The Forces of Combat - Hope and Trust

From Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

All temptations appear evil, for the reason that they are interior anxieties and griefs, and as it were damnations; for the man is then let into the state of his evils, consequently among evil spirits, who accuse him, and thus torment the conscience; nevertheless the angels defend him, that is, the Lord through angels, for the Lord keeps him in hope and trust, which are the forces of combat from within whereby he resists. Especially is the natural let into temptations when it is receiving the spiritual, because in the natural reside evils of life and falsities of doctrine.

(Arcana Coelestia 6097)

A New Will Formed - The Conscience

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; (Genesis 9:9)

That this signifies the presence of the Lord in charity, is evident from the signification of "covenant" ...  a "covenant" signifies regeneration, and indeed the conjunction of the Lord with the regenerate man by love; and that the heavenly marriage is that veriest covenant itself, and consequently so is the heavenly marriage with every regenerate man. ...

With the man of the Most Ancient Church the heavenly marriage was in the Own of his will part [proprio voluntario], but with the man of the Ancient Church the heavenly marriage was effected in the Own of his intellectual part [proprio intellectuali].

For when man's will part had become wholly corrupt, the Lord miraculously separated the Own of his intellectual part from that corrupt Own of his will part, and in the Own of his intellectual part He formed a new will, which is conscience, and into the conscience insinuated charity, and into the charity innocence, and thus conjoined Himself with man, or what is the same, made a covenant with him. So far as the Own of man's will part can be separated from this Own of the intellectual part, the Lord can be present with him, or conjoin Himself, or enter into a covenant with him.

Temptations and the like means of regeneration cause the Own of man's will part to be quiescent, to become as nothing, and as it were to die. So far as this is done the Lord through conscience implanted in the Own of man's intellectual part can work in charity. And this is what is here called a "covenant."

(Arcana Coelestia 1023)

It Is Good Which Sets Truths In Order

From Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marvelled one at another. (Gen 43:33)

That this signifies according to the order of truths under good, is evident from the signification of "sitting according to birthright and according to youth," as being according to the order of truths under good; for the sons of Israel represent the truths of the church in their order ... and therefore to sit "according to their birth" is according to the order of truths. But the truths of the church which the sons of Israel represent do not come into any order except through Christian good, that is, through the good of charity toward the neighbor and of love to the Lord; for in good there is the Lord, and hence in good there is heaven; consequently in good there is life, thus living active force; but never in truth without good.

That good sets truths in order after its own likeness is very manifest from every love, even from the loves of self and of the world, thus from the love of revenge, of hatred, and of the like evils. They who are in these evils call evil good, because to them evil is delightful. This so-called good of theirs sets in order the falsities which to them are truths, so that they may favor it, and at last sets all these falsities which they call truths in such an order as to effect persuasion. But this order is such as is the order in hell; whereas the order of truths under the good of celestial love is such as is the order in the heavens; and from this the man who has such order within him, that is, who has been regenerated, is called a little heaven, and moreover is a heaven in the least form, for his interiors correspond to the heavens.

That it is good which sets truths in order is evident from the order in the heavens.

There all the societies are set in order according to the truths under good which are from the Lord; for the Lord is nothing but Divine good; Divine truth is not in the Lord, but proceeds from Him; and according to this Divine truth under Divine good are all the societies in the heavens set in order.

That the Lord is nothing but Divine good, and that Divine truth is not in Him, but proceeds from Him, may be illustrated by comparison with the sun of the world. The sun is nothing but fire, and light is not in it, but proceeds from it; and likewise the things that are of light in the world, such as vegetable forms, are set in order by the heat which proceeds from the sun's fire and is in its light, as is evident in the time of spring and summer. As universal nature is a theater representative of the Lord's kingdom, so also is this universal. The sun represents the Lord, the fire of it His Divine love, and the heat from it the good which flows therefrom, and the light the truths which are of faith; and because they are representative, therefore in the Word in the spiritual sense by the "sun" is meant the Lord ... and by "fire" love ... thus the sun's fire is representatively the Divine love, and the heat from it is good from the Divine love. ...

(Arcana Coelestia 5704)

Influx is According to Efflux

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?  Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.  A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.  Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.  Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.   Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.  Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.  And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it  (Matthew 7:15-27)

The two faculties with man from the Lord that are inviolable – freedom and rationality – the freedom to act according to reason; yet these two faculties can be abused by man. 

“The good which continually flows in from the Lord with man, does not perish except by evils and the derivative falsities, and by falsities and the derivative evils. For as soon as this good, continuous through the internal man, comes to the external or natural man, it is met by evil and falsity, by which the good is torn in pieces and extinguished in various ways as by wild beasts. By this the influx of good through the internal man is checked and stayed, and consequently the inner mind, through which is the influx, is closed, and only so much of the spiritual is admitted through it as to enable the natural man to reason and speak, but this only from earthly, bodily, and worldly things, and indeed contrary to good and truth, or in accordance with them from pretense or deceit. It is a universal law that influx adjusts itself according to efflux, and if efflux is checked influx is checked. Through the internal man there is an influx of good and truth from the Lord, and through the external there must be an efflux, namely into the life, that is, in the exercise of charity. When there is this efflux then there is continual influx from heaven, that is, through heaven from the Lord; whereas if there is no efflux, but resistance in the external or natural man (that is, evil and falsity which tear to pieces and extinguish the inflowing good), it follows from the universal law just mentioned that the influx adjusts itself to the efflux, consequently that the influx of good draws back, and thereby the internal through which is the influx is closed; and through this closing there comes stupidity in spiritual things, even until the man who is such neither knows nor is willing to know anything about eternal life, and at last becomes insane, so that he opposes falsities against truths, calling them truths and the truths falsities, and evils against goods, making them goods and the goods evil. Thus he tears good completely to pieces.”  (Arcana Coelestia 5828:2-3)

For there to be a church ‘in man’ there must be what is internal and external, a higher mind and a lower mind which are concordant, discussed in the passage from True Christian Religion 595.  The Lord does not allow anything to be divided; consequently it must be in good and also in truth, or it must be in evil and also in falsity.  (Divine Providence 16) The passage goes on to say: But inasmuch as man can be, while he is living in the world, in good and in falsity at the same time, also in evil and in truth at the same time, and even in evil and in good at the same time, and thus be as it were a double man, and inasmuch as this division destroys that image, and thereby destroys the man, the Lord's Divine providence, in each and every particular of it, has as its end that this division shall not be. It is this conflict between these two minds that is discussed in the passage in True Christian Religion 596, which is defined as spiritual temptation.  However, before spiritual temptation can occur with anyone, the higher mind has to be reformed and regenerated; a conscience insinuated by the Lord through remains (those things that survived while the lower mind dominated by hereditary evils); for until that (higher mind) is enlightened by the Lord there is no reformation, thus no church with man. (Apocalypse Explained 527)

Conscience is not the nagging little voice of the lower mind that the words or actions we have engaged are wrong; conscience is the illumination and what has been received by the higher mind shinning down on the lower mind, recognizing how depraved and out of order it is.  This is spiritual temptation; the war between the higher mind’s will and thought and the lower mind’s will and thought.

We recall the great temptation Peter faced at the judgment hall when He denied the Lord three times.  Jesus had told Peter when he argued about his feet being washed, ‘you have no part with Me’ unless the lower mind be purified and agree with the higher mind (which the Lord had made clear to Peter that the higher mind, its will and thought was in order - He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean … John 13:10).  There is going to be a struggle and without it and victory in it – spiritual temptation – there is no regeneration.  What flows out of a man’s life in words and actions, (efflux), must not only represent, but also agree with the reformed and regenerated internal, and this is achieved with man speaking and acting as if of self and shunning evil heredity and evils acquired as sin against God (it is the lower mind from which we speak and act – for every word we speak and every deed we do is derived of the lower mind – everyone speaks and everyone does).  Though the higher mind has will and thought from doctrine, it is abused when the will and thought of the lower mind, from which we act and speak has the dominion, e.g., the universal law of influx – Influx is according to efflux.

For man to sit back and do nothing, not participating in the affairs of life, with his hands hanging down awaiting influx, is a sure bet that thorns and thistles will be what dominates the lower mind – what flows in will be turned into evils and falsities, resulting in like deeds in his outward life.  Doing nothing is his deed!  Therefore, it is incumbent that the lower mind be cultivated (brought into correspondence with the higher mind) to receive from the higher mind in order to bring forth in the lower mind the speaking and actions of genuine goods and truths (Hebrews 6:7,8)

“… we would not be human if it did not seem to us that we lived on our own and that we therefore thought, intended, spoke, and acted on our own [DP 71-99, 174, 176]. It follows from this that unless we seemed to be managing everything that has to do with our occupations and our lives by our own prudence, we could not be led and managed by divine providence. It would be as though we stood there with our hands hanging limp, mouths open, eyes closed, holding our breath and waiting for something to flow into us.  In this way we would divest ourselves of everything human, which we get from the sense and feeling that we live, think, intend, speak, and act on our own; and as we did so, we would also divest ourselves of those two abilities called freedom and rationality by which we are differentiated from animals. Earlier in this work [Divine Providence] and also in Divine Love and Wisdom I have explained that if it were not for this appearance we would be incapable of receptivity and reciprocity, and therefore of immortality.

[2] So if you want to be led by divine providence, use your prudence as a servant and employee who faithfully manages the employer's assets. Prudence is the "talent" that was given to servants for business purposes, with an accounting required (Luke 19:13-25 [19:12-25]; Matthew 25:14-31).  [I might note here: it is not an egalitarian principle that is applied, but each received according to their several ability, that ability being their manner of life, their efflux.]

Prudence itself seems to be something we possess, and we believe that it is, as long as we keep that deadliest enemy of God and divine providence, love for ourselves, shut in. It lives in the depths of each one of us from birth. If we do not recognize it--and it does not want to be recognized--then it lives in perfect safety and guards the door to prevent us from opening it so the Lord can evict it.

We open the door by abstaining from evils as sins, apparently on our own, but admitting that it is being done by the Lord. This is the kind of prudence with which the divine providence can cooperate. (Divine Providence 210)

What use would all these passages be, if a person were to stand with his hands hanging down like a carved puppet fitted with movable joints, and wait for God to act upon him? It is what we SPEAK AND DO in this earth (from the lower mind) as if of self, knowing that the sap from the vine by contiguity with the branch that has been grafted in bears the fruit (usefulness).  As stated above, ‘influx adjusts itself to the efflux.’

The present state of our world and it’s moral depraved condition in which it has drifted, in part, is due to the so called Christian’s unwillingness to struggle to bring the earth (his lower mind), from which fruit is born, from which every word and deed is done, into correspondence with the revelation of the three-fold Word.  Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. (See Matthew 5:13-27)

The first heaven, the church on earth, is the heart and lungs for the surrounding viscera and organs of the world.  Therefore, as a church, we should be the light of the world and not bury it in a napkin or hide it under a bushel.  We should be activist toward right order and not think that right order will autonomously occur without our participation.  But right order can only be known from revelation of God’s eternal purpose (Sacred Scriptures 115); otherwise, self from self will try to fix itself with an external pretense or deceit of moral life and Christianity – the result will be a kingdom divided against itself which will surely fall.  (Matthew 12:25-37)  However, when the internal (higher mind) is first established in the revelation of the first principle of why creation – an angelic heaven from the human race - it will bind the strong man of the external (lower mind) and spoil his goods, when we as if of self cooperate; for influx is according to efflux.

[Passages from KJV Bible, Arcana Coelestia, Apocalypse Explained, Divine Providence, Sacred Scriptures, True Christian Religion]

Reception is According to the Form of the Receiving Vessel

From Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

The influx from the spiritual world into man is in general of such a nature that man cannot think or will anything of himself, but everything flows in; good and truth from the Lord through heaven, thus through the angels who are with the man; evil and falsity from hell, thus through the evil spirits who are with the man; and this into the man's thought and will. This I know will appear a very great paradox because it is contrary to the appearance; but experience itself shall declare how the matter stands.

No man, spirit, or angel ever has any life from himself, thus neither can he think and will from himself; because in thinking and willing is the life of man, and speaking and acting is the life thence derived. For there is one only life, that of the Lord, which flows into all, but is variously received, and indeed according to the quality which a man has induced on his soul by his life. Hence with the evil, goods and truths are turned into evils and falsities, but with the good they are received - goods as goods, and truths as truths. This may be compared to the light of the sun flowing into objects, which is modified and varied in them diversely according to the form of the parts, and thus is turned into colors, some sad and some cheerful. While a man lives in the world he induces a form on the purest substances of his interiors, so that it may be said that he forms his soul, that is, its quality; and according to this form is received the life of the Lord, which is the life of His love toward the universal human race.

(Arcana Coelestia 5846,5847)

The One That Conquers Rules

Selection from True Christian Religion ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

A follow up to Article - Gold Is Still Gold
Whether It Flashes Before The Fire or
Has Its Surface Blackened By The Smoke

WHEN THIS TAKES PLACE
A CONFLICT ARISES BETWEEN THE INTERNAL AND THE EXTERNAL MAN
AND THEN THE ONE THAT CONQUERS RULES OVER THE OTHER.

A conflict then arises because the internal man is reformed by means of truths; and from truths he sees what is evil and false, which evil and falsity are still in the external or natural man; consequently disagreement first springs up between the new will, which is above, and the old will, which is below; and as the disagreement is between the two wills, it is also between their delights; for the flesh, it is well known, is opposed to the spirit and the spirit to the flesh, and the flesh with its lusts must be subdued before the spirit can act and man become new. After this disagreement of the two wills a conflict arises; and this is called spiritual temptation. This temptation or conflict does not take place between goods and evils, but between the truths of good and the falsities of evil. For good cannot fight from itself but fights by means of truths; nor can evil fight from itself but by means of its falsities; just as the will cannot fight from itself but by means of the understanding where its truths reside.

Man is not sensible of that conflict except as in himself, and as remorse of conscience; and yet it is the Lord and the devil (that is, hell) that are fighting in man, and they are fighting for dominion over him, or to determine who shall possess him. The devil or hell attacks man and calls out his evils, while the Lord protects him and calls out his goods. Although that conflict takes place in the spiritual world, still it takes place in man between the truths of good and the falsities of evil that are in him; therefore man must fight wholly as if of himself, for he has the freedom of choice to act for the Lord, and also to act for the devil; he is for the Lord, if he abides in truths from good, and for the devil, if he abides in falsities from evil. From this it follows that whichever conquers, the internal man or the external, that one rules over the other; precisely like two hostile powers contending as to which shall be master of the other's kingdom-the conqueror takes possession of the kingdom, and places all in it under obedience to himself. In this case, therefore, if the internal man conquers, he obtains dominion and subjugates all the evils of the external man, and regeneration then goes on; but if the external man conquers, he obtains the dominion, and dissipates all the goods of the internal man, and regeneration perishes.

(True Christian Religion 596)

Gold Is Still Gold, Whether It Flashes Before The Fire Or Has Its Surface Blackened By The Smoke

Selection from True Christian Religion ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

In every created thing in the world, whether living or dead, there is an internal and an external; one never exists without the other, as there is no effect without a cause; and every created thing is esteemed according to its internal goodness, or is deemed base if internally malignant, as external goodness is when within it there is internal malignity. Every wise man in the world and every angel in heaven so judges. But the nature of the unregenerate man and of the regenerate, may be illustrated by comparisons.

The unregenerate man who simulates a moral citizen or a Christian, may be likened to a corpse wrapped in aromatics, which nevertheless exhales a putrid odor that infects the aromatics, insinuates itself into the nostrils, and injures the brain. He may also be likened to a mummy, gilded or placed in a silver coffin, upon looking beneath the covering of which a hideously black body comes to view.

Again, he may be likened to bones or skeletons in a sepulchre that is adorned with lapis lazuli and other gems; also to the rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen, but whose internal was nevertheless infernal (Luke 16:19). Still again he may be likened to sweet-tasting poison, to a poison hemlock in flower, to fruit with a bright skin, but inwardly worm-eaten, and also to an ulcer covered first with a plaster and then with a thin skin, but with nothing within but foul matter. In the world only those who have no internal goodness, and who therefore judge by the appearance, can estimate the internal by the external; but in heaven it is otherwise. For when the body which is moveable about the spirit and easily directed from evil to good, is separated by death, the internal remains, for this constitutes the man's spirit; and then at a distance he looks like a serpent that has shed his skin, or like rotten wood stripped of its bark or covering in which it looked so well.

But with the regenerate man it is different. His internal is good, and his external resembles the external of the other. And yet his external differs from that of the unregenerate as heaven differs from hell, since the soul of good is in it, and it matters not to him whether he is a great man, who dwells in a palace, and goes surrounded by attendants, or lives in a cottage and is waited upon by a boy; or even whether he is a primate clad in a purple robe and wearing the cap of his rank, or the shepherd of a few sheep in a wood, clothed in a loose rustic frock and wearing a little cap on his head.

Gold is still gold, whether it flashes before the fire or has its surface blackened by the smoke; whether it is melted into a beautiful form like that of an infant, or into an ugly one like that of a mouse. Mice made of gold and placed beside the ark, were acceptable and pleasing (1 Sam. 6:3-5); for gold signifies internal good. Diamonds and rubies obtained from whatever matrix, lime or clay, are in like manner esteemed according to their internal goodness, the same as those in the necklace of a queen; and so on. From all this it is clear that the external is estimated from the internal, and not the reverse.

(True Christian Religion 595)