The Lord's Kingdom in the Ultimate of Order

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

“How fearsome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” Genesis 28:17

Mention is made of the "house of God" in many passages of the Word, and in the external sense, or according to the letter, it signifies a consecrated building where there is holy worship, but in the internal sense it signifies the church; and in a more universal sense, heaven; and in the most universal sense, the Lord's universal kingdom; in the supreme sense, however, it signifies the Lord Himself as to the Divine Human.

In the Word we sometimes read of the "house of God," sometimes of the "temple," both having the same signification, but with this difference - that the "house of God" is mentioned where good is treated of, but the "temple" where truth is treated of. From this it is manifest that by the "house of God" is signified the Lord's celestial church, and in a more universal sense the heaven of the celestial angels, and in the most universal sense the Lord's celestial kingdom, and in the supreme sense the Lord as to Divine good; and that by the "temple" is signified the Lord's spiritual church, and in a more universal sense the heaven of the spiritual angels, in the most universal sense the Lord's spiritual kingdom, and in the supreme sense the Lord as to Divine truth. The reason why the "house of God" signifies the celestial which is of good, and the "temple" the spiritual which is of truth, is that in the Word a "house" signifies good, and also because among the most ancient people the houses were constructed of wood, for the reason that "wood" signifies good; whereas "temple" signifies truth, because the temples were constructed of stones; and that "stones" signify truths.

That "wood" and "stone" have such a signification, is not only evident from the Word where they are mentioned, but also from the representatives in the other life; for they who place merit in good works, appear to themselves to cut wood; and they who place merit in truths, in that they have believed themselves to have been better acquainted with truth than others, and yet have lived evilly, appear to themselves to cut stones; which things have often been seen by me. From this I was assured what is the signification of wood and stone, namely that "wood" signifies good, and "stone" truth; and also from the experience that when a wooden house was seen, there was instantly presented an idea of good; but when a house of stone was seen, there was presented an idea of truth; concerning which I was instructed by angels. For this reason, when mention is made in the Word of the "house of God," there is presented to the angels the idea of good, and good of such a quality as is treated of in that connection; and when mention is made of a "temple," there is presented to them the idea of truth, and truth of such a quality as is treated of in that connection. From this again we can infer how deep and utterly hidden are the heavenly arcana in the Word.

The reason why by the "house of God" is here signified the Lord's kingdom in the ultimate of order, is that Jacob is treated of, by whom is represented the Lord's Divine natural, as frequently shown above. The natural is in the ultimate of order, for in this all the interior things are terminated and are together; and because they are together, and thus things innumerable are viewed together as a one, there is relative obscurity there. This relative obscurity has been spoken of several times before.

(from Arcana Coelestia 3720)

And this is the gate of heaven. That this signifies the ultimate wherein order closes, through which ultimate there is apparently as it were an entrance from nature, is evident from the signification of "gate" as being that through which there is going out and coming in. That this signifies the ultimate in which order closes, is because the natural which is represented by Jacob is treated of. That through this ultimate there is apparently as it were an entrance from nature, is because it is the natural mind in man through which the things of heaven (that is, of the Lord) flow and descend into nature; and through the same mind the things of nature ascend; but that the entrance is only apparently from nature through the natural mind into things interior.

It appears to man that the objects of the world enter through his bodily or external senses, and affect the interiors; and thus that there is an entrance from the ultimate of order into what is within; but that this is a mere appearance and fallacy is manifest from the general rule that posterior things cannot flow into prior; or what is the same, lower things into higher; or what is the same, exterior things into interior; or what is still the same, the things which are of the world and of nature into those which are of heaven and of spirit; for the former are of a grosser nature, and the latter of a purer one; and those grosser things which are of the external or natural man come forth and subsist from those which are of the internal or rational man; and they cannot affect the purer things, but are affected by the purer things. . . From this then it is said that through the ultimate in which order closes, there is apparently as it were an entrance from nature.

(from Arcana Coelestia 3721)

The Lord's kingdom in the ultimate of order, in which higher things are as in their house. As regards higher things being in the ultimate of order as in their house, the case is this: Such an order has been instituted by the Lord that higher things inflow into lower ones, and therein present an image of themselves in general, and consequently are together therein in a certain general form, and thus are in order from the Highest, that is, from the Lord; from this it is that the proximate image of the Lord is the inmost heaven, which is the heaven of innocence and peace, where those who are celestial dwell; which heaven, because nearest to the Lord, is called His "likeness." The next heaven, namely, that which succeeds and is in a lower degree, is an "image" of the Lord, because in this heaven, as in something general, there are simultaneously presented the things which are in the higher heaven. The ultimate heaven, which succeeds this again, is similarly circumstanced, for the particulars and singulars of the heaven next higher inflow into this heaven, and are therein presented in general, and in a correspondent form.

The case is similar with man, for he has been created and formed to be an image of the three heavens. In man that which is inmost inflows in like manner into that which is lower; and this in like manner into that which is lowest or last. The natural and corporeal consists of such an influx and concourse into those things which are beneath, and finally into those which are last. In this way there is a connection of the last or ultimate things with the first, without which connection that which is last in order would not subsist a single moment. Thus it is manifest what is meant by higher things being in the ultimate of order as in their house. Whether we speak of things higher and lower, or interior and exterior, it is the same; for to man's view things interior appear as higher; and for this reason man places heaven on high, when yet it is in what is internal.

(from Arcana Coelestia 3739)