THIS IS THE DIVINE HUMAN

Selection from Doctrine of the Lord ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
THE LORD SUCCESSIVELY PUT OFF THE HUMAN ASSUMED FROM THE MOTHER
AND PUT ON THE HUMAN FROM THE DIVINE IN HIMSELF
THIS IS THE DIVINE HUMAN, AND THE SON OF GOD

It is known that the Lord had a Divine and a Human — a Divine from Jehovah the Father, and a Human from the Virgin Mary. Consequently, He was both God and Man, and thus had a Divine Essence and a Human Nature — the Divine Essence from the Father, and the Human Nature from the mother. Hence He was equal to the Father as to the Divine, and inferior to the Father as to the Human. Moreover, He did not transmute this Human Nature from the mother into the Divine Essence, nor did He mingle it with the Divine Essence. This is taught by the doctrine of faith, called the Athanasian Creed. For the Human Nature cannot be transmuted into the Divine Essence, nor can it be commingled with this Essence.

Yet in accordance with the same Creed is our doctrine that the Divine assumed the Human, that is, united it to itself, as the soul is united to its body, so that they were not two but one Person. From this it follows that the Lord put off the Human from the mother, which in itself was like the human of any other man and consequently material, and put on the Human from the Father, which in itself was like His Divine and consequently substantial*; so that the Human also was made Divine. Hence it is that, in the Prophetical Word, the Lord is called, even as to the Human, Jehovah and God; and in the Gospels, He is called Lord, God, the Messiah or Christ, and the Son of God, on whom men must believe, and by whom they are to be saved.

Now, since the Lord had from the beginning a Human from the mother, which He put off successively, therefore, while He was in the world, He had two states, called the state of humiliation or exinanition,** and the state of glorification or union with the Divine which is called the Father. He was in the state of humiliation so far as, and when, He was in the Human from the mother; and He was in the state of glorification so far as, and when, He was in the Human from the Father. In the state of humiliation He prayed to the Father as to a being distinct from Himself; but in the state of glorification He spoke with the Father as with Himself. In this latter state He said that the Father was in Him, and He in the Father, and that the Father and He were One; but in the state of humiliation He underwent temptations and suffered the cross, and prayed to the Father not to forsake Him: for the Divine could not be tempted, still less could it suffer the cross. From these considerations it is now evident that, by temptations and continual victories in them, and by the passion of the cross, which was the last of the temptations, He fully conquered the hells, and fully glorified the Human, as was shown above.

That the Lord put off the Human from the mother, and put on the Human from the Divine in Himself which is called the Father, is manifest also from this circumstance that, whenever He actually spoke to the mother, He did not call her "Mother", but "Woman". There are only three occasions recorded in the Gospels when the Lord actually spoke to the mother, or mentioned her. On two of these He called her "Woman", and on the third He did not acknowledge her as His mother.

He twice called her "Woman", as we read in John:

The mother of Jesus saith unto Him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. John 2:3, 4.

And in the same

Jesus from the cross, seeing His mother and the disciple standing by whom He loved, saith unto His mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith He to the disciple, Behold thy mother! John 19:26, 27.

On one occasion He did not acknowledge her, as we read in Luke

It was told Jesus by certain who said, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee. Jesus answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these who hear the Word of God, and do it. Luke 8:20, 21; Matt. 12:46-49; Mark 3:31-35.

In other places Mary is called His mother, but not from His own mouth.

This is also confirmed by the fact that He did not acknowledge Himself to be the Son of David; for we read in the Gospels:

Jesus asked the Pharisees, saying, What think ye of Christ? Whose Son is He? They say unto Him, The Son of David. He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call Him his Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If then David call Him Lord, how is He his Son? And no man was able to answer Him a word. Matt. 12:41, 46; Mark 12: 35-37; Luke 20: 41-44; Ps. 110: 1.

From these passages it is evident that the Lord, as to His glorified Human, was the Son neither of Mary nor of David.

The nature of His glorified Human He showed to Peter, James and John when He was transfigured before them; and His face did shine as the sun, and His raiment was white as the light.

And then a voice out of the cloud said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him. Matt. 17: 1-8; Mark 9: 2-8; Luke 28-36.

The Lord was also seen by John

As the sun shining in his strength. Rev. 1: 16.

That the Lord's Human was glorified is evident from what is said of His glorification in the Gospels, as from these passages:

In John:

The hour is come that the Son of Man should be glorified. He said, Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. John 12: 23, 28.

Because the Lord was glorified successively, therefore it is said, "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again."

In the same Gospel:

After Judas was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him. ... God shall also glorify Him in Himself, and shall straightway glorify Him. John 13: 31, 32

And in the same:

Jesus said, Father the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee. John 17: 1, 5

And in Luke:

Ought not Christ to have suffered this, and to enter into His glory? Luke 24: 26.

These words are said concerning His Human.

The Lord said, God is glorified in Him; and also, God will glorify Him in Himself; and, further, Glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee. These things the Lord said, because the union of the Divine with the Human, and of the Human with the Divine was reciprocal. Therefore also He had said,

I am in the Father, and the Father in me. John 14: 10, 11;

And also,

All mine are thine, and all thine are mine. John 17: 10.

Thus the union was complete. It is the same with all union: it is not complete unless it is reciprocal. Such also must be the union of the Lord with man, and of man with the Lord, as He teaches in John:

At that day ye shall know that ... ye are in me and I in you. John 14: 20

And in another place

Abide in me, and I in you ...He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. John 15: 4, 5.

Since the Lord's Human was glorified, that is, made Divine, therefore, after death He rose again on the third day with His whole body. This does not happen to any man, for man rises again only as to his spirit, and not as to his body. In order that man might know, and that no one might doubt, that the Lord rose again with His whole body, He not only declared it by the angels who were in the sepulchre, but He also showed Himself in His Human body before the disciples, saying to them, when they believed that they saw a spirit,

Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself handle me and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when He had thus spoken, He showed them His bands and His feet. Luke 24: 39, 40; John 20: 20.

And further:

Jesus said to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing ... Then said Thomas, My Lord and my God. John 20: 27, 28.

That the Lord might still further prove that He was not a spirit, but a Man, He said to the disciples,

Have ye here any meat? And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish, and of a honeycomb. And He took it, and did eat before them. Luke 24: 41-43.

Since His body was not now material, but Divine substantial, therefore

He came into the disciples, the doors being shut. John 20: 19, 26.

And after He had been seen,

He became invisible (A.V. vanished out of their sight). Luke 24: 31.

As the Lord was now of such a nature [that is, Divine], He was taken up, and sat on the right hand of God; for it is said in Luke:

And it came to pass while Jesus blessed the disciples, He was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. Luke 24: 51

And in Mark:

After He had spoken unto them, He was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. Mark 16: 19.

To sit on the right hand of God signifies Divine Omnipotence.

Since the Lord ascended into heaven and sat on the right hand of God, by which is signified Divine Omnipotence, with the Divine and the Human united into one, it follows that His Human substance or essence is as His Divine Essence. To suppose otherwise would be like thinking that His Divine was taken up into heaven and sat on the right hand of God, and not the Human at the same time. This, however, is contrary to Scripture, and also contrary to the Christian doctrine, which is, that God and Man in Christ are as the soul and the body; and to separate these would be contrary to sound reason. This union of the Father with the Son, or of the Divine with the Human, is also meant in the following passages:

I came forth from the Father and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. John 16: 28.

I go away and come unto Him that sent me. John 7: 33; 16: 5, 16; 17: 11, 13; 20: 17.

If then, ye shall see the Son of Man ascend up where He was before? John 6: 62.

No man hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven. John 3: 13.

Every man who is saved does ascend into heaven, yet not of himself, but of the Lord. The Lord alone ascended of Himself.

(from Doctrine of the Lord 35)

* Substantial, formed of substance, that which stands under something prior to it, and upon which the prior thing rests and manifests itself in a posterior degree. Thus the spiritual world is a substantial world, its various degrees of life being successively derived from the spiritual Sun, which is itself the manifestation of the Originating Divine.
Cf. Material, formed of matter the ultimate or lowest manifestation of substance in the physical or natural world.

** Exinanition, the state during which the maternal heredity was being put off.

(emphasis by reviser)

The Lord Will Come in the Clouds

Selection from True Christian Religion ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
THE SECOND COMING OF THE LORD IS NOT A COMING IN PERSON, BUT IN THE WORD
WHICH IS FROM HIM, AND IS HIMSELF

It is written in many places that the Lord will come in the clouds of heaven (as in Matt. 17:5; 24:30; 26:64; Mark 14:62; Luke 9:34, 35; 21:27; Rev. 1:7; 14:14; Dan. 7:13). And as no one has hitherto known what is meant by "the clouds of heaven," it has been believed that the Lord would appear in them in Person. Heretofore it has not been known that "the clouds of heaven" mean the Word in the sense of the letter, and that the "glory and power" in which He is then to come (Matt. 24:30), mean the spiritual sense of the Word, because no one as yet has had the least conjecture that there is a spiritual sense in the Word, such as this sense is in itself. But as the Lord has now opened to me the spiritual sense of the Word, and has granted me to be associated with angels and spirits in their world as one of them, it is disclosed that "a cloud of heaven" means the Word in the natural sense, and "glory" the Word in the spiritual sense, and "power" the Lord's power through the Word. That such is the signification of "the clouds of heaven" may be seen from the following passages in the Word:

There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun who rideth in the heaven, and in magnificence upon the clouds (Deut. 33:26-27).

Sing unto God, praise His name; extol Him that rideth upon the clouds (Ps. 68:4).

Jehovah rideth upon a light cloud (Isa. 19:1).

"To ride" signifies to instruct in Divine truths from the Word, for "a horse" signifies understanding of the Word (see Apocalypse Revealed, n. 298). Who does not see that God does not ride upon the clouds? Again:

God rode upon cherubs. He made His pavilion thick clouds of the heavens (Ps. 18:10, 11).

"Cherubs" also signify the Word (see Apocalypse Revealed, n. 239, 672).

Jehovah bindeth up the waters in His clouds; Him spreadeth His cloud over His throne (Job 26:8, 9).

Give ye strength unto God; His strength is in the clouds (Ps. 68:34).

Jehovah will create over every dwelling of Mount Zion a cloud by day; for over all the glory shall be a covering (Isa. 4:5).

The Word in the sense of the letter was also represented by the cloud in which Jehovah descended upon Mount Sinai, when He promulgated the law; the principles of the law that were then promulgated were the first fruits of the Word.

As further proof, the following may also be added: In the spiritual world as well as in the natural world there are clouds, but from a different origin. In the spiritual world there are sometimes bright clouds over the angelic heavens, but dusky cloud over the hells. The bright clouds over the angelic heaven signify obscurity there arising from the literal sense of the Word; but when these clouds are dispersed, it signifies that they are in the clear light of the Word from the spiritual sense; while the dusky clouds over the hells signify the falsification and profanation of the Word. This signification of "clouds" in the spiritual world has its origin in the fact that the light which there goes forth from the Lord as a sun, signifies Divine truth; for which reason He is called "the Light" (John 1:9; 12:35). And for the same reason the Word itself there which is kept in the sacred recesses of the temples, appears surrounded by a clear white light, and its obscurity is induced by clouds.

That the Lord is the Word can be clearly seen from the following in John:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. And the Word was made flesh (John 1:1, 14).

"The Word" means here Divine truth because Divine truth among Christians is from no other source than the Word, which is the fountain from which all churches bearing the name of Christ draw living waters in their fullness; and yet a church accepting the Word in its natural sense is, as it were, in a cloud, but one accepting it in its spiritual and celestial senses is in glory and power. That there are three senses in the Word, a natural, a spiritual, and a celestial, one within the other, has been shown in the chapter on the Sacred Scripture, and in the chapter on the Decalogue or Catechism. From all this it is clear that "the Word" in John means Divine truth. John also bears testimony to this in his first Epistle:

We know that the Son of God hath come, and hath given us an understanding that we may know Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ (5:20).

This is why the Lord so frequently said, "Verily I say unto you," verily [amen] in the Hebrew language meaning truth (That He is "the Amen" see Apoc. 3:14, and "the Truth" John 14:6.) Moreover, when the learned men of the present day are asked what they understand by "the Word" in John (1:1), they say that it means the Word in its preeminence; yet what is the Word in its preeminence but Divine truth? From all this it is evident that the Lord is now to appear in the Word. He is not to appear in Person, because since He ascended into heaven He is in His glorified Human, and in this He cannot appear to any man unless the eyes of his spirit are first opened; and this cannot be done in anyone who is in evils and consequent falsities, thus not in any of the goats whom He sets on His left hand. Therefore when He showed Himself to His disciples, He first opened their eyes, for it is written:

And their eyes were opened, and they knew Him and He vanished out of their sight (Luke 24:31).

The same took place with the women who were at the sepulchre after the resurrection, and in consequence they also saw angels sitting in the sepulchre and talking with them, and angels cannot be seen with the material eye. Neither did the apostles before the resurrection see the Lord in His glorified Human with their bodily eyes, but in spirit, which seems, after one is awakened from it, like the state of sleep. This is evident from the Lord's transfiguration before Peter, James, and John, for it is said, That they were heavy with sleep (Luke 9:32).

It is idle therefore, to believe that the Lord will appear in the clouds of heaven in Person; but He is to appear in the Word, which is from Him and therefore is Himself.

Every man is his own love and his own intelligence, and whatever proceeds from him derives its essence from those two essentials or properties of his life. Therefore the angels, from a brief interaction with a man, recognize what he is essentially; they know his love from the tone of his voice, and his intelligence from his speech.

This is because there are two universals of life belonging to every man, the will and the understanding. The will is the receptacle and abode of his love, and the understanding the receptacle and abode of his intelligence. Therefore all things whatever, whether action or speech, that proceed from man, constitute the man and are the man himself. In like manner, but in a preeminent degree the Lord is Divine love and Divine wisdom, or what is the same thing, Divine good and Divine truth; for His will is of the Divine love and the Divine love is of His will, while His understanding is of the Divine wisdom and the Divine wisdom is of His understanding; the Human form is their containant. From this some idea may be formed of how the Lord is the Word. But on the contrary, he who is antagonistic to the Word, that is, to the Divine truth therein, consequently, to the Lord and His church, is his own evil and his own falsity, both in reference to his mind and in reference to the effects thereof, relating to actions and words, which proceed from the body.

(True Christian Religion 776-778)

The Ends for which the Lord Came

Selection from True Christian Religion ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

THE LORD'S COMING IS NOT HIS COMING TO DESTROY THE VISIBLE HEAVEN AND THE HABITABLE EARTH
AND TO CREATE A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH, AS MANY, FROM NOT UNDERSTANDING THE SPIRITUAL SENSE OF THE WORD, HAVE HITHERTO SUPPOSED

The prevailing opinion in the churches at the present day is, that when the Lord shall come for the last judgment, He will appear in the clouds of heaven with angels and the sound of trumpets; will gather together all who still dwell on the earth, together with all who have died; will separate the wicked from the good, as a shepherd separates the goats from the sheep; will then cast the wicked or the goats into hell, and will raise the good or the sheep into heaven; and at the same time will create a new visible heaven and a new habitable earth, and will send down upon that earth the city called the New Jerusalem, built according to the description of it in the Apocalypse (chap. 21), that is, of jasper and gold, and the foundations of its wall of every precious stone, while its height, breadth, and length will be equal, each twelve thousand furlongs; also that into that city will be gathered all the elect, both those who are still alive and those who have died since the beginning of the world; that these will then return into their bodies, and in that magnificent city, as their heaven, will enjoy eternal blessedness. This is the prevailing opinion in the Christian churches of today respecting the Lord's coming and the last judgment. ...

~~~

The Word in the letter was written by appearances and correspondences, consequently in all its particulars there is a spiritual sense, and in that sense the truth is in its own light while the sense of the letter is in shade.

In order therefore that the man of the New Church may not wander about, like the man of the old, in the shade that obscures the sense of the letter of the Word, especially in respect to heaven and hell and man's life after death, and here in respect to the Lord's coming, it has pleased the Lord to open the sight of my spirit, and thus introduce me into the spiritual world, and permit me not only to talk with spirits and angels, relatives and friends, and even with kings and princes who have finished their course in the natural world, but also to see the wonders of heaven and the miseries of hell, and thus to learn that man does not abide in some indefinite place in the earth, nor fly about blind and dumb in the air or in vacancy, but lives as a man in a substantial body in a much more perfect state (if he is among the blessed), than that in which he formerly lived when in the material body. In order therefore, that man from ignorance may not immerse himself still more deeply in this opinion respecting the destruction of the visible heaven and habitable earth, and in respect also to the spiritual world (because of which ignorance naturalism together with atheism, which among the learned has begun to take root in the interior rational mind, is spreading more widely, like mortification in the flesh, even extending to the external mind from which man speaks), I have been commanded by the Lord to make known various things that I have seen and heard respecting Heaven and Hell and respecting the Last judgment, and also to explain the Apocalypse, which treats of the Lord's coming the former heaven, the new heaven, and the holy Jerusalem. From these, when they have been read and understood, anyone can see what is meant by the Lord's coming, the new heaven, and the New Jerusalem.

~~~
THIS COMING OF THE LORD WHICH IS HIS SECOND COMING, IS TAKING PLACE IN ORDER THAT THE EVIL MAY BE SEPARATED FROM THE GOOD, AND THAT THOSE WHO HAVE BELIEVED AND DO BELIEVE IN HIM, MAY BE SAVED, AND THAT FROM THEM A NEW ANGELIC HEAVEN AND A NEW CHURCH ON EARTH MAY BE FORMED
AND WITHOUT THIS, NO FLESH COULD BE SAVED

And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. Matthew 24:22

That this second coming of the Lord does not take place for the purpose of destroying the visible heaven and habitable earth, has been shown in the preceding section. That it is not for the purpose of destroying anything, but to build up, consequently not to condemn but to save those who since His first coming have believed in Him and also those who may hereafter believe in Him, is evident from these words of the Lord:

God sent not His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world through Him might be saved; he that believeth on Him is not judged, but he that believeth not hath been judged already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God (John 3:17, 18).

And elsewhere:

If any man hear My words and believe not, I judge him not; for I came not to judge the world but to save the world: He that despiseth Me and receiveth not My words, hath one that judgeth him; the Word that I have spoken shall judge him in the last day (John 12:47-48).

That the last judgment took place in the spiritual world in the year 1757 has been shown in the little work on The Last Judgment (London, 1758); and further in a Continuation on the Last Judgment, (Amsterdam, 1763). To all this I can testify, because I saw it with my own eyes in a state of full wakefulness.

The Lord's coming is for the purpose of forming a new heaven of those who have believed in Him, and for the purpose of establishing a new church of those who shall hereafter believe in Him, inasmuch as these two are the ends for which He came. The very end for which the universe was created was no other than the formation from men of an angelic heaven, where all who believe in God shall live forever in eternal blessedness; for the Divine love which is in God and essentially is God, can intend nothing else, and the Divine wisdom which is also in God and is God, can effect nothing else. As the end for which the universe was created was an angelic heaven from the human race, and at the same time a church on earth (for man enters heaven through the church); and as the salvation of men (which is to be effected in men who are to be born in the world), is thus the continuation of creation, so throughout the Word the term "to create," which is frequently used, means to form for heaven, as in the following passages:

Create for me a clean heart, O God, and renew a firm spirit in the midst of me (Ps. 51:10).

Thou openest Thine hand, they are satisfied with good; Thou sendest forth Thy Spirit, they are created (Ps. 104:28, 30).

A people that shall be created shall praise Jah (Ps. 102:18).

Thus hath said Jehovah thy Creator, O Jacob, and thy Former, O Israel; I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name, thou art Mine. Everyone that is called by My name into My glory have I created him (Isa. 43:1, 7).

In the day that thou wast created they were prepared. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee (Ezek. 28:13, 15).

This is said of the king of Tyre:

That they may see, know, consider and understand that the hand of Jehovah hath done it, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it (Isa. 41:20).

From all this the meaning of the term "to create" in the following passages can be seen:

Jehovah creating the heavens, spreading forth the earth, giving breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk in it (Isa. 42:5; 45:12, 18).

Behold I create a new heaven and a new earth; be ye glad forever in that which I create; for behold I create Jerusalem a rejoicing (Isa. 65:17, 18).

The Lord's presence is unceasing with every man, both the evil and the good, for without His presence no man lives; but His Coming is only to those who receive Him, who are such as believe on Him and keep His commandments. The Lord's unceasing presence causes man to become rational, and gives him the ability to become spiritual. This is effected by the light that goes forth from the Lord as the sun in the spiritual world, and that man receives in his understanding; that light is truth, and by means of it man has rationality. But the Lord's coming is to him who joins heat with that light, that is, love with truth; for the heat that goes forth from that same sun is love to God and love toward the neighbor. The mere presence of the Lord, and the consequent enlightenment of the understanding, may be likened to presence of solar light in the world; unless this light is joined with heat all things on earth become desolate. But the coming of the Lord may be likened to the coming of heat, which takes place in spring; because heat then joins itself with light, the earth is softened, and seeds sprout and bring forth fruit. Such is the parallelism between the spiritual things which are the environment of man's spirit, and the natural things which are the environment of his body.

The same is true of the man of the church in the composite or collective sense as of the individual or single man. Man in the collective or composite sense is the church among many, while the individual or single man is the church in anyone of those many. It is according to Divine order that there should be what is general and what is particular, and that both should be together in every single thing, and that otherwise particulars cannot have existence and permanence; just as there are no particulars within man without generals by which they are surrounded. The particulars in man are the viscera and their parts, and the generals are the coverings which surround not only the whole man, but also everyone of the viscera, and every single part thereof.

The same is true of every beast, bird, and worm; also every tree, shrub, and seed; nor can a tone be produced by a stringed instrument or the breath, unless there is a most general from which each least particular of the modulation derives its general, in order to exist. The same is true of every bodily sense, as sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch; and also of all the internal senses, which belong to the mind. All this has been said by way of illustration, to make clear that in the church also there is what is general and what is particular, also what is most general; and that this is why there have been four preceding churches in order, from which progression what is most general in the church has arisen, and in succession the general and the particular of each church. In man also there are two most general things from which all the generals and the several particulars derive their existence. In his body these two most general things are the heart and lungs; in his spirit they are the will and understanding. On these four depend all things pertaining to his life, both in general and in particular, all of which without them would fall asunder and die. And so would it be with the whole angelic heaven, and with the whole human race, and even with the whole created universe, if they did not all in general, and each in particular depend on God, on His love and His wisdom.

(True Christian Religion 768; 772-775)