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Memorable Occurrences in Swedenborg's Writings

This list of Memorable Occurrences in Swedenborg's Writings was originally compiled by W. C. Henderson in 1960 but has since been updated.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Revealed #341

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341. To this I will append the following account:

I saw some English clergymen assembled - as many as six hundred - who were praying to the Lord to allow them to ascend into one of the societies of a higher heaven, and it was granted them. So they ascended, and upon entering it, they saw their king, the grandfather of the king presently reigning, 1 and they rejoiced. The king then came over to two bishops that they had among them, whom he had known in the world, and speaking to them, he asked, "How came you here?"

They replied that they had petitioned the Lord, and that it had been granted.

The king said to them, "Why did you petition the Lord, and not God the Father?"

And the bishops said that it was what they had been told to do below.

Then the king said, "Did I not tell you this at times in the world, that one must go to the Lord, and furthermore, that charity is the primary thing. What was your answer in regard to the Lord then?"

It was then given them to remember that they had replied that when one goes to the Father, one goes also to the Son.

But the angels surrounding the king said, "You are mistaken. That's not what you thought, nor does one go to the Lord when one goes to God the Father. Rather, one goes to God the Father when one goes to the Lord, because they are one, like soul and body. Who approaches someone's soul and in that way his body? Is it not the case that when one approaches a person's body, something that he sees, he approaches also the person's soul, which he does not see?"

To this the bishops made no answer. And the king drew near to the two bishops, holding in his hand two gifts, saying, "These are gifts from heaven."

The gifts were heavenly figurines of gold, and the king tried to hand them over. But suddenly then a dusky cloud covered them and separated them, and the clergymen descended the way they had come. They then recorded this event in a book.

[2] All the other English clergymen who heard that their colleagues had been granted to ascend to a higher heaven, assembled at the foot of a mountain, where they awaited their return. And when those colleagues did return, they greeted their brethren and related what had befallen them in heaven, saying that the king had given the bishops two heavenly figurines of gold most beautiful to look at, but that these had fallen out of their hands. And then they disappeared into a nearby wood and conferred with each other, looking around to see if anyone was overhearing. But they were overheard nevertheless.

They were talking about unanimity and harmony, and then about primacy and dominion. The bishops did the speaking, and the rest favored them with their assent. But suddenly, to my surprise, they no longer appeared as many, but as one great person, with a face like that of a lion, having on his head a towering miter, and upon that a crown. And he spoke with a deep voice, and went forward with a broad step. And looking behind him he said, "Who else has a right to primacy but me?"

The king looked down from heaven and saw - seeing them all first as one, and then as many in harmony, most in secular clothing, he said.

Footnotes:

1. The English king presently reigning was George III (1760-1820), grandson of George II (1727-1760).

  
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Many thanks to the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and to Rev. N.B. Rogers, translator, for the permission to use this translation.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

True Christian Religion #622

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622. 1 The second experience.

All who have been prepared for heaven, a process which takes place in the world of spirits, half-way between heaven and hell, after some time has passed, sigh and long for heaven. Soon their eyes are opened, and they see a road leading towards some community in heaven. So they take this road and climb up; and on the ascent there is a gate with a guard at it. The guard opens the gate and so they go in.

Then an investigator comes to meet them, who gives them a message from the governor to go further in and search to see if anywhere there are houses which they recognise as their own; for there is a new house for every newly-arrived angel. If they find one, they report this and stay in it.

But if they do not find one, they come back and say they have not seen one. Then a wise man there checks to see whether the light that is in them agrees with the light in the community, and what is more important, whether their heat does. For the light of heaven is in its essence Divine truth, and the heat of heaven is in its essence Divine good, both of them proceeding from the Lord as the sun there. If the light and heat in them is different from that in the community, if, that is, the truth and good are different, they are not made welcome. So they go away and travel along roads which open up between communities in heaven; and they continue to travel until they find a community which exactly matches their affections, and there they live for ever. For there they are among their own people, as if among relations and friends, and they love them from the heart because they share the same affection. There they enjoy the whole bliss of their life and the pleasure which fills the whole breast coming from tranquillity of the soul. For the heat and light of heaven contain an inexpressible delight, which is shared. That is the lot of those who become angels.

[2] Those, however, who are subject to evils and falsities may get permission to go up to heaven, but on entering they begin to gasp and breathe with difficulty. Soon their sight becomes dim, their understanding is darkened and thought comes to a stop; it is as if death stared them in the face, and so they stand like blocks of wood. Then their heart begins to pound, their chest feels tight and their mind is desperately worried. Their pain becomes more and more severe, and in this condition they writhe like snakes placed on a hearth. So they roll away from this spot, and cast themselves over a precipice which then appears; and they do not rest until they are in hell with people like themselves, where they can draw breath and where their heart beats freely. After this they hate heaven and reject truth, in their hearts blaspheming against the Lord and believing Him responsible for the pain and torment they experienced in heaven.

[3] These few remarks will enable it to be seen what is the fate of those who treat as of no consequence the truths of faith that none the less constitute the light enjoyed by the angels of heaven, or the kinds of good which make up love and charity, despite the fact that they constitute the vital heat enjoyed by the angels of heaven. It can also be seen from this how erroneous is the view of those who believe that anyone can enjoy the blessedness of heaven, so long as he is allowed in. It is believed at the present time that it is nothing but mercy which secures admission to heaven, and that this is like someone in the world coming into a house where there is a wedding, and so at the same time joining in the joy and happiness there. They ought to know that in the spiritual world the affections of love and the thoughts they produce are shared with others, since a person is then a spirit, and the life of a spirit is the affection of love and the resulting thought. Affection of the same kind establishes a link, affection of different kinds causes separation. It is this difference in affection which causes torment to a devil in heaven, or an angel in hell. For this reason people are properly separated according to the diversities, varieties and differences in the affections which make up their love.

Footnotes:

1. This and the following section are repeated from Apocalypse Revealed 611.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.

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