The Capacity for Receiving Truths

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

Few know what freedom is, and what non-freedom is.

All that which is of any love and its delight appears to be freedom, and that which is contrary to these, non-freedom.

• What is of the love of self and the love of the world, and of their cupidities, appears to man as freedom, but it is infernal freedom
  
  
• What is of love to the Lord and of love toward the neighbor, consequently of the love of good and truth, is freedom itself, and is heavenly freedom.

Infernal spirits do not know that there is any other freedom than that which is of the love of self and the love of the world; that is, of the cupidities (inordinate desire) of commanding, of persecuting and hating all who do not serve them, of tormenting everyone, of destroying the universe if they could for the sake of self; of taking away and claiming to themselves whatever is another's. When they are in these and similar things, they are in their freedom, because they are in their delight. Their life consists in this freedom to such a degree that if it were taken away from them, nothing more of life would remain to them than that of a newborn infant. This was also shown by living experience.

A certain evil spirit was in the persuasion that such things could be taken away from him, and that in this way he could come into heaven; consequently that his life could be miraculously changed into heavenly life; on which account those loves together with their cupidities were taken away from him (which is done in the other life by dissociation), and he then appeared like an infant paddling with his hands, which he could scarcely move; and he was at the same time in such a state as to be less able to think than any infant, and unable to speak anything at all, or to know anything. But he was soon restored to his delight, and thus to his freedom.

From this it is manifest that it is impossible for anyone to come into heaven who has procured a life for himself from the love of self and the world, and consequently who is in the freedom of these loves; for if that life were taken away from such a person, he would not have anything of thought and will remaining.

But heavenly freedom is that which is from the Lord, and in it are all the angels in the heavens. As before said this is the freedom of love to the Lord and mutual love, and thus of the affection of good and truth. The quality of this freedom may be seen from the fact that everyone who is in it communicates his blessedness and happiness to another from inmost affection, and that it is a blessedness and happiness to him that he is able to communicate it. And because the universal heaven is such, it follows that everyone is a center of all forms of blessedness and happiness, and that all these belong at the same time to each angel. The communication itself is effected by the Lord, by wonderful inflowings in an incomprehensible form, which is the form of heaven. This shows what heavenly freedom is, and that it is from the Lord alone.

How far distant heavenly freedom (which is from the affection of good and truth) is from infernal freedom (which is from the affection of evil and falsity), is evident from the fact that when the angels in heaven merely think about such freedom as is from the affection of evil and falsity, or what is the same, from the cupidities of the love of self and the world, they are immediately seized with internal pain; and on the other hand, when evil spirits merely think about the freedom which is from the affection of good and truth, or what is the same, from the desires of mutual love, they at once come into anguish; and what is wonderful, so opposite is the one freedom to the other, that the freedom of the love of self and the world is hell to good spirits; and on the other hand, the freedom of love to the Lord and mutual love is hell to evil spirits. Hence all in the other life are distinct according to their kinds of freedom, or what is the same, according to their loves and affections, consequently according to the delights of their life, which is the same as according to their lives; for lives are nothing else than delights, and these are nothing else than affections which are of the loves.

The good of life, or the affection of good, is insinuated by the Lord by an internal way, without man's knowing anything about it; but the truth of doctrine, or faith, by an external way, into the memory, whence it is called forth by the Lord in His own time and according to His own order, and is conjoined with the affection of good. This is done in man's freedom; for as before said, man's freedom is from affection. Such is the insemination and inrooting of faith. Whatever is done in freedom is conjoined, but that which is done under compulsion is not conjoined; as may be seen from considering that by no possibility can anything be conjoined except that by which we are affected: affection is the very thing that receives; to receive anything contrary to the affection is to receive it contrary to the life. Hence it is manifest that truth of doctrine, or faith, cannot be received except by the affection of it. But such as is the affection, such is the reception. It is only the affection of truth and good that receives the truth of faith; for they agree, and because they agree, they conjoin themselves together. (Arcana Coelestia 2870 - 2874)

TRUTH GRATUITOUSLY BESTOWED

Truth in the abilities means in the capacities for receiving it, thus according to the capacities. But the capacities or abilities for receiving truth are wholly according to good, because the Lord adjoins them to good; for when the Lord flows in with good, He also flows in with capacity. Hence truth received in the abilities means according to goods. That the capacities for receiving truth are according to good is evident from much experience in the other life.

• They who are in good there have the capacity not only for perceiving truth, but also for receiving it, yet according to the amount and quality of the good in which they are.

• But they who are in evil have on the other hand no capacity for receiving truth. This comes from pleasure and consequent desire.

They who are in good have pleasure in perfecting good by means of truth, because good takes its quality from truths; and therefore they desire truths.

But they who are in evil have pleasure in evil, and in confirming it by falsities, and therefore they desire falsities; and because they desire falsities they are averse to truths. For this reason they have no capacity for receiving truths, for they reject or stifle or pervert them as soon as they reach the ear or occur to the thought.

Besides, every man who is of sound mind has a capacity for receiving truths; but they extinguish this capacity who turn to evil, and they exalt it who turn to good. (from Arcana Coelestia 5623)

Those Received in the New Church by the Lord

Selection from Apocalypse Explained ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. Revelation 14:4

These were bought from among men, firstfruits to God and the Lamb, signifies those received in the New Church by the Lord. This is evident from the signification of "those bought by the Lord," as being those who receive instruction from the Word, especially respecting the Lord, and who live according to it. The same are meant by those called "redeemed by the Lord;" and "the redeemed" are those who have been regenerated by the Lord and these are those who follow the Lord, that is, are led by Him. Also from the signification of "firstfruits of God and the Lamb," as being those who have given themselves to the Lord and have been adopted by Him.

That those who are of the New Church are meant is evident from their being called "firstfruits to God and to the Lamb," since those who are received in that church acknowledge the Lord's Divine Human and live according to His commandments.

No others are received in the New Church which is called "the New Jerusalem," because those who do not believe this and live thus are not in accord with the life of heaven, nor with the light there, nor with the heat there: for the light there is the Divine truth, which is the source of all intelligence and wisdom; and the heat there is the Divine good, which is the source of all love and charity.

All man's affection and thought therefrom not only is within him and constitutes his life but is also outside of him and constitutes the sphere of his life. This is why heaven is divided into societies according to the varieties of the affections and their thoughts; consequently unless the affections and the thoughts therefrom are spiritual, which are formed solely by the acknowledgment of the Lord and a life according to His commandments, they cannot be admitted into any society of heaven, for they are repugnant thereto; and this is why those who do not acknowledge the Lord's Divine Human and do not live according to His commandments in the Word cannot be consociated with the angels of heaven. That this is so has been proved to me by much experience.

There were some who had the same idea of the Lord as of any other man, and had lived in the faith of the present day, which is cogitation (or thought) without any good of life. As these believed that eternal life is merely being admitted into heaven, so according to their wish they were admitted into a certain society; but as soon as the light of heaven struck their eyes, their sight, and at the same time their understanding, began to be wholly darkened, and they began to fall into a stupor and into foolishness; and when the heat of heaven breathed upon them they began to be tormented in a direful manner, and their head and limbs began to writhe like serpents; consequently they cast themselves downwards, swearing that admission to heaven, unless they were in the light and heat of heaven, was hell to them, and that they had not known that everyone has heaven from love and its faith, or from a life according to the Lord's commandments in the Word, and from faith in the Lord, and not at all from faith without the life of faith, which is charity.

WHAT "FIRSTFRUITS" SIGNIFY IN THE WORD

It shall now be told briefly what "firstfruits" signify in the Word. The signification of firstfruits is similar to that of "firstborn;" but "firstborn" is predicated of animals, and "firstfruits" of vegetables; thus —

"the firstborn" are such as are born first

"firstfruits" are from the first products

both of them signify the spiritual good that is first formed, which in itself is truth from good which is from the Lord. This has its origin in the fact that there are two minds in man, a natural mind and a spiritual mind. From the natural mind alone nothing is produced but evil and its falsity; but as soon as the spiritual mind is opened, good and its truth are produced; and that which is first produced is meant by the "firstborn" and the "firstfruits." And as all things that are born and produced from the spiritual mind are from the Lord and not from man, these were sanctified to Jehovah, that is, to the Lord, because they were His, and thus were holy. And as that which is born or produced first signifies all things that follow in their order, as a leader is followed by his people, or a shepherd by his flock, so "the giving of the firstborn and the firstfruits to the Lord" signified that all the rest were also His.

But that this may come yet more clearly into the understanding it is to be known that the merely natural mind is formed to the idea or image of the world, but the spiritual mind to the idea or image of heaven; also that the spiritual mind is not opened to any man, except by the acknowledgment of the Lord's Divine and by a life according to His commandments; and until this mind has been opened no good and no truth therefrom are produced; but as soon as it is opened these are produced, and what is produced is from the Lord. Therefore the first thing that is produced is called holy, and signifies that all things that are afterwards produced are holy. This makes clear that the opening of the womb or matrix signifies the opening of the spiritual mind. This signification of opening the womb or matrix is from correspondence, the womb corresponding to the good of celestial love.

Because this is what is signified by "firstfruits," and because the things pertaining to the harvest, as wheat, barley, and the rest, and also wool, signified the goods and truths of heaven and the church, and the clean and useful beasts had a similar signification, so the firstborn of the latter and the firstfruits of the former were given to the Lord; and as the high priest represented the Lord as to His priestly function, which is the good of love, these things were given to that priest, and thus all things that were products of the corn, wine, and oil were made holy. But respecting these firstfruits see the statutes for the sons of Israel in the law of Moses; as respecting the first of the products of all corn, of oil, of wine, of the fruit of the tree, also of the fleece, likewise of the firstborn of the herd and the flock; and that these were given as holy to Jehovah, and by Jehovah to Aaron, and after him to the high priest (Exod. 22:29; Num. 13:20; 15:17-22; 18:8-20; Deut. 18:4; 26:1 to the end): also concerning the feast of the first fruits of harvest and of the first fruits of bread (Exod. 23:14-16, 19, 26; Lev. 23:9-15, 20-25; Num. 28:26 to the end; and elsewhere).

From all this it can now be seen that "firstfruits to God and to the Lamb" mean those who will be of the New Church which is called "the New Jerusalem," who acknowledge the Lord's Divine Human and live a life of love, that is, a life according to the Lord's commandments in the Word. In such and in no others is the spiritual mind opened; therefore no others are led by the Lord, or "follow Him whithersoever He goeth." That "God and the Lamb" means in Revelation the Lord as to the Divine Itself, and at the same time as to the Divine Human.

(from Apocalypse Explained 865)

Being in an Intermediate State

Selection from Heaven and Hell ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
— WHAT THE WORLD OF SPIRITS —

The world of spirits is an intermediate place between heaven and hell and also an intermediate state of the man after death. That it is an intermediate place, has been clear to me from the fact that the hells are below it and the heavens above. Also it is in an intermediate state, since, so long as man is in it, he is not yet either in heaven or in hell.

The state of heaven with man is the conjunction of good and truth with him.

The state of hell is the conjunction of evil and falsity with him.

Whenever good with a man-spirit has been conjoined to truth he comes into heaven, because that conjunction, as has been said, is heaven with him; but whenever evil with a man-spirit is conjoined to falsity he comes into hell, because that conjunction is hell with him. That conjunction is effected in the world of spirits, since man is then in an intermediate state. It is the same thing whether you say the conjunction of the understanding and the will, or the conjunction of truth and good.

First let something be said about the conjunction of the understanding and the will, and about its being the same thing as the conjunction of good and truth, since that conjunction is effected in the world of spirits.

Man has an understanding and a will

The understanding receives truths and is formed out of them, and the will receives goods and is formed out of them; therefore whatever a man understands and thinks from his understanding he calls true, and whatever a man wills and thinks from his will he calls good. From his understanding man can think and thus perceive both what is true and what is good; and yet he thinks what is true and good from the will only when he wills it and does it. When he wills it and from willing does it, then it is both in his understanding and in his will, consequently in the man. For neither the understanding alone nor the will alone makes the man, but the understanding and will together. Therefore whatever is in both is in the man, and is appropriated to him. That which is in the understanding alone is with man, and yet not in him; it is only a thing of his memory, or a matter of knowledge in his memory about which he can think when in company with others and outside himself, but not in himself, that is, about which he can speak and reason, and can simulate affections and gestures that are in accord with it.

Man capable of being reformed

That a man can think from the understanding and not at the same time from the will is provided in order that man may be capable of being reformed. For man is reformed by means of truths, and truths pertain to the understanding, as has been said. For as to his will man is born into every evil, and therefore from himself wills good to no one but himself; and he who wills good to himself alone delights in the misfortunes which happen to others, especially when they tend to his own advantage; for his wish is to divert to himself the goods of all others, whether honours or riches, and so far as he succeeds in this he inwardly rejoices.

In order that this will may be corrected and reformed

In order that this will may be corrected and reformed, it is granted to a man to be able to understand truths, and to subdue by means of these truths the affections of evil that spring from the will. This is why man can think truths from his understanding, and also speak them and do them. But until man is such that he wills truths and does them from himself, that is, from the heart, he is not able to think truths from his will. When he becomes such whatever things he thinks from his understanding belong to his faith, and whatever things he thinks from his will belong to his love. In consequence, faith and love, like understanding and will, are conjoined with him.

To the extent, therefore, that the truths of the understanding and the goods of the will are conjoined, that is, to the extent that a man wills truths and does them from the will, to that extent he has heaven in himself, since the conjunction of good and truth, as has been said above, is heaven.

And, on the other hand, just to the extent that the falsities of the understanding and the evils of the will are conjoined, man has hell in himself, since the conjunction of falsity and evil is hell. But so long as the truths of the understanding and the goods of the will are not conjoined, man is in an intermediate state.

At the present time nearly every single man is in such a state that he has some knowledge of truths, and from his knowledge and understanding gives some thought to them, and conforms to them either much or little or not at all, or acts contrary to them from a love of evil and consequent false belief.

That man may have either heaven or hell

In order, therefore, that man may have either heaven or hell, he is brought after death at first into the world of spirits, and there a conjoining takes place, of good and truth with those who are to be raised up into heaven, and of evil and falsity with those who are to be cast down into hell. For neither in heaven nor in hell is anyone permitted to have a divided mind, that is, to understand one thing and to will another; but everyone must understand what he wills, and will what he understands. Therefore, in heaven, he who wills good understands truth, while in hell he who wills evil understands falsity. So in the intermediate state, with the good falsities are put away, and truths that agree and harmonize with their good are given them; while with the evil truths are put away, and falsities that agree and harmonize with their evil are given them. From these things it is clear what the world of spirits is.

(from Heaven and Hell 422-425)