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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

 

True Christian Religion #12

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12. (v) THERE ARE MANY THINGS IN THE WORLD WHICH CAN LEAD THE HUMAN REASON, IF IT WISHES, TO GRASP AND DEDUCE THAT THERE IS A GOD AND THAT HE IS ONE.

This truth can be supported by countless things in the visible world; for the universe is like a theatre, upon the stage of which demonstrations of the existence of God and His oneness are continually being presented. To illustrate this I shall relate this account from my experiences in the spiritual world.

Once when I was talking with angels, some newcomers from the natural world arrived. On seeing them I made them welcome, and told them many facts they did not know about the spiritual world. After this conversation I asked them what learning about God and nature they brought with them from the world.

'We have been taught,' they said, 'that nature performs all the operations which take place in the whole of creation. After the act of creation God assigned to nature and stamped upon her this ability and power; God only supports and preserves everything from being destroyed. Consequently everything on earth which comes into existence, is born or re-born, is to-day put down to nature.'

I replied that nature of herself performs no operation; but it is God who does this by means of nature. Since they demanded a proof, I said: 1 'Those who believe in the working of God in the details of Nature can find many sights in the world in favour of their belief in God, many more than in favour of nature.

[2] Those who favour the working of God in the details of nature pay attention to the amazing sights to be seen in the reproduction of both plants and animals. In the case of plants, a tiny seed cast into the ground produces a root, by means of the root a stem, and so in order branches, twigs, leaves, flowers and fruit, until the result is fresh seeds, just as if the seed knew the pattern of successive stages or processes which lead to its renewal. Can any rational person think that the sun, which is nothing but fire, has this knowledge, or that it can instruct its heat and light to produce such effects, and that it can act purposefully? A person whose reasoning faculty is uplifted, on seeing and duly considering these facts, is inevitably led to think that they come from Him who possesses infinite wisdom, that is, from God. Those who acknowledge the working of God in the details of nature are further confirmed in their view on seeing these things; those on the other hand who do not make this acknowledgment see them not with the eyes of reason set in the face, but with eyes in the back of the head; these are the people who get all the ideas in their heads from the bodily senses and support their fallacious beliefs by saying 'Surely you see it is the sun which produces all these results by its heat and light. Something you cannot see cannot be anything.'

[3] 'Those seeking support for a Divine origin pay attention to the amazing sights to be seen in animal reproduction. First of all I may mention eggs, which contain the chick hidden in its seed together with everything needed for its development, and its whole future growth after hatching until it becomes a bird resembling its mother. Further if we consider flying creatures in general, the mind which thinks profoundly boggles at the astonishing facts about them; that the smallest as well as the largest, the invisible as well as the visible, that is, tiny insects as well as birds and large animals, possess sensory organs of sight, smell, taste and touch; also motor organs or muscles which allow them to fly and walk; also viscera attached to a heart and lungs, all controlled by brains. Those who attribute everything to nature admittedly see these things, but they think of them merely as facts and call them the products of nature. They say this because they have turned their minds away from thinking about the Divine. This turning away from the Divine prevents them from thinking rationally, much less spiritually, about the amazing sights they see in nature. Their thoughts are limited to the senses and matter, so that they think in nature from nature, rather than above her. Their only difference from animals is that they enjoy the faculty of rationality, that is, they can understand if they wish.

[4] 'Those who have turned away from thoughts of the Divine, which makes them dependent upon the bodily senses, do not realise that the sight of the eye is so coarse and gross that it sees a group of tiny insects as a dark mass. Yet every one of these is endowed with the powers of sensation and movement, that is to say, it is provided with fibres and vessels, a tiny heart, breathing pores, viscera and brain. These are constructed of the simplest natural substances, and their systems answer to the vital principle in its lowest degree, for even the tiniest organs are individually activated by it. Since the sight of the eye is so gross that a number of creatures, each with its countless parts, look like a small dark mass, and yet those who rely on their senses found their thought and judgment on those visual powers, it is obvious how blunted their minds are and thus how blind they are on spiritual matters.

[5] 'Anyone can, if he wishes, find support for the Divine idea in the sights of nature, and also further if he thinks about God and His omnipotence in the creation of the universe and His omnipresence in preserving it. As when he considers the birds of the air, each species of which knows its proper food and where to find it; it recognises its kind by sight and sound; it knows which birds are its friends and which its enemies; they know how to nestle under their plumage, they form pairs, cleverly construct nests, lay eggs in them and sit on them; they know how long to sit, and in due season hatch their chicks, whom they love dearly, protecting them under their wings, providing food and nourishing them, and continuing until they can look after themselves and perform the same service. Anyone who is willing to think how the Divine influences the natural world by means of the spiritual can see this in these facts. He can even, if he wishes, say in his heart, 'Such knowledge cannot be acquired from the sun's heat and light, for the sun which is the origin and essence of nature is nothing but fire. Consequently the radiation of its heat and light is totally devoid of life.' This may lead them to deduce that such things are the effect of Divine influence working on the lowest forms of nature by means of the spiritual world.

[6] 'Anyone can find support for the Divine idea from the sights of nature, when he looks at grubs. The pleasure of a certain love makes them seek and aspire to change their earthly condition into one analogous to the heavenly condition. Therefore they creep into suitable places, surround themselves with a cocoon and so put themselves into a womb that they may be born again. There they become chrysallises, pupae, nymphs, and finally butterflies. And when they have undergone their metamorphosis and have put on the lovely wings typical of their species, they fly up into the air as into their private heaven, play happily together, mate, lay eggs and see to the continuation of their race. Then they feed on lovely, sweet food provided by flowers. Can anyone, who finds support for the Divine idea in the sights of nature, fail to see a picture of man's earthly state in their life as grubs and his heavenly state when they become butterflies? But those who support the idea of nature admittedly see these facts, but because they have mentally rejected the idea of man's heavenly state, they call these nothing but the workings of nature.

[7] 'Anyone can find support for the Divine idea from the sights of nature when he pays attention to the facts known about bees. They know how to collect wax and suck up honey from roses and other flowers, how to construct cells as their tiny homes and arrange them so as to resemble a city with streets by which to come in and go out. They smell out from a distance the flowers and plants from which they collect wax for building and honey to eat. When they are loaded with these they know their bearings to fly home to their hive, and thus provide themselves with food for the coming winter, as if they could foresee it. They set a mistress or queen over them; she is the mother of their offspring. They build a sort of court above their own quarters for the queen surrounded by her courtiers. When the time comes for her to give birth, she goes around accompanied by her courtiers, called drones, from one cell to the next and lays her eggs which the attendant crowd seal in to protect them from the air. These produce their new stock. Later on when this grows up sufficiently to behave in the same way, it is expelled from the hive; the swarm first of all gathers into a cloud to keep together in formation, and then flies off to find themselves a home. Towards autumn the drones, because they have brought home no wax or honey, are taken out and stripped of their wings, so that they cannot come back and consume the food to which they have done nothing to contribute; and much more might be said. From all this it can be clearly seen that for the sake of the service they perform to human beings the Divine influence coming through the spiritual world has given them an organisation similar to that of men on earth, or indeed of angels in the heavens.

[8] 'Is there anyone of unimpaired reason who does not see that such effects are not produced in them by the natural world? What has the sun, the origin of nature, in common with an organisation which rivals and mirrors the organisation of the heavens? These and similar facts concerning the lower animals confirm in his belief the man who makes a profession of and worships nature. But the man who professes belief in and worships God uses the same facts to reinforce his belief in God; for the spiritual man sees in them spiritual facts, while the natural man sees natural ones, in other words, each sees what he is. For my part, such facts have been evidence to me of the influence of the spiritual world coming from God on the natural. Consider too whether you could think analytically about any type of organisation, or any civil law, or any moral virtue, or any spiritual truth, if the Divine influence did not make itself felt as a result of its wisdom by means of the spiritual world. I for my part have never been able to do so, nor can I now. I have consciously perceived that influence and felt it through the senses continuously for the last twenty-six years. So I make this statement as a witness.

[9] 'Can nature have as its aim the fulfilment of a purpose, and arrange these purposes into organised structures? Only a wise being can do this; and no one could so order and structure the universe except God, whose wisdom is infinite. Who else can foresee and provide what men need to eat and clothe themselves: the crops of the field, the fruits of the earth and animals for food, and clothing from the same sources? One of the astonishing things in this is that those insignificant insects called silk-worms dress both women and men in silk and adorn them magnificently, from queens and kings down to maids and servants; and that those insignificant insects called bees supply wax to illuminate splendidly churches and halls. These and many more are the outstanding proofs that God of Himself performs all the workings of nature by means of the spiritual world.

[10] 'To this I must add that I have seen in the spiritual world those who found confirmation of their naturalistic view in the sights of the world, to such an extent that they became atheists. Seen in spiritual light, their understandings seemed to be open underneath, but closed on top, because their thoughts had been turned downwards to earth, and not up to heaven. Above their sensual area, which is the lowest level of the understanding, there appeared a sort of covering flashing with hellish fire, in some cases black as soot, in others livid like a corpse. Therefore let everyone take care not to confirm his belief in nature, but seek rather proofs of God; there is no lack of material.'

Footnotes:

1. The following passage is adapted from Angelic Wisdom concerning Divine Love and Wisdom 351-357, Conjugial Love 416-421.

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Revealed #611

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611. To this I will append the following account:

People are prepared for heaven in the world of spirits, which is midway between heaven and hell, and at the end of that time they all to some degree or other long for heaven. Presently then their eyes are opened and they see a path leading to some society in heaven. They set out on the path and ascend, and as they ascend they come upon a gate, with a guard there. The guard opens the gate, and so they enter.

An inspector then comes to meet them, who tells them from the governor that they may go on in and look to see whether there are any houses there that they recognize as their own, for every new angel has a new house awaiting him. If newcomers find one then, they report this and remain there. But if they do not find one, they return and say that they did not find one.

At that some wise person then examines them there, to see whether the light that they possess accords with the light found in the society, and especially with the warmth in it. For the light in heaven is, in its essence, Divine truth, and the warmth in heaven is, in its essence, Divine good, both emanating from the Lord as the sun there. If the newcomers possess another light and another warmth than the light and warmth in that society, that is, a different truth and a different goodness, they are not admitted.

Therefore they leave that place and travel along paths that open between societies in heaven, and this until they find a society in complete harmony with their affections. And there they find their abode to eternity. For they are then among people like themselves, as though among relatives and friends, whom they love with a heartfelt love, because they share the same affection; and there they experience their life's bliss and a delight that fills their whole breast, because their soul is at peace. For in the warmth and light of heaven there is an indescribable delight, in which they share.

[2] Such is the case with people who become angels. But not with people caught up in evils and falsities. They are given permission to ascend into heaven, but when they enter, they begin to draw breath or breathe with difficulty, and soon their vision dims, their intellect darkens so that they can no longer think, and death hovers before their eyes. And so they stand like wooden posts. Their heart then also begins to pound, their breast to be constricted, and their mind to be seized with anguish and to be more and more tortured; and in that state they writhe like a snake placed near a fire. Consequently they roll away from there and throw themselves over a cliff that then appears to them. Nor do they rest until they are in hell with people like themselves, where they can breathe and where their heart beats freely.

After that they hate heaven and reject truth, and at heart blaspheme the Lord, believing that the torture and torment they experienced in heaven came from Him.

[3] From these few particulars it can be seen what the lot is like of people who place little value in truths, even though truths constitute the light which angels have in heaven, and who place little value in goodness, even though goodness constitutes the warmth which angels have in heaven.

It can also be seen from this how wrong those people are who believe that everyone can enjoy the bliss of heaven just by being admitted into heaven. For it is today's faith that to be received into heaven is to be received out of pure mercy, and that acceptance into heaven is like people's entrance into a wedding reception and at the same time into the joys and delights there. Let them know, however, that there is a communication of affections in the spiritual world, since a person is then a spirit, and the life of the spirit is affection, and his thinking springs from it and accords with it. Let them also know that a homogeneous affection unites, and a heterogeneous one drives apart, and that something heterogeneous causes torment, such as to a devil in heaven, and to an angel in hell. People are therefore justly separated in accordance with the diversities, varieties, and differences in the affections of their love.

[4] I was given to see more than three hundred clergy from the Protestant Reformed world, all of them learned men, because they knew how to defend faith alone to the point of its being the means of justification, and some on beyond that. And because they also shared the belief that heaven is simply a matter of admittance by grace, they were given permission to ascend into a society of heaven, though not one of the higher ones. And as they ascended together, they looked from a distance like calves, and when they entered heaven, the angels received them politely. But as they were talking together, they were seized with a trembling, then a shuddering, and finally a torment as though of impending death; and at that they cast themselves down headlong, and in their descent they looked like dead horses.

They looked like calves as they ascended because the natural affection for seeing and knowing appears, by correspondence, as frolicking about like a calf. And in their descent they looked like dead horses because an understanding of the truth in the Word appears, by correspondence, as a horse, and an understanding devoid of any truth in the Word as a dead horse.

[5] There were some boys below who saw the clergymen descending, who in their descent looked like dead horses. And at that the boys turned their faces away and said to their teacher, who was with them, "What portent is this? We saw men, and now dead horses instead. And because we could not bear to look at them, we turned our faces away. Master, let us not tarry in this place, but depart."

So they departed. And their teacher then taught them on the way what a dead horse means, saying, "A horse symbolizes an understanding of the Word. All the horses that you saw had this symbolic meaning. For when a person goes meditating on the Word, his meditation then appears from a distance like a horse - a thoroughbred and live horse as long as he ponders the Word spiritually, but a wretched and dead horse as long as he does so materially."

[6] At that the boys asked, "What does it mean to meditate on the Word spiritually or materially?"

And the teacher replied, "I will illustrate the difference by examples. Who, when he reads the Word, does not think about God, the neighbor, and heaven? Everyone who thinks about God solely in terms of His person and not in terms of His essence, thinks materially. Everyone who thinks about the neighbor in terms of his appearance and not in terms of his character, thinks materially. And everyone who thinks about heaven solely in terms of a place, and not in terms of the love and wisdom of which heaven consists, also thinks materially."

But the boys said, "We think about God in terms of His person, about the neighbor in terms of his appearance, that he is a human being, and about heaven in terms of a place. When we would read the Word, did we then look to anyone like dead horses?"

Their teacher said, "No. You are still boys and could not think otherwise. But I have perceived in you an affection for knowing and understanding, and because that is a spiritual affection, you thought at the same time spiritually.

[7] "However, I will go back to what I said earlier, that anyone who thinks materially when he reads the Word or meditates on the Word, looks from a distance like a dead horse, but that someone who does so spiritually, looks like a live horse. Moreover, that anyone who thinks about God and about the trinity in God solely in terms of His person and not in terms of His essence, thinks about them materially. For the Divine essence has many attributes, like omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, mercy, grace, eternity, and others. And the Divine essence has attributes emanating from it, namely, creation and preservation, salvation and redemption, enlightenment and guidance. Everyone who thinks about God solely in terms of His person supposes three gods, saying that one god is the creator and preserver, another the savior and redeemer, and a third the enlightener and guide. But everyone who thinks about God in terms of His essence supposes one God, saying that God created us and preserves us, redeems us and saves us, and enlightens and guides us.

"That is why people who think about the trinity in God in terms of His person, and thus materially, cannot help but be drawn by the ideas in their thinking, which is material in nature, to make three gods out of one. But still the same people are bound, contrary to their thought, to say that in each there is a communion of all their attributes, and this only because they have thought dimly about God in terms of His essence, as though through a screen.

"Therefore, my pupils, think about God in terms of His essence and from that about His person, and do not think in terms of His person and from that about His essence. For to think about His essence in terms of His person is to think materially also about His essence, whereas to think about His person in terms of His essence is to think spiritually also about His person.

"Because gentiles of old thought materially about God and also about the attributes of God, they imagined not only three gods, but even more, as many as a hundred.

"Know then that something material does not flow into something spiritual, but that something spiritual flows into something material.

"The same is the case with thought about the neighbor in terms of his appearance and not in terms of his character, and also with thought about heaven in terms of a place and not in terms of the love and wisdom of which heaven consists.

"The same is the case with each and every particular in the Word. Consequently it is impossible for someone who entertains a material idea of God, and also of the neighbor and heaven, to understand anything in it. For him the Word is a dead letter, and when he reads it or meditates on it, he looks at a distance like a dead horse.

[8] "Those people you saw descending from heaven, who became in your eyes as though dead horses, were people who had closed the rational sight in themselves and in others by the peculiar dogma that the intellect must be held captive in obedience to their faith. They did so not thinking that an intellect closed by religion is as blind as a mole, and has in it nothing but darkness - such darkness as repels from itself any spiritual light, obstructs any influx of it from the Lord and heaven, and in matters of faith sets a barrier to it in the carnally sensual mind, far below the rational one. In other words, they put a barrier alongside the nose and fix it in its cartilage, so that afterward they cannot even catch a scent of spiritual matters. Some of those people are therefore of such a character that when they catch a whiff of spiritual matters, they fall into a swoon. By a whiff I mean a perception.

"These are the people who make God into three gods. They say, indeed, that in terms of His essence there is one God, but still, when they pray in accordance with their faith, namely, that God the Father may have mercy for the sake of the Son and send the Holy Spirit, they clearly suppose three gods. They cannot do otherwise, for they pray to one god to have mercy for the sake of another, and to send a third."

And the teacher then taught his pupils about the Lord, that He is one God, in whom is the Divine trinity.

  
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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.

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