Those in The Spiritual Affection of The Knowledges of Truth and Good

Selection from Apocalypse Explained ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

Heaven with man is implanted by means of the knowledges of truth and good from the Word. He who believes that heaven is implanted by other means is much deceived; for man is born merely natural, with the faculty of becoming spiritual, and he becomes spiritual by means of truths from the Word and a life according to them. Who can ever become spiritual unless he has some knowledge of the Lord, of heaven, of the life after death, of faith, and of love, and of the other things that are means of salvation? If man had no knowledge of these things he would remain natural; and a merely natural man can have nothing in common with the angels of heaven, who are spiritual.

Man has two minds, one exterior, the other interior. The exterior mind is called the natural mind, but the interior is called the spiritual mind. The former or natural mind is opened by means of the knowledges of the things that are in the world; but the latter or spiritual mind by means of the knowledges of the things that are in heaven, which the Word teaches, and the church from the Word; by means of these man becomes spiritual when he knows them and lives according to them.

This is meant by the Lord's words in John:

Except a man has been born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God (John 3:5).

"Water" signifies the truths of faith, and "spirit" a life according to them.

Most people at this day believe that they are to come into heaven solely by virtue of holy worship in temples and by adorations and prayers, but such of them, as do not care for the knowledges of truth and good from the Word, and who fail to imbue with these the life, as well as the memory, remain natural as before, and do not become spiritual - for their holy worship, adorations, and prayers, do not proceed from any spiritual origin, since their spiritual mind has not been opened by the knowledges of spiritual things and a life according to them, but is empty.

Worship that proceeds from what is empty is merely natural gesture, with nothing spiritual in it. If such persons are insincere and unjust in respect to moral and civil life, their holy worship, adorations, and prayers have within them what repels heaven from them, instead of opening heaven to them as they believe - for their holy worship is like a vessel containing things putrid and filthy, which are oozing forth, or like a splendid garment investing a body covered with ulcers. I have seen many thousands of such cast into hell.

But wholly different are holy worship, adorations, and prayers with those who are in the knowledges of truth and good and in a life according to them; with such these acts are pleasing to the Lord, for they are the effects wrought by their spirit in the body, or the effects of their faith and love, thus they are not merely natural gestures, but spiritual acts.

From this it can be seen that the knowledges of truth and good from the Word, and a life according to them, alone make man spiritual; and that in him who is thereby made spiritual, angelic wisdom from the Lord can be implanted together with eternal happiness. Angels derive happiness from no other source than from wisdom.

(from Apocalypse Explained 126)

Freedom Following The Lord's Presence

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

The presence of the Lord involves freedom, the one following the other. The more present the Lord, the more free the man, that is, the more a man is in the love of good and truth, the more freely he acts. Such is the influx of the Lord through the angels.

But on the other hand, the influx of hell through evil spirits is forcible, and impetuous, striving to dominate; for such spirits breathe nothing but the utter subjugation of the man, so that he may be nothing, and that they may be everything.  When they are everything, the man is one of them, and scarcely even that, for in their eyes he is a mere nobody. Therefore when the Lord is liberating the man from their dominion and from their yoke there arises a combat. But when the man has been liberated, that is, regenerated, he, through the ministry of angels, is led by the Lord so gently that there is nothing whatever of yoke or of dominion, for he is led by means of his delights and his happinesses, and is loved and esteemed. This is what the Lord teaches in Matthew:

My yoke is easy, and My burden is light (Matt. 11:30)

The reverse of a man's state when under the yoke of evil spirits, who, as just said, account the man as nothing, and, if they were able, would torment him every moment.

(from Arcana Coelestia 905)

The Lord Speaking to Man

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

The Lord speaks with every man — for whatever a man wills and thinks that is good and true, is from the Lord. 

There are with every man at least two evil spirits and two angels. The evil spirits excite his evils, and the angels inspire things that are good and true. Every good and true thing inspired by the angels is of the Lord; thus the Lord is continually speaking with man, but quite differently with one man than with another. With those who suffer themselves to be led away by evil spirits, the Lord speaks as if absent, or from afar, so that it can scarcely be said that He is speaking, but with those who are being led by the Lord, He speaks as more nearly present; which may be sufficiently evident from the fact that no one can ever think anything good and true except from the Lord.

The presence of the Lord is predicated according to the state of love toward the neighbor and of faith in which the man is. 

In love toward the neighbor the Lord is present, because He is in all good but not so much in faith, so-called, without love. Faith without love and charity is a separated or disjoined thing.

Wherever there is conjunction there must be a conjoining medium, which is nothing else than love and charity, as must be evident to all from the fact that the Lord is merciful to everyone and loves everyone and wills to make everyone happy to eternity. 

He, therefore, who is not in such love that he is merciful to others, loves them, and wills to make them happy, cannot be conjoined with the Lord because he is unlike Him and not at all in His image.

To look to the Lord by faith, as they say, and at the same time to hate the neighbor, is not only to stand afar off but is also to have the abyss of hell between themselves and the Lord, into which they would fall if they should approach nearer - for hatred to the neighbor is that infernal abyss which is between.

The presence of the Lord is first possible with a man when he loves the neighbor. The Lord is in love; and so far as a man is in love, so far the Lord is present; and so far as the Lord is present, so far He speaks with the man.

Man knows no otherwise than that he thinks from himself, whereas he has not a single idea, nor even the least bit of an idea from himself, but he has what is evil and false through evil spirits from hell, and what is good and true through angels from the Lord. Such is the influx with man, from which is his life and the interaction of his soul with the body.

(Arcana Coelestia 904)