Justice That Is Justice Is Divine

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

There are two kinds of things with men that must be in order, namely, the things that belong to heaven, and the things that belong to the world. The things that belong to heaven are called Ecclesiastical; and the things that belong to the world are called Civil.

Order cannot be maintained in the world without overseers, who must take note of all things that are done according to order, and that are done contrary to order; and who must reward those who live according to order, and punish those who live contrary to order.

If this be not done, the human race will perish. For there is born in everyone, by inheritance, the desire to rule over others, and to possess the goods of others. From this come enmities, envyings, hatreds, revenges, deceits, fierce ragings, and many other evils; and therefore unless men are kept in bonds by laws, and by rewards suited to their loves, which are honors and gains for those who do good things; and by punishments contrary to their loves, which are the loss of honors, of possessions, and of life for those who do evil things, the human race must perish.

There must therefore be overseers learned in the law, wise, and god-fearing, to keep the assemblages of men in order. Among the overseers also there must be order, lest anyone should from caprice, or from ignorance, permit evils that are contrary to order, and should thus destroy it. This is guarded against when there are higher and lower overseers, among whom there is subordination.

Overseers over the things with man that belong to heaven, or over ecclesiastical things, are called priests, and their office is called the priesthood. But overseers over such things with man as belong to the world, or over civil matters, are called magistrates, and their chief, where such supreme powers exist, is called a king.

As regards priests, they must teach men the way to heaven, and must also lead them. They must teach them according to the doctrine of their church, and they must lead them to live according to it. Priests who teach truths and by means of them lead to the good of life, and thus to the Lord, are good shepherds of the sheep; but those who teach, and do not lead to the good of life, and thus to the Lord, are evil shepherds. The latter are called by the Lord "thieves and robbers," in John 10:7-16.

Priests must not claim for themselves any power over the souls of men, because they do not know in what state are a man's interiors; and still less must they claim for themselves the power of opening and closing heaven, because this power belongs to the Lord alone.

Priests must have dignity and honor on account of the holy things which they engage in; but those of them who are wise give the honor to the Lord, from whom come all holy things; and not to themselves. But those of them who are not wise attribute the honor to themselves. These take it away from the Lord. Those who attribute honor to themselves on account of the holy things which they engage in, set honor and profit above the salvation of souls, which they ought to have regard for. But those who give the honor to the Lord and not to themselves, set the salvation of souls above honor and profit.

No honor of any employment is in the person; but it is adjoined to him according to the dignity of the thing which he administers, and that which is adjoined is separate from the person, and also is separated from him together with the employment. The honor that is in the person is the honor of the wisdom and fear of the Lord [that he displays].

Priests must teach the people, and lead them to the good of life by means of truths. But they must not compel anyone, because no one can be compelled to believe contrary to what he thinks in his heart to be true. He who believes differently from the priest, and makes no disturbance, must be left in peace; but he who makes a disturbance must be separated; for this also belongs to the order for the sake of which is the priesthood.

As priests are overseers for the administration of the things that belong to the Divine law and to worship, so are kings and magistrates for the administration of the things that belong to the civil law, and to judgment.

As the king alone cannot administer all things, therefore there are overseers under him, to each of whom has been given the official duty of administering what the king cannot attend to. Taken together these overseers constitute the royalty, but the king himself is the chief.

The royalty itself is not in the person, but is adjoined to the person. The king who believes that the royalty is in his own person, and the overseer who believes that the dignity of the overseership is in his own person, is not wise.

The royalty consists in administering according to the laws of the kingdom, and in judging from justice according to these laws. The king who regards the laws as above him, consequently himself as below the laws, is wise; but he who regards himself as above the laws, consequently the laws as beneath him, is not wise.

The king who regards the laws as above himself, and thus himself as beneath the laws, makes the royalty to consist in the law, and the law rules over him; for he knows that the law is justice, and all justice that is justice is Divine. But he who regards the laws as beneath him, and thus himself as above them, makes the royalty to consist in himself, and either believes himself to be the law, or the law which is justice to be from himself; consequently he arrogates to himself that which is Divine, and under which he must be.

The law which is justice must be brought forward by persons in the realm learned in the law, who are wise and god-fearing; in accordance with which the king and his subjects must then live. The king who lives in accordance with the law which is justice, and therein sets an example to his subjects, is truly a king.

A king who has absolute power, and who believes that his subjects are such slaves that he has a right to their lives and properties, and who exercises this power, is not a king, but a tyrant.

The king must be obeyed in accordance with the laws of the realm, nor must he be injured in any way by word or deed, for upon this depends the public safety.

(from Arcana Coelestia 10789 - 10806)

Why Despair Precedes Regeneration?

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

A state of desolation caused by the privation of truth - the last stage of which state is despair.

That despair is the last stage of this state, is because thereby the delight of the love of self and of the world is removed, and the delight of the love of good and of truth is instilled in its place.

In the case of those to be regenerated, the despair is about spiritual life, consequently is about the privation of truth and good, because when these persons are deprived of truth and good they despair of spiritual life; hence they have delight and bliss when they come out of their despair.

• Nothing shall be perceived therein of the truth previously there - the last state of desolation, when there is the despair which next precedes regeneration

Every man must be reformed and be born anew or regenerated that he may be able to come into heaven, for "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3, 5, 6).

Man is born into sin, which has been increased in a long line from parents, grandparents, and ancestors, and made hereditary, and thus transmitted to the offspring.

Every man who is born, is born into all these inherited evils thus increased in succession, and consequently is nothing but sin. Therefore, unless he is regenerated, he remains wholly in sin.

But in order that man may be regenerated, he must first be reformed, and this is done by means of the truths of faith; for he has to learn from the Word and from doctrine therefrom what good is. The knowledges of good from the Word, or from doctrine therefrom, are called the truths of faith, because all the truths of faith spring from good, and flow to good, for they look to good as the end.

This is the first state, and is called the state of re - formation.

During their childhood and youth most of those who are in the church, are introduced into this state, and yet few are regenerated; for most in the church learn the truths of faith or the knowledges of good for the sake of reputation and honor, and also for gain, and when the truths of faith have been introduced by means of these loves (hereditary inclinations), the man cannot be born anew or regenerated until these loves have been removed.

In order therefore that they may be removed, the man is let into a state of temptation, and this in the following manner. The loves referred to are excited by the infernal crew, for they desire to live in them; but the affections of truth and good that have been instilled from infancy in a state of innocence, and afterward stored up interiorly and preserved for this use, are then excited by angels. The result is a conflict between the evil spirits and the angels which is felt in the man as temptation; and because the conflict is about truths and goods, the truths previously instilled are as it were banished by means of the falsities injected by the evil spirits (by means of hereditary inclinations), so that they no longer appear. And then as the man suffers himself to be regenerated, the light of truth from good is instilled by the Lord through an internal way into the natural, into which light the truths are returned in order.

This is the case with the man who is being regenerated; but few at this day are admitted into this state. Insofar as they permit it, all do indeed begin to be reformed by means of instruction in the truths and goods of spiritual life; but as soon as they come to the age of early manhood, they suffer themselves to be carried away by the world, and thus go over to the side of infernal spirits, by whom they are gradually so estranged from heaven that they scarcely believe any longer that there is a heaven. Thus they cannot be let into any spiritual temptation, for if they were they would at once yield, and then their last state would be worse than the first (Matt. 12:45). From this it may be seen how the case is with what is here contained in the internal sense, namely, with the state of reformation and that of regeneration

• Desolation even to despair

Despair causes those who feel it to acknowledge in an effectual and feeling manner that there is nothing of truth and good from themselves, and that from themselves they are condemned; but that they are delivered from condemnation by the Lord; and that salvation flows in by means of truth and good.

Despair also causes them to feel the happiness of life which is from the Lord; for when they come out of that state, they are like those who have been condemned to death, and are set free from prison.

Moreover by means of desolations and temptations, states contrary to heavenly life are felt, the result of which is the implantation of a sense and perception of the satisfaction and happiness of heavenly life; for a sense and perception of what is satisfying and happy is impossible without comparison with the opposites. To the end therefore that full comparisons may be made, desolations and temptations are brought to their utmost, that is, to despair.

(from Arcana Coelestia 5279; 5280; 6144)

Difference Between Temptation and Natural Anxiety

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

Temptation itself is nothing else than a wrestling or combat; for truth is assaulted by evil spirits and is defended by the angels who are with the man. The perception of this combat by the man is the temptation.

But no temptation can take place unless the man is in the good of truth, that is, in the love or affection of it. For he who does not love his truth, or is not affected by it, cares nothing for it; but he who loves it is in anxiety lest it should suffer injury. Nothing else produces the understanding life of man except that which he believes to be true, nor his will life except that which he has impressed upon himself as being good; and therefore when that is assaulted which he believes to be true, the life of his understanding is assaulted; and when that which he has impressed upon himself as being good is assaulted, the life of his will is assaulted; so that when a man is being tempted, his life is at stake.

The first of combat is as to truth, or concerning truth, is because this is what he principally loves, and that which is of anyone's love is that which is assaulted by evil spirits; but after the man loves good more than truth, which takes place when the order is being inverted, he is tempted as to good.

But what temptation is few know, because at this day few undergo any temptation —

for no others can be tempted than those who are in the good of faith, that is, in charity toward the neighbor.

If they who are not in this charity were to be tempted, they would succumb at once; and they who succumb come into the confirmation of evil and the persuasion of falsity; for the evil spirits with whom they are thus associated then conquer within them. This is the reason why at this day few are admitted into any spiritual temptation, but only into some natural anxieties, in order that they may thereby be withdrawn from the loves of self and of the world, into which they would otherwise rush without restraint.

(from Arcana Coelestia 4274)