Seven Things Which Might Be Known

Selection from Arcana Cœlestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

The things which they might have known of themselves had they chosen to use their reason, are the following:

• First, that when man is divested of his body, he comes into the full exercise of a much more enlightened understanding than when living in the body, for the reason that while he is in the body, corporeal and worldly things occupy his thoughts, which induce obscurity; but when he is divested of the body, such things do not interfere, and it is with him as with those who are in interior thought by abstraction of the mind from the things of the outward senses. From this they might know that the state after death is much more clear-sighted and enlightened than the state before death; and that when a man dies, he passes comparatively from shade into light, because he passes from the things of the world to those of heaven, and from the things of the body to those of the spirit. But wonderful to say, although they are able to understand all this, they nevertheless think the contrary, namely, that the state of life in the body is relatively clear, and that the state of life after being divested of the body is relatively obscure.

• The Second thing that they may know if they will use their reason, is that the life which man has procured for himself in the world follows him; that is, he is in such a life after death. For they may know that without dying altogether no one can put off the life which he has acquired from infancy; and that this life cannot be changed into another in a moment, still less into an opposite one. For example: he who has acquired a life of deceit, and has found in this the delight of his life, cannot put off the life of deceit, but is still in that life after death. He who is in the love of self, and thereby in hatred and revenge against those who do not serve him, and those who are in other such evils, remains in them after the life of the body; for these are the things which they love, and which constitute the delights of their life, and consequently their veriest life; and therefore such things cannot be taken away from them without at the same time extinguishing all their life. And so in other cases.

• The Third thing which a man may know of himself, is that when he passes into the other life he leaves many things behind which have no place there, such as cares for food, for clothing, for a place of abode, and also for gaining money and wealth, as well as for being exalted to dignities, all of which are so much thought of by man in the life of the body; but in the other life are succeeded by others that are not of this earthly kingdom.

• Therefore the Fourth thing a man can know is that he who in the world has thought solely of such worldly things, so that he has been wholly possessed by them, and has acquired delight of life in them alone, is not fitted to be among those whose delight is to think about heavenly things, that is, about the things of heaven.

• From this follows also a Fifth thing; namely, that when the externals of the body and the world are taken away, the man is then such as he has been inwardly; that is, he so thinks and so wills. If his thoughts have inwardly been deceits, machinations, aspiration for dignities, for gains, and for fame thereby; if they have been hatreds and revenges and the like, it can be seen that he will still think such things, thus the things that belong to hell, however much he might for the sake of the before-mentioned ends have concealed his thoughts from men, and thus appeared outwardly to be worthy, while leading others to believe that he had not such things at heart. That all such externals, or simulations of worth, are also taken away in the other life, may likewise be known from the fact that outward things are put off together with the body, and are no longer of any use. From this everyone may conclude for himself what kind of a man he will then appear to the angels.

• The Sixth thing that may be known is that heaven, or the Lord through heaven, is continually working and inflowing with good and truth; and that if there is not then in men-in their interior man which lives after the death of the body-some recipient of good and truth, as a ground or plane, the good and truth that flow in cannot be received; and for this reason man while living in the body ought to be solicitous to procure such a plane within himself; but this cannot be procured except by thinking what is good toward the neighbor, and by willing what is good to him, and therefore doing what is good to him, and thus by acquiring the delight of life in such things. This plane is acquired by means of charity toward the neighbor, that is, by means of mutual love; and is what is called conscience. Into this plane the good and truth from the Lord can inflow, and be received therein; but not where there is no charity, and consequently no conscience; for there the inflowing good and truth pass through, and are turned into evil and falsity.

• The Seventh thing that a man can know of himself, is that love to God and love toward the neighbor are what make man to be man, distinct from brute animals; and that they constitute heavenly life, or heaven; while their opposites constitute infernal life, or hell.

But the reason why a man does not know these things is that he does not desire to know them, because he lives the opposite life, and also because he does not believe in the life after death; and likewise because he has taken up with principles of faith, but none of charity; and consequently believes in accordance with the doctrinal teachings of many, that if there is a life after death, he can be saved by faith, no matter how he has lived, even if his faith is received in his dying hour.

(from Arcana Cœlestia 3957)

As The Tree Falls, It Remains

Selection from Spiritual Diary [min] ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

...if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.  Eccl 11:3

As long as people live, they are in the lowest level of order, have a bodily memory, which grows, and in which those things are to take root what belong to the inward memory. Consequently, the more harmony and interaction of good and truth there is in them, and between them, the more of life they have from the Lord, and the more they can be perfected in the other life. But it is that outward or bodily memory in which inward qualities take root. People after death indeed have with them all their outward or bodily memory, in all and the least details, but it can no longer grow, and where it is not functioning, new harmony and interaction cannot be formed. Nevertheless, all things of their inward memory are also grounded in their outward memory, even though it is not permitted them to use it.

This all shows what it means that as the tree falls, so it remains [Eccl. 11:3] not that those imbued with good cannot be perfected: such can be perfected immensely, even unto angelic wisdom, but to the level corresponding to the harmony and interaction that had existed between their inner and outer qualities when they lived in the world.  After the life of the body, no one receives outer, but only inward, and inner qualities.

As for that dogma that the tree remains where it falls, its meaning is not as it is usually explained, but it is the degree of harmony of our inner or spiritual person with our outer or earthly one, that remains as it falls, both of which man has with him in the other life.

The inner or spiritual quality is grounded in his outer or earthly one as its base.

The inner or spiritual person is perfected in the other life, but depending on the harmony it is able to find in the outer or earthly one. But the latter, namely outer or earthly one cannot be perfected in the other life, but remains of the quality it had acquired in the life of the body, and is perfected in that life by the removal of the love of self and of the world, and then by the reception of the good of charity, and of the truth of faith, from the Lord. Hence it is the harmony or disharmony that is the tree, together with its root, that remains after death, where it falls.

(from Spiritual Diary [min] 4645, 4646)

He Who Loves Himself Only

From Apocalypse Explained ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

... he who loves himself only loves what is his own [proprium], and therefore immerses all things of his will and his understanding in what is his own [proprium], even so that it is impossible for him to be elevated from it to heaven and to the Lord; consequently he sees nothing from the light of heaven, but solely from the light of the world, which light, separated from the light of heaven, is mere darkness in spiritual things, which are the things of heaven and the church; and for this reason also the more a man loves himself the more he despises, yea, denies spiritual things.

In consequence also of this the internal spiritual mind, by which man is in the light of heaven, is closed up, and this causes the man to be merely natural, and the merely natural man is inclined to evils of every kind. For the evils into which man is born have their seat in the natural man, and these are removed from him only to the extent in which his interior mind, which receives the light of heaven, is opened; moreover, what is man's own [proprium] has its seat in the natural man, and what is man's own [proprium] is nothing but evil.

(From Apocalypse Explained 653:2)

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

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Arcana Cœlestia 9350 - 9361)

The Unition of His Human Essence to His Divine Essence

Selection from Arcana Cœlestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

The Lord united His Human to His Divine and His Divine to His Human by continual temptations and victories; and that by this union He saved the human race. From this the human race has all its salvation.

It is the common opinion that the Father sent the Son to suffer the hardest things even to the death of the cross; and thus that by looking upon the passion and merit of the Son, He has mercy upon the human race. But everyone can know that

Jehovah does not have mercy by any looking upon the Son, for He is mercy itself

but that the arcanum of the Lord's coming into the world is that He united in Himself the Divine to the Human and the Human to the Divine; which could not be done except through the most grievous things of temptations; and thus that by that union it became possible for salvation to reach the human race, in which no celestial and spiritual, or even natural good, any longer remained; and it is this union which saves those who are in the faith of charity.

It is the Lord Himself who shows the mercy.

(Arcana Cœlestia 2854)

Changes and Variations of State and Form

Selection from Divine Providence ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

• Those who so believe know nothing whatever about what evil is or what good is.

For they do not know that evil is the delight of the lust of acting and thinking contrary to Divine order, and that good is the delight of the affection of acting and thinking in accordance with Divine order, and that there are myriads of lusts that enter into and compose every single evil, and myriads of affections in like manner that enter into and compose every single good, and that these myriads are in such order and connection in man's interiors that no one can be changed unless at the same time all are changed. Those who do not know this may hold the belief or opinion that evil, which seems also to them to be a single thing, can easily be removed; and good, which also appears to be a single thing, can be brought in in its place. As such do not know what evil is and what good is they must needs be of the opinion that instant salvation and mercy apart from means are possible ....

• Those who believe in instant salvation and mercy apart from means do not know that affections, which belong to the will, are nothing but changes of the state of the purely organic substances of the mind; and that thoughts, which belong to the understanding, are nothing but changes and variations in the form of these substances; and that memory is the state of these changes and variations that remains permanent.

• Who does not acknowledge, when it is stated, that affections and thoughts are possible only in substances and their forms, which are subjects?

And as these exist in the brains, which are full of substances and forms, the forms are called purely organic. No one who thinks rationally can help laughing at the fancies of some that affections and thoughts do not exist in substantiated subjects, but are exhalations modified by heat and light, like images appearing in the air and ether; and yet thought can no more exist apart from a substantial form than sight apart from its form which is the eye, or hearing apart from its form which is the ear, or taste apart from its form which is the tongue. Examine the brain, and you will see innumerable substances, and fibers likewise, and that there is nothing there that is not organized. What other evidence than this ocular proof is needed?

• But it is asked, What is affection there, and what is thought there?

This may be inferred from all things and each thing in the body; in it are many viscera, each fixed in its place, and these perform their functions by changes and variations of state and form. That each is engaged in its own operations is known-the stomach in its own, the intestines in theirs, the kidneys in theirs, the liver, pancreas, and spleen in theirs, and the heart and lungs in theirs; and all of these are moved to their work solely from within, and to be moved from within is to be moved by changes and variations of state and form. All this makes clear that the operations of the purely organic substances of the mind must resemble these, with the difference that the operations of the organic substances of the body are natural, while those of the mind are spiritual; and that the two make one by correspondences.

The nature of the changes and variations of state and form in the organic substances of the mind, which are affections and thoughts, cannot be shown to the eye; nevertheless they may be seen as in a mirror in the changes and variations in the state of the lungs in speaking and singing. There is also a correspondence; for the tone of the voice in speaking and singing, and also its articulations, which are the words of speech and the modulations of singing, are made by the lungs, and tone corresponds to affection and speech to thought. They are also produced therefrom; and this is done by changes and variations in the state and form of the organic substances in the lungs, and from the lungs through the trachea or windpipe in the larynx and glottis, and then in the tongue, and finally in the lips. The first changes and variations of the state and form of the tone take place in the lungs, the second in the trachea and larynx, the third in the glottis by the varied openings of its orifices, the fourth in the tongue by its various adaptations to the palate and the teeth, the fifth in the lips by their varied forms. All this makes clear that mere changes and variations, successively continued, in the state of organic forms, produce tones and their articulations, which are speech and singing. Inasmuch, then, as tone and speech are produced from no other source than the affections and thoughts of the mind (for they exist from these, and never apart from them), it is evident that the affections of the will are changes and variations in the state of the purely organic substances of the mind, and that the thoughts of the understanding are changes and variations in the form of those substances, the same as in the pulmonary substances.

• As affections and thoughts are mere changes in the state of the forms of the mind it follows that memory is nothing else than the state of these changes that is permanent. For all changes and variations of state in organic substances are such that having once become habitual they are permanent. Thus the lungs are habituated to produce various sounds in the trachea, and to vary them in the glottis, to articulate them with the tongue, and to modify them with the mouth; and these organic activities, having once become habitual, are in the organs and can be reproduced. That these changes and variations are infinitely more perfect in the organic structures of the mind than in those of the body ... all perfections increase and ascend with degrees and according to degrees.

(from Divine Providence 279)

Which Society Will You Choose?

Selection from Divine Providence ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

[T]he entire heaven is arranged in societies according to the affections of good, and the entire hell according to the lusts of evil opposite to the affections of good.

As to his spirit every man is in some society; in a heavenly society if he is in an affection for good, but in an infernal society if he is in a lust of evil. This is unknown to man so long as he lives in the world; nevertheless he is in respect to his spirit in some society, and without this he cannot live, and by means of it he is governed by the Lord.

If he is in an infernal society he can be led out of it by the Lord only in accordance with the laws of His Divine providence, among which is this,

• the man must see that he is there,
• must wish to go out of it,
• and must try to do this of himself.

This he can do while he is in the world, but not after death; for he then remains forever in the society into which he has inserted himself while in the world. This is the reason why man must examine himself, must recognize and acknowledge his sins and repent, and then must persevere even to the end of his life.

(Divine Providence 278: 6)