What the Writings

Testify Concerning ThemseLves

A Compilation of Teachings

from the Theological Writings

of Emanuel Swedenborg

General Church Publication Committee Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania

1961

"And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at His doctrine. For He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes."

Matthew 7:28, 29

What the Writings Testify

Concerning Themselves

The following extracts from the theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg are mostly selections used by the late Rev. C. Th. üdhner in the pamphlet, "Swedenborg's Testimony con­cerning His Writings", which was published in 1902 and revised by a committee of three editors in 1920.

The object in the present compilation is to present, simply and clearly, those teachings which most directly describe the nature of the revela­tions given through Swedenborg, who subscribed himself "the Servant of the Lord Jesus Christ".

The passages quoted in the body of the text are taken from the theological works written by Swedenborg after 1748. Two excerpts from the "Documents" have also been used. Repetition has been avoided when possible, but sorne statements have been used again under different headings. Headings, foot-notes, and sorne revisions of the translation. have been supplied by the compiler who has also appended sorne NOTES to define the

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relation of the internaI sense to the sense of the letter of the Word, and to describe certain states by which Swedenborg was prepared for his office.

It is obvious that no selection of extracts can present the complete doctrine. The full meaning of any one passage can be gained only when it is read in its context. And the real testimQIlY to the

ivine origin and authQrity of the Writing.s is the c1arity and power of their dock,inaJ message.

( The doctrine of the New Church, "by truths from ) the sense of the letter of the Word and at the

sam.e time by rational things from natural light", 'YUI convince even the natural man "if he is( willing to be convinced". (AR 544, compare SS 4)

-~

Hugo Lj. üdhner

Bryn Athyn� Pennsylvania� December 1, 1960�

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1 Swedenborg received the Doctrine of the New Church from the mouth of the Lord alone.

" ... That the Lo@ mani~ed Himself...bef~e

~IDueC'ci~t, and sent me to this office, and thât He afterwards opened the sight of my spirit, and so has introduced me into the spiritual world, and has granted me to behold the heavens and the hells and to converse with angels and spirits, and this now uninterruptedly for many years, l testify in truth; likewise, that from the first day of that call ! have not received anything that pertains to the doctrines of the Ne hurch from any angel, Qut from the Lord alone, while 1 read t e or."

---.. True Christian Religion 779

"Every one can see that the Apocalypse could never have been explained except by the Lord alone, for the several words there contain arcana which could never be known without a singular illustration and thus revelation; wherefore ij;

leased the Lord and to teach. Do not believe, therefore, that 1 have taken anything herein from myself, or from

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any angel, but f~e-,Lord_al2.Ue. The Lord also said by the angel to John, 'Seal not the words of the prophecy of this book', by which is meant that they are to be manifested."

The Apocalypse Revealed, Preface

"1 have had discourse with spirits and with angels now for many years; but neither has a spirit dared, nor any angel wished, to tell me anything, still less to instruct, concerning any­thing in the Word, or concerning any doctrine from the Word; but t e Lord alone has taught

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~ Who has been revealed 0 me an .as én­19htened me."

Divine Providence 135

"It has been given me to see [the light of heaven], and from it to perceive distinctly what has come from the Lord, and what from the angels. What has come from the Lord has been written, and what has come from angels has not been written."

The Apocalypse Explained 1183

"The things which l have learned in repre­sentations, visions, and from speech with spirits and angels are solely from the Lord.... Thus l have been instructed, consequently by no spirit,

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nor angel, but bl the Lord aloue from Whom is everything true ana good.... " .

Spiritual Diary 1647

" ... It was evident that even the things which 1 have learned through evil spirits 1 have learned from the Lord alone, although the spirits spoke..."

. -Spiritual Diary 4034

"As regards myself, it has not been allowed to take any thing from the mouth of any spirit, nor from the mouth of any angel, but from the mouth of the Lor,1LalQne."•

De Verbo XIII (29)

"In order that the true Christian religion might be disclosed, it could not he otherwise than that some one should he introduced into the spirit­ual world, and from the mout.h,oLth~derive the genuine truths out of the Word."

Invitation to the New Church 38

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Swedenborg ascribed his theo­2 logical Writings to the Lord.

"The Books which were written by the Lord by means of me ({CD-!Wkino-per_?lJ;i) ' from the beginning to the present day, should be enum­erated." * Ecclesiastical History 3

"A certain Anglican bishop told how he es­pecially had insulted the five works concerning heaven and heIl and the rest which had been presented to aIl [the bishopsJ and to aIl the Prot­estant lords in the Parliament, vituperating and blaspheming them... Then it was told him that the work iUQ_t..mine but the Lord's, who desired to reveal the nature of heaven and hell and the quality of the life of man after death and con­cerning the last judgment... And 1 also told him that ~el&tioJJ.J is the male-chilil...w.ho~tbe

.21P-an brought forth and whom the dragon wished to devour... " [Rev. 12J

Spiritual Diary 6101:2

* Recenseantur - reviewed, enumerated.

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"That our Savior has .y.isib1~~ealed Himself before me and commanded [me] to do what l have done and what is yet to be done, and that

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e thereupon allowed me to come into communion [samtal] vdih..angels and spirits, l have declared before the whole of Christendom.... That [the Chancellery of Justice now] relates that they still cannot believe it, l cannot take amiss, since l can­not put my state of sight and speech into the heads of others and so convince them, nor can l cause angels and spirits to talk with them; nor is it permitted that miracles should occur nowadays, but reason itself shall find it [true] when with refiection they read my writings in which much is found such as never before has been discovered nor can be discovered without actual sight and conversation with those who are in the spiritual worId... If there should he anx further doubt, l am ready to testify with the most salemn oath that( max be reguired of me. that ibis 1s [the] truth, c..Q..mplete and actual, without the least fallacy.

II'UlM Qur Savior causes Ihis to happeu to me is

not at aIl for my sake, but from an urgency wliich concerns the et~Wiii'ejf'U"eof aiiChristii"ns..." - Swedenborg's letter to the king, May 25,-1770 1

1 Docu. 245 X. Compare AR 962. and Docu. 252 E.

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"Read, if you please, the things which have been written in the latest published work, called "The True Christian Religion", concerning the arcana disclosed Wb.~His 'ser­vant... and afterwards draw a conclusion, but from reason, concerning my Revelation."

Swedenborg's letter to Cuno in 1770 *

Swedenborg enjoyed a complete Divine inspiration.

"The Lord -fehovah derives and produces from this New Heaven ~ .~w Church on the earth, which is done by ~.$velation oLTruths from~lIis

own mouth or from His Word, and by Inspiration:­- Coronis 18

"... When 1 think of what 1 am about to write, and while 1 am writing, 1 enjoy a complete (full­komlig) inspiration, for otherwise it would be my ............. ~~

own; but now 1 know for certain that what 1 write ... .........-OC"t ........... y ... ~ .-. is the living trutn of God."

Swedenborg's testimony as reported by Gjorwell, Doc. II, p. 404

* New Church Life, 1912, page 197.

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"... That the internaI sense is such as has been set forth is plain from the singular things which have been explained, and especially from this, that this has been dictated to me* ouLoLhe~n."

Arcana Coelestia 6597

"T.he..llecond coming of the Lord is effected by means ôf a man bef6re whom He has· mamfêS'fed 'rTimself in ~son: andwliom He has fil1ëd Wlth His Spirit to teach the doctrines of the New Church through the Word from Him."

True Christian Religion 779, heading

"That at this daX there exists such immediate revelation, is because this is meant by the Advent of the Lord." ..... - Heaven and HeU l

"Tt has pleased.the Lord t!Lprel2.are me IDS. wlies.LXQJ,lth to perceive the Ward, ~d He has introduced me inta the spiritual world, and has enlightened me with the light af His Word more proximately. From this it is manifest that th~r.p,asses ~U miracles..."

Invitation to the New Church 55

If, "In place of miracles, there has, at this taken placejLmanifestatian of the.LQt.dJliru.'>"ij­

* See the foUowing article, page 10.

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alJ....UU;l;Qmission..into the spiritual world, and en­lightenment there through immediâte liR'ht from the Lor.d, in such things as are the interior t~

of tÎÎe church; but chiefly, the opening of the spiritual sense in the Word, in which the Lord is

\ in His own Divine lïght." Coronis: Miracles IV

"That this (New] Church is not instituted and established through miracles, but through the re.velation of th.e spiritual sense, and th~ugh the introduction of my ,§,Pirit, and at the. §sme time of JBY body, into the spiritual "";or!9-, so that l1might know there what heaven and hell are, and in light might imbibe immediately from the Lord

_~__.....~~ ±nr

the truths of faith whereby man is led to eternal life." Invitation to the New Church, VII

The inspiration of Swedenborg differed4 widely from that of the prophets. *

" ... It is given me to behold the marvels of heaven, to be together with the angels as one of them, and at the same time draw forth truths in light, and thus to p~rceiye and teach them i con­sequentlv to be led by the..Lg,rd."

Invitation to the New Church 52

* See the NOTES, pages 64·67.

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l "The Most Ancient Church had immediate lrevelation from the Lord by consort with spirits fand angels and by visions and dreams, whereby it was given them to have a general knowledge of what is good and true; and after they had [this], then these general principles were con­firmed by innumerable things through percep­tions..." Arcana Coelestia 597 **

"1 have been told how the Lord spoke with the prophets, through whom the Word was given. He did not speak to them as with the ancients, by an influx into their interiors, but through spirits who were sent to them, whom the Lord infilled with His aspect, and thus inspired the words which they dictated ta the prophets... The spirits them­selves even called themselves Jehovah..."

Heaven and HeU 254

"AlI revelation [is] either from speech with angels through whom the Lord speaks, or from perception... It is to be known that they who are in good and thence in truth, and especialIy those who are in the good of love to the Lord, have revelation from perception; whereas they who are not in good and thence in truth, can indeed have

** Compare AC 2896 and Inv. 52.

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revelations, yet not from perception,but by a liv­ing voice heard in them, and thus by angels from the Lord. This revelation is external, but the former is internaI. Angels, especially the celestial, have revelation from perception, as also had the men of the Most Ancient Church, and some also of the Ancient Church, but scarce any one has at this day; whereas very many, even those who have not been in good, have had revelations from speech without perception, and also by visions and dreams. Such were most of the revelations of the prophets in the Jewish Church. They heard a voice, they saw a vision, and they dreamed a dream; but as they had no perception, they were merely verbal or visual revelations without perception of what they signified. For genuine Dgçentio.n.ç;omes through heaven from the Lord, and affects the understanding spiritually, and leads it perceptive­ly to think as the thing really is, with an internaI assent, the source of which it is ignorant of. It supposes that it is in itself, and that it fiows from the connection of things; whereas it is a dictate through heaven from the Lord, infiowing into the interiors of the thought, concerning such things as are above the natural and sensual, that is, con­cerning such things as are of the spiritual world or of heaven." Arcana Coelestia 5121

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"The prophets of the ûld Testament... did not have their understanding enlightened, but the words which they were to say or write they re­ceived merely by the hearing, and did not even understand their interior sense, still less their spiritual sense." Apocalypse Explained 624:15

"The prophets through whom the Word was written... wrote as the spirit from the Divine ,dictated, for the very words which they wrote were uttered in their ears. With them was the truth which proceeds mediately from the Divine, that is, through heaven, but not the truth which proceeds immediately; for they had not a percep­tion of what each thing signified..."

Arcana CoelesLia 7055:3 '"

"That the things which l learned from repre­sentations, visions, and discourses with spirits and angels were from the Lord alone. . ­

"Whenever there was any representation, vision, and discourse, l was kept interiorly and intimately in refiection upon it, as to what thence was useful and good, thus what l might learn therefrom; which refiection was not thus attended to by those who presented the representations and visions, and who spoke; yea, sometimes they were

'" Compare AC 5121:3.

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indignant when they found that I was reflecting. Thus have I been instructed; consequently by no spirit, nor by any angel, but by the Lord alone, from Whom is all truth and good; yea, when they wished to instruct me concerning various things, there was scarcely anything but what was false: wherefore I was prohibited from believing any­thing that they said; nor was I permitted to infer any such thing as was proper to them. Besides, when they wished to persuade me, I perceived an \ interior or intimate persuasion that the thing was so and so, and not as they wished; which they also wondered at. The perception was manifest, but cannot easily be described to the apprehension of men. -1748, March 22." Spiritual Diary 1647

The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem is the same as~the Internal Sense of the Word. 7 ~ >..~~ s .........", -P-o

<;y--:...- t:::.-R (~c..~ 1~) ..~ To.. t: 'tr ­

"As for the ~ne_ in special which now follows, it als<:>Js~!l1 heav~r!,>because it is from the sPiritual sense ofthe-Wor"d';').nd the spiritual sense of the or iS1he same with the Doctrine which is in heaven... From these things it may appear what is meant by this, that the holy city,

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New Jerusalem, was seen to descend from God out of heaven. But I will proceed to the Doctrine itself which is for the New Church; which, be­cause it is revealed to me out of heaven, is called The Heavenly Doctrine. . ."

New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine 7

". . . It has nQw pleased the Lord to reveal many arcana of heaven, especially the internal or<@iritual sense of the W~r"d':which heretofore had been entir-elyunknown, and therewith He has

~~-----'-~~ ., ~

taught th -genuine truths of doct ine whi reve­on is un erstood by "theA<4reIi.Lotlb.e...-L_llrd"

in Matthew xxiv. ; ." Apocalypse Explained 641

"r- .. To interpret thl(Spiritual sense, from ~s of doctrine(opens E~v~n, because that is

the sense in which the angels are; and so man by means of it~t~tog~th_er }:'Tith a~gcls," and thus conjoins them to himself in his intellectual mind..." , De Verbo VII (20)

-T~ 'NI> JoiA '" (>-;?re> sJ ...:.-.. 5r··.:·;r::. -4 Co-~,. r_ ­"Thatthec§pirit~~ense,of the Word 'is at -to 0­

this ~ay tdiscloseq by the L~d, is because the we Qf~euuine-~~o~&.~d, and this

doctrine-;-an1l-no-other, agrees with the(SPIrifiial sellSe''Of the Word." ------ Doctrine concerning the Sacred Scripture 25

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-----

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"The Divine truth in the Word and its quality are described by the 'cherubs' in Ezekiel i, ix, and x; and as no one can know what is signified by the particulars in their description but one to whom th~~ritual s~)has been opened, it has for that. reason-been disclosed to me what is signified, in brief, by all the things which are told concerning the cherubs in the first chapter of Ezekiel. .. These summaries have also been collated with the Word in heaven, and are in conformity with it."

'-,. I .J'" '" Doctrine concerning the Sacred Scripture 97:5 vy (> ~l7\ '-'-' 1"'..0 tS .. $ S.e.-c.........

"At this day ©le spiritual s~ of the Word has been rev~eaonl1e-Lord, because the doctrine of genuine truth has now been revealed, which doctrine is partly contained in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, and now in the small works which are being given to the public; and because that doctrine and no other agrees with~ spiritual sense ofJhe WQi-Ct~there-fore that sense~ together'"'with the science of ~orrespondences,~'hasnow forfu-eflrst time been( disclosed. . . By many that sense will not be acknowledged for a long time." De Verbo VII (21)

"The truth of the internal se --. . of the Word is the same thing (idemr as he genuine trutIDof the Doctrine of faith of the C urch."

Arcana Coelestia 9034

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C- e f"\A.A--' ~"".

~ 0 ~ 11'"""o.? c; £.-a---s.-.­

"This explanation of that chapter CZech. 4J as given me .by the Lord through heaven'"

Apocalypse Revealed 43e

"From this Doctrine, also{the internal se~~

of the Word is known, since the fnternalS;me of the Word isC!.he Doetrme ItSclf of love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbor..."

Arcana Coelestia 9409:3

"It is to be known that the internal sens?)of the Word contains the~uine doctri""Iie) or-the church." - -Arcana -Coe1estia 9424:3

"TIlt Doctrine of faith)is the same thing as the understanding of £fleWord as to its interiors or its internal sense." Arcana Coelestia 2762:2 - ~"The internal sense'is itself the genuine doc­~ '.-­trine ..of the church... They who understand the Worq .according to the I~rnal sense, know the true Doctrine itself of the CIiurch~becausethe in­ternal sense contains it'(AC 9025, 9430, 10401)."

. ..::: White H!>rse 11 ~

lfr- 0..' n If'-- ->-- €l 'Y a s jJz;--.Y--­"Those who remainl in the literal sense- of the 8 f :

Word alone and do not gather anything doctrinal ~

thence, ... are separate from the internal sens-e ;" "'J"" for the internal sense is the doctrinal itself."

Arcana Coelestia 9380

17 ~ -.1" ... ~ ~r- '-- )..()P s~

"Th'-Doctrine itself the1nternal sense teach­_.-.- -- '----- - - ­

es, and he who knows this Doctrine, has the in­ternal sense of the Word." Arcana Coelestia 10276

"The Doctrine which should be for a lamp is that which thGnternal sens~ teaches, thus it is the internal sen~e ·itseff,-whi~h in sQme measure lies open to everyone . . . whoseClnternal mall is open..." Arcana Coelestia 10400:3

"The internal sense is not only that sense \ which lies concealed in the external sense . '.. but J is also that which I:B.s.ults...-from...a.n!illlb.e.r_Qf-Pa.s­\ sages rightly collated, and which is discerned by t those who are enlightened by the Lord as to their

intellectual. .." Arcana Coelestia 7233:3

"... The literal sense of the Word is for man while he is in thlworld,)whereas the internal sense is for man whelrhe comes intc:(~~ven;':Bfit

it is to -bekDOwn that man while in the world is at the same time in the internal sense of the Word when he is in the genuine doctrine of the church as to faith and as to life; for through that doctrine the internal sense of the Word is then inscribed both on his understanding and on his will. .."

Arcana Coelestia 9430

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"That the Word in the sense of the letter is signified by a "wall" (Rev. 21 :12), appears clear­ly from the things which follow in this chapter which treats much of the wall, its gates, founda­tions, and measurement. The reason is because the Doctrine of the New Church, which is meant by 'the city', is solely (unice) out of the sense of the letter of the Word," Apocalypse Revealed 898

" 'And the wall of the city had twelve founda­tions' signifies that the Word in the sense of the (lette~)contains all things of the(doctrine of the New Church." Apocalypse Revealed 902 *

"The true Doctrine of the Church is what is here called the internal sense; for in the internal sense there are such truths as are with the angels of heaven." Arcana Coelestia 9025

"It is said in the Apocalypse, 'a new heaven and a new earth', and afterwards, 'Behold, I make all things new'; by which nothing else is meant than that in the church now to be established by the Lord there will be a New Doctrine which was not in the former church.... This same doctrine was indeed before given in the Word; but because the church not long after its first establishment

<. See NOTES, pages 61·63.

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was turned into a Babylonia, and with others later into a Philistia, therefore it could not be seen from the Word. For a church does not see the Word otherwise than from its principle of religion and its doctrine." Doctrine Concerning the Lord, 65

t-~ )! <> k 1J1....-- A~. rs f A'"IL-- ~

~ cr-L """'e.-.., •

l ).. .:) y"" S ) __~__. _h 0...$ f"

v J ~H ~ ~44...I'1'o.A::J~~'

~ '-'J r.--fr-- vJ'...... .A J Lv -:../f""'- a...s ..,.,. '"""'LJJ/ , v _ ,., Lot r- 0.-:..6 The explanations !n the Writings of 1J,;f~

the~iritual sense are not written "1

in a sense merelY natural, but are a natural sense from tb~-,spTriruar )

, - which is called theeernal Seh~ -"'This is the mind that hath wisdom' [Rev.

17 :9-11J, ~ignifies the under~anding of these things in a: l)atural sense fro!.!!. ftb.e spirit~L .. In a sense abstracted from person, 'having wisdom' means the explanation of the thing represented, in a natural sense from the spiritual, thus the explanation of what 'the seven mountains' and 'the seven kings' are, which are signified by 'the seven heads'. For the explanation made by the angel ... is not an explanation in a natural sense

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from the spiritual, but is an explanation in a sense merely natural, in which a spiritual sense is con­cealed, and this sense must be unfolded; and it is unfolded when it is explained what is signified...

"... The angel did not explain the vision in a natural sense from the spiritual, because the ex­planation also makes the Word in the letter; and the Word in the letter must be natural, in the details of which a spiritual sense must be hidden. Otherwise the Word would not serve t~

as a aSIS nor [wou I serve e church for its conJunc Ion WI " eavenJ-H-enee-tt is that also e'iSewhere m the Word, as in David and the rest of the prophets where angels explain visions, they explain them in a sense merely natural, and not at all in a natural sense from the spiritual. 'Ihe natural sen§e from the spiritual is here (hie) when it is explained what "the seven mountains", then what "the seven kings", and what the other

{ things si&Wfy; namely, that 'mountains' signify the goods of the Word, and 'seven mountains' those profaned; and that 'kings' signify the truths of the Word, and 'seven kings' those profaned. This is the natural sense from the spiritual, which is called the internal sense, as also the spiritual­natural sense." Apocalypse Explained 1061

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7

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"As to what especially concerns the Doctrine which now follows, this also is from Heaven, be­cause it is from the spiritual sense of the Word, and the spiritual sense of the Word is the same with the Doctrine which is in Heaven... But I will proceed to the Doctrine itself, whicb is for the New Church i which. because it ha~ been revealed to me out of Heaven, is called Heavenly Doctrine; for to give this Doctrine is the purpose of this work." Heavenly Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 7I

"ARCANA COELESTIA (Heavenly Secrets) which are discovered (detecta) in the Sacred Scripture or Word of the Lord, are contained in the Explica­tion which is th;Internal Sense of the Word...."

Subtitle of Arcana Coelestia

"The ApOCALYPSE EXPLAINED according to the Spiritual Sense, wherein are revealed arcana which are there predicted and have hitherto been hidden." Title of Apocalypse Explained

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... t;::. -.A J~ "j -rJ--. W..-vI\ (~'OD ~ ) )~~{ ! "'-> Ii ~ <P-", I -:­

~! f.Z. n-t ""-) l.J--1l_ "",-"{-(k u., SS -)

"The ApOCALYPSE REVEALED, in which are dis­closed the arcana which are there predicted and hitherto have lain hidden."

Title of Apocalypse Revealed

"That the Internal Sense is such as has been expounded, is evident from the particulars which have been explained, and especially from this, that that sense has been dictated to me out of heaven."

Arcana Coelestia 6597

"This, now is the internal sense of the Word, its very essential life, which does not at all appear from the sense of the Letter." Arcana Coelestia 64

".. fThe spiritual sens~"of the Word h iC? l!y\;(!.1

disclosed by the Lord through me..." F- _",,-, -__ ,.

Invitation to the New Church 44

"The doctrine of the church is that this* is the advent of the LQId and that thence it 'is that arcana have been opened by the Lord respecting heaven and hell, man's Me after death, the Word, the last judgment-which have all been written out in Latin and sent to all the archbishops and bishops of the kingdom [of Great Britain] and to the nobility..." Concerning the Athanasian Creed 2

* /lle. The context refers to Matthew 24, and to the phrase

"immediate revelation" in Heaven and Hell, n. 1.

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8pl!it~s~....Jof the the Lord, is because

{,\!,.....l.#!t:-"'~-t:lU.Uut:~Jq:utnhas now been revealed, whicn Doctrine is contained in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, and now in the [other] little works which are being given to the public; and because that Doctrine, and no other, agrees with the spiritual sense of the Word, therefore that sense, together with the science of correspondence£, has now for the first time been disclosed. This sense also is signified by the ap­pearance of the Lord in the clouds of heaven with

Iglory and power, Matthew 24 :30, 31. .." De Verbo VII:7 (21)

"The arcana of the internal sense are now revealed, because there is scarcely any faith, since there is no charity; thus because it is the con­summation of the age; and when this is so they can be revealed without danger of profanation,,~because they are not interiorly acknowledged."

Arcana C6elestia 3398:4

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"But since these arcana have been revealed, and lie open to those who are in good, that is, who are angelic minds, therefore, however obscure they may appear to others, these arcana are to be expounded, because they are in the internal sense." Arcana Coelestia 3128

"It has been granted me sometimes to be among the angels of the middle and of the highest heaven, and to hear them conversing with one another; at which time I was in an interior nat­ural state. . . I heard things ineffable and in­expressible... Afterwards it was given me to understand that I could not utter nor describe them by any spiritual and celestial expression, but that nevertheless they could be described even to their rational comprehension by words of nat­ural langauge. And it was said that there. arej not any Divine arcana which cannot be perceived and expressed also naturally, although in a more general (communius) and imperfect way..."

De Verbo III:4 (6) /~

" 'And she brought forth{a male Son,' signifies <. - --­1Qe Doctrine of the New Chu.!£h... The DoctrIne

w~n iH.et'@ meant is The Dacm:n.g, of the New Jj}J:JI.$c j hed at London, 1758) ; -as also The Doctrines concerning the Lor , the Sacred Scripture, and Life according to the Precepts of

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8

the Decalogue (Amsterdam, 1763); for by the Doctrine all the truths of Doctrine are meant, because the Doctrine is their complex...."

Apocalypse Revealed 543

The Internal Sense is the Word Itself.

"That the internal sense is the Word itself, is manifest from the many things which have been revealed..." Arcana Coelestia 1540 *

"... Because the case is thus in regard to the Word, viz., that its internal sense has become suc­cessively obliterated, and this at the present day to such an extent that its very existence is un­known, - when yet this is the verimost W~d

(W...§,issirnurn V er~'!W!') in which the Divine is most closely present,- therefore the successive states in respect to it are described in this chapter."

Arcana Coelestia 3432

H ••• Th.e-Lord is Doctrine itself, that is, the -3 -­. Word, not only as to the supreme sense therein, - -----..,,­but also as to the internal'-sense, and also as to

the literal sense.~. ." Arcana Coelestia 3393

" Sce NOTES, page 6l. ....

~26 ~"'- /;:;;.. _OY>~ <:l.-­

AO 'O-s? -:> )~,p;>d-

"The Word is Divine Truth, and the internal or spiritual sense is interior Divine truth."

Apocalypse Explained 948

"By the Holy Spirit is meant the Lord as to the Divine truth such as it is in the heavens, thus the Word such as it is in the spiritual sense, for this is the Divine truth in heaven..."

Apocalypse Explained 7n1:3

"What is the quality of the Word in the heavens, this is known only from the internal sense, for t,he internal sense- is the Word of the Lord in the heavens." Arcana Coelestia 1887

"Moreover, these are the things which are contained in the internal sense, and the internal sense is the Word of the Lord in the heavens: those who are in the heavens perceive it thus. When a man is in the truth, that is, in the internal sense, then he can make one as to thought with those who are in heaven, even though the man be respectively in a most general and obscure idea..." Arcana Coelestia 2094·

* Compare AC 3316 :3.

27�

-I~ '( vv/J""d /, ( >.; 00 ~ ) r re;- 1';-----: ~

A-C-~-t-. t;:lr-­\A!"j'\., (~O~"<,) <>1f Iv w--":"{f~ I

t:...4- r.f (~If~'5 )

9 Every Divine revelation is the Word of the Lord.

"In John we read: 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word' ... Few know what is here meant by ­'the Word': That it is the Lord is evident from the particulars involved. And the internal sense teaches that the Lord as to the Divine Human is

) ~nt by the Wo.rd-:for it is said that the Word \was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we be­held His glory. And because the Divine Human is ~, therefore by 'the WQJ"_d'-l§ underst~l

Divine truth which is concerning Him and from ) --Him in his kingdom in the heavens and in His chur~IL~h. Hence it is said that in Him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light appeared in the d,arkness. And because truth) is meant, therefore by the Word is meant every Revelation, thus also-the-Wordftseif or the HOly Scripture." Arcana Coelestia 2894

"Divine doctrine is Divine truth, and all Divine truth is the Word of the Lord (Divinu1n Veru1n est omne Verbum Domini). The Divine doctrine itself is the Word in the supreme sense, in which it treats of the Lord alone; thence the Divine Doc­

28

..--. ~o..J"":;~---l

,...- l 7'-t At. .Sf ' "'r~~ ~s /1...'"t'"O>

... I::: J f'A" ....J'" (jJfc::~.'~

trine is the Word in the internal sense, in which it treats of the Lord's kingdom in the heavens and the earths; Divine doctrine is also the Word in the literal sense, in which it treats of the things which are in the world and on the earth ... For it is known that the Lord is the Word, that is, all Divine truth..." Arcana Coelestia S712

~,

l "As regards the Word, the case is this: In the

most ancient time, when there was a~lest!il

church, there was not a Word, for the men or that church had the Word inscribed' upon tneir hearts. For the Lord taught them immed~tely through heaven what was good and thence what was true,

\and He gave them both to perceive from love and charity and to know from revelation. To them the Lord was the Word itself. After this church another succeeded which was not c'elestial, but spirituaL This, in the beginning, had no other

oiathan what had been collected from (ab) the most ancient [people]. This was representative of the Lord as well as significative of His king­dom; thus to them the internal sense was the Word itself. That they also had a written Word,

<.historical as well as <fi~phetic~which is no longer extant, and that in it sImilarly there was an in­ternal sense, ... may be seen above, n. 2686..."

Arcana Coelestia 3432

29

H ••• And the Lord is Doctrine itself, that is, the Word, not only as to the SI,lJ?!"~Ine sense there, but also as to the int~!:-I)al sense, yea, even as to the literal sense..." Arcana Coelestia 3393

H •• @-D~;trut~ in general is called 'theJ\ Word', and the Lord Himself, from Whom is all Divine truth, is the Word in a supreme sense..." .

Arcana Coelestia 5075

H ••• In regard to 'this word' (Gen. 41 :28), a thing (res) is called 'a word' in the original tongue; thence also a Divine revelation is called the Word, and even, in the supreme sense, the Lord. And by the Word, when it is predicated of the Lord and also of a revelation from (ab) Him, in the proximate sense is meant the Divine truth from which all things that are things (res) have their existence..." Arcana Coelestia 5272

" 'And God spake all these words, saying,' that this means Divine truths for those in heaven and on earth, appears from the signification of 'the words which God spake,' as meaning Divine truths, for the things which God speaks are noth­ing but truths. Hence also the Divine truth is called the Word, and the Word is the Lord...."

Arcana Coelestia 8861

30

" ... The Divine truth is the Lord Himself in heaven. For what proceeds from Him is He Him­self; from the Divine nothing else can proceed than the Divine, and the Divine is one ... "

Arcana Coelestia 10646

"Because the Lord is the Word, He is also Doctrine. For there is no other Doctrine which is itself Divine ... " Arcana Coelestia 2533:3

"From love toward the human race the Lord has made such revelations as will ... conduce to man's salvation. What the Divine has revealed, is with us the Word~ Arcana Coelestia 10320

There have been successive Divine10 (revelations, of which the Writings are the Iast and most excellent.

"

31

-,

"A~_t~ the Wor~, : .. it has existed at all times, but not the Word which we have at this day. There was another Word in the Most Ancient Church

/' which was before the Flood; another Word in the <. Ancient Church which was after the Flood. But--- -_..

in the Jewish Church there was the Word which---._----­was written through Moses and the Prophets; and, <., finally, iI!.-_ th~ --!!.ew Tlblll'Ght-.!.he _Viord written

through the Evangelists ... " Arcana Coelestia 2895 - ~ II!J (tn ~ t:~) / ~~ &-( ," vv~L }A_ /~ lA!~

"The Word in the Most Ancient Church was not a written Word, but was revealed to every one who was from the Church, for th~re

celestiil men thus in t er e ti f the od an e true, as the angels with whom they con­sorted; so that they had the Word written in their hearts ...

"Thence came the representatives and signifi­catives which, when communication with angels began to cease, were collected by those who are meant by 'Enoch'...

"From this source was the Word in the Ancient Church which was after the Flood ... They also had a written Word, which consisted of histories and prophecies, .like the Word of the Old Testa­ment; but in process of time that Word was lost ... " Arcana Coelestia ?896, 2897

32

" ... When the end of a church is at hand, then the interiors of the Word, of the church, and of worship, are revealed and taught. The reason is that the good may be separated from the evil, for the interiors,Jjf the Word. of the chm:ch..and.Qf

( worship, which are celestial and spiritual, a~­I ceived tiY...t.ru<--good but are reje_cted by the evil.

Hence there is a separation. Moreover, th~mor

things of the Word, which are revealed at the end of a church, are of service to the new 'ch;;;ch ,Vliich is also then established, for doctrine and for life. That this is so is evident from the fact1that when the end of the Jewish Church was at hand, the Lord Himself opened and taught the interior things of the Word ...

"It has be in like manneraLthis da ; fpr it-has no~ pleased the Lor to rev al man arcana of heaven, espe...ctally tne internal or spirlt­u~ s~!!.s~ Qf ~ Word, which hITherto has neen wholly unknown, and with it He has taught the genuine truths of doctrine; which revelation is meant-by the ad.v~ent. oLthe Lord in Matthew (24: 3, 30, 37)" ... In both worlds there is a church. and revela..tiQn takes place in both, and 'through this separation, as also the establisnment of a new church ...

"If the successive states of the churches on our ! earth are considered, it is plain that they were ~

33

lik&l the successive states of a man who is reformed and regenerated; namely, that he may become a spiritual man, he is at first conceived, then born, then grows up, and afterwards iilid-further and furthe:c into intelligence and wisWn. The church,-from most ancient times even to the end of the Jewish church, increased as a man who is con­ceived, is born, and grows up, and is then instruct­ed and taught. But the sUCCfAAiye states of the ctw~h after the end of the Jewish Church, or from the time of the Lord even to the present day, have been like a man who grows.jn intelligence ;;nd wisdom, or is regenerated. For this purpose the interior things of the Word, of the church, and of worship, were revealed by the Lord when _He ,was in the world; and now ag,a.in-~~re

~r ; and so far as interior things are reve~led,

so far man can become wiser, for to become interior is to grow wiser, and to grow wiser is to become interior." Apocmypse ['xplamed 64i

t"At the end of a church, when there is no faith

because no charity, the interior things of the Word are manifested, which are to be of service to the new church for doctrine and life. This ';;'s d;;;;e by the Lord Himself when the end of the Jewish Church was at hand. The Lord Himself then came into the world, and opened the interiors of the

34

Word, especially the things concerning Himself, concerning love to Him and love towards the neighbor, and concerning faith in Him, which things formerly had lain hidden in the interiors of the Word ... These....b:.llths wm:e interior tmths..an<Lin..themSeIY~Sspirity.al, which after­

I wards were to serve the new church for doctrine and life . . . But still, these things were not \ received at once, but after a considerable course of time, as is known from ecclesiastical history. The reason was that they could not be received-until all things in the spiritual world had been reduced into order ...

"A similar thing occurred when the Most Ancient Church, which was before the Flood, came to its end. The representatives of the celestial things which had been among the most ancients, were then collected into a o~ Q)[ those who wete called Enoch, and were preserved for the use of 'c e new church after the Flood ... With these the same things took place, viz., that t~ese th}ng_s we~e

separated from the evil ones by -being 'taken up(

into heaven,' and thus guarded, and this even until the old churchhad cometo its last and when a new Church was about to be established.

''A similar thing is taking place today. This church, 'Yhich is called Christian. has at this day come to its end; on which account t~D.a..At

35

'

eaven and the church have now1een reye~led

J) by theL~, to be of serVice to the New C~ch

~fch is meant in the Apocalypse by the New Jerusalem, for a doctrine of life and faith. T~!s

Dg_ctrine, also, has been 'taken up into heaven,' lest: b~iore fhe estabfishment of theNew Church,( it should be hurt by the evil ... "

Apocalypse Explained 670

"... That before the church is fully devas­tated, the Word is interiorly revealed, Le., as to the spiritual sense, is because then the New Church is to be established, into which are invited those who are of the formercnurCh, a-no Jor this NeWCllurch -fne1Jiv--me-truth1s.Jntexiorl~­vealed.... It is done in the same way now as it-was done at the end of the Jewish Church. At its end, which was when the Lord came into the world, the Word was opened interiorly, for there were revealed by the Lord, when He was in the world, interior Divine truths which were to be of service and also did serve the new church which was established by Him. At the present day. al.§.o, on account of similar causes, the Word has been interiorly opened, and t~ence ther,e ha&e been re­vE'JI.led Diyine.Jl~,\~ths-still mm:g ~x_wllicli.are

to be of service for th~ New Church which is to be called the New Jerusalem.

36

"The way of the Divine Providence, in reveal­ing Divine truths, can be seen from the churches which have been successively established ... In­most Divine truths were revealed to those who were of the Most Ancient Church; but exterior Divine truths were revealed to those who were of the Ancient Church, and most external, or ultimate Divine truths to the Hebrew Church, and finally to the Israelitish, in which at last all Divine truth perished, for there was finally nothing in the Word which had not been adulter­

[ ated. But after the end of that church there were revealed by the Lord interior Divine truths for the

~Ch h CGiqw truths stIli more in­he..cDming Chuich. These iriteriOl­

truths are those which are' in the internal or spiritual sense of the Word. Fror;:;:- these things iCisman-ifest, that there has been a progression

r of the Divine truth from inmosts to ultimates, \ thus fr:.om wisdom to mere ignorance, and that ~ there is taking place a progression of the

DIvine truth from ultimates to }nteri~s, thus( from ignorance again to wiscfom."

, Apocalypse Explained 948

"The Lord Jehovah from the New Heaven derives and produces a New Church upon earth, which is done by a Reyelation of Truths from His

37

n mouth, or from His Word, and by means of Inspiration." Coronis 18

"In place of miracles, there has at this day taken place a..manifestation of the Lord Himsclf, an intromission into the spmfuaI world, and enlightenment there by..,mea.ll.Saof.,.Y.2.e1;J-im!!@ ~t....fJ;Otn .the Lo-W in such things as are -the interior things of the church. But chiefly, the opening of the spiritual sense in the Word, in which the Lord is in His own Divine light.

Coronis, Mir. IV

"The manifestation of the Lord in Person, and tmTJ4ntro'dtretftfu~'lieflord into -Hle spiritual world, both as to sight and as to hearing and speech, surpaSS!tU:.roiraCles; for we do not read anywher~ III ~tory tnif-such intercourse with angels and spirits nas been granted-from the creation of the world. For I am daily ""Im angels 'there, even as Cam in the world with men; and this now for twenty-seven years. Th.e.J;estimoni§s

[ oLthis interc,Qurse are the books which have been published by me concerning heaven and hell, and also the memorable relations thence in the last work, called the True Christian Religion ... Tell me, who ever before has known anything about heaven and hell, about the state of man after death, about spirits and angels, etc., etc.

38

"Besides these most evident testimonies [there is the fact] that the BLiritual sense of the Word has been disclosed ~he.4~e, which has never before been reveale~since the Word was

(. written amoQg the sOIls of}_sr~ael~ ani.EPis 'l/;~

lis the very Sanctuar f th rd: T-he Lord Himse IS in his [sense] witli~His Divine, a.nd in the natural sense with His Human. This, even as to an iota, cannot ~ opened ~1JlY the LQrd Himself. This surpasses all the revelations which ..aye been made,..s5n£© the creation of the world. Through this revelation there is opened a com­munication of men with the angels of heaven, and a conjunction of the two worlds has been effected; since when man is in the natural sense, the angels are in the spiritual sense ... "

Invitation to the New Church 43,44

"... To interpret the spiritual sense from truths of doctrine opens heaven, because that- is t.he sense in which the angels are, and so man by means of that- sense thinks together with angels and thus conjoins them to himself in his intellect­ual mind ... " De Verbo VII:6 (20) >I<

"... By 'the book' which the Lamb took from Him that sat on the throne, and of which He

* Compare AC 2094:3, 3316 :3.

39

--

--

loosed the seven seals (Apoc. 5, 6), is meant the Word....Therefore by 'the little book' (Apoc. 10 :2) in the hand of the angel, who also is the Lord ... nothing else is meant than the Word as to some essential therein ... This is that doctrine in the Word thatihe..Lm;d is the God of hea~en and

)~j'j;h and that His Human is Divine ... 'The little ook' is said to be open because that doctrine

appears manifestly in the Word, and is evident to everyone who reads it, if he attends ... This subject is the very essential of the New Church ...

"'And when he cried, seven thunders uttered their voices', signifies that the Lord throuw.t the elltir.e heaven disclosed whit was in the Ilttle book ... But I will 0 en what was in the little book. In it were those things w . iC aTe con allled in The Doctrine 0 the New Jerusalem concerning '& Lord, from beginning to en ..."

'Pocalypse Revealed 469, 472

" ... In order that the true Christian religion might be disclosed, it could n.atJle otherwise than that some one should be introduced into the spiritual wo.rld, and that he shoula derive from the mouth of the Lord the genuine truths from the Word ...

"Such an intercourse, as far as I know, has .

not been granted by the Lord Jo anyone before:

40

indications that this is on account of the New ~(ChUrCh which is the CrQwn of all the churches

JI' and which is to endure to eternity ... " Invitation to the New Church, 38, 39

"In the New Church ... it is lawful to enter with the understanding and penetrate into all the secrets [ of faith] and also !l?.. confirm them by the ~. The reason is that its doctrinals are con­tinuous verities laid open by the Lord b means of t e or , an con rma IOns of them by rational things cause the understanding to be opened above more a~e, and thus to be elevated into the light in which the angels of heaven are ... "

True Christian Religion 508

" 'And it was given to her that she should be arrayed in fine linen clean and bright,' signifies that they who will be of the Lord's New Church are instructed OX the Lord in genuine and pure truths through the Word." Apocalypse Revealed 814 - --- - a;::;

"The angels have told me , .. that when [they are turned] to those things which are in my thought from the heavenly doctrine, then they are in greater clarity than in any other case."

Spiritual Diary 5610

41�

By reason of its revealed Doctrine,11 the New Church is to become the Crown of all the Churches.

I'

"The [first Christian] Church kun~ nothing whatever of this its consummatioD aDd end, nor can it know anything of it, before the Divine Truths vt;hich arttirom the ~rd in the work called 'The True Christian Religion' are seen iri light and acknowledged." Coronis, Sum. xlix

"That the New Church is the Crown of all the Churches that have hitherto been upon the earth, is because it will worship the one visible God, in whom is the invisible God like the soul in the body . . . That this Church is to succeed the churches which have existed since the beginning of the world; that it is to endure for a es of ages, a 's thu e crown of al the churches that have gone before it, was prophesied by Daniel ... " True Christian Religion 787, 788

"Because we now have One God in the Church, who is God Man and Man God, therefore this [Church] is called the Crown of all the Churches."

Invitation to the New Church 53

42

fi \ \ );:,..#:,. /lA.Sf ,. .<Ph.. -n I 7.01 /.-; f~ ...... ~

.> ~ lV'" ~ (>. ~'T-o"$) 5 J-/I~ 10'"'7

"That the four churches of this earth have undergone these changes of state, will be shown in what follows; and finally that the Church truly

hris.tian which today succeeds these four, ~

neyer unde.rgo consummation." Coronis 24 ~. .~

"That this New Church, truly Christian, which is at this day being established by the Lord, is to endure to eteJ:P,ity, confirmed from the Worn both testaments-; and jP...2cLit_wasJ~r..~s"e~lLfr-mP

ithe creation,Qf th.e :wo~ld. That it~~~become the rown of the four antecedent churches, because

[there will be] true i~ithand true charity. "That in this New Church there will be ~Qirit­

ual peace, which is glory, a,nd internal ble~~s

..Qf life, also confirmed from the Word of both testaments.

"That these things will be in this New Church, or the sake of -conjunction,.;with th.e-.Lord and

through Him with God the Father." Coronis, Sum. lii·liv

"The manifestation of the Lord and intro­mission into the spiritual world, surWW'il all ~cl~s. ...1'..his..has,JJ,oLhee,.n.g.tall.te

inc.e.the c.r.eation as it has besen to me. The men of the 'Golden Age indeed spoke withangels, but it was not granted them to be in any other than natural light; but to me it is granted to be in both

43

/'

~piritu.?-l and natural l.ight at the same time. By this means it has been granted me to see the wonderful things of heaven, to be together with the angels as one of them, and at the same time to draw forth (haurire) truths in light and thus to perceive and teach them; consequently .t2...12e led by the ;Lord." Invitation to the New Church 52

The Revelation of the Doctrines of12 the New Church constitutes' the Second Advent of the Lord. •

"The Coming of the Lord is not His coming to destroy the visible heaven and the habitable earth . . . " True Christian Religion 768

"Since His ascension into heaven (the Lord] is in the glorified Human; and in this He cannot appear to any man unless He first open the eyes of his spirit....It is a vain thing to believe that the Lord is to appearillflieClouds of neaven III

il) p~; but He is to .appe.ar in the Word, wh~h(dJ }J is from H~m, thus is!IiJ:~~elf." .

True Christian Religion 777

44

\1 4 '­

I.-- "'- W;o N>'f (>. () re> ~ ) .....s r Q vJ~ tf--. / A~I' ~ t.!,-... ,

....-t..H~;,

(~. /JA .Ss) "[The coming of the Son of Man in the clouds

of heaven'" means] that when He comes to judg­\'

ment He will ap],:)£~thyens,e pf the.lettel'.,Qf(AP+>,S3 [the Word.~ And because He now has come, He has

therefore appeared intheWorct1hrough this that He has revealed that there is a s irit al sense in every smgle thing of the sense of the letter of the Word; and that in it He alone is treated of, andJ-=­that He alone is the God of heaven and earth.

I/These are the things meant by His advent in the Jl clouas o'f heaven";. Apocalypse Revealed 642

.::'This Sec.Q.nd-Ady_euJ..-U.I_w..u

by means of a man before w-h.OIrL~ .nas maDl­rested Hi:r;nselUn,YersQU aP..L\Yho.mJi~ has filled \:Vith His _Smrit, to teach the doctrines of the ~ew Church (hr.omili the:Woiil t¥onCB\m.

i< ••• It follQWS that He is to do it.by"means QLa_m~, who is able not only to receive the doctrines of this Church with his understanding, but also to publish them by the press. That the Lord has manifested Hi.rrJ.§.e,li_befoLe."" me Hi"s servant and sent me on this office, and that, af~r

t.!:lis" He QD-elled the §.ight of muviri['a"llil thus iet me into the..spiritual world and gave me to see

* Matt. 16:27,24:30,26:64, Mark 14:61,62, Luke 21:27,22:69.

45

the heavens and the hells, and also to speak with angels and spirits, and this now for many years,

testity...i!Lt~th; and also that from the first day of that call, I have not received any thing which pertains to the doctrines of that Church from any angel, Q,1lU-rom the I,o-tCLal<w..e»ile~eadC'"t!le

" True Christian Religion 779

" 'And they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and reat gory, sIgnifies that then the or shall be re­

M,S'~JJ~as to its internal.. s~se, in which the Lord is. The 'Son of Man' is the truth Divine which is therein." Arcana Coelestia 4.Q60:7

1 ';The A<4;,ept of the Lord is the revelation of "'truth Divine at the end of the church."

- Arcana Coelestia 9807.4

" ... It has now pleased the Lord to reveal manLarcana or h\~ven, esPEtciallL_t,h~int~E.~al

.\0t" s or spiritual sense of t~ WQrd, which hitherto has heen entirely unknown; and therewith He has taught th..Lg~!!..l!tne tru_th~__of do~~rine; which revelation is meant by the Adygnt of thg LQjdin Matthew xxiv." Apocalypse Explained 641:3

"That a new ecclesiastical history should be j,. w!.!!kn, because now is the Advent ofthe Lord,

IJIj I[ predicted in Matthew, chap. XXIV... •/IJ.

46 /JIJ., Sf! -tA..." viI) url r~;,")''" ,,) .......

ft-f7~ ( w_' jt............, ) Ac..<:.

~ l.v'" ,,'" 0' D 0<:>5) .-.". f' "

"'I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse' (Rev. xix.H) signifies the spiritual seIk,>e of the Wo&<1,..J:eyeale.d,.by the LOLd, and thereby the interior _understanding oirtlleWord disclosed, which is the advent of the Lord ... That tIi'iSis-QLtha Lord, is because by thaJ; sense it m~ni.fe~!y appears that the_ Lor~ is~_Word,

that~tll~ Word tr~ts of Him~e, that He is the 1\ God of heaven and earth, and that the New \ Churcli exists from Him alone.... The spiritual J sens~ of~Word is at this day revealed...."

Apocalypse Revealed 820

* One of these two copies-of the Summaria Expositio-has been ' found and is on display in the Royal British Museum. The in·

scription on the fly leaf reads: "Hie Liber est Adventus Domini, scriptum ex mandato" (This Book is the Advent of the Lord,

( written by command). Four references are added in Sweden· borg's hand: "2513, 4535, 6895, 8427, p. 19."

47

I....t. c.. c ~J ) Go-, 1::' J,;j I J ".

presence in <the Wor.d, and revelation.... Hence it is manifest that '-by these words of the Lord is meant that at the end of the church, wE.~l1J9_ve and thence faith would be no more, the Lord wow<ropenleWO,L<{:as to-itS-Internal sense, and would revea he arcana of heaven. The arcana revealed in the following pages are cQncerning

eayen and hell and at the same time cQn¥-erning the life Qf man after death . . . That at this day

ttheI:e-exists such an immediat.e_revelation. is be­) cause this is what is meant by the Advent Qf the ~." Heaven and Hell r

~ .

"The dQctrine Qf the church is that this* is the Adyent Qf the Lord and that thence it is that a'i=cana have been ~ened by the Lord respecting heaven and hell, man's 11 e after eath, the Word, the last judgment-which have all heen written Qut in Latin and sent to all the archbishops and bishops of the kingdom [of Great Britain] and to

rthe nobility. And still not a wQrd has been heard,

=- e Church, and that it is ow the very end Qf the church and indeed that he church nQ longer exists ... "

Conce:ning the Athanasian Creed 2

• [lie-The context refers to Matthew 24 and to the phrase "jmmediate reyelation" in Heaven and Hell, n. 1.

48

" ... Without the advent of the Lord into the world, no one could have been saved. It is similar at ihis day: wherefore unless the Lord came again

(t!Uto the world.in Pi¥ine trytg !Vji}~p ~s_th~ WoXd, not anyone can be saved." True Christian Religion 3

IlVL H,bE.YLVl,lUi+ llise

"That a revelation has been made by the Lord concerning heaven and hell, concerning the last judgment (which has been I accomplished), and-- -'concerning the:spiritual sense of pie Word. Thus the way to salvati,6h has been revealea~ and the state of man after death; and this fully and plainly, so that an:x;one ;wOO npdm;staMs the

( Latin language can know ... " De Domino, Preface 52

49

13 In the Writiljlgs.,-.. . ","_'iD His Sec I.· ........_"-~ t in His Divine Human, as to Divine Truth and Doctrine Itself.

"To the end that the Lord might be constantly present, He ha.s..diSg1;Qsed.tO.JUe thE(spiritual §ense o~W~q, in which Divine truth is in itS light, and m-this He is constantly Present; for His presence in the Word is from nowhere else than through the spiritual sense ...

True Christian Religion 780

" ... The spiritual sense of the Word Das been disclosed by the Lord through me; whicnh;s never before been revealed since the Word was written among the sons of Israel; and this [sense] is the very sanctuary of the Word; iheJ4rd Hjm­$'elf is in thjs !;MPse] with His Divine and in the natural sense with His Human ... "

Invitation to the New Church 44

"By the 'Comforter' (Paracletum) is meant the Divine truth which the Lord was while in the world, and which proceeds from the Lord after He glorified His Human and went out of the world; therefore He said that He would send the Com­forter, and that He Himself would come. ;£0 'send

50

, =s tiLillust:rauLand.instmct_in the gU_J"W:i U.!..J.¥Wi, and 'to come to them' is to lead

- -- Arcana Coelestia 9199

"Whether you say 'the Lord' or 'the Divine truth,' it is the same, since all Divine truth is from Him, and therefore He Himself is in it: whence it is that iJw Lobd" is calle.d 'the...Word', for the Word is Divine truth." Apocalypse Explained 411:4

"Whether you say 'the Lord's Divine Human' or 'the Divine truth,' it is the same, since~

Lord when He was in the world~ e 'vine tru 1- se C ,an w en e went out of the world-He made Himself Divine good, from which is the Divine truth." Arcana Coelestia 10258:4

"Nothing whatever of Doctrine can proceed] ~m the Divin~ itself ex~eDt thrQugh the n~~e ~

Human, that is, through the Word, which, in the ~A. ~

supreme sense, is the Divine truth from the Lord's Divine Human." Arcana Coelestia 5321:2

51

- ---

--

"What proceeds from the Lord is the Lord ... >.

, Arcana Coelestia 9407:12

"The interl'l:a) sense ... is the soul of the Wora, and is the Divine truth itself proceeding from the Lord; thus it is th~LQrd..lI~elf." .

Arcana Coelestia 9349:2

l

"In order that it may be known how the case is with the doctrine of faith, viz., that it is ~rityal

from a celestial or~n, it is to be observed that th~ Doctrine is Divine truth from the Divine good, consequently Divine throughout (in totum).

J

What is Divine is incomprehensible . . . b~ll

this Divine which is incomprehensible can inflow into man's rational u the Divine Human o e ord, and while it inflows into his rational iriS received there according to the trut,hs which are there. . . . As the Lord is the Divine good, so also He is the Divine truth; thus He is the

\ Doctrine itself." Arcana Coelestfa. 2531 - ....c---::

J-:,nasrouch. as the_L,ord is ~ord, He also i~t~l?octrine, for there can be no other Doctrine( which is itself Divine." Arcana Coelestia 2533

ale SoUigpjfj~s

",vJ-:ww..J.,~h ... TheTIocfrine -the N7w

(puorished in London, 1758) ; also the

52

D.od~(J.. the Lord, the Sacred Scrip­tu're and Life (Amsterdam, 1763) .... For by 'the Doctrine' are meant all the truths of the Doctrine, because the Doctrine is their complex. When.th$WeJ D..Qddnes.,w.ere being written, the Dragonists

11 s~~.und me, and combined with all their fury to devour, that is, to extinguish them...."

Apocalypse Revealed 543

"It was also told [the bishop] that the work is 21. mine but the-L~ Who wished to reveJI

the nature (quale) oflieaven and hell, [etc.] ... And I also told him that t1,lis-V.evelatLQIl...].J.~e

J\, 'male child' whom the woman brought forth and ~hom the oragon wi~hed to devour." ,

Spiritual Diary 6101:2

"Hence also it is that as<'the Lord is the Wo";ct; so also is He~~of the Church; for all Doetfine is from the Word." Apocalypse Explained 19

53

I

,J V1f'?~ ~ l )"Or8:~.J '1- 0j";. "-I~J ~ H~"." 7

"It is said [in the title], 'The Doctrine of the� New Jerusalem', and what is meant there is the� Doctrine for the New Church which is at t is� !lliy to be instaurated by the Lor ; or the old� church has arrived at its end ... "�

Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the Lord, preface.

Divine authority belongs 14 to the Lord alone.

" ... It is the Divine which bears witness con­�cerning the Divine, and not man from him­self ... " * Apocalypse Explained 635�

"Lest man should be in doubt whether the Word is Divine and most holy, its inte'rnal sense ~as be~)].. revealed to me by .thrLo~d . .: Thit sense i~he s~ whic~ vivifie~ letter'; ~~e:e­fore thatsen-se can testIfy concermng the DIvImty and sanctity of the Word, and convince even the natural man, if he is willing to be convinced".

True Christian Religion 192

"It is one thing to have faith in and believe in the Lord, and another to have faith in and believe any man. The difference shall be told below."

Doctrine of Faith 7

• In three places, the Writings give a list of those books in the Bible which are the Word of God bec_aus~the1- c.~n a con­

JjI .tinuous internal sense inspired by TheLorCl. See AC 10325. WH� 10,- and HD 266:'�

54�

"The doctrinals of the church are to be learned, and then exploration is to be made from the Word as to whether they are true; for they Are not true

ecause the.hea.ds.Qf the.chuu:b ba:V:4saLd so and their followers confirm it, inasmuch as thus the doctrinals of all churches and religions would have to be called true, merely according to country and birth . . . " Arcana Coelestita 6047 ..

" . . . My friend, do not put trust in any council, but have faith in the Word of the Lord which is above councils." True Christian Religion 489

"The worldly and corporeal man says in his heart, 'Unless I am instructed concerning faith and everything relating to it, by sensual things, so that I may see them, or by means of science, so that I may understand them, I will not believe'; and he confirms hiI!lself in his incredulity by the fact that natural things cannot be contrary to spiritual things. Thus he desires to he jpstructed in what is heavenly and Divine from wWt is sensual,...Y{hic.b 1Y\¥eJ:,th~~ihle fl~it

is for a cameJ.Jo go through the eye of a peedle; for the more he desires to grow wise by such a process, the more he blinds himself, till at lepR:1JJ he comes to believe nothing, not even that there is < ­

.. Compare AC 5402, 6822, 5432:5.

55

any thing spiritual or an eternal life. This follows from the principle which he lays down; and this is to eat of the tree of the knowledge of goocfand . evil, of which, the.mo-re heeats..t.h*=nNte-dead he becomes. But he who desires tQ grow wise from the Lord "and not from the world, ~ys in his heart that the LOrd must he believed, that is, the things wh!~jhE:l LorJ:tB?-~_~po~e~~~~~d!because they are truths, and from this principle he thinks. He confirms himself by rational considerations, by science, and by sensual and natural things, and those which are not confirmatory, he separates."

Arcana Coelestia 128

\I

"There are two principles - one which leads to all folly and madness, and another which leads to all intelligence and wisdom. The former principle is to deny all things, as when a man says in his heart that he cannot believe such things until he is convinced by what he can grasp or feel; this principle is what leads to all foll~ and mad­ness, and may be callAA..the negative principle. The other principle is to affirm those thmgs whicl1 ~.!.e ~doctrine from the Word? as when a man thinks and believes that t~true because the Lord has said so; this principle is what leads to all intelligence and wisdom, and may be called the affirmative princi12le ... " Arcana Coelestia 2568

56

"Those think ... from the affirmative who believe that things are true besause.the,LOl:d,.haS said so in the Word, thus those who have faith in 'fiie Lord. They who deny that what is in the Word is true, and who say in their hearts that they will believe when they are persuaded by things rational and scientific, are in such a state of mind that the;y will never believe, - no, not even when con­vinced by the bodily senses, as by the sight, the hearing, and the touch; for they always frame new reasonings against such convictions, so as to finally altogether extinguish all faith, and at the same time turn the light of the rational into dark­ness, because into falses. But those who are in the affirmative, that is, whg_heli~at tbingB..J!:re

e because the Lord bas...y'lj~o, are continually being confirmed through rational, scientific and even sensual things, and their ideas are enlight­

-"1 ened, and tllfy are strengthened "MLith..:these,

1 doctrine 'lives' . " " "They who incline to a life of evil fall into the

$ative; but they who inclinetoal~eof g..90d are led into.Jhe affirmative . . . .... ­ ~"They who have blinded themselves by not be­ing willing to believe anything which they do not grasp by the senses, until at length they have come

r to believe nothing, were of old called 'serpents of Lthe tree of knowledge' ...

57

"In the other life such are readily distinguished from other spirits by this, that on every subject relating to faith they reason whether it be so or not, and, though it be shown to them a thousand and thousand times to be so, still they raise negative doubts in opposition to every confirma­tion, and this to eternity. They are therefore blinded to such a degree that they are bereft of common sense- that is, they cannot comprehend what is good and true ... "

Arcana Coelestia 2588 :2, 3, 9

"With those who are in the negative-that is, those with whom the negative universally reigns­doubts can in no wise be removed, for with them one scruple avails more than a thousand confirma­tions; for one scruple is as a grain of sand placed close before the pupil of the eye, which, although it is single and small, nevertheless takes away all sight. But they who are in the affirmative-that is, those with whom the affirmative universally reigns-reject the scruples that arise from falla­cies which are contrary to truths; and if there are any which they do not comprehend, they r..eject them to th~s and say that they do not yet understand them, and so they remain still in the

faith of truth." Arcana Coelestia 6479

58

"Those who start with a negative never be­lieve, because the negative principle reigns uni­versally [with them], and when it reigns univer­sally, those scientifics which deny inflow and are collected together, but not those which confirm; those which confirm are thrown aside, or are explained so as to favor the negative scientifics, and thus the negative is confirmed."

Arcana Coelestia 6383

ths..spgkep ng the Lgr-d and concern­ing the Lord, are to be believed even though we are not able to penetrate them by reason. To wish to deny because we cannot penetrate by the reason, is therefQn~l jkg a desire to deny the

rocreatioV5 pf trees from seeds and of animals from eggs ... Hence it may be seen what kind of a faith \a man has when he believes nothing but what he sees, as is common at this day, especially among the learned of the world."

Spiritual Diary 2727

"'And the prince of thy people thou shalt not curse' (Exodus 22 :28). Hereby is signified that neither ought the Doctrine of truth to be blas­:Rhemed ... Divine truth is the Word, and is &trlne fr<!m~~ord. They who deny these in""""heart, blaspheme, even though with the mouth

59

they praise the Word and preach it. In the denial lies concealed the blasphemy ... Therefore, with th.vnaILo! the,Chur.chJ;he.first of all principre'; is to believe the Word ... " Arcana; Coelestia 9222

t1 ~-~ vINo ,,01 /) ( ).. ~>-" S )

.....s f <J 5r-: r::: --p A> 0 e-t:::. 1~ I

I

0.. ~ 1'.. c.. er---­

[~ W~ f:::. __ ) '> ~ r-. . J ~ ~ vJ',o~ ('>-. ~'yj) <:> )

Cc,", ff) 'vJ~H~

--t.h <f'"j

J.-. A......:. e:..-JZ.

[1: ~f'~d ( ~ A--fJ.. ~ ~ • I Ae:t.. .fa.---" <'IN.~_

4-- f--,."", L;oJ'r-::.~ _ ~ f:. /.... ....., - _. --- J I1 ~L

b1-~J­'00 ~'-'--) A

D 1\; . ~:l I/.I~<---- J

60

NOTES

The Internal Sense and the Sense of the Letter

"The internal sense ~the Word _its~

(AC 1540). Yet "the Divine truth is in its ful­ness in the sense of the letter of our~".

(AElo-8'f:2, ~mpare SS 39)HenceitTSalso taught that "the Word ... is not the Word until

) i~ is"'in the sense of the letter.'1 TEe ~ord notTn t~t ultimate would be like a temp~e in ~ir

) and not on earth, or like a man havmg flesh but without "bonesn: (AE 1087 :2, compare 1(j8~5,

TCR 214e, De Verbo 25) "It is from the spiritual s~e that~-rd\isD~~~n~IY inspired and holy in every, sentence (voce)." (TCR 200) But "in our natural Word are contained both the spiritual

JWord and the celestial Word", while "in the

1spiritual and celestial Word the natural Word is not contained; wherefore the Word in our world is most full of Divine wisdom, and thence is more holy than the Words in the heavens". (De Verbo 35, compare 54, heading)

When viewed spiritually the doctrine of the New Church presented in he Writings annot be separated in thought from t e ord given in its

If liter.al sense in the Old and N~estaments;any fL. more than the Tnte;;al sense can be separated

J

d­

.,. '>~ W':1",-p( (>- .!j~~<:> S ) s jop ~H

, • ~ w";:' ffA-­<l.. ..../::;'.IP...."" 4'~

from the sense of the letter. "For the sense of the letter is the basis into which the spiritual ideas, which are with the angels, close, much the same as words (voces) are the basis into which the meaning of the thought falls and is communi­cated to another" (AE 356 :5). The doctrine of

. '" ( the New Church "Is....solely from the s~~e

) letter of the Word", 'and "the Word in the senseI of the}et~r contains all things of the doctrine of

the New Church". (AR 898, 902) The statement that the doctrine is drawn

"from the sense of the letter" where it is also "contained", does not contradict the further teach­ings that it is "from the spiritual se~e" (HD 7), that "the internal sense contains it", and that it is

)identical with the doctrine of genuine truth which is the syiritual sense appearing in t~e literal sense. (See WH 11 :3, AC 9030e, 7233 :3, 10400 :2-4, 9424, SS 25, et aI.)

A similar paradox is presented in the teach­ings, a) "that the Lord is present with man and enlightens him, and teaches him the truths of the church", iI~ the sense of the letter of the Word ~

"and nowhere" else" (SS 53) ; b) that "elsewhere than in the WOJZd the Lord does not reveal Him­self, nor there otherwise than tbrough the internal ~~e" (AE 36). These ideas make one in the light of the statements (in AC 7233:3) that

62

----.

.

---------

A. S~. So.. c.,r.....e..,.{ H~I-b1uz-(

.j~~~ 7

(doctrin_e should be_formed from the "internal� sense";; for "ethe internal sense is not only that� ~nsewhich lies concea]ed In the ~nal sense, ...� but is also that which results from a number of� passages of the sense of the letter rightly collated,� and which is discerned by those who are enlight­�ened by the Lord in respect to their intellectual".�

$-5f.;., A~5''t

Swedenborg's States of Preparation

The citations in the preceding collection are selected to illustrate the character of the Theo­lQgical Writings of Swedenborg and show theirI status as works of Divine revelation. We have not inCluded any statements whi'Ch Swedenborg made about his states of inspiration during the years of his preparatory studies of the Scripture, especially during his writing of the "Ad-V~9cia", which was not published until long after his death and which is now known by the English title, "The Word Explained". For in this interval (1745­1747), before he began to write the Arcana Coelestia,h~g~diI!.<:l~d feel states of inspiration,l

Sbut he also records states of .@~air when inspiI.:~­ l tion seemed to fail and he experienced uncertain­ties and obscurities2• He was then annoyed by�

l) WE 6884, 5587, 1409, 7006, 3323.� 2) WE 2755 et seq.�

63

spirits whp Gaused slips and errors3, so that truths were ~ixed with·· things nottrue4 • He showed hesitancy as to whether to make changes in his statements5 •

States Experienced for the Sake of Instruction

For the sake of learning the manner in which the Old Testament was "inspired as to every letter", Swedenborg was also permitted to ex­perience certain states like those of the prophets. Thus spirits were occ~si_onany :Rermitted to di~te I to him and even ~eemingly to lead his hand: \.

"This[happened] ver~ely, and-.!2cly for the s~of info~_mation that revelations are effected J in this way also. But these papers have been destroyed (deletae2because G.?i Messiah was un­

( willing tl)at it ;;bould_ he efte~t~~J~ this way. Nor has it been permitted that anything should be dictated viva voce . . . but while it was being written, the [spirits] were silent.6 These matters,

(God Messiah granting, will be spoken of more ) fully elsewhere, in ordErr.--that.:m.eD.--m.ay know how l re~ons took place formerly ..." 7 (WE 7006,

written in 1746)

3) WE 2755, SD 2372. 4) WE 1526 notes, 1530, 475, 1711, 1712. !LWE_61~~,-et alii!. ­6) Compare SDm5e. 7) Compare WE 6884, 6885 and notes.

64

" . . . It was not allowed me to tell anything here of what was dictated to me orally by any one of them. When this was done, the writing had to be obliterated, it being allowed me to tell onl such things as flowed in from God Messiah alone, both mediately t roug them, an a so Im,.

"i'nediately-which yet was manifest to me." (WE 1892)8

"When I was writing and was in a certain intermediate celestial perception, it was perceived and said that each and all the words and syllables, with their little curves, we!~ perceived b~e

, celestials, and as it were spoke to them. This is effected from tl)e aff~~Eon in which the man

( , then is, having been communicated to the hand,1or being in the hand; for~..,...beipgno.~,

I i§,.t!m ma,D himself. Hence it was evident in what manner the Word has been inspired, that it is so, as to every single jot and apex. Hence it is that the handwriting is according to the affection alliI"Obscurity of tEe animus with me."-rSt5482-0)

"[The spirits] who now spoke to me said that the things which I had written are so crude and gross, that they judged that nothing interior could

8) One crossed-off passage reads: "The above was written only by my hand, not by my mind". (WE 1511 note, Compare WE 1526, 1530.)

65

be understood from those words or from the mere sense of the words. I perceived also by a spiritual

I

idea that this was so, that they were indeed very crude; wherefore it was given me to answer that hey ar~lyvesselsTntowhich purer, 15efter, and

interlQr things can-be infused, as a literal s~e,

and that there are many such vessels, as it were, of the senseof theletter fn the prophetical books . .. (SD 2185)

"[The angels] especially observed what the inspiration is of those things which are written in the Word of the Lord. For now it has appeared to them in what way, and in what an abundance, there iDfi~Q. into those things which we.!],JVrit­,ten by me; and thisnot only Intothe several words and the ideas of the words; nay, it seemed to them as if certain ones were holding my hand and were writing, claiming that they were the

( ones who were writing. It was also granted me to perceive by a spiritual idea, nay, as it were to feel beforehand, what was in the most minute singulars of each little letter which was being

( wr~. Hence IrIS as friclear light that the Word of the Lord is inspired as to ever letter. 1748,

une O. 22 0; compare 557)

Swedenborg also was shown "by living ex­perience" how the prophets of Israel had been

66

obsessed,9 and how they had experienced various types of visions.10 Yet the things ordinarily "seen and heard" by Swedenborg in the other life were not classed as "visions". He wrote, "I asseverate that these things are not visions, but sights in complete wakefulness" (CLJ 35) or "in the high­( est wakefulness of the body" (AC 1885).

,,~ .. .com­preface, AR 962,

..... \. 'I I i 1'1

9) SD 2272 - 2282. 10) AC 6212, SD 2283.

67

SD 438, CL 166) Thus he always retained full use of his rational mind, acting as of himself (DP 290), even when, on occasions, for the sake of information, he was "obsessed" by spirits as were the prophets. (SD 2659,2665,3963, compare AC 6212)

He gained his information about the spiritual world gradually and it increased with his ex­periences, as is clearly revealed in his "Spiritual Diary". And while every indication shows that he was a regenerating man, who could on this account be a companion of angels, the Divine in­spiration which he enjoyed was not dependent on the advancing states of his personal regeneration. Angels were sometimes present who aided his

( memory (CL 73e). Yet while wH'ip",4own the doctrine of the New Church). ~o spirit dared nor did any angel wish to introduce anything alien; nOr djiSWedenhQJ:g take-iWyj;biDg7tOm hplf.

\ (AR, preface)

The Heavenly Doctrine in the Spiritual World

Since revelations take place in both worlds (AE 641 :3), the Writings were often seen and quoted by Swedenborg in the spiritual world (CL 416, AR 716). The five books published in 1758 were presented to certain African spirits

68

(SD 5946, compare 4775, 4777 and CLJ 76). Swedenborg's summaries of the internal sense were compared with the Word as existing in a heavenly society (SS 97). The heavenly doctrine was seen in the spiritual world r.w..Qs~a cedar table, in the form of the "Angelic Wisdom I concerning t--,;;]jiv-;;e Loveand Wisdom" and "~cernin!l. the Divine Providence" (AR 875:15, also called "Celestial Arcana" in TCR 461e). Swedenborg mentions the' existence of many

( cop-ies orthe-Brief Exposition in the other world. (Eccl. Hist. 4, 8, compare SD 5908)

"When the heavenly doctrine concerning the Lord is known on one earth, the rest are thus

( able to know it when they become spirits and angels." (SD 4781, cp. 4780, EU 118)

69