January 2, 2021

"I Know Thy Works"

Selections from Apocalypse Revealed ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

To Ephesus; I know thy works; I have against thee, that thou hast left thy first charity. Repent, and do the former works; or else I will remove thy lampstand out of its place, except thou repent (Rev. 2:2, 4-5).
"Works" are often mentioned in Revelation, but few know what is meant by works.

This is known, that ten men can do works which externally appear alike, but which yet are dissimilar with them all; and this because they proceed from different ends and different causes, the end and the cause rendering the works either good or evil; for every work is a work of the mind, therefore, such as is the quality of the mind, such is the work. If the mind is charity, the work becomes charity; but if the mind is not charity, the work does not become charity; still, however, they may both appear alike in externals.

Works appear to men in external form, but to angels in internal form, and to the Lord their quality is apparent from inmost to outmosts. Works in their external form appear like the outside of fruits, but works in their internal form appear like the inside of fruits, where there are innumerable edible parts, and in the midst seeds, in which there are also things innumerable, which are too minute for the keenest eye to discern, yea, which are above the intellectual sphere of man. Such are all works, the internal quality of which the Lord alone sees, and which the angels also perceive from the Lord, when man is doing them. From these things it may appear, that by "I know thy works," is signified that the Lord sees all the interiors and exteriors of man at once.
. . . I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. Revelation 2:23
signifies that He gives unto everyone according to the charity and its faith which are in his works. That "works" are the containers of charity and faith, and that charity and faith without works are only like airy images, which vanish as soon as they have appeared.
And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them. Revelation 14:13
By "the works which follow with them" are signified all things which remain with man after death.

It is known, that the externals, which appear before men, derive their essence, soul, and life from the internals, which do not appear before men, but which appear before the Lord and the angels; the latter and the former, or the externals and the internals taken together, are works — good works, if the internals are in love and faith, and the externals act and speak from them; but evil works, if the internals are not in love and faith, and the externals act and speak from them. If the externals act and speak as if from love and faith, those works are either hypocritical or meritorious. Ten persons may do works which are similar in externals, but still they are dissimilar, because the internals from which the externals proceed are dissimilar.
The spirit of man thinks and wills, and to think and will in itself is spiritual ~ the external of man, which is called the external man, which is in itself natural. The body speaks and acts what its spirit thinks and wills, and to speak and to act is natural

Every man who is reformed, is first reformed as to the internal man, and afterwards as to the external. The internal man is not reformed by merely knowing and understanding the truths and goods by which man is saved, but by willing and loving them; but the external man, by speaking and doing the things which the internal man wills and loves, and, in proportion as this takes place, in the same proportion man is regenerated. The reason why he is not regenerated before, is, because his internal is not before in the effect, but only in the cause, and, unless the cause be in the effect, it is dissipated. It is like a house built upon ice, which sinks to the bottom when the ice is melted by the sun; in a word, it is like a man without feet to stand and walk upon. It is the same with the internal or spiritual man, if it is not founded on the external or natural man.
Who does not see that there is an internal and an external, and that these two make one? For who does not see that the understanding and will are the internal of man, and speech and action his external? For who can speak and act without the understanding and the will? And since everyone sees this, he may also see that works are external and internal at the same time; and because the external derives its essence, soul, and life from its internal, as was said above, it follows that the external is such as is its internal; consequently, that "the works which follow with them" are according as they have loved and believed, and thence have done and spoken. That good works are charity and faith, and that the internal of man or the internal man does not consist in understanding without willing, but in willing and thence understanding, consequently that it does not consist in believing without loving, but in loving and thence believing; and that the doing these things is the external of man, or the external man, (seen above).

From these things it is evident, that by "the works that follow with them" is signified according as they have loved and believed, and thence have done and spoken. The same is signified by "works" in the following passages:
In the day of judgment God will render to every man according to his works (Rom. 2:6).

We must all appear before the tribunal of Christ, that each one may give account of the things which he hath done by the body, whether good or evil (2 Cor. 5:10).

The Son of man will come in the glory of His Father, and then shall He render to everyone according to his works (Matt. 16:27).

They that have done good shall come forth unto the resurrection of life, but they that have done evil unto the resurrection of judgment (John 5:29).

They were judged according to those things which were written in the books, all according to their works (Rev. 20:12-13).

Behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone according to his works (Rev. 22:12).

I will give to everyone of you according to his works (Rev. 2:23).

I know thy works (Rev. 2:1-2, 4, 9, 13, 19, 26; 3:1-3, 7-8, 14-15, 19).

I will recompense them according to their work, and according to the deed of their hands (Jer. 25:14).

Jehovah doeth with us according to our ways and according to our works (Zech. 1:6; and in many other places).

(excerpts from Apocalypse Revealed 76; 141; 510; 641)

December 31, 2020

What Charity is ~ What Faith is

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

Charity is an internal affection which consists in a heartfelt desire to do the neighbor good, and in this being the delight of life; and this without any reward.

On the other hand:

Faith is an internal affection which consists in a heartfelt desire to know what is true and what is good, and this not for the sake of doctrine as the end in view, but for the sake of life. This affection conjoins itself with the affection of charity through the desire to do according to the truth, thus to do the truth itself.

They who are in the genuine affection of charity and faith believe that from themselves they do not desire anything good, and that from themselves they do not understand anything true; but that the will of good and the understanding of truth are from the Lord.

This then is charity, and this is faith. They who are in these have within them the kingdom of the Lord and heaven, and within them is the church; and these are they who have been regenerated by the Lord, and from Him have received a new will and a new understanding.

They who have the love of self or the love of the world as the end in view, cannot possibly be in charity and faith. They who are in these loves do not even know what charity is, and what faith is, and do not at all comprehend that to will good to the neighbor without any reward is heaven in man, and that in this affection there is happiness as great as is that of the angels, which is unutterable; for they believe that if they are deprived of the joy arising from the glory of honors and of wealth all joy ceases to be possible; when yet heavenly joy, which infinitely transcends every other joy, then first begins.

(Arcana Coelestia 8033-8037)

Charity ~ What Origin Is It?

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

The charity the external form of which appears as charity is not always charity in the internal form. Its quality and its source are known from its end.

The charity that comes from a selfish or worldly end in its internal form is not charity, neither ought it to be called charity; but the charity that regards as its end the neighbor, the general good, heaven, and thus the Lord, is real charity, and has within it the affection of doing good from the heart, and the derivative delight of life which in the other life becomes bliss.

It is of the utmost importance to know this, in order that man may know what the Lord's kingdom is in itself.

(Arcana Coelestia 3776:2)

December 28, 2020

How Truth in the Natural is Conjoined with Good

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

The acquisition of truth in the natural — which acquisition is made in order that this truth may be conjoined with good, for all truth is for the sake of this end.

Before the conjunction is effected, truth appears to be in the first place; but after the conjunction, good is actually in the first place. This is also what is signified by the prophecy of Isaac to Esau:

Upon thy sword shalt thou live, and thou shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shall break his yoke from off thy neck (Genesis 27:40)
Be it known that Jacob here represents the good of truth. But regarded in itself the good of truth is only truth; for so long as truth is in the memory only, it is called truth; but when in the will and thence in act, it is called the good of truth; for to do truth is nothing else. Whatever proceeds from the will is called good, for the essential of the will is love and the derivative affection; and everything that is done from love and its affection is named good. Neither can truth be conjoined with the good that flows in through the internal man and is in its origin Divine (which is here represented by Esau), until the truth is truth in will and act; that is, the good of truth. For the good that flows in through the internal man and is in its origin Divine, flows into the will, and there meets the good of truth that has been instilled through the external man.

As regards the conjunction itself, it is this which effects man's regeneration; for man is regenerated by the fact that the truths in him are being conjoined with good, that is, that the things which belong to faith are being conjoined with those which belong to charity. the conjunction of good with truths (by which regeneration is effected) progresses more and more interiorly; that is, truths are successively conjoined more interiorly with good. For the end of regeneration is that the internal man may be conjoined with the external, thus the spiritual with the natural through the rational. Without the conjunction of both of these, there is no regeneration. Nor can this conjunction be effected until good has first been conjoined with truths in the natural; for the natural must be the plane, and the things that are in the natural must correspond. This is the reason why when the natural is being regenerated, the conjunction of good with truths becomes successively more interior. For the spiritual conjoins itself first with the things which are inmost in the natural, and then by means of these with those which are more exterior. Nor can man's internal conjoin itself with his external, unless the truth in the external becomes the good of truth, that is, truth in will and act; for then for the first time they can be conjoined, inasmuch as the Lord flows in with man through his internal man, and in fact through the good therein. This good can be conjoined with good in the external man, but not good with truth immediately.

From this it may be seen that the truth in man must first become truth in will and act (that is, the good of truth), before the conjunction of the rational with the natural, or the internal man with the external, can take place. But how truth becomes the good of truth, must be evident to everyone who pays attention.

All Divine truth regards these two precepts — to love God above all things, and the neighbor as one's self.
And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. (Mark 12:29-31)
It is these precepts from which and for the sake of which truths are, and to which truths tend, more nearly and more remotely. Therefore when truths are put into act, they are instilled successively into their beginning and their end, namely, into charity toward the neighbor, and into love to the Lord; and thereby truth becomes good, which is called the good of truth; and when this takes place, it can then be conjoined with the internal man, which conjunction becomes successively more interior, in proportion as more interior truths are implanted in this good. Act precedes, man's willing follows; for that which a man does from the understanding, he at last does from the will, and finally puts it on as a habit; and it is then instilled in his rational or internal man. And when it has been instilled in this, the man no longer does good from truth, but from good; for he then begins to perceive therein somewhat of blessedness, and as it were somewhat of heaven. This remains with him after death, and by means of it, he is uplifted into heaven by the Lord.

The good of truth is: truth in will and act. This truth is what is called good, and the conscience which is from this good is called a conscience of truth. This good which is from truth increases in proportion as the man exercises charity from willing well, thus in proportion and in such a manner as he loves the neighbor.

The reason why good and truth are mentioned so frequently in the explications is that all things in heaven, and consequently all in the Lord's church, bear relation to good and truth. Speaking generally these two include all things that belong to doctrine and to life —

• truths, all things that belong to doctrine
• goods, all things that belong to life.

Moreover, it is a universal fact that the human mind has no other objects than those which are of truth and good — its understanding, those which are of truth; and its will, those which are of good. Hence it is evident that truth and good are terms of the widest signification, and that their derivations are unutterable in number. This is the reason why truth and good are so often mentioned.

(portions from Arcana Coelestia 4337; 4353; 4390)

December 24, 2020

The Divine Vision ~ His Human Essence with His Divine Essence

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

And Lot lifted up his eyes, and he saw all the plain of Jordan, that the whole of it was well-watered, before Jehovah destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the garden of Jehovah, like the land of Egypt as you come to Zoar.  (Genesis 13:10)

• 'And Lot lifted up his eyes' means that the external man received light from the internal.

• 'And he saw all the plain of Jordan' means the goods and truths that resided with the external man.

• 'That the whole of it was well-watered' means that they are able to grow there.

• 'Before Jehovah destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah' means before the external man was destroyed by desires for evil and by persuasions of falsity.

• 'Like the garden of Jehovah' means rational concepts in the external man.

• 'Like the land of Egypt as you come to Zoar' means facts acquired from affections for good.

These statements mean that the external Man appeared to the Lord as it is in its beauty when joined to the Internal Man.

vvv

'Lot lifted up his eyes' means that the external man received light from the internal is clear from the meaning of 'lifting up the eyes', which is seeing, in the internal sense, perceiving. Here 'lifting up the eyes' means receiving light, for this expression is used in reference to Lot, or the external man; and by perceiving the nature of the External Man when joined to the Internal Man, that is, the nature of its beauty, the external man receives light from the internal and possesses the Divine vision that is the subject here. Nor can there be any doubt that when He was a boy, the Lord as regards His external Man frequently had such Divine vision, for He alone was to join the external Man to the internal Man. The External Man was His Human Essence, while the Internal Man was His Divine Essence.

'And he saw all the plain of Jordan' means the goods and truths that resided with the external man. This is clear from the meaning of 'a plain' and of 'the Jordan'. In the internal sense 'the plain surrounding the Jordan' means the external man as regards all his goods and truths. The reason the plain of Jordan has this meaning is that the Jordan was a boundary of the land of Canaan. 'The land of Canaan', as stated and shown already, means the Lord's kingdom and Church, and in particular its celestial and spiritual things; this also explains why it was called the Holy Land, and the heavenly Canaan. And because it means the Lord's kingdom and Church, it means in the highest sense the Lord Himself, who is the All in all of His kingdom and of His Church.

For this reason all things in the land of Canaan were representative. Those in the midst of the land, or that were inmost, represented His internal Man - Mount Zion and Jerusalem, for example, representing respectively celestial things and spiritual things. More outlying districts represented things more remote from internals. And the most outlying districts, or those which formed the boundaries, represented the external man. There were several boundaries to the land of Canaan, but in general, they were the two rivers Euphrates and Jordan, and also the Sea, (i.e. the Great or Mediterranean Sea), for which reason the Euphrates and the Jordan represented external things. Here therefore 'the plain of Jordan' means, as it also represents, all things residing in the external man. The meaning of the land of Canaan is similar when used in reference to the Lord's kingdom in heaven, to the Lord's Church on earth, to the member of that kingdom or Church, or abstractly to the celestial things of love, and so on.
Almost all the cities therefore, and indeed all the mountains, hills, valleys, rivers, and other features in the land of Canaan, were representative. The river Euphrates, being a boundary, represented, sensory evidence and facts that belong to the external man, and so too did the Jordan and the plain of Jordan, as becomes clear from the following places: In David,
O my God, my soul bows itself down within me; (lit. upon me) therefore I remember You from the land of Jordan, and the Hermons from the little mountain. Ps 42:6.
Here 'the land of Jordan' stands for that which is lowly and so is distant from the celestial, as a person's externals are from his internals.

The crossing of the Jordan when the children of Israel entered the land of Canaan and the dividing of its waters at that time also represented the approach to the internal man by way of the external, as well as a person's entry into the Lord's kingdom, and much more besides, Josh. 3:14 on to the end of Chapter 4. And because the external man is constantly hostile towards the internal and strives for domination over it, the arrogance or the pride of the Jordan came to be phrases used by the Prophets, as in Jeremiah,
How will you compete with horses? And confident in a land of peace how do you deal with the pride of the Jordan? Jer. 12:5.
'The pride of the Jordan' stands for those things belonging to the external man which rear up and wish to have dominion over the internal, such as reasonings, meant here by 'horses', and 'the confidence' they give.

In the same prophet,
Edom will become a desolation. Behold, like a lion it will come up from the arrogance of the Jordan against the habitation of Ethan. Jer. 49:17, 19.
'The arrogance of the Jordan' stands for the pride of the external man against the goods and truths of the internal. In Zechariah,
Howl, O fir tree, for the cedar is fallen, for the magnificent ones have been laid waste! Howl, O oaks of Bashan, for the impenetrable forest has come down. The sound of the howling of shepherds [is heard], for their magnificence has been laid waste; the sound of the roaring of young lions, that the pride of the Jordan has been laid waste. Zech. 11:2, 3.
The fact that the Jordan was a boundary of the land of Canaan is clear from Num. 34:12, and the eastern boundary of the land of Judah, in Josh. 15:5.

• 'That the whole of it was wall-watered' means that they, that is to say, goods and truths, are able to grow there. ...

• 'Before Jehovah destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah' means before the external man was destroyed by desires for evil and by persuasions of falsity. This becomes clear from the meaning of 'Sodom' as desires for evil, and from the meaning of 'Gomorrah' as persuasions of falsity. These two (desires for evil and persuasions of falsityare indeed what destroy the external man and separate it from the internal, and it was these two that destroyed the Most Ancient Church prior to the Flood. Desires for evil belong to the will, and persuasions of falsity to the understanding. And when these two are in control, the whole of the external man is destroyed, a destroying which also entails its separation from the internal man. It is not that the soul or spirit is separated from the body but that good and truth have been separated from the person's soul or spirit so that their influx is felt only from a distance. ...

Because among the human race the external man had been so destroyed and its link with the internal, that is, with good and truth, had been severed, the Lord came into the world to join together and unite the External Man to the Internal Man, that is, the Human Essence to the Divine Essence. This verse describes the nature of the external man when joined to the internal, that is to say, by the words 'before Jehovah destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the garden of Jehovah, like the land of Egypt as you come to Zoar'
• 'Like the garden of Jehovah' means the rational concepts in the external man. This is clear from the meaning of 'the garden of Jehovah' as intelligence, ... consequently, the rational which comes in between the internal man and the external man. The rational is intelligence as it exists in the external man. It is called 'the garden of Jehovah' when the rational is celestial, that is, when it has a celestial origin, as was the case with the Most Ancient Church. This is described in Isaiah as follows,
Jehovah will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places, and will make her wilderness like Eden and her desert like the garden of ]Jehovah. Joy and gladness will be found in her, confession and the voice of song. Isa. 51:3.
When however the rational is spiritual, that is, when it has a spiritual origin, as was the case with the Ancient Church, the expression 'the garden of God' is used, as in Ezekiel,
Full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty, you were in Eden, the garden of God. Ezek. 28:12, 13.
A person's rational is compared to a garden because this is how it is represented in heaven. It is man's rational that manifests itself in just this way when that which is celestial-spiritual flows into it from the Lord. Indeed it is this which presents to view the paradise gardens whose magnificence and beauty surpass everything the human mind can imagine. This is the effect which the influx of celestial-spiritual light from the Lord produces. It is not the loveliness and beauty of these gardens that stir the emotions but the celestial-spiritual elements that live within them.

• 'Like the land of Egypt as you come to Zoar' means facts acquired from affections for good. This becomes clear from the meaning of 'Egypt' ... as knowledge, and from the meaning of 'Zoar' as the affection for good. Zoar was a city not far from Sodom, to which also Lot fled when he was snatched by angels from the fire of Sodom, as described in Gen. 19:20, 22, 30. In addition to this, Zoar is referred to in Gen. 14:2, 8; Deut. 34:3; Isa. 15:5; Jer. 48:34, in all of which places also it means an affection. And since it means the affection for good, it also means in the contrary sense, as is usual, the affection for evil.

There are three constituent parts of the external man - rational, factual, and external sensory. The rational part is more interior, the factual more exterior, and the external sensory the most external.

The rational is the part by means of which the internal man is joined to the external, the character of the rational determining the character of this conjunction.

The external sensory part consists, in the present instance, in sight and hearing. But in itself the rational has no existence if affection does not flow into it, making it active so as to receive life. Consequently the rational receives its character from that of the affection flowing into it. When the affection for good flows in, that affection for good becomes with the rational an affection for truth; and the contrary happens when the affection for evil flows in.

Because the factual part attaches itself to the rational and serves as its agent it also follows that the affection flows into and reorganizes the factual part. For nothing has life in the external man apart from affection. The reason is that the affection for good comes down from the celestial, that is, from celestial love, which imparts life to everything into which it flows, even to affections for evil, that is, to evil desires.

Actually, the good of love from the Lord flows in constantly, doing so through the internal man into the external. But anyone who is governed by an affection for evil, that is, by an evil desire, corrupts that good. Nevertheless, the life brought to it remains. Such may be seen from a comparison with objects on which the sun's rays fall. There are some objects which accept them in a most beautiful way, converting them into the most beautiful colors, as a diamond, ruby, jacinth, sapphire, and other precious stones do. Other objects however do not accept them in that manner but convert them into the ugliest colors. The same point may be shown from the very characters of people. There are some who accept the good actions of another with every display of affection, while others convert them into evil. From this it becomes clear what the knowledge acquired from affections for good is which is meant by 'the land of Egypt as you come to Zoar' when the rational is 'like the garden of Jehovah'.

That these statements mean that the External Man appeared to the Lord as it is in its beauty when joined to the Internal Man becomes clear from the internal sense, in which the Lord as regards His Internal Man is represented by 'Abram' and as regards His External Man by 'Lot'. It is impossible to describe how beautiful the External Man is when joined to the Internal since that beauty does not exist with any human being, but solely with the Lord, and any which does exist with any man or angel comes from the Lord. The nature of it becomes in some small measure clear from the image of the Lord as regards His External Man in the heavens. The three heavens are images of the Lord's External Man, yet it is in no way possible to give a description of the nature of their beauty that anyone can comprehend. Just as everything in the Lord is Infinite, so everything in heaven is boundless. And the boundlessness of heaven is an image of the Lord's Infinity.

(from Arcana Coelestia 1584-1590)

December 22, 2020

Man as to His Spirit Lives After Death

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

Afterward He appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen Him after He was risen.

And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover
.

So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, He was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.

And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the Word with signs following. Amen
. (Mark 14-20)
By "soul" in the Word is meant every living thing, and it is attributed also to animals, but "soul" is properly predicated of man, and when of man, the term is used in various senses. Man himself is called a "soul," because his life in general is so called, also specifically his intellectual life, or understanding, and likewise his voluntary life, or will.

But in the spiritual sense by "soul" is meant the life of the truth which is of faith, and of the good which is of charity, and in general the man himself as to his spirit which lives after death, in which sense it is used in these passages:
Be not afraid of those who are able to kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul (Matt. 10:28).
What doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what price shall a man give sufficient for the redemption of his soul? (Matt. 16:26).
The Son of man is not come to destroy men's souls, but to save them (Luke 9:56).
Ye have profaned Me among My people, to slay the souls that ought not to die, and to make the souls to live that ought not to live (Ezek. 13:19).
In these passages the "soul" denotes the spiritual life of man, which life is that of his spirit after death. "To kill the soul," "to lose the soul," "to destroy the soul," denote to die spiritually, that is, to be damned.

(from Arcana Coelestia 7021)

December 18, 2020

Why It Is Hurtful to Confirm Any Heretical Falsity

Selection from Doctrine of the Sacred Scriptures ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

It is possible for heresies to be drawn from the sense of the letter of the Word, but it is harmful to confirm them.

The Word cannot be understood without doctrine, and that doctrine is like a lamp that enables genuine truths to be seen, the reason of which is that the Word has been written entirely by correspondences, and consequently many things in it are appearances of truth and not naked truths.

Many things also have been written in adaptation to the apprehension of the natural and even of the sensuous man, yet so that the simple may understand it in simplicity, the intelligent in intelligence, and the wise in wisdom. The result is that the appearances of truth in the Word, which are truths clothed, may be taken at as naked truths, and when they are confirmed, they become falsities. But this is done by those who believe themselves wise above others, although they are not wise, for being wise consists in seeing whether a thing is true before it is confirmed, and not in confirming whatever one pleases. This last is done by those who excel in a genius for confirming and are in the conceit of self-intelligence, but the former is done by those who love truths and are affected by them because they are truths, and who make them uses of the life, for these persons are enlightened by the Lord, and see truths by the light of the truths; whereas the others are enlightened by themselves and see falsities by the light of the falsities.

That appearances of truth, which are truths clothed, may be taken out of the Word as naked truths, and that when confirmed they become falsities is evident from the many heresies there have been and still are in Christendom. The heresies themselves do not condemn men, but an evil life does, as also do the confirmations from the Word, and from reasonings from the natural man of the falsities that are in the heresy. For everyone is born into the religion of his parents is initiated into it from his infancy, and afterwards holds to it, being unable to withdraw himself from its falsities through being engaged with his business in the world.

But to live in evil, and to confirm falsities even to the destruction of genuine truth, is what condemns.
For he who remains in his own religion, and believes in God, or if in Christendom, in the Lord, regarding the Word as holy, and from a religious principle, living according to the ten commandments, does not swear allegiance to falsities, and therefore as soon as he hears truths and perceives them in his own way, can embrace them and so be led away from falsities, but not so the man who has confirmed the falsities of his religion, for confirmed falsity remains and cannot be rooted out. For after confirmation a falsity becomes as if the man had sworn to the truth of it, especially if it chimes in with his own self-love [amor proprii], and the derivative conceit of his own wisdom.
After death every man is instructed by angels, and those who see truths, and from truths falsities, are received. For the power to see truths spiritually is then given everyone, and those see them who have not confirmed themselves in falsities, but those who have confirmed themselves do not want to see truths, and if they do see them they turn their backs on them, and then either ridicule or falsify them.
Let us illustrate this by an example —

In many places in the Word, anger, wrath, and vengeance are attributed to the Lord, and it is also said that He punishes, that He casts into hell, that He tempts, and many other such things. He who believes all this in simplicity, and on that account fears God and takes care not to sin against Him, is not condemned for that simple belief. But the man who confirms himself in these ideas to such a degree as to believe that anger, wrath, revenge, thus things that are of evil, exist in the Lord, and that from anger, wrath, and revenge He punishes a man and casts him into hell, is condemned, because he has destroyed the genuine truth that the Lord is love itself, mercy itself, and good itself, and that one who is these cannot be angry, wrathful, and revengeful. These things are attributed to the Lord because such is the appearance. So with many other things.

Many things in the sense of the letter are apparent truths, having genuine truths hidden within them, and that it is not hurtful to think and speak in accordance with such truths, but that it is hurtful to confirm them to such a degree as to destroy the genuine truth hidden within, may be illustrated by an example in nature, which is presented because what is natural teaches and convinces more clearly than what is spiritual —

To the eye the sun appears to revolve round the earth daily and also annually, and therefore in the Word the sun is said to rise and set, thus make morning, noon, evening, and night, and also making the seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, and thus days and years; when yet the sun stands motionless, for it is an ocean of fire, and it is the earth that revolves daily, and is carried round the sun annually. The man who in simplicity and ignorance supposes that the sun is carried round the earth, does not destroy the natural truth that the earth daily rotates on its axis, and is annually carried along the ecliptic. But the man who by the Word and by reasonings from the natural man confirms as real the apparent motion and course of the sun, does invalidate the truth and does destroy it.

That the sun moves is an apparent truth; that it does not move is a genuine truth. Everyone may speak in accordance with the apparent truth, and does so speak, but to think in accordance with it from confirmation blunts and darkens the rational understanding. It is the same with respect to the stars in the sidereal heavens. The apparent truth is that they too, like the sun, are carried round the earth once a day, and it is therefore said of the stars also that they rise and set. But the genuine truth is that the stars are fixed, and that their heavens stand motionless. Still, everyone may speak in accordance with the appearance.

The reason why it is hurtful to confirm the apparent truth of the Word to the point of destroying the genuine truth that lies hidden within, is that each and all things of the sense of the letter of the Word communicate with heaven, and open it,. So that when a man applies this sense to confirm loves of the world that are contrary to loves of heaven, the internal of the Word is made false, and the result is that when its external of the sense of the letter, and which now has a false internal, communicates with heaven, heaven is closed, for the angels, who are in the internal of the Word, reject that external of it. Thus it is evident that a false internal, or truth falsified, takes away communication with heaven and closes heaven. This is why it is hurtful to confirm any heretical falsity.
The Word is like a garden, a heavenly paradise, that contains delicacies and delights of every kind, delicacies in its fruits and delights in its flowers; and in the midst of the garden trees of life with fountains of living water near them, while forest trees surround it. The man who from doctrine is in Divine truths is at its center where the trees of life are, and is in the actual enjoyment of its delicacies and delights; whereas the man who is in truths not from doctrine, but from the sense of the letter only, is at the outskirts, and sees nothing but the forest vegetation. And one who is in the doctrine of a false religion, and who has confirmed himself in its falsity, is not even in the forest, but is out beyond it in a sandy plain where there is not even grass. That such are their several states after death.
Be it known moreover that the literal sense of the Word is a guard to the genuine truths that lie hidden within. It is a guard in this respect, that it can be turned this way or that, and explained according to the way it is taken, yet without injury or violence to its internal. It does no harm for the sense of the letter to be understood in one way by one person and in a different way by another; but it does harm for the Divine truths that lie hidden within to be perverted, because this inflicts violence on the Word. The sense of the letter is a guard against this, and the guard is effectual in the case of those who are in falsities from their religion, but do not confirm those falsities, for these persons do the Word no violence.

This guard is signified by cherubs, and in the Word is described by them. This is signified by the cherubs that were stationed at the entrance of the garden of Eden after Adam and his wife had been cast out, of which we read as follows:
When Jehovah God had driven out the man, He made to dwell at the east of the garden of Eden the cherubim, and the flame of a sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life (Gen. 3:24).
The "cherubim" signify a guard; the "way of the tree of life" signifies the access to the Lord which men have by means of the Word; the "flame of a sword that turned every way" signifies Divine truth in ultimates, this being like the Word in the sense of the letter, which can be so turned.

(from Doctrine of the Sacred Scriptures 91-97)