Being in an Intermediate State

Selection from Heaven and Hell ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
— WHAT THE WORLD OF SPIRITS —

The world of spirits is an intermediate place between heaven and hell and also an intermediate state of the man after death. That it is an intermediate place, has been clear to me from the fact that the hells are below it and the heavens above. Also it is in an intermediate state, since, so long as man is in it, he is not yet either in heaven or in hell.

The state of heaven with man is the conjunction of good and truth with him.

The state of hell is the conjunction of evil and falsity with him.

Whenever good with a man-spirit has been conjoined to truth he comes into heaven, because that conjunction, as has been said, is heaven with him; but whenever evil with a man-spirit is conjoined to falsity he comes into hell, because that conjunction is hell with him. That conjunction is effected in the world of spirits, since man is then in an intermediate state. It is the same thing whether you say the conjunction of the understanding and the will, or the conjunction of truth and good.

First let something be said about the conjunction of the understanding and the will, and about its being the same thing as the conjunction of good and truth, since that conjunction is effected in the world of spirits.

Man has an understanding and a will

The understanding receives truths and is formed out of them, and the will receives goods and is formed out of them; therefore whatever a man understands and thinks from his understanding he calls true, and whatever a man wills and thinks from his will he calls good. From his understanding man can think and thus perceive both what is true and what is good; and yet he thinks what is true and good from the will only when he wills it and does it. When he wills it and from willing does it, then it is both in his understanding and in his will, consequently in the man. For neither the understanding alone nor the will alone makes the man, but the understanding and will together. Therefore whatever is in both is in the man, and is appropriated to him. That which is in the understanding alone is with man, and yet not in him; it is only a thing of his memory, or a matter of knowledge in his memory about which he can think when in company with others and outside himself, but not in himself, that is, about which he can speak and reason, and can simulate affections and gestures that are in accord with it.

Man capable of being reformed

That a man can think from the understanding and not at the same time from the will is provided in order that man may be capable of being reformed. For man is reformed by means of truths, and truths pertain to the understanding, as has been said. For as to his will man is born into every evil, and therefore from himself wills good to no one but himself; and he who wills good to himself alone delights in the misfortunes which happen to others, especially when they tend to his own advantage; for his wish is to divert to himself the goods of all others, whether honours or riches, and so far as he succeeds in this he inwardly rejoices.

In order that this will may be corrected and reformed

In order that this will may be corrected and reformed, it is granted to a man to be able to understand truths, and to subdue by means of these truths the affections of evil that spring from the will. This is why man can think truths from his understanding, and also speak them and do them. But until man is such that he wills truths and does them from himself, that is, from the heart, he is not able to think truths from his will. When he becomes such whatever things he thinks from his understanding belong to his faith, and whatever things he thinks from his will belong to his love. In consequence, faith and love, like understanding and will, are conjoined with him.

To the extent, therefore, that the truths of the understanding and the goods of the will are conjoined, that is, to the extent that a man wills truths and does them from the will, to that extent he has heaven in himself, since the conjunction of good and truth, as has been said above, is heaven.

And, on the other hand, just to the extent that the falsities of the understanding and the evils of the will are conjoined, man has hell in himself, since the conjunction of falsity and evil is hell. But so long as the truths of the understanding and the goods of the will are not conjoined, man is in an intermediate state.

At the present time nearly every single man is in such a state that he has some knowledge of truths, and from his knowledge and understanding gives some thought to them, and conforms to them either much or little or not at all, or acts contrary to them from a love of evil and consequent false belief.

That man may have either heaven or hell

In order, therefore, that man may have either heaven or hell, he is brought after death at first into the world of spirits, and there a conjoining takes place, of good and truth with those who are to be raised up into heaven, and of evil and falsity with those who are to be cast down into hell. For neither in heaven nor in hell is anyone permitted to have a divided mind, that is, to understand one thing and to will another; but everyone must understand what he wills, and will what he understands. Therefore, in heaven, he who wills good understands truth, while in hell he who wills evil understands falsity. So in the intermediate state, with the good falsities are put away, and truths that agree and harmonize with their good are given them; while with the evil truths are put away, and falsities that agree and harmonize with their evil are given them. From these things it is clear what the world of spirits is.

(from Heaven and Hell 422-425)

The Church, The Lord's Heaven on Earth

Selection from Heaven and Hell ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

What has been said of heaven may be said also of the church, for THE CHURCH IS THE LORD'S HEAVEN ON EARTH.

IF GOOD WERE THE CHARACTERISTIC AND ESSENTIAL OF THE CHURCH, AND NOT TRUTH APART FROM GOOD, THE CHURCH WOULD BE ONE.

FROM GOOD ALL CHURCHES MAKE ONE CHURCH BEFORE THE LORD.

There are also many churches, each one of which is called a church, and so far as the good of love and faith reigns therein is a church. Here, too, the Lord out of various parts forms a unity, that is, one church out of many churches.

And the like may be said of the man of the church in particular that is said of the church in general, namely, that the church is within man and not outside of him; and that every man is a church in whom the Lord is present in the good of love and of faith.

THE CHURCH IS IN MAN, AND NOT OUTSIDE OF HIM, AND THE CHURCH IN GENERAL IS MADE UP OF MEN THAT HAVE THE CHURCH IN THEM.

Again, the same may be said of a man that has the church in him, as of an angel that has heaven in him, namely, that he is a church in the smallest form, as an angel is a heaven in the smallest form; and furthermore that a man that has the church in him, equally with an angel, is a heaven. For man was created that he might come into heaven and become an angel; consequently he that has good from the Lord is a man-angel.

A MAN WHO IS A CHURCH IS A HEAVEN IN THE SMALLEST FORM AFTER THE IMAGE OF THE GREATEST, BECAUSE HIS INTERIORS, WHICH BELONG TO HIS MIND, ARE ARRANGED AFTER THE FORM OF HEAVEN, AND CONSEQUENTLY FOR RECEPTION OF ALL THINGS OF HEAVEN.

THEREFORE MAN WAS CREATED TO HAVE THE WORLD IN HIM SERVE HEAVEN, AND THIS TAKES PLACE WITH THE GOOD; BUT IT IS THE REVERSE WITH THE EVIL, IN WHOM HEAVEN SERVES THE WORLD.

What man has in common with an angel and what he has in contrast with angels may be mentioned. It is granted to man, equally with the angel, to have his interiors conformed to the image of heaven, and to become, so far as he is in the good of love and faith, an image of heaven. But it is granted to man and not to angels to have his exteriors conform to the image of the world; and so far as he is in good to have the world in him subordinated to heaven and made to serve heaven.

THE LORD IS ORDER, SINCE THE DIVINE GOOD AND TRUTH THAT GO FORTH FROM THE LORD MAKE ORDER

DIVINE TRUTHS ARE LAWS OF ORDER.

SO FAR AS A MAN LIVES ACCORDING TO ORDER, THAT IS, SO FAR AS HE LIVES IN GOOD IN ACCORDANCE WITH DIVINE TRUTHS, HE IS A MAN, AND THE CHURCH AND HEAVEN ARE IN HIM.

And then the Lord is present in him both in the world and in heaven just as if he were in his heaven. For the Lord is in His Divine order in both worlds, since God is order.

Finally it should be said that he who has heaven in himself has it not only in the largest or most general things pertaining to him but also in every least or particular thing, and that these least things repeat in an image the greatest. This comes from the fact that everyone is his own love, and is such as his ruling love is. That which reigns flows into the particulars and arranges them, and every where induces a likeness of itself.

THE RULING OR DOMINANT LOVE WITH EVERYONE IS IN EACH THING AND ALL THINGS OF HIS LIFE, THUS IN EACH THING AND ALL THINGS OF HIS THOUGHT AND WILL IN.

MAN IS SUCH AS IS THE RULING QUALITY OF HIS LIFE IN.

WHEN LOVE AND FAITH RULE THEY ARE IN ALL THE PARTICULARS OF MAN'S LIFE, ALTHOUGH HE DOES NOT KNOW IT.

In the heavens love to the Lord is the ruling love, for there the Lord is loved above all things. Hence the Lord there is the All-in-all, flowing into all and each, arranging them, clothing them with a likeness of Himself, and making it to be heaven wherever He is. This is what makes an angel to be a heaven in the smallest form, a society to be a heaven in a larger form, and all the societies taken together a heaven in the largest form. That the Divine of the Lord is what makes heaven, and that He is the All-in-all.

(from Heaven and Hell 57, 58)

What Makes Heaven in Man

Selection from Heaven and Hell ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. (Luke 17:20-21)

Good and truth are in a perpetual endeavor to be conjoined, and good longs for truth and for conjunction with it. Between good and truth there is a kind of marriage.

The heathen equally with Christians are saved any one can see who knows what it is that makes heaven in man; for heaven is within man, and those that have heaven within them come into heaven. Heaven with man is acknowledging the Divine and being led by the Divine.

The first and chief thing of every religion is to acknowledge the Divine.

A religion that does not acknowledge the Divine is no religion. The precepts of every religion look to worship; thus to the way in which the Divine is to be worshiped that the worship may be acceptable to Him; and when this has been settled in one's mind, that is, so far as one wills this or so far as he loves it, he is led by the Lord. Everyone knows that the heathen as well as Christians live a moral life, and many of them a better life than Christians.

Moral life may be lived either out of regard to the Divine or out of regard to men in the world.

A moral life that is lived out of regard to the Divine is a spiritual life. In outward form the two appear alike, but in inward form they are wholly different; the one saves man, the other does not. For he who lives a moral life out of regard to the Divine is led by the Divine; while he who leads a moral life out of regard to men in the world is led by himself.

But this may be illustrated by an example —

He that refrains from doing evil to his neighbor because it is antagonistic to religion, that is, antagonistic to the Divine, refrains from doing evil from a spiritual motive.

He that refrains from doing evil to another merely from fear of the law, or the loss of reputation, of honor, or gain, that is, from regard to self and the world, refrains from doing evil from a natural motive, and is led by himself.

The life of the latter is natural, that of the former is spiritual.

A man whose moral life is spiritual has heaven within him; but he whose moral life is merely natural does not have heaven within him; and for the reason that heaven flows in from above and opens man's interiors, and through his interiors flows into his exteriors; while the world flows in from beneath and opens the exteriors but not the interiors. For there can be no flowing in from the natural world into the spiritual, but only from the spiritual world into the natural; therefore if heaven is not also received, the interiors remain closed. All this makes clear who those are that receive heaven within them, and who do not.

And yet heaven is not the same in one as in another. It differs in each one in accordance with his affection for good and its truth. Those that are in an affection for good out of regard to the Divine, love Divine truth, since good and truth love each other and desire to be conjoined.

(from Heaven and Hell 319)

Why the Word is Not Understood

Selections from The Heavenly Doctrines~ Emanuel Swedenborg

At this day everything in the understanding and the will is worldly, and they who think about heaven, and desire it, have and are willing to have no other idea of it than a natural and earthly one — where there is such an idea, and such a will, thus such a love — there the arcana of heaven have no place. Very different would it be if the mind were more delighted with heavenly things than with worldly ones, for a man apprehends what delights him; as when he is delighted with the arcana of the civil state in kingdoms, and with those of the moral state with man. By "the moral state" is meant that of the loves and affections, and of the derivative thoughts, the arcana of which a shrewd man easily perceives, because he delights to lead others by them, in order to secure honors, gain, or reputation for the sake of these. (from Arcana Coelestia 9993:3)

DISSENSIONS ARISING IN THE CHURCH WHEN THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORD IS DESTROYED

BY GOOD — THE GOOD OF LOVE TO THE LORD AND THE GOOD OF LOVE TOWARDS THE NEIGHBOR ARE MEANT — SINCE ALL GOOD IS OF LOVE.

When these goods do not exist with the man of the church, the Word is not understood; for the conjunction of the Lord and the conjunction of heaven with the man of the church is by means of good; therefore if there is no good with him no illustration can be given; for all illustration when the Word is being read is out of heaven from the Lord; and when there is no illustration the truths that are in the Word are in obscurity, thence dissensions spring up.

That the Word is not understood if man is not in good can also be seen from this, that in the particulars of the Word there is a heavenly marriage, that is, a conjunction of good and truth; therefore if good is not present with man when he is reading the Word, truth does not appear, for truth is seen from good, and good by means of truth.

The state of the case is this: so far as man is in good the Lord flows in and gives the affection of truth, and thus understanding; for the interior human mind is formed entirely in the image of heaven, and the whole heaven is formed according to the affections of good and of truth from good; therefore unless there is good with man, that mind cannot be opened, still less can it be formed for heaven; it is formed by the conjunction of good and truth. From this it can also be seen that unless man is in good, truths have no ground in which to be received, nor any heat by which to grow; for truths with the man who is in good are like seeds in the ground in the time of spring; while truths with the man who is not in good are like seeds in ground bound by frost in the time of winter, when there is no grass, nor flower, nor tree, still less fruit.

In the Word are all truths of heaven and the church, yea, all the secrets of wisdom that the angels of heaven possess — but no one sees these unless he is in the good of love to the Lord and in the good of love towards the neighbor.

Those who are not, see truths here and there, but do not understand them; they have a perception and idea of them wholly different from that which pertains to these same truths in themselves; although, therefore, they see or know truths, still truths are not truths with them, but falsities; for truths are not truths from their sound or utterance, but from an idea and perception of them.

When truths are implanted in good it is different; then truths appear in their own form, for truth is the form of good.

From this it may be concluded what the nature of the understanding of the Word is with those who make faith alone the sole means of salvation, and cast behind the back the good of life, or the good of charity. It has been found that those who have confirmed themselves in this, both in doctrine and life, have not even a single right idea of truth; this, moreover, is why they do not know what good is, what charity and love are, what the neighbor is, what heaven and hell are, that they are to live after death as men, nor, indeed, what regeneration is, what baptism is, and many other things; yea, they are in such blindness respecting God Himself that they worship three in thought, and not one except merely with the mouth, not knowing that the Father of the Lord is the Divine in Him, and that the Holy Spirit is the Divine from Him.

These things are said to make known that there is no understanding of the Word where there is no good.

TO TAKE PEACE FROM THE EARTH

"peace" signifies a peaceful state of the mind [mens] and tranquillity of the disposition [animus] from the conjunction of good and truth; therefore "to take away peace" signifies an unpeaceful and untranquil state from the disjunction of good and truth, which is the cause of internal dissensions; for when good is separated from truth evil takes its place; and evil loves not truth but falsity; because every falsity belongs to evil, as every truth to good; when, therefore, such a person sees a truth in the Word or hears it from another, the evil of his love, and thus of his will, strives against the truth, and then he either rejects or perverts it, or by ideas from the evil so obscures it that at length he sees nothing of truth in the truth, however much it may sound like truth when he utters it. This is the origin of all dissensions, controversies, and heresies in the church. (from Apocalypse Explained 365:2-4)

Communication with Heaven

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

We read 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 things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  And the light appeareth in the darkness, but the darkness comprehended it not.  And the Word was made flesh and dwelt within us; and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (1:1-5, 14).

Few know what is here meant by the "Word." That it is the Lord, is evident from the several particulars; but the internal sense teaches that it is the Lord as to His Divine Human that is meant by the "Word," for it is said: "the Word was made flesh and dwelt within us, and we beheld His glory." And because the Divine Human is meant by the "Word," all that Truth also is meant which relates to Him, and is from Him, in His kingdom in the heavens, and in His church on the earth. Hence it is said that "in Him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light appeareth in the darkness." And because Truth is meant by the "Word," all revelation is meant, and thus also the Word itself or Holy Scripture.

As regards the Word specifically, it had existed in all times, but not the Word which we have at this day.

There had been another Word in the Most Ancient Church which was before the flood, and another Word in the Ancient Church which was after the flood; then came the Word written by Moses and the prophets in the Jewish Church; and lastly the Word that was written by the Evangelists in the new church. The reason why there has been a Word at all times, is that by the Word there is communication of heaven with earth; and also because the Word treats of good and truth, from which man is to live happy forever; and on this account in the internal sense it treats of the Lord alone, because all good and truth are from Him.

The Word in the Most Ancient Church which was before the flood was not a written Word, but was revealed to everyone who was of that church. For they were celestial men, and therefore were in the perception of good and truth, as the angels are (with whom moreover they were in company), so that they had the Word written on their hearts. As they were celestial men, and had companionship with angels, all the things which they saw and apprehended by any of the senses were to them representative and significative of the celestial and spiritual things which are in the Lord's kingdom; so that they indeed saw worldly and earthly things with their eyes, or apprehended them by some other sense, but from them and by means of them they thought of celestial and spiritual things. In this way, and in no other, were they able to speak with angels; for the things with the angels are celestial and spiritual things, and when they come down to man they fall into such things as are with him in the world. That each one of the things in the world represents and signifies something in the heavens, has been shown from the first chapter of Genesis up to this point. Thence came the representatives and significatives which, when communication with angels began to cease, were collected by those meant by "Enoch," as was signified by the words (Gen. 5:24) "Enoch walked by himself with God, and was no more, for God took him".

From this source was the Word in the Ancient Church which was after the flood. As the man of this church was spiritual and not celestial, he knew but did not perceive what the representatives and significatives involved; and as they involved Divine things, they came to be in use among those men, and were employed in their Divine worship; and this in order that they might have communication with heaven; for as before said, all things in the world represent and signify such things as are in heaven. They also had a written Word, which consisted of Histories and Prophecies, like the Word of the Old Testament; but in process of time that Word was lost. The Histories were called "Wars of Jehovah," and the Prophecies were called "Enunciations," as is evident in Moses (see Num. 21:14, 27), where they are quoted. Their histories were written in the prophetic style, and were, for the most part, made up histories, like those in the first eleven chapters of Genesis; as is plain from the quotations from them in Moses, where are these words:

Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of Jehovah, Vaheb in Suphah, and the rivers of Arnon, and the slope of the rivers that inclineth toward the dwelling of Ar, and leaneth upon the border of Moab (Num. 21:14-15)

Their prophecies were written like the prophecies of the Old Testament, as is likewise plain from the quotations made from them also in Moses, where are these words:

Wherefore the Enunciations (or the Prophetic Enunciators) say, Come ye to Heshbon, let the city of Sihon be built and established; for a fire is gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon; it hath devoured Ar of Moab, the lords of the high places of Arnon. Woe to thee, Moab; thou hast perished, O people of Chemosh; he hath given his sons as escapers, and his daughters into captivity, unto Sihon king of the Amorite. And we have shot at them; Heshbon is perished even unto Dibon, and we have laid waste even unto Nophah, which reacheth unto Medeba (Num. 21:27-30).

That these prophecies involve heavenly arcana, as do the prophecies of the Old Testament, is clearly manifest not only from their having been transcribed by Moses and applied to the state of things of which he was then writing, but also from the fact that nearly the same words are found in Jeremiah, inserted in the prophecies of that book; in which it is evident, from what has been said about the internal sense of the Word, that there are as many heavenly arcana as there are words. The words in Jeremiah are:

A fire is gone forth out of Heshbon, and a flame from among Sihon, and hath devoured the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the sons of tumult. Woe unto thee, O Moab, the people of Chemosh has perished, for thy sons are taken into captivity, and thy daughters into captivity (Jer. 48:45-46).

From this also it is plain that that Word also had an internal sense.

That with them there were prophecies which in the internal sense treated of the Lord and of His kingdom, may be seen not only from what has been shown, but also from the prophecies of Balaam, who was from Syria, spoken of in Moses (Num. 23:7-10, 18-25; 24:3-10, 15-25), which are expressed in a style similar to the other prophecies of the Word, and plainly foretell the Lord's coming, in these words:

I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not nigh; there shall come forth a Star out of Jacob, and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel and shall smite through the corners of Moab, and break down all the sons of Sheth (Num. 24:17).

These prophecies, like the former, are called "Parables" [Enuntiata], for the same word is used (Num. 23:7, 18; 24:3, 15, 20).

A Word afterwards followed in the Jewish Church that in like manner was written by representatives and significatives, so that it might have within it an internal sense understood in heaven, and that thus by the Word there might be communication, and the Lord's kingdom in the heavens be united to the Lord's kingdom on earth. Unless everything in the Word represents, and unless all the words by which everything therein is written, signify the Divine things pertaining to the Lord, thus the celestial and spiritual things belonging to His kingdom, the Word is not Divine; but being so it could not possibly be written in any other style; for by means of this style and not possibly by any other, human things and human words correspond to heavenly things and heavenly ideas, even to the least jot. From this it is that if the Word is read even by a little child, the Divine things therein are perceived by the angels.

In regard to the Word of the New Testament which is in the Evangelists, as the Lord spoke from the Divine itself, the several things spoken by Him were representative and significative of Divine things, thus of the heavenly things of His kingdom and church.

(Arcana Coelestia 2894 - 2900)

Conjunction with Heaven by Means of the Word

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

Without a revelation from the Divine, man cannot know anything about eternal life, nor indeed anything about God, and still less about love to Him and faith in Him. For man is born into mere ignorance, and afterward has all things to learn from what is of the world, from which he must form his understanding. He is also born hereditarily into all evil that belongs to the love of self and the love of the world. The delights from these loves reign continually, and prompt to such things as are diametrically contrary to the Divine. From this then it is that from himself man knows nothing about eternal life; and therefore there must needs be a revelation from which he may know this.

That the evils of the love of self and of the world induce such ignorance about the things of eternal life, is very evident from those within the church who although they know from revelation that there is a God, that there are a heaven and a hell, that there is eternal life, and that this life must be acquired by means of the good of love and of faith, nevertheless fall, both learned and unlearned, into denial. From this it is again evident what great ignorance would prevail if there were no revelation.

Seeing therefore that man lives after death, and this to eternity; and that a life awaits him in accordance with his love and faith, it follows that from love toward the human race, the Divine has revealed such things as will lead to that life, and will conduce to man's salvation. That which the Divine has revealed is with us the Word.

As the Word is a revelation from the Divine, it is Divine in general and in particular, for that which is from the Divine cannot be otherwise.

That which is from the Divine descends through the heavens down to man, and therefore in the heavens it has been accommodated to the wisdom of the angels who are there, and on earth it has been accommodated to the apprehension of the men who are there. Therefore in the Word there is an internal sense for the angels, which is spiritual; and an external sense for men, which is natural. From this it is that there is a conjunction of heaven with man by means of the Word.

The genuine sense of the Word is apprehended by none but those who are enlightened; and those only are enlightened who are in love to the Lord and in faith in Him, for the interiors of such are raised by the Lord even into the light of heaven.

The Word in the letter cannot be apprehended except by means of doctrine made from the Word by one who is enlightened. For the sense of the letter of the Word has been accommodated to the apprehension of even simple men; and therefore they need doctrine out of the Word for a lamp.

The books of the Word are all those which have an internal sense; and those which have not an internal sense are not the Word. The books of the Word in the Old Testament are the five books of Moses, the book of Joshua, the book of Judges, the two books of Samuel, the two books of Kings, the Psalms of David, the Prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi; and in the New Testament the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John; and Revelation.

(Arcana Coelestia 10318-10325)

Doctrine Alone is a Lamp

Selection from Doctrine of Sacred Scripture ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH
IS TO BE DRAWN FROM THE SENSE OF THE LETTER OF THE WORD
AND IS TO BE CONFIRMED THEREBY

The Word in the sense of the letter is in its fullness, in its holiness, and in its power; and as the Lord is the Word (for He is the all of the Word), it follows that He is most of all present in the sense of the letter, and that from it He teaches and enlightens man.

The Word cannot be understood without doctrine. This is because the Word in the sense of the letter consists exclusively of correspondences, to the end that things spiritual and celestial may be simultaneous or together therein, and that every word may be their container and support. For this reason, in some places in the sense of the letter the truths are not naked, but clothed, and are then called appearances of truth. Many truths also are accommodated to the capacity of simple folk, who do not uplift their thoughts above such things as they see before their eyes. There are also some things that appear like contradictions, although the Word when viewed in its own light contains no contradiction. And again in certain passages in the Prophets, names of persons and places are gathered together from which, in the letter, no sense can be elicited. Such being the Word in the sense of the letter, it is evident that it cannot be understood without doctrine.

But to illustrate this by examples. It is said,

That Jehovah repents (Exod. 32:12, 14; Jonah 3:9; 4:2);

And also

That Jehovah does not repent (Num. 23:19; 1 Sam. 15:29).

Without doctrine these passages cannot be reconciled. It is said,

That Jehovah visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons to the third and fourth generation (Num. 14:18);

And it is also said that

The father shall not die for the son, nor the son for the father, but everyone for his own sin (Deut. 24:16).

Interpreted by doctrine these passages are not discordant, but are in agreement.

Jesus says,

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for everyone that asketh shall receive, and he that seeketh shall find, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened (Matt. 7:7-8; 21:21-22).

Without doctrine it might be believed that everyone will receive what he asks for; but from doctrine it is believed that whatever a man asks not from himself but from the Lord is given; for this also is what the Lord says,

If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you (John 15:7).

The Lord says,

Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of God (Luke 6:20).

Without doctrine it may be thought that heaven is for the poor and not for the rich, but doctrine teaches that the poor in spirit are meant, for the Lord says,

Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 5:3).

The Lord says,

Judge not, that ye be not judged; for with what judgment ye judge ye shall be judged (Matt. 7:1-2; Luke 6:37).

Without doctrine this might be cited to confirm the notion that it is not to be said of what is evil that it is evil, thus that an evil person is not to be judged to be evil; yet according to doctrine it is lawful to judge, but justly; for the Lord says,

Judge righteous judgment (John 7:24).

Jesus says,

Be not ye called Teacher, for One is your Teacher, even the Christ. And call no man your father on the earth; for One is your Father in the heavens. Neither be ye called masters; for One is your Master, the Christ (Matt. 23:8-10).

Without doctrine it would seem that it is not lawful to call any person teacher, father, or master; but from doctrine it is known that in the natural sense it is lawful to do this, but not in the spiritual sense.

Jesus said to His disciples,

When the Son of man shall sit upon the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matt. 19:28).

From these words it may be inferred that the Lord's disciples will sit in judgment, when yet they can judge no one. Doctrine therefore must reveal this secret by explaining that the Lord alone, who is omniscient and knows the hearts of all, will sit in judgment, and is able to judge; and that His twelve disciples mean the church as to all the truths and goods it possesses from the Lord through the Word; from which doctrine concludes that these truths will judge everyone, according to the Lord's words in John 3:17-18; 12:47-48.

He who reads the Word without doctrine does not see the consistency of what is said in the prophets about the Jewish nation and Jerusalem - that the church with that nation, and its seat in that city, will remain to eternity; as in the following passages:

Jehovah will visit his flock the house of Judah, and will make them as a horse of glory in war; from him shall come forth the corner stone, from him the nail, and from him the bow of war (Zech. 10:3-4, 6-7).

Behold I come, that I may dwell in the midst of thee. And Jehovah shall make Judah an inheritance, and shall again choose Jerusalem (Zech. 2:10, 12).

It shall come to pass in that day that the mountains shall drop new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and Judah shall be to eternity, and Jerusalem from generation to generation (Joel 3:18-20).

Behold, the days come in which I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and in which I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah; and this shall be the covenant, I will put My law in their inward parts, and will write it upon their heart and I will be their God, and they shall be My people (Jer. 31:27, 31, 33).

In that day ten men shall take hold, out of all the languages of the nations, of the skirt of a man that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you (Zech. 8:23).

So in other places, as Isa. 44:21, 24, 26; 49:22, 23; 65:9; 66:20, 22; Jer. 3:18; 23:5; 50:19, 20; Nahum 1:15; Mal. 3:4.

In these passages the Lord's advent is treated of, and that this [establishment of the Jews] will then come to pass.

But the contrary is declared in many other places, of which this passage only shall be adduced:

I will hide My face from them, I will see what their latter end shall be, for they are a generation of perversions, sons in whom is no faithfulness. I said, I will cast them into outermost corners, I will make the remembrance of them to cease from man, for they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there understanding in them; their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah; their grapes are grapes of gall; their clusters are of bitternesses; their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps. Is not this hidden with Me, sealed up among My treasures? To Me belongeth vengeance and retribution (Deut. 32:20-35).

It is of that same nation that these things are said. And things of the same purport are said elsewhere, s in Isa. 3:1-2, 8; 5:3, 6; Deut. 9:5-6; Matt. 12:39; 23:27-28; John 8:44; and in Jeremiah and Ezekiel throughout.

These passages which seem contradictory will however from doctrine be seen to accord, for this teaches that in the Word "Israel" and "Judah" do not mean Israel and Judah, but the church in both senses, in one that it is devastated, in the other that it is to be set up anew by the Lord.

Other things like these exist in the Word, from which it plainly appears that the Word cannot be understood without doctrine.

From all this it is evident that they who read the Word without doctrine, or who do not acquire for themselves doctrine from the Word, are in obscurity as to every truth, and that their minds are wavering and uncertain, prone to errors, and pliant to heresies, which they also embrace wherever inclination or authority favors, and their reputation is not endangered. For the Word is to them like a lampstand without a lamp, and in their gloom they seem to see many things, and yet see scarcely anything, for doctrine alone is a lamp. I have seen such persons examined by angels, and found to be able to confirm from the Word whatever they please, and it was also found that they confirm what is of their own love and of the love of those whom they favor. And I have seen them stripped of their garments, a sign that they were devoid of truths; for in the spiritual world garments are truths.

(from Doctrine of Sacred Scripture 50-52)