Divine Truth In Its Ultimates

Selection from Apocalypse Explained ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
THE SANCTUARY OF DIVINE TRUTH IN ITS HOLINESS

Divine truth is what is called holy. But it is not holy before it is in its ultimate; and its ultimate is the Word in the literal sense; therefore, the Divine truth there is holy, and may be called the sanctuary. The reason is, that that sense contains and includes all the sanctities of heaven and the church.

It appears as if the Divine truths in the heavens, which are called spiritual and celestial, are more holy than the Divine truths in the literal sense of the Word, which are natural. But the Divine truths in the heavens, which are called spiritual and celestial, are comparatively like the lungs and heart in man, which, unless they were encompassed by ribs, and contained by the pleura and diaphragm, would not form the breast; for without these integuments - in fact, unless they were connected with them by bonds - they could not perform their vital functions. The spiritual things of the Word are like the breath of the lungs; its celestial things like the systole and diastole of the heart, and its natural things like the pleura, the diaphragm, and the ribs, with the moving fibres annexed, by means of which the motions are reciprocated.

Moreover, the spiritual and celestial things of the Word are comparatively like the holy things of the tabernacle, these being the table, upon which was the shew bread; the golden altar, upon which was the incense; the perfumes and censer; also the lampstand with the lamps; and still more interiorly the cherubim, the mercy-seat, and the ark. All these were the holy things of the Jewish and Israelitish church; but still they could not be called holy and the sanctuary until they were covered over by curtains and veils. For without those coverings they would have stood under the naked sky, exposed to showers and storms, to the birds of heaven and the wild beasts of the earth, and also to robbers' by which they would be violated, plundered, and dispersed. So would it be with the Divine truths in the heavens, called spiritual and celestial, unless they were enclosed by natural truths, such as are the truths of the literal sense of the Word.

Natural truths, which are the truths of the literal sense of the Word, are not the real truths of heaven, but they are the appearances thereof; and appearances of truth encompass, enclose, and contain the truths of heaven, which are genuine truths; and cause them to be in connection and order, and to cohere, as do the cardiac and pulmonary organs with their integuments and ribs, as said above. And when they are in connection and in order, then first they are holy, and not before. The literal sense of our Word does this by the appearances of truth, of which its ultimate consists; this is why this sense is essentially holy and Divine, and a sanctuary.

But he who separates the appearances of truth from genuine truths, and calls the literal sense holy by and of itself, and not by these, and from these, and together with these, is much deceived. He who sees only the literal sense separates them, and does not examine its meaning, as is the case with those who do not read the Word from doctrine.

By the cherubim in the Word is meant guard and protection, lest the holy things of heaven should be violated, and lest the Lord should be approached except by love. And hence the literal sense of the Word is signified by them, for it guards and protects. It guards and protects in this way, in order that a man may think and speak according to the appearances of truth, while he is well-disposed, simple, and as it were a child; but he must beware lest he confirms the appearances to the destruction of genuine truth in the heavens.

Now because in the ultimate sense of the Word, which is called the literal sense, are all interior things, that is to say, the spiritual and celestial things that are in the Words of the three heavens together - for those things are there that are in the Word with the angels of the third heaven, in its inmost contents; and those that are in the Words of the angels of the lower heavens, in its mediate contents, and these are encompassed with and included in such things as exist in nature in our world - the literal sense of our Word is from the latter and the former. Hence it is evident that the Divine truth in the literal sense of our Word is in its fulness.

That is called full which contains in itself all prior things from the first, or all things higher from the highest, the ultimate being that which includes them. The fulness of the Word may be compared to a common marble vessel, wherein are innumerable smaller crystal vessels, and in these still more numerous made of precious stones, in which and around which are the most exquisite delicacies of heaven; these are for those who from the Word perform excellent uses. That the Word is of such a quality is not seen by a man while he is in the world, but it is seen when he becomes an angel.

Because the Word in ultimates is such, it follows that it is not fully the Word before it is in that ultimate, thus before it is in the literal sense. For if that were not the case the Word would be like a temple in the air and not on the earth; or like a man with flesh without bones. And whereas Divine truth in its ultimate is in its fulness, and also in its power, for while it is that it is also in all, therefore the Lord never operates except from primaries by means of ultimates, consequently in fulness. For He does not reform and regenerate a man except by means of truths in ultimates, which are natural. And it is from this that such as is a man's quality in the world, such he remains after his departure out of the world, to eternity. It is from this also that heaven and hell are from the human race, and that, angels were not immediately created; for a man in the world is in his fulness, therefore he can be conceived and born there, and afterwards be filled with knowledge, intelligence, and wisdom, and become an angel. To create angels otherwise is not possible.

Because the Lord does all things from primaries by means of ultimates, and in ultimates He is in His power and in His fulness, therefore it pleased the Lord to take upon Him the Human, and to be made Divine truth, that is, the Word; and thus from Himself to bring into order all things in heaven, and all things in hell, that is, to execute a Last Judgment. This the Lord could accomplish from the Divine in Himself, which was in primaries, by His Human, which was in ultimates, and not from His presence or abode in the men of the church, as formerly; for these had entirely fallen away from the truths and goods of the Word, in which the Lord had His habitation with men previously. This was the primary cause of the Lord's Advent into the world; and also that He might make His Human Divine. For by this means He had the power of keeping all things in heaven and all things in hell in order for ever. This is meant by sitting at the right hand of God (Mark xvi. 19). The right hand of God is the Divine Omnipotence, and to sit at the right hand of God denotes the being in that by means of the Human.

That the Lord ascended into heaven with His Human glorified even to the ultimates, He Himself witnesses in Luke:

Jesus said unto his disciples, "See my hands and my feet, that I myself am, feel me and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have." (24: 39).

These things the Lord said just after His resurrection. Flesh and bones are the ultimates of the human body, on which the strength of it depends.

The absolute truth is, that no one can understand the Word without doctrine; for he may be led away into errors of every kind, to which he may incline from some love, or to which he may be drawn from some principle, by which his mind becomes vague and uncertain, so that at length it is, as it were, without truth. But he who reads the Word from doctrine sees all the things that confirm it, and also many things which are hidden from the eyes of others. Nor does he allow himself to be drawn into strange [doctrines]. Hence it is that his mind is made up so that he sees definitely.

The reason why the Word may be turned to confirm even heresies, unless it is read from doctrine, is, that its literal sense consists of pure correspondences, and these, for the most part, are appearances of truth, and in part, genuine truths, which can be neither seen nor distinguished unless doctrine be the lamp.

But doctrine cannot be procured except from the Word, and only by those who are enlightened by the Lord. Those who love truths because they are truths, and incorporate them in their life, are enlightened. Moreover, everything of doctrine must be confirmed by the literal sense of the Word, because therein Divine truth is in its fulness and in its power, and by this a man is in conjunction with the Lord, and associated with the angels.

In a word, he who loves truth because it is truth may, as it were, interrogate the Lord in doubtful matters of faith, and receive answers from Him, but nowhere else than in the Word, because the Lord is the Word.

(from Apocalypse Explained 1087 -1089)

By a Nexus of Correspondences

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

Representations are nothing but images of spiritual things in natural ones, and when the former are rightly represented in the latter, the two correspond. Yet the man who knows not what the spiritual is, but only the natural, is capable of thinking that such representations and derivative correspondences are impossible, for he might say to himself, How can the spiritual act upon the material? But if he will reflect upon the things taking place in himself every moment, he may be able to gain some idea of these matters, namely, how the will can act upon the muscles of the body, and effect real actions; also how thought can act upon the organs of speech, moving the lungs, trachea, throat, tongue, and lips, and thus produce speech; and also how the affections can act on the face, and there present images of themselves, so that another often thereby knows what is being thought and felt. These examples may give some idea of what representations and correspondences are.

As such things are now presented in man, and as there is nothing that can subsist from itself, but only from some other, and this again from some other, and finally from the First, and this by a nexus of correspondences, they who enjoy some extension of judgment may draw the conclusion that there is a correspondence between man and heaven; and further, between heaven and the Lord who is the First.

(from Arcana Coelestia 4044)

Only by Means of an Assumed Human

Selections from True Christian Religion ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
GOD COULD REDEEM MEN, THAT IS, COULD DELIVER THEM
FROM DAMNATION AND HELL,
ONLY BY MEANS OF AN ASSUMED HUMAN

Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.(Isaiah 40:10)

Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? (Isaiah 53:1)

Redemption consisted in subjugating the hells, restoring the heavens to order, and after this reestablishing the church.

This redemption God with His omnipotence could effect only by means of the Human; as it is only by means of an arm that one can work — in the Word this Human of the Lord is called "the arm of Jehovah" — or as one can attack a fortified town and destroy the temples of idols therein only by means of intervening agencies. That it was by means of His Human that God had omnipotence in this Divine work, is also evident from the Word. For in no other way would it be possible for God who is in the inmost and thus in the purest things, to pass over to outmost things, in which the hells are, and in which the men of that time were; just as the soul can do nothing without a body, or as no one can conquer an enemy without coming in sight of him, or approaching and getting near to him with proper equipments, such as spears, shields, or muskets. It was as impossible for God to effect redemption without the Human as it would be for men to conquer the Indies without transporting soldiers there by means of ships, or as it would be to make trees grow by heat and light if the air through which these pass, or the soil from which the trees spring, had never been created; as impossible, in fact, as to catch fish by spreading nets in the air instead of in the water. For it is impossible for Jehovah, such as He is in Himself, by His omnipotence to get in contact with any devil in hell or any devil upon the earth, and restrain him and his fury and tame his violence, unless He be in things last as He is in things first. Because He is in things last in His Human, He is called in the Word "the First and the Last," "the Alpha and the Omega," "the Beginning and the End."

Jehovah God descended as Divine Truth, which is the Word, although He did not separate from it the Divine Good.

There are two things that constitute the essence of God — the Divine love and the Divine wisdom, or what is the same, Divine good and Divine truth. These two are the essence of God. Moreover these two are what are meant in the Word by the name "Jehovah God," "Jehovah" meaning the Divine love or Divine good, and "God" the Divine wisdom or Divine truth; and for this reason these two names are distinguished in the Word in various ways; sometimes the name "Jehovah" alone is used, and sometimes the name "God" alone-the name "Jehovah" when the Divine good is treated of, and the name "God" when the Divine truth is treated of; and the name "Jehovah God" when both are treated of. That Jehovah God descended as the Divine truth, which is the Word, is shown in John as follows:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among, us (John 1:1, 3, 14).

By "the Word" here the Divine truth is meant; because the Word, which is in the church, is Divine truth itself, for it was dictated by Jehovah Himself; and what is dictated by Jehovah is nothing but Divine truth, and can be nothing else.

But inasmuch as the Divine truth passed down through the heavens even to the world, it became adapted to angels in heaven and also to men in the world. For this reason there is in the Word a spiritual sense in which the Divine truth is seen in clear light, and a natural sense in which it is seen obscurely. Thus it is the Divine truth in our Word that is here meant in John. This is made still clearer by the fact that the Lord came into the world to fulfill all things of the Word; and this is why it is so often said that this or that was done to Him "that the Scripture might be fulfilled." Nor is anything but the Divine truth meant by "the Messiah" or "the Christ," or "the Son of man," or "the Holy Spirit the Comforter," which the Lord sent after His departure. His transfiguration before the three disciples on the mount (Matt. 17; Mark 9; Luke 9), and also before John in the Apocalypse (1:12-16), the Lord represented Himself as that Word.

That the Lord in the world was the Divine truth is evident from His own words:

I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6);

also from these words:

We know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding that we may know the True; and we are in the True, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life (1 John 5:20);

and still further by His being called "the Light," as in the following passages:

There was the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world (John 1:4, 9).

Jesus said, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, that darkness overtake you not. While ye have the light believe in the light, that ye may be sons of light (John 12:35, 36, 46).

I am the light of the world (John 9:5).

Simeon said, For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, a light for revelation to the Gentiles (Luke 2:30-32).

And this is the judgment, that light is come into the world; he that doeth the truth cometh to the light (John 3:19, 21);

besides other places. "Light" means the Divine truth.

Jehovah God came down into the world as Divine truth, in order that He might work redemption; and redemption consisted in subjugating the hells, restoring the heavens to order, and after this establishing a church. This, Divine good is inadequate to effect; it can be done only by the Divine truth from the Divine good. The Divine good, viewed in itself, is like the round hilt of a sword, or a blunt piece of wood, or a bow without arrows; while Divine truth from Divine good is like a sharp sword, or wood in the form of a spear, or a bow with its arrows, all which are effective against an enemy. (In the spiritual sense of the Word "swords," "spears," and "bows" mean truths combating) The falsities and evils in which all hell was and always is, could have been assaulted, conquered, and subjugated in no other way than by means of Divine truth from the Word; nor could the new heaven that was then constituted have been built up, formed, and arranged in order by any other means; nor could a new church on the earth have been established by any other means. Moreover all the strength, energy, and power of God belong to Divine truth from the Divine good. This explains why Jehovah God came down as Divine truth, which is the Word. Therefore it is said in David:

Gird Thy sword upon Thy thigh, O mighty One, and in Thy majesty mount up; ride upon the Word of truth; Thy right hand shall teach Thee wonderful things. Thine arrows are sharp, Thine enemies shall fall under Thee (Ps. 45:3-5).

This is said of the Lord, of His conflicts with the hells, and of His victories over them.

What good is, apart from truth, and what truth is, apart from good, can be seen clearly in man. All good in man has its seat in his will, and all truth in his understanding; and the will from its good can do nothing whatever except by means of the understanding; it cannot work, it cannot speak, it cannot feel; all of its virtue and power is by means of the understanding, consequently by means of truth; for the understanding is the receptacle and abode of truth. It is with these precisely as with the action of the heart and lungs in the body. Without the respiration of the lungs not a motion or a sensation is produced by the heart; but both motion and sensation are produced from the heart by the respiration of the lungs, as is evident in the swooning of persons who have been suffocated or have fallen into the water, whose respiration ceases, although the systolic activity of the heart still continues. That such persons have neither motion nor sensation is known. It is the same with the embryo in the mother's womb. This is because the heart corresponds to the will and its various kinds of good, and the lungs to the understanding and its truths.

In the spiritual world the power of truth is especially conspicuous. An angel who is in Divine truths from the Lord, although in body as weak as an infant, can nevertheless put to flight a troop of infernal spirits that look like Anakim and Nephilim, that is, like giants, and can pursue them to hell, and thrust them into their caverns there; and when they emerge therefrom they dare not come near the angel. Those who are in Divine truths from the Lord are in that world like lions, although in body they have no more strength than sheep. Men who are in Divine truths from the Lord have a like power against evils and falsities, and consequently against cohorts of devils, who, regarded in their essence, are nothing but evils and falsities. There is such strength in Divine truth because God is good itself and truth itself; and it was by means of Divine truth that He created the universe; and all the laws of order by means of which He preserves the universe are truths. Therefore it is said in John:

That all things were made by the Word, and without Him was nothing thing made that was made (1:3, 10)

And in David:

By the Word of Jehovah were the heavens made; and all the hosts of them by the breath of His mouth (Ps. 33:6).

That God, although He descended as Divine truth, did not separate therefrom the Divine good, is evident from the conception; of which it is said: the power of the Most High overshadowed Mary (Luke 1:35), "the power of the Most High" meaning the Divine good. This is evident also from the passages where He says that the Father is in Him and He in the Father, that all things that the Father hath are His, and that the Father and He are one; also from other passages. By "the Father" the Divine good is meant.

(from True Christian Religion 84 - 88)