It Repented Jehovah

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

And it repented Jehovah that He made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart. 

(Genesis 6:6)

That He "repented" signifies mercy; that He "grieved at the heart" has a like signification; to "repent" has reference to wisdom; to "grieve at the heart" to love.

That it repented Jehovah that He made man on the earth signifies mercy, and that "He grieved at the heart" has a like signification, is evident from this, that Jehovah never repents, because He foresees all things from eternity both in general and in particular; and when He made man, that is, created him anew, and perfected him till he became celestial, He also foresaw that in process of time he would become such as is here described, and because He foresaw this He could not repent.

This appears plainly from what Samuel said:

The invincible one of Israel doth not lie, nor repent, for He is not a man that He should repent (1 Sam. 15:29).

And in Moses:

God is not a man that He should lie, or the son of man that He should repent; hath He said, and shall He not do? or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good? (Num. 23:19).

But to "repent" signifies to be merciful. The mercy of Jehovah, or of the Lord, includes everything that is done by the Lord toward mankind, who are in such a state that the Lord pities them, each one according to his state; thus He pities the state of him whom He permits to be punished, and pities him also to whom He grants the enjoyment of good; it is of mercy to be punished, because mercy turns all the evil of punishment into good; and it is of mercy to grant the enjoyment of good, because no one merits anything that is good; for all mankind are evil, and of himself everyone would rush into hell, wherefore it is of mercy that he is delivered thence; nor is it anything but mercy, inasmuch as He has need of no man. Mercy has its name from the fact that it delivers man from miseries* and from hell; thus it is called mercy in respect to mankind, because they are in such a state of misery, and it is the effect of love toward them all, because all are so.

* The Latin word for mercy-misericordia-by its very construction expresses the idea of a heart that feels for the wretched. [Rotch ed.]

But it is predicated of the Lord that He "repents" and "is grieved at heart" because there appears to be such a feeling in all human mercy, so that what is said here of the Lord's "repenting" and "grieving" is spoken according to the appearance, as in many other passages in the Word. What the mercy of the Lord is none can know, because it infinitely transcends the understanding of man; but what the mercy of man is we all know to be to repent and grieve; and unless a man were to form his idea of mercy according to his own apprehension, he could not have any conception of it, and thus he could not be instructed; and this is the reason why human properties are often predicated of the attributes of Jehovah or the Lord, as that Jehovah or the Lord punishes, leads into temptation, destroys, and is angry; when yet He never punishes anyone, never leads any into temptation, never destroys any, and is never angry. But as even such things as these are predicated of the Lord, it follows that repentance also and grief may be predicated of Him; for the predication of the one follows from that of the other, as plainly appears from the following passages in the Word.

In Ezekiel:

Mine anger shall be consummated, I will make my wrath to rest, and it shall repent Me (Ezek. 5:13).

Here, because "anger" and "wrath" are predicated, " repentance" is predicated also.

In Zechariah:

As I thought to do evil when your fathers provoked Me to anger, saith Jehovah Zebaoth, and it repented Me not, so again I will think in those days to do good unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah (Zech. 8:14, 15).

Here it is said that Jehovah "thought to do evil" and yet He never thinks to do evil to any, but good to all and to everyone.

In Moses, when he prayed forbearance of the face of Jehovah:

Turn from the wrath of Thine anger and repent Thee of this evil against Thy people; and Jehovah repented of the evil which He said He would do unto His people (Exod. 32:12, 14).

Here also the "wrath of anger" is attributed to Jehovah, and consequently "repentance."

In Jonah, the king of Nineveh said:

Who knoweth whether God will not turn and repent, and turn from the heat of His anger, that we perish not? (Jonah 3:9).

In like manner here "repentance" is predicated because "anger" is.

In Hosea:

My heart is turned within me; My repentings are kindled together; I will not execute the wrath of Mine anger (Hosea 11:8, 9)

where likewise it is said of the heart that" repentings were kindled" just as in the passage we are considering it is said that He "grieved at heart." Repentings" plainly denote great mercy.

So in Joel:

Turn unto Jehovah your God; for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy, and repenteth of the evil (Joel 2:13)

where also to " repent" manifestly denotes mercy.

In Jeremiah:

If so be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, and it repent Me of the evil (Jer. 26:3),

signifying to have mercy.

Again:

If that nation turn from their evil, it shall repent Me of the evil (Jer. 18:8);

where also to "repent" denotes to have mercy provided they would turn. For it is man who turns the Lord's mercy away from himself: the Lord never turns it away from man.

From these and many other passages it is evident that the Word was spoken according to the appearances with man. Whoever therefore desires to confirm false principles by the appearances according to which the Word was spoken, can do so by passages without number. But it is one thing to confirm false principles by the Word, and another to believe in simplicity what is in the Word. He who confirms false principles, first assumes a principle which he will not at all recede from, nor in the least yield, but scrapes together and accumulates confirmations wherever he can, thus also from the Word, until he so strongly persuades himself that he can no longer see the truth. But he who simply or with simple heart believes, does not first assume principles, but thinks that because the Lord has thus said it is true; and if instructed from other sayings of the Word how it is to be understood, he acquiesces and rejoices in his heart. Even the man who in simplicity believes that the Lord is angry, punishes, repents, and grieves, and so believing is afraid of evil and does good, takes no harm; for this belief causes him to believe also that the Lord sees everything; and being in such a belief he is afterwards enlightened in other matters of faith, if not before, then in the other life. Very different is the case with those who in agreement with a foul love of self or of the world persuade themselves to believe certain things that are deduced from the principles they have already adopted.

That "repenting" has reference to wisdom, and "grieving at heart" to love, cannot be explained to human apprehension, save in accordance with the things that are with man, that is, by means of appearances. In every idea of thought in man there is something from the understanding and from the will, or from his thought and his love. Whatever idea does not derive anything from his will or love is not an idea, for otherwise than from his will he cannot think at all. There is a kind of marriage, perpetual and indissoluble, between the thought and the will, so that in the ideas of man's thought there inhere or adhere the things that are of his will or his love. From this state of things in man it may as it were be known, or rather it seems possible to form some idea of what is contained in the Lord's mercy, namely, wisdom and love. Thus in the Prophets, especially in Isaiah, there are almost everywhere double expressions concerning everything; one involving what is spiritual, the other what is celestial. The spiritual of the Lord's mercy is wisdom; the celestial is love.

(Arcana Coelestia 586a-590)

The Divine Providence of the Lord

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

The government of the Lord in the heavens and on earth is called Providence. And as all the good which is of love, and all the truth which is of faith, are from Him, and absolutely nothing from man, it is evident from this that the Divine Providence of the Lord is in each and all things that conduce to the salvation of the human race. 

This the Lord thus teaches in John:

I am the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).

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

Moreover the Divine Providence of the Lord is over the veriest singulars of man's life; for there is one only fountain of life, which is the Lord, from whom we live and act and have our being.

Those who think about the Divine Providence from worldly things, conclude from these that it is only universal, and that the singulars appertain to man. But these persons are not acquainted with the arcana of heaven, for they form their conclusions solely from the loves of self and of the world and their pleasures; and therefore when they see the evil exalted to honors, and gaining wealth rather than the good; and also that the evil succeed in accordance with their skill, they say in their hearts that it would not be so if the Divine Providence were in each and all things. But these persons do not consider that the Divine Providence does not look to that which is fleeting and transitory, and which comes to an end together with the life of man in the world; but that it looks to that which remains to eternity, thus which has no end. That which has no end is; but that which has an end, relatively is not.

Everyone who duly reflects is able to know that eminence and wealth in the world are not real Divine blessings, although from the pleasure in them men so call them; for they pass away, and likewise seduce many, and turn them away from heaven; but that life in heaven and happiness there are the real blessings which are from the Divine.

This the Lord also teaches in Luke:

Make for yourselves treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where thief draweth not near, nor moth destroyeth. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Luke 12:33, 34).

The reason why the evil succeed in accordance with their skill, is that it is according to order that everyone should do what he does from reason and also from freedom; and therefore unless it were left to a man to act in freedom according to his reason, and thus also unless the consequent arts succeeded, the man could not possibly be disposed to receive eternal life, because this is instilled when the man is in freedom, and his reason is enlightened. For no one can be compelled to good, because nothing compulsory cleaves to the man, for it is not his. That becomes the man's own which is done from freedom, for that which is from the will is done from freedom, and the will is the man himself; and therefore unless a man is kept in the freedom to do evil also, good from the Lord cannot be provided for him.

To leave man from his freedom to do evil also, is called permission.

To be led to happiness in the world by means of his skill, appears to the man as if it were done from his own sagacity. Nevertheless the Divine Providence continually accompanies by permitting and by constantly withdrawing from evil. But to be led to happiness in heaven is known and perceived not to be of man's own sagacity, because it is from the Lord, and is effected from his Divine providence by disposing and continually leading to good.

That this is the case a man cannot apprehend from the light of nature, for from this light he does not know the laws of Divine order.

Be it known that there is providence and there is foresight. Good is that which is provided by the Lord, but evil is that which is foreseen by the Lord. The one must be with the other, for that which comes from man is nothing but evil; but that which comes from the Lord is nothing but good.

(Arcana Coelestia 10773-10781)

What God Doeth - This is Called Providence

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

That "what God doeth" is what is provided, is because everything that God (that is, the Lord) does, is providence, which being from the Divine has within it what is eternal and infinite
• What is eternal, because it does not look to any terminus* from which, nor to any terminus* to which, it proceeds
• What is infinite, because it simultaneously regards what is infinite in every singular, and every singular in what is universal.
This is called "providence;" and because there is such a quality in each and all things the Lord does, therefore His doing cannot be expressed by any other word than "providence." That in each and all things the Lord does, there is what is infinite;

(from Arcana Coelestia 5264)

[terminus - 1. the end or extremity of anything; 2. either end of a railroad line; 3. British. the station or the town at the end of a railway or bus route; 4. the point toward which anything tends; goal or end; 5. a boundary or limit.]

Consanguinities and Relationships of the Internal Man Remain

Selections from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

There are wonderful consociations in the other life which may be compared to relationships on earth: that is to say, they recognize one another as parents, children, brothers, and relations by blood and by marriage - the love being according to such varieties of relationship. These varieties are endless, and the communicable perceptions are so exquisite that they cannot be described. The relationships have no reference at all to the circumstance that those who are there had been parents, children, or kindred by blood and marriage on earth; and they have no respect to person, no matter what anyone may have been. Thus they have no regard to dignities, nor to wealth, nor to any such matters, but solely to varieties of mutual love and of faith, the faculty for the reception of which they had received from the Lord while they had lived in the world.

(Arcana Coelestia 685)

From the marriage of good and truth in the heavens descend all loves, — which are such as the love of parents toward their children, the love of brothers for one another, and the love for relatives, and so on, — according to their degrees in their order. According to these loves, which are solely from good and truth, that is, from love to the Lord and faith in Him, are formed all the heavenly societies; which are so joined together by the Lord as to represent one man, and therefore heaven is also called the Grand Man. There are unutterable varieties, all of which take their origin and are derived from the union of good and truth from the Lord, which union is the heavenly marriage. Hence it is that the origin of all consanguinities and relationships on earth is derived from marriages, and that loves were derived in like manner according to their degrees mutually among themselves; but as there is no conjugial love at this day, consanguinities and relationships are indeed reckoned from marriage, but there are no consanguinities and relationships of love.  In the Most Ancient Church, the derivations of love were of this nature, and therefore they dwell together in the heavens distinguished as it were into nations, families, and houses, all of which acknowledge the Lord as their only Parent.

(from Arcana Coelestia 2739)

He who by his own investigation has not acquired for himself some idea concerning these things, receives but a faint idea, if any, from description; for a man receives only so much from others as he either has of his own, or acquires for himself by looking into the matter in himself; all the rest passes away. Suffice it to know that there are innumerable affinities of good and truth, and that the heavenly societies are in accordance therewith.

Jacob calls himself the "brother" of Laban, when yet he was his sister's son - All are brethren from good . . . It is good which makes blood relationship, and which conjoins; for good is of love, and love is spiritual conjunction. This is the reason why in the ancient churches all those who were in good were called brethren, and even in the Jewish Church but inasmuch as this church esteemed all others vile, and supposed themselves alone to be the chosen, they called only those brethren who were born Jews, and all others they called either companions or strangers. The primitive Christian Church also called all brethren who were in good, but afterwards only those who were within their own congregation. But the name "brother" vanished away from among Christians, together with good, and when truth succeeded in the place of good, or faith in the place of charity, then they could no longer from good call one another brethren, but neighbors. This also is the effect of the doctrine of faith without the life of charity, in that brotherhood with one of lower station than themselves seems to be beneath them; for with such persons brotherhood does not derive its origin from the Lord, and consequently from good; but from self, and consequently from honor and gain.

(from Arcana Coelestia 3803)

By "brethren" in the internal sense are signified those who are in similar good and truth, that is, in a similar affection of good and truth. For in the other life all are consociated in accordance with the affections, and those who are consociated constitute a brotherhood. Not that they call themselves brethren, but that they are brethren by conjunction. In the other life it is good and truth that produce that which on earth is called relationship by blood and by marriage; and therefore there is a correspondence between the two things; for regarded in themselves goods and truths acknowledge no other father than the Lord, for they are from Him alone. Hence all who are in goods and truths are in brotherhood; but still there are degrees of relationship according to the quality of the goods and truths. These degrees are signified in the Word by "brothers," "sisters," "sons-in-law," "daughters-in-law," "grandsons," "granddaughters," and by other family names.

On earth they are so named with reference to a common parentage, however they may differ in regard to affections; but this brotherhood or relationship is dissipated in the other life, and unless they have been in similar good on earth, they there come into other brotherhoods. At first indeed they, for the most part, come together, but in a short time are separated; for in that world it is not wealth that keeps men together, but as just said, affections, the quality of which is then manifest as in clear day, and also the kind of affection which one has had toward another. And as these are manifest, and as everyone's affection draws him to his society, those who have been of a discordant disposition are dissociated; and all the brotherhood and friendship which had been of the external man are obliterated on both sides, and that which is of the internal man remains.

(from Arcana Coelestia 4121)

Prayers are Such as is the Character of the Man in Respect to His Life

From the Apocalypse Explained ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

Worship does not consist in prayers and in external devotion, but in a life of charity;

Prayers are only its externals, for they proceed from the man through his mouth, consequently men's prayers are such as they themselves are in respect to life.

It matters not that a man bears himself humbly, that he kneels and sighs when he prays; for these are externals, and unless externals proceed from internals they are only gestures and sounds without life.

In each thing that a man utters there is affection, and every man, spirit, and angel is his own affection, for their affection is their life; it is the affection itself that speaks, and not the man without it; therefore such as the affection is such is the praying.

Spiritual affection is what is called charity towards the neighbor; to be in that affection is true worship; praying is what proceeds.

From this it can be seen that the essential of worship is the life of charity, and that its instrumental is gesture and praying; or that the primary of worship is a life of charity, and its secondary is praying. From this it is clear that those who place all Divine worship in oral piety, and not in practical piety, err greatly.

Practical piety is to act in every work and in every duty from sincerity and right, and from justice and equity, and this because it is commanded by the Lord in the Word; for thus man in his every work looks to heaven and to the Lord, and thus is conjoined with Him.

But to act sincerely and rightly, justly and equitably, solely from fear of the law, of the loss of fame or of honor and gain, and to think nothing of the Divine law, of the commandments of the Word, and of the Lord, and yet to pray devoutly in the churches, is external piety; however holy this may appear, it is not piety, but it is either hypocrisy, or something put on derived from habit, or a kind of persuasion from a false belief that Divine worship consists merely in this; for such a man does not look to heaven and to the Lord with the heart, but only with the eyes; the heart looking to self and to the world, and the mouth speaking from the habit of the body only and its memory; by this man is conjoined to the world and not to heaven, and to self and not to the Lord.

From this it can be seen what piety is, and what Divine worship is, and that practical piety is worship itself. ...

Piety is to think and speak piously; to spend much time in prayer; to bear oneself humbly at such times; to frequent churches, and listen devoutly to discourses there; to observe the sacrament of the Supper frequently every year, and likewise the other services of worship according to the appointments of the church.

• But a life of charity is to will well and do well to the neighbor; to act in every work from justice and equity, from good and truth, and also in every duty; in a word, the life of charity consists in performing uses.

Divine worship consists primarily in such a life, and secondarily in a life of piety; he, therefore, who separates the one from the other, that is, who lives a life of piety and not at the same time a life of charity, does not worship God.

• For a life of piety is valuable so far as a life of charity is joined with it; for the life of charity is the primary thing, and such as this is, such is the life of piety (NJHD 124, 128).

The Lord insinuates heaven into man's practical piety, but not into oral or external piety separate therefrom.

For I have seen many who placed all worship in oral and outward piety, while in their actual life they gave no thought to the Lord's commandments in the Word, believing that what is sincere and right, just and equitable, must be done not from regard to religion, thus from a spiritual motive, but merely from regard to civil law and also to moral law, that they might appear sincere and just for the sake of reputation, and this for the sake of honor and gain, believing that this would take them into heaven before others.  According to their belief, therefore, they were raised up into heaven; but when the angels perceived that they worshiped God with the mouth only, and not with the heart, and that their external piety did not proceed from practical piety, which is of the life, they cast them down. Afterwards, these became associated with those who were in a life like their own and were there deprived of their piety and sanctity, since these were interiorly defiled by evils of life. From this also it was made clear, that

Divine worship consists primarily in a life of charity and secondarily in external piety.

As Divine worship itself consists primarily in the life, and not in prayers, the Lord said, that in praying there should not be much speaking and repetition, in the following words:

In praying, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do; for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Do not make yourselves, therefore, like them (Matt. 6:7-8).

Now as Divine worship itself consists primarily in a life of charity, and secondarily in prayers, by "prayers," in the spiritual sense of the Word, worship from spiritual good, that is, from the life of charity, is meant, for that which is primary is what is meant in the spiritual sense, while the sense of the letter consists of things secondary, which are effects, and which correspond.

(from Apocalypse Explained 325:3-6)

Prayer, regarded in itself, is speech with God, and some internal view at the time of the matters of the prayer, to which there answers something like an influx into the perception or thought of the mind, so that there is a certain opening of the man's interiors toward God; but this with a difference according to the man's state, and according to the essence of the subject of the prayer. If the man prays from love and faith, and for only heavenly and spiritual things, there then comes forth in the prayer something like a revelation (which is manifested in the affection of him that prays) as to hope, consolation, or a certain inward joy.

(Arcana Coelestia 2535)

Speaking with Angels Concerning Representatives

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
Concerning Angelic Paradisal Scenes, and Their Dwellings

When man's interior sight is opened, which is the sight of his spirit, the things in the other life appear, which cannot possibly be made visible to the sight of the body. The visions of the prophets were nothing else. In heaven, as has been said, there are continual representations of the Lord and His kingdom; and there are things that are significative; and this to such an extent that nothing exists before the sight of the angels that is not representative and significative. Thence come the representatives and significatives in the Word; for the Word is from the Lord through heaven.

The things presented to view in the world of spirits and in heaven are more than can be told. In this place, as the light is treated of, it is proper to tell of the things that are immediately from the light; such as the atmospheres, the paradisal and rainbow scenes, the palaces and dwellings, which are there so bright and living before the outer sight of spirits and angels, and are at the same time perceived so fully by every sense, that they say that these are real, and those in the world comparatively not real.

As regards the atmospheres in which the blessed live, which are of the light because from that light, they are numberless, and are of beauty and pleasantness so great that they cannot be described. There are diamond-like atmospheres, which glitter in all their least parts, as if they were composed of diamond spherules. There are atmospheres resembling the sparkling of all the precious stones. There are atmospheres as of great pearls translucent from their centers, and shining with the brightest colors. There are atmospheres that flame as from gold, also from silver, and also from diamond-like gold and silver. There are atmospheres of flowers of variegated hue that are in forms most minute and scarcely discernible; such, in endless variety, fill the heaven of infants. There are even atmospheres as of sporting infants, in forms most minute, indiscernible, and perceptible only to an inmost idea; from which the infants receive the idea that all the things around them are alive, and are in the Lord's life; which affects their inmosts with happiness. There are other kinds besides, for the varieties are innumerable, and are also unspeakable.

As regards the paradisal scenes, they are amazing. Paradisal gardens are presented to view of immense extent, consisting of trees of every kind, and of beauty and pleasantness so great as to surpass every idea of thought; and these gardens are presented with such life before the external sight that those who are there not only see them, but perceive every particular much more vividly than the sight of the eye perceives such things on earth. That I might not be in doubt respecting this, I was brought to the region where those are who live a paradisal life, and I saw it; it is in front of and a little above the corner of the right eye. Each and all things there appear in their most beautiful springtime and flower, with a magnificence and variety that are amazing; and they are living, each and all, because they are representatives; for there is nothing that does not represent and signify something celestial and spiritual. Thus they not only affect the sight with pleasantness, but also the mind with happiness. Certain souls, newcomers from the world (who from principles received while they lived doubted the possibility of such things existing in the other life, where there is no wood and stone) being taken up thither and speaking thence with me, said in their amazement that it was beyond words, and that they could in no way represent the unutterableness of what they saw by any idea, and that joys and delights shone forth from every single thing, and this with successive varieties. The souls that are being introduced into heaven are for the most part carried first of all to the paradisal regions. But the angels look upon these things with different eyes; the paradises do not delight them, but the representatives; thus the celestial and spiritual things from which these come. It was from these representatives that the Most Ancient Church had what related to paradise.

As regards the rainbow scenes, there is as it were a rainbow heaven, where the whole atmosphere throughout appears to be made up of minute rainbows. Those who belong to the province of the interior eye are there, at the right in front, a little way up. There the whole atmosphere, or aura, is made up of such flashes of light, irradiated thus, as it were, in all its origins. Around is the encompassing form of an immense rainbow, most beautiful, composed of similar smaller ones that are the beauteous images of the larger. Every color is thus made up of innumerable rays, so that myriads enter into the constitution of one general perceptible ray; and this is as it were a modification of the origins of the light from the celestial and spiritual things that produce it; and which at the same time present before the sight the representative idea. The varieties and varyings of the rainbows are innumerable; some of them I have been permitted to see; and that some idea may be conceived of their variety, and that it may be seen of what innumerable rays one visible ray consists, one or two of the varieties may be described.

I saw the form of a certain large rainbow, in order that from it I might know what they are in their smallest forms. The light was the brightest white, encompassed with a sort of border or circumference, in the center of which there was a dimness as it were terrene, and around this it was intensely lucid, which intense lucidity was varied and intersected by another lucidity with golden points, like little stars; besides variegations induced by means of flowers of variegated hue, that entered into the intense lucidity. The colors of the flowers did not flow forth from a white, but from a flaming light. All these things were representative of things celestial and spiritual. All the colors seen in the other life represent what is celestial and spiritual; colors from flaming light, the things that are of love and of the affection of good; and colors from shining white light, those which are of faith and of the affection of truth. From these origins come all the colors in the other life; and for this reason they are so refulgent that the colors in this world cannot be compared to them. There are also colors that have never been seen in this world.

A rainbow form was also seen in the midst of which there was a green space, as of herbage; and there was perceived the semblance of a sun which was itself unseen, at one side, illuminating it, and pouring in a light of such shining whiteness as cannot be described. At the outer border or circumference, there were the most charming variations of color, on a plane of pearly light. From these and other things it has been shown what are the forms of the rainbows in their minutest parts, and that there are indefinite variations, and this in accordance with the charity, and the derivative faith, of him to whom the representations are made, and who is as a rainbow to those to whom he is presented in his comeliness and in his glory.

Besides these paradisal scenes, cities are also presented to view, with magnificent palaces, contiguous to one another, resplendent in their coloring, beyond all the art of the architect. Nor is this to be wondered at; cities of similar appearance were seen also by the prophets, when their interior sight was opened, and this so clearly that nothing in the world could be more distinct. Thus was the New Jerusalem seen by John, which is also described by him in these words:

And he carried me away in the spirit upon a mountain great and high, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem; having a wall great and high, having twelve gates; and the building of the wall thereof was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like unto golden glass. The foundations of the wall there adorned with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprasus, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst (Rev. 21:10, 12, 18-20).

Such things were seen also by the prophets. Similar things, beyond number, are seen by angels and angelic spirits in clear day; and wonderful to say, they are perceived with all fullness of sense. These things cannot be credited by one who has extinguished spiritual ideas by the terms and definitions of human philosophy, and by reasonings; and yet they are most true. That they are true might have been apprehended from the fact that they have been seen so frequently by the saints.

Besides the cities and palaces, I have sometimes been permitted to see their decorations, such as those of the steps and of the gates and these were moving as if alive, and continually changing, with a beauty and symmetry ever new. And I have been informed that the variations may thus succeed each other perpetually, even if it were to be to eternity, with new harmony continually, the succession itself also forming a harmony. And I have been told that these were among the very little things.

All the angels have their own dwellings in the places where they are, and they are magnificent. I have been there, and have sometimes seen and marveled at them, and have there spoken with the angels. They are so distinct and clearly seen that nothing can be more so. In comparison with these, the habitations on earth amount to scarcely anything. They also call those which are on the earth dead, and not real; but their own, living and true, because from the Lord. The architecture is such that the art itself is derived from it, with a variety that knows no limit. They have said that if all the palaces in the whole world should be given them, they would not receive them in exchange for their own. What is made of stone, clay, and wood is to them dead; but what is from the Lord, and from life itself and light itself, is living; and this is the more the case that they enjoy them with all fullness of sense. For the things that are there are perfectly adapted to the senses of spirits and angels; for spirits cannot see at all by their sight the things that are in the light of the solar world, but things of stone and wood are adapted to the senses of men in the body. Spiritual things are in correspondence with those who are spiritual, and corporeal things with those who are corporeal.

The habitations of good spirits and of angelic spirits commonly have porticos or long entrance halls, arched, and sometimes doubled, where they walk. The walls of these are formed with much variety, and are also decorated with flowers and garlands of flowers wonderfully woven together, and with many other ornaments, that are varied and succeed one another, as before said; these they see, now in a clearer light, and now in one less clear, but always with inward delight. Their dwellings are also changed into more beautiful ones, as the spirits who inhabit them are perfected. When they are changed, there appears something representing a window, at one side; this is enlarged, and it becomes darker within; and there opens as it were something of heaven, with stars, also a kind of cloud; which is an indication that their dwellings are to be changed into dwellings still more pleasant.

Spirits are very indignant that men have no conception of the life of spirits and angels, and that they suppose them to be in an obscure state, which cannot but be most sad, and as it were in vacuity and emptiness; when yet they are in the greatest light, and in the enjoyment of all good things as to all the senses, and this with an inmost perception of them. There have also been souls who had lately come from the world, and who had brought with them, (from the principles there accepted), the idea that there were no such things in the other life. They were therefore introduced into the homes of angels, and spoke with those who were there, and saw these things. When they returned, they said that they had perceived that it was so, and that the things were real; but that they had not at all believed this in the life of the body, and could not believe it; also that these must of necessity be among those wonderful things that are not believed because they are not comprehended. But as the experience is a thing of sense, but of the interior sense, this also was said to them-that still they are not to doubt because they do not apprehend; for if nothing were believed except that which is apprehended, nothing would be believed respecting the things of interior nature; still less concerning the things that are of eternal life. Hence comes the insanity of our age.

They who had been rich in the life of the body, and had dwelt in magnificent palaces, placing their heaven in such things, and, being destitute of conscience and charity, had despoiled others of their goods under various pretenses, when they come into the other life, are, as before said, first introduced into the very same life that they had in the world. And there also they are sometimes allowed to dwell in palaces, as they had done in the world. For in the other life all are at first received as guests and as newcomers; and as their interiors and ends of life are not yet to be disclosed, angels from the Lord treat them with favor and kindness. But the scene is changed. The palaces are gradually dissipated and become small houses, more and more mean, and at last none at all. And then they wander about, like those who ask alms, and beg to be received. But because they are of such a character, they are expelled from the societies; and at last they become excrementitious, and exhale a sphere of the stench of teeth.

I have spoken with angels concerning representatives, to the effect that there is nothing in the vegetable kingdom on the earth that does not in some way represent the Lord's kingdom. They said that all the beautiful and graceful things in the vegetable kingdom derive their origin from the Lord through heaven; and that when the celestial and spiritual things of the Lord inflow into nature, such things have actual existence; and that this is the source of the vegetative soul or life. Hence come representatives. And as this is not known in the world, it was called a heavenly secret.

(Arcana Coelestia 1619 - 1632)

Seeing The Lord's Kingdom Representatively in a Mental View of the Universe

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

And He led him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and number the stars, if thou be able to number them; and He said unto him, So shall thy seed be. Genesis 15:5

Things internal are led forth, when with the eyes of the body a man contemplates the starry heaven, and thence thinks of the Lord's kingdom. Whenever a man sees anything with his eyes, and sees the things that he looks upon as if he saw them not, but from them sees or thinks of the things which are of the church or of heaven, then his interior sight, or that of his spirit or soul, is "led forth abroad." The eye itself is properly nothing but the sight of his spirit led forth abroad, and this especially to the end that he may see internal things from external; that is, that he may, from the objects in the world, reflect continually upon those which are in the other life; for this is the life for the sake of which he lives in the world. Such was the sight in the Most Ancient Church; such is the sight of the angels who are with man; and such was the Lord's sight.

"Heaven" in the Word, in the internal sense, does not signify the heavens which appear to the eyes; but the Lord's kingdom, universally and particularly. When a man who is looking at internal things from external sees the heavens, he does not think at all of the starry heaven, but of the angelic heaven; and when he sees the sun, he does not think of the sun, but of the Lord, as being the Sun of heaven. So too when he sees the moon, and the stars also; and when he sees the immensity of the heavens, he does not think of their immensity, but of the immeasurable and infinite power of the Lord. It is the same when he sees all other things, for there is nothing that is not representative.

In like manner as regards the things on the earth; as when he beholds the dawning of the day he does not think of the dawn, but of the arising of all things from the Lord, and of progression into the day of wisdom. So when he sees gardens, groves, and flower-beds, his eye remains not fixed on any tree, its blossom, leaf, and fruit; but on the heavenly things which these represent; nor on any flower, and its beauty and pleasantness; but on what they represent in the other life. For there is nothing beautiful and delightful in the skies or on the earth, which is not in some way representative of the Lord's kingdom. This is the "looking toward heaven" which signifies a representation of the Lord's kingdom in a mental view of the universe.

The reason why all things in the sky and on earth are representative, is that they have come forth and do continually come forth, that is, subsist, from the influx of the Lord through heaven. It is with these things as it is with the human body, which comes forth and subsists by means of the soul; on which account all things in the body both in general and in particular are representative of the soul.

The soul is in the use and the end; but the body is in the performance of them.

All effects, whatever they may be, are in like manner representatives of the uses which are the causes; and the uses are representative of the ends which belong to the first principles.

They who are in Divine ideas never come to a stand in the objects of the external sight; but from them and in them constantly see internal things. The veriest internal things themselves are those which are of the Lord's kingdom, thus those which are in the veriest end itself. It is the same with the Word of the Lord; he who is in Divine things never regards the Lord's Word from the letter; but regards the letter and the literal sense as being representative and significative of the celestial and spiritual things of the church and of the Lord's kingdom. To him the literal sense is merely an instrumental means for thinking of these. Such was the Lord's sight.

The "stars" are frequently mentioned in the Word, and everywhere they signify things good and true, and also, in the contrary sense, things evil and false; or what is the same, they signify angels or societies of angels, and also in the contrary sense evil spirits and their associations. When they signify angels or societies of angels, they are then fixed stars; but when evil spirits and their associations, they are wandering stars, as I have very frequently seen.

That all things in the skies and on the earth are representative of celestial and spiritual things, has been evidenced by this plain indication, that things similar to those which appear before the eyes in the sky and on the earth, are also presented to view in the world of spirits, and this as plainly as in clear day; and there they are nothing but representatives. For instance, when the starry heaven appears, and the stars therein are fixed, it is instantly known that they signify things good and true; and when the stars appear wandering, it is instantly known that they signify things evil and false. From the very glow and sparkle of the stars it may also be known of what kind they are; besides numberless other things. Hence, if one is willing to think wisely, he may know what is the origin of all things on the earth, namely, that it is the Lord; and the reason why they come forth on the earth not ideally but actually, is that all things, both celestial and spiritual, which are from the Lord, are living and essential, or as they are called substantial, and therefore they come forth into actual existence in ultimate nature.

From these passages may be seen what is meant by the words of the Lord in Matthew:

In the consummation of the age, immediately after the affliction of those days, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken (Matt. 24:29).

And in Luke:

There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations in despair, the sea and the waves roaring (Luke 21:25);

where by "the sun" the sun is not meant at all, nor by "the moon" the moon, nor by "the stars" the stars, nor by "the sea" the sea; but the things which they represent, namely, by "the sun" the celestial things of love, by "the moon" the spiritual things, by "the stars" things good and true, that is, the knowledges of what is good and true, which are thus darkened near the consummation of the age, when there is no faith, that is, no charity.

(from Arcana Coelestia 1805-1808)