Everything is Possible which is Conformity with Order

Selection from Arcana Cœlestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

And Moses' father-in-law said unto him, The word that thou doest is not good. Wearing thou wilt wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee, because the word is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to do it, thou alone. Now hear my voice, I will counsel thee, and God shall be with thee.  Exodus 18:17

That this signifies that it is not possible because not in conformity with order, is evident from the signification of "a heavy word," as being that it is not possible. That "a heavy word" here denotes that it is not possible, is evident from what precedes, namely, that wearing he would wear away, and the people that were with him, by which is signified that the truth which has been implanted would perish; and also from what follows, namely, Thou art not able to do it, thou alone; and afterward, If thou do this word, thou shalt be able to stand; by which is meant impossibility unless a change is made.

That it is not possible because not in conformity with order, is because in the other life everything is possible that is in conformity with order.

The Divine truth which proceeds from the Lord is what makes order, and is order itself.

Consequently as everything that is according to Divine truth is according to order, it is possible; and as everything that is contrary to Divine truth is contrary to order, it is impossible.

That this is the case may appear more evident from examples:

It is according to order that they who have lived well shall be saved, and that they who have lived ill shall be condemned. Hence it is impossible that they who have lived well should be sent into hell, and that they who have lived ill should be raised into heaven. Consequently it is impossible that they who are in hell can of the Lord's pure mercy be brought out therefrom into heaven and be saved; for it is the reception of the Lord's mercy while they lived in the world through which everyone is saved. They who receive it then are in the other life in the Lord's mercy, for they are then in the capacity of receiving it there. To give it to others, and in general to everyone at pleasure, provided they have faith, and thus believe that they are cleansed from sins, is impossible, because it is contrary to order, that is, contrary to the Divine which is order.

It is according to order that faith and charity be implanted in freedom and not under compulsion, and that the faith and charity which have been implanted in freedom, endure; but not if they have been implanted under compulsion. The reason is that what is done in freedom is insinuated into the affection, and thus into the will of man, and is therefore appropriated; but not what is done under compulsion. Consequently it is impossible for man to be saved unless, seeing that he has been born in evil, he is allowed to do evil, and to desist from evil. When in this freedom he desists from evil of himself, the affection of truth and good is insinuated by the Lord, whereby he has freedom to receive the things which are of faith and charity, for freedom belongs to the affection. From this it is plain that it is impossible to compel man to salvation. If this could be done, all men in the world would be saved.

It is according to order for all in the other life to be associated together according to the life which they have acquired to themselves in the world; the evil with the evil, and the good with the good. Consequently it is not possible for the evil and the good to be together; neither is it possible for those to be in good who are evil, because good and evil are opposites, and the one destroys the other. For this reason also it is plain that it is not possible for those to be saved who are in hell; thus that it is not possible for salvation to be from mercy alone however a man has lived. They who are in hell and are there tormented, impute the torments there to the Divine, saying that the Divine can take away their torment if He will, because He is omnipotent; but that He will not, and that therefore He is the cause of their torment; for he who can and will not, they say, is the cause. But to take away such torments is impossible, because it is contrary to order; for if they were taken away, the evil would rise up against the good, and would subjugate the angels themselves, and destroy heaven. But the Divine wills nothing but good, namely, the happiness of the good, and for the sake of this, the bridling, and at the same time, the amendment, of the wicked. This being the end — the end of the Divine love and of mercy itself — it is not possible that torments should be taken away from him who is in hell.

From these examples it can be seen that everything is impossible which is contrary to order, howsoever it may appear as possible to those who do not know the arcana of heaven.

(Arcana Cœlestia 8700)

The Delights of the Soul are Imperceptible Beatitudes

Extracts from Conjugial Love and Arcana Cœlestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

There are three things which flow from the Lord into our souls as one. These three as one, or this trine, are love, wisdom, and use.

Love and wisdom exist only ideally, being solely in the affection and thought of the mind; but in use they exist really, being together in the act and deed of the body; and where they exist really, there they also subsist.

And because love and wisdom exist and subsist in use, it is use that affects us; and use is to perform faithfully, sincerely, and diligently the work of one's function. The love of use and the consequent devotion to use holds the mind together lest it melt away and, wandering about, absorb all the cupidities which flow in from the body and the world through the senses with their allurements, whereby the truths of religion and the truths of morality with their goods are scattered to all the winds. But devotion of the mind to use, retains these truths, and binding them together, disposes the mind into a form capable of receiving wisdom from them; and then at the sides it banishes the mockeries and stage plays of both falsities and vanities.

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As first created, man was imbued with wisdom and the love thereof, not for himself but that from himself he might communicate it to others. Hence, it is inscribed on the wisdom of the wise, that-

none is wise and none lives for himself alone unless at the same time for others.

From this comes society; otherwise society would not exist. To live for others is to perform uses. Uses are the bonds of society, which are as many as there are good uses; and uses are infinite in number. There are spiritual uses, which pertain to love to God and to love towards the neighbor; there are moral and civil uses, which pertain to love of the society and state in which a man resides, and of his companions and fellow citizens among whom he lives; there are natural uses, which pertain to love of the world and of its necessities; and there are uses of the body, which pertain to the love of its preservation for the sake of the higher uses.

All these uses are inscribed on man and follow in order one after the other; and when they exist together, the one is within the other. Those who are in the first uses, which are spiritual, are also in the uses which follow; and such men are wise. But those who are not in the first and yet are in the second and from these in the following, are not wise in the same way but only appear to be so from their outer morality and affability. Those who are not in the first and second, but are in the third and fourth, are anything but wise, for they are satans, loving only the world and themselves from the world; and those who are only in the fourth are the least wise of all; for they are devils, living for themselves alone, and if for others, it is only for the sake of themselves.

Every love, moreover, has its own delight, it being by delight that love lives; and the delight of the love of uses is a heavenly delight which enters into the delights that follow in order, exalting them according to the order of their succession, and making them eternal.

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With regard to use: those who are in charity, that is, in love to the neighbor (from which is the delight in pleasures that is alive), pay no regard to the enjoyment of pleasures except on account of the use.

For there is no charity apart from works of charity; it is in its practice or use that charity consists.

He who loves the neighbor as himself perceives no delight in charity except in its exercise, or in use; and therefore a life of charity is a life of uses.

Such is the life of the whole heaven; for the kingdom of the Lord, because it is a kingdom of mutual love, is a kingdom of uses.

Every pleasure therefore which is from charity, has its delight from use. The more noble the use, the greater the delight. Consequently the angels have happiness from the Lord according to the essence and quality of their use.

(from Conjugial Love 16;18 / Arcana Cœlestia 997)

Man's Part in the Removal of Evil

Passages from Divine Providence ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

Evils in the external man can be put away only by man's instrumentality, because it is of the Lord's Divine providence that whatever man hears, sees, thinks, wills, speaks, and does, seems to him to be wholly his own. Without this appearance there could be in man no reception of Divine truth, no determination towards doing good, no appropriation of love and wisdom or of charity and faith, and therefore no conjunction with the Lord, consequently no reformation and regeneration and thus salvation. Without this appearance repentance from sins, and even faith, are evidently impossible. It is also evident that without this appearance a man would not be a man, but would be devoid of natural life like a beast. Let any one who will consult his reason and see, when a man thinks about good and truth, spiritual, moral, or civil, whether there is any other appearance than that he thinks from himself; let him then accept this doctrinal, that everything good and true is from the Lord and nothing from man; and will he not acknowledge this consequence,

that man must do good and think truth as if of himself, and yet must acknowledge that he does it from the Lord; and furthermore, that man must put away evils as if of himself and yet must acknowledge that he does it from the Lord?

Many are not aware that they are in evils, inasmuch as they do not do them outwardly because they fear the civil laws and the loss of reputation, and thus from custom and habit fall into the way of shunning evils as detrimental to their honor and profit. But when evils are not shunned from a religious principle, on the ground that they are sins and antagonistic to God, the lusts of evil with their enjoyments still remain, like impure waters confined and stagnant. Let such examine their thoughts and intentions, and they will find these lusts, provided they know what sins are.

This is the state of many who have confirmed themselves in faith separate from charity, who, believing that the law does not condemn them, do not even think about sins; and some question whether there are any sins in them, or if there are, whether they are sins before God, since they have been pardoned. In a like state also are natural moralists, who believe that civil and moral life with its prudence accomplishes everything and Divine providence nothing. Such also are those who strive with great eagerness after a reputation and name for honesty and sincerity for the sake of honor or gain. But those who are of this character, and who have also despised religion, become after death spirits of lusts, appearing to themselves as if they were men, but to others at a distance like treacherous forms (priapi*); and like birds of night they see in the dark and not in the light.

(Divine Providence 116 - 117)

* a god, son of Dionysus and Aphrodite, personifying the male procreative power; an image of this god, often used as a scarecrow in ancient gardens.