June 27, 2025

Knowing Which Love Rules

Selection from New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Matthew 22:37-40)

THE GOVERNING OR RULING LOVE


The very life of man is his love, and such as the love is, such is the life, yea, such is the whole man. But it is the governing or ruling love which constitutes the man. That love has many loves subordinate to it, which are derivations. These appear under another form, but still they are all in the ruling love, and constitute, with it, one kingdom. The ruling love is as their king and head; it directs them, and, through them, as mediate ends, it regards and intends its own end, which is the primary and ultimate end of them all; and this it does both directly and indirectly. That which is of the ruling love is what is loved above all things.

That which man loves above all things is continually present in his thought, and also in his will, and constitutes his most essential life. As for example, he who loves riches above all things, whether money or possessions, continually revolves in his mind how he may obtain them. He inmostly rejoices when he acquires them, he grieves inmostly when he loses them; his heart is in them. He who loves himself above all things regards himself in each thing: he thinks of himself, he speaks of himself, he acts for the sake of himself, for his life is the life of self.

Man has for an end that which he loves above all things; he regards it in each and all things. It is in his will like the latent current of a river, which draws and bears him away, even when he is doing something else; for it is this which animates him. It is such that one man explores and also sees it in another, and either leads him according to it, or acts with him.

Man is altogether of such a quality as the ruling principle of his life is; by this he is distinguished from others; according to this is his heaven if he be good, and his hell if he be evil. It is his will itself, his proprium, and his nature, for it is the very esse of his life: this cannot be changed after death, because it is the man himself.

All the delight, pleasure, and happiness which anyone has, are derived from his ruling love, and are according to it; for that which man loves, he calls delightful, because he feels it to be so: he may, indeed, also call that delightful which he thinks but does not love; but this is not the delight of his life. The delight of love is what he esteems good; and that which is undelightful is to him evil.

There are two loves, from which, as from their very fountains, all goods and truths exist; and there are two loves, from which all evils and falsities exist.

• The two loves, from which are all goods and truths, are love to the Lord and love towards the neighbor.

• The two loves from which are all evils and falsities, are the love of self and the love of the world.

The two latter loves are in direct opposition to the two former loves.

The two loves from which are all goods and truths, and which, as has just been stated, are love to the Lord and love towards the neighbor, constitute heaven with man, and therefore they reign in heaven; and since they constitute heaven with man, they also constitute the church with him.

The two loves, whence are all evils and falsities, and which, as has just been said, are the love of self and the love of the world, constitute hell with man; wherefore also they reign in hell.

The two loves whence are all goods and truths, and which, as already observed, are the loves of heaven, open and form the internal spiritual man, because they reside there. But the two loves whence are all evils and falsities, when they rule, shut and destroy the internal spiritual man, and render man natural and sensual, in proportion to the extent and quality of their dominion.

THE LOVES OF SELF AND OF THE WORLD


The love of self consists in willing well to ourselves alone, and not to others except for the sake of ourselves, not even to the church, to our country, to any human society, or to a fellow-citizen; and also in doing good to them only for the sake of our own fame, honor, and glory; for unless it sees these in the goods which it does to others, it says in its heart, What matters it? why should I do this? and what advantage will it be to me? and so omits them. Whence it is plain that he who is in the love of self does not love the church, nor his country, nor society, nor his fellow-citizens, nor anything good, but himself alone.

Man is in the love of self, when, in those things which he thinks and does, he has no regard for the neighbor, nor for the public, much less for the Lord, but only for himself and his own; consequently when everything which he does is for the sake of himself and his own, and when, if he does anything for the public and his neighbor it is only for the sake of appearance.

It is said for the sake of himself and his own, because he who loves himself also loves his own, who are, in particular, his children and relations, and in general, all who make one with him, and whom he calls his own. To love these is also to love himself, for he regards them as it were in himself, and himself in them. Among those whom he calls his own, are also all they who praise, honor, and pay their court to him.

That man is in the love of self, who despises the neighbor in comparison with himself, who esteems him his enemy if he does not favor him, and if he does not respect and pay his court to him: he is still more in the love of self who for such reasons hates the neighbor and persecutes him; and he is still more so who for such reasons burns with revenge against him, and desires his destruction: such persons at length delight in cruelty.

What the nature of the love of self is, may be evident from a comparison with heavenly love.

• Heavenly love is to love uses for the sake of uses, or goods for the sake of goods, which the man performs to the church, to his country, to human society, and to a fellow-citizen.

• But he who loves them for the sake of himself, does not love them otherwise than as his servants, because they are of service to him.

It follows from this that he who is in the love of self wills that the church, his country, human societies, and his fellow-citizens serve him, and not he them. He puts himself above them, and them below him.

Moreover, as far as anyone is in heavenly love, which is to love uses and goods, and to be affected with delight of heart when he performs them, so far he is led by the Lord, because that love is what He is in, and what is from Him. But as far as anyone is in the love of self, so far he is led by himself; and as far as he is led by himself, he is so far led by his proprium; and man's proprium is nothing but evil; for evil is his heredity, which is to love himself above God, and the world above heaven.

The love of self is also such, that as far as the reins are relaxed, that is, as far as external bonds are removed, which are the fear of the law and its penalties, and the fear of the loss of reputation, honor, gain, office, and life, so far he rushes on, until he not only wishes to bear sway over the whole world, but even over heaven, and over the Divine itself. To him there is no bound or end. This lies hidden in everyone who is in the love of self, though it is not manifest before the world, where such reins and bonds hold him back; and every such man where met by impossibility, waits there until it becomes possible.

From these things, the man who is in such love does not know that such insane and unbounded desire lies hidden within him. That it is nevertheless so, everyone can see in potentates and kings, for whom there are not such checks, bonds, and impossibilities, and who rush on and subjugate provinces and kingdoms as far as success attends them, and aspire to power and glory without limit; and still more in those who extend their dominion into heaven, and transfer all the Divine power of the Lord to themselves, and continually desire more.

There are two kinds of dominion, one that of love toward the neighbor, the other that of the love of self. These two kinds of dominion are in their essence altogether opposite to each other.

• He who rules from love toward the neighbor, wills good to all, and loves nothing more than to perform uses, thus to be of service to others. To serve others is to do good to them from good will, and to perform uses. This is his love, and this is the delight of his heart. He too, as far as he is elevated to dignities, is likewise glad; not, however, for the sake of the dignities, but for the sake of the uses which he is then able to perform in more abundance and in a greater degree. Such is the dominion in the heavens.

• But he who rules from the love of self wishes good to no one, but only to himself and his own. The uses which he performs are for the sake of his own honor and glory, which to him are the only uses. Serving others is to him for the end that he may be served, honored, and that he may rule. He seeks dignities, not for the sake of the goods he may perform, but to be in eminence and glory, and thence in the delight of his heart.

The love of dominion also remains with everyone after his life in the world, but to those who have ruled from love toward the neighbor, rule is also entrusted in the heavens. But then they do not rule, but the uses and the goods which they love; and when uses and goods rule, the Lord rules. They, on the other hand, who in the world have ruled from the love of self, after their life in the world are in hell, and are in vile slavery there.

From these things it is now known who are in the love of self. But it matters not how they appear in outward form, whether elated or humble; for such things are in the interior man; and by most the interior man is concealed, and the exterior is instructed to feign the things which belong to love for the public and the neighbor, thus the opposite. And this is also done for the sake of self: for they know that the love of the public and the neighbor interiorly affect all, and that so far they will be loved and esteemed. The reason why that love affects all, is because heaven flows into it.

The evils which belong to those who are in the love of self, are, in general, contempt of others, envy, enmity against those who do not favor them, hostility on that account, hatreds of various kinds, revenge, cunning, deceit, unmercifulness, and cruelty; and where such evils exist, there is also contempt of the Divine, and of Divine things, which are the truths and goods of the church. If they honor these, it is only with the mouth, and not with the heart. And because such evils are thence, so there are similar falsities, for falsities are from evils.

But the love of the world consists in wishing to draw the wealth of others to ourselves by any artifice, in placing the heart in riches, and in allowing the world to draw us back, and lead us away from spiritual love, which is love towards the neighbor, consequently, from heaven. They are in the love of the world who desire to draw the goods of others to themselves by various artifices, especially they who do so by means of cunning and deceit, making no account of the good of the neighbor. They who are in that love covet the goods of others, and so far as they do not fear the laws and the loss of reputation for the sake of gain, they deprive others of their goods, yea commit depredations.

But the love of the world is not opposite to heavenly love in the same degree that the love of self is, inasmuch as such great evils are not concealed in it. This love is manifold: —

• There is the love of riches as the means of obtaining honors

• There is the love of honors and dignities as the means of obtaining riches

• There is the love of riches for the sake of various uses with which they are delighted in the world

• There is the love of riches for the sake of riches alone, which is avarice, and so on.

The end for the sake of which riches are desired, is called their use, and it is the end or use from which the love derives its quality; for the quality of the love is the same as that at the end which it has in view, to which other things serve as means.

In a word, the love of self and the love of the world are altogether opposite to love to the Lord and love towards the neighbor; wherefore the love of self and the love of the world are infernal loves, for they also reign in hell, and also constitute hell with man; but love to the Lord and love towards the neighbor are heavenly loves. They also reign in heaven, and also constitute heaven with man.

From what has now been said, it may be seen that all evils are in and from those two loves; for the evils which were enumerated are common; the others, which were not enumerated, because they are specific, are derived and flow from them. Hence it may appear, that man, because he is born into these two loves, is born into evils of every kind.

In order that man may know evils, he ought to know their origins, and unless he knows evils, he cannot know goods, thus he cannot know of what quality he himself is: this is the reason that these two origins of evils are treated of here.

(New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine 54-61; 65-80)

June 25, 2025

Universally Reigning

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

Every man has something of his own which he loves above all things. This is called that which rules, or if you will, that which reigns universally with him. This is constantly present in his thought, and also in his will, and makes his veriest life.

As for example, he who loves wealth above all things, whether money or possessions, is continually revolving in his mind how he may procure it; he inmostly rejoices when he acquires it; he inmostly grieves when he loses it; his heart is in it. He who loves himself above all things is mindful of himself in everything, thinks of himself, speaks of himself, acts for the sake of himself; for his life is a life of self.

A man has as the end that which he loves above all things; in each and all things he has regard to this; it is in his will like the hidden current of a river which draws and bears him away, even when he is doing something else, for it is what animates him. It is this which one man searches out in another, and also sees, and according to it either leads him, or acts with him.

When a man is being regenerated, charity is implanted by means of faith, even until it becomes that which rules; and when charity has become this, he has a new life, for it is then continually present in his thought, and continually in his will, nay, in every single thing of them, even when he is meditating about other things, and when he is engaged in business.

The case is the same with love to the Lord. When this love is that which rules, it is present in every single thing of the man's life; as for instance with him who loves his king, or his parent, his love toward them shines forth in their presence from every feature of his face, it is heard in every expression of his speech, and is seen in his every gesture. This is meant by having God continually before the eyes, and by loving Him above all things, with all the soul and with all the heart.

A man is wholly such as is the ruling principle of his life; by this he is distinguished from others; according to this is formed his heaven if he is good, and his hell if he is evil; for it is his veriest will, and thus the very being of his life, which cannot be changed after death. From all this it is evident what is the nature of the life of one who is regenerate, and what is the nature of the life of one who is not regenerate.

(Arcana Coelestia 8853-8858)

Perpetual in Thought

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

WHAT IS PERPETUAL IN THE THOUGHT

That is perpetual in the thought which universally reigns there; and that universally reigns with man which is perpetually in his thought, even when he is meditating on other things, or is engaged in business affairs.

The thought of man involves many things together, for it is the form of many things which have entered successively. Those things which come to manifest perception are at the time in the midst, and thus in the light of the internal sight, while all other things are then at the sides round about. Those which are in the circuits are in obscurity, and are not manifested except when such objects occur as they are associated with. But the things which are still more remote, and are not on the same plane, but tend downward, are such as the man has rejected and holds in aversion. Such things are evils and falsities with the good, and goods and truths with the evil.

In the very thought of man are those things which are perpetually there, that is, which universally reign there, which are his inmost things. From these man regards those things which are not perpetually there (that is, those things which do not yet universally reign) as being outside of himself, and also as beneath himself, and as not yet being akin to him, from which he can then choose and adjoin to himself those things which agree with the inmost things, and from the adjunction and final consociation of which, the inmost things, that is, those which universally reign, are strengthened. This is effected by means of new truths with the good, and by means of new falsities, or by wrong applications of truths, with the evil.

Be it known further that that which universally reigns is that which has been insinuated into the will itself, for the will itself is the inmost of man, because it has been formed from his love. For whatever man loves, this he wills, and that which he loves above all things, this he inmostly wills. But the understanding serves to make manifest before others the things which the man wills, that is, which he loves, and serves also to bend the wills of others by ideas variously formed for accommodation thereto. When this is the case, love or affection flows from the will into the intellectual ideas also, and by a certain kind of inspiration vivifies and moves them.

With the good these intellectual ideas make a one with the affections which are of the will; but it is otherwise with the evil, for with these the thought and the will do indeed inmostly agree, because the evil which the will wills, the understanding thinks, as falsity that is in agreement with this evil; but this agreement does not appear before men in the world, because from their infancy the evil learn to speak differently from what they think, and to act differently from what they will; in a word, they learn to separate their interior man from their exterior, and in this latter to form another will and also another thought besides that which is in their interior man, and thus by the exterior man to counterfeit good that is quite contrary to the interior man, which at the same instant wills evil and also imperceptibly thinks it. But in the other life the quality of the interior will and thought is manifest as in clear light, for in that life external things are removed, and internal things are laid bare.

(from Arcana Coelestia 8885)

June 22, 2025

A Covenant and A Testimony

Selection from True Christian Religion ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

THE CONJUNCTION OF LOVE TO GOD AND LOVE TOWARDS THE NEIGHBOR

It is known that the Law promulgated from Mount Sinai was written upon two tables — one of which related to God and the other to men; that in the hands of Moses they were one table, the writing on the right side of which related to God, and that on the left to men.  When so presented to the eyes of men, the writing on both sides was seen at the same time, thus one side was in view of the other, like Jehovah talking to Moses and Moses to Jehovah, face to face, as it is written. This was done in order that the tables so united might represent the conjunction of God with men, and the reciprocal conjunction of men with God. This is why the written law was called a Covenant and a Testimony —  "covenant" signifying conjunction, and "testimony" life according to the compact. These two tables so united exhibit the conjunction of love to God with love towards the neighbor.

The first table includes all things pertaining to love to God, which are, primarily —

• that man should acknowledge the one God, the Divinity of His Human, and the holiness of the Word • that God is to be worshiped through the holy things that proceed from Him.

The second table includes all things pertaining to love towards the neighbor —

• its first five commandments all things pertaining to action, which are called works
• the last two all things pertaining to the will, thus to charity in its origin
for in these it is said, "Thou shalt not covet," and when man does not covet what belongs to his neighbor, he wishes well to him.

That the ten commandments of the Decalogue contain all things pertaining to love to God and all things pertaining to love towards the neighbor; there is a conjunction of the two tables in those who are in charity.

• It is different with those who merely worship God, and do not at the same time do good works from charity. These are like those who violate covenants.

• It is different again with those who divide God into three and worship each one separately.

• And still different with those who do not approach God in His Human; these are such — 
As enter not by the door, but climb up some other way (John 10:1, 9).
• It is also different with those who from confirmation deny the Lord's Divinity.

With all of these there is no conjunction with God, and therefore no salvation; and their charity is nothing but spurious charity, and this does not effect conjunction by the face, but by the side or back.

How conjunction is effected shall be told in a few words —

With every man God flows into man's knowledge of Him with acknowledgment of Him, and at the same time flows in with His love towards men. The man who receives in the former way only, and not in the latter, receives that influx in the understanding and not in the will, and remains in knowledge of God without an interior acknowledgment of God; and his state is like that of a garden in winter. But the man who receives in both ways, receives the influx in the will and from that in the understanding, thus in the whole mind, and he has an interior acknowledgment of God which vivifies in him the knowledges of God; and his state is like that of a garden in spring.

Conjunction is effected by charity, because God loves every man, and as He cannot do good to man immediately, but only mediately through men, He inspires men with His own love, as He inspires parents with love for their children; and the man who receives that love has conjunction with God, and from God's love loves his neighbor; and in him God's love is within man's love towards the neighbor, and produces in him the will and the ability.

Moreover, as man does nothing that is good unless it appears to him that the ability, the will, and the doing are from himself, this appearance is granted him; and when he does good from freedom as if of himself, it is imputed to him, and is accepted as the reciprocation by which conjunction is effected. This is like active and passive, and that cooperation of the passive which is effected from the active in the passive. It is also like will in doing, and like thought in words, the soul operating from the inmost into both. It is also like effort in motion; and like the prolific in seed, which from the interior operates in the juices through which the tree grows even to fruit, and through fruit produces new seed. It is also like light in precious stones which is reflected according to the texture of the parts, producing various colors, belonging apparently to the stones, but in fact to the light.
This makes clear the origin and the nature of the conjunction of love to God and love towards the neighbor, as being the influx of God's love for men, the reception of which by man and his cooperation therewith being love towards the neighbor.
In a word, conjunction is effected in accordance with this saying of the Lord:
At that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you (John 14:20).
Also according to this,
He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself unto him; and We will make abode with him (John 14:21-23).
All of the Lord's commandments have relation to love towards the neighbor.
In a word, they are not doing evil to the neighbor, but doing good to him. That those who do this love God and God loves them, is in accordance with these words of the Lord. Because such is the conjunction of these two loves, John says:
He that keepeth the commandments of Jesus Christ abideth in Him and He in him. If a man say, I love God, but hateth his brother, he is a liar; for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from Him, That he who loveth God should love his brother also (1 John 3:24; 4:20, 21).

(True Christian Religion 456 - 458)

June 19, 2025

The Nineteenth Day of June, 1770

Various Selections from The Heavenly Doctrines ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
THE CROWN OF ALL THE CHURCHES
AN UNDERSTANDING OF ONE GOD

I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father. (John 16:12, 13; 25)
There have been, in general, from the beginning, four churches on this earth, one before the flood, the second after it, the third the Israelitish church, and the fourth that which is called the Christian church; and as all churches depend on a knowledge and acknowledgment of one God, with whom the man of the church can be conjoined, and as none of these four churches has possessed that truth, it follows that a church must follow these four which will know and acknowledge one God.
The sole end of God's Divine love, when He created the world, was to conjoin man to Himself and Himself to man that He might thus dwell with man.
This truth the former churches did not possess, the Most Ancient church, which preceded the flood, worshiping an invisible God with whom no conjunction is possible; the Ancient church which followed the flood, did likewise; the Israelitish church worshiped Jehovah, who in Himself is an invisible God (Exod. 33:18-23), but under a human form, which Jehovah God put on by means of an angel, in which He was seen by Moses, Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, Gideon, Joshua, and sometimes by the prophets. This human form was a representative of the Lord who was to come, and because this was representative so each thing and all things in their church were made representative. It is a well known fact that the sacrifices and everything else pertaining to their worship represented the Lord who was to come, and that when He came they were abrogated. The fourth, which is called the Christian church, did indeed with the lips acknowledge one God, but in three Persons, each One of whom was singly or by Himself God; thus it acknowledged a divided Trinity, but not a Trinity united in one Person; and from this an idea of three Gods adhered to their minds, although the expression "one God" was on their lips. Moreover, the teachers of the church from that doctrine of theirs which they concocted after the Nicene Council, teach that men ought to believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, all of them invisible, because existent in a similar Divine essence before the world was (although, as said above, with an invisible God no conjunction is possible), for they still do not know that the one God who is invisible came into the world and assumed a Human, not only that He might redeem men, but also that He might become visible, that thereby conjunction with man might become possible. For we read:
The Word was with God, and God was the Word. And the Word was made flesh (John 1:1, 14).
And in Isaiah:
Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given, and His name, God, Mighty, Father of Eternity (9:6).
It is also frequently declared in the Prophets that Jehovah Himself would come into the world, and would be a Redeemer, which He also became in the Human which He assumed.  (TCR 786)

This New Church is the crown of all the churches that have hitherto existed on the earth, because it is to worship one visible God in whom is the invisible like the soul in the body. Thus, and not otherwise, is a conjunction of God with man possible because man is natural, and therefore thinks naturally, and conjunction must exist in his thought, and thus in his love's affection, and this is the case when he thinks of God as a Man.
Conjunction with an invisible God is like a conjunction of the eye's vision with the expanse of the universe, the limits of which are invisible; it is also like vision in mid-ocean, which reaches out into the air and upon the sea, and is lost.
Conjunction with a visible God, on the other hand, is like beholding a man in the air or on the sea spreading forth his hands and inviting to his arms.
For all conjunction of God with man must be also a reciprocal conjunction of man with God; and no such reciprocation is possible except with a visible God. That before the assumption of the Human, God was not visible, the Lord Himself also teaches in John:
Ye have neither heard the voice of the Father at any time, nor seen His form (5:37).
And in Moses:
That no one can see God and live (Ex. 33:20).
But that He is visible through His Humanity is stated in John:
No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath manifested Him (1:18).
And in the same:
Jesus said I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one cometh unto the Father but by Me. He that knoweth Me, knoweth the Father, and he that seeth Me seeth the Father (14:6, 7, 9).
That there is a conjunction with the invisible God through the visible, that is, through the Lord, He teaches in the following passages:
Jesus said, Abide in Me, and I in you; he that abideth in Me and I in him, the same beareth much fruit (John 15:4, 5).
In that day ye shall know that I am in the Father, and ye in Me and I in you (John 14:20).
The glory which thou hast given Me I have given them, that they may be one, even as we are one; I in them and Thou in Me: that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them (John 17:21-23, 26; also 6:56).
It is also taught that He and the Father are one, and that in order to have eternal life man must believe in Him. That salvation depends on conjunction with God has been frequently shown above.  (TCR 787)

~ ~ ~

Men ought to believe, that is, have faith, in God the Savior Jesus Christ, because that is a faith in a visible God within whom is the invisible; and faith in a visible God, who is at once Man and God, enters into a man; for faith in its essence is spiritual but in its form is natural; consequently with man such a faith becomes spiritual-natural. For anything spiritual, in order to be anything with man, must have a recipient in the natural. The naked spiritual does indeed enter into man, but it is not received; it is like the ether, which flows in and out producing no effect, for to produce an effect there must be perception and consequent reception, both of these in his mind; and no such reception is possible with man except in his natural.

But on the other hand merely natural faith, or faith destitute of a spiritual essence, is not faith, but only persuasion or knowledge. In externals persuasion emulates faith; but since there is in its internals no spirituality, neither is there anything saving in it. Such is the faith of all who deny the Divinity of the Lord's Human; such was the Arian faith, and such also is the Socinian faith, because both reject the Lord's Divinity. What is faith without an object toward which it is determined? Is it not like gazing into the universe, where the sight falls, as it were, into vacuity and is lost? It is like a bird flying beyond the atmosphere into the ether, where, as in a vacuum, it ceases to breathe. The abiding of this faith in man's mind may be compared to that of the winds in the wings [halls?] of Aeolus, or of light in a falling star. It rises like a comet with a long tail, and like it passes over and disappears.

In a word, faith in an invisible God is actually blind, since the human mind fails to see its God; and the light of that faith, not being a spiritual-natural faith, is a fatuous light; which light is like that of the glow-worm, or like that seen above marshes or sulphurous glebes at night, or like the phosphorescence of rotten wood. From that light nothing comes except what pertains to fantasy, which creates a belief that the apparent is the real, when yet it is not. Faith in an invisible God shines with no other light than this, especially when God is thought to be a Spirit, and spirit is thought to be like ether. What follows but that man regards God as he does the ether? Consequently he seeks God in the universe; and when he does not find Him there, he believes the nature of the universe to be God. This is the origin of the prevailing naturalism of the day. Did not the Lord say,
That no one ever heard the Father's voice or saw His shape? (John 5:37)
and also,
That no man hath seen God at any time, but that the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father hath revealed Him (John 1:18).
No man hath seen the Father, save He who is with the Father, He hath seen the Father (John 6:46).
Also that no one cometh unto the Father, but through Him (John 14:6).
Furthermore,
That He who sees and knows Him sees and knows the Father (John 14:7-12).
But faith in the Lord God the Savior is different; He, being God and Man, can be approached and be seen in thought. Faith in Him is not indeterminate, but has an object from which and to which it proceeds and when once received is permanent, as when anyone has seen an emperor or king, as often as the fact is recalled the image returns. That faith's sight is like one's seeing a bright cloud, and in the midst of it an angel who invites the man to him, so that he may be raised up into heaven. Thus does the Lord appear to those who have faith in Him; He draws near to every man so far as man recognizes and acknowledges Him, which he does, so far as he knows and keeps the Lord's commandments, which are, to shun evils and do good; and at length the Lord comes into man's house, and together with the Father who is in Him, makes His abode with man, according to these words in John:
Jesus said, He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me; and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him and We will come unto him and make Our abode with him (14:21, 23).
The foregoing was written in the presence of the Lord's twelve apostles, who were sent to me by the Lord while I was writing it.  (TCR 339)

~ ~ ~

Genuine Truth, of which doctrine must consist, can be seen in the sense of the letter of the Word only by those who are in enlightenment from the Lord. Enlightenment is from the Lord alone, and exists in those who love truths because they are truths, and who make truths uses of life. To no others is enlightenment in the Word possible. Enlightenment is from the Lord alone, because the Word is from Him, and consequently He is in it. Enlightenment is given to those who love truths because they are truths, and who make them uses of life, because such are in the Lord, and the Lord is in them; for the Lord is Truth itself; and men love the Lord when they live in accordance with His Divine truths, that is, when from those truths they perform uses, as is taught in these words in John:
In that day ye shall know that ye are in Me and I in you. He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him and I will come unto him, and make My abode with him (John 14:20, 21, 23).
Such as these are in enlightenment when they read the Word; and with such the Word is both luminous and translucent. With such the Word is both luminous and translucent because a spiritual sense and a celestial sense are contained in every particular of the Word, and these senses are in the light of heaven; and thus by means of these and the light of these the Lord inflows into the natural sense of the Word and into the light of that sense in man; and in consequence man acknowledges truth from an interior perception, and then sees it in his thought, and this as often as he is in an affection for truth for the sake of truth. For perception comes from affection, and thought from perception; and thus the acknowledgment, which is called faith, is produced. (TCR 231)

~ ~ ~

It is written in many places that the Lord will come in the clouds of heaven
... and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (Matthew 24:30) (see also, Matt. 17:5; 26:64; Mark 14:62; Luke 9:34, 35; 21:27; Rev. 1:7; 14:14; Dan. 7:13).
And as no one has hitherto known what is meant by "the clouds of heaven," it has been believed that the Lord would appear in them in Person. Heretofore it has not been known that "the clouds of heaven" mean the Word in the sense of the letter, and that the "glory and power" in which He is then to come (Matt. 24:30), mean the spiritual sense of the Word, because no one as yet has had the least conjecture that there is a spiritual sense in the Word, such as this sense is in itself. But as the Lord has now opened to me the spiritual sense of the Word, and has granted me to be associated with angels and spirits in their world as one of them, it is disclosed that "a cloud of heaven" means the Word in the natural sense, and "glory" the Word in the spiritual sense, and "power" the Lord's power through the Word. ...

In the spiritual world as well as in the natural world there are clouds, but from a different origin. In the spiritual world there are sometimes bright clouds over the angelic heavens, but dusky cloud over the hells. The bright clouds over the angelic heaven signify obscurity there arising from the literal sense of the Word; but when these clouds are dispersed, it signifies that they are in the clear light of the Word from the spiritual sense; while the dusky clouds over the hells signify the falsification and profanation of the Word. This signification of "clouds" in the spiritual world has its origin in the fact that the light which there goes forth from the Lord as a sun, signifies Divine truth; for which reason He is called "the Light" (John 1:9; 12:35). And for the same reason the Word itself there which is kept in the sacred recesses of the temples, appears surrounded by a clear white light, and its obscurity is induced by clouds. (from TCR 776)

AUTHOR'S PREFACE IN APOCALYPSE REVEALED

There are many who have labored in the explanation of the Apocalypse; but, as the spiritual sense of the Word had been hitherto unknown, they could not see the arcana which lie concealed therein, for the spiritual sense alone discloses these; on which account expositors have conjectured various things, and the most of them have applied the things that are therein to the states of empires, intermingling also some things about ecclesiastical affairs.

But the Apocalypse, like the whole Word, does not in the least, in its spiritual sense, treat of worldly, but of heavenly things; thus not of empires and kingdoms, but of heaven and the church. It is to be known, that after the Last Judgment, which was accomplished in the spiritual world in the year 1757, concerning which see in a small work by itself, published at London in 1758, there was formed a New Heaven from Christians; but from those only who could receive the Lord as the God of heaven and earth, according to His words in Matthew 28:18:
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
and who at the same time in the world had repented of their evil works. From this heaven the New Church on earth, which is the New Jerusalem, is descending and will descend. That this Church will acknowledge the Lord alone, is manifest from these passages in the Apocalypse:
There came unto me one of the seven angels, and spake with me, saying, Come I will show thee the Bride, the Lamb's Wife; and he showed me the great city, holy Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God (chapter 21:9, 10).
And in another place:
Let us rejoice and exult; for the time of the Marriage of the Lamb is come, and His Wife hath made herself ready. Happy are they that are called unto the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (chapter 19:7, 9).
That there is to be a New Heaven, and that the New Church on earth will descend therefrom, is manifest from these words there:
I saw a New Heaven and a New Earth; and I saw the holy city Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a Bride adorned for her Husband. He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new; and He said unto me, Write, for these words are true and faithful (chapter 21:1, 2, 5).
"The New Heaven" is a New Heaven from Christians: "the New Jerusalem" is the New Church on earth, which will act as one with that New Heaven. "The Lamb" is the Lord as to the Divine Human.

To this something shall be added for illustration.
The Christian Heaven is below the Ancient Heavens. Into it, from the time of the Lord, when He was in the world, were admitted those who worshiped one God under three Persons, and who at the same time had not the idea of three Gods; and this because the Trinity of Persons has been received in the whole Christian world. But they who cherished no other idea of the Lord's Human than as the human of another man, could not receive the faith of the New Jerusalem; which is, that the Lord is the only God, in whom is the Trinity. These were for that reasons separated, and were sent away to the extremes: it was given me to see the separations and the removals after the Last Judgment. For the whole heaven is founded upon a just idea of God, and the whole church on earth, and in general all religion; since by that idea there is conjunction, and by conjunction light, wisdom, and eternal happiness.
Everyone can see that the Apocalypse can by no means be explained but by the Lord alone; for each word therein contains arcana, which could never be known without particular enlightenment, and thus revelation; wherefore it has pleased the Lord to open the sight of my spirit, and to teach me. Do not believe, therefore, that I have taken anything therein from myself, nor from any angel, but from the Lord alone. The Lord also said to John through the angel:
Seal not the words of the prophecy of this Book (chapter 22:10).
By which is meant that they are to be made manifest.

~ ~ ~

SECOND COMING OF THE LORD IS EFFECTED BY MEANS OF A MAN TO WHOM THE LORD HAS MANIFESTED HIMSELF IN PERSON, AND WHOM HE HAS FILLED WITH HIS SPIRIT, THAT HE MAY TEACH THE DOCTRINES OF THE NEW CHURCH FROM THE LORD BY MEANS OF THE WORD.

Since the Lord cannot manifest Himself in Person, as shown just above, and nevertheless has foretold that He was to come and establish a new church, which is the New Jerusalem, it follows that He will do this by means of a man, who is able not only to receive these doctrines in his understanding but also to publish them by the press. That the Lord manifested Himself before me, His servant, and sent me to this office, that He afterward opened the eyes of my spirit and thus introduced me into the spiritual world and granted me to see the heavens and the hells, and to talk with angels and spirits, and this now continuously for several years, I affirm in truth; as also that from the first day of that call I have not received anything whatever pertaining to the doctrines of that church from any angel, but from the Lord alone while I have read the Word. (TCR 779)

NOTE. - After this work was finished the Lord called together His twelve disciples who followed Him in the world; and the next day He sent them all forth throughout the whole spiritual world to preach the Gospel that THE LORD GOD JESUS CHRIST reigns, whose kingdom shall be for ages and ages, according to the prediction in Daniel (7:13, 14), and in Revelation (11:15).

Also that blessed are those that come to the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:9).

THIS TOOK PLACE ON THE NINETEENTH DAY OF JUNE, 1770

This is what is meant by these words of the Lord:
He shall send His angels and they shall gather together His elect, from the end of the heavens to the end thereof (Matt. 24:31).   (TCR 791)

From the INVITATION TO THE NEW CHURCH

The manifestation of the Lord, and intromission into the spiritual world, surpass all miracles. This has not been granted to anyone since the creation, as it has been to me. The men of the golden age, indeed, conversed with the angels; but it was not granted to them to be in any other than natural light; but to me it is granted to be in both spiritual and natural light at the same time. By this means it has been granted to me to see the wonderful things of heaven, to be together with the angels like one of them, and at the same time to draw forth truths in light, and thus to perceive and teach them; consequently to be led by the Lord.

From SKETCH THE CORONIS, APPENDIX TO TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION


In place of miracles, there has, at this day, taken place a manifestation of the Lord Himself, an intromission into the spiritual world, and enlightenment there by immediately light from the Lord, in such things as are interior things of the church.

But chiefly, the opening of the spiritual sense in the Word, in which the Lord is in His own Divine light.

These revelations are not miracles; since every man is in the spiritual world as to his spirit, without separation from his body in the natural world; I, however, with a certain separation, though only as to the intellectual part of my mind, but not as to the voluntary; and, as to the spiritual sense, the Lord through it is with all who in faith approach Him in that light, and through that are in its natural light. (Coronis 4, 5)

June 14, 2025

Universal Nature — A Theater Representative of the Lord's Kingdom

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

A CORRESPONDENCE OF EVERY SEVERAL THING IN MAN WITH HEAVEN

It is the main point of intelligence with the angels to know and perceive that all life is from the Lord, and also that the universal heaven corresponds to His Divine Human; and consequently that all angels, spirits, and men correspond to heaven; and also to know and perceive the nature of this correspondence. These are the first principles of the intelligence in which angels are more than men; and from this they know and perceive innumerable things that are in the heavens and hence also those which are in the world; for the things which come forth in the world and its nature are causes and effects from the former as beginnings; for universal nature is a theater representative of the Lord's kingdom.

It has been shown by much experience that not only a man, but a spirit, and also an angel, thinks, speaks, and does nothing from himself, but from others; nor these others from themselves, but again from others, and so on; and thus all and each from the First of life, that is, from the Lord, however completely this may appear to be as from themselves. This has often been shown to spirits who in the life of the body had believed and had confirmed themselves in the belief, that all things were in themselves, or that they think, speak, and act from themselves and their soul, in which life appears implanted.

It has also been shown by living experiences (such as exist in the other life but are impossible in the world), that the evil think, will, and act from hell, and the good from heaven (that is, through heaven from the Lord), and that nevertheless both evils and goods appear as from themselves. Christians know this from the doctrine which they draw from the Word – that evils are from the devil, and goods from the Lord; but there are few who believe it. And because they do not believe it, they appropriate to themselves the evils which they think, will, and act; but the goods are not appropriated to them; for they who believe goods to be from themselves, claim and ascribe them to themselves, and thus place merit in them. They also know from the doctrine in the church, that no one can do anything good from himself, insomuch that whatever is from himself and his own is evil, however much it may appear as good; but this also few believe, although it is true.

The evil who had confirmed themselves in this opinion  that they live from themselves, and consequently that whatever they think, will, and act is from themselves  when shown that the case is exactly in accordance with the doctrine, said that they now believed. But they were told that knowing is not believing, and that believing is internal, and is impossible except in the affection of good and truth, consequently is possible to none but those who are in the good of charity toward the neighbor. Being evil, the same spirits insisted that they now believed because they saw. But examination was made by an experience familiar in the other life, namely, by their being looked into by angels; and when they were looked into, the upper part of their head appeared to be withdrawn, and the brain to be rough, hairy, and dark, which showed what is the inward quality of those who have only a faith of memory knowledge, but not a true faith; and that to know is not to believe.
For the head of those who know and believe appears as human, and the brain well ordered, snow-white, and lucid; for heavenly light is received by them.
But with those who only know and suppose that they thereby believe, and yet do not believe, because they live in evil, heavenly light is not received, consequently neither are the intelligence and wisdom which are in that light; and therefore when they draw near to angelic societies, that is, to heavenly light, this light is turned with them into darkness.
This is the reason why their brain appeared dark.

That the life which is from the Lord alone appears with everyone as if it were in himself, is from the Lord's love or mercy toward the universal human race, in that He wills to appropriate to each one what is His own, and to give to everyone eternal happiness.
It is known that love appropriates to another what is its own; for it presents itself within the other, and makes itself present in him. How much more the Divine love!
That the evil also receive the life which is from the Lord, is as with objects in the world, all of which receive light from the sun, and thereby colors, but according to their forms. Objects which suffocate and pervert the light appear of a black or foul color, but yet have their blackness and foulness from the sun's light. So is it with the light or life from the Lord with the evil; but this life is not life, but is (as it is called) spiritual death.

Who at this day does not believe that man comes into existence naturally from the seed and the ovum? and that in the seed from the first creation there is the ability to bring itself forth into such forms, first within the ovum, next in the womb, and afterwards of itself; and that it is not the Divine which brings things forth any longer? The reason why this is so believed is that no one knows of there being any influx from heaven (that is, through heaven from the Lord); and this because they do not desire to know that there is any heaven. For in their private meetings the learned discuss openly among themselves whether there is a hell, and thus whether there is a heaven. And as they are in doubt about heaven, they cannot receive as any first principle that there is an influx through heaven from the Lord; which influx nevertheless brings forth all things that are in the three kingdoms of the earth (especially those in the animal kingdom, and in particular in man), and holds them together in form according to their uses. Hence neither can they know that there is any correspondence between heaven and man; and still less that this is of such a nature that every several thing within him, nay, the veriest singular ones, come forth from this source, and also subsist from it, for subsistence is a perpetual coming forth, and consequently preservation in connection and form is perpetual creation.

That there is a correspondence of every several thing in man with heaven, I have begun to show at the end of the preceding chapters, and this by living experience from the world of spirits and from heaven; to the end that man may know whence he comes into existence and whence he subsists, and that there is a continual influx into him therefrom. Later it will be shown in like manner from experience that man rejects this influx from heaven (that is, through heaven from the Lord), and accepts the influx from hell; but that nevertheless he is continually kept by the Lord in correspondence with heaven, in order that he may, if he chooses, be led from hell to heaven, and through heaven to the Lord.

(from Arcana Coelestia 4318-4323)

June 11, 2025

The Essential Seen in the Formal

Selection from True Christian Religion ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

Thought Is Not Imputed To Anyone, But Will Only

Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man.  And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me. It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true.  I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me. (John 8:15-18)
Every educated man knows that the mind has two faculties or parts, the will and the understanding; but few know how to distinguish them aright, to examine their properties separately, and again unite them. Those who are unable to do this can form for themselves only the most obscure idea respecting the mind. Therefore unless the properties of each are first separately described, this statement that thought is not imputed to anyone, but will only, cannot be understood.

In brief, the properties of the two are as follows:
1. Love itself and the things pertaining to it reside in the will, and knowledge, intelligence and wisdom in the understanding; and these the will inspires with its love, and secures their favor and agreement; and the result is, that such as the love is, and the consequent intelligence, such is the man. 
2. From this it also follows that all good as well as all evil belongs to the will; for whatever proceeds from the love is called good, even if it be evil, this being the result of delight, which constitutes the life of the love, the will, through its delight entering the understanding and producing consent. 
3. Consequently the will is the being or essence of man's life, while the understanding is the outgo or existence therefrom. And as an essence is nothing except it is in some form, so the will is nothing unless it is in the understanding; wherefore the will takes form in the understanding, and thus comes to light. 
4. Love in the will is the end, and in the understanding seeks and finds the causes whereby it advances into effect. And because the end is the purpose, and this is what the man intends, purpose also belongs to the will and through the intention enters the understanding and impels it to consider and evolve the means, and to conclude upon such things as tend to effects. 
5. Everything that is man's very own is in the will, and is evil from the first birth, but it becomes good by means of the second birth. The first birth is from parents, but the second from the Lord.
From these few statements it can be seen that the property of the will and the property of the understanding are different; and that from creation these are conjoined like being and existence; consequently that man is man primarily from the will, and secondarily from the understanding. This is why thought is not imputed to man, but will, and consequently good and evil, because these, as before said, reside in the will and from that in the thought of the understanding.

No evil that a man thinks is imputed to him, because he was so created as to be able to understand and thus think either good or evil - good from the Lord and evil from hell - for he is between these two, and from his freedom of choice in spiritual things has the ability to choose either one or the other. ...

And because man has the ability to choose from freedom, he can will or not will, and what he wills is received by the will and appropriated, while what he does not will is not received and thus is not appropriated. All the evils to which man inclines by birth are inscribed upon the will of his natural man; and so far as the man draws upon these evils, they flow into his thoughts. In like manner, goods with truths flow from above the Lord into the thoughts and there they are balanced like weights in the scales of a balance. If the man then adopts the evils, they are received by the old will and added to those in it; but if he adopts goods with truths, the Lord forms a new will and a new understanding above the old, and there by means of truths He gradually implants new goods, and by means of these subjugates the evils that are below and removes them, and arranges all things in order. From this also it is clear that thought is the seat of purification and excretion of the evils resident in man from his parents; consequently if the evils that a man thinks were to be imputed to him, reformation and regeneration would be impossible.

As good belongs to the will and truth to the understanding, and many things in the world correspond to good, (such as fruit and use), while imputation itself corresponds to the estimate and price, it follows that what has here been said of imputation may find its counterpart in all created things; for as before shown in various places, all things in the universe have relation to good and truth, and on the contrary to evil and falsity.

A comparison may therefore be made with the church, in that its value is estimated by its charity and faith, and not by its rituals, which are adjoined to it.

A comparison may also be made with the ministry of the church, in that they are valued according to their will and love, together with their understanding in spiritual things and not according to their affability, (the quality of having a friendly and good-natured manner), and mode of dress.

A comparison may also be made with worship and the temple in which it is performed; worship itself takes place in the will, and in the understanding as in its temple; and the temple is called holy not from itself, but from the Divine that is there taught.

Again, a comparison may be made with a government where good reigns and truth along with it. Such a government is beloved, but not one where truth reigns without good. Who judges of a king by his attendants, horses, and carriages, and not by the royalty which is recognized in him? Royalty consists in a loving and prudent government. Does anyone watching a victory parade fail to look at the victor and judge the procession from him, not him from the procession?

It follows that one judges the formal aspect from the essential, not the reverse. The will is the essential, and thought is the formal. No one can impute to the form anything but what it derives from the essential; so imputation applies to the essential, not the formal.

(True Christian Religion 658-660)