Order, With All Its Laws, is God

From True Christian Religion ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

The omnipotent God created the world from the order within Him, that is, into the order in which He is, and in accordance with which He rules; and He impressed upon the universe and each and all things of it its own order, upon man his order, upon the beast its order, upon bird and fish and worm, and every tree and even every blade of grass, upon each its own order.

But to illustrate by examples, I will mention briefly the following:

• The laws of order enjoined upon man are, that he should acquire for himself truths from the Word, and reflect upon them naturally, and as far as he can, rationally, and thus acquire for himself a natural faith. The laws of order on the part of God then are, that He will draw near and fill these truths with His Divine light, and thus fill the man's natural faith (which is mere knowledge and persuasion) with a Divine essence. In this and in no other way can faith become saving. It is the same with charity.

But some particulars shall be briefly mentioned:

• God, in accordance with His laws, is able to remit sins to any man only so far as the man, in accordance with his laws, refrains from them. God able to regenerate a man spiritually only so far as the man, accordance with his laws, regenerates himself naturally. God is in an unceasing endeavor to regenerate man, and thus save him; but this He is unable to accomplish except as man prepares himself as a receptacle, and thus levels the way and opens the door for God. A bridegroom cannot enter the chamber of a virgin till she becomes his bride; for she shuts the door and keeps the key to herself within; but when the virgin has become a bride she gives the key to the bridegroom.

• God could not by His omnipotence have redeemed men unless He had become Man; neither could He have made His Human Divine unless that Human had first been like the human of a babe, and then like that of a boy; and unless afterwards the Human had formed itself into a receptacle and habitation, into which its Father might enter; which was done by His fulfilling all things in the Word, that is, all the laws of order therein; and so far as He accomplished this He united Himself to the Father, and the Father united Himself to Him.

These are a few things, presented for the sake of illustration, to enable you to see that the Divine omnipotence is in order, and that its government, which is called Providence, is in accordance with order, and that it acts continually and to eternity in accordance with the laws of its order; nor can it act against them or change them one iota, because order, with all its laws, is Himself.

(True Christian Religion 73)

For the Sake of Man's Apprehension

Selections from a passage in Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

... As in heaven, and with man, and even in universal nature, all things both in general and in particular have relation to good and truth, therefore also the Lord's Divine is distinguished into Divine good and Divine truth, and the Lord's Divine good is called "father," and his Divine truth "son"; but the Lord's Divine is nothing else than good; yea, good itself; and Divine truth is the Lord's Divine good so appearing in heaven; that is, before the angels. The case herein is the same as with the sun; in its essence the sun itself is nothing but fire, and the light which is thence seen is not in the sun, but from the sun.

... Thus the Lord in His essence is nothing else than Divine good, and this as to both the Divine Itself and the Divine Human; but Divine truth is not in Divine good, but from Divine good, for as before said so does Divine good appear in heaven. And as Divine good comes to appearance as Divine truth, therefore for the sake of man's apprehension the Lord's Divine is distinguished into Divine good and Divine truth, and Divine good is that which in the Word is called "Father," and Divine truth is that which is called "Son." This is the arcanum which lies concealed in the fact that the Lord Himself so often speaks of His Father as distinct, and as if another than Himself; and yet in other places asserts that He is one with Himself.

... it is the Lord who in the Word of the Old Testament is called "Jehovah," ... and that He is there also called "Father" is evident from the following passage. In Isaiah:

Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, God, Hero, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6);

where it is very evident that the "Child born" and the "Son given unto us" is the Lord; thus it is the Lord who is called the "Father of Eternity."

... in the other life, and therefore in heaven they call no other Father than the Lord, and perceive no other as meant by "Father" in the Word of the Evangelists. When being initiated into the good of love and its truth, all little children are there taught to acknowledge the Lord alone as their Father; nay, even novitiates who come into heaven are taught with solicitous care that there is one God; and they who have been born within the church are taught that the whole Trinity is in the Lord; for almost all who come from the Christian world bring with them an idea of three gods, although with their lips they had said that there is but one God; for to think of one, when the idea of three has before entered, and when each of these is called God, and also is distinguished from the others as to attributes and offices, and likewise is separately worshiped, is humanly impossible; consequently the worship of three gods is in the heart, while the worship of one only is in the mouth.

That the whole Trinity is in the Lord is known in the Christian world, and yet among these in the other life the Lord is little thought of; nay, His Human is a stumbling-block to many, because they distinguish the Human from the Divine, neither do they believe it to be Divine; and a man will call himself justified, and thus made pure and almost holy; but these people do not think that the Lord was glorified, that is, that His Human was made Divine; when yet He was conceived from Jehovah Himself; and moreover no one can be justified, much less sanctified, except from the Divine, and indeed from the Lord's Divine Human, which is represented and signified in the Holy Supper, where it is expressly said that the bread is His body and the wine His blood. That the Lord is one with the Father, and that He is from eternity, and that He rules the universe, consequently that He is Divine good and Divine truth itself, is very evident from the Word.

That HE IS ONE WITH THE FATHER, is evident from these words in John:  No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father (John 1:18).

The Jews sought the more to kill Jesus because He had also said that God was His own Father, making Himself equal with God. Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do; for what things soever He doeth, these doeth the Son likewise. As the Father raiseth the dead and quickeneth them, even so the Son also quickeneth whom He will. Neither doth the Father judge any man, but He hath given all judgment unto the Son; that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. For as the Father hath life in Himself, even so hath He given to the Son also to have life in Himself. The Father who hath sent Me hath Himself borne witness of Me; ye have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His shape. Search the Scriptures, for these are they which bear witness of Me (John 5:18, etc.).

By "Father" is here meant, as was said, Divine good; and by "Son," Divine truth, both in the Lord. From Divine good which is the "Father," nothing can proceed or go forth but what is Divine, and that which proceeds or goes forth is Divine truth, which is the "Son."

Everyone that hath heard from the Father, and hath learned, cometh unto Me. Not that any man hath seen the Father, save He that is with the Father, He hath seen the Father (John 6:45-46).

They said therefore unto Him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me nor My Father; if ye knew Me ye would know My Father also (John 8:19).

I and the Father are one: though ye believe not Me, believe the works; that ye may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father (John 10:30, 38).

Jesus said, He that believeth in Me, believeth not in Me, but in Him that sent Me; and he that seeth Me, seeth Him that sent Me. I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth in Me may not abide in darkness (John 12:44-46).

By "the Father sending Him" is signified, in the internal sense, that He proceeds from the Father; and the same is signified in other passages where the Lord says that the Father "sent" Him. That the "light" is Divine truth may be seen above.

Again:
I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one cometh unto the Father but by Me. If ye had known Me ye would have known My Father also; and from henceforth ye know Him, and have seen Him. Philip saith unto Him, Lord, show us the Father. Jesus saith unto him, Am I so long time with you, and hast thou not known Me, Philip? He that seeth Me, seeth the Father; how then sayest thou, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak unto you, I speak not from Myself; but the Father that abideth in Me, He doeth the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me. And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son (John 14:6-13).

He that hath My commandments, and doeth 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 unto him. If a man love Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him and make Our abode with him (John 14:21, 23).

They who are in Divine truth are they who "have His commandments and do them"; and they who are in Divine good are they who "love Him;" of whom it is therefore said that He "shall be loved of the Father," and "We will come unto him and make Our abode with him"; that is, Divine good and Divine truth will do so; and therefore it is said in the same Evangelist: In that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me (John 14:20).
Holy Father, keep them in Thy name; that they may be one, even as We are (John 17:11).

From these passages it is evident that the Lord speaks of the "Father" from the Divine good that He Himself had, and of the "Son" from the Divine truth which is from the Divine good; thus that the "Father" and "Son" are not two, but one. The reason why the Lord so spoke, was that the Word might be received as well on earth as in heaven; and also because, before the Lord was glorified, He was the Divine truth that is from Divine good; but when He had been glorified, He was Divine good itself as to each essence, and from Him is all Divine good and Divine truth.

THAT THE LORD WAS FROM ETERNITY may be seen from the fact that it is the Lord who spoke by the Prophets; and that for this reason, and also because from Him was Divine truth, He was called the "Word"; concerning which 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 Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we held His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father (John 1:1-4, 14).

The "Word" denotes all truth in the heavens and on earth that is from the Divine.

That the Lord was from eternity He plainly teaches elsewhere in John: John said, This was He of whom I said, He that cometh after me was before me, for He was prior to me. In the midst of you there standeth One whom ye know not; He it is who is to come after me, who was before me (John 1:15, 26-27, 30).

If ye should see the Son of man ascending where He was before (John 6:62).

Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am (John 8:58).

Jesus knowing that He came forth from God, and went to God (John 13:3).

The Father Himself loveth you, because ye have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from the Father. I came out from the Father, and came into the world; again I leave the world, and go unto the Father (John 16:27-28).

I have glorified Thee on the earth, I have accomplished the work which Thou gavest Me to do. And now O Father glorify Me with Thine own self, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was; that they may behold My glory which Thou hast given Me, for Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world (John 17:4-5, 24).

In Isaiah:
Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, God, Hero, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6).

THAT THE LORD RULES THE UNIVERSE is evident in Matthew:  All things have been delivered unto Me of My Father (Matt. 11:27).

Jesus said to His disciples, All power is given unto Me in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18).

In John:
The Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hand; he that believeth in the Son hath eternal life (John 3:35-36).

The Father judgeth no man, but hath given all judgment unto the Son (John 5:22).

Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into His hand (John 13:3).

All things whatsoever that the Father hath are Mine (John 16:15).

Jesus said, Glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee; even as Thou hast given Him authority over all flesh (John 17:1-2).

All things that are Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine; and I am glorified in them. And I am no more in the world, for I come to Thee (John 17:10-11).

In Luke:
All things have been delivered unto Me of My Father (Luke 10:22).

From the above passages it is therefore evident that Divine good is that which is called the "Father"; and Divine truth that which is called the "Son"; and that the Lord from Divine good by Divine truth rules all things in the universe, in both general and particular. This being so, and it being so evident from the Word, it is astonishing that in the Christian world, men do not, as in heaven, acknowledge and adore the Lord alone, and thus the one God; for they know and teach that the whole Trinity is in the Lord. That the Holy Spirit, who also is worshiped as a God distinct from the Son and the Father, is the Holy of the spirit, or the Holy which through spirits or angels proceeds from the Lord, that is, from His Divine good through His Divine truth, will of the Lord's Divine mercy be shown elsewhere.

(Arcana Coelestia 3704)

Through the Word ALONE is There a Connection of Heaven with Man

From a passage in Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

... beasts were employed in the sacrifices in accordance with their signification ... all things in the three kingdoms of nature are representative of the spiritual and celestial things of the Lord's kingdom ... there are correspondences of all things ...

... not only all beasts, but also all things in the world, correspond, and according to their correspondences represent and signify spiritual and celestial things, and in the supreme sense the Divine things of the Lord; and from this to show the nature of the Ancient Churches, which were called representative churches; namely, that all their holy rites represented the things of the Lord and His kingdom, thus the things of love and faith in Him; and that by means of such things heaven was then conjoined with the man of the church; for the internal things were presented in heaven.

To the same end the Word of the Lord was given, for each and all things therein, down to the smallest jot, correspond and have a signification; consequently through the Word alone is there a connection of heaven with man.

That this is the case no one at this day knows; and therefore when a natural man reads the Word, and searches where the Divine lies hidden in it; and when on account of its ordinary style he does not find it in the letter, he first begins to hold it in low esteem, and then to deny that it has been dictated by the Divine Itself, and sent down through heaven to man; for he does not know that the Word is Divine by virtue of its spiritual sense, which is not apparent in the letter, but nevertheless is in the letter; and that this sense is presented in heaven when a man reads the Word with reverence; and that this sense treats of the Lord and His kingdom. It is these Divine things from which the Word is Divine, and by means of which holiness flows through heaven from the Lord down into the literal sense, and into the very letter itself. But so long as a man does not know what the spiritual is, he cannot know what the spiritual sense is, thus not what correspondence is. And so long as a man loves the world more than heaven, and himself more than the Lord, he does not wish to know or apprehend these things; although all the intelligence of ancient times was from this source, as is also the wisdom of the angels. The mystical secrets which many diviners have in vain busied themselves to trace in the Word, lie hidden solely in its spiritual sense.

(Arcana Coelestia 9280:2,3)

The Spiritual Sense Now Disclosed Surpasses All the Revelations that have hitherto been made since the Creation of the World

Selection from Invitation to the New Church ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

It is an arcanum from the spiritual world, that he who does not approach the Lord directly and immediately with the idea concerning Him, presence is not effected, and still less can he become a recipient of any communication. It is as if someone stands at the side, and appears in the dark. In like manner, no one can converse with another, unless he looks directly at him; communication is then granted when each reciprocally looks at the other. Thus, and not otherwise, do ideas enter into another; and if at the same time there is love, conjunction is effected. If anyone, therefore, approaches the Father immediately, He stands as it were at the side; and hence is unable to grant and to impart redemption; that is, He is unable to regenerate, and afterwards to save him.

The manifestation of the Lord in Person, and the introduction by the Lord into the spiritual world, both as to sight and as to hearing and speech, surpasses all miracles; for we do not read anywhere in history that such interaction with angels and spirits has been granted from the creation of the world. For I am daily with angels there, even as I am in the world with men; and now for twenty-seven years. Evidences of this interaction are the books which I have published concerning Heaven and Hell, and also the Relations in my last work entitled True Christian Religion; further, what has been stated there concerning Luther, Melancthon, Calvin, and concerning the inhabitants of many kingdoms; besides, the various evidences which are known in the world, and many other evidences besides which are not known. Say, who has ever before known anything concerning heaven and hell? Who has known anything concerning man's state after death? Who has known anything concerning spirits and angels, etc., etc.?

In addition to these most manifest evidences, there is the fact that the spiritual sense of the Word has been disclosed by the Lord through me; which has never before been revealed since the Word was written with the sons of Israel; and this sense is the very sanctuary of the Word; the Lord Himself is in this sense with His Divine, and in the natural sense with His Human. Not a single iota in this sense can be opened except by the Lord alone. This surpasses all the revelations that have hitherto been made since the creation of the world. Through this revelation a communication has been opened between men and the angels of heaven, and the conjunction of the two worlds has been effected; because when man is in the natural sense the angels are in the spiritual sense. See what has been written concerning this sense in the chapter on the Sacred Scripture [in True Christian Religion].

(Invitation to the New Church 42 - 44)

Why the Spiritual Sense of the Word has Now been Disclosed

Selection from Apocalypse Explained ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

There are many reasons why the spiritual sense of the Word has now been disclosed.

• First, because the churches in the Christian world have falsified all the sense of the letter of the Word, and this even to the destruction of the Divine truth in heaven, by which heaven has been closed up. In order, therefore, that heaven may be opened it has pleased the Lord to reveal the spiritual sense of the Word, in which sense is the Divine truth such as it is in heaven. For through the Word there is the conjunction of man with the Lord, and thus with heaven. When the Word is falsified even to the destruction of its genuine truth the conjunction perishes, and man is separated from heaven. In order, therefore, that he may again be conjoined with heaven, Divine truth such as it is in heaven has been revealed; and this has been confirmed by the spiritual sense of the Word, in which is that Divine truth.
  
  
• The second reason is that the falsities that have inundated and devastated the church can be dissipated only by means of the genuine truth laid open in the Word. Falsities and the evils therefrom and evils and the falsities therefrom can be seen in no other way than from truths themselves. For so long as genuine truths are not present, falsities and evils appear as in a kind of light. This light they have from confirmations by reasonings from the natural man, and by the sense of the letter explained and applied according to the appearances before that man. But when genuine truths are present, then first falsities and evils appear; for the light of heaven, which is in genuine truths, dissipates the delusive light of falsities and turns it into darkness.
  
  
• The third reason is, that, by means of the Divine truths of the Word that are in its spiritual sense, the New Church, which is meant by "the Holy Jerusalem" in Revelation, may be conjoined with heaven. For the Word is conjunction; but conjunction is effected only when man perceives the Word in a similar way as the angels perceive it.

(Apocalypse Explained 950:2)

One True Love - One True Life

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

It is in everyone's power very well to know that no life is possible without some love, and that no joy is possible except that which flows from love.

Such however as is the love, such is the life, and such the joy: if you were to remove loves, or what is the same thing, desires - for these are of love - thought would instantly cease, and you would become like a dead person, as has been shown me to the life.

The loves of self and of the world have in them some resemblance to life and to joy, but as they are altogether contrary to true love, which consists in a man's loving the Lord above all things, and his neighbor as himself, it must be evident that they are not loves, but hatreds, for in proportion as anyone loves himself and the world, in the same proportion he hates his neighbor, and thereby the Lord. Wherefore true love is love to the Lord, and true life is the life of love from Him, and true joy is the joy of that life. There can be but one true love, and therefore but one true life, whence flow true joys and true felicities, such as are those of the angels in the heavens.

(Arcana Coelestia 33)

The Angelic Idea of The Creation of The Universe by The Lord

From Apocalypse Explained ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

The angelic idea of the universe created by the Lord is as follows. God is the center, and He is MAN; and if God were not MAN creation would not have been possible; and the Lord from eternity is that God.

Of creation: The Lord from eternity, that is, God, by His Divine proceeding created the universe and all things in it; and as the Divine proceeding is life itself, all things have been created from life and by means of life. The Divine proceeding that is nearest to the Lord appears before the angels as a sun; this appears to their sight fiery and flaming; this is so because the Divine proceeding is the Divine love and the Divine wisdom, and these so appear at a distance. (The angels add that the Divine proceeding is what the ancients represented by golden or shining and pure circles about the head of God, which modern painters still retain from the ancient idea.) They said that from that sun as a great center proceed circles, one after another and one from another even to the last where their end is subsisting in rest. These circles, of which one is from another and one after another, appearing as spread out in breadth and length, are spiritual atmospheres, which are filled with the light and heat from their sun, and through which the light and heat extend themselves to the last circle; and in this last circle by means of these atmospheres, and afterwards by means of the natural atmospheres from the sun of this world, the creation of the earth and all things on it which are for use was accomplished, and this creation is afterwards continued by generations from seeds in wombs or in eggs.

The angels who knew that the universe so created was a continuous work from the Creator even to ultimates, and that being a continuous work it depends upon the Lord, who is its common center and is moved and governed by Him as a single continuous chain, said that the First which proceeds is continued even to ultimates through discrete degrees, just as an end is continued through causes into effects; or like a producing agent and its products in a continued series; also that the continuation is not only in but also around from the First, and so from everything prior into everything posterior, even to the postreme; and thus that the First and the posterior from it exist together in their order in the postreme or ultimate.

From this continuity as a one they have their idea of the Lord, that He is the All in all, that He is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient, that He is infinite and eternal; and also their idea of the order according to which the Lord, through His Divine love and Divine wisdom, arranges, provides, and governs all things.

It was asked, "Whence, then, is hell?" They said, "From man's freedom, without which man would not be a man;" that man by that freedom broke the continuity in himself, which being broken a separation took place; and the continuity that was in man from creation became like a chain or a linked work which falls when the links above are broken or torn asunder, and it thenceforward hangs by slender threads. Separation or breaking was effected and is effected by the denial of God.

(Divine Wisdom XII Appendix)