April 23, 2024

A Covenant and A Testimony

Selection from True Christian Religion ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

It is known that the Law promulgated from Mount Sinai was written upon two tables, one of which related to God and the other to men; that in the hands of Moses they were one table, the writing on the right side of which related to God, and that on the left to men; and that when so presented to the eyes of men the writing on both sides was seen at the same time, thus one side was in view of the other, like Jehovah talking to Moses and Moses to Jehovah, face to face, as it is written. This was done in order that the tables so united might represent the conjunction of God with men, and the reciprocal conjunction of men with God; and this is why the written law was called a Covenant and a Testimony, "covenant" signifying conjunction, and "testimony" life according to the compact.

These two tables so united exhibit the conjunction of love to God with love towards the neighbor. The first table includes all things pertaining to love to God, which are, primarily, that man should acknowledge the one God, the Divinity of His Human, and the holiness of the Word, and that God is to be worshiped through the holy things that proceed from Him. ... The second table includes all things pertaining to love towards the neighbor, its first five commandments all things pertaining to action, which are called works, and the last two all things pertaining to the will, thus to charity in its origin; for in these it is said, "Thou shalt not covet," and when man does not covet what belongs to his neighbor, he wishes well to him. That the ten commandments of the Decalogue contain all things pertaining to love to God and all things pertaining to love towards the neighbor - there is a conjunction of the two tables in those who are in charity.

It is different with those who merely worship God, and do not at the same time do good works from charity. These are like those who violate covenants. It is different again with those who divide God into three and worship each one separately; and still different with those who do not approach God in His Human; these are such
As enter not by the door, but climb up some other way (John 10:1, 9).
It is also different with those who from confirmation deny the Lord's Divinity. With all of these there is no conjunction with God, and therefore no salvation; and their charity is nothing but spurious charity, and this does not effect conjunction by the face, but by the side or back.

How conjunction is effected shall be told in a few words. —

With every man God flows into man's knowledge of Him with acknowledgment of Him, and at the same time flows in with His love towards men. The man who receives in the former way only, and not in the latter, receives that influx in the understanding and not in the will, and remains in knowledge of God without an interior acknowledgment of God; and his state is like that of a garden in winter. But the man who receives in both ways, receives the influx in the will and from that in the understanding, thus in the whole mind, and he has an interior acknowledgment of God which vivifies in him the knowledges of God; and his state is like that of a garden in spring.

Conjunction is effected by charity, because God loves every man, and as He cannot do good to man immediately, but only mediately through men, He inspires men with His own love, as He inspires parents with love for their children; and the man who receives that love has conjunction with God, and from God's love loves his neighbor; and in him God's love is within man's love towards the neighbor, and produces in him the will and the ability.

Moreover, as man does nothing that is good unless it appears to him that the ability, the will, and the doing are from himself, this appearance is granted him; and when he does good from freedom as if of himself, it is imputed to him, and is accepted as the reciprocation by which conjunction is effected. This is like active and passive, and that cooperation of the passive which is effected from the active in the passive. It is also like will in doing, and like thought in words, the soul operating from the inmost into both. It is also like effort in motion; and like the prolific in seed, which from the interior operates in the juices through which the tree grows even to fruit, and through fruit produces new seed. It is also like light in precious stones which is reflected according to the texture of the parts, producing various colors, belonging apparently to the stones, but in fact to the light.

This makes clear the origin and the nature of the conjunction of love to God and love towards the neighbor, as being the influx of God's love for men, the reception of which by man and his cooperation therewith being love towards the neighbor. In a word, conjunction is effected in accordance with this saying of the Lord:
At that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you (John 14:20).
Also according to this,
He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself unto him; and We will make abode with him (John 14:21-23).
All of the Lord's commandments have relation to love towards the neighbor, and in a word they are not doing evil to the neighbor, but doing good to him. That those who do this love God and God loves them, is in accordance with these words of the Lord. Because such is the conjunction of these two loves, John says:
He that keepeth the commandments of Jesus Christ abideth in Him and He in him. If a man say, I love God, but hateth his brother, he is a liar; for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from Him, That he who loveth God should love his brother also (1 John 3:24; 4:20, 21)

(True Christian Religion 456-458)

April 22, 2024

The Happiness of Eternal Life

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

And Zilpah Leah's handmaid bare a second son to Jacob. And Leah said, In my blessedness; for the daughters will call me blessed; and she called his name Asher. Genesis 30:12-13
From And Leah said, In my blessedness; for the daughters will call me blessed:

That this signifies in the supreme sense eternity; in the internal sense, the happiness of eternal life; and in the external sense, the delight of the affections, is evident from the signification of "blessedness," and from the signification of "the daughters will call me blessed."

That "blessedness" in the supreme sense is eternity, cannot be seen except from the correspondence with the things in man; for things that are Divine, or that are infinite, are not apprehended except from finite things of which man can form some idea. Without an idea derived from finite things, and especially an idea from the things of space and time, man can comprehend nothing of Divine things, and still less of the Infinite. Without an idea of space and time man cannot have any thought at all; for in respect to his body he is in time, and thus in respect to his thoughts which are from the external senses; whereas the angels, not being in time and space, have ideas of state, and therefore spaces and times in the Word signify states.

There are two states, namely, a state that corresponds to space and a state that corresponds to time. The state that corresponds to space is state as to being; and the state that corresponds to time is state as to coming forth. For there are two things that make man, namely, being and coming forth.

Man's being is nothing else than a recipient of the eternal which proceeds from the Lord; for men, spirits, and angels are nothing but recipients, or forms recipient, of life from the Lord. The reception of life is that of which coming forth is predicated. Man believes that he is, and this of himself; when yet it is not true that he is of himself; but that as before said, he comes forth. Being is solely in the Lord, and is called "Jehovah." From being, which is Jehovah, are all things which appear to be [sicut sint]. But the Lord's being, or Jehovah, can never be communicated to anyone; but solely to the Lord's Human. This was made the Divine being, that is, Jehovah.

Coming forth also is predicated of the Lord; but only when He was in the world, where He put on the Divine.* But since He has become the Divine being, coming forth can no longer be predicated of Him, except as a something that proceeds from Him. That which proceeds from Him is that which appears as the coming forth in Him; yet it is not in Him, but is from Him, and causes men, spirits, and angels to come forth; that is, to live. In man, spirit, and angel, coming forth is living; and his living is eternal happiness. The happiness of eternal life is that to which in the supreme sense eternity, which is from the Lord's Divine being, corresponds. That the happiness of eternal life is that which is signified by "blessedness" in the internal sense, and by the delight of the affections in the external sense, is manifest without explication.

But that which is here signified is - the delight of the affections of truth and good that corresponds to the happiness of eternal life.

All affections have their delights; but such as are the affections, such are the delights. The affections of evil and falsity also have their delights; and before a man begins to be regenerated, and to receive from the Lord the affections of truth and good, these delights appear to be the only ones; so much so that men believe that no other delights exist; and consequently that if they were deprived of these, they would utterly perish. But they who receive from the Lord the delights of the affections of truth and good, gradually see and perceive the nature of the delights of their former life, which they had believed to be the only delights - that they are relatively vile, and indeed filthy. And the further a man advances into the delight of the affections of truth and good, the more does he begin to regard the delights of evil and falsity as vile; and at last to hold them in aversion.

I have sometimes spoken with those in the other life who had been in the delights of evil and falsity; and I have been permitted to tell them that they have no life until they are deprived of their delights. But they said (as say such persons in the world) that if they should be deprived of them, nothing of life would be left them. But I was permitted to reply that life then first begins, together with such happiness as there is in heaven, which in comparison with that of their former delights is unutterable. But this they could not apprehend, because what is unknown is believed to be nothing.

It is the same with all in the world who are in the love of self and of the world, and therefore in no charity. They know the delight of these loves, but not the delight of charity. Thus they are altogether ignorant of what charity is, and still more that there is any delight in charity; when yet the delight of charity is that which fills the universal heaven, and constitutes the blessedness and happiness there; and if you will to believe it, it constitutes the intelligence and wisdom also, together with their delights; for into the delights of charity the Lord inflows with the light of truth and the flame of good, and with the derivative intelligence and wisdom. But falsities and evils reject, suffocate, and pervert these delights, and hence come folly and insanity. From all this it is evident what is the nature and quality of the delight of the affections, and that it corresponds to the happiness of eternal life.

The man of this age believes that if at the hour of death he merely has the confidence of faith, he can get into heaven no matter in what affection he may have lived during the whole course of his life. I have sometimes spoken with those who have so lived, and have so believed. When they come into the other life, they at first have no other idea than that they may enter into heaven, without any regard to their past life, in which they had put on the delight of the affection of evil and falsity from the loves of self and of the world, which had been their ends. I have been permitted to tell them that everyone can be admitted into heaven, because heaven is denied by the Lord to no one; but whether they can live there they can know when admitted. Some who firmly believed that they could, have also been admitted. But as the life there is that of love to the Lord and of love toward the neighbor, which constitutes all the sphere and happiness of the life there, on coming into it they began to be distressed, not being able to breathe in such a sphere, and they then began to perceive the filthiness of their affections, thus to feel infernal torment. In consequence of this they cast themselves headlong down, saying that they desired to be far away, and marveling that that was heaven which to them was hell. This shows what is the nature of the one delight, and what is that of the other; and that they who are in the delight of the affections of evil and falsity can by no means be among those who are in the delight of the affection of good and truth; and that these delights are opposite to each other, as are heaven and hell.

Furthermore, as regards the happiness of eternal life: during his life in the world the man who is in the affection of good and truth cannot perceive it, but a certain delight in its stead. The reason of this is that while in the body he is in worldly cares and consequent anxieties that prevent the happiness of eternal life (which is deep within him) from then being manifested in any other way. For when this happiness inflows from within into the cares and anxieties that are with the man outwardly, it sinks down among the cares and anxieties there, and becomes a kind of obscure delight; but still it is a delight within which there is blessedness, and within this happiness. Such is the happiness of being content in God. But when a man is divested of his body, and at the same time of these worldly cares and anxieties, the happiness which had lain hidden in obscurity within his interior man comes forth and reveals itself.

As affection is so often spoken of, let us state what is meant by affection. —

Affection is nothing else than love, but is what is continuous of it. For from love a man is affected either with evil and falsity, or with good and truth. As this love is present and is within all things in general and particular that belong to him, it is not perceived as love, but is varied according to its matter in hand, and according to the man's states and their changes; and this continually in everything that he wills, thinks, and does. It is this continuous of love that is called affection; and it is this continuous that reigns in a man's life and makes all his delight, and consequently his very life; for man's life is nothing else than the delight of his affection; and thus is nothing else than the affection of his love. Love is man's willing, and derivatively is his thinking, and thereby his acting.

(from Arcana Coelestia 3938)

Editor: In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) John 7:37-39

April 19, 2024

For the Sake of Life

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

In ancient times there were many churches at the same time; and there were as at this day distinctions among them in regard to doctrinal matters; but still they made a one in the fact that they acknowledged love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor as the principal and very essential thing — [the two essentials of the church, which are the acknowledgment of the Lord as the God of heaven and earth, and a life according to the commandments of the Decalogue] — and therefore that the purpose of doctrinal things was not to teach them how to think, but how to live. And when with each and all, love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor - that is, the good of life - is the essential thing; then churches, however numerous they may be, make one church, all then being one in the Lord's kingdom. Such also is heaven; there are innumerable societies there, all distinct; but still they constitute one heaven, because in all there is love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor.

But the case is wholly different with churches that call faith the essential of the church; supposing that if they know this and think this they are saved, no matter what their life may be. In this case the several churches do not make one church, nor indeed are they churches. The good of faith, that is, the very life of love and of charity according to the things of faith, is that which makes the church. Doctrinal matters are for the sake of life. Everyone may know this: what are doctrinal matters except for the sake of all end? and what is the end but life? or that a man may become such as those doctrinal things teach?

It is indeed said that the very faith itself which saves is confidence; but this confidence is quite impossible except in the good of life. Without the good of life there is no reception, and where there is no reception there is no confidence, except at times a certain apparent confidence, in suffering conditions of mind or body, when the cupidities of the love of self and of the world are at rest. But with those who are in evil of life, when this crisis passes or the condition is changed, such fallacious confidence altogether vanishes; for a confidence is found even with the wicked. But whoever desires to know the quality of his confidence, let him examine in himself the affections and ends, as well as the practices of his life.

(from Arcana Coelestia 2982)

April 16, 2024

"To Will" is The Lord's Gift to Man

Selection from Apocalypse Explained ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

THE INCREASE OF THE CHURCH WITH MAN IN PARTICULAR, AND WITH MEN IN GENERAL BY THE LORD

Jesus said, So is the kingdom of God as if a man should cast seed upon the earth, and should then sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow up he knoweth not how. For the earth beareth fruit of herself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit hath come forth straightway he putteth forth the sickle, because the harvest is ready (4:26-29).
"The kingdom of God" means the church of the Lord in the heavens and on the earth; and the implantation of it with all who receive truths and goods from the Lord, not from self, is described by these words, every particular of which corresponds to spiritual things and signifies them

"A man casts seed upon the earth, that he then sleeps, and rises night and day, that the seed springs up and grows up he knows not how;" for "seed" signifies the Divine truth, "to cast seed into the earth" signifies the work of man, "to rise day and night" and finally "to put in the sickle" signifies in every state.

The rest signifies the Lord's work; and the "harvest" the implantation of the church in particular and in general:
For it is to be known, that, although the Lord works all things, and man nothing from self, yet He wills that man should work as if from self in all that comes to his perception. For without man's cooperation as if from self there can be no reception of truth and good, thus no implantation and regeneration. For to will is the Lord's gift to man; and because the appearance to man is that this is from self, He gives him to will as if from self.

(from Apocalypse Explained 911:17)

April 14, 2024

What is charity?

Selection from True Christian Religion ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
A MEMORABLE RELATION

I saw at a distance five gymnasia, each encompassed by a different kind of light; the first by a flame colored light, the second by a yellow light, the third by a white light, the fourth by a light intermediate between that of noon and evening, the fifth was hardly visible, standing as if shrouded by the shades of evening. And on the roads I saw some on horseback, some in carriages, some walking, and some running and hurrying towards the first gymnasium, which was enveloped in the flamy light.

Seeing this, I was seized and impelled by a strong desire to go there and to hear what was under discussion. Therefore I quickly got ready and joined company with those hastening to the first gymnasium, and entered with them; and behold! there was a large assembly, part of which moved off to the right and part to the left, to seat themselves on benches near the walls. Before me I saw a low pulpit, in which stood one who filled the office of president, having a staff in his hand, a cap on his head, and a robe tinted with the flame-colored light of the gymnasium.

When the people had assembled, he spoke aloud and said, "Brethren, you will today discuss the question, What is charity? Each one of you can understand that charity is spiritual in its essence, and natural in its practices."

Immediately one of those on the first bench on the left, on which those who were reputed wise were sitting, arose and beginning to speak, said, "It is my opinion that charity is morality inspired by faith." This he corroborated thus: "Who does not know that charity follows faith, as a waiting-maid follows her mistress, and that the man who has faith obeys the law, and thus practises charity so spontaneously that he is unaware that it is the law and charity according to which he is living? For if he did this knowingly, and at the same time thought of salvation as his end, he would pollute holy faith with his selfhood [proprium] and thus impair its efficacy. Is not this in accordance with the dogma of our church?" And he looked towards those sitting beside him, among whom were some of the regular clergy, and they nodded assent.

"But what," he said, "is spontaneous charity but morality into which everyone is initiated from infancy, and which is therefore in itself natural, but becomes spiritual when inspired by faith? Who, from the moral life of men, can distinguish whether they have faith or not, for every man lives morally? But God alone, who implants and seals faith, recognizes and distinguishes. I therefore assert that charity is morality inspired by faith; and that such morality, owing to the faith in its bosom, is saving, while all other morality brings no salvation, because it claims merit. Thus all those who mix together charity and faith, that is, all who conjoin them inwardly instead of connecting them outwardly, lose their oil; for to mix and join these together would be like putting into the carriage with a primate the servant who stands behind, or like introducing the porter into the dining-hall, and seating him at the table with a nobleman."

After this another rose up from the first bench on the right, and said, "It is my opinion that charity is piety inspired by commiseration. This opinion I corroborate as follows: That nothing has such effect in propitiating God as piety arising from a humble heart; and piety prays unceasingly for God to bestow faith and charity; and the Lord says:
Ask, and it shall be given you (Matt. 7:7)
and because both are given, they are both in that piety. I say that charity is piety inspired by commiseration; for all devout piety commiserates, for piety so moves the heart of man that he groans, and what is that but commiseration? This indeed recedes after we have prayed, but it comes back when we pray again; and when it returns there is piety in it, and thus there is piety in charity. Our priests ascribe all things that promote salvation to faith, and nothing to charity. What then remains but piety praying fervently for both? When I have read the Word I have been able to see nothing else than that faith and charity are the two means of salvation. But when I have consulted the ministers of the church I have heard that faith is the only means, and that charity is nothing. And then it has seemed to me that I was on the sea, in a ship that was drifting between two rocks; and when I feared that the ship would be broken to pieces, I betook myself to a boat and sailed away. My boat is piety; and piety, moreover, is profitable for all things."

After him another, from the second bench on the right, arose and said, "It is my opinion that charity is doing good to everyone, virtuous and vicious alike; and this opinion I corroborate as follows: What is charity but goodness of heart? And a good heart wishes good to everyone, to the virtuous and the vicious alike. And the Lord has said, that good ought to be done even to our enemies. Therefore, when you withhold charity from anyone, does not charity on that side become null, and thus like a man who has lost one foot, and goes hopping on the other? A vicious man is a man equally with a virtuous one, and charity regards a man as a man; if he is vicious, what is that to me? It is with charity as with the heat of the sun, which vivifies beasts, both fierce and gentle, wolves as well as sheep, and causes trees to grow, both good and bad, and the thorns as well as the vine." So saying he took in his hand a fresh grape, and said, "It is with charity as it is with this grape; divide it, and all its contents run out." He divided it, and out they ran.

After this speech another from the second bench on the left, arose and said, "It is my opinion that charity is to serve by every means one's relatives and friends, which I corroborate thus: Who does not know that charity begins with oneself, since everyone is neighbor to himself? Therefore charity goes forth from oneself through grades of nearness first to brother and sister, and from these to kinsmen and relatives; and thus the progression of charity is self-limited. Those who are beyond its limits are strangers, and strangers are not interiorly recognized, and thus are as aliens to the internal man. But those related by blood and birth are joined together by nature, and friends by custom, which is a second nature, and these become the neighbor in that way. Charity unites also another to itself from within, and so from without, and those not united from within may be called companions merely. Do not all birds recognize their own kindred, not by their plumage but by the sound they make, and when they are near, by the sphere of life exhaled from their bodies? This affection for kindred and consequent conjunction is called in birds instinct; while the same affection in men, when it is for those nearest to them, is truly an instinct of human nature. What except blood causes homogeneity? This a man's mind, which is also his spirit, feels, and, as it were, smells. In this homogeneity and consequent sympathy the essence of charity consists. But heterogeneity, on the contrary, from which antipathy springs, is, as it were, not blood, and therefore not charity. And as habit is second nature, and this also causes homogeneity, it follows that charity is also doing good to one's friends. When one comes from the sea into some port and finds that it is a foreign country, the language and customs of whose inhabitants he is unacquainted with, is he not, as it were, out of himself, feeling none of the joy of love toward them? But if he finds himself in his own country with whose language and customs he is familiar, he is, as it were, within himself, and then feels a joy arising from love, which is the joy of charity."

Then from the third bench on the right another arose, and speaking with a loud voice, said: "It is my opinion that charity is giving alms to the poor, and assisting the needy. This surely is charity, for the Divine Word so teaches, the statements of which admit of no contradiction. What is giving to the rich and the possessors of abundance but vain glory, in which there is no charity but only a looking for return? And in this there can be no genuine affection of love towards the neighbor, but only spurious affection, which is effective on earth but not in heaven. Therefore want and poverty ought to be relieved, because into this no idea of recompense enters. In the city where I lived, and where I knew who were virtuous and who were not, I observed that all of the virtuous, when they saw a beggar in the street, would stop and give him alms; while the non-virtuous, seeing a beggar beside them, would pass him by as if blind to his presence and deaf to his voice. And who does not know that the virtuous have charity, and the non-virtuous have not? He who gives to the poor and relieves the needy, is like a shepherd who leads hungry and thirsty sheep to pasture and water; while he who gives only to those who are rich and possess abundance, is like one who devotes himself to the prosperous or presses food and drink upon those who are intoxicated."

After him arose another, from the third bench on the left, and said: "It is my opinion that charity is building hospitals, infirmaries, orphans' homes, and asylums, and supporting them by contributions. This I corroborate by the fact that such beneficences and aids are public, and are many leagues beyond private benefactions; consequently charity becomes richer and more replete with good, as the good is multiplied by the number aided, and the reward hoped for from the promises of the Word become more abundant, for as one ploughs and sows, so he reaps. Is not this giving to the poor and relieving the needy in an eminent degree? Does not one thereby secure worldly fame and praises in the humble voice of gratitude from those helped? Does not this exalt the heart, and with it the affection that is called charity, even to the highest point? The rich, who do not walk the streets, but ride, cannot notice and hand pennies to those sitting at the sides of the streets by the wall of the houses; but they make their contributions of such a kind as to serve many at once. But lesser persons who walk the streets and have not stores of wealth, may do otherwise."

Hearing this, another from the same bench quickly drowned the voice of the first with his louder voice, saying: "Let not the rich, however, exalt the munificence and excellence of their charity over the pittance that one poor man gives to another; for we know that everyone in what he does acts according to what is suitable to his person, whether he is a king or a magistrate, a commander or an attendant. For charity, viewed in itself, is not estimated by the excellence of the person, and consequently of the gift, but by the amplitude of the affection that prompts it; so that a menial giving one penny may do so from a larger charity than the great man who gives or bequeaths an immense sum. This is in accordance with these words:
Jesus saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury; He saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites and He said, of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all (Luke 21:1-3).
After these one arose from the fourth bench on the left, and said: "It is my opinion that charity is to endow churches, and to do good to their ministers; which I confirm by this, that he who does so meditates upon what is holy and acts from what is holy in his own mind, and moreover, that this sanctifies his gifts. Charity demands this, because it is in itself holy. Is not all worship in churches holy? For the Lord says,
Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them (Matt. 18:20)
and the priests His servants conduct the worship. From this I conclude that the gifts which are bestowed upon ministers and churches are superior to those bestowed upon other persons and for other objects. Moreover, there is given to a minister the power to bless, whereby he also sanctifies those gifts; and after that there is nothing that expands and rejoices the mind more than to look upon one's gifts as so many holy shrines."

Then one from the fourth bench on the right arose and spoke as follows: "It is my opinion that the old Christian brotherhood is charity. This I confirm by the fact that every church that worships the true God begins in charity the same as the early Christian church did. Because charity unites minds and makes one out of many, the members of that church called themselves brethren-but brethren in Jesus Christ their God. But because they were then surrounded by barbarous nations whom they feared, they established a community of property, which enabled them to enjoy themselves together in harmony, and at the same time conversed together daily at their meetings about the Lord God their Savior Jesus Christ, and at their dinners and suppers about charity; hence their brotherhood. But after those times, when schisms began to spring up, and finally the abominable Arian heresy arose, which with many swept away the idea of the Divinity of the Lord's Human, charity decayed and their brotherhood was dissolved. It is true that all who worship the Lord in truth and keep His commandments are brethren (Matt. 23:8), but brethren in spirit; and as it is unknown at this day what any man is in spirit, for men to call each other brethren is of no account. A brotherhood of faith alone, and still less a brotherhood of faith in any other God than the Lord God the Savior, is not a brotherhood, because in that faith there is no charity, which is what makes brotherhood. I therefore conclude that the old Christian brotherhood was charity. But that was, and now is not; yet I prophesy that it will return."

When he had said this, a flame-colored light appeared through the eastern window, and tinged his cheeks, at the sight of which the assembly were amazed.

Finally one arose from the fifth bench on the left, and asked permission to add his contribution to the remarks of the last speaker. When this had been granted, he said, "It is my opinion that charity is to forgive everyone his trespasses. This opinion I have drawn from the customary saying of those who approach the Holy Supper; for some then say to their friends, 'Forgive me what I have done amiss;' thinking that they have thus discharged all the duties of charity. But I have thought in my own mind that this is nothing but a painted picture of charity, not the real form of its essence; for this is said both by those who do not forgive, and by those who make no effort to follow charity; and such are not included in the Prayer which the Lord Himself taught, Father, forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. For trespasses are like ulcers, within which, if they are not opened and healed, diseased matter collects, which infects the neighboring parts, and creeping about like a serpent, turns the blood everywhere into such matter. It is the same with trespasses against the neighbor, which, unless removed by repentance and by a life according to the Lord's commandments, remain and devour; while those who, without repentance, merely pray to God to forgive their sins, are like the inhabitants of a city, who, being infected with a contagious disease, go to the chief magistrate and say, Sir, heal us; and he would answer, How can I heal you? Go to a physician, find out what medicines you need, get them for yourselves from an apothecary and take them, and your health will be restored. So the Lord will say to those who pray for the forgiveness of their sins without actual repentance. Open the Word, and read what I have spoken in Isaiah:
Ah, sinful nation, laden with iniquity. When ye spread forth your hands, I hide Mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I do not hear. Wash you, put away the evil of your doings from before Mine eyes cease to do evil; learn to do well, and then shall your sins be removed and forgiven (Isa. 1:4, 15-18).
When all this had taken place, I raised my hand, and asked them to permit me, although a stranger, to offer my opinion also. The president proposed this, and consent being given, I spoke as follows: "It is my opinion that charity is to act with judgment from a love of justice in every employment and office, but from a love derived from no other source than the Lord God the Savior. All that I have heard from those sitting upon the benches, both on the right and on the left, are eminent examples of charity; but, as the president of this assembly stated, at first, charity in its origin is spiritual, but in its flowing forth is natural; and natural charity, if it is inwardly spiritual, appears to the angels transparent like a diamond; but if not inwardly spiritual, and therefore purely natural, it appears to the angels like a pearl that resembles the eye of a cooked fish.

"It is not for me to say, whether the eminent examples of charity which you have presented in order, are inspired by spiritual charity or not; but I can say what the spiritual that ought to be in them, must be, that they may be natural forms of spiritual charity. The spiritual itself of these is this, that they be done with judgment from a love of justice; that is, that in the exercise of charity man should see clearly whether he is acting from justice, and this he sees from judgment. For a man may do evil by deeds of beneficence; and by what appear to be evil deeds he may do good. For example: One who gives to a needy robber the means wherewith to buy a sword, by a beneficent act is doing evil; although the robber in begging the money did not tell what he would do with it. So again, if one rescues a robber from prison and shows him the way to a forest, saying to himself, It is not my fault that he commits robbery; I have given succor to the man. Take as another example, one who feeds an idler, and prevents his being compelled to work, saying to him, Go into a chamber in my house, and lie in bed; why should you weary yourself? Such a one favors idleness. Or again, take one who promotes relatives and friends with dishonest inclinations to offices of honor, wherein they can plot many kinds of mischief. Who cannot see that such works of charity do not proceed from any love of justice combined with judgment?

On the other hand, a man may do good through what appear to be evil deeds. Take as an example a judge who acquits an evil-doer because he sheds tears, pours out words of piety, and begs the judge to pardon him because he is his neighbor. But in fact a judge performs a work of charity when he decrees the man's punishment according to the law; for he thus guards against the man's doing further evil and being a pest to society, which is the neighbor in a higher degree, and he prevents also the scandal of an unjust judgment. Who does not know also, that it is good for servants to be chastised by their masters, or children by their parents, when they do wrong? The same is true of those in hell, all of whom are in the love of doing evil. They are kept shut up in prisons, and when they do evil are punished, which the Lord permits for the sake of their amendment. This is so because the Lord is justice itself, and does whatever He does from judgment itself.

From all this it can be seen clearly, why, as just said, spiritual charity is done with judgment from a love of justice, and yet from a love derived from no other source than the Lord God the Savior. This is because all good of charity is from the Lord; for He says,
He that abideth in Me and I in him, the same beareth much fruit; for apart from Me ye can do nothing (John 15:5).
Also that
He has all power in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18);
and
all love of justice with judgment is from no other source than the God of heaven, who is justice itself, and the source of all man's judgment (Jer. 23:5; 33:15).
From all this we may conclude that all that has been said about charity from the benches on the right and left, namely, That charity is morality inspired by faith; That it is piety inspired by commiseration; That it is doing good alike to the virtuous and the vicious; That it is to serve by every means one's relatives and friends; That it is giving to the poor and assisting the needy; That it is building infirmaries and supporting them by contributions; That it is endowing churches and doing good to their ministers; That it is the old Christian brotherhood; That it is to forgive everyone his trespasses; all these are eminent examples of charity when they are done with judgment from a love of justice. Otherwise they are not charity, but are merely like brooks separated from their fountains, or like branches torn from their tree; because genuine charity is to believe in the Lord and to act justly and rightly in every employment and office. Therefore he who from the Lord loves justice and practises it with judgment, is charity in its image and likeness."

When this had been said there was silence, such as comes to those who from their internal man, but not as yet in the external, see and acknowledge that something is true. This I perceived from their faces. But I was then suddenly removed out of their sight, returning from the spirit into my material body; for the natural man, because of his being clothed with a material body, is not visible to any spiritual man, that is, to a spirit or angel, nor they to him.

(True Christian Religion 459)

April 12, 2024

The Quality of Man's Interior Determines

Selection from Heaven and Hell ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

The laws of spiritual life, the laws of civil life, and the laws of moral life are set forth in the ten commandments of the Decalogue —
    • In the first three the laws of spiritual life
    • In the four that follow the laws of civil life
    • In the last three the laws of moral life.
In external form, the merely natural man lives in accordance with the same commandments in the same way as the spiritual man does, for in like manner he worships the Divine, goes to Church, listens to preachings, and assumes a devout countenance, refrains from committing murder, adultery, and theft, from bearing false witness, and from defrauding his companions of their goods. But all these he does merely for the sake of himself and the world, for the sake of appearances; while in internal form such a person is the direct opposite of what he appears in external form, since in heart he denies the Divine, in worship acts the hypocrite, and when left to himself and his own thoughts, laughs at the holy things of the Church, believing that they merely serve as a restraint for the simple multitude.

Consequently, he is wholly disjoined from heaven, and not being a spiritual man he is neither a moral man nor a civil man. For although he refrains from committing murder, he hates everyone who opposes him, and from his hatred burns with revenge, and would therefore commit murder if he were not restrained by civil laws and the external bonds that are his fears; and, as he longs to do so, it follows that he is continually committing murder. Although he does not commit adultery, yet as he believes it to be allowable he is all the while an adulterer, since he commits adultery to the extent that he has the ability and as often as he has opportunity. Although he does not steal, yet as he covets the goods of others and does not regard fraud and wicked devices as opposed to what is lawful, in intent he is continually acting the thief.

The same is true of the commandments relating to moral life, which forbid false witness and coveting the goods of others. Such is every man who denies the Divine, and who has no conscience derived from religion. That he is such is clearly evident from those of like character in the other life when their externals have been removed and they are let into their internals. As they are then separated from heaven they act in unity with hell, and in consequence are associated with those who are in hell.
    It is not so with those who in heart have acknowledged the Divine, and in the actions of their lives have had respect to Divine laws, and have lived as fully in accord with the first three commandments of the Decalogue as they have in accord with the others. When the externals of such are removed and they are let into their internals, they are wiser than they were in the world. When they come into their internals, it is like coming from darkness into light, from ignorance into wisdom, and from a sorrowful life into a happy life, because they are in the Divine, thus in heaven. These things have been said to make known what the one kind of man is and what the other is, although they have both lived the same external life.
Anyone can know that thoughts are led or tend in accord with the intentions, that is, in the direction that the man intends — for thought is man's internal sight, and resembles the external sight in this, that to whatever point it is directed or aimed, thither it turns and there it rests. Therefore if the internal sight or the thought is turned towards the world and rests there, it follows that the thought becomes worldly; if it turns to self and self-honour it becomes corporeal, but if it is turned heavenwards it becomes heavenly. So, too, if turned heaven-wards it is elevated, but if turned selfward it is drawn down from heaven and immersed in what is corporeal; and if turned towards the world it is also turned downwards from heaven, and is diffused upon the objects that are before the eyes.

Man's love is what makes his intention and determines the sight of the internal man or the thought to its objects — thus the love of self fixes it upon self and its objects, the love of the world upon worldly objects, and the love of heaven upon heavenly objects. So when the love is known, the state of the interiors which are of the mind can be known, that is, the interiors of one who loves heaven are raised towards heaven and are opened above; while the interiors of one who loves the world or who loves himself are closed above and are opened outwardly. From this the conclusion follows that if the higher regions of the mind are closed above, man can no longer see the objects pertaining to heaven and the Church, but those objects are in thick darkness to him; and the things in thick darkness are either denied or not understood. This is why those who love themselves and the world above all things, since the higher regions of their minds are closed, in heart deny Divine truths; and if from their memory they say anything about them they nevertheless do not understand them. Moreover, they regard them in the same way as they regard worldly and corporeal things. And being such, they are able to direct the mind to those things only that enter through the senses of the body, and in these alone do they find delight. Among these are also many things that are filthy, obscene, profane and criminal; and these cannot be removed, because into the minds of such no influx from heaven is possible, since their minds, as just now said, are closed above.

Man's intention, by which his internal sight or thought is determined, is his will; for what a man wills he intends, and what he intends he thinks. Therefore if his intention is heavenward his thought is determined heavenward, and with it his whole mind, which is thus in heaven; and from heaven he beholds the things of the world beneath him like one looking down from the roof of a house. So the man who has the interiors of his mind open can see the evils and falsities that are with him, for these are below the spiritual mind.

On the other hand, the man with whom the interiors have not been opened is unable to see his evils and falsities, because he is not above them but in them. From these things it can be concluded whence man has wisdom and whence insanity, also what a man will be after death when he is left to will and think and to act and speak in accordance with his interiors. All these things also have been said that it may be known what the quality of a man is interiorly, however he may seem outwardly to resemble others.

That it is not so difficult to live the life of heaven as some believe, is now clear from this, that when anything presents itself to a man that he knows to be dishonest and unjust, but to which his mind is borne, it is simply necessary for him to think that it ought not to be done because it is opposed to the Divine precepts. If a man accustoms himself so to think, and from so doing establishes a habit of so thinking, he is gradually conjoined to heaven; and so far as he is conjoined to heaven the higher regions of his mind are opened; and so far as these are opened he sees whatever is dishonest and unjust, and so far as he sees these evils they can be dispersed, for no evil can be dispersed until it is seen. Into this state man is able to enter because of his freedom, for is not any one able from his freedom so to think? And when he has made a beginning, the Lord performs all the good deeds with him, and causes him not only to see the evils to be evils, but also to refrain from willing them, and finally to turn away from them. This is meant by the Lord's words,
My yoke is easy and My burden is light. Matt. 11:30.
But it ought to be known that the difficulty of so thinking and of resisting evils increases so far as man from his will does evils, for in the same measure he becomes accustomed to them until he no longer sees them, and at length loves them and, from the delight of his love, excuses them, and confirms them by all kinds of fallacies, and declares them to be allowable and good. This is what happens with those who in early youth plunge into evils without restraint, and then at the same time reject Divine things from the heart.

(from Heaven and Hell 531-533)

April 8, 2024

The Word is a Medium

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

THE INTERNAL SENSE OF THE WORD

I am aware that few can believe that there is such a sense in everything of the Word, not only in the prophetical, but also in the historical parts. That there is such a sense in the prophetical parts can more easily be believed, because in them there is not so connected a series of things, and there are also strange expressions in them, from which everyone may conjecture that they contain within them some secret meaning. But that there is also such a sense in the historical parts, does not so easily appear, both because this has hitherto come into no one's mind, and because the historical parts are such as to keep the attention fixed on themselves, and thereby to draw away the mind from thinking that anything of a deeper nature is there stored up; and also because the historicals are truly such as related.

Nevertheless no one can fail to infer that within these parts of the Word also there is what is heavenly and Divine, and which does not shine forth:
    First, from the fact that the Word was sent down by the Lord through heaven to man, and therefore differs in its origin (and what the nature of this origin is, and that it is so different and distant from the literal sense as not even to be seen, and consequently not acknowledged, by those who are merely worldly, will be shown by many things in what follows);
    Secondly, from the fact that the Word, being Divine, has not been written for man only, but also for the angels with man, in order that it might serve not only for use to the human race, but also for use to heaven; and that in this way the Word is a medium uniting heaven and earth. This union takes place by means of the church, and in fact by means of the Word in the church, which is for this reason such as it is, and is distinguished from all other writing.
As regards the historical parts specifically, unless they in like manner contained Divine and heavenly things in a sense abstracted from the letter, they could never be acknowledged by anyone who thinks more deeply to be the inspired Word, even as to every jot. Would anyone say that the abominable affair of Lot's daughters, treated of at the end of this chapter, would be related in a Divine Word? or Jacob's peeling rods and making the white appear, and placing them in the watering-troughs, that the flock might bear partly-colored, speckled, and spotted young? Besides many other things in the rest of the books of Moses, of Joshua, the Judges, Samuel, and the Kings, which would be of no importance, and in regard to which it would be a matter of indifference whether they were known or not known, unless they enfolded deeply within them a secret Divine meaning. If it were not for this, they would differ in no respect from other historical narratives, which have sometimes been so written that they seem more effective.

As the learned world is unacquainted with the fact that Divine and heavenly things lie hidden even within the historical parts of the Word, were it not for the holy veneration for the books of the Word which has been impressed upon them from childhood, they would be quite ready to say in their hearts that the Word is not holy except solely from that fact; when yet it is not from that, but because there is within it an internal sense which is heavenly and Divine, and which causes it to unite heaven with earth, that is, angelic minds with human minds, and thereby these latter with the Lord.

That the Word is of such a nature, and that it is in this way distinct from all other writing, may be seen also from the fact that not only do all the names signify actual things (as shown above, n. 1224, 1264, 1876, 1888), but all the words also have a spiritual sense; and they thus signify another thing in heaven from what they do on earth, and this most constantly, in both the prophetical and the historical parts. When these names and words are set forth in their heavenly sense in accordance with their constant signification in the whole Word, there comes forth an internal sense which is the angelic Word. This twofold sense of the Word is circumstanced as are the body and the soul; the literal sense is like the body, and the internal sense is like the soul; and as the body lives by means of the soul, so does the literal sense by means of the internal sense. Through the internal sense the Lord's life inflows into the literal sense, in accordance with the affection of him who is reading it. Hence it is evident how holy is the Word, although it does not appear so to worldly minds.

(from Arcana Coelestia 2310 - 2311)