THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 69)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE
for the
NEW JERUSALEM
FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Series —
(pt. 69)
IN PROPORTION AS ANYONE
SHUNS MURDERS OF EVERY KIND AS SINS
IN THE SAME PROPORTION
HE HAS LOVE TOWARD THE NEIGHBOR.

As the kinds of murder mentioned [in the preceeding article] lie inwardly hidden in man from his birth, and at the same time thefts of every kind, and false witness of every kind, together with the concupiscences for them (of which we shall speak farther on), it is evident that unless the Lord provided means of reformation, a man must perish everlastingly.

The means of reformation provided by the Lord are as follows:
• That man is born into total ignorance;
• That when newly born he is kept in a state of external innocence;
• A little after in a state of external charity;
• Later in a state of external friendship;
• BUT in proportion as he comes into the exercise of thought from his own understanding, he is kept in a certain freedom of acting according to reason. This is the state that has been described above—

So long as a man is in this world, he is midway between hell and heaven: hell is below him, and heaven is above him, and he is kept in freedom to turn himself to either the one or the other; if he turns to hell he turns away from heaven; if he turns to heaven he turns away from hell. Or what is the same, so long as a man is in this world he stands midway between the Lord and the devil, and is kept in freedom to turn himself to either the one or the other; if he turns to the devil he turns away from the Lord; if he turns to the Lord he turns away from the devil. Or what is again the same, so long as a man is in this world he is midway between evil and good, and is kept in freedom to turn himself to either the one or the other; if he turns to evil he turns away from good; if he turns to good he turns away from evil. (n. 19)

We have said that a man is kept in freedom to turn himself one way or the other. It is not from himself that every man has this freedom, but he has it from the Lord, and this is why he is said to be kept in it. . . . That every man is kept in freedom, and that from no one is it taken away. . . . It is plainly evident from all this that in proportion as a man shuns evils, in the same proportion is he with the Lord and in the Lord; and that in proportion as he is in the Lord, in the same proportion he does goods, not from self but from Him. From this results the general law: IN PROPORTION AS ANY ONE SHUNS EVILS, IN THE SAME PROPORTION HE DOES GOODS. (n. 20-22.)

(LIFE 69)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 67-68)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE
for the
NEW JERUSALEM
FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Series —
(pt. 67-68)
IN PROPORTION AS ANYONE SHUNS MURDERS OF EVERY KIND AS SINS
IN THE SAME PROPORTION HE HAS LOVE TOWARD THE NEIGHBOR.

"Murders of every kind" include enmity, hatred, and revenge of every kind, which breathe murder, for murder lies hidden in them, like fire in wood underneath the ashes.

• Infernal fire is nothing else, and this is the origin of the expressions to "kindle with hatred," and to "burn with revenge." All these are "murders" in the natural sense.

• But in the spiritual sense "murders" mean all methods of killing and destroying the souls of men, which methods are varied and many.

• And in the highest sense "murder" means to hate the Lord.

These three kinds of "murder" form a one, and cleave together, for he who wills the murder of a man's body in this world, after death wills the murder of his soul, and wills the murder of the Lord, for he burns with anger against Him, and desires to blot out His name.

These kinds of murder lie inwardly hidden in man from his birth, but from early childhood he learns to veil them over with the civic and moral behavior that he is bound to show toward men in the world, and in proportion as he loves honors or gains, he guards against their appearance.

This forms his external, while his internal is these kinds of murder. Such is man in himself.

Now as when he dies he lays aside that external together with his body, and retains the internal, it is evident what a devil he would be unless he were reformed.

(LIFE 67-68)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE (pt. 66)

THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE
for the
NEW JERUSALEM
FROM THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Series —
(pt. 66)
MURDERS, ADULTERIES, THEFTS, FALSE WITNESS, TOGETHER WITH ALL CONCUPISCENCE,
FOR THESE THINGS ARE THE EVILS WHICH MUST BE SHUNNED AS SINS.

We read in Mark:

That a certain rich man came to Jesus, and asked Him what he should do to inherit eternal life, and that Jesus said to him, Thou knowest the commandments: Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not be a false witness, Thou shalt not defraud, Honor thy father and mother. And he answering said, All these things have I kept from my youth. And Jesus looked upon him and loved him, yet said unto him, One thing thou lackest; go, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor; so shalt thou have treasure in the heavens; and come, take up the cross and follow Me (Mark 10:17-22).

It is said that Jesus "loved him." This was because the man said that he had kept those commandments from his youth. But because he lacked three things, which were—
• that he had not removed his heart from riches
• had not fought against concupiscences
• had not yet acknowledged the Lord to be God
the Lord said that he should "sell all that he had," by which is meant that he should remove his heart from riches; that he should "take up the cross," by which is meant that he should fight against concupiscences; and that he should "follow Him," by which is meant that he should acknowledge the Lord to be God. The Lord spoke these things as He spoke all things by correspondences.  For no one is able to shun evils as sins unless he acknowledges the Lord and goes to Him, and unless he fights against evils and so removes concupiscences. But more about these matters in the chapter on combats against evils.

(LIFE 66)