From Man's Life's Love

Selection from Divine Providence ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

It is a law of the Divine providence that evils should be put away by man; for unless they are put away the Lord cannot be conjoined with man, and cannot from Himself lead man into heaven. But as it has not been known that man ought as if of himself to put away the evils in the external man, and unless man does this as if of himself the Lord cannot put away the evils that are in man's internal.

EVERY MAN HAS AN EXTERNAL AND AN INTERNAL OF THOUGHT

The same is here meant by the external and internal of thought as by the external and internal man, and by this nothing else is meant than the external and internal of the will and understanding; for the will and understanding are what constitute man, and as these two manifest themselves in the thoughts, the terms external and internal of thought are used. Since, then, it is the spirit of man and not his body that wills and understands and therefore thinks, it follows that this external and internal are the external and internal of man's spirit. The action of the body, whether in words or deeds, is only an effect from the internal and external of man's spirit, since the body is mere obedience.

Every man of mature age has an external and an internal of thought, and therefore an external [and an internal] of will and understanding, or an external and an internal of the spirit, which is the same as the external and the internal man; and this is evident to any one who observes carefully another's thoughts and intentions as exhibited in his words or acts, and also his own thoughts when in company and when he is alone. For one can talk with another in a friendly way from external thought, and yet be at enmity with him in internal thought. From external thought together with its affection a man can talk about love towards his neighbor and love to God, when in his internal thought he cares nothing for the neighbor and has no fear of God. From external thought together with its affection a man can talk about the justice of civil laws, the virtues of moral life, and matters of doctrine and spiritual life; and yet when alone by himself he may from internal thought and its affection speak against the civil laws, the virtues of moral life, and matters of doctrine and spiritual life; and this is done by those who are in the lusts of evil, but who wish it to appear before the world that they are not in them.

Moreover, many think to themselves, when they hear others talking, whether these are interiorly in themselves thinking in accord with the thoughts they are expressing, whether or not they are to be believed, and what their intentions are. It is well known that flatterers and hypocrites have a double thought; for they are able to keep things to themselves and to guard against disclosing their interior thought; and some can conceal it more and more deeply, and as it were block up the doors lest it appear. That both exterior and interior thought are possible to man is also clearly evident from his being able from his interior thought to look upon his exterior thought, and also to reflect upon it, and to judge of it whether it is evil or not evil. That the mind of man is such is due to the two faculties that man has from the Lord, called liberty and rationality. Unless man had from these an external and an internal of thought he would not be able to perceive and see any evil in himself and be reformed; in fact, he would not be able to speak, but only to utter sounds like a beast.

The internal of thought is from the life's love and its affections and the perceptions therefrom.

The external of thought is from the contents of the memory, which are serviceable to the life's love as confirmations and as means to further its ends.

From infancy to early manhood man is in the external of thought from an affection for knowing, which then constitutes its internal; also there exhales from his life's love, which is innate from his parents, something of lust and inclination therefrom. But afterwards the way he lives determines his life's love; and its affections with the perceptions therefrom constitute the internal of his thought; while the life's love determines the love of the means; and the enjoyment of this and the knowledges thereby called forth from the memory constitute the external of his thought.

(from Divine Providence 103-105)

Heaven and Hell Do Not Commingle

Selection from Divine Providence ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

It is a Law of the Divine Providence that man should as if from himself put away evils as sins in the external man; and the Lord is able in this way and in no other to put away evils in the internal man, and simultaneously in the external.

Any one is able to see from reason alone that the Lord, who is good itself and truth itself, cannot enter into man unless the evils and falsities in him are put away; for evil is the opposite of good, and falsity is the opposite of truth, and two opposites can in no wise be commingled, but when one draws near to the other a combat takes place, which lasts till one gives way to the other; and the one that yields departs, and the other takes its place. In such opposition are heaven and hell, or the Lord and the devil. Can any one think in a rational way that the Lord can enter where the devil reigns, or that heaven can be where hell is? From the rationality granted to every sane man can he not see that for the Lord to enter the devil must be cast out? or for heaven to enter, hell must be put away?

This opposition is meant by Abraham's words from heaven to the rich man in hell:—

Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed; that those wishing to pass from this side to you may not be able, nor can those on that side pass over to us (Luke 16:26).

Evil itself is hell, and good itself is heaven; or what is the same, evil itself is the devil, and good itself is the Lord; and the man in whom evil reigns is a hell in the least form; while the man in whom good reigns is a heaven in the least form. This being so, how can heaven enter hell when between them a gulf so great is fixed that there can be no crossing from one to the other? From all this it follows that hell must by all means be put away to make it possible for the Lord with heaven to come in.

But many, especially such as have confirmed themselves in a faith separated from charity, do not know that when they are in evils they are in hell; they do not even know what evils are, for the reason that they give no thought to evils, saying that as they are not under the yoke of the law they are not condemned by the law, and that, as they are unable to contribute anything to their salvation, they are unable to put away any evil from themselves; and furthermore are unable to do any good from themselves. These are such as neglect to think about evil, and because of this they are continually in evil. Such are meant by the goats spoken of by the Lord in Matthew (25:32, 33, 41-46), as may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning Faith (n. 61-68), of whom it is said:—

Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels. (verse 41)

For those who give no thought to the evils in themselves, that is, do not examine themselves and afterwards refrain from evils, must needs be ignorant of what evil is, and must needs love it from enjoyment in it; for he who does not know what evil is loves it, and he who fails to think about it is continually in it. Like a blind man he does not see it. For it is the thought that sees good and evil, as it is the eye that sees the beautiful and the unbeautiful; and he who so thinks and wills evil as to believe that evil does not appear before God, or that if it does appear it is forgiven, is in evil, since he is thus led to think that he is free from evil. If such abstain from doing evils they do not abstain because these are sins against God, but because they fear the laws or the loss of reputation; and they still do them in their spirit, for it is the spirit of man that thinks and wills; consequently what a man thinks in his spirit in this world, that he does after he leaves this world when he becomes a spirit.

In the spiritual world into which every man comes after death, it is not asked what your belief has been, or what your doctrine has been, but what your life has been, that is, whether it has been such or such; for it is known that as one's life is such is his belief, and even his doctrine; for the life makes doctrine for itself, and belief for itself.

(from Divine Providence 100 - 101)

Attending to Thoughts and Purposes

Selection from Divine Providence ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

THE EXTERNAL MAN
MUST BE REFORMED BY MEANS OF
THE INTERNAL
AND NOT THE REVERSE

By the internal and external man the same is meant as by the internal and external of thought, which have been frequently defined above. The reformation of the external by means of the internal means that the internal flows into the external, and not the reverse. It is admitted in the learned world that there is an influx of the spiritual into the natural, and not the reverse; and it is admitted in the church that the internal man must be first cleansed and renewed and thereby the external. This is admitted because it is taught by the Lord and declared by the reason. It is taught by the Lord in these words:—

Woe unto you, hypocrites; for ye cleanse the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full from extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup and of the platter, that the outside of them may become clean also (Matthew 23:25, 26).

That reason declares this has been abundantly shown in the work on The Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom. For what the Lord teaches He gives man ability to perceive rationally, and this in two ways,

In one, man sees in himself that a thing is so as soon as he hears it.

In the other, he understands it by means of reasons.

His seeing it in himself is in his internal man.
His understanding it by means of reasons is in the external man.

Does not every one see it in himself when he hears that the internal man must be cleansed first, and the external by means of it? But one who does not receive a general idea of this subject by influx from heaven may be misled when he consults the external of his thought; from that alone no one sees otherwise than that the external works of charity and piety, apart from internal works, are what save. So in other things; as that sight and hearing flow into thought, and that smell and taste flow into perception, thus the external into the internal, when, nevertheless, the contrary is true. The appearance that things seen and heard flow into the thought is a fallacy — for it is the understanding that sees in the eye and hears in the ear, and not the reverse. So in everything else.

HOW THE INTERNAL MAN IS REFORMED, AND THE EXTERNAL BY MEANS OF IT

The internal man is NOT reformed merely by knowing, understanding, and being wise, consequently NOT by thought alone; but by willing that which knowledge, understanding, and wisdom teach. When a man from his knowledge, understanding, and wisdom sees that there is a heaven and a hell, and that all evil is from hell, and all good is from heaven, if he ceases to will evil because it is from hell, and wills good because it is from heaven, he is in the first stage of reformation, and is at the threshold from hell into heaven. When he goes further and wills to refrain from evils he is in the second stage of reformation, and is outside of hell, but not yet in heaven; he sees heaven above him. Man must have such an internal in order to be reformed; and yet he is not reformed unless the external is reformed as well as the internal. The external is reformed by means of the internal when the external refrains from the evils that the internal does not will because they are infernal, and still more when the external for this reason shuns evils and fights against them. Thus willing is the internal and doing is the external; for unless one does that which he wills, there is within a failure to will, and finally the willing ceases.

From these few statements it can be seen how the external man is reformed by means of the internal. This is what is meant by the Lord's words to Peter:—

Jesus said, If I wash thee not thou hast no part with Me. Peter said unto Him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus said unto him, He that hath bathed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit (John 13:8-10).

"To wash" means spiritual washing, which is to cleanse from evils

"washing the head and the hands" means to cleanse the internal man

"washing the feet" means to cleanse the external man.

That when the internal man has been cleansed the external must be cleansed is meant by this, "He that hath bathed needeth not save to wash his feet." That all cleansing from evils is from the Lord is meant by this, "If I wash thee not thou hast no part with Me." That among the Jews washing represented cleansing from evils, and this is what "washing" signifies in the Word, and "washing the feet" signifies the cleansing of the natural or external man, has been shown in the Arcana Coelestia, in many places.

Since man has an internal and an external, and both must be reformed that the man may be reformed, and since no one can be reformed unless he examines himself, sees and acknowledges his evils, and afterwards refrains from them, it follows that not only the external but also the internal must be examined. If the external alone is examined, a man sees only what he has actually done, as that he has not committed murder, adultery, or theft, has not borne false witness; and so on. Thus he examines the evils of his body, and not the evils of his spirit. Nevertheless, one cannot be reformed unless the evils of the spirit are examined, for after death man lives as a spirit, and all the evils that are in the spirit remain. The spirit is examined only by man's attending to his thoughts, especially his purposes, for purposes are thoughts from the will; that is where evils are in their origin and in their root, that is, in their lusts and in their enjoyments; and unless these are seen and acknowledged the man is still in evils, although in externals he has not committed them. That to think from purpose is to will and to do is clear from the Lord's words:—

Everyone that looketh on another's woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart (Matthew 5:28).

Such is the examination of the internal man, whereby the external man is essentially examined.  I have often wondered, that although it is known by the whole Christian world that evils must be shunned as sins, and that otherwise they are not remitted, and unless they are remitted there is no salvation, yet this is known by scarcely one among thousands. Inquiry was made about this in the spiritual world, and it was found to be so. This is known by everyone in the Christian world from the exhortations read before those who come to the Holy Supper, for it is openly declared in these; nevertheless when they are asked whether they know this, they answer that they do not, and that they have never known it. This is because they have not thought about it, and because most of them have thought only of faith, and of salvation by it alone. I have also wondered that faith alone so closes the eyes that when those who have confirmed themselves in it are reading the Word they see nothing that is there said about love, charity, and works. It is as if they had daubed faith over all things of the Word, as one might so smear a manuscript with red lead that nothing underneath it would appear. Or if anything does appear, it is absorbed by faith and is said to be faith.

(from Divine Providence 150 - 153)