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LIBRARY OF THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
PRINCETON. N. J.
PRESENTED BY
The Trustees of the
Lydia S. Rotch Legacy
Division
Section
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by the Internet Archive
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TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
VOL. II
ftotcf) tuition
OF
SWEDENBORG'S WORKS
VOLS.
I-I9
HEAVENLY ARCANA
20
I VI1T.' V A I)/' A \r A
llNJJr-A AKLAJNA
, 21
HEAVEN AND HELL
22
MISCELLANEOUS WORKS
Final Judgment
White Horse
Earths in the Universe
Summary Exposition
23
New Jerusalem and its Heavenly
Doctrines
24
DIVINE LOVE AND WISDOM
Intercourse between the Soul
and the Body
25
DIVINE PROVIDENCE
26-28
APOCALYPSE REVEALED
29
MARRIAGE LOVE
30-32
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
THE
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
CONTAINING
THE UNIVERSAL THEOLOGY
OF
THE NEW CHURCH
FORETOLD BY THE LORD IN DANIEL VII, 13, 14
AND IN THE APOCALYPSE XXI, i, 2
BY
EMANUEL SWEDENBORG
SERVANT OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
First published in Latin, Amsterdam, 1771
Rote!) enitton
VOL. II
BOSTON AND NEW YORK
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
(Ebe fcibewtbe Press Cambribue
Daniel VII, 13, 14
I saw in the night visions, and behold one like the Son of
Man came from the clouds of the heavens. And there was given
Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom; and all people, na-
tions, and languages shall serve Him. His dominion is an ever-
lasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom
that which shall not be destroyed.
Apocalypse XXI, 1, 2, 5, 9, 10
I John saw a new heaven and a new earth. And I saw the
holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of
heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And an
angel talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee
The Bride, The Lamb's Wife. And he carried me away in the
spirit, upon a great and high mountain, and showed me that
great city, the Holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from
God.
He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things
new. And He said unto me, Write : for these words are true
and faithful.
CONTENTS
Contents ok Volume Two.
CHAPTER V.
The Catechism or Decalogue Explained as to its External
and its Internal Senses, n. 283-331.
I. In the Israelitish Church the Decalogue was Holiness Itself:
the holiness of the ark, in which was the Law. n. 283-286.
II. In the sense of the letter the Decalogue contains general pre-
cepts of doctrine and life; but in the spiritual and celestial senses, all
universally, n. 287-290.
III. First : Thou shalt have no other God before My faces, n. 291-
296.
IV. Second: Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God
in vain; for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless, that taketh His name
in vain. n. 297-300.
V. Third: Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy; six days
thou shalt labor and do all thy work; but the seventh is a Sabbath to
Jehovah thy God. n. 301-304.
VI. Fourth: Honor thy father and mother, that thy days may be
prolonged, and it may be well with thee upon earth, n. 305-308.
VII. Fifth: Thou shalt not kill. n. 309-312.
VIII. Sixth: Thou shalt not commit adultery, n. 313, 316.
IX. Seventh: Thou shalt not steal, n. 317-320.
X. Eighth: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor,
n. 321-324.
XI. Ninth and Tenth: Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house;
thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wile, nor his man-servant, nor his
maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neigh-
bor's, n. 325-328.
XII. The Ten Commandments contain all things which are of
love to God, and of love toward the neighbor, n. 329-331.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER VI.
Faith, n. 336-384.
Faith is first in time, but charity is first in end. n. 336.
I. Saving faith is in the Lord God the Saviour Jesus Christ since
it is in the visible God, in whom is the invisible, n. 337-339.
II. The sum of faith is, that he who lives well and believes aright
is saved by the Lord. n. 340-342.
The first of faith in Him is the acknowledgment that He is the Son
of God. n. 342.
III. Man obtains faith by going to the Lord, learning truths from
the Word, and living according to them. n. 343-348.
The Esse of Faith; the Essence of Faith; the State of Faith; the
Form of Faith, n. 344.
Merely natural faith is persuasion, counterfeiting faith, n. 345-
348.
IV. An abundance of truths, coherent as if bound together, exalts
and perfects faith, n. 349-354.
(1.) The truths of faith may be multiplied to infinity, n. 350.
(2.) The arrangement of the truths of faith is into series, as into
fascicles, n. 351.
(3.) Faith is perfected according to the abundance and coherence
of truths, n. 352, 353.
(4.) The truths of faith, however numerous they are, and how-
ever diverse they appear, make one from the Lord. n. 354.
(5.) The Lord is the Word, the God of heaven and earth, the God
of all flesh, the God of the vineyard or church, the God of faith,
Light itself, the Truth, and Life eternal; shown from the Word,
n. 354-
V. Faith without charity is not faith, and charity without faith is
not charity; and neither lives except from the Lord. n. 355-361.
(1.) Man can obtain faith for himself, n. 356.
(2). Man can obtain charity for himself, n. 357.
(3.) Man can also obtain for himself the life of faith and charity,
n. 358.
(4.) Yet nothing of faith, and of charity, and of the life of either,
is from man, but from the Lord alone, n. 359.
CONTENTS
vii
(5.) The distinction between natural and spiritual faith; the latter
is in the former from the Lord. n. 360, 361.
VI. The Lord, charity, and faith, make one, like life, will, and
understanding in man; and if they are divided, each perishes, like a
pearl reduced to powder, n. 362-367.
(1.) The Lord, with all His Love, with all His Wisdom, thus with
all His Life, flows in with every man. n. 364.
(2.) Therefore the Lord with all the essence of faith and charity
flows in with every man. n. 365.
(3.) Those things which flow in from the Lord, are received by
man according to his form. n. 366.
(4.) But the man who divides the Lord, charity, and faith, is not
a form receiving but a form destroying them. n. 367.
VII. The Lord is charity and faith in man, and man is charity and
faith in the Lord. n. 368-372.
(1.) It is by conjunction with God that man has salvation and
eternal life. n. 369.
(2.) Conjunction with God the Father is not possible, but with the
Lord, and through Him with God the Father, n. 370.
(3.) Conjunction with the Lord is reciprocal, that is, the Lord is
in man, and man in the Lord. n. 371.
(4.) This reciprocal conjunction of the Lord and man is effected
by charity and faith, n. 372.
VIII. Charity and faith are together in good works, n. 373-377.
(1.) Charity is to will well, and good works are to do well from
willing well. n. 374.
(2.) Charity and faith are only mental and perishable things, unless
they are determined to works and coexist in them, when possible,
n- 375. 37°-
(3.) Charity alone does not produce good works, still less faith
alone, but charity and faith together, n. 377.
IX. There are true faith, spurious faith, and hypocritical faith,
n. 378-381.
The Christian Church began from the cradle to be infested and
divided by schisms and heresies, n. 378.
(1.) The true faith is the one only faith; it is faith in the Lord God
the Saviour Jesus Christ, and is with those who believe Him to be the
Son of God, the God of heaven and earth, and one with the Father,
n. 379-
(2.) Spurious faith is all faith that departs from the true, which is
viii
CONTENTS
the one only faith; and it is with those who climb up some other way,
and regard the Lord not as God but only as a man. n. 380.
(3.) Hypocritical faith is no faith, n. 381.
X. There is no faith with the evil. n. 382-384.
(1.) The evil have no faith, because evil belongs to hell, and faith
belongs to heaven, n. 383.
(2.) All those in Christendom have no faith who reject the Lord
and the Word, although they live morally, and speak, teach, and
write rationally, even about faith, n. 384.
CHAPTER VII.
Charity, or Love Toward the Neighbor; and Good Works.
n- 394-458-
I. There are three universal loves, the love of heaven, the love of
the world, and the love of self. n. 394-396.
(1.) The Will and Understanding, n. 397.
(2.) Good and Truth, n. 398.
(3.) Love in general, n. 399.
(4.) The Love of Self and the Love of the World in particular,
n. 400.
(5.) The Internal and the External Man. n. 401.
(6.) The merely Natural and Sensual Man. n. 402.
II. These three loves, rightly subordinated, perfect man; but not
rightly subordinated, they pervert and invert him. n. 403-405.
III. Every man individually is to be loved, but according to the
quality of his good. n. 406-411.
IV. Man collectively, or a smaller and a greater society, and one's
country, is the neighbor that is to be loved, n. 412-414.
V. The church is the neighbor to be loved in a higher degree, and
the Lord's kingdom in the highest, n. 415, 416.
VI. To love the neighbor, viewed in itself, is not to love the person,
but the good in the person, n. 417-419.
VII. Charity and good works are two distinct things, like willing
well and doing well. n. 420, 421.
VIII. Charity itself is to act justly and faithfully in the office, busi-
ness, and work in which one is, and with whomsoever he has inter-
course, n. 224-424.
CONTENTS
IX. The Benefactions of Charity are, giving to the poor, and
relieving the needy; but with prudence, n. 425-428.
X. There are Debts of Charity; public, domestic, and private,
n. 420-432.
XI. The Diversions of Charity are dinners, suppers, and social
gatherings, n. 433, 434.
XII. The first thing of charity is to put away evils, and the second
is to do goods which are of use to the neighbor, n. 435-438.
XIII. In the exercises of charity man does not place merit in
works while he believes that all good is from the Lord. n. 430-442.
XIV. Moral life when it is at the same time spiritual, is charity,
n. 443-445-
XV. Friendship of love contracted with one without regard to his
quality as to the spirit, is detrimental after death, n. 446-449.
XVI. There are spurious charity, hypocritical charity, and dead
charity, n. 450-453.
XVII. The friendship of love among the evil is inward hatred,
n. 454, 455-
XVIII. The conjunction of love to God and love toward the neigh-
bor, n. 456-458.
CHAPTER VIII.
Free Will. n. 463-501.
I. The precepts and dogmas of the present church respecting free
will. n. 463-465.
II. Two trees placed in the garden of Eden, one of life, and the
other of the knowledge of good and evil, signifies tkat free will in
spiritual things was given to man. n. 466-469.
III. Man is not life, but is a receptacle of life from God. n. 470-
474-
IV. As long as a man lives in the world, he is kept in the middle
between heaven and hell, and in spiritual equilibrium, which is free
will. n. 475-478.
V. From the permission of evil, in which every one's internal man
is, it is manifest that man has free will in spiritual things, n. 479-
482.
VT. Without free will in spiritual things, the Word would be of
no use, and the church would be nothing, n. 483-485.
X
CONTENTS
VII. Without free will in spiritual things there would be nothing
by which man could conjoin himself with the Lord; and consequently
no imputation, but predestination, n. 485.
Detestable things made known concerning predestination, n. 486-
488.
VIII. If there were no free will in spiritual things, God would be
the cause of evil, and so there would be no imputation, n. 489-492.
IX. Every spiritual thing of the church that enters and is received
Irom freedom, remains; but not the reverse, n. 493-496.
X. Man's will and understanding are in this freedom; but in both
worlds, the spiritual and the natural, the doing of evil is restrained by
law, as otherwise society would perish on both sides, n. 497-499.
XI. If men had not free will in spiritual things, all in the whole
world might have been led in a single day to believe in the Lord; but
this cannot be done for the reason that what is not received by man
from free will does not remain, n. 500-502.
Miracles are not now wrought, for they take away free will in spiri-
tual things, and compel, n. 501.
CHAPTER IX.
Repentance, n. 510-566.
I. Repentance is the first of the church with man. 11.510,511.
II. The contrition which at this day is said to precede faith, and
to be followed by the consolation of the Gospel, is not repentance,
n. 512-515-
III. The mere oral confession that one is a sinner, is not repent-
ance, n. 516-519.
IV. Man is born to evils of every kind; and unless by repentance he
removes them in part, he remains in them; and he who remains in
them cannot be saved, n. 520-524.
The fulfilment of the Law. n. 523, 524.
V. Knowledge of sin, and examination of some sin in oneself,
begin repentance, n. 525-527.
VI. Actual repentance is to examine oneself, to recognize and ac-
knowledge one's sins, to make supplication to the Lord, and begin
a new life. n. 528-531.
CONTENTS
xi
VII. True repentance is, to examine not only the acts of one's life,
but also the intentions of his will. n. 532-534.
VIII. They repent also, who do not examine themselves, but yet
desist from evils because they are sins; and they repent in this way who
from religion do the works of charity, n. 535-537.
IX. Confession should be made before the Lord God the Saviour,
and then supplication for aid and power to resist evils, n. 538-560.
X. Actual repentance is easy for those who have sometimes prac-
tised it; but it finds great resistance in those who have not. n. 561-
563-
XI. One who has never practised repentance, or has not looked
into and searched himself, at length does not know what damnable
evil and saving good are. n. 564-566.
CHAPTER X.
Reformation and Regeneration, n. 572-620.
I. Unless a man is born again and created anew he cannot enter
into the Kingdom of God. n. 572-575.
II. The new birth or creation is effected by the Lord alone through
charity and faith as the two means, man cooperating, n. 576-578.
III. Because all have been redeemed, all can be regenerated, each
according to his state, n. 579-582.
IV. Regeneration is effected in a manner analogous to that in which
man is conceived, carried in the womb, born, and educated, n. 583-
586.
V. The first act in the new birth is called reformation, which is of
the understanding; and the second is called regeneration, which is
of the will and hence of the understanding, n. 587-590.
VT. The internal man is to be reformed, and through this the ex-
ternal, and man is so regenerated, n. 591-595.
VII. While this is taking place, combat arises between the internal
and the external man, and the one that conquers rules over the other,
n. 596-600.
VIII. The regenerate man has a new will and a new understand-
ing, n. 601-606.
IX. A regenerate man is in communion with angels of heaven.
xii
CONTENTS
and an unregenerate man in communion with spirits of hell. n. 607-
610.
X. So far as man is regenerated sins are removed, and this removal
is the remission of sins. n. 611-614.
XI. Regeneration cannot take place without free will in spiritual
things, n. 615-617.
XII. Regeneration cannot take place without truths, by which
faith is formed, and with which charity conjoins itself, n. 618-620.
The masculine and the feminine in the vegetable kingdom, n. 585.
CHAPTER FIFTH.
THE CATECHISM OR DECALOGUE EXPLAINED AS TO
ITS EXTERNAL AND ITS INTERNAL SENSE.
282. There is no nation in the whole world which does
not know that it is evil to kill, to commit adultery, to steal,
and to bear false witness; and that if these evils were not
guarded against by laws, the kingdom, republic, and all
organized society would be at an end. Who, therefore, can
suppose that the Israelitish nation was so much more stupid
than others that it did not know that these were evils ? One
may therefore wonder that those laws, universally known in
the world, were promulgated from mount Sinai by Jehovah
Himself, with so great a miracle. But let him hear: — they
were promulgated with so great a miracle that men might
know that these were not only civil and moral, but also Di-
vine laws; and that to do contrary to them was not only to
do evil against the neighbor, that is, against a fellow-citizen
and society, but was also to sin against God. For this reason
these laws, by promulgation by Jehovah from mount Sinai,
were made laws of religion also. It is evident that what-
ever Jehovah commands, He commands that it be of relig-
ion, and thus that it is to be done for the sake of salvation.
But before the commandments are explained, something
must be premised concerning their holiness, that it may be
manifest that religion is in them.
402
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
[No. 283
In the Israelitish Church the Decalogue was
holiness Itself.
283. Because the commandments of the Decalogue were
the first fruits of the Word, and therefore the first fruits of
the church that was to be established with the Israelitish na-
tion, and because they were in brief summary an aggregate
of all things of religion, by which conjunction of God with
man and of man with God is given, therefore they were so
holy that there is nothing holier. That they were most
holy is very plain from what now follows. The Lord Jeho-
vah Himself descended upon mount Sinai in fire and with
angels, and promulgated them therefrom by the living voice,
and the mountain was hedged around lest any should come
near and die. Neither the priests nor the elders approached,
but Moses alone. These commandments were written upon
two tables of stone by the finger of God. When Moses
brought the tables down the second time, his face shone.
The tables were afterward deposited in the ark, the ark was
placed in the inmost of the tabernacle, over it was placed the
mercy-seat, over this were placed cherubs of gold, and this
inmost of the tabernacle containing the ark was called the
holy of holies. Without the veil within which was the ark,
other things were arranged which represented the holy things
of heaven and the church, the table overlaid with gold, on
which was the shew bread, the golden altar on which incense
was burned, and the golden candlestick with seven lamps;
also the curtains round about, of fine linen, purple, and
scarlet. The holiness of this whole tabernacle was from
nothing else than the law which was in the ark. On ac-
count of the holiness of the tabernacle, from the law in the
ark, all the people of Israel by command encamped around
it in order according to the tribes, and journeyed in order
after it; and then a cloud was over it by day, and a fire by
night. On account of the holiness of that law, and the
No. 284]
THE DECALOGUE
403
presence of Jehovah in it, Jehovah talked with Moses over
the mercy-seat between the cherubs, and the ark was called
Jehovah there. It was not lawful for Aaron to enter within
the veil, except with sacrifices and incense, lest he should
die. On account of the presence of Jehovah in and about
that law, miracles also were wrought by the ark which con-
tained the law: — the waters of the Jordan were divided;
and so long as the ark rested in the middle of it, the people
passed over on dry ground; the walls of Jericho fell by the
ark's being carried around them; Dagon, the god of the
Philistines, fell on his face before it, and afterward lay upon
the threshold of the temple severed from his head and the
two palms of his hands; the Bethshemites were smitten on
account of it to the number of several thousands; and Uzzah
died because he touched it. The ark was introduced by
David into Zion with sacrifice and rejoicing; and afterward
by Solomon into the temple at Jerusalem, where it made its
shrine. Other things are also recorded, from all of which it
is plain that the Decalogue was holiness itself in the Israeli-
tish Church.
284. The points presented above respecting the promul-
gxtion, holiness, and power of that law, are found in the fol-
lowing passages in the Word: Jehovah descended upon
mount Sinai in fire, and the mountain then smoked and
trembled, and there were thunderings, lightnings, a thick
cloud, and the voice of a trumpet (Exod. xix. 16-18: Deut.
iv. 11 ; v. 22, 23). Before the descent of Jehovah, the people
prepared and sanctified themselves for three days (Exod.
xix. 10, 11, 15). Bounds were set round about the moun-
tain, lest any one should approach and come near its base,
and should die; nor might the priests draw near, but Moses
alone (Exod. xix. 12, 13, 20-23; xxiv. 1, 2). The law was
promulgated from mount Sinai (Exod. xx. 2-17: Deut. v.
6-21). The law was written on two tables of stone, and
was written by the finger of God (Exod. xxxi. 18; xxxii. 15,
16: Deut. ix. 10). When Moses brought the tables down
404
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 284
from the mountain a second time, his face shone so that he
covered it with a veil while he talked with the people (Exod.
xxxiv. 20-35). The tables were deposited in the ark (Exod.
xxv. 16; xl. 20: Deut. x. 5: 1 Kings viii. 9). The mercy-
seat was laid over the ark, and above this were placed cherubs
of gold (Exod. xxv. 17-21). The ark with the mercy-seat
and the cherubs was put into the tabernacle, and was the
chief and thus the inmost thing thereof; and the table over-
laid with gold, upon which was the shew bread, and the
golden altar for incense, and the candlestick with the golden
lamps, made the external of the tabernacle; and the ten cur-
tains of fine linen, purple, and scarlet, its outermost (Exod.
xxv., xxvi., xl. 17-28). The place where the ark was, was
called the holy of holies (Exod. xxvi. 33). The whole people
of Israel encamped around the tabernacle, in order accord-
ing to the tribes, and marched in order after it (Num. ii).
There was then a cloud over the tabernacle by day, and a
fire by night (Exod. xl. 38: Num. ix. 15-23; xiv. 14: Deut.
i. 33). Jehovah spake with Moses above the ark between
the cherubs (Exod. xxv. 22: Num. vii. 89). The ark, owing
to the law in it, was called Jehovah there; for when the ark
went forward, Moses said, Arise, Jehovah; and when it
rested, Return, Jehovah (Num. x. 35, 36: 2 Sam. vi. 2: Ps.
cxxxii. 7, 8). On account of the holiness of that law, Aaron
was not allowed to enter within the veil except with sacrifices
and incense (Lev. xvi. 2-14, and verses following). From
the presence of the Lord's power in the law, which was
within the ark, the waters of the Jordan were divided; and
while the ark was resting in the midst of it, the people passed
over on dry ground (Josh. iii. 1-17; iv. 5-20). When the
ark was carried around them, the walls of Jericho fell (Josh,
vi. 1-20). Dagon, the god of the Philistines, fell to the
ground before the ark, and afterward lay upon the threshold
of the temple, the trunk being separated from the head, and
the palms of the hands being cut off (1 Sam. v.). That the
Bethshemites on account of the ark were smitten to the num-
No. 286]
THE DECALOGUE
405
ber of several thousands (1 Sam. v. and vi.). Uzzah died
because he touched the ark (2 Sam. vi. 7). The ark was
introduced into Zion by David, with sacrifices and jubilation
(2 Sam. vi. 1-19). The ark was introduced by Solomon into
the temple of Jerusalem, where it made its shrine (1 Kings
vi. 19, and verses following; viii. 3-9).
285. Since by that law there is conjunction of the Lord
with man and of man with the Lord, it is called the Cove-
nant, and the Testimony; the Covenant because it con-
joins, and the Testimony because it confirms the articles of
the covenant; for covenant in the Word signifies conjunc-
tion, and testimony signifies the confirmation and witnessing
of its articles. For this reason there were two tables, one for
God and the other for man. Conjunction is effected by the
Lord, but only when man does the things written in his table;
for the Lord is continually present, and wishes to enter in, but
man, from the freedom which he has from the Lord, must
open to Him; for the Lord says, Behold I stand at the door and
knock; if any man hear My voice and open the door, I will
come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me (Apoc.
iii. 20). That the tables of stone on which the law was writ-
ten were called the tables of the covenant, and that the ark
was called from them the ark of the covenant, and the law
itself the covenant, may be seen (Num. x. 33: Deut. iv. 13,
23; v. 2, 3; ix. 9: Josh. iii. n: 1 Kings viii. 21: Apoc. xi.
19; and elsewhere). Since covenant signifies conjunction,
it is therefore said concerning the Lord that He shall be for
a covenant to the people (Isa. xlii. 6; xlix. 8); and He is
called the Messenger of the covenant (Mai. iii. 1); and His
blood, the blood of the covenant (Matt. xxvi. 28: Zech. ix.
n: Exod. xxiv\ 4-10); and therefore the Word is called the
Old and the New Covenant; for covenants are made for the
sake of love, friendship, consociation, and conjunction.
286. So great holiness and so great power were in that
law, because it was the aggregate of all things of religion;
for it was written on two tables, one of which contains in tha
406 TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 286
aggregate all things which regard God; and the other con-
tains in the aggregate all things which regard man. There-
fore the commandments of that law are called The Ten
Words (Exod. xxxiv. 28: Deut. iv. 13; x. 4). They were
so called because ten signifies all, and words signify truths;
for there were more than ten words. That ten signifies all,
and that tithes were instituted on account of that significa-
tion, may be seen in the Apocalypse Revealed (n. 101); and
that that law is a complex of all things of religion, will be
seen in what follows.
In the Sense of the Letter the Decalogue contains
the general precepts of doctrine and life; but
in the spiritual and celestial senses, all
universally.
287. It is known that in the Word the Decalogue is called
the law by way of eminence, as it contains all things which
pertain to doctrine and life; for it contains not only all things
which regard God, but also all which regard man. There-
fore that law was written on two tables, one of which treats
of God, the other of man. It is also known that all things
of doctrine and life have relation to love to God and love
toward the neighbor; all things belonging to these loves are
contained in the Decalogue. That the whole Word teaches
nothing else, is evident from these words of the Lord: Jesus
said, Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and
with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as
thyself. On these two commandments hang the law and the
prophets (Matt. xxii. 37, 39, 40). The law and the prophets
signify the whole Word. And again: A certain lawyer,
tempting Jesus, said, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal
lije? And Jesus said unto him, What is written in the law?
How readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shall love
the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and
with all thy strength, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor
No. 2S8;
THE DECALOGUE
407
<is thyself. And Jesus said, This do, and thou shall live
(Luke x. 25-28). Now because love to God and love toward
the neighbor are the all of the Word, and the Decalogue in
the first table contains in a summary all things of love to
God, and in the second table all things of love toward the
neighbor, it follows that the Decalogue contains all things
which are of doctrine and of life. From a view of the two
tables, it is manifest that they are so conjoined that God
from His table looks to man, and that man in his turn from
his table looks to God; and thus that the looking is recipro-
cal, which is such that God on His part never ceases to look
at man, and to put in operation such things as pertain to
his salvation; and if man receives and does the things which
are in his table, reciprocal conjunction is effected, and then
it comes to pass according to the words of the Lord to the
lawyer, This do, and thou shalt live.
288. The law is often mentioned in the Word; and it
shall be told what is meant by the law in a strict, in a broader,
and in the broadest sense. In a strict sense, by the law is
meant the Decalogue; in a broader sense, are meant the
statutes given by Moses to the children of Israel; and in the
broadest, is meant the whole Word. That the law in a strict
sense means the Decalogue, is known; but that the law in a
broader sense means the statutes given by Moses to the chil-
dren of Israel, is evident from the several statutes in Exodus,
which are called laws; as, This is the law 0} the sacrifice 0}
the trespass offering (Lev. vii. 1). This is the Law of the sac-
rifice of peace offerings (vii. 11). This is the law of the meat
offering (vi. 14, and verses following). This is the law of
the burnt offering, of the meat offering, of the sin offering, and
oj the trespass offering, and of the consecrations (vii. 37). This
is the law of the beast and of the fowl (xi. 46, and following
verses). This is the law for her that beareth, for a son and a
daughter (xii. 7). This is the law of leprosy (xiii. 59; xiv. 2,
32, 54, 57). This is the law of him that hath an issue (xv.
32). This is the law of jealousy (Num. v. 29, 30). This is
408
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
[No. 2S8
the law of the Nazarite (vi. 13, 21). The law 0} cleansing
(xix. 14). The law concerning the red heijer (xix. 2). The
law for the king (Deut. xvii. 1 5-19). Indeed the whole book
of Moses is called the law (Deut. xxxi. 9, 11, 12, 26; and also
in the New Testament, as Luke ii. 22; xxiv. 44: John i. 45;
vii. 23; viii. 5; and in other places). That by the works of
the law Paul means these statutes, where he says that man
is justified by faith without the deeds of the law (Rom. iii.
28), is plainly manifest from what there follows; and also
from his words to Peter, whom he censured for Judaizing,
where he says, three times in one verse, that no one is jus-
tified by the works of the law (Gal. ii. 14-16). That by the
law in the broadest sense is meant the whole Word, is mani-
fest from these passages: Jesus said, Is it not written in your
law, Ye are gods (John x. 34) : this is written, Ps. lxxxii. 6.
The people answered, We have heard out of the law, that
Christ abideth for ever (John xii. 34): this is written, Ps.
lxxxix. 29; ex. 4: Dan. vii. 14. That the Word might be ful-
filled that is written in their law, They hated Me without a
cause (John xv. 25) : this is written Ps. xxxv. 19. The Phar-
isees said, Have any of the rulers believed on Him? But the
multitude which knoweth not the law are cursed (John vii.
48, 49). It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than for
one little of the law to fail (Luke xvi. 17). By the law there is
meant the whole Sacred Scripture; also in a thousand places
in David.
289. The Decalogue, in the spiritual and celestial senses,
contains universally all the precepts of doctrine and of life,
thus all of faith and charity, because the Word, in the sense
of the letter, in all things and in each thing, or in general and
in every part of it, contains two interior senses, one which is
called spiritual, and another which is called celestial; and
because in these senses Divine truth is in its light, and Divine
goodness in its heat. Now because the Word is such in gen-
eral and in every part, it is necessary to explain the ten com-
mandments of the Decalogue according to the three senses
No. 290]
THE DECALOGUE
409
called natural, spiritual, and celestial. That the Word is
such, may be evident from what has been demonstrated
above, in the chapter concerning the Sacred Scripture or the
Word (n. 193-208).
290. No one, unless he knows the nature of the Word, can
have any idea that there is infinity in every part of it, that is,
that it contains innumerable things which not even angels
can exhaust. Each thing therein may be likened to a seed,
which may grow up from the ground into a great tree, and
produce an abundance of seeds; from which again may be
similar trees, which together make a garden; and from the
seeds of this come other gardens; and so on to infinity.
Such is the Word of the Lord in all its particulars, and such
especially is the Decalogue; for this, because it teaches love
to God and love toward the neighbor, is a short summary of
the whole Word. That the Word is such, the Lord also de-
clares by a comparison, thus: The kingdom of God is like a
grain of mustard-seed, which a man took and sowed in his
field; which ts less than all seeds, but when it is grown it is
greater than the herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of
the air come and lodge in the branches thereof (Matt. xiii. 31,
32: Mark iv. 31, 32: Luke xiii. 18, 19: compare also Ezek.
x^ii. 2-8). That such is the infinity of spiritual seeds or
truths in the Word, may be evident from the wisdom of an-
gels, which is all from the Word and increases with them to
eternity; and the wiser they become, the more clearly they
see that wisdom is without end, and they perceive that they
are but in its entrance hall, and cannot in the smallest par-
ticular attain to the Divine wisdom of the Lord, which they
call a great deep. Now, since the Word is from this great
deep, because from the Lord, it is plain that there is a kind
of infinity in all parts of it.
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
fNo. 2QI
THE FIRST COMMANDMENT.
Thou shall have no other God before My face.
291. These are the words of the first commandment
(Exod. xx. 3: Deut. v. 7). In the natural sense, which is the
sense of the letter, the meaning nearest the letter is that idols
must not be worshipped; for it follows, Thou shall nol make
unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that
is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that
is in the waters under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down
thyself to them nor serve them; for I Jehovah thy God am a
jealous God (Exod. xx. 3-5). The meaning of this com-
mandment which is nearest the letter is that idols must not
be worshipped, for the reason that before this time, and after
it even to the Lord's coming, there was idolatrous worship
in a great part of Asia. The cause of this worship was that
all the churches before the Lord came into the world were
representative and typical; and the types and representa-
tions were such that Divine things were set forth under va-
rious figures and sculptured forms, which the common people
began to worship as gods when their significations were lost.
The Israelitish nation also was in such worship when in
Egypt, as is evident from the golden calf which they wor-
shipped in the wilderness instead of Jehovah; and from
many passages in the Word, both historic and prophetic, it
is evident that they were not afterward alienated from that
worship.
292. This commandment, Thou shalt have no other God
before My face, also means in the natural sense that no man,
dead or living, may be worshipped as a god; which also was
done in Asia and in various neighboring regions. Many
gods of the Gentiles were no other than men; as Baal, Ash-
taroth, Chemosh, Milcom, Beelzebub; and at Athens and
Rome, Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto, Apollo, Pallas, and
No. 294]
THE DECALOGUE
so forth; some of whom they worshipped first as saints, after-
ward as divinities, and lastly as gods. That they also wor-
shipped living men as gods, is evident from the edict of
Darius the Mede, that for thirty days no man should ask any
thing of God, but of the king only; if otherwise, he should
be cast into the den of lions (Dan. vi. 8 to the end).
293. In the natural sense, which is that of the letter, this
commandment also means that no one but God, and nothing
but that which proceeds from God, is to be loved above all
things; which is also according to the Lord's words (Matt,
xxii. 35-40: Luke x. 25-28). For to him who loves any per-
son or thing abo^e all things, that person and that thing is
God and Divine. For example, to him who loves himself
above all things, or the world, himself or the world is his god.
It is for this reason that such do not in heart acknowledge
any God. They therefore are conjoined with their like in
hell, where all are gathered who love themselves and the
world above all things.
294. The spiritual sense of this commandment is, that no
other God than the Lord Jesus Christ is to be worshipped;
because He is Jehovah, who came into the world, and wrought
the redemption without which no man and no angel could
have been saved. That there is no God besides Him, is evi-
dent from these passages in the Word: // shall be said in that
day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him to deliver us;
this is Jehovah, we have waited for Him, let us rejoice and be
glad in His salvation (Isa. xxv. 9). The voice 0} him that
crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of Jehovah, make
smooth in the desert a highway for our God. For the glory of
Jehovah shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.
Behold, tJie Lord Jehovih cometh in strength; He shall feed
His flock like a shepherd (xl. 3,5,11). Surely God is in thee,
and there is no God besides: verily thou art a God tJtat hidcst
Thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour (xlv. 14, 15). Am not
I Jehovah? and there is no God else beside Me; a just God
and a Saviour, there is none beside Me (xlv. 21, 22). I am
412
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
[No. 294
Jehovah, and besides Me there is no Saviour (xliii. n: also
Hos. xiii. 4). That all flesh may know that I Jehovah am
thy Saviour and thy Redeemer (Isa. xlix. 26; also lx. 16). As
jor our Redeemer, Jehovah Zebaoth is His name (xlvii. 4:
also Jer. 1. 34). Jehovah, my Rock and my Redeemer (Ps.
xix. 14). Thus said Jehovah, thy Redeemer, the Holy One
of Israel, I am Jehovah thy God (Isa. xlviii. 17; also xliii. 14;
xlix. 7; liv. 8). Thus said Jehovah, thy Redeemer, I am
Jehovah, That maketh all things, and alone of Myself (xliv,
24). Thus said Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his Re-
deemer, Jehovah Zebaoth, I am the First and the Last, and be-
side Me there is no God (xliv. 6). Jehovah Zebaoth is His
name, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of
the whole earth shall He be called (liv. 5). Abraham hath not
known us, Israel doth not acknowledge us; Thou, Jehovah,
art our Father, our Redeemer from everlasting is Thy Name
(lxiii. 16). Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given,
and His Name shall be called Wonderfid, Counsellor, God,
Mighty, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace (ix. 6). Befipld,
the days come, that I will raise tip unto David a righteous
Branch who shall reign King, and this is His name, Jehovah
our Justice (Jer. xxiii. 5, 6; also xxxiii. 15, 16). Philip said
to Jesus, Show us the Father. Jesus said to him, He that
seeth Me, seeth the Father. Believest thou not that I am in
the Father, and the Father in Me? (John xiv. 8-10.) I11
Jesus Christ dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily
(Col. ii. 9). We are in the Truth, in Jesus Christ; This is
the true God and Eternal Life. Little children, keep your-
selves from idols (1 John v. 20, 21). From these passages it
is clearly manifest that the Lord our Saviour is Jehovah Him-
self, who is at once Creator, Redeemer, and Regenerator.
This is the spiritual sense of this commandment.
295. The celestial sense of this commandment is, that
Jehovah the Lord is infinite, immeasurable, and eternal;
that He is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent; that
He is the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End;
No. 296]
THE DECALOGUE
413
who was, is, and will be; that He is love itself, and wisdom
itself, or good itself and truth itself; consequently, life it-
self; thus the only One, from whom are all things.
296. All who acknowledge and worship any other God
than the Lord the Saviour Jesus Christ, who is Himself Jeho-
vah Gcd in human form, sin against this first command-
ment; so also do they who persuade themselves that three
Divine Persons have actually existed from eternity. These
as they confirm themselves in that error, become more and
more natural and corporeal, and then cannot interiorly com-
prehend any Divine truth; and if they hear and receive it,
still they defile and cover it up with fallacies. They may
therefore be compared to those who live in the lowest story
or the basement of a house, and therefore do not hear any
thing that those who are in the second and third stories say to
each other, because the ceilings over their heads prevent the
sound from penetrating to them. The human mind is like
a house of three stories, in the lowest of which are they who
have confirmed themselves in favor of three Gods from eter-
nity; in the second and third stories are they who acknowl-
edge and believe in one God under a visible human form,
and that the Lord God the Saviour is He. The sensual and
corporeal man, because he is merely natural, viewed in him-
self is wholly animal, and only differs from a brute in being
able to speak and reason; he is therefore like one living in a
menagerie where are wild beasts of every kind, and there he
now acts the lion, now the bear, and now the tiger, the leop-
ard, or the wolf; and he can also act the sheep, but then he
laughs in his heart. The merely natural man does not
think of Divine truths except from the things of the world,
thus from the fallacies of the senses; for he cannot raise his
mind above them. The doctrine of his faith may therefore
be compared to pottage made of chaff, which he eats as a
dainty; or to what was commanded Ezekiel the prophet
that he should mix wheat, barley, beans, lentiles, and fitches,
with the dung of man or of a cow, and make for himself
4U
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
[No. 296
bread and cakes, and thus represent the church such as it
was with the Israelitish nation (Ezek. iv. 9, and following).
So is it with the doctrine of the church which is founded and
built upon the faith in three Divine Persons from eternity,
each of whom singly is God. Who would not see the enor-
mity of that faith if it were exhibited as it is in itself in a pic-
ture before the eyes ? if for instance the three were to stand
in order near each other, the First distinguished by a sceptre
and crown; the Second holding in his right hand a book,
which is the Word, and in his left a golden cross sprinkled
with blood; and the Third equipped with wings, standing
upon one foot, in readiness to fly forth and operate; and
above them the inscription, These three Persons, being so
many Gods, are one God. What wise man seeing this picture
would not say to himself, Alas, what a fantasy! But he
would say otherwise if he should see the picture of one Di-
vine Person, with rays of heavenly light around the head,
with the superscription, This is our God, at once Creator,
Redeemer, and Regenerator, thus the Saviour. Would not
that wise man kiss this picture, and carry it home in his
bosom, and by the sight of it gladden his own mind, and that
of his wife, and those of his children and servants?
THE SECOND COMMANDMENT.
Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain;
for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless, that taketh
His name in tain.
297. By the name of Jehovah God taken in vain in the
natural sense, which is the sense of the letter, is meant the
name itself, and the abuse of it in various ways of speaking,
especially in falsehoods or lies, and in oaths without cause,
and for the purpose of exculpation in evil intentions, such as
cursings, and in sorceries and enchantments. But to swear
by God and His Holiness, the Word, and the Gospel, in
No. 298]
THE DECALOGUE
415
coronations, in inaugurations into the priesthood and induc-
tions into offices of trust, is not to take the name of God in
vain, unless he who takes the oath afterward casts aside his
promises as vain. And the name of God, because it is the
holy itself, must continually be used in the holy things of the
church, as in prayers, psalms, and in all worship; and also
in preaching, and in writing on ecclesiastical matters. The
reason is that God is in all things of religion; and when He
is religiously invoked, He is present through His name and
hears: in these things the name of God is hallowed. That
the name of Jehovah God is in itself holy, is evident from
that name, in that the Jews from their earliest day have not
dared and do not dare, and because of them the evangelists
and apostles did not wish, to say Jehovah, and therefore
instead of Jehovah they said Lord — as is evident from
\arious passages quoted from the Old Testament in the
New, where the name Lord is used instead of Jehovah (as
Matt. xxii. 37, and Luke x. 27, compared with Deut. vi. 5,
and other passages). That the name Jesus is in like manner
holy, is known from the saying of the apostle, that at that
name the knee is bent and is to be bent, in heaven and in
earth; and furthermore from this, that it can be named by
no devil in hell. There are many names of God which are
not to be taken in vain, as Jehovah, Jehovah God, Jehovah
Zebaoth, the Holy One of Israel, Jesus and Christ, the Holy
Spirit.
298. In the spiritual sense by the name of God is under-
stood all that the church teaches from the Word, and by
which the Lord is invoked and worshipped. All these things
in the complex are the name of God. Therefore by taking
the name of God in vain, is meant introducing any thing
therefrom in vain or false talk, in lying, imprecations, sor-
ceries, and enchantments; for this also is to abuse and blas-
pheme God, thus His name. That the Word, and what-
ever the church has from it, and thus all worship, is the name
of God, may be evident from these passages: From the rising
4i6
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
[No. 298
of the sun shall he call upon My name (Isa. xli. 25). From
the rising 0} the sun even unto the going down 0) the same, My
name shall be great among tJte Gentiles; and in every place
incense shall be offered unto My name. Ye profane M y name,
in thai ye say, The table of Jehovah is polluted; and ye snuff
at My name, in that ye bring that which was torn, the lame,
and the sick (Mai. i. 11-13). All peoples walk in the name
of tlteir God, and we will walk in the name of Jehovah our
God (Mic. iv. 5). They shall worship Jehovah in one place,
where He shall place His name (Deut. xii. 5, 11, 13, 14, 18;
xvi. 2, 6, 11, 15, 16); that is, where He should set His wor-
ship. Jesus said, Where two or three are gathered together in
My name, there am I in the midst of them (Matt, xviii. 20).
As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become
the sons of God, even to them that believe in His name (John
i. 12). He that believeth not, is judged already, because he
hath not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God
(iii. 18). Believing, they shall have life in His name (xx. 31).
Jesus said, / have manifested Thy name to men; and I have
declared unto them Thy name (xvii. 6, 26). The Lord said, /
have a jew names in Sardis (Apoc. iii. 4). There are also
many other passages in which, as in the foregoing, by the
name of God is meant the Divine which proceeds from God,
and by which He is worshipped. And by the name of Jesus
Christ is meant all of redemption, and all of His doctrine,
and thus all of salvation; by Jesus, the all of salvation
through redemption, and by Christ, the all of salvation
through His doctrine.
299. In the celestial sense, by taking the name of God in
vain is meant what the Lord said to the Pharisees, that all
sin and blasphemy shall be remitted unto man, but the blas-
phemy of the Spirit shall not be remitted (Matt. xii. 31, 32).
By blasphemy of the Spirit is meant blasphemy against the
Divinity of the Lord's Human, and against the holiness of
the Word. That the Divine Human of the Lord is meant by
the name of Jehovah God in the celestial or highest sense,
No. 300]
THE DECALOGUE
417
is evident from these passages: Jesus said, Father, glorify
Thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying,
I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again (John xii. 28).
Whatsoever ye sliall ask in My name, that will I do, tliui the
Father may be glorified in the Son; if ye shall ask any thing
in My name, I will do it (xiv. 13, 14). In the Lord's Prayer,
by Hallowed be Thy name, in the celestial sense, nothing
else is signified; so also by name in Exodus (xxiii. 21: Isa.
Ixiii. 16). Since blasphemy of the Spirit is not remitted unto
man (according to the words in Matt. xii. 31, 32) and this is
meant in the celestial sense, there is therefore added to this
commandment, For Jehovah will not hold him guiltless who
taketh His name in vain.
300. That by the name of any one is meant not only his
name, but also his whole quality, is plain from names in the
spiritual world; no one there retains the name which he
received in baptism and which he had from his father or
ancestors, in the world; but every one there is named accord-
ing to his quality, and the angels are called according to their
moral and spiritual life; these latter also are meant by these
words of the Lord : Jesus said, / am the good Shepherd; the
sheep hear His voice, and He calleth His own sheep by name,
and leadeth them out (John x. n, 3). And also by these: /
have a few names in Sardis, which have not defiled their gar-
ments. Whosoever overcometh, I will write upon him the
name of the city, New Jerusalem, and My new name (Apoc.
iii. 4, 12). Gabriel and Michael are not the names of two
persons in heaven, but by those names are meant all in
heaven who are in wisdom concerning the Lord and wor-
ship Him. Also names of persons and places in the Word do
not mean persons and places, but things of the church. And
in the natural world, by name is not meant the name only,
but at the same time the quality of the person, because this
adheres to his name; for in common conversation it is cus-
tomary to say, He does this for the sake of his name, or for
the fame of his name; he has a great name: which means
418 TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 300
that he is celebrated for such things as are in him, as for in-
genuity, erudition, merits, and so forth. Who does not know
that he who disparages and calumniates any one as to his
name, also disparages and calumniates the actions of his
life? They are conjoined in idea; therefore the fame of his
name perishes. So whoever utters the name of a king, a
duke, or any great man, with great disrespect, casts reproach
also upon the majesty or the dignity of the person. So also
he who utters the name of another in a tone of contempt, at
the same time shows light estimation of the acts of his life.
The case is similar with every person; his name, that is, his
quality and consequent reputation, according to the laws of
all kingdoms, it is not allowable to blast and defame.
THE THIRD COMMANDMENT.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy; six days thou
shalt labor and do all thy work; but the seventh
day is a Sabbath to Jehovah thy God.
301. That this is the third commandment may be seen in
Exodus (xx. 8-10), and Deuteronomy (v. 12-14). In the
natural sense, which is that of the letter, this means that the
six days are for man and his labors, and the seventh for the
Lord, and for man's rest from Him. Sabbath in the original
tongue signifies rest. The Sabbath among the children of
Israel was the sanctity of sanctities, because it represented
the Lord. The six days represented His labors and com-
bats with the hells, and the seventh day His victory over
them and thus rest. And because that day was representa-
tive of the close of the Lord's whole work of redemption,
therefore it was holiness itself. But when the Lord came
into the world, and the representations of Him therefore
ceased, that day became a day of instruction in Divine things,
and thus also a day of rest from labors, and of meditation on
such things as relate to salvation and eternal life; as also a
So. 302]
THE DECALOGUE
419
day of love toward the neighbor. That it became a day of
instruction in Divine things is plain from this, that the Lord
on that day taught in the temple and in synagogues (Mark
vi. 2: Luke iv. 16, 31, 32; xiii. 10); and that He said to the
man who was healed, Take up thy bed and walk; and to the
Pharisees, that it was lawful for the disciples on the Sab-
bath day to gather the ears of corn and eat (Matt. xii. 1-9:
Mark ii. 23-28: Luke vi. 1-6: John v. 9-19); by each of
which particulars in the spiritual sense is signified to be in-
structed in doctrinals. That that day became also a day
of love toward the neighbor, is evident from what the Lord
did and taught on the Sabbath day (Matt. xii. 10-14: Mark
iii. 1-9: Luke vi. 6-12; xiii. 10-18; xiv. 1-7: John v. 9-19;
vii. 22, 23; ix. 14, 16). From these and the former passages
it is plain why the Lord said that He is Lord also of the Sab-
bath (Matt. xii. 8: Mark ii. 28: Luke vi. 5); and because
He said this, it follows that that day was representative of
Him.
302. By this commandment in the spiritual sense is sig-
nified the reformation and regeneration of man by the Lord;
by the six d?ys of labor the combat against the flesh and its
lusts, and at the same time against the evils and falsities
which are in him from hell; and by the seventh day his con-
junction with the Lord, and regeneration thereby. That as
long as that combat continues man has spiritual labor, and
that when he is regenerated he has rest, will be evident from
what will be said hereafter, in the chapter concerning Refor-
mation and Regeneration, especially under the following
heads: I. Regeneration is effected in a manner analogous to
that in which man is conceived, carried in the womb, born, and
brought up. II. The first act of the new birth is called refor-
mation, which is of the understanding; and the second is
called regeneration, which is of the will, and thence of the un-
derstanding. III. The internal man is to be reformed first,
and through this the external. IV. Then arises a combat
between the internal and the external man, and the one that
420
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
[No. 302
conquers rules over the other. V. The regenerate man has a
new will and a new understanding: and so forth. The ref-
ormation and regeneration of man are signified by this com-
mandment in the spiritual sense, because they coincide with
the labors and combats of the Lord with the hells, and with
His victory over them, and then rest. For the Lord reforms
and regenerates man and renders him spiritual, in the same
manner in which He glorified His Human, and made it Di-
vine: this is what is meant by following Him. That the
Lord had combats, and that they are called labors, is mani-
fest in Isaiah (iii. and lxiii.); and also that the like are called
labors in relation to men (Isa. lxv. 23: Apoc. ii. 2, 3).
303. In the celestial sense by this commandment is meant
conjunction with the Lord, and then peace, because there is
protection from hell; for by Sabbath is signified rest, and in
this highest sense, peace, wherefore the Lord is called the
Prince of Peace, and also calls Himself Peace — as is evi-
dent from these passages : U nto us a Child is born, unto us a
Son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulder,
and His name shall be called Wonderfid, Counsellor, God,
M ighty, Father oj Eternity, the Prince 0} Peace; oj the in-
crease 0} His government and peace there shall be no end (Isa.
ix. 6, 7). Jesus said, Peace I leave with you, My peace I give
unto you (John xiv. 27). Jesus said, These things I have
spoken, that in Me ye might have peace (xvi. 33). How
beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of Him that bring-
eth good tidings, that publisheth peace, saying, Thy God reign-
eth (Isa. Iii. 7). Jehovah will redeem my sold in peace (Ps.
lv. 18). The work of righteousness is peace, the labor of
righteousness is rest and security for ever; that they may
dwell in the tabernacle of peace, and in the tents of security,
and in quiet resting-places (Isa. xxxii. 17, 18). Jesus said
to the seventy whom He sent forth, Into whatsoever house ye
enter, first say, Peace be to this house; and if the son of peace
be there, your peace shall rest upon it (Luke x. 5, 6: Matt. x.
12-14). Jehovah will speak peace to His people; righteous-
No. 304]
THE DECALOGUE
421
ness and peace shall kiss each oilier (Ps. Ixxxv. 8, 10). When
the Lord Himself appeared to the disciples, He said, Peace be
with you (John xx. 19, 21, 26). Moreover the state of peace
into which men are to come, from the Lord, is treated of in
Isaiah (lxv. and lxvi., and elsewhere); and they will come
into it who are received into the New Church which the
Lord is establishing at this day. What in its essence is the
peace in which angels are, and those who are in the Lord,
may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell (n.
284-290). From these things also it is plain, why the Lord
calls Himself the Lord of the Sabbath, that is, of rest and
peace.
304. Heavenly peace, in relation to the hells, so that evils
and falsities may not rise from them and make invasion, may
be compared with natural peace in many forms, as with
peace after war, when every one lives in security from ene-
mies, safe in his own city, in his own home, or in his own
fields and gardens. It is as the prophet said, speaking in
natural terms of heavenly peace: They sliall sit every man
under his vine, and under his jig-tree, and none sliall make
them afraid (Mic. iv. 4: Isa. lxv. 21-23). It may De com-
pared also to recreation of mind and to rest after severe
labor, and with the solace of mothers after child-birth, when
their parental love manifests its enjoyments. It may also
be compared with tranquillity after tempests, black clouds
and thunders; and likewise with spring after terrible winter
has passed, and then with the gladness that comes from the
new growths in the fields, and from the blossoming in the
gardens, meadows, and forests. It may be compared also
with the state of mind of those who, after storms and dangers
on the sea, reach the port, and set their feet on the desired
land.
422
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 305
THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT.
Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be
prolonged, and that it may be well with thee upon
the earth.
305. This commandment is so read in Exodus (xx. 12)
and Deuteronomy (v. 16). By honoring thy father and thy
mother in the natural sense, which is the sense of the letter,
is meant to honor parents, to obey them, to be attentive to
them, and to show gratitude to them for their benefits, which
are, that they feed and clothe their children, and introduce
them into the world that they may act in it as civil and moral
beings, and also into heaven by the precepts of religion; thus
they have a care for their temporal prosperity, and also for
their eternal happiness; and they do all these things from
the love in which they are from the Lord, in whose stead they
do them. In a relative sense is meant the honor that wards
should pay their guardians, if the parents are not living. In
a broader sense by this commandment is meant to honor the
king and magistrates, since they provide for all in general
the necessaries which parents provide in particular. In the
broadest sense by this commandment is meant that men
should love their country, because it supports and protects
them, and is therefore called fatherland [patrm] from father
[pater]. But to their country, king, and magistrates honor
must be rendered by parents, and by them implanted in their
children.
306. In the spiritual sense to honor father and mother
means to reverence and love God and the church. In this
sense by father is meant God, who is the Father of all; and
by mother the church. In the heavens infants and angels
know no other father and no other mother, since there they
have been born anew of the Lord by the church. The Lord
therefore says, Call no man your father upon the earth; for
No. 307]
THE DECALOGUE
423
One is your Father, who is in the heavens (Matt, xxiii. 9).
These words were spoken for children and angels in heaven,
but not for children and men on earth. The Lord teaches
the same in the common praver of Christian churches: Our
Father, who art in the heavens, hallowed be Thy name. The
church is meant by mother, in the spiritual sense, because us
a mother on earth feeds her children with natural food, so the
church feeds them with spiritual food; and for this reason
the church is called mother in the Word, throughout, as in
Hosea: Plead with your mother; she is not My wife, neither
am I her husband (ii. 2, 5). In Isaiah: Where is the bill 0}
your mother's divorcement, whom I have put away? (1. 1 : also
Ezek. xvi. 45; xix. 10.) And in the Evangelists: Jesus,
stretching out His hand to the disciples, said, My mother and
My brethren are those who hear the word of God and do it
(Matt. xii. 48, 49: Mark iii. 33-35: Luke viii. 21: John xix.
25-27)-
307. In the celestial sense, by father is meant our Lord
Jesus Christ; and by mother, the communion of saints, that
is, His church, spread over all the world. That the Lord is
the Father, is evident from these passages: Unto us a Child
is born, unto us a Son is given, and His name is God, M ighty,
Father of Eternity, the Prince of Peace (Isa. ix. 6). Thou art
our Father; Abraham is ignorant of us, and Israel doth not
acknowledge us: Thou art our Father, our Redeemer from
everlasting is Thy name (lxiii. 16). Philip saith, Shew us
the Fatlter. Jesus saith to him, He that seeth Me, seeth the
Father; how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believe
Me, that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me (John xiv.
8-1 1 ; also xii. 45). That by mother, in this sense, is meant
the Lord's church, is evident from these passages: / saw the
holy city, New Jerusalem, prepared as a bride adorned for her
husband (Apoc. xxi. 2). The angel said to John, Come
hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he
showed the city, the holy Jerusalem (xxi. 9, 10). The mar-
riage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself
424
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 307
ready. Blessed are they who are called unto the marriage
supper of the Lamb (xix. 7, 9: see also Matt. ix. 15: Mark
ii. 19, 20: Luke v. 34, 35: John iii. 29; xix. 26, 27). That
by the New Jerusalem is meant the New Church which the
Lord is now establishing, may be seen in the Apocalypse
Revealed (n. 880, 881): this church, and not the former, is
the wife and the mother in this sense. The spiritual off-
spring, which are born from this marriage, are the goods of
charity and the truths of faith; and they who are in these
from the Lord, are called sons of the marriage, sons of God,
and born of Him.
308. It is to be kept in mind that there continually pro-
ceeds from the Lord a Divine celestial sphere of love toward
all who embrace the teaching of His church, and who obey
Him as little children in the world obey father and mother,
apply themselves to Him, and wish to be nourished, that is,
instructed by Him. From this heavenly sphere arises a nat-
ural sphere, which is one of love toward infants and children.
This is most universal, and affects not only men, but also
birds and beasts, even to serpents; nor animate things only,
but also inanimate. But that the Lord might operate into
these, even as into spiritual things, He created the sun, to be
in the natural world as a father, and the earth to be as a
mother. For the sun is as a common father, and the earth
as a common mother, from whose marriage arises all the ger-
mination that adorns the surface of our planet. From the
influx of that celestial sphere into the natural world arise the
wonderful progressions of vegetation, from seed to fruit and
to new seed. It is from this, also, that many kinds of plants
turn as it were their faces to the sun during the day, and turn
them away when the sun sets; it is from this also that there
are flowers which open at the rising of the sun, and close at
his setting; and from this it is that song birds carol sweetly
at early dawn, and likewise after they have been fed by their
mother earth. Thus do all these honor their father and their
mother. They all bear witness that through the sun and the
No. 309]
THE DECALOGUE
425
earth in the natural world, the Lord provides for all the
necessities of animate and inanimate things. Therefore it
is said in David, Praise ye Jehovah from the heavens; praise
ye Him, sun and moon. Praise Him from the earth, ye
■whales and deeps; praise Him, fruitful trees and all cedars;
wild beast, and all cattle, creeping things and flying fowl, kings
of the earth, and all people, young men and maidens (Ps. cxlvii.
7-12). And in Job: Ask, I pray, the beasts and they shall
teach thee; or the birds of heaven, and they shall tell thee; or
the shrub of the earth, and it shall teach thee; and the fishes of
the sea shall declare unto thee. Who knoweth not in all these,
that the hand of Jehovah hath wrought this? (xii. 7-9.) Ask
and they will teach signifies, observe, study, and judge from
these things, that the Lord Jehovih created them.
THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT.
Thou shall not kill.
309. This commandment, Thou shalt not kill, in the natu-
ral sense means not to kill a man, not to inflict on him any
wound of which he may die, and also not to mutilate his body;
and it means moreover, not to bring any deadly evil upon his
name and fame, since with many fame and life go hand in
hand. In a broader natural sense by murders are meant
enmity, hatred, and revenge, which breathe out destruction;
for murder lies concealed within them like fire in wood under
ashes. Infernal fire is nothing else; hence one is said to be
inflamed with hatred, and to burn with revenge. These are
murders in intention, but not in act; and if the fear of the
law, and of retaliation and revenge were taken away from
them, they would burst forth into act; especially if there be
treachery or ferocity in the intention. That hatred is mur-
der, is evident from these words of the Lord: Ye have heard,
that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and
whosoever shall kill, shall be in danger of the judgment. But
426
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 309
/ say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother rashly,
shall be in danger of the judgment, and whosoever shall say,
thou fool, shall be in danger of hell-fire (Matt. V. 21, 22). This
is because all that is of the intention is also of the will, and
thus in itself is of the deed.
310. In the spiritual sense by murders are meant all modes
of killing and destroying the souls of men, which are various
and manifold; as turning them away from God, religion, and
Divine worship by throwing out scandals against them, and
by persuading to such things as cause aversion and even ab-
horrence. Such things are done by all the devils and satans
in hell, with whom they in this world who violate and pros-
titute the holy things of the church are conjoined. Those
who destroy souls by falsities are meant by the king of the
abyss, who is called Abaddon or Apollyon, that is, the de-
stroyer (Apoc. ix. 11); and in the prophetic Word they
whom they destroy are meant by the slain — as in these
passages: Jehovah God said, Feed the sheep of the slaughter,
which their possessors have slain (Zech. xi. 4, 5, 7). We are
killed all the day long; we are counted as a flock for the slaugh-
ter (Ps. xliv. 22). Jacob shall cause them that come to take
root; is he slain according to the slaughter of them that are
slain of him? (Isa. xxvii. 6, 7.) The thief cometh not but to
steal and to kill the sheep; I am come that they may have life,
and abundance (John x. 10: besides other places, as Isa. xiv.
21; xxvi. 21: Jer. iv. 31; xii. 3: Apoc. ix. 4; xi. 7). And
therefore the devil is called a murderer from the beginning
(John viii. 44).
311. In the celestial sense, to kill means to be rashly angry
with the Lord, to hold Him in hatred, and to wish to blot out
His name. Of these it is said that they crucify Him; which
also they would do, as did the Jews, if He were to come into
the world as He did before. This is meant by the Lamb
standing as it had been slain (Apoc. v. 6; xiii. 8); and by the
crucified (Apoc. xi. 8: Heb. vi. 6: Gal. iii. 1).
312. The quality of man's internal, when not reformed by
No. 312]
THE DECALOGUE
427
the Lord, was made manifest to me from the devils and satans
in hell; for they have it constantly in mind to kill the Lord;
and because they cannot do this, they are in the endeavor to
kill those who are devoted to the Lord; but since they cannot
do this as men can in the world, they make every effort to de-
stroy their souls, that is, to destroy faith and charity in them.
Hatred and revenge with them show themselves like lurid
and glowing fires; hatred like lurid fires, and revenge like
glowing fires ; yet these are not fires, but appearances. Their
cruelties of heart are sometimes seen in the air above them
like contests with angels, and their slaughter and destruction;
it is their anger and hatred against heaven from which such
direful mockeries arise. Moreover, in the distance these
same also appear like wild beasts of every kind, tigers, leop-
ards, wolves, foxes, dogs, crocodiles, and all kinds of ser-
pents; and when in representative forms they see gentle ani-
mals, they rush upon them in fantasy and endeavor to tear
them in pieces. They came into my sight like dragons stand-
ing near women who had infants with them, which they were
trying as it were to devour, according to the description in the
Apocalypse (xii.); which are nothing but representations of
hatred against the Lord and His New Church. That men
in the world who wish to destroy the Lord's church are like
them, is not apparent to their companions; because their
bodies, by which they perform moral duties, absorb and con-
ceal these things. But still to the angels, who look not at
their bodies but at their spirits, they appear in forms like
those of the devils above described. Who could have known
such things had not the Lord opened the sight of some one
and enabled him to look inwardly into the spiritual world ?
Otherwise, would not these, together with other most im-
portant matters, have lain concealed from men for ever ?
428
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 313
THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT.
Thou shall not commit adultery.
313. In the natural sense, by this commandment is meant
not only committing adultery, but also willing and doing
obscene things, and so thinking and speaking lascivious
things. That merely to lust is to commit adultery, is evi-
dent from these words of the Lord: Ye have heard that it was
said by them 0) old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery. But
I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on another's woman to
hist after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his
heart (Matt. v. 27, 28). This is because lust becomes as
deed when it is in the will; for allurement enters merely into
the understanding, but intention enters into the will, and the
intention of lust is deed. But more may be seen concerning
these things in the work Marriage Love and Licentious Love,
published at Amsterdam in the year 1768; which treats of
the opposition of marriage and licentious love (n. 423-443);
of fornication (n. 444-460) ; of adulteries and their kinds and
degrees (n. 478-499); of the lust of defloration (n. 501-505);
of the lust for variety (n. 506-510); of the lust of violation
(n. 511, 512); of the lust of seducing innocences (n. 513,
514); of the imputation of each love, marriage and licentious
(n. 523-531). These all are meant by this commandment
in the natural sense.
314. In the spiritual sense, to commit adultery means to
adulterate the goods of the Word and falsify its truths. That
to commit adultery means this also, has been hitherto un-
known, because the spiritual sense of the Word has been
hitherto concealed. That no other is signified in the Word
by committing adultery and whoredom, is very manifest
from these passages: Run ye to and fro through the streets of
Jerusalem, and seek if ye may find a man that executeth judg-
ment, that seeketh the truth. When I had fed them to the full,
No. 316]
THE DECALOGUE
429
they then committed whoredom (Jer. v. 1, 7). I have seen
also in the prophets 0} Jerusalem a horrible stubbornness, in
committing adultery and walking in lies (xxiii. 14). They
have done folly in Israel, they have committed whoredom, and
have spoken My Word falsely (xxix. 23). They committed
whoredom because they have left Jehovah (Hos. iv. 10). The
soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after
wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will cut him off (Lev.
xx. 6). A covenant shall not be made with the inhabitants of
the land, lest they go a whoring after ilieir gods (Exod. xxxiv.
15). Since Babylon adulterates and falsifies the Word more
than others, she is therefore called the great harlot, and these
things are said of her in the Apocalypse: Babylon hath made
all the nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication
(xiv. 8). The angel said, I will show thee the judgment of
the great whore, with whom the kings of the earth have com-
mitted whoredom (xvii. 1, 2). He hath judged the great
whore, who hath corrupted the earth with her whoredom (xix.
2). Since the Jewish nation had falsified the Word, it was
therefore called by the Lord an adulterous generation (Matt,
xii. 39; xvi. 4: Mark viii. 38); and in Isaiah, the seed of the
adulterer (lvii. 3). There are many other passages where
adulteries and whoredoms mean advlterations and falsifica-
tions of the Word (as Jer. iii. 6, 8; xiii. 27: Ezek. xvi. 15, 16,
26, 28, 29, 32, 33; xxiii. 3, s, 7, 11, 14, 17-19: Hos. v. 3;
vi. 10: Nah. iii. 4).
315. In the celestial sense to commit adultery means to
deny the holiness of the Word and to profane it. That this
is meant in this sense follows from the former, the spiritual
sense, which is to adulterate its goods and falsify its truths.
They deny and profane the holiness of the Word who in heart
laugh at every thing of the church and religion; for all things
of the church and religion in the Christian world are from
the Word.
316. There are various causes which make a man seem
chaste, not only to others but also to himself, while yet he is
430
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 316
wholly unchaste ; for he does not know that lust, when it is in
the will, is deed, and that it cannot be removed except by the
Lord after repentance. Abstinence from doing does not
make one chaste; but abstinence from willing because it is
sin, when doing is possible. Just so far as one abstains
from adulteries and fornication solely from fear of the civil
law and its penalties; from fear of loss of reputation and
therefore of honor; from fear of diseases from them; from
fear of upbraidings by the wife at home and thus intran-
quillity of life; from fear of the vengeance of the husband and
relations and being beaten by their servants; or from miser-
liness; from any infirmity, arising from disease, abuse, age,
or any other cause of impotence; or even if he abstains from
them for any natural or moral law, and not at the same time
for spiritual law, he is still inwardly an adulterer and forni-
cator; for he none the less believes that they are not sins, and
therefore does not in his spirit make them unlawful in the
sight of God. Thus in spirit he commits them, though not
before the world in the body; and therefore after death, when
he becomes a spirit, he speaks openly in favor of them. More-
over, adulterers may be compared to covenant breakers, who
violate compacts; and also to the satyrs and priapi of the
ancients, who roamed in the forests, crying out, "Where are
there maidens, brides, and wives, with whom we may sport ?"
Moreover, adulterers in the spiritual world, actually appear
like satyrs and priapi. They may also be compared to rank
he-goats; and also to dogs that run through the streets, look-
ing about, and smelling for other dogs whom they lust after;
and so on. Their virile potency, when they become hus-
bands, may be compared to the blossoming of tulips in the
time of spring, which after a month lose their flowers and
wither away.
No. 318]
THE DECALOGUE
431
THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT.
Thou shall not steal.
317. In the natural sense, this commandment means ac-
cording to its letter, not to steal, rob, or commit piracy in
time of peace; and in general not to take from any one his
goods by stealth, or under any pretext. It also extends itself
to all imposture, illegitimate gain, usury, and exaction; and
also to fraudulent practices in paying duties and taxes, and
in discharging debts. Workmen offend against this com-
mandment who do their work unfaithfully and dishonestly;
merchants who deceive in merchandise, weight, measure, and
accounts; officers who deprive the soldiers of their wages;
judges who give judgment for friendship, bribes, relation-
ship, or other causes, by perverting the laws or litigation, and
who thus deprive others of their goods which they rightfully
possess.
318. In the spiritual sense, by stealing is meant depriving
others of the truths of their faith, which is done by falsities
and heresies. Priests who minister only for the sake of gain
or the attainment of worldly honor, and who teach such things
as they see or may see from the Word to be not true, are spiri-
tual thieves; since they deprive the people of the means of
salvation, which are the truths of faith. Such are also called
thieves in the Word in the following passages: He that enter-
eth not by the door into the sheep fold, but climbeth up some
other way, the same is a thief and a robber. The thief cometh
not but to steal, and to kill, and to destroy (John x. 1, 10). Lay
not up treasures upon earth, but in heaven, where thieves do
not come and steal (Matt. vi. 19, 20). // thieves come to thee,
if robbers by night, how art thou cut off! Will they not steal
what is enough for them? (Obad. verse 5.) They shall run
to and fro in the city, they shall run on the wall, they shall
climb up upon Die houses, they shall enter in at the windows
432
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION Wo. 318
like a thief (Joel ii. 9). They commit falsehood, and the thief
cometh in, and the troop of robbe/s spoileth without (Hos.
vii. 1).
319. In the celestial sense, by thieves are meant those
who take away Divine power from the Lord; and also those
who claim for themselves His merit and righteousness.
These, though they adore God, yet do not trust in Him, but
in themselves; and also they do not believe in God, but in
themselves.
320. They who teach what is false and heretical, and per-
suade the people that it is true and orthodox, though they
read the Word and from it may know what is false and what
is true, also they who by fallacies confirm the falsities of re-
ligion and seduce men by them, may be compared with im-
postors and their impostures of every kind; and because
these are in themselves thefts in the spiritual sense, they may
be compared with counterfeiters who make false coins, gild
them, or give them the color of gold, and pass them as gen-
uine; as also with those who know how to cut and polish
crystals skilfully, and harden them, and sell them for dia-
monds; or again with those who should carry apes or mon-
keys clothed like men and with their faces veiled, through
cities, on horses or mules, and proclaim that they are noble-
men of ancient stock. They are also like those who cover
the living and natural face with masks daubed with paints
of various colors, and so conceal its beauty. And they are
like men who show selenite and mica that shine as from gold
and silver, and cry them up as from veins of great value.
They may also be likened to those who by theatrical exhibi-
tions lead men away from true Divine worship, and from
temples to playhouses. They who confirm falsities of every
kind, regarding truths as of no moment, and who discharge
the office of the priesthood only for the sake of gain and to
attain honor, and who thus are spiritual thieves, may be
likened to those thieves who carry keys with which they can
open the door of any house ; also to leopards and eagles that
with sharp eyes search for the richest prey.
No. 322]
THE DECALOGUE
433
THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
321. By bearing false witness against the neighbor, or tes-
tifying falsely, in the natural sense, nearest the letter, is meant
to be a false witness before a judge, or before others out of
court, against one who without cause is accused of any evil,
and to asseverate this by the name of God or by any thing
holy, or by one's self and such things as make up one's repu-
tation. In a wider natural sense, by this commandment are
meant lies of every kind and hypocrisy in civil life, with an
evil end in view; and also traducing and defaming the neigh-
bor, so that his honor, name, and reputation, on which the
character of the whole man depends, are injured. In the
widest natural sense are meant plots, deceits, and evil designs
against any one from various causes as from enmity, hatred,
revenge, envy, rivalry, and the like; for these evils conceal
within them the testifying to what is false.
322. In the spiritual sense by bearing false witness is
meant persuading that falsity of faith is truth of faith, and
that evil of life is good of life, and the converse; but to do
these things from design and not from ignorance, thus to do
them after one knows what is true and good, and not before;
for the Lord says, If ye were blind, ye would not Imve sin; but
now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth (John ix.
41). This falsity is meant in the Word by a lie, and the
design by deceit, in these passages: We have made a cove-
nant with death, and with hell luive we made an agreement,
we have made a lie our trust, and under falsehood have we hid
ourselves (Isa. xxviii. 15). They are a rebellious people, lying
sons, they will not hear the law of Jehovah (xxx. 9). From
the propliet even to the priest, every one doeth a lie (Jer. viii.
10). The inhabitants speak a lie, and their tongue is deceit-
ful in their mouth (Mic. vi. 12). Thou wilt destroy them
434
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
[No. 323
that speak a lie; Jehovah abhorreth a man of deceit (Ps. v. 6).
Tliey have taught their tongue to speak a lie; thine habita-
tion is in the midst of deceit (Jer. ix. 5, 6). Because a lie
means falsity, the Lord says that the devil speaketh a lie from
his own (John viii. 44). A lie signifies falsity and false
speaking in other passages also (Jer. xxiii. 14, 32: Ezek.
xiii. 6-9, 19; xxi. 29: Hos. vii. 1; xii. 1: Nah. iii. 1: Ps. cj s.
2, 3>-
323. In the celestial sense, to bear false witness means to
blaspheme the Lord and the Word, and so to banish truth
itself from the church; for the Lord is truth itself, and also
the Word. On the other hand, in this sense to bear witness
means to speak the truth, and testimony means the truth
itself. Hence the Decalogue is called the Testimony (Exod.
xxv. 16, 21, 22; xxxi. 7, 18; xxxii. 15; xl. 20: Lev. xvi. 13:
Num. xvii. 4, 7, 10). And because the Lord is the truth
itself, He says concerning Himself, that He bears witness.
That the Lord is truth itself, see John xiv. 6: Apoc. iii. 7;
and that He testifies and is witness of Himself, John iii. 11;
viii. 13-19; xv. 26; xviii. 37.
324. Those who speak falsities from deceit or design, and
utter them in a tone feigning spiritual affection, and especially
if mingling with them truths from the Word which they thus
falsify, were called by the ancients enchanters (of whom, see
Apocalypse Revealed, n. 462); and also pythons and serpents
of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. These falsi-
fiers, liars, and deceivers, may be likened to those who talk
in a bland and friendly way with those to whom they bear
enmity, and while speaking hold behind them a dagger with
which they kill them. And they may be likened to those
who poison their swords, and with them attack their ene-
mies in battle; and to those who mingle wolf's-bane with
water, and poison with wine and sweetmeats. They may
also be compared to fair and alluring harlots, infected with
malignant disease; and to stinging shrubs, which, when
brought near to the nostrils, hurt the olfactory fibrils; also
No. 326]
THE DECALOGUE
435
to sweetened poisons; and to dung, which when dried in
autumn emits a fragrant odor. Such are described in the
Word by leopards (see Apocalypse Revealed, n. 572).
THE NINTH AND TENTH COMMANDMENTS.
Thou shall not covet thy neighbor's house; thou shall not
covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his
maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any
thing that is thy neighbor's.
325. In the Catechism now in use, these words are sepa-
rated into two commandments; one making the ninth, which
is, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house; and the other
making the tenth, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife,
nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his
ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's. As these two com-
mandments make one thing, and both in Exodus (xx. 17)
and Deuteronomy (v. 21) one verse, I propose to treat of the
two together; not that I wish them to be joined together into
one commandment, but distinguished into two, as before;
since the commandments are called the ten words (Exod.
xxxiv. 28: Deut. iv. 13; x. 4).
326. These two commandments have respect to all those
that precede, and they teach and enjoin that evils must not
be done, and also that they must not be lusted after; conse-
quently that they are not of the external man only, but also
of the internal; for he who does not commit evils, and yet
lusts to do them, still does them. For the Lord says, that
whoso lusteth after the wife of another, hath already com-
mitted adultery with her in his heart (Matt. vi. 28) ; and the
external man does not become internal, or does not act as
one with the internal, until lusts have been removed. This
also the Lord teaches, saying, Woe unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the
platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou
436
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 326
blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup and platter,
that the outside 0} them may be clean also (Matt, xxiii. 25, 26);
and the same throughout the chapter from beginning to end.
The internals which are pharisaical are lusts after those
things which men are commanded not to do, in the first,
second, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth commandments.
It is known that the Lord in the world taught the internals
of the church, which are not to lust after evils; and He taught
thus in order that the internal and the external man may
make one. This is being born again, of which the Lord
spake to Nicodemus (John iii.); and no one can be born
again, or be regenerated, consequently become internal,
except from the Lord. That these two commandments may
have respect to all which precede, so that what they pro-
hibit shall not be lusted after, therefore the house is first
named, afterward the wife, and then the man-servant, the
maid-servant, the ox, and the ass; and lastly, all that is the
neighbor's; for the house involves all things that follow,
since in it are the husband, the wife, the man-servant, the
maid-servant, the ox, and the ass. The wife, who is after-
ward named, involves again the things which follow; for
she is mistress, as the husband is master in the house; the
servant and maid are under them, and the oxen and asses
under these; and last come all things which are below or
without, as it is said, any thing that is thy neighbor's. From
this it is manifest that these two commandments, in general
and in particular, in a broad and in a restricted sense, have
respect to all the preceding.
327. In the spiritual sense these commandments pro-
hibit all lusts which are contrary to the spirit of the church,
thus which are contrary to its spiritual things which have
reference principally to faith and charity; since unless the
lusts were subdued, the flesh according to its freedom would
rush into all wickedness. For it is known from Paul that
the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the
flesh (Gal. v. 17); and from James that every one is templed
No. 328]
THE DECALOGUE
437
of his own lust when he is enticed; then lust, after it hath con-
ceived, bringeth forth sin, and sin, when it is completed, bring-
eth forth death (James i. 14, 15); and also from Peter that
the Lord reserceth the unrighteous unto Hie day of judgment,
to be punished; but chiefly them that walk after the flesh in
lust (2 Epistle ii. 9, 10). In short, these two command-
ments, understood in the spiritual sense, regard all things
that have before been presented in the spiritual sense, and
forbid their being lusted after; and likewise all that have
before been presented in the celestial sense, to repeat which
is unnecessary.
328. The lusts of the flesh, eye, and other senses, sepa-
rate from the lusts, that is, the affections, desires, and enjoy-
ments of the spirit, are wholly like the lusts of beasts; and
are therefore in themselves animal. But the affections of
the spirit are such as angels have, and are therefore to be
called truly human. As far therefore as one indulges the
lusts of the flesh, he is a beast and wild beast; but as far as
he devotes himself to the desires of the spirit, so far he is a
man and an angel. The lusts of the flesh may be compared
with scorched and withered grapes, and with wild grapes;
but the affections of the spirit, with juicy and delicious
grapes, and also with the taste of the wine pressed out of
them. The lusts of the flesh may be compared with stables
in which are asses, goats, and swine; and the affections of
the spirit with stables in which are noble horses, and sheep,
and lambs. They differ also as an ass and a horse, a goat
and a sheep, and a hog and a lamb; in general, as dross and
gold, as limestone and silver, as coral and the ruby, and the
like. Lust and deed cohere as blood and flesh, or as flame
and oil; for the lust is in the deed, as the air from the lungs
in breathing is in the speech, and as the wind is in the sail
while sailing, and as water is in the wheel that gives motion
and action to machinery.
438
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
[No. 329
The Ten Commandments of the Decalogue contain all
things which are of love to god, and all things
which are of love toward the neighbor.
329. In eight precepts of the Decalogue, in the first, sec-
ond, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth, there is
nothing said of love to God and of love toward the neigh-
bor; for it is not said that God should be loved, nor that the
name of God should be hallowed, nor that the neighbor
should be loved, nor therefore that he should be dealt with
sincerely and uprightly; but only, Thou shalt have no other
God before My face; Thou shalt not take the name of God
in vain; Thou shalt not kill; Thou shalt not commit adul-
tery; Thou shalt not steal; Thou shalt not bear false witness;
Thou shalt not covet the things which are thy neighbor's;
that is, in general, that evil is not to be willed, thought, or done
against God, or against the neighbor. But the reason why
such things as belong directly to love and charity are not com-
manded, but it is only commanded that such things as are
opposite to them should not be done, is that as far as man
shuns evils as sins, so far he wills the goods which are of love
and charity. That in love to God and in love toward the
neighbor the first thing is not to do evil, and the second is to
do good, will be seen in the chapter on Charity. There are
two opposite loves, the love of willing and doing good, and
the love of willing and doing evil; the latter love in infernal,
and the former heavenly; for all hell is in the love of doing
evil, and all heaven in the love of doing good. Now, as man
was born into evils of every kind, he therefore inclines from
birth to the things which are of hell; and as he cannot come
into heaven unless he is born again, that is, regenerated, it is
necessary that the evils which are of hell should first be re-
moved, before he can will the goods which are of heaven;
for no one can be adopted by the Lord before he is separated
from the devil. But how evils are removed, and man
No. 329]
THE DECALOGUE
439
brought to do goods, will be shown in the two chapters con-
cerning Repentance, and concerning Reformation and Re-
generation. That evils must be put away before the goods
which a man does become good in the sight of God, the
Lord teaches in Isaiah: Wash you, make you clean; put
away the evil 0} your doings from before Mine eyes; learn to
do good: then, though your sins have been as scarlet, they shall
be white as snow; though they have been red as purple, they
sluill be as wool (i. 16-18). Like this is what is said in Jere-
miah: Stand in the gate of the house of Jehovah, and pro-
claim there this word: Thus said Jehovah Zebaoth, the Cod
of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings; trust ye not in
lying words, saying, The temple of Jehovah, the temple of
Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah is here, that is, the church.
Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely,
and come and stand before Me in this house, which is called
by My name, and say, We are delivered, while ye do all these
abominations? Is this house become a den of robbers ? Be-
hold, even I have seen it, saith Jehovah (vii. 2-4, 9-1 1). That
before washing or purification from evils, prayers to God are
not heard, is also taught in Isaiah: Jehovah saith, Ah sinful
nation, a people laden with iniquity; they have gone away
backward. And when ye spread forth your hands, I hide
Mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I do
not hear (i. 2, 4, 15). That love and charity follow when
any one keeps the commandments of the Decalogue by shun-
ning evils, is evident from these words of the Lord in John:
Jesus said, He that hath My commandments, and keepeth
them, he it is tltal loveth Me, and lie that loveth Me, shall be
loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest
Myself to him; and We will make our abode with him (xiv.
21, 23). By commandments are there meant particularly
the commandments of the Decalogue, which are, that evils
must not bt done or lusted after; and that so the love of man
to God and the love of God toward man may follow, as good
follows after evil has been removed.
440
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
[No. 330
330. It has been said that as far as man shuns evils, so far
he wills goods; this is because evils and goods are oppo-
sites, for evils are from hell, and goods from heaven. So far
therefore as hell, that is, evil is removed, heaven draws near,
and man looks to good. That it is so, is very manifest from
the eight commandments of the Decalogue, so viewed —
thus: I. As far as any one does not worship other gods, he
worships the true God. EL As far as any one does not take
the name of God in vain, he loves what is from God. III.
As far as any one does not will to kill and to act from hatred
and revenge, he wills well to the neighbor. IV. As far as
any one does not will to commit adultery, he wills to live
chastely with his wife. V. As far as any one does not will
to steal, he practises sincerity. VI. As far as any one does
not will to testify falsely, he wills to think and speak what is
true. VII. and VIII. As far as any one does not covet the
things which are the neighbor's, he wishes the neighbor to
enjoy his own. Thus it is evident that the commandments
of the Decalogue contain all things which are of love to God,
and of love toward the neighbor. Therefore Paul says, He
that loveth another, hath fulfilled the law; for this, Thou shalt
not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal,
Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet, and
if there be any other commandment, it is comprehended in this
saying, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Love work-
eth no evil to the neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the
law (Rom. xiii. 8-10). To these are to be added two canons
for the service of the New Church: I. No one can shun evils
as sins, and do goods which are good in the sight of God,
from himself; but as far as any one shuns evils as sins, he
does good not from himself but from the Lord. II. Man
must shun evils as sins, and fight against them, as from
himself; and if one shuns evils from any other cause what-
ever than because they are sins, he does not shun them, but
he does this only that they may not appear before the world.
331. Evil and good cannot be together, and as far as
No. 331]
THE DECALOGUE
441
evil is removed, good is regarded and felt, because in the
spiritual world there exhales from every one the sphere of
his love, which spreads itself round about, and affects, and
causes sympathies and antipathies. By these spheres the
good are separated from the evil. That evil is to be re-
moved, before good is recognized, perceived, and loved, may
be compared with many things in the natural world — as
with these: No one can go to another who keeps a leopard
and a panther in his chamber and lives safe with them be-
cause he feeds them, unless he has first removed those wild
beasts. Who that has been invited to the table of a king and
queen, does not first wash his face and hands before coming?
And who after the wedding enters the marriage chamber with
his bride without having bathed and clothed himself with
wedding garment? Who does not purify the ores by fire,
and separate them from dross, before he obtains the pure
gold and silver ? Who does not separate the tares from the
wheat before bringing it into the barn? and thresh the
bearded chaff from his barley before gathering it into the
house? Who does not prepare his meat by cooking before
it becomes eatable and is set upon the table ? Who does not
shake off the worms from the leaves of the trees in the gar-
den, that the leaves may not be devoured and the fruit thus
destroyed ? Who does not dislike dirt in houses and halls,
and cleanse them, especially when a prince is expected, or a
bride, the daughter of a prince ? Who loves and wishes to
marry a maiden who is full of disease, or covered with pim-
ples and blotches, and yet paints her face, dresses splend-
idly, and studies to infuse the enticements of love by bland-
ishing words? Man ought to purify himself from evils, and
not wait for the Lord to do this immediately, like a servant
with face and clothes befouled with soot and dung, who
comes to his master and says, " Wash me, my lord." Would
not the master say to him, " You foolish servant, what are
you saying? There are water, soap, and a towel; have you
not hands and power to use them? wash yourself." And
442
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
[No. 331
the Lord God will say, " The means of purification are from
Me, and your ability to will and to do are from Me; there-
fore use these My gifts and endowments as your own, and
you will be purified." So in other cases. That the external
man is to be purged, but by means of the internal, the Lord
teaches in the twenty-third chapter of Matthew, from be-
ginning to end.
332. To the above shall be added Four Relations. First:
I once heard voices which seemed to gurgle up through
waters from the lower regions, one toward the left, O how
just! another at the right, O how learned! and a third from
behind, O how wise! And as it came into my thought,
whether there are even in hell the just, the learned, and the
wise, I felt a desire to see whether there are such there.
And it was said to me from heaven, " You shall see and hear."
And I went out of the house in spirit, and saw before me an
opening. I drew near and looked down, and behold there
was a ladder, by which I descended. And when I was be-
low, I saw plains covered with shrubbery intermingled with
thorns and nettles. And I asked whether this was hell. It
was answered, " This is the lower earth, which is next above
hell." And then I proceeded toward the shouts in their
order, first toward that of, O how just ! where I saw a com-
pany of those who in the world had been judges influenced
by friendship and bribes; then toward the second shout,
O how learned! where I saw a company of those who in the
world had been reasoners; and toward the third shout, O
how wise ! where I saw a company of those who in the world
had been confirmers. But from these I turned back to the
first, where were the judges influenced by friendship and
bribes, and who were proclaimed just. And I saw at the
side as it were an amphitheatre, built of brick and roofed
with black tiles; and it was said to me, that there was their
tribunal. There were three entrances to it on the north
side, and three on the west, but none on the south and east,
an indication that their judgments were not judgments of
No. 332]
THE DECALOGUE
443
justice, but arbitrary. In the midst of the amphitheatre was
seen a hearth upon which servants in charge of the fire threw
pine torches dipped in sulphur and bitumen; the light from
which, flickering upon the plastered walls, presented images
of birds of evening and night. But the hearth and the flick-
ering of the light from it into the forms of those images, were
representations of their judgments, that they could color and
disguise the facts in any case, giving them an appearance
according to the side favored.
After a half hour, I saw old men and youths entering, in
robes and cloaks, who laying aside their caps took high seats
at the tables to sit in judgment. And I heard and per-
ceived how skilfully and ingeniously, out of regard for friend-
ship, they bent and turned their judgments to seeming jus-
tice, and so much so that they themselves did not see what
was unjust to be other than just, and on the other hand what
was just not to be unjust. Such persuasions as to their de-
cisions appeared in their faces, and were heard in the sound
of their voices. Enlightenment from heaven was then given
me whereby I had a perception of each thing whether it was
of right or not; and I saw how industriously they covered
over what was unjust, and induced upon it the appearance
of what was just; and from the laws they selected one which
favored them, to which they bent the thing in question, and
by skilful reasonings they put all others aside. After the
decisions, the judgments were carried out to their clients,
friends, and partisans; and these, to return the favor, for a
long way cried out, O how just! O how just!
After this I conversed with angels of heaven about them,
and told them some of the things that I had seen and heard.
And the angels said, " Such judges appear to others gifted
with the keenest vision in understanding, when yet they see
nothing whatever of what is just and equitable. If you take
away their friendship for any one, they sit in judgment like
statues, and only say, 'I assent; I concur with this one, or
that.' This is because all their judgments are prejudices,
444
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 332
and prejudice with partiality follows the case from begin-
ning to end; consequently they see nothing but what is for
their friend; toward all that is against him thev turn their
eyes sideways, and look, out of their corners; ancf if they take
it up again, they involve it in reasonings, as a spider does its
captives in its threads, and consume it. Hence if they do
not follow the web of their prejudice, they see nothing of
right. They have been explored to ascertain whether they
were able to see, and they were found to be unable. The
inhabitants of your world will wonder that it is so; but tell
them that this is a truth which has been explored by angels
of heaven. Since they see nothing of what is just, we in
heaven do not regard them as men, but as monstrous images
of man, in which things of friendship make the heads, things
of injustice the breasts, things of confirmation the hands and
feet, and things of justice the soles of the feet; which, if they
do not favor their friend, they put beneath the feet and tram-
ple upon them. But you shall see what they are, viewed
in themselves, for their end is near."
And, behold, the ground then suddenly opened, and tables
fell upon tables, and together with the whole ampitheatre the
men were swallowed up, cast into caverns, and imprisoned.
And then it was said to me, "Do you wish to see them
there?" And lo they were seen in face as of polished steel,
in body from the neck to the loins like sculptured images
clothed with the skins of the leopard, their feet like serpents.
And I saw the law books which they had lying on the tables,
now turned into playing cards; and instead of sitting as
judges, the employment was now given them of preparing
vermilion into paints for besmearing the faces of harlots, and
thus turning them into beauties. After these things were
seen, I wished to go to the two other companies, to the one
where were merely reasoners, and to the other where were
merely confirmers. But it was said to me, "Rest a little;
angels from the society next above them will be given you
as companions, by whom light will be given you from the
Lord, and you will see wonderful things."
No. 333]
THE DECALOGUE
445
333. Second Relation. After some time, I heard again
from the lower earth the words I had heard before, O how
learned! O how learned! And I looked around to see who
were present, and saw angels who were in the heaven im-
mediately above those who were crying, O how learned!
And I spoke with them about the shouting, and they said:
" Those learned ones are some who only reason as to whether
a thing is or is not, and who rarely think that it is so: thus
they are as winds which blow and pass by; and like bark
around trees that have no heart; and like shells about al-
monds with no kernel; and like the rind around fruit with-
out pulp; for their minds are without interior judgment, and
only united with the senses of the body; and so if the senses
themselves do not judge, they are able to conclude nothing;
in a word, they are merely sensual, and by us they are called
Reasoners. We call them reasoners because they never con-
clude any thing, but take up whatever they hear, and dis-
pute whether it is so, continually contradicting. They love
nothing more than to attack truths, and thus to tear them to
pieces by bringing them into dispute. These are they who
believe themselves learned above all in the world."
On hearing this I asked the angels to conduct me to them,
and they conducted me to a cave, from which steps led to the
lower earth; and we descended and followed the cry, O how
learned! and, behold, there were some hundreds standing
in one place, stamping the ground. Wondering at this, I
asked, " Why do they stand so, and stamp the ground with
the soles of their feet?" and added, "They may thus beat
out the soil with their feet." At this the angels smiled and
said, " They appear to stand so, because on any subject they
never think that is so, but only whether it is so, and thus dis-
pute; and while the thought advances no further, they ap-
pear only to stamp and wear away one spot, and not to ad-
vance." The angels also said: "They who flock from tha
natural world into this, and hear that they are in another
world, gather themselves into companies in many places, and
446 TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 33 j
ask, where is heaven, and where is hell? as also, where is
God? and after they have been instructed, they still begin
to reason, to dispute, and to wrangle, as to whether there be
a God. They do this because there are at this day so many
naturalists in the natural world, and these among themselves
and with others, when the conversation is about religion,
submit this to discussion; and this proposition and the de-
bate are seldom terminated in the affirmative of faith, that
there is a God; and afterward they consociate themselves
more and more with the wicked, and this because no one can
do any good from the love of good, except from God."
I was afterward conducted to the assembly; and lo they
appeared to me men of not unhandsome face, and in hand-
Some dress; and the angels said, "They appear thus in their
own light; but if light out of heaven flows in, the faces are
changed, and also the garments." And the light of heaven
flowed in, and then they appeared with dusky faces, clothed
in black sackcloth; but this light being withdrawn, they
seemed as before. Then I spoke with some of the assembly,
and said : "I heard the shout of the throng about you, O how
learned! Let us therefore converse with you on things of
the highest learning." And they answered, " Say whatever
you please, and we will satisfy you." And I asked, "Of
what quality must the religion be by means of which man is
saved?" And they said, "We will divide this question into
several; and, until we have concluded on these, we cannot
give an answer. And the discussion shall be — 1. Whether
religion be any thing. 2. Whether there be salvation or
not. 3. Whether one religion effects more than another. 4.
Whether there be a heaven and a hell. 5. Whether there
be an eternal life after death — with other points besides."
And I asked about the first point, whether religion be any
thing. And they began to discuss this with arguments in
abundance; and I begged that they would refer it to the
assembly; they did so, and the general response was, that
the proposition needed so much investigation that it could
No. 333]
THE DECALOGUE
447
not be finished in an evening. And I asked, " Can you fin-
ish it within a year ? " And one said, " It cannot be finished
in a hundred years." And I said, " Meanwhile you are with-
out religion; and because salvation depends on religion, you
are without any idea, faith, or hope of salvation." And he
replied, " Must it not first be demonstrated whether there is
religion, and what it is, and whether it is any thing ? If it is,
it must also be for the wise; if not, it must be only for the
ignorant. It is known that religion is called a bond; but
for whom is it a bond ? If for the ignorant only, it is not in
itself any thing; if also for the wise, it is something."
Hearing this, I said: "You are any thing but learned, be-
cause you can think only whether it is, and turn this one way,
and then the other. Can any one be learned, unless he
knows something for certainty, and advances toward that as
a man walks, step by step, and successively into wisdom?
Otherwise, you do not touch truths, even with the tip of the
finger; but you remove them more and more out of sight.
For to reason only whether a thing is, is to reason about the
fit of a cap which is never put on, or of a shoe which is not
tried on. What comes of this but that you know not whether
there is any thing given, or whether it is any thing but an
idea? thus whether there is any salvation, whether there is
an eternal life after death, whether one religion is better than
another, whether there are a heaven and a hell. On these
subjects you cannot think at all as long as you stick at the
first step and tread the sand there, and do not set one foot
before the other and go forward. Take heed to yourselves
lest your minds while they thus stand outside of all judg-
ment, grow hard within and become pillars of salt." Hav-
ing said this I withdrew, while they in their indignation
threw stones after me; and then they appeared to me like
graven images, in which there is no human reason. I asked
the angels concerning their lot, and they said that the lowest
of them are let down into the deep, and into a desert, and are
compelled to carry packs; and then, as they are unable to
44§
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 333
bring forward any thing from reason, they prate and speak
vain words; and there in the distance they appear like asses
bearing burdens.
334. Third Relation. After this one of the angels said,
"Follow me to the place where they are shouting, O how
wise!" And he said, "You will see monsters of men; you
will see faces and bodies which are of man, and yet they are
not men." And I said, "Are they beasts, then?" He re-
plied, "They are not beasts, but beast-men; for they are
those who are wholly unable to see whether truth is truth or
not; and yet they can make whatever they wish seem true:
with us such are called Confirmers." And we followed the
shouting and came to the place, and behold an assembly of
men and around them a throng, and in this some of noble
lineage who, when they heard them proving every thing that
they themselves were saying, and favoring them with con-
currence so manifest, turned round and said, " O how wise!"
But the angel said to me, " Let us not go to them, but let us
call out one from the assembly"; and we called one out and
withdrew with him and talked of various things, and he
confirmed them one by one, even so that they appeared
altogether as true.
We asked him whether he could also confirm the oppo-
sites; and he said that he could as well as the former. Then
he said, openly and from the heart, "What is truth? Is
there any truth in the nature of things, but what man makes
true? Say what you please, and I will make it to be true."
And I said, "Make this true, that faith is the all of the
church." And he did it so dexterously and skilfully that
learned persons who stood around admired and applauded
him. Afterward I asked him to make it true that charity is
the all of the church; and he did so; and then that charity
is nothing of the church. And he so clothed and decorated
both propositions with appearances, that the bystanders
looked at one another, and said, "Is he not wise?" I then
said, " Do you not know that to live well is charity, and that
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449
to believe well is faith ? Does not he who lives well, also be-
lieve well ? And so do you not know that faith is of charity,
and charity of faith? Do you not see that this is true?"
He answered, "I will make it true, and shall see." And he
did so, and said, " I see it now." But presently he made the
contrary true, and then he said, " I see that this is true also."
At this we smiled and said, "Are they not contraries ? How
can two contraries be seen to be true?" Being indignant
at this, he answered, "You are wrong; they both are true,
since nothing is true but what man makes true."
There was one standing near who in the world had been
a legate of the highest grade. He wondered at this, and
said, " I acknowledge that there is something like this in the
world; but still you are insane. Make it true if you can,
that darkness is light, and light darkness." And he an-
swered, "I shall easily do this: what are light and darkness,
but states of the eye ? Is not light changed into shade when
the eye comes from a sunny place, as also when a man fixes
his eye intently on the sun ? Who does not know that the
state of the eye is then changed, and that therefore light ap-
pears as shade ? and, on the other hand, that when the state
of the eye returns, that shade appears like light ? Does not
an owl see the darkness of night as the light of day, and the
light of day as the darkness of night, also the whole sun itself
as an opaque and dusky globe ? If any one had eyes like an
owl's, what would he call light, and what darkness ? What
then is light but a state of the eye ? And if it is only a state
of the eye, is not light darkness, and darkness light ? Where-
fore both propositions are true." But, because this con-
firmation confounded some, I said, "I perceive that that
confirmer does not know that there is given true light and
fatuous light; and that both those lights appear as if they
were lights, yet fatuous light in itself is not light, but in re-
spect to true light it is darkness. An owl is in fatuous light,
for there is within its eyes the desire for pursuing and de-
vouring birds; and this light makes its eyes see in time of
45° TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 334
night, just as cats do, whose eyes in cellars appear like
lighted candles; it is the fatuous light within their eyes, ari-
sing from the desire for chasing and devouring mice, which
produces that appearance. It is thus plain that the light
of the sun is true light, and the light of desire is fatuous
light."
After this, the legate requested the confirmer to make this
to be true, that a raven is white and not black. And he an-
swered, "This also I shall easily do." And he said, "Take
a needle or a razor and open the quills and feathers of a
raven; then remove the quills and feathers and look at the
raven's skin: is it not white? What is the black which is
around but shade? from which we should not judge of the
color of the raven. That black is only a shade, consult those
who are skilled in the science of optics, and they will tell; or
grind a black stone or glass into fine powder, and you will
see that the powder is white." But the legate replied,
"Does not the raven appear black to the sight?" But the
confirmer answered, "Are you, who are a man, willing to
think anything from appearance? You may indeed say
from the appearance that a raven is black, but you cannot
think so. For example, speaking from the appearance, you
may say that the sun rises and sets; but because you are a
man you cannot think so, as the sun stands unmoved and
the earth moves on. It is similar with the raven. Appear-
ance is appearance. Say what you will, the whole raven is
white; it also grows white when it grows old; as I have
seen." After this, the bystanders looked at me; whereupon
I said, that it is true that the quills and feathers of a raven
inwardly partake of whiteness, and its skin likewise; and
this is the case not only with ravens, but also with all the
birds in the universe; but every man distinguishes birds by
the appearance of their color; if this were not done, we might
say of every bird that it is white, which is absurd and ridicu-
lous. The legate then asked, " Can you make it true that
you are insane?" And he said, "I can, but I do not wish
No. 334]
THE DECALOGUE
451
to do so; who is not insane?" Finally they asked him to
say from the heart whether he jested, or really believed that
there is nothing true but what man makes true. And he
answered, "I swear that I believe it."
After this that universal confirmer was sent to the angels,
who explored him as to his quality; and after the explora-
tion they said that he did not possess a grain of understand-
ing, because all that which is above the rational was closed
with him; and only what is below the rational was open;
above the rational is spiritual light, and below the rational
is natural light, and this light with man is such that he can
confirm whatever he pleases; but if spiritual light does not
flow into natural light, man does not see whether any truth
is truth, and hence he does not see that any falsity is a falsity;
these both are to be seen from spiritual light in natural light,
and spiritual light is from the God of heaven, who is the
Lord; therefore that universal confirmer is neither man nor
beast, but a beast-man. I asked the angels as to the lot of
such, whether they can be together with the living, because
the life of man is from spiritual light, and from this is his
understanding. And they said that such when alone are not
able to think any thing, and thence to speak; but that they
stand dumb like automatons, and as it were in a deep sleep;
but that they awake as soon as they catch anything with the
ear. They added, "They become such who are inmostly
evil; into these spiritual light cannot flow in from above,
but only something spiritual through the world, whence they
have the faculty of confirming."
These things being said, I heard a voice from the angels
who explored him, saying, "Form a universal conclusion
from what has been heard." And I made this: Ability to
confirm whatever one pleases does not make the man of under-
standing; but ability to see that truth is truth, and that falsity
is falsity, and to confirm this. Afterward I looked at the
assembly where the confirmers were standing, and the crowd
around them were crying, "O how wise!" And lo! a dark
452
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 334
cloud covered them, and in the cloud owls and bats were
flying. And it was said to me, " The owls and bats, flying
in that cloud, are correspondences and thence appearances
of their thoughts; since confirmations of falsities, even till
they appear like truths, are represented in this world under
the forms of birds of night, whose eyes are illumined within
by a fatuous light, from which they see objects in darkness
as in light: such fatuous spiritual light have those who con-
firm falsities until they are seen as truths, and afterward are
believed to be truths. All those are in backward, and not in
any forward sight.
335. Fourth Relation. Once when I awakened from
sleep in the twilight of the morning, I saw before my eyes,
as it were, spectres in various shapes; and afterward, when
it was morning, I saw fatuous lights in divers forms; some
like sheets of paper full of writing, which, being folded again
and again, at length appeared like falling stars, that in their
descent vanished in the air; and some like open books, of
which some shone like little moons, and some burned like
candles; among these were books which raised themselves
on high and were lost in the height, and others which fell
down to the earth and there crumbled into dust. From these
appearances I conjectured that below those meteors stood
some who were disputing about imaginary things, which they
esteemed of great moment; for in the spiritual world such
phenomena appear in the atmospheres, from the reasonings
of those standing below. And presently the sight of my
spirit was opened to me, and I observed a number of spirits,
whose heads were encircled with leaves of laurel, and who
were clothed in gowns adorned with flowers, which signified
that they were spirits who in the natural world had been re-
nowned with their reputation for erudition. As I was in the
spirit I came to them and mingled with the assembly.
I then heard them disputing sharply and warmly among
themselves concerning connate ideas, whether there were
any in men from birth, as in beasts. They who denied this
No. 335]
THE DECALOGUE
453
turned themselves away from those who affirmed it, and at
length they stood separated from each other, like the ranks
of two armies ready to fight with swords. But as they had
no swords, they fought with pointed words. But suddenly,
an angelic spirit stood in the midst of them, and speaking
with a loud voice said — "At a short distance from you I
heard you engaged in hot dispute on both sides about con-
nate ideas, whether there are any in men, as in beasts; but
I tell you, that men have no connate ideas, and that beasts
have no ideas; therefore, you are quarrelling about nothing,
or, as the saying is, about goat's wool, or an eighteenth-cen-
tury beard." On hearing these words, they were all very
angry, and cried: "Put him out; he talks contrary to com-
mon sense." But when they tried to put him out, they saw
him encircled with heavenly light, which they could not break
through; for he was an angelic spirit. They, therefore,
drew back, and moved a little way from him. And after that
light was indrawn, he said to them: "Why are you angry?
First listen, and bring together the reasons which I shall
offer, and yourselves make a conclusion from them; and I
foresee that they who excel in judgment will concur, and will
calm the tempests which have risen in your minds." To
this they said, yet with indignant tone: "Speak, then, and
we will hear."
And then, beginning to speak, he said: "You believe that
beasts have connate ideas, and you have inferred it from this,
that their actions appear as if from thought; and yet they
have no thought at all, and ideas are predicable only of that;
and it is the characteristic of thought that they who think do
so and so for this or that cause. Consider therefore whether
the spider, which weaves its web most curiously, thinks in its
little head, ' I will stretch out the threads in this order, and
will bind them together with threads that run crosswise, so
that my work may not be torn asunder by the rude vibration
of the air; and at the beginnings of the threads, which shall
make the middle, I will prepare a seat for myself, where I
454
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 335
shall feel whatever falls in, and run at once to the spot; so
that if a fly gets in, it may be entangled, and I will quickly
rush upon it and bind it fast, and it shall serve me for food.'
Again; does the bee think in its little head, ' I will fly abroad;
I know where there are fields in flower; and there I will
gather wax from these flowers, and from those I will suck
the honey; and with the wax I will build little cells close to
each other in order, so that I and my companions may freely
go in and out as through streets; and afterward we will lay
up honey in them abundantly, so that there may be enough
also for the coming winter, that we may not die ' ? besides
other wonderful things in which they not only vie with, but
in some cases surpass, the political and economical prudence
of men (see above, n. 12). Moreover, does the hornet think
in its little head, 'I and my companions will build a little
house of thin paper, the walls of which we will wind in the
form of a labyrinth inside, and in the inmost we will prepare
a kind of forum, into which shall be the way of entrance, and
out of it the way of egress, and contrived with such art that
no living creature but those of our family shall find the way
to the inmost place where we assemble ' ? Again ; does the
silk-worm while it is a grub, think in its little head, ' Now is
the time for me to prepare to spin silk, so that when it is spun
I may fly abroad in the air, into which I could not rise before,
may sport with my equals, and provide myself a posterity ' ?
Or do other worms so think when they creep about the walls
of houses, and become nymphs, aurelia?, chrysalides, and
finally butterflies? Does a fly have an idea of its meeting
with another fly, that it happens here and not there ? It is
the same with larger animals as with these smaller ones; as
with birds and feathered creatures of all kinds, when they
pair, build their nests, lay their eggs in them, sit on them,
hatch their young, provide food for them, take care of them
until they can fly, and then drive them from their nests, as
if they were not their offspring; besides other things beyond
number. So is it also with the beasts of the earth, with ser-
No. 33 <;]
THE DECALOGUE
455
pents, and with fishes. What one of you cannot see from
what has now been said, that their spontaneous actions do
not flow from any thought, of which alone idea can be predi-
cated ? The error that beasts have ideas has come from no
other source than the persuasion that they think, equally
with men, and that speech alone makes the difference be-
tween them."
After this the angelic spirit looked around, and as he saw
them still in doubt whether beasts have thought or not, he
continued the discourse and said: "I perceive that from
the actions of brute animals, similar to those of men, a vi-
sionary idea of their thinking still clings to you; therefore I
will tell whence their actions are: namely, every beast, bird,
fish, reptile, and insect, has its own natural, sensual, and
corporeal love, the dwelling-places of which are their heads,
and the brains therein; through these, the spiritual world
flows into the senses of their body immediately, and through
them determines their actions; which is the reason that the
senses of their body are much more exquisite than those of
men. This influx from the spiritual world is what is called
instinct, and it is called instinct because it arises without
intermediate thought; there are also from habit accessories
to instinct. But their love, through which the determina-
tion to actions comes from the spiritual world, is a love only
for nutrition and propagation, not for knowledge, intelli-
gence, and wisdom, by means of which love with men is
successively developed.
"That neither has man connate ideas may evidently ap-
pear from this, that he has no connate thought; and where
there is no thought, there is no idea; for they belong mu-
tually to each other. This may be concluded from new-
born infants, that they can do nothing but suck and breathe.
Their being able to suck is not from what is connate, but
from the continual suction in the mother's womb; and they
are able to breathe because they live, for this is the whole of
life. The very senses of their body are in the greatest ob-
456
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 335
scurity, and from this they work their way out successively
by means of objects; so they gain powers of motion by ha-
bitual exercise. And as they learn successively to prattle
words, and to sound them at first without an idea, some-
thing obscure, belonging to fancy arises, and as this grows
clearer, something obscure of imagination arises, and hence
of thought. According to the formation of this state arise
ideas, which, as before said, make one with thought; and
thought, from being none, grows by instructions. There-
fore men have ideas, yet not connate, but formed; and from
them flow their speech and actions." That nothing is con-
nate with man but the faculty for knowing, understanding,
and being wise, as also an inclination to love not only these
things but also the neighbor and God, may be seen in the
Relation above, n. 48, and also in one further on. After
this, I looked around, and saw near me Leibnitz and Wolfius,
who paid close attention to the reasons advanced by the
angelic spirit. Leibnitz then came forward and expressed
his assent; but Wolfius went away, both denying and affirm-
ing for he did not excel in interior judgment as Leibnitz did.
CHAPTER SIXTH.
FAITH.
336. From the wisdom of the ancients this dogma flowed
forth: that the universe and all things of it have reference
to good and truth; and thus all things of the church to love
or charity and faith, since all is called good which flows from
love or charity, and all is called truth which flows from faith.
Now because charity and faith are distinctly two, yet make
one in a man that he may be a man of the church, that is,
that the church may be in a man, it was a matter of con-
troversy and dispute among the ancients which of the two
must be first, and which therefore is to be called by right the
first-born. Some of them said truth, consequently faith,
and some said good, consequently charity. For they saw
that immediately after his birth man learns to talk and think,
and by means of speech and thought to be perfected in un-
derstanding, which is done by means of knowledges; and so
that to learn and understand what is true is first; and that
by these means he afterward learns and understands what is
good; consequently he first learns what faith is and after-
ward what charity is. They who so comprehended this
subject supposed that the truth of faith is the first-born, and
that the good of charity is born afterward; therefore they also
attributed to faith the eminence and prerogative of primo-
geniture. But they overwhelmed their understanding with
so many arguments in favor of faith that they did not see that
faith is not faith unless joined with charity, and that charity
is not charity unless joined with faith, and thus that they
make one; and, if not, neither of them is any thing in the
church. That they truly make one will be made plain in
458
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
[No. 336
what follows. But in this preface I shall briefly show how
or by what course they make one; for this is important, so
that what follows may be in some light. Faith, by which is
also meant truth, is first in time; but charity, by which is
also meant good, is first in end; and that which is first in
end is actually the first, because it is primary, thus also first-
born; while that which is first in time is not the first actually,
but apparently. But that this may be comprehended, let
it be illustrated by comparisons with building a temple, and
a house, laying out a garden, and preparing a field. In
building a temple, the first thing in time is to lay the founda-
tion, to raise the walls, to put on the roof, and afterwards to
put in the altar and erect the pulpit; but in end the first
thing is the worship of God therein, for the sake of which
those things are done. In building a house, the first thing
in time is to build its external parts, and also to furnish it
with various articles which are of necessity; but the first
thing in end is a suitable dwelling for one's self and for all
of the household. In laying out a garden, the first thing in
time is to level the ground, prepare the soil, and plant trees,
and sow such things as will serve for use; but in end the
first thing is the use of the fruits. In preparing a field, the
first thing in time is to clear the land, to plough, to harrow,
and then to sow the seed; but in end the first thing is the
harvest, thus again use. From these comparisons one may
conclude what is in itself first. Does not every one who
wishes to build a temple or a house, or to lay out a garden
and to cultivate a field, first intend the use, and constantly
keep and revolve this in his mind, while he is procuring
means to carry it into effect? We therefore conclude that
the truth of faith is first in time, but that the good of charity
is first in end; and that this latter, because it is primary, is
actually the first-born in the mind. But it is necessary to
know what faith is, and what charity is, each in its essence;
and this cannot be known unless they are divided into their
several articles, faith into its own, and charity into its own.
No. 337]
FAITH
459
The articles as to faith then are these: I. Sailing faith is in
the Lord God the Saviour Jesus Christ. II. The sum of
faith is tliat he who lives well and believes aright is saved by
the Lord. III. Man obtains faith by going to the Lord, learn-
ing truths from the Word, and Irving according to them. IV.
Abundance of truths, coherent as if bound together, exalts and
perfects faith. V. Faith without charity is not faith, and
cliarity without faith is not cliarity; and neither is alive
except from the Lord. VI. The Lord, charity, and faith
make one, like life, will, and understanding in man; and if
tliey are divided, each perishes, like a pearl reduced to powder.
VII. The Lord is charity and faith in man, and man is
charity and faith in the Lord. VIII. Cliarity and faith are
together in good works. IX. There are true faith, spurious
faith, and hypocritical faith. X. There is no faith with the
evil. These are now to be explained one by one.
I. Saving faith is in the Lord God the Saviour Jesus
Christ.
337. Saving faith is in God the Saviour, because He is
God and Man, and He is in the Father and the Father in
Him, and thus They are one; therefore they who go to Him,
go at the same time to the Father, and thus to the one and
only God, and there is no saving faith in any other. That
belief or faith must be in the Son of God, the Redeemer and
Saviour, conceived of Jehovah and born of the Virgin Mary,
named Jesus Christ, is evident from the commands fre-
quently repeated by Him, and afterward by the apostles.
That faith in Him was commanded by Himself, is very mani-
fest from these passages: Jesus said, This is the will of the
Father that sent Me, that every one who seeth the Son and be-
lieveth in Him shall have everlasting life, and I will raise him
up at the last day (John vi. 40). He tliat believeth in the Son
hath everlasting life; but he that believeth not the Son shall not
see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him (iii. 36). That
460
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 337
whosoever believeth in the Son should not perish, but have
eternal lije; for God so loved the world that He gave His only-
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not per-
ish, but have everlasting life (iii. 15, 16). Jesus said, I am
the Resurrection and the Life; he that believeth in Me shall
never die (xi. 25, 26). Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that
believeth in Me hath everlasting lije. I am the bread of life
(vi. 47, 48). / am the bread of life. He that cometh to Me
shall never hunger, and he that believeth in Me shall never
thirst (vi. 35). Jesus cried, saying, If any one thirst let him
come unto Ate and drink; he that believeth in Me, as tlie Scrip-
ture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water
(v'i- 37> 38). They said to Jesus, What shall we do that we
might work the works of God? Jesus answered, This is the
work of God, that ye believe in Him whom the Father hath
sent (vi. 28, 29). While ye have light, believe in the light
that ye may be children of light (xii. 36). He that believeth in
the Son of God, is not judged; but he that believeth not, is
judged already because he hath not believed in the name of the
only-begotten Son of God (iii. 18). These things are written,
that ye may believe that Jesus is the Son of God; and that
believing, ye may have life in His name (xx. 31). For if ye
believe not that I am, ye shall die in your sins (viii. 24). Jesus
said that, when the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, is come,
He will reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judg-
ment; of sin, because they believe not in Me (xvi. 8).
338. That the faith of the apostles was no other than faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ, is evident from many passages in
their Epistles, of which I shall present only these: / live, no
more I, but Christ livelh in me; and what I now live in the
flesh, I live in the faith which is in the Son of God (Gal. ii.
20). Paul testified to the Jews and to the Greeks, repentance
toward God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts xx. 21).
He who brought out Paul said, What must I do to be saved?
He said, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ; thus thou shall be
saved, and thy house (xvi. 30, 31). He that hath the Son hath
No. 338]
FAITH
life, but he that hath not the Son of God, hath not life. These
things have I written to you, that ye believe in the name of the
Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and
that ye may believe in the name of the Son of God (1 John v. 12,
13). We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gen-
tiles, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the
law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, we even have believed
in Jesus Christ (Gal. ii. 15, 16). Since their faith was in
Jesus Christ, which also is from Him, they called it the faith
of Jesus Christ, as just above (Gal. ii. 16), and in the follow-
ing passages: The righteousness 0} God, by the faith of Jesus
Christ, unto all and upon all them that believe, that He may
justify him who is 0} the faith of Jesus (Rom. iii. 22, 26).
Having the righteousness which is of the faith of Christ, the
righteousness which is 0} God by faith (Phil. iii. 9). That
keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus (Apoc.
xiv. 1 2). Through the faith which is in Christ Jesus (2 Tim.
iii. 15). In Jesus Christ is the faith which worketh by char-
ity (Gal. v. 6). From these passages may be evident what
faith was meant by Paul in the saying common at this day
in the church, Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by
faith without the deeds of the law (Rom. iii. 28) ; that it was
not faith in God the Father, but in His Son; still less in three
Gods in order, in one from whom, in another for the sake of
whom, and in a third by whom, comes salvation. It is be-
lieved in the church that its tripersonal faith was meant by
Paul in that saying, for the reason that the church for four-
teen centuries, or ever since the Nicene Council, has acknowl-
edged no other faith, and hence has known no other, thus
believing it to be the only faith, and that there can be no
other. Therefore wherever faith is named in the Word of
the New Testament, it has been believed that that faith is
meant, and to it every thing there has been applied. Hence
the only saving faith, which is in God the Saviour, has per-
ished; hence, also, so many fallacies have crept into their
doctrines, and so many paradoxes adverse to sound reason.
462
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 338
For every doctrine of the church that will teach and point out
the way to heaven or to the state of salvation, depends on
faith; and because so many fallacies and paradoxes crepf
in, as already said, it was necessary to proclaim the dogma
that the understanding must be kept under obedience to
faith. Now since faith, in that saying of Paul (Rom. iii. 28),
does not mean faith in God the Father, but in His Son, and
since the works of the law do not there mean the works of the
law of the decalogue, but the works of the Mosaic law for the
Jews (as is manifest from subsequent verses there, and also
from similar passages in the Epistle to the Galatians, ii. 14,
15), the foundation-stone of the faith of the present day falls,
and with it the temple built thereon, like a house sinking into
the earth and leaving only the highest part of its roof above
ground.
339. Men should believe, that is, have faith in God the
Saviour Jesus Christ, because this is faith in the visible
God, in whom is the invisible; and faith in the visible God,
who is Man and at the same time God, enters into man; for
faith in its essence is spiritual, but natural in its form; there-
fore with man this faith becomes spiritual natural; for every
spiritual thing is received in what is natural in order to be
any thing with man. The naked spiritual does indeed enter
into man, but it is not received; it is like the ether, which
flows in and out without affecting; for in order to affect, there
must be perception, and so reception, both in man's mind;
and these are not with man except in his natural. But on
the other hand, merely natural faith, or faith destitute of
spiritual essence, is not faith, but only persuasion, or knowl-
edge. Persuasion emulates faith in externals, but because
there is nothing spiritual in its internals, there is therefore
nothing saving. Such faith is with all who deny the Divinity
of the Lord's Human; such was the Arian faith, and such
also is the Socinian faith, because they both reject the Lord's
Divinity. What is faith without that on which it is placed ?
Is it not like a look into the universe, which falls as it were
No. 339]
FAITH
463
into vacuity and is lost ? Or it is like a bird flying above the
atmosphere into the ether, where as in a vacuum it ceases to
breathe. The abiding of this faith in the mind of man may
be compared to the stay of the winds in the wings of /Eolus,
and of light in a falling star. It rises like a comet with a long
tail, like it to pass by and disappear. In a word, faith in an
invisible God is actually blind, because the human mind does
not see its God; and the light of this faith, because it is not
spiritual natural, is a fatuous light; and this light is like that
of a glow-worm, and like that in swamps or over sulphurous
meadows in the night, and like the light in decaying wood.
From this light nothing arises but what is of fantasy, in which
the apparent is believed to be real when it is not. Faith in
an invisible God shines in no other light, especially when
God is thought to be a Spirit and the same is thought of
spirit as of ether. What follows but that man regards God
as he regards the ether? And thus he seeks Him in the uni-
verse, and when he does not find Him there, he believes the
nature of the universe to be God. The naturalism reign-
ing at this day is from this origin. Did not the Lord say
that no one hath ever heard the voice of the Father, or seen His
shape? (John v. 37); and also that no one Jiath seen God at
any time, and that the only-begotten Son who is in the bosom 0}
tlte Father Jiath revealed Him? (i. 18.) No one hath seen
the Father but He who is of God; He hath seen the Father (vi.
46). Also, tiiat no one cometh to the Father but by Him (xiv.
6); and furthermore, that the man seeth and knoweth the
Father, who seeth and knoweth Him (xiv. 7-12). But faith
in the Lord God the Saviour is different ; He being God and
Man, may both be approached and seen in thought; faith
in Him is not indeterminate, but it has its terminus, whence
it comes and whither it goes; and when once received, it
remains; as when one has seen an emperor or a king, as
often as he recollects this the image returns. The sight of
that faith is as of one who sees a bright cloud, and in the
midst of it an angel, who invites the man to him that he may
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TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 339
be elevated into heaven. So does the Lord appear to them
who have faith in Him; He draws near to every man as the
man knows and acknowledges Him. This is done as man
knows and keeps His commandments, which are to shun
evils and do goods; and at length the Lord comes into the
man's house, and makes His abode with him, together with
the Father who is in Him, according to these words in John :
Jesiis said, He that hath My commandments and keepeth
them, he it is that loveth Me; and he that loveth Me shall be
loved 0} My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest
Myself to him; and We will come unto him, and make an
abode with him (John xiv. 21, 23). These things have been
written in the presence of the Lord's twelve apostles, who
were sent to me by the Lord while I was writing.
II. The sum of faith is, that he who lives well and
BELIEVES ARIGHT IS SAVED BY THE LORD.
340. That man was created for eternal life, and that every
man can inherit it, provided he lives according to the means
of salvation prescribed in the Word, is admitted by every
Christian, and by every heathen also, who has religion and
sound reason. The means of salvation, however, are mani-
fold; but they have reference, one and all, to living well and
believing aright, thus to charity and faith, for to live well is
charity and to believe rightly is faith. These two general
means of salvation are not only prescribed to man in the
Word, but they are also commanded; and because they are
commanded, it follows that by means of them man can pro-
vide for himself eternal life, from the power implanted in him
and given to him by God; and so far as man uses that power,
and at the same time looks to God, God gives it strength to
make all that which is of natural charity to be of spiritual
charity, and all that which is of natural faith to be of spiritual
faith; so God makes dead charity and faith to live, and at
the same time the man also. There are two things which
No. 341]
FAITH
465
must be together, that man may be said to live well and be-
lieve aright ; in the church those two are called the internal
and the external man. When the internal man wills well
and the external acts well, then the two make one, the exter-
nal from the internal, and the internal through the external;
and so man from God, and God through man. But on the
other hand, if the internal man wills evil and yet the external
man acts well, then none the less they both act from hell; for
his willing is from hell, and his doing is hypocritical; and in
all that is hypocritical, his willing which is infernal is in-
wardly concealed, as a snake in the grass, or a worm in a
flower. The man who not only knows that there is an inter-
nal and an external man, but also knows what they are, and
that they can act as one actually and can also act as one ap-
parently, and who knows moreover that the internal man
lives after death and the external is buried, possesses poten-
tially the arcana of heaven and also of the world in abund-
ance. And he who conjoins these two men in himself in
good, becomes happy to eternity, but he who divides them,
and still more he who conjoins them in evil, becomes un-
happy to eternity.
341. To believe that the man who lives well and believes
aright is not saved, and that God can save and condemn
whom He will, freely and at pleasure, a man who perishes
may justly accuse God of unmercifulness and severity, and
even of cruelty; yes, he may deny that God is God. He
may make the further accusation that in His Word God has
spoken vain things, and commanded those which are of no
importance or are trifles; and again, if the man who lives
well and believes aright is not saved, he may also accuse God
of violating His covenant which He made upon mount Sinai
and wrote with His finger upon two tables. That God can-
not but save those who live according to His commandments
and have faith in Him, is evident from the words of the Lord
in John xiv. 21-24: and every one who has religion and
sound reason may confirm himself in this, when he reflects
466
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 341
that God, who is constantly with man and gives him life and
also the faculty of understanding and of loving, cannot but
love him who lives well and believes aright and by love con-
join Himself with him. Is not this written by God on every
man and every creature? Can a father and mother reject
their children, or a bird or a beast its young ? Even tigers,
panthers, and serpents cannot do so. For God to do other-
wise would be contrary to the order in which He is and accord-
ing to which He acts; and also contrary to the order into
which He created man. Now as it is impossible for God to
condemn one who lives well and believes aright, so on the
other hand it is impossible for God to save one who lives
wickedly and who therefore believes falsities. This latter
also is contrary to order, and hence contrary to His omnipo-
tence, which can proceed only by the way of justice; and
the laws of justice are truths, which cannot be changed: for
the Lord says, is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than
for one tittle of the law to fail (Luke xvi. 17). Any one who
knows any thing of the Essence of God, and of man's free-
will, can perceive this. For example: Adam was at liberty
to eat of the tree of life, and also of the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil; if he had eaten of the tree or trees of life
only, would it have been possible for God to expel him from
the garden ? I believe not. But after he ate of the tree of
the knowledge of good and evil, would it have been possible
for God to retain him in the garden? Again I believe not;
and so God cannot cast into hell an angel who has been re-
ceived into heaven, or introduce into heaven a devil who has
been judged. That He cannot do either, from His Divine
omnipotence, may be seen above in the section on the Di-
vine Omnipotence (n. 49-70).
342. In the preceding lemma (from n. 336-339) it was
shown that saving faith is faith in the Lord God the Saviour
Jesus Christ. But the question arises, What is the first of
faith in Him? And the answer is, The acknowledgment that
He is the Son of God. This was the lirst of faith which the
No. 342]
FAITH
467
Lord revealed and announced when He came into the world.
For unless men had first acknowledged that He was the Son
of God, and thus God from God, in vain would He Him-
self and the apostles afterwards have preached faith in Him.
Now as it is somewhat similar at this day, but with those
who think from the selfhood, that is, from the external or
natural man only, saying to themselves, How can Jehovah
God conceive a Son, and how can man be God ? it is neces-
sary to confirm and establish from the Word this first of
faith; the following passages shall therefore be adduced:
The angel said to Mary, Thou shall conceive in thy womb
and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He
shall be great, the Son oj the Highest. Then said Mary unto
the angel, How shall this be since I know not a man? The
angel answered, The Holy Spirit shall come upon theej and
the power oj the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore also
that Holy Thing that is born of thee shall be called the Son of
God (Luke i. 31-35). While Jesus was baptized, there came
a voice from heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom
I am well pleased (Matt. iii. 16, 17: Mark i. 10, 11 : Luke iii.
21, 22). And again, when Jesus was transfigured, a voice
also came from heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him (Matt. xvii. 5 : Mark
ir. 7: Luke ix. 35). Jesus asked His disciples, Who do men
say that I am? Peter answered, Thou art the Christ, the Son
of the living God. And Jesus said, Blessed art thou, Simon
Barjona, I say unto thee, Upon this rock I will build My
church (Matt. xvi. 13-18). The Lord said that He would
build His church upon this rock, namely, upon the truth and
confession that He is the Son of God; for rock signifies
truth, and also the Lord as to Divine truth; therefore the
church is not with one who does not confess this truth, that
He is the Son of God; and therefore it was said above that
this is the first of faith in Jesus Christ, and is thus faith in
its origin. John the Baptist saw and bare record that this is
tlie Son of God (John i. 34). The disciple Nathanael said
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TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 343
to Jesus, Thou art the Son of God, Thou art the King of
Israel (John i. 49). The twelve disciples said, We have be-
lieved that Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God (vi.
69). He is called the only-begotten Son of God, the only-
begotten of the Father, who is in the bosom of the Father (i. 14,
18; iii. 16). Jesus Himself confessed before the high priest,
that He was the Son of God (Matt. xxvi. 63, 64; xxvii. 43:
Mark xiv. 61, 62: Luke xxii. 70). They tliat were in the
ship came and worshipped Jesus, saying, Of a truth Thou art
the Son of God (Matt. xiv. 33). The eunuch who wished to
be baptized said to Philip, / believe that Jesus Christ is tlie
Son of God (Acts viii. 37). Paul, when he was converted,
preached Christ, that He was the Son of God (ix. 20). Jesus
said, The hour is coming when the dead shall hear the voice
oj the Son of God, and they tltat hear shall live (John v. 25).
He thai believeth not is judged already, because he hath not be-
lieved in the name of the only-begotten Son of God (iii. 18).
These are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye might have life
in His name (xx. 31). These things have I written unto you
that believe in the name of the Son of God, that ye may know
that ye have eternal life; and that ye may believe in the name
of the Son oj God (r John v. 13). We know that the Son of
God is come, and hath given us an understanding that we may
know Him that is true; and we are in Him that is true, in
His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal Life
(v. 20). Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of
God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God (iv. 15). And also
in other places (as Matt. viii. 29; xxvii. 40, 43, 54: Mark i.
1; iii. n; xv. 39: Luke viii. 28: John ix. 35; x. 36; xi. 4,
27; xix. 7: Rom. i. 4; 2 Cor. i. 19: Gal. ii. 20: Eph. iv. 13:
Heb. iv. 14; vi. 6; vii. 3; x. 29: 1 John iii. 8; v. 10: Apoc.
ii. 18). There are also many passages in which He is called
by Jehovah Son, and where He Himself calls Jehovah God
His Father; as in this: W liatsoever the Father doeth, this doeth
the Son; as the Father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth
No. 342]
FAITH
469
them, even so doth the Son. As the Father hath life in Him-
self, so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself; all
men should honor the Son even as they honor the Father (John
v. 19-26). So in many other passages. And also in David:
/ will declare the decree, Jehovah hath said unto Me, Thou
art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee. Kiss the Son, lest
He be angry, and ye perish in the way, when His wrath is
kindled but a little. Blessed are all they tliat put their trust
in Him (Ps. ii. 7, 12). From the foregoing now comes the
conclusion: That even- one who wishes to be truly a Chris-
tian, and to be saved by Christ, must believe that Jesus is the
Son of the living God. He who does not believe this, but
only that He is the Son of Man-, implants in himself various
ideas of Him which are hurtful and destructive of that state
of salvation; of which see above, n. 90, 94, 102. Of such it
may be said, as of the Jews, that instead of a royal crown,
they put upon His head a crown of thorns, and give Him
vinegar to drink, and cry out, // thou be the Son of God, com-
mand that these stones be made bread; or, If thou be the Son of
God, cast thyself down (Matt. iv. 3, 6). Such profane His
church and His temple and make it a den of thieves. These
are they who make the worship of Him like the worship of
Mohammed, and do not distinguish between true Christianity
(which is the worship of the Lord) and naturalism. They
may be compared with those who are borne in a chariot or
coach over thin ice, and the ice breaks under them, and they
sink; and they, their horses, and chariot are covered by the
icy water. They may also be likened to those who make a
little boat of reeds and canes, and stick it with pitch that it
may cohere, and in it launch out into the deep; but there
the cohesiveness from the pitch is destroyed; and, choked
in the waters of the sea, they are swallowed up and buried
in its depths.
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TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 343
III. Man obtains faith by going to the Lord, learn-
ing TRUTHS FROM THE WORD, AND LIVING
ACCORDING TO THEM.
343. Before I proceed to prove the Origin of Faith, which
is that man must go to the Lord, learn truths from the Word,
and live according to them, it is necessary to set forth its
summaries, from which a general idea of faith may be had,
in the several parts; for thus may be more clearly compre-
hended not only what is said in this chapter concerning
Faith, but also what is said in chapters that follow as to
Charity, Free Will, Repentance, Reformation and Regen-
eration, and Imputation. For faith enters into the parts of
a system of theology, one and all, as blood enters into and
vivifies the members of the body. What the present church
teaches as to faith is known in the Christian world generally,
and particularly in the ecclesiastical order; for only the books
on faith and on faith alone fill the libraries of the doctors of
the church; for almost nothing beside this is regarded as
properly of theology at the present day. But before what
the present church teaches as to its faith is taken up, con-
sidered, and examined, which will be done in the Appendix,
the general teachings of the New Church as to its faith shall
be presented. These now follow.
344. The Esse of the Faith of the New Church is, 1. Con-
fidence in the Lord God the Saviour Jesus Christ. 2. Trust
that he who lives well and believes aright is saved by Him.
The Essence of the Faith of the New Church is, Truth from
the Word. The Existence of the Faith of the New Church is,
1. Spiritual Sight. 2. Agreement of truths. 3. Convic-
tion. 4. Acknowledgment inscribed on the mind. The
States of Faith, as taught in the New Church, are, 1. In-
fant faith, adolescent faith, adult faith. 2. Faith in genu-
ine truth and faith in appearances of truth. 3. Faith of
memory, faith of reason, faith of light. 4. Natural faith,
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471
spiritual faith, celestial faith. 5. Living faith and miracu-
lous faith. 6. Free faith and forced faith. The Form
itself of the Faith of the New Church, in a universal and in
a particular view, may be seen above (n. 2 and 3).
345. Since what is of spiritual faith has been presented
in a summary, so also shall be presented what is of merely
natural faith, which in itself is a persuasion counterfeiting
faith, and a persuasion of falsity, and is called heretical
faith. Its denominations are these: x. Spurious faith, in
which falsities are mingled with truths. 2. Meretricious
faith from truths falsified, and adulterous faith from goods
adulterated. 3. Closed or blind faith, which is faith in
mysteries, which are believed although it is not known
whether they are truths or falsities, or whether they are
above or contrary to reason. 4. Wandering faith, which is
in more Gods than one. 5. Purblind faith, which is in any
other than the true God, and with Christians in any but the
Lord God the Saviour. 6. Hypocritical or Pharisaic faith,
which is faith of mouth and not of heart. 7. Visionary and
preposterous faith, which is the appearance of falsity as
truth from ingenious confirmation.
346. It was stated above, that faith as to its existence
with man is spiritual sight. Now as spiritual sight which is
of the understanding and thus of the mind, and natural
sight which is the sight of the eye and thus of the body,
mutually correspond, therefore every state of faith may be
compared with some state of the eye and its sight; a state
of the faith of truth with normal states of eyesight, and a
state of the faith of falsity with perverted states of eyesight.
But we will compare the correspondences of these two kinds
of sight, mental and bodily, as to their perverted states.
Spurious faith, in which falsities are mingled with truths,
may be compared to the disease of the eye, and consequently
of the sight, called white speck on the cornea, which causes
dimness of sight. Meretricious faith, which is from falsi-
fied truths, and adulterous faith, which is from adulterated
472
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 346
goods, may be compared to the disease of the eye, and con-
sequently of the sight, called glaucoma* which is a drying
up and hardening of the crystalline humor. Closed or blind
faith, which is in mysteries, that are believed although it is
not known whether they are true or false, or whether they
are above or contrary to reason, may be compared to the
disease of the eye called gutta serena and amaurosis, which
is a loss of sight while the eye still looks as if it saw perfectly,
and which arises from an obstruction of the optic nerve.
Wandering faith, which is a faith in more Gods than one,
may be compared to the disease of the eye called cataract,
which is a loss of sight arising from stoppage between the
sclerotic coat and the uvea. Purblind faith, which is a faith
in any other than the true God, and with Christians in any
but the Lord God the Saviour, may be compared to the fault
in the eye which is called strabismus. Hypocritical or
Pharisaic faith, which is a faith of mouth and not of heart,
may be compared with atrophy of the eye, and consequent
loss of sight. Visionary and preposterous faith, which is
the appearance of falsity as truth from ingenious confirma-
tion, may be compared to the disease of the eye called
nyctalopia, which is seeing in darkness from fatuous light.
347. But as regards the Formation 0} Faith: Faith is
formed by man going to the Lord, learning truths from the
Word, and living according to them. First: Faith is formed
by man's going to the Lord, because faith which is faith,
thus which is the faith of salvation, is from the Lord and in
the Lord. That it is from the Lord is evident from His
words to the disciples, Abide in Me, and I in you, for without
Me ye can do nothing (John xv. 4, 5). That faith is in the
Lord is manifest from the passages presented in abundance
above (n. 337, 338), to the effect that men must believe in
the Son. Now since faith is from the Lord and in the Lord,
it may be said that the Lord is faith itself; for its life and
essence are in Him, and thus from Him. Secondly: Faith
•This term is now applied to a different condition.
No. 347]
FAITH
473
is formed by man learning truths from the Word, because
faith in its essence is truth; for all things that enter into faith
are truths; therefore faith is nothing but the aggregate of
truths shining in the mind of man; for truths teach not only
that man must believe, but also in whom he must believe,
and what he must believe. Truths are to be taken from the
Word, because all truths which conduce to salvation are
there, and there is efficacy in them because they have been
given by the Lord, and are therefore inscribed on the whole
angelic heaven; therefore when man learns truths from the
Word, he comes into communion and consociation with the
angels more than he knows. Faith without truths is like
seed destitute of inner substance, which when ground yields
nothing but bran; while faith from truths is like good grain,
which when ground yields flour. In a word, the essentials
of faith are truths; and if they are not in it and do not com-
pose it, faith is only like the shrill sound of a whistle; but
when they are in it and compose it, faith is as the voice of
glad tidings. Thirdly: Faith is formed by man living ac-
cording to truths, because spiritual life is a life according to
truths, and truths do not actually live until they are in deeds.
Truths abstracted from deeds are of the thought only, which,
if they do not become of the will also, are only in the en-
trance to the man, and so are not inwardly in him; for the
will is the man himself, and the thought is so far the man,
in quantity and quality, as it joins the will to itself. He who
learns truths and does not do them, is like one who scatters
seed in a field and does not harrow it in; and so the seeds
become swollen by rains and are spoiled; but he who learns
truths and does them, is like one who sows his seed and
covers it; and so the rain causes the seeds to grow, even to
the harvest, to be of use for food. The Lord says, // ye
know these things, happy are ye if ye do them (John xiii. 17);
and again, He that received seed into the good ground is he
that heareth the Word, and understandeth it, who also bearelh
fruit and bringeth forth (Matt. xiii. 23); again, Whosoever
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TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 347
heareth My words and doeth them, I will liken unto a prudent
man who built his house upon a rock. And every one who
heareth My words but doeth them not, shall be likened unto a
foolish man who built his house upon the sand (Matt. vii. 24,
26). All the Lord's words are truths.
348. From what is said above it is manifest that there are
three things by which faith is formed with man ; first, going
to the Lord; secondly, learning truths from the Word; and
thirdly, living according to them. Now as these are three,
and one not the same as another, it follows that they can be
separated; for one can go to the Lord and know only his-
torical truths about God and the Lord; and one can also
know truths from the Word in abundance, and yet not live
according to them. But with the man in whom those three
are separated, that is, in whom one is without another, there
is no faith of salvation; but this faith arises when the three
are joined, and the faith is such as is the conjunction. Where
these three are separated, faith is like sterile seed, which
when dropped in the earth moulders into dust; but where
the three are conjoined, faith is like seed in the ground,
which grows up into a tree, the fruit of which is according
to the conjunction. Where those three are separated, faith
is like an egg which contains nothing prolific; but, where
they are conjoined, the faith is like an egg which produces
a beautiful bird. Faith, with those in whom the three are
separated, may be likened to the eye of a cooked fish or a
crab; but faith with those in whom the three are conjoined
may be likened to an eye translucent from the crystalline
humor even to and through the uvea of the iris. Faith sepa-
rated is like a picture drawn in dark colors on a black stone;
but faith conjoined is like a picture drawn in beautiful colors
on a transparent crystal. The light of faith separated may
be compared to that of a firebrand in the hand of a traveller
in the night; while the light of faith conjoined may be com-
pared to that of a torch, which when waved about shows
plainly each step of the way. Faith without truths is like
No. 349]
FAITH
475
a vine bearing wild grapes; but faith from truths is like a
vine bearing clusters full of noble wine. Faith in the Lord
when destitute of truths may be compared to a new star
appearing in the expanse of heaven, which in time grows
dim; but faith in the Lord, together with truths, may be
compared to a fixed star which remains constant. Truth
is the essence of faith; therefore, such as the truth is, such
is the faith, which without truths is wandering, but with
them is fixed; moreover, the faith of truths shines in heaven
like a star.
IV. Abundance of truths, coherent as if bound
TOGETHER, EXALTS AND PERFECTS FAITH.
349. From the perception of faith which exists at this day,
it cannot be known that faith in its compass is an aggregate
of truths; and still less that man can contribute any thing
toward procuring faith for himself, when yet faith in its
essence is truth, for it is truth in its light; also as truth can
be procured, so too can faith. Who cannot go to the Lord
if he will ? Who cannot collect truths from the Word if he
will? And every truth in the Word and from the Word
gives light, and truth in light is faith. The Lord who is
Light itself flows in with every man; and in him in whom
there are truths from the Word, He causes them to shine,
and so to become of faith; and this is what the Lord says
in John, that they should abide in the Lord, and His words
in them (xv. 7). The Lord's words are truths. But that
abundance of truths, coherent as if bound together, exalts
and perfects faith, may be rightly comprehended, the com-
ment is to be divided under the following heads: 1. Truths
of faith may be multiplied to infinity. 2. Their disposition
is into series, thus as it were into fascicles. 3. Faith is per-
fected according to their abundance and coherence. 4. Truths,
however numerous they are, and however diverse they appear,
make one from the Lord, who is the Word, the God of heaven
476
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 349
and earth, the God of all flesh, the God of the vineyard or
church, the God of faith, Light itself, the Truth, and Life
eternal.
350. (1.) The truths of faith may be tnidtiplied to infin-
ity. This may be evident from the wisdom of the angels
of heaven, if we consider that it increases to eternity. The
angels also say that there is no end to wisdom; and more,
wisdom is from no other source than Divine truths, analyt-
ically arranged into forms, by means of the light flowing in
from the Lord. Human intelligence which is truly intel-
ligence is also from no other source. Divine truth may be
multiplied to infinity because the Lord is Divine Truth itself
or Truth in its infinity, and He draws all to Himself; but
angels and men, being finite, can follow the current of the
attraction only according to their measure, the effort of the
attraction still continuing to infinity. The Word of the
Lord is a great deep of truths, from which is all angelic wis-
dom; although to a man who knows nothing of its spiritual
and celestial sense, it appears no more than the water in a
pitcher. The multiplication of the truths of faith to infinity
may be compared to the seed of men, from one of whom
families may be propagated to ages of ages. The prolifica-
tion of the truths of faith may also be compared to the pro-
lification of the seeds in a field or a garden, which may be
propagated to myriads of myriads, and perpetually. Seed
in the Word means nothing but truth; a field means doc-
trine; and a garden, wisdom. The human mind is like soil,
in which spiritual and natural truths are implanted as seeds,
and may be multiplied without end. Man derives this from
the infinity of God, who with His light and His heat, and
with the faculty of generating, is perpetually in man.
351. (2.) The disposition of the truths of faith is into series,
thus as it were into fascicles. That this is so, is as yet un-
known; and it is unknown because the spiritual truths of
which the whole Word is composed, owing to the mystical
and enigmatical faith which makes every point of the theol-
No. 351]
FAITH
477
ogy of the day, could not appear; and therefore, like store-
houses, they have sunk into the earth. That what is meant
by series and fascicles may be known, it shall be explained.
The first chapter of this book, which treats of God the Crea-
tor, is divided into a series of sections; the first of these is on
the unity of God; the second, on the Esse of God, or Jeho-
vah; the third, on God's Infinity; the fourth, on the Essence
of God, which is Divine Love and Wisdom; the fifth, on
God's Omnipotence; and the sixth, on Creation. The
arrangement of each section into its articles makes a series,
binding what is therein as into bundles. These series, in
general and particular, thus jointly and severally, contain
truths, which according to their abundance and coherence
exalt and perfect faith. He who does not know that the
human mind is organized, or that it is a spiritual organism
terminating in a natural one, in which and according to
which the mind produces its ideas or thinks, cannot but sup-
pose that perceptions, thoughts, and ideas are nothing but
radiations and variations of light flowing into the head, and
exhibiting the forms which man sees and acknowledges as
reasons. But this is foolishness; for every one knows that
the head is full of brains, that the brains are organized, that
the mind dwells in them, and that its ideas are fixed therein
and remain as they have been accepted and confirmed.
The question then is, What is the nature of that organiza-
tion ? The answer is, It is the arrangement of all things in
series, as it were in bundles, and the truths which are of
faith are so disposed in the human mind. That it is so may
be illustrated by what now follows: The brain consists of
two substances, one of which is glandular and is called the
cortical and cineritious substance, and the other is fibrillous
and is called the medullary substance. The first, or the
glandular substance, is disposed into clusters like grapes on
a vine; those clusterings are its series. The other substance,
which is called medullary, consists of perpetual bundlings
of fibrils issuing from the glandules of the former substance;
478
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 351
these bundlings are its series. All the nerves which proceed
from it, and pass down into the body to perform various
functions, are only bundles and fascicles of fibres; and so
are all the muscles, and in general all the viscera and organs
of the body. All these are such because they correspond to
the series into which the mental organism is disposed. More-
over, there is nothing in all nature that is not fasciculated
into series; every tree, bush, shrub, and plant, yes, every
ear of corn and blade of grass, is so in whole and in part.
The universal cause is that Divine truths have such a con-
formation; for we read that all things were created by means
of the Word, that is, by Divine Truth, and that the world also
was made by it (John i. 1, and subsequent verses). From
all this it may be seen, that unless there were such an arrange-
ment of substances in the human mind, man would have no
power of rational analysis, which every one has according to
the arrangement, thus according to the abundance of truths
coherent as it were in the general bundle; and the arrange-
ment is according to the use of reason from freedom.
352. (3.) That faith is perfected according to the abun-
dance and coherence of truths, follows from what was said
above, and becomes manifest to every one who collects rea-
sons, and observes what multiplied series effect when they
cohere as one; for then one thing strengthens and confirms
another, and they make a form together, and, when this is
put into action, they exhibit one act. Now as faith in its
essence is truth, it follows that, according to the abundance
and coherence of truths, it becomes more and more per-
fectly spiritual, therefore less and less sensual-natural; for
it is exalted to a higher region of the mind, from which it
sees below it troops of confirmations of itself in the nature of
the world. True faith, by abundance of truths coherent
as it were in a bundle, also becomes more lustrous, per-
ceptible, evident and clear; it also becomes more capable
of conjunction with the goods of charity, and consequently
of being separated from evils; and successively more re-
No. 353]
FAITH
479
moved from the allurements of the eye and the lusts of the
flesh, therefore happier in itself. Especially it becomes
more powerful against evils and falsities, and consequently
more and more living and saving.
353. It was said above, that all truth in heaven shines,
and hence that truth shining is faith in essence; therefore
the beauty and comeliness of faith, coming from that en-
lightenment, when its truths are multiplied, may be com-
pared to various forms, objects, and pictures, produced
from different colors harmoniously combined; and so to
the precious stones of many colors in the breastplate of
Aaron, which together were called the Urim and Thum-
mim; also to the precious stones of which the foundations
of the wall of the New Jerusalem are to be built (see Apoc.
xxi.). It may also be compared with the precious stones of
many colors in the crown of a king. Precious stones also
signify truths of faith. Comparison may be made, also,
with the beauty of the rainbow, and with the beauty of a
flowery field and also of a garden blossoming in the early
spring. The light and glory of faith, from an abundance
of truths fitly entering into it, may be compared to the illumi-
nation of temples by numerous candelabra, of houses by
chandeliers, and of streets by lamps. The exaltation of
faith by abundance of truths, may be illustrated by com-
parison with the uplifting of sound and likewise with the
melody of many musical instruments played in concert; and
also with the increase of fragrance from a collection of sweet-
smelling flowers; and so on. The power of faith formed of
many truths, against evils and falsities, may be compared
with the firmness of a temple, in consequence of the stones
being well laid, with columns built into its wall, and under
its fretted ceiling; it may also be compared with a battalion
drawn up in square, where the soldiers stand side by side,
and so form and act as one force; it may also be compared
with the muscles woven about the whole body, which,
although numerous and situated in different places, still in
action make one power; and so on.
4So
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 354
354. (4). The truths of faith, however numerous they are,
and however diverse they appear, make one Jrom the Lord,
who is the Word, the God of heaven and earth, the Cod 0} all
flesh, the God 0} the vineyard or church, the God oj faith, Light
itself, the Truth, and Life eternal. The truths of faith are
various, and to man they appear diverse. For example:
some are about God the Creator, some about the Lord the
Redeemer, some about the Holy Spirit and the Divine
Operation, some about Faith and Charity, and others about
Free Will, Repentance, Reformation and Regeneration,
Imputation, and so on. Still they make one in the Lord,
and with man from the Lord, like many branches in one
vine (John xv. 1, and following verses). For the Lord joins
scattered and divided truths together, as into one form, in
which they present one aspect and exhibit one action. This
may be illustrated by comparison with the members, viscera,
and organs in one body; although these are various and in
man's sight diverse, nevertheless a man who is their general
form feels them only as one; and when he is acting from
them all, he acts as if from one. So it is with heaven, which,
though distinguished into innumerable societies, still ap-
pears before the Lord as one; that it appears as one man,
was shown above. This is as with a kingdom, which, though
divided into several departments and also into provinces and
cities, still makes one under a king who has justice and judg-
ment. It is from the Lord that it is so with the truths of
faith from which the church is the church, because the Lord
is the Word, the God of heaven and earth, the God of all
flesh, the God of the vineyard or church, the God of faith,
Light itself, the Truth, and Life eternal. That the Lord is
the Word, and therefore all the truth of heaven and the
church, is evident in John: The Word was with God, and the
Word was God; and the Word became Flesh (i. 1, 14). That
the Lord is the God of heaven and earth, is evident in Mat-
thew: Jesus said, All power is given unto Me in heaven and
in earth (xxviii. 18). That the Lord is the God of all flesh,
No. 354]
FAITH
in John: The Father liath given to the Son power over all
flesh (xvii. 2). That the Lord is the God of the vineyard or
church, in Isaiah: My well-beloved had a vineyard (v. 1);
and in John: / am tlte Vine, ye are the branches (xv. 5).
That the Lord is the God of faith, in Paul: Having the
righteousness which is of the faith of Christ, of the God of
faith (Philip, iii. 9). That the Lord is Light itself, in John:
That was the true Light, which lightcth every man that cometh
into the world (i. 9); and in another place, Jesus said, / am
come a Light into the world, that whosoever beUeveth in Me
should not abide in darkness (xii. 46). That the Lord is the
Truth itself, in John: Jesus said, / am the Way, the Truth,
and the Life (xiv. 6). That the Lord is Life eternal, in the
first Epistle of John : We know tliat the Son of God is come
into the world, that we may know the truth, and we are in the
truth in Jesus Christ; this is the true God and eternal Life
(v. 20, 21). To this it must be added, that man, owing to
worldly occupations, can procure for himself only few truths
of faith; but still, if he goes to the Lord and worships Him
alone, he comes into the power of recognizing all truths;
therefore every true worshipper of the Lord, as soon as he
hears any truth of faith with which he was not before ac-
quainted, sees, acknowledges, and receives it instantly.
This is because the Lord is in him, and he in the Lord; con-
sequently the light of truth is in him, and he in the light of
truth; for, as said above, the Lord is light itself and truth
itself. This may be confirmed by the following experience:
A spirit was seen by me, who in the company of some others
appeared simple, because he acknowledged the Lord alone as
the God of heaven and earth, and confirmed this his faith by
some truths from the Word. He was taken up into heaven,
among the wiser angels; and it was told me that there he
was as wise as they; yes, that he spoke truths in abundance,
of which he had before known nothing, and altogether as of
himself. The state of those who are to come into the Lord's
New Church will be similar. The same state is described
482
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 354
in Jeremiah: This shall be the covenant tliat I will make with
the house oj Israel, after these days; I mill put my law in the
midst of them, and write it in their hearts; and they shall
teach no more every man his fellow, and every man his brother,
saying, Know the Lord; for they shall all know Me, from the
least of them unto the greatest of them (xxxi. 33, 34). That
state will also be such as is described in Isaiah: There shall
come forth a Rod out of the stem of Jesse; truth shall be the
girdle of His loins. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the sucking child
shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall
put his hand on the cockatrice1 den; for the earth shall be full
of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea. In
that day the nations shall seek the Root of Jesse, and His rest
shall be glory (xi. 1, 5, 6, 8, 10).
V. Faith without charity is not faith, and charity
WITHOUT FAITH IS NOT CHARITY ; AND NEITHER LIVES
EXCEPT FROM THE LORD.
355. That the church of this day would separate faith
from charity, by saying that faith alone justifies and saves
without the works of the law, and thus that charity cannot be
joined with faith, since faith is from God and charity from
man so far as it is actual in works, never entered the mind
of any of the apostles, as is very manifest from their Epistles.
But this separation and division were introduced into the
Christian Church when they divided the one God into three
Persons and ascribed equal divinity to each. But that there
is no faith without charity, and no charity without faith, and
that neither has life except from the Lord, will be illustrated
in the following lemma; here, to prepare the way, it shall
be proved, 1. Tlvat man can obtain faith for himself. 2.
That he can obtain charity also. 3. And likewise the life of
both. 4. But yet that nothing of faith, nothing of charity,
and nothing of the life of either, is from man, but from the
Lord alone.
No. 356]
FAITH
4S3
356. (r.) Man can obtain faith for himself. This was
shown in the third lemma above (n. 343-348); and it was
shown in this way: That faith in its essence is truth, and
truths from the Word can be obtained by any one; and that
so far as any one obtains them for himself and loves them, so
far he initiates in himself faith. To which shall be added,
that if man were not able to procure faith for himself, all
that is commanded in the Word as to faith would be useless;
for we read there that it is the will of the Father that men
should believe in the Son; and that whosoever believeth in
Him hath eternal life, and that he who believeth not shall
not see life. We read also that Jesus would send the Com-
forter who would convince the world of sin, because it be-
lieved not in Him: besides many other passages adduced
above (n. 337, 338). Moreover, all the apostles preached
faith, and this in the Lord God the Saviour Jesus Christ.
What meaning would there be in all this if man were to
stand with his hands hanging down, like a sculptured statue
with movable joints, and wait for influx? the joints mean-
while being inwardly excited to something that is not of faith,
without being able to apply themselves to the reception of the
influx. For modern orthodoxy in the part of the Christian
world separate from the Roman Catholics, teaches thus:
That man is utterly corrupt and dead to good, so that since the
fall there does not remain or abide in man's nature, before
regeneration, even a spark of spiritual strength by which he
is capable of becoming prepared for the grace of God or of
apprehending it when offered, or of retaining it, of and by
himself; nor can he of himself, in things spiritual, under-
stand, believe, embrace, think, will, begin, carry out, act,
operate, co-operate, or apply or accommodate himself to
grace, or do any thing toward conversion, wholly, or by
halves, or in the smallest measure. And that, in spiritual
things which respect the salvation of the soul, he is like the
statue of salt, Lot's wife, and like a stock or a stone without
life which has no use of eyes, mouth, or any of the senses.
484 TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 356
That he has still the power of moving from place to place,
or can direct his external members, go to public meetings,
and hear the Word and the Gospel. This is in the book of
the church of the Evangelical, called Formula Concordia, in
the Leipsic edition of 1756, pages 656, 658, 661-663, 671-
673; to which book, and thus to which faith, the priests
make oath when they are inaugurated. The faith of the
Reformed is similar. But who that has reason and religion
would not hiss at those things as absurd and ridiculous?
Would he not say to himself, " If this were so, what would
the Word amount to, or religion, or the priesthood, or
preaching, but mere emptiness, or sound about nothing?"
Tell some pagan who has any judgment and whom you wish
to convert, that he is such with regard to conversion and faith,
and would he not look upon Christianity as one looks on an
empty vessel? For take from man all power of believing
as of himself, and then what else is he? But this will be
exhibited in clearer light in the chapter on Free Will.
357. (2.) Man can obtain charity for himself. The case
here is similar to that of faith; for what does the Word teach
but faith and charity because these are the two essentials
of salvation ? For we read, Thou shall love the Lord, with
all thy heart, and with all thy soul; and thy neighbor as thy-
self (Matt. xxii. 34-39). And Jesus said, A new command-
ment I give unto you, That ye love one another; by this shall
ye be known that ye are M y disciples, that ye love one another
(John xiii. 34, 35; see also xv. 9; xvi 27). Also, that men
ought to bear fruit like a good tree; and that he who does
good shall be rewarded at the resurrection; besides other
similar things. For what would all this be if man could not
of himself exercise charity, and in some measure procure it
for himself ? Can he not give alms, help the needy, and do
good in his house and in his employment ? Can he not live
according to the commandments of the Decalogue? Has
he not a soul from which he can do these things, and a ra-
tional mind from which he can lead himself to act for this or
No. 358]
FAITH
485
that end? Can he not think that he should do them be-
cause they are commanded in the Word, and thus by God ?
This power is wanting to no man; and it is not wanting, be-
cause the Lord gives it to every one; and He gives it as some-
thing that is his own; for who while doing charity knows
otherwise than that he is doing it from himself?
358. (3-) Man can also obtain for himself the life of faith
and charity. This is again similar; for man obtains this
life for himself when he goes to the Lord who is Life itself ;
and access to Him is not foreclosed to any man, for the Lord
continually invites every one to come to Him; for He said,
He that cometh to Me shall never hunger, and he that believelh
in Mc shall never thirst; and him that cometh to Me, I will
in no wise cast out (John vi. 35, 37). Jesus stood and cried,
If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink (vii. 37).
And in another place: The kingdom of heaven is like one who
made a marriage for his son, and sent forth his servants to call
them that were bidden. And at last he said, Go ye into the
highways, and as many as ye shall find, call to the marriage
(Matt. xxii. 2-9). Who does not know that the invitation
or call is universal, and also the grace of reception ? Man
obtains life by going to the Lord, because the Lord is Life
itself; not only the Life of faith, but also the Life of charity.
That the Lord is that Life, and that man has it from the
Lord, is evident from these passages: In the beginning was
the Word; in Him was life, and the life was the light of men
(John i. 1, 4). As the Father raiseth up the dead and quick-
eneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom He will (v. 21).
As the Father hath life in Himself, so hath He given to the
Son to have life in Himself (v. 26). The Bread of God is He
that cometh down from heaven, and givelh life unto the world
33)- The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit
and they are life (vi. 63). Jesus said, He that followeth Me,
shall have the light of life (viii. 12). / am come that they may
have life, and may have abundance (x. 10). He who believcth
in Me, though he be dead yet shall he live (xi. 25). / am the
486
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 358
Way, the Truth, and the Life (xiv. 6). Because I live, ye
shall live also (xiv. 9). These things are written that ye may
have life in His name (xx. 31). He is eternal life (1 John v.
20). By the life in faith and charity is meant spiritual life
which is given by the Lord to man in his natural life.
359. (4.) Yet nothing of faith, and nothing of charity, and
nothing of the life of either, is from man, but from the Lord
alone. For we read that A man can receive nothing except it
be given him from heaven (John iii. 27). And Jesus said,
He that abideth in Me and I in him, the same bringeth forth
much fruit; for without Me ye can do nothing (xv. 5). But
this is to be understood thus: that man of himself can pro-
cure for himself only natural faith, which is persuasion that
a thing is so because some man of authority has said so; nor
can he procure any but natural charity, which is a working
for favor, for the sake of some remuneration ; in which faith
and charity there is man's self-life, and not yet life from the
Lord. Still, man by both of these prepares himself to be a
receptacle of the Lord; and as he prepares himself, so the
Lord enters, and causes his natural faith to become spiri-
tual, also his charity, and so makes both to be alive; and
this is done when man goes to the Lord as the God of heaven
and earth. Because man was created an image of God, he
was created an abode of God. Therefore the Lord says,
He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is
that loveth Me; and I will love him, and will come to him, and
make an abode with him (John xiv. 21, 23). And again:
Behold I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear My
voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup
with him, and he with Me (Apoc. iii. 20). Hence follows
the conclusion, that as man prepares himself naturally to
receive the Lord, so the Lord enters and makes all things
with him inwardly spiritual, and thus alive. But, on the
other hand, as far as man does not prepare himself, he re-
moves the Lord from him, and does all things from himself;
and what man does from himself has nothing of life in it.
No. 360]
FAITH
487
But these things cannot yet be set forth to be seen in any
light, before Charity and Free Will have been treated of;
and they will be seen later, in the chapter on Reformation
and Regeneration.
360. It was stated above that faith in its beginning with
man is natural, and that as man draws near to the Lord it
becomes spiritual; so also with charity. But no one has yet
known the distinction between natural faith and charity and
spiritual. This great arcanum must therefore be disclosed.
There are two worlds, the natural and the spiritual; and in
each there is a sun, and from each sun proceed light and
heat: but the heat and light from the sun of the spiritual
world have life in them; their life is from the Lord, who is in
the midst of that sun ; but the heat and light from the sun of
the natural world have no life in them, but they serve the
other heat and light as receptacles for conveying them to
man, as instrumental causes always serve their principals.
It must be known, therefore, that the heat and light from the
sun of the spiritual world are those from which are all spiri-
tual things; these also are themselves spiritual, because
spirit and life are in them; while the heat and light from the
sun of the natural world are those from which are all natural
things, which viewed in themselves are without spirit and
life. Now because faith is of light and charity is of heat, it
is manifest that so far as man is in the light and heat which
proceed from the sun of the spiritual world, he is in spiritual
faith and charity; while as far as he is in the light and heat
which proceed from the sun of the natural world, he is in
natural faith and charity. Evidently, therefore, as spiritual
light is inwardly in natural light as in its receptacle or its
casket, and as spiritual heat is likewise inwardly in natural
heat, so also is spiritual faith inwardly in natural faith, and
spiritual charity inwardly in natural charity; and this is
effected in the degree in which man advances from the natu-
ral world into the spiritual world; and he does this as he
believes in the Lord, who is light itself, the Way, the Truth,
488
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 360
and the Life, as He Himself teaches. This being so, it is
manifest that when man is in spiritual faith he is also in
natural; for as was said, spiritual faith is inwardly in natu-
ral. Because faith is of light, it follows that by this inser-
tion man's natural becomes as it were transparent, and,
according to the quality of its conjunction with charity,
beautifully colored. This is because charity has a ruddy
glow and faith has a white light. Charity is red from the
plane of spiritual fire, and faith is shining white from the
splendor of the light therefrom. The contrary happens if
the spiritual is not inwardly in the natural, but the natural
is inwardly in the spiritual; this is the case with men who
reject faith and charity. With these, the internal of their
mind, in which they are when left to their own thoughts, is
infernal; moreover they think from hell, though they do not
know it; but the external of their mind, from which they
speak with their associates in the world, is as it were spiri-
tual, but is filled with such unclean things as are in hell;
they are therefore in hell, for, compared with the former
class, they are in an inverted state.
361. When, therefore, it is known that the spiritual is
inwardly in the natural with those who are in faith in the
Lord and at the same time in charity towards the neighbor,
and that therefore the natural with them is transparent, it
follows that so far as this is so, man is wise in spiritual things
and consequently in natural things also; for whenever he
thinks or reads or hears any thing, inwardly in himself he
sees whether it is true or not. He perceives this from the
Lord, from whom spiritual light and heat flow into the higher
sphere of his understanding. As far as faith and charity
with man are made spiritual, he is withdrawn from self, and
looks not to himself, to reward and recompense, but only to
the enjoyment of perceiving truths of faith, and of doing
goods of love; and as far as this spirituality is increased,
that enjoyment becomes blessedness. From this is his sal-
vation, which is called eternal life. This state of man may
No. 362]
FAITH
489
be compared with the most beautiful and charming things
in the world, and it also is compared with them in the Word;
as with fruitful trees and the gardens in which they are, with
flowery fields, precious stones, delicacies, and nuptials, and
their festivities and rejoicings. But when the reverse is the
case, that is, when the natural is inwardly in the spiritual,
and hence the man in his internals is a devil and in his exter-
nals like an angel, he may then be compared to a dead body
in a coffin made of costly wood and gilded; he may also be
compared to a skeleton in full dress like a man, and borne
about in a magnificent chariot; and also to a corpse in a
sepulchre built like the temple of Diana; yes, his internal
may be imaged by a nest of serpents in a cavern, and his
external by butterflies whose wings are tinted with colors
of every kind, but which nevertheless stick their filthy eggs
upon the leaves of useful trees, from which their fruit is con-
sumed; yes, the internal of such may be compared with a
hawk, and their external with a dove, and the faith and char-
ity in it with the dove endeavoring to escape while the hawk
flies over it, which tires it out at last and then darts upon and
devours it.
VI. The Lord, charity, and faith, make one, like life,
WILL, AND UNDERSTANDING LN MAN; AND IF THEY ARE
DIVIDED. EACH PERISHES, LIKE A PEARL REDUCED
TO POWDER.
362. Some things heretofore unknown in the learned
world and so in the ecclesiastical order, as much so as things
buried in the ground, shall first be stated; when yet they are
treasures of wisdom; and unless they are dug up and given
to the public, in vain does man toil to come into any just
knowledge concerning God, faith, charity, and the state of
his life, how he should regulate and prepare it for the state
of eternal life. These things have been unknown : — that
man is a mere organ of life : that life with all belonging to it
49° TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 362
flows in from the God of heaven who is the Lord: that there
are two faculties of life in man, called the will and the under-
standing; and that the will is the receptacle of charity, and
the understanding the receptacle of faith: that all which
man wills, and all which he understands flow in from with-
out; the goods which are of love and charity, and the truths
which are of wisdom and faith, from the Lord; but all that
is contrary to them, from hell: that it has been provided by
the Lord that man should feel in himself as his those things
which flow in from without, and should therefore produce
them of himself as his own, though nothing of them is his:
that nevertheless those things are imputed to him as his, on
account of the freedom of choice in which are his willing and
thinking, and on account of the knowledges of good and
truth given him, from which he can freely choose whatever
conduces to his temporal and eternal life. A man who looks
askance at the things which have been advanced, or from
the corners of the eyes, may draw from them many insane
conclusions; but a man who looks at them directly, or with
the full pupil, may draw from them many conclusions which
are of wisdom; and that this may be done and not the other,
it was necessary first to put forth decisions and doctrines as
to God and the Divine Trinity, and afterward to establish
decisions and doctrines as to Faith and Charity, Free Will,
and Reformation and Regeneration, as also Imputation;
and likewise as to Repentance, Baptism, and the Holy Sup-
per, as means.
363. But that this article of faith which is that the Lord,
charity, and faith make one, like life, will, and understand-
ing in man, and that if they are divided each perishes like
a pearl reduced to powder, may be seen as a truth and
acknowledged, it is expedient to consider it in this order:
1. The Lord, with all His Divine Love, with all His Di-
vine Wisdom, thus with all His Divine Life, flows in with
every man. 2. Therefore with all the essence of faith and
charity. 3. But they are received by man according to his
No. 364]
FAITH
491
form. 4. But the man who divides the Lord, charily, and
faith, is not a form receiving but a form destroying them.
364. (1.) The Lord, with all His Divine Love, with all
His Divine Wisdom, thus with all His Divine Life, flows in
with ei ery man. In the book of Creation we read, that man
was created an image of God; and that God breathed into
his nostrils the breath of lives (Gen. i. 27; ii. 7); which
describes man as an organ of life, and not Life. For God
could not create another like Himself; if He could have done
so, there would be as many gods as there are men. Neither
could He create life, just as light cannot be created; but He
could create man a form of life, as He created the eye a form
of light. Neither could God, nor can He, divide His essence;
for this is one and indivisible. Since, therefore, God alone
is Life, it follows indisputably that from His Life He vivifies
every man ; and that man without that vivification would be
as to his flesh a mere sponge, and as to his bones a mere
skeleton, having no more life in him than a clock which is
set in motion by a pendulum with weight or spring. This
being so, it follows also that God flows in with every man
with all His Divine Life, that is, with all His Divine Love
and His Divine Wisdom; these two make His Divine Life,
as may be seen above (n. 39, 40); for the Divine cannot be
divided. But how God flows in with all His Divine Life
may be perceived by an idea somewhat like that by which
the sun of the world with all its essence, which is heat and
light, is perceived to flow into every tree and flower, and into
every stone common as well as precious, every object taking
its portion from this common influx, the sun not dividing
its light and its heat and dispensing a part to this object and
a part to that. It is similar with the sun of heaven, from
which the Divine love proceeds as heat and the Divine wis-
dom as light; these two flow into human minds as the heat
and light of the sun of the world flow into men's bodies, and
vivify them according to the quality of the form, each form
taking from the common influx what is necessary for itself.
492
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 364
To this what the Lord says is applicable: Your Father
maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth
rain on the just and on the unjust (Matt. v. 45). Moreover
the Lord is omnipresent; and where He is present, there He
is with His whole essence: and it is impossible for Him to
take some of it away, and thus to give a part to one and a part
to another; but He gives the whole, and gives man the oppor-
tunity to take little or much. He says, moreover, that He has
an abode with those who keep His commandments, also
that the faithful are in Him and He in them. In a word, all
things are full of God, and every one takes his portion from
that fulness. It is similar with every general thing, as with
atmospheres and oceans; the atmosphere in its least parts
is such as it is in the greatest; it does not apportion a part
of itself for man to breathe, and for the bird to fly in, or for
the sails of a ship, or for the fans of a wind-mill; but each of
these takes from it its portion, and applies to itself as much
as is sufficient. The case is also the same as with a store-
house full of grain; from it the possessor daily takes his
food, and the granary does not distribute it.
365. (2.) Therefore the Lord with all the essence of faith
and charity flows in with every man. This follows from the
former theorem, since the life of Divine wisdom is the essence
of faith, and the life of Divine love is the essence of charity;
therefore when the Lord is present with those things which
are properly His, which are Divine wisdom and Divine love,
He is also present with all the truths which are of faith
and with all the goods which are of charity; for by faith
is meant all the truth which man from the Lord perceives,
thinks, and speaks, and by charity is meant all the good
with which he is affected by the Lord, and which he hence
wills and does. It was said above that the Divine love
which proceeds from the Lord as a sun is perceived by the
angels as heat, and that the Divine wisdom from it is per-
ceived as light; but one who does not think beyond the ap-
pearance may imagine that that heat is mere heat, and that
No. 36S]
FAITH
493
light mere light, such as are the heat and light proceeding
from the sun of our world. But the heat and light which
proceed from the Lord as a sun contain in their bosom all
the infinities that are in the Lord; the heat all the infinities
of His Love, and the light all the infinities of His Wisdom,
and thus also in infinity all the good which is of charity and
all the truth which is of faith. This is because that sun is
itself present everywhere in its heat and its light, and it is the
circle most closely encompassing the Lord, emanating from
His Divine Love and at the same time from His Divine Wis-
dom; for, as has been often stated above, the Lord is in the
midst of that sun. Hence it is now manifest that there can
be nothing lacking to preclude a man taking from the Lord,
because He is omnipresent, all the good which is of charity
and all the truth which is of faith. That there is no such
lack is evident from the love and wisdom which the angels of
heaven have from the Lord, in their being ineffable, and to
the natural man incomprehensible, and also capable of being
multiplied to eternity. That there are infinite things in the
light and heat which proceed from the Lord, although they
are perceived simply as heat and light, may be illustrated by
various things in the natural world; as by these: The sound
of a man's voice and speech is heard only as simple sound,
and yet when the angels hear it they perceive in it all the
affections of his love, and they also show what and of what
quality they are. That these things are inwardly concealed
in the sound, a man can also perceive in some measure from
the tone of one speaking with him, as whether there is con-
tempt in it, or ridicule, or hatred; and also whether there is
charity, benevolence, gladness, or any other affection in it.
Similar things are concealed in the lighting of the eye when
it looks at one. It may also be illustrated by the fragrances
from a large garden or extensive fields of flowers; the fragrant
odor exhaled from them consists of thousands and myriads
of different odors, and still they are perceived as one. It is
similar with many other things, which although they appear
494
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 365
uniform outwardly, are yet inwardly manifold; sympathies
and antipathies are nothing else than exhalations of affec-
tions from the mind which affect another according to like-
ness, and cause aversion according to unlikeness. These,
although innumerable, and unperceived by any bodily sense,
are yet perceived by the sense of the soul as one ; and all con-
junctions and consociations in the spiritual world are made
according to them. These things have been presented in
order to illustrate what was said above as to the spiritual
light which proceeds from the Lord, that in it are all things
of wisdom, and hence all things of faith; and that it is that
light from which the understanding analytically sees and
perceives rational things, as the eye sees and perceives natu-
ral things symmetrically.
366. (3.) Those things which fow in from the Lord, are
received by man according to his form. By form is here meant
a man's state as to his love and wisdom together, and con-
sequently as to the affections of his goods of charity, and at
the same time as to the perceptions of his truths of faith.
That God is one, indivisible, and the same from eternity to
eternity, not the same simply but infinitely, and that all
variableness is in the subject in which He is, was shown
above. That the form or recipient state induces variations,
may be evident from the life of infants, children, youths,
adults, and aged persons. The same life, because the same
soul, is in each one from infancy to old age; but as his state
is varied according to age and what is suitable thereto, life
also is perceived accordingly. The life of God is in all ful-
ness not only with good and pious men, but also with the
wicked and impious; likewise both with the angels of heaven
and the spirits of hell. The difference is that the wicked
obstruct the way and shut the door, that God may not enter
into the lower regions of their mind; while the good clear
the way and open the door, and also invite God to enter the
lower parts of their mind as He dwells in its highest parts;
and so they form the state of the will for the influx of love
No. 367]
FAITH
495
and charity, and the state of the understanding for the influx
of wisdom and faith, consequently for the reception of God;
but the wicked obstruct that influx by various lusts of the
flesh and spiritual defilements, which strew the way and
hinder the passage; but still God resides in their highest
parts, with all His Divine essence, and gives them the fac-
ulty of willing good and of understanding truth; a faculty
that every man has, but which he would by no means have
if life from God were not in his soul. That the wicked also
have this faculty, has been granted me to know from much
experience. That every one receives life from God accord-
ing to his form, may be illustrated by comparisons with
plants of every kind. Every tree, shrub, bush, and blade of
grass, receives the influx of heat and light according to its
form; and not only those which are of good use, but those
also which are of evil use; the sun with its heat does not
change their forms, but the forms change its effects in them-
selves. So with the subjects of the mineral kingdom; each
one of them, the valuable and the common alike, receives
influx according to the form of texture of the parts among
themselves, thus one stone differently from another, one
mineral differently from another, and one metal differently
from another. Some of them adorn themselves with most
beautiful variegated colors, some transmit the light without
variegation, and some confuse and suffocate it in them-
selves. From these few examples it may be evident, that as
the sun of the world with its heat and its light is equally
present in one object and another, but the recipient forms
vary its operations, so is the Lord present, from the sun of
heaven, in the midst of which He is, with its heat which in its
essence is love, and with its light which in its essence is wis-
dom; but that man's form, which is induced by the states
of his life, varies the operations; consequently that not the
Lord but the man himself is the cause that a man is not born
again and saved.
367. (4.) But the man who divides the Lord, charity, and
496
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 367
faith, is not a form receiving but a form destroying them.
For he who separates the Lord from charity and faith, sepa-
rates life from them, and when this is done, charity and faith
either do not arise or they are abortions. That the Lord is
Life itself, may be seen above (n. 358). He who acknowl-
edges the Lord and separates charity, acknowledges Him
with the lips only; his acknowledgment and confession are
only cold, in which is no faith; for they are destitute of
spiritual essence, as charity is the essence of faith. But he
who does charity but does not acknowledge the Lord as the
God of heaven and earth, one with the Father, as He Him-
self teaches, does no other charity than what is merely natu-
ral, in which there is no eternal life. The man of the church
knows that all good which in itself is good is from God, con-
sequently from the Lord, who is the true God and eternal Life
(1 John v. 20). So also with charity, because good and char-
ity are one. Faith separate from charity is not faith, be-
cause faith is the light of a man's life, and charity is the heat
of it; therefore when charity is separated from faith, it is
as when heat is separated from light; a man's state thus be-
comes like that of the world in winter, when all things on
earth die. That charity may be charity and faith may be
faith, they can no more be separated than the will and the
understanding; and if these are separated, the understand-
ing becomes nothing, and presently the will likewise. It is
similar with charity and faith, because charity resides in the
will, and faith in the understanding. Separating charity
from faith is like separating essence from form. It is known
in the learned world that essence without form, or form with-
out essence, is nothing; for essence has no quality except from
form, nor is form a subsisting entity except from essence;
consequently, nothing can be predicated of either when sepa-
rated from the other. Charity is also the essence of faith,
and faith is the form of charity; just as good, as stated above,
is the essence of truth, and truth is the form of good. These
two, namely good and truth, are in all things which essen-
No. 367]
FAITH
497
tially exist, and in each of them singly; therefore charity,
because it is of good, and faith, because it is of truth, may be
illustrated by comparisons with many things in the human
body and with many on the earth. Comparison with the
respiration of the lungs and the systolic motion of the heart,
is fitting; for charity can no more be separated from faith
than the heart from the lungs; for when the heart's pulsa-
tion ceases, immediately the respiration of the lungs ceases;
and when the respiration of the lungs ceases, all the senses
faint, all the muscles are deprived of motion, and soon after-
wards the heart stops, and all the life is dissipated. This
comparison is fitting, for the heart corresponds to the will
and therefore to charity also, and the respiration of the lungs
to the understanding and therefore to faith also; for, as said
above, charity resides in the will, and faith in the under-
standing. Nor is anything else meant in the Word by heart
and spirit. The separation of charity and faith also coin-
cides with the separation of blood and flesh; for blood sepa-
rated from the flesh is gore, and becomes corruption; and
flesh separated from the blood gradually becomes putrid
and breeds worms. Blood also in the spiritual sense sig-
nifies the truth of wisdom and faith; and flesh, the good of
love and charity. That this is the signification of blood, is
shown in the Apocalypse Revealed, n. 379, and that flesh has
this signification, n. 832. Charity and faith, to be any thing,
can no more be separated than food and water, or than
bread and wine, with man; for food or bread taken without
water and wine merely distends the stomach, and as an
undigested mass destroys it, and becomes like putrid filth.
Water and wine without food or bread, also distend the
stomach and likewise the vessels and pores, which being
thus destitute of nutrition emaciate the body even to death.
This comparison is also just, since food and bread in the
spiritual sense signify the good of love and charity, and
water and wine signify the truth of wisdom and faith, as
may be seen in the Apocalypse Revealed (n. 50, 316, 778, 932).
498 TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 367
Charity conjoined with faith, and faith conjoined in its turn
with charity, may be likened to the face of a handsome virgin,
beautiful from the blending of red and white; which simili-
tude is also fitting, since love and hence charity in the spiri-
tual world are red from the fire of the sun there, and truth
and hence faith are white from the light of that sun. There-
fore charity separated from faith may be likened to a face
inflamed with pimples, and faith separated from charity may
be likened to the pallid face of a corpse. Faith separated
from charity may also be likened to paralysis of one side,
which is called hemiplegia, from which, when it increases,
the man dies. It may also be likened to St. Vitus' dance, or
the dance of St. Guy, which comes from the bite of the taran-
tula. The rational faculty becomes like one so bitten; like
him it dances furiously; and it believes itself to be then alive,
when yet it can no more collect reasons into one, and think
about spiritual truths, than one lying in bed weighed down
with nightmare. These are sufficient for the demonstra-
tion of the two themes of this chapter: first, That faith with-
out charity is not faith, that charity without faith is not char-
ity, and that neither lives except from the Lord; and second,
That the Lord, charity, and faith make one, like life, will,
and understanding in man; and that if they are divided,
each perishes like a pearl reduced to powder.
VII. The Lord is charity and faith in man, and man
IS CHARITY AND FAITH IN THE LORD.
368. That the man of the church is in the Lord, and the
Lord in him, is evident from these passages in the Word:
Jesus said, Abide in Me and I in you; I am the Vine, ye are
the branches. He that abideth in Me and I in him, the same
bringeth forth much fruit (John xv. 4, 5). He that eateth
My flesh and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me and I in him
(vi. 56). At that day ye shall know that I am in My Father,
and ye in Me, and I in you (xiv. 20). Whosoever confesseth
No. 369]
FAITH
499
thai Jesus is the Son 0} God, God dwelleth in him and he in
God (1 John iv. 15). Yet the man himself cannot be in the
Lord, but the charity and faith which are with him from the
Lord, from which two man is essentially man. But in order
that this arcanum may appear in some light before the un-
derstanding, it is to be investigated in this series: 1. It is by
conjunction with God that man lias salvation and eternal life.
2. Conjunction with God the Father is not possible, but with
the Lord, and through Him with God the Father. 3. Con-
junction with the Lord is reciprocal, that is, the Lord is in man,
and man in the Lord. 4. This reciprocal conjunction is
effected by charity and jaith. That these things are so will be
manifest from the explanation that follows.
369. (1 .) It is by conjunction with God that man has salva-
tion and eternal life. Man was created that he may be con-
joined with God; for he was created a native of heaven, and
also of the world; and as far as he is a native of heaven he
is spiritual, while as far as he is a native of the world he is
natural; and the spiritual man can think of God and per-
ceive such things as are of God, he can also love God, and
be affected with those things which are from God; from
which it follows that he can be conjoined with God. That
man can think of God and can perceive such things as are of
God, is beyond all doubt; for he can think of the unity of
God, the Esse of God which is Jehovah, of God's Immeasu-
rableness and Eternity, the Divine Love and Wisdom which
make the essence of God, of God's omnipotence, omniscience,
and omnipresence, of the Lord the Saviour His Son, and of
Redemption and Mediation, and also of the Holy Spirit, and
finally of the Divine Trinity; which all are of God, yes, are
God. Moreover, he can think of God's operations, which
are principally faith and charity, and of other things also
which proceed from these two. That man can not only
think of God, but also love Him, i? evident from the two
commandments of God Himself, which read thus: Thou
shall love tlte Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy
5oo
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 369
soul; this is the first and great commandment. The second, is
like unto it: Thou sltalt love thy neighbor as thyself (Matt,
xxii. 37-39: Deut. vi. 5). That man can keep God's com-
mandments, and that this is to love Him and to be loved by
Him, is evident from these words: Jesus said, He tliat hath
M y commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me;
and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will
love him, and will manifest Myself unto him (John xiv. 21).
Besides, what is faith but conjunction with God by truths
which are of the understanding and hence of the thought ?
And what is love but conjunction with God by goods which
are of the will and hence of the affection ? God's conjunc-
tion with man is spiritual conjunction in the natural, and
man's conjunction with God is natural conjunction from the
spiritual. For the sake of this conjunction as an end, man
was created a native of heaven and at the same time of the
world; as a native of heaven he is spiritual, and as a native
of the world he is natural. If therefore a man becomes
spiritual rational, and at the same spiritual moral, he is con-
joined with God, and by this conjunction he has salvation
and eternal life. But if man is merely natural rational and
also natural moral, there is indeed conjunction of God with
him, but not conjunction of him with God; from this he has
spiritual death, which viewed in itself is natural life without
spiritual; for with him the spiritual, in which is the life of
God, is extinct.
370. (2.) Conjunction with God the Father is not possible,
but with the Lord, and through Him with God the Father.
This the Scripture teaches, and reason sees. The Scripture
teaches that God the Father has never been seen or heard,
and that He cannot be seen or heard; consequently that from
Himself, such as He is in His Esse and in His Essence, He
cannot operate any thing with man; for the Lord says that
no one hath seen the Father save He who is of God, He hath
seen the Father (John vi. 46). Neither knoweth any man
the Fallter save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will
No. 370]
FAITH
50I
reveal him (Matt. xi. 27). Ye have neither heard the Father's
voice, nor seen His shape (John v. 37). This is because He
is in the firsts and beginnings of all things, so most eminently
above all the sphere of the human mind; for He is in the
firsts and beginning of all things of wisdom and all things of
love, and with those man has no possible conjunction.
Therefore if He should come to man or man to Him, man
would be consumed and melt away like wood in the focus of
a large burning-glass; or rather, like an image thrown into
the sun itself. It was therefore said to Moses, who desired
to see God, that man cannot see Him and live (Exod. xxxiii.
20). But that God the Father is conjoined through the
Lord, is evident from the passages just adduced; that not
the Father, but the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom
of the Father and has seen the Father, has brought to view
and revealed the things which are of God and from God.
Furthermore, from these passages: At that day ye shall know
that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you (John
xiv. 20). And the glory which Thou gavest Me, I have given
tliem, tliat they may be one, even as We are one; I in them,
and Thou in Me (xvii. 22, 23; also 26). Jesus said, I am
the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no man cometh unto the
Father but by Me. And then Philip wished to see the
Father, and the Lord answered him, He that seeth Me seeth
the Father also; He that knoweth Me knoweth the Father
also (xiv. 6, 7, and subsequent verses). And in another
place, He that seeth Me seeth Him That sent Me (xii. 45).
And He moreover says that He is the Door, and that whoso-
ever entereth through Him, is saved; while he that climbeth
up some other way, is a thief and a robber (x. 1,9). And He
says also that he that abideth not in Him is cast out, and,
like a withered branch, is cast into the fire (xv. 6). This is
because the Lord our Saviour is Jehovah the Father Him-
self, in the human form; for Jehovah descended and be-
came Man, that He might be able to draw near to man and
man to Him, and so conjunction might be effected, and that
502
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 370
by conjunction man should have salvation and eternal life.
For when God became Man, and thus also became Man-
God, being then accommodated to man He could draw near
to him and be conjoined with him, as God-Man and Man-
God. There are three things which follow in order, accom-
modation, application, and conjunction. There must be
accommodation before there is application; and there must
be accommodation and application together, before there is
conjunction. The accommodation on God's part was, that
He became Man; application on God's part is perpetual
so far as man applies himself in his turn; and as this is done,
conjunction is effected also. These three follow one another
and proceed in their order, in all things which become one
and co-exist, and in them singly.
371. (3.) Conjunction with the Lord is reciprocal, that is,
the Lord is in man, and man in the Lord. That conjunction
is reciprocal, the Scripture teaches, and reason also sees.
Of His conjunction with the Father, the Lord teaches that
it is reciprocal; for He says to Philip, Believest thou not that
I am in the Father and the Father in Me? Believe Me that I
am in the Father and the Father in Me (John xiv. 10, n).
That ye may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and
I in the Father (x. 38). Jesus said, Father, the hour is come;
glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee (xvii. 1).
Father, all Mine are Thine, and all Thine are Mine (xvii. 10).
The Lord says the same concerning His conjunction with
man, that is, that it is reciprocal; for He says, Abide in Me
and I in you; he that abideth in Me and I in him, the same
bringeth forth much fruit (John xv. 4, 5). He that eateth
My flesh and drinketh My blood dwelleth in Me, and I in
him (vi. 56). At that day ye shall know that I am in My
Father, and ye in Me, and I in you (xiv. 20). He that kcep-
eth the commandments of Christ dwelleth in Him, and He in
him (1 John iii. 24; also iv. 13). Whosoever confesseth that
Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God
(iv. 15). // any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will
No. 370
FAITH
5C3
come in to him, and I will sup with him and he with Me (Apoc.
iii. 20). From these plain declarations, it is evident that the
conjunction of the Lord and man is reciprocal; and because
it is reciprocal, it necessarily follows that man must conjoin
himself with the Lord, that the Lord may conjoin Himself
with man; and that otherwise, conjunction is not effected,
but withdrawal, and consequently separation, yet this not
on the Lord's part but on man's. That there may be this
reciprocal conjunction, free choice is given to man, from
which he can walk in the way to heaven or the way to hell.
From this freedom that is given to man, flows his power of
reciprocation, which enables him to conjoin himself with the
Lord or to conjoin himself with the devil. But this liberty,
its quality, and the purpose for which it is given to man, will
be illustrated in the following chapters, where we shall treat
of Free Will, of Repentance, of Reformation and Regenera-
tion, and of Imputation. It is to be lamented that the re-
ciprocal conjunction of the Lord and man, though it stands
out so clearly in the Word, is still unknown in the Christian
church. It is unknown because of certain hypotheses as
to faith and free-will. The hypothesis as to faith is, that
faith is bestowed upon man without his contributing any
thing to the acquisition of it, or fitting and applying himself
more than a stock to its reception. The hypothesis as to
free-will is, that man has not even a grain of free-will in
spiritual things. But that the reciprocal conjunction of the
Lord and man, on which the salvation of the human race
depends, may be no longer concealed and unknown, neces-
sity itself enjoins its disclosure, which cannot be better
effected than by examples, because they illustrate. There
are two kinds of reciprocation by which conjunction is
effected: one is alternate, and the other is mutual. The
alternate reciprocation by which conjunction is effected,
may be illustrated by the action of the lungs in breathing.
Man inhales the air, and thereby expands the chest; and
then he expels the air that was inhaled, and thereby con-
S04 TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 371
tracts the chest. This inhalation, and the consequent ex-
pansion, is effected by means of the pressure of the air pro-
portionate to its column; while this expulsion, and the con-
sequent contraction, is effected by means of the ribs, by the
force of the muscles. Such is the reciprocal conjunction of
the air and the lungs, on which depends the life of the senses
and of the motions of the whole body; for these grow faint
when respiration stops. The reciprocal conjunction which
is effected by alternations of action, may also be illustrated
by the conjunction of the heart with the lungs, and of the
lungs with the heart. The heart from its right chamber
pours the blood into the lungs, and the lungs pour it back
into the left chamber of the heart; thus is effected that recip-
rocal conjunction on which the life of the whole body is
wholly dependent. There is a similar conjunction of the
blood with the heart ; the blood of all the body flows through
the veins into the heart, and from the heart it flows out
through the arteries into the whole body; action and re-
action make this conjunction. There is a similar action
and reaction, by which there is a constant conjunction, be-
tween the embryo and the mother's womb. There is not,
however, such a reciprocal conjunction of the Lord and
man, but there is a mutual conjunction which is not effected
by action and reaction, but by cooperation; for the Lord acts,
and man receives action from the Lord and operates as from
himself; yes, of himself, from the Lord. This operation of
man from the Lord is imputed to man as his, for he is con-
stantly kept in freedom of will by the Lord. The freedom
of will resulting from this is, that man has ability to will and
think from the Lord, that is, from the Word; and also ability
to will and think from the devil, that is, contrary to the Lord
and the Word. The Lord gives man this freedom, so that
he may be able to conjoin himself reciprocally, and by con-
junction be gifted with eternal life and blessedness; for
this, without reciprocal conjunction, is not possible. This
reciprocal conjunction which is mutual, may also be illus-
No. 372]
FAITH
505
trated by various things in man and the world: such is the
conjunction of the soul and body in every man; such is the
conjunction of will and action, and also that of thought and
speech; such is the conjunction of the two eyes with each
other, the two ears with each other, and the two nostrils with
each other. That the conjunction of the two eyes is in its
way reciprocal, is manifest from the optic nerve, in which
fibres from both hemispheres of the cerebrum are folded with
each other, and thus folded together they extend to both the
eyes. It is similar with the ears and the nostrils. There
is a similar mutual reciprocal conjunction of light and the
eye, of sound and the ear, of odor and the nostril, of taste and
the tongue, of touch and the body; for the eye is in the light
and the light is in the eye, sound is in the ear and the ear is in
sound, odor is in the nostril and the nostril is in odor, taste
is in the tongue and the tongue is in taste, and touch is in the
body and the body is in touch. This reciprocal conjunction
may also be compared with the conjunction of a horse and
carriage, of an ox and plough, of a wheel and machinery,
of a sail and wind, of a musical pipe and air; in short, such
is the reciprocal conjunction of the end and the cause, and
such is that of the cause and the effect. But there is not
time to explain all these examples one by one, for that would
be a work of many pages.
372. (4.) This reciprocal conjunction of the Lord and man
is effected by charity and faith. It is known at this day that
the church constitutes the Body of Christ, and that every
one in whom the church is, is in some member of that Body,
according to Paul (Eph. i. 23: 1 Cor. xii. 27: Rom. xii. 4, 5).
Bat what is the Body of Christ, but Divine Good and Divine
Truth ? This is meant by the Lord's words in John, He tluit
ealeth My flesh and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I
in him (vi. 56). By the Lord's flesh, as also by bread, is
meant Divine Good; and by His blood, as also by wine, is
meant Divine Truth; that these are meant will be seen in the
chapter concerning the Holy Supper. From this it follows,
506
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 372
that as far as man is in the goods of charity and in the truths
of faith, he is in the Lord and the Lord in him; for the con-
junction with the Lord is spiritual conjunction, and spiritual
conjunction is effected solely by charity and faith. That
there is conjunction of the Lord and the church, and con-
sequently of good and truth, in all things and in every single
thing of the Word, was shown in the chapter concerning the
Sacred Scripture (n. 248-253); and since charity is good and
faith is truth, there is everywhere in the Word a conjunction
of charity and faith. Hence now it follows, that the Lord is
charity and faith in man, and that man is charity and faith in
the Lord; for the Lord is spiritual charity and faith in the
natural charity and faith of man; and man is natural charity
and faith from the spiritual of the Lord; which, conjoined,
make spiritual natural charity and faith.
VTII. Charity and faith are together in good works.
373. The whole man such as he is as to the mind, or such
as he is essentially, is in every work that proceeds from man.
By the mind is meant his love's affection and the thought
from it ; these form his nature, and in general his life. If we
look upon works thus, they are as mirrors of the man. This
may be illustrated by what is similar in brute animals and
wild beasts; a brute is a brute and a wild beast is a wild
beast in all their actions. In all their actions a wolf is a
wolf, a tiger a tiger, a fox a fox, and a lion a lion; so, too,
with a sheep and a kid in all their actions. So, too, with
man; but he is such as he is in his internal man; if in this
he is like a wolf or fox, then all his work is internally wolfish
or fox-like, but the reverse if he is like a sheep or lamb.
But that he is such in all his works, is not manifest in his
external man, because this is changeable in its relation to
the internal; but still it is inwardly concealed in this. The
Lord says, A good man, out 0} the good treasure of his heart,
bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man, out 0} the
No. 374]
FAITH
507
evil treasure of his heart, bringeth forth that which is evil
(Luke vi. 45); and also, Every tree is known by its own fruit;
for of thorns men do not gatlier figs, nor of a bramble bush
gatlier they grapes (vi. 44). That in what proceeds from
him, one and all, the man is such as he is in his internal
man, is shown in him after death to the very life; since he
then lives an internal and no longer an external man. That
good is in man, and that every work which proceeds from
him is good, when the Lord, charity, and faith reside in his
internal man, will be demonstrated in this series: 1. Char-
ity is to will well, and good works are to do well from willing
well. 2. Charity and faith are only menial and perishable
things, unless tJtey are fixed in works and coexist in them,
when possible. 3. Charity alone does not produce good works,
and still less faith alone, but charity and faith together. But
these will be considered one by one.
374. (1.) Charily is to will well, and good works are to
do well from willing well. Charity and works are distinct
from each other like will and action, and like the mind's
affection and the body's operation; consequently, also, like
the internal man and the external; and in relation to each
other these are like cause and effect, since the causes of all
things are formed in the internal man, and all effects are
produced from it in the external; therefore charity, because
k is of the internal man, is to will well; and the works, be-
cause they are of the external man, are to do well from willing
well. But still there is infinite diversity between the good
will of one and of others; for all that is done by any one in
favor of another is believed or appears to flow from good
will or benevolence; but still it is not known whether the
good deeds are from charity or not, still less whether they
are from genuine or spurious charity. This infinite diver-
sity between the good will of one and of others, originates
in the end, intention, and consequent purpose; these are
inwardly concealed in the will of performing good actions;
the quality of every one's will is from them. And the will
508
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 374
searches the understanding for the means and modes of
arriving at its ends which are effects; and in the under-
standing it places itself in the light, that it may see not only
the reasons but also the occasions, when and how it is to
determine itself to acts, and thus produce its effects which
are works; and at the same time it brings itself in the un-
derstanding into the power of acting. From this it follows
that works are essentially of the will, formally of the under-
standing, and actually of the body. Thus charity comes
down into good works. This may be illustrated by com-
parison with a tree. Man himself, in all that belongs to
him, is like a tree. In the seed of the tree are concealed,
as it were, the end, intention and purpose of producing
fruits; in these the seed corresponds to the will with man, in
which are those three things, as stated above. Then the
seed from its interiors shoots up from the earth, clothes itself
with branches, twigs, and leaves, and so prepares for itself
means to the ends which are fruits; in these the tree corre-
sponds to the understanding in man. And finally, when the
time comes, and there is opportunity for reaching the use,
it bears blossoms, and yields fruits; in these the tree corre-
sponds to good works with man; and it is manifest that they
are essentially of the seed, formally of the twigs and leaves,
and actually of the wood of the tree. This may also be
illustrated by comparison with a temple. Man is a temple
of God according to Paul (1 Cor. iii. 16, 17: 2 Cor. vi. 16:
Ephes. ii. 21, 22). As a temple of God, man has salvation
and eternal life for his end, intention, and purpose; in these
there is a correspondence with the will, in which these three
are. Afterwards he acquires doctrines of faith and charity
from parents, masters, and preachers, and, when he be-
comes capable of judging for himself, from the Word and
from doctrinal works; all of which are means to the end;
in these there is a correspondence with the understanding.
Finally a determination to uses takes place, according to the
doctrines as means; which is effected by acts of the body
No. 375]
FAITH
called good works. Thus the end, through mediate causes,
produces effects, which are essentially of the end, formally
of the doctrines of the church, and actually of uses. So man
becomes a temple of God.
375. (2.) Charity and faith are only mental and perishable,
unlesss they are determined to works and coexist in them,
when possible. Has not man a head and a body connected
by the neck? Is there not in the head a mind which wills
and thinks, and in the body power which performs and
executes? If therefore man were only to will well or were
to think from charity, and were not to do well and perform
uses from it, would he not be as a head only, and thus as a
mind only, which cannot subsist alone without a body?
Who does not see from this, that charity and faith are not
charity and faith while they are only in the head and its
mind and not in the body? For they are then like birds
flying in the air without any resting-place on the earth, and
also like birds ready to lay, but having no nests, in which
case the eggs would drop in the air or on the branch of some
tree, and would fall to the ground and be destroyed. There
is nothing in the mind to which something in the body does
not correspond; and that which corresponds may be called
its embodiment; therefore, while charity and faith are in the
mind only, they are not embodied in the man, and they may
be likened to the airy being called a spectre, such as Fame
was painted by the ancients, with a laurel around her head,
and in the hand a horn of plenty. Because they are such
spectres and still are able to think, there cannot but be with
such persons agitation by fantasies, which is also brought
about by reasonings from various kinds of sophistry, almost
as reeds of the marsh are shaken by the wind, beneath which
shells lie at the bottom, and frogs croak on the surface.
Who cannot see that such things take place when men merely
know some things from the Word about charity and faith,
and do not do them ? Moreover the Lord says, Whosoever
heareth My words and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise
S I O TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 375
man who built his house upon a rock. And every one that
heareth My words and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a
foolish man who built his house upon the sand, or upon the
ground without a foundation (Matt. vii. 24, 26: Luke vi. 47-
49). Charity and faith with their unreal ideas while man
does not practise them, may also be compared to butter-
flies in the air, upon which when seen the sparrow darts and
devours them. The Lord also says, A sower went forth to
sow; and some fell upon the hard way, and the fowls came and
devoured them (Matt. xiii. 3, 4).
376. That charity and faith do not profit a man while
they inhere only in one hemisphere of his body, that is, in
his head, and are not grounded in works, is evident from a
thousand passages in the Word, of which I will adduce only
these: Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn
down and cast into the fire (Matt. vii. 19; also verses 20, 21).
He that received seed into the good ground, is he that heareth
the Word and attendeth, who also beareth fruit and bringeth
forth. When Jesus said these things He cried saying, Who
hath ears to hear let him hear (Matt. xiii. 23, 43). Jesus
said, My mother and My brethren are these who hear the Word
of God and do it (Luke viii. 21). We know that God heareth
not sinners, but if any man be a worshipper of God and doeth
His will, him He heareth (John ix. 31). // ye know these
things happy are ye if ye do them (xiii. 17). He that hath
My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth M e,
and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him; and I
will come unto him and make an abode with him (xiv. 21, 23).
Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit (xv. 8;
also verse 16). Not the hearers of the law are justified before
God, but the doers of the law (Rom. ii. 13: James i. 22).
God in the day of wrath and righteous judgment will render
to every man according to his deeds (Rom. ii. 5, 8). We must
all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, that every one
may receive the things done in tlie body, according to that he
hath done, whether it be good or bad (2 Cor. v. 10). The Son
No. 377]
FAITH
oj Man shall come in the glory of His Father, and then He
shall reward every man according to his works (Matt. xvi. 27).
/ heard a voice jrom heaven saying, Blessed are the dead who
die in the Lord jrom henceforth; yea, saith the Spirit, that they
may rest Jrom their labors, and their works do follow them
(Apoc. xiii. 14). A book was opened, which is the Book of
Life; and Hie dead were judged out of those things which were
written in the book, all according to their works (xx. 12, 13).
Behold I come quickly, and My re ard is with Me to give
every man according to his work (Apoc. xxii. 12). Jehovah,
whose eyes are open upon all the ways oj men, to give every one
according to his ways, and according to the jruit oj his doings
(Jer. xxxii. 19). I will visit according to his ways, and I will
reward him his works (Hos. iv. 9). Jehovah dealcth with us
according to our ways, and according to our works (Zech. i. 6).
So in a thousand other passages. Hence it may be evident
that charity and faith are not charity and faith until they
are in works; and that if they are only in the expanse, above
works, or in mind, they are like images of a tabernacle or
temple in the air, which are nothing but a mirage, and vanish
of themselves; and are like pictures drawn on paper, which
moths consume; or like an abode on the housetop, where
there is no place to sleep, instead of in the house. From
this it may now be seen that charity and faith are perishable
while they are merely mental, unless they are determined
to works and coexist in them when this can be done.
377- (3-) Charity alone does not produce good works, still
less jaith alone, but charity and jaith together. This is be-
cause charity without faith is not charity, and faith without
charity is not faith, as shown above (n. 355-358); therefore
there is no solitary charity or solitary faith; consequently it
cannot be said that charity by itself produces any good works,
or faith by itself. It is the same with them as with will and
understanding. There is no solitary will, and therefore it
does not produce any thing; nor is there a solitary under-
standing, nor does it produce any thing; but all production
5I2
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
[No. 377
is effected by both together, and it is effected by the under-
standing from the will. There is this similarity, because the
will is the abode of charity, and the understanding is the
abode of faith. Still less does faith alone produce good
works, it is said, because faith is truth, and its operation is
to make truths, and these illuminate charity and its exer-
cises. That truths illuminate, the Lord teaches by saying,
lie that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be
made manifest, since they are done in God (John iii. 21).
Therefore while man does good works according to truths,
he does them in light, that is, intelligently and wisely. Th?
conjunction of charity and faith is like the marriage of hus-
band and wife. All natural offspring are born from the hus-
band as father and from the wife as mother; so all spiritual
offspring, which are knowledge of good and truth, are born
from charity as the father and from faith as the mother.
From this the generation of spiritual families may be known.
In the Word, also, husband and father in the sipritual sense
signify the good of charity, and wife and mother the truth of
faith. From this again it is manifest that neither charity
alone nor faith alone can produce good works, as neither a
husband alone nor a wife alone can produce offspring. The
truths of faith not only illumine charity, but they also qualify
it, and moreover nourish it; therefore a man who has charity
but not truths of faith is like one walking in a garden by
night, who plucks fruits from the trees, not knowing whether
they are fruits of good or of evil use. Since truths of faith
not only illumine charity but also qualify it, as said before,
it follows that charity without truths of faith is like fruit
without juice, like a dried fig, and like a grape after the wine
has been pressed out of it. Since truths nourish faith, as
was also said, it follows that if charity is without truths of
faith it has no other nourishment than a man has from eating
burned bread, and at the same time drinking unclean water
from some stagnant pond.
No. 378]
FAITH
513
IX. There are true faith, spurious faith, and
HYPOCRITICAL FAITH.
378. The Christian Church began from the cradle to be
vexed and divided by schisms and heresies, and in course of
time to be torn and mutilated almost as we read of the man
who went down from Jerusalem to Jericho; he was sur-
rounded by robbers, who stripped him and beat him and
then left him half dead (Luke x. 30). Hence it has come to
pass as we read of that church in Daniel: At length upon the
bird 0} abominations tfiere shall be desolatio7i, and even to a
consummation and decree, sliall tt drop upon tlie devastation
(ix. 27). Also according to these words of the Lord: Tlien
shall the end come, wlien ye shall see the abomination of desola-
tion spoken of by Daniel the prophet (Matt. xxiv. 14, 15).
The lot of this church may be compared with that of a ship
laden with merchandise of the greatest value, which, as soon
as it left port, was driven about by storms; and soon after,
a wreck on the sea, it settles down, and its merchandise is in
part destroyed by the water, and partly scattered by the
fishes. That the Christian Church has been so vexed and
torn from its infancy is evident from ecclesiastical history,
which shows that this was done even in the time of the apos-
tles by Simon who was a Samaritan by birth, and in practice
a magician, of whom in the Acts of the Apostles (viii. 0-20);
and also by Hymeneus and Philetus, who are mentioned by
Paul in the second Epistle to Timothy; also by Nicholas,
from whose name the Nicolaitans were called, who are men-
tioned in the Apocalypse (ii. 6), and in the Acts (vi. 5); and
also by Cerinthus. After the times of the apostles, many
others arose, as the Marcionites, the Noetians, the Encratites,
the Cataphrygians, the Quarto-Decimans, the Alogians, the
Catharians, the Origenists or Adamites, the Sabellians, the
Samosatenes, the Manichaeans, the Meletians, and lastly
the Arians. After their times, also, whole battalions of
514 TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 378
heresiarchs invaded the church, as Donatists, Photinians,
Acacians or Semiarians, Eunomians, Macedonians, Nestor-
ians, Predestinarians, Papists, Zwinglians, Anabaptists,
Schwenckfeldians, Synergists, Socinians, Antitrinitarians,
Quakers, Moravians, and many more. At last Luther,
Melancthon, and Calvin whose dogmas reign at this day
have prevailed over these. The causes of so many divisions
and separations in the church are principally three: First,
the Divine Trinity has not been understood; Second, there
has been no just acknowledgment of the Lord; Third, the
passion of the cross has been taken for redemption itself.
While there is ignorance about these three things, which yet
are the very essentials of faith from which the church has
being and is called a church, it cannot be but that all things
of the church should be drawn aside into a wrong and at
length into the opposite course, and when it is there, should
still believe that it is in true faith in God and in the faith of
all the truths of God. It is with them as with those who
bandage their eyes, and then fancy themselves walking in a
straight line, and yet step after step deviate from it, and at
length turn in the opposite direction where there is a hole
into which they fall. But the man of the church cannot
be led back from his wandering into the way of truth, except
by knowing what true faith is, what spurious faith, and what
hypocritical faith. It shall therefore be demonstrated, 1.
That the true faith is the one only faith, and that it is faith in
the Lord God the Saviour Jesus Christ, and is with those -who
believe Him to be the Son of God, the God of heaven and earth
and one with the Father; 2. That spurious faith is all faith
that departs from the true, which is the one only faith, and that
it is with those who climb up some other way, and regard the
Lord not as God but only as a man; 3. That hypocritical
faith is no faith.
379. (1.) The true faith is the one only faith; it is faith
in the Lord God the Saviour Jesus Christ, and is with those
who believe Him to be the Son of God, the God of heaven and
No. 379 J
FAITH
515
earth, and one with tlie Father. The true faith is the only
one, because faith is truth; and truth cannot be broken or
cut in halves so that one part of it may look to the left and
another to the right, and still remain its own truth. Faith
in a general sense consists of innumerable truths, for it is
the aggregate of them; but those innumerable truths make
as it were one body, and in that body the truths make its
members; some make the members which depend on the
breast, as the arms and hands; some make those which
depend on the loins, as the feet and soles of the feet. But
interior truths make the head; and the truths directly pro-
ceeding from these, make the sensories which are in the face.
Interior truths make the head, because when interior is said,
higher is also meant; for in the spiritual world all interior
things are also higher; it is so with the three heavens there.
Of this body and of all its members, the Lord God the
Saviour is the life and soul ; therefore Paul called the church
the Body of Christ; and the men of the church, according to
the states of charity and faith in them, make its members.
That the true faith is the one only faith, Paul also teaches
thus: TJicre is one body and one spirit, one Lord, one faith,
one baptism, one God. He gave the work of tlie ministry for
the edifying of tlie body of Christ, till we all come into the unity
of the faith, and the knowledge of the Son of God, and into a
life perfected to the measure of the age of the fulness of Christ
(Ephes. iv. 4-6, 12, 13). That the true faith, which is the
one only faith, is in the Lord God the Saviour Jesus Christ,
was fully shown above (n. 337-339). But the true faith is
with those who believe the Lord to be the Son of God, be-
cause they believe also that He is God; and faith is not faith
unless it is in God. That this element of faith is primary in
all the truths which enter into and form faith, is evident from
the words of the Lord to Peter when he said, Thou art the
Christ, tlie Son of the living God: Blessed art thou, Simon.
I say unto thee, upon this Rock I will build My church, and
the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matt. xvi. 16, 17).
5 rC
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 379
By Rock, here as elsewhere in the Word, the Lord is meant
as to Divine Truth; and also Divine truth from the Lord.
That this truth is the primary, and like a diadem upon the
head and a sceptre in the hand of the body of Christ, is evi-
dent from the Lord's saying that upon that rock He would
build His church, and the gates of hell should not prevail
against it. That this primary of faith is such, is also evident
from these words in John: Whosoever shall confess that
Jesus is the Son 0} God, God dwellelh in him and he in God
(1 Epistle iv. 15). Beside this characteristic of their being
in the true faith, which is the one only faith, there is also
another, which is that they believe the Lord to be the God of
heaven and earth. This follows from the former, that He
is the Son of God, and from the statements that in Him is all
the fulness of the Godhead (Col. ii. 9) : that He is the God
of heaven and earth (Matt, xxviii. 18): that all things of the
Father are His (John hi. 35; xvi. 15). A third sign that
they who believe in the Lord are inwardly in faith in Him,
thus in the true faith which is the only one, is that they be-
lieve the Lord to be one with the Father. That He is one
with God the Father, and that He is the Father Himself in
the Human, was fully shown in the chapter concerning the
Lord and Redemption, and is very evident from the words
of the Lord Himself, that the Father and He are one (John
x. 30) : that the Father is in Him, and He in the Father (x. 38;
xiv. 10, 11): that He said to the disciples, Henceforth ye
know the Father and have seen Him ; also that He looked on
Philip and said, that he then saw and knew the Father
(John xiv. 7-10). These three are characteristic evidences
that men are in faith in the Lord, thus in the true which is
the only faith, because not all who go to the Lord are in faith
in Him; for true faith is internal, and at the same time ex-
ternal. Those who have these three precious characteris-
tics of faith are in both the internals of that faith and its ex-
ternals; thus it is not only a treasure in their heart, but also
a jewel in their mouth. It is otherwise with those who do
No. 380]
FAITH
5'7
not acknowledge the Lord as the God of heaven and earth,
and as one with the Father. They look inwardly to other
Gods who have like power; but they acknowledge that this
is to be exercised by the Son, either as vicar, or as one who
on account of redemption has deserved to reign over those
whom He has redeemed. But these break the true faith
in pieces by the division of the unity of God; and when this
has been done, there is faith no longer, but only the ghost of
it; which seen naturally appears like some image of it, but
seen spiritually it becomes a chimera. Who can deny
that the true faith is in one God who is the God of heaven
and earth, consequently faith in God the Father in the hu-
man form, thus in the Lord ? These three marks, evidences
and signs that faith in the Lord is faith itself, are like touch-
stones by which gold and silver are known. They are also
like stones by the wayside, or hands on the guide-posts,
pointing out the way to the temple where the one and true
God is worshipped. And they are like lights on rocks in the
sea, by which those who are sailing at night know where
they are, and whither to direct the ships. The first char-
acteristic of faith, which is, that the Lord is the Son of the
living God, is like the morning star to all who enter His
church.
380. (2.) Spurious faith is all faith that departs from the
true, which is the one only faith; and it is with those who
climb up some other way, and regard the Lord not as God but
only as a man. That spurious faith is all faith that departs
from the true, which is the only one, is self-evident; for since
one only is true, it follows that that which departs from it is
not true. All the good and truth of the church are propa-
gated from the marriage of the Lord and the church; thus
all that is essentially charity and essentially faith is from that
marriage; but on the other hand, all of charity and faith
not from that marriage, is not from legitimate but from
illegitimate nuptials; thus either from a couch or marriage
that is polygamous, or from adultery. Every faith which
5i8
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
[No. 380
acknowledges the Lord, but adopts the falsities of heresies,
is from polygamous marriage; and the faith which acknowl-
edges three Lords of one church is from adultery; for this
is either like a harlot, or like a woman who is married to one
man and consorts with two others, and when she lies with
them calls the one she chooses her husband. Such faith is
therefore called spurious. These in many places the Lord
calls adulterers; and He also means these in John, by
thieves and robbers: Verily I say unto you, he that enter eth
not by the Door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other
way, the same is a thief and a robber. I am the Door; by
Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved (x. 1,9). To enter
into the sheepfold is to enter into the church, and likewise
into heaven; it is into heaven also, because the church and
heaven make one, and nothing makes heaven but the church
in it ; therefore, as the Lord is the Bridegroom and Husband
of the church, so also He is the Bridegroom and Husband of
heaven. Whether a faith is a legitimate or a spurious off-
spring may be tested and known by the three signs men-
tioned above, namely, the acknowledgment of the Lord as
the Son of God, the acknowledgment of Him as the God of
heaven and earth, and the acknowldegment that He is one
with the Father. So far, therefore, as faith departs from
these its essentials, it is spurious. Faith is spurious and at
the same time adulterous with those who regard the Lord
not as God, but only as man. That this is so, is very mani-
fest from the two abominable heresies, the Arian and the
Socinian, which have been anathematized in the Christian
Church, and excommunicated from it; and this, because
they deny the Lord's Divinity, and climb up some other
way. But I fear that those abominations lie concealed at
this day in the general spirit of the men of the church. It is
remarkable that the more one deems himself superior to
others in learning and judgment, the more prone he is to
embrace and appropriate to himself ideas about the Lord
that He is a man and not God, and that because He is a
No. 380]
FAITH
5'9
man He cannot be God; and one who appropriates to him-
self these ideas, introduces himself into companionship with
the Arians and Socinians who are in the spiritual world in
hell. Such is the general spirit of the men of the church at
this day, because there is an associate spirit with every man;
for man without this cannot think analytically, rationally,
and spiritually, and thus would not be a man but a brute;
and every man attaches to himself a spirit similar to the
affection of his will, and to the perception of his understand-
ing that comes from this. To the man who introduces him-
self into good affections by means of truths from the Word
and by life according to them, an angel from heaven is joined;
while to him who introduces himself into evil affections by
confirmations of falsities and by evil life, a spirit from hell
joins himself; and when the spirit is joined, man enters
more and more as it were into fraternity with satans, and
then confirms himself more and more in falsities contrary
to the truths of the Word, and in the Arian and the Socinian
abomination against the Lord. This is because no satan
can bear to hear any truth from the Word, or to have Jesus
named; or if they hear them, they become like furies, and
run hither and thither, and blaspheme. And then if light
from heaven flows in, they throw themselves headlong into
caverns and into their own darkness, in which there is light
to them as to birds of night in the dark, and such as cats have
in cellars when hunting for mice. All become such after
death who in heart and faith deny the Divinity of the Lord
and the holiness of the Word; their internal man is such,
however the external may mimic and counterfeit the Chris-
tian. I know that this is so, for I have seen and heard
it. The mouth of all who honor the Lord as Redeemer and
Saviour with the mouth and the lips only, while in heart and
spirit they look upon Him as a mere man, when they speak
of these things and teach them, is like a bag of honey, but
their heart is like a bag of gall; their words are like sweet
cakes, but their thoughts are like emulsions of monk's-hood;
520
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 380
and they are like rolls of pastry containing serpents. If
such are priests, they are like pirates on the sea, who hang
out the flag of a kingdom at peace, but when a ship ap-
proaches and hails them as friends, they raise the pirates'
flag in place of the other, and capture the ship and carry
its crew into captivity. They are also like serpents of the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil that approach like
angels of light, holding on the hand apples from that tree
painted with golden colors, as if plucked from the tree of
life ; and they offer them and say, God doth know that in the
day ye eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened, and ye sltall be as
God, knowing good and evil (Gen. iii. 5). And when they
have eaten, they follow the serpent into the lower world,
and there they dwell together. The satans who have eaten
of the apples of Arius and of Socinus are round about that
world. They are meant also by him who came in to the
marriage not having on a wedding garment; who was cast
into outer darkness (Matt. xxii. 11-13). The wedding gar-
ment is faith in the Lord as the Son of God, the God of
heaven and earth, and one with the Father. They who
honor the Lord with the mouth and lips only, but in heart
and spirit look upon Him as a mere man, if they open their
thoughts and persuade others, are spiritual murderers, and
the worst of them are spiritual cannibals; for man has life
from love to the Lord and faith in Him; but if this essential
element of faith and love, that the Lord is God-Man and
Man-God, is taken away, a man's life becomes death; so,
therefore, the man is killed and devoured as a lamb by a
wolf.
381. (3.) Hypocritical faith is no faith. Man becomes
a hypocrite when he thinks much about himself, and places
himself before others; for so he directs the thoughts and
affections of his mind to his body, pours them into it, and
joins them with its senses. He thus becomes a natural,
sensual, and corporeal man; and then his mind cannot be
withdrawn from the flesh with which it coheres, cannot be
No. 381]
FAITH
521
elevated to God, and cannot see any thing of God in the
light of heaven, that is, any thing spiritual; and because he
is carnal, the spiritual things which enter, entering the under-
standing through the hearing, seem to him only like spectres,
or like down floating in the air, yes, like flies about the head
of a running and sweating horse; therefore in heart he ridi-
cules them; for it is known that the natural man regards
what is of the spirit, or spiritual things, as foolishness.
Among natural men the hypocrite is the lowest natural, for
he is sensual, because his mind is closely bound to the senses
of his body, and therefore he does not love to see any thing
but what his senses suggest; and the senses, because they
are in nature, compel the mind to think from nature of every
thing, and so of all that pertains to faith. If this hypocrite
becomes a preacher, he retains in memory such things as
were said of faith, in his childhood and youth; but because
there is nothing spiritual, but only what is natural inwardly
in those things, when he brings them out before an assembly,
they are only soulless words; their sounding as if they were
animate comes from the enjoyments of the love of self and
the world; from these they ring out according to the elo-
quence of the speaker, and soothe the ear almost like the
harmony of song. When a hypocritical preacher returns
home after the sermon, he laughs at every thing as to faith
and at every thing from the Word which he advanced to the
congregation; and perhaps says to himself, "I cast a net
into the lake, and have caught flat-fish and shell-fish"; for
such all who are in true faith seem to his fancy. A hypo-
crite is like a sculptured image having a double head, one
within another; the inner head is connected with the trunk
or body; and the outer, which can rotate about the other,
is painted in front with appropriate colors, like a human
face, not unlike the heads of wood that are displayed at the
shops of hair-dressers. He is also like a boat which the
sailor, by a proper adjustment of the sail, can direct at pleas-
ure, either with or against the wind; his favoring every one
522
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
[No. 381
who gives him indulgence in the enjoyments of the flesh and
its senses, is his management of the sail. Ministers who are
hypocrites are perfect comedians, mimics, and players, who
can personate kings, dukes, primates, and bishops; and as
soon as they put off their theatrical robes, visit brothels and
consort with harlots. They are also like doors hung on a
round hinge, which can open either way; such is their mind,
for it can be opened toward hell and toward heaven, and
when opened to one it is closed to the other; for, what is
wonderful, when they minister in holy things and teach
from the Word, they know not but that they believe them,
for the door toward hell is then closed; but as soon as they
return home, they believe nothing, for the door toward
heaven is then shut. With consummate hypocrites there is
an intestine enmity against truly spiritual men, for it is like
that of satans against angels of heaven. They are not aware
of this while they live in the world, but it manifests itself
after death, when their external, by which they counter-
feited the spiritual man, has been taken away; for it is their
internal man which is such a satan. But I will tell how
spiritual hypocrites who are such as walk in sheep's clothing,
but inwardly are ravening wolves, Matt. vii. 15, appear to
the angels of heaven; they appear like soothsayers walking
on the palms of their hands and praying; who with the
mouth and from the heart cry to demons and kiss them, but
they clap their shoes in the air, and so make sound to God.
But when they stand on their feet, their eyes look like those
of a leopard, they step like wolves, as to the mouth they are
like the fox, as to the teeth like crocodiles, and as to faith
like vultures.
X. There is no faith with the evil
382. All who deny that the world was created by God,
and so deny God, are evil; for they are atheistic naturalists.
They are all evil, because all good which is good not only
No. 383]
FAITH
523
naturally but also spiritually is from God; therefore they
who deny God are not willing, and therefore are not able,
to receive good from any other source than from their self-
life, and man's self is the lust of his flesh; and whatever pro-
ceeds from this is spiritually evil, however good it seems
naturally. Such persons are theoretically evil; but they are
practically evil who pay no regard to the Divine command-
ments, which are presented in sum in the Decalogue, and
live like outlaws. These also deny God in heart, though
many of them confess Him with the mouth, because God and
His commandments make one; the ten commandments of
the Decalogue were therefore called Jehovah there (Num.
x. 35, 36: Ps. cxxxii. 7. 8). But to make it more manifest
that the evil have no faith, a conclusion will be made from
these two propositions: 1. The evil have no faith because
evil is oj hell, and faith is 0} heaven. 2. All those in Christen-
dom have no faith who reject the Lord and the Word, although
they live morally, and speak, teach, and write rationally, even
about faith. But of these separately.
383. (1.) The evil have no faith, because evil is of hell,
and faith is of heaven. Evil is of hell, because all evil is from
hell; faith is of heaven, because all the truth which is of
faith is from heaven. As long as man lives in the world, he
is kept and he walks in the middle between heaven and hell,
and is there in spiritual equilibrium, which is his free-will.
Hell is under his feet, and heaven is above his head; and
whatever ascends from hell is evil and false, but whatever
comes down from heaven is good and true. Man being in
the middle between those two opposites, and at the same
time in spiritual equilibrium, can choose, adopt, and appro-
priate to himself either the one or the other, from freedom.
If he chooses the evil and false, he joins himself with hell;
if the good and true, he joins himself with heaven. It is
manifest from this not only that evil is of hell and faith of
heaven, but also that the two cannot be together in the same
subject or man. For if they were together, the man would
524
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
[No. 383
be drawn in two directions, as if two ropes were tied around
him and he were drawn upward by one and downward by
the other, and thus he would become as one suspended in
the air. And it would be as if he were to fly like a blackbird,
now upward and now downward; and when flying upward,
should adore God, and when downward, the devil. Every
one sees that this is profane. That no man can serve two
masters, but hates one and loves the other, the Lord teaches
in Matthew (vi. 24). That where evil is there is no faith,
may be illustrated by various comparisons, as by these:
Evil is like fire, infernal fire is nothing but the love of evil, and
it consumes faith like stubble, reducing it and all that belongs
to it to ashes. Evil dwells in darkness, and faith in light;
and evil by falsities extinguishes faith, as darkness extin-
guishes light. Evil is black like ink, and faith is white like
snow and like water; and evil blackens faith, as ink blackens
snow or water. Moreover, evil and the truth of faith cannot
be joined, except as stench with aroma, as urine with wine
of good flavor; and they cannot be together except as a noi-
some carcass in the same bed with a living man; and they
cannot dwell together any more than a wolf can dwell in a
sheepfold, a hawk in a dovecote, and a fox in a hencoop.
384. (2.) All those in Christendom have no faith who re-
ject the Lord and the Word, though they live morally, and
speak, teach, and write rationally, even about faith. This
follows as a conclusion from all that precedes; for it has
been shown that the true and only faith is in the Lord and
from the Lord, and that faith which is not in Him and from
Him is not spiritual but natural; and merely natural faith
has not the essence of faith in it. Moreover, faith is from
the Word; it is from no other source, because the Word
is from the Lord, and consequently the Lord Himself is in
the Word. He therefore says that He is the Word (John i.
1, 2). From this it follows that they who reject the Word
reject the Lord also, for these cohere as one; and further
that they who reject either the one or the other also reject the
No. 384]
FAITH
5^5
church, because the church is from the Lord through the
Word; furthermore, that they who reject the church are
out of heaven, for the church gives introduction into heaven;
and they who are out of heaven are among the condemned,
and these have no faith. They who reject the Lord and the
Word have no faith, though they live morally, and speak,
teach, and write rationally even about faith, because their
moral life is not spiritual but natural, and their rational
mind also is not spiritual but natural; and merely natural
morality and rationality are in themselves dead; therefore,
to them as dead there is no faith. A man who is merely
natural and dead as to faith, can indeed speak and teach
about faith, charity, and God, but not from faith, charity,
and God. That they alone have faith who believe in the
Lord, and that others have not faith, is evident from these
passages: He that believeth on the Son is not condemned, but
he that believeth not the Son is condemned already, because he
hath not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God
(John iii. 18). He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting
life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life: but
the wrath of God abideth on him (iii. 36). Jesus said that
when the Spirit of truth is come, it will reprove the world of
sin because they believe not on Me (xvi. 8, 9) ; and to the Jews
He said, // ye believe not that I am, ye shall die in your sins
(viii. 24). Therefore David says, / will declare the decree;
Jehovah hath said, Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten
Thee. Kiss tlte Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish in the
way. Blessed are all they tliat put their trust in Him (Ps.
ii. 7, 12). That in the consummation of the age, which is
the last time of the church, there would be no faith, because
none in the Lord as the Son of God, the God of heaven and
earth, and one with the Father, the Lord foretells in the
Evangelists, saying that there would be the abomination of
desolation, and tribulation such as was not, nor ever shall
be. Also that the sun will be darkened, and the moon will
not give her light, and the stars will fall from heaven (Matt.
526
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 384
xxiv. 15, ai, 29). And in the Apocalypse, that Satan, being
loosed from his prison, will go forth to deceive the nations
which are in the four corners of the earth, whose number is
as the sand of the sea (xx. 7, 8). And because the Lord
foresaw this, He also said, Nevertheless, when the Son of
Man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth? (Luke xviii. 8.)
385. To the above these Relations will be joined. First:
An angel once said to me, " If you wish to see clearly what
faith and charity are, and thus what faith separate from
charity is, and what faith joined with charity, I will show it
so that it shall be seen." I answered, "Show it." And he
said, " Instead of faith and charity, think of light and heat,
and you will see clearly. Faith in its essence is truth which
is of wisdom; and charity in its essence is the affection of
love; and the truth of wisdom in heaven is light, and the
affection of love in heaven is heat. The light and heat in
which angels are, are nothing else essentially. From this
you can clearly see what are faith separate from charity,
and faith joined with charity. Faith separate from char-
ity is like light in winter, and faith joined with charity is
like light in spring. Wintry light, which is light separated
from heat, because it is joined with cold, strips the trees
wholly of their leaves, kills the grass, hardens the earth, and
freezes the waters; but vernal light, which is light joined
with heat, quickens the trees to put forth, first leaves, then
blossoms, and finally fruits; it opens and softens the earth,
that it may produce grasses, herbs, flowers, and shrubs; it
also melts the ice, that waters may flow from springs. It is
wholly similar with faith and charity. Faith separated
from charity deadens all things, and faith joined with charity
quickens all things. This quickening and deadening may
be seen to the life in our spiritual world, because here faith
is light, and charity is heat; for where faith is joined with
charity, there are paradisal gardens, flower-beds, and grass-
plots, in their pleasantness according to the conjunction;
but where faith is separated from charity, there is not even
No. 385]
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527
grass; and where it is green, this is from briers and thorns."
Not far from us at this time were some clergymen whom
the angel called justifiers and sanctifiers of men by faith
alone, and also men of mystery. We said these same things
to hem, and so proved them that they could see that it was
so; and when we asked, "Is it not so?" they turned them-
selves away and said, "We did not hear." But we cried
out to them, saying, "Hear now, then." But they then put
both hands over their ears, and shouted, " We do not wish
to hear."
After hearing this, I talked with the angel about solitary
faith, and said that by living experience it was given me to
know that that faith is like the light of winter. And I told
him that for several years spirits with faith of various kinds
had passed by me, and that whenever those who separated
faith from charity came near, such coldness seized my feet
and aftenvard the loins, and at length my breast, that I
hardly knew but that all the vitality of my body was about
to become extinct, which would also have come to pass if the
Lord had not driven away those spirits and liberated me.
To me it seemed wonderful that those spirits in themselves
had no sense of cold; this they confessed. I therefore com-
pared them to fishes under ice, which also do not feel cold,
since their life, and hence their nature, is in itself cold. I
then perceived that this cold emanated from the fatuous
light of their faith; like what takes place in swampy and
sulphurous places in midwinter after sunset; this fatuous
and cold light is often seen by travellers. Such spirits may
be compared to icebergs torn from their places in northern
regions, which are carried about on the ocean; of which I
have heard it said, that when they come near a ship, all who
are on board begin to shiver with cold. Therefore com-
panies of those who are in faith separated from charity, may
be likened to those icebergs, and, if you please, they may also
be called so. It is known from the Word that faith without
charity is dead; but I will tell whence is its death. Its death
528
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
[No. 38S
is from cold; from which that faith expires like a bird in a
severe winter; first it dies as to its power to see, then also
as to its power to fly, and at length as to power to breathe;
and then it falls headlong from the branch into the snow, and
is buried there.
386. Second Relation. One morning, awaking from
sleep, I saw two angels descending from heaven, one from
the southern part of heaven and one from the eastern part,
both in chariots, to which white horses were harnessed.
The chariot in which the angel from the south heaven was
borne, shone like silver; and the chariot that bore the angel
from the east, shone like gold : and the reins which they held
in their hands flashed as from the flamy light of dawn. So
those two angels appeared to me in the distance; but when
they came near they did not appear in chariots, but in angelic
form, which is the human. He who came from the east in
heaven was in a shining purple garment, and he who came
from the south in heaven in a garment of hycinthine blue.
When they were in the regions beneath the heavens, they
ran to meet each other, as if emulous as to which should be
first, and embraced and kissed each other. I heard that
these two angels, while they lived in the world, were joined
in interior friendship; but now one was in the eastern heaven,
and the other in the southern. In the eastern heaven are
they who are in love from the Lord, but in the southern
heaven they who are in wisdom from the Lord. When they
had conversed awhile concerning the magnificent things in
their heavens, this arose in their discourse, Whether heaven
in its essence is love or wisdom. They at once agreed that
the one is of the other, but questioned which is the original.
The angel who was from the heaven of wisdom asked the
other what is love; and he answered that love, having its
origin from the Lord as a sun, is the heat of the life of angels
and men, thus the esse of their life; and that the derivations
of love are called affections; and that by these, perceptions
are produced, and so thoughts; from which it flows that
No. 386]
FAITH
529
wisdom in its origin is love; consequently that thought in its
origin is the affection of that love; and that it may be seen
from the derivations viewed in their order that thought is
nothing but the form of affection; and that this is not known,
because thoughts are in light, but affections in heat; and
that we therefore reflect upon thoughts, but not upon affec-
tions. That thought is nothing but the form of the affec-
tion of some love, may also be illustrated by speech, as this
is nothing but the form of sound. It is similar, also, because
sound corresponds to affection, and speech to thought; there-
fore affection makes sound, and thought speaks. This may
also be made quite clear if we say, Take sound away from
speech, and is there left any thing of speech? Likewise,
take away affection from thought, and is any thing of thought
left? From this it is now manifest that love is the all of
wisdom; consequently, that the essence of the heavens is
love, and their existence wisdom; or, what is the same, that
the heavens are from the Divine love, and that they exist
from the Divine love by the Divine wisdom; and therefore,
as said before, the one is of the other.
There was then with me a novitiate spirit, who, on hearing
this, inquired whether it was the same with charity and
faith, because charity is of affection and faith is of the
thought. And the angel replied, "It is altogether similar;
faith is nothing but the form of charity, just as speech is the
form of sound. Faith is also formed from charity, as speech
from sound. We also know the mode of the formation in
heaven, but there is not time to explain it here." He added,
" By faith, I mean spiritual faith, in which are life and spirit
solely from the Lord through charity; for charity is spiritual,
and through charity faith is so. Therefore faith without
charity is merely natural, and this faith is dead; it joins
itself also with merely natural affection, which is nothing but
lust." The angels spoke of these things spiritually; and
spiritual speech embraces thousands of things which natural
speech cannot express, and what is wonderful, which can-
53° TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 386
not even fall into the ideas of natural thought. After this
conversation the angels departed; and as they withdrew,
each to his own heaven, stars appeared around their heads;
and when they were at a distance from me, they again ap-
peared in chariots as before.
387. Third Relation. After these two angels were out of
sight, I saw on the right a garden, in which were olive-trees,
fig-trees, laurels, and palms, arranged in order according to
correspondence. I looked thither, and among the trees
I saw angels and spirits walking and conversing. And then
in return one angelic spirit looked at me. They are called
angelic spirits who are preparing in the world of spirits for
heaven. That spirit came to me from the garden, and said,
"Will you come with me into our paradise? You shall
hear and see wonderful things." And I went with him.
And he then said to me, "These whom you see (for there
were many others) are all in the love of truth, and hence are
in the light of wisdom. There is also a palace here, which
we call the Temple of Wisdom; but no one can see it who
believes himself to be very wise, still less he who believes
himself to be wise enough, and less still he who believes him-
self to be wise from himself. This is because such are not
in the reception of the light of heaven from the love of gen-
uine wisdom. It is genuine wisdom for man to see from
the light of heaven that what he knows, understands, and
is wise in, is as little compared with what he does not know
and understand and in which he is not wise, as a drop to the
ocean; and so, almost nothing. Every one who is in this
paradisal garden, and acknowledges from perception and
sight in himself that he has comparatively so little wisdom,
sees that Temple of Wisdom; for interior light in a man's
mind enables him to see it, but not exterior light without the
interior."
Now as I have often thought this, and from knowledge,
and then from perception, and at last from interior light,
have acknowledged that man has so little wisdom, behold
No 387]
FAITH
53*
it was granted me to see that temple. As to form it was
wonderful. It was raised high above the ground, quad-
rangular, the walls of crystal, the roof of translucent jasper
elegantly arched, the substructure of various precious stones.
There were steps of polished alabaster for ascent into it. At
the sides of the steps figures of lions with their whelps ap-
peared. And I then asked whether it was allowable to
enter, and was told that it was. I therefore ascended; and
as I entered, I saw as it were cherubs flying under the roof,
but soon vanishing. The floor on which we walked was of
cedar; and the whole temple, from the transparency of the
roof and walls, was built for a form of light.
The angelic spirit entered with me, to whom I related
what I heard from the two angels as to love and wisdom,
also as to charity and faith. And then he asked, " Did they
not also speak of a third?" I said, "What third?" He
replied, "There is the good of use. Love and wisdom
without the good of use are nothing; they are ideal entities
only, nor do they become real before they are in use; for
love, wisdom, and use are three things which cannot be
separated; if separated, no one of them is any thing. Love
is nothing without wisdom, but in wisdom it is formed for
something; this something for which it is formed, is use.
Therefore, when love through wisdom is in use, then it
really is, because it exists actually. They are wholly like
end, cause, and effect. The end is nothing, unless through
the cause it is in the effect. If one of the three is dissolved,
the whole is dissolved and becomes as nothing. It is similar
with charity, faith, and works. Charity without faith is
nothing, nor is faith without charity; nor are charity and
faith without works: but in works they are something, the
quality of which is according to the use of the works. It is
similar with affection, thought, and operation; and similar
also with will, understanding, and action; for will without
understanding is like the eye without sight; and the two
without action are like mind without body. That it is so,
532
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 387
may be clearly seen in this temple, because the light in which
we are here is a light that enlightens the mind's interiors.
Geometry also teaches that there is nothing complete and
perfect unless there is a trine, for a line is nothing unless it
becomes a surface, nor is a surface any thing unless it be-
comes a solid; therefore the one must be produced into
another that they may exist, and they co-exist in the third.
As in this, so is it also in all created things and in each one
singly; they are made finite in their third. Now it is from
this that three in the Word signifies complete, and wholly.
Since this is so, I could not but wonder, that some profess
faith alone, some charity alone, and some works alone:
when yet the one without a second, and two together without
the third, are nothing."
But then I asked, " Cannot a man have charity and faith,
and still not have works? Cannot a man have a preference
for something, and be in thought about it, and yet not be
in the performance of it?" And the angel answered me,
"He cannot except ideally, not really; he must still be in the
endeavor or will to operate; and will or endeavor is in itself
act, because it is a continual effort to act, which becomes an
act in externals when the conclusion is reached. On this
account, endeavor and will, as an internal act, are accepted
by every wise man, because accepted by God, altogether as
an external act, provided it is not lacking when opportunity
is given."
388. Fourth Relation. I have spoken with some who are
meant in the Apocalypse by the dragon, and one of them
said, " Come with me, and I will show you the enjoyments
of our eyes and hearts." And he led me through a dark
forest and upon a hill from which I could behold the enjoy-
ments of the dragons. And I saw an ampitheatre built in
the form of a circus, with benches around constructed on an
upward slant, upon which sat the spectators. They who
sat upon the lowest benches appeared to me at a distance like
satyrs and priapi, some with slight covering for their shame,
No. 3S8]
FAITH
533
and some naked without any. On the benches above these
sat whoremongers and harlots; such they appeared to me
from their gestures. And the dragon then said to me,
"Now you will see our sport." And I saw as it were bul-
locks, rams, sheep, kids, and lambs let into the area of the
circus; and after these were let in, a gate was opened, and
as it were young lions, panthers, tigers, and wolves rushed
in and attacked the flock with fury, and tore and slaughtered
them. But after that carnage, the satyrs scattered sand
over the place of the slaughter. Then the dragon said to
me, " These are our sports which delight our minds." And
I answered, "Away, demon; after a short time you will see
this amphitheatre converted into a lake of fire and brim-
stone." At this he laughed and went away.
And afterward I was thinking to myself why such things
are permitted by the Lord; and I received the answer in my
heart, that they are permitted so long as they are in the world
of spirits; but after their time in that world has passed, such
theatrical scenes are turned into such as are direful and
infernal. All those things that were seen were induced by
the dragon by means of fantasies; so there were no bullocks,
rams, sheep, kids, and lambs; but they made the genuine
goods and truths of the church, which they hated, appear
so. The lions, panthers, tigers, and wolves, were appear-
ances of lusta in those who seemed like satyrs and priapi.
Those with no covering for their shame, were they who be-
lieve that evils do not appear before God, and those with
a covering were they who believed that they do appear, but
do not condemn, provided men are in faith. The whore-
mongers and harlots were falsifiers of the truths of the Word,
for whoredom signifies falsification of the truth. In the
spiritual world all things in the distance appear according
to correspondences; which, when they appear in forms, are
called representations of spiritual things in objects similar
to those that are natural.
Afterward I saw them going out of the forest; the dragon
534 TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 3S8
in the midst of the satyrs and priapi, and waiters and scul-
lions, who were the whoremongers and harlots, behind them.
The company was increased on the way, and then I heard
what they were saying to each other. They said that they
saw a flock of sheep with lambs in a meadow, and that this
was a sign that one of the cities of Jerusalem was near, where
charity is the chief thing. And they said, "Let us go and
take that city, and cast out the inhabitants, and plunder
their goods." They approached the city, but there was a
wall around it, and angel guards were upon the wall. And
then they said, "Let us take it by stratagem; let us send
some one expert in mumbling, who can make black white
and white black, and can color the truth of any matter."
And one was found, skilled in metaphysical art, who could
change ideas of things into ideas of terms, and conceal the
things themselves under formulas, and so fly away like a
hawk with the prey beneath his wings. He was instructed
how he should speak with the citizens, that they were in
fellowship in religion, and were to be admitted.
Going up to the gate he knocked; and when it was opened,
he said that he wished to speak with the wisest man of the
city. And he entered, and was conducted to a certain one
whom he addressed as follows: "My brethren are outside
of the city, and beg to be received. They are in fellowship
with you in religion. With you we make faith and charity
the two essentials of religion ; the only difference is that you
say that charity is the primary and that faith is from it,
while we say that faith is the primary and that charity is
from it. What matters it whether the one or the other is
called the primary, when both are believed?" The wise
man of the city answered, "Let us not talk about this by
ourselves, but in the presence of others who may be arbiters
and judges; otherwise, no decision is reached." And some
were then sent for, to whom the dragonist addressed the
same words as before. And the wise man of the city then
answered, " You have said that it is the same thing whether
No. 388]
FAITH
535
charity or faith is taken as the primary of the church, pro-
vided it is agreed that both of them make the church and its
religion ; and yet there is a difference like that between prior
and posterior, between cause and effect, principal and instru-
mental, essential and formal. I say such things because I
perceive that you are expert in metaphysical art, which art
we call mumbling, and some call it incantation: but to
leave those terms, the difference is as between what is above
and what is beneath; yes, if you are willing to believe it,
the difference is like that between the minds of those who
dwell in the higher and of those who dwell in the lower parts
of this world; for what which is the primary makes the head
and the breast, and that which is from it makes the feet and
their soles. But let us first agree as to what charity and
faith are; that charity is the affection of the love of doing
good to the neighbor for the sake of God, salvation, and
eternal life; and that faith is thought from trust, respecting
God, salvation, and eternal life."
And the emissary said, "I grant that this is faith; and I
grant also that charity is that affection, for the sake of God,
because for the sake of His command, not, however, for the
sake of salvation and eternal life." After this agreement
and disagreement, the wise man of the city said, "Is not
affection or loving primary? is not thought from it?" But
he received answer, " You cannot deny it. Does not a man
think from some love ? Take away love, can he think any
thing? It is precisely as if you should take away sound
from speech. If you were to take away sound, could you
speak any thing? Sound also is of the affection from some
love, and speech is of the thought ; for love gives sound, and
thought speaks. It is also like flame and light; if you take
away flame, does not light perish ? It is similar with charity
because this is of love, and with faith because this is of
thought. Can you not thus comprehend that the primary
is the all in the secondary, altogether as with flame and
light ? From which it is manifest, that if you do not make
536
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 388
that the primary which is primary, you are not in the other.
Therefore if you in the first place put faith, which is in the
second, you will appear in heaven only as an inverted man,
with his feet upward and head downward; or like a mounte-
bank, who, with body upside down, walks on the palms of
his hands. When you appear such in heaven, what then
are your good works, which are charity in act, but such as
that mountebank would do with his feet, because he cannot
do them with his hands ? Hence your charity is natural and
not spiritual, because it is inverted."
The emissary understood this; for every devil can under-
stand what is true when he hears it, but he cannot retain it,
because when the affection of evil which in itself is the lust
of the flesh returns, it casts out the thought of truth. And
afterward the wise man of the city showed in many ways
what is the quality of faith when accepted as the primary,
that it is merely natural and is persuasion without spiritual
life; consequently, that it is not faith. And he added, "I
can almost say that in your faith there is no more that is
spiritual than in thought about the kingdom of the Mogul,
the diamond mine there, and of the treasure and court of
that emperor." Hearing this the dragonist went away
angry, and reported to his companions outside of the city.
And when they heard that it was said that charity is the affec-
tion of the love of doing good to the neighbor for the sake of
salvation and eternal life, they all cried out, "This is a lie!"
And the dragon himself exclaimed, "Alas, what wickedness!
Are not all the works which are of charity, when done for
the sake of salvation, full of merit?"
Then they said to one another, " Let us call together still
more of our people, and besiege this city, and cast out those
charities." But when they attempted this, lo, there ap-
peared as it were fire out of heaven which consumed them.
But the fire out of heaven was an appearance of their anger
and hatred against those who were in the city, because they
cast down faith from the first to the second place, yes, to the
No. 389]
FAITH
lowest beneath charity, because they said that it was not
faith. They appeared to be consumed as by fire, because
hell was opened under their feet, and they were swallowed
up. Similar things happened in many places in the day of
the final judgment, and this is meant by these words in the
Apocalypse: The dragon shall go out to seduce the nations
which are in the jour corners of the earth, to gather them to-
gether to battle; and they went up on the face of the earth, and
encompassed the camp 0) the saints and the beloved city, but
fire came dovm from God out oj heaven, and consumed them
(xx. 8, 9).
389. Fifth Relation. A paper was once seen, sent down
from heaven to a society in the world of spirits, where were
two prelates of the church, with canons and elders under
them. The paper contained an exhortation to acknowledge
the Lord Jesus Christ as the God of heaven and earth, as
He Himself taught (Matt, xxviii. 18); also to recede from
the doctrine of justifying faith without the works of the law,
because it is erroneous. This paper was read and copied
by many; and respecting its contents, many thought and
spoke from judgment. Yet after they received it, they said
among themselves, "Let us hear the prelates." And they
were heard; but they spoke against it and disapproved.
For the prelates of that society were hard of heart, from the
falsities with which they had been imbued in the former
world. Therefore, after a short consultation among them-
selves, they sent the paper back to heaven whence it came.
This having been done, after some murmuring most of the
laity receded from their former assent, and then the light of
their judgment in spiritual things, which before shone bright,
was suddenly extinguished. After they had been admon-
ished again, but to no purpose, I saw that society sinking
down, but how deeply I did not see, and thus withdrawn
from the sight of those who worship the Lord only, and are
averse to justification by faith alone.
But after some days, I saw nearly a hundred ascending
538
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 389
from the lower earth which was the limit to which that little
society sunk down. They came up to me, and one of them
spoke and said, "Listen to what is wonderful. When we
sunk down, the place appeared to us like a swamp, but
presently like dry land, and afterwards like a little city, in
which many had each his own house. After a day had
passed we consulted among ourselves at to what was to be
done. Many said that we must go to the two prelates of
the church and censure them mildly because they sent the
paper back to heaven from which it was sent down, on
account of which this had befallen us. They also chose
some who went to the prelates (and he who was speaking
with me said that he was one of them), and then one among
us who excelled in wisdom spoke to the prelates thus: 'We
believed that the church and religion were with us above
others, because we have heard it said that we are in the
greatest gospel light; but enlightenment from heaven has
been given to some of us, and in the enlightenment a per-
ception that at this day there is no longer any church in the
Christian world, because there is no religion.' The prelates
replied, ' What are you saying ? Is there not a church where
the Word is, where Christ the Saviour is known, and where
the sacraments are?' To this our friend replied, 'Those
things belong to the church, for they make the church; but
they do not make it outside of man, but within him.' And
he further said, ' Can the church be where three Gods are
worshipped? Can the church be where its whole doctrine
is founded on a single saying of Paul falsely understood, and
consequently not upon the Word? Can the church be
while the Saviour of the world, who is the very God of the
church, is not approached? Who can deny that religion
is to shun evil and to do good ? Is there any religion where
it is taught that faith alone saves, and not charity at the
same time? Is there religion where it is taught that the
charity proceeding from a man is nothing but moral and
civil charity? Who does not see that in that charity there
No. 389]
FAITH
539
is nothing of religion ? Is there in faith alone any thing of
deed or work ? and yet religion consists in doing. Is there
found a nation in all the world, which excludes all saving
power from the goods of charity, which are good works?
when yet the all of religion consists in good, and the all of
the church in doctrine which teaches truths, and goods by
truths. What glory we should have had if we had accepted
those things which the paper that was sent down from
heaven carried in its bosom!' Then the prelates said,
'You speak too loftily. Is not faith in act, which is faith
fully justifying and saving, the church? And is not faith
in state, which is faith proceeding and perfecting, religion ?
Sons, lay hold on this.'
"But then our wise companion said, 'Hear, Fathers:
Does not man according to your dogma, conceive faith in
act like a stock ? Can a stock be quickened into a church ?
And is not faith in state, according to your idea, the con-
tinuation and progression of faith in act? And since, ac-
cording to your dogma, every thing saving is in faith, and
not any thing in the good of charity from man, where then
is religion?' Then the leaders said, 'You speak so, friend,
because you do not know the mysteries of justification by
faith alone; and he who does not know them does not in-
wardly know the way of salvation. Your way is external
and the way of common people. Go in that way if you will,
yet know only that all good is from God and nothing from
man, and so that in spiritual things man has no ability of
himself. How then can man do good that is spiritual good,
of himself?' To this our spokesman, being very indignant,
replied, 'I know your mysteries of justification better than
you do, and I tell you plainly that inwardly in your mysteries
I have seen nothing but spectres. Is it not religion to ac-
knowledge and love God, and to hate and shun the devil?
Is not God good itself, and the devil evil itself? Who in
the whole world that has any religion does not know this?
And is not acknowledging and loving God this — to do good,
540
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
[No. 389
because it is God's and is from Him ? And is not shunning
and hating the devil this — not to do evil, because this is of
the devil and is from him ? Or what is the same, does your
faith in act, which you call faith fully justifying and saving,
or what is again the same, your act of justification by faith
alone, teach the doing of any good which is of God and is
from Him? And does it teach the shunning of any evil
which is of the devil and from him? Not in the least; be-
cause you maintain that there is nothing of salvation in
either. What is your faith in state, which you have called
faith proceeding and perfecting, but the same with faith in
act ? How can this be perfected when you exclude all good
done by man as from himself? saying in your mysteries,
How can a man be saved by any good from himself, when
salvation is gratuitous? and what good comes from man
but what has merit? and yet all merit belongs to Christ.
Therefore to do good for the sake of salvation would be to
attribute to one's self what belongs to Christ alone; thus
also it would be to wish to justify and save one's self. Again,
how can any one work what is good, when the Holy Spirit
works all, without any help from man ? What need is there,
then, of any accessory good from man, when all the good
from man is in itself not good ? — besides other things. Are
not these your mysteries? But in my eyes they are mere
subtleties and artifices, contrived to set aside good works
which are the goods of charity, to establish your faith alone.
And because you do this, you look at man, with regard to
faith, and in general with regard to all spiritual things of the
church and religion, as a stock or a lifeless form, and not as
a man created in the image of God, to whom was given and
is continually given the faculty of understanding and willing,
of believing and loving, and of speaking and doing, alto-
gether as from himself; and especially in spiritual things,
because man is man from them. If man did not think and
operate as from himself in spiritual things, for what then
would be the Word ? for what the church, and religion ? and
No. 390]
FAITH
541
for what, worship? You know that to do good to the neigh-
bor from love is charity; and yet you do not know what char-
ity is, when yet charity is the soul and essence of faith. And
as charity is both of these, what then is faith when charity
is removed, but dead faith ? And dead faith is nothing but
a spectre. I call it a spectre, because James calls faith with-
out good works not only dead, but also diabolical.'
"Then one of these prelates, when he heard his faith
called dead, diabolical, and spectral, became so enraged,
that he snatched the mitre from his head, and threw it upon
the table, saying, 'I will not resume it until I have taken
vengeance upon the enemies of the faith of our church';
and he shook his head, muttering, and saying, ' That James,
that James! ' On the front of the mitre there was a plate on
which was engraved, Faith alone justifying. And suddenly
appeared a monster rising out of the earth, with seven heads,
with feet like a bear's, a body like a leopard's, and a mouth
like a lion's, altogether like the beast which is described in
the Apocalypse (xiii. 1, 2), whose image was made and wor-
shipped (verses 14, 15). This spectre took the mitre from
the table, and stretched it wide at the bottom, and put it on
his seven heads; and then the earth opened under his feet,
and he sunk down. On seeing this, the prelate cried out,
'Violence! Violence!' We then left them; and behold
there were steps before our eyes, by which we ascended and
returned upon the earth, and into the view of heaven, where
we were before." These things were related to me by the
spirit who with a hundred others had ascended from the
lower earth.
390. Sixth Relation. In the northern quarter of the
spiritual world, I heard as it were the noise of waters; I
therefore went toward it; and when I was near, it ceased,
and I heard a sound like that from an assembled multitude.
And then a house full of holes was seen surrounded by a
rough wall, from which that sound was heard. I went to
it. A doorkeeper was there, and I asked him who were
542
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 390
there. He said, "The wisest of the wise, who determine
with each other supernatural things." He spoke so from
his simple faith. And I asked whether it was allowable to
enter. He said that it was, " provided you do not say any
thing, for I have leave to admit gentiles, who stand with me
near the door." I therefore entered; and behold there was
a circular hall, and in the middle a pulpit; and a company
of so-called wise men were discussing the mysteries of their
faith. The proposition then submitted for discussion was,
" Whether the good which a man does in the state of justifica-
tion by faith, or in its progress after the act, is the good of
religion or not." They said unanimously that by the good
of religion was meant good which contributes to salvation.
There was sharp discussion, but those prevailed who said
that the good deeds which a man does in the state or progress
of faith are only moral good, which conduce to prosperity
in the world, but contribute nothing to his being saved; to
this, only faith contributes. And they confirmed it thus:
" How can any voluntary good of man be joined with free
grace ? And is not salvation of free grace ? How can any
good from man be joined with Christ's merit? And is not
salvation by that alone ? And how can man's operation be
joined with the operation of the Holy Spirit ? Does not this
do all, without man's help ? Are not these three things alone
saving, in the act of justification by faith? and the same
three continue alone saving in its state or progress. There-
fore the accessory good from man can by no means be called
the good of religion, which, as was said, contributes to his
being saved; but if any one does it for the sake of being
saved, since the will of man is in it, and this cannot but re-
gard it as merit, it should rather be called the evil of religion."
There were two gentiles standing near the doorkeeper in
the vestibule; and they heard these things, and said to each
other, "These people have no religion. Who does not see
that to do good to the neighbor for the sake of God, thus
with God and from God, is what is called religion?" And
No. 391]
FAITH
543
the other said, "Their faith has infatuated them." And
they then asked the doorkeeper, " Who are they ? " The
doorkeeper said, "They are wise Christians." And they
replied, "Nonsense, you are feigning; they are actors; they
talk like them." And I went away. It was of the Divine
auspices of the Lord that I came to that house, and that
they then deliberated on these subjects, and that all took
place as described.
391. Seventh Relation. What a desolation of truth and
poverty of theology there are at this day in the Christian
world, was brought to my knowledge from conversing with
many of the laity and clergy in the spiritual world. With
the latter there is such spiritual destitution that they scarcely
know any thing but that there is a Trinity, of Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit; and that faith alone saves; and of Christ
the Lord they know only the history of Him found in the
Evangelists. But all else which the Word of both Testa-
ments teaches of Him, as that the Father and He are one,
that He is in the Father and the Father in Him, that He has
all power in heaven and in earth, that it is the Father's will
that they should believe in the Son, and that whosoever
believeth in Him has everlasting life, these and many other
things are as unknown to them and as remote as those that
lie at the bottom of the ocean, yes, as those which are at the
centre of the earth. And when such are brought forth from
the Word and read, they stand as if they heard and yet did
not hear; nor do they enter their ears more deeply than the
whispering of the wind or the beating of a drum. The
angels who are sometimes sent by the Lord to visit the Chris-
tian societies that are in the world of spirits, thus beneath
heaven, lament exceedingly, saying that there is a dulness
and consequent thick darkness among them in matters of
salvation, almost like that of a talking parrot. Their
learned also say that in spiritual and Divine things they un-
derstand no more than statues.
An angel once told me that he conversed with two of the
544
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 391
clergy, one of whom was in faith separate from charity
and the other in faith not separate. With the one who was
in faith separate from charity he spoke as follows: "Friend,
who are you?" He replied, "I am a Reformed Christian."
"What is your doctrine, and the religion from it?" He
answered, "It is faith." The angel asked, "What is your
faith?" He replied, "My faith is, that God the Father
sent the Son to take upon Himself the damnation of the
human race, and that we are saved thereby." The angel
asked further, " What more do you know about salvation ? "
He replied, "Salvation is effected by that faith alone."
Again the angel asked, " What do you know of redemption ? "
He replied, " It was accomplished by the passion of the cross,
and the merit of the Son is imputed through that faith."
Again, "What do you know of regeneration?" He an-
swered, "It is effected by that faith." "Tell what you
know about love and charity." He replied, "They are that
faith." "And what do you think of the commandments of
the Decalogue, and the others in the Word?" He replied,
"They are in that faith." Then said the angel, "You will
therefore do nothing." He replied, "What am I to do? I
cannot from myself do good that is good." " Can you have
faith from yourself?" asked the angel. He replied, "I do
not inquire into that; I must have faith." At length he
said, " Surely you know something more about the state of
salvation?" He replied, "What more, since the work of
salvation is by that faith alone ? " But then the angel said,
"You answer like one who plays but one note on a flute;
I hear nothing but faith. If you know that and nothing
else, you know nothing. Go and see your companions."
He went and found them in a desert, where there was no
grass. He asked why this was so; and it was said, "Be-
cause they have nothing of the church."
With him who was in faith conjoined with charity, the
angel spoke as follows: "Friend, who are you?" He re-
plied, "I am a Reformed Christian." "What is your doc-
No. 391]
FAITH
545
trine, and the religion from it ?" He answered, " Faith and
charity." "These are two," said the angel. He replied,
"They cannot be separated." The angel asked, "What is
faith?" He replied, "To believe what the Word teaches."
"And what is charity?" He answered, "To do what the
Word teaches." The angel said, "Have you only believed
those things, or have you also done them?" He replied,
" I have also done them." The angel of heaven then looked
at him and said, " My friend, come with me and dwell with
us."
CHAPTER SEVENTH.
CHARITY, OR LOVE TOWARD THE NEIGHBOR, AND
GOOD WORKS.
392. Faith having been treated of, now follows Charity;
for faith and charity are joined like truth and good, and
these two like light and heat in spring. This is said because
spiritual light, the light that proceeds from the sun of the
spiritual world, is in its essence truth; therefore truth in
that world, wherever it appears, shines with splendor accord-
ing to its purity; and spiritual heat, which also proceeds
from that sun, is in its essence good. These things are said,
because it is the same with charity and faith as with good
and truth; for charity is the aggregate of all which a man
does to the neighbor which belongs to good, and faith is the
aggregate of all belonging to truth which a man thinks as to
God and Divine things. Since, therefore, the truth of faith
is spiritual light, and the good of charity is spiritual heat, it
follows that it is the same with these two as with the two so
named in the natural world; that is to say, from their con-
junction all things on earth flourish, and likewise from their
conjunction all things in the human mind; but with the
difference that natural heat and light cause things on the
earth to blossom, but spiritual heat and light cause things
to blossom in the human mind; and that the latter blossom-
ing, because it is spiritual, is wisdom and intelligence.
There is also a correspondence between them ; and therefore
the human mind in which charity is joined with faith and
faith with charity, is in the Word likened to a garden, and
is also meant by the garden of Eden. This has been fully
shown in the Heavenly Arcana, published at London. It
must be known, moreover, that if charity were not treated
No- 393] CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS
547
of after faith, what faith is could not be comprehended;
since, as stated and shown in the preceding chapter, faith
without charity is not faith, and charity without faith is not
charity, and neither of them lives except from the Lord
(n. 355-361). And also, the Lord, charity, and faith make
one, like life, will, and understanding; and if they are
divided, each perishes, like a pearl reduced to powder (n. 362
-367). And further, charity and faith are together in good
works (n. 373-378).
393. It is a constant truth that, in order that man may
have spiritual life and consequently be saved, charity and
faith cannot be separated. This is self-evident to the under-
standing of any man even if it is not cultivated by means of
talents and pounds of learning. Who does not see from
some interior perception, and therefore assent from the
understanding, when he hears one say that whoever lives
well and believes aright is saved? And who does not re-
ject it from the understanding, as he would a mote falling
into the eye, when he hears it said that whoever believes
aright and does not live well is also saved? because from
interior perception it then instantly comes into the thought,
How can any one believe aright when he does not live well ?
And what is believing then, but a painted figure of faith, and
not its living image ? So again, if one hears it said that who-
ever lives well is saved, though he does not believe, does not
the understanding while revolving or turning it over and
over, see, perceive, and think that this is without coherence,
for to live well is from God? for all good, in itself good, is
from God. What then is it to live well and not believe, but
as clay in the hand of the potter which cannot be formed into
any vessel of use in the spiritual kingdom, but only in the
natural? Furthermore, who does not see contradiction in
the two statements, that he who believes but does not live
well is saved; and, that he is saved who lives well and does
not believe? Now because living well, which belongs to
charity, is at this day both known and not known — what it
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TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 393
is to live well naturally is known, but not what it is to live
well spiritually — this will therefore be treated of, for it be-
longs to charity. And this will be done distinctly in series
by articles.
I. There are three universal loves, love of heaven,
LOVE OF THE WORLD, AND LOVE OF SELF.
394. The beginning is made with these three loves, be-
cause they are universal and fundamental, and because
charity has something in common with each of them. For
by love of heaven is meant love to the Lord and also love
toward the neighbor; and because each of these regards use
as the end, it may be called the love of uses. Love of the
world is not merely the love of wealth and property, but also
of all that the world affords, and of all that delights the
senses of the body; as beauty delights the eyes, harmony the
ear, fragrance the nostrils, delicacies the tongue, softness the
skin; also becoming dress, convenient habitations, society,
thus all the enjoyments from these and many other things.
Love of self is not merely the love of honor, glory, fame, and
eminence, but also of meriting and soliciting office, and so
of reigning over others. Charity has something in com-
mon with each of these three, because, viewed in itself, it is
the love of uses; for charity wishes to do good to the neigh-
bor and good is the same as use, and from these loves every
one regards uses as his ends; the love of heaven regards
spiritual uses, the love of the world natural uses which may
be called civil, and the love of self corporeal uses which may
also be called domestic, done for one's self and his own.
395. That these three loves are from creation and there-
fore from birth in every man, and that when rightly sub-
ordinated they perfect him, and when not rightly sub-
ordinated they pervert him, will be shown in the next article.
It may only be remarked here that these three loves are
rightly subordinated when love of heaven makes the head,
No. 395] CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS
549
love of the world the breast and abdomen, and love of self
the feet and their soles. The human mind is divided into
three distinct regions, as repeatedly stated above: from
the highest region man regards God, from the second or
middle region the world, and from the third or lowest him-
self. Because the mind is such, it can be raised and can
raise itself upward, because to God and heaven; it can be
spread and can spread itself to the sides in all directions, be-
cause into the world and its nature; and it can be let down-
ward and can let itself downward, because to earth and hell.
In these respects the sight of the body emulates that of the
mind; it too can look upward, round about, and downward.
The human mind is like a house of three stories commu-
nicating by stairs; in the highest of which dwell angels
from heaven, in the middle men from the world, and in the
lowest evil spirits. The man in whom these three loves are
rightly subordinated, can ascend and descend at pleasure;
and when he goes up to the highest, he is as an angel in com-
pany with angels; and when from this he goes down to the
middle, he is there in company with men as an angel-man;
and when from this he descends further, he is in company
with evil spirits as a man of the world, and instructs, re-
proves, and subdues them. In the man in whom these
three loves are rightly subordinated, they are also so co-
ordinated that the highest which is love of heaven is in-
wardly in the second which is love of the world, and by this
in the third or lowest which is love of self ; and the love which
is within directs at its pleasure that which is without. There-
fore if the love of heaven is inwardly in love of the world, and
by this in love of self, the man does uses in each from the
God of heaven. In their operation, these three loves are
like will, understanding, and action. The will flows into
the understanding, and there provides itself with means to
produce action. But on these points more will be seen in
the next article, where it will be shown that the three loves,
rightly subordinated, perfect man; but if not rightly sub-
ordinated, they pervert and invert him.
55o
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
[No. 396
396. But in order that what follows in this chapter and
in those succeeding, on Free Will, Reformation and Re-
generation, and so forth, may be presented in the light of
reason so as to be clearly seen, it is necessary to premise
something as to the will and the understanding, good and
truth, love in general, the love of the world and the love of
self in particular, the external and the internal man, and
the merely natural and sensual man. These will be laid
open, lest the rational sight of man in its perception of what
later follows, should be as in a thick fog, and so should run
through the streets of a city till it knows not the way home.
For what is theology without the understanding, and if the
understanding is not enlightened when the Word is read,
but as a lamp in the hand not lighted, such as were in the
hands of the five foolish virgins who had no oil ? Of each,
then, in its order.
397. I. The Will and the Understanding. 1. Man has
two faculties which make his life; one called the will, and
the other the understanding. These are distinct from each
other, but so created as to be one; and when they are one,
they are called the mind. Therefore they are the human
mind, and all a man's life is therein in its principles, and
hence is in the body. 2. As all things in the universe which
are according to order have reference to good and truth, so
all things in man have reference to the will and understand-
ing, since good in man is of his will, and truth in him is of
his understanding; for these two faculties, or two lives of
man, are their receptacles and subjects, the will the re-
ceptacle and subject of all things of good, and the under-
standing the receptacle and subject of all things of truth.
Goods and truths with man are nowhere else. And be-
cause goods and truths with man are nowhere else, there-
fore love and faith are not elsewhere, since love is of good
and good is of love, but faith is of truth and truth is of faith.
3. The will and the understanding also make man's spirit;
for in them reside his wisdom and intelligence, also his love
No. 398] CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS
551
and charity, and in general his life. The body is only obedi-
ence. 4. Nothing is more important to know than how the
will and understanding make one mind. They make one
mind as good and truth make one; for there is a marriage
between the will and the understanding like that between
good and truth. The quality of that marriage will be evi-
dent from what will presently be adduced as to good and
truth, namely, that as good is the very esse of a thing and
truth its existere from it, so the will with man is the very esse
of his life, but the understanding is the existere of life from
it; for good, which is of the will, forms itself in the under-
standing, and makes itself visible.
398. II. Good and Truth. 1. All things in the universe
that are in Divine order, have reference to good and truth.
Nothing exists in heaven and nothing in the world that does
not have reference to these two. This is because both of
them, good as well as truth, proceed from God from whom
all things are. 2. From this it is manifest, that it is neces-
sary for man to know what good and truth are, as also how
the one looks to the other, and how the one is joined with the
other. But this is most necessary for the man of the church ;
for as all things of heaven have reference to good and truth,
so also have all things of the church, because the good and
truth of heaven are the good and truth of the church also.
3. It is according to Divine order for good and truth to be
joined and not separated, thus for them to be one and not
two; for they proceed from God joined, and in heaven they
are joined; and therefore they must be joined in the church.
The conjunction of good and truth in heaven is called the
heavenly marriage; for all who are there are in this mar-
riage. For this reason heaven is compared in the Word to
marriage, and the Lord is called Bridegroom and Husband,
but heaven is called bride and wife, and the church the same.
Heaven and the church are so called because they who are
therein receive Divine goods in truths. 4. All the intelli-
gence and wisdom which the angels have are from that mar-
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TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 398
riage, and none from good separate from truth, nor from
truth separate from good. So is it with the men of the
church. 5. Since the conjunction of good and truth is
like marriage, it is manifest that good loves truth, and that
in return truth loves good, and that one desires to be joined
with the other. The man of the church who has not such
love and desire is not in the heavenly marriage, thus the
church is not yet in him; for the conjunction of good and
truth makes the church. 6. Goods are manifold: in gen-
eral there are spiritual good and natural good, and both
joined in genuine moral good. As with goods, so with
truths; because truths are of good and are the forms of good.
7. As it is with good and truth, so it is, on the contrary,
with evil and falsity; that is, as all things in the universe
which are according to Divine order have reference to
good and truth, so all things that are contrary to Divine
order have reference to evil and f aslity ; and as good loves to
be joined with truth and truth with good, so evil loves to be
joined with falsity and falsity with evil: and also, as all
intelligence and wisdom are born from the conjunction of
good and truth, so are all insanity and folly from the con-
junction of evil and falsity. The conjunction of evil and
falsity, viewed inwardly, is not marriage but adultery. 8.
Because evil and falsity are opposite to good and truth, it is
manifest that truth cannot be conjoined with evil, nor good
with the falsity of evil. If truth is adjoined to evil, it be-
comes no longer truth but falsity, because it is falsified; and
if good is adjoined to the falsity of evil, it becomes no longer
good but evil, because it is adulterated. Yet falsity which
is not of evil can be conjoined with good. 9. No one who
is in evil and hence in falsity from confirmation and the
life, can know what good and truth are; since he believes
his evil to be good, and from this he believes his falsity
to be truth; but every one who is in good and hence in
truth from confirmation and the life, can know what evil
and falsity are. This is because all good and its truth are
No. 399] CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS
553
heavenly in their essence, but all evil and the falsity from
it are infernal in their essence; and every thing heavenly
is in light, but every thing infernal in darkness.
399. III. Love in general. 1. A man's very life is his
love; and such as the love is, such is the life, yes, such is the
whole man. But it is the dominant or reigning love which
makes the man. This love has many other loves subor-
dinate to it, which are derivations. They appear under
another aspect; but yet every one of them is in the dominant
love, and they make with it one kingdom. The dominant
love is as their king and head; it directs them; and through
them as through mediate ends it looks to and intends its
own end, which is the primary and the ultimate of all; and
this both directly and indirectly. 2. That which is of the
dominant love, is loved above all. What a man loves above
all is continually present in his thought, because it is in his
will and makes his veriest life. For example, one who loves
wealth whether money or possessions, above all things, is
continually considering in his mind how to procure it, re-
joices inmostly when he acquires it, grieves inmostly when
he loses it; his heart is in it. He who loves himself above
all is mindful of himself in every thing; he thinks of himself,
speaks of himself, acts for the sake of himself; for his life
is the life of self. 3. A man has for an end that which he
loves above all things; this he regards in all things and in
every thing. It is in his will like the unseen flow of a river
which sweeps along and bears him away even when he is
acting in some other way, for it is that which animates him.
Such is that which one man searches out in another, and
also sees; and by it he either leads him or acts with him.
4. A man is wholly such as the dominance of his life is; by
this he is distinguished from others; according to this his
heaven is made if he is good, and his hell if he is evil; it is
his very will, his selfhood, and his nature; for it is the very
esse of his life. This cannot be changed after death, be-
cause it is the man himself. 5. All that gives enjoyment,
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TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
[No. 399
satisfaction, and happiness to any one, comes to him from
and according to his ruling love. For a man calls that which
he loves enjoyment, because he feels it; but that which he
thinks and does not love, he may also call enjoyment, but
it is not the enjoyment of his life. The love's enjoyment is
what is good to a man, but the undelightful is what to him
is evil. 6. There are two loves from which, as from their
very fountains, all goods and truths arise; and there are
two loves from which all evils and falsities arise. The two
loves from which all goods and truths are, are love to the
Lord and love toward the neighbor; but the two loves from
which are all evils and falsities, are the love of self and the
love of the world. The two latter when they are dominant,
are wholly opposed to the former. 7. The two loves from
which are all goods and truths, which, as was said, are love
to the Lord and love toward the neighbor, make heaven with
man, for they reign in heaven; and because they make
heaven with man, they also make the church with him. The
two loves from which are all evils and falsities, which, as was
said, are the love of self and the love of the world, make hell
with man; for they reign in hell; consequently also they
destroy the church with him. 8. The two loves from which
are all goods and truths, which, as was said, are the loves
of heaven, open and form the internal spiritual man, for
they reside there; but the two loves from which are all evils
and falsities, which, as was said, are the loves of hell, when
they are dominant, close and destroy the internal spiritual
man, and cause the man to be natural and sensual according
to the quantity and quality of their dominion.
400. IV. Love of Self and Love of the World in particular.
1. Love of self is to wish well to one's self only, and not to
others except for the sake of self; not even to the church,
one's country, human society, or a fellow-citizen ; it is also to
do good to them only for the sake of one's reputation, honor,
and glory; and unless these are seen in the good which is
done to others, it is said in the heart, "What matters it?
No. 400] CHARITY A XT) GOOD WORKS
555
Why should I do this ? What shall I gain by it ?" And so
it is passed by. Hence it is manifest that he who is in love
of self does not love the church, or his country, or society,
or his fellow-citizen, or any thing truly good, but only him-
self and what is his. 2. A man is in the love of self when,
in what he thinks and does, he does not regard the neighbor,
and therefore not the public, still less the Lord, but only
himself and those who are his; consequently, when he does
every thing for the sake of himself and those belonging to
him; and if for the public, it is only for the appearance;
and if for the neighbor, it is that the neighbor may favor
him. 3. For the sake of himself and those who are his,
is said; for he who loves himself also loves his own, who
are especially his children and grandchildren, and in gen-
eral all who make one with him, whom he calls his own.
To love these two classes, is also to love himself, for he re-
gards them as it were in himself, and himself in them. All
who praise, honor, and pay court to him are likewise among
those whom he calls his; all others he indeed looks upon
with the bodily eyes as men, but with the eyes of his spirit he
scarcely views them otherwise than spectres. 4. A man is
in love of self who despises his neighbor in comparison
with himself, who holds him an enemy if he does not favor
him and if he does not venerate and pay court to him.
Still more in love of self is he who on that account hates
and persecutes his neighbor; and more still he who there-
fore burns with revenge against him and desires his de-
struction. Such at length love to be cruel. 5. What the love
of self is, may be evident from comparison with heavenly
love. Heavenly love is to love uses for the sake of the uses,
or goods for the sake of the goods, which a man performs
for the church, his country, human society, and the fellow-
citizen; but he who loves these things for his own sake,
loves them only as he loves servants of the household,
because they are serviceable to him. It follows hence that
he who is in love of self wishes the church, his country,
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TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 400
human society, and his fellow-citizens to serve him, and
not that he should serve them; he puts himself above, and
them beneath. 6. Moreover, so far as any one is in heav-
enly love, which is to love uses and goods and to have
heartfelt enjoyment in promoting them, he is led by the
Lord; because that is the love in which the Lord is, and
which is from Him. But so far as any one is in the love of
self, he is led by himself and his self-life, and man's self-
life is nothing but evil; for it is his hereditary evil, which
is to love one's self more than God, and the world more
than heaven. 7. Such also is love of self, that so far as
the reins are given to it, that is, so far as external bonds
are removed, which are fears of the law and its penalties,
and of the loss of reputation, honor, gain, office, and life, so
far it rushes on, even till it wishes to have command not only
over the whole world, but also over heaven, yes, over God
Himself. There is nowhere any limit or end to it. This
lurks in every one who is in love of self, although it is not
manifest before the world, where the reins and bonds which
have been named restrain him; and every such one, where
there is impossibility, makes his stand until the possibility
comes. It is owing to all these things, that the man who is
in such love does not know that an insane and unlimited
lust of this kind is concealed within him. Nevertheless,
that it is so no one can help seeing in potentates and kings to
whom there are no such reins, bonds, and impossibilities;
they rush on and subdue provinces and kingdoms as far as
they have success, and aspire to power and glory beyond
bounds; and still more in those who extend their sovereignty
into heaven, and transfer all the Lord's Divine power to
themselves. These continually desire more. 8. There are
two kinds of rule, one of love toward the neighbor, and
the other of love of self. These two kinds of rule are op-
posite. He who rules from love toward the neighbor wishes
good to all, and loves nothing more than to perform uses,
thus to serve others; to serve others is to do good to them
No. 400] CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS
557
from good will, and to perform uses; this is his love, and
the enjoyment of his heart. As far, too, as he is raised to
dignities he is also glad, not for the sake of the dignities, but
for the sake of the uses which he can then perform in more
abundance and to a greater degree. Such is rule in the
heavens. But he who rules from love of self wills good to
no one but himself and his. The uses which he performs
are for the sake of the honor and glory of himself, which
to him are the only uses; his end in serving others is that
he may be served and honored, and may rule. He solicits
dignities, not for the sake of the good which he may do, but
that he may be in eminence and glory, and thereby in his
heart's enjoyment. 9. Love of rule remains also with every
one after the life in the world; but to those who have ruled
from love toward the neighbor, dominion in the heavens is
also entrusted; and then they do not rule, but the uses and
goods which they love; and when uses and goods rule, the
Lord rules. But they who in the world ruled from love of
self, after the life in the world are made to abdicate and are
reduced to servitude. From these things it is now known
who are in the love of self. It matters not how they appear
in the external form, whether haughty or submissive; for
such things are in the internal man, and the internal man
is hidden by most people, and the external is trained to
counterfeit what belongs to love of the public and the
neighbor, thus opposites; and this also for the sake of self;
for they know that to love the public and the neighbor af-
fects all men inwardly, and that they themselves are
esteemed in the same measure. This love so affects men
because heaven flows into it. 10. The evils which are with
those who are in love of self are, in general, contempt of
others, envy, enmity against those who do not favor them,
consequent hostility, hatred of various kinds, revenge, cun-
ning, deceit, unmercifulness and cruelty. And where such
evils are there is also contempt of God and of Divine things
which are the truths and goods of the church; if they honor
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TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 400
these, it is only with the mouth, not with the heart. And be-
cause such evils are from this source, so are similar falsities;
for falsities are from evils. 11. But love of the world is to
wish to draw to one's self by any art the wealth of others, and
to set the heart upon riches, and to suffer the world to with-
draw and lead one away from spiritual love which is love
toward the neighbor, and so from heaven. They are in the
love of the world who desire to draw to themselves the goods
of others by various arts, especially by cunning and deceit,
making nothing of the neighbor's good. They who are in
that love covet the goods of others, and, so far as they do not
fear the laws and loss of reputation on account of gain, they
deprive them of their goods, yes, prey upon them. 12. But
love of the world is not opposed to heavenly love to such a
degree as love of self is, for not so great evils are concealed in
it. 13. This love is manifold: there is love of wealth, that
one may be raised to honors; there is love of honors and dig-
nities, that one may gain wealth; there is love of wealth for
the sake of various uses from which one has delight in the
world; there is love of wealth for its own sake only; such
love have the avaricious; and so on. The end for the sake
of which wealth is loved is called the use; and it is the end
or use from which a love derives its quality; for the love is
such as the end which it regards is; other things serve it as
means. 14. In a word, love of self and love of the world are
wholly opposite to love to the Lord and love toward the
neighbor. Therefore love of self and love of the world, such
as are described above, are infernal, reigning also in hell,
and likewise making hell with man. But love to the Lord
and love toward the neighbor are heavenly, reigning also in
heaven, and likewise making heaven with man.
461. V. The Internal and the External Man. 1. Man
has been so created that he is at the same time in the spiritual
world and in the natural world. The spiritual world is where
angels are, and the natural world is where men are. And
because man has been so created, an internal and an external
No. 401] CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS
559
have been given him; an internal by which he may be in the
spiritual world, and an external by which he may be in the
natural world. His internal is what is called the internal
man, and his external what is called the external man. 2.
Every man has an internal and an external, but with a dif-
ference between the good and the evil. With the good the
internal is in heaven and its light, and the external in the
world and its light; and this light with them is illumined by
the light of heaven; and so with them the internal and the
external make one, like cause and effect, or like prior and
posterior. But with the evil the internal is in hell and in its
light, which light, viewed in relation to the light of heaven,
is thick darkness; and their external may be in light similar
to that in which the good are. This therefore is the reverse
of the other. Hence it is that the evil, just like the good, can
speak and teach about faith, charity, and God; but not, like
the good, from faith, charity, and God. 3. It is the internal
man that is called the spiritual man, because it is in the light
of heaven, which light is spiritual; and it is the external that
is called the natural man, because it is in the light of the
world, which light is natural. The man whose internal is in
the light of heaven and his external in the light of the world,
is a spiritual man as to both, for spiritual light from within
illumines the natural light and makes it as its own; but with
the. evil the case is reversed. 4. The internal spiritual man
viewed in itself is an angel of heaven, and while living in the
body is also in society with angels without knowing it, and
after release from the body also comes among them. But
with the evil the internal man is a satan, and while living in
the body is also in society with satans, and after separation
from the body also comes among them. 5. With those who
are spiritual men, the interiors of the mind are actually
raised toward heaven, for they look primarily to that; but
with those who are merely natural, the interiors of the mind
are turned away from heaven, and turned to the world, be-
cause they look primarily to this. 6. They who hold only
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TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 401
a general idea of the internal and the external man, believe
that it is the internal man that thinks and wills, and the ex-
ternal that speaks and acts; for thinking and willing are
internal, and speaking and acting are external. But it is to
be known that when man thinks and wills well about the
Lord and what is of the Lord, and well about the neighbor
and what is of the neighbor, he then thinks and wills from
the spiritual internal, because from the faith of truth and
the love of good; but that when a man thinks ill about them
and wills ill to them, he then thinks and wills from the in-
fernal internal, because from the faith of falsity and the love
of evil. In a word, so far as a man is in love to the Lord and
in love toward the neighbor he is in the spiritual internal,
and thinks and wills from it, and also speaks and acts from
it; while so far as a man is in love of self and love of the
world he thinks and wills from hell, though he speaks and
acts otherwise. 7. It has thus been provided and arranged
by the Lord that the spiritual man should be opening and
forming so far as a man thinks and wills from heaven; the
opening is into heaven even to the Lord, and the formation
is to that which is of heaven. But on the other hand, so far
as a man thinks and wills not from heaven but from the
world, the internal spiritual man is closing, and the external
is opening and forming; the opening is into the world, and
the formation is to that which is of hell. 8. They with
whom the internal spiritual man is opened into heaven to
the Lord, are in the light of heaven and in enlightenment
from the Lord, and thereby in intelligence and wisdom;
they see truth from the light of truth, and perceive good
from the love of good. But they with whom the internal
spiritual man is closed, do not know what the internal man
is, neither do they believe in the Word, nor in a life after
death, nor in what is of heaven and the church: and because
they are in only natural light, they believe that nature is of
itself and not from God; they see falsity as truth, and per-
ceive evil as good. 9. The internal and external here are
No. 402] CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS 56 1
the internal and external of man's spirit. His body is only
a superadded external, within which the others exist; for the
body acts in nothing from itself, but from the spirit which
is in it. It is to be known that the spirit of man after its
release from the body, equally thinks and wills, and speaks
and acts: thinking and willing are its internal, but speaking
and doing are then its external.
402. VI. Tlte merely Natural and Sensual Man. Since
few know who are meant by sensual men, and of what quailty
they are, and yet it is important to know, therefore they shall
be described. 1 . He is called a sensual man who judges of
all things by the senses of the body, and who believes nothing
but what he can see with the eyes and touch with the hands,
saying that such things are something, and rejecting all
others. The sensual man is therefore the lowest natural
man. 2. The interiors of his mind, which see from the
light of heaven, are closed, so that he there sees nothing of
the truth which pertains to heaven and the church, since he
thinks in outmosts and not inwardly from any spiritual light.
3. And since he is in gross natural light, he is inwardly op-
posed to what is of heaven and the church, and yet he can
outwardly and ardently speak in favor of them, according
to the dominion obtainable by means of them. 4. Sensual
men reason sharply and ingeniously, because their thought is
so near to speech, almost in it, and as it were in the lips; and
because they place all intelligence in speech from memory
alone. 5. Some of them can confirm any thing they wish
and falsities dexterously; and after confirming them, they
believe them to be truths; but they reason and confirm from
fallacies of the senses, by which common people are capti-
vated and persuaded. 6. Sensual men are shrewd and
crafty above all others. 7. The interiors of their minds are
foul and filthy, for they communicate through them with the
hells. 8. Those who are in the hells are sensual; and the
deeper they are the more sensual they are; also the sphere
of infernal spirits joins itself with man's sensuals, from be-
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TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 402
hind. 9. A.i sensual men do not see any genuine truth in
light, but reason and dispute about everything as to whether
it is so, and as these disputes are heard at a distance from
them as the gnashing of teeth, which viewed in themselves
are collisions of falsities with each other, and also of the false
and the true, it is manifest what is signified in the Word by
gnashing of teeth. The reason is that reasoning from the
fallacies of the senses corresponds to the teeth. 10. Men
of science and learning who have deeply confirmed them-
selves in falsities, and still more they who have confirmed
themselves against the truths of the Word, are more sensual
than others, though they do not appear so to the world.
Heresies have flowed chiefly from such as were sensual.
11. The hypocritical, deceitful, voluptuous, adulterous, and
avaricious are for the most part sensual. 12. They who
reasoned from sensual things only, and against the genuine
truths of the Word and thus of the church, were called by
the ancients serpents of the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil.
Since sensuals mean things presented to the senses of the
body, and imbibed through those senses, it follows: 13. By
sensuals man communicates with the world, and by the
rationals above them, with heaven. 14. Sensuals serve in
furnishing such things from the natural world as are of
service to the interiors of the mind in the spiritual world.
15. There are sensual things which minister to the under-
standing, and are the various things called physics; and
there are sensuals which minister to the will, and these are
the enjoyments of the senses and the body. 16. Unless the
thought is elevated above sensuals, man has little wisdom;
a wise man thinks above sensuals; and when the thought is
elevated above them it comes into clearer light, and at length
into the light of heaven; hence man has a perception of
truth which is properly intelligence. 17. The elevation of
the mind above sensuals and its withdrawal from them, was
known to the ancients. 18. If sensuals are in the last place,
No. 403] CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS 563
through them a way is opened for the understanding, and
truths are drawn out by a kind of extraction; but if sensuals
are in the first place, that way is closed by them, and man
does not see truths except as in a mist, or as in the night.
19. Sensual things with a wise man are in the last place,
and are subject to what is more internal; but with an unwise
man they are in the first place, and have dominion. Such
are they who are properly called sensual. 20. With man
there are sensuals which he has in common with beasts, and
there are sensuals not held in common with them. ax. So
far as one thinks above sensuals, he is a man; but no one can
think above sensuals and see the truths of the church, unless
he acknowledges God and lives according to His command-
ments; for God elevates and enlightens.
EL These three loves, when rightly subordinated,
PERFECT MAN; BUT WHEN NOT RIGHTLY SUBORDINATED,
THEY PERVERT AND INVERT HIM.
403. Something shall first be said about the subordination
of the three universal loves, which are love of heaven, love
of the world, and love of self; and then about the influx and
insertion of one into another; and lastly, on man's state ac-
cording to the subordination. These three loves are, to
each other, like the three regions of the body, the highest of
which is the head, the middle is the chest with the abdomen,
while the knees, the feet, and their soles make the third.
When love of heaven makes the head, love of the world the
chest and the abdomen, and love of self the feet with their
soles, then man is in a perfect state according to creation;
because the two lower loves then serve the highest, as the
body and all its parts serve the head. When, therefore,
love of heaven makes the head, it flows into the love of the
world which is chiefly love of riches, and by means of these
it performs uses; and through this love it flows mediately
into the love of self which is chiefly love of dignities, and it
564 TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 403
performs uses by means of these. Thus those three loves
breathe out uses from the influx of one into another. Who
does not comprehend that when a man wishes to perform
uses from spiritual love, which is from the Lord and is
what is meant by love of heaven, his natural man performs
them by means of his riches and his other goods, and his
sensual man in its own function, and that it is his honor
to produce them ? Who also does not comprehend that all
the works which a man does with the body are done accord-
ing to the state of his mind in the head, and that if the
mind is in the love of uses, the body by means of its mem-
bers does them ? And this is so because the will and under-
standing in their principles are in the head, and in their de-
rivatives in the body, as the will is in deeds, and the thought
in speech; and, comparatively, as the prolific principle of the
seed is in all things and in every thing pertaining to a tree,
by which it produces the fruits which are its uses. And it
is like fire and light within a crystalline vase, which thereby
becomes warm and shows the light through it. Moreover,
the spiritual sight in the mind, and at the same time the nat-
ural sight in the body, with him in whom those three loves
are justly and rightly subordinated, from the light which
flows in through heaven from the Lord, may be likened to an
African apple which is transparent even to the centre, where
is the repository of the seeds. Something like this is meant
by these words of the Lord: The light 0} the body is the eye;
if the eye be single (that is, good) the whole body is full 0} light
(Matt. vi. 22: Luke xi. 34). No man of sound reason can
condemn riches, for they are in the general body like the
blood in man; nor can he condemn the honors attached to
office, for they are the hands of a king and the pillars of
society, provided the natural and sensual loves of them are
subordinated to spiritual love. There are also administra-
tive offices in heaven, and dignities attached to them; but
they who fill them love nothing more than to do uses, because
they are spiritual.
No. 405] CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS 565
404. But a man puts on an entirely different state if lore
of the world or of riches makes the head, that is, if it is the
riegning love; for then love of heaven is exiled from the head
and betakes itself to the body. The man who is in this state
prefers the world to heaven; he worships God, indeed, but
from merely natural love which places merit in all worship;
he also does good to the neighbor, but for the sake of re-
wards. To them the things which are of heaven are as
coverings, in which they go shining before the eyes of men,
but dusky before the eyes of angels; for when love of the
world possesses the internal man, and love of heaven the
external, the former then obscures all things of the church,
and hides them as under a veil. But this love is in much
variety, worse as it verges toward avarice; in this, love of
heaven grows black; so, too, if it verges toward pride and
eminence over others from love of self. It is different if it
tends to prodigality; it is less hurtful if it has in view as an
end the splendors of the world, as palaces, decorations,
splendid clothing, servants, horses and chariots, with pom-
pous display, and so on. The quality of any love is named
according to the end which it regards and intends. This
love may be likened to a crystal of a black hue, which smoth-
ers the light, and variegates it only in dusky and fading colors.
And it is like the mist and cloud which take away the rays
of the sun. It is also like new, unfermented wine, which
tastes sweet, but troubles the stomach. Such a man viewed
from heaven appears like a hunchback walking with his head
down, looking to the earth; and when he raises it toward
heaven, he strains back the muscles, and then quickly re-
lapses into his stooping posture. By the ancients in the
church such were called Mammons; the Greeks called them
Plutos.
405. But if love of self or love of ruling makes the head,
then love of heaven passes through the body to the feet;
and so far as that love increases, love of heaven descends
through the ankles to the soles of the feet; and if it increases
566
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 405
still further, love of heaven passes beneath the shoes, and is
trampled under foot. There is love of ruling that comes
from love of the neighbor, and there is love of ruling from
love of self. They who are in love of ruling from love of the
neighbor, seek dominion to the end that they may perform
uses to the public and to individuals; and to them, there-
fore, dominion in the heavens is also entrusted. Emperors,
kings, and dukes, born and educated for positions of author-
ity, if they humble themselves before God are sometimes
less in that love than they who are of low origin but from
pride seek places of pre-eminence. But to those who are
in love of ruling from love of self, love of heaven is like a
bench on which, for the sake of the common people, they
plant their feet, which, however, when the people are out of
sight, they toss into a corner or out of doors. This is be-
cause they love themselves only, and consequently immerse
their wills and the thoughts of the mind in the self-life,
which viewed in itself is hereditary evil; and this is dia-
metrically opposed to love of heaven. The evils pertaining
to those who are in love of ruling from love of self are in gen-
eral these: Contempt of others, envy, enmity against those
who do not favor them, consequent hostility, hatred, re-
venge, unmercifulness, harshness, and cruelty; and where
there are such evils, there is also contempt of God and of
Divine things which are the truths and goods of the church;
if these are honored, it is only with the mouth, lest they be
denounced by the ecclesiastical order and censured by others.
But this love is one with the clergy, and another with the
laity. With the clergy, this love climbs upward, when reins
are given to it, until they wish to be gods; but with the laity
until they wish to be kings; the fantasy of that love carries
their minds away, even to this extent. Since love of heaven
holds the highest place with the perfect man, and makes as
it were the head of all the loves that follow, while love of the
world is below it and is like the chest which is beneath the
head, and love of self is below this like the feet, it follows
No. 406] CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS
567
that if love of self were to make the head, it would com-
pletely invert the man. He would then appear to angels
like one lying bent over, with head to the earth and back
toward heaven; and when at worship, he would appear
to be on his hands and feet, and to dance like a panther's
cub; and moreover such would appear as beasts of various
form, with two heads, one above having the face of a wild
animal, another below having a human face, which would
be constantly thrust forward by the upper one and com-
pelled to kiss the earth. These all are sensual men, and
are such as were described above (n. 402).
III. Every man individually is the neighbor to be
LOVED, BUT ACCORDING TO THE QUALITY OF HIS GOOD.
406. Man is not born for the sake of himself, but for the
sake of others; that is, he is born not to live for himself alone,
but for others; otherwise there would be no coherent so-
ciety, and with some good in it. It is a common saying that
everyone is neighbor to himself; but the doctrine of charity
teaches how this is to be understood, which is thus: Every
one should provide for himself the necessaries of life, as
food, clothing, habitation, and other things necessarily re-
quired in the civil life in which he is; and this not only for
himself but also for his family, and not for the present time
only but also for the future; for unless he obtains for him-
self the necessaries of life, he is not in a state to exercise
charity, as he is in want of all things. But how every one
ought to be neighbor to himself, may be evident from a com-
parison: Every one ought to provide his body with food;
this must be first, but to the end that there may be a sound
mind in a sound body; and every one ought to provide the
mind with its food, namely, what is of intelligence and judg-
ment, but to the end that he may be thereby in a state to
serve his fellow-citizen, society, his country, the church, and
thus the Lord; he who does this, provides well for himself to
568
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 406
eternity. From this what is first in time and what is first
in end is plain, and that the first in end is that to which all
things look. This is also as with one who is building a
house: he first lays the foundation, but the foundation will
be for the house, and the house for a dwelling. He who be-
lieves that he is neighbor to himself in the first place or
primarily, is like one who regards the foundation and not
the dwelling as the end; when yet dwelling is itself the first
and the last end, and the house with the foundation is only
the means to the end.
407. What it is to love the neighbor shall be told. To
love the neighbor is not merely to will and do good to the
relative, friend, and good man, but also to the stranger,
enemy, and bad man. But charity is exercised toward the
latter in one way, and toward the former in another; toward
a relative and friend by direct benefits; toward an enemy
and wicked man by indirect benefits conferred by exhorta-
tion, discipline, punishment, and so by correction. This
may be illustrated thus: The judge who punishes an evil-
doer according to law and justice, loves the neighbor; for
so he corrects him and consults the welfare of the citizens,
that he may not do them harm. Every one knows that a
father who chastises his children when they do wrong, loves
them; and on the other hand, that he who does not chastise
them therefor, loves their evils; and charity cannot be said
to belong to this. Further, if one repels an insulting enemy,
and in self-defence strikes him or delivers him to the judge,
so as to prevent injury to himself, yet with a disposition to
befriend the man, he acts in the course of charity. Wars
that have for their end the defence of one's country and the
church, are not contrary to charity; the end in view shows
whether there is charity or not.
408. Since, therefore, charity in its origin is to have good
will, and as this has its seat in the internal man, it is mani-
fest that when one who has charity resists an enemy, pun-
ishes the guilty, or chastises the wicked, he does so by means
No. 410] CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS 569
of the external man; therefore after he has done it, he re-
turns to the charity that is in the internal man; and then, as
far as he can, and it is useful, he wishes him well, and from
good will does good to him. They who have genuine char-
ity have zeal for what is good; and that zeal in the external
man may seem like anger and flaming fire, but its flame is
extinguished and it is quieted as soon as the adversary re-
turns to reason. It is otherwise with those who have no
charity: their zeal is anger and hatred; for from these their
internal is heated and inflamed.
409. Before the Lord came into the world, scarcely any
one knew what the internal man was, or what charity was;
therefore in so many places He taught brotherly love, that
is, charity; and this makes the difference between the Old
Testament or Covenant and the New. That good must
be done, from charity, to the adversary and the enemy, the
Lord taught in Matthew: Ye have heard that it hath been
said to them of old time, Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate
thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless
them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray
for them that injure and persecute you; that ye may be the chil-
dren of your Father who is in the heavens (v. 43-45). And
when Peter asked how often he should forgive one sinning
against him, whether until seven times, He answered, I say
not unto thee until seven times, but until seventy times seven
(xviii. 21, 72). And I have heard out of heaven that the
Lord forgives every one his sins, and never takes vengeance,
and does not even impute them, because He is Love itself
and Good itself ; yet that sins are not thereby washed away,
for they are not washed away except by repentance; for,
when He said to Peter that he should forgive until seventy
times seven times, what will not the Lord do?
410. Since charity itself has its seat in the internal man,
where it is good will, and from that in the external man
where it is well-doing, it follows that the internal man is to
be loved, and from that the external; consequently, that a
570 TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 410
man is to be loved according to the quality of the good in
him. Therefore good itself is essentially the neighbor.
This may be illustrated thus: When one selects for himself
among three or four a steward for his house, or a servant,
does he not search his internal man, and choose a sincere
and faithful person, and therefore love him? So, too, a
king or a magistrate from three or four persons would select
one qualified for an office, and reject one not competent,
whatever his looks might be, and though his words and
deeds might be in his favor. Since, therefore, every man is
the neighbor, and the variety of men is infinite, and every
one is to be loved as a neighbor according to his good, it is
manifest that there are genera and species, and also degrees,
of love toward the neighbor. Now as the Lord is to be
loved above all things, it follows that the degrees of love
toward the neighbor are to be measured by the love to Him,
thus by the measure in which another possesses the Lord in
himself, or has possession from the Lord; for so much good
he also possesses, because all good is from the Lord. But
as these degrees are in the internal man, and this rarely
manifests itself in the world, it is enough that the neighbor
be loved according to the degrees which one knows. But
after death those degrees are clearly perceived; for there,
the will's affections and the thoughts of the understanding
which are from these, make a spiritual sphere around them,
which is felt in various ways; but in the world this spiritual
sphere is absorbed by the material body, and encloses itself
within the natural sphere, which then flows from man. That
there are degrees of love toward the neighbor, is evident
from the Lord's parable of the Samaritan who showed mercy
to him who was wounded by thieves, whom the priest and
the Levite saw and passed by; and when the Lord asked
which of those three seemed to have been the neighbor, the
answer was, He who showed mercy (Luke x. 30-37).
411. We read, Thou shalt love the Lord God above all
things, and the neighbor as thyself (Luke x. 27). To love
no. 4i2] CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS 571
the neighbor as one's self is not to despise him in comparison
with one's self, to deal justly with him, and not to judge evil
of him. The law of charity laid down and given by the
Lord Himself is this: All things whatsoever ye would that
men slwuld do to you, do ye even so to them, for this is tlie law
and tlie propliets (Matt. vii. 12: Luke vi. 31, 32). So they
love the neighbor who are in love of heaven ; while they who
are in love of the world love the neighbor from the world and
for its sake; and they who are in love of self love the neighbor
from self and for the sake of self.
IV. Man collectively, a smaller and a greater society,
AND MAN IN THE AGGREGATE FROM THEM, OR ONE'S
COUNTRY, IS THE NEIGHBOR TO BE LOVED.
412. They who do not know what the neighbor is in the
genuine sense, suppose that only man individually is the
neighbor, and that to confer benefits on him is to love the
neighbor. But the neighbor and love to him extend further,
for they rise as men are multiplied. Who cannot under-
stand that to love many men in a body is to love the neighbor
more than to love one individual of the body? Therefore
a smaller or greater society is the neighbor because it is man
collectively. From this it follows that he who loves a society
loves those of whom the society consists; therefore he who
wishes and does good to a society, consults for the good of the
individuals. A society is like one man; and those who enter
into it compose as it were one body, and are distinct from
each other like members in one body. The Lord, and from
Him the angels, when they look down upon the earth, see an
entire society but as one man, and its form from the qualities
of those who are therein. It has also been granted me to
see a certain society in heaven altogether as one man, in
stature like that of a man in the world. That love to a
society is a fuller love to the neighbor than love to a sepa-
rate or individual man, shows itself in this, that dignities are
572
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
[No. 41a
dispensed according to offices over societies, and honors are
attached to them according to the uses they perform. For
in the world there are higher and lower offices, subordinated
according to their more or less extended government over
societies; and the king is he whose government is the most
universal; and each one, according to the extent of his duties
and the goods of use which he promotes, has remuneration,
glory, and general love. But the rulers of the present age
can perform uses and consult for the good of society, and
yet not love the neighbor; like those who perform uses and
consult for the good of others for the sake of the world and
themselves, or of appearances, or that they may be thought
worthy to be raised to higher dignities. But such, though
not discerned in the world, are yet discerned in heaven;
therefore those who have promoted uses from love to the
neighbor, are also placed as rulers over a heavenly society,
and are in splendor and honor there; but yet they do not
set the heart on these, but on uses. The others, however,
who have done uses from the love of the world and self, are
rejected.
413. The difference between love toward the neighbor
and the exercise of it toward man individually, and man
collectively or a society, is like that between the respective
duties of citizen, magistrate, and duke; and like that be-
tween him who traded with two talents, and him who traded
with five (Matt. xxv. 14-31). The difference is also like
that between the value of a shekel and that of a talent; and
like that between the profit from the fruit of a vine and of a
vineyard, or of an olive-tree and of an olive-yard, or of a tree
and of an orchard. Moreover, love toward the neighbor
rises more and more interiorly with man; and as it rises he
loves a society more than an individual, and his country
more than a society. Now since charity consists in wishing
and so acting well, it follows that it is to be exercised toward
a society in almost the same manner as toward an individual;
but in one way to a society of good men, and in another to a
No. 415] CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS
573
society of wicked men. To the latter, charity is to be exer-
cised according to natural justice; to the former, according
to spiritual justice. But of these two kinds something will
be seen elsewhere.
414. One's country is the neighbor more than a society,
because it consists of many societies, and consequently the
love toward it is broader and higher; and beside, to love one's
country is to love the public welfare. A man's country is
the neighbor, because it is like a parent; for there he was
born; it has nourished and still nourishes him, it has pro-
tected and still protects him from injur}'. Men should do
good to their country from love, according to its necessities,
some of which are natural and some spiritual. Natural
necessities regard civil life and order, and spiritual necessi-
ties regard spiritual life and order. That one's country is
to be loved, not as a man loves himself but more than him-
self, is a law inscribed on the human heart; hence what is
affirmed by every just man has been declared, that if ruin
threatens one's country from an enemy or other source, it is
noble to die for it, and glorious for a soldier to shed his blood
for it. This is a common saying, because one's country
should be loved so much. It is to be known that they who
love their country, and do good to it from good will, after
death love the Lord's kingdom; for this is the country there;
and they who love the Lord's kingdom love the Lord, be-
cause the Lord is the All in all of His kingdom.
V. The church is the neighbor to be loved in a
HIGHER DEGREE AND THE LORD'S KINGDOM IN THE
HIGHEST.
415. Since man was born for eternal life, and is brought
into it by the church, therefore the church is to be loved as
the neighbor in a higher degree; for it teaches man the
means which lead to eternal life, and introduces him into
it, leading to it by truths of doctrine, and introducing by
574
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 415
goods of life. That the priesthood is to be loved in a higher
degree and from it the church, is not meant; but that the
good and truth of the church are to be loved, and the priest-
hood for their sake; this only serves, and as it serves is to be
honored. The church is the neighbor to be loved in a higher
degree, thus even above one's country, for the further reason
that man is led by his country into civil life, but by the church
into spiritual life, and this life parts man from mere animal
life. Moreover, civil life is temporal, having an end, and
then it is as if it had not been; but spiritual life is eternal,
for it has no end ; therefore of the latter being may be predi-
cated, but of the former, non-being. The distinction is like
that between finite and infinite, between which there is no
ratio; for the eternal is infinite as to time.
416. The Lord's kingdom is the neighbor to be loved in
the highest degree, because by the Lord's kingdom is meant
the church throughout the world, called the communion of
saints, and by it is also meant heaven. Therefore he who
loves the Lord's kingdom, loves all in the whole world who
acknowledge the Lord and have faith in Him and charity
toward the neighbor, and he also loves all in heaven. They
who love the Lord's kingdom love the Lord above all, and
hence are in love to God more than others; for the church in
the heavens and on earth is the body of the Lord, since they
are in the Lord and the Lord in them. Love toward the
Lord's kingdom is therefore love toward the neighbor in its
fulness; for they who love the Lord's kingdom not only love
the Lord above all, but they also love the neighbor as one's
self; for love to the Lord is a universal love, and conse-
quently is in all things and everything of spiritual life, and
is also in everything of natural life; for this love has its seat
in the highests with man, and the highests flow into the
lower and vivify them, as the will flows into all of intention
and action from it, and the understanding into all things of
thought and the speech therefrom. Therefore the Lord says,
Seek ye first the kingdom of the heavens and its righteousness,
No. 41S] CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS
575
then all things will be added unto you (Matt. vi. 33). That
the kingdom of the heavens is the Lord's kingdom, is evident
from these words in Daniel: Behold He came as the Son 0}
Man, with the clouds of the heavens; and there was given Him
dominion, glory, and a kingdom; and all peoples, nations, and
tongues sliall worship Him. His dominion is an everlasting
dominion which sliall not pass away, and His kingdom that
which shall nol be destroyed (vii. 13, 14).
VI. TO LOVE THE NEIGHBOR, VIEWED IN ITSELF, IS NOT TO
LOVE THE PERSON, BUT THE GOOD IN THE PERSON.
417. Who does not know that man is not man from the
human face and body, but from the wisdom of understand-
ing and the goodness of will? The quality of these as it
rises makes him the more a man. When born, a man is
more a brute than any animal, but he becomes man by in-
struction of various kinds, by the reception of which his
mind is formed; and from the mind and according to it,
man is man. There are beasts whose faces resemble man's;
but they enjoy no faculty of understanding, or of doing any
thing from the understanding, but they act from the instinct
which their natural love excites. The distinction is that a
beast sounds the affections of its love, but a man speaks
them when brought into thought; again, a beast with its
face downward looks upon the ground, while man with the
face raised beholds the heaven around him. From which it
may be concluded that man is man so far as he speaks from
sound reason and looks to his abode in heaven; while he is
not man so far as he speaks from perverted reason, and
looks only to his abode in the world. Yet even such are
men; not actually, however, but potentially; for every man
enjoys the power of understanding truths and willing goods;
but so far as he does not will to do goods and understand
truths, he can counterfeit a man, and ape him in externals.
418. Good is the neighbor because it is of the will, and
576
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
[No. 418
the will is the esse of man's life. Truth of the understanding
is also the neighbor, but only so far as it proceeds from good
of the will; for good of the will forms itself in the under-
standing, and there presents itself to be seen in the light of
reason. That good is the neighbor is plain from all ex-
perience. Who loves a person except from the quality of his
will and understanding, that is, from what is good and just
in him? As for example, who loves a king, prince, duke,
governor, consul, magistrate, or judge, except for the justice
and judgment from which they act and speak ? Who loves
a primate, a minister of the church, or canon, except for
learning, integrity of life, and zeal for the salvation of souls ?
Who loves the general of an army or any officer under him,
except for bravery united with prudence? Who loves a
merchant except for honesty? Who loves a workman and
servant except for faithfulness ? Yes, who loves a tree but
for fruit, the soil but for fertility, a stone but for precious-
ness? and so on. And what is remarkable, not only does
an upright man love what is good and just in another, but
a man who is not upright does so too, because with him he
is not in fear of losing reputation, honor, or wealth. But
love of good with one who is not upright, is not love of the
neighbor; for he does not love another inwardly except so
far as he is of service to him. But to love the good in another
from good in one's self is genuine love toward the neighbor;
for then the goods kiss each other and unite.
419. He who loves good because it is good and truth be-
cause it is truth, eminently loves the neighbor, because he
loves the Lord who is Good itself and Truth itself. Love of
good and hence of truth, and so of the neighbor, is from no
other source. Thus love toward the neighbor is formed
from a heavenly origin. Whether use or good is said it is
the same; therefore, to perform uses is to do goods; and
according to the quantity and quality of the use in goods, so
far in quantity and quality the goods are goods.
No. 420]
CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS
577
VII. Charity and good works are distinctly two, ldxe
WILLING WELL AND DOING WELL.
420. There is an internal and an external with every man.
His internal is called the internal man, and his external the
external man. But he who knows not what the internal
man and the external are, may believe that it is the internal
man which thinks and wills, and the external which speaks
and acts. These latter indeed belong to the external man,
and the former to the internal; but yet they do not make the
external and internal man essentially. In common percep-
tion, indeed, man's mind is the internal man; but the mind
is itself divided into two regions; one region which is higher
and more internal is spiritual, and the other which is lower
and more external is natural. The spiritual mind looks
principally to the spiritual world, and has for objects the
things there, whether they be such as are in heaven or as are
in hell; for both are in the spiritual world. But the natural
mind looks principally to the natural world, and has for
objects the things there, whether good or evil. All man's
action and speech proceed directly from the lower region of
the mind, and indirectly from its higher region; because the
lower region of the mind is nearer the senses of the body, and
the higher region more remote from them. There is this
division of the mind with man, because he was so created
as to be spiritual and at the same time natural, and thus a
man and not a beast. Hence it is manifest that the man
who first regards the world and himself, is an external man,
because he is natural, not only in body but also in mind;
while the man who regards what is of heaven and the church
first, is an internal man, because he is spiritual both in mind
and body. He is spiritual in body also, because his actions
and words proceed from the higher mind which is spiritual,
through the lower which is natural. For it is known that
effects proceed from the body, and the causes which pro-
TRUE CHraSTIAN RELIGION [No. 420
duce them from the mind; also that the cause is the all in the
effect. That the human mind is so divided is plainly mani-
fest from man being able to act the part of a dissembler,
flatterer, hypocrite, and player; and that he can assent to
what another says and yet laugh at it. This he does from
the higher mind, but that from the lower.
421. From this may be seen how it is to be understood
that charity and good works are distinct, like willing well and
doing well; that is to say, they are formally distinct like the
mind which thinks and wills and the body by which the mind
speaks and acts; while they are essentially distinct because
the mind itself is distinct, its inner region being spiritual and
the outer natural, as said above. Therefore if works pro-
ceed from the spiritual mind they proceed from its good will
which is charity; but if from the natural mind, they proceed
from a good will which is not charity; though it may appear
like charity in outward form, still it is not charity in the in-
ward form; and charity in only the outward form indeed
has the look of charity, but does not possess its essence.
This may be illustrated by comparison with seeds in the
ground. From every seed is brought forth a plant, useful
or useless according to the nature of the seed. So likewise
with spiritual seed, which is the truth of the church from the
Word. From this doctrine is formed, useful if from genuine
truths, useless if from truths falsified. So is it with charity
from good will, whether the good will is for the sake of self
and the world, or for the sake of the neighbor in a narrow
or a broad sense. If for the sake of self and the world, it is
spurious charity; but if for the sake of the neighbor, it is
genuine charity. But of this, more may be seen in the chap-
ter on Faith, especially in the article where it is shown, That
charity is to will well, and good works are to do well from
willing well (n. 374): and That charity and faith are only
mental and perishable unless they are determined to works
and co-exist in them, when possible (n. 375, 376).
No. 423] CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS
579
VIII. Charity itself is to act justly and faithfully in
THE OFFICE, BUSINESS, AND WORK IN WHICH ONE IS, AND
WITH WHOMSOEVER HE HAS ANY INTERCOURSE.
422. Charity itself is to act justly and faithfully in the
office, business, and work in which one is, because all things
which a man so does are of use to society; and use is good;
and good, in a sense apart from persons, is the neighbor.
That not only an individual man, but also a smaller society,
and one's country itself, is the neighbor, was shown above.
For example: A king who sets his subjects an example of
well-doing, as he wishes them to live according to the laws
of righteousness, rewards those who do so, regards every one
according to his merit, defends them against injuries and
invasions, acts as father of the kingdom, and consults for the
general prosperity of his people; charity is in his heart, and
his deeds are good works. The priest who teaches truths
from the Word, and by them leads to good of life and so to
heaven, because he consults for the good of the souls of the
men of his church, is eminently in the exercise of charity.
The judge who judges according to justice and law, and not
for reward, friendship, and relationship, consults for the
good of society and of men individually; of society, because
it is thereby kept in obedience to law and in fear of trans-
gressing it; and of the individual, because justice triumphs
over injustice. The merchant, if he acts from sincerity and
not from fraud, consults for the good of the neighbor with
whom he has business. So, too, a workman and an artisan,
if he does his work uprightly and honestly, and not fraudu-
lently and deceitfully. It is the same with all others; as with
shipmasters and sailors, farmers and servants.
423. This is charity itself because charity may be defined
as doing good to the neighbor, daily and continually; and
not only to the neighbor individually, but also collectively;
and this can be done only by means of what is good and just
580
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 423
in the office, business, and work in which one is, and in his
relations with those with whom he has dealings; for this he
does daily; and when he is not doing it, it still continually
has place in his mind, and he has it in thought and intention.
The man who thus practises charity, becomes, charity in form
more and more; for justice and faithfulness form his mind,
and their exercise forms his body; and little by little, from
his form, he wills and thinks only what is of charity. Such
become at length like those of whom it is said in the Word,
that they have the law written on their hearts. Moreover
they do not place merit in their works, because they do not
think of merit but of duty, that it becomes a citizen to do so.
But a man can by no means act from spiritual justice and
faithfulness from himself; for every man inherits from his
parents an inclination to do what is good and just for the
sake of self and the world, and no man an inclination to do
it for the sake of what is good and just. Therefore only he
who worships the Lord and acts from the Lord while acting
of himself, attains to spiritual charity, and becomes imbued
with it by its exercise.
424. There are many who act justly and faithfully in
their occupation, and, though they thus promote works of
charity, still do not possess any charity in themselves. But
these are they in whom love of self and the world dominates,
and not love of heaven; and if perchance this latter love is
present, it is beneath the former like a servant under his
master, and like a common soldier under his officer, and is
like a porter standing at the door.
IX. The benefactions of charity are giving to the
poor and relieving the needy; but with prudence.
425. A distinction is to be made between the offices of
charity and its benefactions. By offices of charity are meant
the exercises of it which proceed immediately from charity
itself; and these, as has just been shown, belong primarily
No. 426] CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS
58l
to one's occupation. But by benefactions are meant deeds
of help performed outside of one's occupation. They are
called benefactions, because the doing of them is with man's
liberty and at his pleasure; and when done, they are re-
garded by the recipient simply as benefactions; and they are
done according to the reasons and the intentions which the
benefactor has in mind. It is the common belief that charity
is only to give to the poor, relieve the needy, care for widows
and orphans, and contribute to the building of hospitals,
infirmaries, asylums, orphanages, and especially temples,
and to their decorations and revenues. But many of these
are not the proper deeds of charity, but extraneous to it.
They who place charity itself in these benefactions, cannot
but place merit in these works; and though they profess with
the mouth that they do not wish them to be regarded as of
merit, still belief in their merit lurks within. Then they tell
their works, and demand salvation as a reward. But inquiry
is then made as to the origin of the works, and thus as to
their quality; and if it is found that they proceed from pride,
or seeking after fame, from bare munificence, friendship,
merely natural inclination, or hypocrisy, they are then judged
from that origin; for the quality of the origin is in the works.
But genuine charity proceeds from those who are imbued
with it from justice and judgment in the works which they
do without expectation of reward as an end, according to the
Lord's words in Luke (xiv. 12-14). They also call such
things as have been mentioned above benefactions, as also
debts, though they are of charity.
426. It is known that some who have performed those
beneficent acts which to the world show the image of charity,
have the opinion and belief that they have practised the
works of charity, and they regard them as many in papal
lands regard indulgences, that by means of them they are
purified from sins, and as regenerate are to have heaven
given to them; and yet they do not regard as sins, adultery,
hatred, revenge, fraud, and, in general, lusts of the flesh, in
582
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 426
which they indulge at pleasure. But what are then those
good works but painted pictures of angels in the company
of devils, or boxes made of lapis lazuli with hydras in them ?
But it is wholly different if these benefactions are made by
those who shun the evils above mentioned as hateful to char-
ity. But in truth those benefactions are advantages in many
ways, especially giving to the poor and to beggars; for
thereby, boys and girls, servants and maids, and in general
all simple-minded persons, are initiated into charity, for
they are its externals, whereby such are trained to the duties
of charity; for they are the rudiments of it, and then are
like unripe fruits. But with those who are afterward per-
fected by just knowledge respecting charity and faith, they
become like ripe fruit; and then they regard those former
works done from simplicity of heart only as what was due
from them.
427. Such benefactions are at this day believed to be the
proper deeds of charity meant in the Word by good works,
because charity is often described in the Word as giving to
the poor, helping the needy, and caring for widows and
orphans. But it has been hitherto unknown that the Word
in the letter names only such things as are external, yes, such
as are the most external things of worship, and that spiritual
things which are internal are meant by them; as may be
seen above, in the chapter concerning the Sacred Scripture
(n. 193-209). From which it is manifest, that by those
called poor, needy, widows, and orphans, these are not there
meant, but they who are such spiritually. That by the poor
are meant those who are not in knowledge of truth and
good, may be seen in the Apocalypse Revealed (n. 209); also
that widows mean those who are without truths and still
desire them (n. 764); and so on.
428. They who from birth are merciful, and do not make
their natural mercifulness spiritual by exercising it from
genuine charity, believe that it is charity to give to any poor
person, and to relieve any one who is in want; and they do
No. 429] CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS
5S3
not first make inquiry whether the poor and needy person is
good or bad; for they say that this is not necessary, since
God looks only at the aid and the alms. But after death
these are well discerned, and are separated from those who
have done the benefactions of charity prudently; for they
who have performed them from that blind idea of charity,
then do good to bad and good alike; and by means of what
is done for them the wicked do evils, and thereby injure the
good; therefore those benefactors also are a cause of injury
to the good. For to perform a beneficent act to an evil-doer,
is like giving bread to a devil, which he turns into poison ; for
all bread is poison in the devil's hand, or if it is not, he turns
it into poison, and this he does by using good deeds as allure-
ments to evil. And it is like handing to an enemy a sword
with which he may kill some one. And it is like giving a
shepherd's crook to a man-wolf that he may lead the sheep
to pasture; when yet, after he has obtained it, he drives the
sheep from the pasture to a desert, and there slaughters
them. And it is like entrusting the government to a robber,
who studies and watches only for plunder; according to the
richness and abundance of which he makes the laws and
executes judgments.
X. There are debts of charity; some public, some
DOMESTIC, AND SOME PRIVATE.
429. The benefactions and the debts of charity are dis-
tinct from each other, like things done from free-will and
those which are done from necessity. But still, by the debts
of charity is not here meant what is due from the offices in a
kingdom and republic, as from a minister that he should
minister, from a judge that he should judge, and so on, but
what is due from every one, in whatever office he is. Such
duties have therefore a different origin and flow from another
will, and are therefore done from charity by those who arc
in charity, and, on the other hand, from no charity by those
who are in no charity.
584 TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 430
430. The public dues of charity are especially tribute and
taxes, which must not be confounded with what is due from
office. They who are spiritual pay these with one disposi-
tion of heart, and they who are merely natural with another.
The spiritual pay them from good will, because they are
collected for the preservation of their country, and for its
protection and that of the church, also for the administra-
tion of government by officials and rulers, to whom salaries
and stipends are to be paid from the public treasury. There-
fore they to whom their country and also the church are the
neighbor, pay them with a ready and favorable will, and
regard it as iniquitous to deceive and to prevent their collec-
tion. But they to whom their country and the church are
not the neighbor, pay them with a reluctant and repugnant
will, and at every opportunity they defraud and steal; for
with them their own house and their own flesh are the
neighbor.
431. The domestic dues of charity are those of husband
toward wife and of wife toward husband, of father and
mother toward children and of children toward father and
mother, also those of master and mistress toward servants
of either sex and of servants toward them. These debts
because they relate to bringing up and the management of
the household, are so numerous that if told they would fill
a volume. Every one is moved to meet these debts by a love
different from that which moves him to meet what is due
from his occupation; to those of husband toward wife and
of wife toward husband, they are moved by marriage love
and according to it; of father and mother toward children
by the love implanted in every one, called parental; and of
children toward parents, by and according to another love
which closely joins itself with obedience from its being due.
But what is due from master and mistress to servants, male
and female, is derived from the love of reigning, and this is
according to the state of each one's mind. But marriage
love and love toward children, with what is due from them
No. 432] CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS
535
and its practice, do not produce love to the neighbor like
the practice of what is due in one's employment, for the love
called parental exists equally with bad and good, and is
sometimes stronger with the wicked; and it also exists in
beasts and birds, in which no charity can be formed. That
it is with bears, tigers, and serpents as much as with sheep
and goats, and with owls as much as with doves, is known.
As to what parents owe their children in particular: with
those who are in charity these are inwardly different from
what they are with those who are not in charity, but out-
wardly they appear alike. With those who are in charity,
that love is joined with love to the neighbor and to God;
for by them children are loved according to their morals,
virtues, endeavors, and qualifications for serving the public.
But with those who are not in charity, there is no conjunc-
tion of charity with the love called parental; so that many
of them can love wicked, immoral, and crafty children, more
than those who are good, moral, and prudent; thus those
who are useless to the public more than those who are useful.
432. The private dues of charity are also numerous, such
as payment of wages to workmen, payment of interest, fulfil-
ment of contracts, guarding of securities, and other like
things, some of which are debts by statute law, some by civil
common law, and some by moral law. These also are dis-
charged by those who are in charity with a different mind
from that with those who are not in charity. They who are
in charity do them justly and faithfully; for it is a precept
of charity that every one should act justly and faithfully
with all with whom he is in any business and intercourse,
of which above (n. 422-425). But the same things are per-
formed very differently by those who are not in charity.
5S6
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 433
XI. The diversions of charity are dinners, suppers,
AND SOCIAL GATHERINGS.
433. It is known that dinners and suppers are everywhere
customary, and are given for various purposes; also that
with most people they are for the sake of friendship, relation-
ship, gladness, and for the sake of gain and recompense;
also that they are means of corrupting men and drawing
them over to a party, and that among the great they are also
for the sake of honor, and in kings' palaces for the sake of
splendor. But the dinners and suppers of charity are among
those only who are in mutual love from similar faith. With
the Christians of the primitive church, the dinners and sup-
pers were for no other end, and they were called love-feasts,
being instituted that they might be glad together from the
heart and be joined with one another. Suppers with them
signified consociations and conjunctions, in the first state
of the establishment of the church; for evening, when they
took place, signified this state: but dinners, the same in the
second state, when the church was established; for morning
and day signified this state. At table they conversed on
various subjects, both domestic and civil, but especially on
such as pertained to the church; and because they were
feasts of charity, on whatever subject they spoke, charity
with its joy and gladness was in their speech. The spiritual
sphere which reigned in those feasts was one of love to the
Lord and of love toward the neighbor, which cheered the
mind of every one, softened the tone of every one's words,
and carried festivity from the heart to all the senses. For
a spiritual sphere, which is of his love's affection and the
thought therefrom, emanates from every man; and it in-
wardly affects his associates, especially at feasts; it ema-
nates through the face as well as by the breath. As such
consociations of minds were signified by dinners and sup-
pers, or by feasts, therefore they are mentioned in the Word;
No. 434]
CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS
587
and nothing else is there meant by them in the spiritual
sense; also in the highest sense by the paschal supper of the
children of Israel, and also by the eating at other festivals;
as also by their eating the sacrifices together near the taber-
nacle. Conjunction itself was then represented by break-
ing the bread and distributing it, and by drinking from the
same cup and handing it to one another.
434. As to social gatherings in the primitive church,
they were among such as called themselves brethren in
Christ; they were therefore assemblies of charity, because
there was spiritual brotherhood. They were also a con-
solation in the sufferings of the church, seasons of rejoicing
in its increase, and also recreations of soul after study and
labor, and at the same time gave opportunity for conversa-
tion on various subjects; and because they flowed from spiri-
tual love as a fountain, they were rational and moral from
a spiritual origin. There are at this day assemblies of
friendship, which regard as their end enjoyments of socia-
bility, exhilaration of mind by conversation, and which are
therefore for the expansion of the mind, and the liberation
of imprisoned thoughts, and thus for warming the sensuals
of the body and perfecting their state. But there are as yet
no gatherings of charity; for the Lord says, In the consum-
mation of the age, that is, in the end of the church, iniquity
will be multiplied, and charity will grow cold (Matt. xxiv.
12). This is because the church had not yet acknowledged
the Lord God the Saviour as the God of heaven and earth,
and gone immediately to Him from whom alone genuine
charity proceeds and flows in. But the social gatherings
where friendship emulating charity does not join minds
together, are mere pretences of friendship, and deceptive
attestations of mutual love, seductive insinuations into
favor, and sacrifices offered to the delights of the body,
especially the sensual, whereby other people are carried
away like ships by sails and favoring currents, while syco-
phants and hypocrites stand at the stern and hold the helm.
588
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 433
XII. The first of charity is to put away evils, and
THE SECOND IS TO DO GOODS WHICH ARE OF USE TO THE
NEIGHBOR.
435. In the doctrine of charity this holds the primary
place, that the first thing of charity is not to do evil to the
neighbor; and to do good to him the second place. This
dogma is as a door to the doctrine of charity. It is known
that evil dwells in every man's will from his birth; and as
all evil regards man, both far and near, and society also, and
one's country, it follows that hereditary evil is evil against
the neighbor in every degree. A man may see from reason
itself, that as far as the evil abiding in the will is not re-
moved, the good which he does is impregnated with that
evil; for evil then is inwardly in the good, like a kernel in its
shell, and like marrow in the bone; therefore though the
good done by such a man appears good, still inwardly it is
not good; for it is like a fresh-looking shell containing a
worm-eaten kernel, and like a white almond rotten inside,
from which streaks of rottenness extend even to the surface.
To will evil and do good are in themselves opposites; for
evil is of hatred against the neighbor, and good is of love
toward the neighbor; or evil is the neighbor's enemy, and
good is his friend. The two cannot exist in one mind, that
is, evil in the internal man and good in the external; if they
do, the good in the external man is like the superficial heal-
ing of a wound, within which is what is putrid. Man is
then like a tree with a decayed root, still producing fruit
which outwardly looks like well-flavored and useful, but is
inwardly offensive and useless. Such are also like scoriae
left in smelting ores, which being polished on the surface
and beautifully colored are sold as precious stones. In a
word, they are like the eggs of an owl, which one is made to
believe to be the eggs of a dove. Man should know that the
good which he does with the body proceeds from his spirit,
No. 436] CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS
589
or from the internal man ; the internal man is his spirit that
lives after death ; therefore when the man casts off the body
which made his external man, then all that there is of him is
in evils and has enjoyment in them, and is averse to good as
hostile to his life. That a man cannot do good in itself
good before evil has been removed, the Lord teaches in
many places: Men do not gather grapes from thorns, or Jigs
from thistles. Neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good
fruit (Matt. vii. 16-18). Woe unto you, scribes and Phar-
isees ; ye make clean the outside of the cup and platter, but
inwardly they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind
Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup and of the plat-
ter, that the outside may be clean also (xxiii. 25, 26). And
in Isaiah : Wash you ; put away the evil of your doings ;
cease to do evil ; learn to do well; seek judgment. Then though
your sins have been as scarlet, they shall be white as snow ;
though they have been red as crimson, they shall be as wool
(i. 16-18).
436. This may be further illustrated by comparisons :
No one can go to another who keeps a leopard and a panther
in his chamber, living safe with them because he feeds them,
unless he has first removed those wild beasts. Who that
has been invited to the table of a king and queen has not first
washed face and hands before coming near? Who does not
purify ores by fire, and separate them from dross, before he
obtains pure gold and silver ? Who does not separate tares
from wheat before he takes it into the barn ? Who does not
prepare meat by cooking, before it becomes fit to eat and is
set upon the table ? Who does not shake off worms from
the leaves of a tree in the garden, that the leaves may not be
devoured, and the fruit thus destroyed ? Who loves and
intends marriage with a virgin who is full of disease and
covered with pimples and blotches, however she may paint
her face, dress splendidly, and study to induce the entice-
ments of love by the charms of her conversation ? Man
must purify himself from evils and not wait for the Lord to
590
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 436
do this immediately; otherwise he may be compared to a
servant with face and clothes fouled with soot and dung,
who comes up to his master and says, "Wash me, my lord."
Would not the master say to him, "You foolish servant,
what are you saying? See; there are water, soap, and
towel. Have you not hands, and power in them? Wash
yourself." And the Lord God will say, "The means of
purification are from Me; and from Me are your will and
ability; therefore use these My gifts and endowments as
your own, and you will be purified."
437. It is believed at the present day that charity is simply
to do good, and that then one does not do evil; hence that
the first thing of charity is to do good, and the second not
to do evil; but this is wholly inverted; the first of charity is
to put away evil, and its second is to do good ; for it is a uni-
versal law in the spiritual world, and from this in the natural
world also, that so far as one does not will evil he wills good;
thus so far as he turns away from hell, from which comes up
all evil, so far he turns toward heaven, from which comes
down all good; consequently also, that so far as one rejects
the devil, he is accepted by the Lord. One cannot stand
with his head ever turning between the two, and pray to both
at once; for of them the Lord says, / know thy works, that
thou art neither cold, nor hot. I would that thou wert cold or
hot; but because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot,
I will spew thee out oj My mouth (Apoc. iii. 15, 16). Who
can run about with his troop between two armies and favor
them both? Who can be in evil against the neighbor and
in good toward him at the same time? Does not the evil
then hide itself in the good? Although the evil that hides
itself does not appear in the acts, it still manifests itself in
many things when rightly reflected upon. The Lord says,
No servant can serve two masters. Ye cannot serve God and
mammon (Luke xvi. 13).
438. But no one can purify himself from evils by his own
power and strength, and yet it cannot be done without the
No. 439] CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS
591
power and strength of man, as his own. If these were not
as his own, no one could fight against the flesh and its lusts,
which is nevertheless enjoined upon every one; yes, he
would not think of any combat, and so would let the mind
run into evils of every kind, and he would be restrained from
them in his deeds only by laws of justice established in the
world, and their penalties; and thus he would be inwardly
like a tiger, leopard, and serpent, that do not reflect upon the
cruel enjoyments of their loves. From this it is plain that
because man is rational above wild beasts, he must resist
evils from the power and the strength given him by the Lord,
which in every sense appear to him as his own; and this
appearance has been given by the Lord to every man for the
sake of regeneration, imputation, conjunction, and salvation.
XIII. In the exercises of charity man does not place
merit in works while he believes that all good is
from the Lord.
439. It is hurtful to place merit in works done for the sake
of salvation; for in this evils of which he who does so knows
nothing are hidden; there are hidden denial of God's influx
and operation with man; trust in one's own power in matters
of salvation; faith in one's self and not in God; justification
of one's self; salvation by one's own strength; making Di-
vine grace and mercy to be nought; rejection of reformation
and regeneration by Divine means; especially, taking from
the merit and righteousness of the Lord God the Saviour,
which such claim for themselves; beside continual looking
to reward, which they regard as the first and last end; sink-
ing and extinction of love to the Lord and love toward the
neighbor; total ignorance and incapacity for perceiving the
enjoyment of heavenly love, which enjoyment is without
merit, there being only a sense of the love of self. For they
who put reward first and salvation second, and thus seek the
latter for the sake of the former, invert order, and immerse
592
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 439
the interior desires of their mind in their self-life, and in the
body defile them with the evils of their flesh. It is from this
that the good of merit appears to the angels as rust, and good
that is not of merit as purple. That good is not to be done
for reward as the end is taught by the Lord in Luke: If ye
do good to them who do good to you, what thank have ye?
Rather, love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping
for nothing again; then your reward shall be great, and ye
shall be sons of the Highest; for He is kind unto the unthank-
ful and the evil (vi. 33-35). And in John it is taught that
man cannot do good that is good in itself, except from the
Lord: Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear
fruit of itself except it abide in the vine, no more can ye except
ye abide in Me; for without Me ye can do nothing (xv. 4, 5).
And elsewhere, A man can receive nothing, except it be given
him from heaven (iii. 27).
440. But to think that men come into heaven and that
good is therefore to be done, is not to regard reward as the
end, and to place merit in works; for they also think that,
who love the neighbor as themselves and God above all;
for they so think from faith in the Lord's words, that their
reward shall be great in heaven (Matt. v. n, 12; vi. 1 ; xi 41,
42; Luke vi. 23, 35; xiv. 12-14; John iv. 36): That they
who have done good shall possess as an inheritance a king-
dom prepared from the foundation of the world (Matt. xxv.
34): That to every one it is given according to his works
(Matt. xvi. 27: John v. 29: Apoc. xiv. 13; xx. 12, 13: Jer.
xxv. 14; xxxii. 19: Hos. iv. 9: Zech. i. 6; and elsewhere).
These do not trust to reward on account of their merit,
but they are in the faith of the promise from grace. With
them the enjoyment in doing good to the neighbor is its
reward. The angels in heaven have this enjoyment, and
it is a spiritual enjoyment which is eternal, and immensely
exceeds every natural enjoyment. They who are in this
enjoyment do not wish to hear of merit, for they love to do
good and they perceive that they are favored in the doing;
No. 441] CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS
593
and they are sorry if it is believed that their doing is for the
sake of a return. They are like those who do good to friends
for the sake of friendship, to brother for the sake of brother-
hood, to wife and children for the sake of wife and children,
to their country for the country's sake, thus from friendship
and love. They who do acts of kindness also say and urge
that they do them not for their own sake, but for theirs.
441. It is wholly different with those who in their works
regard reward as the end itself. Such are like those who
form friendships, also make presents, perform services,
profess love as from the heart, for the sake of profit; but
when they do not obtain what they have hoped for, they turn
away, renounce their friendship, and devote themselves to
the enemies of him for whom they professed love, and to
those who hate him. They are also like nurses who nurse
infants merely for wages, and kiss and fondle them in pres-
ence of parents, but as soon as they are not fed with delica-
cies and rewarded just as they wish, turn against the infants,
treat them harshly, and beat them, laughing at their cries.
They are also like those who regard their country from the
love of self and the world, and say that they are willing to
spend their property and lives for it, and yet if they do not
attain honors and riches as rewards, speak ill of their country
and join its enemies. They are also like shepherds who
feed the sheep merely for hire, and, if they do not receive it
when they choose, drive the sheep with their staff from the
pasture into the desert. Like these are priests who dis-
charge the duties of their ministry solely for the sake of the
emoluments attached to them; that they care little for the
salvation of the souls over whom they have been placed as
leaders, is plain. It is the same with magistrates who look
only to the dignity of their office and its fees; when they do
good it is not for the sake of the public good, but for the sake
of enjoyment from love of self and the world, which as the
only good is their breath. It is similar with all others; for
the end in view carries every point, and the mediate causes
594
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 441
of the function are renounced if they do not promote the end.
It is the same with those who demand reward because of
their merit in matters of salvation; after death they loftily
demand heaven, but after they are found to possess nothing
of love to God, and nothing of love toward the neighbor,
they are sent back to those who may instruct them about
charity and faith; if they repudiate their doctrines, they are
dismissed to their like, among whom are some who are angry
with God because they do not obtain rewards, and who call
faith a thing of reason. These are they who are meant in the
Word by hirelings, to whom were given services of the lowest
kind in the courts of the temple. At a distance they seem
to be splitting wood.
442. It is to be well known that charity and faith in the
Lord are closely conjoined; consequently, as is faith such is
charity. That the Lord, charity, and faith make one, like
life, will, and understanding, and that if they are divided
each perishes like a pearl reduced to powder, may be seen
above, n. 362, 363; and that charity and faith are together
in good works, n. 373-377. From which it follows that as
faith is, such is charity, and that works are such as faith and
charity are together. Now if there is faith that all the good
which a man does as from himself is of the Lord, man is
then the instrumental cause of the good, and the Lord the
principal cause; which two causes appear as one to man,
when yet the principal is the all in all of the instrumental.
It follows from this, that if a man believes that all good which
is in itself good is from the Lord, he does not place merit in
works; and in the degree in which this faith is becoming
perfect in man, the fantasy as to merit is taken away from
him by the Lord. In this state man fulfils the exercises of
charity abundantly, without fear for merit, and at length he
perceives the spiritual enjoyment in charity, and then he be-
gins to be averse to merit as harmful to his life. Merit is
easily washed away by the Lord with those who are imbued
with charity by acting justly and faithfully in the work, busi-
Nc. 443]
CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS
595
ness, and office in which they are, and toward all with whom
they have any dealings, of whom see above (n. 422-424).
But merit is taken away with difficulty from those who be-
lieve that charity is gained by giving alms and relieving the
needy; for while they do these works, in the mind, at first
openly and afterward tacitly, they wish for reward and claim
merit.
XIV. Moral life, when at the same time spiritual, is
CHARITY.
443. Every man learns from parents and teachers to live
morally, that is, to fulfil the duties of citizenship and to per-
form the offices of honorable life, which have relation to the
various virtues, which are the essentials of honorable life,
and to produce them in formalities called proprieties; and as
he advances in years, he learns to add to these what belongs
to reason, and thereby to perfect the morals of life. For
moral life in boys even to early youth, is natural, and be-
comes more and more rational afterward. He who reflects
well can see that moral life is the same as the life of charity;
and that this is to act well with the neighbor, and so to regu-
late the life that it shall not be contaminated with evils, fol-
lows from what was shown above (n. 435-438). But yet in
life's first period, moral life is the life of charity in outmosts;
that is is merely its outer and forward part, not the inner.
For there are four periods of life through which man passes
from infancy to old age; the first is that in which he acts
from others, according to instructions; the second is that in
which he acts from himself, while the understanding is the
leader; the third is that in which the will acts upon the un-
derstanding and the understanding modifies the will; the
fourth is that in which he acts from what has been confirmed
and from purpose. But these periods of life are the periods
of the life of man's spirit, and not likewise of his body; for
the body can act morally and speak rationally, and his spirit
5Q6
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
[No. 443
still will and think the contrary. That the natural man is
such is clearly manifest from pretenders, flatterers, liars, and
hypocrites; that they possess a double mind, or that their
mind is divided into two minds not in accord, is evident.
It is otherwise with those who will well and think rationally,
and hence act well and talk rationally. These are meant
in the Word by the single in spirit; they are called single,
because they are not double-minded. From this may be
seen what is properly meant by the external and the internal
man; also that no one, from morality of the external man
can form a conclusion as to morality of the internal, for this
may be turned the opposite way, and hide itself as a tortoise
hides its head within its shell, or as a serpent hides its head
in its coil. For such a so-called moral man is like a robber
in a city and in a forest, acting the moral man in the city,
but the plunderer in the forest. It is quite otherwise with
those who are inwardly moral or as to the spirit, which they
become through regeneration by the Lord. These are
meant by the spiritual moral.
444. Moral life, when at the same time spiritual, is the
life of charity, because the practices of moral life and of
charity are the same, for charity is to will well to the neigh-
bor, and from good will to act well with him; and this is of
moral life also. The spiritual law is this law of the Lord:
All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do
ye even so to them; this is the law and the prophets (Matt,
vii. 12). This same law is the universal law of moral life.
But to tell all the works of charity and compare them with
those of moral life, would fill many pages; let but the six
precepts of the second table of the law of the Decalogue
serve for illustration. That these are precepts of moral life
is manifest to every one; and that they also comprise all that
pertains to love toward the neighbor, may be seen above
(n. 329-331). That charity fulfils them all, is evident from
the following in Paul: Love one another; for he that loveth
another hath fulfilled the law: for this, Thou shall not commit
- No. 446] CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS 597
adultery, thou sltall not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shall not
bear false witness, thou slmlt not covet; and if there be any
other commandment it is comprehended in this saying, namely,
Thou sltalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Charity doeth no
evil to the neighbor; charity is the fulfilling of the law (Rom.
xiii. 8-10). He who thinks from the external man only can-
not but wonder that the seven precepts of the second table
were promulgated by Jehovah on Mount Sinai with so great
a miracle, when yet these same precepts, in all kingdoms on
earth, hence also in Egypt whence the children of Israel
had lately come, were the precepts of the law of civil justice,
for no kingdom continues to exist without them. But they
were promulgated by Jehovah, and were moreover written
on tables of stone by His finger, that they might be not only
the precepts of civil society and thus of natural moral life,
but also the precepts of heavenly society and thus of spiri-
tual moral life; so that to do contrary to them was not merely
to act against men, but against God also.
445. Viewing moral life in its essence, it may be seen that it
is life according to human laws and at the same time accord-
ing to Divine laws; therefore he who lives according to those
two as one law, is a truly moral man, and his life is charity.
If he will, one can from external moral life comprehend the
quality of charity. Only transfer into the internal man ex-
ternal moral life such as is in civil association, so that in the
will and the thought of the internal man the life may be
similar and conformable to the acts in the external, and you
will see charity in its own type.
XV. Friendship of love contracted with a man without
REGARD TO HIS QUALITY AS TO THE SPIRIT, IS HARMFUL
AFTER DEATH.
446. By friendship of love is meant interior friendship,
which is such that not only the external man is loved, but
also his internal, and this without scrutiny into his quality
598
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 446
as to the internal or spirit, that is, as to the affections of the
mind, whether they are from love to the neighbor and to
God, and thus fitted for consociation with the angels of
heaven, or whether they are from a love opposed to the neigh-
bor and from a love opposed to God, and thus fitted for con-
sociation with devils. Such friendship is contracted by
many, from various causes and for various ends. It is dis-
tinct from external friendship, which is only of the person,
and which exists for the sake of various enjoyments of the
body and the senses, and of dealings of various kinds.
Friendship of this kind may be formed with any one, even
with the clown who jokes at the table of a duke. This is
called friendship, simply; but the former is called the friend-
ship of love, for friendship is natural conjunction, but love is
spiritual conjunction.
447. That the friendship of love is harmful after death,
may be evident from the state of heaven, of hell, and of man's
spirit with relation to them. As to the state of heaven: it is
divided into innumerable societies according to all the va-
rieties of the affections of good; while hell, on the other
hand, is divided into societies according to all the varieties
of the affections of love of evil; and man after death, who is
then a spirit, is at once assigned according to his life in the
world to the society where his reiginng love is, to some heav-
enly society if love to God and toward the neighbor made
the chief of his loves, and to some infernal society if the love
of self and the world made the chief of his loves. Imme-
diately after his entrance into the spiritual world, which
takes place by death and the rejection of the material body
to the sepulchre, man is for some time preparing for his so-
ciety to which he has been assigned; and the preparation is
made by rejection of the loves which are not in concord with
his principal love. Therefore one is then separated from
another, friend from friend, dependant from patron, also
parent from children, and brother from brother, and each
one is joined to his like, with whom he is to live a common
No. 44S] CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS
599
and properly his own life, to eternity. But in the first part
of the time of preparation, they come together, and con-
verse in a friendly way as in the world, but they are gradu-
ally parted, and this is so done that they are not sensible
of it.
448. But those who in the world contracted with each
other friendships of love, cannot like others be separated
according to order, and assigned to the society correspondent
with their life; for they are bound together inwardly as to
the spirit, nor can they be severed, because they are like
branches grafted into branches. Therefore if one as to his
interiors is in heaven, and the other as to his in hell, they
remain fast to each other, much like a sheep tied to a wolf,
or a goose to a fox, or a dove to a hawk; and he whose in-
teriors are in hell inspires the infernal things belonging to
him into the one whose interiors are in heaven. For among
the things that are well known in heaven is also this, that
evils may be inspired into the good, but not goods into the
evil; this is because every one is by birth in evils. Conse-
quently when the good are thus joined fast to the evil their
interiors are closed, and both are thrust down into hell; and
one who is good suffers hard things there, but after a lapse
of time is taken out, and then first begins preparation for
heaven. It has been granted me to see cases of such bind-
ing, particularly between brothers and relatives, and also
between patrons and their dependants, and of many with
flatterers, these having contrary affections and diverse gen-
ius; and I have seen some like kids with leopards, kissing
each other, and swearing to their former friendship; and I
then perceived that the good were absorbing the enjoyments
of the evil, holding each other by the hand, and together
entering into caves where crowds of the wicked were seen in
their hideous forms, though to themselves, from the illusion
of fantasy, they seemed in lovely forms. But after a while
I heard from the good mournful cries of fear, as if on account
of snares, and from the wicked I heard rejoicings like those
600 TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 448
of enemies over spoils; beside other sad scenes. I have
heard that the good, when taken out, were afterward pre-
pared for heaven by means of reformation, but with greater
difficulty than others.
449. It is wholly different with those who love the good
in another, that is, who love the justice, judgment, sincerity,
benevolence from charity, and especially with those who love
the faith and the love to the Lord. These, because they love
what is within a man apart from the things which are out-
side, if they do not observe the same things in the person
after death, immediately withdraw from the friendship, and
are associated by the Lord with those who are in like good.
It may be said that no one can explore the interiors of the
mind of those with whom he associates or deals. But this is
not necessary; only let him guard against a friendship of
love, with every one. External friendship for the sake of
various uses is harmless.
XVI. There are spurious charity, hypocritical charity,
AND DEAD CHARITY.
450. There is no genuine, that is, living charity, but that
which makes one with faith, and unless they both look to the
Lord conjointly; for these three, the Lord, charity, and faith
arc the three essentials of salvation, and when they make one,
charity is charity and faith is faith; and the Lord is in them,
and they are in the Lord, as may be seen above (n. 363-
367, and n. 368-372). But, however, when these three are
not joined, charity is either spurious, or hypocritical, or
dead. There have been different heresies in Christendom
since the foundation of the Christian Church, and there are
also such at the present day, in each of which these three
essentials, which are, God, charity, and faith, have been and
are acknowledged; for without these three there is no re-
ligion. In regard to charity in particular, it may be ad-
joined to any heretical faith, as that of Socinians, Enthu-
No. 452] CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS 601
siasts, of Jews, yes, of idolaters; and they may all believe
it to be charity, since it appears like it in the external form;
but still charity changes its quality according to the faith to
which or with which it is joined, as may be seen in the chap-
ter concerning Faith.
451. All charity not joined with faith in one God in whom
is the Divine Trinity, is spurious; as the charity of the
church of the present day, the faith of which is in three Per-
sons of the same Divinity in successive order, in the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and because in three Persons
each of whom is a God subsisting by himself, it is therefore
a faith in three Gods; to which faith charity may be ad-
joined, as has also been done by the supporters of that faith,
but it can never be conjoined with it; and the charity that is
merely adjoined to faith is simply natural, not spiritual,
therefore it is spurious charity. So also with the charity of
many other heresies, as that of those who deny the Divine
Trinity, and so approach the Father alone, or the Holy
Spirit alone, or both, passing by God the Saviour; with their
faith charity cannot be conjoined; and if conjoined or ad-
joined, it is spurious. It is called spurious, because it is like
the offspring of an illegitimate union, or as the son of Hagar
by Abraham who was cast out of the house (Gen. xxi. 10).
Such charity is like fruit on a tree where it has not grown but
has been sowed on; and it is like a carriage to which the
horses are fastened only by the reins in the driver's hands,
and when they run they drag the driver from the seat and
leave the carriage behind.
452. But hypocritical charity is with those who in temples
and in dwellings humble themselves almost to the dust be-
fore God, devoutly pour forth long prayers, present a holy
expression of countenance, kiss images of the cross and
bones of the dead, now bend the knee at sepulchres, and
there with the mouth mutter words of holy veneration for
God, and yet in heart think of being worshipped themselves
and look forward to being adored as divinities. Such are
602 TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 452
like those whom the Lord describes in these words: When
thou doest alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the
hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they
may have glory 0} men. And when thou prayest, thou shall
not be as the hypocrites are; for they love to pray standing in
the synagogues and in the corners 0} the streets, that they may
be seen of men (Matt. vi. 2, 5). Woe unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven
against men; for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye
them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you, hypocrites!
for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte; and when
he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than
yourselves. Woe unto you, hypocrites! for ye make clean the
outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of
extortion and excess (Matt, xxiii. 13, 15, 25). Well hath
Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This
people honor eth M e with their lips, but their heart is far from
Me (Mark vii. 6). Woe unto you, hypocrites! for ye are as
graves which appear not, so that the men that walk over them
are not aware of them (Luke xi. 44); and elsewhere. They
are like flesh without blood, like ravens and parrots taught to
say words from a psalm, and like birds taught to sing the
tune of a sacred hymn ; and the sound of their speech is like
that of a bird-catcher's whistle.
453. But dead charity is with those who have dead faith,
since the charity is such as the faith is; that they make one
was shown in the chapter concerning Faith. That faith
is dead with those who are without works, is evident from
the Epistle of James (ii. 17, 20). Moreover, they have dead
faith who do not believe in God, but in men living and dead,
and who worship idols as in themselves holy, as the gentiles
formerly did. The offerings of those who are in this faith,
which for the sake of salvation they make to miraculous
images as they call them, and count among the works of
charity, are quite like the gold and silver placed in the urns
and monuments of the dead, yes, like the bits of meat given
No. 455] CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS 603
to Cerberus, and the fee paid to Charon for ferriage over to
the Elysian fields. But the charity of those who believe
that there is no God, out instead of Him nature, is neither
spurious, hypocritical, nor dead, but is no charity at all, be-
cause it is not joined to any faith; for it cannot be called
charity, since the quality of the charity is named from the
faith. Their charity when viewed from heaven, is like bread
of ashes, or cake of fish-scales, and fruit of wax.
XVII. Friendship of love among the evil is inward
HATRED OF EACH OTHER.
454. It was shown above that every man has an internal
and an external, and that his internal is called the internal
man, and his external the external man. To which it must
be added, that the internal man is in the spiritual world,
and the external in the natural world. Man was so created
that he might be associated with spirits and angels in their
world, and thereby think analytically, and after death be
transferred from his own world to the other. By the spiri-
tual world both heaven and hell are meant. Since the inter-
nal man is in company with spirits and angels in their world,
and the external man with men, it is manifest that man can
be consociated with spirits of hell, and also with angels of
heaven. By this faculty and power man is distinguished
from beasts. Man is in himself such as he is as to his inter-
nal man, but not such as he is as to the external; for the inter-
nal man is his spirit which acts by the external. The ma-
terial body, with which his spirit is clothed in the natural
world, is an accessory because of the processes of procreation
and of the formation of the internal man; for this latter is
formed in the natural body, as a tree in the ground, and as
seed in fruit. More concerning the internal and the external
man may be seen above (n. 401).
455. But what a wicked man is as to his internal man, and
what a good man is as to his, may be seen from the following
604
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 455
brief description of hell and heaven; for with the wicked the
internal is joined with devils in hell, and with the good it is
joined with angels in heaven. Hell from its loves is in the
enjoyments of all evils; that is, in the enjoyments from
hatred, revenge, and murder, from plundering and theft,
from railing and blasphemy, from the denial of God and the
profanation of the Word. Those enjoyments lurk in the
lusts, upon which man does not reflect; these blaze in the
enjoyments, like lighted torches; the enjoyments are what
are meant in the Word by infernal fire. But the enjoyments
of heaven are those of love toward the neighbor and of love
to God. Since the enjoyments of hell are opposite to the
enjoyments of heaven, there is a great interval between them,
into which flow delights of heaven from above and those of
hell from beneath. Man is in the middle of this space while
he lives in the world, in order that he may be in equilibrium,
and so in a free state to turn to heaven or to hell. It is this
that is meant by the great gulf fixed between those who are
in heaven and those who are in hell (Luke xvi. 26). From
this the quality of the friendship of love among the wicked
may be evident, — that as to the external man it is full of
gesture, affected, and putting on the semblance of morality,
to the end of spreading its nets and searching for opportunity
to gratify the enjoyments of its loves, from which their in-
ternal man is on fire. Nothing but fear of the law, and con-
sequently for their reputation and life, withholds them and
prevents their acts. Their friendship is therefore like a
spider in sugar, a viper in bread, a young crocodile in a cake
of honey, and a snake in the grass. Such is the friendship
of the wicked for any one; but among those confirmed in
evil, such as thieves, robbers, and pirates, it is of a familiar
character so long as they are with one mind bent on plunder;
for then they embrace as brothers, enjoy themselves with
feasting, singing, and dancing, and conspire for the destruc-
tion of others; yet each within himself regards his com-
panion as one enemy regards another; this, too, the cunning
No. 456] CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS 605
robber sees in his fellow, and fears it. It is plain from this
that among such there is no friendship, but inward hatred.
455^. Any man who has not openly connected himself
with malefactors and committed robberies, but has led a
civil moral life for the sake of various uses as ends, and yet
has not curbed the lusts residing in the internal man, may
believe that his friendship is not like this; but, from many
examples in the spiritual world, it has been given me to
know with certainty that it is such in various degrees, with
all who have rejected faith, and scorned the holy things of
the church, regarding them as nothing to them but only for
the common herd. With some of them the enjoyments of
infernal love have lain hidden like fire in heated logs covered
with bark; with some like coals under ashes; with some like
torches of wax, that blaze as soon as fire is applied to them;
and with others in other ways. Such is every man who has
rejected from his heart what is of religion. Their internal
man is in hell; and as long as they live in the world, and
then they are ignorant of this because of the semblance of
morality in their externals, they do not acknowledge as neigh-
bor any but themselves and their children; they regard
others either from contempt, and then they are like cats
lying in wait for birds in their nests, or from hatred, and
then they are like wolves when they see dogs that they may
devour. These things have been presented that the quality
of charity may be known from seeing its opposite.
XVIII. The conjunction of love to God and love
TOWARD THE NEIGHBOR.
456. It is known that the law promulgated from Mount
Sinai was written upon two tables; that one of these con-
cerns God, and the other men; that in the hand of Moses
they were one table, on the right side of which was written
what concerns God, and on the left side what concerns men ;
and that when so presented to the eyes of men, the writing
606 TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 456
of both parts was seen at once; thus one part was in view
of the other, like Jehovah speaking with Moses and Moses
with Jehovah, face to face, as it is written. This was done
in order that the tables so united should represent the con-
junction of God with men, and the reciprocal conjunction
of men with God; for which reason the law written on
them was called the Covenant and the Testimony, covenant
signifying conjunction, and testimony a life according to the
compact. From these two tables thus united the conjunc-
tion of love to God and love toward the neighbor may be
seen. The first table involves all that pertains to love to
God, which are, primarily, that man should acknowledge
one God, the Divinity of His Human, and the holiness of
the Word, and that He is to be worshipped by means of holy
things that proceed from Him. That this table involves
these things is evident from the commentary, in the fifth
chapter, on the commandments of the Decalogue. The
second table involves all things of love toward the neighbor;
its first five commandments, all that pertains to the deed,
which are called works; and the last two, all that belongs
to the will, thus to charity in its origin; for in these it is said,
Thou shalt not covet; and when a man does not covet what is
the neighbor's, then he wishes well to him. That the Ten
Commandments contain all things which are of love to God
and toward the neighbor, may be seen above (n. 329-331);
where it is also shown that with those who are in charity
there is conjunction of the two tables.
457. It is otherwise with those who are only in the wor-
ship of God and not at the same time in good works from
charity; such are like those who break a covenant. Again
it is different with those who divide God into three, and
worship each one separately. And again it is different with
those who do not go to God in His Human; these are they
who do not enter by the Door, but climb up some other way
(John x. 1, 9). It is still different with those who from con-
firmation deny the Lord's Divinity. With those of these
No. 457]
CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS
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classes there is no conjunction with God, and consequently
there is no salvation; their charity is nothing but spurious
charity; and this does not join together by the face, but by
the side, or the back. How conjunction is effected shall
also be told in a few words. With every man, God flows
in with an acknowledgment of Himself, into the knowledge
of Him; and at the same time He flows in with His love
toward men. The man who receives the former only and
not the latter, receives that influx in the understanding and
not in the will; and he remains in knowledge with no in-
ward acknowledgment of God, and his state is like that of a
garden in winter. But the man who receives both the
former and the latter, receives the influx in the will, and
from the will in the understanding, thus in the whole mind;
and he has an inward acknowledgment of God, which vivifies
in him the knowledge of God; his state is like that of a gar-
den in the spring. Conjunction is effected by charity be-
cause God loves every man; and because He cannot do
good to him immediately, but mediately by men, He there-
fore inspires them with His own love, as He inspires parents
with love for their children; and the man who receives it is
conjoined with God, and loves the neighbor from the love of
God ; with him the love of God is inwardly in the love toward
the neighbor, and it produces in him the will and power.
And as man does nothing good without the appearance to
him that the ability, will, and doing are of himself, this there-
fore has been given him; and when he does good from free-
dom as of himself, it is imputed to him, and is accepted as
something reciprocal, by which conjunction is effected.
This is like the active and the passive, and the cooperation
of the latter, which is effected from the active in the passive ;
it is also like will in act, and like thought in speech, and the
operation of the soul from the inmost into both; it is also like
effort in motion; and also like what is prolific in seed, which
from within acts in the juices by which the tree grows even
to fruit, and by fruit produces new seed; and it is like light
CoS
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
[No. 457
in precious stones, which is reflected according to the texture
of the parts; whence come various colors as if they belonged
to the stones, whereas they are of the light.
458. From this it is manifest whence comes the conjunc-
tion of love to God and love toward the neighbor, and of
what quality it is, that there is an influx of God's love toward
men, and that the reception of this by man and cooperation
in him is love toward the neighbor. In brief, there is con-
junction according to this Word of the Lord: At that day ye
shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Ale, and I in
you (John xiv. 20). Also according to this: He that hath
My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth M e,
and I •mill love him, and will manifest Myself unto him; and
will make an abode with him (John xiv. 21-23). The Lord's
commandments all relate to love to the neighbor, being in
sum not to do evil to him, but to do him good. That they
who do so, love God, and that God loves them, is in
accordance with those words of the Lord. As those two
loves are so conjoined, John says, He that keepeth the com-
mandments of Jesus Christ, abideth in Him, and He in him.
Also : // a man say, I love God, but hateth his brother, he is a
liar; for he that loveth not his brother whom he seeth, how can
he love God whom he hath not seen? And this command-
ment have we from Him, That he who loveth God loveth
his brother also (1 John iii. 24; iv. 20, 21).
459. To this these Relations will be added: First: I saw
at a distance five academies, each surrounded by a different
light, the first by a flamy light, the second by a yellow, the
third by a clear-white light, the fourth by a light intermediate
between that of noon and evening; the fifth was indistinct,
for it stood as it were in the evening shadow. And on the
roads I saw some on horses, some in carriages, and some
walking, also some running and hastening toward the first
academy which was covered with flamy light. When I saw
this I was seized with a strong desire that impelled me to go
thither and hear what was there under discussion; I there-
No. 459]
CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS
609
fore quickly got ready, joined company with those hastening
to the first academy, and entered it with them. And lo,
there was a large assembly, part of which moved off to the
right and part to the left, to take seats on benches near the
walls. Before me I saw a low pulpit in which stood one
who filled the office of president; he had a staff in his hand,
a cap on his head, and a robe tinted with the flamy light of the
academy.
After the people had here assembled, he raised his voice
and said, "Brethren, you will to-day discuss the question,
What is charity? Each one of you may know that in its
essence charity is spiritual, and in its exercise natural."
Then one from the first bench on the left, on which sat those
who were reputed wise, arose, and beginning to speak, he
said, "It is my opinion that morality inspired by faith is
charity." And he confirmed it in this way: "Who does not
know that charity follows faith as a maid follows the steps
of her mistress ? and that the man who has faith acts accord-
ing to law, and thus exercises charity, so spontaneously that
he does not know that it is the law and charity according to
which he is living; for if he were to do so knowingly, and at
the same time were to think of being saved on account of so
doing, he would pollute holy faith with his self-life, and so
would impair its efficacy. Is not this according to the dogma
of those with whom we are connected?" And he looked at
those who were seated beside him, among whom there were
canons, and they expressed their assent. "But what is
spontaneous charity, but morality, into which every one is
initiated from infancy, which is therefore in itself natural,
but becomes spiritual when inspired by faith ? Who knows
from the moral life of men which of them have faith, or do
not have it? for every one lives morally. But God alone
who gives faith and seals it, knows and distinguishes. I
therefore assert that charity is morally inspired by faith; and
that this morality, owing to the faith in its bosom, is saving,
while all other morality brings no salvation, because it is of
6lO TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 459
merit. Thus all those who mingle charity and faith, that is
to say, who conjoin them from within instead of adjoining
them from without, lose their oil; for to commingle and con-
join them would be like putting into the carriage with a
primate the servant that stands behind, or like introducing
the porter into the dining-hall to sit at table with a noble-
man."
After this one rose up from the first bench on the right, and
spoke as follows: "My opinion is that piety inspired by
piteousness is charity, and I confirm it by this, that nothing
else can propitiate God more than piety out of a humble
heart; and piety prays continually that God may give faith
and charity; and the Lord says, Ask, and it shall be given
you (Matt. vii. 7); and because both these are given, they
both are in it. I say that piety inspired by piteousness is
charity, as all devout piety is piteous; for piety moves man's
heart so that he groans, and what is this but piteousness?
This does indeed retire after prayer, but still it comes back
with the return of prayer; and when it comes again piety is
in it, and is thus in charity. Our priests ascribe all things
that promote salvation to faith, and nothing to charity.
What then remains but piety praying piteously for both?
When I read the Word, I was not able to see but that faith
and charity were the two means of salvation; but when I
consulted the ministers of the church, I heard that faith was
the only means, and that charity was nothing. And then
it seemed to me that I was on the sea, in a ship drifting be-
tween two rocks; and when I feared that it would be broken
to pieces, I betook myself to a boat and set sail. My boat is
piety. And, moreover, piety is profitable for all things."
After him one arose from the second bench on the right,
and spoke as follows: " It is my opinion that charity is to do
good to every one, virtuous and vicious alike; and I con-
firm it in this way: What is charity but goodness of heart?
and a good heart wishes good to all, alike to virtuous and
vicious. And the Lord has said that good is to be done even
No. 459] CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS 6 1 I
to enemies. If, therefore, you withhold charity from any
one, does not charity on that side become null, and so like
a man who has lost one foot, and goes hopping on the other ?
A vicious man is a man equally with a virtuous one; and
charity regards a man as a man; if he is vicious, what is that
to me? It is with charity as with the heat of the sun; this
vivifies beasts, both fierce and gentle, wolves as well as sheep;
and it causes trees to grow, both bad and good, the thorn as
well as the vine." Having said this, he took in his hand a
fresh grape and added, " It is with charity as with this grape;
if you divide it, all that is within runs out." He divided it,
and the contents ran out.
After this address another arose from the second bench on
the left, and said: "It is my opinion that charity is in every
way to serve one's relatives and friends, which I confirm thus:
Who does not know that charity begins with one's self ? for
every one is neighbor to himself. Therefore charity passes
from one's self through degrees of nearness, first to brothers
and sisters, and from them to kinsmen and connections; and
so the progression of charity is self-limited. They who are
beyond its limits are strangers, and strangers are not in-
wardly acknowledged; thus they are separated by the in-
ternal man. But nature joins these together who are related
by blood and birth; and habit, which is second nature, con-
joins friends; and so they become the neighbor. Charity
also unites another to itself from within, and so from with-
out; and they who are not united from within should be
called companions only. Do not all birds recognize their
own kindred, not by the plumage but by the sounds they
make, and when they are near by the sphere of life exhaled
from their bodies ? This affection of relationship, and con-
junction from it, in the birds is called instinct; but in men
there is the same which, since it is for those of their family
and those that are their own, is truly an instinct of human
nature. What but blood gives homogeneity? A man's
mind which is also his spirit feels, and as it were smells it.
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TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
[No. 439
In this homogeneity and its sympathy consists the essence
of charity. But heterogeneity, on the contrary, from which
also comes antipathy, is, as it were, not blood, and there-
fore not charity. And as habit is second nature, and this
also makes homogeneity, it follows that it is also charity to
do good to friends. One coming from the sea into some
port, and finding himself in a foreign land, the language and
customs of whose inhabitants he does not know, is out of
himself, as it were, and feels none of the enjoyment of love
towards them. But if he finds himself in his own native
land, the language and customs of whose inhabitants he
knows, he is within himself, as it were, and then feels enjoy-
ment from love, which is also the enjoyment of charity."
Then from the third bench on the right another one arose,
and speaking with a loud voice said, " It is my opinion that
charity is giving alms to the poor, and rendering assistance
to the needy. This is certainly charity, for the Divine Word
so teaches, and its dictate admits no contradiction. What
is giving to the rich and the possessors of abundance but
vain-glory, in which there is no charity, but the looking to a
gift in return; and in this there can be no genuine affection
of love toward the neighbor, but a spurious affection, which
avails on earth but not in the heavens. Therefore want and
indigence must be relieved, because into this the idea of re-
payment does not come. In the city where I dwelt, and
where I knew who were virtuous and who were not, I ob-
served that all the virtuous, seeing a poor person in the street,
would stop and give alms; while all the vicious, seeing a poor
man at their side, would pass him by as if they were blind to
the sight of him and deaf to his voice. And who does not
know that the virtuous have charity and that the vicious
have not ? He who gives to the poor and relieves the needy
is like a shepherd who leads hungry and thirsty sheep to
pasture and to water; while he who gives only to those who
are rich and in abundance, is like one who takes care of
those who share the Divine power, or presses food and drink
No. 459] CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS 6 I 3
on those who are intoxicated." After him another arose
from the third bench on the left, and said: "It is my opinion
that charity is to build hospitals, infirmaries, orphanages,
and asylums, and to support them by gifts. I confirm it by
this, that such benefactions and such helps are public, and
are far beyond private aid; thereby charity becomes richer,
and replete with goods, the goods being manifold in number;
and the reward that is hoped for, from the promises of the
Word, becomes more abounding; for as one ploughs the
ground and sows, so he reaps. Is not this giving to the
poor and relieving the needy in eminent degree ? Who docs
not therefrom obtain glory from the world, and at the same
time praises in the humble voice of gratitude from those
whom he has helped ? Does not this lift up the heart, and
with it the affection called charity, even to its highest reach ?
The rich, who do not walk the streets but ride, cannot ob-
serve those who sit at the sides of the streets by the walls
of the houses, and give them pennies; but they make their
contributions to such things as are of service to many at once.
But let those do otherwise who are less great than they, and
who walk the streets, without such wealth."
Hearing this, another one on the same bench suddenly
drowned the voice of the speaker with his louder tones, and
said: "Let not the rich, however, prefer the excellence and
munificence of their charity to the pittance which one poor
man gives to another; for we know that every one in what
he does, does what befits the dignity of his position; a king,
governor, captain, and yeoman of the guard, each what is
worthy of his own position. For charity, viewed in itself,
is not estimated by the excellence of the person and conse-
quently of the gift, but by the fulness of the affection which
makes it; so that the menial giving one penny may give
from a larger charity than the great man who gives or be-
queaths a large fund; which is also according to these words:
Jesus saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury;
lie saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites ;
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TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 459
and He said, Of a truth I say unto you that this poor widow
hath cast in more than they all (Luke xxi. 1-3)."
After these arose one from the fourth bench on the left,
and said: " It is my opinion that charity is to endow temples,
and to do good to their ministers; which I confirm by this,
that he who does such things is turning over in his mind what
is holy, and acts from holiness in the mind, and further, that
this sanctifies his gifts. Charity demands this, because it in
itself is holy. Is not all worship in churches holy ? For the
Lord says, Where two or three are gathered together in My
name, there am I in the midst of them; and the priests, His
servants, minister in the worship. I therefore conclude that
the gifts which are bestowed upon ministers and temples
are superior to those made to other people and for other pur-
poses. And beside, to the minister is given the power to
bless, whereby he also sanctifies the gifts; and afterward
nothing expands and gladdens the mind more than to see
one's gifts as so many sanctuaries."
Afterward one arose from the fourth bench on the right,
and spoke as follows: "It is my opinion that the old Chris-
tian brotherhood is charity; and I confirm it by this, that
every church which worships the true God begins from char-
ity, as did the Christian church of old. Because charity
unites mind and makes one of many, those belonging to it
called themselves brethren, but brethren in Jesus Christ
their God. But because they were then surrounded by
barbarous nations whom they feared, they made community
of property: in which, being together and of one mind, they
were glad; and in their assemblies, every day, they dis-
coursed about the Lord God their Saviour Jesus Christ, and
at their dinners and suppers about charity: hence their
brotherhood. But after their times, when schisms began
to spring up, and at last the abominable Arian heresy, which
with many took away the idea of the Divinity of the Lord's
Human, charity decayed and the brotherhood was dissolved.
It is true that all who worship the Lord in truth, and keep
No. 459] CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS
6l5
His precepts, are brethren (Matt, xxiii. 8), but brethren in
spirit. But since at this day no one is known as to his quality
in the spirit, it is unnecessary for men to call each other
brethren. The brotherhood of faith alone, and still less that
of faith in any other God than the Lord God the Saviour, is
not brotherhood, because the charity which makes brother-
hood is not in it. I therefore conclude that the old Chris-
tian brotherhood was charity. But that was, and is not;
yet I prophesy that it will come." When he said this, a
flamy light made its appearance through the window on the
east, and tinged his cheeks; at the sight of which the assem-
bly were amazed.
At last one arose from the fifth bench on the left, and
asked permission to add his contribution to the remarks of
the last speaker; and when leave was given, he said, "It is
my opinion that charity is to forgive every one his trespasses.
This opinion I have drawn from a common remark of those
who approach the Holy Supper, for some then say to their
friends, Forgive me what I have done amiss; thinking that
so they have fulfilled all the duties of charity. But I have
thought within myself that this is but a painted picture of
charity, and not the real form of its essence; for both those
who do not forgive, and those who do not follow charity with
any care, say this; and such are not among those of the
prayer which the Lord Himself taught, Father, forgive us
our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
For trespasses are like ulcers, within which, if they are not
opened and healed, matter collects, which infects the neigh-
boring parts, and creeping about like a serpent turns the
blood everywhere into foulness. It is similar with trespasseL
against the neighbor; unless they are removed by repentance
and a life according to the Lord's precepts, they remain and
are fed; and those who without repentance merely pray to
God to forgive their sins, are like the inhabitants of a city,
who, being infected with contagious disease, go to the chief
magistrate and say, ' Sir, heal us.' To whom the magistrate
6i6
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 459
would say, 'How can I heal you? Go to a physician, find
out what medicines you need, get them from an apothecary
and take them, and your health will be restored.' And the
Lord will say to those who make supplication for the for-
giveness of sins without actual repentance, ' Open the Word
and read that which I have spoken in Isaiah: Ah, sinful
nation, laden with iniquity; wherefore when ye spread forth
your hands, I hide Mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make
many prayers, I do not hear. Wash you; put away the evil
of your doings from before Mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn
to do well; and then shall your sins be removed and for-
given (i. 4, 15-18)."'
After all this was finished, I raised my hand, and asked
that I might be permitted, though a stranger, to present my
opinion also. The president proposed my request; and
when consent was given, I spoke as follows: "It is my opin-
ion that charity is to act from the love of justice with judg-
ment, in every work and office, but from love from no other
source than the Lord God the Saviour. All that I have
heard from those sitting upon the benches, on both the right
and the left, are eminent examples of charity; but as the
president of this assembly remarked at first, charity is spiri-
tual in its origin, and natural as it turns into its channels;
and natural charity, if it is inwardly spiritual, appears to the
angels transparent like a diamond; but if it is not inwardly
spiritual, and therefore is merely natural, it appears to the
angels like a pearl that looks like the eye of a cooked fish.
It is not for me to say whether the eminent examples of char-
ity which you have presented in order are inspired by spiri-
tual charity or not; but it is for me to say here what the
spiritual must be, which must be in them, that they may be
natural forms of spiritual charity. The spiritual itself, be-
longing to them, is that they be done from the love of justice,
with judgment; that is to say, that in the exercise of charity
man should see clearly whether he acts from justice, and he
sees this from judgment. For a man may do evil by deeds
No. 459] CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS C I f
of beneficence; and by what seem like evil deeds he may do
good. For example: he who gives a needy robber money
to buy himself a sword, does evil by the benefaction, although
the robber does not say what he will do when begging for the
money; or if he rescues the robber from prison, and shows
him the way to the forest, and says within himself, 'It is not
my fault that he commits robbery; I have given succor to
the man.' Take also as another example, one who feeds
an idler, and keeps him from being driven to labor, and says
to him, ' Go to a chamber in my house, and lie in bed; why
should you weary yourself?' Such a one favors laziness.
And again, take one who promotes relatives and friends of
dishonest inclinations, to offices in which they can plot many
kinds of mischief. Who cannot see that such works of char-
ity are not from a love of justice together with judgment?
On the other hand also, a man by what seem like evil deeds
may do good. To illustrate, take a judge who acquits a
criminal because he sheds tears, and pours out words of
piety, and prays that he will forgive him because he is his
neighbor; now the judge performs a work of charity when
he decrees the man's punishment according to law; for in
this way he guards against his doing further evil and being
a pest to society, which is the neighbor in a higher degree,
and against the scandal of an unjust judgment. Who docs
not know also that it results in good to sevrants if they are
corrected by masters, and to children when corrected by
parents, on account of wrong-doing ? It is similar with those
in hell, all of whom have the love of doing evil; for they are
kept shut up in prison, and are punished when they do evil,
which the Lord permits for the sake of amendment. This
is so because the Lord is justice itself, and does whatever
He does from judgment itself. From these examples it may
be clearly seen whence it is, that, ns before stated, spiritual
charity is carried into effect from the love of justice with
judgment, but from love from no other source than the Lord
God the Saviour. This is because all the good of charity is
6i8
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 459
from the Lord; for He says, He that abideth in Me, and I in
him, the same bringelh forth much jruit; for without Me ye
can do nothing (John xv. 5) ; also that He hath all power
in heaven and in earth (Matt, xxviii. 18). And all love of
justice, with judgment, is from no other source than the
God of heaven, who is justice itself, and from whom man
has all his judgment (Jer. xxiii. 5; xxxiii. 15). From which
comes the conclusion that all that has been said concerning
charity, from the benches on the right and the left, as being
morality inspired by faith, piety inspired by piteousness,
doing good alike to the virtuous and the vicious, serving one's
relatives and friends in every way, giving to the poor and
rendering assistance to the needy, building infirmaries and
supporting them by gifts, endowing temples and doing good
to their ministers, being the old Christian brotherhood, and
forgiving every one his trespasses; all these are excellent
examples of charity when they are done from the love of
justice, with judgment; otherwise, they are not charity, but
are merely like brooks separated from the fountain, and like
branches torn from the tree; because genuine charity is to
believe in the Lord, and to act justly and rightly in every
work and office. He, therefore, who from the Lord loves
justice, and practises it with judgment, is charity in its image
and likeness."
After these remarks there was silence, such as there is with
those who from their internal man, but not as yet in the ex-
ternal, see and acknowledge that something is true; I ob-
served this from their faces. But I was then suddenly with-
drawn from their sight, for from the spirit I re-entered my
material body; for the natural man, because he is clothed
with a material body, does not appear to any spiritual man,
that is, to a spirit or an angel, nor do they appear to him.
460. Second Relation. Once when I looked around in
the spiritual world, I heard something like gnashing of teeth,
and also a kind of knocking, and mingled with them some-
thing grating; and I asked what they were. The angels
No. 460] CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS 619
who were with me said, " They are schools, which are called
by us debating clubs, where disputations are carried on.
They are heard thus at a distance, but when near, they are
only heard as disputations." I drew near, and saw small
houses constructed of reeds plastered together with mud.
I wanted to look in through a window, for there was no
admittance by the door, because light would thus flow in
from heaven and cause confusion, but there was no window.
However, one was made suddenly just then on the right side,
and then I heard them complaining that they were in dark-
ness. But presently a window was made on the left side,
that on the right being closed up; and then the darkness was
gradually dissipated, and they seemed to themselves to be
in their own light : and after this it was granted me to enter
by the door, and to hear.
There was a table in the midst, and benches round about;
yet to me they all seemed to be standing upon the benches,
and to be disputing sharply with one another about faith and
charity, on the one part, that faith was the essential of the
church, on the other, charity. They who made faith the
essential said, "Do we not act with God by faith, and by
charity with man? Is not faith therefore heavenly, and
charity earthly ? Are we not saved by heavenly, and not by
earthly things? Again, cannot God give faith out of heaven
because it is heavenly? and is not man to gain charity for
himself, because it is earthly? And what a man gains for
himself is not of the church, and therefore does not save.
And so can one be justified before God by the works which
are called of charity ? Believe us that we are not only justi-
fied but also sanctified by faith alone, if the faith is not de-
filed by the things of merit which are from the works of
charity."
But they who made charity the essential of the church,
sharply refuted these things; saying that "Charity saves,
and not faith. Does not God hold all men dear, and will
good to all? How can God do this good, except through
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TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 460
men ? Does God give us only to speak with men what is of
faith, and does He not give us to do to men what is of charity ?
Do you not see that you said absurdly of charity that it is
earthly? Charity is heavenly; and, because you do not do
the good of charity, your faith is earthly. How do you re-
ceive your faith, except as a stock or a stone ? You say, By
the hearing of the Word. But how can the Word operate
when merely heard ? and how upon a stock or stone ? You,
perchance, are quickened, yourselves being wholly uncon-
scious of it. But what is the quickening, except that you
are able to say that faith alone justifies and saves? Yet
what is faith, and what saving faith, you do not know."
But one then arose, who was called a Syncretist by the
angel who was speaking with me. He took off his square
cap, and laid it on the table; but hastily put it on again, be-
cause he was bald. He said, "Hearken: you are all in
error. It is true that faith is spiritual, and charity moral;
but still they are conjoined; and they are conjoined by the
Word, and then by the Holy Spirit, and by the effect which
indeed may be called obedience, but in this obedience man
has no part; because when faith is brought in, man knows
no more than a statue. I have long meditated upon these
things, and I have at length found that a man may receive
from God a faith which is spiritual, but that he cannot be
moved by God to a charity which is spiritual any more than
a stock."
At these remarks they who were in faith alone applauded,
but they who were in charity hissed. And from their indig-
nation these latter said, "Listen, friend: you do not know
that there is a moral life which is spiritual, and that there is
a moral life merely natural, a moral life which is spiritual
with those who do good from God and still as of themselves,
and a moral life merely natural with those who do good from
hell and still as of themselves."
It was said that the disputation was heard as gnashing of
teeth, and as knocking, with which was mingled something
No. 461] CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS
621
grating. The disputation that sounded like the gnashing
of teeth was from those who made faith the one only essen-
tial of the church; the knocking was from those who made
charity the one only essential of the church; and the grating
intermixed was from the Syncretist. Their tones sounded
so at a distance, because they were all given to disputation
in the world, and did not shun any evil, and therefore did no
good that was from a spiritual source. And they were wholly
ignorant, also, that the all of faith is truth, and the all of
charity, good; and that truth without good is not truth in
spirit, and that good without truth is not good in spirit; and
that so the one makes the other.
461. Third Relation. I was once carried away in spirit
to the southern quarter of the spiritual world, and into a cer-
tain paradise there; and I saw that this paradise excelled
all that I had before seen. This was because a garden sig-
nifies intelligence, and all who are strong in intelligence be-
yond others are conveyed to the south. The garden of
Eden in which was Adam with his wife, signifies only this;
that they were expelled from it therefore signifies that they
were driven from intelligence, and thus also from integrity
of life. While I was walking in this southern paradise, I
saw some persons sitting under a laurel, eating figs. I went
to them and asked them for some figs, which they gave me;
and lo, in my hand the figs became grapes! As I marvelled
at this, an angelic spirit who stood near me said, " The figs
became grapes in your hand, for figs from correspondence
signify the goods of charity and hence of faith in the natural
or external man, while grapes signify the goods of charity
and hence of faith in the spiritual or internal man; and be-
cause you love spiritual things, this has happened to you.
For in our world all things come to pass, and arise, and are
changed also, according to correspondences."
Then instantly came over me the desire to know how man
can do good from God, and yet altogether as from himself.
I therefore asked those who were eating figs how they corn-
622
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 461
prehended this. They said that they could comprehend
it only in this way, that God works this inwardly in man and
through him when man does not know it, since if man were
conscious of it, and so should do, he would do only apparent
good which inwardly is evil. "For all that proceeds from
man proceeds from his self-life, and this by birth is evil;
then how can good from God and evil from man be con-
joined and so go forth jointly into act? And man's self in
what pertains to salvation is continually thinking about merit;
and so far as it does this, it takes from the Lord His merit,
which is the height of injustice and impiety. In a word, if
the good which God works in man were to flow into man's
willing and thence into his doing, the good would assuredly
be defiled and also profaned, which, however, God in no wise
permits. Man can indeed think that the good which he
does is from God, and may call it God's through him, but
still we do not comprehend that it is so."
But I then opened my mind and said : " You do not com-
prehend, because you think from appearance; and thought
from confirmed appearance is fallacy. You have the ap-
pearance, and fallacy from it, because you believe that all
things which a man wills and thinks, and which he hence
does and says, are in himself and consequently from him-
self, when yet there is nothing of them in him except the
state for receiving what flows in. Man is not life in himself,
but an organ receptive of life. The Lord is Life in Himself,
as He also says in John: As the Father hath life in Himself,
so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself (v. 26;
besides other passages, as John xi. 25; xiv. 6, 19). There
are two things which make life, namely, love and wisdom;
or what is the same, the good of love and the truth of wis-
dom. These flow in from God, and are received by man as
if they were his; and because they are felt thus, they also
proceed from man as his. That they are thus felt by man,
is of the Lord's gift, that that which flows in may affect man,
and so be received and remain. But as all evil flows in also,
No. 461] CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS 623
not from God but from hell, and as this is received with en>
joyment because man has been born such an organ, therefore
good is received from God only in proportion as evil is re-
moved by man as by himself, which is done by repentance
and at the same time by faith in the Lord. That love and
wisdom, charity and faith, or, speaking more generally, the
good of love and of charity and the truth of wisdom and of
faith, flow in, and that the things which flow in appear in
man altogether as his, and therefore proceed from him as
his, is very evident from sight, hearing, smell, taste, and
touch; all things which are felt in the organs of those senses
flow in from without, and are felt in them. It is the same
in the organs of the internal senses, with the sole difference
that spiritual things which are not apparent flow into these,
but natural things which are apparent flow into the former.
In a word, man is an organ receptive of life from God; con-
sequently he is a recipient of good so far as he desists from
evil. The Lord gives to every man the power to desist from
evil, because He gives him to will and to understand; and
whatever man does from the will according to the under-
standing, or, what is the same thing, from freedom of will
according to the reason of the understanding, is permanent;
through it the Lord induces on man a state of conjunction
with Himself, and in this state He reforms, regenerates, and
saves him. The life which flows in is life proceeding from
the Lord, which life is also called the Spirit of God, and in
the Word the Holy Spirit, of which also it is said that it en-
lightens and vivifies man, and also that it operates in him.
But this life is varied and modified according to the organ-
ized form induced by love. You may also know that all the
good of love and charity and all the truth of wisdom and faith
flow in, and are not in the man, from this, that whoever
thinks that there is any such thing in man from creation,
cannot but think at last that God infused Himself into man,
and so that men were partly gods; and yet they who think
so from faith, become devils, and to us smell like corpses.
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TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 461
Moreover, what is man's action, but the mind acting? For
what the mind wills and thinks, this it does and says by its
organ the body; therefore, when the mind is led by the
Lord, action and speech are also led by Him; and these are
led by Him when man believes in Him. If this were not so,
tell, if you can, why the Lord in thousands of places in His
Word has commanded that a man must love his neighbor,
work out the goods of charity, bear fruit like a tree, and do
His commandments, and all this that he may be saved; also
why He said that man would be judged according to his
deeds or works, he who does good to heaven and life, and
he who does evil to hell and death. How could the Lord
say such things if every thing that proceeds from man were
of merit and thence evil ? You may know therefore that if
the mind is charity, the action is charity also; but if the
mind is faith alone, which is also faith separated from
spiritual charity, the action also is that faith."
Hearing this, they who sat under the laurel said, "We
comprehend that you have spoken justly; but still we do
not comprehend." I answered them, " That I have spoken
justly, you comprehend from the general perception which
a man has from the influx of light from heaven when he
hears any truth; but you do not comprehend from your own
perception, which is what a man has from the influx of light
from the world. These two perceptions, namely, the inter-
nal and the external, or the spiritual and the natural, make
one with the wise. You also can make them one, if you look
to the Lord and remove evils." As they understood these
things also, I plucked some twigs from a vine, and handed
them to them, saying, " Do you believe that this is of me or
of the Lord ? " And they said that it was from me but of the
Lord. And lo, those branches put forth grapes in their
hands! But as I withdrew, I saw a cedar table, upon which
was a book, under a green olive-tree whose trunk was en-
twined with a vine. I looked, and behold, it was a book
written by me, called Heavenly Arcana. And I said that it
No. 462] CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS 625
was fully shown in that book that man is an organ recipient
of life, and that he is not life; also that life cannot be created,
and so created be in man, any more than light can be created
and be in the eye.
462. Fourth Relation. I looked forth to the seashore in
the spiritual world, and saw a magnificent dock. I drew
near, and looked into it, and behold vessels were there large
and small, and merchandise in them of every kind; and sit-
ting on the benches were boys and girls, distributing it to
those who wished. And they said, " We are waiting to see
our beautiful tortoises which very soon will rise up out of the
sea to us." And behold, I saw tortoises great and small,
on the shells and scales of which young tortoises were sitting,
looking toward the islands around. The parent tortoises
had two heads; a large one covered over with a shell similar
to the shell of their body, whence they had a reddish glow;
and a small one, such as tortoises have, which they were able
to draw back into the forepart of their bodies, and also to
insert in some unseen way in the larger head. But I kept
my eyes on the great reddish head, and I saw that it had a
face like a man, and talked with the boys and girls on the
seats, and licked their hands. And the boys and girls then
patted them, and gave them food and dainties, and also
costly things, as silk for garments, thyine wood for tablets,
purple for decorations, and scarlet for paints.
Seeing these things, I desired to know what they repre-
sented, as I knew that all things that appear in the spiritual
world are correspondences, and represent the spiritual
things which are of affection and hence of thought. And
they then spoke with me out of heaven and said, " You know
yourself what the dock represents, also what the vessels,
and the boys and girls that are on them. But you do not
know what the tortoises represent." And they said, "The
tortoises represent those of the clergy there who altogether
separate faith from charity and its good works, affirming in
themselves that there is evidently no conjunction between
626
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 462
them, but that the Holy Spirit, through faith in God the
Father for the sake of the Son's merit, enters into man, and
purifies his interiors even to his own will, out of which they
make a sort of oval plane; and they say that when the opera-
tion of the Holy Spirit approaches this plane, it turns itself
around, on the left of it, and does not touch it at all; and
thus that the interior or higher part of a man's nature is for
God, and the exterior or lower for man; and that so nothing
which the man does, whether good or evil, appears before
God: not the good, because this is of merit; and not the
evil, because this is evil; since if they were to appear before
God, the man would perish by either of them. And this
being so, they say that man is at liberty to will, think, speak,
and do whatever he pleases, provided he is careful before
the world."
I inquired whether they also assert that it is allowable to
think of God as not omnipotent and omniscient. It was
answered from heaven that this also is allowable for them;
because God, in him who has obtained faith and been puri-
fied and justified through it, does not look at any thing of
his thought and will; and that he still retains in the inner
bosom or higher region of his mind or nature, the faith which
he had received in its act, it being sometimes possible for the
act of faith to return, man knowing nothing of it. " These
are the things represented by the small head, which they
draw into the forepart of the body, and also insert in the
great head when they talk with the laity. For they do not
speak with them from the small head, but the large one,
which in front appears as if provided with a human face;
and they speak with them from the Word, about love, char-
ity, good works, the precepts of the Decalogue, repentance;
and they select from the Word almost all that is there on
these subjects. But they then insert the small head into the
large one, and from it they understand inwardly in them-
selves that all those things are not to be done for the sake of
God and salvation, but only for the sake of public and privato
No. 462] CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS
627
good. But as they speak of these things from the Word,
especially of the Gospel, the operation of the Holy Spirit,
and salvation, in a pleasing and elegant manner, they there-
fore appear before their hearers as handsome men, and the
wisest in all the world. And you saw that costly and precious
things were therefore given them by the boys and girls that
sat upon the benches in the vessels. These, therefore, are
they whom you saw represented as tortoises. In your world
they are little distinguished from others, only by this, that
they believe themselves to be wiser than all, and laugh at
others, even at those who are in similar doctrine as to faith,
but who are not in those secrets. They carry with them on
their clothing a certain little mark by which they make them-
selves recognized by others."
He who was talking to me said, " I shall not tell you what
their sentiments are as to other matters of faith, such as elec-
tion, free will, baptism, the Holy Supper, which are such that
they do not divulge them; but we in heaven know. But as
they are such in the world, and as one is not at liberty after
death to speak otherwise than as he thinks, therefore be-
cause they cannot then do otherwise than speak from the
insanity of their thoughts, they are regarded as insane, and
are cast out of the societies, and are at length let down into
the pit of the abyss spoken of in the Apocalypse (ix. 2), and
become corporeal spirits, and appear like the mummies of
the Egyptians. For a hardness is induced on the interiors
of their minds, because in the world also they interposed a
barrier. The infernal society made up of them borders on
the infernal society from the Machiavelians, and they pass
everywhere from one to the other, and call themselves com-
panions; but they go back, because there is a separating
difference in this, that there was with them some religious
system as to the act of justification through faith, but none
among the Machiavelians."
After I saw them cast out of the societies, and gathered
together to be cast down, I saw a vessel in the air flying with
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TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 462
seven sails, and therein officers and sailors clothed in purple
dress, having magnificent laurels upon their hats, crying,
"Lo, we are in heaven; we are the purple-robed doctors,
and crowned above all, because we are the chief of the wise
from all the clergy in Europe." I wondered what this was,
and was told that these were images of the pride, and the
ideal thoughts called fantasies, from those who were before
seen as tortoises, and now as insane persons cast out of the
societies and gathered together into one body; and they were
standing together in one place. And I was then desirous
of speaking with them, and I came to the place where they
were standing, and saluted them, and said, "You are they
who have separated men's internals from their externals,
and the operation of the Holy Spirit as in faith from its
cooperation with man outside of faith, and so you have
separated God from man. Have you not thus removed
not only charity itself and its works, from faith, like many
other doctors of the clergy, but also faith itself as to its mani-
festation before God, from man? But tell me, I pray,
whether you wish that I should speak with you on this mat-
ter from reason or from the Sacred Scripture." They said,
"Speak first from reason."
And I spoke as follows: "How can the internal and the
external in a man be separated? Who does not see, or
cannot see, from common perception that all of man's in-
teriors go forth and are continued into his exteriors, and even
into the outmosts, in order to work out their effects and
accomplish their works? Are not internals for the sake of
externals, that they may terminate and subsist in them, and
so exist, hardly otherwise than as a column does upon its
base? You can see that if there were no continuation, and
so conjunction, the outmosts would be dissolved, and would
pass away like bubbles in the air. Who can deny that the
interior operations of God with man are myriads of myriads,
of which man knows nothing? And what matters it for
him to know them, provided he knows the outmosts, in
No. 462] CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS 629
which, with his thought and his will, he is together with
God? But this shall be illustrated by an example. Does
a man know the interior operations of his speech? as how
the lungs draw in the air, and with it fill the vesicles, the
bronchial tubes, and the lobes? how they send out the air
into the trachea, and there turn it into sound? how that
sound is modified in the glottis with the aid of the larynx ?
and how the tongue then articulates, and the lips complete
the articulation, so that it may become speech ? Are not all
those interior operations, of which man knows nothing, for
the sake of the outmost, that man may be able to speak?
Remove or separate one of those internals from continuity
with the outmosts, and could man speak more than a stock ?
Take another example : The two hands are the ultimates of
man. Are there not interiors, which are continued thither?
They are from the head through the neck, also through the
breast, shoulders, arms, and forearms; and there are in-
numerable muscular textures, unnumbered battalions of
moving fibres, numberless companies of nerves and blood-
vessels, and many hinge-like joints of the bones, together
with their ligaments and membranes. Does man know any
thing of these ? And yet the working of his hands is from
them, one and all. Suppose that those interiors were to
turn back near the elbow, to the left or the right, and did not
enter the hand by a continuous course, would not the hand
decay from the fore-arm, and rot like something torn off and
without life? Indeed, if you are willing to believe it, it
would be with the hand as with the body if the man were
beheaded. It would be wholly like this with the human
mind and with its two lives, the will and the understanding,
if the Divine operations which are of faith and charity were
to stop in the midst of the way, and not pass by a continual
course even to man. Clearly man would then be not merely
a brute, but a rotten stick. All this is according to reason.
Now if you are willing to hear it, the same things are also
according to the Sacred Scripture. Does not the Lord say,
63O TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 462
Abide in Me, and I in you; I am the Vine, ye are the branches.
He that abideth in Me and I in him, the same bringeth jorth
much fruit? (John xv. 4, 5.) Are not fruits the good works
which the Lord does by the man, and which the man does
out of himself from the Lord ? The Lord also says that He
stands at the door and knocks, and that He enters to him
that opens, and sups with him, and he with Him (Apoc. iii.
20). Does not the Lord give the pounds and the talents,
that man may trade with them, and get gain; and as he gains,
give him eternal life? (Matt. xxv. 14-34: Luke xix. 13-26.)
Does He not say also that He gives reward to every one ac-
cording to his labor in His vineyard? (Matt. xx. 1-17.)
These are but a few passages, however; pages might be
filled from the Word as to this, that man must bear fruit
as a tree, do according to the commandments, love God and
the neighbor, and so forth. But I know that your own intel-
ligence cannot have this truth, such as it is in itself, in com-
mon with what is from the Word; for though you say such
things, still your ideas pervert them. And you cannot do
otherwise, because you remove from man all that is of God
as regards communication and hence conjunction; what
then remains, unless indeed the things of worship?"
They were afterwards seen by me in the light of heaven,
which discloses and makes manifest what is the quality of
each one; and then they were not seen as before in a ship in
the air as it were in heaven, and clothed therein in purple,
their heads crowned with laurel; but in a sandy place, in
garments of rags, and girt about the loins with netting, as it
were with fishers' nets, through which their nakedness ap-
peared. And they were then sent down into the society
bordering on the Machiavelians.
CHAPTER EIGHTH.
FREE WILL.
463. Before I come prepared to deliver the doctrine of
the New Church as to Free Will, it is necessary to premise
what the present church gives forth regarding it in its dog-
mas; for if this is not done, one of sound sense and religion
may believe that it is not worth the labor to write any thing
new about it. For he would say to himself, " Who does not
know that man has free will in spiritual things? Other-
wise, why should priests preach for men to believe in God,
to turn themselves to live according to the precepts in the
Word, to fight against the lusts of their flesh, and to make
themselves new creatures?" and so on. So that he cannot
but think in himself that all this would be but empty words
if there were no free will in matters of salvation, and that to
deny it would be madness, because contrary to common
sense. But yet that the present church goes the contrary
way, and banishes it from its temples, may be seen from the
book called the Formula Concordia;, to which the Evangelical
swear, from things therein which now follow. That there
is similar doctrine and hence faith respecting free will, with
the Reformed, thus the same throughout the whole Christian
world, and so in Germa<ny, Sweden, Denmark, England, and
Holland, is evident from their dogmas following. The ex-
tracts, then, are from the Formula Concordia, the Leipsic
edition of 1756.
464. I. " The doctors of the Augsburg Confession assort
that owing to the fall of our first parents, man is so thoroughly
corrupt that in spiritual matters, which regard our conver-
sion and salvation, he is blind by nature, that he neither docs
nor can understand the Word of God when preached, but
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TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 464
esteems it as a foolish thing, and never of himself draws nigh
unto God; but rather is an enemy of God, and so remains
until, by the power of the Holy Spirit through the Word
preached and heard, out of pure grace, without any coopera-
tion of his own, he is converted, endowed with faith, re-
generated, and renewed." (p. 656.)
II. " We believe that in what is spiritual and Divine, the
understanding, heart, and will of the man who has not been
born again, are wholly unable, by his own natural powers,
to understand, believe, embrace, think, will, begin, finish,
act, operate, and cooperate; but as to good, man is alto-
gether corrupt and dead, so that in his nature since the fall,
before regeneration, there remains not even a spark of spirk
tual power by which he could prepare himself for the grace
of God, or grasp it when offered, or adapt himself to it, and
by himself be capable of holding it; nor can he by his own
powers contribute any thing to his own conversion, not all,
nor half, nor the smallest part; nor act, operate, or cooperate
from himself, or as if from himself ; but he is the servant of
sin and the slave of Satan, by whom he is moved. So, con-
sequently, his natural free will, by reason of his powers cor-
rupted and his nature depraved, is active and effective only
for what is displeasing to God and opposed to Him." (p.
656.)
III. "In civil and natural affairs man is industrious and
ingenious, but in things spiritual and Divine, which regard
the soul's salvation, he is like a stock or stone, or the pillar
of salt into which Lot's wife was turned, which have not the
use of eyes or mouth or any of the senses." (p. 661.)
IV. "Man, however, has power of locomotion which he
can exercise over his external members, he can hear the
Gospel, and in some measure can meditate thereon; but yet
in his secret thoughts he despises it as foolish, nor can he
believe; and in this respect he is worse than a stock, unless
the Holy Spirit is efficacious in him, kindling and operating
in him faith and other virtues approved of God, and also
obedience." (p. 662.)
No. 464]
FREE WILL
633
V. " In a certain sense it may be said that a man is not
a stone or stock. A stone and stock do not resist, and they
do not understand or feel what is done with them, as man
by his will resists God until he has been converted to Him;
it still is true that before conversion man is a rational creature
having understanding, but not in Divine things, and a will,
but not such as to will any saving good: still, however, he
cannot contribute any thing to his conversion, and in this
respect he is worse than a stock or stone." (pp. 672, 673.)
VI. " The whole of conversion is the operation, gift, and
work of the Holy Spirit alone, who effects and operates it
with His own virtue and power, through the Word, in the
understanding, heart and will of man as in a passive sub-
ject; where the man does not act, but is passive only. Nev-
ertheless that this does not take place as a statue is formed
from stone, or as a seal is impressed upon wax, for the wax
has neither knowledge nor will." (p. 681.)
VII. "According to the sayings of some of the fathers and
of doctors of later days, ' God draws only the willing,' and so
in conversion man's will does something; but these are not
like sound words, for they confirm a false opinion as to the
powers of human will in conversion." (p. 582.)
VIII. "In external matters of the world, which are sub-
ject to reason, there is still left to man some portion of under-
standing, powers, and faculties; although these wretched
remnants are exceedingly feeble; and insignificant as they
are, even these are so poisoned and contaminated by heredi-
tary disease that in the sight of God they are worthless."
(p. 641.)
IX. " In conversion, whereby from being a child of wrath
man becomes a child of grace, he does not cooperate with
the Holy Spirit, since man's conversion is the work of the
Holy Spirit solely and exclusively" (pp. 219, 579 and fol-
lowing, 663 and following; Appendix, p. 143). "Never-
theless the man who is born anew, through the power of the
Holy Spirit, can cooperate, although much infirmity still
634
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 464
accompanies; and he works well so far and so long as he is
led, ruled, and guided by the Holy Spirit; but yet he does
not work together with the Holy Spirit as two horses to-
gether draw a carriage." (p. 674.)
X. " Original sin is not some wrong which is perpetrated
in act, but it is inmostly inherent, fixed in man's nature, sub-
stance, and essence; it is the fountain of all actual sins, such
as depraved thoughts, conversation, and evil works" (p. 577).
"This hereditary disease, by which the whole nature has
been corrupted, is a horrible sin, and is indeed the beginning
and head of all sins, from which as a root and a fountain all
transgressions proceed." (p. 640.)
" By this sin, as if by a spiritual leprosy, even throughout
the inmost organism and the heart's deepest recesses, all of
man's nature in the sight of God is infected and corrupted;
and on account of this corruption man's person is by God's
law accused and condemned; so that we are by nature chil-
dren of wrath, slaves of death and damnation, unless by the
benefit of Christ's merit we are delivered and preserved from
these evils" (p. 639). "Hence there is a total want or
deprivation of the original righteousness created with man in
Paradise, or of the image of God, and hence are the impo-
tence, inaptitude, and stupidity, by which man has been
wholly unfitted for all Divine or spiritual things. In the
place of the lost image of God in man, there is an inmost,
most wicked, deepest, inscrutable, and inexpressible cor-
ruption of his whole nature, and of all his powers, especially
of the higher and chief faculties of the soul, in mind, under-
standing, heart, and will." (p. 640.)
465. These are the precepts, dogmas, and decrees of the
present church as to man's free will in spiritual and in natural
things, as also respecting original sin. They have been pre-
sented to the end that the precepts, dogmas, and decrees of
the New Church on these subjects may be seen more clearly;
for from the two formulas so placed side by side, the truth
appears in the light: as in pictures, in which an ugly Mce
No. 467]
FREE WILL
635
is placed beside a handsome one; both being seen at once,
the beauty of the one and the ugliness of the other stand out
clearly before the eye. The decrees of the New Church are
these which follow.
I. TWO TREES PLACED IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN, ONE OP
LIFE, AND THE OTHER OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD
AND EVIL, SIGNIFY FREE WILL IN SPIRITUAL
THINGS GIVEN TO MAN.
466. It has been believed by many that by Adam and
Eve, in the book of Moses, the first created human beings
are not meant, and in proof they have brought forward
arguments as to Pre-adamites drawn from the computa-
tions and chronologies in some Gentile lands; and also from
the saying of Cain, Adam's first-born, to Jehovah: / shall be
a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth, and it shall come to
pass that every one that findeth me shall slay me. Therefore
Jehovah set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should
kill him (Gen. iv. 14, 15); and he afterward went out from
the face of Jehovah, and dwelt in the land of Nod, and he
builded a city (iv. 16, 17). From this they argue that the
earth was inhabited before the time of Adam. But that
Adam and his wife mean the Most Ancient Church on this
planet has been proved by many things in the Heavenly Ar-
cana, published by me at London; and in the same work it
is also shown that the garden of Eden means the wisdom of
the men of that church; the tree of life, the Lord in man
and man in the Lord; the tree of knowledge of good and
evil, man not in the Lord but in his selfhood, as he is who
believes that he does all things, even good, from himself;
and eating from that tree means the appropriation of evil.
467. By the garden of Eden in the Word is not meant any
garden, but intelligence; and by the tree is not meant any
tree, but man. That the garden of Eden signifies intelli-
gence and wisdom, may be evident from the following pas-
636 TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 467
sages : In thine intelligence and thy wisdom thou hadst gotten
thee riches; also (which follows in the same chapter), Full of
wisdom, thou hast been in Eden, the garden of God; every pre-
cious stone was thy covering (Ezek. xxviii. 4, 12, 13). This
is said of the prince and king of Tyre, of whom wisdom is
predicated, because Tyre in the Word signifies the church
as to knowledges of truth and good, by which is wisdom; the
precious stones which were his covering, also signify knowl-
edges of truth and good; for the prince and the king of Tyre
were not in the garden of Eden. And in another passage in
Ezekiel: Ashur is a cedar in Lebanon; the cedars in the gar-
den of God did not hide it; nor was any tree in the garden of
God equal to it in beauty; all the trees of Eden in the garden
of God emulated it (xxxi. 3, 8, 9). And again: To whom art
thou thus become like in glory and in greatness among the trees
of Eden? (verse 18.) This is said of Ashur, because by
Ashur in the Word rationality and intelligence therefrom is
signified. In Isaiah: Jehovah shall comfort Zion; He will
turn her desert into Eden, and her wilderness into the garden
of Jehovah (li. 3). Here Zion is the church, while Eden and
the garden of Jehovah are wisdom and intelligence. In the
Apocalypse: To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the
tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God (ii. 7).
In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river,
will be the tree of life (xxii. 2). From these passages it is
clearly manifest that the garden of Eden, in which Adam
is said to have been placed, means intelligence and wisdom,
because the like is said as to Tyre, Ashur, and Zion. Also,
by a garden is signified intelligence elsewhere in the Word,
as in Isaiah (viii. n; lxi. n), Jeremiah (xxxi. 12), Amos
(ix. 14), and Numbers (xxiv. 6). This spiritual meaning of
garden is because of representations in the spiritual world;
paradises appear there, where the angels are in intelligence
and wisdom; the intelligence and wisdom themselves which
they have from the Lord, present such things around them;
and this comes from correspondence, for all things existing
in the spiritual world are correspondences.
No. 469]
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637
468. That a tree signifies man, is evident from the follow-
ing passages in the Word: All the trees of the field shall know
that I, Jehovah, will humble the high tree, will exalt the low
tree, and will dry up the green tree, and will make the dry tree
to flourish (Ezek. xvii. 24). Blessed is the man whose de-
light is in the law; he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers
of waters, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season (Ps. i. 1-
3: Jer. xvii. 8). Praise Jehovah, ye fruitful trees (Ps. cxlviii.
9). The trees of Jehovah are full (Ps. civ. 16). The axe
lielh at the root of the tree; every tree that bearelh not good
fruit shall be cut down (Matt. iii. 10; vii. 16-21). Either
make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt
and its fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit (Matt,
xii. 33; Luke vi. 43, 44). / will kindle a fire, which shall
devour every green tree and every dry tree (Ezek. xx. 47).
Because a tree signifies man, it was a law that the fruit of a
tree serviceable for food in the land of Canaan should be
counted as uncircumcised for three years (Lev. xix. 23).
Because an olive-tree signifies the man of the celestial church,
it is said of the two witnesses who prophesied that they were
two olive-trees, standing before the Lord of the whole earth
(Apoc. xi. 4; so too, Zech. iv. 3, n-14). And in David:
/ am a green olive-tree in the house of God (Ps. Iii. 8). And
in Jeremiah : Jehovah called thy name a green olive-tree, fair,
with fruit (xi. 16); beside other passages, not here presented
because of their great number.
469. At this day one who is interiorly wise may perceive
or divine that what is written of Adam and his wife involves
spiritual things, which no one has heretofore known because
the spiritual sense of the Word has not been unfolded until
now. Who cannot see, without close examination, that
Jehovah had not placed two trees in the garden, and one of
them for a stumbling-block, but for the sake of some spiri-
tual representation? And that they were cursed because
they both ate of a tree, and that the curse clings to every
man coming after them, and thus that the whole human race
638 TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 469
was condemned for the fault of one man, in which there was
no evil of the lusts of the flesh, and no iniquity of heart —
does this square with Divine justice? And, first of all, why
did not Jehovah withhold him from eating? as He was
present and saw it. And why did He not cast the serpent
down into the lower world before he persuaded them ? But,
my friend, God did not do this, because He would thus have
deprived man of free will, from which, nevertheless, man is
man, and not a beast. When this is known, it is Very evi-
dent that by those two trees, one for life and the other for
death, man's free will in spiritual things was represented.
Moreover hereditary evil is not from that, but from parents,
by whom an inclination towards the evil in which they them-
selves have been is transmitted to their children. That this
is so, is seen clearly by any one who carefully studies the man-
ners, dispositions, and faces of the children, yes, of families,
from a common father. But yet it depends on each one of a
family to choose whether he will accede or recede; for every
one is left to his own free will. But the special signification
of the tree of life, and of the tree of knowledge of good and
evil, was fully explained in a Relation which may be seen
above (n. 48).
II. Man is not life, but is a receptacle of life from
God.
470. It is commonly believed that life is his own in man,
so that he is not merely a receptacle of life, but is also life.
This is the common belief from the appearance; for man
lives, that is, feels, thinks, speaks, and acts, altogether as
from himself. Therefore the statement that man is a re-
ceptacle of life, and is not life, cannot but seem as something
unheard of, or a paradox, being opposed to sensual thought
because contrary to appearance. The cause of this fallacious
belief that man is also life, consequently that life was created
in man and for him, and afterward generated in him by an
No. 470]
FREE WILL
639
offshoot, I have deduced from appearance; but the cause of
fallacy from appearance is, that most men are at the present
day natural, and but few spiritual, and the natural man
judges from appearances and the fallacies therefrom, which
are diametrically opposed to this truth, that man is merely
a receptacle of life, not life. That man is not life, but a
receptacle of life from God, is evident from these obvious
proofs, that all created things are in themselves finite, and
that man because he is finite could not have been created
except from finite things. Therefore it is said in the book
of creation, that Adam was made from the earth and its
dust, from which he was also named, for Adam signifies the
earth's soil; and every man actually consists only of what is
in the earth, and from the earth in the atmospheres. What
is in the atmospheres from the earth, man absorbs by the
lungs and the pores of the whole body, and the grosser con-
stituents he absorbs by means of food made up of earthly
substances. But as regards man's spirit, that also is created
from finite things. What is man's spirit but a receptacle of
the life of the mind ? The finites of which it is, are spiritual
substances, which are in the spiritual world, and also are
brought together into our earth and stored therein. Unless
they were there together with material things, no seed could
be impregnated from the inmosts, and then in a wonderful
manner grow up, with no departure from the right way,
from the first shoot even to fruit and to new seed; nor could
worms be procreated from the effluvia from the earth and
*he exhalations from vegetable matter, with which the at-
mospheres are impregnated. Who with reason can think
that the Infinite can create any thing but what is finite ? and
that man, being finite, is any thing but a form which the
Infinite can vivify from the life in itself ? And this is meant
by these words: Jehovah God formed man, the dust 0} the
earth, and breathed into his nostrils the breath oj lives (Gen.
ii. 7). God, because He is infinite, is life in Himself; this
He cannot create, and so transfer to man, for that would be
640
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 470
to make him God. To hold that this was done, was the
madness of the serpent or the devil, and from him of Eve
and of Adam; for the serpent said, In the day ye eat thereof,
your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God (Gen. iii. 5).
That this dire persuasion that God transfused and tran-
scribed Himself into man, was held by the men of the Most
Ancient Church at its end, when it was consummated, I have
heard from their own mouth; and they, on account of that
horrible belief that so they were gods, lie deeply hidden in a
cavern, near to which no one can approach without being
seized by an inward dizziness causing him to fall. That by
Adam and his wife the Most Ancient Church is meant and
described, was made known in the preceding article.
471. Who that can think from reason raised above the
sensuals of the body, cannot see that life is not creatable?
For what is life but the inmost activity of the love and wis-
dom which are in God and are God, which life may also be
called living force itself ? He who sees this can also see that
this life cannot be transferred into any man, except together
with love and wisdom. Who denies, or who can deny, that
all the good of love and all the truth of wisdom are solely
from God? and that so far as a man receives them from
God he lives from God, and is said to be born of God, that
is, regenerated ? And on the other hand, that so far as one
does not receive love and wisdom, or what is the same, char-
ity and faith, he does not receive life which in itself is life,
from God, but from hell ? and this is no other than inverted
life which is called spiritual death.
472. From the foregoing it may be perceived and con-
cluded that the following are not creatable, namely: r. The
infinite is not creatable: 2. Nor are love and wisdom: 3.
And therefore life is not: 4. Nor are heat and light : 5. Nor
indeed is activity itself, viewed in itself. But it may be per-
ceived and concluded that organs receptive of these are cre-
atable and have been created. This may be illustrated by
the following comparisons: Light is not creatable, but its
No. 473]
FREE WILL
organ, the eye; sound, which is the activity of the atmos-
phere, is not creatable, but its organ, the ear; neither is heat,
which is the primary active, for the reception of which all
things in the three kingdoms of nature have been created,
which according to reception do not act but are acted upon.
It is according to creation that where there are actives there
are also passives, and that the two join themselves together
as in one. If actives were creatable, as passives are, there
would have been no need of the sun and heat and light from
it, but all created things would subsist without them; whereas
if they were removed, the created universe would lapse into
chaos. The sun of this world consists of created substances,
the activity of which produces fire. This is presented for the
sake of illustration. It would be the same with man, if
spiritual light which in its essence is wisdom, and spiritual
heat which in its essence is love, did not flow into him and
were not received by him. The whole man is nothing but
a form organized to receive light and heat, as well from the
natural world as from the spiritual, for they correspond to
each other. If it were denied that man is a form receptive
of love and wisdom from God, influx would also be denied,
and so that all good is from God; conjunction with God
would also be denied, and consequently, that man can be an
abode and temple of God.
473. But that man does not know this from any light of
reason is because fallacies from the credited appearances to
the external senses of the body cast a shade on that light.
Man feels no otherwise than that he lives from his life, be-
cause an instrumental feels the principal as its own, and
therefore cannot distinguish between them; for the principal
and the instrumental causes act together as one cause, ac-
cording to a proposition known in the learned world. The
principal cause is life, and the instrumental cause is man's
mind. It seems as if beasts, too, possess life created in
them, but this is a like fallacy; for they are organs created
to receive light and heat from the natural world and at the
642
TEUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 473
same time from the spiritual world; for every species is a
form of some natural love, and receives light and heat from
the spiritual world mediately, through heaven and hell,
the gentle through heaven, and the fierce through hell. Man
alone receives light and heat, that is, wisdom and love, im-
mediately from the Lord. This is the difference.
474. That the Lord is life in Himself, thus life itself, He
teaches in John : The Word was with God, and the Word was
God; in Him was life, and the life was the light oj men (i. 1,
4). Again: As the Father hath life in Himself, so hath He
given to the Son to have life in Himself (v. 26). And again:
/ am the way, the truth, and the life (xiv. 6). And again:
He that jolloweth Me shall have the light of life (viii. 12).
III. SO LONG AS MAN LIVES rN THE WORLD, HE IS KEPT IN
THE MIDDLE BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL, AND IN
SPIRITUAL EQUILIBRIUM THERE, WHICH IS
FREE WILL.
475. That what free will is may be known, and its quality,
it is necessary to know whence it is. From a knowledge of
its origin, especially, it becomes well known not only that it
is, but also of what quality it is. Its origin is from the spiri-
tual world, where man's mind is kept by the Lord. The
mind of man is his spirit which lives after death; and man's
spirit is constantly in company with its like in the spiritual
world, and by means of the material body with which it is
compassed it is with men in the natural world. The
reason why man does not know that he is in the midst of
spirits as to his mind, is that the spirits with whom he is in
company in the spiritual world think and speak spiritually;
*uit man's spirit, so long as he is in the material body, thinks
ana speaks naturally; and spiritual thought and speech
can be neither understood nor perceived by a natural man,
nor the reverse; and it is from this that they cannot be seen.
But when a man's spirit is in society with spirits in their
No. 476]
FREE WILL
643
world, he is then also in spiritual thought and speech with
them, because his mind is inwardly spiritual but outwardly
natural, and he therefore communicates with spirits by his
interiors, but with men by his exteriors. By that com-
munication man perceives, and thinks analytically; without
it he would not think more or otherwise than a beast, as he
would also die instantly if all relations with spirits were cut
off. But to make comprehensible how man can be kept
in the middle between heaven and hell, and thereby in spiri-
tual equilibrium, from which he has free will, a few words
shall be said. The spiritual world consists of heaven and
hell; heaven is over head, and hell is there beneath the feet,
not, however, in the centre of the planet inhabited by men,
but under the earths of the spiritual world, which also are of
spiritual origin, and therefore not in extension but in its
appearance. Between heaven and hell there is a great
interval, which to those who are there seems like a complete
world. Into this interspace, from hell exhales evil in all
abundance; and from heaven, on the other hand, good flows
in thither, also in all abundance. It was this space of which
Abraham said to the rich man in hell, Between us and you
there is a great gulf fixed, so that they who would pass from
hence to you cannot, neither can they pass to us tluit would
come from thence (Luke xvi. 26). In the midst of this space
every man is as to his spirit, and solely for this, that he may
be in free will. This space, because it is so vast, and to those
who are there appears as a great orb, is called the World of
Spirits. It is also full of spirits, because every man after
death first comes to it, and is there prepared either for heaven
or for hell. There he is among spirits, in company with
them, as he was among men in the former world; nor is
there a purgatory there; that is a fable invented by the
Roman Catholics. But that world has been specially treated
of in the work on Heaven and Hell, published at London in
1758 (n. 421-535)-
476. Every man, from infancy even to old age, is changing
644
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 47b
his locality or situation in that world. While an infant, he
is kept in the eastern quarter, toward its north part; in boy-
hood, as he learns the first lessons of religion, he gradually
leaves the north for the south; in youth, as he begins to
think from his own mind, he is borne southward; and after-
ward, when he judges for himself and becomes his own mas-
ter, according to the increase of that which interiorly regards
God and love toward the neighbor, he is borne into the south
and to the east. But if he favors evil and imbibes it, he
keeps on toward the west. For in the spiritual world all
have their dwelling according to the quarters; in the east
dwell those who are in good from the Lord, for the sun is
there, in the midst of which the Lord is; in the north dwell
those who are in ignorance; in the south, those who are in
intelligence; and in the west, those who are in evil. Man
himself is not kept in that space or middle region as to the
body, but as to the spirit; and as the spirit changes its state,
by drawing near to good or to evil, so he is transferred to
localities or situations in this quarter or that, and there
comes into company with those who dwell there. But it is
to be known that the Lord does not transfer man hither or
thither, but man transfers himself in different ways. If he
chooses good, he then together with the Lord, or rather the
Lord together with him, transfers his spirit toward the east.
But if man chooses evil, then in unity with the devil, or rather
the devil in unity with him, he transfers his spirit toward the
west. It is to be observed that where heaven is here said,
the Lord also is meant, because the Lord is the All in all of
heaven; and where the devil is said, hell is meant, because
all who are there are devils.
477. Man is kept in this great interspace, and there con-
tinually in the midst of it, solely for this, that he may be in
free will in spiritual things; for this equilibrium is spiritual,
because it is between heaven and hell, thus between good
and evil. All who are in that great space are, as to their
interiors, joined with either angels of heaven or devils of
No. 478]
FREE WILL
645
hell, but at this day with either the angels of Michael or the
angels of the dragon. After death every man betakes him-
self to his own in that space, and associates himself with
those who are in similar love; for love there joins every one
with his like, causes him freely to breathe the breath of his
life and to be in the state of his previous life. But the ex-
ternals that do not make one with internals are then suc-
cessively put off; which being done, the good man is raised
to heaven, and the wicked man betakes himself to hell, each
to those with whom he makes one as to the reigning love.
478. But this spiritual equilibrium, which is free will, may
be illustrated by examples of natural equilibrium. It is like
the equilibrium of a man bound about the body or at the
arms, between two men of equal strength, one of whom
draws the man between them to the right, and the other to
the left: then the man in the middle can freely turn this
way or that, as if not acted upon by any force; and if he
turns toward the right, he draws the one on his left forcibly
toward him, even so that the man falls to the ground. It
would be the same if any man, however peaceable, were
bound between three men on his right and the same number
on his left, of equal power; it would be the same if he were
bound between camels or horses. Spiritual equilibrium,
which is free will, may be compared to a balance, in each
scale of which are placed equal weights; if but a little be
added to the scale of one side, the tongue at the axis above
begins to vibrate. It is similar with a lever, or with a great
beam on its supporting roller. The things which are within
man are one and all in such equilibrium — as the heart,
lungs, stomach, liver, pancreas, spleen, intestines, and all
others; hence it is that each one can discharge its functions
in perfect quiet. So with all the muscles: without such an
equilibrium with them, all action and reaction would cease,
and man would no longer act as man. Since, therefore, all
things in the body are in such equilibrium, all things in the
brain also are so too, consequently all things in the mind
646
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 478
there, which have reference to the will and understanding.
Beasts, birds, fishes, and insects also have freedom, but they
are carried along by the senses of their body, appetite and
pleasure prompting them. Man would not be unlike them
if he had freedom in doing, like his freedom in thinking; he
would also be carried along only by the senses of the body,
lust and pleasure prompting him. It is otherwise with him
who takes in the spiritual things of the church, and curbs his
free will by their means. He is then led by the Lord away
from lusts and evil pleasures and the inborn desire for them,
and has affection for good, and is averse to evil. He is then
transferred by the Lord nearer to the east and at the same
time to the south in the spiritual world, and is admitted into
heavenly freedom, which is freedom indeed.
IV. From permission of evil, in which permission is
EVERY ONE'S INTERNAL MAN, IT IS CLEARLY MANIFEST
THAT MAN HAS FREE WILL IN SPIRITUAL THINGS.
479. That man has free will in spiritual things is to be con-
firmed first from generals and afterward by particulars which
every one will acknowledge at the first hearing. The gen-
erals are: 1. That the wisest of mankind, Adam and his
wife, suffered themselves to be seduced by a serpent. 2.
And their first son Cain killed his brother Abel, and Jehovah
God did not withhold them by speaking with them, but only
after the deeds by cursing them. 3. That the Israelitish
nation worshipped a golden calf in the desert, when yet
Jehovah saw this from Mount Sinai and did not take pre-
cautions against it. 4. That David numbered the people,
and therefore a plague was sent upon them, by which so
many thousands of men perished; and that God, not before
but after the deed, sent Gad the prophet to him and declared
punishment. 5. That Solomon was permitted to establish
idolatrous worship. 6. And many kings after him were
permitted to profane the temple and the holy things of the
No. 4S0J
FREE WILL
647
church; and finally, that nation was permitted to crucify
the Lord. 7. That Mohammed was permitted to estab-
lish a religion in many respects not conformable to the Sacred
Scripture. 8. That the Christian religion is divided into
many sects, and each into heresies. 9. That there are in
Christendom so many impious persons, even glorying in
their impieties, as also plots and craft, even against the pious,
just, and sincere. 10. That injustice sometimes triumphs
over justice in courts and in business, n. That even im-
pious persons are exalted to honors, and become great men
and leaders. 12. That wars are permitted, and in them
the slaughter of so many men, and the plundering of so many
cities, nations, and families. And so on. Can any one
deduce such from any other source than the free will with
every man? The permission known in all the world, has
no other origin. That the laws of permission are also laws
of the Divine Providence, may be seen in the work the Di-
vine Providence, printed at Amsterdam in 1764 (n. 234-
274), where what has been introduced above is also ex-
plained.
480. The particulars which show that there is free will in
spiritual things as much as in natural, are innumerable. Let
one take counsel of himself, if he chooses, whether he cannot
seventy times a day, or three hundred times a week, think of
God, the Lord, the Holy Spirit, and the Divine things which
are called the spiritual things of the church; whether he has
then a sense of any thing as forced, if he is moved to this
from any pleasure, or indeed from any lust, and this whether
he has faith or does not have it. Examine also, in whatever
state you may be, whether you can think any thing without
free will, in your conversation, in your prayers to God, in
preaching, and even in listening. Does not free will carry
every point in all these ? Yes, see that without free will, and
this in every and in the most minute particular, you would
no more breathe than a statue; for breathing follows thought,
and hence speech, in every step. I say, no more than a
643
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 480
statue, and not no more than a beast; for a beast breathes
from natural free will, but man from free will in natural
and at the same time in spiritual things; for man is not born
like a beast; a beast is born, with all the ideas that wait on
its natural love at every step, into those that pertain to nutri-
tion and prolification ; but a man is born destitute of connate
ideas, and only into the faculty for knowing, understanding,
and being wise, and into the inclination to love himself and
the world, and also the neighbor and God; it is therefore
said that if he were deprived of free will in all that he wills
and thinks, he would no more breathe than a statue, and it
is not said that he would no more breathe than a beast.
481 . That man has free will in natural things is not denied,
but this he has from his free will in spiritual things; for the
Lord flows in with every man from above or within, with Di-
vine good and Divine truth, as before shown; and thereby
breathes into man life distinct from that of beasts; and it is
His gift that man is able and willing to receive the Divine
good and truth and to act from them, and this He never
takes away from any one. Hence it follows that it is the
Lord's constant will that man should receive truth and do
good, and so become spiritual, for which he was born; and
to become spiritual without free will in spiritual things is as
impossible as it is to thrust a camel through the eye of a
needle, or to touch a star in the heavens with the hand.
That ability to understand truth and will it is given to every
man, and to the devils also, and is in no wise taken away,
has been shown me by living experience. One of those who
were in hell was once brought up into the world of spirits;
and being there questioned by angels from heaven as to
whether he could understand the things which they were
speaking with him, Divine spiritual things, he replied that
he did understand; and having been asked why he did not
receive such things, he said that he did not love them, and
was therefore not willing. Again he was told that he could
be willing. He wondered at this, and said that he could not.
No. 482]
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649
Therefore the angels inspired his understanding with the
glory of fame with its pleasantness; receiving which, he also
willed those things and even loved them. But presently
he was sent back into the former state, in which he was a
plunderer, an adulterer, and an abuser of the neighbor; and
then because he did not will, he no longer understood them.
From this it is manifest that man is man from having free
will in spiritual things, and that without it man would be a
stock, a stone, or the statue Lot's wife.
482. That man would have no free will in civil, moral,
and natural things, if he had none in spiritual things, is evi
dent from this, that spiritual things, which are called theo-
logical, have their seat in the highest region of man's mind,
like the soul in the body. They have their seat there, be-
cause the door by which the Lord enters to man is there.
Beneath them are civil, moral, and natural things, which
in man receive all their life from the spiritual things seated
above them. And since life flows in from the Lord from
the highest, and man's life is to be able to think, to will,
and hence to speak and to do, freely, it follows that free will
in political and natural things is from this and no other
origin. From this spiritual freedom, man has a perception
of what is good and true, just and right, in civil matters,
which perception is understanding itself in its essence.
Man's free will in spiritual things is comparatively like the
air in the lungs, which is inhaled, retained, and expelled, in
accordance with all the changes of his thought ; and without
it he would be in a worse condition than one laboring under
nightmare, angina, or asthma. And it is like the blood in
the heart, at the first deficiency of which, the heart would
first palpitate, and then after convulsive action cease to beat
at all. It also might be likened to a body in motion, which is
borne along while there is effort remaining, and effort and
motion cease at one and the same time. So also is it with the
freedom of determination in which is man's will; both to-
gether, the freedom of determination and tne will, in man
650
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 482
may be called living effort; for when will ceases, action
ceases, and when freedom of determination ceases, will
ceases. If man were deprived of spiritual freedom, it would
be comparatively as if the wheels were taken from machinery,
fans from windmills, or sails from ships. Yes, it would be as
with one who breathes his last in dying; for the life of man's
spirit consists in his free will in spiritual things. The angels
lament when they but hear it said that at this day many
ministers of the church deny that there is this free will; and
they call the denial of it double madness.
V Without free will in spiritual things, the Word
WOULD BE OF NO USE, AND CONSEQUENTLY THE
CHURCH WOULD BE NOTHING.
483. It is known throughout the Christian world that the
Word is in a broad sense the law, or the book of the laws ac-
cording to which man must live to obtain eternal life; and
what is more frequently stated there than that man must do
good and not evil, and that he must believe in God and not in
idols ? And it is full of commands and exhortations to those
things, of blessings and promises of reward for those who do
them, and of curses and threats for those who do them not.
For what would all this be, if man had no free will in spiri-
tual things, that is, in such as concern salvation and eternal
life? Would they not be vain words, and serve no use?
And if a man should persist in the idea that he has no power
and liberty in spiritual things, and thus apart from any
power of the will in them, would the Sacred Scripture then
appear to him otherwise than as blank paper without a
syllable upon it, or as paper on which a whole inkstand
has been emptied, or as strokes or points merely, without
letters, and thus as an empty volume ? There would be no
need of confirming this from the Word; but as the churches
have now spent themselves on the emptiness of the mind in
spiritual things, and to prove it have brought forward from
No. 483]
FREE WILL
65I
the Word some passages to which they have given a false
interpretation, it is right to present some that command man
to do and to believe. Such are the following: The kingdom
of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing
forth the fruits thereof (Matt. xxi. 43). Bring forth therefore
fruits worthy of repentance; now also the axe is laid unto the
root of the tree; every tree therefore which bringeth not forth
good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire (Luke iii. 8, 9).
Jesus said, Why call ye Me Lord, Lord, and do not the things
which I say? Whosoever cometh to Me, and heareth My say-
ings and doeth them, is like a man who built a house upon a
rock; but he tltat heareth and doeth not, is like a man that with-
out a foundation built a house upon the sand (vi. 46-49).
Jesus said, My mother and My brethren are these who hear
the Word of God and do it (viii. 21). We know that God hear-
eth not sinners, but if any one worship peth God, and doeth His
will, him He heareth (John ix. 31). If ye know these things,
happy are ye if ye do them (xiii. 17). He that hath My com-
mandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me; and I
will love him (xiv. 21). Herein is My Father glorified, that
ye bear much fruit (xv. 8). Ye are My friends if ye do what-
soever I command you. I have chosen you, that ye should
bring forth fruit and that your fruit should remain (xv. 14, 16).
Make the tree good; the tree is known by the fruit (Matt. xii.
33). Bring forth fruits worthy of repentance (iii. 8). He
that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the
Word and beareth fruit (xiii. 23). He that reapeth receiveth
wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal (John iv. 36).
Wash you, make you clean, put away the evil of your doings,
learn to do good (Isa. i. 16, 17). The Son of Man shall come
in the glory of His Father, and then He shall reward every
one according to his deeds (Matt. xvi. 27). And shall come
forth, they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life
(John v. 29). Their works do follow them (Apoc. xiv. 13).
Behold I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give
to every one according to his work (Apoc. xxii. 12). Whose
652 TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 483
eyes are open, to give every one according to his ways [Jer.
xxxii. 19], according to our doings hath He dealt with us
(Zech. i. 6). The Lord also teaches the same in the parables,
many of which imply that they who do good are accepted and
they who do evil are rejected; as in the parable of the la-
borers in the vineyard (Matt. xxi. 33-44) ; of the talents and
the pounds with which they were to trade (Matt. xxv. 14-
30: Luke xix. 13-25). So, too, of Faith: Jesus said, Who-
soever believeth in Me shall never die; yet shall he live (John
xi. 25, 26). This is the Father's will, that every one who be-
lieveth in the Son may have eternal life (vi. 40; also verse 47).
He that believeth in the Son hath eternal life; but he that be-
lieveth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath oj God
abideth on him (iii. 36). God so loved the world that He gave
His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should
not perish, but have everlasting life (iii. 15,16). And further:
Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and all
thy soid, and all thy mind; and thou shalt love the neighbor
as thyself. On these two commandments hang the Law and
the Prophets (xxii. 37-40). But these are a very few of such
passages from the Word, and as a few cups of water from
the sea.
484. Who does not see the emptiness, I will not say the
folly, in the passages quoted above (n. 464), from the eccle-
siastical work entitled Formula Concordia, after reading
them and then reading passages from various parts of the
Word ? Would he not think to himself, If it were as is there
taught, that man has no free will in spiritual things, what
would religion be, which is to do good, but an idle word?
And what is the church without religion but as bark about
wood, which is fit for no other use than to be burned ? And
furthermore, he would think, If there is no church, because
there is no religion, then what are heaven and hell but fables
of the ministers and prelates of the church to catch people,
and raise themselves to higher honors? Hence that de-
testable saying, on the lips of many, Who can do good of
No. 485]
FREE WILL
653
himself? and, who can gain faith of himself? And so they
neglect those things, and live like pagans.
But, my friend, shun evil, and do good, and believe in the
Lord with all your heart and all your soul, and the Lord will
love you, and will give love to do with and faith to believe
with; and then from love you will do good, and from faith,
which is trust, you will believe; and if you persevere in this
way, a reciprocal conjunction will take place, and this per-
petual, which is salvation itself and eternal life. If man,
from the strength given him, were not to do good, and from
his mind were not to believe in the Lord, what would he be
but a wilderness and a desert, and wholly like dry ground
which receives no rain, but repels it? or like a sandy plain
where there are sheep without pasture ? And he would be
like a dry fountain, or like stagnant water therein, the outlet
being obstructed; or like a mansion where there is neither
harvest nor water; where, unless one fled from the place
immediately, and sought elsewhere a habitable abode, he
would perish with hunger and thirst.
VI. Without free will in spiritual things there would
BE NOTHING IN MAN BY WHICH LN TURN HE COULD
CONJOIN HIMSELF WITH THE LORD; AND CON-
SEQUENTLY THERE WOULD BE NO IMPU-
TATION, BUT MERE PREDESTI-
NATION, WHICH IS
DETESTABLE.
485. That without free will in spiritual things there would
be neither charity nor faith with any man, still less a con-
junction of the two, was fully shown in the chapter on Faith.
From this it follows that without free will in spiritual things
there would be nothing in man by which the Lord could con-
join Himself with him: and yet, without reciprocal conjunc-
tion there can be no reformation and regeneration, and con-
sequently no salvation. That without reciprocal conjunction
654
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 485
of man with the Lord and of the Lord with man there would
be no imputation, is an unavoidable consequence. The re-
sults from confirming the belief that there is no imputation
of good and evil, on the ground that man is without free will
in spiritual things, are numerous; and those enormities are
to be laid open in the last part of this work, where it will treat
of the heresies, paradoxes, and contradictions flowing from
the faith of the present day as to the imputation of the merit
and righteousness of the Lord God the Saviour.
486. Predestination is an offspring of the faith of the pres-
ent church, for it is born of belief in man's absolute impo-
tence and his having no power of determination in spiritual
things, from believing this, and also that man's conversion
is a turning without life, that he is like a stock, and that
afterward he has no conscious knowledge whether he is a
stock vivified by grace or not; for it is said that election is of
the mere grace of God, to the exclusion of man's action from
the powers either of his nature or of reason; and that it takes
place where and when God wills, thus from His pleasure.
The works which follow faith as evidences, to the reflective
eye are similar to the works of the flesh, and the Spirit which
operates them does not manifest their origin, but makes
them to be of grace or good pleasure, like faith itself. From
this it is plain that the dogma of the present church respect-
ing predestination sprang from that faith as a shoot from its
seed; and I may say that it has flowed out of it as an almost
inevitable result; this was done first among the Predes-
tinarians, then by Godoschalcus, afterward by Calvin and
his followers, and at length was firmly established by the
Synod of Dort, and thence carried forth into their church
as the palladium of religion, or rather as the head of Gorgo
or Medusa graven on the shield of Pallas — by the Supra- and
Infra-Lapsarians, But what more pernicious could have
been devised, or what could have been believed more cruel
about God than that some of the human race have been
condemned by predestination? For it would be a cruel
No. 487]
FREE WILL
655
creed, that the Lord, who is Love itself and Mercy itself,
wills that a multitude of men should be born for hell, or
that myriads of myriads should be born doomed, that is,
born devils and satans; and that from His Divine Wisdom,
which is infinite, He did not and does not provide that those
who live well and acknowledge God should not be cast into
eternal fire and torment. He is still the Lord, the Creator
and Saviour of all, and He alone leads all and wills the death
of none. What, therefore, can be believed or thought more
shocking than that whole nations and peoples should be
handed over, under His auspices and oversight, to the devil,
by predestination, to glut his appetite? But this is the off-
spring of the faith of the present church, but the faith of the
New Church abhors it as monstrous.
487. Because I thought that such madness could never
have been sanctioned by any Christian, still less declared and
publicly proclaimed, which nevertheless was done by so
many chosen from among the clergy at the Synod of Dort,
in Holland, and it was afterward elegantly written out and
given to the public, therefore, to prevent my doubting, some
who took part in the decrees of that Synod were called to
me. When they were seen standing near, 1 said, "Who
from any sound reasoning can come to the conclusion that
there is predestination ? Must not cruel ideas of God, and
shameful ideas concerning religion necessarily flow from it ?
When one has written predestination on his heart by con-
firmations, must he not necesasrily think of all things of the
church as vain, and so too of the Word ? Must he not think
of God as a tryant, for having predestined to hell so many
myriads of men?" At these remarks they looked at me
with a satanic expression, and said, "We were among those
chosen to form the Synod of Dort, and we then confirmed
ourselves, and have since done so still more, in many things
as to God, the Word, and religion, which we have not dared
to make public; but when we have spoken and taught about
it, we have woven and twisted a web of threads of various
656
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
[No. 487
colors, and over it we have strewed feathers borrowed from
the wings of peacocks." But as they now wished to do the
same, the angels, by power given them by the Lord, closed
the externals of the mind, and opened its internals with them,
and they were compelled to speak from the internals. And
then they said, " Our faith, which we have formed from con-
clusions following one from another, has been and still is
this: 1. There is no Word of Jehovah God, but something
of wind breathed out of the mouths of the prophets. This
has been our thought because the Word predestines all to
heaven, and teaches that only man is in fault if he does not
walk in the ways that lead to it. 2. There is religion, be-
cause it is necessary; but it is like a strong wind that brings
a fragrant odor to the common herd; it must therefore be
taught by ministers small and great, and this from the Word,
because the Word has been received. This has been our
thought, because where there is predestination, there re-
ligion is nothing. 3. The civil laws of justice are religion;
but predestination is not according to life from these laws,
but purely from the pleasure of God, as with a king whose
power is absolute at mere sight of a face. 4. All things
taught by the church are to be exploded as vanity, and re-
jected as rubbish, except that God is. 5. The spiritual
things, which are praised, are no more than ethereal under
the sun, which if they penetrate deeply into a man, bring upon
him vertigo and stupor, and make him a hateful monster in
the sight of God." 6. Being asked about faith, from which
they deduced predestination, as to whether they believed it
to be spiritual, they said that it was effected according to
predestination; but that while it is given, men are like stocks;
that they are indeed vivified from being such, but not spiri-
tually. After these horrible sayings, they wished to go away.
But I said to them, " Stay a little longer, and I will read to
you from Isaiah"; and I read as follows: Rejoice not thou,
whole Philistia, because the rod that smote thee is broken; for
out oj the serpent's root hath gone forth a basilisk, whose fruit
No. 4S8]
FREE WILL
657
shall be a fiery flying serpent (xiv. 29). And I explained it by
the spiritual sense; that Philistia means the church sepa-
rate from charity; that the basilisk which went forth out of
the serpent's root, means its doctrine of three gods, and of
imputative faith applied to each singly; and that its fruit,
which is a fiery flying serpent, means no imputation of good
and evil, but immediate mercy whether man has lived well
or ill. Having heard this they said, "This may be so; but
from that volume which you call the Holy Word, select some-
thing on predestination." And I opened it, and in the same
prophet I met with this passage which was appropriate:
Tliey laid asp's eggs, and wove the spider's web; he that eateth
of their eggs dieth, and when one presseth it out, a viper is
hatched (lix. 5). When they heard this they did not bear the
explanation: but some of those who had been called to me
(there were five) hurried away into a cave, round about which
appeared a dusky burning; a sign that they had neither faith
nor charity. It is manifest from this that the decree of that
synod respecting predestination is not only an insane but also
a cruel heresy; it is therefore to be rooted out of the brain, so
that not even one stroke of it shall be left.
488. The horrible creed that God predestines men to hell,
may be compared to the horrible cruelty of fathers among
certain barbarous nations, who throw their sucklings and
infants into the streets; and to that of some in war, who cast
those who are slain into the forests to be devoured by brutes.
It may also be compared to the cruelty of a tryant who di-
vides the people subject to him into companies, and gives
some of the companies to the executioner, some he casts into
the depths of the sea, and some into the fire. It may also
be compared to the madness of some wild beasts which de-
vour their own young; also to the mad fury of dogs which
fly at their own likenesses seen in a mirror.
658
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 489
VII. If there were no free will m spiritual things,
God would be the cause of evil, and so there
would be no imputation.
489. That God is the cause of evil follows from the pres-
ent faith first hatched by those who held council in the city
of Nice. The still persistent heresy, that there have been
three Divine Persons from eternity, and each one a God by
himself was there devised and given out. This egg being
hatched, the followers of this faith could not but approach
each Person separately as God. They seized upon faith as
imputing the merit or righteousness of the Lord God the
Saviour; and that no man might share merit with the Lord,
they took away from man all free will in spiritual things, and
they gave him absolute impotence as to that faith. And as
they deduced every thing spiritual of the church from that
faith, they asserted that there was similar impotence as to
every thing that the church teaches about salvation. Hence
dreadful heresies one after another sprung up, based on that
faith and man's impotence in spiritual things, and also that
most harmful heresy of predestination, treated of in the pre-
ceding article; all of which imply that God is the cause of
evil, or that God created both good and evil. But, my friend,
put faith in no council, but in the Lord's Word which is above
councils. What have not Roman Catholic councils brought
forth ? or that of Dort, whence that terrible viper, predestina-
tion, was published ? It may be thought that the free will
given to man in spiritual things was the mediate cause of evil;
consequently, that if such free will had not been given him,
he could not have transgressed. But, my friend, pause here
and consider whether any man could have been created so as
to be a man without free will in spiritual things; if he were
deprived of that, he would be no longer a man but only a
statue. What is free will but that he can will and do and
think and speak to all appearance as of himself? Since this
No. 490]
FREE WILL
659
was given to man that he might live a man, therefore two
trees were placed in the garden of Eden, the tree of life and
the tree of the knowldege of good and evil; and this signifies
that from the freedom given him man can eat of the fruit of
the tree of life, or of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil.
490. That every thing which God created was good, is
manifest from the first chapter of Genesis, where it is said
(verses 10, 12, 18, 21, and 25), God saw that it was good; and
finally (in verse 31), that God saw every thing that He had
made, and behold it was very good; also from man's primitive
state in paradise. But that evil had its rise from man is plain
from Adam's state according to or after the fall, that he was
expelled from paradise. It is evident from this that unless
free will in spiritual things had been given to man, God Him-
self, and not man, would have been the cause of evil, and
thus that God must have created both good and evil; but to
think that He created evil also, is a horrible thought. That
God did not create evil because He gave man free will in
spiritual things, and that He in no wise inspires any evil into
man, is because He is Good itself, and in good God is omni-
present, continually urging and importuning to be received;
and if He is not received still He does not withdraw, for if He
were to withdraw, man would instantly die, yes, would lapse
into nothing; for man has life from God, and the existence
of all that of which he consists is from God. God did not
create evil, but it was introduced by man, because man turns
into evil the good which is continually flowing in from God,
by turning himself away from God and toward himself;
and when this is done, the enjoyment of good remains, and
then becomes the enjoyment of evil; for without the enjoy-
ment remaining, as the same, man would not live, for enjoy-
ment makes the life of his love. But still these enjoyments
are diametrically opposite to each other; however, man docs
not know this so long as he lives in the world; but after death
he will know it, and will also perceive it manifestly; for then
66o
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 490
enjoyment of the love of good is turned into heavenly blessed-
ness, while enjoyment of the love of evil is turned into in-
fernal horror. From what has been said it is evident that
every man has been predestined to heaven, and no one to
hell, but that a man gives himself over to hell by the abuse
of his free will in spiritual things, whereby he embraces what
exhales from hell. For, as before said, every man is kept in
the midst, between heaven and hell, so as to be in equilibrium
between good and evil, and consequently in free will in spiri-
tual things.
491. That God has imparted freedom not only to man but
also to every beast, yes, and an analogue of it to things inani-
mate, enabling each to receive it according to its nature, as
also that He provides good for them all, but that the objects
turn it into evil, may be illustrated by comparisons: The
atmosphere gives to every man means of breathing, in like
manner to every beast, tame or wild, also to every bird, to owl
and dove alike; and it also gives means for flying; and yet
the atmosphere is not the cause that what it gives is received
by creatures of contrary genius and nature. The ocean gives
in itself an abode, and also offers food to every fish; but it is
not the cause that one devours another there, and that the
crocodile turns its food into poison with which it kills man.
The sun provides heat and light for all things; but objects,
which are the various vegetable productions of the earth,
receive them diversely, a good tree and a good shrub in one
way and the thorn and thistle in another, or the harmless
herb in one way and the poisonous in another. The rain
falls from the higher region of the atmosphere upon all parts
of the earth, and the earth supplies water therefrom to every
shrub, herb, and grass, and each one of them takes to itself
according to its need. This is what is called the analogue
of free will, because they freely drink in those things by their
little mouths, pores, and ducts, which stand open in the warm
season; the earth merely supplies fluids and elementary sub-
stances, and the shrubs appropriate them with something
No. 493]
FREE WILL
like thirst and hunger. It is similar with men, that with
every one the Lord flows in with spiritual heat which in its
essence is the good of love, and with spiritual light which in
its essence is the truth of wisdom; but man receives them
according to the way in which he turns, whether toward God
or toward himself. Therefore where the Lord teaches con-
cerning love toward the neighbor, He says, Tltat ye may be
the children of your Father, who maketh the sun to rise on the
evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the
unjust (Matt. v. 45); and elsewhere He says that He willeth
the salvation of all.
492. I will add this Relation: I have several times heard
words sent down from heaven as to the good of charity,
which passed through the world of spirits and penetrated
into hell, even to its depths; and those words in their prog-
ress were turned into such things as were clearly opposed to
the good of charity, and at length into those of hatred toward
the neighbor; indicating that every thing which proceeds
from the Lord is good, and is turned into evil by the spirits
in hell. The same was done with certain truths of faith,
which in their progress were turned into falsities opposite
to truths. For the recipient form itself turns what enters
into it into what agrees with itself.
VIII. Every spiritual thing of the church that enters
IN FREEDOM, AND IS RECEIVED FROM FREEDOM, REMAINS;
BUT NOT THE REVERSE.
493. That which is received by man from freedom re-
mains with him, because freedom is of his will; and because
it is of the will it is also of his love ; for it has been shown else-
where that the will is the receptacle of love. That all which
is of the love is free, and that it also is of the will, every one
understands when it is said, I will this because I love it; and
also the converse, Because I love this I also will it. But
man's will is two-fold, inward and outward, or of the internal
662 TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 493
and of the external man; therefore a knave may act and
talk before the world in one way, and in another with his
familiar friends; before the world he acts and talks from
the will of his external man, and with his familiar friends
from the will of the internal; but the will of the internal,
where is one's reigning love, is the will that is here meant.
From these few facts it is evident that the inner will is the
man himself, for the being and the essence of his life are
there; the understanding is its form, by which the will renders
its love visible. All that a man loves and wills from love is
free ; for whatever proceeds from the love of the internal will
is his life's enjoyment; and because the same is the being of
his life, it is also his selfhood; and therefore, whatever is
received from the freedom of this will remains, for it adds
itself to the self-life. It is the contrary if any thing is brought
in non-freedom; this is not thus received. But of this in
what follows.
494. But it must be well known that the spiritual things
of the Word and the church, which a man imbibes from love
and which his understanding confirms, remain in him, but
not so what is civil and political; because spiritual things
ascend into the highest region of the mind and take form
there. This is because the Lord's entrance into man with
Divine goods and truths is there, and this region is as a
temple in which He is. But things civil and political, be-
cause they are of the world, occupy lower regions of the
mind, and some of them are there like little buildings outside
of the temple, and some like porches through which is en-
trance. Another reason why the spiritual things of the
church dwell in the highest region of the mind, is because
they are proper to the soul and regard its eternal life, and
the soul is in highests, and its nourishment is from no other
food than spiritual. Therefore the Lord calls Himself
bread, for He says, / am the living bread which came down
from heaven; if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for
ever (John vi. 51). In that region also resides man's love
No. 495]
FREE WILL
663
which makes his blessedness after death; his free will in
spiritual things also has its chief seat there, and from this
descends all the freedom that man has in natural things;
and because the origin of this is there, this is shared with all
forms of free will in natural things; and by means of those,
the love reigning in highests takes whatever conduces to its
ends. The communication is like that between the fountain
and the waters that flow from it, and like that between the
prolific principle itself of a seed with the parts of a tree, one
and all, especially with the fruit, in which it renews itself.
But if one denies that there is free will in spiritual things,
and therefore rejects that, he makes another fountain for
himself, and there opens the stream, and changes spiritual
freedom into merely natural and at length into infernal
freedom. This freedom, too, becomes like the prolific prin-
ciple of a seed, passing freely through trunk and branches
into fruits, which owing to their origin are inwardly rotten.
495. All the freedom that is from the Lord is freedom
indeed, but that which is from hell and hence is with man, is
bondage. Yet spiritual freedom necessarily seems like
bondage to him who is in infernal freedom, because they are
opposites. Nevertheless, all who are in spiritual freedom
not only know but also perceive that infernal freedom is
bondage; the angels therefore turn with aversion from it as
a putrid stench, while the infernals draw it in like aroma.
It is known from the Lord's Word that worship from free-
dom is truly worship, and that what is free is pleasing to the
Lord, therefore it is said in David, / will freely sacrifice to
God (Ps. liv. 6). Again, The willing ones of the people are
gathered together, the people of the God of Abraham (xlvii. 9).
Therefore there were among the children of Israel free-will
offerings; their sacred worship consisted chiefly in sacrifices;
and because of God's being well pleased with what is free,
it >vas commanded that every man whose heart impelled
him, and every one whose willing spirit moved him, should
bring an offering to Jehovah for the work of the tabernacle
664
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 495
(Exod. xxv. 5, 21, 29). And the Lord says, // ye continue in
My Word, then are ye My disciples indeed; and ye shall know
the truth, and the truth shall make you free. If the Son there-
fore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed; but whoso-
ever committeth sin is the servant of sin (John viii. 31-36).
496. That which a man receives from freedom remains,
because his will takes it to itself and appropriates it, and be-
cause it enters into his love, and love acknowledges it as its
own, and forms itself by means of it. But this shall be
illustrated by comparisons; but as these are taken from
natural things, heat will stand in place of love. It is well
known that by means of heat, and according to its degree the
ways of entrance in every plant are opened, and that as they
are opened the plant inwardly returns into the form of its
nature, freely receives its nutriment and retains what is fit
and grows. It is similar with a beast; all that is chosen and
eaten from the love of nutrition called appetite, adds itself
to its body, and so remains. What is suitable continually
adds itself to the body, because all things that compose it are
perpetually renewed. This is known to be so, but by few.
And with beasts, too, heat opens all things of the body, and
causes their natural love to act freely. It is from this that in
spring and summer they enter and return into the instinct
of prolification and of rearing their young, which is done
from the utmost freedom, because this belongs to the reign-
ing love implanted in them by creation for the sake of pre-
serving the universe in the created state. The freedom of
love may be illustrated by the freedom induced by heat, be-
cause love produces heat, as is evident from its effects, as
that man is enkindled, grows warm, and is inflamed, as love
is exalted to zeal or to a blaze of anger. The heat of the
blood or the vital heat of men, and in general of animals, is
from no other source. It is from this correspondence that
the bodily parts are adapted by heat to receive freely that to
which the love aspires. In such equilibrium and consequent
freedom are all things within man. In such freedom the
No. 497]
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665
heart propels its blood upward and downward alike, the
mesentery gives forth its chyle, the liver does its work for
the blood, the kidneys their work of secretion, the glands
theirs in straining, and so on; if its equilibrium were to
suffer, the member would sicken, and would labor under
paralysis or loss of strength; equilibrium and freedom here
are one. There is in the created universe no substance
which does not tend to equilibrium, in order that it may be
in freedom.
IX. Man's will and understanding are in this free
will; but in both worlds, the spiritual and the
natural, doing evil is restrained by laws, for
otherwise society in both would perish.
497. Every one may know that he has free will in spiritual
things from mere observation of his own thought. Cannot
any one think from freedom of God, the Trinity, charity and
the neighbor, faith and its operation, of the Word and all
that is from it, and, after he has studied theology, of the
particulars of it? And who cannot think, and even draw
conclusions, teach, and write, in accordance with them and
against them? If man were deprived of this freedom for
a single moment, would not his thinking cease, his tongue
become dumb, and his hand powerless? Therefore, my
friend, if you choose you can from merely observing your
own thought reject and execrate that absurd and hurtful
heresy, which at this day in Christendom has induced a
lethargy upon heavenly teaching about charity and faith and
salvation therefrom, and about eternal life. The reasons
why this free will resides in man's will and understanding
are the following: 1. Those two faculties must first be in-
structed and reformed, and by means of them the two facul-
ties of the external man which make him speak and act.
2. Those two faculties of the internal man make his spirit
which lives after death, and which is under no other than
666
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 497
Divine law; and of this the first thing is that man should
think of the law, do it, and obey it, from himself though
from the Lord. 3. Man as to his spirit is in the midst be-
tween heaven and hell, thus between good and evil, and
hence in equilibrium; from this he has free will in spiritual
things; of which equilibrium see above (n. 475 and follow-
ing) ; but as long as he lives in the world he is as to his spirit
in equilibrium between heaven and the world, and then he
hardly knows that so far as he withdraws from heaven and
draws near to the world he draws near to hell; man knows
and yet does not know this in order that in this, too, he may
be in freedom and may be reformed. 4. These two, the
will and understanding, are the two receptacles of the Lord,
the will of love and charity, the understanding of wisdom
and faith; and each of these is wrought by the Lord while
man is in full freedom, that there may be mutual and recip-
rocal conjunction, through which is salvation. 5. All the
judgment wrought with man after death is effected accord-
ing to the use that he has made of free will in spiritual things.
498. Hence it comes that free will itself, in spiritual things,
resides in man's soul in all perfection; and from that, as the
Vein of the spring opens into a fountain, it flows into his
mind, into its two parts which are the will and understand-
ing, and through these into the senses of the body, and into
speech and action. For in man there are three degrees of
life, the soul, mind, and sensual body; all that is higher, is
in perfection above that which is lower. It is this freedom
of man, through, in, and with which the Lord is present in
him; and He urges the reception of Himself without ceasing;
but He in no wise removes and takes away freedom, since,
as said above, all that is done by man in spiritual things
which is not from freedom is not permanent; and it may
therefore be said that it is this freedom of man in which the
Lord dwells with him, in his soul. But that the doing of evil
in both the spiritual and the natural world, is restrained by
laws, since otherwise society would nowhere continue to
No. 499]
FREE WILL
667
exist, is manifest without explanation. But yet it shall be
illustrated that without those external bonds not only would
society cease to exist, but the whole human race also would
perish. For man is as a prey to two loves, the love of ruling
over all and the love of possessing the wealth of all. These
loves, if uncurbed, rush onward to infinity. The hereditary
evils into which man is born have arisen principally from
these two loves; nor was that of Adam any other than his
desire to become as God, which evil the serpent infused into
him, as we read; therefore in the curse pronounced upon him
it is said, that the earth would bring forth the thorn and the
thistle to him (Gen. iii. 5, 18), by which are meant all evil
and the falsity from it. Every one who has given himself
up to those loves, regards himself alone as the only one in
whom and for whom all others have their being. Such have
no pity, no fear of God, no love of the neighbor; and hence
there are in them unmercifulness, inhumanity, and cruelty,
and an infernal lust and greed for plundering and robbing,
and craft and cunning in working out their purposes. Such
things are not innate in the beasts of the earth; they do not
slaughter and devour each other from other love than to sat-
isfy their hunger and to defend themselves; therefore a
wicked man, viewed with reference to those loves, is more
inhuman, fierce, and vile than any beast. That man is such
inwardly, is manifest in riots where the bonds of law have
been loosed; and also in massacres and pillaging, when the
signal is given of freedom to turn their fury on the van-
quished and besieged; scarcely one desists until the drum
is heard as a signal that they must stop. From this it is
plain that if no fear of legal penalties restrained men, not
only society but the whole human race would be destroyed.
But all these evils are removed solely by the true use of free
will in spiritual things, which is, to direct the mind to thought
on the state of life after death.
499. But this shall be further illustrated by comparisons,
as follows: Without some sort of free will in all created
668
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
[No. 499
things, both animate and inanimate, no creation could have
been accomplished. For without free will in natural things,
in case of beasts, there would be no choice of food condu-
cive to nourishment, and no propagation and preservation
of offspring; thus there would be no beast. If the fishes of
the sea and the shell-fish at its bottom had not such free-
dom, there would be no fish and no shell-fish. So unless
such freedom were in every little insect, there would be no
silk-worm to yield silk, no bee to furnish honey and wax, no
butterfly to sport with its consort in the air, to feed on the
juices of flowers, and to represent the happy state of man in
the heavenly aura after he has shed his covering, like the
worm. Unless there were some analogue of free will in the
soil of the earth, in the seed sown in it, in all parts of the
tree that has grown out of it, and in its fruit, and again in the
new seed, there would be nothing of the vegetable kingdom.
If there were not some analogue of free will in every metal,
and in every stone both precious and common, there would
be no metal, stone, or even a grain of sand; for this freely
absorbs the ether, exhales what is natural to itself, throws off
what is worn out, and restores itself with what is new, hence
there is a magnetic sphere about the magnet, an iron sphere
about iron, copper about copper, silver about silver, golden
about gold, stony about stone, nitrous about nitre, sulphu-
rous about sulphur, and a different sphere about every par-
ticle of the dust of the earth. And from this sphere the in-
most of every seed is impregnated, and what is prolific
vegetates; for without such exhalation from every little
particle of dust of the earth, there would be no beginning of
germination, and hence no continuance of it. How could
the earth, except by what is exhaled from it, penetrate with
dust and water to the inmost centre of a grain sown in it, as
into a grain of mustard seed, which is less than all seeds, but
when it is grown is greater than the herbs, and becometh a
great tree? (Matt. xiii. 32: Mark iv. 30-32.) Since freedom
has been thus implanted in all created subjects, in each ac-
No. 500]
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cording to its nature, why should not free will have been
implanted in man according to his nature, which is, for him
to be spiritual? Hence it is that free will in spiritual things
is given him from birth even to the close of his life in the
world, and afterward to eternity.
X. If men had not free will in spiritual things, all
IN THE UNIVERSE MIGHT HAVE BEEN LED IN A SINGLE
DAY TO BELIEVE IN THE LORD; BUT THIS CANNOT BE
DONE BECAUSE WHAT IS NOT RECEIVED BY MAN
FROM FREE WILL DOES NOT REMAIN.
500. That God, apart from the free will given to man in
spiritual things, could in a single day lead all to believe in
Him, follows as a truth from the Divine omnipotence when
not understood. They who do not understand the Divine
omnipotence, may suppose either that there is no order, or
that God can act contrary to order as well as according to
it; when yet without order no creation was possible. The
primary thing of order is for man to be an image of God,
consequently, for him to be perfecting in love and wisdom,
and so to become that image more and more. God is con-
tinually working this in man; but in the absence of free will
in spiritual things by which man can turn to God and con-
join himself with Him in his turn, this would be in vain, be-
cause it would be an impossibility. For there is order, from
and according to which the whole world has been created,
with what belongs to it, one and all; and because all the
work of creation has been done from this, therefore God is
called order itself; and so it is the same whether you say, to
do contrary to Divine order, or to do contrary to God. In-
deed, God Himself cannot act contrary to His own Divine
order, for this would be to do contrary to Himself. There-
fore He leads every man according to that which is Himself,
thi wandering and the backsliding into it, and the resisting
to it. If man could have been created without free will in
670 TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 500
spiritual things, then what would be more easy for an om-
nipotent God than to lead all in the whole world to believe
in the Lord ? Could He not have brought about this faith
with every one, both immediately and mediately? immedi-
ately by His absolute power, and its irresistible operation,
which is continual for man's salvation; or mediately, by
means of torments brought upon his conscience, by mortal
convulsions of the body, and grievous threats of death, if he
did not receive it? and moreover, by the opening of hell,
and thus by the presence of devils holding frightful torches
in their hands; or by calling forth from it the dead whom
they had known, in the form of fearful spectres? But to
this the reply is in the words of Abraham to the rich man in
hell: // they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will
they be persuaded though one rose from the dead (Luke xvi. 31).
501. It is asked at the present day, why miracles do not
take place as formerly; for it is believed that if they were to
take place, every one would make hearty acknowledgment.
For miracles are not now wrought as formerly, because they
compel, and take away free will in spiritual things, and from
being spiritual make man natural. Every one in the Chris-
tian world, since the coming of the Lord, may become spiri-
tual, and he becomes spiritual solely from the Lord through
the Word; and the capacity for this would perish if man were
led to believe through miracles; since they, as before said, are
compulsory and deprive him of free will in spiritual things;
and every thing compelled in such matters betakes itself
into the natural man, and shuts up the spiritual as with a
door, the spiritual being truly the internal man, and deprives
this of all power to see any truth in light; therefore he would
afterwards reason about spiritual things from the natural
man alone, seeing every thing truly spiritual inversely. But
miracles were wrought before the coming of the Lord, be-
cause they of the church were then natural men to whom the
spiritual things of the internal church could not be opened;
for if opened, they would have profaned them. And all
No. 50?]
FREE WELL
67I
their worship therefore consisted in rituals which repre-
sented and signified internals of the church; and they could
not be brought to observe those rituals properly except by
miracles. And that even by miracles they could not, be-
cause there was a spiritual internal in those representatives,
is manifest from the children of Israel in the desert, who,
though they saw so many miracles in Egypt, and afterward
that greatest of miracles upon Mount Sinai, still after Moses
had been absent a month, danced around the golden calf,
and shouted that it had led them out of Egpyt. Similar
things were done by them in the land of Canaan, although
they saw the great miracles wrought by Elijah and Elisha,
and at last the truly Divine miracles wrought by the Lord.
Miracles are not now wrought especially because the church
has taken from man all free will; and it has done this by
decreeing that man can contribute nothing toward gaining
faith, or to conversion, or in general to salvation, as may be
seen above (n. 464). Man believing this becomes more and
more natural; and the natural man, as said above, looks at
every thing spiritual inversely, and hence thinks against it.
The higher region of the man's mind, where free will in
spiritual things primarily resides, would be closed up; and
the spiritual things which have been as it were confirmed by
miracles, would occupy the lower region of the mind, which
is merely natural, while falsities as to faith, conversion, and
salvation would thus remain above this region. Hence it
would come to pass that satans would dwell above, and
angels below, like vultures over hens. Consequently after
a little while the satans would break down the barrier, and
rush forth with fury upon the spiritual things which hold
place below them, and would not only deny them, but would
also blaspheme and profane them. The latter state of the
man would thereby become far worse than the former.
502. The man who through falsities as to the spiritual
things of the church has become natural, cannot think of the
Divine omnipotence but as being above order, and thus as
672
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
[No. 502
apart from order; from which he would fall into the follow-
ing ravings: Why the coming of the Lord into the world, and
why redemption in that way, when God from His omnip-
otence could have done the same from heaven as was done
on earth? Why might He not by redemption have saved
the whole race without exception ? And why has the devil
since been able to prevail over the Redeemer in man ? Why
is there a hell ? Could not God blot it out, and cannot He
blot it out, by His omnipotence, or deliver all from it and
make them angels of heaven? Why a final judgment?
Cannot God transfer all the goats from His left to the right,
and make them sheep? Why did He cast down the angels
of the dragon and the dragon himself from heaven, and not
change them into angels of Michael? Why does He not
give faith to all of these, and impute His Son's righteousness,
and so remit their sins, justify, and sanctify them ? Why
does He not cause the beasts of the earth, the birds of the air,
and the fishes of the sea to talk, give them intelligence, and
introduce them into heaven together with men? Why had
He not made, or why does He not yet make the whole world
a paradise, with no tree of the knowledge of good and evil,
and with no serpent, and where all the hills would flow with
generous wine and produce both native gold and silver, so
that all might live there with jubilee and song, and thus in
perpetual festivity and joy, as images of God ? Would not
these things be worthy of an omnipotent God ? And other
things like these. But, my friend, this is all idle talk. The
Divine omnipotence is not without order; God Himself is
order; and all things were created from order, in order, and
for order, because they were created from God. There is
an order into which man was made, and this is that his bless-
ing or his curse depend on his free will in spiritual things.
For, as said above, a man without free will could not be
created, nor even the beast, bird, and fish. But beasts are
in natural free will only; while man is in natural and at the
same time in spiritual free will.
No. 503]
FREE WILL
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503. To the foregoing these Relations shall be added.
First: I heard that an assembly was called together, in which
they were to deliberate on man's free will in spiritual things.
This was in the spiritual world. There were present learned
men from every quarter, who had thought on that subject
in the world in which they lived before; and many of those
who had been members of general and smaller councils,
before that of Nice and later. They were assembled in a
certain round temple, similar to that at Rome called the
Pantheon, which had formerly been consecrated to the wor-
ship of all the gods, and was afterward dedicated by the
Pope to the worship of all the holy martyrs. In this temple
near its walls, were also what seemed like altars; but there
were low benches near each of them, upon which those who
were assembled took their places, resting their elbows on the
altars, as upon so many tables. No president was appointed
to act as chief among them; but each one, as the desire
seized him, rushed forth into their midst, poured out what
he had at heart, and made public his opinion; and, what I
wondered at, all who were in the assembly were loaded with
proofs of man's utter impotence in spiritual things; so they
ridiculed the idea of free will in them.
When they were assembled, behold, suddenly one rushed
forth into the midst, and with a loud voice poured forth this:
"Man has no more free will in spiritual things than Lot's
wife had after she was turned to a pillar of salt; for if man
had any more free will than that, it is plain that he might of
himself lay claim to that faith which our church holds, and
which teaches that God the Father freely bestows it, of
entire freedom and pleasure, to whom He will and when
He will. This pleasure and free giving God would by no
means have, if man from any freedom or pleasure could also
claim faith for himself; and so our faith, which is a star that
shines before us day and night, would be dissipated like a
meteor to air."
After him another rushed from his bench and said, " Man
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TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 503
has no more free will in spiritual things than a beast, nay,
than a dog; for if he had, he would do good of himself, when
yet all good is from God, and man cannot take to himself
any thing that is not given him from heaven." After him
one sprang from his seat, and in the middle space he raised
his voice and said, " Man has no more free will in spiritual
things, even in discerning them, than a bird of night has in
the daytime, nay, than a chick still hidden in the shell; he
is in all that as blind as a mole; for if he had been lynx-eyed
in his quick sight into what is of faith, salvation, and eternal
life, he would have believed that he could regenerate and
save himself, and he would also endeavor to do so, and thus
would profane his thoughts and deeds with merit on merit."
Again another ran out into the middle space, and made his
speech: "The man who imagines that he, living after the
fall of Adam, has ability to will and understand any thing in
spiritual matters is insane, and becomes a maniac, because
he would then believe himself to be a subordinate deity or
divinity, possessing a share of the Divine power in his own
right."
After him another hastened panting to the centre, carrying
under his arm a book called Formula Concordia, to the ortho-
doxy of which as he called it the Evangelical now swear. He
opened the book and read from it the following: " That man
is utterly corrupt and dead to good, so that since the fall
there does not remain or abide in man's nature, before re-
generation, even a spark of spiritual strength by which he is
capable of becoming prepared for the grace of God or of
taking it when offered, or of retaining it, from and by him-
self; nor can he from himself, in things spiritual, under-
stand, believe, embrace, think, will, begin, carry out, act,
operate, cooperate, or apply or accommodate himself to
grace, or do any thing towards conversion, wholly, or by
halves, or in the least degree. And in spiritual things which
look to the salvation of the soul, he is like the statue of salt,
Lot's wife, and like a stock or a stone without life, which
No. 503]
FREE WILL
675
has no use of eyes, mouth, or any of the senses. Still he has
the power of moving from place to place, or can direct his
external members, go to public meetings, and hear the Word
and the Gospel." (In my edition this is found on pp. 656,
658, 661-663, 671-673.) After this they all crowded to-
gether and exclaimed at once, "This is truly orthodox."
I stood near and listened intently to all that was said.
And because I grew warm in spirit, I asked with a loud voice,
" If you make man in spiritual things a pillar of salt, a beast,
blind, and insane, what then of your theology ? Are not its
parts one and all spiritual?" To this, after some silence
they replied, " In our whole system of theology there is noth-
ing spiritual whatever which reason comprehends. Only
our faith is spiritual there; but we keep that strictly shut up,
that no one may look into it; and we have taken care that
no spiritual ray should go forth from it and appear to the
understanding; and besides, man does not contribute a
particle to it from any will of his own. Charity also we have
removed from all that is spiritual, and have made it merely
moral; so also the Decalogue. As to justification, remission
of sins, regeneration, and hence salvation, we give forth
nothing spiritual; we say that they are wrought by faith, but
how we are wholly ignorant. Instead of repentance, we
have taken contrition; and lest this should be believed to be
spiritual, we have removed it from faith, even as to any
contact with it. As to redemption we have adopted none
but purely natural ideas, which are, that God the Father
included the whole human race in a sentence of damnation,
and that His Son took the damnation on Himself, suffered
Himself to be hanged on a cross, and so He moved His
Father to compassion; besides other like things, in which
you will find nothing spiritual, but what is merely natural."
But then with the warmth previously excited, I went on to
say, "If man had no free will in spiritual things, what would
he then be but a brute? Is he not above brute beasts by
virtue of it? Without it, what is the church but the black
676
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 503
face of the beetle in whose eyes is a white spot ? What is the
Word without it but an unmeaning volume? What is more
frequently declared and commanded there, than that man
should love God, and love the neighbor, and also that he
should believe, and again, that he has life and salvation ac-
cording to the degree in which he loves and believes? Is
there any man who has not power to understand and do
what is commanded in the Word and the Decalogue ? How
could God have given such precepts and commandments to
man, unless that power were given him ? Tell any rustic,
the way to whose mind has not been blocked by fallacies
in what is of theology, that he has no more power than a
stock or a stone to understand and will in matters of faith
and charity and hence of salvation, and that he cannot even
apply and adapt himself to receive them, would he not laugh
heartily, and say, 'What can be more irrational? What
then have I to do with priest and preaching? What then
is the temple more than a stable? And what is worship
more than following the plough? What madness to speak
so! It is folly upon folly. Who denies that all good is from
God ? Has it not been given to man to do good of himself
from God? And so it is with believing.'" Hearing this
they all cried out, " We have spoken from what is orthodox,
in an orthodox way; but you, from what is rustic, in a rus-
tic way." But then suddenly lightning came down from
heaven; and lest.it should consume them, they rushed out
in troops, and fled away, each to his home.
504. Second Relation. I was in interior spiritual sight in
which angels of the higher heaven are ; but I was then in the
world of spirits. And I saw two spirits not far from me, but
standing apart from each other; and I perceived that one of
them loved good and truth and was thereby joined with
heaven, and that the other loved evil and falsity and was
thereby joined with hell. I approached, and called them;
and from their tones and replies I gathered that one could
perceive truths like the other, could acknowledge them when
No. 504]
FREE WILL
677
perceived, could thus think from the understanding, could
also determine things of the understanding as he pleased,
and of the will as he chose; consequently that the two were
in like free will as to rationals. I observed also that from
that freedom in their minds, a light appeared, from the first
sight which was of perception to the ultimate sight which
was of the eye. But when he who loved evil and falsity was
in thought left to himself, I noticed that smoke, as it were,
arose from hell, and extinguished the light which was above
the memory, so that thick darkness was there in him, like
that of midnight; and also that the smoke being ignited
burned like a flame which lighted the region of the mind
below the memory, and consequently he thought great falsi-
ties from evils of the love of self. But with the other, who
loved good and truth, when left to himself, I saw, as it were,
a gentle flame flowing down from heaven, which lighted the
region of his mind above the memory, and also that below
it even to the eye; also that the light from that flame shone
more and more according to perception and thought of truth
from love of good. Seeing this it was manifest to me that
every man, evil as well as good, has spiritual free will, but
that hell sometimes destroys it with the wicked, and that
heaven exalts and vivifies it with the good.
I afterward conversed with both of them, first with him
who loved evil and falsity; and when, after a few words as
to his lot, I mentioned free will, he grew warm and said, "Ah,
what madness it is to believe that man has free will in spiri-
tual things! What man can take faith to himself and do
good from himself? Do not the priesthood teach from the
Word at the present day that no one can receive any thing
unless it be given him from hea/en? And the Lord Christ
said to His disciples, Without Me ye can do nothing. And
I add to this that no one can move foot or hand to do any
good, or tongue to speak any truth from good. Therefore
by her wise men the church has concluded that man can no
more will, understand, and think any thing spiritual, or even
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TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 504
adapt himself to the willing, understanding, and thinking,
than a statue, stock, and stone; and that therefore faith is
inspired by God, who alone has most free and unlimited
power, and of His pleasure; and this faith, without labor or
power of ours, under the operation of the Holy Spirit, pro-
duces all that the unlearned ascribe to man."
I then conversed with the other, who loved good and
truth; and when, after a few words as to his lot, I mentioned
free will, he said, " What madness it is to deny man's free
will in spiritual things ? Who cannot will and do good and
think and speak truth of himself from the Word, thus from
the Lord who is the Word? For He said, Make the fruit
good, and Believe in the Light, and also Love one another, and
Love God; and again, Whosoever heareth My precepts and
doeth them loveth Me, and I will love him; beside thousands
of like things, throughout the Word. What then would be
the use of the Word, if man had no power to will and think,
and hence to do and say what is there commanded ? With-
out that power in man, what would religion and the church
be but like a wrecked vessel lying at the bottom of the sea,
the master standing on the very top of the mast, and crying,
' I cannot do any thing,' while he sees the other sailors in
the boats, going away with sails spread? Was there not
given to Adam freedom to eat of the tree of life, and freedom
to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil ? And
because from his freedom he ate of the latter, smoke from
the serpent, that is from hell, entered his mind, on account of
which he was banished from paradise and cursed. And yet
he did not lose free will; for we read that the way to the tree
of life was guarded by a cherub; for unless this had been
done, he would have been able still to wish to eat of it."
At this the other, who loved evil and falsity, said, " What
I have heard, I leave; what I advanced, I still hold. But
who does not know that only God is alive and thus active,
and that man of himself is dead and thus merely passive?
How can one who is such, in himself dead and merely pas-
No. 504]
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679
sive, take to himself any thing alive and active ? " To which
I replied, "Man is an organ of life, and God alone- is life;
and God pours His life into the organ and every thing thereof,
as the sun pours its heat into the tree and every part of it.
It is also God's gift that man should feel that life in him as
his; and God wills that man should feel it so, in order that
he may as of himself live according to the laws of order,
which are just as many as the truths in the Word, and may
dispose himself to receive God's love. But still God per-
petually holds with His finger the perpendicular above the
scales, and moderates the free will of man, but never violates
it by compulsion. A tree cannot receive any thing which
the heat of the sun brings to it through its roots, unless it
grows warm and heated as to each of its fibres; nor can the
elements rise up through the root, unless its several fibres
give out heat from that which has been received, and so con-
tribute to the passage. Man does likewise, from the heat
of life received from God. But unlike a tree, he feels the
heat as his although it is not his; and so far as he believes
it to be his and not God's, he receives the light of life, yet
not the heat of love from God, but the heat of love from hell;
and this, being gross, obstructs and closes the purer little
tubes of the organ, as impure blood does with the capillaries
of the body. Thus man from being spiritual makes him-
self merely natural. Man's free will is from this, that he
feels life in himself as his, and that God leaves him so to feel
in order that conjunction may take place, which cannot be
unless it be reciprocal; and reciprocal conjunction takes
place when man from freedom acts altogether as of himself.
If God had not left this to man, he would not be man, neither
would he have eternal life; for reciprocal conjunction with
God makes man to be man and not a beast, and also causes
him to live for ever. Free will in spiritual things effects
this."
Hearing this, that evil spirit removed to a distance; and
then I saw on a certain tree a flying serpent, such as is called
6So
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 504
the fiery serpent, which held out fruit from the tree to some
one. And then in the spirit I drew near to the place, and
there, instead of the serpent, was seen a monstrous man, his
face so covered with beard that nothing but his nose was
visible; and instead of the tree there was a burning brand,
near which he stood whose mind the smoke had entered be-
fore, and who afterward rejected free will in spiritual things.
And suddenly similar smoke came out of the brand and en-
veloped them both; and as they were thus taken out of my
sight, I went away. But the other, who loved good and
truth, and asserted that man has free will in spiritual things,
accompanied me home.
505. Third Relation. I once heard a grating sound like
that of two millstones grinding on each other. I went in the
direction of the sound, and it died away; and I saw a narrow
gate leading obliquely downwards to a kind of vaulted build-
ing, in which were several chambers containing cells, in each
of which two were sitting, collecting from the Word passages
confirming justification by faith alone. The one was col-
lecting, and the other was writing, and this by turns. I went
up to one cell, which was near the door, and asked, " What
are you collecting and writing?" They said, "Concerning
the Act of Justification, or Faith in act; which is faith itself
justifying, vivifying, and saving, and is the chief doctrine of
the church in our part of Christendom." And I then said to
him, " Tell me some sign of the act, when that faith is brought
into the heart and into the soul of a man." He answered,
" The sign of the act is in the moment when the man is over-
come with distress that he is condemned, and, while in that
state of contrition, thinks of Christ as having taken away
the condemnation of the law, and lays hold of this merit of
His with confidence; and with this in thought goes to God
the Father, and prays."
Then I said, " Thus does the act take place, and this is the
moment;" and I asked, "How shall I comprehend what is
said of this act, that nothing of the man concurs in it, any
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FREE WILL
more than if he were a post or stone ? and that man, as to
that act, cannot begin, will, understand, think, operate, co-
operate, apply and adapt himself thereto ? Tell me how this
agrees with what you have said, that the act takes place when
the man thinks of the rightful power of the law, of his con-
demnation as taken away by Christ, of the confidence with
which he lays hold of that merit of His, and when in thought
on this goes to God the Father and prays: are not all these
things done by man?" But he said, "They are not done
actively by the man, but passively." And I replied, " How
can one think, have confidence, and pray, passively? Take
away activity and cooperation from man at that time, and
do you not take away receptivity also ? thus every thing, and
with every thing the act itself? What does your act then
become but a purely ideal thing, which is called an entity of
reason ? I hope that you do not believe with some that such
act is only with the predestined, who know nothing whatever
of the infusion of faith with themselves. These can cast the
dice, and determine in that way whether faith has been in-
fused into them or not. For which reason, my friend, be-
lieve that as to faith and charity man operates of himself
from the Lord, and that without this operation your act of
faith which you have called the chief of the doctrines of the
church in Christendom is nothing but the statue, Lot's wife,
tinkling as from mere salt, when scratched by the scribe's
pen or his finger-nail (Luke xvii. 32). I have said this, be-
cause as to that act you make yourselves like statues." When
I said this he seized the candlestick with a strong grasp to
throw it in my face; but the light being then suddenly ex-
tinguished, he threw it against the forehead of his com-
panion; and I went away amused.
506. Fourth Relation. Two flocks were seen in the spiri-
tual world, one of goats, and the other of sheep. I won-
dered who they were; since I well knew that the animals
seen in the spiritual world are not animals, but correspond-
ences of the affections and hence of the thoughts of those
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TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 506
who are there. For this reason I drew nearer; and as I ap-
proached these likenesses of animals disappeared, and in
place of them men were seen; and it was made manifest that
they who made the flock of goats were those who confirmed
themselves in the doctrine of justification by faith alone, and
that they who made the flock of sheep were those who be-
lieved that charity and faith are one, as good and truth are
one. And I then spoke with those who were seen as goats,
and said, " Why are you thus gathered together ? " The most
of them were of the clergy, who gloried in their reputation
for learning, because they knew the arcana of justification by
faith alone. They said that they were assembled to sit as a
council, because they had heard that some were teaching that
Paul's saying (Rom. iii. 28) that a man is justified by faith
without the deeds of the law, was not rightly understood,
because by faith there he did not mean the faith of the pres-
ent church, which is faith in three Divine Persons from eter-
nity, but faith in the Lord God the Saviour Jesus Christ;
also by the deeds of the law he did not mean those of the law
of the Decalogue, but the works of the Mosaic law which were
for the Jews; and that thus from these few words, by wrong
interpretation, two enormous falsities had been drawn as
conclusions, namely, that Paul meant the faith of the present
church and the works of the law of the Decalogue: saying
also that it is clearly evident that Paul did not mean the works
of the law of the Decalogue, but those of the Mosaic law,
from his own words to Peter, whom he blamed for Judaizing
while he knew that no man is justified by the works of the
law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ (Gal. ii. 14-16). By
the faith of Jesus Christ, is by faith in Him and from Him,
as may be seen above, n. 338. Also, because by the works
of the law Paul meant those of the Mosaic law, he therefore
distinguished between the law of faith and that of works, and
between the Jews and the Gentiles, or the circumcision and
the uncircumcision, circumcision signifying Judaism, as it
does everywhere; and moreover he closes the subject with
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683
these words: Do we then make void the law through faith?
Not so: but we establish the law. All these things he says
in one connection (Rom. iii. 27-31): and in the chapter
which precedes, he also says, Not the hearers of the law shall
be justified by God, but the doers 0} the law shall be justified
(Rom. ii. 13): also that God will render to every man accord-
ing to his deeds (Rom. ii. 6): and further, We must all appear
before the judgment-seal of Christ, that every one may receive
the things done in the body, whether good or bad (2 Cor. v.
10): beside more in his writings. From which it is manifest
that Paul rejected faith without good works as much as
James did (Epistle, chap. ii. 17-26).
That Paul meant the works of the Mosaic law which was
for the Jews, we are further confirmed, (they say,) by this,
that all the statutes for the Jews are called the law in Moses,
thus the works of the law, as we see from these passages:
This is the law of the meat-offering (Lev. vi. 14). This is the
law for the burnt-offering, for the meat-offering, for the sacri-
fice for sin and guilt, for the consecrations (Lev. vii. 37). This
is the law of the beast and of the bird (Lev. xi. 46, 47). This
is the law of her that bringeth forth, for a son or a daughter
(Lev. xii. 7). This is the law of leprosy (Lev. xiii. 59; xiv.
2, 32, 54, 57). This is the law of him that hath an issue
(Lev. xv. 32). This is the law of jealousy (Num. v. 29, 30).
This is the law of the Nazarite (Num. vi. 13, 21). This is
the law of cleansing (Num. xix. 14). This is the law con-
cerning the red heifer (Num. xix. 2). The law for the king
(Deut. xvii. 15-19). Indeed the whole book of Moses is
called the Book of the Law (Deut. xxxi. 9, 11, 12, 26; also in
Luke ii. 22; xxiv. 44: John i. 45; vii. 22, 23; viii. 5). To
this they have also added that they saw in Paul that the law
of the Decalogue is to be lived, and that it is fulfilled by
charity (Rom. xiii. 8-1 1); and that he also says there are the
three, faith, hope, and charity, and that the greatest of these
is charity (1 Cor. xiii. 13); not faith, therefore. They said
that because of this they were called together. But lest I
should disturb them, I withdrew.
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TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 506
And then they were again seen in the distance as goats,
and sometimes as lying down and sometimes as standing;
but they turned away from the flock of sheep. They ap-
peared to be lying down while deliberating, and standing
while drawing conclusions. But I kept my sight fixed on
their horns, and wondered that the horns on their foreheads
now appeared to be extended forward and upward, now
curved backward toward their bodies, and at length wholly
thrown back. And then they all suddenly turned toward
the flock of sheep, but they still appeared as goats. I there-
fore approached them again, and asked, "What now?"
They said that they had concluded that faith alone produces
the goods of charity as a tree produces fruit. But thunder
was then heard and lightning was seen overhead; and very
soon an angel appeared, standing between the two flocks;
and he cried out to the flock of sheep, " Do not listen to them;
they have not receded from their former faith, which is, that
faith alone justifies and saves, and that actual charity does
not at all. Neither is faith a tree, but man is the tree. But
repent, and look to the Lord, and you will have faith. Be-
fore this is done, the faith is not faith in which there is any
life." Then the goats, their horns turned back, wished to
approach the sheep. But the angel standing between them
divided the sheep into two flocks; and he said to those on the
left, " Join the goats, but I tell you that a wolf is coming who
will carry them off, and you with them."
But after the two flocks of sheep were separated, and they
on the left heard the threatening words of the angels, they
looked at each other and said, "Let us converse with our
former associates." And then the flock on the left spoke to
the right, saying, "Why did you withdraw from our shep-
herds? Are not faith and charity one, as a tree and its
fruit are one ? for the tree is continued into the fruit by the
branches. Tear from the branch that through which the
tree by continuity flows into the fruit, and will not the fruit
perish, and together with it all the seed of any tree that would
No. 506]
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685
have sprung up anew ? Ask our priests whether it is not so."
And then they asked, and the priests looked around, toward
the others, who were winking for them to say that they spoke
well. And then they answered, "You have spoken well;
but in relation to the continuation of faith into good works,
like that of a tree into the fruit, we know many secrets, but
this is not the place to publish them; in the chain or thread
of faith and charity there are many knots, which we priests
only are able to untie." And then one of the priests, who
was among the sheep on the right, arose and said, "They
have answered you that it is so, but they have answered their
own that it is not so; for they think differently." There-
fore they asked, " How then do they think ? Do they think
as they teach?" He said, " No; they think that every good
of charity which is called a good work, which is done by a
man for the sake of salvation and eternal life is not good in its
smallest part, for the reason that the man wishes to save him-
self by work that is from himself, claiming to himself the
righteousness and merit of the one Saviour; and they think
that it is so with every good work in which a man is sensible
of his own will. They therefore assert that there is no con-
junction whatever between faith and charity, and they do
not even assert that faith is retained and preserved by good
works."
But they of the left flock said, "You speak lies against
them. Do they not openly preach charity to us, and the
works of charity which they call works of faith?" He re-
plied, " You do not understand their preaching. A clergy-
man only, being present, attends and understands. They
think of moral charity only, and its civil and political goods,
and they call them of faith, but they are not so at all; for an
atheist can do them in like manner and form. They there-
fore say unanimously, that no one is saved by works, but by
faith alone. But let this be illustrated by comparisons. An
apple-tree produces apples; but if a man does goods for the
sake of salvation as that tree bears apples by continuity,
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TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
[No. 506
then those apples are inwardly rotten and full of worms.
They say also that a vine produces grapes; but if a man were
to do spiritual goods as the vine bears grapes, he would pro-
duce wild grapes." But they then asked, "What kind of
goods of charity or works have they, which are the fruits of
faith?" He answered that "they are perhaps not con-
spicuous, being somewhere near faith; to which, however,
they do not cohere, being like the shadow which follows after
a man when he faces the sun, which shadow he does not
notice unless he turns around: indeed I may say that they
are like horses' tails, which in many places are at this day
cut off, for people say, 1 What is the use of them ? They are
good for nothing; if they are kept on the horse they easily
become dirty.'"
Hearing this, one of the flock of sheep on the left said indig-
nantly, "There is certainly some conjunction; otherwise,
how can they be called the works of faith ? Perhaps goods
of charity are implanted by God in man's voluntary works
by some influx, as by some affection, aspiration, inspiration,
incitation, and excitation of the will, by tacit perception in
the thought, and hence exhortation, by contrition and thus
conscience, and hence urging, and by obedience to the Deca-
logue and the Word as if he were a little child, or as if he
were a wise man, or by something like these acting as a
medium. Otherwise, how can they be called fruits of faith ?"
To this the priest replied, "Not so; and if they say that it
takes place by any such means, in their sermons they over-
whelm it with words, from which comes the conclusion that
it is not from faith. Still, some put forth such things, but as
the signs of faith, not however as its bonds with charity.
Some, however, have thought out a conjunction by means
of the Word." And then they said, "Is there not a con-
junction in this way, that a man does voluntarily according
to the Word ?" But he answered, " They do not think this,
but that it is only by the hearing of the Word; for they assert
that all that is rational and voluntary with man in matters
No. 506J
FREE WILL
6S7
of faith is impure and seeks merit, because man in spiritual
things can no more understand, will, operate, and cooperate,
than a post."
But one, when he heard that man is believed to be such in
all things of faith and salvation, said: "I heard a certain one
say, 'I have planted a vineyard; now I will drink wine till
I am drunk.' But another asked him, ' Will you drink the
wine from your own cup, by your own right hand?' And
he said, 'No, but from an unseen cup, by an unseen hand.'
And the other answered, ' You certainly will not get drunk,
then.' " Presently the same man said, " But hear me, I pray:
I say to you, Drink wine from the Word understood. Do
you not know that the Lord is the Word ? Is not the Word
from the Lord ? Is He not thus in it ? If then you do good
from the Word, do you not do it from the Lord? from His
mouth and will ? And if you then look to the Lord, He will
also lead and teach you, and you will do the good of your-
selves from the Lord. Who that does any thing from a king,
at his word and command, can say, This I do from my own
word or command, and from my own will?" After this he
turned to the clergy, and said, " Ministers of God, do not
mislead the flock."
On hearing these things, the greater part of the flock on
the left withdrew, and united with the flock on the right.
Then some of the clergy said, "We have heard what we
never heard before. We are shepherds; we will not leave
the sheep." And they withdrew together with them; and
they said, " This man spoke a true word; who that acts from
the Word, and thus from the Lord, His mouth and will, can
say, ' I do this from myself ' ? Who that acts from a king,
from his mouth and will, says, 'This I do from myself?
Now we see the Divine Providence, why a conjunction of
faith and good works that has been acknowledged by the
ecclesiastical society has not been found. It could not be
found, because it could not be given, for there has been no
faith in the Lord who is the Word, and consequently neither
688
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 506
has there been faith from the Word." But the other priests,
who were of the flock of goats, went away, waving their hats
and shouting, " Faith alone, Faith alone, it will still live."
507. Fifth Relation. I was in conversation with angels,
and finally spoke of the lust of evil in which every man is
from birth. One said, referring to the world where he then
was, " They who are in lust seem to us angels like the foolish;
but those very ones seem to themselves like those who are in
the highest degree wise. Therefore, that they may be drawn
forth from their folly, they are let alternately into it and into
the rationality which with them is in externals; and in this
latter state they see, acknowledge, and confess their insanity;
but still they long to return from their rational into their
insane state, and they also lead themselves into it, as from
compulsion and non-enjoyment into freedom and enjoy-
ment. Thus lust and not intelligence is inwardly agreeable
to them. There are three universal loves of which every
man is formed by creation; love of the neighbor, which is
also love of doing uses, this love is spiritual; love of the
world, which is also love of possessing wealth, this love is
material; and love of self, which is also love of ruling over
others, and this love is corporeal. Man is truly man while
love of the neighbor or love of doing uses makes the head,
and love of the world or love of possessing wealth makes the
chest and abdomen, and love of self or love of ruling makes
the feet and soles of the feet. But if love of the world makes
the head, the man is man but as one who is hunchbacked;
but if love of self makes the head, he is not like a man stand-
ing on his feet, but like one standing on the palms of his
hands with head down and back parts up. When love of
doing uses makes the head, and the two other loves make the
body and feet in their order, the man appears in heaven with
angelic face and a beautiful rainbow about his head; but
if love of the world or of wealth makes the head, he appears
from heaven with face pale like that of a dead person, with
a yellow circle about the head; but if love of self or of ruling
No. 507]
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689
over others makes the head, he appears from heaven with
face of a fiery duskiness, with a white circle about the head."
On this I asked, "What do the circles about the head rep-
resent?" They answered, "They represent intelligence.
The white circles about the head with the face of fiery duski-
ness, represents that the intelligence of that one is in ex-
ternals or about him, while insanity is in the internals or in
him; and further, the man who is such, is wise when in the
body, but insane while in the spirit; and no man is wise in
the spirit except from the Lord, which is when he is gener-
ated and created anew by Him."
After this was said, the earth was opened toward the left,
and through the opening I saw a devil rising up, with face of
a fiery duskiness, and a white circle about the head. I asked,
" Who are you ? " He said, " I am Lucifer, son of the morn-
ing; and because I made myself like the Most High, I was
cast down, as described in the fourteenth chapter of Isaiah."
He was not that Lucifer, however, but he believed that he
was. And I said, " Since you were cast down, how can you
rise again out of hell?" And he answered, "I am a devil
there, but here I am an angel of light. Do you not see my
head girt around with a white circle ? You shall also see if
you wish, that I am moral among the moral, and rational
among the rational, yes, spiritual among the spiritual. I
have also been able to preach." I asked, "How did you
preach?" He said, "Against defrauders, adulterers, and all
infernal loves; yes, then I called myself who am Lucifer, a
devil; and I made false oath against myself as such; and
for so doing I was borne up to heaven with praises. It is
from this that I have been called the son of the morning.
And, what was astonishing to myself, when I was in the pul-
pit I had no thought that I was not speaking rightly and
properly. But the cause of this was disclosed to me, which
was this: I was in externals, and these were then separated
from my internals. But although this was disclosed to me,
still I could not change, because I exalted myself above the
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TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 507
Most High and set myself against Him." At last I asked,
" How were you able to speak thus, when you yourself are a
defrauder and an adulterer?" He replied, "I am one per-
son while I am in externals or in the body, and another while
I am in internals or in the spirit. In the body I am an an-
gel, but in the spirit a devil; for in the body I am in the
understanding, but in the spirit I am in the will; and the
understanding carries me upward, but the will carries me
downward. And while I am in the understanding, a white
circle encompasses my head; but while the understanding
wholly gives itself up as a slave to the will, and becomes of
the will, which is our lot ultimately, then the circle grows
black and disappears; and when this is the case, I am able
no longer to ascend into this light." But suddenly, when he
saw the angels with me, he became excited in face and voice,
and he became black even as to the circle that was about
the head, and he slipped down into hell through the opening
by which he rose up.
From what they had seen and heard, they who stood near
came to this conclusion, that a man is such as his will is,
and not such as his understanding is, for the will easily car-
ries over the understanding to its side, and enslaves it. I
then asked the angels, "Whence have devils rationality?"
And they said, " It is from the glory of love of self, for love of
self is encompassed with glory; for this is the resplendence
of its fire; and this glory uplifts the understanding almost
into the light of heaven; for the understanding in every
man is capable of elevation according to knowledges, but
not the will except by life according to the truths of the church
and of reason. Hence it is that atheists themselves who are
in the glory of fame from self-love, and thence in the pride
of their own intelligence, enjoy a loftier rationality than many
others, but at the very time when they are in the thought of
the understanding; not however when they are in the love
of the will; and the love of the will has possession of the in-
ternal man, but the thought of the understanding possesses
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69I
the external. The angel furthermore told the cause of man
being formed of the three loves, namely, love of use, love of
the world, and love of self; it is, that he may think from
God, though altogether as of himself. He said that the
highests in man's mind are turned upward toward God;
the mediate there outward toward the world; and the lowests
there downward into the body; and because these last are
turned downward, a man thinks wholly as of himself, when
yet he thinks from God.
508. Sixth Relation. One day a magnificent temple,
square in form, the roof crown-shaped, arched above, and
raised round about appeared to me. Its walls were con-
tinuous windows of crystal, its gate of pearly substance.
Within, on the south and near the west side, was a pulpit, on
which at the right lay the open Word, enveloped with a
sphere of light, the splendor of which surrounded and illumi-
nated the whole pulpit. In the centre of the temple was a
shrine, before which was a veil, but lifted now, where stood
a cherub of gold with a sword turning hither and thither in
hand. While I viewed these things, what they each signi-
fied flowed into my meditation: That temple signified the
New Church; the gate, of pearly substance, entrance into it;
the windows of crystal, the truths which enlightened it; the
pulpit, the priesthood and preaching; the Word open upon
the pulpit and illuminating its upper part, signified the in-
ternal sense of the Word which is spiritually revealed; the
shrine in the centre of the temple, signified the conjunction
of that church with the angelic heaven; the cherub of gold
therein, the Word in the sense of the letter; the sword waving
in his hand signified that this sense can be turned hither and
thither, provided this is done in application to some truth;
the veil lifted before the cherub signified the Word was laid
open. Afterward, when I drew nearer, I saw above the gate
this writing, Nunc licet, which signified that "it is now law-
ful" to enter with the understanding into the arcana of faith.
Seeing this writing, it came into my thought that it is very
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TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
[No. 508
harmful to enter with the understanding into dogmas of faith
from one's own intelligence and thus from falsities, and still
more to confirm them from the Word; the understanding is
thereby closed above, and gradually below also, to such an
extent that theological matters not only cause disgust, but
are also obliterated as writing on paper by worms, and the
wool of a cloth by moths; the understanding abiding only
in political matters which regard a man's life in the dominion
where he is, in the civil matters of his employment, and the
domestic affairs belonging to his house. And in all these
he constantly kisses nature, and from the allurements of her
pleasures loves her as an idolater loves the golden image in
his bosom. Now as the dogmas of the present Christian
churches were not composed from the Word, but from men's
own intelligence and thus from falsities, and as they were
also confirmed by some things from the Word, the Word by
the Lord's Divine Providence was taken from the laity among
the Roman Catholics, and was opened but still was closed
among the Protestants by their common declaration that the
understanding must be kept under obedience to faith.
But the contrary is the case in the New Church; in this
church it is allowable to enter with the understanding and
penetrate into all its secrets, and also to confirm them by the
Word. This is because, its doctrines are continuous truths,
laid open by the Lord through the Word; and confirmations
of those truths by means of rationals cause the understand-
ing to be opened above more and more, and thus to be
raised into the light in which are the angels of heaven; and
that light in its essence is truth, and in this light the acknowl-
edgment of the Lord as the God of heaven and earth shines
in its glory. This is meant by the writing over the door of
the temple, Nunc licet; and also by the veil of the shrine
before the cherub being lifted. For it is a canon of the New
Church that falsities close the understanding, and that truths
open it.
After this, I saw overhead one like an infant, holding a
No. 508J
FREE WILL
693
paper in his hand. As he drew near me, he increased to
the stature of an average man. He was an angel from the
third heaven, where at a distance all look like infants. When
he was with me, he handed me the paper; but as it was writ-
ten with rounded letters, such as are in that heaven, I re-
turned the paper, and begged that they would themselves
explain the meaning of the words there, in terms adapted
to the ideas of my thought. And he replied, " This is there
written: Enter hereafter into the mysteries of the Word
heretofore closed; for its several truths are so many mirrors
of the Lord."
CHAPTER NINTH.
REPENTANCE.
509. After the chapters on Faith, Charity, and Free
Will, Repentance comes next in the series, since true faith
and genuine charity cannot be given without repentance,
and no one can repent without free will. Repentance is
here treated of because also Regeneration follows next, and
no one can be regenerated before the more grievous evils
which render man detestable in the sight of God, are re-
moved, and these are removed by repentance. What is an
unregenerate man but an impenitent one ? And what is an
impenitent man, but like one who is in a lethargy, and knows
nothing of sin, and therefore cherishes it in his bosom, and
kisses it every day, as an adulterer the harlot in his bed ? But
that it may be known what Repentance is, and what it effects,
the treatise upon it is to be divided into articles.
I. Repentance is the first of the church with man.
510. The communion called the church consists of all
those in whom the church is; and the church with man en-
ters him while regenerating, and every one is regenerated
by abstaining from the evils of sin, and shunning them as
one avoids infernal hordes, who sees them with torches in
hand making ready to spring upon him and cast him upon
a burning pile. There are many things which prepare one
for the church, as he advances in the first stages, and which
introduce him into it; but acts of repentance are what make
the church to be in the man. Acts of repentance are all
such as cause one not to will and hence not to do evils which
No. Si i]
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695
are sins against God; for before this is done, the man stands
outside of regeneration; and then, if a thought respecting
eternal salvation creeps in, he turns toward it, but presently
turns from it; for it enters into the man no further than the
ideas of his thought, and it goes forth thence into the words
of his speech, and also, it may be, into some gestures appro-
priate to the speech. But when such thought enters the
will, it is then in the man; for the will is the man himself,
because his love has its dwelling there, while thought is out-
side of the man, unless it proceeds from his will; if this is
done, then will and thought act as one, and together make
the man. From this it follows that, for repentance to be
repentance and to be effective in man, it is necessary for it
to be of the will and hence of the thought, and not of the
thought alone, consequently for it to be actual and not of the
lips merely. That repentance is the first of the church is
very manifest from the Word. John the Baptist, who was
sent before to prepare men for the church which the Lord
was about to establish, when he baptized, at the same time
preached repentance; therefore his baptism was called the
baptism of repentance, because by baptism is signified spiri-
tual washing, which is a cleansing from sins. John did this
in the Jordan, because the Jordan signified introduction to
the church, for it was the first boundary of the land of
Canaan where the church was. The Lord Himself also
preached repentance for the remission of sins; whereby He
taught that repentance is the first of the church, that so far
as man repents sins are removed with him, and that so far as
they are removed they are remitted. And furthermore, the
Lord commanded the twelve apostles, and also the seventy
whom He sent forth, to preach repentance. From which it
is plain that, repentance is the first of the church.
511. That the church is not in man until after sins with
him are removed, one can conclude from reason, and it may
be illustrated by the following comparisons: Who can in-
troduce sheep, kids, and lambs into fields or woods where
696
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
[No. 511
there are all kinds of wild beasts, before he has driven these
out ? And who can make a garden of a piece of ground that
is overgrown with thorns, briers, and nettles, before he has
rooted out those weeds? Who can introduce a form of
administering justice from judgment into a city held by
hostile forces, and establish citizenship, before he has ex-
pelled the enemy? It is the same with the evils in man;
they are like wild beasts, briers, and thorns, and hostile
forces; and with these the church cannot have abode any
more than a man can dwell in a cage where there are tigers
and leopards; or lie in a bed with poisonous herbs strewed
upon it and stuffed into the pillows; or sleep at night in a
temple, beneath the floor of which are sepulchres containing
dead bodies. Would not ghosts infest him there like furies ?
II. Contrition which at this day is said to precede
FAITH, AND TO BE FOLLOWED BY THE CONSOLATION
OF THE GOSPEL, IS NOT REPENTANCE.
512. In the Reformed Christian world they tell of a kind
of anxiety, grief, and terror, tvhich they call Contrition, and
which, with those who are to be regenerated, precedes their
faith and is followed by the consolation of the gospel. They
say that this contrition arises in them from a fear of the just
wrath of God, and hence of eternal damnation, which inheres
in every man owing to Adam's sin and the consequent pro-
clivity of man to evils; also that without that contrition, the
faith that imputes to man the merit and righteousness of the
Lord the Saviour, is not granted: and that they who have
obtained this faith receive the consolation of the gospel,
which is, that they are justified, that is, that they are re-
newed, regenerated, and sanctified, without any cooperation
of their own; and that thus they are transferred from damna-
tion to eternal blessedness, which is life eternal. But re-
specting this contrition these questions are to be considered :
1, Is it repentance? 2. Is it of any moment? 3. Is it
possible ?
No. 514]
REPENTANCE
697
513. Whether that contrition is repentance or not, may
be concluded from the description of repentance given here-
after, where it is shown that repentance cannot exist unless
man, not only in generals but also in particulars, knows that
he is a sinner; which no one can know unless he examines
himself, and sees the evils that are in him, and condemns
himself on account of them. But that contrition which is
declared necessary to faith, has nothing in common with
these things; for it is merely thought, and hence confession,
that he was born into Adam's sin and into a proclivity to the
evils springing therefrom; and that therefore the wrath of
God is upon him, and therefore merited damnation, doom,
and eternal death. From which it is plain that this contri-
tion is not repentance.
514. The next point is, Since that contrition is not re-
pentance, is it of any moment? It is said to contribute to
faith, as an antecedent to a consequent, but yet that it does
not enter into it and join itself with it by mingling with it.
But what is the faith which follows, but that God the Father
imputes to man the righteousness of His Son, and then de-
clares him, while not conscious of any sin, righteous, re-
newed, and holy, and thus clothes him in a robe washed and
made white in the blood of the Lamb? And when man
walks in this robe, what then are the evils of his life, but like
sulphurous stones thrown into the depths of the sea ? And
what is then the sin of Adam but something covered over, or
removed, or carried away by the imputed righteousness of
Christ ? When man, from that faith, walks in the righteous-
ness and at the same time in the innocence of God the Saviour,
of what service is that contrition but to make him confident
that he is in Abraham's bosom, and hence to look upon
those who have not had this contrition before faith as miser-
able in hell, or as dead ? For it is said that those who lack
contrition have not a living faith. It may therefore be said
that if they who have had such contrition have sunk or are
now sinking in damnable evils, they pay no more attention
698
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 514
to them, and are no more sensible of them, than pigs lying
in the mud in the gutters are sensible of the stench. It is
manifest from this that contrition, not being repentance, is
not any thing.
515. The third point to be considered is, Whether there
is any such contrition without repentance. In the spiritual
world I have asked many who have confirmed in themselves
the faith imputative of the merit of Christ, whether they had
any contrition, and they have answered, Why contrition,
when from childhood we have believed as a certainty that
Christ by His passion took away all our sins? Contrition
does not square with this belief; for it is contrition for men
to cast themselves into hell, and to torture the conscience,
when yet they know that they have been redeemed and so
delivered from hell, and are consequently secure. To this
they added that this statute of contrition was wholly fictitious,
held in the place of the repentance so often mentioned in the
Word, and also enjoined. They said that with the simple,
who know but little about the Gospel, there is, perhaps,
some emotion of mind when they hear or think about the
torments in hell. They also said that the consolation of the
gospel, impressed upon them from earliest youth, so ban-
ished contrition that in heart they laughed at it when men-
tioned; and that hell could not strike them with terror any
more than the fires of Vesuvius and JEtna, could terrify
those who dwell at Warsaw and Vienna, or than the basilisks
and vipers in the deserts of Arabia, or the tigers and lions in
the forests of Tartary, could terrify those who live in safety,
peace, and quiet in some city of Europe. They also said
that the wrath of God excited in them no more terror and
contrition, than the wrath of the king of Persia could excite
in those who live in Pennsylvania. From these things, and
also from rational inferences from their declarations, I am
convinced that contrition, unless it is such repentance as is
described in the following pages, is nothing but a freak of
the fancy. The Reformed supported contrition instead of
No. 517]
REPENTANCE
699
repentance, in order to sever themselves from the Roman
Catholics, who insist upon repentance and at the same time
charity; and when they afterward confirmed justification
by faith alone, they alleged as their reason, that by re-
pentance, as by charity, something of the man, savoring of
merit, entered into his faith and blackened it.
EEL Mere oral confession that one is a sinner, is not
REPENTANCE.
516. As to this oral confession, the Reformed who adhere
to the Augsburg Confession teach as follows: "No man can
ever know his sins; therefore they cannot be enumerated;
they are, moreover, interior and hidden, and the confession
would therefore be false, uncertain, incomplete, and defi-
cient; but he who confesses himself to be all mere sin, in-
cludes all sins, excludes none, and forgets none. But still
the enumeration of sins, although not necessary, for the
sake of tender and timid consciences is not to be done away
with; but this is only a childish and common form of con-
fession for the simpler and ruder people" (Formula Con-
cordia, pp. 327, 331, 380). But this confession was held
by the Reformed instead of actual repentance, after they
had separated from the Roman Catholics, because it is based
upon their imputative faith, which alone, without charity
and so too without repentance, works the remission of sins
and regenerates man; and also upon this, which is an in-
separable appendage to that faith, that there is no coopera-
tion on man's part with the Holy Spirit in the act of justifica-
tion; also upon this, that no man has free will in spiritual
things; and again upon this, that all things are of immediate
mercy, and nothing whatever of mediate mercy by man and
through him.
517. Among many reasons why the confession of the lips
that one is a sinner is not repentance, is this, that every man,
an impious one and even a devil, may so cry out, and this
700 TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 517
with external devoutness, when he thinks of torments in hell
impending or through which he is then passing. But who
does not see that this is not from any internal devotion, and
hence that it is imaginary and therefore of the lungs, but not
voluntary from within, and therefore not of the heart ? For
an impious man and a devil still burn inwardly with the lusts
of the love of doing evil, from which they are borne on like
windmills driven by strong winds; and therefore such an
exclamation is nothing but a contrivance to cheat God, or to
deceive the simple, and for the sake of deliverance. For
what is easier than to compel the lips to give forth the cry,
and the breath of the mouth to adapt itself to it, to turn the
eyes upward, and raise the hands? This is what the Lord
says in Mark, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you, hypocrites,
This people honoreth Me with their lips, but their heart is jar
jrom Me (vii. 6) ; and in Matthew, Woe unto you, Scribes and
Pharisees, for ye make clean the outside 0} the cup and the
platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou
blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup and the platter,
that the outside also may be made clean (xxiii. 25, 26); and
more in the same chapter.
518. In like hypocritical worship are they who have con-
firmed in themselves the faith of the present day, that the
Lord by the passion of the cross took away all the sins of
the world, meaning by this the sins of every one, provided
men only pray according to the formulas about propitiation
and mediation. Some of them with loud voice and ap-
parently burning zeal can pour forth from the pulpit many
holy things about repentance and charity, while they deem
each of these useless for salvation; for they mean no other
repentance than confession with the lips, and no other char-
ity than that which is public; but this they do for the favor
of the people. These are they who are meant by these
words of the Lord: Many will say to Me in that day, Lord,
Lord, have we not prophesied by Thy name? and in Thy
name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess
No. 519]
REPENTANCE
unto litem, I know you not; depart from Me, ye tlmt work
iniquity (Matt. vii. 22, 23). In the spiritual world I once
heard one praying in this way: "I am full of sores, leprous,
unclean from my mother's womb. There is nothing in me
sound, from my head to the sole of my foot; I am not worthy
to lift up my eyes to God; I deserve death and eternal dam-
nation. Have mercy upon me for the sake of Thy Son;
purify me in His blood. The salvation of all is in Thy good
pleasure. I implore Thy mercy." His words were heard
by some standing near, and they asked him, " How do you
know that you are such ?" He replied, " I know it, because
I have heard so." But he was then sent to angels who were
examiners, before whom he spoke in the same way; and
they, after examination, reported that he had spoken true
things about himself, but still without knowing a single evil
in himself, because he had never examined himself, and had
believed that after oral confession evils were no longer evils
in the sight of God, both because God turns His eyes away
from them, and because He has been propitiated; and that
therefore he did not come to a sense of any evil and turn from
it, though he was an adulterer from purpose, a thief, a crafty
detractor, and burning with revenge; and that he was such
in will and heart, and would therefore be the same in word
and deed if fear of the law and of the loss of reputation did
not restrain him. After he was found to be such, he was
judged, and sent to the hypocrites in hell.
519. The quality of such may be illustrated by compari-
sons. They are like temples where only the spirits of the
dragon, and those who are meant in the Apocalypse by the
locusts, are congregated; and they are like the pulpits there,
where the Word is not, because it is put beneath the feet.
They are like plastered walls, the plaster beautifully colored;
within which, as the windows are open, owls and direful birds
of the night fly about. They are like whitened sepulchres,
that contain dead men's bones. They are like coins made
of oil-dregs or dried dung, and overlaid with gold. They are
702
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 519
like the bark and the wood that surround the rotten heart,
and like the garments of Aaron's sons on a leprous body;
yes, like ulcers containing foul matter, but covered over with
a thin skin and supposed to be healed. Who does not know
that a holy external and a profane internal do not accord ?
Such also fear more than others to examine themselves;
they are therefore no more sensible of what is vicious within
them, than of the pungent and ill-smelling substances in
their stomachs and bowels before they are cast out into the
draught. But it is to be kept in mind that those who have
been hitherto spoken of, are not to be confounded with those
who do well and believe well, nor with those who repent
of some sins, and who, while in worship and still more while
in spiritual temptation, speak within themselves or pray
from an oral confession like that of the others. For that
general confession both precedes and follows reformation
and regeneration.
IV. Man is born to evils of every kind; and unless by
REPENTANCE HE REMOVES THEM IN PART, HE REMAINS
m them; and he who remains in them cannot
BE SAVED.
520. That every man is born to evils, so that he is noth-
ing but evil from his mother's womb, is known in the church,
and it has become known because it has been handed down
by the councils and by the prelates of the churches that the
sin of Adam was transmitted to all his posterity; and that
for this alone, every man after him was damned together
with him; and that it is this which is inherent in every man
from birth. On this assertion, moreover, are based other
things which the churches teach, as that the washing of
regeneration, which is called baptism, was instituted by the
Lord for the removal of this sin; also that it was the cause
of the Lord's coming, and that faith in His merit is the means
whereby it is removed; besides other things which the
No. 5*1]
REPENTANCE
703
churches have founded upon this assertion. But that there
is no hereditary evil from that origin, may be evident from
what was shown above (n. 466 and following), that Adam
was not the first of mankind, but that by Adam and his wife
is representatively described the first church on this earth,
and by the garden of Eden its wisdom, by the tree of life its
looking to the Lord who was to come, and by the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil its looking to self and not to the
Lord. That this church is representatively described by the
first chapters of Genesis, has been proved from many parallel
passages from the Word, in the Heavenly Arcana, published
at London. When these things are understood and ac-
cepted, the opinion hitherto entertained, that the evil innate
in man from his parents is from that source, falls to the
ground; for it has its origin not from this but from another
source. That the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil are with every man, and that they are said
to be placed in a garden, signified man's free will :n turning
to the Lord and in turning from Him, as has been fully
shown in the chapter concerning Free Will.
521. But, my friend, hereditary evil is from no other
source than parents; not indeed the evil itself which a man
actually commits, but the inclination to it. Every one will
acknowledge that it is so, if he joins reason to experience.
Who does not know that children are born with a general
resemblance to their parents in face, manner, and mind?
and even grandchildren and great-grandchildren with a re-
semblance to grand-parents and great-grandparents ? Also
that families are thus known apart by many, and nations
also; as Africans from Europeans, Neapolitans from Ger-
mans, Englishmen from Frenchmen, and so on ? Who does
not recognize a Jew by his face, eyes, speech, and gestures ?
And if you were able to feel the sphere of life flowing out
from the native genius of every one, you might in like man-
ner be convinced of the resemblance of minds. From this
it follows that man is not born into evils themselves, but only
7o4
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 521
into an inclination to evils; having, however, a greater or
less proclivity for particular ones; therefore after death no
man is judged from any hereditary evil, but from the actual
evils which he has himself committed. This is also evident
from the following statute of the Lord: The Father shall not
die because oj the son, and the son shall not die because 0} the
father; every one shall die for his own sin (Deut. xxiv. 16).
This was made certain to me in the spiritual world, from
those who die in infancy, by their having only an inclina-
tion to evils and thus willing them, but still not doing them;
for they are brought up under the Lord's auspices, and saved.
The inclination and proclivity to evils that have been men-
tioned, transmitted from parents to their children and pos-
terity, are broken only by the new birth from the Lord,
which is called regeneration. Without this, that inclination
not only remains unchecked, but also increases from parents
succeeding each other, and becomes more prone to evils,
and at length to evils of every kind. It is from this that the
Jews are still images of their father Judah, who begat three
branches of them, having taken a Canaanitish woman to
wife, and committing adultery with Tamar his daughter-in-
law. Therefore this hereditary disposition, in process of
time, has increased in them even so that they are not able
to embrace the Christian religion from faith at heart. It
is said that they are not able to do so, because the interior
will of their mind is adverse to it, and this will causes the
inability.
522. That every evil, unless removed, remains with man,
and that man cannot be saved if he remains in his evils, fol-
lows of itself. That no evil can be removed except by the
Lord, and with those who believe in Him and love the neigh-
bor, may be very evident from what has been already con-
sidered, especially from these in the chapter on Faith: The
Lord, charity, and faith make one, like life, will, and under-
standing; and if they are divided, each perishes like a pearl
reduced to powder; and further, The Lord is charity and
No. 523]
REPENTANCE
70S
faith in man, and man is charity and faith in the Lord. But
it is asked, How can man enter into this union ? The reply
is, that he cannot unless by repentance he removes his evils
in part. It is said that man must remove them, because the
Lord without man's cooperation does not do that imme-
diately; which is also fully shown in the same chapter, and
in the later one on Free Will.
523. It is objected, that no man can fulfil the law, and
that he has the less ability to do so, since he who trespasses
against one precept of the Decalogue trespasses against all.
But this saying does not mean as it sounds; for it is to be
understood in this manner, that he who from purpose and
determination acts contrary to one precept, acts contrary to
the rest; because to act from purpose and determination,
is wholly to deny that it is sin, and if it is said to be sin, to
throw that aside as of no consequence; and he who denies
and rejects sin in this way, thinks nothing of all that is called
sin. They who do not wish to hear any thing about re-
pentance become fixed in purpose of this kind; but on the
other hand, they who by repentance have removed some
evils that are sins come into the purpose of believing in the
Lord and loving the neighbor; these latter are kept by the
Lord in the purpose to abstain from other evils; therefore, if
they commit sin from ignorance or some overpowering lust,
this is not imputed to them, because they did not intend it,
nor do they confirm it in themselves. This may be con-
firmed by what follows: In the spiritual world I have met
with many who in the natural world lived like others, dress-
ing finely, feasting delicately, having money like others from
trading, witnessing plays, joking about lovers as if from
licentiousness, and doing other such things; and yet the
angels charged some with these things as evils of sin, and
others they did not charge with them as evils, declaring
the latter innocent, but the former guilty. To the question,
"Why is this, when they all did alike?" they replied that
they view all from their purpose, intention, and end, and
706
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 523
distinguish accordingly; and that therefore they excuse or
condemn those whom the end excuses or condemns, since
good is the end with all in heaven, and evil is the end with
all in hell.
524. But these things shall be illustrated by comparisons.
The sins retained in an impenitent man may be compared
to various diseases in him; unless medicines are brought
to bear on them, and malignities removed thereby, the man
dies. They may be compared especially with the disease
called gangrene, which, unless healed in time, spreads, and
causes inevitable death. In like manner to imposthumes
and abscesses, where they are not reached and opened; for
from them collections of pus will diffuse themselves into the
neighboring parts, from these into adjoining viscera, and
finally into the heart, whence comes death. There may also
be comparison with tigers, leopards, lions, wolves, and foxes,
which, unless kept in dens or bound with chains or ropes,
would attack the flock and herd, the fox attacking poultry,
and kill them; also with venomous serpents, which unless
held tight with sticks, or deprived of their teeth, would in-
flict deadly wounds on man. A whole flock would perish
if left in fields where there are poisonous herbs, instead of
being led by the shepherd to pastures where there is nothing
hurtful. The silk worm also would perish, and thus all the
silk, unless other worms were shaken from the leaves of its
tree. Comparison may also be made with corn in granaries
or houses, which would be rendered musty and offensive
and thus useless, if the air were not permitted to pass freely
through it and remove every thing that would do harm.
If a fire were not extinguished at the very outset, it might
lay waste a whole city or forest. Brambles, thistles, and
briers, if not routed out, would take full possession of a gar-
den. Gardeners know that a tree, bad from seed and root,
brings its bad juices into the wood that comes from a good
tree budded or engrafted upon it, and that the bad juices
coming up are turned into good, and produce useful fruit.
No. 526]
REPENTANCE
707
And so with man by the removal of evil by means of re-
pentance; for man is thereby set in the Lord, as a branch
in the vine, and bears good fruit (John xv. 4-6).
V. Knowledge of sin, and the examination of some sin
LN ONE'S SELF, BEGIN REPENTANCE.
525. Knowledge of sin can be wanting to no one in the
Christian world; for there every one is from infancy taught
what evil is, and from childhood what the evil of sin is. All
youths learn this from parents and teachers, and also from
the Decalogue, this being the first book that is put into the
hands of all in Christendom; and in their subsequent prog-
ress by preaching in the temples and instruction at home,
and in fulness from the Word; and furthermore from civil
laws of justice, which teach things like those taught by the
Decalogue and the other parts of the Word. For the evil of
sin is no other than evil against the neighbor; and evil
against the neighbor is also evil against God, which is sin.
But the knowledge of sin effects nothing unless a man ex-
amines the acts of his life, and sees whether secretly or
openly he has committed any such thing. Before this is
done, that is all merely knowledge; and then what the
preacher presents is mere sound going in at the left ear and
passing out at the right, and finally it becomes a mere mat-
ter of thought, and something devout in the breathing, and
with many imaginative and chimerical. But it is wholly
different if man, according to his knowledge of what sin is,
examines himself, finds something in himself, and says to
himself, "This evil is a sin," and abstains from it for fear
of eternal punishment. Then first what is said in the
temples by preachers, in instruction and prayer, is received
by both ears, is introduced into the heart, and from a pagan
the man becomes a Christian.
526. Can there be any thing better known in the Chris-
tian world, than that a man must examine himself? For
708
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 526
everywhere, in the empires and kingdoms adhering to the
Roman Catholic religion and in those adhering to the Evan-
gelical, before approaching the Holy Supper they are taught
and admonished that a man must examine himself, recog-
nize and acknowledge his sins, and live a new and different
life. In the English dominions this is accompanied with
fearful threatenings, where in the address that precedes the
Communion the following is read and proclaimed by the
priest from the altar: "The way and means" to become a
worthy partaker of the Holy Supper, "is first to examine
your lives and conversations by the rule of God's com-
mandments; and whereinsoever ye shall perceive yourselves
to have offended, either by will, word, or deed, there to be-
wail your own sinfulness, and to confess yourselves to
Almighty God, with full purpose of amendment of life. And
if yc shall perceive your offences to be such as are not only
against God but also against your neighbor, then ye shall
reconcile yourselves unto him, being ready to make restitu-
tion and satisfaction, according to the uttermost of your
powers, for all injuries and wrongs done by you to any other,
and being likewise ready to forgive others that have offended
you, as ye would have forgiveness of your offences at God's
hand; for otherwise the receiving of the holy communion
does nothing else but increase your damnation. Therefore
if any of you be a blasphemer of God, a hinderer or slanderer
of His Word, an adulterer, or be in malice or envy, or in any
other grievous crime, repent ye of your sins, or else come not
to that holy table, lest after the taking of that holy sacrament,
the devil enter into you as he entered into Judas, and fill
you full of all iniquity, and bring you to destruction both of
body and soul."
527. And yet there are some who cannot examine them-
selves, such as infants, boys and girls before they arrive at
the age when they become capable of looking into them-
selves; also the simple-minded who are not capable of re-
flection; and again, all those who have no fear of God; and
No. 5*71
REPENTANCE
beside these, some who are sick in mind and body; and
furthermore, those who, being confirmed from the doctrine
of justification by faith alone as imputative of Christ's merit,
have persuaded themselves that by examination and hence
repentance something of the man would enter, which would
ruin faith, and so would cast out and banish salvation from
its one and only home. Mere confession with the lips serves
all these; and that this is not repentance has been already
shown in this chapter. But they who know what sin is,
and still more they who know many other things from the
Word and teach them, and who do not examine themselves
and consequently see no sin in themselves, may be likened
to those who scrape up wealth and lay it up in chests and
coffers, making no further use of it than to look at it and
count it ; also to those who gather into their treasuries jewels
of gold and silver and shut them up in vaults, solely for the
sake of being opulent; such are like the trader that hid his
talent in the earth, and like him who hid his pound in a nap-
kin (Matt. xxv. 25: Luke xix. 20). They are also like the
hard ways and stony places upon which the seed fell (Matt,
xiii. 4, 5); also like fig-trees full of leaves but bearing no
fruit (Mark xi. 13). They are the hearts of adamant, that
do not become hearts of flesh (Zech vii. 12). They are like
the partridges which gather and bring not forth; they get
riches but not with judgment; they leave them in the midst 0}
their days, and at their end become fools (Jer. xvii. 11). They
are like the five virgins who had lamps but no oil (Matt. xxv.
1-12). They who acquire from the Word much about char-
ity and repentance, and who know its precepts in abundance,
and do not live according to them, may be compared to
gluttons who stuff bits of food into their mouths, and swal-
low it without chewing into the stomach, where it stays un-
digested, and when it has been passed onward it vitiates the
chyle, and brings on lingering diseases, from which they die
at last a miserable death. Such persons being without
spiritual heat, however much light they may be in, may be
7IO TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 527
called winters, frozen grounds, arctic climates, yes, fields of
snow and ice.
VI. Actual repentance is to examine one's self, to
KNOW AND ACKNOWLEDGE ONE'S SINS, TO MAKE SUPPLI-
CATION to the Lord, and begin a new ldte.
528. That man is by all means to repent, and that his
salvation depends upon it, is evident from many passages
and plain sayings of the Lord in the Word, from which the
following shall at present be adduced: John preached the
baptism of repentance and said, Bring forth jruits worthy oj
repentance (Luke iii. 3, 8: Mark i. 4). Jesus began to preach
and to say, Repent (Matt. iv. 17). And He said, because The
kingdom of God is at hand, Repent ye (Mark i. 15). Again:
Except ye repent, ye will all perish (Luke xiii. 5). Jesus
commanded His disciples that repentance and remission of
sins should be preached in His name to all nations (Luke
xxiv. 47: Mark vi. 12). Therefore Peter preached repent-
ance and baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for tlie remis-
sion of sins (Acts ii. 38); and he also said, Repent ye there-
fore, and turn, that your sins may be blotted out (iii. 19). Paul
preached to all men everywhere to repent (xvii. 30); he also
declared first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and
throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles,
tliat they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet
for repentance (xxvi. 20). Again, he testified to the Jews and
to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward the
Lord Jesus Christ (xx. 21). The Lord said to the church
at Ephesus, / have somewhat against thee, tliat tlwu hast left
thy first charity. Repent, or else I will remove thy candle-
stick out of its place, except thou repent (Apoc. ii. 2, 4, 5).
To the church at Pergamos, / know thy works, repent (ii. 13,
16). To the church in Thyatira, / will cast her utto afflic-
tion, if she does not repent of her works (Apoc. ii. 22). To
the church of the Laodiceans, / know thy works, be zealous,
No. 5 30 J
REPENTANCE
711
therefore, and repent (Apoc. iii. 15, 19). There is joy in
heaven over one sinner that repenteth (Luke xv. 7); beside
other passages. From which it is manifest that man is by
all means to repent; but the quality and the mode of re-
pentance will be shown in what follows.
529. Who cannot understand, from the reason given him,
that it is not repentance for one merely to confess with the
mouth that he is a sinner, and to recount many things re-
specting it, as the hypocrite did who was mentioned above ?
(n. 518.) For what is easier for a man when he is in dis-
tress and agony, than to pour out the breath, and to utter
sighs and groans from the lungs by the lips, and also to beat
the breast and make himself guilty of all sins, when yet he is
not conscious of a single sin in himself? Do the legion of
devils, which are in his loves, go out together with the sighs ?
Do they not rather hiss at those things, and remain in him as
before, as in their own house ? It is manifest from this that
-uch repentance is not meant in the Word, but repentance
from evil works, as it also says.
530. 'Hie question is, therefore, How ought man to re-
pent? The reply is, Actually; and this is, for one to ex-
amine himself, know and acknowledge his sins, make sup-
plication to the Lord, and begin a new life. That there can
be no repentance without examination was shown in the
preceding article. But for what purpose is examination,
but that one may know his own sins ? And for what is this
knowledge, but that he may acknowledge that they are in
nim ? And for what are the three, but that he may confess
them before the Lord, seek aid, and then begin a new life,
which is the end to be attained ? This is actual repentance.
That man ought so to proceed and do, every one may know,
after he has passed the first period of life and comes under
his own control and to the exercise of his own reason, from
Baptism, the washing of which means regeneration; for in
Baptism his sponsors have promised for him that he will
reject the devil and all his works; likewise from the Holy
712
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 530
Supper, for all are warned to repent of their sins, to turn to
God, and to enter upon a new life, before they can come to it
worthily; and moreover from the Decalogue or catechism
which is in the hands of all Christians, where in six of its
precepts nothing is commanded but that they should not do
evil. And unless these are removed by repentance, man
cannot love the neighbor, and still less God; when never-
theless on those two commandments hang the law and the
prophets, that is, the Word, and hence salvation. Actual
repentance, if performed at recurring seasons, as often, for
instance, as a man prepares for the communion of the Holy
Supper, if he afterwards abstains from one sin or another
that he then discovers in himself, is sufficient to initiate him
into its reality; and when he is in this, he is on the way to
heaven, for from being natural he then begins to become
spiritual, and to be born anew from the Lord.
531. This may be illustrated by the following compari-
sons. Man before repentance is like a desert where there
are terrible wild beasts, dragons, owls of various kinds,
vipers, and poisonous serpents, where in the thickets are
the ochim and tziim, and where satyrs dance. But after
these have been banished by the industry and labor of man,
the desert may be ploughed and brought into fields that may
be planted; and these may be sowed first with oats, beans,
and flax, and afterward with barley and wheat. It may also
be compared to the wickedness which reigns in full force
among men; if the wicked were not corrected according to
law, and punished by stripes or death, no city or kingdom
could stand. Man is as it were a society in miniature. If
he did not deal with himself spiritually as the wicked in a
great society are dealt with naturally, he would be chastised
and punished after death, and this even till he does not do
evil for fear of the penalty, though he can never be brought
to do good from the love of good.
No. 532]
REPENTANCE
7'3
VII. True repentance is to examine not only the acts
of one's life, but also the intentions of one's will.
532. To examine not only the acts of the life, but also the
intentions of the will, is true repentance, because the under-
standing and will make the acts; for man speaks from
thought, and acts from will; therefore speech is thought
speaking, and action is will acting. And because the words
and acts are from them, it follows indisputably that will and
thought are the two that sin when the body sins. And
further, a man can repent of evils which he has done with
the body, and still think and will evil; but this is like cutting
off the trunk of a bad tree and leaving its root in the ground,
from which the same bad tree grows up again and spreads
itself around. But when the root is torn up also, it is dif-
ferent; and this is done in man when he at the same time
examines the intentions of his will and removes the evils by
repentance. A man examines the intentions of his will
when he examines his thoughts, for in these the intentions
make themselves manifest, to find how far, while thinking
of them, he wills and intends revenge, adulteries, thefts,
false witness, and the desires for them, and also blasphemy
against God, the holy Word, and the church, and so on. If
he still directs his attention to this, and searches to find
whether he would do such things if fear of the law and for
reputation did not hinder, then after such scrutiny he who
thinks that he will not because they are sins, repents truly
and inwardly; and still more when he is in enjoyment from
those evils and is at the same time in freedom to do them,
and then resists and abstains. He who practises this re-
peatedly, perceives the enjoyments of the evils when they
return as not enjoyable, and at last he condemns them to
hell. This is what is meant by these words of the Lord:
He that willeth to find his life shall lose it; and he that loseth
his life jor My sake, shall find it (Matt. x. 39). He who by
7M ' TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 532
this repentance removes the evils of his will, is like one who
in time pulls up the tares sown in his field by the devil, so
that the seeds implanted by the Lord God the Saviour find
a clear soil, and grow to harvest (Matt. xiii. 25-30).
533. There are two loves which have long been rooted in
the human race, the love of ruling over all and the love of
possessing the goods of all. The former love, if free rein
is given it, rushes on until it wishes to be the God of heaven;
and the latter, if free rein is given it, rushes on until it
wishes to be the God of the world. To these two all other
evil loves, of which there are hosts, are subordinated; but to
examine these two is exceedingly difficult, because they re-
side most deeply within, and hide themselves; for they are
like vipers concealed in a rock full of holes; these retain
their poison, so that when one lies down on the rock they
give their deadly stroke, and then draw back. They are
also like the sirens of the ancients, who allured men by their
song, and by that means killed them. These two loves also
array themselves in shining robes and undergarments, as a
devil by magical fantasy does among his own, or among
those whom he wishes to delude. But it is to be well known
that these two loves may rule with those in humble life more
than with the great, with the poor more than with the rich,
with subjects more than with kings; for kings are born to
dominion and wealth, which they at length regard only as
others regard their households and possessions, as one in
civil office, a director, a shipmaster, or even a poor farmer
regards his. It is different with kings who aspire to do-
minion over the kingdoms of others. The intentions of the
will are to be examined, because the love has its seat in the
will, for the will is its receptacle, as shown above. Thence
every love breathes out its enjoyments into the perceptions
and thoughts of the understanding, for these latter do not
act at all from themselves but from the will, for they favor
it, consenting to and confirming every thing of its love. The
will is therefore the very house in which the man dwells, and
No. 534]
REPENTANCE
7'5
the understanding is the hall through which he goes out and
in. For this reason it has been said that the intentions of
the will are to be examined; and when they have been ex-
amined and removed, man is lifted out of the natural will,
in which hereditary and actual evils have their seat, into the
spiritual will, through which the Lord reforms and regen-
erates the natural, and by means of this what is sensual and
voluntary of the body, thus the whole man.
534. They who do not examine themselves, by compari-
son are like invalids whose blood is vitiated from the closing
of the smallest vessels, which causes atrophy, numbness of
limbs, and painful chronic diseases arising from a thickening,
tenacity, acridness, and acidity of the humors, and hence of
the blood. But, on the other hand, they who include the
intentions of the will in their examination of themselves, by
comparison are like those who have been cured of these
diseases, and who return to the life they were in while young.
They who examine themselves aright, are like ships from
Ophir laden with gold, silver, and precious things; but be-
fore they haze examined themselves, they are like ships
loaded with filth, such as are used to carry away mud and
ordure of streets. They who examine themselves inwardly,
become like mines, all the walls of which gleam with ores of
precious metal; but before, like foul bogs in which are
snakes and venomous serpents with glittering scales, and
noxious insects with shining wings. They who do not
examine themselves are like the dry bones in the valley;
but after they have examined themselves, they are like the
same bones on which the Lord Jehovih laid sinews, caused
flesh to come, covered them with skin, and put breath in
them, and they lived (Ezek. xxxvii. 1-14).
716
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 535
VIII. They repent also, who do not examine them-
selves, YET DESIST FROM EVILS BECAUSE THEY ARE SDStS;
AND THEY REPENT IN THIS WAY WHO FROM RELIGION
DO THE WORKS OF CHARITY.
535. Since actual repentance, which is to examine one's
self, to know and acknowledge one's sins, to make supplica-
tion to the Lord, and begin a new life, is in the Reformed
Christian world exceedingly difficult, for many reasons that
will be given in the last article of this chapter, therefore an
easier kind of repentance will be here presented, which is,
that when one is considering evil with the mind, and is in-
tending it, he should say to himself, " I am thinking of this
and intending it; but because it is sin, I will not do it." By
this means the temptation injected from hell is checked, and
its further entrance prevented. It is wonderful that one can
find fault with another who is intending evil, and say, " Do
not do that, because it is sin," and yet it is hard for him to
say so to himself; this is because the latter moves the will,
but the other only the thought nearest to the hearing. In-
quiry was made in the spiritual world who could practise
this second kind of repentance ; and they were found as rare
as doves in a vast desert; and some said that they could in-
deed do this, but that they were not able to examine them-
selves and confess their sins before God. But still, all they
who do good from religion avoid actual evils; and yet how
"ery rarely do they reflect upon the interiors, which are of
the will, in the belief that they are not in evils because they
are in good, yes, that the good covers the evil. But, my
friend, the first of charity is to shun evils; the Word teaches
this, the Decalogue, Baptism, the Holy Supper, and also
reason; for how can any one flee from evils and banish them
without some self-inspection? and how can good become
good unless it has been inwardly purified ? I know that all
pious men, and also all who have sound reason will assent
No. 536]
REPENTANCE
717
to this while they read it, and will see that it is genuine truth;
but still that few will act accordingly.
536. But yet, all who do good from religion, not Chris-
tians only but also pagans, are acceptable to the Lord, and
after death are adopted; for the Lord said, / was an hun-
gered, and ye gave Ale meat; I was thirsty and ye gave Me
drink; I was a stranger, and ye took Me in; naked, and yc
clothed Me; I was sick, and ye visited Me; I was in prison,
and ye came unto Me: and He said, Inasmuch as ye have
done it unto one of M y least brethren, ye have done it unto Me.
Come, ye blessed, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from
the foundation of the world (Matt. xxv. 31, and subsequent
verses). To which I will add this, which is new: All who
do good from religion, after death reject the doctrine of the
present church as to three Divine Persons from eternity, and
also its faith applied to the three in order, and they turn to
the Lord God the Saviour, and accept with pleasure what
is of the New Church. But the others, who have not prac-
tised charity from religion, are hearts as hard as adamant.
They first resort to three Gods, afterward to the Father only,
and at last to none; they look upon the Lord God the Saviour
as only Mary's son, born of marriage with Joseph, and not
as the Son of God; then they discard all the goods and truths
of the New Church, and presently join the spirits of the
dragon, and with them are driven away into deserts or
caverns on the furthest borders of what is called the Chris-
tian world; and after a time, because they are separate from
the New Heaven, they rush into crime, and are therefore
sent into hell. Such is the lot of those who do not do works
of charity from religion, from the belief that no one can do
good from himself, except what is of merit; and hence they
omit those works, and associate themselves with the goats,
the condemned, and are cast into the eternal fire prepared
for the devil and his angels, because they have not done what
was done by the sheep (Matt. xxv. 41-46). It is not there
said that they did evils, but that they did not do goods; and
718
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
[No. 536
they who do not do goods from religion do evils, since No
man can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and
love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the
other (Matt. vi. 24). Jehovah says by Isaiah, Wash you,
make you clean, put away the evil of your doings from before
Mine eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do well; and then, though
your sins have been as scarlet, they shall be white as snow;
though they have been red as crimson, they shall be as wool
(i. 16-18): and to Jeremiah, Stand in the gate of the house of
Jehovah, and proclaim there this word: Thus said Jehovah
Zebaoth, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings;
trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of Jehovah,
the temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah is here (that is,
the church). Will ye steal, murder, and swear falsely, and
come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by
My Name, and say, We are delivered, while ye do all these
abominations? Is this house become a den of robbers? Be-
hold, even I have seen it, saith Jehovah (vii. 2-4, 9-1 1).
537. It is to be known that they who do good from nat-
ural goodness only, and not from religion at the same time,
are not accepted after death, because there is only natural
good in their charity, and not at the same time spiritual
good; and it is the spiritual which conjoins the Lord with
man, not the natural without this. Natural goodness is of
the flesh alone, born of parents; but spiritual goodness is of
the spirit, born anew from the Lord. They who do the
good works of charity from religion, and who hence do not
do evils, before they have accepted the doctrine of the New
Church as to the Lord, may be likened to trees that bear
good fruit, though but little, and also to trees that bear
excellent small fruit, which are none the less cared for in
gardens; and they may also be likened to olive-trees and
fig-trees in the woods; and again to fragrant herbs and
balsamic shrubs on the hills. They are like little chapels
or houses of God, where pious worship is held; for they
are sheep on the right hand, and rams that the goats assault,
No. 538]
REPENTANCE
719
according to Daniel (viii. 2-14). In heaven they have been
clothed with garments of red; and after initiation into the
goods of the New Church, they are clothed with garments of
purple, which acquire a beautiful yellow glow as they re-
ceive truths also.
IX. Confession must be made before the Lord God the
Saviour, and then supplication for aid and power
to resist evils.
53S. The Lord God the Saviour must be approached,
because He is the God of heaven and earth, the Redeemer
and Saviour, to whom belong omnipotence, omniscience,
omnipresence, mercy itself and at the same time justice;
also because man is His creature, and the church His fold;
add, also, that many times in the New Testament He has
commanded men to come to Him and worship and adore
Him. He has given the injunction that He only must be
approached by these words in John : Verily, verily, I say unto
you, he that entereth not by the door into the sheepjold, but
climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber;
But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
I am the door; by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved,
and shall find pasture; the thief cometh not but for to steal, and
to kill, and to destroy; I am come that they may have life and
abundance of it; I am the Good Shepherd (x. 1, 2, 9-11).
That man must not climb up some other way, means not to
God the Father, because He is invisible and therefore un-
approachable, with whom there cannot be conjunction; for
which reason He Himself came into the world, and made
Himself visible and approachable, with whom there can be
conjunction; which was solely for the end that man might be
saved. For unless in thought God is approached as Man,
every idea of God perishes, falling like sight directed out
upon the universe, that is, into empty nothingness, or into
nature, or to what is met within nature. That God Him-
720
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 538
self, who from eternity is one, came into the world, is clearly
evident from the nativity of the Lord the Saviour, in that He
was conceived from the power of the Highest through the
Holy Spirit, and that His Human was born from it, of the
virgin Mary; from which it follows that His soul was the
Divine itself which is called the Father, for God is indivisible;
and that the Human born from it is the Human of God the
Father, which is called the Son of God (Luke i. 32, 34, 35);
from which it again follows that when the Lord God the
Saviour is approached, God the Father is approached also;
therefore to Philip asking Him to show them the Father,
He replied, He that seeih Me seeth the Father; and how say-
est thou then, Show us the Father? Believest thou not that
I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? Believe Me that
I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? (John xiv. 6-1 1.)
But of this more may be seen in the chapters on God, the
Lord, the Holy Spirit, and the Trinity.
539. There are two duties incumbent on man, to be done
after examination; these are supplication and confession.
The supplication will be that the Lord be merciful, give
power to resist the evils of which he has repented, and supply
inclination and affection for doing good, since man without
the Lord can do nothing (John xv. 5). The confession will
be, that he sees, knows, and acknowledges his evils, and finds
himself a miserable sinner. There is no need of enumera-
ting sins before the Lord, nor of supplicating for their re-
mission. The enumeration of sins is unnecessary because
the man has searched them out and seen them in himself,
and hence they are present to the Lord because they are
present to the man. Moreover the Lord led him in the
examination, and laid them open, and inspired sorrow, and
together with this the effort to desist from them and begin
a new life. It is not a duty to make supplication before the
Lord for the remission of sins, for the following reasons:
First, because sins are not abolished, but removed; and they
are removed as the man afterward desists from them and
No. 560]
REPENTANCE
721
goes on in the new life; for there are innumerable lusts
inherent, rolled up as it were, in every evil, and they cannot
be moved in a moment, but successively, as the man suffers
himself to be reformed and regenerated. The second rea>
son is that the Lord, because He is Mercy itself, remits their
sins to all, nor does He impute them to any one; for He says,
They know not what they do; but still, the sins have not
therefore been taken away. For to Peter asking how often
he should forgive his brother his trespasses, whether seven
times, the Lord said, / say not unto thee until seven times,
but until seventy limes seven (Matt, xviii. 21, 22). What
will the Lord not do ? But still it does no harm for one
burdened in conscience to enumerate his sins in the presence
of a minister of the church, for the sake of absolution, that
his burden may be lightened; because he is thus led into the
habit of examining himself, and of reflecting upon the evils
of each day. But this confession is natural; but that de-
scribed above is spiritual.
560. To adore some vicar on earth, or to invoke some
saint, as God, is of no more avail in heaven than to make
supplication to the sun, moon, and stars, or to ask a response
of a diviner and believe what he gives forth, which is vain.
This would also be like adoring a temple and not God in the
temple; it would be like supplicating a king's servant who
carries the sceptre and the crown in his hand, for the honors
of glory, and not the king himself; and this would be to as
little purpose as kissing the splendor of purple, glory, light,
the sun's golden rays, and a mere name, apart from their
subjects. For those who do such things are these words in
John : We abide in the truth, in Jesus Christ. This is the
true God and Eternal Life. Little children, keep yourselves
from idols (1 Epistle v. 20, 21).
722
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 561
X. Actual repentance is easy for those who have
SOMETIMES PRACTISED IT, BUT VERY DIFFICULT OF
EXECUTION IN THOSE WHO HAVE NOT.
561. Actual repentance is to examine one's self, to know
one's sins, to confess before the Lord, and so to begin a new
life; this accords with the preceding description of it. In
the Reformed Christian world, meaning by this all who are
separate from the Roman Catholic church and also all at-
tached to this church who have not practised any actual
repentance, with both of these classes, it is very difficult of
execution. This is because some will not and some dare
not practise it; and this disuse makes a man confirmed,
induces unwillingness, and at length gains the consent of
the reasoning intellect, but with some it induces instead
sadness, dread, and terror. Actual repentance is very diffi-
cult in the Reformed Christian world, first because of their
belief that repentance and charity contribute nothing to
salvation, but faith alone, from the imputation of which
follow remission of sins, justification, renewal, regenera-
tion, sanctification, and eternal salvation, — without man's
cooperating from himself or as from himself, which their
dogmatists call useless, and an obstacle to Christ's merit,
and repugnant and injurious to it. And this is implanted
in the minds of the people, though they are ignorant of the
mysteries of that faith, by these sayings alone, that faith alone
saves, and "who can do good of himself?" Hence re-
pentance with the Reformed is like a nest of young birds
deprived of the parents caught and killed by the fowler.
To this another cause is added, that one so-called Reformed
is, as to his spirit, among no others in the spiritual world
than those like him, who induce such things upon the ideas
of his thoughts, and seduce him from a step toward self-
inspection and examination.
562. I have asked many of the Reformed in the spiritual
No. 562]
REPENTANCE
723
world why they did not practise actual repentance, when
it was enjoined upon them both in the Word and at Bap-
tism, as also before the Holy Communion in all their churches.
They made various replies. Some said, that contrition with
oral confession that one is a sinner is enough. Some said
that such repentance, taking place while man is operating
from his own will, does not accord with the faith universally
accepted. Some said, " Who can examine himself when he
knows that he is mere sin? This would be like casting a
net into a lake full from bottom to top of mud containing
noxious worms." Some said, "Who can inspect himself so
deeply as to see in himself Adam's sin, from which all his
actual evils have sprung ? Are not these as well as it washed
away by the waters of Baptism, and wiped off and covered
by the merit of Christ ? What is repentance, therefore, but
an imposition, which sadly disturbs the conscientious?
Are we not by the Gospel under grace, and not under the
hard law of that repentance?" And so on. Some said
that whenever they intend to examine themselves, dread
and terror seize them, as if they saw a monster near the bed
in the morning twilight. From these things the reasons are
made plain, why actual repentance in the Reformed Chris-
tian world has, as it were, been stopped and discarded. In
the absence of these persons I also asked some attached to
the Roman Catholic religion about their actual confession
before their ministers, whether it was difficult. And they
replied that after they were initiated into it, they did not
fear to tell their trespasses to a confessor who was not severe,
and that with a kind of pleasure they gathered them, telling
the lighter ones cheerfully, but the more serious somewhat
timidly; also that according to custom they freely returned
every year to their appointed confession, and, after receiving
absolution, to festivity; moreover, that they look upon all
as impure who are not willing to uncover the defilements of
their hearts. Hearing this, the Reformed who were present
hastened away, some deriding and laughing, some astounded
724 TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 562
and yet commending. Afterward some drew near who be-
longed to that same church, but who lived in countries where
the Reformed were; and who, from the usage there estab-
lished, did not make a special confession, like their brethren
elsewhere, but only a general confession before one who held
the keys. They said that they were wholly unable to search
themselves, to trace out and set forth their actual evils and
the secrets of their thoughts; and that they thus felt this to
be as repugnant and terrible, as if they would cross a ditch
to a rampart where an armed soldier stands and cries, Keep
back. Hence it is now evident that actual repentance is
easy to those who have sometimes practised it, but it is very
difficult of execution in those who have not.
563. It is well known that habit makes second nature,
and that therefore what is difficult for one is easy for another;
and so it is with examining one's self and confessing the re-
sults of examination. What is easier for a hired laborer,
porter, or farmer, than to work with his hands from morning
till evening ? while on the other hand a genteel and delicate
man could not do the same for half an hour without fatigue
and sweat. It is easy for a footman, with staff and easy
shoes, to work his way on for miles, while one accustomed tt
ride can hardly run slowly from one street to another. Every
mechanic devoted to his work goes through it easily and will-
ingly, and when he leaves it, longs to return; while another
acquainted with the same trade, but indolent, can scarcely
be driven to it. So with every one who is in any employ-
ment or pursuit. To one diligent in piety, what is easier
than to pray to God ? and to one who is a slave to impiety,
what it more difficult ? and vice versa. What priest preach-
ing before a king for the first time is not timid ? while after
he has become established in the office, he goes on boldly.
What is easier for a man angel than to raise the eyes to
heaven ? and for a man devil than to cast them down toward
hell ? But if the latter becomes a hypocrite, he too can look
up to heaven, but with the heart turned away. Every one
is imbued with the end in view, and the habit therefrom.
No. 564]
REPENTANCE
725
XI. One who has never practised repentance, or has
NOT LOOKED INTO AND SEARCHED HIMSELF, AT LENGTH
DOES not know what damning evil and saving
GOOD ARE.
564. Because few in the Reformed Christian world prac-
tise repentance, it is here added, that he who has not looked
into and searched himself, at length does not know what
damning evil and saving good are; for he has no religion
from which to know it: for the evil which a man does not
see, know, and acknowledge, remains; and that which re-
mains becomes more and more rooted, until it closes the
interiors of his mind; hence man becomes first natural, then
sensual, and at last corporeal, and neither the sensual nor
the corporeal man knows any damning evil, or any saving
good. He becomes like a tree growing on a hard rock,
which spreads its roots within the crevices, and finally withers
away from lack of moisture. Every man rightly educated
is rational and moral; but there are two ways to rationality,
one from the world, the other from heaven. He who has
become rational and moral from the world, but not from
heaven also, is rational and moral in word and gesture only,
but is inwardly a beast, yes, a wild beast, because he acts
as one with those who are in hell where all are such. But
he who is rational and moral from heaven also, is truly ra-
tional and moral, because he is so at once in spirit, word,
and body; the spiritual is inwardly in the two latter, like a
soul, and it actuates the natural, sensual, and corporeal;
he also acts as one with those who are in heaven. There-
fore there is the spiritual rational and moral man, and also
the merely natural rational and moral man; and the one is
not known from the other in the world, especially if one by
practice is imbued with hypocrisy; but they are known apart
by the angels in heaven as doves from owls, and as sheep
from tigers. The merely natural man can see evils and goods
726
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 564
in others, and can also rebuke others; but because he has
not looked into and searched himself, he sees no evil in him-
self; and if any is uncovered by another, he cloaks it by his
rationality as a serpent hides its head in the dust, and sinks
himself in it as a hornet in dung. The enjoyment of evil
effects this, which encompasses him as a fog does a marsh,
absorbing and smothering the rays of light. Enjoyment in
hell is no different. This is exhaled thence, and flows into
every man, but into the soles of the feet and into his back
and his occiput. But if it is received by the head in the fore-
head, and by the body in the breast, the man is made a slave
to hell. This is because the human cerebrum is devoted
to the understanding and wisdom there, but the cerebellum
to the will and its love: and from this there are two brains.
But that infernal enjoyment is amended, reformed, and
inverted solely by the rational and moral that are spiritual.
565. Now follows a brief description of the merely natu-
ral rational and moral man, who viewed in himself is sen-
sual, and if he goes on, becomes corporeal or fleshly; but the
description shall be given in a sketch with divisions. The
sensual is the ultimate of the life of man's mind, adherent to
and coherent with the five senses of his body. He is called
a sensual man who judges of all things from the senses of the
body, and believes nothing but what he can see with the
eyes and touch with the hands, saying that this is something,
and rejecting every thing else. The interiors of his mind,
which see from the light of heaven, are closed so that he sees
nothing of the truth of heaven and the church. Such a man
thinks in outmosts, and not interiorly from any spiritual
light, because he is in gross natural light. Hence he is in-
wardly opposed to what is of heaven and the church, though
able to speak in favor of them outwardly and earnestly, in
proportion to his hope of having power and wealth by means
of them. Men of learning and erudition, who have con-
firmed themselves deeply in falsities, and still more they who
have .confirmed themselves against the truths of the Word,
No. S6S]
REPENTANCE
727
are more sensual than others. Sensual men reason acutely
and skilfully, because their thought is so near to speech as to
be almost in it, and, as it were in the lips, and because they
place all intelligence in the speech that is merely from mem-
ory; moreover they can dexterously confirm falsities, and
after confirming them they believe them to be true; but they
reason and confirm from fallacies of the senses, which cap-
tivate and persuade the people. Sensual men are more cun-
ning and malicious than others. The avaricious, adulterous,
and crafty, are especially sensual; though to the world they
seem to be men of talent. The interiors of their minds are
foul and filthy; they communicate by them with the hells;
in (he Word they are called the dead. They who are in the
hells are sensual, and the more so, the deeper they are in
them; the sphere of infernal spirits joins itself with man's
sensual, behind; in the light of heaven, their occiput seems
hollow. They who reasoned from sensual things only, were
called by the ancients serpents of the tree of knowledge.
Sensuals must be in the last place, and not the first; and
with a wise and intelligent man they are in the last place,
and are made subject to interior things; but in one who is
not wise, they are in the first place and are dominant. When
sensuals are in the last place, a way is opened through them
to the understanding; and truths are refined by the mode of
drawing them forth. Those sensuals stand out nearest to
the world, admit what comes to them from the world, and
as it were sift them. By means of sensuals, man commu-
nicates with the world; and by means of rationals with
heaven. Sensuals supply what serves the interiors of the
mind. There are sensuals which supply the intellectual,
and those which supply the voluntary part. Unless the
thought is raised above sensuals, man has little wisdom;
when man's thought is raised above sensuals he comes into
clearer light, and at length into heavenly light; and then he
perceives what flows down from heaven. The ultimate of
the understanding is natural knowledge; the ultimate of the
will is sensual enjoyment.
728
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 566
566. Man, as to the natural man, is like a beast; he adopts
a beast's image by the life. Therefore in the spiritual world
beasts of every kind, which are correspondences, appear about
such men; for man's natural viewed in itself is merely ani-
mal, but because the spiritual has been added, he can be-
come a man; and if he does not become a man from the
faculty which enables him to do so, he can counterfeit one,
but yet he is a talking beast; for he talks from the natural
rational, but he thinks from spiritual madness, and he acts
from the natural moral, but he loves from spiritual lust.
His acts, viewed by a spiritual rational man, differ little from
the dance of one bitten by a tarantula, and called St. Vitus's
dance or the dance of St. Guy. Who does not know that a
hypocrite can talk about God, a robber about sincerity, an
adulterer about chastity? and so on. But unless man had
the gift to close and to open the door between his thoughts
and his words, and between his intentions and his acts, and
if prudence or cunning were not the doorkeeper, he would
rush into abominations and cruelties more fiercely than any
wild beast. But that door is opened in every man after
death, and then he appears such as he has been; but he is
kept under restraint by punishments and custody in hell.
Therefore, kind reader, inspect yourself, and find out one or
another evil in you, and from religion turn it away; if you
do so from any other purpose or end, you only turn evils
away that they may not appear to the world.
567. To the foregoing will be added the following Rela-
tions. First: I was suddenly seized with almost deadly dis-
ease; my whole head was weighed down; a pestilential
smoke was let in from the Jerusalem called Sodom and
Egypt (Apoc. xi. 8); I was half dead with severe pain; I
expected the end. I lay in my bed thus for three days and
a half; my spirit was in that condition, and from it my body.
And then I heard about me voices of some who said, " Be-
hold he who preached repentance for the remission of sins,
and the man Christ only, lies dead in the street of our city."
No. 567]
REPENTANCE
729
And they asked some of the clergy whether he was worthy
of burial, and they said "No, let him lie and be looked at";
and they were going, coming and mocking. Of a truth this
happened to me while the eleventh chapter of the Apocalypse
was explained. Harsh speeches were then heard from the
scoffers, especially these: "How can repentance be done
without faith ? How can the man Christ, be adored as God ?
When we are saved of free grace, without any merit of our
own, what need we then but faith alone that God the Father
sent the Son to take away the condemnation of the law, im-
pute to us His merit, and so justify us before Him and give
us absolution from our sins, the priest proclaiming it, and
then give the Holy Spirit to work all good in us? Is not
this according to Scripture, and also reason ? " The crowd
that stood by applauded this.
I heard all this, but could make no answer, because I lay
almost dead. But after three days and a half my spirit
revived; and as to the spirit I went forth from the street into
the city, and said again, "Repent, and believe in Christ,
and your sins will be remitted, and you will be saved; and
if not, you will perish. Did not the Lord Himself preach
repentance for remission of sins, and that they should be-
lieve in Him ? Did He not command the disciples to preach
the same? Does not full security of life follow the dogma
of your faith ? " But they said, " What nonsense you talk ?
Has not the Son made satisfaction? Does not the Father
impute it, and justify us who have believed this? So we are
led by the spirit of grace. What then is sin in us? What
then is death with us? Proclaimer of sin and repentance,
do you accept this Gospel?" But then a voice came forth
out of heaven, saying, "What is the faith of one not penitent
but dead ? The end has come, the end has come upon you,
secure, blameless in your own eyes, justified in your own
belief, Satans!" And then suddenly a cleft was opened in
the midst of the city; and it widened, and house after house
fell, and they were swallowed up; and presently water boiled
up from the broad gulf, and overflowed the waste.
73Q
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 567
When they had thus sunk down, and seemed to be over-
flowed, I desired to know their lot in the deep, and it was
said to me from heaven, "You shall see and hear." And
then the waters disappeared from before my eyes, with which
they seemed to be overflowed, because waters in the spiritual
world are correspondences, and hence appear around those
who are in falsities. And then they were seen by me in a
sandy bottom, where heaps of stones were piled, among
which they were running, and lamenting that they had been
cast out of their great city, and they were shouting and cry-
ing out, " Why have we this ? Are we not, through our faith,
clean, pure, just, and holy ? Are we not cleansed, purified,
justified, and sanctified through our faith?" And others
exclaimed, "Are we not, through our faith, made such as to
appear, be seen, and reputed before God the Father, and be
declared before the angels, as clean, pure, just, and holy?
Are we not reconciled, propitiated, expiated, and so absolved,
washed, and cleansed from sins? Has not the condemna-
tion of the law been taken away by Christ ? Why then have
we been cast hither as condemned? In our great city we
heard an audacious proclaimer of sin cry, ' Believe in Christ,
and repent.' Have we not believed in Christ, since we have
believed in His merit ? And have we not repented, since we
have confessed that we are sinners? Why then has this
befallen us?" But a voice was then heard speaking to
them from one side, " Do you know any sin in which you are ?
Have you ever examined yourselves? Have you therefore
shunned any evil as sin against God? and he who does not
shun it is in it. Is not sin the devil? Therefore you are
they of whom the Lord says, Then shall ye begin to say, We
have eaten and drunk in Thy presence, and Thou hast taught
in our streets. But He shall say, I tell you, I know you not
•whence ye are; depart from Me, all ye workers 0} iniquity
(Luke xiii. 26, 27; also in Matt. vii. 22, 23). Go, there-
fore, each to his place. You see openings into caverns;
enter into them, and to each of you his work to do will be
No. 567]
REPENTANCE
731
given; and then food, in proportion to the work. If you
do not, hunger will yet compel you to go in."
Afterward a voice from heaven came to certain ones on
the earth outside of that great city, who are also spoken of in
the Apoc. xi. 13, saying loudly, "Beware, beware of con-
sociation with such. Cannot you understand that the evils
called sins and iniquities render man unclean and impure ?
How can man be cleansed and purified from them but by
actual repentance and by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ?
Actual repentance is to examine one's self, know and ac-
knowledge his sins, to hold one's self guilty, to confess them
before the Lord, to implore aid and power to resist them,
and so to desist from them and lead a new life; and all this
you must do as of yourselves. Do so once or twice a year,
when you come to the Holy Communion; and afterward,
when the sins of which you convicted yourselves recur, then
say to yourselves, ' We do not will these, because they are sins
against God.' This is actual repentance. Who cannot
understand that he who does not examine and see his sins,
remains in them ? For every evil has enjoyment in it from
birth; for there is enjoyment in revenge, whoredom, de-
frauding, blasphemy, and especially in ruling from love of
self. Does not the enjoyment prevent your seeing them?
And if perchance it is said that they are sins, from enjoy-
ment in them do you not excuse them ? yes, by falsities you
confirm they are not sins? and so remain in them, and do
them more afterward than before; and this even until you
do not know what sin is, yes, whether there is any. It is
otherwise with one who actually repents. The evils which
he knows and acknowledges, he calls sins, and therefore
begins to shun and turn away from them, and at length to
feel their enjoyment as undelightful. And so far as this
he sees and loves goods, and at length feels the enjoyment of
them, which is the enjoyment of the angels of heaven. In a
word, so far as one puts the devil behind him, he is adopted
by the Lord; and is taught, led, withheld from evils, and
732
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 567
kept in goods by Him. This and no other is the way from
hell to heaven."
It is wonderful that with the Reformed there is a certain
rooted objection, repugnance, and aversion to actual re-
pentance, so great that they cannot compel themselves to
examine themselves, and see their sins, and confess them
before God. It is as if horror comes over them when they
propose it. I have asked very many in the spiritual world
about this, and they all said that it is beyond their power.
When they have heard that still the Papists do it, that is,
examine themselves, and openly confess their sins before a
monk, they have wondered greatly; and they said further
that the Reformed cannot do it in secret before God, though
it is equally enjoined upon them before coming to the Holy
Supper. And some there inquired why this was so; and
they found that faith alone induced such a state of impeni-
tence and such a heart. And it was then given them to see
that those of the Papists who worship Christ and do not in-
voke saints, are saved.
After this, as it were thunder was heard, and a voice speak-
ing from heaven, saying, "We are astonished! Say to the
assembly of the Reformed, 'Believe in Christ and repent,
and ye shall be saved."' And I said so; and I added further,
"Is not Baptism a sacrament of repentance, and thus an
introduction to the church ? What else do sponsors promise
for the one to be baptized, but that he shall renounce the
devil and his works ? Is not the Holy Supper a sacrament
of repentance, and thus introduction to heaven? Are not
communicants told this, without fail to repent before coming ?
Is not the Catechism, the doctrine of the universal Christian
church, a teacher of repentance ? Is it not there said, in the
six precepts of the second table, Thou shalt not do this or
that evil, and not, Thou shalt do this or that good? From
this you may know, that as far as one renounces evil and is
averse to it, he aims at good and loves it; and that before
this he does not know what is good; nor indeed does he
know what is evil."
No. 568]
REPENTANCE
733
568. Second Relation. What pious and wise man does
not wish to know his lot after death ? I will therefore pre-
sent general truths, that he may know. Every man after
death, when he feels that he still lives and that he is in another
world, and hears that heaven is above him, where there are
eternal joys, and that hell is beneath him, where there are
eternal sorrows, is at first let into his externals, in which he
was in the former world; and he then believes that he is
certainly going to heaven, and talks intelligently and acts
prudently. And some say, "We have lived morally, our
pursuits have been honest, we have not done evil purposely."
And others say, "We have frequented churches, heard
masses, kissed sacred images, and poured out prayers upon
our knees." Others again, "We have given to the poor,
aided the needy, read pious books and the Word also";
with many such things.
But after they have spoken thus, angels stand near and
say, "All that you have told, you have done in externals, but
you do not yet know what you are in internals. You are
now spirits, in a substantial body, and the spirit is your
internal man; it is this in you which thinks what it wills,
and wills what it loves, and this is its life's enjoyment. Every
man from infancy begins life from externals, and learns to
act morally and talk intelligently, and when he first gets an
idea of heaven and the happiness there, he begins to pray,
to frequent churches, to observe solemnities of worship; and
still, when evils spring from their native fountain, he begins
to hide them in the bosom of his mind, and also ingeniously
to veil them with reasonings from fallacies, so that he does
not even know that evil is evil. And then, because the evils
are veiled, and covered as it were with dust, he thinks no
more about them than merely to guard against their ap-
pearing to the world. Thus he only studies to lead a moral
life in externals, and so becomes a double man, a sheep in
externals and a wolf in internals; and he is like a golden box
containing poison, like a man with foul breath holding
734
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 568
something aromatic in his mouth to prevent those near from
perceiving it; and he is like the skin of a mouse that smells
of balsam. You said that you had lived morally, and had
followed pious pursuits; but, tell me, have you ever ex-
amined your internal man, and perceived any lusts for taking
revenge even to the death, for living lustfully even to adul-
tery, for defrauding even to theft, for lying even to false
witness ? In four precepts of the Decalogue it is said, Thou
shalt not do these things; and in the two last, Thou shalt
not covet them. Do you believe that in these things your
internal man has been like your external? If you do, per-
haps you are deceived."
But to this they replied, " What is the internal man ? Are
not the internal and the external one and the same? We
have heard from our ministers that the internal man is noth-
ing but faith, and that piety of the lips and morality of life
are signs of it, because they are its operation." To which
the angels answered, "Saving faith is in the internal man,
and likewise charity; and Christian faithfulness and moral-
ity in the external man are from them. But if these lusts
remain in the internal man, and thus in the will and from it
in the thought, hence if you love them inwardly and yet act
and speak otherwise in externals, then evil with you is above
good, and good is below evil; therefore, however you talk
as if from the understanding, and act from love, evil is within,
and thus it is veiled; and then you are like cunning apes,
which perform acts like those of men, but the heart of men
is wholly wanting. But what your internal man is of which
you know nothing, because you have not examined your-
selves and after examination repented, you will see after
awhile, when your external man is put off and you are sent
into the internal; and when this is done, you will no longer
be recognized by your companions, nor by yourselves. I
have seen wicked men, who were moral, like wild beasts
then, looking fiercely at the neighbor, burning with deadly
hatred, and blaspheming God, whom in the external man
No. S69J
REPENTANCE
735
they adored." Hearing this they withdrew, while the an-
gels were saying, " You will see your life's lot hereafter, for
your external man will soon be taken from you, and you will
enter into the internal which is now your spirit."
569. Third Relation. Every love in man breathes out
enjoyment, by which it makes itself felt; it breathes it first
into the spirit, and thence into the body; and enjoyment of
love, together with pleasantness of thought, makes his life.
Those enjoyments, and this pleasantness, are but dimly
seen while man lives in the natural body, because this ab-
sorbs and blunts them; but after death, when the material
body is taken away, and thus the covering or clothing of the
spirit is removed, the enjoyments of love and the pleasant-
ness of thought are fully felt and perceived; and, what is
wonderful, sometimes as odors. It results from this, that
all in the spiritual world are consociated according to their
loves, those in heaven according to theirs, and those in hell
according to theirs. The odors into which the enjoyments
of the loves are turned in heaven, are all perceived like the
fragrances, sweet smells, pleasant exhalations, and delightful
perceptions, which arise from gardens, flower-beds, fields,
and forests, in the spring mornings. But the odors into
which the enjoyments of the loves of those in hell are turned,
are perceived like the pungent, fetid, and rotten smells, that
arise from cesspools, dead bodies, and stagnant waters filled
with rubbish and ordure; and, what is wonderful, the devils
and satans there perceive them as balsams, aromatics, and
frankincense, refreshing nostrils and hearts. In the natural
world it is also given to beasts, birds, and worms to be con-
sociated according to odors, but not to men until they have
laid aside their bodies as worn out coverings. It results
that heaven is arranged with most minute distinctions, ac-
cording to all the varieties of love of good; and hell, as its
opposite, according to all the varieties of love of evil. It is
due to this opposition that there is a gulf between heaven and
hell, which cannot be passed; for they who are in heaven
736
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 569
cannot endure any odor from hell, for it excites nausea and
vomiting, and threatens them with swooning if they receive
it. The result is the same with those in hell if they pass the
middle of that gulf.
Once I saw a devil appearing in the distance like a leopard,
who a few days before was seen among the angels of the ulti-
mate heaven, and who possessed the art of making himself
an angel of light, passing beyond the middle and standing
between two olive-trees, and not perceiving any odor offen-
sive to his life. The reason was that no angels were present.
But, however, as soon as they were, he was seized with con-
vulsions, and fell down with all his limbs drawn up; and
then he appeared like a great serpent drawing himself into
folds, and at length rolling down through the gulf; and he
was taken out by his companions and carried away into a
cavern, where by the rank odor belonging to his own en-
joyment he revived. At one time also I saw a satan pun-
ished by his own companions. I asked the cause, and was
told that with his nostrils stopped up he had gone near to
those who were in the odor of heaven, and had returned and
brought that odor with him on his clothing. It has often
happened that a putrid odor like that from a corpse, from
some open cavern of hell, has reached my nostrils and brought
on vomiting. It may be evident Irom this why the sense of
smell in the Word signifies perception; for it is often said
that Jehovah smelled a sweet savor from burnt-offerings;
also that the anointing oil and the incense were made of fra-
grant things; and, on the other hand, that the children of
Israel were commanded to carry out from their camps what
was unclean, and to dig and bury the excrements (Deut.
xxiii. 12, 13). This was because the camp of Israel rep-
resented heaven, and the desert without the camp repre-
sented hell.
570. Fourth Relation. I once spoke with a novitiate
spirit, who, while he was in the world, thought much upon
heaven and hell. By novitiate spirits are meant men who
No. 570]
REPENTANCE
737
have lately died, and who, because they are then spiritual,
are called spirits. This spirit, as soon as he entered the
spiritual world, began to meditate in the same way about
heaven and hell, and he seemed to himself to be in a state of
gladness when meditating about heaven, and of sadness
when meditating about hell. As soon as he observed that
he was in the spiritual world he asked where heaven and
hell were; also what and of what quality was each of them.
And they answered, "Heaven is over your head, and hell
beneath your feet; for you are now in the world of spirits,
which is intermediate between heaven and hell; but what
each of them is, and what its quality, we cannot describe
in few words." And then because he burned with the
desire of knowing, he threw himself upon his knees and
devoutly prayed to God to be instructed. And behold, an
angel appeared at his right hand and raised him up, and
said, "You have prayed to be instructed as to heaven and
hell. Inquire and learn what enjoyment is, and you will
know." And the angel, after these words, was taken up.
The novitiate spirit then said to himself, "What is this?
Inquire and learn what enjoyment is, and you will know
what and of what quality heaven and hell are."
Soon leaving that place, he wandered around; and, ad-
dressing those he met, he said, " Pray tell me, if you please,
what enjoyment is." And some said, " What sort of a ques-
tion is that ? Who does not know what enjoyment is ? Is
it not joy and gladness? And so enjoyment is enjoyment.
The one is the same as the other. We know no difference."
Others said that enjoyment was laughter of mind; for while
the mind laughs, the face is merry, the speech is jocular,
the gestures are playful, and the whole man is in enjoy-
ment. But some said, "Enjoyment is nothing but feasting
and eating dainties, and drinking and being drunk with
generous wine, and then chatting about various things, es-
pecially sports of Venus and Cupid." Hearing these things,
the novitiate spirit being indignant said to himself, " These
738
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 570
answers are rude, not cultured. These enjoyments are not
heaven, nor are they hell. Would that I could meet the
wise." And he went away from these persons and sought
for the wise.
He was then seen by an angelic spirit, who said, " I per-
ceive that you are ardently desirous to know what is the
universal of heaven and of hell, and because this is en-
joyment, I will lead you up the hill where there is a daily
assembly of those who search into effects, investigate causes,
and examine ends. They there who search into effects, are
called spirits of knowledge, abstractly, knowledges; they
who investigate causes are called spirits of intelligence, ab-
stractly, intelligences; and they who examine ends are
called spirits of wisdom, abstractly, wisdoms. Directly
above them in heaven are angels who from ends see causes,
and from causes see effects; from these angels the three com-
panies have enlightenment." Then taking the novitiate
spirit by the hand, he led him up the hill, and to the as-
sembly composed of those who examine ends, and who are
called wisdoms. To these he said, "Pardon my coming up
to you. I came because from my childhood I have medi-
tated about heaven and hell; I lately came into this world,
and some who were then associated with me said that heaven
is here above my head, and hell beneath my feet; but they
did not say what each of them is, and of what quality it is;
therefore, becoming anxious from constantly thinking about
them, I prayed to God, and then an angel stood near and
said, 'Inquire and learn what enjoyment is, and you will
know.' I have inquired, but so far in vain. I therefore
beg that you will teach me, if you please, what enjoyment is."
To this the wisdoms replied: "Enjoyment is the all of
life, to all in heaven, and to all in hell. They who are in
heaven have enjoyment in good and truth, but they who are
in hell have enjoyment in evil and falsity; for all enjoyment
is of love, and love is the being of man's life. Therefore as
man is man according to the quality of his love, so he is man
No. 570]
REPENTANCE
739
according to the quality of his enjoyment. The activity
of love makes the sense of enjoyment ; its activity in heaven
is with wisdom, and its activity in hell is with insanity; the
activity in both cases yielding enjoyment in its subjects.
The heavens and the hells, however, are in opposite enjoy-
ments; the heavens in love of good and thence in enjoyment
of doing good, but the hells in love of evil and thence in en-
joyment of doing evil. If, therefore, you know what en-
joyment is, you will know what and of what quality heaven
is, and hell. But inquire and learn still further what enjoy-
ment is, from those who investigate causes, and who are
called intelligences; they are off to the right."
And he left them and drew near to the other assembly,
and told the cause of his coming, and begged that they would
instruct him as to what enjoyment is. And rejoicing at the
question they said, " It is true that he who knows enjoyment,
knows what heaven and hell are, and of what quality. The
will, from which man is man, is not moved in the least, ex-
cept by enjoyment; for the will, viewed in itself, is nothing
but the affection of some love, thus for enjoyment; for it is
something pleasant, and the state of pleasure from it, that
causes the willing. And because the will moves the under-
standing to think, there is not the least thought but from the
inflowing enjoyment of the will. This is so because the
Lord by influx from Himself actuates all things of the soul
and of the mind, with angels, spirits, and men; and He
actuates them by influx of love and wisdom; and this in-
flux is the activity itself from which is all the enjoyment
which in its origin is called blessed, satisfactory, and happy;
and in its derivation, enjoyable, pleasant, and pleasurable;
and in the universal sense, good. But the spirits of hell
invert all things in themselves, thus good into evil, and truth
into falsity, the enjoyment remaining without check, for
without permanence of enjoyment they would not have will
or sensation, thus they would not have life. It is manifest
from this, what, of what quality, and whence is the enjoy-
740
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 570
ment in hell; also what, of what quality, and whence is the
enjoyment in heaven."
Having heard this, he was led to the third assembly, where
those were who search into effects, and who are called knowl-
edges. And these said, " Descend to the lower earth, and
ascend to the higher; in them you will perceive and feel
what give the enjoyments of both heaven and hell." But be-
hold at that moment the earth at a distance from them,
opened; and through the opening, three devils came up,
apparently on fire with their love's enjoyment; and as the
angels consociated with the novitiate spirit perceived that
those three came up from hell providentially, they called out
to the devils, " Come no nearer, but from where you are tell
something about your enjoyments." And they replied,
" Know this, that every one, whether called good or bad, is
in his enjoyment, the so-called good man in his, and the so-
called evil man in his." And they asked, "What is your
enjoyment ? " They said that it was the enjoyment in whore-
dom, revenge, defrauding, blasphemy. And again they
asked, "Of what quality are those enjoyments with you?"
They said that they were perceived by others like the fetid
smell from excrement, the putrid smell from dead bodies,
and the pungent odor from stagnant urine. And they
asked, "Are those things enjoyable to you?" They an-
swered, "Exceedingly so." And they said, "Then you are
like the unclean beasts that live in such things." They re-
plied, " If we are, we are, but such things are delights to our
nostrils." And they asked, "What more?" They said,
" Every one is allowed to be in his own enjoyment, even the
most unclean, as they call it, provided he does not attack
good spirits and angels; but as from our enjoyment we
could not do otherwise than attack, we were cast into work-
houses where we suffer hard things; restraint and repulse
of our enjoyments, are what is called the torment of heil;
it is also inward pain." And they asked, "Why did you
attack the good?" They said that they could not do other-
No. 570]
REPENTANCE
741
wise; " it is as if fury comes upon us, when we see any angel,
and feel the Lord's Divine sphere about him." To this we
said, "Then you are also like wild beasts." And then,
when they saw the novitiate spirit with the angels, a fury
came over the devils, which seemed like the fire of hatred;
and lest they should do harm, they were rejected to hell.
After this appeared angels who from ends saw causes, and
through causes effects, and who were in the heaven above
those three assemblies. And these were seen in shining
white light ; which, streaming down through spiral turnings,
brought with it a wreath of flowers, and placed it upon the
head of the novitiate spirit; and then a voice came thence to
him, " This laurel wreath is given you, because from child-
hood you have meditated upon heaven and hell."
CHAPTER TENTH.
REFORMATION AND REGENERATION.
571. Repentance having been treated of, Reformation
and Regeneration are next in order, because they follow
repentance, and must advance by means of it. There are
two states which man enters and passes through while from
natural he is becoming spiritual. The first state is called
Reformation, and the second Regeneration. In the first,
man looks from his natural state toward a spiritual one, and
desires it; in the second state he becomes spiritual-natural.
The first state is formed by means of truths which must be
of faith, and by means of which he looks to charity; the
second is formed by means of the goods of charity, and from
these he enters into truths of faith. Or what is the same,
the first is a state of thought from the understanding, but
the second a state of love from the will. When this latter
state begins and is progressing, a change takes place in the
mind; there is a reversal; because then the love of the will
flows into the understanding, and acts upon it and leads it
to think in concord and agreement with its love. There-
fore so far as the good of love then acts the first part, and the
truths of faith the second, the man is spiritual and is a new
creature. And then he acts from charity and speaks from
faith, and feels the good of charity and perceives the truth
of faith; and he is then in the Lord, and in peace, and thus
regenerate. One who has begun upon the first state in the
world, can after death be led into the second; but he who
has not entered into the first state in the world, cannot be
led into the second after death, thus cannot be regenerated.
These two states may be compared with the progression of
light and heat in the spring days; the first with the morning
No. 572] REFORMATION AND REGENERATION 743
twilight or the time of cock-crowing, the second with the
morning and sunrise; and the progress of this latter state
may be compared with that of the day to noon, and thus into
light and heat. It may also be compared with the grain,
which is first in the blade, then grows into the ear or head,
and afterward in these becomes the corn. It may also be
compared to a tree, which first grows out of the ground from
a seed, then becomes a stem from which branches go out,
which are adorned with leaves, at length blossoms, and from
the inmost of the blossoms begins the fruits, which as they
mature produce new seeds, like a new generation. The first
state, which is that of reformation, may also be compared
with the state of a silk-worm when it draws out and evolves
from itself filaments of silk, and after its industrious labor
flies forth into the air, nourishing itself not from leaves as
before, but from the juices in flowers.
I. Unless man is born again, and, as it were, created
ANEW, HE CANNOT ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
572. That unless a man is born again he cannot enter into
the kingdom of God, is the Lord's teaching in John, where
are these words: Jesus said to Nicodemus, Verily, verily I
say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the
kingdom of God; and again, Verily, verily I say unto thee,
Except a man be born 0} water and of the Spirit, he cannot
enter into the kingdom of God; that which is born of the flesh is
flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit (iii. 3, 5,
6). Both heaven and the church, are meant by the king-
dom of God, for the church is God's kingdom on earth.
So in other places where the kingdom of God is mentioned
(as Matt. xi. 11; xii. 28; xxi. 43: Luke iv. 43; vi. 20; viii.
1, 10; ix. 11, 60, 62; xvii. 21; and elsewhere). To be
born of water and the spirit, signifies to be born by means of
truths of faith and a life according to them. That water
signifies truths, may be seen in the Apocalypse Revealed
744
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 572
(n. 50, 614, 615, 685, 932); that spirit signifies a life accord-
ing to Divine truths, is manifest from the Lord's words in
John vi. 63; verily, verily {amen, amen), signifies that it is
truth; and because the Lord was the truth itself, He often so
spoke. He is also Himself called the Amen (Apoc. iii. 14).
In the Word the regenerate are called sons of God, and born
of God; and regeneration is described by a new heart and
a new spirit.
573. Because to be created also signifies to be regenerated,
Unless one is born again, and, as it were, created anew, is
said. That to be created has this signification in the Word,
is evident from the following passages: Create in me a clean
heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me (Ps. li. 10).
Thou openest Thy hand, they are filled with good; Thou
sendest forth Thy Spirit, they are created (civ. 28, 30). The
people that shall be created, shall praise J ah (cii. 18). Be-
hold I create Jerusalem a rejoicing (Isa. lxv. 18). Thus said
Jehovah, thy Creator, O Jacob, thy Former, O Israel; I have
redeemed thee; every one called by My name, I have created
him into My glory (xliii. 1,7). That they may see, and know,
and consider, and understand together, tliat the Holy One of
Israel hath created it (xli. 20), and elsewhere; also where
the Lord is called Creator, Former, and Maker. Hence
what is meant by these words of the Lord to the disciples
becomes plain : Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gos-
pel to every creature (Mark xvi. 15). By creatures are meant
all who can be regenerated. So too, Apoc. iii. 14: 2 Cor.
v. 17.
574. It is evident from all reason that man must be re-
generated; for he is born from parents into evils of every
kind, and these have place in his natural man, which of it-
self is diametrically opposed to the spiritual man; and yet
he was born fcr heaven, and he does not come to it unless he
becomes spiritual, and this he does by regeneration solely.
From this it follows of necessity that the natural man with
its lusts must be subdued, subjugated, and inverted, and
No. 575] REFORMATION AND REGENERATION
745
that otherwise man cannot approach a step toward heaven,
but lowers himself more and more into hell. Who does not
see this, who believes that he was born into evils of every
kind, and acknowledges that there are good and evil, and
that the one is contrary to the other, and believes in a life
after death, in hell and heaven, that evils make hell and
goods make heaven? The natural man viewed in himself,
does not differ at all in his nature from beasts; like them he
is wild, but he is such as to will; he differs from them, how-
ever, as to understanding. The understanding can be raised
above the lusts of the will, and not only see but also re-
strain them. Consequently man can think from the under-
standing and speak from the thought, which beasts cannot
do. What man is from birth, and what he would be if he
were not regenerated, may be seen from fierce animals of
every kind; he would be a tiger, panther, leopard, wild boar,
scorpion, tarantula, viper, crocodile, and so on. Therefore
if he were not changed by regeneration into a sheep, what
would he be but a devil among devils in hell ? Then if such
were not restrained by the laws of the kingdom, would they
not from innate ferocity rush one on another, and slaughter
each other, or strip each other even of necessary clothing?
How many of the human race are there who were not born
satyrs, and priapi, or four-footed lizards ? And who, among
them all, does not without regeneration become an ape?
External morality, which is learned for the sake of covering
up internals, makes this to be so.
575. The quality of man when not regenerated, may be
still further described by the following comparisons and
similitudes in Isaiah: The pelican and the bittern shall pos-
sess it, the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it; and he
shall stretch out over it the line oj emptiness, and the plumb-
lines of the waste. And thorns shall come up in her palaces,
the thistle and the thorn-bush in her fortresses; and it shall
be a habitation of dragons, a court for the daughters of the
owl; And tziim shall meet ijim, and the satyr shall come upon
746
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 57}
his fellow: the lilith also shall rest there. There the arrow-
snake shall make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and cherish
under her shadow. There shall the kites also be gathered
every one with her mate (xxxiv. 11, 13-15).
II. The new birth or creation is effected by the Lord
ALONE THROUGH CHARITY AND FAITH AS THE TWO
MEANS, MAN COOPERATING.
576. That regeneration is effected by the Lord through
charity and faith, follows from what was demonstrated in
the chapters on Charity and Faith, especially from this there,
that the Lord, charity, and faith make one, like life, will, and
understanding in man, and that if they are divided each one
of them perishes, like a pearl reduced to powder. These
two, charity and faith, are called the means, because they
conjoin man with the Lord, and cause charity to be charity
and faith to be faith, which cannot be done unless man has
part in regeneration; therefore man cooperating is said.
In preceding chapters of this work, man's cooperation with
the Lord has been several times treated of; but as the hu-
man mind is such as not to perceive but that man does this
from his own power, it shall be illustrated again. In all
motion, and consequently in all action, there is activity and
passivity; that is to say, the active acts, and the passive acts
from the active; hence one action results from the two; com-
paratively as a mill from its wheel, a carriage from the horse,
motion from effort, effect from cause, dead force from living
force, and in general, the instrumental from the principal.
Every one knows that these two together make one act. As
to charity and faith, the Lord acts, and man acts from the
Lord; for in man's passive there is the Lord's active; there-
fore the power to act right is from the Lord, and the will to
act from this is as it were man's; for he is in freedom of
will, from which he can act together with the Lord and thus
conjoin himself, and can act from the power of hell, which is
No. 577] REFORMATION AND REGENERATION 747
without, and so separate himself. Man's action, concordant
with the Lord's action, is here meant by cooperation. That
this may be perceived more clearly, it will be further illus-
trated by comparisons which follow.
577. From this it is that the Lord is constantly in the act
of regenerating man, because He is constantly in the act of
saving him, and no one can be saved unless he is regenerated,
according to the Lord's own words in John : Except a man be
born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (iii. 3). Regen-
eration, therefore, is the means of salvation, and charity and
faith are the means of regeneration. To say that regenera-
tion follows the faith of the present church, which leaves out
man's cooperation, is vanity of vanities. Action and coop-
eration, such as have been described, can be seen in every
thing which is in any activity and mobility. Such are the
action and cooperation of the heart and of every artery
connected with it; the heart acts, and the artery by its
sheaths or coats cooperates; hence is circulation. It is
similar with the lungs; the air by pressure according to the
height of its atmosphere acts, and the ribs first cooperate
with the lungs, and immediately after, the lungs with the
ribs; hence is respiration of every membrane in the body.
Thus the meninges of the brain, pleura, peritonaeum, dia-
phragm, and other membranes which cover the viscera
and which enter into their composition, act and are acted
upon, and thus cooperate; for they are elastic: hence their
existence and subsistence. It is similar in every fibre and
nerve, in every muscle, and even cartilage; it is known
that there are action and cooperation in every one of these.
There is such cooperation also in every sense; for the sen-
sories of the body, like its motor parts, consist of fibres, mem-
branes, and muscles; but to describe the cooperation on the
part of each one, is needless; for it is known that light acts
upon the eye, sound upon the ear, odor upon the nostril, and
taste upon the tongue, and that the organs adapt themselves
thereto; whence is sensation. Who cannot perceive from
748
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 577
this, that if there were not such action and cooperation with
the influent life in the spiritual organism of the brain, thought
and will could not exist ? For life flows from the Lord into
that organism; and because this cooperates, there is per-
ception of what is thought, and in like manner of what is
there considered, concluded, and determined into act. If life
were to act alone, and man were not to cooperate as from
himself, he could no more think than a stock, or than a tem-
ple while the minister is preaching. He may indeed, owing
to the reverberation of the sound from its doors, as it were,
feel the echo, but nothing of speech. Such would man be
in respect to charity and faith if he did not cooperate with the
Lord.
578. What man would be if he did not cooperate with
the Lord, may also be illustrated by comparisons. When
he has a perception and sense of anything spiritual of heaven
and the church, it would be as if something distasteful or
discordant flowed in, and would be like an offensive smell
entering the nose, an inharmonious sound the ear, a mon-
strous sight the eye, and a foul taste the tongue. If the en-
joyment in charity and the pleasantness of faith were to
flow into the spiritual organism of the mind of those who are
in the enjoyment from evil and falsity, if such enjoyments
and pleasantness were to be forced upon them, they would
be in anguish and torture, and would finally fall into a
swoon. Because that organism consists of perpetual helices,
it would with such persons here coil itself up in spirals, and
writhe like a serpent upon an ant-hill. It has been proved
to me by much experience in the spiritual world that this is
so.
No. 579] REFORMATION AND REGENERATION 749
III. Because all have been redeemed, all can be re-
generated, EACH ACCORDING TO HIS STATE.
579. That this may be understood, something must be
premised as to Redemption. The Lord came into the world
chiefly for these two things, to remove hell from angel and
from man, and to glorify His Human. For before the Lord's
Advent, hell had grown up so far as to attack the angels of
heaven, and also by interposing between heaven and the
world, to cut off the Lord's communication with men on
earth, so that no Divine truth and good could pass through,
from the Lord to men. Consequently total condemnation
threatened the whole human race; and further, the angels
of heaven could not have long continued to exist in their
integrity. And therefore, in order that hell might be re-
moved, and this impending condemnation thereby taken
away, the Lord came into the world, removed hell, subju-
gated it, and thus opened heaven; so that He could after-
ward be present with the men of the earth, and save those
who should live according to His precepts, consequently
regenerate and save them, for those who are regenerated are
saved. This is what is meant when it is said, that, because
all have been redeemed, all can be regenerated; and, be-
cause regeneration and salvation make one, that all can be
saved. Therefore, what the church teaches, that without
the Lord's Coming no one could have been saved, is to be
understood in this way, that without the Lord's Coming no
one could have been regenerated. As to the other end for
the sake of which the Lord came into the world, namely,
to glorify His Human, this was because He thereby became
the Redeemer, Regenerator, and Saviour for ever. For it is
not to be believed that, by the Redemption once wrought
in the world, all men have been redeemed by that, but that
the Lord is perpetually redeeming those who believe in Him
and keep His words. But on these points more may be
seen in the chapter on Redemption.
7S° TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 580
580. Every man may be regenerated, each according to
his state, because the simple and the learned are regenerated
differently; as are those engaged in different pursuits, and
those also who are in different offices; those who search
into the externals of the Word, and those who search into
its internals; those who are in natural good from their par-
ents, and those who are in natural evil; those who have from
their infancy entered into the vanities of the world, and those
who earlier or later have withdrawn from them, in a word
those who constitute the Lord's external church are regen-
erated differently from those who constitute His internal
church; and this variety is infinite like that of men's faces
and minds; but still every one, according to his state, can be
regenerated and saved. That this is so, may be evident from
the heavens into which all the regenerate come, in their
being three, highest, middle, and lowest; and they come into
the highest who by regeneration receive love to the Lord; into
the middle, they who receive love toward the neighbor; into
the lowest, they who practise only external charity, and at
the same time acknowledge the Lord as God the Redeemer
and Saviour. All these are saved, but differently. All can
be regenerated and thus saved, because the Lord with His
Divine Good and Truth is present with every man; from
this comes the life of every one, from this the faculty of
understanding and willing, and with these free-will in spiri-
tual things; these are wanting to no man. And also means
are given ; to Christians in the Word, and to the Gentiles in
the religion of each, teaching that there is a God, and giv-
ing precepts concerning good and evil. From all this it fol-
lows that every one can be saved; consequently that the
Lord is not to blame if man is not saved, but man himself;
and man is in fault in not cooperating.
581. That redemption and the passion of the cross are
distinctly two and not at all to be confounded, and that by
means of both the Lord took to Himself the power of re-
generating and saving men, has been shown in the chapter
No. 582] REFORMATION AND REGENERATION 75 1
on Redemption. From the accepted faith of the present
church respecting the passion of the cross, as being redemp-
tion itself, have sprung close bands of horrible falsities re-
specting God, faith, charity, and all that in a continuous
chain depends on them; respecting God, for example, that
He determined upon the damnation of the human race, that
He was willing to be brought back to mercy by the imposi-
tion of the damnation upon His Son, or by the Son's taking
it upon Himself, and that only those are saved who by fore-
knowledge or by predestination have Christ's merit given to
them. From this fallacy has come forth another part of
that faith, namely, that they who have been gifted with that
faith were at the same time regenerated without any co-
operation on their part; yes, that they were thus absolved
from the condemnation of the law, and are no longer under
the law, but under grace, and this although the Lord has
said that He did not take away even a tittle of the law (Matt,
v. 18, 19: Luke xvi. 17), and also commanded His disciples
to preach repentance for the remission of sins (Luke xxiv.
47: Mark vi. 12); and He also said, The kingdom of God is
at hand; repent ye, and believe the Gospel (Mark i. 15). By
the Gospel is meant, that they can be regenerated and thus
saved, which could not have been unless the Lord had
wrought redemption, that is, had deprived hell of its power
by combats against it and victories over it, and unless He
had glorified His Human, that is, had made it Divine.
582. Say from rational thought what the entire human
race would be, if the faith of the present church were to con-
tinue; this faith being, that men were redeemed by the pas-
sion of the cross alone, and that they who have been gifted
with that merit of the Lord are not under the condemna-
tion of the law; and again, that that faith, and man does not
know at all whether it is in him, remits sins and regenerates,
and that man's cooperation in the act thereof, that is, while
it is given and entering, would ruin it, and with it would take
away salvation, because he would mingle his own merit with
752
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 582
that of Christ. Tell me from rational thought, I say: Would
not the whole Word have been thus rejected, the primary
teaching of which is regeneration by means of spiritual wash-
ing from evils and by exercises of charity ? What would the
Decalogue, first in reformation, then be, more than the paper
that is sold in the low shops, and used to wrap up spices?
What would religion then be, but a kind of lamentation that
one is a sinner, and supplication for God the Father to be
merciful on account of the passion of His Son ? thus a thing
of the mouth and lungs only, but not done from the heart.
What would redemption then be but a papal indulgence, or
more than the flagellation of one monk for the whole com-
pany, as is sometimes done ? If that faith alone regenerated
man, repentance and charity having no part, what then
would the internal man, and this is his spirit that lives after
death, be like, but a burnt city, the ruins of which make the
external man? or a field or plain laid waste by worms and
locusts? Such a man appears to the angels just like one
who cherishes a serpent in his bosom, and tries to hide it
with his clothing; or like one who sleeps as a sheep with a
wolf; or like one who lies down, with a beautiful bedquilt
over him, in a night-dress made of spiders' webs. And
what is then the life after death, when all are distinguished,
in heaven according to the differences of their regeneration,
and in hell according to the differences in their rejection of
it, but a life of the flesh, and so like the life of a fish or a
crab?
IV. Regeneration is effected in a way analogous to
THAT IN WHICH MAN IS CONCEIVED, CARRIED IN THE
WOMB, BORN, AND EDUCATED.
583. In man there is a perpetual correspondence between
those things which take place naturally and those which take
place spiritually, or between what takes place in the body
and what takes place in the spirit. This is because man is
born spiritual as to his soul, and is clothed with what is
No. 583] REFORMATION AND REGENERATION
753
natural, which forms his material body. When this body,
therefore, is laid aside, his soul comes clothed with a spiritual
body into a world where all things are spiritual, and is there
associated with his like. Now since the spiritual body must
be formed in the material, and is formed by means of truths
and goods which flow in from the Lord through the spiritual
world and which are received by man inwardly in such things
in him as are from the natural world, which are called civil
and moral, the character of the formation which takes place
is manifest. And since, as before said, there is in man a per-
petual correspondence between what takes place naturally
and what takes place spiritually, it follows that this forma-
tion is like conception, gestation, birth, and education. It is
for this reason that natural births in the Word mean spiri-
tual births, which are of good and truth; for whatever is
presented in the sense of the letter of the Word, which is nat-
ural, involves and signifies what is spiritual. That there is
a spiritual sense in the things of the sense of the letter of the
Word, one and all, is fully shown in the chapter on the Sacred
Scripture. That natural births mentioned in the Word
involve spiritual births, is clearly manifest from the follow-
ing passages : We have conceived, we have been in travail, we
have as it were brought forth, we have not wrought any de-
liverance (Isa. xxvi. 18). At the presence oj the Lord the
earth travaileth (Ps. cxiv. 7). Hath the earth borne in one
day? Shall I make the breach, and not cause to bring forth?
shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? (Isa. lxvi. 8,
9.) Sin shall travail, and No sJiall be at the breaking forth
(Ezek. xxx. 16). The sorrows of a travailing woman shall
come upon Ephraim, he is an unwise son, for he doth not stay
the time in the womb of sons (Hos. xiii. 13); so also in many
other places. Since in the Word natural generations signify
spiritual generations, and these are from the Lord, He is
called the Former and He that taketh from the womb; as is
evident from the following: Jehovah that made thee and
formed thee from the womb (Isa. xliv. 2). He that took me
754
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 583
out of the womb (Ps. xxii. 10). J have been laid upon Thee
from the womb; Thou art He that took me out of my mother's
bowels (Ps. lxxi. 6). Hearken unto Me, ye that are borne
from the womb, carried from the belly (Isa. xlvi. 3); besides
other passages. The Lord is therefore called Father (as in
Isa. ix. 6; lxiii. 16: John x. 30; xiv. 8, 9); and they who are
in goods and truths from Him, are called sons of God and
born of God, and brethren to one another (Matt, xxiii. 8);
and also the church is called Mother (Hos. ii. 2, 5: Ezek.
xvi. 45).
584. It is now evident from this, that there is a corre-
spondence between the processes of natural generation and
of spiritual; and because there is correspondence, it follows
that not only may conception, gestation, birth, and educa-
tion be predicated of the new birth, but also that they actually
are. But what these are in their nature, is being presented
in their order in this chapter concerning Regeneration.
Here it is only to be said that man's seed is conceived in-
teriorly in the understanding, and is formed in the will, and
is transferred therefrom to the testicle where it clothes itself
with a natural covering; and is thus conducted into the
womb, and enters the world. Moreover, there is a corre-
spondence of man's regeneration with all things in the vege-
table kingdom; therefore, also, man is described in the Word
by a tree, his truth by seed, and his good by fruit. That an
evil tree may be born anew, as it were, and afterward bear
good fruit and good seed, is evident from grafting and bud-
ding; for though the same sap ascends from the root through
the trunk to the graft or bud, still it is changed into good sap,
and makes a good tree. It is similar in the church with those
who are engrafted in the Lord, as He teaches in these words :
/ am the Vine, ye are the branches; he that abideth in Me and
I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; if a man abide
not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and being dried is cast
into the fire (John xv. 5, 6).
585. It has been taught by many of the learned, that the
No. 585] REFORMATION AND REGENERATION 755
processes of vegetation, not only of trees but also of all
shrubs, correspond to those of human prolification. I will
therefore add something on this subject, by way of appendix.
In trees and in all other subjects of the vegetable kingdom,
there are not two sexes, masculine and feminine, but every
one of them is masculine; the earth alone, or the soil, is the
common mother, thus as the woman; for it receives the
seeds of all plants, opens them, carries them as it were in the
womb, and then nourishes them, and it brings them forth,
that is, ushers them into the day, and afterward clothes and
sustains them. When the earth first opens a seed, it is with
the root, which is a kind of heart; from this it emits and
transmits sap, like blood, and so makes as it were a body pro-
vided with limbs; its body is the stem itself, and the branches
and their twigs are its limbs. The leaves which it puts forth
immediately after birth, are for lungs; for as the heart with-
out the lungs does not produce motion and sensation, and by
these vivify the man, so without leaves the root does not
cause a tree or a shrub to vegetate. The blossoms which
precede the fruit are means for straining the sap, which is its
blood, and of separating its grosser from its purer parts;
for forming in their own bosom, for the influx of these parts,
a new little stem, by which the strained sap may flow in, and
so initiate and by successive steps form fruit, which may be
compared to the testicle, in which the seeds are perfected.
The vegetative soul, which governs inmostly in every par-
ticle of sap, or its prolific essence, is from no other source
than from the heat of the spiritual world; which heat, be-
cause it is from the spiritual sun there, aspires to nothing but
generation, and through it to a continuance of creation; and
because it essentially aspires to the generation of man, it
therefore induces upon whatever it generates a certain re-
semblance to man. Lest any one should wonder at the
statement that the subjects of the vegetable kingdom are
masculine only, and that the earth alone or the soil is as the
common mother, or as the woman, this shall be illustrated
756
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
[No. 58s
by something similar among bees: they, according to the
observation of Swammerdam, reported in his Books of
Nature, have only one common mother, and from her the
offspring of the whole hive are produced. Since there is but
one common mother for these little members of the animal
kingdom, why not so with all plants? That the earth is the
common mother may also be spiritually illustrated; and it
is illustrated by this, that in the Word the earth signifies the
church, and the church is the common mother, as she is also
called in the Word. As to the earth's signifying the church,
consult the Apocalypse Revealed (n. 285, 902), where it is
shown. The earth or ground can enter into the inmost of
the seed, even to the prolific in it, and call this forth and
bring it into circulation, because every particle of dust, or
powder even, exhales from its essence a subtle something,
as an effluvium, which penetrates. This results from the
active force of the heat from the spiritual world.
586. That man can be regenerated only by successive
steps, may be illustrated by the things existing in the natural
world, one and all. A tree cannot reach its growth as a tree
in a day; but first there is growth from the seed, next from
the root, and afterward from the shoot, from which is formed
the stem; and from this proceed branches with leaves, and
at last blossoms and fruits. Wheat and barley do not spring
up and become ready for the harvest in a day. A house is
not built in a day, nor does a man attain to his full stature
in a day, still less to wisdom. The church is not estab-
lished and perfected in a day; nor is there any progression
to an end except from a beginning. They who have a dif-
ferent conception of regeneration know nothing of charity
and faith, and of the growth of each according to man's
cooperation with the Lord. It is evident from all this that
regeneration is effected in a way analogous to that in which
man is conceived, carried in the womb, born, and educated.
No. 587] REFORMATION AND REGENERATION
757
V. The first act in the new birth is called Reforma-
tion, which is of the understanding; and the
SECOND IS CALLED REGENERATION, WHICH IS OF
THE WILL AND THENCE OF THE UNDERSTANDING.
587. Because Reformation and Regeneration are treated
of here and in what follows, and reformation is ascribed to
the understanding and regeneration to the will, it is neces-
sary that the distinctions between the understanding and the
will should be known, and they were described above (n.
397); it is advisable, therefore, to read first about them, and
afterward in this article. It was also shown above, in the
same connection, that the evils into which man is born are
in the will of the natural man by generation, and that the will
makes the understanding favor it by thinking in agreement
with it ; therefore, that man may be regenerated, it is neces-
sary for this to be done by means of the understanding as a
mediate cause; and it is done through the information which
the understanding receives, given first by parents and
teachers, afterward from reading the Word, from preaching,
books, and conversation. The things which the under-
standing receives from these sources, are called truths; it is
the same, therefore, whether reformation is said to be effected
by means of the understanding, or by means of the truths
which the understanding receives. For truths teach man in
whom and in what he should believe, also what he should do,
thus what he should will; for whatever one does, he does
from the will according to the understanding. Since, there-
fore, man's will is itself evil from birth, and as the under-
standing teaches what good and evil are, and he can will the
one and not will the other, it follows that he must be re-
formed by means of the understanding. But as long as any
one sees and acknowledges in mind that evil is evil, and that
good is good, and thinks that good should be chosen, the
state is called that of reformation; but when his will is to
shun evil and do good, the state of regeneration begins.
758
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 588
588. For the sake of this end, the faculty has been given
to man of elevating the understanding almost into the light
in which the angels of heaven are, that he may see what it is
necessary for him to will and thence to do, that he may be
prosperous in the world for a time, and blessed after death
for ever. He becomes prosperous and blessed if he acquires
wisdom and keeps his will in obedience to it; but he be-
comes unprosperous and unhappy if he puts his understand-
ing under obedience to the will. This is because the will
inclines from birth to evils, even to enormities; therefore if
it were not held in check by means of the understanding,
man left to the freedom of will would rush into abomina-
tions; and from the ferine nature inherent in him, he would
plunder and slaughter, for the sake of himself, all who do
not favor him and indulge his cupidities. Moreover, unless
the understanding could have been perfected separately,
and the will by means of it, man would not be man but a
beast; for without that separation, and without the ascent
of the understanding above the will, he would not have been
able to think, and from thought to speak, but only to sound
his affection; nor would he have been able to act from rea-
son, but from instinct; still less would he have been able
to have knowledge of the things which are of God, and
thereby of God Himself, and so to be conjoined with Him
and live for ever. For man thinks and wills as of himself;
and this as of himself is the reciprocal in conjunction; for
conjunction is not possible without reciprocation, as there
can be no conjunction of an active with a passive without
adaptation or application. God alone acts; and man
suffers himself to be acted upon, and cooperates to all ap-
pearance as of himself, though inwardly from God. But
from a right perception of these things, it may be seen what is
the love of man's will, if raised by means of the understand-
ing; and also what when not raised; thus, what man is.
589. It is to be known that the faculty of raising the un-
derstanding even to the intelligence in which the angels of
No. 590] REFORMATION AND REGENERATION
759
heaven are, is by creation inherent in every man, bad as well
as good, yes, also in every devil in hell, for all who are in hell
have been men. This has been frequently shown me by
living experience. But they are not in intelligence but in
insanity in spiritual things, for the reason that they do not
will good but evil; hence they are averse to knowing and
understanding truths, for truths favor good and oppose
evil. From this also it is evident that the first of the new
birth is the reception of truths in the understanding; and
the second is willing to do according to truths, and at length
doing them. No one, however, can be said to be reformed
by mere knowledge of truths; for man can apprehend them,
and also talk about, teach, and preach them, from the fac-
ulty of elevating the understanding above the will's love.
But he is reformed who is in the affection of truth for the
sake of truth; for this affection conjoins itself with the will,
and, if it advances, conjoins the will with the understanding,
and then regeneration begins. But how regeneration after-
ward progresses and is perfected, will be told in what follows.
590. But what the man is whose understanding has been
elevated, but not the will's love by means of it, will be illus-
trated by comparisons. He is like an eagle flying on high,
but as soon as he sees food below, as hens, young swans, or
lambs even, he darts down in a moment and devours them.
He is also like an adulterer who hides a harlot in a lowest
room; and who now goes up to the upper story of the house,
and in his wife's presence talks wisely with those staying
there about chastity; and now he steals away from their
company, and satiates his lust with the harlot below. He
is also like the flies of the marsh, which fly swarming about
the head of a horse at full speed, but when the horse stops
they settle down and bury themselves in their marsh. Such
is the man who is in a state of elevation as to the under-
standing, while the will's love remains down at the foot,
immersed in all the uncleanness of nature and the lusts of
the senses. But because they shine as to the understanding,
j6o
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
[No. 590
as if from wisdom, while the will is opposed to wisdom, they
may be likened also to serpents with shining skins, and to the
Spanish flies that glitter as if they were of gold; as also to
the ignis fatuus in swamps, to shining rotten wood and phos-
phorescent substances. There are those among them who
can counterfeit angels of light, both among men in the world
and after death among angels of heaven; but after a brief
examination these are deprived of their clothing, and cast
down naked. This cannot be done in the world, how-
ever, because there the spirit is not open, but covered over
by a mask like that used by actors on the stage. They are
able to counterfeit angels of light in face and with the lips,
because they can raise the understanding almost to angelic
wisdom, above the will's love, as before said; and their
ability to counterfeit, is a proof that they can so raise the
understanding. Now, since man's internal and his external
can thus run counter to each other, and since the body is laid
aside while the spirit remains, it is obvious that a dusky
spirit may dwell beneath a bright white face, and a fiery one
behind a bland mouth. Therefore, my friend, know a man
not from his mouth but from his heart, that is, not from his
words but from his deeds; for the Lord says, Beware of false
prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly
they are ravening wolves. Know them by their fruits (Matt,
vii. 15, 16).
VI. The internal man is to be reformed, and through
THIS THE EXTERNAL, AND SO MAN IS REGENERATED
591. That the internal man must first be regenerated,
and through it the external, is commonly said in the church
at this day; but from the term internal man, nothing come-
into the thought but faith, which faith is, that God the
Father imputes to men the merit and righteousness of His
Son, and sends the Holy Spirit. They believe that this faith
makes the internal man, and that from the internal flows
No. 592] REFORMATION AND REGENERATION 76 1
forth the external, which is the moral natural man, this being
an appendage to the former, comparatively like the tail of
a horse or a cow, or like that of a peacock or a bird of para-
dise, which is continued to the soles of its feet without co-
hering; for it is said that charity follows that faith, but that
the faith perishes if charity comes in from man's will. But
because no other internal man than this is acknowledged in
the present church, there is no internal man; for no one
knows whether that faith has been bestowed on him or not;
moreover, that it cannot be given, and is therefore imaginary,
was shown above. From which it follows, that at the present
day, among those who have confirmed themselves in that
faith, there is no other internal man than that natural man
which from birth overflows with evils in all abundance. It
is added, that regeneration and sanctification follow that
faith of themselves, and that man's cooperation, and only by
means of this is salvation effected, must be excluded. It
results from this, that in the present church there can be no
knowledge of regeneration, when yet the Lord says that he
who is not born again cannot see the kingdom of God.
592. But the internal and externa! man of the New
Church are altogether different. The internal man is of
the will, from which man thinks when left to himself, as at
home; but the external man is his action and speech, such
as proceed from the man when he is in company, thus abroad;
consequently the internal man is charity because this is of
the will, and at the same time faith which is of the thought.
Before regeneration the two make the natural man, which
is thus divided into internal and external; this is manifest
from its not being allowable for man to act and speak in com-
pany, or abroad, as he does when left to himself, or at home.
The cause of this division is, that civil laws prescribe punish-
ments for those who act wickedly, and rewards for those who
do well; and so men compel themselves to separate the ex-
ternal man from the internal; for no one wishes to be pun-
ished, and every one wishes to be rewarded, which is done
762
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 593
by riches and honors; for man does not attain either ol
these without living according to those laws. It results
from this that morality and benevolence have place in ex-
ternals, even with those who do not have them in inter-
nals. From this origin come all hypocrisy, flattery, and
dissimulation.
593. As to the division of the natural man into two forms,
it is an actual division both of will and of thought therein;
for every action of man starts from his will, and all speech
from the thought; therefore another will has been formed
by the man beneath the former, and likewise another thought ;
but still they both constitute the natural man. This will,
which is formed by the man, may be called corporeal, be-
cause it actuates the body to regulate itself morally; and
this thought may be called pulmonary, because it actuates
the tongue and lips to say what is of the understanding.
This thought and will together may be compared to the
inner bark adhering to the outer bark of a tree, or to the
membrane adhering to the shell of an egg, the internal natu-
ral man being within them. And if this is evil it may be
compared to the wood of a rotten tree, around which the
outer bark, with its inner bark, seems sound; also to a rotten
egg within a white shell. But what is the internal natural
man from birth, shall be told. Its will inclines to evils
of every kind; and the thought from it inclines to falsities,
also of every kind; this therefore is the internal man that is
to be regenerated; for unless this is regenerated, it is nothing
but hatred against all things of charity, and hence fiery zeal
against all things of faith. It follows from this that the in-
ternal man of the natural must be first regenerated, and by
means of it the external, for this is according to order, while
to regenerate the internal by means of the external is con-
trary to order; for the internal is as a soul in the external,
not only generally but also in every particular, consequently
in the least things that he speaks, without the man knowing
it. It is from this that the angels, from a single act of a man,
No- 595] REFORMATION AND REGENERATION 763
perceive the quality of his will, and from a single word, the
quality of his thought, whether infernal or heavenly. Thus
they know the whole man; from a tone they perceive the
affection of his thought; and from a gesture, or the form of
his action, they perceive the love of his will; they perceive
them, however he may counterfeit the Christian and the
moral citizen.
594. Man's regeneration is described in Ezekiel by the
dry bones which were clothed with sinews, then with flesh
and skin, and at last breath was breathed into them, whereby
they lived again (xxxvii. 1-14). That regeneration was rep-
resented by those things, is clearly manifest from what is
there said, These bones are the whole house oj Israel (verse 11).
A comparison is also made there with sepulchres, for we read,
that Jehovah God would open their graves, and cause them to
come up out oj their graves, and put His Spirit upon them,
and bring them into the land 0} Israel (verses 12-14). The
land of Israel here and elsewhere means the church. A rep-
resentation of regeneration was made by bones and graves,
because the unregenerate man is called dead, and the re-
generate alive; for in the latter there is spiritual life, but in
the former spiritual death.
595. In every created thing in the world, whether living
or dead, there is an internal and an external; one of these is
not given without the other, as there is no effect without a
cause; and every created thing is esteemed according to its
internal goodness, and is regarded as without worth from its
internal baseness, as is the external goodness within which
there is internal baseness. Every wise man in the world and
every angel in heaven so judges. But the quality of the un-
regenerate man and that of the regenerate, may be illustrated
by comparisons. The unregenerate man who counterfeits
the moral citizen and the Christian, may be compared to a
corpse wrapped in aromatics, which nevertheless gives forth
a foul odor that infects the aromatics, enters into the nos-
trils, and injures the brain. He may also be compared to a
764 TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 595
mummy, gilded or placed in a silver coffin; and when this is
examined within, a hideously black body comes to view.
He may be compared to bones or skeletons in a sepulchre
built of lapis lazuli, and adorned with other precious things;
and also to the rich man who was clothed in purple and fine
linen, but whose internal was nevertheless infernal (Luke
xvi. 19). He may be compared, further, to poison of a taste
like that of sugar, to the poison-hemlock in flower, to fruit
with shining surface whose inner substance has been con-
sumed by worms; and also to an ulcer dressed first with a
plaster and afterward covered with a thin skin, but which
has nothing but foul matter within. The internal may be
estimated from the external in the world, but only by those
who have not internal good, and who therefore judge accord-
ing to appearance; but it is otherwise in heaven. For when
the body, changeable about the spirit and capable of being
bent from evil to good, is separated by death, the internal
then remains, for this makes man's spirit; and then in the
distance he looks like a serpent that has shed its skin, or like
rotten wood stripped of the bark or rind in which it looked
bright. But it is otherwise with the regenerate man; his in-
ternal is good, and his external similar to the external of the
other; but his external differs from that of the unregenerate
man as heaven differs from hell, for the soul of good is in it;
and it matters not to him whether he is a noble, dwells in a
palace, and goes surrounded by attendants, or lives in a cot-
tage and is waited upon by a boy; yes, whether he is a pri-
mate, clad in a purple robe and wearing the official mitre, or
a shepherd of a few sheep, covered with a loose rustic frock,
and wearing a little cap on his head. Gold is still gold,
whether it flashes when brought near the fire, or has its sur-
face blackened when held over the smoke; also, whether it
has been melted into a beautiful form as of an infant, or into
an ugly one as of a mouse; the mice that were made of gold,
and placed near the ark, also were accepted and made propiti-
atory (1 Sam. vi. 3-5, and following); for gold signifies in-
No. 596] REFORMATION AND REGENERATION 765
temal good. The diamond and the ruby obtained from
whatever matrix, of lime or of clay, are likewise esteemed
according to their internal goodness, the same as those in the
necklace of a queen; and so on. From which it is manifest
that the external is estimated from the internal, and not the
reverse.
VII. While this takes place, combat arises between
THE INTERNAL AND THE EXTERNAL MAN, AND THE ONE
THAT CONQUERS RULES OVER THE OTHER.
596. A combat then arises because the internal man has
been reformed by means of truths, and from these it sees
what is evil and false, and these still are in the external or
natural man. Therefore first dissension springs up be-
tween the new will which is above, and the old will which is
below; and because this dissension is between these wills,
it is also between their delights; for it is well known that the
flesh is opposed to the spirit, and the spirit to the flesh, and
that the flesh with its lusts must be subdued before the spirit
can act and become a new man. After this dissension of the
»wills, a combat arises which is what is called spiritual tempta-
tion; but this temptation or combat does not take place be-
tween goods and evils, but between the truths of good and
the falsities of evil; for good cannot fight from itself, but
fights by truths; nor can evil fight from itself, but fights by
its falsities; just as the will cannot fight from itself, but by
the understanding where its truths are. Man has no sense
of that combat except as in himself, and as remorse of con-
science; nevertheless it is the Lord and the devil, that is,
hell, that fight in man, and they fight for dominion over him,
or as to who shall possess him. The devil or hell attacks
man and calls out his evils, and the Lord protects him and
calls out his goods. But although that combat takes place
in the spiritual world, still it takes place in man, between
the truths of good and the falsities of evil in him; man is
766
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 596
therefore to fight wholly as of himself, for he has free will
to act for the Lord, and also to act for the devil: he is for
the Lord if he abides in truths from good, and for the devil
if he abides in falsities from evil. It follows from all this
that whichever conquers, whether the internal man or the
external, rules over the other; just like two hostile powers
contending as to which shall be master of the other's king-
dom; the conqueror takes the kingdom, and places all
therein under obedience to himself. Here therefore, if the
internal man conquers, it obtains the empire, and subju-
gates all the evils of the external man, and regeneration is
then continued; while if the external man conquers, it ob-
tains the empire, and dissipates all the goods of the internal
man, and then regeneration perishes.
597. It is known, indeed, at this day, that there are temp-
tations ; but hardly any one knows whence they are, and their
quality, and what good they yield. Whence they are, and
their quality, was shown just above, and also what good
they yield; namely, that when the internal man conquers,
the external is subjugated; and that when this is subjugated,
lusts are dispersed, and affections of good and truth are im-
planted in place of them; and these are so arranged that
man may do the goods and truths which he wills and thinks,
and may speak them from the heart. Besides this, by vic-
tory over the external man a man becomes spiritual, and he
then is consociated by the Lord with the angels of heaven,
who all are spiritual. Temptations have not heretofore
been well known, and scarcely any one has had knowledge of
their origin and quality and the good which they yield, be-
cause heretofore the church has not been in truths. No one
is in truths but he who goes to the Lord immediately, rejects
the former faith, and embraces the new; hence no one has
been admitted into any spiritual temptation in all the ages
reckoned from that when the Nicene Council introduced the
faith of three Gods; for if any one had been admitted, he
would have yielded immediately, and so would have cast
No- 599] REFORMATION AND REGENERATION 767
himself more deeply into hell. The contrition which is
held to precede the present faith, is not temptation; I have
questioned very many about it, and they have said that it is
a word and nothing more, except that perhaps there may be
some timorous thought among the simple about hell fire.
598. After temptation has passed, man is in heaven as to
the internal man, and in the world by the external; there-
fore a conjunction of heaven and the world is effected with
man by means of temptations, and then the Lord with him
rules this world from heaven according to order. The con-
trary takes place if man remains natural; he desires to rule
heaven from the world; such does every one become who is
in the love of bearing rule from the love of self; if he is
examined within, he does not believe in a God, but in him-
self, and after death he believes him to be God who is strong
in power over others. Such insanity there is in hell, which
has proceeded to such a length that some call themselves
God the Father, some God the Son, and some God the Holy
Spirit, and among the Jews some call themselves the Mes-
siah. It is manifest from this what man becomes after
death, if the natural man is not regenerated, consequently
what he would become in his fantasy, if a New Church, in
which genuine truths are taught, were not established by
the Lord. Such is the meaning of these words of the Lord:
In the consummation of the age, that is, at the end of the
present church, there shall be affliction, such as was not since
the beginning of the world, nor shall be, wherefore except those
days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved (Matt,
xxiv. 21, 22).
599. In the combats or temptations of men the Lord
works a particular redemption, as He wrought redemption
of the whole when in the world. The Lord in the world, by
means of combats and temptations, glorified His Human,
that is, made it Divine; so now, with a man individually,
while he is in temptations; in these the Lord fights for him,
and conquers the evil spirits who are infesting him; and after
768
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 599
temptation glorifies him, that is, renders him spiritual.
After His universal redemption, the Lord reduced to order
all things in heaven and in hell; with man after temptation
He does the same, that is to say, He reduces to order all
things that are of heaven and the church with the man.
After redemption the Lord established a New Church; so
also He established those things which are of the church
with the man, and makes him to be a church in particular.
After redemption the Lord endowed those who believed in
Him with peace; for He said, Peace I leave with you, My
peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto
you (John xiv. 27) ; so likewise He gives to man after tempta-
tion to feel peace, that is, gladness of mind and consolation.
From which it is manifest that the Lord is the Redeemer for
ever.
600. A regenerated internal man, and no regenerated
external man with it, may be compared to a bird flying in the
air without a resting place on dry land, but in a swamp only,
where it is attacked by serpents and frogs, so that it flies
away and dies. It may be compared also to a swan swim-
ming in mid ocean, which cannot reach the shore and make
her nest; so the eggs she lays she lets sink in the water,
where they are eaten by fishes. It may be compared also
to a soldier on a wall, who falls down when this is under-
mined beneath his feet, and dies amid the ruins. And it
may be compared to a beautiful tree transplanted into filthy
ground, where troops of worms eat up its root, so that it
withers and dies. And again it may be compared to a house
without a foundation, and to a column without a pedestal.
Such is the internal man when reformed alone, and not the
external with it; for it has no means of directing itself to do
good.
No. 602] REFORMATION AND REGENERATION 769
VIII. The regenerate man has a new will and a new
UNDERSTANDING.
601. That a regenerate man is a renewed or new man,
the present church knows, both from the Word and from
reason; from the Word, by the following passages: Make
you a new heart and a new spirit; for why will ye die, O house
0} Israel? (Ezek. xviii. 31.) A new heart also will I give
you, and a new spirit in the midst of you; and I will take
away the stony heart out of your flesh, and will give you a
heart of flesh, and I will give My spirit in the midst of you
(Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 27). Wherefore henceforth know we no
man after the flesh; therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a
new creature (2 Cor. v. 16, 17). A new heart here means a
new will, and a new spirit means a new understanding; for
heart in the Word signifies the will, and spirit when joined
with heart signifies the understanding. It knows from
reason that a regenerate man has a new will and a new un-
derstanding, because these two faculties make the man, and
they are what are regenerated. Therefore every man is
such as he is as to those faculties, he being evil who has an
evil will, and still more so he whose understanding favors it;
while he is good who has a good will, and still more so he
whose understanding favors it. Religion alone renews and
regenerates man. Religion occupies the highest seat in the
human mind, and views under itself the civil matters of the
world; it also passes through these as the pure sap passes
through the tree to its very top, and from that height it sur-
veys what is natural, as from a tower or a mountain one
surveys the plains below.
602. But it must be known that man can rise as to the
understanding almost into the fight in which the angels of
heaven are, but that if he does not rise as to the will also, he
is still the old and not the new man. But how the under-
standing elevates the will more and more to a height with
77o
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 602
itself, was shown before. Therefore regeneration is predi-
cated primarily of the will, and secondarily of the under-
standing. For the understanding in man is like light in the
world, and the will is like heat there; that light without heat
does not vivify and promote vegetation, but light joined with
heat, is well known. Moreover the understanding, as to the
lower region in the mind, is actually in the light of the world,
and in the light of heaven as to the higher region; and there-
fore if the will is not raised out of the lower region into the
higher, and there joined with the understanding, it remains
in the world; and then the understanding flies upward and
downward, but every night it flies to the will below, and there
it has its bed, and they join themselves like a man and a
harlot, and produce two-headed offspring. It is also mani-
fest from this, that unless a man has a new will and a new
understanding, he is not regenerate.
603. The human mind is divided into three distinct re-
gions; the lowest is called the natural, the middle the spiri-
tual, and the highest the celestial; by regeneration man is
raised from the lowest region which is the natural, into the
higher which is the spiritual, and through this into the celes-
tial. That there are three regions of the mind will be shown
in the next article. For this reason the unregenerate man
is called natural, and the regenerate man spiritual. It is
therefore manifest that the mind of a regenerate man has
been raised into the spiritual region, and there it sees from
the higher what takes place in the lower or natural mind.
That there is a lower and a higher region in the human mind,
every one may see and acknowledge by a slight attention to
his thoughts; for he sees what he thinks; therefore he says
that he thought and that he thinks this and that; this could
not be so unless there were an interior thought called per-
ception, which looks into the lower called thought. A judge,
when he has heard or read the evidence in a case, brought
together in a long series by an advocate, collects it into one
view in the higher region of his mind, thus into a universal
No. 605] REFORMATION AND REGENERATION 771
idea ; and from this he afterward looks down into the lower
region, which is that of natural thought, and there disposes
the arguments in order, and following the higher, presents
his opinion and pronounces judgment. Who does not know
that a man can in a moment or two think and conclude what
he cannot by the lower thought express in an hour? These
things have been brought forward, that it may be known
that the human mind is divided into distinct regions, lower
and higher.
604. As to the new will, it is above the old, in the spiritual
region; so is the new understanding; this is with that, and
that with this. In that region they conjoin themselves, and
conjointly they look into the old or the natural, and dispose
all things therein so as to moderate them. Who cannot see
that if there were in the human mind but one region, and if
evils and goods, falsities and truths, were put together and
mingled there, a conflict would take place? as if wolves and
lambs, tigers and calves, hawks and doves were put together
in one enclosure. What would then result but a cruel
slaughter there ? Would not the savage beasts tear in pieces
the tame ones? It has therefore been provided that goods
with their truths should be gathered into the higher region,
that they may stand in safety and debar assault, and also by
chains and other means may subjugate and afterward dis-
perse evils with their falsities. This then is what was said
in the preceding article, that with the regenerate man the
Lord through heaven rules what is of the world. The higher
or spiritual region of the human mind also is a heaven in
miniature, while the lower or natural region is a world in
miniature. Therefore by the ancients man was called a
microcosm; and he may also be called a little heaven.
605. That the regenerate man, that is, the man renewed
as to will and understanding, is in the heat of heaven, that
is, in its love, and at the same time in the light of heaven,
that is, in its wisdom, and on the other hand, that the un-
regenerate man is in the heat of hell, that is, in its love, and
772
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 605
at the same in the darkness of hell, that is, in its insanities,
is at this day known and still unknown. This is because
the church existing at the present day makes regeneration
an appendage to its faith, and into faith they suffer no reason
to be admitted, and hence reason is not to be admitted into
any thing which belongs to its appendage; and, as before
said, regeneration and renovation are such. These latter,
together with that faith itself, are to those of the present
church like a house, the doors and windows of which are
closed, so that it is not known what is within, whether it is
empty, or full of spirits from hell, or of angels from heaven.
An added reason is, that this confusion has been brought
about by the fallacy from this that man can ascend with the
understanding almost into the light of heaven, and hence
from intelligence can think and speak of spiritual things,
whatever his will's love may be. Out of ignorance of this
truth lias also come ignorance of all that concerns regenera-
tion and renovation.
606. From this it may be concluded, that an unregenerate
man is like one who sees phantoms at night and believes
them men; and afterward, while becoming regenerate, he
is like the same man at the earliest dawn seeing those things
to be but delusions seen in the night; and still later, when
he is regenerated and is in the day, he sees them as the
offspring of delirium. The unregenerate man is like one
dreaming, and the regenerate like one awake; in the Word,
moreover, natural life is likened to sleep, and spiritual life
to wakefulness. The unregenerate man is meant by the
foolish virgins who had lamps but no oil, and the regenerate
man by the prudent virgins that had both lamps and oil.
By lamps are meant things of the understanding, and by oil
those of love. The regenerate are like the lamps of the
candle-stick in the tabernacle; they are like the shew-bread
there with the frankincense on it; and they are those who
shall shine as the brightness of the firmanent, and as the
stars for ever and ever (Dan. xii. 3). The unregenerate man
No. 607] REFORMATION AND REGENERATION 773
is like one who is in the garden of Eden and eats of the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil, and is therefore driven out
of the garden; yes, he is that very tree. But the regenerate
man is like one who is in that garden and eats of the tree of
life. That it is given to eat of it, is evident from these words
in the Apocalypse: To him that overcometh will I give to eat
oj the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God
(ii. 7). The garden of Eden means intelligence in spiritual
things, from the love of truth, as may be seen in the Apoc-
alypse Revealed (n. 90). In a word, an unregenerate man
is a son of the wicked one, and a regenerate man is a son of
the kingdom (Matt. xiii. 38); a son of the wicked one here
is a son of the devil, and a son of the kingdom is here a son
of the Lord.
IX. A REGENERATE MAN IS IN COMMUNION WITH ANGELS OF
HEAVEN, AND AN UNREGENERATE MAN IN COMMUNION
WITH SPIRITS OF HELL.
607. Every man is in communion, that is, in consociation
with angels of heaven, or with spirits of hell, because he was
born to become spiritual; and this is not possible unless he
is born to be in some conjunction with those who are spiri-
tual. That man as to his mind is in both worlds, the natu-
ral and the spiritual, has been shown in the work concerning
Heaven and Hell. But man knows not of this conjunc-
tion, and an angel and a spirit know not of it, for the rea-
son that man while he lives in the world is in a natural
state, and the angel and the spirit are in a spiritual state;
and because of the distinction between the natural and the
spiritual, the one does not appear to the other. This dis-
tinction has been described as to its nature in the work on
Marriage Love, in the Relation, n. 326-329, which may be
seen above, n. 280. From which it is manifest that they
are not conjoined as to thoughts, but as to affections, and
scarcely any one reflects upon these, because they are not in
774
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
[No. 607
the light in which the understanding is, and hence its thought,
but in the heat in which the will is, and hence its love's affec-
tion. The conjunction between men and angels by means
of the love's affections is so close that if it were severed, and
they were thereby separated, men would fall instantly into
a swoon; and if it were not restored and the conjunction
renewed, men would die. It has "been said that man be-
comes spiritual by means of regeneration; but this does not
mean that he becomes spiritual such as an angel is in him-
self, but that he becomes spiritual natural, that is to say,
that the spiritual is inwardly in his natural, like thought in
speech, and like will in action, for when one of these ceases
the other ceases. So man's spirit is in every single thing
that takes place in the body, and it is this which moves the
natural to do whatever it does. The natural viewed in itself
is passive or is a dead force, but the spiritual is active or 's
a living force; the passive or the dead force cannot act from
itself, but must be actuated by the active or the living force.
Since man lives continually in communion with the inhabi-
tants of the spiritual world, when he leaves the natural world
he is introduced immediately among such as are like those
with whom he had been associated in the world. There-
fore, after death, every one seems to himself to be still living
in the world; for he then comes into the company of those
who are like him as to his will's affections, and whom he then
acknowledges, as kinsmen and relations acknowledge their
own in the world; and this is what is meant when it is said
in the Word of those who die, that they are brought together
and gathered to their own. It is now evident from this, that
a regenerate man is in communion with angels of heaven,
and an unregenerate man in communion with spirits of hell.
608. It must be known that there are three heavens, and
these distinct from each other according to three degrees of
love and wisdom, and that man is in communion with angels
from those three heavens according to his regeneration; and
as this is so, that the human mind is divided into three dis-
No. 609] REFORMATION AND REGENERATION 775
tinct degrees or regions according to the heavens. But as to
these three heavens and their distinction according to three
degrees of love and wisdom, see the work on Heaven and
Hell (n. 29, and following), as also the pamphlet on iht
Intercourse between the Soul and the Body (n. 16, 17). We
will here only illustrate by a simile what those three degree s
are, according to which those heavens are distinguished:
they are like head, body, and feet in man; the highest
heaven makes the head, the middle the body, and the lowest
the feet; for the universal heaven is before the Lord as one
man. That it is so has been disclosed to me by my own
observation; for it was granted me to see one society of
heaven which consisted of ten thousand, all together as one
man. Why should not the universal heaven so appear be-
fore the Lord? Respecting this living experience, see the
work on Heaven and Hell (n. 59, and following). Hence
also it is manifest how this, which is well known in the Chris-
tian world, is understood, that the church makes the body
of Christ, and that Christ is the life of this body. And that
the Lord is the All in all of heaven, may also be illustrated
by this; for He is the life in that body. In like manner the
Lord is the Church with those who acknowledge Him alone
as the God of heaven and earth, and believe in Him. That
He is the God of heaven and earth, He teaches in Matthew
(xxviii. 18); and that men must believe in Him, He teaches
in John (iii. 15, 16, 36; vi. 40; xi. 25, 26).
609. Those three degrees in which the heavens are, and
in which the human mind consequently is, may also be illus-
trated to some extent by comparisons with material things in
the world. Those three degrees are as gold, silver, and cop-
per are in relative nobility, with which metals they are also
compared in Nebuchadnezzar's statue (Dan. ii. 31-35).
Those three degrees are also distinct from each other as are
the ruby, the sapphire, and the agate in relative purity and
goodness; and also as an olive-tree, a vine, and a fig-tree;
and so on. Moreover, gold, the ruby, and the olive in the
776
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 609
Word signify celestial good, which is that of the highest
heaven; silver, the sapphire, and the vine signify spiritual
good, which is that of the middle heaven; and copper, the
agate, and the fig signify natural good, which is that of the
lowest heaven. That there are three degrees, the celestial,
the spiritual, and the natural, has been stated above.
610. This shall be added to what has been said already:
Man's regeneration is not effected in a moment, but succes-
sively, from the beginning to the end of his life in the world,
and it is continued and perfected afterward. And because
man is reformed by combats, and victories over the evils of
his flesh, the Son of Man therefore says to each one of the
seven churches, that He will give gifts to him that over-
cometh; as, to the church of Ephesus, To him that over-
cometh will I give to eat of the tree of life (Apoc. ii. 7); to the
church of Smyrna, He that overcometh shall not be hurt of
the second death (verse n); to the church in Pergamos, To
him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna
(verse 17); to the church in Thyatira, And he that over-
cometh, to him will I give power over the nations (verse 26) ;
to the church in Sardis, He that overcometh, the same shall be
clothed in white raiment (iii. 5); to the church in Philadel-
phia, Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple
of My God (verse 12); and to the church of the Laodiceans,
To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My
throne (verse 21). Finally it will be added, that so far as
man is regenerated, or so far as regeneration is perfected in
him, so far he attributes nothing of good and truth, that is,
of charity and faith, to himself, but to the Lord; for the
truths which he successively receives, manifestly teach this.
No. 611] REFORMATION AND REGENERATION 777
X. SO FAR AS MAN IS REGENERATED SEN'S ARE REMO\TD,
AND THIS REMOVAL IS REMISSION OF SINS.
611. Sins are removed so far as man is regenerated, be-
cause regeneration is restraining the flesh that it may not
rule, and subjugating the old man with its lusts that it may
not rise up and destroy the understanding, for when this is
destroyed man is no longer capable of reformation; for
reformation cannot be effected unless man's spirit, which is
above the flesh, be instructed and perfected. Who that yet
has sound understanding, cannot conclude from this that
.such things cannot be done in a moment, but successively,
as a man is conceived, carried in the womb, born, and edu-
cated, according to what was shown above ? For the things
of the flesh or the old man are inherent in him from birth,
and they build the first habitation of his mind, in which
lusts abide like wild beasts in their dens, and they dwell
first in the outer courts, and by turns they steal as it were
into the lower rooms of that house, and afterward they make
their way up by ladders, and form chambers for themselves;
and this is done successively, as an infant grows, reaches
childhood, then youth, and then begins to think from his
own understanding, and to act from his own will. Who
does not see that this house which has been thus far built in
the mind, in which lusts dance with joined hands, like the
ochim, ziim, and satyrs, cannot be destroyed in a moment,
and a new house built in place of it? Must not the lusts,
holding each other by the hand and so sporting, be them-
selves first removed, and new desires which are of good and
truth be introduced in the place of the lusts of evil and fal-
sity ? That these things cannot be done in a moment every
wise man sees from this alone, that every evil is composed of
innumerable lusts, and that it is like fruit which beneath the
surface is full of worms with white bodies and black heads;
and, moreover, that evils are numerous and joined together
773
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 611
like the progeny of a spider when first hatched; therefore
unless one evil is brought out after another, and this until
their connection is broken up, man cannot be made new.
These things have been presented that it may be known that
so far as any one is regenerated, sins are removed.
612. Man inclines by birth to all kinds of evils, and from
inclination lusts after them, and so far as he is in freedom
he also does them; for by birth he lusts after dominion over
others, and to possess the goods of others, which two lusts
cut off love toward the neighbor, and then man holds in
hatred every one who opposes him, and from hatred he
breathes revenge, which inwardly cherishes murder. Hence
also it is that he makes nothing of adulteries, of depreda-
tions that are secret theft, and of blasphemy which is also
false witness; and he who makes nothing of all these, is also
in heart an atheist. Such is man by birth, from which it is
manifest that he is from birth hell in miniature. Now be-
cause man as to the interiors of his mind has been born
spiritual, and not as the beasts, consequently born for
heaven, while yet his natural or external man is, as before
said, hell in miniature, it follows that heaven cannot be
implanted in hell unless this be removed.
613. He who knows the relation in which heaven and
hell are to each other, and who knows how the one is re-
moved from the other, may know how man is regenerated, as
also what the regenerate man is. That this may be under-
stood, it shall be set forth in brief that all who are in heaven
look to the Lord with the face toward Him, while all who
are in hell turn the face away from the Lord; therefore when
hell is looked at from heaven, only the occiput and the back
appear; yes, they who are therein also seem to be inverted, as
antipodes, feet upward and heads down, and this although
they walk upon their feet and turn their faces around; for it is
the contrary direction of their minds' interiors which pro-
duces that appearance. I relate these wonders from the
sight. They disclosed to me how regeneration is effected,
No. 614] REFORMATION AND REGENERATION 779
namely, just as hell is removed and thus separated from
heaven; for, as stated above, man as to that first nature which
he takes from birth is hell in miniature, and as to that other
nature which he takes from the second birth he is heaven in
miniature. From this it follows that evils with man are re-
moved and separated, like heaven and hell in their larger
form, and that evils, as they are removed, avert themselves
from the Lord, and successively invert themselves, and that
this takes place in the same degree in which heaven is im-
planted, that is, as man is made new To which shall be
added, for illustration, that every evil with man has conjunc-
tion with such in hell as are in similar evil, and on the other
hand that every good with man has conjunction with such in
heaven as are in similar good.
614. From what has been presented it may be evident that
remission of sins is not extirpation and washing-away of
them, but the removal of them, and thus their separation;
also that every evil which man has actually appropriated to
himself remains. And since remission of sins is removal and
separation of them, it follows that man is withheld from evil
by the Lord and kept in good, and that this is given to man
by regeneration. I once heard a certain person in the lowest
heaven say that he was free from sins because they were
washed away, by the blood of Christ, he added. But because
he was within heaven, and was in that error from ignorance,
he was let into his own peculiar sins, and as they returned he
acknowledged them; whereby he acquired a new belief,
which was, that every man, as well as every angel, is withheld
of the Lord from evils and held in goods. What the remis-
sion of sins is, is manifest from this that it is not instantane-
ous, but follows regeneration according to the progress of it.
The removal of sins which is called their remission, may be
compared to the casting forth of filth from the camp of the
children of Israel into the desert which was round about
them; for their camp represented heaven, and the desert hell.
It may be compared also to the removal of the nations from
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TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 614
the children of Israel in the land of Canaan, and of the Jebu-
sites from Jerusalem; these were not cast out, but separated.
It may be compared to what took place with Dagon, the god
of the Philistines; that when the ark was brought in, he first
lay upon his face on the ground, and afterward, with his head
and the palms of his hands cut off, he lay upon the threshold;
thus he was not cast out, but removed. It may also be con-
pared to the demons sent by the Lord into the swine, that
afterwards rushed into the sea ; the sea here and in other pas-
sages of the Word signifies hell. It may also be compared to
the throng that followed the dragon, which, being separated
from heaven, first invaded the earth, and was afterward cast
down into hell. It may be compared also to a forest where
there are wild beasts of many kinds; this being cut down, the
wild beasts flee to the thickets round about, and then the
land being levelled in the midst is brought by cultivation into
a field.
XI. Regeneration cannot take place without free will
in spiritual things.
615. Who but a stupid person cannot see that without free
will in spiritual things man cannot be regenerated ? Can he
without this go to the Lord, and acknowledge Him Redeemer
and Saviour, and as God of heaven and earth, as He teaches ?
(Matt, xxviii. 18.) Who without that free will can believe,
that is, from faith look to Him and worship Him, and apply
himself to receive the means and benefits of salvation from
Him, and from Him cooperate in the reception of them?
Who without free will can do any good to the neighbor, ex-
ercise charity, also bring into his thought and will other
things which are of faith and charity, take them, and send
them forth into act ? Otherwise, what is regeneration but a
mere word dropped from the lips of the Lord (John iii.),
which either remains in the ear, or, as it passes from the
thought that is nearest to speech, becomes in the mouth an
No. 616] REFORMATION AND REGENERATION ?8 1
articulated sound of so many letters ? which sound cannot by
any sense be raised into some higher region of the mind, but
falls upon the air and is dissipated there.
6 1 6. Say, if you are able, whether there can ever be a
blinder stupidity about regeneration than such as there is
with those who confirm themselves in the present faith, which
is, that faith is infused into man while he is like a stock or
stone, and that then, when it has been infused, it is followed
by justification, which is remission of sins, regeneration, and
other gifts beside? Also, that man's work must be wholly
excluded, that it may do no violence to Christ's merit. In
order that this dogma might be still more firmly established,
they have deprived man of all free will in spiritual things, by
introducing his utter helplessness in them. It is, then, as if
God alone were to operate on His part, and no power were
given man to cooperate on his, and thus to conjoin himself.
What then is man in respect to regeneration, but as one
bound hand and foot, like the prisoners in the vessels called
galleys ? and who, if he were to free himself from his manacles
and fetters would be punished and condemned to death, as
would be done with them if they were to free themselves
from theirs; that is, if he were from free will to do good to the
neighbor, and of himself were to believe in God for the sake
of salvation. What would a man be, when confirmed in such
opinions, and who yet has a pious desire for heaven, but like
a spectre standing to see whether that faith has been already
infused with its benefits; and if not, whether it is being in-
fused; and so, whether God the Father has taken pity, or
whether His Son has interceded, or whether the Holy Spirit
is inoperative because employed elsewhere ? And yet, owing
to his utter ignorance of the matter, the man may go away
and console himself by saying, " Perhaps that grace is in the
morality of my life, in which I am and remain as heretofore;
and in me, therefore, this may be holy, while in those who
have not attained that faith, it is profane. Therefore, in
order that holiness may remain in my morality, I will be care-
782
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 616
ful hereafter not to work faith or charity of myself;" and so
on. Such a spectre, or if you choose, such a statue of salt,
does every one become who thinks of regeneration apart
from free will in spiritual things.
617. The man who believes that regeneration takes place
without any free will in spiritual things, thus without coop-
eration, becomes as cold as a stone in regard to all the truths
of the church; or if warm, he is like a brand burning on the
hearth, that blazes from combustible elements in it, for his
warmth is from lusts. He becomes comparatively like a pal-
ace sinking into the ground even to its roof, and overflowed
with muddy waters; and afterward he dwells upon the bare
roof, making a tent-like covering for himself of marsh rushes;
but at last the roof sinks also, and he is drowned. He is also
like a ship laden with all kinds of precious merchandise taken
from the Word as a treasury; but these are gnawed by mice
and moth-eaten, or are thrown by the sailors into the sea, and
so the merchants are defrauded of their goods. Those who
are learned or rich in the arcana of that faith, are like the
venders in shops who sell statues for idols, fruits and flowers
of wax, shells, vipers in bottles, and other like things. They
who do not wish to look upward, as there is no power adapted
to man and given to him by the Lord, are actually like beasts
which look with the head downward, and which seek for
nothing but food in the forests; and if they come into orchards
they are like worms that consume the foliage of the trees, and
if they see the fruits with their eyes,or still more if they feel
them with their hands, they fill them with worms. And
finally they become like scaly serpents, their fallacies sound-
ing and glittering like the scales of a serpent. And so on.
No. 6 1 8] REFORMATION AND REGENERATION 783
XII. Regeneration cannot take place without truths,
BY WHICH FAITH IS FORMED, AND WITH WHICH
CHARITY CONJOINS ITSELF.
618. There are three agents whereby man is regenerated,
— the Lord, faith, and charity; these three would lie hidden,
like precious things of the highest value buried in the earth,
if Divine truths from the Word did not reveal them; yes, they
would be hidden to those who deny man's cooperation, if
they were to read the Word a hundred or a thousand times,
though they stand forth there in clear light. As concerns the
Lord: who that is confirmed in the faith of the day, sees there
with open eyes that He and the Father are one, that He is the
God of heaven and earth, that it is the will of the Father that
men should believe in the Son, besides innumerable state-
ments of the same kind respecting the Lord in both Testa-
ments ? They do not see, because they are not in truths, and
hence not in the light from which things of this kind can be
seen; and if light were given, still falsities would extinguish
it, and then those things would be passed over like something
blotted out, or like underground drains trodden upon and
passed over. These statements are made that it may be
known that without truths this primary agent in regeneration
cannot be seen. As regards faith: Neither can this be given
without truths, for faith and truth make one; for the good of
faith is as a soul, and truths make its body. To say, there-
fore, that a man believes or has faith, while he knows no
truths thereof, is like taking the soul out of the body, and
talking with it when thus invisible. Moreover, all the truths
that make the body of faith, emit light and enlighten and
present the face of faith to be seen. It is similar with charity :
this sends out heat from itself, with which the light of truth
conjoins itself, as heat does with light in the world in the
spring time, from the conjunction of which the things of the
earth's animal and vegetable kingdoms return to their pro-
784 TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 618
lific powers. It is similar with spiritual heat and light;
these in like manner conjoin themselves in man while he is in
the truths of faith and at the same time in the goods of char-
ity; for, as was said above in the chapter on Faith, from every
single truth of faith flows out light which enlightens, and
from every single good of charity flows out heat which en-
kindles; and it is also there stated that spiritual light in its
essence is intelligence, and that spiritual heat in its essence is
love, and that the Lord alone conjoins these two in man when
He regenerates him. For the Lord said, The words that I
speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life (John vi. 63).
Believe in the light, that ye may be sons of light; I am come a
Light into the world (xii. 36, 46). The Lord is the sun in the
spiritual world: all spiritual light and heat are from this; that
light enlightens, and that heat enkindles; and by the conjunc-
tion of the two, the Lord vivifies and regenerates man.
619. From all this it may be evident, that without truths
there is no knowledge of the Lord; also that without truths
there is no faith, and so there is no charity; consequently that
without truths there is no theology; and where this is not,
there is no church. Such is the condition at this day of the
people who call themselves Christians, and say that they are
in the light of the Gospel, when yet they are in thick darkness
itself; for truths lie hidden beneath falsities, like gold, silver,
and precious stones buried among the bones in the valley of
Hinnom. That it is so, was clearly manifest to me from the
spheres in the spiritual world which flow forth and extend
themselves from the Christendom of to-day. One sphere is
that respecting the Lord; this exhales and extends itself from
the southern quarter, where are the learned of the clergy, and
laymen of erudition; wherever it goes, it enters the ideas
secretly, and with many takes away faith in the Divinity of
the Lord's Human, with many weakens it, and makes it as
foolishness with many; this is because it brings in at the same
time the faith of three Gods, and so there is confusion. An-
other sphere which takes away faith, is like a black cloud in
No. 620] REFORMATION AND REGENERATION 785
winter, which brings on darkness, turns rain into snow, strips
the trees bare, freezes the waters, and takes all pasture away
from the sheep; this sphere, in conjunction with the former,
infuses as it were a lethargy as to the one God, regeneration,
and the means of salvation. A third sphere belongs to the
conjunction of faith and charity; this is so strong as to be irre-
sistible; but at the present day it is abominable, and like a
pestilence it infects every one on whom it breathes, and it
tears asunder every tie between those two means of salvation
established from the creation of the world, and restored anew
by the Lord. This sphere also invades men in the natural
world, and extinguishes the marriage torches between truths
and goods. I have felt this sphere, and then, when I have
thought of the conjunction of faith and charity, it has inter-
posed between them and violently endeavored to separate
them. The angels complain greatly of these spheres, and
pray to the Lord that they be dissipated; but they have re-
ceived response, that they cannot be dissipated so long as the
dragon is on the earth, since that sphere is from the dragon-
ists; for it is said of the dragon that he was cast unto the earth,
and then it is said, Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and woe to
the inhabiters of the earth (Apoc. xii. 12, 13). These three
spheres are like tempest-driven atmospheres, arising from the
breathing holes of the dragons; and because they are spiri-
tual, they invade minds and force them. The spheres of
spiritual truths there are as yet few, only in the new heaven,
and with those beneath heaven who are separated from the
dragonists. For this reason those truths are so little seen
among men in the world at this day; just as ships in the eastern
ocean are invisible to captains and ship-masters sailing in
the western ocean.
620. That regeneration cannot take place without truths
by which faith is formed, may be illustrated by the following
comparisons: It is no more possible than the human mind
without the understanding; for the understanding is formed
by means of truths, and it therefore teaches what must be be-
786
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 620
lieved, what must be done, what regeneration is, and how it
is effected. There can no more be regeneration without
truths, than there can be vivification in animals and vegeta-
tion in trees without light from the sun; for if the sun did not
give light at the same time with heat, it would become like
sackcloth of hair, as described in the Apocalypse (vi. 12),
and darkened as described in Joel (ii. 10, 31), and thus mere
darkness would be upon the earth (Joel iii. 15). It would
be similar with man without truths which send out light from
themselves; for the sun from which the lights of truths flow
forth is the Lord in the spiritual world; if spiritual light did
not flow from it into human minds, the church would be in
mere darkness, or in shadow from a perpetual eclipse. Re-
generation, which is effected by means of faith and charity,
without truths that teach and lead, would be like navigation
on the great ocean without a rudder, or without a mariner's
compass and charts; and it would be like riding in a dark
forest by night. The mind's internal sight with those who
are not in truths, but in falsities which they believe to be
truths, may be compared to the sight of those with whom
the optic nerves are obstructed, the eye still appearing sound
and capable of sight, although it sees nothing, which kind of
blindness is called by physicians amaurosis and gutla serena;
for with them the rational or intellectual is closed above and
opened only below; and owing to this, rational light becomes
like the light of the eye; and hence all their judgments are
but imaginary, and fashioned from mere fallacies. And so
men would stand like astrologers in market-places with their
long telescopes, and uttering their vain prophecies. Such
would all students of theology become, unless genuine truths
from the Word were opened by the Lord.
621. To this the following Relations will be added. First:
I saw an assembly of spirits, all upon their knees, praying to
God to send angels to them, with whom they might speak
face to face, and to whom they might open the thoughts of
their hearts; and when they rose up, there were seen three
No. 621] REFORMATION AND REGENERATION 7%7
angels in fine linen standing in their presence. And these
said, " The Lord Jesus Christ has heard your prayers, and
has therefore sent us to you. Open to us the thoughts of
your hearts." And they answered, " The priests have told
us that in theological matters it is not the understanding but
faith that avails, and that intellectual faith does not profit in
those things, because it springs from the man and savors of
him, and is not of God. We are Englishmen, and we have
heard many other things from our holy ministry which we
believed; but when we have spoken with others, who also
called themselves Reformed, and with some who called
themselves Roman Catholics, and again with those of vari-
ous sects, they all seemed learned, and yet in many things no
one agreed with another; and still they all said, Believe us;
and some, We are ministers of God, and we know. But as
we knew that the Divine truths which are called truths of
faith, and are of the church, are not any man's by birthright
alone, nor from inheritance, but are out of heaven from God,
and as they show the way to heaven, and enter the life to-
gether with the good of charity, and thus lead to eternal life,
we became anxious, and on our knees prayed to God."
Then the angels answered, " Read the Word and believe in
the Lord, and you will see the truths which must be of your
faith and life. All in the Christian world draw their doc-
trines from the Word as the one only fountain." But two of
the assembly said, " We have read, but have not understood."
And the angels answered, " You did not go to the Lord, who
is the Word, and you had also first confirmed yourselves in
falsities."
The angels said further, "What is faith without light?
And what is thinking without understanding ? It is not hu-
man; ravens and magpies, also, can learn to speak without
understanding. We can assure you that every man whose
soul desires it, can see the truths of the Word in light. There
is no animal found that does not know the food of its life
when it sees it; and man is a rational and spiritual animal; he
788
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 621
sees the food of his life, not of the body but the soul, which is
the truth of faith, if he hungers for it and seeks it from the
Lord. Moreover, whatever is not received by the under-
standing, does not abide in the memory as to the thing itself,
but only as to the words; and therefore when we have looked
down from heaven into the world, we have not seen any
thing, but have only heard sounds, for the most part harsh.
But we will tell some things which the learned of the clergy
have removed from the understanding, not knowing that
there are two ways to the understanding, one from the world
and the other from heaven, and that the Lord withdraws the
understanding from the world while He enlightens it. But
if the understanding is closed by religion, the way from
heaven is closed to it, and then the man sees no more in the
Word than a blind man; we have seen many such that had
fallen into pits out of which they did not rise. Let examples
serve for illustration: Can you not understand what charity
is, and what faith is ? that charity is to act well with the neigh-
bor, and that faith is to think right about God and the essen-
tials of the church? and hence that he who acts well and
thinks right, that is, who lives well and believes right, is
saved?" To these things they said that they understood
them.
The angels said further, that man must repent of his sins
in order to be saved, and that unless he repents he remains in
the sins into which he was born ; and that to repent is not to
will evils because they are against God, and to search one's
self once or twice a year, to see one's evils, to confess them be-
fore the Lord, to implore help, to desist from them, and to
enter upon a new life; and so far as he does this, and believes
in the Lord, his sins are remitted. They then said, from the
assembly, " We understand this, and so too what the remis-
sion of sins is." And then they asked the angels to inform
them further; and now, indeed, about God, the immortality
of the soul, regeneration, and baptism. To this the angels
replied, " We will not say any thing that you do not under-
No. 621] REFORMATION AND REGENERATION 789
stand: otherwise our discourse falls like rain upon the sand
and upon seeds therein, which, however watered from heaven,
still wither and perish." And of God they said: "All who
come into heaven are allotted a place there, and thence eter-
nal joy, according to their idea of God; because this idea
reigns universally in all the things of worship. The idea of
God as a Spirit, when spirit is believed to be like ether or
wind, is an empty idea; but the idea of God as Man is the just
idea; for God is Divine Love and Divine Wisdom with every
quality of them; and the subject of these is Man, not ether or
wind. In heaven the idea of God is the idea of the Lord the
Saviour. He is the God of heaven and earth, as He Himself
taught. Let your idea of God be like ours, and we shall be
consociated." When they said these things the faces of the
others shone.
Concerning the Immortality of the Soul they said: "Man
lives for ever, because he is capable of being conjoined with
God by love and faith; every one is capable of this. That
this ability makes the immortality of the soul, you can under-
stand if you think somewhat more deeply concerning it." Of
Regeneration they said : " Who does not see that every man
has freedom to think of God, and not to think of Him, pro-
vided he has been instructed that there is a God? Thus
every one has freedom in spiritual things as much as in civil
and natural things. The Lord gives this to all continually;
therefore man is in fault if he does not think. A man is a
man from this ability; while a beast is a beast from not having
it. A man can therefore reform and regenerate himself as of
himself, provided he acknowledges in heart that it is from the
Lord. Every one who repents and believes in the Lord is be-
coming reformed and regenerate. A man must do both as
/rom himself; but as from himself is from the Lord. It is
true that a man cannot contribute anv thing to this, nothing
whatever, out of himself ; but yet you were not created statues,
but men, that you may do this from the Lord as from your-
selves. This one and only return, of love and of faith, is
79° TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 62 1
what the Lord ever wishes man to make to Him. In a word,
do from yourselves, and believe that you do from the Lord;
thus you do as from yourselves."
But then they asked whether it was implanted in man from
creation to do as from himself. An angel answered, " It was
not implanted in him, because to do from Himself belongs to
God alone; but it is continually given, that is, adjoined con-
tinually; and then so far as man does good and believes truth
as from himself, he is an angel of heaven ; but so far as he does
evil and thence believes falsity, and this also is as from him-
self, he is a spirit of hell. You wonder that this, too, is as
from himself; but still you see it when you pray to be guarded
from the devil lest he seduce you, enter into you as he did into
Judas, fill you with all iniquity, and destroy both soul and
body. But every one becomes guilty who believes that he
does from himself, whether he does good or evil; but he does
not become guilty who believes that he does as from himself;
for if he believes that the good is from himself, he claims for
himself that which is God's; and if he believes that the evil is
from himself, he attributes to himself that which is the
devil's."
Concerning Baptism they said, that it is spiritual washing,
which is reformation and regeneration; and that " an infant is
reformed and regenerated, while, having become an adult, he
does the things which the sponsors promised for him, which
are two, repentance and faith in God. For they promise,
first, that he shall reject the devil and all his works: and sec-
ond, that he shall believe in God. All infants in heaven are
initiated into these two; but to them the devil is hell, and God
is the Lord. Besides, baptism is a sign before the angels that
a man is of the church."
Having heard this, they said from the assembly, "We
understand these things." But a voice was then heard from
the side, crying, "We do not understand;" and another
voice, "We do not wish to understand." And it was asked,
from whom those voices came; and it was found that they
No. 621] REFORMATION AND REGENERATION 79 1
were from those who confirmed in themselves falsities of
faith, and who wished to be believed as oracles, and so to be
adored. The angels said, "Do not be surprised; there are
very many such at this day; they appear to us from heaven
like images constructed with such art that they can move the
lips, and make sounds like organs; and they do not know
whether the breath by which they make the sound is from
hell or from heaven, because they do not know whether a
thing is false or true; they reason and reason, and they con-
firm and confirm, nor in regard to any thing do they see
whether it is so. But know this, that human ingenuity can
confirm whatever it wishes, even till it appears as if it were so;
and therefore heretics can do so, the impious can do so, yes,
atheists can prove that there is no God, but nature only."
After this, that assembly of Englishmen, ardently desirous
of being wise, said to the angels, " They speak such various
things concerning the Holy Supper; tell us what the truth is."
The angels replied, " The truth is, that the man who looks to
the Lord and repents, is by that most holy thing conjoined
with the Lord and introduced into heaven." But they said
from the assembly, " This is a mystery." And the angels an-
swered, " It is a mystery, but yet such as can be understood.
The bread and wine do not effect this; there is nothing holy
from them; but material bread and spiritual bread corre-
spond to each other, and material wine and spiritual wine;
and spiritual bread is the holy of love, and spiritual wine is
the holy of faith, both of them from the Lord; and both, the
Lord: hence is conjunction of the Lord with man, and of
man with the Lord; not with the bread and the wine, but
with the love and faith of the man who has repented; and
conjunction with the Lord is also introduction to heaven."
And after the angels had taught them something concerning
correspondence, they said from the assembly, " Now for the
first time we can understand this also." And when they said
this, behold a flame descending from heaven with light con-
sociated them with the angels, and they loved one another.
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 622
622. Second Relation. All who are prepared for heaven,
which is done in the world of spirits midway between heaven
and hell, after the time is fulfilled, desire heaven with a kind
of longing; and soon their eyes are opened, and they see a
way which leads to some society in heaven. This way they
enter, and ascend; and in the ascent there is a gate, and a
keeper there. He opens the gate, and so they enter. Then
an examiner meets them, who tells them from the president
to enter in further, to look and see whether there are houses
anywhere which they recognize as theirs, for there is a new
house for every novitiate angel. And if they find them, they
so report, and remain there; but if they do not and them,
they return and say that they have not seen any. And then
an examination is made by some wise one there, to see
whether the light that is in them agrees with that in the soci-
ety, and especially whether the heat does; for the light of
heaven in its essence is Divine Truth, and the heat of heaven
in its essence is Divine Good, both proceeding from the Lord
as the sun there. If the light and heat in them are differ-
ent from those of that society, that is, different truth and
different good, they are not received. They therefore go
away, and pass on through ways opened between societies in
heaven; and this until they find a society wholly in agreement
with their affections; and there is their home for ever. For
there they are among their own, just as if among relatives and
friends, whom they love from the heart because they are in
similar affection; and there they are in what favors their
own life, and in what rejoices the whole breast from peace of
soul ; for in the heat and light of heaven there is ineffable de-
light, which is communicated. Such is the case with those
who are becoming angels.
But they who are in evils and falsities may ascend into
heaven with leave; but when they enter, they begin to catch
the breath and to have labored respiration; and presently
their sight grows dim, the understanding is darkened, they
cease to think, oblivion as it were hovers before their eyes,
No. 623] REFORMATION AND REGENERATION 793
and so they stand like stocks; and then the heart begins to
throb, the breast to be straightened, and the mind to be seized
with anguish and to be tortured more and more; and in this
state they writhe like serpents brought near lire; they there-
fore roll themselves away, and by a steep way which then
appears they cast themselves down, nor do they rest until
they are in hell among their like, where they can draw breath,
and where their hearts beat freely. They afterwards hate
heaven, reject truth, and blaspheme the Lord in heart, be-
lieving that their tortures and torments while in heaven were
from Him. From these few things it can be seen what is
their lot who lightly esteem truths of faith, which nevertheless
make the light in which the angels of heaven are, and who
lightly esteem goods of love and charity, which nevertheless
make the heat of life in which the angels of heaven are. It
can also be seen from this, how great is their error who be-
lieve that every one can enjoy heavenly blessedness provided
he is admitted into heaven. For it is the belief of the present
day, that to be received into heaven is of mercy alone, and
that reception into heaven is like that of one coming into a
house at a wedding in the world, and then at the same time
into the joys and gladness there. But let it be known that in
the spiritual world there is communication of the affections of
love, and the thoughts therefrom, for man is then a spirit, and
the life of a spirit is affection of the love and thought there-
from; also that homogeneous affection conjoins, and hetero-
geneous affection separates; and again that the heterogeneity
torments a devil in heaven, and an angel in hell. They are
exactly separated therefore according to the diversities, vari-
eties, and differences of the affections of the love.
623. Third Relation. It was once given me to see three
hundred of the clergy and laity together, all learned and eru-
dite, because they knew how to confirm faith alone even to
justification, and some still further. And because they had
the belief that heaven is only admission from grace, leave
was given them to ascend to a society of heaven, which how-
794
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 623
ever was not among the higher ones. And when they as-
cended, then in the distance they were seen as calves. And
when they were entering heaven, they were received civilly by
the angels; but while they were conversing, a tremor seized
them, afterward horror, and at length torture like that of
death; and they then cast themselves down headlong, and in
their fall were seen as dead horses. They seemed like calves
in their ascent, because the leaping natural affection for see-
ing and knowing appears from correspondence like a calf.
And they seemed like dead horses in their fall, because tht
understanding of truth appears from correspondence like a
horse, and no understanding of the truth of the church ap-
pears like a dead horse.
There were boys below, who saw them descending, and
seen in their descent as dead horses. And they then turned
their faces away, and said to their teacher who was with them,
" What ill omen is this ? We saw men, and now instead we
see dead horses; and because we could not look at them we
turned away our faces. Teacher, let us not stay in this place,
but let us go away." And they went away. And then the
teacher, on the way, instructed them as to the signification of
a dead horse; saying, "A horse signifies the understanding
of truth from the Word; all the horses which you have seen
have had that signification; for when a man goes along medi-
tating upon the Word, his meditation then appears in the dis-
tance like a horse, noble and lively as he meditates spiritually,
but, on the other hand, poor and lifeless as he meditates ma-
terially." The boys then asked, "What is it to meditate
spiritually and to meditate materially upon the Word?"
Their teacher answered, "I will illustrate it by examples:
who, while reading the Word in a holy way, does not think in-
teriorly within himself of God, the neighbor, and heaven?
Every one who thinks of God from person only, and not from
essence, thinks materially; and every one who thinks of the
neighbor from outward form only, and not from quality,
thinks materially; and every one who thinks of heaven from
No. 623] REFORMATION AND REGENERATION. 795
place only, and not from the love and wisdom from which
heaven is heaven, also thinks materially."
But the boys said, " We have thought of God from person,
of the neighbor from form as being a man, and of heaven
from place as being above us; have we, therefore, when read-
ing the Word, then appeared to any one like dead horses ? "
The teacher said, "No, you are yet boys, and cannot do
otherwise; but I have perceived in you an affection for know-
ing and understanding; and as this is spiritual, you have also
thought spiritually; for there is some spiritual thought latent
within your material thought, and this you do not yet know.
But I will return to what I said before, that he who thinks
materially when reading the Word, or is in meditation from
the Word, appears in the distance like a dead horse; while he
who thinks spiritually appears like a living horse; and that he
thinks materially of God who thinks of Him from person only
and not from essence. For the attributes of the Divine es-
sence are many; as omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence,
eternity, love, wisdom, mercy, and grace, and others. And
there are attributes that proceed from the Divine essence,
which are creation and preservation, redemption and salva-
tion, enlightenment and instruction. Every one who thinks
of God from person only makes three Gods, saying that the
Creator and Preserver is one God, the Redeemer and Saviour
another, and the Enlightener and Instructor a third; while
even- one who thinks of God from essence makes God one,
saying, 1 God created and has preserved us, and the same has
redeemed us and saves us, and He also enlightens and in-
structs.' This is the reason that they who think concerning
the trinity of God from person, and thus materially, cannot,
from the ideas of their thought which is material, do other-
wise than from one God make three. But still, contrary to
their thought, they are compelled to say that there is a union
of those three by the essence, because they have thought in-
directly of God from essence. Therefore, my scholars,
think from the essence, and from this of the person; for to
796
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
[No. 623
think of the essence, but from the person, is to think mater-
ially of the essence also; while to think of the person, but
from the essence, is to think spiritually of the person also.
The ancient gentiles, because they thought materially of God,
and so of God's attributes also, not only made three gods but
more, even as many as a hundred; for they made a god of
every attribute. You must know that the material does not
enter into the spiritual, but the spiritual into the material. It
is similar with thought as to the neighbor from the outward
form and not from his quality; as also with thought about
heaven from place, and not from the love and wisdom from
which heaven is. It is similar with one and all things that
are in the Word; he, therefore, who cherishes a material idea
of God, and likewise of the neighbor and of heaven, cannot
understand any thing in the Word; it is a dead letter to him;
and while reading it, or in meditation from it, he appears in
the distance like a dead horse. Those whom you saw in
their descent from heaven, having become to your eyes like
dead horses, were such as have closed up the rational sight,
as to the theological or spiritual matters of the church, in
themselves and others, by their peculiar dogma that the un-
derstanding must be kept in obedience to faith; not having
it in thought that the understanding closed by religion is as
blind as a mole, with nothing but thick darkness in it, and
such thick darkness as rejects from itself all spiritual light,
shuts out the influx of it from the Lord and from heaven, and
places before it a barrier in the corporeal sensual, far below
the rational in matters of faith; that is, puts it close to the
nose, and fixes it in its cartilage; for which reason, it cannot
afterward even have the scent of spiritual things; whence
some have become such that when they are sensible of the
odor from spiritual things, they fall in a swoon; by scent I
mean perception. These are they who make God three.
They say indeed, from essence, that God is one; but still,
when they pray according to their faith, which is, for God the
Father to have mercy for the Son's sake, and to send the Holy
No. 624] REFORMATION AND REGENERATION 797
Spirit, they manifestly make three Gods. They cannot do
otherwise; for they pray to one to have mercy for the sake of
another, and to send a third." And then their teacher
taught them about the Lord, that He is the One God, in
whom is the Divine Trinity.
624. Fourth Relation. Having awaked from sleep at mid-
night, I saw at some height toward the east an angel hold-
ing in his right hand a paper which appeared from the sun,
of lustrous brightness, and in the centre there was a writing
In golden letters; and I saw written The Marriage of Good
and Truth. From the writing flashed a splendor which
spread into a wide circle around the paper; the circle or bor-
der appeared, therefore, like the dawn of day in spring.
After this I saw the angel with the paper in his hand descend-
ing; and as he descended the paper appeared less and less
bright, and that writing which was The Marriage of Good
and Truth, seemed changed from a golden to a silver color,
then to that of copper, then to that of iron, and at length to
the color of iron and copper rust ; and at last the angel seemed
to pass into a dark cloud, and through it to the earth; and
there the paper, though still retained in his hand, was not
seen.
This was in the world of spirits, into which all men first
gather after death. The angel then spoke to me, saying,
"Ask those coming hither whether they see me or any thing
in my hand." There came a multitude, one body from the
east, one from the south, one from the west, and one from the
north. And I asked those coming from the east and the
south, who were such as in the world were devoted to learn-
ing, whether they saw any one present with me, or any thing
in his hand. They all said that they saw nothing whatever.
Then I asked those who came from the west and the north,
who were such as in the world had believed in the words of
the learned; these said that they, too, did not see any thing.
But yet the last of them, who in the world had been in simple
faith from charity, or in some truth from good, after the for-
798
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 624
mer had gone away, said that they saw a man with a paper,
a man well dressed, and a paper upon which letters were
traced; and when they looked at it more closely, they said
that they read the words, The Marriage of Good and Truth.
And these spoke to the angel, and asked him to tell them
what it was. And he said, that all things in the whole heaven,
and all things in the whole world, are from creation, noth-
ing but the marriage of good and truth; "because they one
and all, those which are living and have animation and those
which are not living and do not have animation, were created
from and into the marriage of good and truth. Nothing has
been created into truth alone, or into good alone; either of
these alone is nothing; but by marriage they go forth and be-
come something, in quality according to the marriage. In
the Lord God the Creator Divine Good and Divine Truth
are in their very substance; Divine Good is the esse of His
substance, and Divine Truth is the existere of His substance;
and they are also in their very oneness, for in Him they make
one infinitely. Since these two are one in God the Creator
Himself, therefore they are also one in all things and every
thing created by Him; by this, also, the Creator is conjoined
in an eternal covenant like that of marriage with all things
created by Him."
The angel said further, that the Sacred Scripture, which
was dictated by the Lord, is in general and in particular a
marriage of good and truth (see above, n. 248-253); and be-
cause the church which is formed by means of the truths of
doctrine, and religion which is formed by means of the goods
of life according to truths of doctrine, are with Christians
solely from the Sacred Scripture, it may be evident that the
church also in general and in particular is the marriage of
good and truth. The same that was said above of the mar-
riage of good and truth has also been said concerning the
Marriage of Charity and Faith, since good is of charity and
truth is of faith. After this was said, the angel raised him-
self from the earth and borne through the cloud he ascended
No. 625] REFORMATION AND REGENERATION 799
into heaven; and then the paper shone as before, according to
the degrees of ascent; and lo, the circle which before appeared
like the dawn of day, then settled down and dispelled the
cloud which brought darkness upon the earth, and it became
sunny.
625. Fifth Relation. Once when I was meditating on the
Lord's Second Coming, a flash of light suddenly appeared,
coming forcibly upon my eyes. I therefore looked up, and
lo, the whole heaven above me appeared luminous, and there
in a long series a glorification was heard. And an angel
stood near, who said, " That is a glorification of the Lord on
account of His Coming, which is made by the angels of the
eastern and the western heavens." From the southern and
the northern heavens only a gentle murmur was heard. And
because the angel heard all, he first said to me that glorifica-
tions and celebrations of the Lord are made from the Word ;
and presently he said, " Now, in particular, they are glorify-
ing and celebrating the Lord by these words which were
spoken by the prophet Daniel: Thou sawest iron mixed with
miry clay, but they shall not cohere; and in those days shall the
God oj heaven set tip a kingdom which shall not perish for ages:
it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, but it
shall stand for ages " (ii. 43, 44). After this I heard as it were
the voice of singing, and more deeply in the east I saw a flash-
ing of light, more brilliant than the former; and I asked the
angel what they were glorifying there. He said, " By these
words in Daniel: / saw in the night visions, and behold the
Son of Man was coming with the clouds of heaven; and there
was given Him dominion and a kingdom; and all peoples and
nations shall worship Him; His dominion is the dominion of
an age which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that
which shall not perish (vii. 13, 14). In addition they are
celebrating the Lord from these in the Apocalvpse: To Jesus
Christ be glory and strength; behold He cometh with clouds;
He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,
the First and the Last, who is, who was, and who is to come,
8oo
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION [No. 625
the Almighty; I John heard this from the Son of Man out of
the midst of the seven candlesticks" (Apoc. i. 5-8, 11-13; xxii.
13; also Matt. xxiv. 30, 31).
I looked again into the eastern heaven, and it gave forth
light on the right side, and the illumination extended into the
southern expanse, and I heard a sweet sound. I asked the
angel, "What of the Lord are they glorifying there?" He
s iid, " By these words in the Apocalypse: I saw a new heaven
and a new earth; and I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, com-
ing down from God out of heaven, prepared as a Bride for her
Husband. And I heard a great voice from heaven, saying,
Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell
with them. And the angel spake with me and said, Come, I
will show thee the Bride, the Iamb's Wife. And he carried
me away in the spirit upon a great and high mountain, and
showed me the holy city Jerusalem (Apoc. xxi. 1-3, 9, 10).
Also by these words: / Jesus am the bright and morning Star;
and the Spirit and the Bride say, Come; and He said, I come
quickly; amen, even so, come, Lord Jesus" (xxii. 16, 17, 20).
After this and more, a general glorification was heard from
the east to the west of heaven, and also from the south to the
north; and I asked the angel, "What now?" He said
"These words from the prophets: And all flesh shall know
that I Jehovah am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer (Isa. xlix.
26). Thus said Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his Re-
deemer Jehovah Zebaoth, I am the First and the Last, and be-
side Me there is no God (xliv. 6). It shall be said in that day,
Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him that He may save
us; This is Jehovah; we have waited for Him (xxv. 9). The
voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way
of Jehovah. Behold the Lord Jehovih cometh in strength;
He shall feed His flock like a Shepherd (xl. 3, 10, n). Unto
us a Child is born; unto us a Son is given; and His name shall
be called Wonderful, Counsellor, God, Mighty, Father of Eter-
nity, the Prince of Peace (ix. 6). Behold, the days are coming,
when I will raise up unto David a righteous Branch, who
No. 625] REFORMATION AND REGENERATION 801
shall reign King, and this is His name, Jehovah our Right-
eousness ( Jer. xxiii. 5, 6; xxxiii. 15, 16). Jehovah Zebaoth
is his name, and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel, the God
of the whole earth shall He be called (Isa. liv. 5). In that
day Jevohah shall be King over all the earth. In that day
Jehovah shall be one, and His name one" (Zech. xiv. 9).
From hearing and understanding these things, my heart
was moved, and I went home rejoicing, and there returned
from the state of the spirit into that of the body, in which I
have written what was seen and heard.
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