What Makes the Spiritual Life of Man

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

How the truth of the literal sense of the Word serves spiritual truth, shall be briefly told.

The man of the church first learns truth from the literal sense of the Word, which is general truth accommodated to the apprehension of the external man, who is in natural light. This truth is received by an external way, that is, by hearing, and is stored up in the memory of the external man, where are also various memory-knowledges derived from the world (See AC 2469-2494 concerning the two memories - internal and external). Afterward the things stored up in this memory are subjected to the sight or view of the internal man, who sees from the light of heaven. The internal man calls forth therefrom by selection the truths which agree with the good which flows in from the Lord by the way of the soul, and which the man had received. There the Lord conjoins these truths with good. The truths which are thus conjoined in the internal man are called "spiritual truths," and the good with which the truths are conjoined is called "spiritual good." This good, formed by means of truths, is what makes the spiritual life of man. The truths themselves there are called "the truths of faith," and the good is called "the good of charity." The good in which truths have thus been implanted is the church with man.

From this it is plain in what manner the truths of the literal sense of the Word serve for the formation of spiritual truths, in general for the formation of faith and of charity, which make the spiritual life; which life consists in being affected with truths for the sake of good, and in being affected with good from truths, and finally in being affected with truths from good.

§§§

... the truths of the literal sense of the Word, stored up in the natural memory of man, form there as it were a field for the view of the internal man, into which light from heaven flows. From this field, as before said, the internal man selects such things as agree with the good in him, comparatively as the eye selects from the field of a garden such things as conduce to the uses of its life.

(from Arcana Coelestia 9034:3,4 - 9035)

The Formation of Faith

Selection from True Christian Religion ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

As to the formation of faith: it is effected by man's going to the Lord, learning truths from the Word, and living according to them.

First: Faith is formed by man's going to the Lord, because faith that is faith, or that is a saving faith, is from the Lord and in the Lord. That it is from the Lord is evident from His words to His disciples:

Abide in Me, and I in you for apart from Me, ye can do nothing (John 15:4, 5).

That it is faith in the Lord, is evident from the passages presented in abundance (n. 337, 338), to the effect that men ought to believe in the Son. Since then faith is from the Lord and in the Lord, it may be said that the Lord is faith itself, for its life and essence are in Him, and thus from Him.

Secondly: Faith is formed by man's learning truths from the Word, because faith in its essence is truth; for all things that enter into faith are truths; consequently faith is nothing but a complex of truths shining in the mind of man; for truths teach not only that man ought to believe, but also in whom he ought to believe, and what he ought to believe. Truths ought to be taken from the Word, because all truths that conduce to salvation are in the Word, and there is efficacy in them because they are given by the Lord, and are therefore inscribed on the whole angelic heaven; consequently when man learns truths from the Word, he comes into communion and consociation with angels beyond what he knows. Faith destitute of truths like grain without inner substance, which when ground yields nothing but bran; while faith from truths is like useful grain, which when ground yields flour. In a word, the essentials of faith are truths; and if truths do not reside in and constitute the faith, it is only like the shrill sound of a whistle; but when they do reside in and constitute it, faith is like a voice of glad tidings.

Thirdly: Faith is formed by man's living according to truths, because spiritual life is life according to truths, and truths do not actually live until they are in deeds. Truths abstracted from deeds are merely matters of thought, and unless they become of the will also, are only in the entrance to the man, and thus are not inwardly in him; for the will is the man himself, and the thought is so far the man, in quantity and quality, as it adjoins the will to itself. He who learns truths and does not practice them, is like one who sows seed in a field and does not harrow it in; and consequently the seed becomes swollen by the rain and is spoiled. But he who learns truths and practises them, is like one who sows the seed and covers it, and the rain causes it to grow to a crop and to be of use for food. The Lord says:

If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them (John 13:17)

And again:

He that was sown upon the good ground, this is he that heareth the Word and giveth heed; who also beareth fruit and bringeth forth (Matt. 13:23);

also:

Everyone that heareth these My words, and doth them, I will liken him unto a prudent man, who built his house upon a rock. And everyone that heareth these My words and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand (Matt. 7:24, 26).

All words of the Lord are truths.

From the foregoing it is clear that there are three things by which faith is formed in man:

• First by going to the Lord

• Secondly, by learning truths from the Word

• Thirdly, by living according to them.

Now as these are three things, and one not the same as another, it follows that they can be separated; for a man may go to the Lord, and not know any but historical truths respecting God and the Lord; also a man may know truths from the Word in abundance, and yet not live according to them. But in the man in whom these three things are separated, that is, in whom one is apart from the other, there is no saving faith. Saving faith arises when the three are conjoined, and becomes such as the conjunction is.

Where these three things are separated, faith is like a sterile seed, which when dropped in the earth moulders into dust. But where the three are conjoined, faith is like a seed in the ground which grows up to a tree, and the fruit of it is according to their conjunction.

Where these three things are separated, faith is like an egg which contains no prolific principle; but where they are conjoined, faith is like an egg that can produce a beautiful bird.

The faith of those in whom these three things are separated, may be likened to the eye of a fish or of a crab when cooked; but the faith of those in whom the three are conjoined, may be likened to an eye translucent from the crystalline humor even to and through the uvea of the iris.

Separated faith is like a picture drawn in dark colors on a black stone; but conjoined faith is like a picture drawn in beautiful colors on a transparent crystal.

The light of a separated faith may be compared to that of a firebrand in the hand of a traveller at night; while the light of a conjoined faith may be compared to that of a blazing torch which when waved about shows plainly each step of the way.

Faith without truths is like a vine bearing wild grapes; but faith from truths is like a vine bearing clusters full of noble wine.

Faith in the Lord destitute of truths may be compared to a new star appearing in the expanse of heaven, which in time grows dim; but faith in the Lord together with truths may be compared to a fixed star, which remains constant.

Truth is the essence of faith; therefore, as the truth is, such is the faith; without truths it is a wandering faith, but with them it is fixed.

Moreover, faith from truths shines in heaven like a star.

(True Christian Religion 347-348)

The Chief Doctrine of the New Church

Selection from Doctrine of the Lord ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
— The doctrine of the Athanasian Creed agrees with the truth provided
that by the trinity of persons is understood the trinity of person which is the Lord. —

Christians acknowledge three Divine Persons, and thus, as it were, three Gods because there is in the Lord a Trine, one of which is called the Father, another the Son, and the third the Holy Spirit; and because this Trine is mentioned in the Word under distinct names, just as the soul, and the body, and what proceeds from these are named separately, when yet they are one. Moreover, the Word in the sense of the Letter is such that it distinguishes things which are one, as if they were not one. Hence it is that it names Jehovah who is the Lord from eternity, sometimes Jehovah Zebaoth, sometimes God, and sometimes Lord; and at the same time Creator, Saviour, Redeemer and Maker, and also Shaddai. The Word also gives to His Human, which He assumed in the world, the names Jesus, Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, the Son of Man; and in the Word of the Old Testament, God, the Holy One of Israel, the Anointed of Jehovah, King, Prince, Counsellor, Angel, and David.

Now, since the Word is such in the sense of the Letter that it names several who yet are one, therefore Christians, who in the beginning were simple men and understood every thing according to the literal sense of the words, distinguished the Divinity into three Persons. This was permitted on account of their simple nature; yet they did so in such a way that they also believed the Son to be Infinite, Uncreate, Almighty, God, and Lord, in all respects equal to the Father; and further, they believed that they were not two, or three, but One essence, majesty and glory, and thus in Divinity.

Those who believe these things in simplicity according to the doctrine and do not confirm themselves in the idea of three Gods, but who consider the three as One, are after death instructed by the Lord through angels that He is that One, and that Trine. This faith is received by all who enter heaven; for no one can be admitted there who has three Gods in his thoughts, however he may say with his lips that they are one. For the life of all heaven and the wisdom of all the angels are founded on the acknowledgment and consequent confession of one God, and on the faith that this one God is also Man; and that He is the Lord, who is at once both God and Man.

From this it is manifest that it was of Divine permission that Christians in the beginning should receive the doctrine concerning three Persons, provided they also accompanied it with the belief that the Lord is the infinite God, the Almighty, and Jehovah. For if they had not received this, the Church would have perished, since the Church is a Church from the Lord, and since from Him, and from no other, is the eternal life of all.

That the Church is a Church from the Lord may appear from this single fact that the whole Word from beginning to end treats of the Lord alone, ... and also from the declaration that we must believe on Him, and that those who do not believe on Him have not eternal life; indeed, that the wrath of God abideth on them, John 3:36.

Since every one sees for himself that, if God is One, He is One in Person and in Essence (for no one does or can think otherwise, while he thinks that God is One), I will now quote the whole of the Creed which takes its name from Athanasius, and then show that all its contents are true, provided, instead of a Trinity of Persons, we understand a Trinity of Person.

The Creed is as follows:

He who would be saved must keep this Catholic (or, as some authorities say, Christian) Faith. If any one does not keep this faith whole and entire, without doubt he shall perish for ever. This Catholic (or, Christian) Faith is: We worship One God in the Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the Persons nor dividing the substance (or, essence). For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit; but the Divinity of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit is one and the same, the glory equal, and the majesty co-eternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit. The Father is uncreate, the Son is uncreate, and the Holy Spirit is uncreate. The Father is infinite, the Son is infinite, and the Holy Spirit is infinite. The Father is eternal, the Son is eternal, and the Holy Spirit is eternal; and yet there are not three eternals, but one eternal; and there are not three infinites, nor three uncreates, but one uncreate, and one infinite. As likewise the Father is Almighty, so is the Son Almighty, and the Holy Spirit is Almighty; and yet there are not three Almighties, but One Almighty.

As the Father is God, so the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God; and yet there are not three Gods, but one God. Although the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, and the Holy Spirit is Lord; yet there are not three Lords, but one Lord. For as by the Christian verity we are obliged to acknowledge each Person by Himself as God and Lord, yet still we are forbidden by the Catholic religion to say there are three Gods or three Lords (or, still we cannot, according to the Christian faith, name three Gods or Lords). The Father was made of none, neither created nor born; the Son is of the Father alone, not made nor created, but born; the Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son, neither made, nor created, nor born, but proceeding.

Thus there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits. And in this Trinity there is no first and last, and there is no greatest and least; but all the three Persons are co-eternal, and are altogether equal. So it is just as was said above, that the Unity in Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity, is to be worshipped (or, that three Persons in one Godhead, and one God in three Persons, is to be worshipped), He therefore who would be saved, must think thus of the Trinity.

Moreover, it is also necessary to salvation that he believe rightly the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ (or, that he firmly believe that our Lord is very Man). For the true faith is: that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man; God of the substance (that is, essence, or, nature) of the Father, born before the world; and Man of the substance (or, nature) of the mother, born in the world; perfect God and perfect Man, consisting of a rational soul and a human body, equal to the Father as to the Divine, and inferior to (or, less than) the Father as to the Human. Although He is God and Man, yet He is not two, but one Christ; one, not by conversion of the Divine Essence into a body, but by the assumption of the Human into God (or, He is one, yet not so that the Divine was transmuted into the Human; but the Divine took up to itself the Human). He is altogether One, not by the fusion (or, mingling) of substance, but by unity of Person (or, He is altogether One, yet not so that the two natures are mingled; but He is One Person).

As the rational soul and the body is one man, so God and Man is one Christ. He suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, and rose again the third day from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father, [God] Almighty, whence He will come to judge the quick and the dead; at whose Coming all men shall rise again with their bodies; and those who have done good shall enter into life eternal, and those who have done evil, into eternal fire.

All the particulars of this Creed, as it is verbally set forth, are true if, instead of a Trinity of Persons, we understand a Trinity of Person. This may appear if we transcribe it again, with this Trinity of Person substituted for the other.

The Trinity of Person is this:

THE DIVINE OF THE LORD IS THE FATHER, THE DIVINE HUMAN THE SON, AND THE DIVINE PROCEEDING THE HOLY SPIRIT.

When this Trinity is understood, a man can then think of One God, and can also say One God. Who does not see that otherwise, a man must think of three Gods? This was evident to Athanasius, and for this reason be inserted in his Creed these words: —

As by the Christian verity we are obliged to acknowledge each Person by Himself as God and Lord, yet still we cannot, according to the Catholic religion or the Christian faith, say, or name, three Gods or three Lords

which amounts to this: "Although it is allowable by the Christian verity to acknowledge, or think of, three Gods and Lords, yet it is not allowable by the Christian faith to say or to name more than one God and one Lord." And yet it is acknowledgment and thought that conjoin man with the Lord and with heaven, and not words alone. Besides, no one comprehends how the Divine, which is one, can be divided into three Persons, each one of whom is God. For the Divine is not divisible; and to make three one by essence or substance does not take away the idea of three Gods, but only conveys the idea of unanmity between them.

All the particulars of this Creed, as it is verbally set forth, are true if, instead of a Trinity of Persons, we understand a Trinity of Person. This may appear if we transcribe it again, as follows:

He who would be saved must keep this Christian faith. This Christian faith is: We worship One God in the Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity, neither mingling the Trine of the Person, nor dividing the Essence. The Trine of the one Person is what is called the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit is one and the same, the glory and the majesty equal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit. The Father is uncreate, the Son is uncreate, and the Holy Spirit is uncreate. The Father is infinite, the Son is infinite, and the Holy Spirit is infinite; and yet there are not three infinites, nor three uncreates, but one Uncreate, and one Infinite. Similarly, as the Father is Almighty, so the Son is Almighty, and the Holy Spirit is Almighty; and yet there are not three Almighties, but one Almighty.

As the Father is God, so the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God; and yet there are not three Gods, but one God. Although the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, and the Holy Spirit is Lord; yet there are not three Lords, but one Lord. Now, as by the Christian verity we acknowledge a Trine in one Person, who is God and Lord, so by the Christian faith we can say one God and one Lord. The Father was made of none, neither created nor born; the Son is of the Father alone, not made nor created, but born; the Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son, neither made, nor created, nor born, but proceeding.

Thus there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits. And in this Trinity none is greatest, or least, but they are altogether equal. So that it is just as was said above, that the Unity in Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped.

This is what is said in the Creed concerning the Trinity and the Unity of God. There follows next what relates to the Assumption of the Human by the Lord in the world, which is called the Incarnation; and those particulars as they are verbally set forth in the Creed are true, if we understand the Human from the mother, in which the Lord was when in the state of humiliation or exinanition and when He suffered temptations and the cross, to be distinct from the Human derived from the Father, in which He was when in the state of glorification or union. For the Lord assumed in the world a Human conceived of Jehovah, who is the Lord from eternity, and born of the Virgin Mary. Hence He had both a Divine and a Human, a Divine from His Divine from eternity, and a Human from the mother Mary in time. This latter, however, He put off, and put on a Human which was Divine. This is what is called the Divine Human, and what is meant in the Word by the Son of God. When therefore the particulars which come first in the Creed concerning the Incarnation are understood as relating to the maternal Human in which He was when in the state of humiliation, and those particulars which follow are understood as relating to the Divine Human in which He was when in the state of glorification, then all the particulars agree with the truth.

The following passages, which come first in the Creed, relate to the maternal Human in which He was when in the state of Humiliation:

Jesus Christ was God and Man, God of the substance of the Father, and Man of the substance of the mother, born in the world; perfect God and perfect Man, consisting of a rational soul and a human body; equal to the Father as to the Divine, but less than the Father as to the Human.

Also:

This Human was not converted into the Divine, nor mingled with it; but it was put off, and the Divine Human was assumed in its place.

The following passages, which come after in the Creed, relate to the Divine Human in which He was when in the state of glorification:

Although our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man, yet there are not two, but one Christ; indeed, He is altogether one, for He is one Person; for as the soul and body make one man, so God and Man are one Christ.

God and Man in the Lord, according to the Creed, are not two but one Person, and altogether one as soul and body are one. This appears clearly from many things which the Lord Himself said; as, that the Father and He are one; that all things of the Father are His, and all His the Father's that He is in the Father, and the Father in Him that all things are given into His hand; that He has all power; that He is the God of heaven and earth; that whosoever believeth on Him hath eternal life. Further, it is said that both the Divine and the Human were taken up into heaven, and that, as to both, He sitteth at the right hand of God; which means that He is Almighty. There are many more passages from the Word copiously quoted above concerning His Divine Human, all testifying that GOD IS ONE BOTH IN PERSON AND IN ESSENCE, IN WHOM IS THE TRINITY AND THAT THE LORD IS THAT GOD.

These truths relating to the Lord are now for the first time made known, because it is foretold in Revelation 21 and 22 that a New Church, in which this doctrine will hold the chief place, is to be instituted by the Lord at the end of the former Church. This Church is what is there meant by the New Jerusalem, into which none can enter but they who acknowledge the Lord alone as the God of heaven and earth. Moreover, I am enabled to declare that the universal heaven acknowledges the Lord alone, and that whosoever does not acknowledge Him is not admitted into heaven: for heaven is heaven from the Lord. This acknowledgment itself, from love and faith, causes those in heaven to be in the Lord and the Lord in them, as the Lord Himself teaches in John:

At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. John 14:20.

Also in the same:

Abide in me, and I in you ... I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth . . . John 15: 4, 5, 6; 17: 22, 23

This was not seen from the Word before, because if it had been seen before, still it would not have been received. For the Last Judgment had not yet been accomplished; and prior to that the power of hell prevailed over the power of heaven. Now man is in the midst between heaven and hell; and therefore if this (doctrine concerning the Lord) had been seen before, the devil, that is, hell, would have plucked it out of the hearts of men, and would, moreover, have profaned it. This state of power of hell was completely broken by the Last Judgment, which has now been accomplished. After that Judgment, that is, now, every man who desires may become enlightened and attain wisdom.

(Doctrine of the Lord 55-61)

Works, Love, Will, and Act, also Man's Life, MAKE ONE

Selection from Apocalypse Explained ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

And I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, Write, Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord from henceforth; Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; for their works do follow with them. (Revelation 14:13)

For their works do follow with them, signifies that they have spiritual life, which is the life of the angels of heaven.

This is evident from the signification of "works," as being spiritual life, such as the angels of heaven have (of which presently); also from the signification of "to follow with them," as meaning to be in them, for what follows with anyone, when it is predicated of his life, is in him, and is as it were himself; therefore it is said "to follow with them," not follow them. "Works" signify the life of man because they constitute his life. For man has thought, will, and from these two, action. That which is in a man's thought and not in his will is not yet in him. That which is in thought and in the will, and not in act, this indeed enters the man, and forms a beginning to his life; and yet it goes forth and disappears, because it has not been terminated. But that which is in a man's will, and from that in act, constitutes his life, and remains, whether it be evil or good. That thought alone does not constitute man's life can be seen from this, that man is able to think many things that he does not will, because he does not love them. The thought and the will of man without the act do not constitute his life, because the will is not made sure, and a will not made sure is like water passing off into vapor, since it is easily changed by a love opposed to it. From all this it can be seen that by works which are acts of the will man's life is signified.

Since here as in many other passages in Revelation, "works" are mentioned, and here it is said that "their works do follow with them," which signifies spiritual life, something shall be said about how that life is acquired, and also how it is destroyed by the faith of the present day.

Spiritual life is acquired solely by a life according to the commandments in the Word. These commandments are given in a summary in the Decalogue, namely, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet the goods of others. These commandments are the commandments that are to be done, for when a man does these his works are good and his life becomes spiritual, because so far as a man shuns evils and hates them, so far he wills and loves goods.

For there are two opposite spheres that surround man, one from hell, the other from heaven, from hell a sphere of evil and of falsity therefrom, from heaven a sphere of good and of truth therefrom; and these spheres affect not the body, but they affect the minds of men, for they are spiritual spheres, and thus are affections that belong to the love. Man is set in the midst of these; therefore so far as he approaches the one so far he withdraws from the other. This is why so far as a man shuns evils and hates them, so far he wills and loves goods and the truths therefrom, for:

No one can at the same time serve two masters, for he will either hate the one and love the other (Matt. 6:24)

But let it be known, that man must do these commandments from religion, because they are commanded by the Lord; and if he does them from any other consideration whatever, for instance, from regard merely to the civil law or the moral law, he remains natural, and does not become spiritual. For when a man acts from religion he acknowledges in heart that there is a God, a heaven and a hell, and a life after death. But when he acts merely from the civil and moral law, he may act in the same way, and yet in heart may deny that there is a God, a heaven and a hell, and a life after death. And if he shuns evils and does goods it is only in an external form, and not in an internal form; thus while he is outwardly as to the life of the body like a Christian, inwardly as to the life of his spirit he is like a devil. All this makes clear that a man can become spiritual, or receive spiritual life, in no other way than by a life according to religion from the Lord.

I have had proof that this is true from angels of the third or inmost heaven, who are in the greatest wisdom and happiness. When asked how they had become such angels, they said that it was because during their life in the world they had regarded filthy thoughts as heinous, and these had been to them adulteries; and had regarded in like manner frauds and unlawful gains, which had been to them thefts; also hatreds and revenges, which had been to them murder; also lies and blasphemies, which had been to them false testimonies: and so with other things. When asked again whether they had done good works, they said that they loved chastity, in which they were because they had regarded adulteries as heinous; that they loved sincerity and justice, in which they were because they had regarded frauds and unlawful gains as heinous; that they loved the neighbor because they had regarded hatreds and revenges as heinous; that they loved truth because they had regarded lies and blasphemies as heinous, and so on; and that they perceived that when these evils had been put away, and they acted from chastity, sincerity, justice, charity, and truth, it was not done from themselves but from the Lord, and thus that all things whatsoever that they had done from these were good works, although they had done them as if from themselves; and that it was on this account that they had been raised up by the Lord after death into the third heaven. Thus it was made clear how spiritual life, which is the life of the angels of heaven, is acquired.

It shall now be told how that life is destroyed by the faith of the present day. The faith of this day is that it must be believed that God the Father sent His Son, who suffered the cross for our sins, and took away the condemnation of the law by fulfilling it; and that this faith without good works will save everyone, even in the last hour of death. By this faith, instilled from childhood and afterwards confirmed by preachings, it has come to pass that no one shuns evils from religion, but only from the civil and moral law; thus not because they are sins but because they are damaging. Consider, when a man thinks that the Lord suffered for our sins, that He took away the condemnation of the law, and that merely to believe these things or to have faith in them without good works saves-whether this is not to regard as of little worth all the commandments of the Decalogue, all the life of religion as prescribed in the Word, and furthermore all the truths that teach charity. Separate these therefore, and take them away from man, and is there any religion left in him?

For religion does not consist in merely thinking this or that, but in willing and doing that which is thought; and there is no religion when willing and doing are separated from thinking.

From this it follows that the faith of this day destroys spiritual life, which is the life of the angels of heaven, and is the Christian life itself.

Consider further, why the ten commandments of the Decalogue were promulgated from Mount Sinai by so great a miracle; why they were engraven on two tables of stone, and why these were placed in the ark, over which was placed the mercy-seat with cherubs, and the place where those commandments were was called the Holy of holies, within which Aaron was permitted to enter only once a year, and this with sacrifices and incense, and if he had entered without these he would have fallen dead; also why so many miracles were afterwards performed by the ark. Have not all throughout the whole globe a knowledge of like commandments? Do not their civil laws prescribe the same? Who does not know from merely natural lumen, that for the sake of order in every kingdom adultery, theft, murder, false witness, and other things in the Decalogue are forbidden? Why then were those same precepts promulgated by so many miracles, and regarded as so holy? Can there be any other reason than that everyone might do them from religion, and thus from God, and not merely from civil and moral law, and thus from self and for the sake of the world? This was the reason for their promulgation from Mount Sinai and their holiness; for to do these commandments from religion purifies the internal man, opens heaven, admits the Lord, and makes man as to his spirit an angel of heaven. And this is why the nations outside the church who do these commandments from religion are all saved, but not anyone who does them merely from civil and moral law.

Inquire now whether the faith of this day does not cancel all these commandments, which faith is, that the Lord suffered for our sins, that He took away the condemnation of the law by fulfilling it, and that man is justified and saved by this faith without good works. Look about and discover how many there are at this day in the Christian world who do not live according to this faith. I know that they will answer that they are weak and imperfect men, born in sins, and the like. But who is not able to think from religion? This the Lord gives to everyone; and with him who thinks these things from religion the Lord works all things, so far as he thinks. And be it known that he who thinks these things from religion believes that there is a God, a heaven, a hell, and a life after death; but he who does not think of these things from religion, I affirm, does not believe them.

(from Apocalypse Explained 901-902)

The Power of Natural Truth from Spiritual

Selection from Apocalypse Explained ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

And He shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of My Father. (Revelation 2:27)

Who is to tend all the nations with an iron rod, signifies that this doctrine by the power of natural truth from spiritual will convince and refute those who are in falsities and evils and yet are in the church where the Word is. ...

It is the power of the truth of the natural man from the spiritual that is signified by the "iron rod," because all the power that truths in the natural man have is from the influx of truth and good from the spiritual man, that is, from the influx of Divine truth from the Lord through the spiritual man into the natural; for the Lord alone has power, and He exercises it through Divine truth that proceeds from Him.

But that this may be more clearly perceived it shall be shown:

(1) That the Lord has infinite power.

(2) That the Lord has this power from Himself through His Divine truth.

(3) That all power is together in ultimates, and therefore that the Lord has infinite power from things first through ultimates.

(4) That so far as angels and men are recipients of Divine truth from the Lord they are powers.

(5) That power resides in the truths of the natural man so far as it receives influx from the Lord through the spiritual man.

(6) That the truths of the natural man without that influx have nothing of power.

(1) That the Lord has infinite power can be seen from this, that He is the God of heaven and the God of earth; that He created the universe filled with numberless stars, which are suns; and in the universe so many systems and earths in these systems; these systems and the earths in them exceeding in number many hundred thousands; also that He alone preserves and continually sustains these because He created them.

Moreover, as He created the natural worlds, so He created the spiritual worlds above them, and these He perpetually fills with angels and spirits to the number of myriads and myriads. Under these, again, He has hid away the hells, as many in number as the heavens.

And to each and every thing in the worlds of nature and in the worlds above nature He alone gives life; and because He alone gives life, no angel, spirit, or man is able to move a hand or foot except from Him. What infinite power the Lord has is especially evident from this, that all who come from so many earths into the spiritual worlds, numbering some myriads every week from our earth alone, consequently so many myriads from so many thousand earths in the universe, the Lord alone receives, and by a thousand secret ways of Divine wisdom leads everyone to the place of his life; the faithful to their places in the heavens, and the unfaithful to their places in the hells; and the thoughts, intentions, and wills of all, everywhere He rules in most particular and in most universal things; and He causes each and every one in the heavens to enjoy their happiness, and each and every one in the hells to be held in their bonds, even so that not one of them ventures to lift a hand, much less to rise up to do harm to any angel; and all are thus held in order and in bonds, howsoever the heavens and the hells may be multiplied to eternity. These and many other things too numerous to be mentioned, could not possibly be if the Lord did not have infinite power.

That the Lord alone rules all things He Himself teaches in Matthew:

All authority is given to Me in heaven and in earth (Matt. 28:18).

And that He is the Life (John 5:26; 11:25, 26; 14:6)

(2) The Lord has infinite power from Himself through His Divine truth, because Divine truth is the Divine proceeding, and from the Divine that proceeds from the Lord all those things that have been said above in respect to His infinite power are effected. Divine truth regarded in itself is Divine wisdom, which extends itself in every direction, like the light and heat from the sun in our world; for in the spiritual world, where angels and spirits are, the Lord is seen as a sun, from Divine love; all that proceeds from that sun is called Divine truth; and that which proceeds brings forth; also that which proceeds is Himself, because it is from Him; consequently the Lord in the heavens is Divine truth. But that it may be known that the Lord has infinite power through Divine truth, something must be said of its essence and existence. This cannot be comprehended from the natural man and its light but by means of such things as proceed from the sun of the world, from which and by which that sun has all power in its world and in the earths that are under its heat and light. From the sun, of our world auras and atmospheres proceed as from their fountain; these are called ethers and airs. From this source nearest about it is pure ether, at a greater distance from it are less pure ethers, and at length airs; but these ethers and airs are around the earths. These ethers and airs when made active in mass produce heat, but when modified in their least parts give light. Through these the sun exercises all its power and produces all its effect outside of itself, thus through ethers and airs by heat as a means and at the same time by light as a means.

From this some idea can be formed of the Lord's infinite power through Divine truth. Likewise from Him as a sun similar auras and atmospheres emanated, but such as are spiritual, because they are from Divine love, which constitutes that sun. That there are such atmospheres in the spiritual world is clear from the respiration of angels and spirits. Those spiritual auras and atmospheres that are nearest to the Lord as a sun are the most pure; but according to the degrees in which they are removed from Him they are less and less pure. Therefore there are three heavens, the inmost heaven in a purer aura, the middle heaven in an aura less pure, and the lowest heaven in an aura still less pure. These auras or atmospheres, which are spiritual, because they have sprung from the Lord as a sun, when made active in common exhibit heat, but when modified in their least parts exhibit light. That heat, which in its essence is love, and that light, which in its essence is wisdom, are called specifically Divine truth; but together with the auras, which are also spiritual, they are called the Divine proceeding. Now from these the heavens were created, and also the worlds — for all things that exist in the natural world are produced from the spiritual world, as effects from their effecting causes. From this the creation of heaven and earth by means of Divine truth proceed from the Lord as a sun, which is above the angelic heavens, can be seen as in a natural mirror. It can also in some degree be comprehended that the Lord has infinite power by means of the Divine proceeding, which in general is called Divine truth. This also is meant by these words 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 world was made by Him (John 1:1, 3, 10).

And in David:

By the Word of Jehovah were the heavens made (Ps. 33:6).

"The Word" signifies Divine truth.

(3) All power is together in ultimates, and therefore the Lord has infinite power from first things through ultimates. What is meant by ultimates shall first be explained. First things are the things that are in the Lord, and those that most nearly proceed from Him; ultimates are those that are most remote from Him, that is, the things in nature, and the ultimate things in it. These are called ultimates because spiritual things, which are prior, close into them and rest and repose upon them as upon their foundation; therefore they are immovable, and are called the ultimates of Divine order. All power is in ultimates because prior things are together in them, coexisting therein in an order that is called simultaneous. For there is a connection of all things from the Lord Himself through the things which are of heaven and the things of the world even to these ultimates; and because prior things that proceed successively are together in ultimates, as has been said, it follows that power itself is in ultimates from things first. But Divine power is power by the Divine proceeding, which is called Divine truth, as has been shown in the preceding article.

For this reason the human race is to the heavens as a base to a column, or as a foundation to a palace; consequently the heavens subsist in order upon the things of the church that are with men in the world, thus upon Divine truths in ultimates which are such Divine truths as are in the sense of the letter of the Word. What power there is in these truths cannot be told in a few words; into these ultimates with man the Lord flows in from Himself, thus from things first, and rules and keeps together in order and connection all things in the spiritual world.

Now because Divine power itself resides in these ultimates the Lord Himself came into the world and became Man that He might be in ultimates at the same time as in things first, to the end that through ultimates from things first, He might reduce all things to order that had become disordered, namely, all things in the hells and also all things in the heavens. This was the reason of the Lord's coming, for at the time just before His coming there was no Divine truth in ultimates with men in the world, and none whatever in the church which was then with the Jewish nation, that had not been falsified and perverted, and consequently there was no foundation for the heavens; unless, therefore, the Lord had come into the world and had thus Himself assumed the ultimate, the heavens that were made up of the inhabitants of this earth would have been transferred elsewhere, and the whole human race on this earth would have perished in eternal death. But now the Lord, on the earth as in the heavens, is in His fullness, and thus in His omnipotence, because He is in ultimates and in things first. Thus the Lord is able to save all who are in Divine truths from the Word, and in a life according to them, for He can be present and dwell with such in ultimate truths from the Word, because ultimate truths are also His, and are Himself, because they are from Him, according to His words in John:

He that hath My commandments and doeth them, he it is that loveth Me; and My Father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with Him (John 14:21, 23).

(4) So far as angels and men are recipients of Divine truth from the Lord they are powers. This can be seen from what has been said above, namely, that the Lord has infinite power, and that He alone through His Divine truth has power; also from this, that angels, and men also, are nothing but forms recipient of Divine truth; for this reason angels signify in the Word Divine truths, and are called "gods." It therefore follows that according to the measure and quality of their reception of Divine truth from the Lord they are powers.

(5) Power resides in the truths of the natural man so far as it receives influx from the Lord through the spiritual man. This follows from what precedes, namely, that Divine truths in ultimates from things first have all power, and the natural man is a receptacle of ultimates. But to the natural mind of man there are two ways, one from heaven, the other from the world; the way from heaven leads through the spiritual mind into the rational and through this into the natural, and the way from the world is through the sensual which stands forth nearest to the world and clings to the body. From this it can be seen that the Lord flows in with Divine truth into the natural man only through the spiritual, and so far as the natural man receives influx therefrom is there power in it. By the power in it is meant power against the hells, which is the power to resist evils and falsities, and to put them away; and so far as these are resisted and put away man comes into angelic power and also into intelligence, and becomes "a son of the kingdom."

(6) The truths of the natural man without that influx have nothing of power. This follows as a consequence from what has just been said. The truths of the natural man without influx through the spiritual man have in themselves nothing of the Lord, thus also nothing of life; and truths without life are not truths, and in fact when regarded interiorly are falsities, and falsities have nothing whatever of power, since they are opposites of truths, which have all power. These things have been here set forth to make known what is meant by the power of natural truth from spiritual, which is signified by the "iron rod with which the son a male born of the woman is to tend all nations.

(from Apocalypse Explained 726)

His Divine Human is the Word

Selection from Apocalypse Explained ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
The Lord in respect to His Divine Human is the Word, that is, the Divine truth

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.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 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 1:1-14)

☼☼☼

Such a power of persuading and confirming any heresy whatever from the Word is well known in the Christian world from the many heresies there, everyone of which is confirmed from the sense of the letter of the Word and thus they are persuaded. The reason is that the sense of the letter of the Word is accommodated to the apprehension of the simple, and therefore consists in large part of appearances of truth; and it is the nature of appearances of truth to be capable of being adapted to confirm anything that anyone may adopt as a principle of religion and thence of doctrine, thus even when it is false.

Consequently those who place genuine truth itself in the sense of the letter of the Word only, are open to many errors unless they are in enlightenment from the Lord, and in that enlightenment form doctrine for themselves that will serve them as a lamp.

In the sense of the letter of the Word there are naked truths as well as truths clothed, and these latter are appearances of truth, and appearances of truth can be understood only from passages where naked truths stand out — out of these, doctrine can be formed by one who is enlightened by the Lord, and according to that doctrine all other things can be explained. This is why those who read the Word without doctrine are led into manifold errors.

The Word was so written in order that there might be a conjunction of heaven with man; and there is a conjunction because every expression in the Word, and in some passages every letter, contains a spiritual sense, in which the angels are; consequently when man perceives the Word according to its appearances of truth the angels that are about man understand it spiritually. Thus the spiritual of heaven is conjoined with the natural of the world in respect to such things as contribute to man's life after death. If the Word had been written otherwise no conjunction of heaven with man would have been possible.

And because the Word in the letter is such it serves as it were as a support for heaven — for all the wisdom of the angels of heaven in respect to things pertaining to the church terminates in the sense of the letter of the Word as in its basis; consequently the Word in the letter may be called the support of heaven. For this reason the sense of the letter of the Word is most holy, and is even more powerful than its spiritual sense, as has been made known to me by much experience in the spiritual world, for when spirits bring forward any passage according to the sense of the letter they immediately excite some heavenly society to conjunction with them.

From this it can be seen that all things of the doctrine of the church are to be confirmed from the sense of the letter of the Word that there may be in them any sanctity and power, and moreover from those books of the Word in which there is a spiritual sense. Thence it is also evident how dangerous it is to falsify the Word even to the destruction of the Divine truth that is in its spiritual sense; for by so doing heaven is closed to man. That this is done by those who confirm by the Word the separation of faith from its life, which is good works.

(from Apocalypse Explained 816)

Why the Lord Willed to be Born on Our Earth, and Not on Another

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

There are many reasons why it pleased the Lord to be born and to assume the Human on our earth, and not on any other, concerning which I have been informed from heaven.

The principal reason was for the sake of the Word, in that it could be written on our earth, and when written could then be published throughout the whole earth; and once published could be preserved for all posterity; and that thus it might be made manifest even to all in the other life that God had become a Man.

That the principal reason was for the sake of the Word, is because the Word is truth Divine itself, which teaches man that there is a God, that there is a heaven and a hell, and that there is a life after death; and which teaches besides how a man must live and believe in order that he may come into heaven, and thus be eternally happy. Without revelation, thus on this earth without the Word, all these things would have been utterly unknown; and yet man has been so created that in respect to his internal man he cannot die.

That the Word could be written on our earth, is because the art of writing has existed here from the most ancient time, first on wooden tablets, later on parchment, afterward on paper, and finally it could be published in print. This has been provided by the Lord for the sake of the Word.

That the Word could afterward be published throughout this whole earth, is because there is here an interaction of all nations, both by overland travel and by navigation, to all places on the globe. Therefore the Word once written could be carried from one nation to another, and could be everywhere taught. That there should be such an interaction has also been provided by the Lord for the sake of the Word.

That the Word once written could be preserved for all posterity, consequently for thousands and thousands of years, and that it has been so preserved, is known.

That thus it could be made manifest that God has become a Man, is because this is the first and most essential thing for the sake of which the Word was given; for no one can believe in and love a God whom he cannot comprehend under some form; and therefore those who acknowledge the incomprehensible, in their thought fall into nature, and thus believe in no God. Wherefore it pleased the Lord to be born here, and to make this manifest by the Word, not only in order that it might become known on this globe, but that by this means it might also be made manifest to all in the universe who come into heaven from any earth whatever; for in heaven there is a communication of all.

Be it known that the Word on our earth, given through heaven by the Lord, is the union of heaven and the world; to which end there is a correspondence of all things in the letter of the Word with Divine things in heaven; and that in its supreme and inmost sense the Word treats of the Lord, of His kingdom in the heavens and on earth, and of love and faith from Him and to Him, consequently of life from Him and in Him. Such things are presented to the angels in heaven, from whatever earth they come, when the Word of our earth is read and preached.

On every other earth truth Divine is made manifest orally through spirits and angels, as has been shown in the preceding chapters, where the inhabitants of the earths in this solar system have been treated of; but this takes place within families; for on most of the earths mankind live separate according to their families. Wherefore Divine truth thus revealed through spirits and angels is not conveyed far beyond the families; and unless a new revelation is constantly following, what has been revealed is either perverted or perishes. It is otherwise on our earth, where truth Divine, which is the Word, remains in its integrity forever.

Be it known that the Lord acknowledges and receives all, from whatever earth they may be, who acknowledge and worship God under a human form, for God under a human form is the Lord. And because the Lord appears to the inhabitants of the earths in an angelic form, which is the human form, therefore when spirits and angels from these earths hear from the spirits and angels of our earth that God is a Man in actuality, they receive this Word, acknowledge it, and rejoice that it is so (see n. 7173)

To the reasons already adduced may be added that the inhabitants, spirits, and angels of our earth bear relation in the Grand Man to the external and bodily sense, and the external and bodily sense is the ultimate, into which the interior things of life come to a close, and in which they rest as in their common receptacle. The case is similar with truth Divine in the letter, which is called "the Word," and which for this reason also has been given on this earth and not on another. And because the Lord is the Word, and is its first and its last, therefore in order that all things might come forth according to order, He also willed to be born on this earth, and to become the Word; according to these words in John:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. The same was in the beginning with God. All thing were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, the glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father. No man hath seen God at any time; the Only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath set Him forth (John 1:1-3, 14, 18)

"the Word" denotes the Divine truth. But this is a secret which will fall into the understanding of only a few.

That the inhabitants of other earths rejoice when they hear that God took on Himself the Human, and made it Divine, and that thus God is Man in actuality,

(Arcana Coelestia 9350 - 9361)