, and by means of them strengthens itself from day to day. Truths thus vivified by love make the man's understanding, and the goods themselves which are of the love make his will. The goods of love are also like fires there, and truths in the circumferences round about, vivified by the love, are like the light from this fire. By degrees, as the truths are kindled by this fire, there is kindled in them a desire to conjoin themselves reciprocally. From this comes a reciprocal conjunction, which is permanent.

From all this it is evident that the good of love is really that which conjoins, and not the truth of faith, except insofar as this has the good of love within it. Whether you say love, or good, it is the same, for all good is of love, and that which is of love is called good; and also whether you say love, or the will, it is likewise the same, for that which a man loves he wills.

Be it known that the things which are of the civil or moral state, just now spoken of, conjoin themselves in the external man; but those which are of the spiritual state, before spoken of, conjoin themselves in the internal man, and then through the internal in the external. For the things of the spiritual state, which are truths of faith and goods of love to the Lord, and which look to eternal life, communicate with the heavens, and open the internal man, and they open it insofar and in such a way as the truths of faith are received in the good of love to the Lord and toward the neighbor, from the Lord. From this it is evident that those are only external men who do not at the same time imbue themselves with those things which are of the spiritual state; and that those are merely sensuous men who deny these things, however intelligently they may seem to talk.
(from Arcana Coelestia 10067)

August 26, 2020

Good and Truth When Turned into Evil and Falsity

Selection from Apocalypse Explained ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
The sense of the letter of the Word consists of appearances; while the spiritual sense puts off those appearances, and presents interior things naked, without clothing, and when these appear, they appear in a wholly different form.
The Divine good that proceeds from the Lord is united with His Divine truth, as heat from the sun is with light in the time of spring. But the angels, who are recipients of the Divine good and Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, are distinguished into celestial and spiritual. Those who receive more of the Lord's Divine good than of His Divine truth are called celestial angels; because these constitute the kingdom of the Lord that is called the celestial kingdom. But the angels who receive more of the Lord's Divine truth than of His Divine good are called spiritual angels, because the Lord's spiritual kingdom consists of these.

This makes clear that goods and truths have a twofold origin, namely, a celestial origin and a spiritual origin. Those goods and truths that are from a celestial origin are the goods and truths of love to the Lord; while those goods and truths that are from a spiritual origin are the goods and truths of love towards the neighbor. The difference is like that between higher and lower, or between interior and exterior; thus like that between things that are in a higher or interior degree, and those that are in a lower or exterior degree.

In Luke:
There was a certain rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen and indulged in delicacies every day (Luke 16:19).
The "rich man" means the Jewish nation and the church therein, which was called "rich" from the knowledges of good and truth from the Word that they had, "in purple" meaning the knowledges of good, and "in fine linen" the knowledges of truth, both from a celestial origin.

Something has been said about good and truth from a celestial origin, and good and truth from a spiritual origin; and something shall now be said about the evil and falsity that are opposite to these.

As the heavens are divided into two kingdoms, namely, into a celestial kingdom and a spiritual kingdom, so are the hells divided into two dominions opposite to those kingdoms. The dominion opposite to the celestial kingdom is called devilish, and the dominion opposite to the spiritual kingdom is called infernal. These dominions are distinguished in the Word by the names Devil and Satan. There are two dominions in the hells, because the heavens and the hells are opposite to each other; and opposite must fully correspond to opposite that there may be equilibrium. For the existence and subsistence of all things, both in the natural world and in the spiritual world, depend upon an exact equilibrium between two activities that are opposite; and when these act against each other manifestly, they act by forces, but when not manifestly they act by endeavors [conatus]. By means of equilibriums all things in both worlds are preserved; without this all things would perish. In the spiritual world the equilibrium is between good from heaven and evil from hell; and thus between truth from heaven and falsity from hell. For the Lord continually arranges that all kinds and species of good and truth in the heavens shall have opposite to them in the hells evils and falsities of kinds that correspond by opposition; thus goods and truths from a celestial origin have for their opposites evils and falsities that are called devilish; and in like manner goods and truths from a spiritual origin have for their opposites evils and falsities that are called infernal.

The cause of these equilibriums is to be found in the fact that the Divine goods and the Divine truths that the angels in the heavens receive from the Lord, the spirits in the hells turn into evils and falsities. All angels, spirits, and men are kept by the Lord in equilibrium between good and evil, and thus between truth and falsity, in order that they may be in freedom; and thus may be led from evil to good and from falsity to truth easily and as if by themselves, although in fact they are led by the Lord. For the same reason they are led in freedom from good to evil, and from truth to falsity, and this, too, as if by themselves, although the leading is from hell.
(from Apocalypse Explained 1042-1043)

August 20, 2020

The True Idea of the DIVINE ETERNITY

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
Men cannot but confound the Divine Infinity with infinity of space; and as they have no apprehension of infinity of space except as of a nothing, which in fact it is, they do not believe in the Divine Infinity. Such also is the case with the Eternity, which men cannot conceive of except as an eternity of time, since it is presented by means of time to those who are in time.

The true idea of the Divine Infinity is insinuated into the angels by the fact that they are instantly present under the Lord's sight, with no intervening space or time, even though they were at the furthest extremity of the universe. The true idea of the Divine Eternity is insinuated by the fact that thousands of years do not appear to them as time, but scarcely otherwise than as if they had lived only a minute.  Both ideas are insinuated by the fact that in their present they have past and future things together. Hence they have no solicitude about future things; nor have they ever any idea of death, but only the idea of life; so that in all their present there is the Lord's Eternity and Infinity.
(Arcana Coelestia 1382)

August 19, 2020

The Commandments of the Decalogue

Selections from Apocalypse Explained ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
The commandments of the Decalogue are called the ten words or ten commandments, because "ten" signifies all. Consequently, the ten words mean all things of the Word, and thus all things of the church in a summary. All things of the Word and all things of the church in a summary are meant, because there are in each commandment three interior senses - each sense for its own heaven - for there are three heavens. The first sense is the spiritual moral sense - this is for the first or lowest heaven. The second sense is the celestial spiritual sense, which is for the second or middle heaven. The third sense is the Divine celestial, which is for the third or inmost heaven. There are thus three internal senses in every least particular of the Word. For from the Lord who is in things highest, the Word has been sent down in succession through the three heavens even to the earth, and thus has been accommodated to each heaven. Therefore the Word is with each heaven and almost with each angel in its own sense, and is read by them daily. There are preachings from it, as on the earth.
For the Word is Divine truth itself, thus the Divine wisdom, proceeding from the Lord as a sun, and appearing in the heavens as light.
Divine truth is the Divine that is called the Holy Spirit, for it not only proceeds from the Lord but it also enlightens man and teaches him, as is said of the Holy Spirit. As the Word in its descent from the Lord has been accommodated to the three heavens, and the three heavens are joined together as inmosts are with ultimates through intermediates, so, too, are the three senses of the Word; which shows that the Word is given that by it there may be a conjunction of the heavens with each other, and also a conjunction of the heavens with the human race, for whom the sense of the letter is given, which is merely natural and thus the basis of the other three senses. That the ten commandments of the Decalogue are all things of the Word in a summary can be seen only from the three senses of those commandments.

What these three senses in the commandments of the Decalogue are can be seen from the following summary explanation:

The first commandment of the Decalogue, "Thou shalt not worship other gods besides Me," involves in the spiritual moral sense that nothing else nor anyone else is to be worshipped as Divine. Nothing else, that is, nature, by attributing to it something Divine of Itself, nor anyone else, that is, any vicar of the Lord or any saint. In the celestial spiritual sense it involves that ONE God ONLY is to be acknowledged, and not several according to their qualities, as the ancients did, and as some pagans do at this day, or according to their works, as Christians do at this day, who make one God from creation, another from redemption, and another from enlightenment.

This commandment in the Divine celestial sense involves that the Lord alone is to be acknowledged and worshiped, and a trinity in Him, namely, the Divine Itself from eternity, which is meant by the Father, the Divine Human born in time, which is meant by the Son of God, and the Divine that proceeds from both, which is meant by the Holy Spirit. These are the three senses of the first commandment in their order. From this commandment viewed in its threefold sense it is clear that it contains and includes in a summary all things that concern the Divine as to essence.

The second commandment, "Thou shalt not profane the name of God," contains and includes in its three senses all things that concern the quality of the Divine, since "the name of God" signifies His quality, which in its first sense is the Word, doctrine from the Word, and worship of the lips and of the life from doctrine; in its second sense it means the Lord's kingdom on the earth and the Lord's kingdom in the heavens; and in its third sense it means the Lord's Divine Human, for this is the quality of the Divine Itself. (That the Lord's Divine Human is "the name of God" in the highest sense) In the other commandments there are likewise three internal senses for the three heavens.

As Divine truth united to Divine good proceeds from the Lord as a sun, and by this, heaven and the world were made (John 1:1, 3, 10), it follows that it is from this that all things in heaven and in the world have reference to good and to truth and to their conjunction that they may be anything.
These ten commandments contain all things of Divine good and all things of Divine truth, and there is also in them a conjunction of these.
But this conjunction is hidden; for it is like the conjunction of love to the Lord and love towards the neighbor. Divine good belongs to love to the Lord, and Divine truth to love towards the neighbor. when a man lives according to Divine truth, that is, loves his neighbor, the Lord flows in with Divine good and conjoins Himself.
For this reason there were two tables on which these ten commandments were written, and they were called a covenant, which signifies conjunction; and afterwards they were placed in the ark, not one beside the other, but one above the other, for a testimony of the conjunction between the Lord and man.
Upon one table the commandments of love to the Lord were written, and upon the other table the commandments of love towards the neighbor. The commandments of love to the Lord are the first three, and the commandments of love towards the neighbor are the last six; and the fourth commandment, which is "Honor thy father and thy mother," is the mediating commandment, for in it "father" means the Father in the heavens, and "mother" means the church, which is the neighbor.

Something shall now be said about how conjunction is effected by means of the commandments of the Decalogue:

Man does not conjoin himself to the Lord, but the Lord alone conjoins man to Himself, and this He does by man's knowing, understanding, willing, and doing these commandments.  When man does them, there is conjunction, but if he does not do them, he ceases to will them, and when he ceases to will them he ceases also to understand and know them. For what does willing amount to if man when he is able does not do? Is it not a figment of reason? From this it follows that conjunction is effected when a man does the commandments of the Decalogue.

But it has been said that man does not conjoin himself to the Lord, but that the Lord alone conjoins man to Himself, and that conjunction is effected by doing.
From this it follows that it is the Lord with man that does these commandments. But anyone can see that a covenant cannot be entered into and conjunction be effected by it unless there is some reciprocal on man's part, not only that he may consent but also that he may receive.
To this end the Lord has imparted to man a freedom to will and act as if of himself, and such a freedom that man does not know otherwise, when he is thinking truth and doing good, than that the freedom is in himself and thus from himself. This reciprocal is on man's part in order that conjunction may be effected. But as this freedom is from the Lord, and continually from Him, man must by all means acknowledge that to think and understand truth and to will and do good are not from himself, but are from the Lord.

Consequently when man through the last six commandments conjoins himself to the Lord as if of himself, the Lord then conjoins Himself to man through the first three commandments, which are that man must acknowledge God, must believe in the Lord, and must keep His name holy. This man does not believe, however much he may think that he does, unless the evils forbidden in the other table, that is, in the last six commandments, he abstains from as sins. These are the things pertaining to the covenant on the part of the Lord and on the part of man, through which there is reciprocal conjunction, which is that man may be in the Lord and the Lord in man
At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. (John 14:20)
It is said by some that he who sins against one commandment of the Decalogue sins also against the rest, thus that he who is guilty of one is guilty of all. It shall be told how far this is in harmony with the truth.

When a man transgresses one commandment, by confirming with himself that it is not a sin, thus without fear of God, he commits it; because he has thus rejected the fear of God, he does not fear to transgress the rest of the commandments, although he may not do this in act.

For example, when one does not regard frauds and illicit gains, which in themselves are thefts, as sins, neither does he regard as a sin adultery with the wife of another, hating a man even to murder, lying about him, coveting his house and other things belonging to him; for when he rejects from his heart in any one commandment the fear of God he denies that anything is a sin; consequently he is in communion with those who in like manner transgress the other commandments. He is like an infernal spirit who is in a hell of thieves, and although he is not an adulterer, nor a murderer, nor a false witness, yet he is in communion with such, and can be persuaded by them to believe that such things are not evils, and can be led to do them. For he who has become an infernal spirit through the transgression of one commandment, no longer believes it to be a sin to do anything against God or anything against the neighbor.

But the opposite is true of those who abstain from the evil forbidden in one commandment, and who shun and afterwards turn away from it as a sin against God. Because such fear God, they come into communion with the angels of heaven, and are led by the Lord to abstain from the evils forbidden in the other commandments and to shun them, and finally to turn away from them as sins; and if perchance they have sinned against them, yet they repent and thus by degrees are withdrawn from them.
(selections from Apocalypse Explained 1024 - 1028)

August 17, 2020

Everyone Acquires Doctrine

Selection from Apocalypse Revealed ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
"A bed" signifies doctrine is from correspondence, for as the body rests in its bed, so does the mind rest in its doctrine. But by "bed" is signified the doctrine which everyone acquires to himself either from the Word, or from his own intelligence, for therein the mind rests and, as it were, sleeps.

The beds in which they lie in the spiritual world, are from no other origin; for there everyone's bed is according to the quality of his science and intelligence, magnificent for the wise, mean for the unwise, and filthy for falsifiers.

This is signified by "a bed" in Luke:
I say unto you, in that night there shall be two in one bed; the one shall be taken and the other left (Luke 17:34).
This is concerning the Last Judgment; "two in one bed" means two in one doctrine, but not in similar life. In John:
Jesus saith unto the sick man, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk; and he took up his bed, and walked (John 5:8-9);
and in Mark:
Jesus said unto the palsied, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee; and He said unto the Scribes, Whether is it easier to say, thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say, take up thy bed, and walk? then He said, Arise, take up thy bed, and walk; and he took up the bed, and went forth from them (Mark 2:5, 9, 11-12).
That here something is signified by "bed" is evident, because Jesus said, "Whether is it easier to say, thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say, take up thy bed and walk?" By "carrying his bed and walking" is signified to meditate in doctrine; it is so understood in heaven.

Doctrine is also signified by "bed" in Amos:
As the shepherd rescueth from the mouth of the lion, so shall the sons of Israel be rescued that dwell in Samaria, in the corner of a bed, and in the extremity of a couch (Amos 3:12).
"In the corner of a bed" and "in the extremity of a couch" means what is more remote from the truths and goods of doctrine. "Bed" and "couch" and "bed chamber" have a similar signification in other places (as in Isa. 28:20; 57:2, 7-8; Ezek. 23:41; Amos 6:4; Micah 2:1; Ps. 4:4; Ps. 36:4; Ps. 41:3; Job 7:13; Lev. 15:4-5).

Since by "Jacob" in the Propheticals of the Word is signified the church as to doctrine, therefore it is said of him, that:
He bowed himself upon the head of the bed (Gen. 47:31).
That when Joseph came, he sat upon the bed (Gen. 48:2).
That he gathered up his feet upon the bed, and expired (Gen. 49:33).
The doctrine of the church is signified by "Jacob" therefore sometimes when I have thought of Jacob, there has appeared to me above, in front, a man lying in a bed.
(from Apocalypse Revealed 137)

August 15, 2020

Adulteration and Profanation of the Word

Selection from Apocalypse Explained ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
Adulteration and Profanation of The Word — From which comes Every Good and Truth of the Church
The Babylonians have subjected the truths of the Word and the holy things of the church to their judgment, jurisdiction, and dominion.  They persuade the people that the Word is understood by them alone and not by any who have not been inaugurated into the ministry; and by this means they subject all things of the Word and thus all things of the church to their dominion.

Moreover, the Word is such in the sense of its letter that it may be drawn aside to confirm any heresy whatever; for the sense of the letter consists of appearances of truth, which hold enclosed in them the genuine truths of heaven, which are called spiritual truths. Unless these truths are revealed and laid bare, that is, unless they are taught in the doctrines of the church, the appearances they present may be drawn over and perverted to favor any falsity whatever, and even to favor evil.
For the genuine truths of the Word are like a man, and the appearances of truth, of which the sense of the letter consists, are like his garments, from which alone no judgment can be formed respecting who the man is or what he is. 
If a man were judged from his garments alone, a king might be called a servant, and a servant a king, and a good man might be called an evil man, and an evil man a good man; and so on.
So those who arrogate to themselves dominion over all things of the church and heaven can apply the sense in its letter a thousand ways to favor their dominion. And this is an easy task, because all things of the church, which are called holy, they place above the human understanding, and when this is assented to and no genuine truth is taught, infernal falsities may be called truths, and devilish evils may be called goods; and the simple may even be persuaded that the edicts of the Pope are just as holy as the commandments of the Word, and even more holy; and yet these are from heaven, while those edicts are for the most part from hell.
For every edict respecting government, faith, and worship in the church, that has for an end dominion in the world, however it may appear in the external form, and may sound as if from the Word, is from hell; while every commandment from the Word, because it has for its end the salvation of souls by the Lord, is from heaven. 
From all this it can be seen that "sitting upon many waters," when predicated of Babylon as a harlot, signifies having dominion over all things of the Word, and thus over the holy things of the church.
(from Apocalypse Explained 1033)

August 14, 2020

Equilibrium ~ Freedom To Be Led By The Lord

Selection from Apocalypse Explained ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
As the heavens are divided into two kingdoms, namely, into a celestial kingdom and a spiritual kingdom, so are the hells divided into two dominions opposite to those kingdoms. The dominion opposite to the celestial kingdom is called devilish, and the dominion opposite to the spiritual kingdom is called infernal. These dominions are distinguished in the Word by the names Devil and Satan.

There are two dominions in the hells, because the heavens and the hells are opposite to each other; and opposite must fully correspond to opposite that there may be equilibrium. For the existence and subsistence of all things, both in the natural world and in the spiritual world, depend upon an exact equilibrium between two activities that are opposite; and when these act against each other manifestly, they act by forces, but when not manifestly they act by endeavors [conatus].
By means of equilibriums all things in both worlds are preserved - without this all things would perish. 
In the spiritual world the equilibrium is between good from heaven and evil from hell; and thus between truth from heaven and falsity from hell. For the Lord continually arranges that all kinds and species of good and truth in the heavens shall have opposite to them in the hells evils and falsities of kinds that correspond by opposition; thus goods and truths from a celestial origin have for their opposites evils and falsities that are called devilish; and in like manner goods and truths from a spiritual origin have for their opposites evils and falsities that are called infernal.

The cause of these equilibriums is to be found in the fact that the Divine goods and the Divine truths that the angels in the heavens receive from the Lord, the spirits in the hells turn into evils and falsities. All angels, spirits, and men are kept by the Lord in equilibrium between good and evil, and thus between truth and falsity, in order that they may be in freedom; and thus may be led from evil to good and from falsity to truth easily and as if by themselves, although in fact, they are led by the Lord. For the same reason they are led in freedom from good to evil, and from truth to falsity, and this, too, as if by themselves, although the leading is from hell.
(Apocalypse Explained 1043)

Mystery, Babylon the Great
The Mother of the Whoredoms
and Abominations of the Earth

Selection from Apocalypse Explained ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
Religious persuasion of those in whom
all the good and truth of the church has been adulterated and profaned.
Babylon is called "the great harlot" and "the mother of the whoredoms and abominations of the earth," because a love of having dominion over all things of the world, and still further, over all things of heaven and the church, and finally over the Lord Himself, cannot do otherwise than wholly change Divine truths into falsities and Divine goods into evils, thus the church into a religious persuasion in which all its good and truth is adulterated and profaned. For by that love a man wholly turns himself away from the Lord, and turns only towards self; and thus he can no longer be led by the Lord, but is led by what is his own [proprium].
To be led by what is his own is to be led by hell. 
Man is either led from heaven or he is led from hell; he cannot be led by both at the same time. He is led from heaven when he is led by the Lord, and from hell when he is led by self. For man was so created as to be capable of being raised above what is his own [proprium] and of thinking in that elevated state. He is raised above what is his own [proprium] and thinks in that elevated state when he is raised up by the Lord. This is effected when he acknowledges the Lord and His Divine power over heaven and earth, and by that confession and faith of the heart, he has conjunction with the Lord. When conjunction is effected, the interiors, which belong to his mind, that is, to his understanding and will are held by the Lord under his view. This is effected by an elevation above what is his own [proprium]. When man thinks in that elevated state he thinks truth from the Lord and does good from Him.

The opposite comes to pass when a man strives to gain dominion over the world, over heaven, and over the Lord; for he then immerses the interiors of his mind which belong to his thought and will in what is his own [proprium]. When a man is immersed in what is his own, he thinks and wills from hell. Consequently, he thinks and wills falsities and evils, for the reason that what is man's own [proprium] is nothing but evil, for it is his inherited evil itself. Such then are the Babylonians; and therefore they have adulterated and profaned all the goods and truths of the church; and this is why Babylon is called a "harlot," and "the mother of the whoredoms and abominations of the earth."
(from Apocalypse Explained 1032)

How to know if led by heaven or hell

Selection from Apocalypse Explained ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
Man is from birth in the midst of infernal societies, and extends himself into them precisely as he extends the evil affections of his will.

All evil affections of the will are from the loves of self and the world and for the reason that those loves turn all things of the mind downwards and outwards, that is, towards hell, which is beneath and outside of themselves, thus turning them away from the Lord, and away from heaven.

Moreover, the interiors of all things of the human mind, and with them the interiors of all things of the spirit, are capable of being turned either downwards or upwards.
They are turned downwards when man loves himself above all things
They are turned upwards when he loves the Lord above all things. 
This is an actual turning. Man from himself turns them downwards, while the Lord from Himself turns them upwards. The ruling love is what turns. Thoughts do not turn the interiors of the mind except so far as they are derived from the will. That all this is true man does not know; and yet he ought to know it in order that he may understand how he is led out of hell and led into heaven by the Lord.
(Apocalypse Explained 1163:2)

August 13, 2020

Those in The Spiritual Affection of The Knowledges of Truth and Good

Selection from Apocalypse Explained ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
Heaven with man is implanted by means of the knowledges of truth and good from the Word. He who believes that heaven is implanted by other means is much deceived; for man is born merely natural, with the faculty of becoming spiritual, and he becomes spiritual by means of truths from the Word and a life according to them. Who can ever become spiritual unless he has some knowledge of the Lord, of heaven, of the life after death, of faith, and of love, and of the other things that are means of salvation? If man had no knowledge of these things he would remain natural; and a merely natural man can have nothing in common with the angels of heaven, who are spiritual.

Man has two minds, one exterior, the other interior. The exterior mind is called the natural mind, but the interior is called the spiritual mind. The former or natural mind is opened by means of the knowledges of the things that are in the world; but the latter or spiritual mind by means of the knowledges of the things that are in heaven, which the Word teaches, and the church from the Word; by means of these man becomes spiritual when he knows them and lives according to them.

This is meant by the Lord's words in John:
Except a man has been born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God (John 3:5).
"Water" signifies the truths of faith, and "spirit" a life according to them.

Most people at this day believe that they are to come into heaven solely by virtue of holy worship in temples and by adorations and prayers, but such of them, as do not care for the knowledges of truth and good from the Word, and who fail to imbue with these the life, as well as the memory, remain natural as before, and do not become spiritual - for their holy worship, adorations, and prayers, do not proceed from any spiritual origin, since their spiritual mind has not been opened by the knowledges of spiritual things and a life according to them, but is empty.

Worship that proceeds from what is empty is merely natural gesture, with nothing spiritual in it. If such persons are insincere and unjust in respect to moral and civil life, their holy worship, adorations, and prayers have within them what repels heaven from them, instead of opening heaven to them as they believe - for their holy worship is like a vessel containing things putrid and filthy, which are oozing forth, or like a splendid garment investing a body covered with ulcers. I have seen many thousands of such cast into hell.

But wholly different are holy worship, adorations, and prayers with those who are in the knowledges of truth and good and in a life according to them; with such these acts are pleasing to the Lord, for they are the effects wrought by their spirit in the body, or the effects of their faith and love, thus they are not merely natural gestures, but spiritual acts.

From this it can be seen that the knowledges of truth and good from the Word, and a life according to them, alone make man spiritual; and that in him who is thereby made spiritual, angelic wisdom from the Lord can be implanted together with eternal happiness. Angels derive happiness from no other source than from wisdom.
(from Apocalypse Explained 126)

August 12, 2020

Freedom Following The Lord's Presence

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
The presence of the Lord involves freedom, the one following the other. The more present the Lord, the more free the man, that is, the more a man is in the love of good and truth, the more freely he acts. Such is the influx of the Lord through the angels.

But on the other hand, the influx of hell through evil spirits is forcible, and impetuous, striving to dominate; for such spirits breathe nothing but the utter subjugation of the man, so that he may be nothing, and that they may be everything.  When they are everything, the man is one of them, and scarcely even that, for in their eyes he is a mere nobody. Therefore when the Lord is liberating the man from their dominion and from their yoke there arises a combat. But when the man has been liberated, that is, regenerated, he, through the ministry of angels, is led by the Lord so gently that there is nothing whatever of yoke or of dominion, for he is led by means of his delights and his happinesses, and is loved and esteemed. This is what the Lord teaches in Matthew:
My yoke is easy, and My burden is light (Matt. 11:30)
The reverse of a man's state when under the yoke of evil spirits, who, as just said, account the man as nothing, and, if they were able, would torment him every moment.
(from Arcana Coelestia 905)

August 11, 2020

The Lord Speaking to Man

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
The Lord speaks with every man — for whatever a man wills and thinks that is good and true, is from the Lord. 
There are with every man at least two evil spirits and two angels. The evil spirits excite his evils, and the angels inspire things that are good and true. Every good and true thing inspired by the angels is of the Lord; thus the Lord is continually speaking with man, but quite differently with one man than with another. With those who suffer themselves to be led away by evil spirits, the Lord speaks as if absent, or from afar, so that it can scarcely be said that He is speaking, but with those who are being led by the Lord, He speaks as more nearly present; which may be sufficiently evident from the fact that no one can ever think anything good and true except from the Lord.
The presence of the Lord is predicated according to the state of love toward the neighbor and of faith in which the man is. 
In love toward the neighbor the Lord is present, because He is in all good but not so much in faith, so-called, without love. Faith without love and charity is a separated or disjoined thing.
Wherever there is conjunction there must be a conjoining medium, which is nothing else than love and charity, as must be evident to all from the fact that the Lord is merciful to everyone and loves everyone and wills to make everyone happy to eternity. 
He, therefore, who is not in such love that he is merciful to others, loves them, and wills to make them happy, cannot be conjoined with the Lord because he is unlike Him and not at all in His image.
To look to the Lord by faith, as they say, and at the same time to hate the neighbor, is not only to stand afar off but is also to have the abyss of hell between themselves and the Lord, into which they would fall if they should approach nearer - for hatred to the neighbor is that infernal abyss which is between.

The presence of the Lord is first possible with a man when he loves the neighbor. The Lord is in love; and so far as a man is in love, so far the Lord is present; and so far as the Lord is present, so far He speaks with the man.

Man knows no otherwise than that he thinks from himself, whereas he has not a single idea, nor even the least bit of an idea from himself, but he has what is evil and false through evil spirits from hell, and what is good and true through angels from the Lord. Such is the influx with man, from which is his life and the interaction of his soul with the body.
(Arcana Coelestia 904)

August 10, 2020

Temptation Against the Lord's Love

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
He who is in temptation is in doubt concerning the end in view. The end in view is the love, against which the evil spirits and evil genii fight, and thereby put the end in doubt; and the greater the love is, the more do they put it in doubt. If the end which is loved were not put in doubt, and indeed in despair, there would be no temptation. Assurance respecting the result precedes the victory and belongs to the victory.

As few know how the case is with temptations, it may here be briefly explained. Evil spirits never fight against other things than those which the man loves; the more ardently he loves them, the more fiercely do they wage the combat. It is evil genii who fight against the things that pertain to the affection of good, and evil spirits that fight against those which pertain to the affection of truth. As soon as they notice even the smallest thing which a man loves, or perceive as it were by scent what is delightful and dear to him, they forthwith assault it and endeavor to destroy it, and thereby the whole man, for man's life consists in his loves. Nothing is more delightful to them than to destroy a man in this way, nor would they desist, even to eternity, unless they were driven away by the Lord. They who are malignant and crafty insinuate themselves into man's very loves by flattering them, and thus bring the man among themselves; and presently, when they have brought him in, they attempt to destroy his loves, and thereby murder the man, and this in a thousand ways that cannot be comprehended.

Nor do they wage the combat simply by reasoning against things good and true, because such combats are of no account, for if they were vanquished a thousand times they would still persist, since reasonings against goods and truths can never be wanting. But they pervert the goods and truths, and inflame with a certain fire of cupidity and of persuasion so that the man does not know otherwise than that he is in the like cupidity and persuasion, and at the same time, they enkindle these with delight that they snatch from the man's delight in something else, and in this way they most deceitfully infect and infest him; and this they do with so much skill, by leading him on from one thing to another, that if the Lord did not aid him, the man would never know but that the case was really so.

They act in a similar way against the affections of truth that make the conscience: as soon as they perceive anything of conscience, of whatever kind, then from the falsities and failings in the man they form to themselves an affection; and by means of this they cast a shade over the light of truth, and so pervert it; or they induce anxiety and torture him. They also hold the thought persistently in one thing, and thus fill it with phantasies; and at the same time they clandestinely clothe the cupidities with the phantasies; besides innumerable other arts, which cannot possibly be described to the apprehension. These are a few of the means, and only the most general, by which they can make their way to man's conscience, for this above all else they take the greatest delight in destroying.

From these few statements, and they are very few, it may be seen what temptations are, and that they are, in general, such as the loves are, and from this we may see -
what was the nature of the Lord's temptations, that they were the most terrible of all, for such as is the greatness of the love, such is the fearful character of the temptation. The Lord's love was the salvation of the whole human race, and was most ardent; consequently it was the whole sum of the affection of good and affection of truth in the highest degree. Against these, with the most malignant wiles and venom, all the hells waged the combat; but still the Lord conquered them all by His own power.
Victories are attended with the result that the malignant genii and spirits afterwards dare not do anything; for their life consists in their being able to destroy, and when they perceive that a man is of such a character that he can resist, then at the first onset they flee away, as they are wont to do when they draw near to the first entrance to heaven, for they are at once seized with horror and terror, and hurl themselves backward.
(Arcana Coelestia 1820)

August 9, 2020

Repentance is The First Thing of The Church in Man

Selection from True Christian Religion ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
The communion called the church consists of all men in whom the church is, and the church enters into man when he is becoming regenerate, and everyone becomes regenerate by abstaining from the evils of sin, and shunning them as one would an infernal horde with torches in hand, endeavoring to overtake him and throw him upon a burning pile. There are many means by which man, as he progresses in his early years, is prepared for the church and introduced into it; but the means whereby the church is established in man are acts of repentance.  Acts of repentance are all such things as cause man not to will and consequently not to commit evils, which are sins against God; for until this takes place man stands outside of regeneration, and if any thought respecting eternal salvation should then creep into his mind, he turns toward it but immediately turns away from it - for it enters the man no further than into the ideas of his thought, and from that goes forth into the words of his speech, and also, it may be, into some gestures conformable to speech.
But when such thought enters the will, it is in the man; for the will is the man himself, because in it his love resides, while thought is outside of the man, except when it proceeds from his will, and then will and thought act as one, and both together constitute the man.
From this it follows, that, for repentance to be repentance, and to be effective in man, it must be a repentance of the will and from that of the thought, and not of the thought only; therefore that it should be actual repentance, and not merely verbal.

That repentance is the first thing of the church, is very evident from the Word. John the Baptist, who was sent beforehand to prepare men for the church which the Lord was about to establish when he baptized, preached at the same time repentance - therefore his baptism was called the baptism of repentance, for the reason that baptism signified spiritual washing, which is a cleansing from sin. This John did in Jordan, because Jordan signified introduction into the church, for it was the first boundary of the land of Canaan where the church was. The Lord Himself also preached repentance for the forgiveness of sins, teaching thereby that repentance is the first thing of the church, and that so far as man repents his sins are put away, and so far as they are put away, they are forgiven. And still further, the Lord commanded His twelve apostles, and also the seventy whom He sent forth, to preach repentance. From all this it is clear that the first thing of the church is repentance.
(True Christian Religion 510)

August 7, 2020

The Presence of the Lord in Charity — Covenant

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
A "covenant" signifies nothing else than regeneration and the things pertaining to regeneration, is evident from various passages in the Word where the Lord Himself is called the "Covenant" because it is He alone who regenerates, and who is looked to by the regenerate man, and is the all in all of love and faith. That the Lord is the Covenant itself is evident in Isaiah:
I Jehovah have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thy hand, and will keep thee, and will give thee for a covenant to the people, for a light of the nations (Isa. 42:6),
where a "covenant" denotes the Lord "a light of the nations" is faith. So in chapter 49:6, 8.

In Malachi:
Behold I send Mine angel, and the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Angel of the covenant whom ye desire; behold He cometh; who may abide the day of His coming? (Mal. 3:1, 2),
where the Lord is called the "Angel of the Covenant." The sabbath is called a "perpetual covenant" (Exod. 31:16), because it signifies the Lord Himself, and the celestial man regenerated by Him.

Since the Lord is the very covenant itself, it is evident that all that which conjoins man with the Lord is of the covenant as love and faith, and whatever is of love and faith - for these are of the Lord, and the Lord is in them; the covenant itself is in them, where they are received. These have no existence except with a regenerated man, with whom whatever is of the Regenerator or of the Lord is of the covenant, or is the covenant.

As in Isaiah:
My mercy shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed away (Isa. 54:10),
where "mercy" and the "covenant of peace" denote the Lord and what belongs to Him.

Again:
Incline your ear and come unto Me, hear, and your soul shall live, and I will make a covenant of eternity with you, the sure mercies of David; behold, I have given Him for a witness to the peoples, a leader and a lawgiver to the nations (Isa. 66:3, 4).
"David" here denotes the Lord; the "covenant of eternity" is in those things and by those things which are of the Lord, and these are meant by going to Him and hearing, that the soul may live.

In Jeremiah:
I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear Me all the days, for good to them, and to their sons after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put My fear in their heart (Jer. 32:39, 40).
This is said of those who are to be regenerated, and of things that belong to them, namely, "one heart and one way" that is, charity and faith, which are of the Lord and so of the covenant.

Again:
Behold the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers, for they rendered My covenant vain: but this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after these days; I will put My law in the midst of them, and write it on their heart; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people (Jer. 31:31-33).
Here the meaning of a "covenant" is clearly explained, that it is the love and faith in the Lord which is with those who are to be regenerated.

And again in Jeremiah, love is called the "covenant of the day" and faith the "covenant of the night" (Jer. 33:20).

In Ezekiel:
I, Jehovah, will be their God, and My servant David a prince in the midst of them, and I will make with them a covenant of peace, and I will make the evil beast to cease out of the land; and they shall dwell secure in the wilderness, and sleep in the forests (Ezek. 34:24-25).
Here regeneration is evidently treated of. "David" denotes the Lord.

Again:
David shall be a prince to them to eternity; I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be a covenant of eternity with them; I will set My sanctuary in the midst of them to eternity (Ezek. 37:25-26).
Here likewise regeneration is treated of. "David" and the "sanctuary" denote the Lord.

And again:
I entered into a covenant with thee, and thou wast Mine; and I washed thee with waters, and washed away thy bloods from upon thee, and I anointed thee with oil (Ezek. 16:8-9),
where regeneration is plainly meant.

In Hosea:
In that day will I make a covenant for them with the wild beast of the field, and with the fowl of the heavens, and with the creeping thing of the earth (Hos. 2:18),
meaning regeneration; the "wild beast of the field" denotes the things that are of the will; "the fowl of the heavens" those that are of the understanding.

In David:
He hath sent redemption unto His people; He hath commanded His covenant to eternity (Ps. 111:9),
also meaning regeneration. It is called a "covenant" because it is given and received.

But of those who are not regenerated, or what is the same, who make worship consist in external things, and esteem and worship themselves and what they desire and think as if they were gods, it is said that they render the covenant vain, because they separate themselves from the Lord. 

And in Jeremiah:
They have forsaken the covenant of Jehovah their God, and have bowed themselves down to other gods, and served them (Jer. 22:9).
In Moses:
He who should transgress the covenant by serving other gods - the sun, the moon, the army of the heavens - should be stoned (Deut. 17:2 seq.).
The "sun" denotes the love of self; the "moon" principles of falsity; the "army of the heavens" falsities themselves.

From all this it is now evident what the "ark of the covenant" signified wherein was the "covenant" or "testimony" namely, that it signified the Lord Himself; and that the "book of the covenant" also signified the Lord Himself (Exod. 24:4-7; 34:27; Deut. 4:13, 23); and likewise that by the "blood of the covenant" (Exod. 24:6, 8) was signified the Lord Himself, who alone is the Regenerator. Hence the "covenant" denotes regeneration itself.
(Arcana Coelestia 666)
***

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. This marriage or covenant has been treated of before.

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)

August 6, 2020

Making Charity to be of Faith

Selection from Divine Providence ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
No one can come into the kingdom of God unless he has been born again, for the reason that man by inheritance from his parents is born into evils of every kind, but with an ability to become spiritual by the removal of those evils. Unless he becomes spiritual he cannot come into heaven. From being natural to become spiritual is to be born again or regenerated. But to know how man is regenerated these three things must be considered:
(1) What his first state is, which is a state of damnation
(2) What his second state is, which is a state of reformation
(3) what his third state is, which is a state of regeneration 
Man's first state, which is a state of damnation, every one has by inheritance from his parents; for man is thereby born into the love of self and love of the world, and from these as fountains, into evils of every kind. It is by the enjoyments of these loves that he is led; and these enjoyments cause him not to know that he is in evils - for no enjoyment of a love is felt otherwise than as a good. Consequently, unless a man is regenerated he knows no otherwise than that to love himself and the world above all things is goodness itself, and to rule over all, and to possess the wealth of all, is the highest good. Moreover, this is the source of all evil; for a man then from love looks to no one but himself; or if from love he looks to another, it is as a devil looks to a devil, or a thief to a thief, when they act together.

Those who, from the enjoyment of these loves confirm in themselves these loves and the evils flowing from them, remain natural and become corporeal-sensual, and in their own thought, which is the thought of their spirit, are insane. Nevertheless, while they remain in the world they are able to speak and act rationally and wisely, because they are men, and in consequence possess rationality and liberty; but even this they do from love of self and the world. After death, when they become spirits, they are incapable of any other enjoyment than that which they had in spirit while in the world; and that enjoyment is the enjoyment of infernal love, which is then turned into what is undelightful, painful, and terrible; and this is what is meant in the Word by torment and hell-fire. All this makes clear that man's first state is a state of damnation, and that those are in it who do not permit themselves to be regenerated.

Man's second state, which is the state of reformation, is that in which he begins to think about heaven with reference to the joy of heaven, and from this about God, who is to him the source of heavenly joy. But at first this thought springs from the enjoyment of love of self, which enjoyment is to him heavenly joy. And as long as the enjoyment of that love reigns, together with the enjoyments of the evils that flow from it, he must needs think that he draws near to heaven by pouring out prayers, listening to preaching, going to the Holy Supper, giving to the poor, helping the needy, spending money on churches, contributing to hospitals, and so on.  A man in this state knows no otherwise than that he is saved by mere thought about those things which religion teaches, whether it be what is called faith, or what is called faith and charity. He has no other idea than that he is saved by so thinking, because he gives no thought to the evils that he finds enjoyment in, and as long as their enjoyments remain the evils remain. The enjoyments of evil are from lust for them that continually inspires them, and also when no fear prevents, brings them forth.

So long as evils continue in the lusts of their love, and the consequent enjoyments, there is no faith, charity, piety or worship except in mere externals, which to the world seem real, and yet are not. These may be compared to water issuing from an impure fountain, which no one can drink. Man continues in the first state as long as he thinks from religion about heaven and about God, and yet gives no thought to evils as sins; but he comes into the second state, or the state of reformation, when he begins to think that there is such a thing as sin; and still more when he thinks that this or that is a sin, and when he examines it in himself to some extent, and refrains from willing it.

Man's third state, which is a state of regeneration, takes up and continues the former state. It begins when man refrains from evils as sins, and it progresses as he shuns them, and is perfected as he fights against them; and as he from the Lord conquers them he is regenerated. With one who is regenerated the order of life is reversed - from being natural he becomes spiritual - for when the natural is separated from the spiritual, it is contrary to order, while the spiritual is in accordance with order.  Consequently, the regenerate man acts from charity; and whatever belongs to his charity he makes to be of his faith also. Yet he becomes spiritual only so far as he is in truths; for man is regenerated only by means of truths and a life in accordance with them -
for by means of truths he knows what life is, and by means of the life he does the truths, and thus he conjoins good and truth, which is the spiritual marriage in which heaven is.
(Divine Providence 83)

August 5, 2020

What it is to Love the Neighbor

Selection from True Christian Religion ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
To love the neighbor is not alone to wish well and do good to a relative, a friend, or a good man, but also to a stranger, an enemy, or a bad man. But charity is to be exercised toward the latter in one way and toward the former in another; toward a relative or friend by direct benefits; toward an enemy or a bad man by indirect benefits, which are rendered by exhortation, discipline, punishment, and consequent amendment.

This may be illustrated thus:

A judge who punishes an evil-doer in accordance with law and justice, loves his neighbor; for so he makes him better, and consults the welfare of the citizens that he may not do them harm.

Everyone knows that a father who chastises his children when they do wrong, loves them, and that, on the other hand, he who does not chastise them therefore, loves their evils, and this cannot be called charity.

Again, if a man repels an insulting enemy, and in self-defense strikes him or delivers him to the judge in order to prevent injury to himself, and yet with a disposition to befriend the man, he acts from a charitable spirit. Wars that have as an end the defense of the country and the church, are not contrary to charity. The end in view declares whether it is charity or not.
(True Christian Religion 407)

August 4, 2020

Fear of God — Internal or External

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
As regards the fear of the Divine in which they who are in falsities and infest will be, be it known that fear is the only means of restraining the infernals and holding them in bonds. For fear is a common bond, both for those who are upright, and for those who are evil; but for those who are upright the fear is INTERNAL, which is fear for the sake of salvation, namely, lest they should perish as to their souls, and so lest they should do anything contrary to conscience, that is, contrary to the truth and good which are of conscience; consequently they have fear lest they should do anything contrary to what is just and fair, thus contrary to the neighbor; but this is holy fear insofar as it is conjoined with the affection of charity, and still more as it is conjoined with love to the Lord. Fear then becomes like that of little children toward the parents whom they love. Then, insofar as they are in the good of love, so far the fear does not show itself; but insofar as they are not in good, so far it shows itself, and becomes anxiety. Such is the "fear of God," so frequently spoken of in the Word.

But with those who are evil there is no internal fear, namely, for the sake of salvation, and thence for the sake of conscience; for such fear they have utterly rejected in the world, both by their life, and by principles of falsity favoring their life; but instead of internal fear they have EXTERNAL fear, namely, lest they should be deprived of honors, of gain, or of reputation for the sake of these, lest they should be punished according to the laws, or be deprived of life. These are what are feared by men who are in evil, while they are in the world. As, when such men come into the other life, they cannot be restrained and held in bonds by internal fear, they are held by external fear, which is impressed on them by punishments. From this they are in fear of doing evil; and at last they are in fear of the Divine, but as before said, external fear, which is devoid of any desire to desist from doing evil from the affection of good, but only from dread of the penalties, which they at last feel horror at.

From all this it can now be seen that fear is the only means of holding in bonds; and that EXTERNAL fear, which is fear of punishments, is the only means of restraining the evil; and that this is the cause of the torment of the evil in hell. For when the evil come into the other life, and when the external bonds which they had in the world are taken away from them, and they are left to their cupidities, they are then like wild beasts, and desire nothing more than to have dominion and to destroy everyone who does not favor them. This is the greatest delight of their life, for insofar as anyone loves himself, so far he hates others who do not favor him; and insofar as anyone is in hatred, so far he is in the delight of destroying; but in the world this is hidden.
(Arcana Coelestia 7280)

August 2, 2020

By Love Alone

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
'For in the image of God He made man' means charity, which is the image of God. Charity is the image of God. What the image of God is, scarcely anybody knows nowadays. People say that the image of God was lost in the first man whom they call Adam; and that in him it was an image of God which, they assert, possessed a certain perfection with which they are not acquainted. Perfection there was indeed — for Adam or Man is used to mean the Most Ancient Church, which was celestial man and had perception such as no subsequent Church was to have. For this reason it was also the likeness of the Lord. The likeness of the Lord means love to Him. Afterwards in the process of time this Church perished, at which point the Lord created a new one, which was not a celestial Church but a spiritual. This Church was not a likeness but an image of the Lord. An image means spiritual love, that is, love towards the neighbour, which is charity, as also shown already:
The Most Ancient Church understood by the "image of the Lord" more than can be expressed. Man is altogether ignorant that he is governed of the Lord through angels and spirits, and that with everyone there are at least two spirits, and two angels. By spirits man has communication with the world of spirits, and by angels with heaven. Without communication by means of spirits with the world of spirits, and by means of angels with heaven, and thus through heaven with the Lord, man could not live at all; his life entirely depends on this conjunction, so that if the spirits and angels were to withdraw, he would instantly perish. While man is unregenerate he is governed quite otherwise than when regenerated. While unregenerate there are evil spirits with him, who so domineer over him that the angels, though present, are scarcely able to do anything more than merely guide him so that he may not plunge into the lowest evil, and bend him to some good - in fact bend him to good by means of his own cupidities, and to truth by means of the fallacies of the senses. He then has communication with the world of spirits through the spirits who are with him, but not so much with heaven, because evil spirits rule, and the angels only avert their rule. But when the man is regenerate, the angels rule, and inspire him with all goods and truths, and with fear and horror of evils and falsities. The angels indeed lead, but only as ministers, for it is the Lord alone who governs man through angels and spirits. And as this is done through the ministry of angels, it is here first said, in the plural number, "Let us make man in our image;" and yet because the Lord alone governs and disposes, it is said in the following verse, in the singular number, "God created him in His own image." This the Lord also plainly declares in Isaiah:
Thus saith Jehovah thy Redeemer, and He that formed thee from the womb, I Jehovah make all things, stretching forth the heavens alone, spreading abroad the earth by Myself (Isa. 44:24).
The angels moreover themselves confess that there is no power in them, but that they act from the Lord alone. As regards the "image" an image is not a likeness, but is according to the likeness; it is therefore said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. The spiritual man is an "image" and the celestial man a "likeness" or similitude. ... The spiritual man, who is an "image" is called by the Lord a "son of light" as in John:
He that walketh in the darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have the light, believe in the light, that ye may be sons of light (John 12:35-36).
He is called also a "friend:"
Ye are My friends if ye do whatsoever I command you (John 15:14-15).
But the celestial man, who is a "likeness" is called a "son of God" in John:
As many as received Him, to them gave He the power to become sons of God, even to them that believe on His name; who were born not of bloods, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:12-13).
(AC50-51)
The fact that this Church was an image of the Lord by virtue of spiritual love, or charity, is clear from the present verse, while the fact that charity itself is the image of the Lord is clear from the consideration that it is said 'for in the image of God He made man', that is to say, charity itself made him. That charity is the image of God is absolutely clear from what is the very essence of love or charity. Nothing but love and charity can make anyone into a likeness or into an image. The essence of love and charity is to make two people so to speak into one. When one person loves another as himself, and more than himself, he sees the other in himself, and himself in the other. This anyone can appreciate if only he will direct his attention to what love is, or to persons who love one another mutually. The will of the one is that of the other; they are as it were inwardly joined together, and are separate from each other in body only. Love to the Lord makes man one with the Lord, that is, makes a likeness; charity or love towards the neighbour also makes him one with Him, but makes an image. An image is not a likeness but that which approaches a likeness. This oneness that arises from love the Lord Himself describes in John,
I pray that they may all be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us. The glory which You have given Me I have given to them that they may be one even as We are one, I in them and You in Me. (John 17:21-23).
This oneness is that mystical union which some people have in mind, a union which is achieved through love alone. In the same gospel,
Because I live you will live also; in that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and does them, he it is who loves Me. If a man loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. (John 14:19-21, 27).
From these quotations it is clear that love is what joins together and that the Lord has His home with the person who loves Him and also with him who loves the neighbour, for to love the neighbour is to love the Lord. This union which makes a likeness and an image cannot be seen very easily in the human race; but it can be seen in heaven where all angels are so to speak one by virtue of their mutual love. Each community, which consists of very many angels, constitutes as it were one person. And all the communities together, that is, the whole of heaven, constitute one human being, also called the Grand Man. The whole of heaven is a likeness of the Lord, for the Lord is the All in all of those who are there. Each community is a likeness too, and so is each angel. Celestial angels are likenesses, spiritual angels are images. Heaven therefore consists of as many likenesses of the Lord as there are angels, and this is achieved solely by means of mutual love which entails one loving another more than himself. For the situation is this: For heaven in general, or heaven as a whole, to be a likeness, its parts - which are the individual angels - must be likenesses, or images that approach likenesses. For unless the general whole consists of parts so to speak like itself, it is not something general making one.  

From these things as from the basic idea, one may see what makes a likeness or an image of God, namely love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour. In consequence every regenerate spiritual person is an image of the Lord by virtue of love or charity, which are from the Lord alone. And whoever is governed by charity from the Lord is in a state of perfection. 
(Arcana Coelestia 1013)

August 1, 2020

Knowledges vs Truths of Faith

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
— The Lord's Church in the Universal —
Gentiles, who are outside the church, may be in truths, but not in the truths of faith. Their truths, like the precepts of the Decalogue, are that parents are to be honored, that men are not to kill, steal, commit adultery, or covet things that belong to others; also that the Deity is to be worshiped.
But the truths of faith are all doctrinal things concerning eternal life, the Lord's kingdom, and the Lord Himself, which cannot be known to the Gentiles because they have not the Word.
These are they who are signified [in the Word] by "sons that are strangers who are not of thy seed," and yet were to be circumcised, that is purified, together with them. This shows that they can be purified, equally with those within the church; as was represented by their being circumcised. They are purified when they reject filthy loves, and live with one another in charity; for then they live in truths, since all truths are of charity; but in the truths already mentioned. They who live in these truths readily imbibe the truths of faith, if not in the life of the body, yet in the other life, because the truths of faith are the interior truths of charity, and they then love nothing more than to be admitted into the interior truths of charity.  The interior truths of charity are those in which the Lord's kingdom consists.

In the other life, a memory-knowledge of the knowledges of faith is of no avail, for the worst, nay, the infernals, can be in the memory-knowledge of them, sometimes more than others; but that which avails is a life according to the knowledges, for all knowledges have life as their end. Unless knowledges were learned for the sake of life, they would be of no use except that men might talk about them, and thereby be esteemed learned in the world, be exalted to honors, and gain reputation and wealth.  From this it is evident that a life of the knowledges of faith is no other than a life of charity; for the Law and the Prophets, that is, the universal doctrine of faith together with all its knowledges, consists in love to the Lord and in love toward the neighbor; as is manifest to all from the Lord's words in Matthew 22:34-39 and Mark 12:28-35
And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
But still doctrinal things, that is, the knowledges of faith, are most necessary for forming the life of charity, which cannot be formed without them.  This is the life that saves after death, and by no means any life of faith without it; for without charity there cannot be any life of faith.
They who are in the life of love and charity are in the Lord's life, and by no other life can anyone be conjoined with Him.
 Hence also it is evident that the truths of faith can never be acknowledged as truths, that is, the acknowledgment of them so much talked of is impossible, except outwardly, and by the mouth, unless they are implanted in charity; for inwardly or in the heart they are denied, since, as already said, they all have charity as their end; and if this is not within them they are inwardly rejected. When the exteriors are taken away - as is done in the other life - the interiors are manifest in their true character, in that they are utterly contrary to all the truths of faith.  When men have had no life of charity - that is, no mutual love - during their bodily life, it is utterly impossible to receive it in the other life, because they are averse to and hate it, for after death the same life remains with us that we have lived here. When such persons merely approach a society where there is the life of mutual love, they tremble, shudder, and feel torture.

Such persons, although born within the church, are called "sons that are strangers, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh," who are not to be admitted into the sanctuary, that is, into the Lord's kingdom; and who are also meant in Ezekiel:
No son that is a stranger, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into My sanctuary (Ezek. 44:7, 9).
Again:
To whom art thou thus become like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? and thou shalt be brought down with the trees of Eden into the lower earth, thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that are slain by the sword (Ezek. 31:18);
where Pharaoh is treated of, by whom are signified memory-knowledges in general); by "the trees of Eden" with which they should go down into the lower earth, are also signified memory-knowledges, but those of the knowledges of faith. All this shows what "the uncircumcised" is in the internal sense, namely, one who is in filthy loves and the life of them.
(Arcana Coelestia 2049)