The Thefts of Evils

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

And Jacob was wroth, and chided with Laban; and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? What is my sin, in that thou hast hotly pursued after me? Whereas thou hast felt about all my vessels, what hast thou found of all the vessels of thy house? Set it here before my brethren and thy brethren, and let them judge between us two. These twenty years have I been with thee; thy sheep and thy she-goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten. The torn I brought not unto thee, I bore the loss of it, from my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. Thus I was; in the day the heat consumed me, and the cold in the night, and my sleep has been chased from mine eyes. These twenty years have I served thee in thy house, fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy flock, and thou hast changed my reward ten ways. Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the Dread of Isaac, had been with me, surely now hadst thou sent me away empty. God hath seen my misery and the weariness of my hands, and judged yesternight. (Genesis 31:36-42)

The torn I brought not unto thee. That this signifies that evil not by his fault was with that good, is evident from the signification of "torn," as being death inflicted by another, and thus evil not by his fault.

Evils with man have many origins.

• The first origin is from inheritance by continual derivations from grandparents and great-grandparents into the father, and from the father, in whom the evils are thus accumulated, to one's self.
• The second origin is from what is actual, that is, what a man acquires to himself by a life of evil. This evil he in part receives by inheritance, as from an ocean of evils, and carries into act; and in part adds thereto many things of himself. From this comes the own which man acquires for himself.

But this actual evil, which man makes his own, has also various origins - in general two: one, that he receives evil from others through no fault of his own; and the other, that he receives it of his own accord, thus through his own fault.

That which a man receives from others without any fault of his own, is what is signified in the Word by "what is torn;" but that which he receives of his own accord, thus through his own fault, is signified in the Word by a "carcass."

Hence it was that, as in the Ancient Church, so also in the Jewish, it was forbidden to eat that which had died of itself, or a carcass, and also that which had been torn; concerning which we read in Moses:

Every soul that eateth a carcass and that which is torn, whether he be homeborn or a stranger, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even; then shall he be clean. And if he wash them not, nor bathe his flesh, he shall bear his iniquity (Lev. 17:15-16).

A carcass and that which is torn he shall not eat, to defile himself therewith: I am Jehovah (Lev. 22:8)

"that which is torn" denotes the evil which is from falsity that is injected by the evil, who are the wild beasts in the forest which tear; for in the Word the infernals are compared to wild beasts. In the same:

Men of holiness shall ye be unto Me; therefore ye shall not eat any flesh that is torn in the field, ye shall cast it to the dogs (Exod. 22:30).

In Ezekiel:

The prophet says to Jehovah, my soul hath not been defiled; and a carcass and that which is torn have I not eaten from my youth up, neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth (Ezek. 4:14).

The priests shall not eat of any carcass or that which is torn, of fowl or of beast (Ezek. 44:31);

speaking of the Lord's kingdom, that the new earth is there.

From these passages it may be seen what is meant in the internal sense by "that which is torn;" but to make this still more manifest, let us take an example.

If a man who is leading a life of good, or who does well to another from willing well, suffers himself to be persuaded by another who is in evil that the life of good effects nothing toward salvation, for the reason that all are born in sins; and because no one can will good of himself, and therefore cannot do it; and that on this account a means of salvation has been provided which is called faith; and therefore that a man can be saved by faith without a life of good, and this even though he should receive faith in death's last hour - if such a person who has lived in a life of good suffers himself to be so persuaded, and then becomes careless in regard to life, and even treats it with contempt, he is said to be "torn"; for "torn" is predicated of good into which falsity is insinuated, and thereby the good becomes no longer living.

Take also as an example,

the conjugial, which in the beginning some one regards as heavenly, but afterwards one of the married partners or both of them suffer themselves to be persuaded that it is only for the sake of order in the world, and for the education and individual care of children, and for the sake of inheritance; and further that the bond of marriage is nothing but a matter of compact, which may be dissolved or relaxed by either party, provided that it is done by consent; the result being that after he has received this persuasion the individual has no heavenly idea of marriage; and supposing that lasciviousness is the consequence, there then comes into existence that which is called "torn"

and so in all other cases.

That it is the evil who tear, and this by reasonings from external things, into which internal things cannot be insinuated on account of the evil of life, may be seen from the following passages.

In Jeremiah:

A lion out of the forest hath slain the great ones, a wolf of the deserts hath laid them waste, a leopard watcheth over their cities, everyone that goeth out from thence is torn, because their transgressions are multiplied, their backslidings are increased (Jer. 5:5-6).

And in Amos:

Edom did pursue his brother with the sword, and destroyed his compassions, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he keeps his fury continually (Amos 1:11).

I bore the loss of it. That this signifies that good came of it, is evident from the signification of "bearing the loss," as being to make good; here, that good came of it. As regards the evil of fault, and the evil not of fault, which as before shown are signified by a "carcass" and "what is torn," the case is this.

The evil of fault, or the evil which a man has contracted by actual life, and has also confirmed in thought even to belief and persuasion, cannot be amended, but remains to eternity; whereas the evil not of fault, which a man has not confirmed by thought, and of which he has not inwardly persuaded himself, does indeed remain, but only adheres in externals; for it does not penetrate to the interiors and pervert the internal man. Such is the evil through which good comes; for the internal man, which has not yet been affected and given consent, can see it in the external as evil, and therefore it can be removed. And as the internal man can see it, it can on that account at the same time see good more clearly; for good is seen more clearly from what is opposite than from what is not opposite; and the man is then also more sensibly affected by good. This then is what is meant by good coming of it.

From my hand didst thou require it. That this signifies that it was from Him, is evident from the signification of "hand," as being power, thus that it was from Him; for that which is from His own power is from Him.

Whether stolen by day or stolen by night. That this signifies the evil of self-merit in like manner, is evident from the signification of "stolen" or of "theft," as being the evil of self-merit. There is the evil of self-merit when a man ascribes good to himself, and supposes that it is from himself, and on this account desires to merit salvation. This evil is what is signified in the internal sense by "theft." But in regard to this evil, all who are being reformed at first suppose that good is from themselves, and therefore that by the good which they do they merit salvation; for their supposing that they merit salvation by the good which they do is the result of their supposing that the good is from themselves, for the one idea coheres with the other. But they who suffer themselves to be regenerated do not confirm this in their thought, or persuade themselves that it is so; but the idea is gradually dissipated. For so long as anyone is in the external man, as is the case with all in the beginning of their reformation, he cannot do otherwise than think so, because he thinks solely from his external man. But when the external man together with its concupiscences is being removed, and the internal man is beginning to work; that is, when the Lord flows in through the internal man with the light of intelligence, and thereby enlightens the external man; the man then begins to believe otherwise, and ascribes good not to himself, but to the Lord. From this it is plain what is here meant by that evil of self-merit through which comes good, in like manner as through the evil which is not of fault. But if when he has arrived at adult age a man confirms in his thought, and altogether persuades himself that he merits salvation by the good he does, the evil in question inheres radically, and cannot be amended. For such men claim to themselves that which is the Lord's, and thus do not receive the good which continually flows in from the Lord; but immediately on its flowing in, divert it to themselves, and into their own, and consequently defile it. These are the evils which in the proper sense are signified by "thefts".

(from Arcana Coelestia 4171-4174)

The Operation of the Divine Providence

Selection from Divine Providence ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

The operation of the Divine providence for the salvation of man begins at his birth and continues until the end of his life and afterwards to eternity.

[A] heaven from the human race is the essential end of the creation of the universe, and that this end in its operation and progress is the Divine providence for the salvation of men. All things exterior to man, and that are serviceable to him in the way of use, are secondary ends of creation, which in brief have relation to all things in the three kingdoms, the animal, the vegetable, and the mineral. When these things go forth regularly in accordance with the laws of Divine order established in their first creation, how is it possible for the primary end, which is the salvation of the human race, not to go forth regularly in accordance with the laws of its order, which are the laws of the Divine providence?

Watch a fruit tree. Does it not first have birth as a slender shoot from a small seed, and does it not afterwards gradually grow to a trunk and spread forth branches, which are covered with leaves, and then put forth blossoms, and bring forth fruit, depositing therein new seeds by which it provides for its perpetuity? The same thing occurs with every shrub, and with every herb of the field. In these do not each thing and all things go forth regularly and wonderfully from end to end in accordance with the laws of its order? Why not likewise the primary end, which is a heaven from the human race? Can there be any thing in its progress that does not go on most regularly in accordance with the laws of the Divine providence?

As there is a correspondence between man's life and the growth of a tree, let a parallel or comparison be drawn between them. Man's infancy is comparatively like the tender shoot of a tree sprouting up out of the ground from the seed; his childhood and youth are like that shoot growing into a trunk with its little branches; the natural truths that every one first imbibes are like the leaves with which the branches are covered ("leaves" in the Word signifying nothing else); the man's initiation into the marriage of good and truth, that is, the spiritual marriage, is like the blossoms that the tree brings forth in the springtime; spiritual truths are the petals of these flowers; the primary activities of the spiritual marriage are like the beginnings of the fruit; spiritual goods, which are the goods of charity, are like the fruit (and these are signified by "fruit" in the Word); the procreations of wisdom from love are like the seeds, and by these procreations man becomes like a garden or a paradise. Moreover, man is depicted in the Word by a "tree;" and his wisdom originating in love by a "garden" ("the garden of Eden" signifies nothing else).

In fact, man is a corrupt tree from the seed; nevertheless, a grafting or budding with shoots taken from the tree of life is possible, whereby the sap drawn from the old root is turned into sap forming good fruit. This comparison has been made to show that when there is so regular a progression of the Divine providence in the growth and regeneration of trees, there must needs be a regular progression in the reformation and regeneration of men, who are of much more value than trees, according to these words of the Lord:-

Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten in the sight of God? But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; ye are of more value than many sparrows. And which of you by being anxious can add to his stature one cubit? If ye, then, be not able to do that which is least, why are ye anxious concerning the rest? Consider the lilies how they grow. If, then, God so clothe the grass, which is today in the field and tomorrow is cast into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O ye men of little faith? (Luke 12:6, 7, 25-28).

The operation of the Divine providence for the salvation of man is said to begin at his birth and to continue unto the end of his life. To understand this it must be known that the Lord sees what man is, and foresees what he wills to be, thus what he will be; and that he may be a man and therefore immortal the freedom of his will must not be taken away, as has been frequently shown before. Consequently the Lord foresees man's state after death, and provides for it from his birth until the end of his life. With the evil the Lord provides by permitting evils and continually withdrawing them from evils; while with the good He provides by leading to good. Thus the Divine providence is unceasingly in the work of saving men. But no more can be saved than are willing to be saved, and those are willing to be saved who acknowledge God and are led by Him; and those are unwilling who do not acknowledge God and who lead themselves; for such do not think about eternal life or about salvation, while the others do. This the Lord sees and still He leads them, and leads them in accordance with the laws of His Divine providence, contrary to which laws He cannot act, since to act contrary to them would be to act contrary to His Divine love and contrary to His Divine wisdom, which is to act contrary to Himself.

Since, then, the Lord foresees the states of all after death, and also foresees the places in hell of those who are not willing to be saved, and the places in heaven of those who are willing to be saved, it follows that for the evil, as has been said, the Lord provides their places by permitting and by withdrawing, and for the good by leading; and unless this were done unceasingly from every one's birth until the end of his life neither heaven nor hell would continue to exist, for without that foresight and providence together neither heaven nor hell would be anything but confusion. That the Lord from foresight has provided for every one his place may be seen above (n. 202, 203).

This may be illustrated by this comparison. If an archer or a marksman should aim at a mark, and behind the mark a straight line were drawn for a mile, and if he should err only by a finger's breadth in his aim, his missile or ball keeping on to the end of the mile would depart very far from the line. So would it be if the Lord did not every moment, and even every least fraction of a moment, regard the eternal in His foreseeing and providing every one's place after death. But this the Lord does because the entire future is present to Him and the entire present is to Him the eternal. That the Divine providence in every thing it does has regard to the infinite and eternal may be seen above (n. 46-69, 214, seq.)

It is also said that the operation of the Divine providence will continue to eternity, since every angel is perfecting in wisdom to eternity, but each according to the degree of that affection for good and truth in which he was when he left the world. It is this degree that is being perfected to eternity. Anything beyond this degree is outside of the angel and not within him, and that which is outside of him cannot be perfected within him. This is meant by the -

Good measure, pressed down and shaken together and running over, that shall be given into the bosom of those who forgive and give to others (Luke 6:37, 38),

that is, who are in good of charity.

(Divine Providence 332-334)

What Use Temptations Promote

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

Man is nothing but an organ, or vessel, which receives life from the Lord — Man does not live from himself. The life which inflows with man from the Lord is from His Divine love. This love, or the life thence derived, inflows and applies itself to the vessels which are in man's rational, and to those which are in his natural. In consequence of the hereditary evil into which man is born, and of the actual evil which he acquires, these vessels are in a contrary position within him relatively to the inflowing life, yet insofar as the life which flows in can dispose the vessels to receive it, it does so dispose them. These vessels in the rational man, and in the natural, are what are called truths, but in themselves they are merely perceptions of the variations of form of these vessels, and of the changes of state according to which in divers ways these variations come forth, being effected in the most subtle substances, by methods inexpressible.

I have been instructed that regarded in itself the exterior memory is simply something organic formed from the objects of the senses-specially those of the sight and of the hearing-in the substances which are the beginnings of the fibers; and that according to the impressions from these objects are effected variations of form, which are reproduced; and that these forms are varied and changed according to the changes of the state of the affections and persuasions. Also that the interior memory is in like manner organic, but purer and more perfect, being formed from the objects of the interior sight; which objects are disposed into regular series, in an incomprehensible order. (Arcana Coelestia 2487)

Good itself, which has life from the Lord, or which is life, is that which flows in and disposes.

When therefore these vessels, which are to be varied as to forms, are as before said in a contrary position and direction in respect to the life, it is evident that they must be reduced to a position in accordance with the life, or into compliance with it. This cannot possibly be effected so long as the man is in that state into which he is born, and to which he has reduced himself — for the vessels are not obedient, being obstinately resistant, and hardening themselves against the heavenly order according to which the life acts — for the good which moves them, and with which they comply, is of the love of self and of the world; which good, from the gross heat that is in it, causes them to be of such a quality, and therefore before they can be rendered compliant and fit to receive anything of the life of the Lord's love, they must be softened. This softening is effected by no other means than temptations; for temptations remove all that is of the love of self and of contempt for others in comparison with self, consequently all that is of self-glory, and also of hatred and revenge on this account. When therefore the vessels have been somewhat tempered and subdued by temptations, they begin to become yielding to, and compliant with, the life of the Lord's love, which continually flows in with man.

Hence then it is that good begins to be conjoined with truths; first in the rational man, and afterwards in the natural; for as before said truths are nothing else than perceptions of the variations of form according to states that are continually being changed and these perceptions are from the life which flows in. This is the reason why man is regenerated, that is, made new, by temptations; or what is the same, by spiritual combats; and that he is afterwards gifted with another nature, being made mild, humble, simple, and contrite in heart. From these considerations it may now be seen what use temptations promote, namely, that good from the Lord may not only flow in, but may also dispose the vessels to obedience, and thus conjoin itself with them. ....

But as regards the Lord, who in the supreme sense is here treated of, He by the most grievous temptation combats reduced all things in Himself into Divine order, insomuch that there remained nothing at all of the human which He had derived from the mother, so that He was not made new as are other men, but altogether Divine. For the man who is made new by regeneration still retains in himself an inclination to evil, and even evil itself; but is withheld from evil by an influx of the life of the Lord's love, and this with a force exceeding great; whereas the Lord utterly cast out all the evil that was hereditary to Him from the mother, and made Himself Divine, even as to the vessels, that is, as to truths. This is that which in the Word is called "glorification."

(from Arcana Coelestia 3318)

Spiritual Equilibrium — Freedom of Choice

Selection from True Christian Religion ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

So long as man lives in the world, he is kept midway between heaven and hell, and is there in spiritual equilibrium, which is freedom of choice.

In order to know what freedom of choice is and the nature of it, it is necessary to know its origin.

Especially from a recognition of its origin it can be known, not only that there is such a thing as freedom of choice, but also what it is. Its origin is in the spiritual world, where man's mind is kept by the Lord.

Man's mind is his spirit, which lives after death, and his spirit is constantly in company with its like in the spiritual world, and at the same time by means of the material body with which it is enveloped, it is with men in the natural world. Man does not know that in respect to his mind he is in the midst of spirits, for the reason that the spirits with whom he is in company in the spiritual world, think and speak spiritually, while his own spirit thinks and speaks naturally so long as he is in the material body.  The natural man cannot understand or perceive spiritual thought and speech, nor the reverse; this is why spirits cannot be seen. But when the spirit of man is in company with spirits in their world, he is also in spiritual thought and speech with them, because his mind is interiorly spiritual but exteriorly natural; therefore by means of his interiors he communicates with spirits, while by means of his exteriors he communicates with men. By such communication man has a perception of things, and thinks about them analytically. If it were not for such communication, man would have no more thought or other thought than a beast, and if all connection with spirits were taken away from him, he would instantly die.

But to make it comprehensible how man can be kept midway between heaven and hell and thereby in spiritual equilibrium from which he has freedom of choice, it shall be briefly explained.

The spiritual world consists of heaven and hell; heaven then is overhead, and hell is beneath the feet, not however, in the center of the globe inhabited by men, but below the lands of the spiritual world, which are also of spiritual origin, and therefore not extended [spatially], but with an appearance of extension.

Between heaven and hell there is a great interspace, which to those who are there appears like a complete orb. Into this interspace, evil exhales from hell in all abundance; while from heaven, on the other hand, good flows into it, also in all abundance. It was of this interspace that Abraham said to the rich man in hell:

Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed; so that they who would pass from hence to you cannot, neither can they who are there cross over to us (Luke 16:26).

Every man, as to his spirit, is in the midst of this interspace, solely for this reason, that he may be in freedom of choice.

Because this interspace is so large and because it appears to those who are there like a vast orb, it is called the World of Spirits. Moreover, it is full of spirits, because every man after death first goes there, and is there prepared either for heaven or for hell. There he is among spirits, in company with them, as formerly he was among men in the world. There is no purgatory there; that is a fiction invented by the Roman Catholics.

Every man from infancy even to old age is changing his locality or situation in that world.

When an infant he is kept in the eastern quarter towards the northern part; when a child, as he learns the first lessons of religion, he moves gradually from the north towards the south; when a youth, as he begins to exercise his own thoughts, he is borne southward; and afterwards when he judges for himself and becomes his own master, he is borne into the southern quarter towards the east, according to his growth in such things as have regard interiorly to God and love to the neighbor.

But if he inclines to evil and imbibes it, he advances towards the west. For all in the spiritual world have their abodes according to the quarters; in the east are those who are in good from the Lord, because the sun, in the midst of which is the Lord, is in that quarter; in the north are those who are in ignorance; in the south, those who are in intelligence; and in the west, those who are in evil.

Man himself is not kept as to his body in that interspace or middle region, but only as to his spirit; and as his spirit changes its state by advancing towards good or towards evil, so is it transferred to localities or situations in this quarter or in that, and comes into association with those who dwell there.

But it must be understood that the Lord does not transfer man to this or that place, but man transfers himself in different ways — if he chooses good, he together with the Lord, or rather the Lord together with him, transfers his spirit towards the east; but if man chooses evil, he together with the devil, or rather the devil together with him, transfers his spirit towards the west. It must be noticed that where the term heaven is here used, the Lord also is meant, because the Lord is the all in all things of heaven; and where the term devil is used, hell also is meant, because all who are there are devils.

Man is kept in this great interspace, and midway therein continually, for the sole purpose that he may have freedom of choice in spiritual things, for this is a spiritual equilibrium, because it is an equilibrium between heaven and hell, thus between good and evil.

All who are in that great interspace are, as to their interiors, conjoined either with the angels of heaven or with the devils of hell; or at the present day either with the angels of Michael or with the angels of the dragon.

After death every man betakes himself to his own in that interspace and associates himself with those who are in a love similar to his own, for love conjoins everyone there with his like, and causes him to breathe out his soul freely, and to continue in his previous state of life. But the externals that do not make one with his internals are then gradually put off, and when this has been done the good man is raised up to heaven, and the evil man betakes himself to hell, each to such as he is at one with as to his ruling love. ... ...

There is a freedom also belonging to beasts, birds, fishes and insects; but these are impelled by their bodily senses, prompted by appetite and pleasure. Man would not be unlike these if his freedom to do were equal to his freedom to think. He, too, would then be impelled by his bodily senses, prompted by lust and pleasure. It is otherwise with one who heartily accepts the spiritual things of the church, and by means of them restrains his freedom of choice. Such a man is led by the Lord away from lusts and evil pleasures and his connate avidity for them, and acquires an affection for what is good, and turns away from evil. He is then transferred by the Lord nearer to the east, and at the same time to the south of the spiritual world, and is introduced into heavenly freedom, which is freedom indeed.

(from True Christian Religion 475-478)

The Use which the Lord Performs for Himself

Selections from Divine Love and Wisdom ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. (John 14:23)

The essence of spiritual love is doing good to others, not for the sake of self but for the sake of others - infinitely more is this the essence of Divine Love. It is like the love of parents for their children, in that parents do good to their children from love, not for their own sake but for their children's sake. This is especially manifest in a mothers love for her offspring. Because the Lord is to be adored, worshiped and glorified, He is supposed to love adoration, worship, and glory for His own sake, but He loves these for man's sake, because by means of them man comes into a state in which the Divine can flow in and be perceived - since by means of them, [the adoration, worship, and glory], man puts away that which is his own, which hinders influx and reception, for what is man's own, which is self-love, hardens the heart and shuts it up. This is removed by man's acknowledging that from himself comes nothing but evil and from the Lord nothing but good; from this acknowledgment there is a softening of the heart and humiliation, out of which flow forth adoration and worship. From all this it follows, that the use which the Lord performs for Himself through man is that man may be able to do good from love, and since this is the Lord's love, its reception is the enjoyment of His love. Therefore, let no one believe that the Lord is with those who merely worship Him - He is with those who do His commandments, thus who perform uses - with such He has His abode, but not with the former.

Divine love and Divine wisdom must necessarily
have being [esse] and have form [existere]
in others created by itself.

It is the essential of love not to love self, but to love others, and to be conjoined with others by love.

It is the essential of love, moreover, to be loved by others, for thus conjunction is effected.

The essence of all love consists in conjunction - this, in fact, is its life, which is called enjoyment, pleasantness, delight, sweetness, bliss, happiness, and felicity.

Love consists in this, THAT ITS OWN SHOULD BE ANOTHER'S.

To feel the joy of another as joy in oneself, that is loving, but to feel one's own joy in another and not the other's joy in oneself is not loving - for this is loving self, while the former is loving the neighbor. These two kinds of love are diametrically opposed to each other. Either, it is true, conjoins; and to love one's own, that is, oneself, in another does not seem to divide, but it does so effectually divide that so far as any one has loved another in this manner, so far he afterwards hates him. For such conjunction is by its own action gradually loosened, and then, in like measure, love is turned to hate.

Who that is capable of discerning the essential character of love cannot see this? For what is it to love self alone, instead of loving some one outside of self by whom one may be loved in return? Is not this separation rather than conjunction? Conjunction of love is by reciprocation; and there can be no reciprocation in self alone. If there is thought to be, it is from an imagined reciprocation in others. From this it is clear that Divine Love must necessarily have being (esse) and have form (existere) in others whom it may love, and by whom it may be loved. For as there is such a need in all love, it must be to the fullest extent, that is, infinitely in Love Itself.

With respect to God: —

It is impossible for Him to love others and to be loved reciprocally by others in whom there is anything of infinity, that is, anything of the essence and life of love in itself, or anything of the Divine. For if there were beings having in them anything of infinity, that is, of the essence and life of love in itself, that is, of the Divine, it would not be God loved by others, but God loving Himself. Since the Infinite, that is, the Divine, is ONE Only, and if this were in others, Itself would be in them, and would be the love of self Itself and of that love not the least trace can possibly be in God, since it is wholly opposed to the Divine Essence. Consequently, for this relation to be possible there must be others in whom there is nothing of the Divine in itself. It is possible in beings created from the Divine. But that it may be possible, there must be Infinite Wisdom making one with Infinite Love; that is, there must be the Divine Love of Divine Wisdom, and the Divine Wisdom of Divine Love.

(from Divine Love and Wisdom 335; 47-49)

Man's Love is ...

Selection from Conjugial Love ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

Man knows that love is, but does not know what it is. He knows that love is, from common speech, such as the expressions, he loves me; a king loves his subjects, and the subjects love their king; a husband loves his wife, and a mother her children, and vice versa; also this or that man loves his country, his fellow-citizens, his neighbor. Love is likewise said of things apart from person, as that one loves this thing or that.

But although love is so universal in speech, yet scarcely any one knows what love is. When he reflects upon it, being unable to form any idea of thought about it, and so to set it in the light of the understanding (for the reason that it is not a thing of light but of heat), he says either that it is not anything or that it is merely something flowing in from sight, hearing, and conversation, and thus affecting. It is entirely unknown to him that it is his very life, not only the general life of his whole body and the general life of all his thoughts, but also the life of all the single parts thereof. A wise man can perceive this from the following:

If you take away the affection of love, can you think anything? can you do anything? Is it not a fact that, so far as affection, which is of the love, grows cold, the thought, speech, and action also grow cold? and that, so far as it grows warm, these grow warm?

Love then, is the heat of man's life, that is, his vital heat; the heat of the blood and its redness are from no other source. What makes all this, is the fire of the angelic sun, which is pure love.

That every one has his own love, or a love distinct from another's love, that is, that the love of one man is not the same as that of another, is evident from the infinite variety of faces. Faces are the types of loves; for it is well known that countenances change and vary according to the affections of the love. Moreover, desires, which are desires of the love, and also the love's joys and sorrows, shine forth from the face. It is clear from this that a man is his love, yea, the form of his love. But it should be known that the form of man's love is the inner man, being the same as his spirit which lives after death, and not in the same way the outer man [which lives] in the world; for the latter has learned from infancy to conceal the desires of his love, yea, to simulate and make a show of desires other than his own.

The reason why his own love remains with every man after death is because, love is man's life, and hence is the man himself.

A man is also his own thought, and so his own intelligence and wisdom, but these make one with his love; for man thinks from his love and according to it, yea, if in freedom, he speaks and acts from it and according to it. From this it can be seen, that love is the esse or essence of a man's life, and that thought is the existere or existence of his life therefrom. Therefore the speech and action, which flow forth from thought, flow not from the thought but from the love by means of the thought. It has been given me to know from much experience, that after death man is not his thought but his affection and the thought therefrom, or that he is his love and his intelligence therefrom; and that after death he puts off everything that is not concordant with his love; yea, that he successively puts on the face, tone, speech, gestures, and manners of his life's love. Hence it is that the entire heaven is ordinated according to all the varieties of the affections of the love of good; and the entire hell according to all the [varieties of the] affections of the love of evil.

(from Conjugial Love 34-36)

When Faith is Conjoined to Charity

Selections from Apocalypse Explained ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. (John 13:35)

Let it be considered whether having faith is anything else than living it; and whether living it is not merely knowing and thinking, but also willing and doing; for faith is not in man when it is only in his knowing and thinking, but when it is also in his willing and doing. Faith in man is the faith of the life, but faith not yet in man is the faith of the memory and of thought therefrom. The faith of the life means believing in God; but believing those things that are from God, and not believing in God, is historical faith, which is not saving.

Who that is a true priest and good pastor does not wish that men should live aright?  Who does not know that the faith of knowledges, based on what another has said, is not the faith of the life, but historical faith?

Faith of the life is the faith of charity, for charity is life. But even though this be so, still I foresee that those who have confirmed themselves in the doctrine of faith alone and of justification by faith will not recede from it, because they connect falsities with truths - for they teach truths when they teach from the Word, but falsities when they teach from doctrine; and they therefore confound these things by saying that the fruits of faith are the goods of life, and that these follow from faith, and yet that the goods of life contribute nothing to salvation, but that faith alone saves. Thus they both join and separate the two. When they join the two they teach truths, but only before the people, who do not know that they are inverting things, and that they say these things of necessity, in order that their doctrine may cohere with the Word, but when they separate the two they teach falsities, for they say that faith saves, and not the goods of charity which are works, not knowing then that charity and faith act as one, and that charity is acting well and faith is believing well, and that believing well apart from acting well is impossible; thus that there can be no faith apart from charity; as also that charity is the esse of faith and its soul; consequently faith alone is faith without a soul, thus a dead faith; and as such faith is not faith, so justification by such faith is a thing of naught.

The Lord is conjoined with those who receive Him in heart and life, because the Lord enters or flows in into life; He enters or flows in only with those who are in a life of spiritual love, or in a life of charity; for charity is spiritual love. When that love makes a man's life, the Lord enters or flows in through it into the truths of faith, and causes man to see, or to know them; from this man has the spiritual affection of truth. It is a great mistake to suppose that the Lord enters or flows in into faith alone or into faith separate from charity with man; in such a faith there is no life, for it is like the breathing of the lungs without the inflow from the heart, which breathing would be only a lifeless movement, for the breathing of the lungs is made alive by the inflow from the heart, as is well known.

This makes clear by what way the Divine proceeding from the Lord is admitted, namely, by the way of the heart, that is, of the love; whether you say the heart or the love, it is the same as the life of the spirit therefrom. Love makes man's life, as anyone may know and see if he is only willing to give thought to it; for what is a man without love? Is he not a stock? Therefore, as the love is so is the man. Love is willing and doing, for what man loves he wills and does. An idea of the good of charity and of the truth of faith may be formed from the sun's light and heat. When the light that proceeds from the sun is conjoined with heat, as in spring and summer time, then all things of the earth bud and blossom; but when there is no heat in the light, as in winter time, then all things of the earth become torpid and die. Spiritual light also is the truth of faith, and spiritual heat is the good of charity. From this an idea may be formed of the man of the church; that when faith with him is conjoined to charity he is like a garden and a paradise; but when faith in him is not conjoined to charity he is like a desert, or a land covered with snow.

(from Apocalypse Explained 250:9,10; 251)

The Word in Relation to the Understanding

Selection from Apocalypse Explained ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer. (Revelation 6:2)

And I saw, and behold a white horse, signifies the understanding of truth from the Word. This is evident from the signification of "horse," as being the intellect; and from the signification of "white," which is predicated of truth....It is said that "a white horse" was seen when the Lamb opened the first seal, "a red horse" when He opened the second, "a black horse" when He opened the third, and "a pale horse" when He opened the fourth; and as "horse" signifies the intellect, particularly in relation to the Word, it can be seen thence that the understanding of truth from the Word, and its quality with the men of the church, are here described by "horses." It is the same whether you say that the understanding of truth is described, or those who are in it are described; for men, spirits, and angels are the subjects in which it resides. From this it can be known what is described in the internal or spiritual sense in this chapter and in those that follow next, namely, the Word in relation to the understanding. This is evident also from the ninth verse of this chapter, where, after these four horses had appeared, and the fifth seal had been opened, it is said, "I saw the souls of them that had been slain for the Word of God;" also from the nineteenth chapter of this book, where it is said that:

The name of Him that sat upon the white horse is called the Word of God (Rev. 19:13).

That "a horse" signifies the intellect, and "a white horse" the understanding of truth from the Word, can be seen shown in the small work cited above, on The White Horse....

And he that sat on him had a bow, signifies the doctrine of charity and faith from that understanding, by which evils and falsities are combated and dispersed. This is evident from the signification of "he that sat on a white horse," as meaning the Word; also from the signification of "bow," as meaning the doctrine of charity and faith, by which evils and falsities are combated and dispersed. That "bow" signifies this doctrine will be seen in what follows. Here first let something be said respecting doctrine:

1. Without doctrine no one can understand the Word.

2. Without doctrine from the Word no one can fight against evils and falsities, and disperse them.

3. Without doctrine from the Word no one within the church, where the Word is, can become spiritual.

4. Doctrine can be acquired from no other source than from the Word, and by none except those who are in illustration from the Lord.

5. All things of doctrine must be confirmed by the sense of the letter of the Word.

In respect to the first, namely, "Without doctrine no one can understand the Word," it can be seen from this, that the sense of the letter consists of pure correspondences, which contain in themselves things spiritual, thus it consists of such things as are in the world and in its nature. From this it is that the sense of the letter is natural and not spiritual, accommodated, however, to the apprehension of the simple, who do not elevate their ideas above such things as they see before their eyes. From this it is, moreover, that it contains such things as do not appear to be spiritual, although the whole Word inwardly in itself is purely spiritual, because it is Divine. For this reason there are in the sense of the letter many things that cannot serve as doctrine for the church at this day, and many things that can be applied to various and diverse principles, and from this heresies arise; yet there are many things intermingled from which doctrine can be gathered and formed, especially the doctrine of life, which is the doctrine of charity and of faith therefrom. But he who reads the Word from doctrine sees there all things that confirm, as well as many things that lie concealed from the eyes of others; nor does he suffer himself to be drawn away into strange doctrines by those things in the Word that do not seem to agree, and that he does not understand; for all things of doctrine that he sees there are clear to him, and other things are obscure to him. Doctrine, therefore, which consists of genuine truths is as a lamp to those who read the Word; but on the other hand, to those who read the Word without doctrine it is like a lampstand without a light, placed in a dark place, by means of which nothing conducive to salvation can there be seen, known, inquired into, or found; moreover, one who so reads it is liable to be led away into any errors to which the mind is bent by some love, or is drawn by some principle. From this it can be seen that without doctrine no one can understand the Word.

Second, "That without doctrine from the Word no one can fight against evils and falsities, and disperse them," can be seen from this, that from doctrine truths can be seen in their own light and in their own order, but not from the Word without doctrine. This is clear from what has just been said. But if truths cannot be seen, neither can falsities and evils be seen, for the latter are the opposite of the former; and yet all combat against evils and falsities is from truths, that is, by means of truths from the Lord; consequently he who reads the Word without doctrine may easily be led to fight for falsity against truth and for evil against good, by confirming evils and falsities by a wrong interpretation and application of the sense of the letter of the Word; and as a consequence the man is not reformed; for man is reformed by the dispersion of evils and the falsities of evil, by means of truths applied to the life. This is what is here meant by "the white horse" that was seen, and by "he that sat on him having a bow;" for "a white horse" signifies the understanding of truth from the Word, and "a bow" signifies the doctrine of charity and of faith therefrom by which evils and falsities are combated and dispersed.

Third, "That without doctrine from the Word no one within the church, where the Word is, can become spiritual," can be seen from what has now been said, namely, that without doctrine the Word is not understood, and that without doctrine from the Word evils and falsities cannot be combated; for man becomes spiritual by means of a life according to Divine truths, which he does not know without doctrine, and by removing evils and falsities, which cannot be done without doctrine, as was said above. Without these two man is not reformed, thus does not become spiritual, but remains natural, and confirms his natural life by the sense of the letter of the Word, which is natural, by wrongly interpreting and applying it. It is said, within the church, where the Word is, since those who are out of the church do not have the Word, and therefore know nothing about the Lord; and no one becomes spiritual except from the Lord; and yet all who acknowledge a God and worship Him under the human form, and live in charity according to a religious principle that is in accord with the Word, are prepared by the Lord to receive spiritual life, and do receive it in the other life. Man becomes spiritual by regeneration, and regeneration is effected by "water and the spirit," that is, by means of truths and a life according to them.

Fourth, "That doctrine can be acquired from no other source than from the Word, and by none except those who are in illustration from the Lord," can be seen from this, that the Word is Divine truth itself, and is such that the Lord is in it; for the Lord is in His Divine truth that proceeds from Him; those, therefore, who frame doctrine from any other source than from the Word, do not frame it from Divine truth nor from the Lord. Moreover, in the particulars of the Word there is a spiritual sense, and the angels of heaven are in that sense; consequently there is a conjunction of heaven with the church by means of the Word; those, therefore, who frame doctrine from any other source than the Word do not frame it in conjunction with heaven, from which nevertheless is all illustration.  From this it is evident that doctrine is to be acquired from no other source than the Word, and by none except those who are in illustration from the Lord. They are in illustration from the Lord who love truths because they are truths; and because such as these do them, they are in the Lord and the Lord is in them.

Fifth, "That all things of doctrine must be confirmed by the sense of the letter of the Word," can be seen from this, that Divine truth in the sense of the letter is in its fullness; for that is the ultimate sense, and the spiritual sense is in it; when, therefore, doctrine has been confirmed by that sense the doctrine of the church is also the doctrine of heaven, and there is conjunction by correspondence. Let this be illustrated by this only:  when man thinks any truth and confirms it by the sense of the letter, it is perceived in heaven, but not if he does not confirm it; for the sense of the letter is the basis into which spiritual ideas, which are the angels' ideas, close, much the same as words are the basis into which the meaning of the thought falls and is communicated to another.

(from Apocalypse Explained 355, 356)

The Ratio Between the Infinite and the Finite

Selection from Divine Wisdom ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

All things created have been created to serve the purposes of Life Itself, which is the Lord.

First, something must be said about Life, and afterwards about all things being created to serve the purposes of Life.

Life is love and wisdom; for to the extent that any one loves God and the neighbour, wisdom showing the way, to that extent he lives. Life Itself, however, which is the Life of all, is the Divine Love and Wisdom: the Divine Love is the Being (Esse) of Life, and the Divine Wisdom is its Existing (Existere): the latter united to the former reciprocally is the Lord. Both, the Divine Being (Esse) and the Divine Existing (Existere), are Infinite and Eternal, for the Divine Love is Infinite and Eternal, and so is the Divine Wisdom. Nevertheless, both the one and the other can have conjunction with an angel or with a man, although no ratio exists between what is finite and what is infinite. As however it is difficult to conceive how there can be conjunction when there is no ratio between them, this needs explaining.

No ratio exists between what is natural and what is spiritual, BUT there is conjunction between them by means of correspondences; nor does any ratio exist between the spiritual in which angels of the ultimate heaven are and the celestial in which angels of the highest heaven are, but there is conjunction between them by means of correspondences; similarly, no ratio exists between the celestial in which angels of the highest heaven are and the Divine of the Lord, nevertheless there is conjunction between them by means of correspondences. The nature of conjunction by means of correspondences has been declared and demonstrated elsewhere.

That the Divine is Infinite and Eternal is because it is the All in all things of the life of love and wisdom with angels and men; angels and men are created recipients of life from the Lord, thus finite, whereas the Lord is uncreate, in Himself Life and consequently Life Itself. Therefore, if men, and angels and spirits from men, were to be multiplied to eternity, it would still be that the Lord gives them life, and from Himself leads them in the very least things, in this there is what is eternal, and where the eternal is, there, also, is what is infinite. As no ratio exists between what is infinite and what is finite, let every one be on their guard against thinking of the Infinite as nothing; one cannot say of "nothing" that it is infinite and eternal, nor can "nothing" be said to have conjunction with anything; nor out of "nothing" can anything be made. On the contrary the Infinite and Eternal Divine is the very Being (Esse) Itself, from Whom is created the finite with which there can be conjunction.

This could be illustrated much more fully however, by a comparison of natural and spiritual things, between which, though there is no ratio, there is conjunction by means of correspondences. Such is the relation [ratio] existing between every cause and its effect, and between everything "that precedes" (prior) and "what follows from it" (posterior), such also is the relation between a higher degree and a lower one, such the relation between men's love and wisdom and the love and wisdom of angels; even so, the love and wisdom of angels, although ineffable and incomprehensible to men, are still no more than finite and are incapable of grasping what is infinite, except through the medium of correspondences.

That all things have been created to serve the purposes of Life, which is the Lord, is a consequence in its turn of the fact that men, and angels from them, have been created for the receiving of life from the Lord, and are indeed nothing else than receptacles, although, because of the freedom in which they are held by the Lord, they seem not to be receptacles; none the less, however, receptacles they are, both the good and the wicked; for the freedom also, in which they are held, is from the Lord.

The life of men and angels consists in understanding and thence thinking and speaking, and in willing and thence doing; accordingly these are also constituents of life from the Lord, for they are effects of that life. All created things in the world have been created for the use of mankind, or for their benefit, or for them to find pleasure in, some things directly so, others less directly. Because, then, all these things have been created for the sake of mankind, it follows that they exist to serve the purposes of the Lord Who is the life with men. It seems, because the good live from the Lord, as if the serving of those purposes exists with them, but not with the wicked; yet the fact is that things created yield use, benefit and pleasure to the wicked the same as to the good. For the Lord says:

He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust. (Matthew v. 45 )

That the wicked also do not possess any life of themselves, and that they are led throughout by the Lord, notwithstanding their being ignorant of it and not wishing it, can be seen in the passages treating of the life of those in hell.

(from Divine Wisdom 12:4)

****

Selection from Apocalypse Explained ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

The Lord by the intellectual faculty that each man has, or its opposite, is also present with those who are out of heaven and the church, with those who are in hell or who are to come into hell, and knows their whole state. Every man has three degrees of life, a lowest in common with beasts, and two higher that are not in common with beasts. By these two higher degrees man is a man; these are closed with the evil, but with the good are open. And yet, in regard to the light of heaven, which is the wisdom that proceeds from the Lord as a sun, these two degrees are not closed with the evil, but are closed in regard to the heat, which is the love, that at the same time proceeds therefrom. From this it is that every man, even an evil man, has a capacity to understand, but not a capacity to will from heavenly love, for the will is a receptacle of heat, that is, of love, and the understanding is a receptacle of light, that is, of wisdom, from that sun.

The reason why every man is not intelligent and wise is that some have by their lives closed up in themselves the receptacle of that love, and when that is closed they have no wish to understand anything except what they love, for that only do they wish and love to think about and thus understand. And as every man, even an evil man, has an ability to understand, and that ability is from an influx of light from the sun which is the Lord, it is clear that the Lord is also present with those who are out of heaven and the church, who are either in hell or are to come into hell. It is from the same ability that man is able to think and reason about various things, which beasts cannot do. It is from the same ability that man lives forever.

Another proof of the Lord's omnipresence in hell is that the entire hell, like the entire heaven, is before the Lord as one man, but as a man-devil or a man-monster; and in this all things are in opposition to those that are in the Divine man-angel, consequently from this latter everything that is in the former can be known, that is, from heaven everything that is in hell; for evil is known from good and falsity from truth, thus the entire quality of the one from the quality of the other.

There are three heavens, and there are three hells; and as the heavens are divided into societies so are the hells; and each society of hell corresponds by opposition to a society of heaven. The correspondence is like that between good affections and evil affections, for all societies are affections. So in the same way that each society of heaven, as has been said, is in the Lord's sight as one man-angel in the likeness of its affection, each society of hell is in the Lord's sight as one man-devil in the likeness of its evil affection. This, too, it has been granted me to see. They appear like men, but monstrous. I have seen three kinds of them, the fiery, the black, and the pallid, but all of them with deformed faces, a husky voice, external speech, and like gestures. They all have a lascivious love, and not one of them a chaste love. The delights of their will are evils, and the delights of their thoughts are falsities.

(from Apocalypse Explained 1224:2-5)

Uses Through Which Men and Angels have Wisdom

Selection from Apocalypse Explained ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

To love uses is nothing else than to love the neighbor, for use in the spiritual sense is the neighbor. This can be seen from the fact that everyone loves another not because of his face and body, but from his will and understanding; he loves one who has a good will and a good understanding, and does not love one with a good will and a bad understanding, or with a good understanding and a bad will. And as a man is loved or not loved for these reasons, it follows that the neighbor is that from which everyone is a man, and that is his spiritual. Place ten men before your eyes that you may choose one of them to be your associate in any duty or business; will you first find out about them and choose the one who comes nearest to your use? Therefore he is your neighbor, and is loved more than the others. Or become acquainted with ten maidens with the purpose of choosing one of them for your wife; do you not at first ascertain the character of each one, and if she consents betroth to you the one that you love? That one is more your neighbor than the others. If you should say to yourself, "Every man is my neighbor, and is therefore to be loved without distinction," a devil-man and an angel-man or a harlot and a virgin might be equally loved. Use is the neighbor, because every man is valued and loved not for his will and understanding alone, but for the uses he performs or is able to perform from these. Therefore a man of use is a man according to his use; and a man not of use is a man not a man, for of such a man it is said that he is not useful for anything; and although in this world he may be tolerated in a community so long as he lives from what is his own, after death when he becomes a spirit he is cast out into a desert.

Man, therefore, is such as his use is. But uses are manifold; in general they are heavenly or infernal.

• Heavenly uses are those that are serviceable more or less, or more nearly or remotely, to the church, to the country, to society, and to a fellow-citizen, for the sake of these as ends.

• Infernal uses are those that are serviceable only to the man himself and those dependent on him; and if serviceable to the church, to the country, to society, or to a fellow citizen, it is not for the sake of these as ends, but for the sake of self as the end. And yet everyone ought from love, though not from self-love, to provide the necessaries and requisites of life for himself and those dependent on him.

When man loves uses by doing them in the first place, and loves the world and self in the second place, the former constitutes his spiritual and the latter his natural; and the spiritual rules, and the natural serves. This makes evident what the spiritual is, and what the natural is. This is the meaning of the Lord's words in Matthew:

Seek ye first the kingdom of the heavens and its justice, and all things shall be added unto you (Matt. 6:33).

"The kingdom of the heavens" means the Lord and His church, and "justice" means spiritual, moral, and civil good; and every good that is done from the love of these is a use. Then "all things shall be added," because when use is in the first place, the Lord, from whom is all good, is in the first place and rules, and gives whatever contributes to eternal life and happiness; for, as has been said, all things of the Lord's Divine providence pertaining to man look to what is eternal. "All things that shall be added" refer to food and raiment, because food means everything internal that nourishes the soul, and raiment everything external that like the body clothes it. Everything internal has reference to love and wisdom, and everything external to wealth and eminence. All this makes clear what is meant by loving uses for the sake of uses, and what the uses are from which man has wisdom, from which and according to which wisdom everyone has eminence and wealth in heaven.

As man was created to perform uses, and this is to love the neighbor, so all who come into heaven, however many there are, must do uses. All the delight and blessedness of these is according to uses and to the love of uses. Heavenly joy is from no other source. He who believes that such joy is possible in idleness is much deceived. No idle person is tolerated even in hell. Those who are there are in workhouses and under a judge who imposes tasks on the prisoners that they must do daily. To those who do not do them neither food nor clothing is given, but they stand hungry and naked; thus are they compelled to work there. The difference is that in hell uses are done from fear, but in heaven from love; and fear does not give joy, but love does. Nevertheless it is proper to vary occupations in different ways in company with others, and these serve as recreations, which are also uses. It has been granted me to see many things in heaven, many things in the world, and many things in the human body, and to consider at the same time their uses; and it has been revealed that every particular thing in them, both great and small, was created from use, in use, and for use; and that the part in which the ultimate that is for use ceases is separated as harmful and is cast out as condemned.

(from Apocalypse Explained 1193-1194)

Recipients of the Divine

Selection from Apocalypse Explained ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

As the Divine omnipotence is such that man is not able to think and will, and thus to speak and act, of himself, but is able to do so only from the life which is God, it may be asked why every man is not saved. But he who concludes from this that everyone is saved, or that he is not to be blamed if he is not, is ignorant of the laws of Divine order respecting man's reformation, regeneration, and consequent salvation....

... it is important to make known that the Divine providence operates every particular thing pertaining to man, and even in the most minute particulars, for his eternal salvation;

for the salvation of man was the end of the creation of heaven and of earth. This end was that out of the human race a heaven might be formed, in which God could dwell as in His own very home, consequently the salvation of man is the all in all of the Divine providence.

But the Divine providence proceeds so secretly that man can see scarcely a trace of it, and yet it is active in the most minute particulars relating to him from infancy to old age in the world, and afterwards to eternity, and in each one of these it is the eternal that is regarded.

As the Divine wisdom is in itself nothing but an end, so providence acts from an end, in an end, and to an end. The end is that man may become wisdom and may become love, and thus a dwelling place and an image of the Divine life. ...

(from Apocalypse Explained 1135:3)

Selection from Divine Love and Wisdom ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

The universal end, that is, the end of all things of creation, is that there may be an eternal conjunction of the Creator with the created universe; and this is not possible unless there are subjects wherein His Divine can be as in Itself, thus in which it can dwell and abide. In order that these subjects may be dwelling-places and mansions of Him, they must be recipients of His love and wisdom as of themselves; such, therefore, as will elevate themselves to the Creator as of themselves, and conjoin themselves with Him. Without this ability to reciprocate no conjunction is possible. These subjects are men, who are able as of themselves to elevate and conjoin themselves. That men are such subjects, and that they are recipients of the Divine as of themselves.... By means of this conjunction, the Lord is present in every work created by Him; for everything has been created for man as its end; consequently the uses of all created things ascend by degrees from outmosts to man, and through man to God the Creator from whom [are all things].

(from Divine Love and Wisdom 170)

A Theater Representative of the Lord's Glory

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

Few know what representations and correspondences are, nor can anyone know this unless he knows that there is a spiritual world, and this distinct from the natural world; for there exists a correspondence between spiritual things and natural things, and the things that come forth from spiritual things in natural ones are representations. They are called correspondences because they correspond, and representations because they represent.

That some idea may be formed of representations and correspondences, it is only necessary to reflect on the things of the mind, that is, of the thought and will. These things so beam forth from the face that they are manifest in its expression; especially is this the case with the affections, the more interior of which are seen from and in the eyes. When the things of the face act as a one with those of the mind, they are said to correspond, and are correspondences; and the very expressions of the face represent, and are representations. The case is similar with all that is expressed by the gestures of the body, and with all the acts produced by the muscles; for it is well known that all these take place according to what the man is thinking and willing. The gestures and actions themselves, which are of the body, represent the things of the mind, and are representations; and in that they are in agreement, they are correspondences.

It may also be known that such forms do not exist in the mind as are exhibited in the expression, but that they are merely affections which are thus effigied; also that such acts do not exist in the mind as are exhibited by the acts of the body, but that it is thoughts which are thus figured. The things which are of the mind are spiritual, but those of the body are natural. From this it is evident that there exists a correspondence between spiritual things and natural things, and that there is a representation of spiritual things in natural things; or what is the same, when the things of the internal man are effigied in the external man, then the things that appear in the external man are representative of the internal man; and the things that agree are correspondences.

It is also known, or may be known, that there is a spiritual world, and also a natural world. In the universal sense the spiritual world is where spirits and angels dwell; and the natural world is where men dwell. In particular, there is a spiritual world and a natural world with every man:

His internal man being to him a spiritual world, and his external man being to him a natural world. The things that flow in from the spiritual world and are presented in the natural world, are in general representations; and insofar as they agree they are correspondences.

That natural things represent spiritual things, and that they correspond, may also be known from the fact that what is natural cannot possibly come forth except from a cause prior to itself. Its cause is from what is spiritual; and there is nothing natural which does not thence derive its cause. Natural forms are effects; nor can they appear as causes, still less as causes of causes, or beginnings; but they receive their forms according to the use in the place where they are; and yet the forms of the effects represent the things which are of the causes; and indeed these latter things represent those which are of the beginnings. Thus all natural things represent those which are of the spiritual things to which they correspond; and in fact the spiritual things also represent those which are of the celestial things from which they are.

It has been given me to know from much experience that in the natural world and its three kingdoms there is nothing whatever that does not represent something in the spiritual world, or that has not something there to which it corresponds. Besides many other experiences, this was made evident also from the following.

On several occasions when I was speaking of the viscera of the body, and was tracing their connection from those which are of the head to those which are of the chest, and so on to those which are of the abdomen, the angels that were above me led my thoughts through the spiritual things to which those viscera correspond, and this so that there was not the least error. They thought not at all of the viscera of the body of which I was thinking, but only of the spiritual things to which these correspond. Such is the intelligence of angels that from spiritual things they know all things in the body in general and particular, even the most secret things, such as can never come to man's knowledge; nay, they know everything there is in the universal world, without a mistake; and this because from spiritual things are the causes, and the beginnings of causes.

The case is similar with the things in the vegetable kingdom; for nothing whatever exists there that does not represent something in the spiritual world, and correspond thereto; as has been frequently given me to know by a like interaction with angels. The causes also have been told me, namely, that the causes of all natural things are from spiritual things, and the beginnings of these causes are from celestial things; or what is the same, all things in the natural world derive their cause from truth which is the spiritual, and their beginning from good which is the celestial; and natural things proceed thence according to all the differences of truth and of good in the Lord's kingdom; thus from the Lord Himself, from whom is all good and truth. These things must needs appear strange, especially to those who will not or cannot ascend in thought beyond nature, and who do not know what the spiritual is, and therefore do not acknowledge it.

So long as he lives in the body, man can feel and perceive but little of this; for the celestial and spiritual things with him fall into the natural things in his external man, and he there loses the sensation and perception of them. Moreover the representatives and correspondences in his external man are such that they do not appear like the things in the internal man to which they correspond, and which they represent; therefore neither can they come to his knowledge until he has put off those external things. When this happens, -

Blessed is the man who is in correspondence, that is, whose external man corresponds to his internal man.

As the men of the Most Ancient Church in every thing of nature saw something spiritual and celestial, insomuch that natural things served them merely as objects for thought about spiritual and celestial things, they were for this reason able to speak with angels, and to be with them in the Lord's kingdom in the heavens at the same time that they were in His kingdom on earth, that is, in the church. Thus with them natural things were conjoined with spiritual things, and wholly corresponded. But it was otherwise after those times, when evil and falsity began to reign; that is, when after the golden age there commenced the iron age; for then as there was no longer any correspondence, heaven was closed; insomuch that men were scarcely willing to know that there was anything spiritual; and at last even that there is a heaven and a hell, and a life after death.

In this world it is a great secret, although in the other life nothing is better known to every spirit, that all things in the human body have a correspondence to those in heaven; insomuch that there is not the smallest particle in the body, to which something spiritual and celestial does not correspond; or what is the same, to which heavenly societies do not correspond, for these exist according to all the genera and species of spiritual and celestial things; and this in such an order that together they represent one man, even as to all his parts, in general and in particular, both the interior and the exterior. Hence it is that the universal heaven is also called the Grand Man; and hence it is that it has been so often said that one society belongs to one province of the body, another to another, and so on. The reason is that the Lord is the Only Man, and heaven represents Him; and the Divine good and truth that are from Him are what make heaven; and because the angels are therein, they are said to be in the Lord. But they who are in hell are outside this Grand Man, and correspond to things unclean, and also to bodily corruptions.

This may also in some degree be known from the fact that the spiritual or internal man (which is man's spirit and is called his soul) has in like manner a correspondence to his natural or external man; and that this correspondence is of such a nature that the things of the internal man are spiritual and celestial, while the things of the external man are natural and corporeal; as may appear from what was said above about the expressions of the face and the acts of the body. Moreover as to his internal man, man is a little heaven, because created after the Lord's image.

That such correspondences exist has become so familiar to me in the course of years that hardly anything can be more so; though the fact itself is such that man does not know of its existence, nor believes that he has any connection with the spiritual world; when yet all his connection is from this correspondence; and without this connection neither himself nor any part of him could subsist a moment; for all his subsistence is from it. It has also been given me to know what angelic societies belong to each province of the body, and also of what quality they are; as for instance what societies and of what quality belong to the province of the heart; what and of what quality to the province of the lungs; what and of what quality to the province of the liver; and also what and of what quality belong to the different sensories, as to the eye, to the ears, to the tongue, and the rest; concerning which, of the Lord's Divine mercy we shall speak singly.

Moreover nothing is possible in the created world that has not a correspondence to the things in the spiritual world, and therefore that does not in its own manner represent something in the Lord's kingdom. From this comes the existence and subsistence of all things. If man knew how these things are circumstanced, he would never as is his wont attribute all things to nature.

Hence it is that all things in the universe both in general and in particular represent the Lord's kingdom; insomuch that the universe with all its constellations, atmospheres, and three kingdoms, is nothing else than a kind of theater representative of the Lord's glory which is in the heavens. In the animal kingdom not only man, but also each particular animal, even the least and lowest, is representative; as for instance the little creatures that creep on the ground and feed on plants; these, when their time for wedding is at hand, become chrysalises, and presently, being supplied with wings they soar from the ground into the atmosphere, their heaven, and there enjoy their delight and their freedom, sporting together and feeding on the spoils of the flowers, laying their eggs and thus providing for a posterity; and being then in their state of heaven, they are also in their beauty. Everyone can see that these things are representative of the Lord's kingdom.

That THERE IS ONE ONLY LIFE, that of the Lord, which flows in and causes man to live, whether he be good or evil. To that life correspond the recipient things which are vivified by that Divine influx, and this in such a manner that they appear to themselves to live from themselves. This correspondence is that of life with the recipients of life. Such as are the recipients, so they live; those men who are in love and charity are in correspondence, for they are in agreement, and the life is received by them adequately; but those who are in things contrary to love and charity are not in correspondence, because the life itself is not received adequately; hence they have an appearance of life in accordance with their quality.

This may be illustrated by many things; as by the organs of motion and of sense in the body, into which the life flows through the soul; according to the qualities of these, such are their actions and sensations. The same may be illustrated also by the objects into which light flows from the sun; the light producing colorings according to the quality of the recipient forms. But in the spiritual world all the modifications that come into existence from the influx of life are spiritual, whence come such differences of intelligence and wisdom.

From this also we can see how all natural forms, both animate and inanimate, are representative of spiritual and celestial things in the Lord's kingdom; that is, that in nature all things, in both general and particular, are representative in accordance with the measure and quality of their correspondence.

(Arcana Coelestia 2987-3002)