Enlightenment and Perception

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
Enlightenment and Perception by the Lord through the Word

The Lord speaks with the man of the church in no other way than through the Word, for He then enlightens man so that he may see truth, and also gives him perception to perceive that it is so; but this is effected according to the quality of the desire for truth with the man, and the desire for truth with a man is according to his love of it.

They who love truth for the sake of truth are in enlightenment, and they who love truth for the sake of good are in perception

(from Arcana Coelestia 10290)

Seriatim Remarks on the Doctrine of Charity and Faith (Pt. 39)

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Things of Charity —

Concerning the Lord

There is one God, who is the Creator of the universe and the Preserver of the universe, thus who is the God of heaven and the God of earth.

There are two things which make the life of heaven with man; the truth of faith, and the good of love. Man has this life from God, and nothing whatever of it from man; and therefore the chief thing of the church is to acknowledge God, to believe in God, and to love Him.

Those who have been born within the church ought to acknowledge the Lord, His Divine and His Human, and to believe in Him and love Him, because all salvation is of the Lord. This the Lord teaches in John:

He that believeth in the Son hath eternal life; but he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the anger of God abideth with him. (John 3:36)

This is the will of Him that sent Me, that everyone who seeth the Son, and believeth in Him, may have eternal life; and I will raise him up in the last day. (John 6:40)

Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in Me, though he die, shall live; but everyone that liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. (John 11:25, 26)

Wherefore those who within the church do not acknowledge the Lord and His Divine, cannot be conjoined with God, and thus cannot have any lot with the angels in heaven, for no one can be conjoined with God except by the Lord and in the Lord.

That no one can be conjoined with God except by the Lord, the Lord teaches in these passages:

No man hath ever seen God; the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath set Him forth (John 1:18).

Ye have never heard the voice of the Father, nor seen His shape (John 5:37).

No one knoweth the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal Him (Matt. 11:27).

I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one cometh unto the Father but by Me (John 14:6).

That no one can be conjoined with God except in the Lord, the Lord also teaches in John:

As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abide in the vine; so neither can ye, unless ye abide in Me; for without Me ye can do nothing (John 15:4-5).

That no one can be conjoined with God except in the Lord, because the Father is in Him, and They are one, as also He teaches in John:

He that seeth Me seeth Him that sent Me; and ye have known My Father, and from henceforth ye have known Him; He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; Philip, believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me (John 12:45; 14:7-11).

The Father and I are one; that ye may know, and believe, that I am in the Father and the Father in Me (John 10:30, 38).

As the Father is in the Lord, and the Father and the Lord are one, and as He must be believed in, and whoso believeth in Him hath eternal life, it is evident that the Lord is God. That the Lord is God is taught everywhere in the Word, as in these passages:

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 anything made that was made. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father (John 1:1, 3, 14).

Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called God, Hero, the Father of Eternity, the Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6).

A virgin shall conceive, and bring forth, and His name shall be called God with us (Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:23).

Behold the days come when I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, who shall reign as king, and shall prosper; and this is His name whereby they shall call Him, JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS (Jer. 23:5-6; 33:15-16).

All those who are of the church, and are in light from heaven, see the Divine in the Lord, and this in His Human. But those who are not in light from heaven see nothing but the Human in the Lord, when yet the Human and the Divine in Him are so united that they are one, as the Lord taught in another passage in John:

Father, all things that are Mine are Thine, and all things that are Thine are Mine (John 17:10).

Those who in regard to the Divinity have an idea of three Persons, cannot have an idea of one God. If they say one with the mouth, they nevertheless think of three. But those who in regard to the Divinity have an idea of three in one Person, can have an idea of one God, and can say "one God," and also think "one God."

Men have the idea of three in one Person when they think that the Father is in the Lord, and that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Lord; and then the Trine in the Lord is the Divine Itself which is called the Father, the Divine Human which is called the Son, and the proceeding Divine which is called the Holy Spirit.

Every man has from his father his being of life, which is called his soul. The derivative manifestation [existere] of life is that which is called the body. Consequently the body is the likeness of its soul, because by means of it the soul pursues its life at its pleasure. From this it is that men are born into the likeness of their fathers, and that families are distinguished from each other. And from this it is evident what was the nature of the Lord's body or Human, namely, that it was like the Divine Itself, which was the Being of His life, or the Soul from the Father; and He therefore said:

He that seeth Me seeth the Father (John 14:9).

That the Divine and the Human of the Lord are one Person, is also in accordance with the faith received in the whole Christian world, which is to this effect: Although Christ is God and Man, nevertheless He is not two, but one Christ. Yea, He is altogether one and a single Person; for as the body and soul are one man, so also God and Man are one Christ. This is from the Athanasian Creed.

That the Lord was conceived of Jehovah the Father and thus was God from conception, is known in the church, and also that He rose again with His whole body, for He left nothing in the sepulchre. Of this He also afterward confirmed His disciples, saying, "Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; feel Me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see Me have" (Luke 24:39). And although He was a man in respect to the flesh and bones, He nevertheless entered in through closed doors; and after He had manifested Himself He again became invisible (John 20:19, 26; Luke 24:31). It is different with every man, for a man rises again only as to the spirit, and not as to the body; and therefore when He said that He is not a spirit, He said that He is not like any other man. From this it is now evident that in the Lord the Human also is Divine.

Those who make the Human of the Lord like the human of any other man, do not think about His conception from the Divine Itself, nor about His resurrection with the whole body, nor about Him as seen when He was transfigured, in that His face shone as the sun. Neither do they know and apprehend that the body of everyone is a likeness or effigy of his soul, nor that the Lord is omnipresent even in respect to the Human, for from this is the belief in His omnipresence in the Holy Supper. Omnipresence is Divine (Matt. 28:20).

As all the Divine is in the Lord, He therefore has all power in the heavens and on earth, as also He Himself says in these passages:

The Father hath given to the Son power over all flesh (John 17:2).

All things have been delivered unto Me by the Father (Matt. 11:27).

All power hath been given unto Me in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18).

The Lord came into the world in order to save the human race, which otherwise would have perished in eternal death; and He saved it by this:

that He subjugated the hells which were infesting every man that came into the world and that went out of the world; and at the same time by this: that He glorified His Human, for in this way He can hold the hells in subjection to eternity.

The subjugation of the hells and the simultaneous glorification of His Human, were effected by means of temptations admitted into His Human, and by continual victories then. His passion on the cross was the last temptation and the full victory. That the Lord subjugated the hells, He Himself teaches in the following passages:

Jesus said, Now is My soul troubled, Father, rescue Me from this hour; but for this cause came I into the world. Father, glorify Thy name. There came forth a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and I will glorify it again. Then Jesus said, Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out (John 12:27, 28, 31).

Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world (John 16:33).

Who is this that cometh from Edom, marching in the multitude of his strength, great to save? Mine own arm performed salvation for Me; therefore He became their Savior (Isa. 63:1, 5, 8; also 59:16-21).

That He glorified His Human, and that the passion of the cross was the last temptation and the full victory through which He was glorified, He also teaches in these passages:

After Judas was gone out, Jesus said, Now hath the Son of man been glorified, and God shall glorify Him in Himself, and shall straightway glorify Him (John 13:31-32).

Father, the hour is come; glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee. Now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was (John 17:1, 5).

Now is My soul troubled, Father, glorify Thy name; and there came forth a voice from heaven saying, I have both glorified it, and I will glorify it again (John 12:27, 28).

Ought not the Christ to suffer this, and to enter into His glory? (Luke 24:26).

"To glorify" denotes to make Divine. From this it is now evident that unless the Lord had come into the world, and had become a Man, and had in this manner freed from hell all those who believe in Him and love Him, no mortal could have been saved. This is meant by its being said that without the Lord there is no salvation.

To love the Lord is to live according to His commandments. That this is to love the Lord, He Himself teaches in John:

If ye love Me, keep My commandments. He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me. If a man love Me, he will keep My word; but he that loveth Me not, keepeth not My words (John 14:15, 21, 23, 24).

And that those are saved who receive the Lord, and believe in Him; but not those who are in evils and the derivative falsities, because these latter do not receive Him and believe in Him, He teaches in John:

As many as received Him, to them gave He power to be sons of God, to them that believe in His name; who were born, not from bloods, nor from the will of the flesh, nor from the will of man, but from God (John 1:12, 13).

"To be born from bloods, from the will of the flesh, and from the will of man," denotes to be in the evils of the love of self and of the world, and in the derivative falsities. "To be born from God" denotes to be regenerated.

When the Lord had fully glorified His Human, He then put off the human from the mother, and put on the Human from the Father; and therefore He was then no longer the son of Mary, but the Son of God, from Whom He came forth.

That there is a trine in the Lord, namely, the Divine Itself, the Divine Human, and the proceeding Divine, is a secret from heaven, and is for those who will be in the Holy Jerusalem.

(Arcana Coelestia 10815-10831)

Seriatim Remarks on the Doctrine of Charity and Faith (Pt. 38)

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Things of Charity —

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.

(Arcana Coelestia 10789-10806)
(series to be continued)