Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be prolonged upon the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee. (Deut. 20:12)

That this signifies love for good and truth, in the supreme sense for the Lord and for His kingdom, is evident from the signification of "honoring," as being to love, for in the spiritual sense "to honor" denotes to love, for the reason that in heaven one loves another, and when he loves he also honors, for in honor there is love. Honor without love is refused in heaven, nay, is rejected, because it is devoid of life from good.

• From the signification of "father," as being good, and in the supreme sense the Lord as to Divine good; that the Lord in the supreme sense is the "father," is because He gives new life to man, and thereby man becomes a son and heir of His kingdom.

• From the signification of "mother," as being truth, and in the supreme sense the Lord as to Divine truth, thus His kingdom, because the Divine truth which proceeds from the Lord makes heaven. That the Divine truth of the Lord makes heaven, is because the Lord as to Divine good is in the other life the Sun, and as to the Divine truth is the light. This Divine light from the Lord as the Sun is what illumines angelic minds, and fills them with intelligence and wisdom, and makes them to be angels of light. Divine good is within Divine truth, as heat from the sun is within the light in the time of spring and summer in the world.

Be it known that the commandments of the Decalogue are rules of life both for those who are in the world and for those who are in heaven - the sense of the letter or the external sense being for those who are in the world, and the spiritual or internal sense for those who are in heaven - and consequently both senses, external as well as internal, are for those who while they are in the world are also in heaven, that is, for those who are in the good of life according to the truths of doctrine.

That the commandments of the Decalogue are also for those who are in heaven, is plain from the internal sense of all things in the Word, and clearly from the fact that the things which Jehovah God (that is, the Lord) Himself speaks, are not only for men, or for the world; but are also for angels, nay, for the whole heaven, because the Divine truth which proceeds from the Lord flows through heaven and passes through down unto man. This is the case with these ten commandments, which the Lord Himself spoke from Mount Sinai.

Inasmuch as these commandments were spoken not only for those who are in the world, but also for those who are in heaven, therefore they could not be perceived in the same way by both - as for instance this commandment, that they should honor father and mother in order that their days might be prolonged upon the land which Jehovah God would give them; for in heaven parents and children do not come together the same as on earth; and therefore for "father" there they have the Lord, and for "mother" His kingdom. Nor can it be said of those in heaven that their days would be prolonged, because they live there to eternity; nor can "land" be understood there as in this commandment to mean the land of Canaan, but instead the heavenly Canaan or heaven.

As by "father and mother" are meant the Lord and His kingdom, therefore this commandment is the fourth in order, and surpasses in holiness those which follow.

The commandment concerning the worship of Jehovah, that is, the Lord, is first and second, because the most holy one.

Next comes the commandment concerning the Sabbath, because by this in the supreme sense is signified the union of the Divine Itself and the Divine Human in the Lord.

After this follows the commandment concerning honoring parents, because by this is signified the love of the Lord and the consequent love of good and truth which are from the Lord.

As these things are signified by this commandment, therefore contempt for parents is enumerated among the crimes which are signified by "shedding blood" (Ezek. 22:6, 7) and for this reason disobedient and rebellious sons were stoned (Deut. 21:18-21)

In the Word by "mother" is meant the church, which also on this account is at one time called "the bride," and at another "the wife," of the Lord; and as the kingdom of the Lord is the same as the church, with only this difference, that the kingdom of the Lord on the earth is called "the church," therefore this also is signified by "mother." For this reason the sons born of this mother are truths, and are called "the sons of the kingdom" (Matt. 13:38). Moreover to all those who are therein the Lord's kingdom is their country, and one's country is "mother" in a natural sense, as the church is "mother" in the spiritual sense.

(from Arcana Coelestia 8896-8900)

The Word — The Lord Himself Presented to View

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. . . . 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,) full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-5;14)

In the supreme sense (all things in the Word in both general and particular) have relation to the Lord.  The Lord is doctrine itself, that is, the Word, not only as to the supreme sense therein, but also as to the internal sense, and even as to the literal sense — for this sense is representative and significative of the internal sense, and the internal sense is representative and significative of the supreme sense — that which in the Word is representative and significative is in its essence that which is represented and signified, thus it is the Divine of the Lord — for a representative is nothing but an image of him who is represented, and is in an image the Lord Himself presented to view.

This may be seen from man's speech, and also from his gesture, these being merely images of the things which come forth within the man, in his thought and will, so that the speech and gesture are the thought and will in form — for if you take away from them the thought and will, that which is left is a mere inanimate affair, thus nothing human. This shows how the case is with the Word, even in the letter, namely, that it is Divine.

(from Arcana Coelestia 3393)

That Apple of Discord

Selection from True Christian Religion ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

A Memorable Relation

Awaking once soon after daybreak, I went out into the garden in front of my house, and saw the sun rising in his glory, and round about him a halo, at first faint, but afterwards more distinct, and beaming like gold, and beneath its border was a rising cloud, which from the sun's rays glowed like a carbuncle. It set me thinking about the fables of the most ancient people which depicted Aurora with wings of silver and countenance of gold.

With my mind immersed in the delights of these meditations, I came into the spirit; and I heard certain spirits conversing, who said, "O that we might be permitted to talk with the innovator who has thrown among the leaders of the church that apple of discord after which so many of the laity have been running, and which they have picked up and held up for us to look at." By that apple they meant the little work, entitled, A Brief Exposition of the Doctrine of the New Church. And they said, "It is certainly a schismatical writing, such as no man ever before conceived of." And then I heard one of them exclaim, "Schismatical? It is heretical!" But some of those beside him said, "Hush! Hold your tongue! It is not heretical; he gives an abundance of quotations from the Word; and to these our neophytes, by whom we mean the laity, give heed and assent."

Hearing this I came forward, being in the spirit, and said, "Here I am; what is the matter?"

At once one of them, a German, as I afterwards heard, a native of Saxony, said in an authoritative tone, "How dare you turn upside down the worship established in the Christian world for so many centuries, which teaches that God the Father should be invoked as the Creator of the universe, His Son as the Mediator, and the Holy Spirit as the Operator? Moreover, you divest the first and the last God of the personality we ascribe to them, although the Lord Himself says, 'When ye pray, pray thus, Our Father who art in the heavens; hallowed be Thy Name; Thy Kingdom come.' Therefore are we not commanded to invoke God the Father?"

After this there was silence, and all who favored the speaker stood like brave seamen on their warships when they sight the enemy, and stand by to shout, "Now, have at them; victory is sure."

Then I rose to speak; and said, "Who among you is not aware that God came down from heaven and became Man? For we read, 'The Word was with God, and God was the Word, and the Word became flesh.'" Then, looking towards the Evangelicals, among whom was that dictator who had just addressed me, I said, "Who among you does not know that in Christ, who was born of Mary the Virgin, God is Man and Man is God?" But at this the assembly made a great noise; therefore I said, "Do you not know this? It is according to the doctrine of your confession which is called the Formula Concordiae, where this is affirmed and fully corroborated."

Then the dictator turned to the assembly and asked if they were aware of this; and they answered, "As to the person of Christ we have given the book very little study, but we have worked hard at the part on Justification by Faith Alone; if, however, it is so written in that book, we acquiesce." Then one of them remembering, said, "That is the way it reads; and it says furthermore that the Human nature of Christ has been exalted to Divine majesty and all its attributes; also that in that nature Christ sits at the right hand of the Father."

Hearing this they were silent; and as it was undisputed I spoke again, and said, "This being so, what then is the Father but the Son, and what is the Son but the Father also?" Yet as this again offended their ears, I continued, "Hear the very words of the Lord and attend to them now, if you never have before; for He said, 'I and My Father are one;' 'I am in the Father and the Father in Me;' 'Father, all Mine are Thine and Thine are Mine;' 'He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father.' What do these things mean, but that the Father is in the Son and the Son in the Father, and that they are one as the soul and body in man are one, and thus that they are one person? And must not this be your belief, if you believe in the Athanasian creed, where nearly the same things are said? But from the passages quoted take this one saying of the Lord, 'Father, all Mine are Thine, and all Thine are Mine.' What else does this mean than that the Divine of the Father belongs to the Human of the Son, and the Human of the Son to the Divine of the Father, consequently that, in Christ, God is Man and Man is God, and thus that they are one as soul and body are one?

Every man may say the same of his own soul and body, namely, 'All mine are thine, and all thine are mine; thou art in me and I in thee; he that seeth me, seeth thee; we are one in person and in life.' This is because the soul is in the man, both in the whole and in every part of him, for the life of the soul is the life of the body, and between the two there is a mutuality. All this makes clear that the Divine of the Father is the soul of the Son, and the Human of the Son the body of the Father. From where does the soul of an offspring come unless from its father, and its body unless from its mother? The expression is the Divine of the Father; but the Father Himself is what is meant, since He and His Divine are the same; and this Divine is one and indivisible. That this is true is evident also from the words of the angel Gabriel to Mary, 'The power of the Most High shall overshadow thee, and the Holy Spirit shall come upon thee; and the Holy Thing that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.' And just above He is called 'the Son of the Most High,' and elsewhere 'the only-begotten Son.' But you, who call Him merely the Son of Mary, destroy the idea of His Divinity; yet it is only the learned among the clergy and the scholars among the laity who destroy this idea, for these, when they raise their thoughts above the sensual things pertaining to their bodies, regard the glory of their reputation; and this not only obscures but extinguishes the light whereby the glory of God enters.

But let us return to the Lord's Prayer, where it says, 'Our Father who art in the heavens; hallowed be Thy Name; Thy kingdom come.' By these words you who are present understand the Father in His Divine alone but I understand the Father in His Human. Moreover, this Human is the name of the Father; for the Lord said, 'Father, glorify Thy name,' that is, Thy Human; and when this is done the kingdom of God comes. And the reason why this Prayer was commanded for the present time is evident, namely, that through His Human an approach may be had to God the Father. The Lord also said, 'No man cometh unto the Father but by Me;' and in the Prophet, 'Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given, and His name is God, Mighty, Father of Eternity;' and elsewhere, 'Thou, Jehovah, art our Father, our Redeemer, from everlasting is Thy name;' besides many other places where the Lord our Savior is called Jehovah. This is the true explanation of the words of that Prayer."

When I had said all this, I looked at them and noted the changes in their countenances according to changes in the states of their minds, some favoring me and looking toward me, and some not favoring and turning themselves away. And then on the right I saw a cloud of opal color, and on the left a dusky cloud, and under each the appearance of a shower. That under the dusky cloud was like a rain at the close of autumn, and that under the opal cloud was like the fall of dew in early spring.

Then suddenly I came out of the spirit into the body, and thus returned from the spiritual world into the natural world.

(True Christian Religion 112)

The Lord's Presence

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

The Lord is indeed present with everyone — for life is from no other source, and He governs the most minute things of it, even with the worst of men, and in hell itself — but in various ways according to the reception of life.

With those who receive the life of the love of His good and truth in a wrong manner, and pervert it into loves of evil and falsity, the Lord is present, and overrules their ends as far as possible for good, but His presence with them is called absence, and indeed in the same degree in which evil is distant from good, and falsity from truth.

But with those who receive the life of the love of the Lord's good and truth, He is said to be present, and indeed according to the degree of reception. It is with the Lord's presence as with that of the sun, which is present with its heat and light in the vegetation of the world also according to the reception.

(from Arcana Coelestia 2706)

From the Rising of the Sun

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

Morning - a state of enlightenment, thus what is revealed and clear

Morning has this signification is because all times of the day, like all times of the year, signify various states in accordance with the variations of the light of heaven. The variations of the light of heaven are not variations like those of the light of the world every day and every year, but are variations of intelligence and love — for the light of heaven is nothing else than Divine intelligence from the Lord, which is bright before the eyes, and the heat of this light is the Lord's Divine love, which is warm to the sense. It is this light which gives man understanding, and this heat which gives him vital warmth and a will of good.

Morning in heaven is a state of enlightenment as to those things which are of good and truth, which state exists when it is acknowledged, and still more when it is perceived, that good is good and that truth is truth. Perception is internal revelation; hence by the "morning" is signified what is revealed; and because then that becomes clear which before was obscure, by "morning" is also signified what is clear.

Moreover, by "morning" is signified in the supreme sense the Lord Himself, for the reason that the Lord is the Sun from which comes all the light in heaven, and He is always in the rising, thus in the morning. Moreover, He is always rising with everyone who receives the truth which is of faith and the good which is of love, but He is setting with everyone who does not receive these — not that the Sun there sets, for as just said He is always in the rising, but that he who does not receive, causes Him as it were to set with himself.

This may be compared in some degree to the changes of the sun of this world in respect to the inhabitants of the earth; for neither does this sun set, since it always remains in its place and is always shining thence, but it appears as if it set, because the earth rotates about its axis once every day, and at the same time removes its inhabitant from the sight of the sun, and therefore the setting is not in the sun, but in the removal of the inhabitant of the earth from its light. This comparison is illustrative; and because in every part of nature there is something representative of the Lord's kingdom, it also instructs us that the deprivation of the light of heaven — that is, of intelligence and wisdom — does not take place because the Lord, who is the Sun of intelligence and wisdom, sets with anyone, but because the inhabitant of His kingdom removes himself, that is, suffers himself to be led by the hell by which he is removed.

(from Arcana Coelestia 5097)

The Two Names of Our Lord — Jesus Christ

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

That the deepest arcana lie concealed in the internal sense of the Word, which have heretofore come to no one's knowledge can be very plainly seen from the internal sense of the two names of our Lord, Jesus Christ. When these names are used, few have any other idea than that they are proper names and almost like the names of any other man, but more holy. The more learned indeed are aware that Jesus signifies Savior, and that Christ means Anointed, and from this they conceive some interior idea, but still these are not the things the angels in heaven perceive from the names in question. The things they perceive are still more Divine.

By the name "Jesus," when named by a man who is reading the Word, the angels perceive Divine good; and by "Christ," Divine truth; and by the two names, the Divine marriage of good and truth, and of truth and good; thus the whole Divine in the heavenly marriage, which is heaven.

That "Jesus" in the internal sense is Divine good, and that "Christ" is Divine truth, may be seen from many things in the Word. That "Jesus" is Divine good comes from the fact that "Jesus" means "safety," "salvation," and "Saviour;" and because it means these, it signifies the Divine good; for all salvation is from the Divine good which is of the Lord's love and mercy; and thus is effected by the reception of that good. That "Christ" is Divine truth comes from the fact that the name means "Messiah," "Anointed," and "King;" and that these names signify the Divine truth will be evident from what follows.

These are the things the angels perceive when "Jesus Christ" is named; and this is what is meant when it is said that there is salvation in no other name, as also by the Lord so often speaking of His "name."

As in John:

Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do (John 14:13).

In the same:

These things are written that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye may have life in His name (John 20:31);

and in other places.

The "name" is all in one complex by which the Lord is worshiped, and thus denotes the quality of all worship and doctrine, and therefore here it denotes the good of love and of charity conjoined with the truth of faith, which is the complex of all doctrine and of all worship.

That "Christ" is the same as "Messiah," "Anointed," and "King," and that these names are the same as the Divine truth, may be seen from what now follows.

• First: That "Christ" is the same as "Messiah," "Anointed," and "King," is evident from the following passages in the Word.

In John:

Andrew findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah, which is being interpreted the Christ (John 1:41).

In the same:

Many of the multitude when they heard the word said, This is of a truth the Prophet; others said, This is the Christ; but others said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? Doth not the Scripture say that the Christ cometh of the seed of David, and from Bethlehem, the town where David was? (John 7:40-42);

"the Christ" here plainly means the Messiah whom they expected.

In the same:

Have the rulers then indeed known that this is truly the Christ? Howbeit we know this man whence he is; but when the Christ cometh no one knoweth whence He is (John 7:26-27)

"the Christ" denotes the Messiah; that no one would know whence He is, was because He would not be acknowledged.

In the same:

The Jews came round about Jesus, and said unto Him, How long dost thou hold our soul in suspense? If thou art the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, but ye believe not (John 10:24-25).

Here also "the Christ" denotes the Messiah whom they expected.

In the same:

The multitude answered, We have heard out of the Law that the Christ abideth forever (John 12:34);

"the Christ" meaning the Messiah.

In the same:

Martha said, I have believed that Thou art the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world (John 11:27)

that is, that He was the Messiah.

In Luke:

There was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon and to him was the answer made by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ (Luke 2:25-26);

meaning that he should see the Messiah, or the Anointed of Jehovah.

In the same:

Jesus said to the disciples, But who say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God (9:20; Mark 8:29. See also other passages; as Matt. 26:63-64; John 6:68-69; Mark 14:61-62).

Now as "Christ" and "Messiah" are the same, and as "Christ" in the Greek and "Messiah" in the Hebrew signify the "Anointed," it is evident that "Christ" is the same as the "Anointed;" and likewise the same as "King," for kings in general were called the "anointed," as is evident from the historic and prophetic parts of the Word in many passages.

As in David:

The kings of the earth set themselves, and [the rulers] took counsel together, against Jehovah and against His Anointed (Ps. 2:2).

Again:

Now know I that Jehovah saveth His Anointed; He will answer Him from the heavens of His holiness, in the powers of the salvation of His right hand (Ps. 20:6).

Again:

Jehovah is their strength, and a stronghold of salvations to His Anointed (Ps. 28:8).

In Samuel:

Jehovah will give strength unto His King, and exalt the horn of His Anointed (1 Sam. 2:10).

In these and many other passages the "Anointed" denotes the "King." In the original language the reading is "Messiah." In these prophetic utterances the Lord is treated of in the internal sense; and that He is the "King" is also plain from passages in the New Testament.

As in Matthew:

The governor asked Jesus, Art Thou the King of the Jews? Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest (Matt. 27:11).

And in Luke:

Pilate asked Jesus, saying, Art Thou the King of the Jews? And He answering him said, Thou sayest (Luke 23:3; Mark 15:2).

And in John:

They cried out, Hosanna, blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel (John 12:13).

And again:

Nathaniel said, Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God, Thou art the King of Israel (John 1:49).

• Second: That "Messiah," "Anointed," and "King," are the same as the Divine truth, is evident from very many passages in the Word. The Lord Himself so teaches in John:

Pilate said unto Jesus, Art Thou not a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a King; for this was I born, and for this am come into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth; everyone who is of the truth heareth My voice (John 18:37).

It is evident from this that it is the Divine truth itself from which the Lord was called "King." That kings were anointed, and were therefore called the anointed, was because the oil with which they were anointed signified good, denoting that the truth signified by a "king" was from good, consequently was the truth of good; and thus that the royal office with kings might represent the Lord as to the Divine truth which is from Divine good, and thus the Divine marriage of good in truth; while the priestly office represented the Divine marriage of truth in good. The latter is signified by "Jesus;" the former by "Christ."

Hence it is evident what is signified by the "Christs" in Matthew:

See that no man seduce you; for many shall come in My name, saying, I am the Christ; and shall seduce many. Then if anyone shall say unto you, Lo here is the Christ, or there, believe it not; for there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets (Matt. 24:4-5, 23-24; Mark 13:21-22).

Here by "false Christs" are signified truths not Divine, or falsities; and by "false prophets," those who teach them.

And again:

Be not ye called masters, for one is your Master, even Christ (Matt. 23:10);

"Christ" denotes truth Divine. Hence it is evident what a Christian is, namely, one who is in truth from good.

(from Arcana Coelestia 3004-3010)

The Lord's Work of Salvation

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

It is known in the church that the Lord is the Savior and the Redeemer of the human race, but it is known to few how this is to be understood.

They who are in the externals of the church believe that the Lord redeemed the world, that is, the human race, by His own blood, by which they mean the passion of the cross, but they who are in the internals of the church know that no one is saved by the Lord's blood, but by a life according to the precepts of faith and charity from the Lord's Word.

They who are in the inmosts of the church understand by the Lord's blood the Divine truth proceeding from Him, and by the passion of the cross they understand the last of the Lord's temptation, by which He completely subjugated the hells and at the same time glorified His Human, that is, made it Divine, and that thereby He redeemed and saved all who suffer themselves to be regenerated by a life according to the precepts of faith and of charity from His Word. Moreover, by "the Lord's blood" in the internal sense, according to which the angels in the heavens perceive the Word, is meant the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord.

But no one can know how man was saved and redeemed by the Divine through the subjugation of the hells and the glorification of His Human, unless he knows that there are with every man angels from heaven and spirits from hell, and that unless these are constantly present with man, he cannot think anything, or will anything, and thus that in respect to his interiors man is either under the dominion of spirits who are from hell, or else is under the dominion of angels who are from heaven. When this is first known, it can then be known that unless the Lord had wholly subjugated the hells, and reduced all things both there and in the heavens into order, no one could have been saved nor likewise unless the Lord had made His Human Divine, and had thereby acquired for Himself to eternity Divine power over the hells and over the heavens. For neither the hells nor the heavens can be kept in order without Divine power, because the power by which anything comes forth must be perpetual for it to subsist, for subsistence is a perpetual coming forth.

The Divine Itself which is called "the Father," without the Divine Human which is called "the Son," could not effect this, because the Divine Itself without the Divine Human cannot reach man, nor even an angel, when the human race has altogether removed itself from the Divine. This came to pass in the end of the times, when there was no longer any faith or any charity, and therefore the Lord then came into the world and restored all things, and this by virtue of His Human; and thus saved and redeemed man through faith and love to the Lord from the Lord — for such the Lord can withhold from the hells and from eternal damnation, but not those who reject faith and love from Him to Him, for these reject salvation and redemption.

That the Divine Itself does this by means of the Divine Human is evident from many passages in the Word, as from those in which the Divine Human, which is the Son of God, is called the right hand and arm of Jehovah; and in which it is said that the Lord has all power in the heavens and on earth. By virtue of the Divine Human, the Lord subjugated the hells, and reduced all things therein and in the heavens into order, and at the same time glorified His Human, that is, made it Divine, and that the Divine Itself, which is called "the Father," effected this by means of the Divine Human is evident in John:

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 (John 1:1-3, 14)

it is evident that the Lord as to the Divine Human is He who is here called "the Word," for it is said, "the Word was made flesh."

And again:

No one hath seen God at any time, the Only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath set Him forth (John 1:18).

Ye have neither heard the voice of the Father at any time, nor seen His shape (John 5:37).

I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one cometh unto the Father, but by Me. Henceforth ye have known the Father, and have seen Him. He that seeth Me seeth the Father (John 14:6-7, 9).

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

From all this it can now be seen what the work of salvation and of redemption is, and that it is effected by virtue of the Lord's Divine Human.

(from Arcana Coelestia 10152)