NEUOFFENBARUNG← Divine Providence · Contents
91. But very few are able to apprehend intelligently that acknowledgment of the Lord, and an acknowledgment that all that is good and true is from the Lord, are what cause a man to be reformed and regenerated. For it may be thought, What does that acknowledgment do, since the Lord is omnipotent and wills to save all? And therefore is He not able and willing to do this, provided He is moved to mercy? But such thought is not from the Lord; nor is it from any interior sight of the understanding, that is, from any enlightenment. Therefore what this acknowledgment effects shall be briefly stated. [2] In the spiritual world, where spaces are nothing but appearances, presence is caused by wisdom and conjunction by love; and vice versa. There can be an acknowledgment of the Lord from wisdom, and there can be an acknowledgment of the Lord from love. Acknowledgment of the Lord from wisdom, which regarded in itself is nothing but knowledge, is effected by doctrine; while acknowledgment of the Lord from love is effected by a life in accordance with doctrine. This produces conjunction, but the other presence. And for this reason those that reject doctrine concerning the Lord remove themselves from Him; and as such also reject life, they separate themselves from Him; while those that reject life and not doctrine are present, although separated. They are like friends who talk with one another, but have no love for one another. Or they are like two persons, one of whom speaks to the other as a friend, and yet hates him as an enemy.
[3] That this is true is acknowledged in the common belief that he who teaches well and lives well is saved, but he who teaches well and lives wickedly is not saved; also that he who does not acknowledge God cannot be saved. All this makes clear what that religion is that merely thinks about the Lord from faith, as it is called, but does not do anything from charity. So the Lord says:-
Why call ye Me Lord, Lord, and do not the things that I say? Every one that cometh to Me and heareth My sayings and doeth them, is like a man building a house and laid a foundation upon the rock. But he that heareth and doeth not, is like a man that built a house upon the earth without a foundation (Luke vi. 46-49).
92. (6) By means of these two faculties the conjunction of the Lord with man and the reciprocal conjunction of man with the Lord are effected. Conjunction with the Lord and regeneration are one, for so far as any one is conjoined with the Lord he is regenerated. Therefore all that has been said above of regeneration may be said of conjunction; and what is here said of conjunction may be said of regeneration. That there is a conjunction of the Lord with man, and a reciprocal conjunction of man with the Lord, He Himself teaches in John:-
Abide in Me and I in you. He that abideth in Me and I in him, the same beareth much fruit (xv. 4, 5).
At that day ye shall know that ye are in Me and I in you (xiv. 20).
[2] Any one can see from reason alone that there is no conjunction of minds unless it is reciprocal, and that the reciprocation is what conjoins. If one loves another and is not loved in return, then as one approaches the other withdraws; but if he is loved in return, then as one approaches the other approaches, and conjunction takes place. Moreover, love wills to be loved; this is implanted in it; and so far as love is loved in return, it is in itself and in its enjoyment. This makes clear that when the Lord loves man and is not loved in return by man, the Lord approaches and man withdraws; thus the Lord continually wills to draw near to man and to enter into him, and man turns back and goes away. This is true of those that are in hell; but with those that are in heaven there is a mutual conjunction. [3] Since the Lord wills conjunction with man in order to save him, He provides that there shall be in man something reciprocal. The reciprocal in man is this, that the good which he wills and does from freedom, and the truth which, from that willing, he thinks and speaks in accordance with reason, appear to be from himself, and this good in his will and this truth in his understanding appear to be his. To man they even appear to be from himself and to be his precisely as if they were his, with no difference whatever. Take notice whether any one by any sense perceives it to be otherwise. Respecting this appearance as if from oneself, see above (n. 74-87); and respecting appropriation as one’s own (n. 78-81). The only difference is that man ought to acknowledge that he does good and thinks truth not from himself but from the Lord, and consequently that the good he does and the truth he thinks are not his. To so think from some love in the will, because such is the truth, is what causes conjunction; for thus man looks to the Lord, and the Lord looks on man.
93. The nature of the difference between those who believe all good to be from the Lord and those who believe good to be from themselves it has been permitted me both to hear and see in the spiritual world. Those who believe good to be from the Lord turn the face to Him, and receive the enjoyment and the blessedness of good. But those who believe good to be from themselves look to themselves and think in themselves that they are meritorious. And because they look to themselves they are able to perceive the enjoyment of their own good only, which is not the enjoyment of good but the enjoyment of evil. For what is man’s own (proprium) is evil; and the enjoyment of evil when perceived as good is hell. Those that have done good and have believed it to be from themselves, if after death they do not receive this truth that all good is from the Lord, mingle with infernal genii, and at length come to be one with them; while those that receive this truth are reformed. But none receive it except those who have looked to God in their life. Looking to God in their life is nothing else than shunning evils as sins.
94. The conjunction of the Lord with man and the reciprocal conjunction of man with the Lord is effected by loving the neighbor as oneself and loving the Lord above all things. To love the neighbor as oneself consists solely in not acting insincerely or unjustly towards him, not holding him in hatred or burning with revenge against him, not reviling or defaming him, not committing adultery with his wife, and not doing other like things against him. Who cannot see that those who do such things do not love the neighbor as themselves? But those who do not do such things for the reason that they are evils against the neighbor and also sins against the Lord, act sincerely, justly, kindly, and faithfully in relation to the neighbor; and as the Lord does likewise, a reciprocal conjunction is effected. And when there is reciprocal conjunction, whatever a man does to the neighbor he does from the Lord; and whatever he does from the Lord is good. Then it is not the person but the good in the person that is the neighbor to him. To love the Lord above all things consists solely in doing no evil to the Word for the reason that the Lord is in the Word, or to the holy things of the church for the reason that the Lord is in the holy things of the church, or to the soul of any one, for the reason that every one’s soul is in the Lord’s hand. Those who shun these evils as monstrous sins love the Lord above all things. But this none can do except those who love the neighbor as themselves, for the two are joined together.
95. Because there is a conjunction both of the Lord with man and of man with the Lord, there are two tables of the law, one for the Lord and the other for man. So far as man keeps the law of his table as if from himself, so far the Lord enables him to keep the laws of His table. But the man who does not keep the laws of his own table, all of which refer to love to the neighbor, can not keep the laws of the Lord’s table, all of which refer to love to the Lord. How can a murderer, a thief, an adulterer or a false witness, love the Lord? Does not reason declare that being such and loving God involves a contradiction? Is not the devil such? Can the devil do other than hate God? But when a man turns away from murder, adultery, theft, and false witness as infernal, then he can love the Lord; for he then turns his face from the devil to the Lord; and when he turns his face to the Lord love and wisdom are given him. These enter man by the face, and not by the back of the neck. As conjunction with the Lord is effected in this way and in no other way, these two tables are called a covenant; and a covenant is between two.
96. (7) The Lord preserves these two faculties in man inviolate and as sacred in the whole course of His Divine providence. This is because without these two faculties man would not possess understanding and will, and thus would not be man; also because without these two faculties man could not be conjoined with the Lord, and thus could not be reformed and regenerated; also because without these two faculties man could not have immortality and eternal life. That this is so can be seen indeed from a knowledge of what liberty and rationality are (which are the two faculties here meant), as given in the preceding pages; but not clearly unless the above propositions are presented to view as conclusions; these therefore must be made clear. [2] Without these two faculties man would not possess will and understanding, and thus would not be man. For man has will from no other source than being able to will freely as if from himself; and to will freely as if from himself is from a faculty continually given him by the Lord that is called liberty. And man has understanding from no other source than being able to understand as if from himself whether a thing is in harmony with reason or not: and to understand whether a thing is in harmony with reason or not is from the other faculty continually given to man by the Lord that is called rationality. In man these two faculties are conjoined, like the will and the understanding in this respect, that man has the ability to understand because he has the power to will; for willing is not possible apart from understanding; understanding is its consort or mate, without which it cannot exist. This is why along with the faculty called liberty the faculty called rationality is given; and why if you take away willing from understanding you understand nothing. [3] Moreover, in the measure of your willing you have the ability to understand, provided the aids that are called knowledges are present and are also opened, for these are like tools to the workman. It is said that you have the ability to understand in the measure of your willing, that is, in the measure of your love to understand, for the will and love act as one. This indeed may seem absurd; but it seems so only to those who do not love and therefore do not wish to understand; and those who do not wish to understand say that they cannot. But who those are that are unable to understand, and who those are that are able to understand with difficulty, will be told in a subsequent article. [4] No proof is needed to show that unless man possessed a will from the faculty that is called liberty, and an understanding from the faculty that is called rationality, he would not be a man. Beasts do not have these faculties. There is an appearance that beasts also are able to will and to understand, but they are not. Natural affection, which in itself is desire, with its mate, knowledge, is what alone leads and moves beasts to do what they do. There is, it is true, something of the civil and moral in their knowledge; but this is not above their knowledge because they have no spiritual which gives perception of the moral, and consequently have no ability to think analytically about it. They can, indeed, be taught to do something; but this is only something natural that adds itself to their knowledge and also to their affection, and is reproduced either through the sight or through the hearing; but in no wise becomes a matter of thought still less of reason in them. But something respecting this may be seen above (n. 74). [5] Without these two faculties man could not be conjoined with the Lord, and thus could not be reformed and regenerated. This has been shown above. For the Lord has His residence in man, both in the evil and in the good, in these two faculties; and it is by means of them that He conjoins Himself with every man. It is from this that an evil man as well as a good man has the ability to understand, and in consequence has in potency the will of good and the understanding of truth; that he does not have them actually is owing to the abuse of these faculties. That the Lord has His residence in every man in these faculties is from the inflow of His will, in that He wills to be received by man and to have an abode in him and to give him the happy things of eternal life. All this belongs to the Lord’s will, for it belongs to His Divine love. It is this will of the Lord that causes the appearance in man that what he thinks, speaks, wills and does is his own. [6] That it is the inflow of the Lord’s will that does this can be established by many things from the spiritual world. Sometimes the Lord so fills an angel with His Divine that the angel does not know that he is not the Lord. Thus were the angels filled that were seen by Abraham, Hagar, and Gideon, and therefore they called themselves Jehovah, of whom in the Word. Again, one spirit can be so filled by another as not to know but that he is the other. This I have often seen. Furthermore it is known in heaven that the Lord does every thing by willing it, and that whatever He wills is done. All this makes clear that it is by means of these two faculties that the Lord conjoins Himself with man and causes man to be reciprocally conjoined with Him. But how man is reciprocally conjoined by means of these faculties, and how he is consequently reformed and regenerated by means of them, has been told above, and more will be said about it further on. [7] That man without these two faculties could not have immortality and eternal life, follows from what has just been said, that by means of them there is conjunction with the Lord, also reformation and regeneration; through conjunction man has immortality and through reformation and regeneration he has eternal life. And as by means of these two faculties there is a conjunction of the Lord with every man, both the evil and the good, as has been said, therefore every man has immortality. But eternal life, that is, the life of heaven, is given to him in whom there is a reciprocal conjunction from inmosts to outmosts. From all this the reasons are evident why the Lord preserves these two faculties in man inviolate and as sacred, in the whole course of His Divine providence.
97. (8) Therefore it is [a law] of the Divine providence that man should act from freedom in accordance with reason. To act from freedom in accordance with reason, to act from liberty and rationality, and to act from the will and the understanding, are the same thing; but it is one thing to act from freedom in accordance with reason, or to act from liberty and rationality, and it is another thing to act from freedom itself in accordance with reason itself or to act from liberty itself and from rationality itself. For a man who does evil from the love of evil and confirms that evil in himself, acts from freedom in accordance with reason; and yet his freedom is not in itself freedom, or freedom itself, but it is an infernal freedom that is in itself slavery; and his reason is not in itself reason, but is either a spurious or a false reason, or what is made to appear by confirmations to be reason. Nevertheless they are both of the Divine providence; for if the freedom to will evil, and to make it appear by confirmations to be in accordance with reason were taken away from the natural man, liberty and rationality, and will and understanding with them, would perish, and he would have no ability to be withdrawn from evils and reformed, and thus conjoined with the Lord and live forever. Consequently the Lord guards freedom in man, as man guards the apple of his eye. And yet by means of freedom, the Lord continually withdraws man from evils; and so far as He is able to withdraw him by means of freedom, He implants what is good by means of freedom. Thus in the place of infernal freedom, the Lord gradually endows man with heavenly freedom.
98. It has been said above that every man possesses the faculty to will that is called liberty, and the faculty to understand that is called rationality; but it should be well understood that these faculties are, as it were, innate in man, for his human itself is in them. But, as has just been said, it is one thing to act from freedom in accordance with reason, and another thing to act from freedom itself in accordance with reason itself. Only such as have suffered themselves to be regenerated by the Lord act from freedom itself in accordance with reason itself; all others act from freedom in accordance with thought to which they give the semblance of reason. And yet every man, unless born foolish or excessively stupid, is able to attain to reason itself, and through it to freedom itself. But there are numerous reasons why every man does not do this that will be made known in what follows. Here it will only be told who those are to whom freedom itself or liberty itself, together with reason itself or rationality itself, cannot be given; and to whom they can scarcely be given. [2] Liberty itself and rationality itself cannot be given to those that are born foolish, or to those who have become foolish, so long as they remain so. They cannot be given to those born stupid and gross, or to any who have become so from the torpor of idleness, or from any disease that has perverted or wholly closed the interiors of the mind, or from the love of a beastly life. [3] Liberty itself and rationality itself cannot be given to those in the Christian world who wholly deny the Lord’s Divinity and the holiness of the Word, and have maintained this denial confirmed in them to the end of life; for this is meant by the sin against the Holy Spirit which is not forgiven either in this age or in the age to come (Matt. xii. 31, 32). [4] Neither can liberty itself and rationality itself be given to those who attribute all things to nature and nothing to the Divine, and who have made this to be their belief by reasonings from things visible; for such are atheists. [5] Liberty itself and rationality itself can scarcely be given to those who have strongly confirmed themselves in falsities of religion, for a confirmer of falsity is a denier of truth. But they can be given to those who, whatever their religion may be, have not so confirmed themselves (on which see what is presented in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the Sacred Scripture, n. 91-97). [6] Infants and children cannot come into liberty itself and rationality itself until they are grown up; for the interiors of the mind in man are opened gradually; and in the mean time they are like seeds in unripe fruit, that cannot sprout in the soil.
99. It has been said that liberty itself and rationality itself cannot be given to those that have denied the Lord’s Divinity and the holiness of the Word, or to those that have confirmed themselves in favor of nature against the Divine, and scarcely to those that have strongly confirmed themselves in falsities of religion. Yet none of these have lost the faculties themselves. I have known atheists who have become devils and satans to understand the arcana of wisdom as well as angels, but only while they heard them from others; and when they returned into their own thoughts they did not understand, for the reason that they had no desire to. But they were shown that they, too, might have the desire if they were not misled by the love and consequent enjoyment of evil; and this they understood when they heard it, and even asserted that they might, but that they had no wish to be able, since this would make them unable to will what they had willed, which was evil, from enjoyment in its lust. I have often heard such wonderful things in the spiritual world, by which it has been fully proved to me that every man possesses liberty and rationality; and that every one can come into liberty itself and rationality itself provided he shuns evils as sins. But a mature man who does not come into liberty itself and rationality itself in the world can in no wise come into them after death; for his state of life then remains forever such as it had been in the world.
100. IT IS A LAW OF THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE THAT MAN SHOULD AS IF FROM HIMSELF PUT AWAY EVILS AS SINS IN THE EXTERNAL MAN; AND THE LORD IS ABLE IN THIS WAY AND IN NO OTHER TO PUT AWAY EVILS IN THE INTERNAL MAN, AND SIMULTANEOUSLY IN THE EXTERNAL.
Any one is able to see from reason alone that the Lord, who is good itself and truth itself, cannot enter into man unless the evils and falsities in him are put away; for evil is the opposite of good, and falsity is the opposite of truth, and two opposites can in no wise be commingled, but when one draws near to the other a combat takes place, which lasts till one gives way to the other; and the one that yields departs, and the other takes its place. In such opposition are heaven and hell, or the Lord and the devil. Can any one think in a rational way that the Lord can enter where the devil reigns, or that heaven can be where hell is? From the rationality granted to every sane man can he not see that for the Lord to enter the devil must be cast out? or for heaven to enter, hell must be put away?
[2] This opposition is meant by Abraham’s words from heaven to the rich man in hell:-
Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed; that those wishing to pass from this side to you may not be able, nor can those on that side pass over to us (Luke xvi. 26).
Evil itself is hell, and good itself is heaven; or what is the same, evil itself is the devil, and good itself is the Lord; and the man in whom evil reigns is a hell in the least form; while the man in whom good reigns is a heaven in the least form. This being so, how can heaven enter hell when between them a gulf so great is fixed that there can be no crossing from one to the other? From all this it follows that hell must by all means be put away to make it possible for the Lord with heaven to come in.
101. But many, especially such as have confirmed themselves in a faith separated from charity, do not know that when they are in evils they are in hell; they do not even know what evils are, for the reason that they give no thought to evils, saying that as they are not under the yoke of the law they are not condemned by the law, and that, as they are unable to contribute anything to their salvation, they are unable to put away any evil from themselves; and furthermore are unable to do any good from themselves. These are such as neglect to think about evil, and because of this they are continually in evil. Such are meant by the goats spoken of by the Lord in Matthew (xxv. 32, 33, 41-46), as may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning Faith (n. 61-68), of whom it is said:-
Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels (verse 41).
[2] For those who give no thought to the evils in themselves, that is, do not examine themselves and afterwards refrain from evils, must needs be ignorant of what evil is, and must needs love it from enjoyment in it; for he who does not know what evil is loves it, and he who fails to think about it is continually in it. Like a blind man he does not see it. For it is the thought that sees good and evil, as it is the eye that sees the beautiful and the unbeautiful; and he who so thinks and wills evil as to believe that evil does not appear before God, or that if it does appear it is forgiven, is in evil, since he is thus led to think that he is free from evil. If such abstain from doing evils they do not abstain because these are sins against God, but because they fear the laws or the loss of reputation; and they still do them in their spirit, for it is the spirit of man that thinks and wills; consequently what a man thinks in his spirit in this world, that he does after he leaves this world when he becomes a spirit. [3] In the spiritual world into which every man comes after death, it is not asked what your belief has been, or what your doctrine has been, but what your life has been, that is, whether it has been such or such; for it is known that as one’s life is such is his belief, and even his doctrine; for the life makes doctrine for itself, and belief for itself.
102. From what has now been said it can be seen that it is a law of the Divine providence that evils should be put away by man; for unless they are put away the Lord cannot be conjoined with man, and cannot from Himself lead man into heaven. But as it has not been known that man ought as if of himself to put away the evils in the external man, and unless man does this as if of himself the Lord cannot put away the evils that are in man’s internal, these things shall be presented to the reason in its own light in the following order:-
(1) Every man has an external and an internal of thought.
(2) The external of man’s thought is in itself of the same character as its internal.
(3) The internal cannot be cleansed from the lusts of evil so long as the evils in the external man are not put away, since these obstruct.
(4) The evils in the external man can be put away by the Lord only through man’s instrumentality.
(5) Therefore man ought as if of himself to put away evils from the external man.
(6) Then the Lord cleanses man from the lusts of evil in the internal man and from the evils themselves in the external.
(7) It is the unceasing effort of the Lord’s Divine providence to conjoin man with Himself, and Himself with man, that He may be able to bestow upon man the happinesses of eternal life; and this can be done only so far as evils with their lusts are put away.
103. (1) Every man has an external and an internal of thought. The same is here meant by the external and internal of thought as by the external and internal man, and by this nothing else is meant than the external and internal of the will and understanding; for the will and understanding are what constitute man, and as these two manifest themselves in the thoughts, the terms external and internal of thought are used. Since, then, it is the spirit of man and not his body that wills and understands and therefore thinks, it follows that this external and internal are the external and internal of man’s spirit. The action of the body, whether in words or deeds, is only an effect from the internal and external of man’s spirit, since the body is mere obedience.
104. Every man of mature age has an external and an internal of thought, and therefore an external [and an internal] of will and understanding, or an external and an internal of the spirit, which is the same as the external and the internal man; and this is evident to any one who observes carefully another’s thoughts and intentions as exhibited in his words or acts, and also his own thoughts when in company and when he is alone. For one can talk with another in a friendly way from external thought, and yet be at enmity with him in internal thought. From external thought together with its affection a man can talk about love towards his neighbor and love to God, when in his internal thought he cares nothing for the neighbor and has no fear of God. From external thought together with its affection a man can talk about the justice of civil laws, the virtues of moral life, and matters of doctrine and spiritual life; and yet when alone by himself he may from internal thought and its affection speak against the civil laws, the virtues of moral life, and matters of doctrine and spiritual life; and this is done by those who are in the lusts of evil, but who wish it to appear before the world that they are not in them. [2] Moreover, many think to themselves, when they hear others talking, whether these are interiorly in themselves thinking in accord with the thoughts they are expressing, whether or not they are to be believed, and what their intentions are. It is well known that flatterers and hypocrites have a double thought; for they are able to keep things to themselves and to guard against disclosing their interior thought; and some can conceal it more and more deeply, and as it were block up the doors lest it appear. That both exterior and interior thought are possible to man is also clearly evident from his being able from his interior thought to look upon his exterior thought, and also to reflect upon it, and to judge of it whether it is evil or not evil. That the mind of man is such is due to the two faculties that man has from the Lord, called liberty and rationality. Unless man had from these an external and an internal of thought he would not be able to perceive and see any evil in himself and be reformed; in fact, he would not be able to speak, but only to utter sounds like a beast.
105. The internal of thought is from the life’s love and its affections and the perceptions therefrom; the external of thought is from the contents of the memory, which are serviceable to the life’s love as confirmations and as means to further its ends. From infancy to early manhood man is in the external of thought from an affection for knowing, which then constitutes its internal; also there exhales from his life’s love, which is innate from his parents, something of lust and inclination therefrom. But afterwards the way he lives determines his life’s love; and its affections with the perceptions therefrom constitute the internal of his thought; while the life’s love determines the love of the means; and the enjoyment of this and the knowledges thereby called forth from the memory constitute the external of his thought.
106. (2) The external of man’s thought is in itself of the same character as its internal. That man from head to foot is of the same character as his life’s love has been shown above. In the first place, therefore, something must here be said about the life’s love in man; for this must precede any consideration of the affections associated with perceptions which constitute man’s internal, and of the enjoyments of affections associated with thoughts which constitute his external. Loves are manifold; but two of them, heavenly love and infernal love, are like lords and kings. Heavenly love is love to the Lord and love towards the neighbor; and infernal love is love of self and of the world. These two kinds of love are opposite to each other as hell and heaven are; for those who are in the love of self and the world have no good will for any but themselves; while those who are in love to the Lord and in love towards the neighbor have good will for all. These two loves are the life’s loves of man, but with much variety. Heavenly love is the life’s love of those whom the Lord leads, and infernal love is the life’s love of those whom the devil leads. [2] But the life’s love of no one can exist without derivations, which are called affections. The derivations of infernal love are affections for evil and falsity, which, strictly speaking, are lusts; and the derivations of heavenly love are affections for good and truth, which, strictly speaking, are dilections. Of infernal love there are as many affections, or strictly speaking, lusts, as there are evils; and of heavenly love there are as many affections, or strictly speaking, dilections, as there are goods. Love dwells in its affections like a lord in his realm, or like a king in his kingdom. The dominion or sovereignty of these loves is over the things of the mind, that is, the things of man’s will and understanding, and thence of the body. The life’s love, by means of its affections and perceptions therefrom, and its enjoyments and thoughts therefrom, rules the entire man,-the internal of his mind by means of affections and perceptions therefrom, and the external by means of the enjoyments of the affections and thoughts therefrom.
107. The form of this rule can in some measure be seen by comparisons. Heavenly love with its affections for good and truth and perceptions therefrom, together with its enjoyments from these affections and thoughts therefrom, may be likened to a tree distinguished for its branches, leaves, and fruits. The life’s love is the tree; the branches with the leaves are affections for good and truth with their perceptions; and the fruits are the enjoyments of affections with their thoughts. But infernal love with its affections for evil and falsity, which are lusts, together with the enjoyment of these lusts and thoughts therefrom, may be likened to a spider with its surrounding web. The love itself is the spider, the lusts of evil and falsity with their interior subtleties are the net-like threads nearest the spider’s seat; and the enjoyments of these lusts with their deceitful devices are the remoter threads, where the flies are caught on the wing, and are ensnared and eaten.
108. The conjunction of all things of the will and understanding, that is, of the mind of man with his life’s love, is made evident by these comparisons, and yet not made rationally evident. The conjunction is made rationally evident in this way. There are every where three things together that make one; these are called end, cause, and effect; here the life’s love is the end, the affections with their perceptions are the cause, and the enjoyment of the affections with their thoughts are the effect; for just as the end through the cause enters into the effect, so does the love through its affections come to its enjoyments, and through its perceptions to its thoughts. The effects themselves are in the mind’s enjoyments and their thoughts, whenever these enjoyments belong to the will and the thoughts to the understanding therefrom, that is, whenever the agreement is complete. Then the effects belong to the spirit, and if they do not come into bodily act, still they are as if in act when there is agreement. Furthermore, they are then together in the body, and dwell there with the life’s love of the man, and aspire to action, which takes place when nothing hinders. Such are lusts of evil and the evils themselves in those who in their spirit make evils allowable. [2] Now as the end conjoins itself with the cause, and through the cause with the effect, so does the life’s love conjoin itself with the internal of thought, and through this with its external. This makes clear that the external of man’s thought is in itself of the same character as its internal; for the end imparts itself wholly to the cause, and through the cause to the effect; for there is nothing essential in the effect except what is in the cause, and through the cause in the end. And as the end is thus the very essential which enters into the cause and the effect, so cause and effect are called mediate and outmost ends.
109. Sometimes the external of man’s thought does not appear to be in itself of the same character as the internal; but this is because the life’s love with its surrounding internals places a vicar below itself, which is called the love of means, and enjoins upon it to take heed and watch that nothing from its lusts appear. This vicar, therefore, from the cunning of its chief, which is the life’s love, talks and acts in accord with the civil requirements of the country, the moral requirements of reason, and the spiritual requirements of the church. Some do this so craftily and ingeniously that no one sees that they are not such as their speech and act indicate; and at last, from the habit of concealment, they scarcely know otherwise themselves. All hypocrites are such; and such are the priests who at heart care nothing for the neighbor and do not fear God, and yet preach about love of the neighbor and the love of God; such are the judges who give judgment according to bribes and friendship, while they show a pretended zeal for justice, and from reason talk of judgment; such are the merchants who are insincere and fraudulent at heart, while they act sincerely for the sake of gain; and such are adulterers, when from the rationality that every man has they talk about the chastity of marriage; and so on. [2] But when these same persons strip this love of means-this vicar of their life’s love-of the garments of purple and fine linen with which they have invested it, and clothe it in its domestic garb, they then think, and sometimes with their dearest friends whose life’s love is similar, they speak from their thought in a wholly opposite way. It might be supposed, when from their love of means they have talked so justly, sincerely, and piously, that the character of the internal of their thought was not in the external of their thought, and yet it was. There is hypocrisy in such; there is a love of self and the world in them, and the cunning of that love is to secure reputation for the sake of honor or gain, in respect to outmost appearances. This character of the internal is in the external of their thought when they so speak and act.
110. But in those who are in heavenly love the internal and the external of thought, or the internal and the external man, make one when they speak; nor do such know any difference between these. Their life’s love, with its affections for good and the perceptions for truth belonging thereto, is like a soul in their thoughts, and in what they speak and do from them. If they are priests they preach from love towards the neighbor and from love to the Lord; if judges they judge from genuine justice; if merchants they act from genuine sincerity; if married they love their wives from genuine chastity; and so on. The life’s love of such has also its love of means as its vicar, which it teaches and leads to act from prudence, and clothes with garments of zeal both for truths of doctrine and for goods of life.
111. (3) The internal cannot be cleansed from the lusts of evil so long as the evils in the external man are not put away, since these obstruct. This follows from the preceding statement, that the external of man’s thought is in itself of the same character as its internal; and that the two cohere like things that are not only one within the other but also one from the other; consequently one cannot be set aside unless the other is also. It is so with every thing external that is from an internal, and with every thing posterior that is from a prior, and with every effect that is from a cause.
[2] Since, then, lusts with their subtleties constitute in the evil the internal of thought, and the enjoyments of lusts together with their devices constitute their external of thought, and the latter and the former are joined together as one, it follows that the internal cannot be cleansed from lusts so long as the evils in the external man are not put away. It should be understood that man’s internal will is that which is in the lusts, and the internal understanding is that which is in the subtleties, and that the external will is that which is in the enjoyments of the lusts, and the external understanding is that which is in the devices from the subtleties. Anyone can see that lusts and their enjoyments make one, and that the subtleties and devices make one; also that these four are in one series, and together make as it were one bundle; and from this again it is clear that the internal, which consists of lusts, can be cast out only by the putting away of the external, which consists of evils. Lusts through their enjoyments produce evils; but when evils are believed to be allowable, which comes from the agreement of will and understanding, the enjoyments and the evils then make one. It is acknowledged that this agreement is equivalent to doing the thing; and this is what the Lord says:-
Whosoever looketh on another’s woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart (Matt. v. 28).
It is the same with other evils.
112. From all this it can now be seen that evils must surely be put away from the external man that man may be cleansed from the lusts of evil; for until this is done there is no possible exit for lusts; and if there is no exit the lusts remain within and breathe out enjoyments from themselves, and so they urge men on to the consent, thus to the doing. Through the external of thought the lusts enter the body; when therefore there is consent in the external of thought the lusts are at once present in the body; and the enjoyment that is felt is there. That as the mind is such is the body, thus the whole man, may be seen in the work on The Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom (n. 362-370). This may be made clear by comparisons and also by examples. [2] By comparisons: Lusts with their enjoyments may be likened to fire; the more a fire is fed the more it burns; and the freer the course given it the further it spreads, until in a city it consumes the houses, and in a forest the trees. In the Word the lusts of evil are likened to fire, and their evils to its burning. Moreover, in the spiritual world, lusts of evil with their enjoyments appear like fires; infernal fire is nothing else. Lusts may also be likened to floods and inundations of water when dikes or dams give way. They may also be likened to gangrenous sores and ulcers, which, if they run their course or are not cured, bring death to the body. [3] By examples: It is made clear that unless the evils in the external man are put away the lusts and their enjoyments grow and multiply. The more a thief steals the more he loves to steal, till at last he cannot refrain; so with the defrauder, the more he defrauds. The same is true of hatred and revenge, of luxury and intemperance, of whoredom and blasphemy, and the like. Every one knows that the love of ruling from the love of self increases as rein is given to it; equally the love of possessing from love of the world; these seem to be without limit or end. All this makes clear that so far as the evils in the external are not put away their lusts multiply, and that lusts increase to the extent that evils have loose rein.
113. Man is not able to perceive the lusts of his evil; he does perceive their enjoyments, although he does not think much about them; for the enjoyments divert the thoughts and banish reflection. Consequently, unless one knew from some other source that his lusts are evils he would call them good, and from freedom in accordance with the reason of his thought he would give expression to them; and when he does that he appropriates them to himself. So far as he confirms evils as allowable he enlarges the court of the ruling love, which is his life’s love. Lusts are what constitute its court; for they are like its ministers and attendants, through which it governs the exteriors that constitute its kingdom. But as is the king such are the ministers and attendants, and such the kingdom. When a king is a devil his ministers and attendants are insanities, and the people of his kingdom are falsities of every kind, which his ministers (whom they call wise although they are insane), cause, by means of reasoning from fallacies and by means of illusions, to appear as truths, and cause to be acknowledged as truths. Can such a state in man be changed except by putting away the evils in the external man? For thereby the lusts that cling to the evils are put away. Otherwise no exit is open for the lusts; for they are shut in like a besieged city, or like a closed ulcer.
114. (4) The evils in the external man can be put away by the Lord only through man’s instrumentality. In all Christian churches the doctrine has been accepted that before man approaches the holy communion he shall examine himself, shall see and acknowledge his sins, and shall do the work of repentance by refraining from evils and by rejecting them because they are from the devil; and otherwise his sins are not forgiven, and he is damned. The English hold the doctrine of faith alone, and yet in their exhortation to the holy communion they plainly teach self-examination, acknowledgment, confession of sins, repentance, and renewal of life; and those who fail to do this are threatened in these words that unless they repent the devil will enter into them as he did into Judas, and will fill them with all iniquity, and destroy both body and soul. The Germans, the Swedes, and the Danes, who also hold the doctrine of faith alone, have the same teaching in their exhortation to the holy communion, threatening also that all such will be subject to infernal punishments and to eternal damnation for mixing the holy and the profane. This is read by the priest with a loud voice before those who are about to come to the Holy Supper, and is listened to by them with full acknowledgment that it is so. [2] And yet when these same persons listen on the same day to the preaching of faith alone, and at the same time that the law does not condemn them because the Lord fulfilled it for them, and that they are not able from themselves to do any good except what is meritorious, and thus works have nothing saving in them, but faith only, they return home entirely forgetful of their former confession, and discarding it so far as they give their thought to the preaching about faith alone. Which of these, then, is true; this or that? For two things contrary to each other cannot both be true, as on the one hand, that without self-examination, recognition, acknowledgment, confession, and renunciation of sins, thus without repentance, there is no forgiveness of sins, thus no salvation, but eternal damnation; and on the other hand that such things contribute nothing to salvation, because the Lord by the passion of the cross has made full satisfaction for all the sins of men, for those who have faith; and that those who have faith only, with confidence that it is true, and with a trust in the imputation of the Lord’s merit, are without sins, and appear before God like those with washed and bright faces. From all this it is clear that it is the common religion of all the churches in the Christian world that man should examine himself, should see and acknowledge his sins, and afterwards refrain from them; and that otherwise there is not salvation, but damnation. Moreover, that this is the veritable Divine truth is evident from the passages in the Word, where man is commanded to repent; as the following:-
Jesus said, Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance. Even now is the axe laid unto the root of the tree; every tree therefore that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire (Luke iii. 8, 9).
Jesus said, Except ye repent ye shall all perish (Luke xiii. 3, 5). Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom of God. Repent ye and believe the gospel (Mark i. 14, 15).
Jesus sent forth His disciples, and they went out and preached that men should repent (Mark vi. 12).
Jesus said to the apostles that repentance and remission of sins should be preached unto all nations (Luke xxiv. 47).
John preached the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins (Mark i. 4; Luke iii. 3).
Think of this with some understanding; and if you have religion you will see that repentance from sins is the way to heaven, that faith separate from repentance is not faith, and that those who are not in faith because they do not repent are in the way to hell.
115. Those who are in faith separate from charity, and have confirmed themselves in it from Paul’s saying to the Romans,
That a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law (Rom. iii. 28),
adore this saying like men who adore the sun; and they become like those who fix their eyes steadily on the sun, by which the sight is so blurred that they can see nothing in ordinary light. For they do not see that “the works of the law” there mean, not the commandments of the Decalogue, but the rituals described by Moses in his books, which are there always called “the law.” Lest, therefore, it should be thought that the commandments are meant Paul explains by saying,
Do we then make void the law through faith; God forbid; yea, we establish the law (verse 31 of the same chapter).
Those who have confirmed themselves by this saying in faith separate from charity, from gazing at this passage as at the sun, fail to see where Paul enumerates the laws of faith as being the very works of charity; and what is faith without its laws? Nor do they notice where he enumerates evil works, and declares that those who do them cannot enter into heaven. This shows clearly how great is the blindness that has been induced by a wrong understanding of this single passage.
116. Evils in the external man can be put away only by man’s instrumentality, because it is of the Lord’s Divine providence that whatever man hears, sees, thinks, wills, speaks, and does, seems to him to be wholly his own. Without this appearance (as has been shown above, n. 71-95, and in subsequent numbers) there could be in man no reception of Divine truth, no determination towards doing good, no appropriation of love and wisdom or of charity and faith, and therefore no conjunction with the Lord, consequently no reformation and regeneration and thus salvation. Without this appearance repentance from sins, and faith even, are evidently impossible. It is also evident that without this appearance a man would not be a man, but would be devoid of natural life like a beast. Let any one who will consult his reason and see, when a man thinks about good and truth, spiritual, moral, or civil, whether there is any other appearance than that he thinks from himself; let him then accept this doctrinal, that everything good and true is from the Lord and nothing from man; and will he not acknowledge this consequence, that man must do good and think truth as if of himself, and yet must acknowledge that he does it from the Lord; and furthermore, that man must put away evils as if of himself and yet must acknowledge that he does it from the Lord?
117. Many are not aware that they are in evils, inasmuch as they do not do them outwardly because they fear the civil laws and the loss of reputation, and thus from custom and habit fall into the way of shunning evils as detrimental to their honor and profit. But when evils are not shunned from a religious principle, on the ground that they are sins and antagonistic to God, the lusts of evil with their enjoyments still remain, like impure waters confined and stagnant. Let such examine their thoughts and intentions, and they will find these lusts, provided they know what sins are. [2] This is the state of many who have confirmed themselves in faith separate from charity, who, believing that the law does not condemn them, do not even think about sins; and some question whether there are any sins in them, or if there are, whether they are sins before God, since they have been pardoned. In a like state also are natural moralists, who believe that civil and moral life with its prudence accomplishes everything and Divine providence nothing. Such also are those who strive with great eagerness after a reputation and name for honesty and sincerity for the sake of honor or gain. But those who are of this character, and who have also despised religion, become after death spirits of lusts, appearing to themselves as if they were men, but to others at a distance like treacherous forms (priapi); and like birds of night they see in the dark and not in the light.
118. (5) Therefore man ought as if of himself to put away evils from the external man. This has already been proved by what has been said. It may also be explained in three articles in the Doctrine of Life for the New Jerusalem, first, That no one can shun evils as sins, so as to turn away from them interiorly, except by combats against them (n. 92-100); secondly, That man ought to shun evils as sins and fight against them as if of himself (n. 101-107); thirdly, That if one shuns evils for any reasons whatever except that they are sins he does not shun them, but only prevents their appearing before the world (n. 108-113).
119. (6) Then the Lord cleanses man from the lusts [of evil] in the internal man, and from the evils themselves in the external. The Lord cleanses man from the lusts of evil when the man, as if of himself, puts away the evils, for the reason, that the Lord cannot cleanse him until he does this because the evils are in the external man and the lusts of evil in the internal man, and the two are connected like roots and trunk; consequently until the evils are put away no opening is possible, for the evils obstruct and close the door; and the door can be opened by the Lord only by man’s instrumentality, as has been shown just above When, therefore, man as if of himself opens the door, the Lord roots out the lusts and the evils together. Another reason is, that the Lord acts into man’s inmost, and from the inmost into consequent things even to outmosts; while man is simultaneously in outmosts. Therefore so long as man from himself holds the outmosts closed there can be no cleansing, but only such operation by the Lord in man’s interiors as the Lord carries on in hell (the man who is both in lusts and in evils being a form of hell) and this operation is only an arrangement to prevent one thing from destroying another, and to prevent the violation of good and truth. The Lord continually solicits and urges man to open the door to Him, as is clear from His words in the Apocalypse:-
Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hear My voice and open the door, I will come in to him and will sup with him and he with Me (iii. 20).
120. Of the interior state of his mind or of his internal man, man knows nothing whatever. Although there are infinite things there, not one of them comes to man’s cognizance. For the internal of man’s thought, or his internal man, is his spirit itself; and in it there are things as infinite and numberless as there are in his body, and even more innumerable; for man’s spirit is a man in its form, and all things belonging to it correspond with all things of man in the body. And just as man has no knowledge from any sensation of the manner in which his mind or his soul operates in all things of the body, conjointly and severally, so neither does he know in what manner the Lord operates in all things of his mind or soul, that is, in all things of his spirit. The operation is unceasing; in it man has no part, and yet the Lord can cleanse man from no lust of evil in his spirit or internal man so long as man holds his external closed. Man holds his external closed by means of evils, every one of which seems to him as a single thing, and yet in every one there are infinite things; and when man puts away an evil as a single thing the Lord puts away the infinite things in it. This is what is meant by the Lord’s then cleansing man from the lusts of evil in the internal man, and from evils themselves in the external.
121. Many believe that man is cleansed from evils by merely believing what the church teaches; others by his doing good; others by his knowing, talking about, and teaching the things of the church; others by his reading the Word and pious books; others by his attending churches, listening to sermons, and especially by coming to the Holy Supper; others by his renouncing the world and devoting himself to piety; and others by his confessing himself guilty of all sins; and so on. Yet none of these cleanse man in the least unless he examines himself, sees his sins, acknowledges them, condemns himself for them, and repents by refraining from them; and all this he must do as if of himself, but with acknowledgment from the heart that he does it from the Lord. [2] Until this is done the things that have been mentioned above do not help at all, for they are either meritorious or hypocritical; and those who do them appear in heaven before angels like beautiful harlots, smelling badly from their corruption, or like ill-favored women so painted as to appear handsome, or like masked actors and mimics on the stage, or like apes in human clothing. But when evils have been put away the things enumerated above belong to the love of those who do them; and such appear in heaven before the angels as beautiful human beings, and partners and companions of the angels.
122. But it must be well understood that when a man wishes to repent he must look to the Lord alone; if he looks to God the Father only he cannot be cleansed; nor if he looks to the Father for the sake of the Son, nor if he looks to the Son as merely a man. For there is one God, and that one is the Lord, His Divine and Human being one person, as shown in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the Lord. In order that man in repenting might look to the Lord alone He instituted the Holy Supper, which confirms the remission of sins in those who repent. It confirms this because in that Supper or communion every one is kept looking to the Lord alone.
123. (7) It is the unceasing effort of the Lord’s Divine providence to conjoin man with Himself and Himself with man, that He may be able to bestow upon man the happinesses of eternal life; and this can be done only so far as evils with their lusts are put away. That it is the unceasing effort of the Lord’s Divine providence to conjoin man with Himself and Himself with man, and that this conjunction is what is called reformation and regeneration, and that from it man has salvation, has been shown above (n. 27-45). Who does not see that conjunction with God is life eternal and salvation? Every one sees it who believes that men are from creation images and likenesses of God (Gen. i. 26, 27), and who knows what an image and likeness of God is. [2] Who that is possessed of sound reason, when he thinks from his rationality and is willing to think from his liberty, can believe that there are three Gods, equal in essence, and that Divine Being (Esse) or Divine Essence can be divided? That there is a Trine in the one God can be conceived and comprehended, as one can comprehend that there are soul, body, and outgoing of life from these in an angel or in a man. And as it is in the Lord alone that this Trine in One is possible, it follows that conjunction must be with the Lord. Make use of your rationality together with your liberty of thinking and you will see this truth in its light; but first grant that there is a God, and a heaven and eternal life. [3] Since, then, God is one, and man was made from creation an image and likeness of Him, and since by means of infernal love and its lusts and their enjoyments man has come into the love of all evils, and has thereby destroyed in himself the image and likeness of God, it follows that it is the unceasing effort of the Lord’s Divine providence to conjoin man with Himself and Himself with man, and thus make man to be an image of God. It also follows, that this is to the end that the Lord may bestow upon man the happinesses of eternal life; for such is Divine love. [4] But the Lord cannot bestow these upon man, nor make him an image of Himself, unless man, as if of himself, puts away sins in the external man; for the reason that the Lord is not only Divine love but is also Divine wisdom; and Divine love does nothing except from its own Divine wisdom and in accordance with it. And it is in accordance with his Divine wisdom that man cannot be conjoined with the Lord, and thus reformed, regenerated, and saved, unless it is permitted him to act from freedom in accordance with reason (for by this man is man) And whatever is in accordance with the Lord’s Divine wisdom belongs also to His Divine providence.
124. To this I will add two arcana of angelic wisdom, from which it can be seen what the Divine providence is: first, that the Lord in no wise acts upon any particular thing in man singly without acting simultaneously upon all things; secondly, that the Lord acts from inmosts and from outmosts simultaneously. The Lord in no wise acts upon any particular thing in man singly without acting simultaneously upon all things of man, for the reason that all things of man are in such connection, and through this connection in such a form that they do not act as many but as a one. It is acknowledged that in respect to his body man is in such a connection, and through this connection in such a form. The human mind also is in a like form from a connection of all things in it; for the human mind is the spiritual man, and is actually the man. From this it is that man’s spirit, which is his mind in his body, is in its entire form a man; consequently man after death is just as much a man as he was in the world, with this difference only, that he has cast off the coverings that formed his body in the world. [2] Since, then, the human form is such that all the parts make a general whole, which acts as one, it follows that one part cannot be moved out of its place and changed in state except with the consent of the rest; for if one were removed from its place and changed in state, the form which acts as one would suffer. This makes clear that the Lord in no wise acts upon any particular thing without acting simultaneously upon all. Thus does the Lord act upon the entire angelic heaven, since the entire angelic heaven in the Lord’s sight is as one man. Thus, too, does He act upon each angel, because each angel is a heaven in the least form. Thus also does He act upon each man, primarily upon all things of his mind, and through these upon all things of his body; for the mind of man is his spirit, and in the measure of its conjunction with the Lord is an angel, while the body is obedience. [3] But it should be clearly understood that the Lord also acts upon every particular in man singly, and even most singly, but simultaneously through all things of his form; and yet He does not change the state of any part or of any particular thing except harmoniously with the whole form. But on this more will be said in what follows; where it will be shown that the Lord’s Divine providence is universal because it is in particulars, and that it is particular because it is universal. [4] The Lord acts from inmosts and from outmosts simultaneously. This is true for the reason that in this and in no other way can all things and each thing be held together in connection; for intermediates are connected in unbroken series from inmosts even to outmosts, and in outmosts they are together; for in the outmost there is a simultaneous presence of all things from the first, as has been shown in Part Third of the work on The Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom. It was for this reason also that the Lord from eternity, or Jehovah, came into the world, and there put on and assumed Humanity in outmosts, that He might be from firsts and in outmosts together; and thus from firsts through outmosts might rule the whole world and thereby save the men whom He is able to save in accordance with the laws of His Divine providence, which are also the laws of His Divine wisdom. And thus it is, as acknowledged in the Christian world, that no mortal could have been saved unless the Lord had come into the world (see the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning Faith, n. 35). And this is why the Lord is called “The First and the Last.”
125. These angelic arcana have been premised to make comprehensible the operation of the Lord’s Divine providence in conjoining man with the Lord, and the Lord with man. This operation is not upon any particular of man by itself, except as it is simultaneously upon all things of man; and this is done from his inmost and from his outmosts simultaneously. The inmost of man is his life’s love; his outmosts are the things that are in the external of his thought; and his intermediates are the things that are in the internal of his thought. The quality of these in the evil man has already been shown. From this again it is clear that the Lord cannot act from inmosts and outmosts simultaneously except in connection with man, for in outmosts man and the Lord are together, consequently as man acts in outmosts, which are under his control, being within the realm of his freedom, so the Lord acts from man’s inmosts and upon the unbroken series to outmosts. The things that are in man’s inmosts and in the series from inmosts to outmosts are wholly unknown to man; and therefore he knows nothing whatever of the way in which the Lord works there or what He does; but as these things are so closely connected as to be a one with outmosts it is unnecessary for man to know more than that he must shun evils as sins and look to the Lord. In this and in no other way can his life’s love, which from birth is infernal, be put away by the Lord, and a heavenly life’s love be implanted in its place.
126. When a heavenly life’s love has been implanted by the Lord in place of an infernal life’s love, affections for good and truth are implanted in place of the lusts of evil and falsity; and the enjoyments of affections for good are implanted in place of the enjoyments of the lusts of evil and falsity; and the goods of heavenly love are implanted in place of the evils of infernal love. Then prudence is implanted in place of cunning, and wise thoughts in place of crafty thoughts. Thus man is born again and becomes a new man. What kinds of good succeed in place of evils can be seen in the Doctrine of Life for the New Jerusalem (n. 67-73, 74-79, 80-86, 87-91); also that so far as a man shuns and turns away from evils as sins he loves the truths of wisdom (n. 32-41); and so far he has faith and is spiritual (n. 42-52).
127. It has been shown above from the exhortations read in all Christian churches before the holy communion that the common religion of the whole Christian world teaches that man must examine himself, see his sins, acknowledge them, confess them before God, and refrain from them; and that this is repentance, remission of sins, and consequently salvation. This can be seen also from the Faith that takes its name from Athanasius, and that has been accepted in the whole Christian world: at the end of which are these words:-
The Lord will come to judge the living and dead; at whose coming those that have done good shall enter into life eternal, and those that have done evil into eternal fire.
128. Who does not know from the Word that a life after death is allotted to every one according to his deeds? Open the Word, read it, and you will see this clearly; but while doing this, exclude from your thoughts faith and justification by it alone. As evidence that the Lord teaches this everywhere in His Word, take these few examples:-
Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. Therefore by their fruits ye shall know them (Matt. vii. 19, 20).
Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, have we not prophesied by Thy name, and in Thy name done many mighty works? And then will I profess unto them, I do not know you; depart from Me, ye that work iniquity (Matt. vii. 22, 23).
Every one that heareth My words and doeth them, I will liken him to a prudent man who built his house upon a rock; and every one that heareth these sayings of Mine and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man who built his house upon the ground without a foundation (Matt. vii. 24, 26; Luke vi. 46-49).
[2] The Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father, and then He shall render unto every man according to his deeds (Matt. xvi. 27).
The kingdom of God shall be taken away from you and shall be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof (Matt. xxi. 43).
Jesus said, My mother and My brethren are these who hear the Word of God and do it (Luke viii. 21).
Then shall ye begin to stand without and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, open unto us; but He shall answer and say to them, I know ye not whence ye are; depart from Me, all ye workers of iniquity (Luke xiii. 25-27).
They that have done good shall go forth unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of judgment (John v. 29).
[3] We know that God heareth not sinners; but if anyone worship God and do His will, him He heareth (John ix. 31).
If ye know these things, blessed are ye if ye do them (John xiii. 17).
He that hath My commandments and doeth them, he it is that loveth Me, and I will love him and will come to him, and make My abode with him (John xiv. 15, 21-24).
Ye are My friends if ye do whatsoever I command you. I have chosen you that ye may bring forth fruit, and that your fruit may abide (John xv. 14, 16).
[4] The Lord said to John, To the angel of the Ephesian church write, I know thy works; I have against thee that thou hast left thy first charity. Repent, and do the first works; if not I will remove thy lampstand out of its place (Apoc. ii. 1, 2, 4, 5).
To the angel of the church of the Smyrneans write, I know thy works (Apoc. ii. 8, 9).
To the angel of the church at Pergamum write, I know thy works, repent (Apoc. ii. 12, 13, 16).
To the angel of the church in Thyatira write, I know thy works and charity, and thy last works to be more than the first (Apoc. ii. 18, 19).
To the angel of the church in Sardis write, I know thy works, that thou hast a name and that thou livest, and art dead. I have not found thy works perfect before God; repent (Apoc. iii. 1-3).
To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, I know thy works (Apoc. iii. 7, 8).
To the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, I know thy works; repent (Apoc. iii. 14, 15, 19).
I heard a voice from heaven saying, Write, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth; their works do follow them (Apoc. xiv. 13).
A book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged, all according to their works (Apoc. xx. 12, 13).
Behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give to every man according to his work (Apoc. xxii. 12).
Thus far the New Testament. [5] Still more numerous are the evidences in the Old Testament, from which I will quote this one only:-
Stand in the gate of Jehovah, and proclaim there this word, Thus saith Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your doings; trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah are these. Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and then come and stand before Me in this house, upon which My name is named, and say, We are delivered, while ye do these abominations? Is this house become a den of robbers? Behold I, even I, have seen it, saith Jehovah (Jer. vii. 2-4, 9-11).
129. IT IS A LAW OF THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE THAT MAN SHOULD NOT BE COMPELLED BY EXTERNAL MEANS TO THINK AND WILL, AND THUS TO BELIEVE AND LOVE, THE THINGS OF RELIGION, BUT SHOULD GUIDE HIMSELF, AND SOMETIMES COMPEL HIMSELF.
This law of the Divine providence follows from the two preceding, namely, that man should act from freedom in accordance with reason (n. 71-99); and that he should do this from himself and yet from the Lord, therefore as if from himself (n. 100-128). And as being compelled is not from freedom in accordance with reason, and not from oneself, but is from what is not freedom, and from another, so this law of the Divine providence follows in order after the two former. Everyone admits, moreover, that it is impossible to compel any one to think what he is not willing to think, and to will what his thought forbids him to will, thus to believe what he does not believe, and wholly so what he is unwilling to believe; or to love what he does not love, and wholly so what he is unwilling to love. For a man’s spirit or mind has full liberty in thinking, willing, believing, and loving. It has this liberty by influx from the spiritual world, which does not compel (for man’s spirit or mind is in that world), and not by influx from the natural world, which is received only when it acts in harmony with spiritual influx. [2] A man may be forced to say that he thinks and wills and believes and loves the things of religion; but he does not think, will, believe, and love them unless they are matters of affection and consequent reason with him, or come to be so. Also, a man may be compelled to speak in favor of religion and to do what it inculcates; but he cannot be compelled to favor it in his thought from any belief in it, or to favor it in his will from any love for it. Moreover, in kingdoms where justice and judgment are guarded, men are compelled not to speak against religion, and to do nothing in opposition to it, and yet no one can be compelled to favor it in his thought and will. For it is within every one’s freedom to think in harmony with hell and to will in favor of hell, and also to favor heaven in thought and will. But the reason teaches what hell is and what heaven is, and what the abiding condition is in the one and in the other; and it is from the reason that the will has its preference and choice. [3] From all this it can be seen that the external can not compel the internal. Nevertheless, this is sometimes done; but that it is pernicious will be shown in this order:-
(1) No one is reformed by miracles and signs, because they compel.
(2) No one is reformed by visions or by conversations with the dead, because they compel.
(3) No one is reformed by threats and punishments, because they compel.
(4) No one is reformed in states that do not spring from rationality and liberty.
(5) To compel oneself is not contrary to rationality and liberty.
(6) The external man must be reformed by means of the internal, and not the reverse.
130. (1) No one is reformed by miracles and signs, because they compel. It has been shown above that man has an internal and an external of thought, and that the Lord flows into man through the internal of thought into its external, and thus teaches and leads him; also that it is of the Lord’s Divine providence that man should act from freedom in accordance with reason. Both of these would perish in man if miracles were wrought and man were thereby driven to believe. That this is true can be seen rationally in this way. It cannot be denied that miracles induce a belief and powerfully persuade that what is said and taught by him who does the miracles is true, and that this at first so occupies man’s external thought as to bind and fascinate it, as it were. But by this man is deprived of his two faculties called rationality and liberty, and thus of the ability to act from freedom in accordance with reason; and then the Lord can no longer flow in through the internal into the external of his thought, except merely to leave the man to confirm by his rationality what he has been made through the miracle to believe. [2] The state of man’s thought is such as to enable him from the internal of his thought to see any matter in the external of his thought as in a sort of mirror; for, as has been said above, a man is able to see his own thought, which would not be possible except from a more internal thought. And when he thus sees a matter as in a mirror he can turn it this way and that, and shape it until it appears to him beautiful; and if the matter is a truth it may be likened to a virgin or a youth, beautiful and living. But when one cannot turn it this way and that, and shape it, but can simply believe it from the persuasion induced by the miracle, it may be likened, if it is a truth, to a virgin or a youth carved from stone or wood, in which there is no life. It may also be likened to an object that is constantly before the sight, and being alone seen conceals every thing that is on either side of it and behind it. Or it may be likened to a sound continually in the ear that takes away the perception of harmony from many sounds. Such blindness and deafness are induced on the human mind by miracles. It is the same with every thing confirmed that is not looked into with some rationality before it is confirmed.
131. From all this it can be seen that a faith induced by miracles is not faith but persuasion; for there is nothing rational in it, still less anything spiritual; for it is only an external without an internal. The same is true of every thing that a man does from such a persuasive faith, whether he acknowledges God, worships Him at home or in churches, or does good deeds. When a miracle alone leads a man to acknowledgment, worship, and piety, he acts from the natural man and not from the spiritual. For a miracle imparts faith through an external way and not through an internal way, thus from the world and not from heaven; and the Lord enters into man through no other than an internal way, which is through the Word, and doctrine and preachings from the Word. And as miracles close this way, at this day no miracles are wrought.
132. That miracles are such can be seen very clearly from the miracles wrought before the people of Judah and Israel. Although these had seen so many miracles in the land of Egypt, and afterwards at the Red Sea, and others in the desert, and especially on Mount Sinai when the law was promulgated, yet only a month afterwards, while Moses tarried on that mountain, they made themselves a golden calf and acknowledged it as Jehovah who led them forth out of the land of Egypt (Exod. xxxii. 4-6). So again, from the miracles afterwards wrought in the land of Canaan; and yet the people relapsed so many times from the prescribed worship. And again, from the miracles that the Lord wrought before them when He was in the world; and yet they crucified Him. [2] Miracles were wrought among them because the men of Judah and Israel were wholly external men, and were led into the land of Canaan merely that they might represent the church and its internals by means of the externals of worship, a bad man equally with a good man being able to represent; for externals are rituals, and all of their externals were significative of spiritual and celestial things. Aaron even, although he made the golden calf and commanded the worship of it (Exod. xxxii. 2-5, 35), could represent the Lord and His work of salvation. And because they could not be brought by the internals of worship to represent those things they were brought to it and even driven and forced to it by miracles. [3] They could not be brought to it by the internals of worship because they did not acknowledge the Lord, although the whole Word that was in their possession treats of Him alone; and he that does not acknowledge the Lord is unable to receive any internal of worship. But when the Lord had manifested Himself, and had been received and acknowledged in the churches as the eternal God, miracles ceased.
133. But the effect of miracles on the good and on the evil is different. The good do not desire miracles, but they believe in the miracles recorded in the Word. And when they hear anything about a miracle they give thought to it only as an argument of no great weight that confirms their faith; for they think from the Word, thus from the Lord, and not from the miracle. It is not so with the evil. They may be driven and compelled to a belief by miracles, and even to worship and piety, but only for a short time; for their evils are shut in; and the lusts of their evils and the enjoyments therefrom continually act upon their external of worship and piety; and in order to get out of their confinement and break away they reflect upon the miracle, and at length call it a trick or artifice, or a work of nature, and thus go back to their evils. And he who returns to his evils after he has worshiped profanes the goods and truths of worship; and the lot after death of those who commit profanation is the worst of all. Such as these are meant by the Lord’s words (Matt. xii. 43-45), that their last state becomes worse than the first. Furthermore, if it is needful to work miracles for the sake of those who do not believe from miracles in the Word, they must be wrought for all such continually and visibly. All this makes clear why miracles are not wrought at this day.
134. (2) No one is reformed by visions or by conversations with the dead, because they compel. Visions are of two kinds, Divine and diabolical. Divine visions are produced by means of representations in heaven, and diabolical visions by means of magic in hell. There are also fantastic visions, which are delusions of an abstracted mind. Divine visions, which are produced (as has been said) by means of representations in heaven, are such as the prophets had, who were not in the body but in the spirit when they were in these visions; for visions can not appear to any one in the waking states of the body, When, therefore, they appear to the prophets they are said to have been “in the spirit,” as is evident from the passages that follow. Ezekiel says:-
Moreover, the spirit lifted me up, and brought me in the vision of God, in the spirit of God, into Chaldea, to them of the captivity. So the vision that I had seen went up over me (xi. 1, 24).
Again, that the spirit lifted him up between the earth and the heaven, and brought him in the visions of God to Jerusalem (viii. 3, seq.).
In like manner he was in the vision of God or in the spirit when he saw the four living creatures which were cherubim (i. and x.).
As also when he saw the new temple and the new earth, and the angel measuring them (xl.-xlviii.).
That he was then in the visions of God he says (xl. 2, 26); and in the spirit (xliii. 5). [2] In a like state was Zechariah,
When he saw a man riding among the myrtle trees (Zech. i. 8, seq.);
When he saw four horns (i. 18); and a man in whose hand was a measuring line (ii. 1-3, seq.);
When he saw a lampstand and two olive trees (iv. 1, seq.);
When he saw the flying roll and the ephah (v. 1, 6);
When he saw four chariots coming out from between two mountains, and horses (vi. 1, seq.).
In a like state was Daniel,
When he saw four beasts coming up from the sea (Dan. vii. 1, seq.);
When he saw the combat between a ram and a he-goat (viii. 1, seq.).
That he saw these things in the vision of his spirit is stated (vii. 1, 2, 7, 13; viii. 2; x. 1, 7, 8); and that the angel Gabriel was seen by him in vision (ix. 21). [3] John, also, was in the vision of the spirit when he saw what he described in the Apocalypse:-
As when he saw seven lampstands, and in their midst the Son of man (i. 12-16);
When he saw a throne in heaven, and One sitting upon the throne, and four animals which were cherubim round about it (iv.);
When he saw the book of life taken by the Lamb (v.);
When he saw horses going out from the book (vi.);
When he saw seven angels with trumpets (viii.);
When he saw the pit of the abyss opened, and locusts going out of it (ix.);
When he saw the dragon, and its combat with Michael (xii.);
When he saw two beasts, one rising up out of the sea and the other out of the earth (xiii.);
When he saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet colored beast (xvii.); And Babylon destroyed (xviii.);
When he saw a white horse and Him who sat upon it (xix.);
And when he saw the new heaven and the new earth; and the Holy Jerusalem coming down out of heaven (xxi.).
And when he saw the river of the water of life (xxii.)
That he saw these things in the vision of the spirit is said (i. 10; iv. 2; v. 1; vi. 1; xxi. 1, 2). [4] Such were the visions that appeared to them from heaven, not before the sight of the body but before the sight of the spirit. Such visions do not take place at the present day; if they did they would not be understood, because they are produced by means of representations, each one of which is significative of the internal things of the church and the arcana of heaven. Moreover, it was foretold by Daniel (ix. 24) that they would cease when the Lord came into the world. But diabolical visions have sometimes appeared, induced by enthusiastic and visionary spirits, who from the delirium that possessed them called themselves the Holy Spirit. But these spirits have now been gathered up by the Lord and cast into a hell separate from the hells of others. All this makes clear that by no other visions than those in the Word can one be reformed. There are also fantastic visions: but these are mere delusions of an abstracted mind
134b. That no one is reformed by conversations with the dead is evident from the Lord’s words respecting the rich man in hell and Lazarus in Abraham’s bosom; for the rich man said:-
I pray thee, father Abraham, that thou wouldst send Lazarus to my father’s house, for I have five brethren, that he may testify unto them, lest they also come unto this place of torment. Abraham said unto him, They have Moses and the Prophets, let them hear them. But he said, Nay, father Abraham, but if one come to them from the dead they will repent. He answered him, If they hear not Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if one rise from the dead (Luke xvi. 27-31).
Conversation with the dead would have the same effect as miracles, of which just above, namely, man would be persuaded and forced into a state of worship for a short time. But as man is thus deprived of rationality, and at the same time evils are shut in, as said above, this spell or internal bond is loosed, and the evils that have been shut in break out, with blasphemy and profanation. But this takes place only when some dogma of religion has been imposed upon the mind by spirits, which is never done by any good spirit, still less by any angel of heaven.
135. Nevertheless, conversation with spirits is possible (though rarely with the angels of heaven); and this has been granted to many for ages back. And when it is granted the spirits speak with man in his mother tongue, and only a few words. But those who speak by the Lord’s permission never say any thing that takes away the freedom of the reason, nor do they teach; for the Lord alone teaches man, but mediately by means of the Word when in a state of enlightenment, of which hereafter. That this is true it has been granted me to know by personal experience. For several years I have talked with spirits and with angels; nor has any spirit dared or any angel wished to tell me any thing, still less to instruct me, about any matter in the Word, or about any matter of doctrine from the Word; but I have been taught by the Lord alone, who was revealed to me, and who has since appeared and now appears constantly before my eyes as a Sun in which He is, in the same way that He appears to the angels, and has enlightened me.
Emanuel Swedenborg · English translation by John C. Ager (1899) · Source edition · German edition.