3, a ^ Theological Seminary, PRINCETON, N. J. , BX 8712 .T8 1833 Swedenborg, Emanuel, 1688- 1772 The true Christian religion I f A. « Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2014 https://archive.org/details/truechristianrelOOswed_0 Piiblishi-d hr .lohn Allrii N,. 11. PchL.ol Slrc.!t.Boslon THE TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION, CONTAINING OF THE NEW CHURCH, FORETOLD BY THE LORD IN DANIEL VII. 13, 14} AND IN REVELATION XXI 1,2, BY EMANUEL SWEDENBORG, SERVANT OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. A NEW TRANSLATION FROM THE ORIGINAI, LATIN EDITION, PRINTED AT AMSTERDAM, IN THE YEAR 1771. BOSTON: PUBLISHED BY JOHN ALLEN, School Street. 1833 DANIEL VU. 13, U. I teas seeing in the visions of the night ; and behold, witi the heavens, as it were, the Son of Man teas coming, was given dominion, and glory, and a kingdom ; and all and tongues shall worship Him. His dominion is the domi which will not pass away, and his kingdom one which will REVELATION XXI. 1, 2, 5, 9, 10. / John saw a new heaven and a new earth. And I sa > the holy city. New Jerusalem, descending from God out of heaven, prepired as a bride adorned for her husband. And an angel spoke tcith me, haying. Come, I will show thee the Bride, the Lamb's Wife. And he \arried me away in spirit upon a great and high mountain, and showed m the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. He who sat upon the throne said. Behold, I make all things new. And He said to me, Write, because these words are true and faithful. ADVERTISEMENT. The public is now presented with a New Translation of the work of Emanuel Swedenborg originally entitled " Vera Religio Christiana, CONTINENS UnIVERSAM ThEOLOGIAM NoV^ EcCLESlJE, A DoMINO APUD Danielem, cap. VII. 13, 14, et in Apocaltpsi XXI. 1, 2, predictje :" The True Christian Religion, containing the Universal Theology of the New Church, foretold by the Lord in Daniel vii. 13, 14, and in Revelation xxi. 1, 2, This is the last work that was pubUshed by the Author ; and it comprises, as the title indicates, a general summary of the doctrines of the New Church, reduced to a regular system of theology. It was originally written in Latin, and published at Amsterdam in 1771, the year before the Author's death. It was first translated into English by the Rev. John Clowes, and published in England in the year 1781. After several editions of this version had been printed in England, and one in America, it was revised by the Rev. Samuel Noble and others, and republished in London in the year 1819. Some time since, a de- sign was formed of stereotyping it in Boston, and it was then thought proper that it should be again revised ; but after further consideration, it was deemed advisable that it should undergo a new translation ; and, accordingly, the whole work has been translated anew. The Translator has endeavored to express the meaning of the origi- nal Latin, as literally and accurately as possible, in plain English ; but he has not, in all instances, done it to his own satisfaction. The style of the original is, in general, remarkably simple and perspicuous ; yet there are some sentences, and some particular phrases, which seem ob- scure and difficult ; and, although the Translator has endeavored to ren- der them faithfully, he is not sure that he has always either apprehended or expressed the true meaning. He hopes, however, that the present translation will be found not only more literal and accurate than the former, but also more simple in its phraseology, and consequently more intelligible to common readers. One remarkable characteristic of the style of our Author, is the fre- quent use of adjectives as substantives ; as, for example, Divinum, iv Advertisement. ' the Divine ;' Humanum, ' the Human ;' bonum, ' the good ;' verum, ' the true ;' malum, ' the evil ;' falsum, ' the false ;' spirituale, ' the spirit- ual ;' naturale, ' the natural,' &c. In the present translation, the word ' nature' or ' principle' is sometimes added to ' the Divine' and ' the Human,' but not generally. Jucundum, which properly means ' pleas- ant, agreeable, delightful,' &.C., is commonly rendered ' delight,' but sometimes 'delightful.' Proprium, which properly signifies 'what is proper, peculiar or appropriated to any one,' is retained and used as a noun, for want of a more proper word. The Latin verbs esse and ex- istere are also retained, in several instances ; particularly in the second part of the first chapter, where they seemed to denote abstract ideas, which could not be conveniently expressed by other words. Esse properly means ' to be,' but it is used to denote ' being itself, in the abstract,' or ' the inmost essence of things ;' and cxisterc properly means ' to exist,' but it is used to denote ' being as it is manifested,' or ' the sensible existence of things.' The phrase lihcrum arbitrium, which was formerly translated ' free will,' is now rendered ' free agency.' The passages quoted from the Sacred Scripture are generally translated very literally, and they sometimes vary considerably from the corresponding passages in the common version of the Bible. T. G. W. Cambridge, December 1, 1832. A GENERAL INDEX OP THE CONTENTS. THE FAITH OF THE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW CHURCH, IN ITS UNI- VERSAL AND PARTICULAR FORM. n. 1 to 3. CHAPTER I. CONCERNING GOD THE CREATOR. Concerning the Unity of God. n. 5. I. That the whole Sacred Scripture, and thence all the Doctrines of the Churches in the Christian world, teach that there is a God, and that He is One. n. 6 to 7. II. That there is a universal Influx from God into the souls of men, that there is a God, and that He is One. n. 8. III. Thence it is, that, in all the world, there is not a nation possessed of Religion and sound Reason, which does not acknowledge a God, and that God is One. n. 9. IV. That, as to what that One God is, nations and people have differed, and still differ, from several causes, n. 11. V. That human Reason, from many things in the world, may perceive and conclude, if it will, that there is a God, and that He is One. n. 12. VI. That, unless God was One, the universe could not have been created and preserved, n. 13. VII. That the man who does not acknowledge a God, is excommunicated from the Church, and condemned, n. 14. VIII. That with men who do not acknowledge One God, but more than one, nothing of the Church coheres, n. 15. Concerning the Divine Esse, which is Jehovah, n. 18. I. That the One God is called Jehovah from JS^se, thus from this, because He alone IS and WILL BE, and because He is the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega, n. 19. II. That the One God is Substance itself and Form itself, and that Angels and Men are Substances and Forms from Him ; and that, as far as they are in Him, and He in them, so far they are Images and Likenesses of Him. n. 20. III. That the Divine Esse is Esse in itself, and at the same time Existere in itself, w. 21,22. IV. That the Divine Esse and Existere in itself, cannot produce another Divine, which may be Esse and Existere in itself ; consequently, that another God of the same essence is not possible, n. 23. General Index of the Contents. V. That a Plurality of Gods in ancient times, and also in modern, existed from no other source than ftom not understanding the Divine Esse. n. 24. Concerning the Infinity of God, or his Immensity/ and Eternity, n. 27. I. That God, since He is and exists in Himself, and all things in the universe are and exist from Him, is Infinite, n. 28. n. That God, since He was before the world, thus before Times and Spaces arose, is Infinite. 71. 29. III. That God, since the world was made, is in Space witliout Space, and in Time without Time. n. 30. IV. That the Infinity of God, in relation to Spaces, is called Immensity, and in rela- tion to Times, is called Eternity ; and that, although there are these relations, stUl there is nothing of Space in his Immensity, and nothing of Time in his'Eternity. n. 31. V. That enlightened Reason, from very many things in the world, may see the Infinity of God. n. 32. VI. That every created thing is finite, and that the Infinite is in finite things, as in its Receptacles, and in men as in its Images, n. 33. Concerning the Essence of God, which is Divine Love and Divine Wisdom. I. That God is Love itself and Wisdom itself, and that these two make his Es- sence, n. 37. II. That God is Good itself and Truth itself, because Good is of Love, and Truth is of Wisdom, n. 38. III. That God, because He is Love itself and Wisdom itself, is Life itself in itself. 71. 39, 40. IV. That Love and Wisdom in God make one. n. 41, 42. V. That the Essence of Love is, to love others out of itself, to desire to be one with them, and to make them happy from itself, n. 43, 44, 45. VI. That these Properties of the Divine Love were the Cause of the Creation of the universe, and that they are the Cause of its Preservation, n. 46, 47. Concerning the Omnipotence, Omniscience and Omnipresence of God. n. 49. I. That Omnipotence, Omniscience and Omnipresence are of the Divine Wisdom from the Divine Love. n. 50, 51. II. That the Omnipotence, Omniscience and Omnipresence of God cannot be known, unless it be known what Order is, and unless these things be known ; that God is Order, and that, at the creation, He introduced Order into the universe, and also into each and every part of it. n. 52 to 55. III. That the Omnipotence of God in the universe, and also in each and every part of it, proceeds and operates according to the laws of his Order, n. 50, 57, 58. IV. That God is Omniscient, that is, perceives, sees and knows each and every thing, even to the most minute, that is done according to Order, and thence also whatever is done contrary to Order, n. 59 to G2. V. That God is Omnipresent from the firsts to the lasts of his Order, n. 63, 64. VI. That Man was created a Form of Divine Order, n. 65, 60, 07. VII. That Man is so far in Power against the Evil and False, from the Divine Om- nipotence, and that he is so far in Wisdom, concerning the Good and True, from the Divine Omniscience, and that he is so far in God, from the Divine Omnipresence, as he lives according to Divine Order, n. 68, 69, 70. Concerning the Creation of the Universe. That no one can procure to himself a just idea concerning tlie Creation of the universe, unless some universal knowledges, being premised, put the understanding into a state of perception, of which n. 75. The Creation of the universe described by five Relations, n. 76, 77, 78, 79, 80. General Index of the Contents. CHAPTER II. CONCERNING THE LORD THE REDEEMER. 1. That Jehovah God descended and assumed the Human, that He might redeem and save Men. n. 82, 83, 84. n. That Jehovah God descended as Divine Truth, which is the Word, and yet that He did not separate the Divine Good. n. 85 to 88. HI. That God assumed the Human according to his own Divine Order, n. 89, 90, 91. IV. That the Human, by which God sent Himself into the world, is the Son of God. n. 92, 93, 94. V. That the Lord, by acts of Redemption, made Himself Righteousness, n. 95, 96. VI. That the Lord, by the same acts, united Himself to the Father, and the Father united Himself to Him. n. 97 to 100. VII. That thus God became Man, and Man God, in one Person, n. 101, 102, 103. VIII. That the progression to union was the state of his Exinanition, and that the union itself is the state of his Glorification, n. 104, 105, 106. IX. That hereafter no one among Christians comes into Heaven, unless he believes in the Lord God the Savior, n. 107, 108. X. Corollary. Concerning the state of the Church before the coming of the Lord, and concerning its state after it. n. 109. Concerning Redemption, n. 114. I. That Redemption itself was a Subjugation of the Hells, an Establishment of Order in the Heavens, and thereby a Preparation for a new Spiritual Church, n. 115. II. That, without that Redemption, no Man could have been saved, nor could the Angels have subsisted in a state of integrity, n. 118, 119, 120. III. That the Lord thus redeemed not only Men, but also Angels, n. 121, 122. IV. That Redemption was a work purely divine, n. 123. V. That this Redemption itself could not have been effected, except by God In- carnate, n. 124, 125. VI. That the Passion of the Cross was the last Temptation that the Lord, as the greatest Prophet, sustained, and that it was the means of the Glorification of his Hu- man, and not Redemption, n. 126 to 131. VII. That the Passion of the Cross is believed to have been Redemption itself, is a fundamental Error of the Church ; and that this Error, together with the Error con- cerning Three Divine Persons from eternity, has perverted the whole Christian Church, so that not any thing spiritual is left remaining in it. n. 132, 133. CHAPTER III. CONCERNING THE HOLY SPIRIT, AND CONCERNING THE DIVINE OPERATION. 71. 138. * I. That the Holy Spirit is the Divine Truth, and also the Divine Virtue and Opera- tion proceeding from the One God, in whom there is a Divine Trinity ; thus from the Lord God the Savior, n. 139, 140, 141. II. That the Divine Virtue and Operation, which are meant by the Holy Spirit, are in general Reformation and Regeneration ; and according to these. Renovation, Vivi- fication, Sanctification and Justification ; and according to these. Purification from evils and Remission of sins, and at length Salvation, n. 141 to 145. III. That that Divine Virtue and Operation, which is meant by the sending of the viii General Index of the Contents. Holy Spirit, with the Clergy in particular, is Illustration and Instruction, n. 146, 147, 148. IV. That the Lord operates those Virtues in those who believe in Him. n. 149, 150, 151. V. That tlie Lord operates of Himself from the Father, and not conversely, n. 153, 154, 155. VI. That the Spirit of . n is his Mind and whatsoever proceeds from it. n. 156, 157. Corollary. That it is i ,vhere said in the Old Testament, that the Prophets spoke from the Holy Spirit, but from Jehovah God ; but otherwise in the New. »i. 158. Concerning the Divine Trinity, n. 163. I. That there is a Divine Trinity, which is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. n. 164, 165. II. That these Three, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, are three Essentials of one God, which make one, like the Soul, Body and Operation with Man. n. 166 to 169. HI. That before the world was created, there was not this Trinity ; but that after the world was created, when God became incarnate, it was provided and made ; and then in the Lord God the Redeemer and Savior Jesus Christ, n. 170, 171. IV. That a Trinity of Divine Persons from eternity, thus before the world was created, is, in the ideas of thought, a Trinity of Gods, and that this cannot be abolished by the oral confession of one God. n. 172, 173. V. That a Trinity of Persons was unknown in the Apostolic Church, but that it ■was first broached by the Nicene Council, and thence introduced into the Roman Catholic Church, and from this into the Churches separated from it. n. 174 to 176. VI. That from the Nicene and Athanasian Trinity together, there arose a Faith in three Gods, which had perverted the whole Christian Church, n. 177, 178. VII. That thence there is that Abomination of Desolation and Affliction such as shall not be, wliich the Lord had foretold in Daniel and the Evangelists, and in the Revelation, n. 179, 180, 181. VIII. And also this, that unless a New Heaven and a New Church be established by the Lord, no Flesh could be saved, n. 182. IX. That from a Trinity of Persons, each of whom singly is God, according to the Athanasian Creed, have sprung many absurd and heterogeneous ideas concerning God, which are fantasies and abortions, n. 183, 184. CHAPTER IV. CONCERNING THE SACRED SCRIPTURE, OR WORD OF THE LORD. L That the Sacred Scripture, or the Word, is Divine Truth itself, n. 189 to 192. II. That in the Word there is a Spiritual Sense, hitherto unknown, n. 193. (1.) What the Spiritual Sense is. n. 194. (2.) That frovi the Lord proceed the Celestial Divine, the Spiritual Divine, and the JValural Divine, n. 195. (3.) Thnt a Spiritual Sense is in all and every part of the Word, shown n. 196. 197, 198. (4.) That the Lord, when He was in tlie world, spoke by Correspondences, thus spiritually, ivhen naturally, n. 199. (5.) That it is from tlie Spirilual Sense, that the Word is divinely inspired, and holy in every expression, n. 200. (6.) That the Spiritual Sense has been hitherto unknown, but ttfith the Ancients known ; and concerning Correspondences among them. n. 201 to 207. (7.) That the Spiritual Sense of the Word is hereafter given to none b\d those teho are in genuine Tridhs from the Lord. n. 208. (8.) Wonderful things concerning the Word from its Spiritual Sense, n. 209. General Index uj the Contents. ix III. That the Sense of the Letter of the Word is the Basis, Continent and Firma- ment of its Spiritual and Celestial Sense, n. 210 to 21,3. IV. That Divine Truth, in the Sense of the Letter of the Word, is in its Fulness, in its Holiness, and in its Power, n. 214, 215, 21G. (1.) That the Truths of the Sense of the Letter of the Word are meant hy the precious Stones, of which the foundations of the JVetv J' ■salem consisted, of which in the Revelation ; and this from Corresponden- n. 217. (2.) That the Goods and Truths of the Sense of the Leir-t of the Word correspond to the Urim and Thummim in Aaron's Ephod. n. 218. (3.) That Truths and Goods in idtimates, such as are in the Sense of the Letter of the Word, are signified by the precious Stones in the Garden of Eden, in ivhich the King of Tyre is said to have been, in Ezekiel. n. 219. (4.) That the same tvere represented by the Curtains, Veils and Pillars of the Tab- ernacle, n. 220. (5.) Jlnd likewise by the Externals of the Temple at Jerusalem, n. 221. (6.) That the Word in its Glory was represented in the Lord, when transformed. n. 222. (7.) TViat the Power of the Word in ultimates was represented by the JS/azarites. n. 22.3. (8.) Concerning the ineffable Power of the Word. n. 224. V. That the Doctrine of the Church is to be drawn from the Sense of the Letter of the Word, and confirmed by it. n. 225, 229, 230. (1.) TTiai the Word without Doctrine is not understood, n. 226, 227, 228. (2.) That the genuine Truth, which will be of Doctrine, in the Sense of the Letter of the Word, appears to no others than those who are in Elustration from the Lord. n. 231, 232, 233. VI. That by the Sense of the Letter of the Word there is Conjunction with the Lord and consociation with the angels, n. 234 to 239. VII. That the Word is in all the Heavens, and that angelic Wisdom is thence, n. 240, 241, 242. VIII. That the Church is from the Word, and that it is such with man, as his Understanding of the Word is. n. 243 to 247. IX. That the Marriage of the Lord and the Church, and thence the Marriage of the Good and the True, is in every part of the Word. n. 248 to 253. X. That Heresies may be taken from the Sense of the Letter of the Word, but that it is hurtful to confirm them. n. 254 to 260. (1.) That many things in the Word are Appearances of Truth, in which genuine Truths are concealed, n. 257. (2.) T^at by confirming the Appearances of truth Fallacies exist, n. 258. (3.) TTiat the Sense of the Letter of the Word is a Guard for the genuine Truths which are concealed ivithin. n. 260. (4.) That the Sense of the Letter of the Word was r epresented by Cherubs, and signi- fied by them in the Word. n. 260. XI. That the Lord in the world fulfilled all things of the Word, and thereby be- came the Word also in ultimates. n. 261, 262, 263. XII. That before this Word, which is at this day in the world, there was a Word which is lost. n. 264, 265, 266. XIII. That by means of the Word those also have liglit who are out of the Church, and have not the Word. n. 267 to 272. XIV. That unless there were a Word, no one would know God, Heaven and Hell, the Life after death, and still less the Lord. n. 273 to 276. B X General Index of the Contents. CHAPTER V. THE CATECHISM OR DECALOGUE EXPLAINED AS TO ITS EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL SENSE, n. 282. I. That the Decalogue was Holiness itself, in the Israelitish Church ; there con- cerning the Holiness of the Ark, in which was the Law. n. 283 to 286. II. That the Decalogue, in the Sense of the Letter, contains general Precepts of faith and life ; hut, in the Spiritual and Celestial Senses, all Precepts universally, n. 287 to 290. III. The First Commandment : Thou shalt have no other God hefore my face. n. 291 to 296. IV. The Second Commandment: Thou shalt not take the Name of Jehovah thy God in vain, for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that taketh his Name in vain. n. 297 to 300. V. The Thiiid Commandment: Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy; six days thou shalt labor and do all thy work, but the Seventh Day is the Sabbath to Jehovah thy God. ?i. 301 to 304. VI. The Fourth Commandment : Honor thy Father and thy Mother, that thy days may be long, and that it may be well with thee upon the earth, n. 305 to 308. VII. The Fifth Commandment : Thou shalt not kill. Ji. 309 to 312. VIII. The Sixth Commandment: Thou shalt not commit adultery. ?). 313to316. IX. The Seventh Commandment : Thou shalt not steal, n. 317 to 320. X. The Eighth Commandment: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor, n. 321 to 324. XI. The Ninth and Tenth Commandments : Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's House : Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's Wife, nor his Man-Servant, nor his Maid- Servant, nor his Ox, nor his Ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's. ?!. 325 to 328. XII. That the Ten Precepts of the Decalogue contain all things which are of Love to God, and all things which are of Love towards the Neighbor, n. 329 to 331. CHAPTER VI. CONCERNING FAITH. Preface. That Faith is first in time, but that Charily is iirst in end. 7i. 336. I. That saving Faith is in the Lord God the Savior Jesus Christ, n. 337 to 339. Since it is in a visible God, in tvhom is the invisible, n. 1339. II. Tliat Faith in the sum is, tliat he who lives well and believes aright, is saved by the Lord. n. 340 to 342. That the first thing of Faith in Him is an Acknowledgment, that He is the Son or GoD. n. 342. III. That man receives Faith by going to tlie Lord, learning Truths from the Word, and living according to them. n. 343 to 348. Concerning the Esse of Faith ; concer7iing the Essence of Faith ; concerning the State of Faith ; concerning the Form of Faith, n. 344 and tlie following. Concerning merely JVatural Faith, that it is Persuasion counterfeiting Faith, n. 345 to 348. IV. That an Abundance of Truths, cohering as in a bundle, exalts and perfects faith, n. 349 to 354. (1.) That the Truths of Faith are muUiplicable to infinitti. n. 350. (2.) That there is a Disposition of the IVuths of Faith into series, thus as it were into little bundles, n. 351. (3.) lliat Faith is perfected according to the abundance and coherence of Truths. n. 3.52 to 353. (4.) That the Truths of Faith, however numerous they are, and diverse they appear, make one from the Lord. n. 353. General Index of the Contents. XI (5.) That the Lord is the Word, is the God of Heaven and Earth, the God of all Flesh, the God of the Vineyard or Church, the God of Faith, the Light itself, the Truth and eternal Life, shown from the Word. n. 354. V. That Faith without Charity is not Faith, and that Charity witliout Faith is not Charity, and that neither lives but from the Lord. n. 355 to 361. (1.) That man can procure Faith for himself, n. 356. (2.) That man can procure Charity for himself, n. 357. (3.) That man can also procure for himself the Life of Faith and Charity, n. 358. (4.) That nevertheless nothing of Faith, nothing of Charity, and nothing of the Life of each, is from man, but from the Lord alone, n. 359. (5.) Ttie Distinction between Natural Faith and Spiritual Faith, and that the latter is iiiivardly in the former from the Lord. n. 360, 361. VI. That the Lord, Charity and Faith make one, like Life, Will and Understanding in man ; and that, if they are divided, each perishes like a Pearl reduced to Powder, n. 362 to 367. (1.) Tluit the Lord, wiih all his Divine Love, ivith all his Divine Wisdom, thus with all his Divine Life,Jlows in loiih every man. n. 364. (2.) Consequently, that the Lord, with all the Essence of Faith and Charity, flows in with every man. n. 365. (3.) That the things which floio in from the Lord are received by man, according to his State and Form. n. 366. (4.) But that the man who divides the Lord, Charity and Faith, is not a Form receiving, but a Form destroying them. n. 367. VIL That the Lord is Charity and Faith in Man, and that Man is Charity and Faith in the Lord. n. 368 to 372. (1.) That Conjunction with God is that by which Man has Salvation and eternal Life. n. 369. (2.) That Conjunction with God the Father is not possible, bid with the Lord, and through Him with God the Father, n. 370. (3.) That Conjunction ivith the Lord is reciprocal, which is, that Man is in the Lord and the Lord in Man. n. 371. (4.) That this reciprocal Conjunction of the Lord and Man is effected by means of Charity and Faith, n. 372. VIIL That Charity and Faith are together in Good Works, n. 373 to 377. (1.) That Charity is to will well, and that Good Works are to do well from willing well. n. 374. (2.) That Charity and Faith are only mental and perishable things, unless, when it can be done, they are determined to Acts, and coexist in them. n. 375, 376. (3.) That Charity alone does not produce Good Works, still less Faith alone ; but that Charity and Faith together produce them. n. 377. IX. That there is True Faith, Spurious Faith, and Hypocritical Faith, n. 378 to 381. (1.) That the Christian Church, in its infancy, began to be infested and torn to pieces by Schisms and Heresies, of which n. 378. (2.) That there is only one True Faith, and that it is in the Lord God the Savior Jesus Christ ; and that it is ivith those who believe Him to be the Son of God, the God of Heaven and Earth, and one with the Father, n. 379. (3.) That Spurious Faith is every Faith which recedes from the True, which is the only one ; and that it is ivith those ivlio climb up some other way, and re- gard the Lord not as God, but only as a man. n. 380. (4.) Tiuit Hypocritical Faith is no Faith, n. 381. X. That there is no Faith with the Evil. ji. 382 to 384. (1.) That the Evil have no Faith, because Evil is of Hell, and Faith is of Heaven, n. 38.3. (2.) That all those in Cliristendom have no Faith, who reprobate the Lord and the Word, although they live morally, and speak, teach and write rationally, even concerning Faith, n. 384. xii General Index of the Contents. CHAPTER VII. CONCERNING CHARITY OR LOVE TOWARDS THE NEIGHBOR ; AND CONCERNING GOOD WORKS. I. That there are three universal Loves — the Love of Heaven, the Love of the World, and the Love of Self. n. 394, 395, 396. (1.) Concerning the Will and the Understanding, n. 397. (2.) Concerning Good and Truth, n. 398. (3.) Concerning Love in general, n. 399. (4.) Concerning the Love of Self and the Love of the World in particular, n. 400. (5.) Concerning the External and the Internal Man. n. 401. (6.) Concerning the merely JVatural and Sensual Man. n. 402. II. That those three Loves, when they are rightly subordinated, perfect Man ; but when they are not rightly subordinated, they pervert and invert him. n. 403, 404, 405. III. That every individual Man is the Neighbor that is to be loved, but according to the quality of his good. n. 40G to 411. IV. That Man collectively, which is a smaller and larger Society, and that Man in what is composed of them, which is one's Country, is the Neighbor that is to be loved. n. 412 to 414. V. That the Church is the Neighbor that is to be loved in a higher degree, and the Kingdom of the Lord in the highest, n. 415, 416. VI. That to love the Neighbor, viewed in itself, is not to love the Person, but the Good which is in the Person. ?i. 417 to 419. VII. That Charity and Good Works are two distinct tilings, like willing well and doing well. n. 420, 421. VIII. That Charity itself is to act justly and faithfully, in the Office, Business and Work in which any one is, and with whomsoever he has any Intercourse. iu 422, 423, 424. IX. That the Beneficent Acts of Charity ai-e, to give to the Poor and to help the Needy, but with Prudence, n. 425 to 428. X. That there are Debts of Charity, some domestic and some private, n. 429 to 432. XI. That the Recreations of Charity are Dinners, Suppers and social Parties. 71. 433, 434. XII. That the first thing of Charity is to put away Evils, and that the second is, to do Goods, whicli are of use to the neighbor, n. 435 to 438. XIII. That man, in the exercises of Charity, does not place Merit in works, when he believes that all Good is from the Lord. n. 439 to 442. XIV. That Moral Life, when it is at the same time Spiritual, is Charity, n. 443 to 445. XV. That the Friendship of love contracted with a man, whatever his quality is, as to the spirit, after death is hurtful. 7!. 446 to 449. XVI. That there is Spurious Charity, Hypocritical Charity, and Dead Charity, n. 450 to 453. XVII. Tliat tlie Friendship of love among the Evil is intestine Hatred towards each other, n. 454, 455. XVIII. Concerning the Conjunction of Love to God and Love towards the Neighbor, n. 456 to 458. CHAPTER VIII. CONCERNING FREE AGENCY. I. The Precepts and Dogmas of the present Church concerning Free Agency. n. 4()3 to 465. II. That in the Garden of Eden there were placed two Trees, one of life, and the General Index of the Contents. xiii other of the knowledge of good and evil, signifies that Free Agency in spiritual things was given to Man. n. 466 to 469. III. That Man is not Life, but a Receptacle of Life from God. n. 470 to 474. IV. That Man, while he lives in the world, is held in the middle between Heaven and Hell, and there in a spiritual equilibrium, which is Free Agency, n. 475 to 478. V. That, from the Permission of evil, in which the internal man of every one is, it is very manifest that Man has Free Agency in spiritual things, n. 478 to 482. VI. That, without Free Agency in spiritual things, the Word would not be of any use ; consequently, the Church would not be any thing. 7i. 483 to 485. VII. That, without Free Agency in spiritual things, there would not be any thing of Man, by which he might reciprocally conjoin himself to God ; and thence there would be no Imputation, but mere Predestination, which is detestable, n. 485. Detestable tilings concerning Predestination are divulged, n. 486 to 488. VIII. That, without Free Agency in spiritual things, God would be the cause of evil, and thus there would be no Imputation of Charity and Faith, n. 489 to 492. IX. That every thing spiritual of the Church, which enters in Freedom, and which is received in a state of Freedom, remains ; but not the reverse. ?i. 493 to 496. X. That the Will and Understanding of Man are in this Free Agency ; but that the doing of evil in both worlds, the spiritual and the natural, is restrained by laws ; since otherwise Society in both would perish, n. 497 to 499. XI. That if Man had not Free Agency in spiritual things, all in the whole world might be brought, in one day, to believe in the Lord ; but that the cause why this cannot be done, is, because that which is not received in a state of Free Agency does not remain, n. 500 to 502. Tliat Miracles are not done at this day, because they take away Free Agency in spirit- ual things, and force, n. 501 . CHAPTER IX. CONCERNING REPENTANCE. I. That Repentance is the first thing of the Church with Man. n. 510, 511. II. That Contrition, of which it is said at this day, that it precedes Faith, and is followed by the Consolation of the Gospel, is not Repentance. »i. 512 to 515. III. That the oral Confession alone, that one is a Sinner, is not Repentance, n. 516 to 519. IV. That man is born to evils of every kind, and that, unless he remove them in part by Repentance, he remains in them ; and he that remains in them cannot be saved, n. 520 to 524. What the Fidjilment of the Law is. n. 523, 524. V. That the Knowledge of Sin, and the Discovery of some one in one's self, be- gins Repentance. 7i. 525 to 527. VI. That actual Repentance is to explore one's self, to know and acknowledge his sins, to make Supplication to the Lord, and to begin a new Life. n. 528 to 531. VII. That true Repentance is not only to explore the Acts of one's Life, but also the Intentions of his Will. n. 532 to 534. VIII. That those also perform Repentance, who do not explore themselves, but still desist from Evils, because they are Sins ; and that this Repentance is performed by those who do the Works of Charity from Religion, n. 535 to 537. IX. That Confession ought to be made before the Lord God the Savior, and then Supplication for Help and Power to resist Evils, n. 538 to 560. X. That actual Repentance is easy with those who have performed it several times, but very difficult for those who have not performed it. n. 561 to 563. XI. That he who has never performed Repentance, nor looked into and examined himself, at length does not know what damnable Evil is, and what saving Good is. n. 564 to 566. General Index of the Contents. CHAPTER X. CONCERNING REFORMATION AND REGENERATION. I. That Man, unless he be regenerated, and as it were created anew, cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. n. 572 to 575. II. That the New Generation or Creation is effected by the Lord alone, by Charity and Faith, as the two means, with the Cooperation of Man. ji. 576 to 578. III. That all, because all have been redeemed, may be regenerated, every one ac- cording to his state, n. 579 to 582. IV. That Regeneration is effected, comparatively, as man is conceived, carried in the womb, born and educated, n. 583 to 586. V. That the First Act of the New Generation is called Reformation, which is of the Understanding ; and that the Second Act is Regeneration, which is of the Will, and thence of the Understanding, n. 587 to 590. VI. That the Internal Man is first to be reformed, and by it the External, n. 591 to 595. VII. That while this is done, a Combat arises between the internal and the external man, and then the one that conquers rules over the other, n. 596 to 600. VIII. That the Regenerate Man has a new Will and a new Understanding, n. 601 to 606. IX. That the Regenerate Man is in communion with the Angels of Heaven, and the Unregenerate Man in communion with the Spirits of Hell. 71. 607 to 610. X. That, as far as Man is regenerated, so far Sins are removed, and that that re- moval is the Remission of Sins. n. 611 to 614. XI. That Regeneration cannot be effected without Free Agency in spiritual things, n. 615 to 617. XII. That Regeneration cannot be effected without Truths by which Faith is formed, and with which Charity conjoins itself, n. 618 to 620. Some things concerning the Male and Female Sex in the Vegetable Kingdom, n. 585. CHAPTER XI. CONCERNING IMPUTATION. I. That the Faitli of the present Church, which alone is said to justify, and Imputa- tion, make one. 71. 626, 627. II. That the Imputation, which is of the Faitli at this day, is twofold, one of the Merit of Clirist, and the other of^ Salvation thence, n. 628 to 631. III. That the Faith imputative of the Merit and Righteousness of Christ the Re- deemer, first arose from the Decrees of the Nicene Synod, concerning three Divine Persons from eternity ; which Faith, from that time to the present, has been received by the whole Christian world, n. 6-32 to 635. IV. That the Faith imputative of the Merit of Christ was not known in the Apostolic Church, which preceded, and is nowhere meant in the Word. 71. 636 to 639. V. That an Imputation of the Merit and Righteousness of Christ is impossible. n. 640 to ()42. VI. That there is an Imputation, but of Good and Evil. n. 643 to 646. VII. That tlic Faith and Imputation of the New Church cannot possibly be to- gether with the Faith and Imputation of the former Church, and that, if they were together, there would be such a collision and conflict, that all of the Church with man would perish, n. 647 to 649. VIII. That the Lord imputes to every man Good, and that Hell imputes to every man Evil. 71. 650 to 653. . IX. That Faith, with whatsoever it conjoins itself, makes a Sentence : if true Faith General Index of the Contents. XV conjoins itself with Good, a Sentence is made for eternal Life ; but if Faith conjoins itself with Evil, a Sentence is made for eternal Death, n. 654 to 657. X. That Thought is imputed to no one, but Will. n. 658 to 660. CHAPTER XII. CONCERNING BAPTISM. I. That without Knowledge concerning the Spiritual Sense of the Word, no one can know what the two Sacraments, Baptism and the Holy Supper, involve and effect, n. 667 to 669. II. That by the Washing, which is called Baptism, is meant Spiritual Washing, which is Purification from evils, and thus Regeneration, n. 670 to 673. III. That Baptism was instituted in the place of Circumcision, because by the Cir- cumcision of the Foreskin was represented the Circumcision of the Heart, in order that an Internal Church might succeed the External, which, in each and every thing, figured the Internal Church. 7i. 674 to 676. IV. That the First Use of Baptism is Introduction into the Christian Church, and then, at the same time, Insertion among Christians in the spiritual world, n. 677 to 680. V. That the Second Use of Baptism is that the person may know and acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ, the Redeemer and Savior, and follow Him. n. 681 to 683. VI. Tiiat the Third Use of Baptism, which is the final one, is, that man may be regenerated. ?i. 684 to 687. VII. That, by the Baptism of John, a Way was prepared, that Jehovah God might be able to descend into the world and perform Redemption, n. 688. CHAPTER XIII. CONCERNING THE HOLY SUPPER. I. That without Information concerning the Correspondences of natural things with spiritual, no one can know the Uses of the Holy Supper, n. 698 to 701. II. That, from Correspondences being known, it is known what is meant by the Flesh and Blood of the Lord, and that the like is meant by Bread and Wine ; namely, that by the Flesh of the Lord, and by Bread, is meant the Divine Good of his Love, and also all the Good of Charity ; and that by the Blood of the Lord and by Wine, is meant the Divine Truth of his Wisdom, and also all the Truth of Faith ; and by Eat- ing, Appropriation, n. 702 to 710. Shown from the Word ivhat is meant by Flesh, n. 704, 705. What by Blood, n. 706. What by Bread, n. 707. What by Wine. n. 708. III. That, from these things being understood, it may be comprehended, that the Holy Supper contains, universally and particularly, all things of the Church, and all things of Heaven, n. 711 to 715. IV. That in the Holy Supper there is the whole of the Lord, and the whole of his Redemption, n. 716 to 718. V. That the Lord is present, and opens Heaven to those who come worthily to the Holy Supper; and that He is present also with those who come unworthily, but that He does not open Heaven to them. Consequently, that as Baptism is an Introduction into the Church, so the Holy Supper is an Introduction into Heaven, n. 719 to 721. VI. That those come to the Holy Supper worthily, who are in Faith in the Lord, and in Charity towards the Neighbor, thus who are regenerated, n. 722 to 724. xvi General Index of the Contents. VII. That those who come to the Holy Supper worthily are in the Lord, and the Lord in them ; consequently, that by the Holy Supper there is made a Conjunction with the Lord. n. 725 to 727. VIII. That the Holy Supper is, to those who come worthily, a Sign and Seal that they are the Sons of God. n. 728 to 730. CHAPTER XIV. CONCERNING THE CONSUMMATION OF THE AGE ; CONCERNING THE COMING OF THE LORD; AND CONCERNING THE NEW CHURCH. A. Tha*: the Consummation of the Age is tlie Last Time or End of the Church. £. 753 to 756. II. That at this day is the Last Time of the Church, which was foretold and de- scribed by the Lord in the Evangelists, and in the Revelation, n. 757 to 759. III. That this Last Time of the Christian Church is the Night itself, in which for- mer Churches have come to an end. 7i. 7G0 to 763. IV. That after this Night follows the Morning ; and that the Coming of the Lord is that. n. 764 to 767. V. That the Coming of the Lord is not his coming to destroy the visible Heaven and the habitable Earth, and to create a new Heaven and a new Earth, as many hith- erto, from not understanding the Spiritual Sense of the Word, have supposed, n. 768 to 771. VI. That this Coming of the Lord, which is tlie Second, takes place in order tliat the Evil may be separated from the Good, and that those may be saved who have be- lieved and do believe in Him, and that by these a New Angelic Heaven and a New Church on earth may be formed ; and that, without it, no flesh could be saved. Matt, xxiv. 22. 71. 772 to 775. VII. That this Second Coming of the Lord is not in Person, but that it is in the Word, which is from Ilim, and thus Himself ji. 776 to 778. VIII. That this Second Coming is made through a Man, before whom He has manifested Himself, and whom He has filled with his Spirit, to teach the Doctrines of the New Church by means of the Word from Ilini. n. 779, 780. IX. That this is meant by the New Heaven and the New Jerusalem, in the Rev- elation, xxi. n. 781 to 785. X. That this Church is the Crown of all the Churches which have been hitherto in the world, n. 786 to 791 . SUPPLEMENT. 1. Concerning the Spikitual Wori.ii, wiiat it is. n. 792 to 795. 2. Concerning Luther in the spiritual world. ?i. 79G. 3. Concerning Melanchthon in tlie spiritual world, n. 797. 4. Concerning Calvin in tiie spiritual world, n. 798, 799. 5. Concerning the Dutch in the spiritual world. «. 800 to 805. 6. Concerning the English in the spiritual world, n. 806 to 812. 7. Concerning the Germans in the spiritual world, n. 813 to 816. 8. Concerning the Papists in the spiritual world, n. 817 to 821. 9. Concerning the Popish Saints in the spiritual world, ru 822 to 827. 10. Concerning the Mahometans in the spiritual world, n. 828 to 834. 11. Concerning the Africans in the spiritual world, and also somctliing concern- ing the Gentiles, n. 835 to 840. 12. Concerning the Jews in the spiritual world, n. 841 to 845. THE TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION, CONTAINING OF THE JVEW HEAVKN' AND THE NEW CHURCH. THE FAITH OF THE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW CHURCH. 1. The Faith, in a universal and a particular form, is prefixed, that it may be as a face before the work which follows ; and as a gate, through which entrance is made into a temple ; and a summary, in which the particulars which follow are in their own measure contained. It is said, the Faith of the Neiv Heaven and the New Church, because the heaven where angels are, and the church in which men are, make one, as the internal and the ex- ternal with man. Thence it is, that, as to the interiors of his mind, the man of the church, who is in the good of love from the truths of faith, and in the truths of faith from the good of love, is an angel of heaven ; where- fore, after death, he also comes into heaven, and there enjoys felicity ac- cording to the state of their conjunction. It should be known, that this faith is in the New Heaven, which the Lord is at this day establishing, its face, gate and summary. 2. The Faith of the New Heaven and the New Church, in the UNIVERSAL Form, is this : That the Lord from eternity, who is Jehovah, came into the world, that he might subjugate the hells and glorify his Human ; and that, without this, no mortal could have been saved ; and that those are saved who believe in Him. It is said, in the universal form, because this is the universal of faith; and a universal of faith is that which wiU be in the whole and every part. It is a universal of faith, that God is one in essence and in person, in whom is a divine Trinity, and that the Lord God the Savior Jesus Christ is He. It is a universal of faith, that no mortal could have been saved, unless the Lord had come into the world. It is a universal of faith, that He came into the world that He might remove hell from man, and that He did remove it, by means of combats against it and victories over it ; thus He subjugated it and reduced it to order and under obedience to Him.self. It is a universal of faith, that He came into the world, that He might glorify his Human, which He 2 The Faith of the JVeiv HeavQii and the JVew Church. assumed in the world, that is, might unite it with the Divine, from which it proceeded; thusHeliolds hell in order and under obedience to Himself for- ever. Since this could not have been done but by means of temptations ad- mitted into his Human, even to tlie last of them, and the last of them was the passion of the cross, therefore He underwent that. These are the universals of faith concerning the Lord. The universal of faith, on the part of man, is. That he should believe in the Lord ; for by believing in Him, conjunction with Him is effected, by which is salvation. To believe in Him, is to have confidence tliat He saves : and be- cause no one can have this confidence, except those who live well, tlierefore this also is meant by believing in Him. This the Lord also says in John : This is the win of the Father, that every one, who believeth in the Son, may have eternal life, vi. 40 ; and in another place. He who believeth in the Son, hath eternal life; but he who believeth not the Son, shall not see life, but the anger of God abideth on him, iii. 36. 3. The Faith of the New Heaven and the New Church, in the PARTICULAR FoRM, is this : That Jehovah God is Love itself and Wisdom itself, or that he is Good itself and Truth itself: and that He, as to Divine Truth, which is the Word, and which was God with God, descended and assumed the Human, to the end that He might reduce to order all thin'gs which were in heaven, and all things which were in hell, and all things which were in the church ; since, at that time, the power of hell prevailed over the power of heaven, and, upon earth, the power of e\il over the power of good, and thence a total damnation stood before the door and threatened. This impending damnation Jehovah God removed by means of his Human, which was Divine Truth, and thus He redeemed angels and men ; and afterwards He united, in liis Human, Divine Truth with Divine Good, or Divine Wisdom vvitli Divine Love, and thus, together with and in his glorified Human, re- turned into his Divine, in which He was from eternity. These things are meant by this passage in John, The Word teas with God, and the Word was God: and the Word became flesh, i. 1, 14; and in the same, / proceeded from the Father, and came into the ivorld : again I leave the world, and go to the Father, xvi. 28: and also by this. We know that the Son of God hath come, and given us understanding, that we might know the True; and we are in the True, in his Son Jesus Christ : This is the true God and eternal Life, 1 John v. 20, 2L From diese it is manifest that, widiout the coming of the Lord into tlie world, no one could have been saved. It is similar at this day : wherefore, unless the Lord should again come into the world, in Divine Truth, no one can be saved. The particulars of the faith, on the part of man, are, l.That God is One, in whom is a Divine Trinity, and that He is the Lord God the Savior Jesus Christ ; 2. That saving faith is to believe in Him ; 3. That evils should not be done, because they are of the devil and from tlie devil ; 4. Tiiat goods should be done, because they are of God and from God ; 5. And that these should be done by man as from himself; but that it should be believed, that they are from the Lord, with him and through him. The two first are of faith, the two next are of charity, and the fiftli is of tlie conjunction of charity and faith, thus of tlie Lord and jnan. Concerning the Unity of God. 3 CHAPTER I. CONCERNING GOD THE CREATOR. 4. The Christian Church, since the time of the Lord, had passed through the several stages from infancy to ex- treme old age. Its infancy was in the time when the apostles lived, and preached, throughout the world, repent- ance and faith in the Lord God the Savior. That they preached these two things, is evident from these words in the Acts of the Apostles : Paul pro- claimed, both to the Jetvs and to the Greeks, repentance towards God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, xx. 2L It is memorable, that the Lord, some months ago, called together his twelve disciples, now angels, and sent them forth into all the spiritual world, with the command that they should there preach the gospel anew, since the church which was instituted by the Lord through them, has at this day come to such a state of consummation, that scarcely any relics of it remain ; and that this has come to pass, because they divided the Divine Trinity into three persons, each one of whom is God and Lord ; and that thence a sort of phrensy has issued forth into the whole of theology, and thus into the church, which, from the name of the Lord, is called Christian. It is said a phrensy, because the minds of men have been driven by it into such a delirium, that they do not know whether God be one, or whether there be three ; there is one in the speech of their lips, but three in the thought of their mind ; where- fore there is a disagreement between their mind and lips, or between their thought and speech ; from which dis- agreement results the idea that there is no God. The naturalism which reigns at this day is from no other source. Consider, if you please, while the lips speak of one, and the mind thinks of three, whether one does not, inwardly, in the midst of the way, by turns expel the other ; thence it is that man scarcely thinks otherwise con- cerning God, if he thinks at all, than from the mere word God, without any sense of its meaning which implies a knowledge of Him. Since the idea concerning God, with every notion of it, is tims torn to pieces, I propose to treat, in their order, of God the Cre- ator, of the Lord the Redeemer, and of the Holy Spirit the Operator, and lastly of the Divine Trinity ; to the end that what is torn to pieces may again be made whole, which is effected while the reason of man is convinced, from the Word and the light thence proceed- ing, that there is a Divine Trinity, and that it is in the Lord God the Savior Jesus Christ, like the soul, body and proceeding operation in man ; and thus that this article in the Athanasian Creed is true; — That in Christ, God and Man, or the Divine qnd the Human, are not two, but in one person ; and that, as the rational soul and flesh is one man, so God and Man is one Christ. CONCERNING THE UNITY OF GOD. 5. Since the acknowledgment of that an exordium should be made con- God from a knowledge of him, is the cerning the Unity of God, which will very essence and soul of all things be demonstrated in order by these ar- in universal theology, it is necessary tides : I. That the whole Sacred Scrip- 4 Concerning God the Creator. ture, and thence the doctrines of churches in the Christian tcorld, teach that God is one. II. That there is a uni- versal influx into the souls of men, that there is a God, and that He is one. III. Thence it is that, in all the tcorld, there is no nation, possessed of religion and sound reason, ichicli docs not ac- knowledge that there is a God, and that He is one. IV. That as to what the one God is, 7iations and people have differ- ed, and still differ, from several causes. V. That human reason, from many things in the tcorld, may, if it will, perceive or conclude, that there is a God, and that he is one. VI. That un- less God were one, the univa'se could not have been created and preserved. VII. That the man who docs not ac- knowledge a God, is excomnmnicatcd from the church and condemned. VIII. That tcith the man icho docs not ac- knowledge one God, but several, nothing of the church coheres. But these arti- cles shall be explained one by one. 6. I. That the whole Sacred Scripture, and thence all the Doctrines of the Churches in the Christian world, teach that there IS A God, and that He is one. That the whole Sacred Scripture teaches that there is a God, is because, in its inmost, it is no other than God, that is, the Divine whicli proceeds from God ; for it was dictated by God, and nothing else can proceed from God, than that which is Himself, and is called Divine ; this the Sacred Scripture is in its inmost. But in its derivatives, which are below and from the inmost, the Sacred Scripture is accommodated to the perception of angels and men ; in these it is al.so Divine, but in anoth- er form, in which it is called the Ce- lestial Divine, the Spiritual Divine and the Natural Divine, whicii are no oth- er than coverings of God ; since God himself, such as He is in the inmost of the Word, cannot be seen by any creature. For he said to Moses, when he prayed that he might see the glory of Jehovah, that 710 one can see God and live. It is similar with the in- most of the Word, where God is in his ^se [to be] and in liis essence. But still the Divine, which is the inmost, and is covered with such things as are accommodated to the perceptions of angels and men, shines forth, like light through crystalline forms, but various- ly, according to the state of mind which man has formed for himself, from God or from himself To every one who has formed the state of his mind from God, the Sacred Scripture is like a mirror, in which he sees God ; but each one in his own way. The truths which he learns from the word, and imbues by a life according to them, compose that mirror. From these things, in the first place, it is evident, that the Sacred Scripture is the fulness of God. That it not only teaches that there is a God, but also that God is one, is evident from the truths, which, as was said, compose that mirror, in that they cohere in one series, and make man incapable of thinking of God but as one. Thence it is, that every one, whose reason is imbued with any sanctity from the Word, knows as of himself, that God is one, and per- ceives that it is like madness to say that there are more. The angels can- not open their lips to pronounce the word Gods, for the celestial aura, in which they live, opposes it. That God is one, the Sacred Scripture teaches not only thus universally, as was said, but also in many particular passages, as in the following: Hear, O Israel ; Jehovah our God is one Jehovah, Dent, vi. 4 ; and in like manner, Mark xii. '29. Surely in thee is God, and there is no other God beside, Isai. xlv. 14. Am not I Jehovah ? and there is no other God beside Me, xlv. 21. / am Jeho- vah thy God, and thou shall acknowl- edge no God beside Me, Hosca xiii. 4. Thus saith Jehovah, the King of Israel, 1 am the I^rst and the Last, and be- side Me there is no God, Isai. xliv. G. In that day, Jehovah shall be King over all the earth ; in that day, Jeho- vah shall he one, and hie name one, Zech. xiv. 9. 7. It is known, that the doctrines of the churches in the Christian world teach, that God is one; they teach this because all their doctrines are derived Concerning the Unity of God. 5 from the Word, and they cohere so far as one God is acknowledged not only with the lips, but also in the heart. Those who confess one God only with the lips, and in heart three, as is the case with very many at this day in Christendom, have no other apprehen- sion of God, than of something uttered by the lips ; and every thing relating to theology is, to them, no other than as it were an idol of gold enclosed in a shrine, the key of which is in posses- sion of the priests only ; and when they read the Word, they do not perceive any light in it or from it, not even that God is one. The Word, with such per- sons, is as if it were stained with blots ; and, as to the unity of God, entirely covered. These are they w-ho are de- scribed by the Lord in Matthew : Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand ; and seeing yc shall see, and shall not perceive : they have shut tip their eyes, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear loith their ears, and un- derstand with the/ir heart, and turn themselves about, and I should heal them, xiii. 14, 15. All such per- sons are like those who shun the light, and enter chambers where there are no windows, and feel about the walls, and search for food and for money, and at length acquire a vision like that of owls, and see in darkness. They are like a w-oman, having several husbands, who is not a wife, but a las- civious harlot : and like a virgin, who accepts rings from several suitors, and af- ter the nuptials, bestows her favors upon one, and also upon the others. 8. II. That there is a universal Jnflux into the Souls of Men, that THERE IS a God, and that He is one. That there is an influx from God into man, is evident from the confession of all, that all good which in itself is good, and is in man, and is done by him, is from God ; in like manner all of charity and all of faith ; for it is read, A man cannot take, any thing, unless it he given him from heaven, John iii. 27 ; and Jesus said. Without Me ye cannot do any thing, xv. 5 ; that is, not any thing which is of charity and of faith. That this influx is into the souls of men, is because the soul is the inmost and highest part of man, and the influx from God enters into that, and thence descends into those things which are beneath, and vivifies them according to reception. The truths which will be of faith, indeed, flow in by hearing, and so are implanted in the mind, thus below the soul. But man, by these truths, is only disposed for receiving the influx from God through the soul ; and as the disposition is, such is the reception, and such the transforma- tion of natural faith into spiritual faith. That there is an influx from God into the souls of men, that God is one, is because all the Divine, taken uni- versally as well as particularly, is God; and because all the Divine coheres as one, it cannot but inspire into man the idea of one God ; and this idea is corroborated daily, as man is elevated by God into the light of heaven ; for the angels, in their light, cannot force themselves to utter the word Gods; wherefore, also, their speech, at the close of every sentence, terminates as to accent in unity, which is from no other cause, than from the influx into their souls, that God is one. The reason that, although it flows into the souls of all, that God is one, still many think that his divinity is divided into several of the same essence, is because, when that influx descends, it falls into forms not correspondent, and the form itself varies it, as is the case in all the subjects of the three kingdoms of na- ture. It is the same God that vivifies every beast, that vivifies man ; but the recipient form causes beast to be beast, and man to be man. It is similar with man while he induces on his mind the form of a beast. There is a similar influx from the sun into every plant, but it is va- ried according to the form of each ; what flows into the vine is similar to what flows into the thorn ; but if the thorn is ingrafted into a vine, that influx is inverted, and proceeds ac- cording to the form ofthe thorn. The case is similar in the subjects of the mineral kingdom ; the light flowing into a lime-stone and into a diamond, is the same, but it becomes bright in 6 Concerning God the Creator. the latter, and dark in the former. As to human minds, they are varied ac- cording to their forms, which inwardly are spiritual according to faith in God, and at the same time a life from God, and those forms become bright and an- gelic by faith in one God ; but on the contrary, they become dark and bestial by faith in several Gods, which differs but little from faith in no God. 9. III. Thence it is, that, in all THE World, there is no N.ation, POSSESSED of Religion and sound Reason, which does not acknowl- edge A God, and that God is one. From the divine influx into the souls of men, treated of just above, it follows, that there is an internal dic- tate with every man, that there is a God, and that He is one. That there are still those wlio deny God, and who acknowledge nature instead of God, and who acknowledge several Gods, and also who worship images as Gods, is because they liave filled up the inte- riors of their reason or understanding with worldly and corporeal tilings, and thereby have obliterated their prim- itive idea, or the idea of their infancy concerning God, and at tlie same time, they then rejected religion from the breast to the back. That Christians do, in a certain manner, acknowledge one God, api)ears from the general Confession of their faith, which is as follows : The Catholic faith is this, that ice should worship one God in a trinity, and the l^inity in unity ; there are three Divine Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, and yet there are not three Gods, but there is one God ; and there is one person of the Fathr, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost, and their divinity is one, their glory equal, and their majesty coctcrnal; thus the Fa- ther is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God: hut although we are compelled by Christian verity to ronfess each person, one by one, to be God and Lord, yet tee are forbidden by the Catholic religion to say there are three Gods, and three Lords. Sucii is the Christian faith concerning the unity of God ; but tliat (he trinity of God and the unity of God, in that Confes- sion, are inconsistent with each other, will be seen in the chapter on the Di- vine Trinity. The other nations in the world, who are in possession of reli- gion and sound reason, agree in ac- knowledging that God is one ; all the Mahometans in their several empires ; the Africans in many kingdoms of their continent ; and also the Asiatics in many of theirs ; and moreover the Jews at this day. The most ancient people in the golden age, such as had any re- ligion, worshipped one God, whom they called Jehovah ; in like manner the ancient people in the following age, before monarchical governments were formed, when worldly and at length corporeal loves began to close up the superior parts of their understanding, which before were open, and then as temples and sacred recesses for the worship of one God. But the Lord God, that he might open them, and so re- store the worship of one God, institu- ted a church among the posterity of Jacob, and prefixed to all the precepts of their religion this commandment, Thoti shall have no other God before my face, E.xod. xx. 3. Jehovah, also, the name which he assumed anew be- fore them, signifies the supreme and only Being from whom every thing is, that is and exists in the universe. The ancient gentiles acknowledged Jove as the supreme God, so called perhaps from Jehovah ; and many others, who composed his court, they also clothed with divinity ; but the wise men in the following age, as Plato and Aristotle, confessed that these were not gods, but so many properties, qualities and attributes of one God, which were call- ed gods, because in each of them there was divinity. 10. All sound rea.son, although not imbued with religion, sees that every thing which is divided, unless it de- pend upon one, would of itself fall to pieces ; for instance, man, comjiosed of so many members, viscera and or- gans of motion and sensation, unless he depended upon one soul ; and the body itself, unless u|)on one heart. In like manner, a kingdom, unless it Concerning the Unity of God. 7 depended upon one king ; a family, un- less upon one master ; and every office, of u iiicli there are many kinds in eve- ry kingdom, unless upon one officer. What would an army avail against the enemy, without a leader, who has su- preme power, and officers subordinate to him, each of whom has his proper command over the soldiers. It would be similar with the church, unless it acknowledged one God, and also with the angelic heaven, which is as a head to the church upon earth, in both which the Lord is the soul itself Where- fore, heaven and the church are called his body ; which, unless they acknowl- edged one God, would both of them be like a lifeless corpse, which, being of no use, would be cast away and buried. 11. IV. That as to what the ONE God is. Nations and People HAVE DIFFERED, AND STILL DIFFER, FROM SEVERAL CaUSES. Tiie first cause is, that the knowl- edge of God, and thence an acknowl- edgment of Him, are not attaina- ble without revelation ; and a knowl- edge of the Lord and thence an ac- knowledgment, that in Him dwclUtli nil the fullness of the Godhead bodilij, are not attainable except from the Word, which is the crown of revela- tions ; for man, by the revelation which is given, is able to approach God, and to receive influx, and so from natural to become spiritual. The first revela- tion pervaded all the world, and the natural man had perverted it in many ways ; whence arose the disputes, dis- sensions, heresies and schisms of reli- gions. The second cause is, that the natural man cannot perceive and ap- ply to himself the things of God, but only the things of the world ; where- fore it is among the established doc- trines of the church, that the natural man is contrary to the spiritual, and that they fight against each other. Thence it is, that those who havd learnt from the Word, or other revela- tion, that there is a God, have differed, and still differ, concerning his quality, and also concerning his unity. Where- fore, those whose mental sight de- pended on the senses of the body, and who still wished to see God, formed for themselves artificial images, of gold, silver, stone, and wood, that under these, as objects of sight, they might worship God ; and that others, who rejected from their religious worship artificial images, formed for themselves ideal images of God in the sun and moon, in the stars, and in various things up- on the earth. But those who suppos- ed themselves to be wise above the common people, and who still remain- ed natural, from the immensity and omnipresence of God in creating the world, acknowledged nature as God, some in its inmost, some in its out- most parts : and some, that they might separate God from nature, conceived an idea of something most universal, which they called the Being [Ens'] of the universe ; and because they know nothing more concerning God, this Being becomes witli them a being of reason, which does not signify any thing. Who cannot comprehend, that knowledges concerning God are mir- rors of God, and that those who know nothing concerning God, do not see God in a mirror with its face turned towards their eyes, but in a mirror with its back towards them, which, be- ing covered with mercury, or some dark, glutinous substance, does not re- flect, but suffocates the image 1 The faith of God enters into man through a prior way, which is from the soul in- to the superior parts of the understand- ing ; but knowledges concerning God enter through a posterior way, because they are imbibed from the revealed Word, by the understanding, through the senses of the body, and there is a meeting of the influxes in the under- standing, as a common centre ; and there natural faith, which is only per- suasion, becomes spiritual, which is real acknowledgment ; wherefore the human understanding is as a refining vessel, in which the change is effected. 12. V. That human Reason, from many Things in the World, may, if IT WILL, perceive, OR CONCLUDE, that there is a God, and that He IS One. This truth may be confirraed by in- 8 Concerning God the Creator. numerable things in tiie visible world ; for the universe is like a theatre, upon which are continually exhibited testimo- nies, that there is a God, and that He is one. But to illustrate this, I will adduce this memorable relation from the spirit- ual world. Once, while I was convers- ing with the angels, there arrived some novitiate spirits from the natural world, to whom I wished a happy arrival, and related many things, before unknown, concerning the spiritual world ; and after this relation, I inquired of them what theory they brought with them from the world, concerning God and nature. They said this, that nature op- erates all things that take place in the created universe ; and that God, afler creation, induced and impressed upon nature that faculty and power ; and that God only sustains and preserves them lest they should perish ; wherefore all things which exist, which are produ- ced and reproduced upon the earth, are at this day ascribed to nature. But I replied, that nature, of itself, does not operate any tiling, but God through nature ; and because they asked for proof, I said, those who believe the divine operation to be in every thing of nature, can, from very many things which they see in the world, confirm themselves in favor of God, much more than in favor of nature ; for those who confirm themselves in favor of the divine operation in every thing of nature, attend to the wonderl'ul things which are conspicuous in the productions of vegetables as well as of animals. — In the Produc- tions of Ve(;et.\«les. They observe that, from a little seed sown in the ground, there goes forth a root, and by means of the root, a stem, and suc- cessively branches, buds, leaves, flow- ers, and fruits, even to new seeds, just as if the seed knew the order of suc- cession, or the process by which it was about to renew itself What rational man can suppose that the sun, which is pure fire, knows tiiis, or that it can instruct its heat and light to effect such things, or that it can intend use?. The man whose rational faculty is ele- vated, while he sees and properly con- siders those things, cannot think oth- erwise, than that they are from him who has infinite wisdom, thus from God. Those who acknowledge the divine op- eration in every thing of nature, also con- firm themselves in it when they see those things; but, on the contrary, those who do not acknowledge it, do not see such things with the eyes of their reason in their forehead, but in the back of their head ; who are such as derive all the ideas of their thought from the senses of the body, and confirm their fallacies, saying, "Do you not see the sun by its heat and light operating all those things ; what is that which you do not see ; is it any thing?" — Those who confirm them- selves in favor of the Divine, attend to the wonderful things which they see in the Productions of Animals. In the first place, it is remarkable in eggs, that in them the chicken is concealed in its seed with every thing requisite for its formation, and also for its future growth after its exclusion, even until it becomes a bird of its own species. Moreover, if wc attend to winged crea- tures in general, such things are pre- sented to the mind, which thinks deep- ly, as excite astonishment ; as that in the least as well as in the greatest of them, in the invisible as well as in the visible, that is, in little insects as well as in birds, and great beasts, there are the organs of the senses, which are seeing, smelling, tasting, and feeling, and also the organs of motion, which are muscles, for they Hy and walk ; as also viscera adhering to the heart and lungs, which arc actuated by the brain. They who ascribe all things to nature see, indeed, such things, but they think only that they exist, and say that na- ture produces them ; and they say this because they have turned away their mind from thinking of the Divine : and those who have turned themselves away from the Divine, while they behold the wonderful things in nature, cannot think rationally concerning them, still less spiritually ; but they think sensu- ally and materially ; and then, at Icngtli, they think in nature from nature, and not above if. They dificr from beasts Concerning the Unity of God. 9 C"!y in being endued with rationality ; that is, they couki understand if they would. Those wlio have averted them- selves from thinking of the Divine, and thereby have become sensual corpoje- al, do not consider that the sight of the eye is so gross and material, that it sees many little insects as one ob- scure object; and yet every one of them is endued with organs of motion and sensation, and consequently with fibres and vessels, and also with a little heart, pulmonary tubes, little viscera and brains; and that these are contextures of the purest things in nature, and that those contextures correspond to life in its lowest degree, by which the mi- nutest of them are distinctly actuated. Since the siglit of the eye is so gross, that many insects, with the innumera- ble parts of each, appear to it as a small, obscure spot, and yet sensual men think and conclude from that vis- ion, it appears how very gross their mind is, and thence in what darkness they are with respect to spiritual things. Every man, if he will, may confirm himself in favor of the Divine, from the things visible in nature ; and also he does confirm himself, who thinks con- cerning God, and his omnipotence in creating the universe, and concerning his omnipresence in preserving it : whilst, for instance, he observes the fowls of the air, and how each species of them knows its proper food, and where it is ; how it distinguishes those of its own kind by their voice and figure; how, among the birds, they can distinguish which are their friends, and which their enemies; how they unite in pairs, and celebrate connubial rites ; how they artfully build their nests where they lay their eggs, and sit upon them during the proper time of incubation, when they hatch their young, which they love most ten- derly ; how they cherish them under their wings, procure food, and nourish them, until they are able to provide for themselves, and to do similar things. Every man, who is disposed to think of the Divine mflux through the spirit- ual world into the natural, may see it in those things ; and he may also say in his heart, ifhe will, that such science cannot be given to them from the su;i by its heat and light ; for the sun, from which nature derives its origin and essence, is pure fire ; and thence the effluxes of its heat and light are alto- gether dead ; and thus they may con- clude that such things are from the Divine influx through the spiritual world into the ultimates of nature. Every man may, from the things visible in nature, confirm himself in favor of the Divine, while he sees worms, how, from the delight of a certain love, they seek and aspire af- ter a change of their earthly state into one analogous to the heavenly state ; and how, for tliis purpose, they crawl into suitable places, envelope them- selves with a covering, and thus put themselves into the womb, that they may be born again, and thus become chrysalises, aurelice, nymphs, and at length butterflies ; and when they have undergone these changes of form, and, according to their species, have been clothed with beautiful wings, they fly abroad into the open air, as into their heaven, and there indulge in pleasant sports, celebrate connubial rites, lay eggs, and provide for themselves a pos- terity ; and then they nourish them- selves with sweet and pleasant food extracted from flowers. Whoever con- firms himself in favor of the Divine, from the things visible in nature, may see in them, while worms, an image of the earthly state of man, and when butterflies, an image of his heavenly state ; but those who confirm them- selves in favor of nature, see them in- deed, but, because they have rejected the heavenly state of man from their mind, they call th?m mere operations of nature. Every man may, from the things visible in nature, confirm himself in favor of the Divine, while he attends to the things which are known con- cerning bees, that they know how to gather wax, and suck honey out of roses and flowers, and to build cells like little houses, and arrange them in the form of a city, with streets 10 Concerning God the Creator. through which they come in and go out ; that at a distance tliey smell the herbs and flowers from which tiicy gather wax for their houses and honey for their food ; and that, thus loaded, they fly back in the right direction to their hive, and thus provide for them- selves food for the approaching winter, as if they foresaw it. They also ap- point over themselves a ruler like a queen, from whom their posterity is propagated ; they build for her, as it were, a palace in an elevated situation, and furnish it with proper guards. When the time of procreation arrives, she goes, accompanied by her satellites, called drones, from cell to cell, and lays her eggs, which lier attendants cover with a sort of ointment, that they may not be injured by the air. Hence arises a new race ; and afterwards, when it has arrived at the proper age, and is able to do similar things, it is expelled from the hive ; the swarm first collects itself into a band, that it may not be divided and dispersed, and afterwards flies abroad to seek for it- self a habitation. About the time of autumn, those drones, because they have brought in nothing of wax or honey, are led forth and deprived of their wings, that they may not return and consume the food, which they look no pains to provide. Many otlier things might be added ; whence it is evident, that, on account of the use which they perform to the human race, they have, from the Divine influx through the spiritual world, a form of government such as there is among men on earth, yea, among the angels in the heavens. What person of enlightened reason does not see, that such things, with them, are not from the natural world ? What has the sun of the natural world in common w'ith a government similar and analogous to the government of heaven ? From these and similar things observable in brute animals, the advo- cate and worshipper of nature con- firms himself in favor of nature ; whilst the advocate and worshipper of God, from the same thing.-!, confirms him- lelf in favor of God: for the spiritual nan sees in them spiritual things, and the natural man sees in them natural things ; thus each according to his quality. As to myself, such things have been to me evident indications of the influx of the spiritual world into the natural from God. Consider also whether you can think analytically concerning any form of government, or concerning any civil law, or con- cerning any moral virtue, or concern- ing any spiritual truth, unless the Di- vine, from his wisdom, flow in through the spiritual world. As to myself, I never could, nor can I now ; for I have perceptibly and sensibly observed that influx now for twenty-six years, con- tinually ; wherefore I say this fi-om ex- perience. Can nature regard use as an end, and dispose uses into their orders and forms ? This can be done only by a wise being ; and the universe could be thus ordered and formed only by God, whose wisdom is infinite. Who else could foresee and provide for men their food and clothing ; their food from the harvests of the field, the fruits of the earth, and from animals ; and their clothing from the same. It is among those wonderful things, that those vile worms, called silk worms, should clothe with silk, and magnificent- ly adorn, both men and women, from kings and queens, even to servants and maids ; and that those vile in- sects, called bees, should furnish wax for lights, by which temples and pala- ces are illuminated. These and ma- ny other things are standing proofs that God, from Himself through the spiritual world, operates all things which are done in nature. To these things it is i)roper to add, that, in the .-spiritual world, have been seen those, who, from the; things visi- ble in the world, have confirmed them- selves in favor of nature to such a de- gree, that they became atheists ; and that their understanding in spiritual light appeared open below and closed above, because, in their thoughts, they had looked downwards to the earth, and not upwards to heaven. Above their sensual principle, winch is the lowest region of the understanding, Concerning the Unit if of God. 11 there appeared, as it were, a veil spark- ling with infernal fire ; in some cases, black as soot ; in others, livid like a corpse. Let every one, therefore, be- ware of confirming himself in favor of nature ; but, since tiiere is no want of means, let him confirm himself in fa- vor of God. 13. VI. That unless God were ONE, THE Universe could not have BEEN CREATED AND PRESERVED. That the unity of God may be inferred from the creation of the universe, is because the universe is a work cohering as one irom firsts to lasts, depending upon one God, as the body on the soul. Tlie universe is so created, that God may be every where present, and hold all and every part of it under his direction, and hold it together as on?, perpetually, which is to preserve it. Hence also it is, that Jehovah God says, That he is the J^irst and the Last, the Bes^inning and the Ending, the Alpha and the Omega, [sai. xliv. G ; Rev. i. 8, 17 ; and, in another place. That he maketh all things, sprcadcth out the heavens, and stretcheth out the earth hy himself, Isai. xliv. 24. This great system, which is called the universe, is a work cohering as one from firsts to lasts, be- cause God, in creating it, had one end in view, which was an angelic heaven from the human race ; and the means to that end are all things of which the earth is composed ; for he who wills an end, also wills the means; where- fore he who contemplates the world as a work containing means to that end, may contemplate the created universe as a work cohering as one, and may see that the world is a complex of uses, in successive order, for the human race, from which is the angelic heaven. The Divine Love can intend no other end than the eternal blessedness of men from its own Divine. Divine Wisdom can produce nothing else than uses which are means to that end. By contemplating the world in this universal idea, every wise man may perceive that the Creator of the uni- verse is one, and that his essence is Love and Wisdom : wherefore there is not a single thing in the universe, which docs not contain a use, inoro or less remote, for man. Those who contemplate some things in the world separately, and not all as united in a series in which are ends, mediate causes and effects, and who do not deduce creation from the Divine Love through the Divine Wisdom, cannot see that the universe is the work of one God, and that he dwells in every use, because he dwells in the end ; for every one who is in the end, is also in the means ; for the end is in- wardly in all the means, actuating and directing them. Those who do not contemplate the universe as the work of God, and as the habitation of his love and wisdom, but as the work of nature, and the habitation of the heat and light of the sun, close the superior parts of their mind towards God, and open the inferior parts of it for the devil; and thence they put off the na- ture of man, and put on the nature of beasts, and not only think themselves like beasts, but also become so; for they become fo.xes in cunning, wolves in fierceness, leopards in treachery, tigers in cruelty, and crocodiles, ser- pents, owls and bats, according to the nature of those animals. Those who are such also appear, in the spiritual world, at a distance, like those wild beasts ; their love of evil thus exhibits itself 14. VIL That the Man who DOES NOT ACKNOWLEDGE A GoD, IS EXCOMMUNICATED FROM THE ClIURCH, AND CONDEMNED. That the man who does not acknowl- edge a God, is excommunicated from the church, is because God is the all of the church, and divine things, which are called theological, constitute the church ; wherefore a denial of God is a denial of all things of the church ; and this denial itself excommunicates him ; thus the man himself, and not God, is the author of his excommuni- cation. He is also condemned, be- cause whosoever is excommunicated from the church, is also excommunicat- ed from heaven ; for the church upon earth, and the angelic heaven, make 12 Concerning God the Creator. one, like the internal and eTCternal, and like the spiritual and natural in man. For man was so created by God, that, as to his internal, he may be in the spiritual world, and as to his external, in the natural world; thus he is created a native of both worlds, in order that the spiritual, which is of heaven, mary be implanted in the natural, which is of the earth, as is the case with seed in the ground ; and thus man may acquire a fixed and everlasting existence. The man who, by a denial of God, has exconununicat- ed himself from the church, and thus from heaven, has closed up his inter- nal man as to the will, and thus as to his genial love ; for the will of man is the receptacle of his love, and be- comes its habitation. But he cannot close up his internal man, as to the understanding; for, if he could and should do this, the man would be no longer man. But the love of the will infatuates the superior parts of the un- derstanding ; whence the understand- ing becomes, as it were, closed as to the trutlis which are of faith, and as to the goods which are of charity; thus more and more against God, and, at the same time, against the spiritual things of the church ; and thus he is exclud- ed from comnumion with tlie angels of heaven; and, when thus excluded, he enters into communion with the satans of hell, and thinks in unity with them ; and as all satans deny a God, and think foolishly concerning God and the spiritual things of the church, so also does the man who is conjoined with tiiem. When he is in his spirit, as he is when left to himself at home, he suflers his thoughts to be lod by the delights of the e\ il and the fdse, which he has conceived and brought forth in himself ; and then he thinks that there is no God, but that what is called God is only a word re- soanditig from pulpits, to bind the connnon people to obedience to the ' hws of justice, which are laws of soci- ety, lie also thinks that the Word, fi-om which ministers proclaim a God, is a collection of visionary stories, the sanctity of which is derived from authority ; and that the Decalogue, or Catechism, is a little book, which, after it has been handled by children, may be thrown away ; for it teaciies that we should honor our parents, that we should not do murder, nor commit adultery, nor steal, nor bear false tes- timony ; and who does not know the same things from the civil law ? Con- cerning the church, he thinks it is a congregation of weak, simple and cred- ulous people, who see what they do not see. Respecting man, and him- self as a man, he thinks as he does of a beast; concerning his life after death, he thinks it will be like that of a beast after death. Thus his inter- nal man tliinks, however differently the external man speaks ; for, as was said, every man has an internal and an ex- ternal ; and his internal constitutes the man, which is called the qjirit, and lives after death ; and the external, in which, by a semblance of moralitv. he plays the hypocrite, is burieu , ana then, on account of his denial of God, he is condemned. Every man, as to his spirit, is consociated with his like in the spiritual world, and is as one with them ; and it has often been given me to see the spirits of persons still living, some in angelic societies, and some in infernal societies : and I have also been permitted to converse with them for several days ; and have won- dered that man himself, while he lives in his body, should know nothing at all of this. Thence it appeared, that whoever denies a God, is already among the condemned ; and, after death, he is gathered to his compan- ions. 15. Vllt. That mith Mf.s who DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE ONE GoD, BUT SEVERAL, NOTHING OF THE ChURCH COHERES. He who in faith acknowledges, and in heart worships, one God, is in the com- munion of saints on earth, and in the connnimion of angels in heaven : they arc cnlicd roniintinions, and tiiey are so because they are in one God, and one God is in them. The same are al.so in conjunction with tlie whole angelic heaven, and I might venture to say, Concerning the Unity of God. 13 with all and every one there, for they are all as the children and posterity of one father, whose minds, manners and faces are similar, so that they mutually recognise each other. The angelic heaven is arranged into societies ac- cording to all the varieties of the love of good ; which varieties aim at one most universal love, which is love to God ; from this love are propagated all those who in faith acknowledge, and in heart worship, one God, the Creator of the universe, and at the same time the Redeemer and Regenerator. But the case is altogether difl'erent with those who do not approach and wor- ship one God, but several ; and also with those who profess one with their lips, and at the same time think of three, as do those in the church at this day, who distinguish God into three persons, and declare that each person by himself is God, and attribute to each separate qualities or properties, which do not belong to either of the others. Hence it comes to pass, that not only the unity of God is actually divided, but also theology itself, and likewise the human mind, in which it should reside ; what thence can result but perplexity and incoherency in the things of the church ? That such is the state of the church at this day, will be demonstrated in the Appendix to this work. The truth is, that the di- vision of God, or of the Divine essence, into three persons, each of which, by him.self, or singly, is God, leads to the denial of God. It is as if any one should enter a temple in order to wor- ship, and should see, in a picture upon the altar, one God painted as the An- cient of days, another as the High Priest, and a third as the flying jEolus, with this inscription, " These three are one God ;" or as if he should there see the Unity and Trinity painted as a man with three heads upon one body, or with three bodies under one head, •which is the form of a monster. If any one should enter heaven v/ith such an idea, he would certainly be cast out headlong, although he should say that the head or heads signified essence, and the body or bodies, distinct properties. IG. To the above I shall add one Rel.\tio.\ [Mf.morabile]. I saw some new comers from the nat- ural into the spiritual world, talking together about three Divine Persons from eternity ; they were dignitaries of the church, and one of them a bish- op. They came up to me, and, after some conversation concerning the spiritual world, of which they before had not known any thing, I said, " I heard you talking about three Divine Persons from eternity ; and I beseech you to open to me this great mystery, according to your ideas which you con- ceived in the natural world, whence you have lately come." Then the primate, looking at me, said, " I see that you are a layman ; wherefore I will open the ideas of my thought concern- ing this mystery, and teach you. My ideas always have been, and still are, that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, .sit in the midst of heaven, upon magnificent and lofty seats or thrones ; God the Father, upon a throne of the finest gold, with a sceptre iii his hand ; God the Son, at his right hand, upon a throne of the purest silver, with a crown on his head ; and God the Holy Ghost, near them, upon a throne of shining crystal, hold- ing a dove in his hand ; and that lamps, hanging round about them in triple order, were glittering with pre- cious stones ; and that, at a distance from this circus, were standing innu- merable angels, all worshipping, and singing praises ; and, moreover, that God the Father is continually convers- ing with his Son concerning those who are to be justified ; and that they together decree and determine who, upon earth, were worthy to be received among the angels, and crowned with eternal life ; and that God the Holy Ghost, having heard their names, in- stantly hastens to them over all parts of the earth, carrying with him the gifts of righteousness, as so many tokens of salvation for those who are to be justified ; and, as soon as he arrives, and breathes upon them, he disperses their sins, as a ventilator disperses the smoke out of a furnace, and makes it 14 Concerning God the Creator. white ; and also he iakes away from their hearts the hardness of stone, puts into them the softness of flesh; and, at the same time, he renews their spir- its or minds, and regenerates them, and induces upon them the countenances of infants ; and, at last, marks their foreheads with the sign of the cross, and calls them the elect, and children of God." The primate, having finished this discourse, said to me, " Thus I un- ravelled this great mystery in the world; and, because most of our order there applauded my sentiments on this subject, I am persuaded that you al- so, who are a layman, will acquiesce in them." After these things were said by the primate, I looked at him, and, at the same time, at the dignitaries with him, and observed that they all favored him with their full assent : wherefore I began to reply, and said, " I have well considered the exposition of your faith, and have thence collect- ed, that you have conceived, and still cherish, a merely natural and sensual, yea, material idea concerning the tri- une God, whence inevitably flows the idea of three Gods. Is it not to think sensually of God the Father, that He sits upon a throne with a sceptre in his hand ? and of the Son, that He sits upon his throne with a crown on his head ? and of the Holy Ghost, that He sits upon his, with a dove in his hand, and that, in obedience to the decrees of the two former. He runs over all the world ? And because such an idea thence re- sults, I cannot believe what you have declared ; for, from my infancy, I have not been able to admit into my mind any other idea than that of o.\e God; and since I have received, and still re- tain, this idea only, all that you have said has no weight with me. And then I saw that, by the throne upon which, according to the Scripture, Jehovah is said to sit, is meant the kingdom; by the sceptre and crown, government and dominion ; by sitting on the right hand, the omnipotence of God by means of his Human ; and by those things which are related of the Holy Spirit, the operations of the Divine omnipresence. Assume, sir, if you please, the idea of one Gqd, and re- volve it well in your rational mind \ratiocinio'\, and you will at length clearly perceive that it is so. Indeed, you also say, that there is one God, and this because you make the essence of those three persons one and indivisi- ble; yet you do not allow any one to say, that the one God is one person, but that there are still three ; and this you do, lest the idea of three Gods, such as yours is, should be lost ; and you also ascribe to each a character separate from that of another : do you not thus divide your Divine essence? Since it is so, how can you, at the same time, think that God is one ? I could forgive you, if you should say, that the Divine is one. When any one hears, that the Father is God, the Son is God, the Hohj Ghost is God, and that each Person singli/ is God, how can he con- ceive that God is one? Is it not a contradiction which can never be be- lieved ? That they cannot be said to be one God, but to be of a similar Di- vine, may be illustrated by these exam- ples:— It cannot be said of several men, who compose one senate, synod, or council, that they are one man ; but while they are all and each of them of one opinion, it may be said, that they think one thing. Neither can it be said of three diamonds of one substance, that they are one diamond, but that they are one as to substance, and also each diamond differs from the others in value, according to its own weight; but it would not be so, if they were one, and not three. But I perceive that the reason why you say, that the three persons, each of whom, by himself, or singly, is God, are one God, and why you insist, that every one in the church sliould thus speak, is, that sound and eidightcned reason, througiiout the whole world, acknowledges tliat God is one ; and therefore you would be cov- ered with shame, if you should not also speak in like manner. But even while you utter with your lips one God, al- though you entertain the idea of three, still that shame does not keep those two forms of expression within your lips, but you speak them out." After Concerning the Unity of God. 15 this conversation, the bishop retired with his clerical attendants, and, in re- tiring, he turned about, and wished to exchiini, " Tiiere is one God ;" but lie could not, because his thought drew back his tongue ; and then, with open mouth, he breathed out, " three Gods." Those who were standing by, laughed at the strange sight, and departed. 17. Afterwards, I inquired where I might find, amongst the learned, those who are of the most acute genius, and who stand for a Divine Trinity, divided into three persons : and there came three, to whom I said, " How can you divide the Divine Trinity into three j)8rsons, and assert that each person, by himself, or singly, is God and Lord? Is not such a confession of the mouth, that God is one, as distant from the thought, as the south is from the north V To which they replied, " It is not, in the least, because the three per- sons have one essence, and the Divine Essence is God. We were, in the world, tutors of a Trinity of persons; and the pupil under our care was our faith, in which each divine person has his oiHce : God the Father, the office of imputation and donation ; God the Son, that of intercession and media- tion ; and God the Holy Ghost, that of effecting the uses of imputation and mediation." But tasked, " What do you mean by the Divine Essence V They said, " We mean omnipotence, omnis- cience, omnipresence, immensity, eter- nity, equality of majesty." To which I said, " If that essence outof several Gods makes One, you may add still more, as for example, a fourth, who is mentioned in Moses, Job, and Ezekiel, and is called God Schaddai. In like manner ;;lso did the ancients in Greece and Italy, who ascribed equal attributes and a similar essence to their gods, as to Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto, Apollo, Juno, Diana, Minerva, yea,