The Divine Providence of the Lord

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

The government of the Lord in the heavens and on earth is called Providence. And as all the good which is of love, and all the truth which is of faith, are from Him, and absolutely nothing from man, it is evident from this that the Divine Providence of the Lord is in each and all things that conduce to the salvation of the human race. 

This the Lord thus teaches in John:

I am the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).

As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, so neither can ye, except ye abide in Me: without Me ye can do nothing (John 15:4, 5).

Moreover the Divine Providence of the Lord is over the veriest singulars of man's life; for there is one only fountain of life, which is the Lord, from whom we live and act and have our being.

Those who think about the Divine Providence from worldly things, conclude from these that it is only universal, and that the singulars appertain to man. But these persons are not acquainted with the arcana of heaven, for they form their conclusions solely from the loves of self and of the world and their pleasures; and therefore when they see the evil exalted to honors, and gaining wealth rather than the good; and also that the evil succeed in accordance with their skill, they say in their hearts that it would not be so if the Divine Providence were in each and all things. But these persons do not consider that the Divine Providence does not look to that which is fleeting and transitory, and which comes to an end together with the life of man in the world; but that it looks to that which remains to eternity, thus which has no end. That which has no end is; but that which has an end, relatively is not.

Everyone who duly reflects is able to know that eminence and wealth in the world are not real Divine blessings, although from the pleasure in them men so call them; for they pass away, and likewise seduce many, and turn them away from heaven; but that life in heaven and happiness there are the real blessings which are from the Divine.

This the Lord also teaches in Luke:

Make for yourselves treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where thief draweth not near, nor moth destroyeth. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Luke 12:33, 34).

The reason why the evil succeed in accordance with their skill, is that it is according to order that everyone should do what he does from reason and also from freedom; and therefore unless it were left to a man to act in freedom according to his reason, and thus also unless the consequent arts succeeded, the man could not possibly be disposed to receive eternal life, because this is instilled when the man is in freedom, and his reason is enlightened. For no one can be compelled to good, because nothing compulsory cleaves to the man, for it is not his. That becomes the man's own which is done from freedom, for that which is from the will is done from freedom, and the will is the man himself; and therefore unless a man is kept in the freedom to do evil also, good from the Lord cannot be provided for him.

To leave man from his freedom to do evil also, is called permission.

To be led to happiness in the world by means of his skill, appears to the man as if it were done from his own sagacity. Nevertheless the Divine Providence continually accompanies by permitting and by constantly withdrawing from evil. But to be led to happiness in heaven is known and perceived not to be of man's own sagacity, because it is from the Lord, and is effected from his Divine providence by disposing and continually leading to good.

That this is the case a man cannot apprehend from the light of nature, for from this light he does not know the laws of Divine order.

Be it known that there is providence and there is foresight. Good is that which is provided by the Lord, but evil is that which is foreseen by the Lord. The one must be with the other, for that which comes from man is nothing but evil; but that which comes from the Lord is nothing but good.

(Arcana Coelestia 10773-10781)

What God Doeth - This is Called Providence

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

That "what God doeth" is what is provided, is because everything that God (that is, the Lord) does, is providence, which being from the Divine has within it what is eternal and infinite
• What is eternal, because it does not look to any terminus* from which, nor to any terminus* to which, it proceeds
• What is infinite, because it simultaneously regards what is infinite in every singular, and every singular in what is universal.
This is called "providence;" and because there is such a quality in each and all things the Lord does, therefore His doing cannot be expressed by any other word than "providence." That in each and all things the Lord does, there is what is infinite;

(from Arcana Coelestia 5264)

[terminus - 1. the end or extremity of anything; 2. either end of a railroad line; 3. British. the station or the town at the end of a railway or bus route; 4. the point toward which anything tends; goal or end; 5. a boundary or limit.]

Consanguinities and Relationships of the Internal Man Remain

Selections from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

There are wonderful consociations in the other life which may be compared to relationships on earth: that is to say, they recognize one another as parents, children, brothers, and relations by blood and by marriage - the love being according to such varieties of relationship. These varieties are endless, and the communicable perceptions are so exquisite that they cannot be described. The relationships have no reference at all to the circumstance that those who are there had been parents, children, or kindred by blood and marriage on earth; and they have no respect to person, no matter what anyone may have been. Thus they have no regard to dignities, nor to wealth, nor to any such matters, but solely to varieties of mutual love and of faith, the faculty for the reception of which they had received from the Lord while they had lived in the world.

(Arcana Coelestia 685)

From the marriage of good and truth in the heavens descend all loves, — which are such as the love of parents toward their children, the love of brothers for one another, and the love for relatives, and so on, — according to their degrees in their order. According to these loves, which are solely from good and truth, that is, from love to the Lord and faith in Him, are formed all the heavenly societies; which are so joined together by the Lord as to represent one man, and therefore heaven is also called the Grand Man. There are unutterable varieties, all of which take their origin and are derived from the union of good and truth from the Lord, which union is the heavenly marriage. Hence it is that the origin of all consanguinities and relationships on earth is derived from marriages, and that loves were derived in like manner according to their degrees mutually among themselves; but as there is no conjugial love at this day, consanguinities and relationships are indeed reckoned from marriage, but there are no consanguinities and relationships of love.  In the Most Ancient Church, the derivations of love were of this nature, and therefore they dwell together in the heavens distinguished as it were into nations, families, and houses, all of which acknowledge the Lord as their only Parent.

(from Arcana Coelestia 2739)

He who by his own investigation has not acquired for himself some idea concerning these things, receives but a faint idea, if any, from description; for a man receives only so much from others as he either has of his own, or acquires for himself by looking into the matter in himself; all the rest passes away. Suffice it to know that there are innumerable affinities of good and truth, and that the heavenly societies are in accordance therewith.

Jacob calls himself the "brother" of Laban, when yet he was his sister's son - All are brethren from good . . . It is good which makes blood relationship, and which conjoins; for good is of love, and love is spiritual conjunction. This is the reason why in the ancient churches all those who were in good were called brethren, and even in the Jewish Church but inasmuch as this church esteemed all others vile, and supposed themselves alone to be the chosen, they called only those brethren who were born Jews, and all others they called either companions or strangers. The primitive Christian Church also called all brethren who were in good, but afterwards only those who were within their own congregation. But the name "brother" vanished away from among Christians, together with good, and when truth succeeded in the place of good, or faith in the place of charity, then they could no longer from good call one another brethren, but neighbors. This also is the effect of the doctrine of faith without the life of charity, in that brotherhood with one of lower station than themselves seems to be beneath them; for with such persons brotherhood does not derive its origin from the Lord, and consequently from good; but from self, and consequently from honor and gain.

(from Arcana Coelestia 3803)

By "brethren" in the internal sense are signified those who are in similar good and truth, that is, in a similar affection of good and truth. For in the other life all are consociated in accordance with the affections, and those who are consociated constitute a brotherhood. Not that they call themselves brethren, but that they are brethren by conjunction. In the other life it is good and truth that produce that which on earth is called relationship by blood and by marriage; and therefore there is a correspondence between the two things; for regarded in themselves goods and truths acknowledge no other father than the Lord, for they are from Him alone. Hence all who are in goods and truths are in brotherhood; but still there are degrees of relationship according to the quality of the goods and truths. These degrees are signified in the Word by "brothers," "sisters," "sons-in-law," "daughters-in-law," "grandsons," "granddaughters," and by other family names.

On earth they are so named with reference to a common parentage, however they may differ in regard to affections; but this brotherhood or relationship is dissipated in the other life, and unless they have been in similar good on earth, they there come into other brotherhoods. At first indeed they, for the most part, come together, but in a short time are separated; for in that world it is not wealth that keeps men together, but as just said, affections, the quality of which is then manifest as in clear day, and also the kind of affection which one has had toward another. And as these are manifest, and as everyone's affection draws him to his society, those who have been of a discordant disposition are dissociated; and all the brotherhood and friendship which had been of the external man are obliterated on both sides, and that which is of the internal man remains.

(from Arcana Coelestia 4121)