AN D

ITS MES SENGER .

REV . W F
. . EVAN S ,

A UT HO R or m
r "c nnsrux
'
. mm, o nco mm o n or m mumm
vu .
"

B O STON
T . H . CA R T E R C O M PA N Y .

LONDON " CHARLES . P ALVIN

. .

1 864 .
 CO N TE N TS .

CHAPTER I .

Intro uction
d

CHA PT ER II .

Th e D o ctrine of th e D ivi ne Uni ty , in its Relati on to th e

S pi ritual Life

CHAPTER III .

The S p iritual World Unv eil ed

CHAPTER IV .

Th e Key to th e S piritual S ense of th e Word

CHA PTE R V .

The Ph eno mn l
e a and th e Re al , or th e S ensuous Ap
p
eara nce
and th e D ivi ne Reali ty

CHA PTER VI .

Rati onali ty th e Point of T ransi ti o nto Spirituali ty

CHA PTER VII .

Th e Higher Knowl edge of God , and its Relati onto th e New

A ge

cine m m as v .

The Th eology of L ov e
THE NEW A GE AND I TS M ES S EN GER .

C HA P T E R I .

INTR O D UCTI O N .

THE w riti ngs mo t m k bl mn f mod n

of th at s re ar a e a o er

l i ti l h i t y Emnu l S w d nb o g h v t k n
ecc es as ca s or , a e e e r , a e a e a

d p h old up o n m
ee y m i nd nd f
f t d my w hol i nna a ec e e er

H w h om t th p u l f th mw i th n
,

li f
e. e o c es o e e r sa o e a

un p j u
redi d m i nd
ce w i h i,
n d ti t l n
a th s cere es re o e ar e

truth for the sa e o t k f rut h — w h o lo ves truth for its ow n

d iv i ne self — w ill n ot fail to fin d in th emp ri n ciples of

g r e at v al ue H. e w ill fin d t h e re a tru e spiritu al ph il oso hy

p .

He w h o lov e s truth for its ow nsake and w h o i ncorporate s

it im medi ately into the life is in th at moral co nditio n
,

w hi ch renders th e m ind of m
,

an recep tiv e of en ligh ten

ment fromth e Lord, the infinite fountain of all light
There are so m e m
.

i nds p eculiarly fitted to re ce iv e truth s

o f a certain cl a ss , a s tho se re lati n to som e on f th
g e o e

sci en ces .B ut a soul i n th e m oral attitude referre d to

above d ri n ks in sp ontaneously all spiritual truth He
th at do eth truth com eth to th e li gh t, th at h i s dee d s m
, .

a
y
be m ade m
,

ani fe st ,th at th ey are w rought inGo d n "

( J o

m
. .

I f an n "
iii.
y a s a y s o,ur S a viour w ill do h is ,

w ill h e sh all kn ow o f th e doctrine w h eth er it b e of Go d ,

or w heth er I sp eak of m
, ,

M
"
yself ( T
’

a t vi i 1.7 h xa . . .

5
( )
 m ao nucrrou . 7

th e belie f of the C hurch , th at a brighter age and a better

di spe nsatio n w o uld h a v e its bi rth i n the future Thi s
e th e b righ ter w h en the m
.
.

h O pe h as sh o n oral d ark ne ss ha s
b ee n the m o st pro found I t h a s seem e d rea so n able to

so m
.

e th at there w ill b e th re e
g r a n d di sp en sa t i o ns o f th e

Ch urch corresp o nding to th e th re e m

, an ife stations of the
on e God to the w orld as th e Fa th er, th e S o n a n d th e
, ,

l l o ly Gho st T here has b ee n th e dispensa tion of the

.

F a the r .Thi s co m preh end s th e w h ole pe riod before the

i nca rna tion I nthe Old T esta m
. en t how li ttl e i s sa id o f
the S o n C hri st is th ere (for ev ery sentence of the o lde r
.

S cripture s is Messianic and not h ere and there a passage ),

,

b ut h e i s th ere v eile d b e n ea th sen su o us sy m bols I t is an .

age o f ob scu rity We h ave h ad the age of the S on o r

.

the Logo s— the i n tellectual age the di spe n sa tio n o f fa i th

,
.

This h a s co nti nued until the pre sent Th e ne x t, w hich .

w e do ubt n o t has h ad i ts bi rth w ill b e th e age o f the

e a s the C o m
,

Holy Spiri t w h enC hri st w ill co m fo rter th e

Paraclete to i m
, ,

p art a ne w and hi gher life to the souls of

men I n the first the sensuous pre dominates in the
,

.
,

seco n d the i ntellect ; the thi rd w i ll be the di sp ensationof

L ov e and its i ntuitio ns w ill predo m
,

lo v e. i nate in th e
lo rio us Ch u rch of th e fu t ure Th i s b etter di sp en satio n
g
om
.

ha s b ee n ge ne rally d en in a te d the Mill e n ni al A ge A .

mo ment s reflection ho w e ver w ill convi nce any one that

’
, ,

i ts p roper a n d S crip tura l d esign atio n is th e N e w Jeru

sa le mw h ich termm ark s th e l a st a n d m o st pe rfe ct stage

i nth e d e v e l op m It is a dm
,

en t of the Ch urch onearth itte d

tha t i nth e sy m bolic language o f proph e cy Jerusa le msig
.

nifie s th e Ch urch A N e w J e rusale m th e n ca n m

,

. ea n, ,

noth ing b ut a N e w Ch urch o r a ne w a nd b ette r d is pe nsa,

ti o no f gra ce If th e re is to be a n e w d i sp e n sa t i o n i t i s ,

m m
.

se l f
-
ev id e nt th a t i t u st h a ve a b e
g in n in g s o e w h e r e I f .

th e N e w J e ru s al e m is to ( 0 11 10 d o w n f ro
2
m G o d o ut o f
8 I NTR O D UCTIO N .

h eaven there is som e on e to w ho mit m ust first co e m .

Thi s D iv ine infl ue nce or effl ue nce fro mGod th ro ugh the
,

h ea v e ns into the Ch ch ur o n ea hrt — w h ich is sign ifi e d by

th e N e w J erusale mco m i ng do w n fro mGod o ut of
h ea v e n m
— ust fin d its first recep tacle inso m e m i nd fitte d
to rece i ve it an , d to b e the cen tre o f its diffusion abro a d .

Look back uponthe hi story of th e C h urch in a ll th e pa s t

a ge s an d yo u fin d that e v ery di spen satio nof ra ce ha s h a d
g
d sm all m
,

i ts ri se , an ustard seed begi n

-
ni ng i n so m e on e

i ndi vi dual So it m ifestly m

,

an ust b e i n th e N e w Jeru
‘

sale msta ge o f th e Ch u m m
.

rch s p ro res s
’
g T. h a t I a n u e l
S w eden borg serv ant of the Lo rd Je sus C h ri st w a s the
ment of Providence inushering ina new and better
, ,

in stru

a ge of t he Ch u rch see m s to m e clear I think th ere i s

d in h is i nv aluable S piritua l w ri tings the germof a
, .

fo un
ne w a nd higher d isp e nsation N o one w h o is at a ll
observ ant of the signs of the tim
.

es can do ub t th a t h e

is to h a ve at least a m ost i m po rta nt i nfl uence in sh aping

the the ology a n d the life o f th e future ch urch I w ill give
so m
.

e rea son s for thi s b eli ef w h ich it is h ope d w ill be

sa tisfacto ry to so m
, , ,

e si ncere i n q uirers a fte r truth a nd w h o ,

are co n sci ous o f w a n ts a n d spi ritual ye arnin t h t t h

gs a ,e

p rev ailing religions w i th thei r literat ure fa il to supply

, , .

Th is w ork is give nto the w orld for the rea so n give n by

an other for a differe nt w o rk . I t is o n e of o u r n obler
h um an in sti ncts th at w e can
,
no t fe e l w ith in us th e glo ry
an d the po w e r o f a rea l con v i cti o n w i tho ut ea rn
, e s tly

stri v in to m a k e th at co n vi cti o n pa ss i n t o o th er m n d
g i s .

Com
’
te s Phi losop hy of the S cien ces by G H L ewes
’
, .
p
.
, .
 CHAPTER i I .

THE D O CTRIN E O F T HE D I VI N E UN I T Y , I N I T S R E L A TI O N TO

T HE SPIR IT UA L L IFE .

S WED EN B O R G l ike Abraha m in a form

, er age w as ,

rai se d up by t he M essi a h s Pro v id en ce to re store to the

’
,

w o rld an d th e Ch urch th e true i dea o f th e un i ty of G od

Th is idea w h ich i s fund am
.

en ta l i n the sp i ritual life w a s

m
, ,

fa din g fro th e m i n d o f t h e Ch u rch a n d es p e ci a lly o f

,

th e learn
‘
ed With the latter th e Trinity ha d becom e in

re a l i ty T rith e i sm w h i ch is a lo n
.
,

s t p t o w rd s Po l th e
g e a y
borg has sho w n fromthe Word of G od
,

i s m S w ed e n ,

e G od i n w ho mth ere i s a Tri n

.

that t h ere i s o n , ity a n d ,

th at Je hov ah Jesus i s th at God S ince th e Council of

.

N ice th e Tri n
, ity w as Vl e w ed not as a Trinity of one
Di v i ne B e i ng or Perso n b ut of three w hi ch de stroys in
, ,

tho ught i f n o t in th eory th e Un i ty of God a n d th us

re m
, , ,

ov es the essenti al b asis of th e w hole S piri tual li fe It .

w as fo retol d by th e p roph e t "ech ariah th at th e id ea of

on e Go d w h o i s th e Lo rd w o uld b e a m
, , ark e d p een

liari ty of th e Ch urch in th e latter day of glo ry w h en

monex pe
,

HoLI NE ss UNTO THE LO R D sh ould be the com

rie n ce T he Lo rd sh all b e Kin ov ll th t h " i n
g er a e ea r

am
.

th at day th ere sh all b e o n an d His n e on

"
e Lo rd , e .

( "ech x iv Thi s g ra n d c h a ra cte r i st i c o f th e M ill e n n i a l

Ch urch i s no w h ere seen as am
. .

or N e w Jerusale m o ng the
foll o wers of S w e d enborg Th e re are tho se w ho hold to
m
.

the un w i
' ’ '

ity of the Godh ea d b ut w h o reie et th e ,

D w r d x

( )
9
10 T HE D O CTR I NE o r r m" D IVI N E UN IT Y,

C hri st B ut in th e the ology C h urch w h ile of th e N ew

ity of God i s insi ste d upon the Lord i s m
.
,

the un ad e Divi n e,

e v en as to His H um an i ty ) B e fo re the Ch urch ca n be

‘

a dv an ce d to a h i h er spi ri tual li fe i t m ust co m i nt o t h

g e e ,

faith o f O n e Go d an d th at Jeh ov ah Jesus i s that God

W itho ut thi s the soul m ust rem
, .

ai ninthe n atu ral pl an e of

life and canno t b e so illum

, inated as to b ecom e tru ly
spiri tual Our salv ationi s accordi ng to con
. j unct ionw ith
t he Lord an d thi s cann
, ot b e effected w hile th ere lies in
th e m ind th e co nceptionof three D i v ine B eings or Per
so n s ea ch God by hi m
, sel f I n th is ca se th e un ioncan
ate o r in a hi h d e ree rede e m
.

not b e i nti m g , g i ng i n i ts

character Th is unio n of the Lord and His p eople i s

borg for suffi cie nt reaso ns the m
.

call e d by S w e d e n , arria ge ,

o f the Lo rd an d th e Ch urch Thi s canb e effected o n ly w h en

His Di v inity is ackno w ledged ev enas to His H um
.

an i ty
He says Th at w henthe Lord s Hum
, .

an ity i s ack n ow l
’

ll m
,

ed ge d to b e Divi n e th ere i s a fu arri age o f the Lord

d the Church m ay app ear a l m

,

an ost w itho ut ex planati on

m
,

for it is w ell kno w ninthe re for e d C hri sti anw orld th at

th e Church i s a Church by v irtue of its m
,

arri age wi th th e

Lord for the Lo rd i s called th e Lord of the vi neyard

ey ard ; m
, ,

an d th e Church is the vi n ore ov er th e Lord is

call e d th e brid egrooman
,

d h usb an d and the Church is

Th at there i s th ena full m
,

call e d the b ride an d w i fe . ar

It see m s o bvi ous th at gene rall y with th ose wh o believ e in

th eor y inthree di stinct D iv ine indi v i dualities th at in th ough t at
ial of th e S up rem
, ,

l east th e re i s a den e D i vi n ity of Ch ris t W h en

am e of God i s m
.
,

th e n en ti one d C hri st i s n o t th ough t o f an d w h en

C hri st i s m
,

en ti o ne d Go d i s n ot in th e co n cep ti o n b ut o nly th e
i dea of a m manity like that of any other man Thus
, ,

ere h u

dam
.
, ,

w hile th ere i s th e i dea o f th e D i vi ne Un i ty th ere i s th e fun en ,

tal an d hurtful h eresy of th e rej ection of th e Godh ead of the

S on .
 IN IT S R E LA TI O N TO THE S PIR ITU A L LI F E . 11

riage of Lord and th e C hurch w h enHis H um

th e an ity is
ackn o w ledged to b e Di vi ne is ev i de nt ; for in thi s case ,

God the Father and He are acknow ledge d to b e one , li ke

so ul a n d b o dy ; an d w h enthis is ackn ow ledge d , the Father
is n ot approa ch e d for th e s ak e of th e S on b u t th e L o r d
d through Him
,

Hi m self is appro ach ed a n Go d the Fath e r

because th e Father is inHimas th e soul is in th e bo dy
, ,

B efore the L ord s Hum

,

an ity i s a cknow l
’
as w a s Ob served

d eed a m
.

ed ge d to b e Divi n e , th ere i s in arri age of th e Lord

w ith the C hurch b ut on ,

ly a m ong tho sew ho app roach the
Lord a nd think of His D iv inity and not a t all w h ether
i ty b e Div i ne or not ; this th e sim
,

Hi s H um
,

an ple infa ith

an d h e art do b ut m enof l earn ing and eruditiondo so b ut
seldo m B esi d es th e re can
,

.
,
not b e given three h usbands
o f on e w i fe n or th ree soul s o f on e body , w h erefore un le ss
ow ledged inw homth ere is a Trinity and
,

on e God i s ack n

o m
,

th a t th at God i s th e Lo rd th ere can b e n arri age

m
, .

A ocal se Rev ea led A rta in ly poly y

( p yp s ce a s g a

de stroys necessarily th e m
,

arria ge u nion so the co nception ,

o f th ree Di v i n e perso n s or i n div id ualiti es pre v ents a sa v i ng

co n j unctionw i th th e L ord T he Lord m ust b e a pp roa ched
medi ately and alone W e must not h av e inour tho ught
.

im .

th e idea o f an o th er Di v in e B ein I f w d i t ob t u t
y g e o s r c s

m
.
,

th e in fl ow in g o f th e Divi n e l i fe w hi ch i s lo v e an d w i sdo
ls T he receptionof thi s infl ux fromthe Lo rd
, ,

in to our so u .

co n stitute s th e spiritu al an d h e a v en ly li fe If w e w o uld .

atta i nto th at high er po si tionof Christian li fe w hi ch co n

stitute s th e N ew Je rusalem sta te w e m ust h av e O ne Lo rd

am em
, ,

an d His n ust b e O ne Happy is th at pe ople th a t

.
,

i s in such a case " yea h appy is th a t p e opl e w ho se God

, ,

is the Lo rd
"
(P s c x liv

Thi s fundam
. . .

en tal doctrin e of Ch ri sti an li fe an d ex peri

en ce i s tau g h t b y t h e P sa l m i st i n a sy m b o li ca l w a
y H e

In thy fear w ill I w o rsh ip to w ards thy h ol ] t am

.

says , s
12 THE D O CTR IN E O F THE D I VINE UN ITY,

p le . I t w as the omof the dev o ut Je w s wh erever

cust ,

they w ere , to di rect their p ray ers to w a rd s the te m ple at

Jerusale m I nw hate v er la nd th ey w ere th ey face d th at
.
,

w ay in the ir p ublic an d p riv ate devo tio n s T here w a s .

p ro fo und sp iritual si gni ficance in thi s tho ugh perhap s

T he tem
,

th ey w ere n ot a w are of it ple in its hi ghest

m
.
,

se n se si n
, g i fies th e Lo rd s D i v i n e H ’
u m a ni ty o r t h e h u an ,

na ture as th e h abi tati o n o f the fulness of the D eity .

Ch ri st said to th e Je w s Destroy thi s tem

, ple a nd in ,
"
thre e days I w ill rai se i t up Thi s h e sp ak e of th e
tem
.

pl e of His body (Jno ii 1 9 An d S t Pa ul

asse rts th at in Himd w e lleth all the fu
. . .
,
.

lness of t h e God
h ead bodil y (C ol ii . . . I no ur prayers , an d all our
w o rship w e sh o uld lo ok to a nd a dd ress th e Divin e Hn ~

manity fo r that is the h abita tio n of the Deity in His

,

d at th e sa m e ti m e th e m m
,

undivid e d wholen ess an e di u

o f co m municating His gifts and His nature to us T he

, , ,

body is the h abita tio no f th e soul (2 Cor v an d the

means of co mmunicating with th e invi sible spirit We
. .
,

S pe ak to a m d not d ire ctly to h is m

.

ans b o dy an ind S o
’

d the S upre m
.
,

th e h um an ity o f C hri st i s a s th e body , an e

Divini ty w h o mw e call the Fa th er as the soul I n His

fear, th at i s, i n lov e to Himw e should w orship to w ard s
, .

Hi s holy tem
,

ple, for thi s i s th e Divinely appointed o rder

o f appro achi n th F th r w ho i s Jeh o v ah fro m etern i ty
g e a e ,
.

T h e H um an ity is the Me d iator or Intercessor, or is th at

w h ich com
,

e s betw een u s an d th e in visible D ivini ty the

D ivine ease, and is the m edium
,

thro u g h w h i c h t h e Lo rd

con v ey s to us His gifts of grace and life They p ro ceed

manity and
.

fro mthe Fath er in to the S on or D ivi n e Hu

ate fromHimto us
, ,

em an T h e S on doe s n
. ot i n terce d e
for us by con stan tly p rayi n g th e r e l uct an t F a th e r to have

me rcy Upo n us as is commonly ta ught, but si mply by

m m m m m
,

b e in g t he edi u o f C o u n ica tio n w i th H i T h e .

 IN I rs R E L A TI O N TO THE S PIR IT A U L LIFE . 13

Lo rd ys sa T he ti m
, e co m e th w he n I sh all n o m ore
sp e ak un to yo u in para ble s b ut I wil l sho w you plai n ly
,

o f th e Fa th e r Th at is inth e di spensationof the Holy

"

S pirit the N ew Jerusale mstage of the Church He w ill

.
,

a dm
,

it the so ul to the spirittI al or i nterior sense of the Holy

'

S crip tures a nd to a h igh er k no wle dge of God

, A t th at “

day y e sh a ll a sk i nm m m
.

y n a e To p ra y i n t h e na e o f .
"

C hrist i s to a dd ress the D eity by th e na m e o f Ch ris t

o r a s He i s m
,

an i feste d in Him I t is to a ddress th e

S up rem i ty through th e glorifie d o r deified Hum
.

e Div i n an

i ty j ust a s w e spe ak to a m
, a ns so ul th rough th e m e di u m ’

of hi s body An d I say n ot u nto yo u th at I w ill pray

th e F ath er for yo u for the F a th e r H im , se l f l ov eth y ou .

Ju o x vi T e Fa ther an S o na re on
( 2 5 h d e a s th e

l and body are one in m um ity be cam

. .
, ,

so u an for th e H an e ,

th e h ab ita tio n o f th e w hole o f th e Di v i n ity Wh en w e

look to w ard s th is ho ly tem ple w e sho uld as m
.

uch e x pect ,

to b e p ut i n to a li v in an d v i n co n n t i o n w i th t he on ly
n
g sa g e c

liv i ng a d true God as w h en w e a dd ress o ur w o rds to

o ne s body w e ex p ect w e sh a ll co m muni cate w ith his
,
’

l ; for the body is only th e ex ternal m

,

so u an ifesta tiono f
the i n v i s ible so u l T he Fath er i s i nChrist a nd Ch ri st is ,

inHim He an
.

. d the Fath er are o n e an d n o t tw o di sti n ct ,

indi v id ual itie s T he idea O f God out of Chris t is an

We m
.

es se n ti al a n d h urtful falsi ty ust fin d the o n e God

.

i n Ch ri st or n o wh ere Th is is th e doo r o f th e N e w
J e rusa lemstate B le sse d i s th at m
.
,

an wh o ap pro a ch e s

the Lo rd i m mediately and finds the D iv ine plentitude in

.

Hima nd w ho h as not ev en in tho ugh t the ide a O f a ny

.
, ,

o th er God .

W h ate er th e ’
Al migh ty ca n
T o p ar o n e d d si nne rs
giv e ,
T h e ful ne ss of o ur G o d , ad e m mn a ,

We h e re w i t h ClnI s t '

re ce i v e .
"
 C HA P T E R I I I .

THE S PI RITUA L W O R LD UN VEI L ED .

IT see mt s o h av e been the mi ion ss

‘
of S v
ede nb org i n
th e pla n o f Provi de nce to restore to the C h urch the
,

al m ost obliterated kno w ledge of the S piritual w o rld I n .

the un believ ing age inw hich he live d ,there w a s but little
fa ith i n the reality of m ans ex i sten
’
ce after d ea th T he
Ch urch w a s so sunk in sensualismand m ate ri al ismth at
.

th e belief of m
,

ans futu re ex i sten ce w as so fee bl e a s to

’

h ave little or no i nfl uence I t w as beco m

. ing the w isddin
an d goodn ess o f Pro v i d en ce t o ch eck th e progress o f th is

S adducea n spiri t le st th e Church sho uld co m

, e to anen d ,

an d th e race p eri sh I t can . not b e supposed th at th e

Ch urch w o uld b e sufl ered al w ays to live w ith th e sp iritual
'

w orld at so cold a di sta n ce b u t th at the cloud s an d d ark

ness w hich re ste d upon that unkno w n realmw ould be
,

re m o v e d and the solid and e nduring realiti es of th e

high er realmof bei ng rev eale d I n the earli est age
,

m m m
.
,

acco rdin g to th e S cri p t ure s e n li v,e d i n c o u ni ca ti o n

w it h a n gels I S
. Ch ri sti an i ty i nte n d e d t o c lo s e h e a v e n
en tirely ? I S i t con si ste n t w i th th e kn o w n ch aracter of
God as a B ei n
, g o f bo u n dl e ss lov e a n d w i sdo m to su ppo se
,

that th e spiritual w orld to w h ich w e h astenw o ul d al w ays

re m aina d ark un k no w nre alma termingognita I s it

not prob able to rea sonth at it w oultf som
, ,

eti m e be rev e al e d ,

an d the ve il of darkn ess l i fte d fro mit ? With regard to

the di scl o sures of S w eden bo rg a nd h is te achi ngs respect
,

( )
1 5
16 T HE z l l ll l T UA L
’
W O RL D UN V EI L ED .

in the unsee n wo rld, the ntirely sa tis fy the w a nts of

g y e

th e h um a n so u l an d co m e n, d the m m
selv e s to o ur a cccep

ta n ce fo r th ei r in h e rent b ea uty and rea sonableness T he

m m m m
.

o re h igh ly enligh tene d the ind th at co nte plates th e ,

th e m ore re adily th ey are ad itte d Mo reo v er, his i nte r m
m
.

co u rse w ith sp irits an d an l s w as no ira cl e , b ut too k

ge

m
place i np erfe ct h ar ony w ith the la w s of th e so ul He .

un fo ld s tho se en m
tal law s in acco rd an ce w i th w hi ch i t

took pl ace Wh at h e did , every soul is capab le of doi ng

.
,

if it S O plea seB th e Lord "i

T he spiritual w orld is a w orld
m
.

of su b stantial realities Th ere are in the h u an spi rit

mm m
.

se n se s th at w ill so eti e b e co e cogn iz ant of tho se vital

re ali ti e s I f it w ere consi sten t w i th the h igh e st i n terests
m
.

of en , th e ir i nne r se n s e s i g h t n o w b e umn co v e re d , an d
h e a v enly thi ngs l ai d opento th ei r v ie w I n the progress .

o f th e N e w Di s e n
p sa t i o n a nd a s soo n a s i t c a n b e do ne

m
,

sa fe ly to ans re gen eratio nan d sal v atio n, con scio us in

’
ter

co u rse w ith th e ev e r pre sen t h eav en-

s w ill b e l e ss u nfre
quent There i s li ttle doub t, th at inthi s resp ect , inso e m
m m
.

future p eriod , e n i n th e N e w Jerusale A ge w ill

mm m m
.

co un e w ith an g e l s ( w h o a re b ut re dee ed h u a n

S pi rits ) as w a s th e case inth e Go ld enA ge , or Para di si a ca l

,

state o f Ch urch th e .

S w edenbo rg h as sho w n th at ev e ry m a n as to h is ,

i nterior bei ng is alrea dy in th e SpiritiI al w orld His

, .

“
M anw as so create d by th e d
L or th at during hi s li fe inth e
mi ght
,

b o dy he h av e nv ersi ng w ith sp iri ts and

a cap a cit y o f co

m m
,

an ge l s a s a l s o w a s d o n e i n t h e o st an ci en t ti e s ; for h e i s on e

w i th th e mbein
,

g a s p iri t cl oth ed w ith a b o dy ; b ut be cause i n

ce ss of ti m e m m mm
,

m
p ro an k in d so i er s e d t h e se l v e s in b o d il y an d
w o rld ly th in gs that th ey i d li ttl e regard to an ythi ng else th ere ,

fore th e w ay w as cl o se d ; y et as so on as th e b odi ly thin g s i n

wh ich h e is i m m
,

ersed rece de th e way i s op en ed an d h e is

m m
, , ,

a o n g p
s ir i ts , an d ass o c i ate hi s
s life w i th th e —
(A C . . .
 T HE S PIRIT UA L W O RL D UN VEI L ED . 17

soul co nsti tutes a pa rt of th at w orld He teaches that

ti m d S p ace are th e p ropertie s o f m
.

e an ate ria l thi n g s b u t

m
,

do n ot b elo n g to th in s sp iritu
g a l S p a c e i s a od e o f
though t, inw hi ch , a s i n a fram e we m
.

ust ran
, g e e v e ry

th in w hi ch b elo n g s t o t h s ph e re f S n b u t w i th i n
g e o e s e ,

w h i ch n o thing rel ati ng to the sp iritual or m o ral w orld ca n

(Knapp s Christi a n T heology p
"
b e bro ugh t
’
.
, .

Hence th e w orld of spirits tho ugh a real a nd substa ntia l

ot re m ov ed by S p atial di sta nce fro mm
,

w o rld i s n, en o n

th e earth It i s a n in terior w o rld an d is w i thi n th e

material cosm l is w ithin and anim
.
,

os, as th e sou a te s the

body N ot th at it lies w ith i nto w ards th e centre of the

.

earth or h eav e n ly bodie s for that w ould confine it to

d m ak e i t m
, ,

space an ate ria l ; b ut m ate ri al th i n th

g s ar e e

o utsi de ci rcum m
, .

fere n ce of be in
g or a r e th e u l ti a te s o f
m
,

sp iritual thi n g s E v e y th i n n th lob liv f o

. r
g o e g e e s r

so m eth in g S p i ritu a l w i th w h i ch i t co rr e spo n d s a n d w h i c h .

it repre sen ts as th e body t he soul

, I n se arch in.
g fo r t h e

Spiri tual w o rld w e sh al l fi n d it j ust a s w e fi n d o ur souls

d th e m To clo se the corpore al sen
, ,

an d w here w e fin se s , to

open th e spi ritual v isio n is to co m

.

e in to it w heth er th at

d ing O ff the m
, ,

take pla ce at the re n ateri al en v elope at

death or by a com p lete i ntro v ersio no f m ind M any good

menh av e ex peri e nce d eno ugh to render cre dible all the
, .

disclo sure s o f the great S wed ish phi lc sopher and the olo
g i a n. C a n i t b e p ro n o u n c e d u n re a s o n a b l e th a t fo r th e

acco m plish m d s inthe kingdo mo f Go d h is

,

en t of grea t en ,

i nterio r v i sionshoul d h a ve beenso Opened a s to p ierce the

v eil th at co vere d th e S pi ri tu al re al m We are co nne cte d
by he grea la o m
t t w f o al affinity w h ich is to t he
r —
,

S irit ual w o rld w h at ra v i ta tio n is to th e n a tu ra l — w i th

p g ,

ou r lik e i nh e a v eno r h e ll M a nis s uch by cre a tio n th t

.
,
a

he i s ca pa ble o f bei n g a m o n g t h e a ng e l s o f h ea v en a s to

his spi rit w h ile as to h is body h e i s a m

,
o ng m en o n t h e

2
18 ru n S PIRIT UA L W O RL D UNV EILED .

eart h D r Knapp has truly sa id By th e presence o f a ,

m
. .

spi ri tua l b e in w i th u s w ea nth a t he thin k s Of u s an d

g e , ,

i n th is w ay a cts upo n us B ut i n o rde r to thi s w e n ee d

not suppo se his lo cal pre se nce o r th e app ro x im

.

a tio no f th e
,

S pi ri t ua l su b sta nce “ e a re present in sp iri t w i th a n

r

d w h e nw e th i nk of h i ma nd th us act upo n
.

a b se n t frie n
h i m Paul say s (1 Co r v
, ,
‘
Ab se nt in body b ut
“ l e see th us th a t o ur m
.
, . .
,
i

p resent in spirit ’
in d s have a n
m m
.

a en y d iff nt f o t h t o f t t tho u h w e
g c er e r a a e r g a re

i gnorant of th e m
,

o de of th e ir Op eration "
( C h ristia n

Here is a glim
.

Theology p p se of tho se hidd e n

la w s o f t he h um
, .

a nspiri t , w hi ch h av e b ee n fu lly unfolded

by S w ede nborg, and i n h arm o ny w ith w hich his m ost
w on de rful ex perience took place No m an h a s e v er

th ro w n so m
.

uch ligh t upo n th e n ature p o w e rs , a n d law s

mansoul as he While he has revealed h eaven
,

o f th e h u

d ers a nd glori es to m
.
,

an d all i ts w o n an h e h as re v ea l e d
man to himself His w ork s are deserv ing of earnest
,

stu dy for th e profound know le dge of hum a nn atu re w h i ch

th ey co n ta ina n d im part .

He h as given reali ty and consequently influe nce and

.
,

po w er, to our co ncep tio ns o f h ea v en He has s o re ve ale d .

h eav e n as to render it de sirab le to ev ery v i rtuo us m ind .

He h as show n th at it is o nly inw ard p urity th at w ill gi v e

us co m muni cationw ith its blest i nh abita nts eith er inthi s
life or th e nex t N O m
,

a np re se n ts v i ce to o ur v ie w inhis

m
.

te achi n g s ,i n s uc h hid e o us d e fo r i ty or v i rtue i n such ,

a ttra cti v e lo v elin e ss He ha s told us w hy it w a s granted

h imby the Lord to h a v e un
.

so u g h t l i v in g ,a n d co n sc io, u s

i nterco urse w i th the e v e r p re sent S piritual w orld and w hy -

i t is de nie d to o the rs w ho p e rh a ps m , a
y d e si re i t H e .

s ay s , I t i s gi v e nto n o on e to d isco urse a s a S i rit w ith

p
an g e ls a n d s irits un
p le ss h
, e b e s uc h th a t h e c a n c o n s o c ia t e

w i th a n g e ls a n d s p i ri ts as to fai th a n d l o ve ; n o r ca n h e so
 THE S PI RI T UA L WO RL D UN VEILED . 19

c o nso ciate unless he hav e faith and lov e to the Lord for
manis joi ned to the Lord by faith and love to Himtha t
, ,

i s by truth s of do ctri ne an d goo d pfi n ciples o f li fe d eri v e d

fromHi m
,

; a nd w h en h e i s joi ne d to th e Lo rd b e i s

se cure fro mth e a ssaults of ev il S p iri ts fromh ell " w ith

,

o thers th e interiors cannot b e so far op ened since th ey are ,

no t inthe Lord Thi s is the reaso nw hy there are fe w at

th is day to w homi t is gi v en to spe ak an
.

, d con v erse w ith

a ngels "
(E a rths i nthe Uni v erse,

only necessary to rem

.

It is a rk th at his w hole ex pe ri

ce o f Op enco m municationwith th e Spiritual w orld and

,

en ,

al l h i s te a chi n re sp e cti n it, are w id ely d ifl eren fro m

'

gs g t

th e p h en om en a of th e m odern Pytho nism I n th e ir

moral influence they are as far above themas h eave nis
.

above h ell The o n

. e co m e s lik e a beam o f h e a v en ly l ight
i nour da rkn ess th e oth er l ike the d ark an d dea dly v apo r
o f th e S ty i anl ak e T h e on e lea ds th e so u l a w ay fro m
g .

the Divi n e Word the fo un ,

ta in o f all S p iritua l li fe ; th e

o ther conti nually app eals to th e Word a nd the te stim ony ,

an d in spire s i nus a pro fo u nd love and resp e ct for the
livin o racl es T h e fo rm er m ak e s Ch ri st a m ere m an 4
g .
,

an d God a p rincip le an d n ot a p erson a n d i s a r e fi ne d

materialismand atheism; the latter finds in Christ the
,

on e on ly D eity the p ersonal and livi ng God and i ntro

duces th e soul to an all sati sfying com munionw ith Him
, ,

-
.
 C HA P T E R I V .

THE KEY TO THE SPIRITUA L SEN S E O F THE W O RD .

S WED ENBO RG h as Opened th e S piritual sense of th e Holy

S criptures He has giv ento th e C h urch th e k ey to its
h idde n treasures of Divi ne truth He h a s dem
.

onstrate d
al m
.

to e ve ry ra ti on ind th at th ere i s a correspondence

b etw eenthe natural and spi ri tual w orlds , and sho w nth at
all th in g s i n th e w o r ld o f n a t u r e e x i st f ro m a n d r e p r e s en t
th in g s i n th e hi g h er S pi r i tu a l r e a l m B
. e tw e e n t h e m th er e

i s th e re latio nof cause a n d e ffect . T he Word of Go d is

w rittenacco rdin g to t hi s c o r re s po n d e n c e a n d a
, ll n a t u ra l

th in g s are si n
g ifi ca n t o f S p i ri tu a l t h i n g s Th i s l a w o f
relatio n b etw ee nm
.

a teri al an d spi ritual th in gs a ccordi n g,

to w hi ch th e S criptures are w ri tten i s seen i n all la n

te rm m
,

u T h ploy d x p ress th e thin s o f th e

‘

g g a es e s e e t o e g
mind are borrow e d fromthe material w orld T he notion
.

of th e so ul i n all th e a n cien t la n g gu a e s i s e x p ressed by

term s w h ich o ri gin ally sign ify wind air or brea th , , Thi s .

i s th e ca se w ith the G reek w ord (p vx fl an d maxi ll a T he

roms i re
.

sa m e i s tru e o f th e L atin w ord sp i ritus ( f p to

a w h i ch are d e ri v ed fro m
, ,

breath e ) a nd a nim
,
us and anim ,

the G ree k d s y o g w i n v
, d . T he w o rd heart i s used fo r
the sen sibi l ity or to ex p ress th e affecti o n
,
s an d de sire s of
the soul T h e bo w e ls (sp la nd na ) are use d by th e cl as
sic a utho rs for m
.

,
ercy . S o th e ey e i s used to repre sent
t h e u nd e r s ta n di n g; h ea t o r fi r e si g n ifi e s lo v e a n d l ig h t i s

m
,

v
e e ry w h ere he t sy b o l o f tr u t h . All w o r d s h a v e es h e

( )
21
22 KEY To run S PIRITU A L S ENS E o r THE WO R D .

the ir literal m a teri al se nse , a tro pi cal or s iritu

p a l sen se

um
.

T h e ill us trations of th i s are as n erous as th e w ord s o f

a la n u T k o ed f , w h i ch , in its li teral
g g a e . a e th e w r d iy
sen se si gnifie s to buil d a h ouse, b ut in its tropical or
se m d im prove the m
,

S p iri t ua l sen ean s to instruct a n i nd in

moral and reli gious know ledge T his opens a large and
,

i nteresting field for study upo nw hi ch w e canno t enter .

I t is the la w of the hum

,

anm i nd ev erywhere that it ex p resses ,

i ri tua l thin s b n tural thin s If such i s th e l aw of

p
s
g y a g
m m m
.

h u a nl anguage , uch ore is it so in the D ivine lan

u
g g
a e of th e W ord
God T he great di scovery of
of

S w ede nborg and the gra nd ch aracteri stic of h is syste m

.

, ,

i s th e sci en ce of co rrespo n dence w ith out a kno w ledge of

,

w hi ch th e dee p S piritual sign i ficance of th e Word enclosed

w ith inthe en v eloping letter, cannot b e understood With
a m d ill um
.

in i nate d by th e Lo rd b e h as lifted th e v eil

from
,

th e aby ss of S piritua l an d cele sti al truth inthe W ord ,

an d prep are d the w ay for ex plo rin i t u n fa thom d d p t h
g s e e s

He h as ex al ted the S criptures as no m

.

anh a s ev er d on e .

He h as show nth at the Word i s holy inevery p art , that it

cam e do w nfro m God through the angeli c heav ens a d is n
m
,

a s w ell ad ap te d to the high e st ord ers of b ein n

.

g a s t o e

upo n th e earth I t con ta i ns th e d e e p est arcan a of w i s

domw h i ch through th e scie n

.

ce of corresp o n d ence now

i nm
,

rch , i s m
, ,

ercy re sto red to th e C h u a d e th e p ro p erty of

the sp i ri tua l m ind It i s the ex haustless founta inOf all

true w i sdoma n
.

d init are hid all the treasure s O f w i s

doma n
,

d kn ow le dge T he w ords of S cri pture are

.

n n
'
ex p ressiv e of th e tho u h ts Of G o d A d o o ’
w rds
g e s

tai n so m e s m
.

al w ay s co n eth i n of on in d b u h y
’
g e ca se t e

romo ur affection an
,

S p ri ng f d t ho u h
g , t a n d t h ese a re t h e

man S o th e w ords of God find the root of their being

d I t is a m
.

i nth e Divin e Mi n ani festatio nof th e affection

d w i sdom
.

an d th o ught , th e l o v e an , o f th e Lo r d a n d th es
, e
 KEY To THE S PI RITUA L SEN SE o r TIIE WO RD . 23

are th e Lord Hi m sel f S w edenbo rg says , T he W ord ,

.

w h ich w as d icta te d fro mthe Lord p a ssed th rough th e

s o f His cele sti al ki n do ma n
,

h eav en g d th e h e av e n s of Hi s

al ki n do m a n m m m
,

S p i ritu
g d t h u s ca
, e to a n by w ho i t ,

w a s w ri tten; w h ere fore th e Wo rd in its first o ri gi n i s

p urely D iv ine ; thi s Word a s it passed th ro ugh th e h eavens,

o f th e Lo rd s ce le stial k i n do m w as D i v i n n
’

g e c e l e st i a
,
l a d ,

a s it p assed th ro u h th e h e a v e n f Lo d p i u l ’

g s o th e r s S i r t a

k ingdo mw a s D iv ine S piritual a nd w h e nit cam e to m an

it b ecam
, , ,

e D iv i n e n atural ; h e n ce it i s th a t th e n atu ral

S en se o f th e Wo rd co n ta i n s i n i tse l f th e S piritual se n se ,

an d thi s th e cel e stial sense an d bo th a sen se pu rely

Divine w h ich i s not discernible by a ny m

,

, an , n o r i ndeed , ,

by any ange l A
( p oca l
py se R ev ea led T h e Wo rd

thus b eco m
.
,

es th e bon d o f co nnectionbetw eenth e h eavens

an d th e earth a nd th e m ,
ea ns o f con j unction wi th the
Lo rd .

T h e do ctri n e o f th ree di sti n ct sen ses i nth e Word i s n ot ,

arb i tra ry b u t fo un
,
ded inne cessity I f w e tra ce it to i ts .

first ori gi n w e S h all fin

, d it in th e trine n a ture o f G od .

There i s inth e Lo rd a D iv i ne celestial principle or dep art

ment of His infinite nature a D iv ine Spiritual and a
D ivine natural Th e one refers to th e inm
, ,

ost b ei ng of
God th e Divi ne esse, w hi ch i s th e l ov e ; th e oth er m
.

arks

tell ectual d ep artm

,

th e i n en t of th e Divi n e Mi n d and is
deriv e d fro mthe form
,

er ; th e l ast i s th at i nG o d w hi ch in

us i s our bod ily formand lo w er m en tal n atu re b u t w h i ch ,

lik e everything inGod is i nfinite inHim B ecause the se

, ,

.
,

are in th e D i v i n e n a tu re an d th e h e a v ens are o nly an

em atio n from Him m
,

an ; t h ere fo re t h er e u s t b e th r ee

h eav ens o r three degree s o f h e av en ly life T h e thi rd or .

,

em
,

su p r e h e av e n i s i n th e Div in e cele sti a l p ri n cipl e ; th e

d , or m
,

séco n i ddle , in the Divi n e S piritu a l ; an d th e first,

or u ltim ate h eav en i n th e D iv in , e n atu red T h e s am e .
 24 KEY TO THE SPIR IT UA L S EN SE o r T II E W O RD .

my ba pre dica ted of the C h urch which ex i sts fromth e

e

Lord thro ugh the h eav e ns B e ca use m

,

a n is m a d e afie r

the im a ge o f G o d, th ere are i nh im

.

th ree degrees or pla n es

of m en t al bei n g
— th e sen su a l th e i n tellectual , a n d th e
intuitional ; or inh is term
,

in oli gy th e n atu ral th e spi ri tua l

Wh eth e r w e co m
, , ,

an d th e cele stial . e in to o n e o r th e oth e r

o f th ese th ree se n se s of th e Word , dep e n d s upon o ur

in te ri o r sta te If w e rea d the Word of G od fro mth e
e w e ex tract fromit o n
.

sen suo us or n atu ral pl an ly the

li teral sense ; if w e contem plate it fro mthe stand poi nt O f
,

th e in tell ect, w e p erceiv e i ts S pirit ual sen se ; if ou r m i nds

a re elev ate d to the h i h est pl an
g e , a n d fr o m th i s lo fty p o si

tion w e read the Word of th e L ord , its celestia l a n d

Di v i ne im p ort is laid op ento us Th us th e three sense s
.

of th e S cript u res are b ase d u o nth e n y l w f

p ecess a r a s o

ou r b ein
g
T he m s b y w hi ch the wiri tua l m ind m com
.

ean e in t
a
y o

anappropri ati o no f thi s D i v i n e treasure o f h eav en ly wi s

do mi s the sci en
, ce of corresp on dence In unfolding the
.

S p iri tua l sen se o f th e Word accordi n to th e corres o n

g p
d e uces i nw hi ch it is w ritten th ere i s no th ing left to m
,

ere

S w edenb org S m
,

fan cy eth od of i n terpretati on i s w id ely

’

t fro m
.

d ifferen th at of Cocceius , w h o laid down the prin

ciple , th at a p assage of S criptu re is to b e m ad e to m ean

all th at it cansi gn ify This giv es roomto fl o at off into

.

an o cean of con j ectures and fancies Th e law s of cor

dence , as unfol de d by Em
.

re spon an uel S w e den borg, are as

fix ed as th e l aw s of Geo m etry . Th at fire si gnifies l ov e ,

an d ligh t truth is as in, variable , as the principle th at the

th re e an l s f tri a n l ar e e q u a l t o tw o ri gh t an g l es
g e o a g e

ce am
.

I nfa ct w e m a
y a l m o st pla ce correspo n d en o n g t h e

e x act scie n ce s I t is also on e of th e m o st de ligh tful and

m m
.

e l evati n g s t u di es th at ca n e ng g
a e th e h u an i n d I.t is

th e scien ce of scien ces .

 KEY To THE S PIRIT UA L S EN S E O F THE W O RD . 25
l

Th e life of Church i s deri ved fro mthe Word of

th e

G od . T h e w ord s O f Christ are S p iri t, a n d th ey are life .

( J no vi. . . T h e qu a l i ty O f th e Ch u rch s life i s a ccord

’

in to h u n d t n di n o f th e Wo rd Who t h en can
g er e rs a g .

co n ceiv e the i n fl uence of this great di sco very uponth e life

o f th e Chu rch th ro ugh all th e a ge s of th e fu ture ? It is
m
not too uch to a ssert that the p rogress of the Church i n
al l com
,

in g ga es w i ll b e the result o
f th e u nfo l d i n g f o t h e

Word of God, by m ea n s of the sci en ce o

f corres on
p d en ce

at em
,

rev ea led b
y th i n en t serv a n t of the L ord Jesu s Chri st

Em d co m
,

an uel S weden b org T he seco n

. in g o f th e Lo r d
is n ot to b e i n to the n atu ral w o rl d b u t out of the Ward
,

ro m e He i s to co m m
.

A ccordi n g to H i s o w n p i s e a s t h e C o

forter to lea d in to all truth Johnsaw the N ew Jerusalem

t w ith the glory o f God or lum
.
,

ra di an in o us w i th sp iritual
truth fro m
,

th e Lord I t h as a lw ays b eenth e b elief O f the

.

pi ous ine v ery age of the Ch urch th at there is a sp iritual ,

se n se i nth e lette r o f S cri pture T he m. ysti c authors as

F enelon, Mad am
,

e Gu yon and Tauler h av e h ad glim

, , p ses
o f thi s S piri tual si gn ifi can ce ; b u t they h a d n o fix e d prin

cipl e s o f i n terpre tatio n They grope d lik e blind m

. en

a lo n th e w all A l l w a s left to fe eli n g or to f n c y W i t h

g . a .

th e restoratio n of th e lo st scien ce O f co rre spo n dence w e

h av e a solid b asis o n w hi ch to rest o ur i nterpreta tions
S w e denbo rg s ex planations O f th e Word are m
.

a d e w ith
’

math ematical ex actness His w orks containa mo st valu

re O f w i sdom
.

able trea su an d sp iri tual ph ilo sophy— v al u a b le

'

not m erely for W h at th ey a ctu ally teach , b u t for w h a t

they suggest Th ey w ill b e b etter understood ina future

T he m
.

age th a n th ey are at pre sen t ore S pi ritual w e

e th e m
.

b eco m ,
ore w e ab stra ct the m ind fro mthe w o rld
of se n se an d are ina n i n terio r (o r supe rio r) state th e
more w e Sh all see th eir truth a nd v alue and the infinite
, ,

sweep o f th e p ri n ci pl es h e un fo lds Th ey are not addresee h

.
26 KEY To TIIE S PIRIT UA L S E NS E o r TII E W O RD .

to the se nsu o us b ut to the spi ritual m

, in d ; a nd such a so ul
s on t a n eo us ly p rce iv es t h e ir tru th a nd re ce iv es th e m
p e , .

T he grea ter portio n of h is w orks is designed to d e v elo p

t he spi ri tual sen se o f the S crip tu res B ut he has o n
. ly le d
us i n to the portico o f the h ea ven ly palace and thro ugh
e m
,

the D ivi n ercy of the L ord pu t the k ey in to ou r ha n ds ,

in vi ti ng us to ente r and by a li fe of l ove and faith ex p lore
, ,

f or o urselves
It is also w orthy of rem
.

ark that h e w h o gras ps th e

i dea of correspondence ini ts am

,

a zin w e p an d i t
g s e se es s ,

in fin i te bearings w ill find not o nly in th e B ible a ne w

,

re vela ti on b u t the w hole o utw ard w orld w ill be cha n e d

g
Na ture w ill beco m b li m e po em
, .

e a su Mounta i n . s an d
v ales trees and forests , riv ers a nd lakes and all livi ng
dm
, ,

an ovi ng t hi ngs w ill b e w ords and letters full of heav

ly i m port He w ill live and m
,

en . o v e ina new earth and ,

b eneath new heavens Ev ery Obj ect h e beh olds w il l re

mi nd himOf something spiritual Earth w il l w ear new
.

ch a rm s for all its fo rm

.

, s of b eauty are b u t th e co un terp art

o f th i n gs th a t e x i st b en e ath th e su n o f a h igh er S ky

e p tionfro mS w e d e n
.

M rs B ro w nin
.
g b o r
,ro w i ng th e co n c

borg h as finely sa id inspeaki ng of art

, , ,

w e stan h e re , w e ,
d
I f ge n uin e artists , w i tn e s sin g fo r Go s
’
d
m mm
C o p lete , consu ate , un iv i e w o rk , d d d
T hat n ot a n atu ral fl ower cangrow onearth ,
With o ut a fl ow er up onth e sp iritual si e, d
S ubs tan tial, arche typ al , all aglo w
Wi th os o
b l i m
n u — no t so far aw ay,
m
s g c a se s

That w e w h o se sp iri t s en se i s so ew h at cleare , d

m
M ay no t catch so ething of th e bloo and breath , m
T oo va guely ap p re h e n e , th ough In ee
dd d d
S til l app reh e n de co n d s ci o usly o r n ot,
An d sti ll t ra n s fe rre d
to p i c ture m
usic , v e rse
F or th rilli n g an d ic nt an d b e h o l d ing so uls
B y s ign s an d to uch e s w h ich are k n o w nt o s o ul s

How kno wnthey kno no t w hy th ey canno t fi nd

w — .
 KEY To THE S PIRI TUA L S EN SE O F THE W O RD . 27

T he S piritual significance of S cripture is not an im a

g
i nary sen se . I t i s un folded by l aw s as i m muta ble as
t ho se by w h ich w e in terpret th e Word inits literal sen se

N eith er do w e m m
.

ake th e Lord say on e thi n g a n d e a n

an other Wh enw ater i s m en ti on ed or go ld i s spokenof,

ly m
.
,

it n ot o n ean s all th at w e un derstand by w ater and

g o l d
, b u t m u c h mor e — inth e on e ca se t ru th , in th e o th er

cele stial
g ood . T h e lit e r a l s en s e i s n o t i n v a l id a te d by th e

i nterior sense , b ut greatly ex alte d by it Th ere i s in .

S w edenborg no underv al uing of the letter T hi s is the .

ca sk et th at co n tai n s an d prote cts the pri celess gem T he

more costly the j ew el , the more valuable the casket It
.

dervaluing the body to m

.

is no t un ake i t th e o u tw ard

co v erin g o f t h e livi n g s o u l b u t g iv e s to i t a d ign i ty a n d

im
,

porta nce th at it co ul d not o th erw ise h av e T he Word , .

inits l iteral sen se , i s th e D iv in e T ruth in i ts fu ln e ss for

thi s se n se i s the b a s1 s th e co n ti n en t an d th e firm am en t or

0 m
, ,

co v e ri n of ll th e o t h er S en se s N an h a s S O e x a lte d
g a .

th e l e tter o f S crip ture as S w e den borg Tho se w h o deny

.

i ts S pi ritua l i m p ort lo we r its v a l ue I t is like tak ing

.

a w a y fr o m th e body i ts a ni m a t i n g s o u l . Th e y e x tr a ct

th e kern el a n d leav e us o n ly th e h usk T h e body d eri v es

its v al ue fro mth e S pi ri t, th e h usk from
.

th e k ern el i t co n

tai n s an d p ro tects .
 CHAPTE R V .

T HE PHEN O M EN A L A ND T HE R EA L , OR THE SENS UOUS

APPEA R A N CE AN D THE D IVIN E REA L IT Y .

IT i s a principle of great i m portance , unfolded by

S w edenborg th at th ere i s app arent truth and real truth
, .

A n in telligen t an d afl e ction al re ception of h i s tea chin

'

g s

w ill rai se o n e fro mth a t l ow er i n telle ctual ran g e w h e re

o nly seem in g t ruth i s p e rceiv ed to th,a t h igh er po siti o n

w h ere truth i s seenas it i s Th ere i s the ph e nom en al or

ra l m
.
,

thin s th ey app ea r to th e sen ses of th e n a tu an

g s a ,

an d th e re al or th in g s a s th ey a p p e a r to th e S pi ri tua l

mind or to enligh tened reason He j ustly observes that

,

,
.
,

To th in k sp iritually is to think of th ings a s they essen

,

ti ally are to see truth s in the li ght of truth an d to ,

ro mth e l o v e of
,

p erc e i ve
g ood s f g ood ; a l s o t o se e th e

qualities of things and to p erceive th eir affections,

ab stra cte dly fro mm k m
,

atter B ut to thin ateri ally of

m
.

thi n g s i s to t h i nk t o se e a n d p er c e iv e t h e t o g e th er

d in m
, , ,

w ith m atter an atter th us i na gro ss an d ob scure

manner respectively (New Jerusalemand its Heav enly
, ,
"

It m
.

D octri ne akes a W id e differen ce inth e app ear

ce of an Obj ect w h enw e loo k at it fi o mthe stan

,

an
'
di ng
o un d o f th e n tu ral m n or th e pl an e O f th e sen suo u s
g r a a

mind fromW hat it does w hen w e behold it fro mthe

,

hi gh er ran o f o ur S piri tu al n atu re Th ere are , a s w e

g e .

h ave seen, th ree degrees o f th e soul ; th e n atu ral or

sen al , th e S piritual or i n tellectual , an n fi n h

’

su d th e i tx tx e s w e

( )
29
30 THE PHEN O M EN AL A ND RE A L,

l
ce est a i l Th ese are d iscrete or entirely di stinct (th o ugh
.
,

no t disconnected ) l ike a ct tho ugh t and affe ction T he .

W ord of God or anything el se w ill m

, , ,

,
e anq u
, ite differe ntly
to us accordi n s w e occupy on e or th e oth er o f tho se
g a

po sitions w h enw e co ntem

,

plate it
of al m
.

I n th e Holy S cripture s thi n gs ar e s po k e n o st

ral m
,

w ith out ex cep tio n as th ey app ear to th e n atu an , or

s m
,

th e sen suou in d" T he Div i ne Truth w as brought dow n

to the grasp o f th e fl e shly m in d Go d condesce nde d to
men of low estate T he Lord in mercy came dow n to
.

r pl atform m
.

ou inorder th at i nso m e
g oo d d e g r e e H e i g h t
T h e W ord w a s m
, ,

el e v ate us to Hi s . a d e fl e sh , (Juo i . .

or th e D iv i n e tho ugh t w a s b rough t d ow nw ithin th e

ra n g e o f th e ca rn al m i nd T h e c e
.l e sti a l d e sc e n d e d to th e

s en sual in ord er to ra i se m
, a n fro mth e sen sual to th e

h ea venly T he Lord S p ak e i np arables for th is end a nd

.

also all His acti o n s are o n ly th e ulti m atio n of Di v i n e

Truth , or truth ex hibited to th e natural m an He a cted .

the truth T h e Lo rd re p re sen

. te d th e Word inth e w orld .

T hi s i s often rem arke d by S w e de n borg and Augusti ne

m m
,

a l so ob se rv ed som etin g s i il ar T h e l a t
.te r sa y s Ve rb u ,

D ei est Christus, gui non soni s, d

se mf
eti a ad is loquitur
m
ko i ni bus . Word of
God is Chri st, who sp eaks to
T he mn e

not only by uttered language, but a lso by thi ngs done

im
.

I t is portant th at w e b ear in mind letter of th at th e

S cripture is th e truth as i t can b e appreh ended by th e

natural m
,

an; the spiritu al sen se i s i n cl ude d in i t as th e ,

so ul inth e body an d i s the truth a s it i s cogn iz able by the

S pi ri tual m
,

in d or the D iv i nely enli gh tene d reason

,
.

T he prin ,
cip le th at th e re is app aren t an d real truth i s ,

not pecul iar to th e Holy S criptures I t is so w i th ev ery

m
.

th i ng co nte p l ate d by m a n Th u s i t i s in th e Bo o k of

se m
.

N ature If w e see a nythi n w i th th e e of sen ere ly ,

g e y
d formo ur j ud gm ro m
.

an en t a ccord in g ly i t i s d if feren t,
f
 O R S EN S UO US A PPE A R A N CE A N D D IW N E R E ALIT Y . 31

th e sa m obj
e ect o nte m
c plated wi th the interi or ey e It
suo us m
.

a p pe ars to the sen i nd (and so i t i s ev en sa i d in

,

th e D i v i n e Wo rd ) th a t th e su
, n ri se s and sets and ,

rev o lv es a ro u nd the earth B ut it does so only inapp ear

How long it took a nd h ow m
.

an ce uch p erse cutionw as

ffere d b efore m ld be rai se d fro mthe
.
,

su eno f sci en ce cou

fro mth e
,

se n suo u s app e ara n ce to the fact i n t he ca se —

ph eno m en a l to the real " A s w e b eh old the su n th e m ost

m
,

g l o rio us Obj ect in na ture a n d b est i a ge o f D e i ty it

a pp ears m
,

uch sm all er th anth e e arth B ut th e real truth

d m iles indiam
.

i s th at w h ile the earth i s ei gh t th ousan

,

ete r th e su n i s eight h und red and eigh ty sev en thousand -

miles in diameter and is one million th ree h undred

,

d tim
,

thousan es l arger th a n th e ea rt h I t app ears to us

d i t i s difli cul t for som
.
,

an e to thi n k oth erw i se th at th e

body h as life and feeli ng initself ; b ut a m om
,

en
’
t s refl ec
tio nw i ll co n vince us th at all fe eling all sense is i n the
l , th at sensation i s a m
,

so u — en tal state I f w e look at

t his fro ma h igh er p o si tio n still an d th i nk o f it fro man
.

in tuition al gro un d w e sh all see th at ev enth e soul h a s no

li fe i nitself, b ut li v es fromth e o n
,

e on ly L ife — fromHim ,

w h o is th e true G od an d etern al life To the eye of sense

al m
, .

an d th e carn i nd death ap pe ars as the ex tinction of

,

life . I f w e h ad o n ly our sensuous and anim al m ind w e ,

co u ld ha ve no po ssible ev idence o f or b eli ef in th e ,

e x isten ce o f o u rselv e s or o th ers after d eath To th e

Divinely il lum
.
, ,

inate d rea so n death is resurrection; it

,

the A nastasis, the nt of th e sop l , th e real m

a sce a n to a

h igh er plane of life Wh enth i s i s vie w e d froma celesti al

,

or i n tuiti on al stan di ng gro und , death i s a conscio us a nd

-

v i tal unionof our p erso nali ty w ith th e living Go d It is .

the ex ti n ction of th e p ropri umor selfhood ; so th at w e

ca nsa
y w i th P aul I no l o nger liv e b ut Ch ri st l iv eth i n
m
, ,

A nd Ye are d ea d , a nd yo ur l ife is h id w ith

" “
e .
32 r nPI IENO M EN A L
u A ND REA L,

C hrist inG od To the ca rnal fl eshly m ind death is th e

life to the Spi ri tual m
,
.
,

e nd of ind it is only transiti onto a

fo rmo f li fe so m e tim
,

higher e s to the hi hest

g , p oss i b le

li e li fe in Go d
f — .

T he Di v i n e B e i n is sp ok eno f inthe S criptu

g re s as He
is ap preh e n d e d by the natural or carnal m in d or inothe r
w o rd s the Lo rd rev eals H im
, self to m an in hi s lo w e st

sta te . B ut in thi s sen su ous represe nta ti on, as in an

en v elop e lies co ncealed th e real and spiritua l truth
, .

t en w e are guilty O f k n o wn S in and our w i ckedne ss

makes us miserable and unhappy it app ears to us as if
,

God w a s angry j ust as it seem e d to th e d em

,

ons at
G adara th at Christ had com e to to rm
,

, en t th e m tho u g h
He ca m e to torm
,

en t n o on e I t i s w ell th at it sho ul d so
.

se e mto w i ck e d m en T he real truth i s th at i t is e vil ,

.
,

e v ery o n e s o w n w i ck e dn e ss a n d n ot G o d th at slay s th e
’

, ,

w ick ed (.P S x x x iv . W h e n i t . i s sa i d t h a t th e

Lord i s angry th at He is a j ealo us G od a nd th at He

m
, ,

re pe n ts th e ex pressio nb elon
, g s t o th e s a e cl a ss as w h e re

i t is sa id , th at th e sunri ses an d sets an d th at th e earth i s ,

a lev el p a l in u n
bo d d bye , th e o cea n ,
— t h e a
p p a re n t vi e w
take n o f i t i n th e W ord of G o d B ut l et it his w ell
ob serv ed that a carnal and w i cke d m
.

, ancan not ri se above

th at a pp earan ce o f God He cangrasp no truth b ut the
.

seem ing truth S uch are the la w s O f our b ein g , t h a t w e

d im
.

ca nn ev er w hile w ick e d a n
,
p enitent v i ew God oth er ,

w ise tha na s an ry w ith us Wh enw e do w h at w e kn o w

g .

to b e w ro n w e ca n h a v e n o co n fi d e n c e i n t h e Lo r d a n d
g
must b e j e alo us of Him This causes Himto seemto us
, ,

a s tho ugh h e w ere a j ea lo us God I t i s on e o f the d eep

1 th at God m ife sts H im

.

la w s O f th e h um a n 8 03 an , sel f to

us o r app e a rs to us j ust w h at w e a re oursel v es

,
Th us .

ou r i d e a o f God i s a n i n d e x to our interio r ch aracter .

S e PS x viii 25 T h e rea l tru th is th e L ord i s

( e . .
, ,
 OR S E N S UO US A PPEAR A N CE AND D IV I N E R E A L IT Y . 33

not angry w ith any one T he S c rip tures som

. eti m es

Op enly decl are th is .

“
God is Lo v e (1 J u .o
"
i v . .

He says o f Him sel f F ury is no t i n m e

( I sa x x v fi

S ay unto th e mA s I l iv e sa ith th e Lo rd I h a v e
, . . .

, , ,

no plea sure inth e d eath o f th e w ick e d ( Ez ek x x x iii

B ut as a W l e d m
. . .

a nca nn ev e r in his co n , cep tio n s

o f God , ri se abo v e th e sen su o us app ea ra nce it h a s all the

use i n restra ining hi m fro m dee pe r deprav i ty , th at it
,

w oul d h av e i f the Lo rd w h ose n am e i s Lo v e w ere a ctu

m o h arm ro cla i m
, ,

a lly an gr y w i th h i I t w i ll do n to p th e

e w i ll or can com
.

real tru th for n

,
o on , e in to a n i n w ard
perceptio nof it, until he puts aw ay evils as si ns agai nst
G od , and thus becom es spiritually m i nded , w h i ch is life
-

an d peace
s to m
.

I t seem en as i f h eav enw ere a rew ard an d h ell

i sh m
,

a p un en t , b ut it i s on ly so to the co n ce ption s o f th e

natura l m an I t is a fun m
da ental truth , that all goo d is
fro mGod , w h o alo n
.

e i s good , or h a s
g ood n e ss i n H i m s e lf

Hence there i s no rew ard of m erit for th e si m

.

pl e reason
th at howev er go o d w e m o m
,

ay b e , th ere is n erit to rew ard .

Well w ill it b e for us if; w e canlearnto lov e goo dness for

its ow nD ivi n e sak e , an d to hate an d shun evil , b ecause
it is evil S uch i s th e p osi tionof the spiritual m an T h e

idea th at h eav enis a rew ard , and hell a punish m

. .

en t , l ay s
hold uponth e carnal m ind , and co m mences its elevation
to that spiritual con di ti on, w h ere goodness becom es i ts

o wnrew ard , an d e vil its o w npun i sh m en t Blessed i s the

man w homGod s abounding grace ha s elevated , in his
.

co n ce p ti on s of Divi n e an d h eav en ly things, above the p he -

nom en a l to the rea l .S uch a one , in th e w ords of our

S aviour, j udges not according to the appearance , (x a t ’

64 m th e o utw ard appearan ce on ly , so B loom field ,) b ut

j udges ri ghteous j udgm en t (J n o vii F o r th e

ment of so desirable an end, I know of no better

. . .

attain

3
34 m l; ru mu o r
s “ . as") m , a re .

mnea s th an a prayerfil l -

p u
er s a l o f th e spiri tual w ritings

of S w ede nbo rg .

The p ri n ciple t h a t th e re is a p paren t an d re a l truth is ,

on e o f v a st imo rta n n d m zi n sw e e p I t IS fu n d a
p c e a a a g .

menta l to the atta inme nt of a truly spiritual know ledge .

I t is o n e o f th e lett ers of t h e spiritu a l al ph a be t I t is

ci ia o f th e hidd enw i sd om I t i s o n
.

on e o f th e rin e of
p p .

th e gro un dw orks o f a l iv i ng t he ology We sh ould ne ver .

lose sight of it It belongs to the N ew A ge to ele v ate the

mi nd to a higher range of thought to rai se our concep
.

s fro mth e po siti o n w h ere o n

,

ti o n l y seem ing tr u t h ca n b e

a p pre he n ded to tha t higher pla ne w here truth shines in

,

i ts o w nun crea te d ligh t We sh all then kno w thi ngs not

merely inthe ir effects b ut intheir causes w hich is know l
.
,

Wi tho ut th is no high er m
, ,

edge ini ts re a li ty .
, en ta l a n d
spiri tual life is a tta in a bl e to th e C h urch An d th is is
w h at th e Hea d of th e Church has a ccom
.

plish e d thro ugh

His em inent serv ant Inthis re spect h e com es to u s as

the m
.

essen f n ew d i p n ti o n
g er o a s e sa .
 C HA P T E R V I

mn nu m
o THE I I
POI NT o r TR AN S T ON T O SPIR IT U A L ITY .

IT see mt m t
s o e o be o ne of om
the mi t k
mon in s a es , c

the old disp en sationof reli gio n th at th ey a tte m p t to m ak e

men spiritual before they become rational This is an

,

im po ssibility ; for a genuine rati onal ismi s th e poi nt of

.

tra n sitio n to a S piritu al sta te It is on e o f the law s o f

D iv ine ord er in th e pro cess of our re cov e ry fromour

.

fa llen co n d itio nto th e h ea v e nly state th at before w e can

b ecom
,

e tru ly S piritual canatta into S pi ritual m

— ind e d n ess -

intho ught an d affection w e m

— ust beco m e rati o n al T he .

latter is the only sta nding gro und onw h ich w e ca nrise to
th e form er. I nth e h igh e st h ea v e ns w h ere the true o rder
,

of li fe pre v ail s th e i n tellectual v i e w s o f th e an ge ls fl ow

t fro m
,

ou th eir l o v e Th e ir fai th is not the result of a slo w

.

pro ce ss o f rea soni ng b ut i s an intui ti on a spo ntaneo us

inw ard perceptio n In th emth e love predo m
, ,

inates and ,

m
.

g ov e rn s t h e ir w hol e b e i ng Th e y ar e ov e d by th ei r

hea v enly affectio ns and th e insti ncts b elonging to th em

.

, ,

rath er th anby th eir id ea s A celestial lov e uses th e intel

.

lect only as aneye to see the w ay to th e b enev olent e nd s a t

w hich it a im s T he i n tellect i s th e serv an t of th e h eart

d truth flow s fro mgood n ess a s li ght fro mfire

.
,

an ,
Th is .

is th e D i vi n e ord er o f o u r b ei n
g B ut w e are i na l ap se d

ly state fro m
.

co n diti o n; an d i nord er to ri se to th at h eav en

w hi ch h um an ity h as descended w e m ust go b ack i n a n
v erted order over the sam
,

in e ro ute th ro ugh w h i ch w e

3
( )
5
36 RA TI O N A L IT Y THE PO IN T O F

d escended M an fell fromthat high sp iri tual positi on

.

w hich ch ara cterized th e Paradi sia cal sta te through rat io n ,

a l ity i nto se s a i y Hence inreturni g and th e N ew

n u l t n —

Jerusale mis th e co m
.
, ,

in g b a c k o f th e G o ld e n A g e o f t h e

Ch urch w e go ba ck ov er the sam

— e route Fro ma state
al ity w e m
.

o f carn , ust ri se to a sta te of rationali ty and ,

th is i s th e poin t o f tran siti onto a tru e S piri tuali ty N ow

thi s i s ex a ctly the ord er o f the red ee m
.

ing process unfold ed

by the w ritings of S w ed enborg He m ak es n o app ea l i n

m
.
,

an o f h i s n u o u s w o rk s to th e sen s u o u s an d se lfi s h
y er ,

sid e of o u r n a tu re He nev er ask s o f us a blind fa ith i n

.

an ythi ng for he a v ers th at w h at do es not fa ll into th e

,

co m p a ss of the und ersta nding cannot be an obj ect o f

i nterior belief T h e receptionof it m
,

ust inth at case b e

ot p erm
.
, ,

e x tern al a n
, d h en ce is n an en t S uch are th e law s
o f th e m
.

in d th at w e cannot beli eve a real or a ppa rent

cy o f hi s w hol e sy ste m
,

ab su rd ity I t i s the tenden o f do c

e st e ver ta u h t by m
.

tr n
i es— on e o f th e
g ran d g a n — to rai se
us fromour low se n su o us vie w s and feeli ngs to a state ,

of en ligh te n e d re a so n a n d th en to a truly spiritual li fe

, .

Th is i s the D i v ine ord er of our restoration I d o not

me an that a soul may not in a certain sense become
.

, ,

reli gio u s w i tho ut first attai n i ng to ratio nal view s of Divine

d faith m
,

tr u th T he adv ocates o f a bli n a ke th eir di sciples

‘

religious . T he Ph ari sees w ere re ligious in the ir w ay ,

,

b ut th ey w ere carn al an d n o t spiritu

, al T he Ath en . ians ,
a ccordi n g to P a u l w ere v er
, y re li g i ou s— s u ch i s th e fo rc e

of th e w ord ren d ered too sup erstitious “

for, a ccordi n g
-

to a n an ci e n t Greek hi sto rian i t w a s eas i er to fi n d i n

Ath ens a god th ana m Yet th ey w ere far fromb ei ng
,

an .

S p iri tual .

I f th ere is to b e new di spensation of the Church ,

a

wh ich inpo i nt of Di v i n e s far in a dv an

e l igh t sh all b o f ce

o f the old as th a t wa s s up e ri or to J ud a i s , a nd one th a t m

 I I
TR AN S T O N TO SPI RI TU AL TY. I 37

h ll fulfil the pre diction of the prophet, that inth at day

s a

the ligh t of th e m oonS hall be as the light of the sun, and

th e light of the su n sha ll b e sev enfold , as th e l ight of
-

sev e nd ay s
(I s a x x x
, . . i t m u s t co m e w i th s u c h v i e w s

an d tea chi n gs r es p e cti ng D i v i n e a nd h e a v e n ly th in g s a s

Th en fro mthi s elevated fo othold

,

S h al l sa ti sfy o u r reas on .
,

o f t he i n tellect, th e h e art canri se to th ose lo ftier a n d ho lier

e x p e ri e n ce s th at b elo n g t o t h e sp i ri tu a l m a n I n t h e tr u e

o rder of our b ei ng li gh t com

.

, es th ro ugh h ea t tru , th th ro ugh

lov e . Inth e in v erte d order o f o ur bei ng inw hi ch w e are ,

un h appily placed , heat com es en velo pe d in ligh t lov e

co m
,

es thro u g h tr u t h I n th e Apo c a ly p s e R e v e al e d 8 3 2
It m o m
.
, ,

it is sa id , ust b e Observe d th at n an h a s a n y
S piritual goo d fro mth e Lo rd b ut by tru th s de riv e d fro m
,

th e W ord ; for th e truth s O f th e Word are inthe ligh t o f

hea v en and the good th ings are il l the h eat of th at ligh t ;
,

therefore , if the un d erstandi ng b e not i nthe li gh t o f h e av e n

by m ea n s of th e Word t h e w ill ca n not co m e in to the h e a t

Lov e and ch a rity are fo rm th s fro m

,

Of h ea v e n e d by tru

ly ca n m
.

the Word o n ly , an d by th e se truth s o n an b e

reform e d ; th e Chu rch i ts el f in m an ,

i s fo rm e d by t h e m ,

not ho w ever, by th o se truth s i nthe und ersta nding o nly ,

o th em th u
,

but by a life accordin t s t ruth s en t er i n to th e

g
will an d b ecom e go o d s ; i n thi s m an ner the com p l e x i on

e co m
,

of tru th i s chan d i nto th p l ex ionof good f o r th at

g e

which i s of th e w ill , and th us of th e l o v e the sa m , e is

sa

im
m
calle d go od a n d all th at i s o f th e w ill or of the lov e , th e
e i s al so of th e li fe O f m
,

an
"
. For it i s on
porta nt pri nciples of hi s philo sophy , th at love i s life
e o f th e

He a lso furth er says Ra tio nal truth s are th o se w h i ch

,

prox i m a tely receiv e S pi ritu al tru th s for th e ratio n al fa c

a lty o f m
,

a n i s the first recep tacle o f spiri tu

"
al truth s

m
.

(A R W h e n a s o u l a t ta i n s t o th a t st a te o f e n ta l
m
. .

elevat n i o , w h i ch a y b e p r op e r ly ca l le d r a tio n a l i ty ,
i t
88 RA TI O NA L ITY T HE PO INT o r

b eco m es rece ptiv e of Spiri tual truth s and w ill im , bibe

th e m as th e dry soi l d rl n k s in th e gen tle rai no f h e a ven .

T he pl an of salv ation as un folde d by S w e d e n borg is i n

p erfect harm ony w ith the red eem
, ,

i ng effort of the Lo rd s ’

i nfini te lov e He says to m en C o m e n o w a n d l e t us

m
.
, ,

rea so n togeth er ( I s a i A a n c an n ev e r b e

co m al , m
. .

e S piritu uch less celesti al , un til he i s w ill i n g a n d

a ble to look at th e tru th s an d duti es of religi o n soberly
didly , and froma rational point of vie w N 0 quantity
,

can

o f do gm d ly rece i ved canm ak e a m

.

as bl in antru ly spi ri t
m
, ,

ual inh s i v i e w s a n d fe el i n g s S w e d.e n bo r

g
— a n d th e sa e

i s true o f a ll hi s follo w er s— w ould n ot h av e u s rece i v e e v en

tho se lo fti er an d m ore sati sfying truth s and doctrine s th at

h e teach es ex cep t so far as th ey can b e rati o nal ly appre
,

h ended by us F or it i s o nly t h at w hi ch w e do in free

.

dom , a cc o r di n g to re a s o n th a,t i s a pp rop r i a te d t o u s , a n d

i s of a n en u ri n u n P n
y d g v a l e
( D
. i v i e ro v i d e c e , I t
is only i nthi s w ay th at it is i ncorporate d into the so ul s sub
’

stan ce an d life an d rece i v e s th e q uality of p erpetuity

M ere dogm
, .

as blindly sw a llow ed are li ke i ndigestible

b stances inth e sto m sfo rm
, ,

su a ch w hi ch are n ot tran ed in to
ssue so as to be co m
,

th e l ivi n g ti e a p ar t of o u rs e l v e s a n d
h appy for us if th eir prese nce in th e systemis not po si
ti v ely in j uri ous Th ere are m
. an y ho nest so uls in all the
old er churches that are sincerely se eking for a higher
,

C hristi an life They are filled w ith unsatisfie d crav ings

.

for a hi gh er po siti o ni nrel igi o n T he o rdi n . ary tea ch i n s

g ,

both O f the p ulp it and the press o nly se rv e to i ncre ase

d m
,

th e ir restl ess thi rst an o ck the D i v ine h unger o f th e ir

I amco nfident th at by a pray erful pe rusa l o f the
,

S pirit .

spiri tu al w riti n g s O f S w e d e nb o r
g t h ey w o uld ob ta i ntho se
,

high er view s O f D ivi ne truth w h ich w o uld elev a te themto

a sta te o f illu minated rationality Th e n th ey w o uld re
ceiv e fromou
.

r ble ssed L ord tho se sp irit u a l tru th s w h ich

 TRAN S IT IO N To S PIRIT A U LITY . 39

wo uld i y the deepest need s O f th eir nature By

sat sf .

re ce ivi n tho e tru t h not m e rely i n to th i n t ll ct b ut

g s s e e e

em bracing th e mw i th the w i ll and i nco rporati ng th em

, ,

to th e life th ey beca m
,

in e real goodn ess w hi ch i s o n ly

Th us they beco m
, ,

truth in th e life e re ce p tiv e of still

d m
.

h igh er an ore satisfying v iews a ccordi ng to th e w o rds

of t he Lo rd , He th at do eth truth com eth to th e ligh t ,

th at it m ay be m a de m ani fe st th at h is deed s are w ro ugh t

in God erso n i n such a state o f
"
(J u o iii A p '

al illum
. . .

rat io n i nation h as an interior perception th at all

th e truth an d goodn ess h e po sse sses i s fro m th e Lord an d
i s th e Lord inh im A n d th at state b eco m
,

. es the seed o f

a ri ch er h arv e st of C h ri sti an ex p eri en ce F or S w e den

borg asserts , th at by m
.

ean s of th e t w o fa cu lti es of rati on

a lity an d lib erty m , ancanb e S O far refo rm ed an d regen e

rate d , as h e canb e led to a ck n ow ledge that all th e truth

an d the goo d w h i ch h e thin ks and does is fromthe L ord ,
an d n ot from hi m n P roviden
"
self ( Di v
. i e ce,
 CHAPTE R VII .

THE HI GHER KN O WLED GE O F G O D , AN D ITS RELA TI O N

To T HE NE W A GE .

FR O M th e piritual sense of th e Word , w h ich he w as

S

D ivi nely illum inated to p erceiv e S w edenborg h as gi v en

,

us hi gh er v i ew s th anth e Church h as hith erto en j oye d of ,

the D i v in e n ature a n d ch ara cter I do n ot n

. .ow refe r to

h i s tea chi n gs c o ncer ni ng th e u n ity o f th e Godh ea d i n th e

person o f Chri st o f w h ich I h av e already S pok en b ut of

,

th e m
,

o ral p erfecti ons of th e D e ity T h e k no w ledge of

G od i s of fundam
.

en tal i m portance i n th e Chnsti an li fe

’

I t li e s at th e b asis of th e w hole C hristian ch ara cter

Thi s is li fe eternal th at th ey m
.

igh t kno w Th ee , th e
o nly true God and Jesus Chri st w ho mTho u ha st sent
,
"
.
, ,

u o x v ii By J esus Ch ri st i s sign ifi e d th e Divin

( J e

By His b eing sent fro mth e Father i s

.

Hum
.

an i ty
manity w as unfolded
.
,

ex pre sse d th e tru th , th at th e H u

fro m th e Divinity w ithin j ust as a m a ns body is ’

,

un fold e d fro m hi s so ul O ur spiritual state , both in

.

tim e an d eternity w ill b e accordi n

, g t o o u r kn o w le d ge

o f God . A fa l se v i ew O f th e Div ine B e ing w i ll d e range

th e w ho le i n ner life T he pre sence o f th e Lord w i th us ,

j unction w i th Himm
.

an d con ust b e b a se d upon p roper

,

vi ew s of Him Th is p re sence and uni on i s salv a ti o n .

Acquai nt now thyself w i th Him a nd b e at p ea ce

.

“ "
.
,

Job x x ii T hi s i s th e la w of our spiri tual b e in

( g .

Th e ch aracte r w hi ch m
.

e n a ttrib ute to the God th ey w o r

( )
4 1
42 THE HIGH ER KN O W L ED E O F GO D , G

S hi p w ill h av e a refl ex i nfluence uponthe ch aracter of the

,

w orsh ipper T h e h um
. anm in d can ne ver ri se abov e the
c h a ra cte r o f th e D iv in ity i t ado re s O f i do ls and th ei r
w orshipp ers the Psal m They th at m a k e th e m
.

i st says
to t h e m
, ,

a re lik e un ; so i s e v ery o ne th a t tru s t et h i n

t h em P
"
.
( s cx v . .

I f the re i s to b e a n e w d isp en satio n of th e Ch urch ,

call e d th e N ew Jeru sal emw hi ch i s to b e ch ara cte ri ze d

by a hi ghe r spiri tual k now l edge and life it m

,

. ust h av e as ,

i ts unsh akenba si s a better vi ew of th e D i v in e n ature a n d

ch a ra cte r On e w ill n ot rea d far i n the w ri ti n g s o f
S w e d enborg before h e w ill Obtai n m
.

ore sati sfying vi ews

uponthi s a ll i m
,

porta nt subj e ct While th e Ch urch derives

-

e ch ara cter fro m

.

a ll its i d ea s of th e Divi n th e lette r of the

Wo rd w h e re God i s S poken O f as He app ears to the

na tural m o t a s He rea lly i s i n Hi m
,

a n an d n , sel f n o ,

h igher Christia n li fe i s po ssible — no a d v ance d stage of ,

th e Church is atta i n a bl e I t i s a pro m

. inent idea inthe
older th eologi es, th at th e Lord acts for Hi s ow nglory in
e v erythin g H e do es an d n o t for o u
,
r
g ood th us m aki n g ,

Himan infinite S el f Love S w edenborg decl ares that

-

He does nothing for His ow nsak e b ut all fromp ure love

.

to m How difficult it m
,

an . ust b e for us to ri se abo v e our

se l fishn e ss th e root Of all ev i l w h en w e w orship the
, ,

Div ine B ei ng in a ch aracter of infini te selfish ness I f

G o d a cts for Hi s ow ngl ory W hy m
.

ay n ot w e, C icero ,

inhis w ork onMoral D uty nev er th i n k s of propo sing his

dei ti es as obj e cts o f i m
,

ita tio n I t is n o t to o m uch to say ,

e p ro fesse dly Ch ri sti an sy ste m

.

th at so m s o f th eo l ogy giv e

us such v i e w s of God a s to rend er it qui te i m prop er and ,

e v enW i cke d to b e li k e Him Ho w i s i t p o ssi bl e for us

0
.

to love th e Lo rd for Hi s gi fts w h e nw e are ta ugh t th at ,

th ey proceed fro ma selfish d e sire for His ow n glory ?

Happily for th e Church a better day has daw ne d We .

 AN D ITS RELA TI N TO O THE NEW A GE . 43

are taught th at Go d acts fro mlov

because love is Hise,

v ery l i fe Wh en w e attain to th e h ighe st charity th e

most self forgetting love of others, w e are only faint like
.
,

nesses of the Lord — o f His boundless lov e

o w le dge of God i s deri v ed W holly fromth e
, .

T he k n
Word It has no o ther source a m
. o ng angel s or m en .

T he d ee per our i n si ght is i n to the i n ner senses of the

S cripture s the m ore e x a lted wi ll be o ur conceptio ns of
Him Here is the founta ino f th o se m
,

ore e x cellent v iew s

of Hi m
.

, wh i ch are se en on e v e ry p age o f S w e de n borg s ’

wri ti n g s I t w a s o n ce a fo u n ta i n s e a le d b u t n o w i n
mercy laid opento all W hosoe ver is athirst may take
.
,

.
,

th e w ate r of li fe freely A s th e D i v i n
. e Cha racte r i s

un fo lde d by S w ed en borg He is pre sented in such a ligh t

d w orship Hi mn
,

as to le a d us to lo v e an o t th ro u g h fea r

b ut fromlo ve He is Love itself and W isdomitself

, ,
'

m m
. .
,

‘ Iis i n o st li fe i s lov e T hi s i s s o i n te nse t h a t i t u st

d te m
.
,

be veile d an pere d before it canbe recei v ed ev enby ,

th e hi gh est h eav en s . It is the n e ce ssary pro perty o f th at

lov e , to bless o thers out O f i tse lf to de sire to b e one w ith

th em an d to m ak e th emh appy from itsel f
,

, Th ese .

o p rti es O f th e D i vin lov w th u f th cre

p r e e e e re e c a s e o e a

ti o no f the un iv erse and of its prese rvation w hi ch is but

, ,

a con ti n ued creati on

v er m
.

I n the wri tin g s o f S w ed e n bo r g o n e n e eets w i th

m
,

su ch vi e w s o f th e Di v i n e B ei n g a s w o u ld ak e th e

Father an obj ect of drea d and aversio n w hile the S on

te d i na m ore am
,

i s presen iable light T he old th eologi es

.

h av e giv en us such id eas of the Divine ch ara cte r a s to

ren d er obedi ence to Himpo ssible only th ro ugh fear We .

are told th at w h e nth e Fath er be sto w s a bl e ssi n g u po n u s ,

He do es it not for our sakes b ut out of regard to a no th er

Divi ne Perso nality Wh at be co m
,

es i nthi s case of th e
'

Why S hould w e love Himin return, if

.
, ,

D ivine lo ve
'
44 THE HIGHE R KN O WL ED G E o r GO D , ET O .

He ha s not
.

lo v e d us ? Thi s second Person for

first
m
,

w ho se sak e the blessi n g co es to us w e ca n

, lov e bu t ,

ca n en tertain tow ard s th e Fath er n o o th er fee lin t h n

g a

a versio n an d dread I n the light of th e N e w A ge

.
,

w e l ea rn th at th e un i ty of the Godhea d is in Chri st,

an d b esid e Hi m th ere is n o other Divine B eing
He blesses us for our sak es, out of p ure m
.

ercy to u s .

He rein is lov e We learn also , th at th e Fath er and

"

C hrist i s Jehovah m ad e m
.
,

th e S onare o n e an an d all
th e a m iable qualities w e beh old i nJesus are b ut m
.
,

, an ifes
ta ti on s of God inth e fl e sh S uch view s are givenus of
.

th e D ei ty as lay the fo un dation for a higher trust and a

clo ser un ion w ith Him A n unfaltering co nfi dence in
Himthat preserves the soul inp eace , i s rendere d spon
.

ionw ith the Lord w as to m

,

ta n e o us Thi s i ntim ate un ark

th e N ew Jerusalemstage of th e C h u
.

rch s p ro ress
’

g so ,

th a t i t coul d b e sai d B ehold th e tab erna cle of God

w ith m d He S h all d w ell w ith th em
, ,

en an
"
To d well
other im plie s th e m o st inti m
, .

w i th an ate co n j unction and

fe llow sh ip I th ink there i s to b e found inS w ed enb org s
. .
’

i nvaluable spiri tual w ri tings tho se high er teachi ngs re

sp ecti n g th e ch ara cter o f G od , w hi ch w ill re n d er s u c h a

Divine unio npracti cable to th e C hurch I confess th at to

my ow nmind this is one of the principal charm
.

s i n h is

teachin s H e h as taught m e m o re o f God , an d h en ce

g
abl e d m e to love Him more He w h o understandingly
.

en

o m
.

rea d s h i mw ill n ,
ore see through a glass darkly , b ut
face to face .
 CHAPTER VIII .

T HE T HEO L O GY OF LO VE .

M AN is ca ap ble of livi ng onei th er of three pla nes of

bei ng— a l ife of sense a life of i ntellect or a li fe of lov e
, , .

T he Ch urch w ill p ass through successi v e d isp en sation s

corre spo n di ng to th es e t h r e e d e g re e s of th e m i n d fo r t h e

rch i s b ut a la r er m
, .

coll ective b o dy w e call th e Ch u an

g
Its progress differs fromth at o f an i n
.

div id ual o nly as a

large circle differs froma sm all on e it h a v i n
, g n o g e o m
etri cal prop erti es w hi ch the sm a ll on e h as n ot I f th ere
.

i s to b e a hi gher an d b etter age of th e Church called th e

N e w Jerusa lemi t m
,

ust b e the reigno f lo v e I t w ill b e

the co m
, .

ing ba ck of the ch ari ty of the Gol denA ge Th is

m
.

p r e d o in an ce of lov e a n d c h ar i ty i n t h e Ch u rc h by re c o v

m m
,

erin g a n fro th e i n v er te d or fa l le n s ta te o f h i s po w e r s ,

an d by restorin g th e so u l t o th e Div i n e o rd er i n w hi ch i t
w as crea te d , w ill al so el evate h is i n te llect a n d lo w er fac ul
ti e s Th ere are three degrees of intellectual progress
which are denom
.
,

in ate d by S w e d e n b org sci ence , i ntelligence

d wisdom I nthe first d egree th e truth s o f Holy S crip
,

an

al m em
.

ture are d eposited i n the ex tern ory Thi s i s th e

.

firs t d aw n of regen eratio n I t is the transi tion fro m

i smto Chri sti anity Many go no furth er T he
.

heathen .

al m
.

truth s of th e Go sp el lie in th e ex tern ind I n th e

d stage of progress, there is a solid dem
.

secon onstra tio n

o f th e reason ablen e ss of tho se tru th s ; th eir b eauty a nd
ro riety a re cl early appreh en d ed , an d th e sou l adv an ces
p p
( )
4 5
46 THE T HE O L O G Y OF LOVE .

to a ni ntell igent fai th, fromits first m ere se nsua l , ex tern

al

v iew . L a stly ,
th e s o ul ri ses to the gnosi s , th e intuiti onor

i nw a rd p ercep tion of truth Truth now shines in its own .

D iv ine uncre ated l ight This i s a k now ledge far tran

, .

sce n ding th at of th e S enses or even re ason I t i s the , .

maturity or manhood of our pow ers (of w hich Paul

S p eak s ) w h en w e see op en
,
ly or w ith unv e iled fa ce ,
.

T h e so ul ri ses abov e all ch ild i sh con ce ption s o f Di v i n e

th in gs I t k.no w s , in so m e m ea sure a s i t is k no w n I ts ,
.

k no w ledge i s Div ine It has attained th e all satis fying -

t ruth th at m There i s a fulfilm

.

aketh fre e . en t Of th e

w ord s of th e S av io ur Ye sh all kn o w th e truth an d the

truth sh all m
, ,

ake
y o u free
(J no v i ii S uch a .
"
. .

on e VVlll h av e v i e w s O f truth b u t poorly appreh en de d by

tho se o n a lo w er pl a n e o f S pi ritua l li fe He sees in a .

p a ssa e O f S cripture w h at o th ers can

g no t fi n d H e h a s a n
terior perce pti on O f truth s w h ich oth ers di m
.

in ly see as ,

thro ugh a cloud “

He h as lov e and h ence light He
.
E
, .

h a s ch arity a n d h ence fai th

,

borg w e find the germof such a sta te O f the

.

I nS w eden
Church I nno one do w e see ex em
. plified m ore fully the
truth N o w abideth fai th h Ope ch arity these three ;
, , , ,

b ut th e greatest of these i s ch arity ( 1 Cor x iii . . .

What n is m
p e rcep ti oen are at thi s day i gn oran t ; it i s a
ly fro mth e L o rd m
,

ce rtai n i n tern al sen sati on w hi ch co es o n

, ,

wh eth er a thi n g b e t ru e a n d g oo d as w as w e ll k now n to the ,

M o st A nci ent C h urch ; this p ercep ti o ni s SO cl ear w ith th e an gels ,

th at th ey k n o w an d th ereby acknow le dge w h at i s true an d go o d

d w h at i s fro mth e L ord an d w h at fro mth em
, ,

an s elv e s an d al so
m
, ,

w h at i s th e q uality of a stran g e r by h i s er e app r o a ch a n d by a

m m
, ,

si ngl e i d e a o f h i T h e s p i ri tu a l an (o r th e s o u l i n th e s ec o nd
sta ge o f th e re d e m
.

p ti v e p g
ro r e s s ) h a s n o p e r c e p ti o n b ut h e h as
m atural m m
,

con sci e n ce A d ead an (th e ere n in d) h as not ev en

d m
.

co n sci en ce an o st p e rs on
, s do n o t kn o w w h at con sci e n ce is,

still le s s w h at p e rcep ti o nis ( C

"
A . . .
 THE T HE O LO GY OF LO VE . 47

His is e mph ti a lly th e th e ology of lov e A t th e tim

ca e .

w h en he arose fai th w as elev ate d to the first p la ce i n

,

re ligion an , d th at fa ith w a s an i n tell ectual state S im p l y .

Perh ap s in that stage of religious progress it w as natul a l

to ex a lt th e in tellect to the h igh est pla ce A m anw h o is

m
.

i nth e low est stage o f b ein g a n d i s s e nsu a l a n d a te ri a l

w ill m
, ,

ak e th e del igh ts of sen se th e ch i ef h a pp in e ss of h is

li fe All know ledge ex cep t th at d eri v ed fro msense w ill

s eemto himun
.
, ,

re a l I n ph ilo sophy h e w ill m

. ak e t h e

se n ses th e fo u ndati on and so urce of all k no w le dge a s in

Locke and Condil lac and befo re th e mi nAristo tle T he
,

e a Ph ara sa ic fo rm a li sm a
, , , .

re li i o n o f such a on w ill b
g e

mere mech anismOf outw ard rites It w ill b e ex ternal

,

.
,

w orship wi thout i n tern al

Wh en the soul of the indi v idual or Of collecti v e m

, .

, an ,

as ex i sti n i n o i ty or a ch urch i s a dv a n ce d fro m

g a s c e ,

thi s sen sual co n d itionto ani ntelle ctual state it i s natural

to m
,

ak e fai th o f th e first i m p o rta n c e i n re li ion

g T h e .

Church d uring th e p a st centuries of its a nnals h a s no t

d d egree of m
, ,

risen a bov e the first o r seco n en tal l ife

d iv idua ls These so m
,

ex cep t i nth e ca se O f p a rti cul a r in e

ti m e s app ear lik e glea m

.

s o f cele sti al su nsh ine in the

ob scured heav ens T he life O f fa ith S w ede nborg denom
.
, i
nates th e spiri tual state ; th e li fe of lo v e th e cele stial sta te , ,

o r th e Ope n i ng of the soul to the i nm o st or h igh e st degree .

I n h is the ol ogy w h i ch i s th e th eology of lov e I see th e

, ,

d a w nof a bri ghter day— the incipi ency o f a cele stial sta te
o f th e C h u rch I n h is tea ch in
.
g ( a n d t h e
,
s a m e m a
y b e

sa i d O f h is l ife ) ev eryth in i s t b e co n se crate d to th e

, g o

ood f th n i hbo r Th i s i s th e h eav e n ly o rd er o f life

g o e e g . .

T he love o f God i s ani n fi nite incl ination an d end e av o r to

im part its ow n ble ssedness to b eings m ad e cap a bl e o f

receiv in it Th i s i s its esse n tial pro perty Wh enth i s

g .

to th e soul w h ich i s m
.

love i s rece i v ed in ,
a d e 8 cre ated .
48 THE T H E O LO G Y or L O VE .

recept cle a does not lose its nece ssary property

of it , it ,

b ut b ecom e s i n us ch a rity or the l ov e o f th e ne i hbor

, g ,

w hi ch is a de sire th at our o w n good an d truth S hould b e

an o ther S The lo v e of God she d abroa d inour h earts
’

becom
.

es ch arity an d th is is th e
,
life of Go d in the soul
of mna .
"

T h e l ife h ity is the only preparatio n for h eav en

of c ar

C elestial blis s do es not consist in m

.

ere dev otio n a n ev er ,

ce a sin g fe sti v al of p ra i se a n d th an k sgivin g n or i n a n

or in e m
,

ex altati on to po w er an d dign ity , n otional bliss

an d se n su ous deligh ts nor ev en in paradisi a cal scenery ,

nor inan ete rnal rest fromall a ctiv ity a nd labo r B ut

,

th e d eli gh t of bei n g u seful o ri in

g a ti n
, g i n lov e an d
‘
O pe ,

rati n by w i sdo mi s th e v ery so u l an d li fe o f al l h ea v en ly

g ,

j oys ( Con i L S u ch i s h e a v en ly bli I

j g
u a l o ve o
ss t

em
.

y w ho m
,

i s to b e fea red th at m
.

an a
y t h in k th selv e s fitte d

fo r th e en joym en ts an d em p l oy m e n t s of th e h igh er S ph ere ,

w ill fin d th at th eir p rep ara tioni s no t b egun I t i s o n e of

th e ev i ls of th e old ch urch es th at th ey substitute m

.

, e re

dev otiona l e x ercises for th e li fe O f l o v e a s a p rep arati o nfor

,

h e av en T he best prepa ra tio nfor h eav enly li fe h ereafter

.
,

i s a h eav e n ly S pirit h ere S w ed e nborg h as clearly sh ow n

.

w h at th a t spi ri t i s Take th e follow i ng beautiful pas

.

sage

deligh t o f h eaveni s m ay appe ar fro m

.

Ho w great th e ,

thi s circum sta n ce alo n e ; th at it i s d eli gh tfu l to all w ho

are th ere to co m municate th eir enjoyments and beatitude s
to each oth er ; an d all th e i nh abi ta n ts Of h e a ven b ein g o f
th is ch ara cter, it i s plain h ow im mense th e delight o f
h eav enm ust b e " for th ere ex i sts in th e h ea v en s a co m

munication of all w ith ev ery indiv idual and of every

, ,

ind iv idual w ith all S uch co m . municationflow s fromth e

t wo l ov e s o f h e a ven w hi ch as h a s b ee n state d are lo v e
, , ,

to th e Lord a n d love to wards th e n e i hbo r

g an d i t is th e
 THE THE O LOGY O F L VE O . 49

nature of loves to com

th ese municate their delights to
o th ers The reaso nth at l o v e to th e Lord is of such a
nature , is , because th e Lord s lo v e is th e love of com ma
.

nicati ng all He has to all His creature s ; for He desires

th e h appin e ss of all " an d a S im ila r lov e prev a ils in th e
in div iduals w h o lov e Himbe cause the Lo rd is inth em
I t i s fro mth is gro un d that the angels m utually com muni
, .

ca te th e ir d e ligh ts to e ach o ther (H ea v en an

"
d H ell ,

o m
.

39 9 S e e a lso 26 8 4 1 3, L et n an de ceiv e

hi m T hi s spirit alone co ntains the elem

.
,

self ents of b ea v

ly a life of lo ve that can com

.

en ly bli ss . I t i s on plete
ou r train ing for th e ski es "
.
 C HA P T E R I X

THE WA Y or LIFE ; OR THE "UE STI O N A N SW ERE D , WHAT

M U ST I DO TO BE S AVE D ?

S WED ENB O R G , fro mth

Word of God , has givena m
e ore
rati o n al vie w of the w a
y o f s a lv a tio n H e tr ac e s s
.i n to

i ts vi ta l root inthe soul and fi n , ds th at roo t to b e se l f w ill ,

or th e lov e of self a n d the lo v e o f the w o rld Th e first .

is the opposite o f love to th e Lord an d the oth er op po si te

,

to the lo v e o f the n ei hbo r

g T h.e lo v e of self co n si st s i n
w is h i n g w ell to o ursel v e s al o n e a n d no t ,to o th e rs un l e ss ,

it b e for th e sak e of o urselv es ; n o t ev ento th e Ch u rch to ,

ou r co u ntry to so ciety o r to a fe llo w citiz en T he lov e

, ,
-
.
"

of th e w o rld co n si sts i n d es iri n g t o a p p rop r i a te to o u r

sel v e s the good th i n g s o f o t h er s i n se tti n g

, o u r h e a r t o n
riches an d suffe ri n g th e w o rld to w i thd ra w o u r a ffe c t i o n s

fro m
,

sp iri tual l ov e w hi ch i s lo v e to w a rds the n e ighbor

tly fro mhe av e n I n th ese tw o lo v es are

, ,

an d conseque n
i nclude d all ev il A ny rem
.

edy th a t do es n ot w eak en a n d
re m ov e the source of dep rav ity m
.

ust b e ineffi ci e n
,
t In .

ma ny of the S O called co nv ersions of the present day it is

-
,

to b e feare d th at th e deep seate d selfishn -

e ss of th e n a tu ra l

he art is n ot rem ov e d b ut only co ncealed under o ther

fo rm s of m
,

an ifestation W e are ta ught by S w edenborg

.

th at th ere i s a n e cessary order i n th e p ro ce ss o f a so ul s

’

sa lv ation B efore one cancom e in to th e goo ds a n d truth s

o f he av en he m
.

ust put a w ay th e e v ils an d fa lsitie s O f th e

l w h ich are fro mbe nea th He m
,

so u ,
. ust put aw ay h is

( )
5 1
52 THE WA Y OF L I FE ; OR ,

falsiti es of faith i n h is understa nding, deri ved by truth s

fro m th e Word o f God He m ust also put aw ay his evils
.
,

as si n s again st G o d Th is i s constantly insiste d uponas

ndam tal i m
.

o f fu en p ortance It is not arbitrary , but nece s

m m
.

sary in th e v ery n atu re of thi n gs H e ust pu t t h e

aw ay or avoid th emfor n
.
,

o o th er re ason th an b eca use

If We cea se fromth e outw ard

, ,

th ey are si n s aga i n st God .

p ractice of an evil for any oth er reason, as th at it is

un profitable or destroys our reputation or even be cause
it m
, ,

ake s us un h appy w e leav e un touch ed th e selfishn e ss

fro mw h ich it procee d s as its v i tal root

,

It is n ot put

a w ay fro m al m
, .

th e in tern an w hi ch i s th e real b e i n g b u t
th ere rem
, ,

ain s rea dy to brea k o ut w h en the o utw ard force

th at n ow op erates cease s to act I t is n ot effectually

rem ove d , b ut only conceale d fromthe gaze of oth ers, and

.

p erh aps o ur own B ut he th at cov ereth his si ns shall

.

not prosper but w hoso confes seth and forsaketh shall find
mercy S uch conversions heal the hurt of the daughters
, ,
"

of m
.

y p e opl e sli gh tly "

I f w e ana lyze th e state in to w hi c h
many are brought by th e current popular te ach ings of the
.

day , inti m es of re viv al , you w i ll fin d th emto b e o f th is

ch aracter A pp eals are m ad e to th e selfishn ess of th e

m
.

h eart, an d th e outw ard life is ch an g ed fro s e lf l o v e -

."

T he con versi o nis not radical , b ut sup erficial and tem po

rary . If our i n most nature is to b e changed, conscious
evil i s to b e sh un ne d or put aw ay , beca use it i s a sin
,

aga in s t God T his i s th e necessary beginning of a soul s ’

It ca n co m m
.

regen era tio n . en ce in n oth ing else It is .

o nly this th at giv es a d eath blo w to our self w ill or self - -

l o v e w hi ch i s th e essence of all sin Wh enw e do th i s,

, .

w e a re to ex erci se co n fid ence in th e L ord Jesu s C hrist,

as th e o n ly God O f h eav e n and earth B efore com i ng .

in to thi s atti tude o f h o stili ty to ev il an d of Ob edi en ce to ,

h e w ill O f God , co n fiden ce in the Lord as o u r S avi ou

‘
r, ,
 WHAT M UST I DO To B E SA VED ? 53

is i mpo ssib e l nd if p oss ible , w o uld be of n

; a o av ail inou r

sal vati on S wedenborg says inth e Apocalypse Revealed ,

By fa ith inHi is m m
.

949 , ean t co n fiden ce that H e w ill

sa v e, an d th is con fid en ce is e n j oye d o nly by th o se w ho

sh u nevils as si n s ; w i th oth ers i t do es n o t ex i st . I nth e
little treatise en title d D octri ne of Life , he enforces the
"

o it i on T h a t s o far as a n on e sh un s vil s s S i ns so
p p
r o s y e a ,

far he has fa i th , an d is a spi ritual m an

"
. Well w o uld it
ha ve b een for the C hurch i f thi s order h ad n o t b ee n

in verted Th is i s a pri nciple of pro found im porta nce

m ar revi v a l , m
. .

In sistin g u p o n it i n t i es o f pop u l i g h t di m i n
ish th e n m
u b er o f proselyte s, but w ould greatly i n creas e

the quan m
tu of real holi n ess .

I nthe littl e w ork referred to abov e S w e de n , borg proves ,

That SO far as m an sh u ns evils as S ins , so far h e doe s
g o o d , n o t fro m hi m se l f, b u t fr o m th e Lo r d . T
"
h e ph il o
SOphi c reaso n on w hi ch thi s p ri n ciple i s b a se d is w ell
m
,

g i v e n b y S A B l a n c h et i n h i s F a ili a r L e c tu r es u po n
He rem
. .
.
,

Practi cal M orality ark s

M anhas free w ill He is place d betweentw o Oppo s

m
.

in g i n fl u e nc es , w hi c h c o n s ta n tly in c i te h i . I f h e a c c e d e s

to on e , h e departs fro m the oth er, a n d recipro cally , for h e

can not b e at the sam e ti m e inb o th " n o on e ca nserv e t w o

m a sters If he turn s hi m self to good , i t i s b eca use h e

s fro m ro m
.

turn evil ; a n d so far as an y on e tu rn s f a n e v i l

li fe , begause it is contrary to the law of Go d , so far th e
in fluence of God, w h o is ever w ith hi , m m erci fu l a nd
w atchful , co n v erts him , a n d d r a w s h i m to g ood B .u t t h e

essen t ial con diti onis , th at he sh o uld S hunevil We ca n

d perfect rul e " th e m
.

th enlay do w nthis gen era l a n ore w e

sh u nevil , the m ore w e are dra w n to good , a nd th e m o re
"
rea lly w e do good .
,

O ur first duty , and th e first step in th e pro cess of o ur

salvatio n , a fte r c o m i n g to th e k n o w l e d g e o f e v i l , is to
54 THE WA Y or LI FE ; O R,

c om bat it and put it aw ay as a S i n aga i nst God Hav

m
.
,

in g d o ne th i s th e s o u l b ec o es r e c e p ti v e of g o od n ess

w hi ch fl ow s infromth e Lord its on

, ,

ly source , through ,

the h eav en s T he l ove of God is a p erpetua l in clin ati o n

dea v or to im
.

an d en p art truth and goo d to the so uls o f

men Evil alone ob structs this Div ine infl ux Whenit
i s rem
. .

oved or the w ill is arrayed aga inst it goo d i nfl o w s

fro mits D ivin
, ,

e sou rce an d in prop ortion as e v il i s re

moved I t belo ngs to mans free w ill or free agency to
,
’

do thi s and he m ust d o it as of him

.
, ,

se f b u
l t a ll t h e w h i le ,

o w ledging that it i s of G od fromw homall po w er to

,

a ck n ,

do go od proceed s M an w as created w ith free will and

.
,

i s p re serv ed by the Pro v iden ce of the L ord infreedomi n

order to hi s salv ation T h e hum

,

a nsou l i s subj ect to the

ding forces Of good fro mh eaven
.

tw o Opp o site an d co n ten

d evil fromh ell
,

an Wh enth ese forces or opp osing i nfl u

ilibriumthe soul i s infreedom M anis
.

en ce s are i ne q u

com
, .

elled to do n ei th er on e n or th e oth er I t b lo n t
p e gs o

the self determ

.

-
ining p ow er o f th e w ill to decid e inWhi ch
directi o nto act Whena m a n th us p re served i nlib erty

puts aw ay evil a s S in h e com

.
, ,

es spo n ta n eo usly i n to th e

Oppo site good Thi s is the reason w hy the co m mand

,

ments of the Decalogue w ith tw o ex ceptions are givenin

.

egative form T h e re a son un

, ,

a n derlyi ng thi s feature o f

th e T en C om mandments is the principle or law of the
.

h um an spiri t that m ind i s essen t i a lly a cti v e When it

cease s fro man ev il or di so rderly a cti v i ty , it co m
.

es fro m
,

i ts ow n i m pulse (Divi nely im p arted to it) into the Oppo

s ite co n ditionof h oly activ ity We m ust do good or ev il
I f w e ce ase fro mevi l w e sh all l earn to do w ell
. .

Wh e n
w e cea se fro midlen w e b eco m
.
,

e ss e dili ge n t an d in d us
Wh en w e cease fromcov e to usne ss w e becom
,

t rio us . e ,

b enevolent Every ev il h a s i ts opposite go o d To cease

fro mon is to co m
. .

e , e in to the o ther When w e cease .

 WHAT HUST I D O TO EE S A VED ? 55

fro mth e love lf and the world , w e com

of se e in to the
love of God an d the n eighb o r The com mand , Cease
to do evil ; learnto do w ell , is the D ivi n e order of sal

v ation a n d is b a s e d u po n t h e n ec ess a r y l aw s o f o ur s pir i t

m m
,

ual bein g .Th a t a a n ca n ce ase f ro ev il , i s i nv o lv e d

inthe i dea of free will M Cousin has correctly defined
e th at i s p erform
. .

a free act , to b e on ed w ith a con sciou s

ness th at we had a power not to act Wh ether m an has

’

ral ab ility to cease from

.

a n atu evil an d d o goo d , is a ques

'

ti o n tha t will n ot re qu ire a m om en t s th o ught to decide

’

m
,

w ith o n e wh o feels th at all

goo d i s fro God a nd th a t
A m oth ing ex ce pt it b e give n h imfro m
,

anca nreceiv e n
“

heaven
"
(J u o i ii O ur v e ry li fe w i th a ll i ts po w

al gift of Him
. . .
,

ers, is the perpetu w ho a lon e ha s li fe un o ri

g
fus ted an d self derived
-
.
 C HA P T E R X .

THE SPIR IT UA L W AR FARE , A N D THE N ECES SI I Y O F IN

’ ’
IT

T HE REGE N ERAT I N G PR O CES S .

O UR rege m
nerationthus co m ence d , is to b e carri ed o n
by successlt e co m
'
bats w ith ev il , a nd w ith fallenspi rits ,
w i th w hich o ur e vils co nnect us S uch i s the la w O f o ur
m
.

Sp iritu al n atu re , th a t, by re si sta n ce to e v il , w e b e co e

g ro u nd ed i n t he oppo si te
g oo d By a n en co u nter w ith

d with the fa lse , we beco m

.

doub t a n e roo te d in the tru th .

Whenthe good th at is inus i s a ssailed by th e force s of

ev il , an d w e array oursel v es agai n st th e po w ers of dark

m
ness, we b eco e Settled in the good ; for h ere , as well as
i n M echan ics, acti on and re a ctio n are equal
-
T he .

Stren th x erted by th e en em y i f Oppo p i n o

g e w e se as ses t

m
, ,

th e vi ctb r . Hence te ptationi s a ne cessary p art of th e

regen eratin g p r oce ss .
( S ee A rcan a Caelestia , 5 036 , 5 4 03,

Wh enw e Opp o se evil and o ur w ill is arrayed against

,

i t inth e S piritual confli ct S w edenborg teach es th at w e are

,

not to appr opri ate o urselv es as it ceases to b e ours

i t to
d co m
,

th e m om en t w e si n cerel y h ate it an b at i t M r
‘

Charles Wesley , in who se po etry th ere i s m

. .

uch in b at
m ony w i th th e th e olo gy of the N ew A ge , b eau tiful ly
sa s,
y
I h ate myns no longer i ne
Si
'

m
nce th emtoo ;
, ,

F or I re nou

My w eakness w ith thy strength I j oin ,

Thy stre n gth S h al l all sub due .

( )
5 7
58 THE S P RI TU I AL WAR FA R E,

A ll goo d i s fro mGo d it mpit n l s se er a s ource , a nd

mth F th f light
,

co m
e th do w n fro e a er o s. It is an

e mn tion f omth
a a r Lo rd It is necessary th at a so ul
e

e m
.

f eel th is , so a s to ascrib e all to i ts sou rce W u st n. o t

a pp ropri ate an ythi ng goo d to ourselves, or feel that w e
h a v e an y m e ri t for it for by so doin w e d efil e it, an
g d it
All good is fro mthe Lord , and is
,

ceases to be good

S om m
.

ethi ng o f t h e Divi ne i n us T h e h u a n s o ul i s a

i smto b e fille d w ith G o d , as a void is filled

.

create d o rgan

w ith the atm osph ere Every goo d thought every ho ly

rpo se is fro m
.
,

feeli n g e v e ry s ac re d p u h ea v e n a lo ne I t
i s equally i m portant for uS to feel th at all evil is from
, , .

b en eath an , d i s so m e thi n o f h ell inu

g s W h e n w
. e c o m e

to an in terior co n vi ctio n and percep tionof thi s and h ate

d com bat it as such , it is not i m
,

it a n p ute d to us as ours
ce , w h e n w e feel a S piri t o f m
.

For i n sta n elan choly , an d

reco gn ize it as a dark S h ad ow of hell thrown across our
minds, and array ourselves against it, it is not imputed to
us as o urs Whenth e w ill Opp o ses it w e cease to have
m
.
,

an y p ro p e rty in it So of an g er i p a ti e nc e u n c l ea n
lusts a nx i ety and all other form
.
, ,

s of evil The w ill is o f

m
.
, ,

the lo ve , an d th e love is th e life of an , yea , th e v ery

man him s elf When our w ill or l ov e is arrayed agai nst

d w e b eli e v e th at th e evil is fromb en
.

e vil , an eath , an d
fl ow s infromhell , w e ca nsay wi th Paul , It is no m ore
I th at d o it ; I amw h ere m y w i ll or l ove i s, for this i s

my very being B lessed is the man whose iniquity is

thus co vere d , to w h om th e Lord i m
.

puteth not S in G o od
m
.

is an cfil uen ce fro G od thro ugh the h eav en s in to the

hum anso u l ; evil is aninfl owing fro mhell Evil th oughts

may be inj ected into the mind fromth e w orld of w icke d
.

S p irits, an d so m ay evi l feeli n gs T hi s w e c an n ot a v o id

The first m
. .

B ut D r Paley has j ustly ob served otions of

r m inds as it is im p ossible to hi nder th em
.
,

ou , , a re re c k o n e d
 IN THE REGENE R ATIN G PRO CESS . 59

by all divines not to b e i nf

su l , p rovid e d w e d o n ot

en rage th em P al s s Works p
"
(
’
cou y
W h en w e feel e v il thus ente ring into us fromb eneath ,
.
, .

se eki n g a l od gm e nt in ou r w ills an d affection s , an d

in trudi n i ts e lf i n to the sa cred tem pl e of th e sou l w e
g ,

sh o u ld feel th at it is not ours ; our w ill S hould assum e an

atti tude of h ostility to it , an d by a m en tal ej acula tionw e

sho u ld lift up o ur soul s to the Lord I n a few m inutes

so m etim tly , it w ill b e re m
.
,

es i n stan ove d , and the so ul left

i ntran quilli ty and p eace This i s a p ri nciple of great
im portance inthe S pi ri tual life We m
.

. ust n ot app ropri ate

to ourse lv es good , for that b elon g s to G o d a lo ne W e

ld not inth e h our of tem

.

shou ptation a ppropri ate to our

ro mhell
, ,

se lv es e vil , for thi s is an in fl o w in g f . T h i s is

necessary to our sanctifieation our liberty , our peace

I n the te m
, .

ptation confli cts that attend a real re

g e n era tio n m a n o ug h t to co m b a t a s fro m h i m s el f a nd
not to rem
, ,

a i n pa ssi v e a n, d h an g d o w n h i s h a n d s. B u t

w h ile h e puts forth t he po w er w ith w h ich h e i s Divin ely

en do w e d h e m ust feel th at the Lord figh ts for h i m F or

te m
, .

ptati on is of no a vail , and prod uctive of no goo d

less a m
,

un an b eliev es that the Lord h as fo u g h t a nd

con quered for him (A rcana Caelcstia ,
.
 C HA P T E R XI

IT 18 THE PR O VI N CE OF FREE W IL L TO Y
PURI F THE

EX TERN AL ; O F THE L O RD TO CLE A N S E THE I NTE RN A L .

THE ex ternal mni a s bro ugh t into obe dience to

to b e
th e i n tern al m an In our n
. atu ral sta te th e ex tern al or

low er principles of o ur nature rule and the internal or ,

h igher obey This is an inversi o n of th e true order o f

m
.

ou r be i n W h n n i sto r d t th t u o d f
g e a s re e o e r e r e r o

m
.

h is bei n g w hi c h i s a cc o pli sh ed by re
ge ner a t io n th e

al m
, ,

ex tern an p erfectly o b ey s the i n tern al B ut h ow is

this acco m
.

plishe d ?
I t i s on e o f the do ctri n es of S w e den borg relating to
erati onof m
,

the refin an That it is a la w of the Divi ne

Pro vi dence th at m ld as o f hi m sel f rem
,

a n S ho u ove e vi ls
al m
, ,

as S in s i nth e ex tern an a n d t h at th u s a nd n o t o t h er

w i se , th e L ord canrem ove e vils inthe i nternal m

, ,

an an d
then at the sam e ti m
,

e inth e ex tern a (Di v i n e P ro v i

den ce, 9 1 T hi s is a principle of great practi cal
v alu e an
, d is e m phatically a d octrine of life— nu ide a that
illustrates th e w ay of life and salv ation Evil is both
i nternal and ex ternal So far as it com
.

es forth , or i s

ulti m al m
.

ate d i nth e ou tw ard act, it is i nthe ex tern an

so far as it is an in w ard affecti on or desire i t i s inthe

internal m It m
,

an ay ex i st as a h eredi tary bi a s or pro

pension It com
.

es w ith in the sph ere of free w ill , i n

whi ch e very m
.

an i s uph el d by th e Lord to prev en t the

mi festa tio n o r ultim

,

ou tw ard an atio no f it, an d then it i s

( )
6 1
62 F REE WI LL To PUR I rr T HE EX TERN A L ;

w eak ened , by h aving no basi s onw hich it m ay re st .

By
looking to the Lord w i th an a ffectio na te trust , He take s
a w ay its in terior root, or rem o ves th ose affectio ns and
lusts fromw h ich th e outw ard a ct springs, W e a re to
do thi s as of oursel ves or in the use of that freedo mo f
,

w ill w ith w h ich w e ha ve b eencrea ted -

A lso , it is e v er to
e in m
.

b e b o rn i nd , that w e are to put aw ay evil i n th e

ex tern al m an , or prev e n t i ts outw ard m an isfesta tio n in
w ord o r deed , because it is a sin agai n st God N o thi n
.
g
el se
g o es to i ts vi ta l r o o t o r t o uc h e s th a t s el fis h n e ss fr o m
B ut w hen w e re m
,

w hich it proceed s ov e e vils as s ins

fro mth e ex tern m m
.

al an , t h e Lo rd p ur ifi e s u s fro th e co n
cu p is ce n ce s o f e vil , o r th e u n clea n d e si r e s w hi ch s u s ta i n
to th e ou t ward act the rela tio n of cause to a n effe ct
Every m anis tem
.

pted w h enhe is drawnaw ay of his o w n

l ust and enti ced , and it is as far as free agency or h um an

p ow er cango , to pre vent its ulti m ati o n; an d th en, if w e

lo ok to the Lord , He p urifies th e soul fromthe inw ard
spri n of evil I t i w ell to k n o w w h at b el on s to free
g . s g
w ill to d o inthe rege n erativ e w ork , an d Wh at b atg s to
the Divi n e p w er l est w e u n w i se ly atte m p t t o d o the
o ,

peculiar w ork of G o d or guilti ly neglect our ow n T he

, .

Lord will not do our w ork and w e canno t do His , .

The D ivin e order of sal va ti o n is revealed by ou r

S aviour in the h igh ly sym bolic a ct of w ashing th e disci

‘

ples feet and in the strange declaration that he th a t

’
,

w ash es n eed w a sh o n ly h is feet a nd in so doi ng is clea n

,

e v er hi u i i n serti on t h a t i s
y w t ( J o . x i . 4 — 1 0) — a a s

not fully true o nly inits sp iri tual si g n i fica nce T he fe e t

.

rep rhsen t or co rrespon d to the lo west p rinciples of o ur

me ta nature the mere outw ard and animal nature
n l — .

To w ash the feet is to put a w ay evils as si ns in the ex

al m rd s red eem
,

rn an a n d th e n t h e Lo ’
i n g po w e r d e liv e rs

om
,

the co rrespo n di n i n rio r o v a n d l n

i

g te l a w e a r e G
y
‘
,
 THE LO R D To CL EA NS E THE INTERNAL . 63

e ver y wh it, or sav ed in fulness ex terna lly and internally

He w ho anx io usly inq uires w h at h e m
, ,

b ody an d so ul . ust ,

do to be sav e d is d ire cte d to a principl e th at ca n never

We sho uld say to such a m a n fro m
,

fa il the ligh t o f th e
N ew A ge B rea k ofl fro mall your S in
.
,

s i no u tw ard a ct
“

sim
, ,

ply and solely beca use it i s S inaga inst G od and look ,

to th e Lo rd Je sus C h ri st as the o n e on ly God and He

w ill w ash the h ea rt fromits ev il affectio n
,

s an d d esi res .

S uch a plano f sa lvationi n v ests the precept Of th e D eca

logue w i th i n fin i te i porta nce as co m mmand ments of life
Wh enone ca m
.

e to our Bles se d S avi o u r an d aske d w h at

he m
,

ust do to in h erit eternal li fe He w ho i s the Way and ,

the Truth a n d the Li fe a n d w h o coul d n ot le a d a sou l

mm m
,

wro n g r e pli
, e d K ee p th e,
C o an d e n ts re ferri n to
g
the D ecal ogue He did not say B eli eve and thou sh alt
He had not com to such a m
.
, ,

li ve e in oral positi onas to

der it po ssible fo r himto h av e con
.

ren fide n ce tha t the

Lord sav ed h im He m ust first a void the evils as S i n s

w h i ch are forbidden i nthe Com mand m

.

en ts ; an d so far as
an onA oe S th is th e Lo rd rem o v es th e corre sp on d i ng
y
d th e Opposite go od s fl ow In fromHi m
,

in w ard evils an
Then Only m
.
,

ay a so u l assuredly b eli ev e th at the Lord

sa ves I t is on e of tho se far re achi n p ri n ipl w
g c e s e so
-
.

Ofte nfind inthe w ork s of S w edenb org, that S O far as w e ,

shu n e vils as sins w e h av e fai h a faith Div inely

t —

to a m
,

im parted By so do ing w e co m
,

e in oral attitud e in
flow s fromG o d and to us it i s
.
,

w h ich a gen ui n e fa i th i n

We m
, "

S pon ta ne o us ust b ew are that w e do n ot in v ert thi s

Divine order and te ach m
.

en so We are not to believe

til it i s anaccom
.
,

th at w e are sav ed un pli sh e d fact for that ,

i s to b eli ev e a li e ; an d such accordin g t o Pa u l a re lost

, ,

rath er th an sav e d I t w as the w ork of S w ed en borg,

e m
.

through th e Divi n ercy to resto re to th

man
,

kn wledge of the Divin e order of h u

q l
64 FREE WI L L TO I
PUR FY T HE EX T E R N AL , ETO .

commandments of D ecalogue w e l e e ntirely neglected

the
a s th e w ay of etern al li fe An d th ere li n g t i n a ll
ers
y e

the older ch urch es, th e h urtful im

.
,

p r es si o n t h a t w e a re t o

m
b e save d so e w ay by the i m p ute d m erits a n d righteous
ness of Chri st and that internal h oli ness i s not necessary
, .

T he an x i ou s in quirer after the path o f life , is nev er

p ointe d to th e Ten Com mandments as the only w ay
b ut to so m m
, ,

ethi ng e lse T h e
. ste p s a s o ul u st ta k e i n
order to b e saved, are as i nvari able as the principles of t he
mathematics by whi ch w e measure the orbit of a planet
Ignorance here , is a cala m The com mand
.

ity indeed
ments of the Decalogue are not a conditionof salvati on,
.

inthe sen se of som ethi n g th at u st b e d o m

ne b e fo re w e ar e

save d , b ut th ey are a stat e of salvati on He who fails to

com
.

e in to th at Di vin e an d etern a l order whi ch they

un fold , can not be sav ed in th i s w orld or the nex t h i

'

m
.

the writi n g s of S w e d en b o rg th e y o cc u py
, th e s a e pl a ce ,

as a w ay of life , that th ey occu

“
py inth e Gospel of Chri st
m
.

If you ask th e L ord what you ust do t o be

"

ti ed, He
p uts i n
to y our h and s th e law of the D ecal o u
g ,
e says,

If th ouw ilt nter i nto l ife, keep

e the m
C om andm ents .
"

He w ho a b lind l eaderof th e
 CHA PTER XII '
.

TIE TR UE ID EA O F J USTI FI CA TI O N BY F A IT H .

A M I SAPPRE HEN S IO N of the genune doctrin

i e of j ustifi

cati on b y fa i th a s taught inthe E istles o f Paul , has h ad

p
a b lightin i n fl u n u on t h u f h o li n I t h
g e c e p e c a s e o es s a s

ev e r be en th e aimof m
.

an in his n at u ral sta te to fin d

som
.
, ,

e wa h v n i h ou h n i y f p u i n y

m
y to e a e w t t t e ec e ss t o t t g a w a

sin fromthe hea rt an d life Paul s declaration that a

’

a n is j u stifie d by faith w i th ou t th e w ork s of the la w ,

cou l d easily b e perverted by such p erson s It w as o n ly
necessary to change th e m
.

ean ing of the phrase w orks

of th e I
v fr
"
o m s i n if
g y g i n as i t d oe s t h e r i tu a l co d e o f
Judai smand m
,

m m
, ,

aki n g i t e a n t h e o r a l l a w T h e n b y
ex tracti n fro m m m
.
,

g fa i th th e e le e n t o f a c o pl e t e s ur r e n de r

of th e wil l to th e Divin e di recti o n an d th e result is a way

to hea ven w ithout the tro ublesom
,

e n e cessi ty o f in wa rd
an d outward m oral purity S uch pe rsons w ill find but
poor com
.

fort inrea din th w i ti n s o f S w ede n bo rg

g e r g .

What is the genuine Pa uline doctrine of j ustificatio nby

faith ? I n th e first pla ce it i s evi dent th at faith in us
effects n o ch an i n G o d t h o u h i t is ac cord in g to t h
g e , g e

earan ce th at th e Lo rd ch an s w i th ou r v a ry i n g s ta te s
a
pp g e

pli sh es a change inour m

.

It o n ly accom o de o f a pprehend
ing H i m Th i s i s m a n if es t to an y on e w h o is cap able o f

romthe Wo rd of Go d
.

ra tio n al th o ug h t .S w e d en b o r
g f , ,

declares that th e Lo rd is Lo v e i tself an d M ercy its el f ;

that He con dem ns no m an but fre ely fo rgives all m
.
en .

5
( )
6 5
66 munmm o r JUSTI I CATI O N B Y ru
F m .

Infinite Love nentertai n no vindicti ve feeli ng Christ,

ca

ly G o d , sai d to the w om
.

w h o is th e o n e on an wh o w as

accu s e d of cri m e, N e i th er d o I con dem n thee ; go and

sinn o m O nthe cross He forgav e His m urderers,
"
ore
ot a sk th e favo r o f Him
.

w h o did n , o r e v e n acc ep t i t I t .

w o uld b e un re ason able to sup p ose that He did n ot fee l as

merciful tow ard us as tow ard them ~Paul also declares

m
.

th at God w as in Chri st recon cilin g th e w o rld u n t o H i

self n ot im u t i"n th eir tres asses un t o th em Th e m o re a
p g p
parent l oves a child , the m
.
,

ore he cano verloo k and forgi v e

inthe errin n T h l o rd s l o e to u i s in fi n i A ll
’
g o e e v s te

m mm
. .

feeli n g s p u r e ly h u a n a r e
"
d e rived fro H i , b
e ca u s e H e

is th e In fin ite M an I f w e canforgive an errin g c h i l d

m
,

uch m
.

o re can th e fatherly l o v e of Go d freely ove rl ook

all our sin s B ut it is the law o f o ur spiritual n atu re that .

dem
.

a heart, in a state of co n sci ou s di sobed i en ce, con n?

i tself Th is alw ays m ust b e so Thi s law is ex pressed
m
. .

by O ur S avi our, wh enHe declares th at He ca e no t into

th e w o rld to con dem n the w orld , but th at thp w orld,
through Hi , mm i ght be save d He th at b eliev eth not is
"
'

d em am
.

c on ned already because he believeth n

, ot inthe n e

of th e on ly begottenS onof God (Juo iii John

d em
. . .

a lso says , I f our heart co n n us n ot, then ha ve w e

co n fi den ce to wards God .

( 1 J uo iii
. . I t i s n o t

p o s sibl e fo r a so u l i n o p e n re b elli o n a g a in st th e D iv i ne

g ov e r n m e n t to a p p r e he n d G o d as f o r
g ivi n g u s or to vi e w
Himoth erw ise thanas condem
,

ni ng us That evil state

.

o f th e w ill i s n ecessarily a tte n ded w ith the falsity in the

understandi n g th a t t h e Divi n e B ei n g i s a ng ry w i th u s ,

an d will pun i sh us O n the other hand wh en w e p ut

d do thi s as of ourselv es or fro m
.
,

aw ay e vi ls as si n s, an

, w e com
d infree dom
, .

choice a n e in to an attitude of sub

m ission a nd obedi ence to the Divi ne w ill , and o ur h eart
no longer co n d em ns us , and we h ave confidence to ward
 m mm
T O F JUSTI ICA TF I ON B Y FAIT H. 67

G od . F or so far as we put aw ay evil s as si ns , so far we

ha ve faith , or a persuasi on that the Lo rd pa rdo ns and

v
sa es us This right state of the w ill is always follo w e d
.

by th e truth in the un d erstan di n th t t h Lo rd o f His

g a e

m
,

bo undless love and ercy freely forgives us , th at He is ,

no t angry with us, and w ill not puni sh us B ut all thi s

tim
.

e n o ch an g e h as b e e n w ro u h t i n G o d Th e c h an g e
g
s of Him T he so ul is
.

inus h as affected our con ceptio n .

no t p ard oned as the rew ard of i ts faith but it is by fa i th

th at w e co m
,

e to the in w ard con sci o u sn ess of th e p ardo n

whi ch the L ord ex ten d s to all I t is the appropriatio nby

us o f w h at always ex iste d i nHim
.
,

Faith includes not only the Divinely im parted conviction

th at God forgives, but also th at o bedien ce of th e w ill

w hich ren ders such a p ersuasion possible In the N ew

Testam
.

en t the w ord ren d ered unbeli ef i s also rendere d

T he term in fact i n
, ,

disobe dience cludes b o th id eas

Unbelief is hot m
. .
, ,

erel a state of the un d erstan di n g b u t a lso

y
'
,

o
f th e w ill So f a ith i s no t s i m p ly a n a c t o f t h e in te llect

diti on of th e w ill It includ e s a com

.
,

but a con .
p l e te se l f
su rre n der— a denial of our o w nw i ll in ob edience to the
w ill of Go d Wh ena so ul is inth at m oral attitude th ere
flow s into it fromG o d the sw e et assurance th at He for
.
,

g i v es a n d sa v es T h i s i s j u st i fi ca t io n by fa i th P au l
manifestly uses the termfaith inthis comprehensive sense
. .

w h e nhe d ecl ares that th e j ust sh a ll liv e by fa i th or t he ,

j ustified by faith shall live Justificati on inthe Pauline

"

d octrine , is a being m
.
,

ade j u st or righte o us a n d n o t th a t

ph antasmdenom
,

inated j usti ficati on w h ich i s th e b ei ng ,

called an d treate d as if the sin ner w ere righteous This .

is calli n v il o od n d ood e vil ; pu tt i n d rk n e ss fo r

g e g a g , g a

l igh t and light for darkness (I sa v According

ess w as th e high e st m
. . .
,

to Paul , j usti ce , or righ teo usn , oral

i ti o n T h i s i n id ea th a t h e carri ed o v er i n to C hris
p o s . s a
68 mm I DEA I I
O F JUST F CA T O N I BY F AITH
.

ti a nity fro mJud i m— f mth

a s ro e Old Te sta ment th e ology .

S w edenb org has s how nt ha t righ teousness refers to the

sta te of the w ill , an d ho l in e ss to th e sta te o f the in tellect
Holiness is predicated of truth ground ed i ngo odn e ss , a n d
righ teou sn ess i s that goo d fro mw h i ch tru th pro cee d s
,

T he latter is a freedo mfromev ils th e fo rm

.

er a free do m

fro mfalsities incon

, sequen ce of a right state of the h eart .

These are not separable , b ut ex ist together A genuine

ev er ex ist se p arate fromch ari ty , or a life o f
. .

faith can n
love . S wedenborg has sho wn tha t fai th separate from
love and obe dience is not faith I t lacks Divine vi tal ity
Faith alone, w oul d be no faith Pa ul seem
. .
, .

s to hav e con

m
.

ce iv ed of the j u s tifie d , or righteo u s an , as o f one w h o is

ina state of un u lifi d ob ed ien ce T h i s w as a ttain e d by

q a e

th b ut by a co m
.

fa th n
i — ot a m ere be li ef of the tru pl e te

m
,

se l f
-
su rre nd e r, w hi c h i s a l w a y s acc o pa n ied by the co n
s ol in co ns ciou sn es s that the L o rd fo rgiv es an d sav es
g .

T hus being j ustifie d by faith w e have peace w ith God,

through our Lord Jesus Christ .
(R om v . .
 C HA P T E R XIII ‘

A NEW N RCE HAS BM GI VEN TO CHRISTM N D O CI B INB .

’ ‘

Christia nity absolu

d octrin
m
SWED ENB ORG has not taugh t any d octrines peculiar to

es of the Gospel i na n
new b ut has presented th e old
ew an
,

d h igher li gh t The
N ew A ge is to com e forth from
.

the O ld
'

Christi anity in
ot so m
.

the ap ostoli c age w as n uch a n e w d i s pe n sation a

new spiri tual creatio n as it w as a new devel opm

,

en t of
Christia nity cam e forth fro mth e
,

the Ol d di spen sati o n

daism Th e w hole Gospel is inth e O ld

.

en v eIO pe of Ju

T e sta m e i s so m
.

en t , as a preci ous ston eti m es fou nd i nclosed

ina rough m a trix . 8 0 the N ew Jerusal em , e r M ill en n
'

ial

dispen sati on is t
'

o b e an u n foldi n g o f th e p re s e nt Ch u rc h
It will com e forth fro m th e w om
, .

b Of the present Church ;

b ut the presen t age ini m p arting its life to th e future w il l
j am
, ,

itself die like Rachel , in givi ng birth to Ben

, in S O .

it has b eenwi th every age T h e givin b i h o th e n w

’

.
g r t t e .

has alw ays co st the life of th e O ld .

M any of the doctrines of Christi anity , a s they are

taugh t inth e Old Church h ave l o st m uch of their m oral
S w e denb org through th e m
,

force ercy of the Lo rd h as

es th e ir pro p e r re d eem
.
, ,

restore d to th ose d o ctrin ing po w er

T lfi s is true of the w h ole sche m
.

e of C hri sti an d octrin e ;

b ut m y lim i ts w ill n ot a llo w m e to m e n ti o n o n ly hi s

h igh er vie w of th e resurre cti on a n d j udgm en t Th ese

ndam tal in th e C hristi an system I t i s i n s e
.

are fu en

manmind, that whatever

.

cordan ce w ith th e laws of th e h u

( 9)
6
70 NEW F ORCE GIVEN T O CHR ISTIA N DO CTR INE .

is view ed at a great di stance , either intim e or sp ace , h as

co m p aratively little infl uence T he older ch urch es, by

m
.

fallin i nto th n l a t erial vi ew o f tho se tru th s , an d

g e c ar a

by rem
,

o ving, in their conceptions th e resurrectio n and ,

j udgm en t to ani n d efinite period inth e future h ave taken

from th emm uch of their m
,

oral force I t is al m o st
iv al ent to a deni al of themaltogether S w edenbo rg
.

equ

al m
.

h as sh o w nth at th e soul i s th e i n tern an

‘

a nd e x i st s i n
an form Th e m
,

th e h um ateri al b ody w ith its l ife an d

fo rma n d a ll i ts acti vitie s is a m
.
,

e re effect , of w h ich th e

m
, ,

ca use is th e li v in g s pi r i t w i th i n W
. h e n th e a te ri a l
b ody w hich con
, sti tu te s n o n e cessary p art of ou r bei n g i s ,

p u t o ff t h e s o ul d i sr o b ed o f i ts c l ay still liv e s i n th e e v e r

M a n ri ses fro mth e dea d ,

, , ,

p resent spiritual w orld

im mediately after the dissolution of th e mortal b ody ,
.

a re al an d sub stan tia l m an a n d n ot a m ere sh ad o w or

tomlik e th e gho sts of O ssian an

,

unsub sta n ti al ph an d th e
v a pory bo dies of the N orth ern Mythology He becom
, ,

es

habita nt of a w orld , m
.

an in o st vita lly real, because it is

no t m ateri al , b u t spiri tual . He p osse sse s a real hum an

body w ith all its sen ses, organ s, an d p ow ers Thi s

m
.

ascen t of th e so ul the rea l livi n n t th n v

g a o e e er

di stant S pi ritual re alm

, ,

,
i s the A nastasi a, th e resurrecti on .

This is the d octrine of the resurrecti on as taught by

Christ a nd com
, mends itself to every mans consciousness ’

w ith the force of a self evid en -

t truth I t is a n
. ecessity o f

tho ugh t to co n ce ive of ou r ab sen t frien d s in th e hum an

form That hum

. an formis th e spiritual bo dy T hi s .

is the resurrectio n b ody . C hrist , inthe Gospel , al w ays

uses the termresurrecti on, for th e ascen t of the so ul
to th e h igh er rea lmof b ei n Li fe f t d th i n
g a e r e a

the h um an fo rm is Hi s i dea of the resu

.
,

rrecti on a n d
not the resuscitation of the m
, ,

aterial b ody The ph rase ,

.

re su rrecti ono f the body , n e ver on ce occu rs inth e Word,

 NEW FORCE GI EN To CHRISTIAN D CTRINE .
V O 71

but the re su on fro mthe dead is the formof ex

rrecti

p ressio n genera lly use d T he sense C hrist attaches to

m m
.

the w ord resurrecti o n , a y be se e n in H i s ar g u e n t w i th

the un believ ing S ad ducees He says, N ow th at the
d ead are raised (or that m
.

, an liv es a fter death a real

bein g) eve n M o ses sh o w e d at t h e b u sh w h e n h e ca ll eth

th e Lo rd the G o d of Abraham
,

, a n d t h e G od o f Isaa c a n d ,

th e G od of J a cob .For He is n ot th e God of the dead ,

b ut of the livin g ; fo r a ll liv e u n to H i m ( L u k e x x

"

Tho ugh they are lo st to our vie w our m

. .

37, ateri al ,

sen ses n ot b ein g co g n iz ble o f S pir i tu l su b st a n c t

a a e
y e

th ey truly liv e to Him I f w e sub sti tute th e resuscitati on

,

of a d ea d b ody for th e term m

.

re su rrect ion the ar u

g e n t
,

of ou r S av io u r l oses all its logi ca l fo rce The p assage

h e quote s from th e Old Testam
.

en t i f it proves an ything
ra h amIsa a c a n m
, ,

p ro v e s t ha t Ab , d J a c ob, w e re r i se n fr o
th e dea d L et the re a der attach th e idea of life after
death in th e hum an form to the termre su
.

rrecti on

w herever it occurs in th e N ew Testam

, ,

en t an d he w ill ,

see n ew b ea u ty an d fo rce inth o se passages Th is is the .

h igh er vie w of the resurrecti on b elo n i

g g n to t h e N e w
A ge I n th is w orld of dea th it is o n e that is fu ll of
com
.
,

fo rt T he resurrection is n o dista n t e ven t ; our

d s rise fro mdeath Inthe older churches the dead
.

frien
b o dy in th e grave i s sp oken of as the rea l m
.
,

a n wh ich

d of ti m
,

is sa id to sleep un til the en e s h o w in g t h a t i n t h e

minds of the preachers there is no vivid and influential

,

b elief inim mortal ex istence B ut the N ew A ge is to be

.

ch aracteri ze d by a v ivi d fai th inthe reali ty of life beyo n d

S w edenb org te a ches th at mn a i

r ses fro mth e dead
in
i mdi e dissolutionof the body and enters
ately after the

term term
,

uponani n edi ate life— a w orld in e di ate b etw een "

heavenand hell This is calle d inth e N ew Testam

. en t,
72 m FORCE GIVEN To CHRISTI A N nee um m
-
.

a nd th e S e ptuagint tr an slati o n o f th e O ld T e sta en m

t,
Ha des T his interm e di ate l ife is th e j udgm en t state So
th at the j udgm
. .

en t is n ot to tak e pl ace i n the in definite

future , at t he en d of th e w orld , b ut ta kes place in the
spi ritu al w orld soon after de ath I t is appo in ted un to
menonce to die but after this the j udgm
.

en t (H e b ix

e j ud gm state , m an b eco m
. . .
,

n h en es ex tern ally
27 I t t
w h at h e i s i n tern ally ; an d w hen th ere ex i sts a true har
mony betw eenour inm o st character and our outw ard life ,
,

w e are fitted for eith er h eav enor h ell W hen the r uling
love w hich i s the life of m
.

,
an sho w s itself w i th ou
, t as it

i s w ithin, an d the hidden thi n g s o f d a rk n ess a re b r o ug h t

to li ght, m an i s j ud ged I n the j udgm en t s tate aISO is '

ed estad a h arm ony betw een our inte llectua l and m

.

o ra l
'

state Every state of goodness has i ts appropriate form

m
.

of tru th be lo n i
g gn to i t Ev i l h as i ts fa ls i ty i n h a r o n y
e harm
.

w ith it I nthis life th ere i s n o t alw ays th is tru on

y
betw eenour m
.

oral and intellectual conditi on, betw eenthe

will a n d the un d ersta n ding Th ose w ho are radically
re dom
.

g oo d th e p in an t b en t of w h ose w ill is to w ards God

dud goo dness ha ve oftentim es m

,

,
an y falsities of faith ,

w h ich d o n ot b elo n g t o th a t s ta te o f th e w i ll I n t h e

j udgm d the soul com

.

en t, th ose falsi ti e s are put aw ay , an es

i nto the truth s that are in harm ony w ith its m oral condi
ti on O nth e other han
. d , there are m an y w ho are radi
ca lly e vil th at hav e tru th s in their u nderstanding not ,

h arm
,

ony w ith their w i cked internal sta te Thi s is an

na tural cond ition, be cause the prop er sta te of m
.

un an i s

w h ere there i s a p erfect un i on or harm on y betw eenhis

w ill an d un d erstanding, or heart and m ind I nthe inte r
mediate j udgment state th ose truths w ill be re oved from m
.

d they wi ll i m
,

th e w icke d an , bibe th ose falsiti es of fai th

w hi ch are at on e w ith th e evil s i nw hi ch th ey are
g ro u n d
ed .
( S ee Heaven a n d H ell, W h e n th is h a rm o n y
 NEw FORCE GI VEN To CHR I S T A N DO CTR N E
I I . 73

is o d and m
rest re ,
anco m es i n to his n atu ral con di ti on h e ,

i s inth e h i gh est h a ppi n e ss of w h i ch he is ca p able I t is .

lik e restori ng ana ni m al to its n ativ e elem en t T ue good

fro m the i m
.
,

p ul se o f their goodne ss rise spontaneo usly to

d the ev il fro mth e grav itatio nof th ei r w i ck e d
,

h eav en an , ,

ness de scend spo nta ne o usly th e scale of life to h ell They

m m m
,
.

n t w h e re Divi ne v en g e a nce n k th th o t
g o , o ca a e e e s

un h appy b ut w here i n fin i te love sees th ey w ill be the least

torm
,

en ted .

S uch is the do ctrine of S w ed enbo rg concerni ng th e

d j udgm
,

re su rrecti on an en t I need no t say ho w m uch

as m
.
,

oti ves to goodness he h as i ncreased th e i r fo rce To

, .

defer th ose great events until an indefinite period in the

futu re as i s do n e in th e O l d Ch urch is to d e stroy th e i r

moral power and w eaken th eir regenerative force It i s

, ,

e m
.
,

a fa ct , th at e v ery o n ay Ob serv e w ho w ill th at the old

form
,

s of d octri n e as pre a ch e d at th e pre sen t day h a v e

lost the ir pow er over the p ublic m

, ,

i nd Thi s is seen and

fe lt by m y w h o still prea ch them If there is to be a
.

an .

new and better dispensatio n of the Church so m e on e

must b e rai sed up to restore to Christian doctrine its true

,

red e em i ng force This h as been accom pl i she d by th e

Head of the Ch urch thro ugh Em
.

an uel S w e denborg
T ruth of Doctrine i s of fundam
, .

en ta l i m po rtance i n th e
Ch ri stianli fe It i s one of the la w s o f the m
. in d th a t it ,

sees the tru th s o f Holy S crip ture th ro ugh th e do ctrin es it

h as rece i v e d " Do ctri n es are th e ex p re ssio n o f ce rta i n

n ra l pri n cipl e s , to w hi ch all p art i cu l fe rred

g e e a rs a r e r e ,

an d by th e li gh t o f w h i ch th ey are un de rstood T he
know ledge whi ch any one h as m
.

ust al w ay s b e th at w h i ch
,

li ghts hi s w ay to th at w h i ch h e h as not O ur und ersta nd .

in f th e W ord w i ll al w ays b e inh a rm o n y w ith n d w i ll

g o a

b e col ore d by our sy stem

,

, of do ctri n e I f on e h as co n .
74 N EW FORCE GIVE N To CHR IS TIA N DO CTR I NE.

fir md him lf in h
e se do ctrine of salv ationby fa i th alo ne,
t e

irrespecti ve of the quality of th e i nternal li fe , h e see s

noth ing else b ut th at id ea evenin passages th at decl are
th at a m
,

a ni s rew ard ed accordin t o hi d d n d t h t

g s e e s a a

o m
,

w ithout holi n e ss n a nsh all w e the L ord T he d octri n e

e o f w h o m1 8 G od b y
.

o f th ree Di v in e perso n s each on ,

H im self h a v i n ea ch a d ifl eren h n o
’

g t c a ract er a d ffi c e h a s

a ffe cte d th e w h ol e sch e m

, ,

e of doctri n e a s taugh t by t he

o lder theologies T he id ea of three Go ds runs thro u h g

d p erv a d e s it fro mth e to p to th e bo t

.

th e w hole sy steman

to mfro m tre to the circum

,

, th e ce n feren ce I t w ill al w ay s
m
.

b e a la w of o ur spiri tua l b ein g i n t i e a n d e te rn

, it y th a t ,

w e vi ew all S cripture truth by th e l i ght o f o ur doctri n es .

I f th ey are false all truth i s p erv erted I t is like see in g

m m
,

m
.

th e sunthro ugh the di sto rtin g e di u o f s o k e d g l a ss

S w edenborg speaki ng in h arm

.

o ny w ith the la w s of
mind has averred th at no mancancome into th e genuine
,

S piri tu al sen s e o f th e W ord w ho is n o t i n th e tru th o f

doctrine If th ere is to b e a high er or m

,

. ore i nteri o r
understan di ng of the S criptures as the found ation of a
h igh er sp iritual life there m
,

ust be given to the Ch ur h

,
c

hi gh er v i ew s of th e do ctrine s o f the Go spel Th is I a m .

,

co n stra i ne d to b eli eve is w h at S w e den bo rg has do ne

thro ugh that h i gh degree of ill um
,

i nation th at w as v ouc h
sa fe d to h i m a s th e serv an t of th e Lord We h a ve inh is
es of th e Go sp el d ra w nfromth e li te ra l
.

w ork s th e d o ctri n
se w as m
,

sen se of the W ord a s th at sen ,

a d e tran slu cen t by

the S piri tual sign ifican ce w i th in i t S uch do ctri ne s a re

sy m
.

boliz ed by the p re cious sto nes th at co nstitute d th e

fo und at io n s of th e w a ll o f th e N ew J erusal e m (Re v

Wh ile the doctrina l sy ste mpro cla i m

. .

x x i. 19 e d in ,
,

th e pulpi t a n d re ce i v ed by th e Ch urch i s deriv ed w ho lly ,

fro m
,

the lo w , carn al a n d se ns uo us v iew o f the truth s o f the

 NEW FORCE I
G V EN T O H R I ST IA N
C D O CTRD IE . 75

G o sp el , nohigh er spiri tual li fe can b e b ui lt on such a

fo un datio n He w ho p ray erfully read s the w ritings O f
.

S w edenbo rg w ill recei v e those h igh er te ach ings w hich

der h imm ore a nd m
, ,

w ill ren o re rece ptiv e of the genui ne

S piritual sense of th e Word , w hi ch w ill b e giv en h imby

o ur Lo rd .
 C H A PT E R XIV .

A
M RR IAGE , A ND IN RE L ATI O N TO THE I
K N G D O M O F GO D .

NO institution i s of m o re im portance , or m ore i nti

mately connecte d w ith the best interests of mankind than
th at of m
,

arri a ge T he earliest legislators saw its relation

.

to the w elfare of society an d pai d sp eci al atte n

, tio nto i t ,

an d in th eir vario us cod e s guard ed its sa n ctiti es by th e

most terrible penalties to be infl icted upon tho se w ho

,

violate d th em M ene s the first king of Egypt C ecrops,

.
, ,

th e first legi slator o f th e Greek s N um a th e law giv e r O f

, ,

Ro m e F o hi th e fi rst sov e reign of Ch in a a ll turn e d th e ir

tionto m
, , ,

atte n arri age Ev enth e poe t L ucreti us (Book v

fl uence of m
. .

1 009 ) Ob serv e d th e i n arri age a s an age n t

of hum a nprogre ss After a descriptionof the first stages
of sa v a ge life , w h en m
.

anw a s scarcely a dv an ced b eyo n d

the b rute th e p oet say s " B ut w h enth ey began to build
th e ir fi rst rud e h uts to cl o th e th em
,

selv es i n sk in s , an d
e w om
,

h a d d iscov ere d th e use o f fire w h enfirst on anw a s

e m earm of m
,

oi n e d to o n an i n th e ch a ste e n d en u u l
j ts t a

lo v e and sa w their ofl spring ari sing aro und th em th en

’

o nly d id the fero cio us m

,

ners of the hum

,

an a n race b e gin

to so ften J ust in p roportion as thi s sa cred relation

h as been re garded by a natio n or com munity have th ey
.

ri se n i nth e m oral a nd i ntellectual scale and progressed ,

i nall th e el em en ts o f a gen ui ne civ i li z atio n There is a .

philo sophical rea son for thi s fo unde d in the law s of

dence , and the m
,

correspo n ysterio us connection betw een

7
( )7
78 M ARRIAGE , AND IT S RE L ATION

n
natural a d S pi ritual things T he hi ghest m . oral and
S p iri tu al co n ditio n of a h um an soul is , w he re th e re i s a

p erfect unio nof lov e and w isdo m o r

g oo d n e s s a n d t r u t h
ce of th e se i n perfect h arm
, .

T he ex i ste n ony , and in due

proportio n is e ssentially the h ea venly state A genuine
marriage betw eentw o regenerated p ersons, is th e orderly
, .

na tural b asis of such a spiritual state

If such i s th e im
.

po rta nt relatio nbetw eenthe i nsti tutio n

Of m arri age an d the w ork of hum a n red em ption and if
m
,

there i s so vi ta l a con nectionbetw een the , that the rela p

tio n of the sex es i n an i ety beco m th un i n

y soc e s e e rr g
i ndex of th eir i n te llectua l an d m oral condition it i s
m
,

e v id en t that a n e w age o f th e C hu rch wo uld co e w ith

ne w light w ith regard to m arriage N o w , I boldly aver,

o m
.

th at n a nh a s e v er w ri tte n ex cept th e i n
, spire d a u thors

of the Holy Wo rd , w ho h a s giv e nus so ex alte d con cep

ti o ns o f th e di gn ity a n d sa n cti ty o f th e m a rri age relatio nas

S wedenborg Th ere i s a m
. o st strik ing contras t betw een
th e lo w S a dd ucea nvie w s th at p re v a i l i n the Church an d
the w orld , an d tho se un fold e d in h is truly ph ilosophi cal
an d spi ri tual w o rk o n thi s subj e ct He teache s that the
ot m
.

d istin ctio no f sex is n erely a d i ffe re n ce of physi cal

o rgan i sm b u t i s fo u n d i n th e m e n t a l co n st i tu t i o n of th e
I n th e m
,

race ale , th e in tell ectua l p re do m in ates an d

le s ; in the fem
.

ru al e , th e affectio n s are in ex cess, a n d

ov rn Th i w o rd a i ne d as a p art of th e pl an of
g e . s as

cre a tio n a n d i s eter n a l b eca u se i t b e lo ng s t o t h e e ss e n c e

B etw eenlove and w isdo m

, ,

o f th e h um ansp iri t fl i n
’

.
, a e ct o

an d rea son th ere i s a n a tural a ttra ctio n; an d h en ce by the

v ery co nstitutio nof th e h um an m

,

i nd th ere is a tende ncy

to un io n b e tw een th e sex es , a n d a l w ay s m ust b e w hile
th at co n stitutio n rem a in s th e sam e Hence the im
. mor
ta li ty O f the m a rria ge re la tio n n ,o t o f su ch u nio ns as the
S a dducee had i nh is co ncep tio n s for su
,
ch b elo n g n o t to
 TO THE K N I GDO M O F GOD . 79

the kingdo mof G o d , ei th er in thi s w orld or th e nex t .

b ut the co n j unctionof the i llum inated re a so nof the m al e

w i th th e h o ly affecti o n s o f th e fem al e S uch a unionis

ne ce ssa ry to th e perfe ctio n of m
.

an N o o ne ca nfa il to
obse rve th at inh er m ta l structure, w om
.

en a n h a s ex cel

len ces w h ere the m i nd o f m ani s m o st d efective O nthe

other h and th e m i nd o f m
.

, a n po sse sses ex cellen ces w h i ch

su pply th e defects inthe m en ta l o rgan i zatio n of w om an .

N e ith er a lo n e , has e verythi n

g n e ce s s a r y t o a p e rfe ct
hum ann atu re It is o n ly i nthe oneness o f the tw o th at
hum ity is seen in its com
.

an pleteness Without thi s.

uni ficati on Of th e sex e s th at co n sti tu tes a re al m arria e ,

g
the deve l o p m t of h um i ty m
,

en an ust b e o ne side d and -

in h arm onio us I n the m o ra l system of S w edenborg,

marriage is not a mere tempo rary arrangement for the
.

atta i nment of selfish end s b ut is as e ternal as the mind .

i o nof one m
,

Th e spi ritual un a nw i th on e w om a no nearth ,

ca lls i n to ex erci se the hol ie st p ri n cipl e s o f o ur n a ture a n d

is p ro m
,

otiv e of the h i ghest h a ppi ne ss of the race eith er ,

here or h ereafter S O a di sregard of the sa n cti ti e s of

marriage is the fruitful cause of more evil and mi sery

.

th an an y o t he r O p erati n g i n h u m a n s o c i e ty
Marriage , accordi ng to S w e denb org, is m
.

o st holy in
its o rigi n an d i n w h a t it sy m b oliz es T here i s i n the
D ivine Mi nd L o v e and Wi sdo m Th ese e x ist not
.
,
'

.
,

S ep arately , b u t i n perfhct un i o n and th eir conj unctionis

ti ally a m e m arri age am
,

e ssen arri age I n a gen uin o ng

men there is a union of the w i sdomor intellect of the
.

male w ith the affectionof th e female This in its p urity

d im
.

is b ut a finite an p erfect Copy of w h at e ternally ex i sts

i nth e Div i n e N a tu re Hence m a rri age inits o rigin is a s

holy a s th e m
.
, ,

ind of God B ut a ll th ings i n the v i si ble

creatio n h av e p roceede d fro mth e Lov e a n d W i sd o mo f
.

the C reato r A s they are o ne i nHi m

.
, s o th e re i s a u n io n
80 M ARR I A G E , AND IT S RE L ATI ON , ETC .

Of g o o d a n d t ru t h i n th e w o rk s o f cr e a t i o n , w h i ch p ro ce e d
fro mHim A ll thi n .
gs i n t h e un i v e rse h a v e re la ti o n to ,

an d represen t good a n d truth Hence th e concep tionof

.

th e sex uali ty o f n at u re an id ea ari sin s o n

g p ta n e o u sly in
an m
,

th e h um ind Th is p ri nciple w as intro duce d by

L inna us i nto h is Ph ilo sophy of the Vegetable Ki ngdo m
.

y lo ng b e fore h i m T he d is
,

b ut w a s ob served by Pl in .

t inctio n o f se x so far a s it b el o n s to u pi ritual

, g o r s

o rga nism o ri gina tes i n the Div i ne Mi nd— in th e Love

Fro mHi mit ex tends d o w nby
,

an d W i sdo mO f th e Lord
'

fl ux i nto the hum

.

creati v e i n anra ce an d thro ugh thi s i n to

im m m
,

the a n al k i n g d o a nd fi o t h i s i n t o th e v e t bl e
ge a

m
,

k in g do , a nd so do w n t o th e l o w e s t li n k i n cr ea t i o n s
’

ch a i n M arri age inits Div ine reali ty is a uni onof good

d w i sdo m
.
, ,

an d truth or love a n ; an d inits spiritual sign ifi

ce sy m
,

ca n boli ze s such a S piri tual state I t h as its o rigi n

i n G od i t ex i sted in P ara di se and m
.

, ust b e tran
, sferre d ,

w ith i ts ev er i n cre a si n p u ri ty a n d bl i s s to th C el e sti al

g e ,

sho re Tho se w ho canp erceive the necessary co nne ction

b et ween the i nsti tutio n of m d the m
.

arri age , a n oral and

s p iritu a l e lev a tion o f th e race w ill fi n ,
d in th e v iew s of
S w ed enbo rg on thi s all i m po rtant subj ect, th e see d of a
-

ne w d isp e nsationof the Kingdo mof God am ong m

,

en .
 CHAPTER XV .

T HE T R U E E CL E CT I CI S M .

VICTO R COUSIN , in his profo und w ork n th e Hi story o

o f ModernPh ilo sophy , h a s S ho w n th a t philo sophy , in all

l ands and in all ages , h as ex i ste d u nder o ne o f th e four

follo w ing fo rms " S ens uali sm Id e ali sm, My s ti ci s m a nd
S ceptici sm All the philo sophi cal system
, ,

s o f th e w orld

belong to one or th e o th er O f those fo rm

.

s b e cau se th ey

mannature Where
,

are b a se d upo nthe pri n ciple s o f h u

suo us ele m
.

th e sen ent w hi ch b el o n gs to ou r n a tur e is i n

p redom
, ,

ina nce, philo sophy w ill b e sensational as i s seen

m
,

i nth e syste s O f Lo ck e an d C on dilla c When th e i ntel

le ctual is unh arm oniously prom
.

i nent as inPlato B erkley

d oth ers, the philo soph ica l sy stemw ill be Id ealism
, ,

an

d th e w hole m
.

T he obj ects of se n se an ,
ateri al creati o n ,

re tire i n to th e b ack groun d a nd spi ritual thi ngs the th i ngs ,

ind be com
,

o f th e m , e the on ly real sub stance All else is .

S h ado w W here the feeli ngs and i ntuitions are the ruling
e le m t i nth e m
.

en ental ch aracter Philo sophy w ill b e M y s

,

ticism Wh en nei th er alo ne gives satisfaction to the

an m i nd S cepti ci smari ses A ll th e se sy stem
.

h um s are

portant Th ey beco m
.
,

true a n d im e fal se on ly w h en th ey
E ach h as h ad m
.

beco m e e x clu siv e uch to do inth e i n tel

lectual de v elo p m
.

ent o f th e ra ce N e i th er co uld h ave

b eensp are d fro mth e hi story o f m ki nd " and th e m
.

an o st
perfect systemof philosophy m ust b e eclecti c or m ust ,

6 8
( )1
82 THE T RUE ECL E CT I CIS M .

c om bine into a h arm o nious unity the ex cellences of all

oth er system s

So m ar m
.

eth i ng s i m il a y b e s aid of re l i io n b eca u

g s e

th ere al way s m
,

ust b e a co n nection b etw e en philosophy

an d th e ol o gy On e m ust i nfluen ce the o th er Religion
der a few fundam ta l fo rm
. .

alw ays ex i sts un en s I t i s se n

s a s i nth e Ph arasa ic fo rm a li sm
.

suo u o f th e a e of C hrist
, g
an d e very age — a b o n d age to the letter and an ov er esti
matio nof th e value of mere ex ternals Th is is the Jew ish
,

el em en t w hi ch has ev er b een in the C h urch o f Chri st

m mere nat uralism When
,

the fl e shly r i tu a sl i ti c e l e e nt —

tellect ual ele m m

.
,

th e in ent i s p ush ed to anun due p ro i nence

an d is m
ad e of pri m ary i m p ortance, w e h ave another
fun da m en tal form of the C hu rch ini ts hi storic al d eve lo p

ment Here we must for an ex ample, place the Aris

totel ianS chola sticism o f the m
.
,

edi aeval p eri od I t is o fte n .

se eni nin di vi duals and insects, both be fore and after the
Re form ati o n It m akes fa i th o f h igh er v alu
. e th anch ari ty .

Th ere are oth ers who lay ex cessive stre ss upon th e

em otional and i ntuitional in religi on,— upon fram es an d
e cstasi e s G enerally the e x ternals of religi onw i th such
.

derv al ue d This i s Mysticism I t has givento

,

a re un

e o f its m m
. .

eccle si asti cal hi sto ry so o st fini sh ed characters

I ts m ax i mi s Pectas est m
.

qu a d th eo lo g a
fa cit it is th e f

mk
, ,

hea rt that a es the Chri sti an and theologian I n the

v nteenth century it prod uced its Ma dam
.

se e , e Gu yo n and
Fenelon Antoinette B ourignon Molinos of S aragossa, and
, ,

th e " uie ti sts I n the fourteen th cen tury it h ad its

Kem pi s and Tauler Som eti m
.

es in th e C hristian d evel

O pm divid uals, the m

.

en t of th e Ch urch an d in ora l or

ethi cal el em ent ri se s to pro m i ne nce and w e ha ve th e

oth er fundam tal formof Chri stia n li fe
,

en The se four .

a spects are the o n ly ones under w h ich Christi ani ty canbe

v iew ed It is e ither ri tuali sm
. or i n tellectuali smor m ys ,
 ra m
n un Ecnnc rrcrsu . 83

tici sm mo l duy
or ra n
t d l ife a T h e se ,.li k e th e fo u r s id es

of a p ara llelogra m
,

n
.

in cl u d e i t Th e y ar e re p re se n te d i
the Ap ostolic Church— the m
, .

ustard see d be gi nni n -

g o f th e

new Creation by Peter and Pa ul , by Joh n a nd J a m

— es ;

an d th e ir successors h av e beenfound ine v ery age

m
.

I n the sy ste of S w e den borg, there is a h arm o nio us

co m binati on of all these fund a e ntal e lem m en ts i n to a
perfect unity T here i s no one e le ent push ed to a one m
m mm
.

sided d eve lop en t , b ut all i s sy etri cal Ex terna ls are

m m
.

not underv al ue d , b ut proper i po rtance is givento th e

m m
.

No anev er in si sted ore earnestly uponthe enli gh ten

m en t of the i n te llect ; an d S t M artin, th e grea t Mysti c
.

of Fran ce an d o f t he N in ete en th C en tury , p ro n ounces h is

w o rk s too coldly i n tellectual Yet th e inte l lect i s ev ery
m
.

a d e seco n
’

w h ere dary to the h eart, faith to lov e All

th a t is v al ua ble in m m
.

ysticis i s found in his w orks I n .

fact he has re duce d its ch ao s to ord er He h as organized

to a logical syste , so com m
.

i t in pl e te and interw o venth at

y o u ca n no t e m
b ra ce a p art w itho ut the w hole M an y of .

the p rin cipl es o f S wede n bo rg are fo und sca ttere d about

in the m y stic w ri ters I t belo nged to h imto ga th er up
emm bra th ese scattere d li m m
.

the se disj ecta b s, into a sy

m e Pro m
,

etrical b o dy, an d call dow nthe divi n eth e ansp ark

to an m m
i ate it B ut hi s ystici s is w ithout th e le ast tai nt m
i im m
.

of ascet c s w hi ch cleav e s to a ll th e y sti cs o f t he

world before h im N o on ot ev en the a po stl e J a m

,

e n es

h as m
.
, ,

ore earnestly insi ste d uponw ork s a nd upon a l ife ,

of ch ari ty th an he
, Yet th ere is noth ing o ne side d
.
-

here I nan age w h enChristi anlife h ad felt the froz en

om i ani smh e a ssem
.

touch of the S ol ifidianAn ti n bles the

ce m
,

hosts of I sra el on ore around Sinai to h ear the Com

mandments fromthe mouth of the Lord His ethical
,

co d e i s th e D ecalo gue T h e li fe h e en joi ns i s div i ne ly

m ple, and practi cable to e ve ry m
.

si a n wh o h a s a si n cere
84 T HE TR UE ECLE CTI CIB M .

desire t o be good , nd
a rea ch the celes ti al s h ore . In the
age i nw hi ch he l ive d, th e te net Luthe r, th at salv ati on
of

is by fa ith alo ne, h ad be co me to the Re form e d C hu rch

lik e the fabled E gis of Mi n erv a I t t urn

. e d all w ho

to uch e d i t to stone

Jerusalemis not
.

T he N ew a se ct . It ca nnot be n
e

cl o sed w ith in th e area of a sect or p arty It is not a

sy ste m o f li fele ss dogm
.

as i n tellectually re ce iv ed
, I t is a
ne w and h igh er li fe— th e li fe of lo v e He w h o m
.

ere ly
.

re ce iv es the te a chi n s of S w e d e n bo d n d
g r
g a s a c re e a

doe s not apply themto li fe is far fromth e N e w J eru

,

ply pa sse s from one sect to another

,

sa le m He si m
domto b e underv al ued
. .

N eith er a re th e sects of Chri sten

A s J ud ai smled to Ch ri stian
.

ity a nd w as a p reparation
m
,

fo r it so the good a n
, d truth in an y honest souls i nthe
ol d ch urch e s w ill b e a p rep a ratio n for the N e w Jeru
sa le m The age i nw h i ch w e li v e is a tra n
,

. si tion p eriod .

O ld thi ngs are p a ss ing aw ay and all thi n s re b eco m i n

, g a
g
ne w T he vo ice o f God is sh aki n g no t o nly th e e a rth

d th e re i s a rem
.
,

b ut th e h ea v e n s An oving of tho se things

at are m
.

th a t are sh ak en as o f thi n g s t h a d e th at th o se

m m
, ,

th i n gs w h i ch ca n no t b e sh a k e n a y re a i n (H eb x ii
T h ere are m y germ
. . .

26 , an s o f an u nd ecaying good
i nall the old er e cclesiasti cal organ iz ations Th e se cannot .

die fo r th e l ife of Go d is in th em A ll th at w as of .

d uri ng val ue in J ud a ismp a ssed over into Ch ristianity

,

en .

A s all ri v e rs te nd to th e o cea n an d fl ow i n,
to it so all th e ,

ood n d t ut h f th O ld Di s p en sa tio n w i ll p a ss i n to
g s a r s o e

t h e N ew T h e ki ngs o f th e earth shall con trib ute th eir

salem I n all chu

.

spi ri tual w e al th to the N e w Jeru rch e s

s of l ight th at cam e fro m

.

th e re are stray b eam t h e suno f

th e N e w A ge Th ere are ideas floa ting ab out i n the

.

re l i io u
g s m i nd th a t ,
h av e l o st th ei r vi sible con n e ction

w ith the w rit in s o f S w ed en bo r

g W h ere v er th ere i s
g .
 rm " TR UE ECLECT ICI S M . 85

a nd prep arationfor thc N ew A ge

truth , th ere is a
"

T he h um a nbody i s a com binatio nof all be a utiful form

.

so th e N e w J e rusal e m th e Joh a n nean Ch urch o f th e

future w ill b e a body o f Ch ri st co m
,

, , po se d of all th e goo d
an d truth th a t has e v er app eare d i n th e hi story of re
de mp tio n.
 C HA P T E R X VI

TWO o m
n c rt o ns A NS W ERED .

It my a see mt s ra nge omtoe th at if S w ed en

s , borg be
the h eral d o f a n ew di spen satio n th at h is d o ctri n es h av e

not m a de m
,

ore rapid pro gress d uring the p ast century

o obj e ctio nto the fact of th e ir b e i n th e co m
.

B ut th is is n g
mencement of a New A ge of the Church ex cept to the
m
,

sen su o us ind , w hich cantake only an ex ternal vi ew o f

an ything It m
. ay he rem ark ed , i n re ply to the ab o ve

obj ectio n,inth e first place , th at his teach ings are h av i ng

a m uch w ider infl uen ce i n th e rel igious w orld , th an at ,

first si ght, app ears .They are operating silently and pow
erfn lly i nsh apin th th e o lo y , an d d ire ct in th tho u h t
g e g g e g
of th e p re se n t day I n the tea chi n g o f t h e p u lpi t an d
m e s are pro cl a im
.

th e press , an do tri n ed a n d e iv e d by
y c re c

the thirsty m ul ti tude s w ith j oy , that can b e traced to n o

other source th anth e disclosures of the S w edish revel ator .

They are straggling rays of th e light and uncreate d glories

of the N ew Jeru salem str u gg gl i n w i th th e m id ni g h t da rk
ness of a consum mated C hurch B ut as inthe days of
,

Christ so now , the light sh ines in the darkness and the

ess co m preh ends i t not It is i m p o ssible to m
, ,

dark n ak e

mere ex ternal pro selytes to the systemeven if it w ere

.

desirable to do so His do ctri nes m

,

ust b e rece iv ed i n teri

orly , infree domand by rea son A systemth at is to be
.

rece iv e d interi o rly an d on ly by tho se w h o are ina recipi

t state m t it m
,

en , akes i ts w ay slo w ly inth e wo rld b u oves ,

( )
8 7
 88 TWO o ltE cnons
n '
A N S WERED .

forw ard surel ,

y because d eep h o ld up on the
it ta k es a

S pi ritual li fe o f m an T he rapid sp re ad of a sy ste mi s n

. o

test of its truth o r m erits b ut a n e v id e n

, ce o n ly o f its
a d apte d n ess to th e ca rn al , fl esh l
y m i n d N o sy s temof

re ligio n has ev er S prea d m

.

ore rapidly th an M aho m med

is m N o thin g i n th e a n na l s o f m a nk i n d p r e se n ts so
d ov erwh e lm
.

e x tra o rd in ary a S p ecta cle a s th e sudd en a n

in g re vol uti o n w hi ch sp r a n g p u i n A ra bi a , a n ob scu re

co rn er o f the E ast an d inl ess th ana hundred y ears co v

,

e re d a n ex te n t of te rri tory gre ater th an ev er ow n e d the

sw ay of R om e i nth e Au g u s ta n a g e o f h lo y
er g r

I t acco m
.

B ut this i s n o e vid en ce o f its truth plish ed

so m s in the sch em
.

e great d esi gn e of th e Lord s Pro vi

’

de nce , b ut its rapid spread does not pro v e it a revelation

fro m h eav en I t is in accord ance also w ith th at D ivi ne
order unfolde d inth e gov ernm
.

en t of the w o rld th at w h a t
m
,

is to b e of lo n g c o n t i n ua n ce i s a lo n g t i e i n r hi n
n
e a c g
maturity This is the law of the a imal and vegetable
,

kingdo m
.

s A learned French Philo soph er h as show n

.

th at th e n atu ral p eri od o f the d u ra tionof th e li fe o f an

an im al may be ascerta ined by multiplying the ti me it

req uire s to rea ch m
,

aturi ty by fiv e The longer is that

, .

p eriod th e greater the d uration of its li fe I nthe vege

m m
.
,

ta ble ki n gdo w i tn e ss t h,a t o st w o n d e r fu l pl a n t th e ,

S ea Co co , w hi ch gro w s o n ly in one spot on the globe

ot germ
.

T he see d does n inate until it ha s la id upo n the

su rfa ce of the earth tw en ty fiv e years -
I t is th e n o n e

h und re d ye ars before it prod uces fruit and rea ches m

.

atu

After it blo sso m

,

rity s i t i s eigh t y ears b efore th e see d

om
.
,

rip e n B ut it o utliv e s kin d I ts y ears a re cen

s .
g s .

turi e s
nd duratio nof th e ki ngdom
.

I nthe i
r se a s of th e w o rld ,

we se e th e sa m e law o f the D iv i n e Prov iden ce Those ,

m
.

li ke Ro m e, th at are long i nre a ch i ng th ei r a ture p ropor

 TW O OB JE CTI O N S A NSWERED . 89

ti ons, h ave a duration pro portionably long W hile on

d , w e see the kingdo mof A lex ander spring
.
,

th e o th er h an
in u w ith a m ushroo m gro w t h and q ui ckl y di sa pp earing
g p , .

I t grew up like J on ah s go urd , i na n igh t, and p eri sh ed

’

Th e N ew Jerusalemdi spensationis m an i festly destined

to con tinue long I t is to h a ve no ephem eral ex i sten ce

all m
.

Fromi ts sm
.

ustard seed beginni n -

g i t w ill gra d ua lly ,

an d silen tly p ro gress a n d ex tend its d urati onthro ugh the

,

rev ol vi ng cyc l es o f th e u nk n o w n futu re P erh ap s a ge s .

w ill yet roll a w ay w hile the Divi n e h an d lays deep its

D iv ine found atio ns and it w ill live w h en the pyram '
ids
mbled to dust and the drifting sand s of
,

shall h av e cru ,

the desert ha ve obliterate d the spot w h ere th ey sto o d .

m
Th e Li gh t Hi self sh all sh ine

Reveal ed, and Go d s eternal day b e thi ne l

’

I t w ill continue until the h eav ens once m ore clo se ro und
th e earth an d m
,
a n is a t o n e w i th th e an el s a n
g d w i th
God . I f such b e its de stin y it h a s p rogressed as rapidly
,

as i s con si stent w i th the la w s o f th e Di vin e o rde r .

T he questio nis also asked Has th e new disp ensation

,

ex h ibi te d a high er S piri tual li fe th anth e O ld Ch u rch ?

"

O n this subj ect b ut little can be sa id , for the si m ple

reas o n th a t th e w h ol e su bj ect lies beyond the sph ere
of h um an kn ow ledge T he q uality of a soul s interior ’
.

life canbe know nonly to the Lord The secret sp ri n .

g s

of action can b e di scern ed on ly by the ey e of Cm

mscl ence
Th ere seem
.

s rea so n to b elie v e that the first sta di um

in th e dev el o p m en t of the n e w di sp en sation m ust of

necessity b e pro m
, ,

inently i ntelle ctual This is i ndi cated

by the N ew Jerusalemb ei n
, .

g re p re sente d to th e v is io n
90 TWO O B JECHO NS A XS WERED.

of Joh nfirst as a city or doctrinal syste , and thenas a m

bride a dorne d for her husb and T he truth m
.

. ust first be
recei ved b efore it canb e in corpo ra te d in to the li fe It
m e p erm m
.

a
y b it te d a l so fu rth e r to r e a r k t h a t a l th,o u g h i t
may not be apparent to the eye of a sensuous w orld the ,

N e w Ch urch , e ven in the p resen t in fan t sta ge of its

ex iste n ce has atta i n ed a fa r h i gher s i ri tu al life th a nth e
, p
di spen sati o n th at i s p a ss i n g a w a y T h e re a l Ch ris ti a n
d go od , of wisdoman
.

l ife is a con j unctio nof truth an d

lov e or fa ith and charity S we denb o rg h as de onstrated
, . m
t h at w h ere goo d i s n ot u nited to truth , as essence is to
for m it i s n ot real b u t on ly app a ren t goo d ; an d whe re truth
m
, ,

or fa ith i s se arated fro

p g o o d i n t h e w i ll it i s b y v
, ir, tu e

o f su ch d i sj u ncti on no longe r truth M uch of the good

ness that app ears am o ng the e m
.
,

i nent religious persons

o f th e old d isp en sation i s o f thi s ch aracter, an
, d is m ore a
ca p acity of goodn ess or a recep tivi ty o f i t thanreal go od

m m
, ,

o f l ife I t i s a goo d ar isin g f ro a fa l s e g r o u n d o r fr o

m
.
,

w ron g vi e w s o f G o d , an d D ivi n e th i n g s G oo d d. o n e f r o
a false gro un d is inreality o n ly a false goo dness S we
b org forcibly rem
, .

den ark s, They w ho are inw orks alone

an d in n o tru th s are lik e pe ople w h o act, an
, d do n ot

un derstand ; and actions w ithout understanding are in

an im ate
"
.
( A R . .I n p r o po rt i o n a s o n e i s

d esti tute of truth inth e intellect, do his a cti o ns lose their

moral value ; so that where th ere i s no knowledge w e
Truth is th e form
,

a ttribute n o re al v al u e to the act .

o f good , a n d gives quali ty to it To be good is to a ct

.
,

a ccordi n to tru h d n n n
g t ; f g
or o o
es s i s o ly tr u t h i th e l if e

H ence a li fe of w orship and religion th at pro ceed s from

.

m
,

falsi ties of fa i th is n ot re al
g ood h o w e v er it a y a pp e a r

m
, ,

ex tern a ll I n co p ari n th C h i ti n li f i t i
y .
g e r s a e as s

ex hibi ted inth e old an d the n ew di sp en sati o n s w e are to

d ecide according to these p rinciples Lo oki ng a t it from

,

th is p oi n t o f vi ew w e sh all n , ot h e si tate to co n cl u d e th at
 TWO o a m crroNs A NSWERED . 91

th ose wh o have heartily e mb race d the s piritual doctrines

of S w edenborg as re vealed to hi mo ut o f th e Div ine

j oy the m
,

Word , en ea n s of atta i n ing a higher Christianlife

th anthe old age has w itn essed .

T he d o ctrin e s tau g h t by S w e d e nb o r
g, ar e th e tr u th s o f
the G o spe l , as th ey are a pp reh en de d by the hum a n son ]
o nth e hi gh e r pl an e o f be i n ; or i nother w o rd s , th ey are
g
he ave n ly d octri n es su
, ch as m ini ster to the gro w th of
so u ls in the angelic sph ere I t is truth in its rea lity
utrim e ca n m
. .

The proper n en t of th e s o ul w hi ch alo n in

iste r to i ts harm onious de v elopm
,

en t i s spi ritual truth

, .

There canbe no genuine religious growth w ith out this .

A plan t can no t rea lly gro w w i th out light for it is o n , ly

the in fl uence of the suns ligh t th at ca uses the de position
’

o f w oo dy fibre , Wi th o u t w hi ch its e n largem en t is n ot

g ro w th So th e s o u l of m a n can n o t a tta i n to a n ge li c

proportions w ithout the sa m e ligh t that fl o w s fro mthe

.

cen tral thro n e in to the hea v e n s Without this its grow th

T he N ew Je rusalem co m
.

w ill be d warfed or disto rted es

down fro m
.

G od out o f h ea ven (Rev x x i . . I t is a

.

i o n f h h v en in o earth , a descen o f the

p j
ro ec t o t e ea s t t
celes tial to thi s l o w er sphere i norder to elevate earth to

he a v en Whate ver m
,

ay b e the actu a l spi ritu al attai n

ments of those w ho embrace the doctrines taught by

.

S w ed e n borg o ut of the Holy S cri ptures it is certa inthat ,

no p eopl e since the apostolic age are fav ored w ith such
m
, ,

ea n s for reli gi ou s cu lture and of atta ining the h ighest

lts o f C hristi an life T he high er o ne s attai nm
,

en
’
re su ts

th e m
.

are i n gen uin e good of l ife ore recep tiv e h e w ill

d h im
,

fin scfl f of the tea ching s o f S w ed e n b org Th is i s in .

harm o ny w i th th e rem arka ble p roph ecy of I sa ia h re

al or N e w J e rusal e m
,

specti n th e Millen n i di sp en sa tion

g
e to pass i nth e last d ays th a t the m
.

I t sh all com
,

, ountai n
o f th e Lo rd s h ou se sha ll b e esta bli shed inthe top of th e
’

mountains and shall be ex alted above the hills ; and all

,
92 TW O O BJECTI O NS A N S W ER ED .

nations sh all fl o w unto it ( I s a 11 Th e Ch u

. rch ,.

m
o unta i n top , m
.

e lev a te d to th e a rk s the cel e sti al d egree

o f its life .By natio ns, accord ing to th e law s o f cor

respo n dence , are signified tho se ingood of life S uch are ‘

rep rese n ted a s fl owi n g u nto th e o unt m

a in o f th e Lo rd s
’

h o use , or th ey sponta n e o usly i m b ib e the pri nciple s of th e

new a nd h igh er d isp ensation He w ho carefully ark s . m
th e sign s o f th e ti m e s w ill fi n
,
d re asonto b el i e v e th a t w e
l i v e i n the d aw n o f such a glo rio us d ay , w h en th e
Ch urch s life w ill b e one w ith the h ea v enly life Truth
’

m
.

w ill b e n o lon ger divorce d fro g ood , b ut j o ine d i n a

m
perp etual and h e ave nly arri age ; and earth w ill ri se to
m eet an m
d e brace the d escen d ing h e av ens Th ere a re a .

few i n thi s tra n sitio n p eriod , thi s b re ak i n u

g p o f th e ol d
m
ord er of th ings inthe kingdo o f God , and th e for atio n m
o f th e n e w , to w ho mth e w ord s of th e L ord co e w ith m
a ppr opri ate em ph asi s " Blessed are your eyes for th ey ,

see " an d yo ur e ars fo r th ey h e a r F or v eri ly I sa y

to yo u Th at m y proph ets and righ teous m
, .

un , an en h a v e

desire d to see tho se thi ngs w hi ch ye see and h av e not

seen th em
,

; a n d to h ear t ho se th in g s w hi c h y e h e a r a n d
h av e not h e ard th e m (Matt x iii 1 6 ,
,
"
. . . I t is to b e
hoped th at such w ill not be indifferent to the hi gh re
spon sibilitie s of the po si tio nto w hi ch th e Lord s aboun di ng ’

g r a ce h a s el e v ate d t he m M a y th e y h e e d th e Divi n e

Arise shi ne ; for thy light is com

.

p recept , , e an d t he ,

l o ry o f th e Lord i s ri sen upo n th e e F b ho l d

g o r e.
, ,

th e d ark n e ss sh all cov er th e e arth an d gro ss d arkn

,
ess th e

p e ople but the Lord shal l ari se uponth ee and His glory
m
,

sh all b e seenu p o n th e e A.n d th e G e nti l e s S ha ll co e to

thy ligh t a n d ki n t th b ri h tn o f th y ri si n L i ft
, gs o e g e ss g .

up thine eyes roun d about and see " all th ey gath er

selv es togeth er, th ey co m
,

th e m e to th e e " thy so n s sh all

com e fro mfar an , d thy d augh ters shall b e n ursed at thy

 CHAPTE R XVII .

THE KNO W L ED GE O F O T HE R E A R THS IN T HE UN I VE R S E ,

AN D ITS R EL A TI O N TO THE N E W D IS PENSA T I O N .

I T h as b eena questio nw hi ch h a s i nterested th e h um an

mind w hether the globes w hich compo se o ur planetary

sy ste m
,

and th e sta rry un iverse are i nhabited by ratio na l

beings like ourselves M any of th e mare v a stly large r
,

um
.

th a nth e earth w e in h abi t, an d in n b er surp assi ng all

fin ite co n cep tio n I t is not reaso n a bl e to suppo se , th a t

The sa m
.

bod ies so vast are left anuni nh ab ited Solitude e

D iv ine Love and Wi sdom fromw hich h as gone forth

.

r earth , m
,

th e crea ti o no f all th in g s o n o u u st h a v e led th e

D iv ine B eing to people oth er earths w ith creatures to

w hom He coul d i m p art His o w nlife and bli ss C reation,
m
.

esp e ci ally th at of sen sitiv e b e in s ca p a bl e o f en joy en t

g
lts naturally , not to say ne cessarily , fro mth e e ssenti al
,

res u

p roperty o f the Divine Lov e w h ich i s the one o nly Life

a de sire to i m p art go o d to all o th er beings inw ho mthere
,

is a ca pa city o f reception
Mod ern Astro nom
.

y h as greatly ex tended our view s o f

the m ag in tu de the im
— mensity of the mate rial univ erse .

S w e denbo rg h as sh o w n th at th e spiri tual he avens are

.

dingly im mense (S ee H and H onthe I mmen

,

co rrespo n . . .

sit
y of Hea v en
) I n fa ct th e m a te ri al u n iv erse i s th e

m
.
,

ul i a
t te — th e b asi s the firm am en t an d th e co n ti nent of

T he m
, , ,

the o th er . ateri al cosm os i s the ef fect the cause o f ,

w hi ch is the spiritual w o rld An d a s a ca use ca nno t ex ist

.
94 KN O WLEDGE o r OT HER E ARTHS IN THE UNI VERS E ;

w ith out a n effect, nor a n effe ct w ith out a ca use , their

ex i stence mu t b s e o ev al I t w a s fitting th at contem

c . po
ran eo u sly w i th th e revi v a l of th e noble sci ence of
Astronom y , there sho uld b e a rev elation of the fact,
th at the v ast bo di es of w hi ch it treats are i n habited by
b e ings m a d e i nth e im a e of Go d an d w h o ack n o w l e dge
g
ly Lord whomw e a dore T hi s is not a fa ct
,

the o n e on

ed m
, .

de si gn erely to gra ti fy a sel fish curi o sity bu t on e th a t

h a s its i m p ortant bearings up on the progress of hum

,

an

red e m ptio n I t greatly e x alts our co nceptio n of th e

.

Lo rd s boundless a nd e verlasting l ov e
’
It giv es us an .

actu al e x hibi tionof H is in fin ite goodness, so far as w e are

able to grasp the i dea Th is cannot b e dee ed a m a tt er m
o f triflin im
.

p o rta nc I t s h o w u th n o n ly G o d
g e s s e o e

w h o cam
.
,

e do w nto thi s w orld a s the G o d of all w o rld s

not m
,

erely acco rdi n g t o th e J e w i sh c o n c e p t i o n as t h e God

T he form
,

of a n ati on or p a rti cu
, lar pro v i n ce er vi e w o f
.

th e D e ity b elon gs to th e N e w A g e I t i s o n e o f th e

e m N o oth er di sp en
.

g l o ri es of the N ew Jeru s a l . sa ti o n
h a s so fully grasp ed the idea Th e ex ten sionof the h u man
ntless num
.

race inco u bers to all the earths inthe stella r

iv erse , serv es to m ak e m k less of hi m
, ,

un a nthi n self as an

i ndivid ual and thus to w ea kenthat deep seate d love of self

,
-

w hich is th e ro o t of all evil If al l the vast globe s inthe

starry firm am
.

en t are i n ha bi te d by b e in g s l i k e o u rse lv es

dividuals, si nk i nto com

,

w e as i n parative no thi ngness

G od lov e s themeach an d all as m
, .

uch as He lo ves us .

He w ho ca love e Lord the o ne Lord of the h eavens

n th —

a n d th e e a r th s— be cause He lo v es each of thi s co un tle s s

fam ily a s m uch as He lo v es us w ill find hi m , self el ev ated

to a h igh er p lan e o f spiritu al ex i sten ce th an h e co u ld b e

w itho ut the k n ow le dge of the v astne ss of the intelligent
creatio n . He w ill find it easier to consccrate him s el to the
f
g fo o d o un i versa l bein g w hi c h , is th e n a tu r e o f th e a n g e li c
 rrs RELATIO N TO THE NEW DI SPENS ATI O N . 95

and he aven life, and which will descend m

ly ore and m ore
fromG o d out o f heav enin to th e N e w Jerusalem S uch .

a co n ceptionof G o d as th e Un iversal Fa ther an d such a

lov e to Hi mand w orship of Him
,

, i s no t found but inthe

N e w Church B ut here th e Lord Jcsus C hri st is that
.

G od
Professor Jo seph le Conte, ina lecture before th e S m
.

ith
eo n i anInstituti on, rem arks " I ncom p ari ng m odernw ith
an ci en m
t, or e ven e diaev al civ ilization n o thi ng is m o re
m
,

strik in i n ifi n t th n th d iff ren e inth e m n

g o r or e s g ca a e e c a

ner inw hich nature is v iew e d inrelati on to m an T he

ded to ex alt m
.

S pirit of the ol der civili zati onten an inh is

o wn estim atio n a n d to d e g r a de n at u r e ; w hil e th a t o f

moderncivilization te nds to humiliate , by insisting upon
,

hi s in sign ifican ce in co m pari son w i th the greatne ss o f

N ature
"
. This is m an ife stly a correct view of the infl u
en ce of the an cie n t sci en ce , com pare d w ith that o f the
im p r o v e d philo so phy o f the pres en t d a
y T o ass i st a n d
s redee m of the m
.

stre n g th e n th i i ng t en den cy od e rn s c ie n c e

the Lord , i nm t that re m

,

ercy ga v e to His serva n

, a rk able

ex perien ce reco rde d i n th e li ttle w o rk e n ti tle d , Con

ce rn in t h E a rths i no u r S o l ar S y ste m w h i ch l l d
g e , a r e c a e

Planets, an d Con cern ing the E arths inthe S tarry He avens,

w i th a n A cco un t of their In habi tan ts a n
, d also of the
S pirits and A ngels th ere
Th e m
.

an ner inw hich he saw the thi ngs he d escribes is

inperfect harm ony w ith the law s of th e hum a nm
,

in d a nd
,

a cco rds w ith h is w h ole ex pe ri en ce of the sp iri tu al w o rld .

B ut ho w could he have sen si ble ev id en ce of th e ex iste n ce

o f thos e re m ote earth s and their inha bita nts w itho ut a ,

miracle ? This questioncanbe satisfactorily answered to

an n w h o is a ble to co m p re h e n d th e la w s of o ur i n erio r
’

y o e t

being He sh ow s that the inhabi tants of those earths are

m
.

en lik e o u rselves, w i th o n ly certai n spe cific differences

96 KN O W LED G E o r o r Ea EAa rn '
n
S 1 N T HE UN t VERS E ;
'

a d apting themto th e peculi ari tie s of th e ir abode Aft er .

dea th they becom e spi ri ts I nfa ct all th e in h abita nts of

,

ce m
.
,

t he ev er pre sen
-
t S pi ri tual w orld we re o n en o n o ur

eart h , or som
,

e o th er glob e inthe un iverse A spirit after

death retains th e m em
.

ory of all the affairs o f the w orld

h e occupie d , so th at n ot th e least p arti cu la r of all he ev er
saw o r h e ard i s lo st but rem ain s in delibly im aged upo n

d and m
,

the m in ay b e see nan d rea d there as ina book by

oth er s pirits and angels If any one for th e accom
, ,

pli sh
ment of some benevolent ai min the ki ngdomof God
.
,

sho u l d b e elev ate d to a sta te of spiri t, an d sh ould b e per

mitte d to hold conscious intercourse with spirits and
a n el s, he co u
g .ld se e i n t h e i r m e m o ry a ll th e th i ng s t h e y
e v er sa w I nthat hi gher or in terior real m o f b ei n g th e

m
,

m
.

th in g s o f th e i n d b e co e co g n iz a bl e to th e sp ir i tu a l
p erception Th us S w e denborg did not see , directly or
im mediately those far distant earth s and the inhabita nts
.

living upo n th em He saw th emm

, ,

e di ate ly or throu g h
the m He cam
.

municationw ith
,

i nd s of o thers . e in to co m
S p irits w h o on ce l iv ed on tho se glob es Be ing in th e.

S pi rit an d h av in h i s spiri tu al vi si on Op en d h s w i n
g e e a

the m em
, ,

o ry of tho se spirits all th at they ever saw of the

w o rld th ey on ce occu pie d S uppo se you had nev er seen
.

N ia gara Fall s a nd y o ur friend had ; he w ould n

, ot b e

able by a n
, y v e rb al d e scrip tio n to tran s fer, t h e i d e a o f i t t o

your m in d a s it is in hi s B ut if yo ur spi ritual vi si o n

co uld b e so ex al te d a s to see th e i m pre ssion it m
.

a de u po n
hi s m i nd you w ould thenp erceive it i n his m
, em ory j ust
a s h e sa w it I t i s reasonable to supp o se th at ina p ure ly
.
,

S p iri tual w o rld w h ere th e so u

, l i s raise d a bo v e the con
d i tio n s a nd lim it a io n
t s fm
o atter — t ime and spa ce th at the—

things of the m in d its tho ughts affectio ns and m

, , em orie s,
,

are as cle arly d i scern e d by th e S p iri tu al v i s io n a s i nthi s ,

w orld we see w i th the n atural e e th e fe

y a t u r es o f th e face ,
 L
t rs RE A TI O N TO THE NE W D I SPENS A TIO N . 97

a nd itsvari ations The ch ange s in the co untenance o f

.

th e n a tu ral body are effe cts T he ca use is foun

. d i nthe
vari ations of the affe ctio ns and th oughts I n a nother
ow ledge becom
.

w orld k n e s real , be cause it i s a co n iz n

, g a c e

of thi n gs i n th e ir c a u ses . Th e re w e s h all n o t s e e th r o ugh

a glass darkly , b u t shall kn o w a s w e are know n (1 .

Cor x iii
. .

HO W co uld Sw ed enborg com e in to co m munica tionw i th

spi ri ts fro mth o se earth s ? Thi s q uestionw ill b e e a sily
an s w ere d to a n on w h a nso ele v ate h i s th o u ht a bo v e
y e o c
g
the ra n g e a n d do m i nio n o f se n se as to co n ce i v e o f s p iri t
bsta nce entirely discrete or disti nct fro mm
,

a s a su a tter

ditions of the ex i stence of m

.

The essen tial co n a t te r are

space an d ti m e. Inthe spiritual w orld there is n o ti m e,

no S p ace , for the reaso n th at it is a spi ritual , and no t a

material w orld Instead of sp ace and time there are
.
,

state s of the will a n d un derstandi ng N earness is not

as here , prox i m i ty inspa ce b ut resem blance or sim
.
,

, ili tude
of i n terior state . Re m o tene ss i s opp o sitionof state We .

insti nctively recognize the truth of thi s We say of one ,

tha t he seem
.

s n e ar to us of a n oth er, th at he is distant ;

th at w e ca n not get near to h i m Th e sense of nearness i n
e ca se , if w e loo k at i t m
.
,

the o n ore closely , w ill b e found

to b e o n ly sim ilarity of interior state , or sym p athy of
ch ara cter T he sense of di stan ce re su lts fromdissi m il itude
m
.

o f tho u g h t an d feeli n g ,a n d opp o si ti o n o f th e e an a tin g

s h ere T hi s c o n scio usn ess of n e arn ess , th is se n se o f
p
a l p rox i m
.

S pi ritu ity , is percei ve d by us i nde pendent o f ,

s pa ti al d ista n ce Miles a nd l eagues have nothing to do

Ino rd er to co m
.

w ith i t e in to a sso ci atio nw ith th e sp i rits

oth er earth , w e h av e only to co m
.

of a n e in to a state lik e

t h eirs— in to a si m ilar m ode o f though t and feeling ; fo r

s im ilit ude of state i s n ea rn e ss T he grad ual p ro ce ss by
.

w h ich we co m e in to tha t state w ould giv e us the appear

,

7
98 KN O WL ED G E o r OTHER EARTns 1N r m
" UN I ERS E ; V

a nce of progressionthrough S p ace . T he lo n g e r th e ti m e

re q u isite to effe ct the ch an e i nus , th e fu rth er w e S ho u l d

g
seem to jo urn ey B ut w h enw e com e in to th a t state di s

nih ila ted and se paratio ni m

. ,
,

t an ce i s a n , po ssible
ony w i th th ese sim
.

I nh arm ple law s o f the h um anm i nd

S w e denbo rg ca m to co m municationw ith the spirits o f
.

e in

o ther e arths a nd sa w the ir i nh abitants and th e ir a ff ai rs

i n the m em
,

ory of those w h o once inhabited the m A ll

thi s i s i npe rfe ct h a rm
.

ony w ith the re st o f h i s e x p e rie nce

in the spiri tual w orld a n d w as n e cessary to th e fu lness
pleteness o f his providenti al m
,

an d co m i ssion
He th us unfold s the m
.

en ta l l a w s in acco rd an ce w i th

w hi ch thi s see m
,

i ngly w onderful ex perie nce w as gra nte d

h im He w ho is unacquainted w ith the arca na o f
h e a v e n canno t believe th at m
.

an i s cap able of se e i n
g
e a rth s so re m
,

ote and of giv i ng a ny a ccount of the mfro m

,

se n sible ex p e rie n ce " b ut let su ch a o n e kn ow th at th e ,

spa ces a n d d ista nces an , d co n seq u en t p rogression s w hic h ,

e x i st i n t he n a tu ra l w o rld a re i n th eir ori i n a n d fi rst

, , g
ca use ch a n f h f i n rio r thi n s n d h
’

, g e s o t e st a te o te
g a t a,t

w ith an e ls a n d sp i ri ts th ey a p pe ar acco rdi n to suc h

g g
ch a n g es ; a n d th a t th e re fore a n e ls a n
g d sp ir i ts m a
y y b
su ch ch a n g es b e a ppa ren tly tran s la te d fr o m on e p la ce to

moth er and fro mo ne earth to a ao ther, ev en to earth s a t

th e e x tre m
,

e bo u nd a ri e s o f th e uni v erse T he ca se is the

e als o w ith m
.

sam a nas to h is spi ri t an d th erefo re h e m

, a
y
b e so transla te d w hilst his body con ti n ues inits o w npla
T his h as been th e case w ith m
,

yself si nce by the D iv i ne

M e rcy o f the Lord it has b e en giv en m
,

e to con v er e -

w ith sp iri ts a s a S pirit an ,d a t th e sam e ti m e w ith m e na s

a m an .T he se ns ua l m an is n o t c a p a b le o f c o n ce i v i n
g
th at m a na s to h is s irit canb e th u
p s tra n sla te d i na sm u c h
,

as th e se n sual m a n is i m me rsed in spa ce a nd time a nd

mea sure s his pro gre ssio ns a cco rd ingly (E U
,

"
. . .
 rrs R EL AT I O N T O T HE N EW D I S PEN S A T I O N . 99

I n ano th er pla ce he y s " I w as led by angel s fro m

sa

th e Lord to a certa in e a rth i n th e starry h e aven s w h e re ,

i t w a s gi v e n to ta k e a v i e w of th e e arth itself yet n o t to ,

sp ea k w i th th e i n h a b itants but w ith spi ri ts w h o ca m

, e

fro mth e n ce (fo r all th e i n h ab itants or m en o f e ve ry

ea rth a fte r fin i sh ing th e ir co u rse O f li fe i n th e w o rld

rem
,

be co m
,

e s irits a n
p , d a i n n ea r th e i r o w n earth
) ; fro m
th e se ho w e v er I rece i ve d i n
, , form at io n co n cern in g t h e

e a rth a n d con cern in g t h e s ta te o f th e in h a bi ta nts t h er e o f ;

fo r m e n w h en th ey le a v e th e body ca rry w i th th e mall
,

d all th e ir m em
, ,

th eir form er l i fe an , ory T O be led to .

ea rth s i n the un iverse i s n ot to b e le d a n d tran sla te d

th ith er as to th e b o dy b ut as to the spi ri t ; an

, d the spi ri t
i s led by v aria tio n s o f the sta te o f i n terio r li fe w hi ch ,

appear to it a s p rogre ssio n s th ro ugh spa ce s Appro a ch e s

ce m
,
.

or n ear a dv a n en ts a re a ls o effecte d a ccordi n t

, g o a
g r e e

ments or resembla nces o f states o f life for agreement or

re se m b la nce prod uce s co n j unctio n w h erea s d isagreem en t
d d issi m Hence it m
,

an ilitud e prod uce disj un ctio n . ay ,

appear h o w tra n sla tio n i s e ffe cte d a s to th e sp iri t, a n d

its a pp ro ach o r n e ar a dv a n ce m en t to thi n g s r e m o te w hi l st
th e m anre m
,

ain s i nhi s o w npl a ce U

"
.
( E . .

All th is ex p erience though unusual i s not only p ossible ,

, ,

b ut ratio n al a n d credible I t w as n o t so u h t b u
g t g iv en
ercy by th e Lo rd fo r th e acco m
.

plishm
,

in m en t of w orthy

en ds inthe great pla nOf His Pro vidence I t is no t re a

abl e to b eliev e th at th e v ast re al m
.

son o f spirit w i th w hi ch ,

w e stan d ins uch vital co nnecti o n a nd relation should b e

d e d in i m
,

al w ays le ft e n sh ro u p e netrable m id n ight A

l to the a dv ance m
.

re v ela tio no nth i s s ubj e ct w as n eed fu en t

o f th e Lord s red em ptive w o rk N eith er is it Suppo sable

’

th at inth e progress O f h um
.

an k n o w ledge w e w ere to b e ,

l eft ini gnora nce of the i nhabi tants of th e oth er earth s in

th e un iverse A revelati on on thi s subj ect is i ncl ude d
.
 1 00 KN O WL ED G E O F O T HE R EA RTHS I N THE UNI VERS E ;

necessarily in a full di sclo sure of truth resp ecting th e

S piri tua l w orld T he on
. e i s the w hol e th e other a c o n
s tituen t p art A nd a w hole ca n not b e conce iv e d w i tho ut
th e p arts that com
.

po se it It w as not prop er th at th ese

po rtant m ti fied w i th o ur suprem
.

all i m
-
atte rs , so id en e in

tere s ts a s b e i n g s d e st in e d to i m omrta li ty , sho u ld b e l e ft to

co n j e cture They ough t to be subj ected to a solid ex pe ri

me ntal demo nstration N othing sh ort Of this w ould sat
.

i us of th e m m
.

isfy the ge n ode rn scientific ind I f such .

k no w ledge w ere e v er to be giv en, if the vail w ere ev er to

b e lifte d fro mth ese subli m e m ys teri es , no m ore fitting
tim e co u ld h av e b ee n selected , and no b etter instrum en t
ch o sen f k m
n u f i
mm
, o r a i g t h e di sc lo s r e I
. t w ere e ver t o b e

do ne, it is i ssible for us to co n ce ive h ow it co u ld b e

a cco m m
plish ed ina anner m ore rati onal and credible , or
more inharmony w ith our know ledge of the D ivine Love
an d Wi sd o , an m d th e usual pro ce dure of the D ivi n e

Providence .

His ex p erience al so establ ish es one i nteresting fact , and

solv es o n e oth erw i se i m m
p enetrable ystery th at the i n—

m
h abitants of our earth are ore under the do ini onof th e m
sen se s , m
ore m ateri al an d corporeal , th an th o se of an y
other I t is here alone that the art of printing ex i sts , for
m
.

it w ould see th at in n o o th er i s it n ecessary th at th e

W o rd sh ould b e so ulti m ated , an d ren dered appreh ensible

by th e senses as in our w o rld Here is unco vere d the
m
mystery , w hy the Lord beca e incarnate on our earth ,
.

rath er than o n a n y o th er H e w h o w as th e first m u st

beco m
.

e th e l a st H ere alone th e Divine B eing could be

ful ly ulti m d the Wo rd m m
.

ate d , an ad e fl esh . He ca e
d ow nto the low est range of h um an ex i sten ce , ino rder to

uni te in His Di v i ne Pe rson th e tw o ex trem e s of ratio n al

bei ng th e first and the last th e h igh e st and the low est
m
.
, ,

This greatly ex alts our conceptionof His red ee ing love ,

 IN R ELA T I O N TO THE N EW D I S PEN S A TI O N . 1 01

and l ays th e found atio nfor our fir m t t ut

es r s . T he mo re

w e study th e fa cts o f thi s w onderful ex p eri ence of S w eden

borg , th e more h all percei v e its
we s im p o rta nce an
, d i ts

necessary connectio nw i th th e ush ering ino f a new A ge

O f th e Church If th ere i s to b e a n ew d ispen sa ti o n i f

e do w nfro mG o d o ut o f
.
,

th e N e w Jerusal e mis to co m

h eav en it w i ll a s grea tly ex tend th e ran

, g e o f h um a n
k no w ledge a nd tho ugh t ov er W h at ha d b e en gra nted to
th e h um anm i nd i nth e previ ous age , as th a t enlarged th e
bound ari es of the m i nd s actionbeyond what w as granted
’

to Jud ai sm or Pagan i sm .
 C HA P T E R X V I I I .

MA NY of the philo sophical principles, unfolded inthe

writi n g s O f S w e d en b o r g
, th a t so u n d e d stra n g e w h e n fi rs t

p u bli sh e d to th e w o r l d , be ca u se th e y w e re i n a d v a n ce o f
the age inw hi ch h e li v ed , are n ow after the lap se of a

ning to b e ad m itte d by m
,

cen tury , begin en of scien ce

Am ong these m
.

b e pl aced th e pri n ipl t h t ll t hi n s

a
y c e a a g
in th e pl an etary wo rld s th at co m po se our sol ar system ,

o w e th eir origi n to the su n T his is the scientific basis

.

of th e sp iri tual tru th , that all th i n gs i n t h e h eav e n s d e ri v e

their ex i sten ce fromthe su no f that w orld , w hich is th e

p ro x im a te em an at i on of th e Divi n e Lo ve an d W i m
sd o .

Thi s is a characteri stic pri nciple Of h is spiritual ph ilos

Ophy . A correct science is the foundati onof a true spirit
ual in telli gen ce . T he n atu ral sci en ces , or n atu ral tru th s,
are th e b asis of spiritu al tru ths, an d are ve ssels to con tain
th em (S D E very true spiritual philosophy
must have a correct scientific basis ; for if it h as not, it
. . .

becom es visi o n ary an d fan tasti c, a h ou

— se w ith ou t a foun
dati on Th e m ore S w edenborgs doctrines are studied in
the l igh t of th e i m
.

proved science Of the present age, the

more evi dence we shall gainof his D ivi ne illumination"
T his open s a large an d in terestin g fi eld o f i n v es tig a ti on
m m
.

Our li its will on ly per it us to glance at it .

( )
1 03
 S CIENTI FI C CO N FIR M A TI O N .

T he follo w ing i s tak en fro mn

j o urnal s of the
o e Of the

day inre ference to th e o rigino f all terrestri al th in s f ro m

, g
th e sun R e ce nt i nve stiga tio ns clearly e stabli sh the fa ct,
th a t the atm o sph ere of th e sun ho lds i n suspensi on or
sol u tio n m an y o f the substa nces th at ex ist ono ur pla ne t
o nly as solid s— th e m e tals for in stan ce O f co urse w e
trace this to th e m
, .
,

uch h igh er tem p erature of th e sun; a nd

et th e fa ct i s scarcely app re ci able to o ur i m agi n a tio n s ;
y
an d still m ore th at bei ng so w e shoul d b e able to di sco v er
, ,

an d di scuss it i n telligibly A scientific w rite r on thi s

O ur i m ri sh e d atm
.

subj ect say s p o v e o s ph ere sti ll co n

ta i n s n othing b ut the elem en ts n ecessa ry for th e suppo rt

o f org a ni c i e o x ygen, azo te ca bo a d a e and

l f — r n n w t r —

derstandi ng can w i th diffi culty accustomitse lf to

, ,

ou r un

the idea of anatm o sphe re cha rged w ith iron w ith al ka li ne

metals w ith bodies the most different ina state of com
,

, ,

b ustio n I t w o ul d require the pe no f a D an te to portray

ditionO f nature th at ra i nof m
.

th at ch aotic co n etall i c fire ,

those lum
,

i nous cloud s d arke ned by the contrast o f a sti ll

i ntenser li gh t, th at incande scent oceanof the sun, w ith its
te m pests its currents i ts rushi ng and giganti c w ate r
ce ev en i m
, ,

sp o uts ; such pi ctures set a t d efian agi n ation s

th e m ost enam ored of th e fanta sti c and the strange ; and

our stream s ev a po rate as a drop O f w a te r b efore th at

blazing lav a th at focus th at refulgence of the w orld ,

th O f all m ovem
,

rce o f all w a rm
,

en
"
so u t o f all life

Youm a n inthe l ate e d itio nO f h i s Ch e m istry , rem

.
, ,

ark s

d ph e no m
,

Not on ly life b ut all the gra n en a O f force w i th

w hi ch w e are fam
,

iliar upo nthi s pl ane t h a v e th e i r ori gin

inth e sun His ra d ia ti o ns go v e rnth e m ov em
,

en ts o f te r

re stri al ato m d i nthese th e m ts O f m

.

s , an ov em en a sse s tak e

th eir ri se . Sho uld th a t body cea se to giv e o ut e m an a tion s ,

th e e arth w o ul d sp e edily lo se its h eat ; life w o ul d d isa p

e ar, v apors co n en se an uid s co n
"
d d liq ea l
p , g .
 SCIENTIFIC CO N FIR M A TI O N . 1 05

I n an other p lace he says T he earth is w ar ed, m

m m
ill u ine d , agnetiz ed , and v iv ified by th e sun I n the .

fall of th e av ala nch e , th e r a r of

o the cataract , and the
fl ow i of r v ers ; inth e cras h of th und er, th e glare of light
ning a nd th e
, sw e ep O f to rna doe s ; inth e
blaze Of confl a
g ra ti o n, a nd th e sho c k o f b a ttl e ; i n th e b ea uty o f flo w ers ,

o f th e rai n b ow , and Of th e ever shifting cloud s ; in days-

an d season s th e sil en t gro w th o f pl an ts , an d th e elastic

m m m
,

S pri n g o f an i a ls ; i n t h e s a i l i pe lle-
d or s te a dr iv en -

sh ip an d th e flyi n tra in; inth e h ea vy respirati onOf th e

g
lab ori ng steamengine and th e rapid click of the tele
,

ra p h ; i nall th e m ri a d m
,

y n i f e sta tion s Of earthly p ow er,

g a

w e behold the tran sm uted stren g t h o f t h e a ll e n erg izi

-
n g
su n
Professor Henry in a lecture before the S m
.

ith so n ian
Insti tuti on m
,

akes the fol lo w i n g o b serva tio n s " O n e Of

the m ost im
,

porta nt general truth s a t w hich science h as

arri v e d by a w id e an d cauti o us in d uction, i s that nearly
all the chan g e s w hi ch n o w ta k e pl ac e at th e su rface of the

earth , are du e to th e su n If, th erefore ,

the solar i m pulses w ere susp ende d , all m
.

otionon the sur

face of th e planet w ould cease "th e w ind s w ould gra dually
d ie a w ay ; the curren ts Of th e oceanw ould slacken their
pace , and finally com e to rest ; an d stilln ess , silen ce an d
death w ould h old un iversal re ign "

sist fromthe su
.

If it b e true th at all th in gs sub n th ey

must ex ist fromthe same ; for subsistence is perpetual
,

ex i sten ce .

I n th e Apocalyp se Rev ealed , (n w e have a fin e

d al m ost m
.

ex h ibitionof th e sci en tific corre ctn e ss an a th e

matical ex actness of S w e denborg s d octrine of corres ’

n d n ce I t i s inrel atio nto th e co rrespon d en ce Of le av es

po e

By le aves, h e rem
.

an d flo w ers ark s are sign ifie d rational

ths are th ose th at prox im
.
,

tru th s ; an d rati on al tru ate ly

1 06 SCI ENT IFIC CO N FIRM ATI O N .

i
re ce v e S piritual truths for th e rati onal faculty of m ani s

Wh en the h um
,

th e first recepta cle O f S piritual truth s an

mind is able to receive D ivine truth, rati onally appre

.

h ended it stands uponthe di v iding line betw ee nth e natu

,

ral a n d spiri tual sta te Hence th e Lord says to th e na tural

man Co me now and let us rea son together (I sa
.

"
.
, , .

i. T he leav es of th e tre e o f li fe are fo r th e h eal i n g

O f th e n ation s , an d by tho se leav es are spiri tually signi fie d
ra tion a l truth s
"
This m arks th e high est state the n atu

ral m Whena m an b e co m
.

anca n reach e s S pi ri tual th e

lea ves o f the tree Of life are transform

.
,

e d in to flow ers .

T he corre sp onden ce of flow ers i s h igh er, b ecause th ey

a re m ore delicately organiz e d than leaves Flow ers sig

pri m itiv e spi ri tual truths in th e rati onal m
.

nify ind "

L e av es rep resent m
.

erely rati o n al truth s flo w ers the first

truth s appre h en ded rati o nally by the spiritual m an T h ey .

a re ra tio n al tru th s tra n sfigured o r se e ninth e l i h t of th e

g
h igh er sun H ere i s e x actly the sam
,

. e differe n ce b etw een

th e corre spo n de nce Of leaves and flo wers th at there is in ,

th e ir physiologi cal structure I t is a prin. ciple b u t recen tly

ad m itte d in to botan ica l sci ence that the leaf is a typi cal
,

f orm a n d all the organs of th e flo w er, such as th e se pals,

th e p e tals the stam en s an d th e pi stil s are on ly m odifica

They are only the leaf formm

, ,

tion s of th e lea f ore d eli

-

etam
.

cately orga n iz e d , an d m orpho se d into those organs

re sp ecti v ely T he di scov ery o f thi s truth w a s a n era in
.

Physiological B otany B ut i t w a s actually fore sha dow e d

.

i nS w e d e n borg s S cience o f Correspondence

’

Wh ence com ice di scri m

.

e s thi s n inati o nof th e spi ritual

si gn i ficance of l eaves and fl o wers ? Whence thi s scientific
correctn e ss o f S w e den bo rg s do ctrine of co rre spo ndence as
’

a ppl ied to tho se organ s o f p l an It i s not probable th at

'

ts

h e w as a cquain te d w i th th e p rin ciple O f B otan ic Physiology ,

that the v ari ous p arts or organ s of th e fl o w er are o n ly
 S CI ENT I FI C CO N FI RM A TI ON . 1 07

mod ifi i ns of th e lea f for it is O f recent i ntrod uctio n

ca t o ,

i nto Bo ta ny Wh at w e h a v e sa id inrelatio nto leav es a nd

.

flo w ers is o nly anillus tratio no f w h at w ill b e fo und to hold

ood o f th e correspo n d en ce Of all th i n s i n the m i n l
g g e ra

im al k in do m
,

t he v egeta b le an d the a n g s a s th e i r S i it u l
, , p r a

s ign ifica n ce i s un fo ld ed i n th e w ritings of th at w ond e rful

ma n T he S ci ence of Corre sp o ndence as ill ustrate d by
.
,

S w e de n bo rg is a Di v ine id ea and one O f th e loftie st co n

, ,

c e ti o n s t h at w a s e v er utte re d by th e m o u t h f m o rta l
p O

ma n; and it wil l be found to be based up ona correct a nd

ex a ct kn ow ledge of the n h i n
a ture o
f t g s T h e N ew A ge

m
.

h a s noth in g t o fea r bu
,
t ev eryth in to
g g a i n,
f ro th e ra
p
idly a dvancing li ght of m od ern science L et th a t light
.

sh in e w i th a thousa n d fold splendor it w ill o nly co nst itute

-

t h e un sh ak e nb a si s on w h i ch th e Di v in e h an d w ill rear
th e sup erstructure O f th e N e w D isp en sa tio n T he h igh er
ning to sh ine fromo ut th e
.

sp i ri tu al l i gh t th a t i s n o w b egin

d e sce nd ng h ea v s
i e n w ill, ne ce ssa y s uch a re th e la w s
ril —

of th e Divi e o d n r e r— ulti m a te i tse l f i n a co rre cte d a n d

im prov ed sci ence A nd tha t science w ill b e th e so lid
found atio no nw hi ch th e w alls o f th e N ew Jerusalemsh a ll
.

ri se

d ev e n m ath e m
.

T he sci en ti fi c a n a ti cal ex a ctn e ss w i th

bo rg unfo ld s h i s S piritua l d o ctri ne s m

,

w h ich S w e d en ,ay b e

see ni nthe l i ttle w o rk en title d T he Do ctrine O f the N e w

Jerusalemre specti ng th e S acre d S criptures I n co m in
"
.
O g
to th e k n ow le dge of the spiritual se nse O f th e S cri ptures ,

th e re i s great da n r th at th e l i te ral se n se S ho ul d b e un d er
g e

v a lu ed . T O guard a gainst so great a nerror h e la y s do w n ,

the propo si ti o n th a t i nthe li tera l sen e Word D iv i n

se o
f th ,
e

truth i s in its f uln ess i nits sa n

,
cti t
y an d i n i ts
p o w er
’
H e.

i u w h at m b e a p prop ria tely ca lle d a ge o m e trica l

g v e s s a
y
de m o nstration o f th at S p iritual truth He doe s it by
s e s are s im
.

S h owi n th a t th e ce le stia l a n d sp irit u a l se n ulta

g
1 08 SCI ENTI FI C CO N FI R M A T I O N .

neously onta ined i n the li teral sense

c He re m . a rk s ,

Bo th inhe a ve nand inth e w orld th ere are tw o ki nd s O f ,

o rder successiv e order and si m ul tan eo us o rd e r I nsuc

er fro m
.
,

ce ss iv e o rder on e thi n su cc e d s an d f ol l o w s an o th
g e ,

w h at i s high est to w hat is lo w e st ; b ut in S i m ulta ne o us

order o ne thing a dj o ins to ano th er fromw h at is i nne r
mo st to w hat is outermost S uccessive order is like a
, ,

nw ith degrees fromhigh est to lo w est ; b ut S i m

.

c ol um
i

ul
ta n eous o rd e r is li ke a w o rk w ho se ce n tre a n d ci rcum fer
en ce s h a v e a regu lar coh erence all the w ay to the surface
W e S h all now S how inw hat m
, .

an ner successi v e order b e

com es inits u lti m ates , S i m ulta n eo us o rd e r w hi ch is th u s

the h ighest p arts of successiv e ord er be co m

,

mo st
,

e th e i n

O f si m ultan e o us o rd er, an d th e lo w est p arts of success ive

o rder becom e the ou term ost of S i m ul tan eo u s order j ust as

w o uld b e the ca se w i th a col um

,

n Of d e gree s w e re it to
k do wna nd beco m
,

S in e a coh e re n t body i na plan e Thus

w h at i s si m ultaneous is fo rm ed fro m
.

w h at i s successiv e ;

an d thi s is the case w i th all a n d e v ery th in g i n th e na tu ra l

w o rl d a n d inall a n d e ve ryt hi n g i n th e s p i ri tu a l w o r ld ;
for th e re i s ev e ry w h ere a first a m
,

iddle a nd a la st ; and
th e fi rst by m s o f th e m
, ,

ea n
, id dle te n d s a nd p rocee ds to
,

th e l a st T O a pply n
. o w thi s re a so n
, , ing to the Word the
celesti a l spiritu ,
al a n d natural p rin cipl es pro ce ed fro m th e
Lo rd insuccessive order ; a nd i n th e ir la st or ulti m a te

th ey a re i n S i m
, ,

ul ta n e o us o rd er " th u s th e n the cele st ial

se s o f th e Wo rd a re S i m
, ,

an d spiri tua l se n ulta n eo usly co n

ta in ed i nth e n at u ral se n se Wh e n thi s truth is com

.
p re

hen de d it will b e ea sy to see h ow the natural sense o f the

,

Wo rd w hi ch i s its l iteral sense is the continent b a si s

, ,

d fi rm am
, ,

an en t o f its spi ri tual a n d celestial se nse s " a n d

a l so , inw h a t m an ner D i v ine good a nd D i v ine truth in ,

th e l ite ral sen se of th e l Vo rd are i nth ei r fuln

, e ss i nth e ir ,

sa n ctit , a n n n
"
y d i t h ei r po w e r (D o.ctr i e o
f S a cred S a i )
l
 SCIENTIFI C CO NFI RM ATI ON . 1 09

twres , S uch anill ustratio of a great and im n

p ortant
Spiritu al tru th m ust b e adap te d to the scien tifi c m ind of
ev ery co un try a n d age He w ho co m prehend s it w ill
.
,

never b e i ndanger of underv alui ng the literal sense O f the

Holy S criptures The sense of the letter i s of the sam
m
e

im rtance in its relation to the hi gher se n

.

se s th at th e ,

b ody i s to th e soul I n S w ede nborg s do ctri n

’
. e of th e

D iv ine W ord w e do not h av e a body w itho ut a so ul for

, ,

that w o uld b e d e ad ; n or a so u l w i tho ut a body w hi ch ,

w ould b e eq ually v al ueless ev enif such a th i n g, c o u ld b e

con ceiv e d

It m
.

b p ro p er to sa a w ord i n rel ati o nto S w e de n

a
y e y
bo rg s m ethod of i m parting Di v ine truth Th at m ethod is
’

inex act h arm ony w ith th e law s o f the m

.

i nd By an in .

duction of facts, w e arriv e according to th e B aconi an

meth o d of ph ilosophizi ng to the knowledge of general
,

B ut i n i m p arti ng to other m
,

truth s or l aw s i nds the

know ledge th at ha s beenrev eal ed to us, w e m
.

ust p ursue
the opposite , or i n verte d order Fi rst, general truth s are
made known, thenp arti cular and thensingular or indivi
.

d fromgeneral through
,

dual truths An d as w e d escen

p arti cular, to S ingul ar truth s our k nowledge b eco m es m
.
,

, ore
perfe ct and sati sfacto ry Thi s i s the natural order of the
mind s development This is the law of mental and
.

d m
.

spiri tua l pro gress a n ust b e to etern

, ity Thi s is th e .

ord er th at every wh ere prevails in the S piritual w riti ngs

of S w e den b o rg, esp eci ally inh is ex pl an ati o n s Of th e Holy

S criptures A casual glance at hi s w orks w ill convince

.

us o f thi s The peculi ar style of S w e den

. b org i s w h at i s
first obj e cte d to by a rea der of hi s w orks B ut it i s n ot

diffi cul t to sh ow th at hi s m eth o d i s inh arm

.

ony w ith the

law s of th e m ind and bel ongs to th e rev elationof new
His w orks are no eph em
,

truth s . eral pro d u cti o n s b ut ,

design ed b y Provi d en ce for fu ture ages,as w ell as for

1 10 SCIENTIFIC CO NFIRMA TI O N .

this. His peculiar term

inolog h as the m
y erit of ex ressin
p g
ex actl y the idea he w ould o nv ey to the m
c i nd o f the rea der,
w hich is o f n o sm all i m po rta nce in im p arti ng th e truth s
of th e N ew D isp en sati on N o sci enti fic m ind , no correct
ker, w ill Obj ect to hi s term inology , any m
.

thin ore th an
they w ou l d to the techn i cal term m
s e pl oyed inthe N atu ral

S ciences .