The Doctrine of Faith Separated from the Life

Selection from Apocalypse Explained ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. (Matthew 23:25. 26)

The destruction of the church, which is altogether destroyed
as its truths are turned into falsities and its goods into evils.

That the doctrine of faith separated from the life does this can be seen from the fact — that the doctrine of faith is the doctrine of the church, and the doctrine of life, which is called moral theology, is an outside doctrine, that is, serviceable to the church at its pleasure, but is regarded as having nothing of salvation in it because it has nothing of faith in it; yet faith when separated from life is not alive, and what is not alive, but is dead, can save no one.

It is supposed that man from the doctrine of faith separate is able to believe that there is a God, that there is a heaven and a hell, that there is a life after death, that the Word is Divine, and therefore that what the Word contains is to be believed. These things man can indeed know and can think, and can even in some degree understand from the light of reason, and yet he cannot have such a faith in them as will remain long after death — for the faith that is of the life remains, but not faith separated from the life; and everyone has life to the extent that he abstains from evils, and shuns and turns away from them because they are contrary to the Word, thus contrary to the Lord.

Faith from such a life awaits a man after death, because it is from the Lord, and thus is the Lord's with man.

Thence it is clear that from faith alone man cannot even believe that there is a God; how then can he believe the rest?

From this it follows that the doctrine of faith separated destroys the church in respect to all its goods and truths. That this is so has been made abundantly evident to me from the state of such persons after death with whom I have talked. The followers and defenders of faith separate, who have cleansed the outside only of the cup and the platter and not the inside, when they have fulfilled their time reject all things they have said and believed in the world to be of their faith; and they acknowledge as gods either themselves or others who excel in power and in the arts known in hell; and they even laugh at the truths of the Word which in the world they had called holy.

(from Apocalypse Explained 796)

Who then can be saved?

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? (Matthew 19:16-25)

From Exodus 21:4-6: -

If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself. And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free: Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever.

I will not go out free. That this signifies the delight of obedience, is evident from the signification of "going out free," as being the state after combat, which is merely a state of confirmed and implanted truth; for the service, which was of six years, and is called "a week" in Genesis 29:27, 28, signifies labor or some combat, such as those have who are in truths and not in the corresponding good, and who in the spiritual sense are meant by the "Hebrew menservants." These are of such a nature that they cannot be regenerated, but only reformed.

For to be regenerated is said of those who suffer themselves to be brought by the Lord, by means of the truths called the truths of faith, to the good of spiritual life; but to be reformed is said of those who cannot be brought to the good of spiritual life by means of the truths which are of faith; but only to the delight of natural life.

They who suffer themselves to be regenerated, act from affection according to the precepts of faith; but they who do not suffer themselves to be regenerated, but only to be reformed, do not act from affection, but from obedience.

The difference is this —

They who act from affection, act from the heart, and thus from freedom, and they also do truth for the sake of truth, and good for the sake of good, and thus they exercise charity for the sake of the neighbor; but they who act from obedience do not thus act from the heart, consequently not from freedom. If they seem to themselves to act from the heart and from freedom, it is for the sake of something of self-glory which causes it to be so perceived; and they do not do truth for the sake of truth, nor good for the sake of good, but for the sake of the delight arising from this glory. Thus they do not practice charity toward the neighbor for the sake of the neighbor, but in order to be seen, and in order to be recompensed.

From this it is evident who and of what quality are they who are represented by the sons of Israel, and who and of what quality are they who are represented by the Hebrew menservants.

But within the church at this day the knowledge of this distinction has been lost. The reason is that the church at this day is proclaimed and said to be from faith and not from charity; and few know what faith is.

Most persons believing that faith consists in knowing those things which the doctrine of the church teaches, and in being persuaded that they are true; but not that it consists in living according to them. Life according to them they call "moral life," which they separate from the doctrine of the church, and entitle it Moral Theology.

But the learned believe that faith is confidence or trust that they are saved by the Lord's having suffered for them, and redeemed them from hell; and they say that those are saved who have this confidence; thus by faith alone. But such persons do not consider that there cannot be the confidence of faith, except with those who live a life of charity

These are the reasons why knowledge has been lost concerning the difference between those who are in truths of faith and not in the corresponding good of life, and those who are in good of life corresponding with the truths of faith.  Because this knowledge has been lost, what has now been said about those who are in truths and not in good, who are signified by "the Hebrew menservants," cannot but appear strange.

(from Arcana Coelestia 8987)

Damnation, Reformation, Regeneration

Selection from Divine Providence ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

No one can come into the kingdom of God unless he has been born again, for the reason that man by inheritance from his parents is born into evils of every kind, but with an ability to become spiritual by the removal of those evils; and unless he becomes spiritual he cannot come into heaven.

F From being natural to become spiritual is to be born again or regenerated. E

But to know how man is regenerated these three things must be considered:

• what his first state is, which is a state of damnation
• what his second state is, which is a state of reformation
  
• what his third state is, which is a state of regeneration

Man's first state, which is a state of damnation, every one has by inheritance from his parents; for man is thereby born into the love of self and love of the world, and from these as fountains, into evils of every kind. It is by the enjoyments of these loves that he is led; and these enjoyments cause him not to know that he is in evils; for no enjoyment of a love is felt otherwise than as a good: consequently unless a man is regenerated he knows no otherwise than that to love himself and the world above all things is goodness itself; and to rule over all, and to possess the wealth of all, is the highest good. Moreover, this is the source of all evil; for a man then from love looks to no one but himself; or if from love he looks to another, it is as a devil looks to a devil, or a thief to a thief, when they act together.

Those who, from the enjoyment of these loves confirm in themselves these loves and the evils flowing from them, remain natural and become corporeal-sensual, and in their own thought, which is the thought of their spirit, are insane. Nevertheless, while they remain in the world they are able to speak and act rationally and wisely, because they are men, and in consequence possess rationality and liberty; but even this they do from love of self and the world. After death, when they become spirits, they are incapable of any other enjoyment than that which they had in spirit while in the world; and that enjoyment is the enjoyment of infernal love, which is then turned into what is undelightful, painful, and terrible; and this is what is meant in the Word by torment and hell-fire. All this makes clear that man's first state is a state of damnation, and that those are in it who do not permit themselves to be regenerated.

Man's second state, which is the state of reformation, is that in which he begins to think about heaven with reference to the joy of heaven, and from this about God, who is to him the source of heavenly joy. But at first this thought springs from the enjoyment of love of self, which enjoyment is to him heavenly joy. And as long as the enjoyment of that love reigns, together with the enjoyments of the evils that flow from it, he must needs think that he draws near to heaven by pouring out prayers, listening to preaching, going to the Holy Supper, giving to the poor, helping the needy, spending money on churches, contributing to hospitals, and so on. A man in this state knows no otherwise than that he is saved by mere thought about those things which religion teaches, whether it be what is called faith, or what is called faith and charity. He has no other idea than that he is saved by so thinking, because he gives no thought to the evils that he finds enjoyment in, and as long as their enjoyments remain the evils remain. The enjoyments of evil are from lust for them that continually inspires them, and also when no fear prevents, brings them forth.

So long as evils continue in the lusts of their love, and the consequent enjoyments, there is no faith, charity, piety or worship except in mere externals, which to the world seem real, and yet are not. These may be compared to water issuing from an impure fountain, which no one can drink. Man continues in the first state as long as he thinks from religion about heaven and about God, and yet gives no thought to evils as sins; but he comes into the second state, or the state of reformation, when he begins to think that there is such a thing as sin; and still more when he thinks that this or that is a sin, and when he examines it in himself to some extent, and refrains from willing it.

Man's third state, which is a state of regeneration, takes up and continues the former state. It begins when man refrains from evils as sins, and it progresses as he shuns them, and is perfected as he fights against them; and as he from the Lord conquers them he is regenerated.

With one who is regenerated the order of life is reversed; from being natural he becomes spiritual; for when the natural is separated from the spiritual it is contrary to order, while the spiritual is in accordance with order.

Consequently the regenerate man acts from charity; and whatever belongs to his charity he makes to be of his faith also. Yet he becomes spiritual only so far as he is in truths; for man is regenerated only by means of truths and a life in accordance with them; for by means of truths he knows what life is, and by means of the life he does the truths, and thus he conjoins good and truth, which is the spiritual marriage in which heaven is.

(Divine Providence 83)

'Seeing' the Well of Water

Selections from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water . . . (Genesis 21:19)

That this signifies the Lord's Word from which are truths, is evident from the signification of a "well of water," and of a "fountain," as being the Word, and also doctrine from the Word, consequently also truth itself; and from the signification of "water," as being truth.

That a "well in which there is water," and a "fountain," denote the Lord's Word, and also doctrine from the Word, consequently also truth itself, may be seen from very many passages. A "well," and not a "fountain," is spoken of here, because the spiritual church is treated of, as also in the following verses of this chapter:

Abraham reproved Abimelech because of the well which the servants of Abimelech had taken away (Gen. 22:25).

So too in the twenty-sixth chapter:

All the wells which the servants of Isaac's father digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped up. And Isaac returned, and digged the wells of water which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father, and the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. And Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of living water. And they digged another well, and for that they strove not. And it came to pass in that day that Isaac's servants came and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water (Gen. 26:15, 18-20, 21-22, 25, 32).

Here by "wells" nothing else is signified than doctrinal matters about which they contended, and those about which they did not contend. Otherwise their digging wells and contending so many times about them would not be of so much importance as to be worthy of mention in the Divine Word.

The "well" spoken of by Moses signifies in like manner the Word, or doctrine:

They journeyed to Beer; this is the well whereof Jehovah said unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water. Then sang Israel this song: Spring up, O well; answer ye from it. The princes digged the well, the willing of the people digged it, in the lawgiver, with their staves (Num. 21:16-18).

As a "well" signified these things, there was therefore this prophetic song in Israel, in which the doctrine of truth is treated of, as is evident from every particular in the internal sense. Hence came the name "Beer" [a well], and hence the name "Beersheba," and its signification in the internal sense, as being doctrine itself.

But doctrine in which there are no truths is called a "pit," or a "well in which there is no water" as in Jeremiah:

Their nobles have sent their little ones to the water; they came to the pits, they found no water; they returned with their vessels empty (Jer. 14:3);

where "waters" denote truths; and "pits where they found no water," doctrine in which there is no truth. In the same:

My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me the fountain of living waters, to hew them out pits, broken pits, that can hold no waters (Jer. 2:13);

where "pits" in like manner denote doctrines that are not true; and "broken pits," fabricated doctrines.

That a "fountain" is the Word, and also doctrine, consequently truth, may be seen in Isaiah:

The afflicted and the needy seek waters, and there are none; their tongue faileth for thirst. I Jehovah will hear them, the God of Israel will not forsake them; I will open rivers upon the hillsides, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of waters, and the dry land springs of waters (Isa. 41:17-18);

where the desolation of truth is treated of, which is signified by the afflicted and needy seeking for waters when there are none, and by their tongue failing for thirst; and then their consolation, refreshment, and instruction after desolation are treated of (as in the verses about Hagar now being explained), signified by Jehovah opening rivers upon the hillsides, making fountains in the midst of the valleys, and the wilderness into a pool of waters, and the dry land into springs of waters; all which things relate to the doctrine of truth, and to the affection thence derived.

In Moses:

Israel dwelt securely alone at the fountain of Jacob, in a land of corn and new wine; yea, his heavens drop down dew (Deut. 33:28).

The "fountain of Jacob" denotes the Word and the doctrine of truth therefrom. Because the "fountain of Jacob" signified the Word and the doctrine of truth therefrom, when the Lord came to the fountain of Jacob, He spoke with the woman of Samaria, and taught what is signified by a "fountain" and by "water," as described in John:

Jesus came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, and Jacob's fountain was there; Jesus therefore being wearied with His journey, sat thus by the fountain. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus saith unto her, Give Me to drink: Jesus said, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith unto thee, Give Me to drink, thou wouldst ask of Him that He should give thee living water. Everyone that drinketh of this water shall thirst again; but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a fountain of water springing up unto eternal life (John 4:5-7, 10, 13-14).

As "Jacob's fountain" signified the Word, the "water" truth, and " Samaria" the spiritual church (as is frequently the case in the Word), the Lord spoke with the woman of Samaria, and taught that the doctrine of truth is from Him; and that when it is from Him, or what is the same, from His Word, it is a fountain of water springing up unto eternal life; and that truth itself is living water.

Again:

Jesus said, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink; whosoever believeth in Me, as the Scripture saith, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water (John 7:37-38).

And in the same:

The Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of water; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes (Rev. 7:17).

In the same:

I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely (Rev. 21:6);

"rivers of living water," and "living fountains of waters," denote truths that are from the Lord, or from His Word; for the Lord is the Word. The good of love and of charity, which is solely from the Lord, is the life of truth. He is said to be "athirst" who is in the love and affection of truth; no other can "thirst."

These truths are also called "fountains of salvation"

in Isaiah:

With joy shall ye draw waters out of the fountains of salvation; and in that day shall ye say, Confess to Jehovah, call upon His name (Isa. 12:3-4).

That a "fountain" is the Word, or doctrine from it, is plain also in Joel:

It shall come to pass in that day that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the streams of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall go forth out of the house of Jehovah, and shall water the stream of Shittim (Joel 3:18);

where "waters" denote truths; and a "fountain out of the house of Jehovah," the Lord's Word.

In Jeremiah:

Behold I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the sides of the earth; and among them the blind and the lame; they shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I bring them unto fountains of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble (Jer. 31:8-9);

"fountains of waters in a straight way" manifestly denote the doctrinal things of truth; the "north country," ignorance or desolation of truth; "weeping" and "supplications," their state of grief and despair; and to be "brought to the fountains of waters," refreshment and instruction in truths (as here, where Hagar and her son are treated of).

The same things are also thus described in Isaiah:

The wilderness and the parched land shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; budding it shall bud, and shall rejoice even with rejoicing and singing; the glory of Lebanon has been given unto it, the honor of Carmel and Sharon; they shall see the glory of Jehovah, the honor of our God. Make ye firm the enfeebled hands, and strengthen the tottering knees. The eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped; in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert; and the dry place shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of waters (Isa. 35:1-3, 5-7);

where the "wilderness" denotes the desolation of truth; "waters," "streams," "lakes," and "springs of waters," the truths that are a refreshment and joy to those who have been in vastation, whose joys are there described with many words.

In David:

Jehovah sendeth forth fountains into the valleys, they shall run among the mountains; they shall give drink to every wild beast of the field, the wild asses shall quench their thirst. He watereth the mountains from His chambers (Ps. 104:10-11, 13);

"fountains" denote truths; "mountains," the love of good and truth; to "give drink," instructing; "wild beasts of the field," those who live from this; "wild asses," those who are solely in rational truth.

In Moses:

Joseph is the son of a fruitful one, the son of a fruitful one by a fountain (Gen. 49:22)

a "fountain" denotes doctrine from the Lord. In the same:

Jehovah thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of rivers, of waters, of fountains, and of depths going forth in valley and in mountain (Deut. 8:7)

the "land" denotes the Lord's kingdom and church; which is called "good" from the good of love and charity; "rivers," "waters," "fountains," and "depths," denote the truths thence derived.

In the same:

The land of Canaan, a land of mountains and valleys, that drinketh water of the rain of heaven (Deut. 11:11).

That "waters" are truths, both spiritual and rational, and also those of memory-knowledge, is manifest from these passages in Isaiah:

Behold the Lord Jehovih Zebaoth doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the whole staff of bread, and the whole staff of water (Isa. 3:1).

In the same:

Bring ye waters to him that is thirsty; meet the fugitive with his bread (Isa. 21:14).

In the same:

Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters (Isa. 32:20).

In the same:

He that walketh in righteousnesses, and speaketh uprightnesses, shall dwell on high; his bread shall be given, his waters shall be faithful (Isa. 33:15, 16).

In the same:

Then shall they not thirst, He shall lead them in the desert, He shall cause the waters to flow out of the rock for them; He cleaveth the rock also, and the waters flow out (Isa. 48:21; Exod. 17:1-8; Num. 20:11, 13).

In David:

He clave the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them to drink abundantly as out of the deeps. He brought streams out of the rock and caused waters to run down like a river (Ps. 78:15, 16);

where the "rock" denotes the Lord; "waters," "rivers," and "deeps" from it, denote truths from Him.

In the same:

Jehovah maketh rivers into a wilderness, and water-springs into dry ground; He maketh a wilderness into a pool of waters, and a dry land into water-springs (Ps. 107:33, 35).

In the same:

The voice of Jehovah is upon the waters; Jehovah is upon many waters (Ps. 29:3).

In the same:

A river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High (Ps. 46:4).

In the same:

By the Word of Jehovah were the heavens made, and all the army of them by the breath of His mouth; He gathereth the waters of the sea together as a heap, He layeth up the deeps in storehouses (Ps. 33:6, 7).

In the same:

Thou dost visit the earth, and delightest in it greatly; thou enrichest it, the river of God is full of waters (Ps. 65:9).

In the same:

The waters saw Thee, O God, the waters saw Thee, the deeps also trembled; the clouds poured out waters; Thy way was in the sea, and Thy path in many waters (Ps. 77:16, 17, 19).

It is manifest to everyone that the "waters" here do not signify waters, and that it is not meant that the deeps trembled, nor that the way of Jehovah was in the sea, and His path in the waters; but that spiritual waters are meant, that is, spiritual things which are of truth; otherwise this would be a heap of empty words.

In Isaiah:

Ho every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters and he that hath no silver, come ye, buy (Isa. 55:1).

In Zechariah:

It shall come to pass in that day that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea, and half of them toward the western sea (Zech. 14:8).

Moreover where the church is treated of in the Word as about to be planted and as having been planted, and where it is described by a paradise, a garden, a grove, or by trees, it is usual for it to be also described by waters or rivers which irrigate; by which either spiritual, rational, or memory things (which are of truth) are signified-as in the description of Paradise in Genesis (2:8, 9); which is also described by the rivers there (verses 10 to 14), signifying the things of wisdom and intelligence. The same is true in many other places in the Word, as in Moses:

As valleys are they planted, as gardens by the river, as sandal-wood trees which Jehovah hath planted, as cedars beside the waters; waters shall flow from his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters (Num. 24:6, 7).

In Ezekiel:

He took of the seed of the land, and planted it in a field of sowing, he placed it beside many waters; it budded, and became a luxuriant vine (Ezek. 17:5, 6);

that a "vine" and a "vineyard" signify the spiritual church may be seen above (n. 1069). In the same:

Thy mother was like a vine in thy likeness, planted by the waters; she became fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters (Ezek. 19:10).

In the same:

Behold Asshur was a cedar in Lebanon; the waters nourished him, the deep made him high, going with her rivers round about his plant; and she sent out her canals unto all the trees of the field (Ezek. 31:4).

In the same:

Behold upon the bank of the river were very many trees on this side and on that. He said unto me, These waters issue forth toward the eastern border, and shall go down into the plain, and shall go toward the sea; and being sent into the sea the waters are healed. And it shall be that every living soul that creepeth, in every place whither the two rivers come, shall live; and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters are come thither; and they shall be healed, so that everything whithersoever the river cometh shall live. The miry places thereof and the marshes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given up to salt (Ezek. 47:7-9, 11).

Here the New Jerusalem, or the Lord's spiritual kingdom, is described: the "waters going forth to the eastern border," signify spiritual things from celestial things, which are truths from a celestial origin; that is, faith from love and charity. To "go down into the plain," signifies doctrinal things which are of the rational. To "go toward the sea," signifies to memory-knowledges; the "sea" is the collection of them (n. 28); the "living soul which creepeth," signifies their delights; which will "live from the waters of the river," that is, from spiritual things from a celestial origin. "Much fish" denotes an abundance of applicable memory-knowledges. The "miry places and the marshes" denote things not applicable and impure; being "given up to salt," denotes being vastated.

In Jeremiah:

Blessed is the man that trusteth in Jehovah; he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, and that sendeth forth its roots by the river (Jer. 17:7-8).

In David:

He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth its fruit in its season (Ps. 1:3).

In John:

He showed me a pure river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb; in the midst of the street of it, and on this side of the river and on that was the tree of life bearing twelve fruits (Rev. 22:1-2)

Seeing that in the internal sense of the Word "waters" signify truths, therefore in the Jewish Church, for the sake of representation before the angels with whom the rituals were viewed spiritually, it was commanded that the priests and Levites should wash themselves with water when they came near to minister, and indeed out of the laver between the tent and the altar; and later, out of the brazen sea and the other lavers around the temple, which were in place of a fountain. So too for the sake of the representation was the institution of the water of sin or of purgation that was to be sprinkled upon the Levites (Num. 8:7); also that of the water of separation, from the ashes of the red heifer (Num. 19:2-19); and that the spoils from the Midianites should be cleansed by water (Num. 31:19-25).

The waters which were given out of the rock (Exod. 17:1-8; Num. 20:1-13; Deut. 8:15) represented and signified an abundance of spiritual things or truths of faith from the Lord. The bitter waters which were healed by the wood (Exod. 15:23-25) represented and signified that the truths which are not pleasing become acceptable and grateful from good, that is, from the affection of it. (That "wood" signifies good which is of affection, or of the will, may be seen above, n. 643.) From all this it may now be known what "water" denotes in the Word, and hence what the water in baptism denotes, of which the Lord speaks thus in John:

Except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God (John 3:5)

namely, that "water" is the spiritual of faith, and the "spirit" the celestial of it; thus that baptism is the symbol of the regeneration of man by the Lord by means of the truths and goods of faith. Not that regeneration is effected by baptism, but by the life signified in baptism, into which life Christians who have the truths of faith, because they have the Word, must come.

(from Arcana Coelestia 3424)

The Lord's Whole Life in the World

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

The temptations the Lord sustained ... concerning which nothing is related in the Word of the New Testament, except: —

• concerning His temptation in the wilderness
• soon after He came out of the wilderness
• concerning His last temptation in Gethsemane

Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. (Matthew 26:36-39)

• what then followed

Three Prayers Jesus Prayed on the Cross

• Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. (Luke 23:34)

• Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46)

• Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost. (Luke 23:46)

vvv

That the Lord's life, from His earliest childhood even to the last hour of His life in the world, was continual temptation and continual victory, is evident from many things in the Word of the Old Testament; and that it did not cease with the temptation in the wilderness is evident from what is said in Luke:

And when the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from Him for a season. (Luke 4:13)

as also from the fact that He was tempted even to the death on the cross, and thus to the last hour of His life in the world.

Hence it is evident that the whole of the Lord's life in the world, from His earliest childhood, was continual temptation and continual victory. The last was when He prayed on the cross for His enemies, and thus for all in the whole world.

In the Word of the Lord's life, in the Gospels, none but the last is mentioned, except His temptation in the wilderness. More were not disclosed to the disciples. The things that were disclosed appear in the sense of the letter so slight as to be scarcely anything — for to speak and to answer in this manner is no temptation, when yet His temptation was more grievous than can ever be comprehended and believed by any human mind.

No one can know what temptation is except the one who has been in it.

The temptation that is related in Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13, contains all temptations in a summary; namely, that from love toward the whole human race, the Lord fought against the loves of self and of the world, with which the hells were filled.

All temptation is an assault upon the love in which the man is, and the temptation is in the same degree as is the love. If the love is not assaulted, there is no temptation. To destroy anyone's love is to destroy his very life — for the love is the life.

The Lord's life was love toward the whole human race, and was indeed so great, and of such a quality, as to be nothing but pure love. Against this His life, continual temptations were admitted, as before said, from His earliest childhood to His last hour in the world. The love which was the Lord's veriest life is signified by His "hungering," and by the devil's saying,

If Thou art the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread and by Jesus answering that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God (Luke 4:2-4; Matt. 4:2-4).

That He fought against the love of the world, or all things that are of the love of the world, is signified by:

The devil took Him up into a high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said unto Him, All this power will I give Thee and the glory of them, for it hath been delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will, I give it; if Thou therefore wilt worship before me, all shall be Thine. But Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind Me, Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve (Luke 4:5-8; Matt 4:8-10).

That He fought against the love of self, and all things that are of the love of self, is signified by this:

The devil took Him into the holy city, and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said unto Him, If Thou art the Son of God, cast Thyself down for it is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning Thee, and upon their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest Thou dash Thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God (Matt. 4:5-7; Luke 4:9-12).

Continual victory is signified by its being said that after the temptations, "angels came and ministered unto Him" (Matt. 4:11; Mark 1:13).

In brief, the Lord from His earliest childhood up to the last hour of His life in the world, was assaulted by all the hells, against which He continually fought, and subjugated and overcame them, and this solely from love toward the whole human race. And because this love was not human but Divine, and because such as is the greatness of the love, such is that of the temptation, it may be seen how grievous the combats were, and how great the ferocity on the part of the hells.

(from Arcana Coelestia 1690 )

The Virgin Birth

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee. (Genesis 12:1) —

The Lord's first state, when born, which state, because most deeply hidden, cannot well be set forth to the comprehension.

The Lord was like other men, except that He was conceived of Jehovah, but still was born of a virgin mother, and by birth derived infirmities from the virgin mother like those of man in general. These infirmities are corporeal, and it is said of them in this verse that He should recede from them, in order that celestial and spiritual things might be presented for Him to see.

There are two hereditary natures connate in man, one from the father, the other from the mother. The Lord's heredity from the Father was the Divine, but His heredity from the mother was the infirm human. This infirm nature which a man derives hereditarily from his mother, is something corporeal that is dispersed when he is being regenerated, while that which a man derives from his father remains to eternity. But the Lord's heredity from Jehovah, as was said, was the Divine.

Another arcanum is that the Lord's Human also was made Divine. In Him alone there was a correspondence of all the things of the body with the Divine - a most perfect correspondence, infinitely perfect, giving rise to a union of the corporeal things with Divine celestial things, and of sensuous things with Divine spiritual things; and thus He was the Perfect Man, and the Only Man.

(from Arcana Coelestia 1414)

The evil heredity from the mother, in His external man, is evident from what has been already said concerning that which was inherited by the Lord - for He was born as are other men, and inherited evils from the mother, against which He fought, and which He overcame. It is well known that the Lord underwent and endured the most grievous temptations, temptations so great that He fought alone and by His own power against the whole of hell.

No one can undergo temptation unless evil adheres to him; he who has no evil cannot have the least temptation; evil is what the infernal spirits excite.

In the Lord there was not any evil that was actual, or His own, as there is in all men, but there was hereditary evil from the mother, which is here called "the Canaanite then in the land."

Again, there are two hereditary natures connate in man, one from the father, the other from the mother; that which is from the father remains to eternity, but that which is from the mother is dispersed by the Lord while the man is being regenerated. The Lord's hereditary nature from His Father, however, was the Divine. His heredity from the mother was evil, and this is treated of here, and is that through which He underwent temptations (see Mark 1:12-13; Matt. 4:1; Luke 4:1-2). But, as already said, He had no evil that was actual, or His own, nor had He any hereditary evil from the mother after He had overcome hell by means of temptations; on which account it is here said that there was such evil at that time, that is, that the "Canaanite was then in the land."

The Canaanites were those who dwelt by the sea and by the coast of Jordan, as is evident in Moses. The spies on their return said:

We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey, and this is the fruit of it. Howbeit the people that dwelleth in the land is strong, and the cities are fenced, very great; and moreover we saw the children of Anak there; Amalek dwelleth in the south; and the Hittite and the Jebusite and the Amorite dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanite dwelleth by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan (Num. 13:27-29).

That the Canaanites dwelt by the sea and by the coast of Jordan, signified evil thence in the external man, such as is the heredity from the mother; for the sea and the Jordan were boundaries.

That such evil is signified by "the Canaanite," is also evident in Zechariah:

In that day there shall be no more a Canaanite in the house of Jehovah Zebaoth (Zech. 14:21);

where the Lord's kingdom is treated of, and it is signified that the Lord will conquer the evil meant by the Canaanite and will expel it from His kingdom. All kinds of evils are signified by the idolatrous nations in the land of Canaan, among which were the Canaanites (see Gen. 15:18-21; Exod. 3:8, 17; 23:23, 28; 33:2; 34:11; Deut. 7:1; 20:17; Josh. 3:10; 24:11; Judges 3:5).

(from Arcana Coelestia 1444)

And the Canaanite and the Perizzite were then dwelling in the land. (Genesis 13:7) —

That this signifies evils and falsities in the external man, is evident from the signification of "the Canaanite," as being the hereditary evil from the mother in the external man and from the signification of "the Perizzite," as being the derivative falsity (concerning which see below). That there was with the Lord an evil heredity from the mother in His external man, and that there was falsity from this, is a necessary consequence - for where there is hereditary evil, there is also falsity; the latter being born of the former. But the falsity that is from evil cannot be born until the man has been imbued with knowledges [scientifica et cognitiones]. Evil has nothing but these into which it may operate or flow - for in this way the evil which is of the will part is turned into falsity in the intellectual part so that this falsity also was hereditary, because it was born of what was hereditary, and yet was not the falsity that is derived from principles of falsity but it was in the external man, and there the internal man could see it to be false.

And because there was hereditary evil from the mother before the Lord had been imbued with knowledges, or before Abram sojourned in Egypt, it is said in the preceding chapter, verse 6, that "the Canaanite was in the land," but not the Perizzite; but here, after He had been imbued with knowledges, it is said that "the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled in the land;" from which it is evident that by "the Canaanite" is signified evil, and by "the Perizzite" falsity. It is also evident from this, that the mention of the Canaanite and the Perizzite is not in any historical series, for in what goes before and in what follows they are not treated of at all; and the same is true of the mention of the Canaanite in the foregoing chapter, verse 6; from all which it is evident that some arcanum lies hidden here which cannot be known except from the internal sense.

Its being said that there was with the Lord hereditary evil from the mother may cause surprise, but as it is here so plainly declared, and as the Lord is treated of in the internal sense, it cannot be doubted that so it was. For no human being can possibly be born of another human being without thence deriving evil. But the hereditary evil derived from the father is one thing, and that from the mother is another. The hereditary evil from the father is more internal, and remains to eternity, for it cannot possibly be eradicated, but the Lord had not such evil, because He was born of Jehovah the Father, and thus as to internals was Divine or Jehovah. But the hereditary evil from the mother is of the external man; this did exist with the Lord, and it is called "the Canaanite in the land;" and the falsity from this is "the Perizzite." Thus was the Lord born as are other men, and had infirmities as have other men.

That He derived hereditary evil from the mother is clearly evident from the fact that He underwent temptations; no one can possibly be tempted who has no evil; it is the evil in a man which tempts, and through which he is tempted. That the Lord was tempted, and that he underwent temptations a thousandfold more grievous than any man can ever endure; and that He endured them alone, and overcame evil, or the devil and all hell, by His own power, is also evident.

Concerning these temptations we read thus in Luke:

Jesus was led in the spirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted by the devil, so that He did not eat in those days. But after the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him for a season. Thence He returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee (Luke 4:1-2, 13-14)

And in Mark:

The Spirit impelling Jesus made Him go forth into the wilderness. And He was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted, and He was with the wild beasts (Mark 1:12-13);

where hell is signified by "the wild beasts." Moreover, He was tempted even unto death, so that His sweat was drops of blood:

And being in an agony, He prayed the more earnestly; and His sweat became as drops of blood falling down upon the earth (Luke 22:44).

No angel can ever be tempted of the devil; because, while he is in the Lord, evil spirits cannot approach him, even distantly, without being instantly seized with horror and terror. Much less would hell have been able to approach the Lord if He had been born Divine; that is, without evil adhering from the mother.

It is likewise a common expression with preachers, that the Lord also bore the iniquities and evils of the human race, but for Him to admit into Himself iniquities and evils, except by the hereditary way, is utterly impossible — for the Divine is not susceptible of evil. And therefore in order that He might conquer evil by His own powers - which no man has been able to do, or is able to do - and so might alone become righteousness, He was willing to be born as are other men. If it had not been for this, there would have been no need of His being born, for the Lord could have assumed the Human Essence without birth, as He did sometimes assume it, when seen by the Most Ancient Church, and likewise by the prophets, but for the additional purpose of putting on evil, against which He might fight, and which He might conquer, and might thus conjoin in Himself the Divine Essence with the Human Essence, He came into the world.

But the Lord had no evil that was actual, or His own, as He also says in John:

Which of you convicted Me of sin? (John 8:46).

From what has been said it is now clearly evident what is signified by there being "strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle," which words immediately precede. The reason was that "the Canaanite and the Perizzite were then dwelling in the land."

(from Arcana Coelestia 1573)

Those Who are in Knowledges Alone, and Not in a Life of Love

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

Those who love knowledges alone, and not a life according to them, for the most part pride themselves on them, and seem to themselves to be wiser than others. Thus they love themselves and despise others, especially those who are in good, whom they regard as simple and unlearned. But the lot is inverted in the other life, where those who have seemed to themselves wise become foolish, and those who seemed simple are wise.

Every love contains within it all power to know what belongs to that love.

Take for example the animals of the earth, and also the animals or birds of heaven. These have the knowledge of all things of their love. Their loves are to feed themselves, to dwell safely, to propagate offspring, to rear their young; and they have all the requisite knowledge for these purposes; for this is in these loves, and flows into these creatures as into its own receptacles. This knowledge is in some cases so extraordinary that man cannot but be amazed at it. It is said to be inborn, and is called instinct; but it is of the love in which they are.

If man were in his own love, which is love to God and toward the neighbor, this being man's proper love by which he is distinguished from the beasts, he would then be not only in all requisite knowledge, but also in all intelligence and wisdom, neither would he have occasion to learn them, for they would flow in from heaven into these loves, that is, through heaven from the Divine. But as man is not in these, but in contrary loves, namely, in the love of self and the love of the world, therefore he must needs be born into all ignorance and lack of skill; yet by Divine means he is brought to something of intelligence and wisdom, but still not actually into anything unless he removes the loves of self and of the world, and thus opens the way for love to the Lord and love toward the neighbor.

That love to the Lord and love toward the neighbor have within them all intelligence and wisdom, can be seen from those who in the world have been in these loves, for when in the other life they come into heaven, they there know and are wise in such things as before they had never known; nay, they think and speak there as do the rest of the angels such things as the ear has never heard, nor the mind known, which are unutterable. The reason is that these loves have in them the capacity to receive such things.

(from Arcana Coelestia 7749-7750)