The Profanation of Truth

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

Divine truth and Divine good are not to be opened, and are not even to be approached in faith, from the danger of eternal damnation if they should be profaned.

It is of the Lord's providence that no one should be admitted into good and truth - that is, into the acknowledgment and affection thereof - any further than he can remain in them, on account of the danger of eternal damnation. 

The case with good and truth, as before stated and shown, is that in a man these betake themselves inward insofar as he is in evil and falsity; consequently that the angels who are with him from heaven insofar retire; and diabolical spirits from hell insofar approach. 

And the converse also is true:

The removal of good and truth, consequently of the angels, from the man who is in evil and falsity is not apparent to him, because he is then in the persuasion that evil is good, and that falsity is truth, and this from the affection of them and the consequent delight; and when he is in this state it is impossible for him to know that good and truth have been removed from him. Good and truth, or the angels, are said to be removed from man when he is not affected by them, that is, when he is no longer delighted with them, but on the contrary is affected by the things that are of the love of self and the love of the world, that is, when these alone delight him.

To know good and truth, that is, to hold them in the memory, and to talk about them, is not to possess them; but to possess them is to be affected by them from the heart; neither does anyone possess good and truth when he is affected by them for the sake of thereby gaining reputation and wealth; for in this case he is not affected by good and truth, but by honor and gain, and he makes the former the means of obtaining the latter.

In the other life the goods and truths that such persons have known, and have even preached, are taken away from them, and there remains the love of self and of the world, from which is their life. From this it is evident how the case is with good and truth, namely, that no one is allowed to approach them with affection and faith, unless he is of such a character that he can continue in them to the end of his life. But they who profane are those who cannot be withheld from them.

(Arcana Coelestia 3402)

Uplifted by the Lord

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

Man has been so created that he can look upward, or above himself; and can also look downward, or below himself. To look above himself is to look to his neighbor, to his country, to the church, to heaven, especially to the Lord; but to look below himself is to look to the earth, to the world, and especially to himself.

That to look to his neighbor, to his country, and to the church, is to look above himself, is because this is to look to the Lord; for the Lord is in charity, and it is of charity to look to the neighbor, to one's country, and to the church, that is, to will well to them. But they look below themselves who turn themselves away from these, and will well only to themselves.

To look above oneself is to be uplifted by the Lord; for no one can look above himself, unless he is uplifted by Him who is above. But to look below himself is of man, because then he does not suffer himself to be uplifted.

They who are in the good of charity and of faith look above themselves, because they are uplifted by the Lord; but they who are not in the good of charity and of faith look below themselves, because they are not uplifted by the Lord. Man looks below himself when he turns the influx of truth and good from the Lord to himself. He who turns to himself the good and truth flowing in from the Lord, sees himself and the world before him, and does not see the Lord with His good and truth, because they are behind him, and therefore come into such obscurity to him that he cares nothing for them, and at last he denies them.

By looking above self and below self, is meant to have as the end, or to love above all things. Thus by looking above self is meant to have as the end, or to love above all things, what is of the Lord and heaven; and by looking below self is meant to have as the end, or to love above all things, what is of self and the world. The interiors of man also actually turn themselves to where the love turns itself.

The man who is in the good of charity and faith loves also himself and the world, but no otherwise than as the means to an end are loved. The love of self with him looks to the love of the Lord, for he loves himself as a means to the end that he may serve the Lord; and the love of the world with him looks to the love of the neighbor, for he loves the world as a means for the sake of the end that he may be of service to the neighbor. When therefore the means is loved for the sake of the end, it is not the means that is loved, but the end.

From this it can be seen that they who are in worldly glory, that is, in eminence and opulence above others, can look above themselves to the Lord equally as can those who are not in eminence and opulence; for they look above themselves when they regard eminence and opulence as means, and not as the end.

To look above self is proper to man, but to look below self is proper to beasts. From this it follows that insofar as a man looks below himself or downward, so far he is a beast, and also so far is an image of hell; and that insofar as he looks above himself or upward, so far he is a man, and also so far is an image of the Lord.

(Arcana Coelestia 7814-7821)

Being Raised into an Angelic State in respect to Intelligence and Wisdom

Selection from Apocalypse Explained ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

(Luke 16:19-31

Those who do not know that by the "rich" are signified those who have the Word and who thence can be in the knowledges of truth and good, and that by the "poor" are signified those who have not the Word, and yet long for truths, know no other than that by the "rich man" in Luke (16:19 seq.) "who was clothed in purple and fine linen," are meant the rich in the world, and that by the "poor man" who "was laid at his gate, and desired to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table," are meant the poor in this world. 

But by the "rich man" there the Jewish nation is meant, which had the Word, and might from it have been in the knowledges of truth and good; and by the "poor man" are there meant the Gentiles that had not the Word and yet longed for the knowledges of truth and good. 

The rich man is described as "clothed with purple and fine linen," because "purple" signifies genuine good (Arcana Coelestia, n. 9467), and the "fine linen" genuine truth (Arcana Coelestia, n. 5319, 9469, 9596, 9744), both from the Word. 

The poor man is described as "laid at the rich man's gate, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table," because by "to be laid at the gate" is meant to be rejected, and to be deprived of the opportunity to read and understand the Word; and "wishing to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table" means to long for some truths from the Word, for "food" signifies the things of knowledge, intelligence, and wisdom and in general, good and truth (Arcana Coelestia, n. 3114, 4459, 4792, 5147, 5293, 5340, 5342, 5410, 5426, 5576, 5582, 5588, 5655, 8562, 9003); and "table" signifies a receptacle for these (Arcana Coelestia, n. 9527). 

As the poor man was in that longing, which is the same as the spiritual affection of truth, it is said of him that "he was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom," by which is signified to be raised into an angelic state in respect to intelligence and wisdom; "Abraham's bosom" is the Divine truth that is in heaven, for those who are in that are with the Lord. (That "Abraham" in the Word signifies the Lord, see Arcana Coelestia, n. 2010, 2833, 2836, 3245, 3251, 3305, 3439, 3703, 6098, 6185, 6276, 6804, 6847.)

(Apocalypse Explained 118[4])