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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 #25

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25. At this point I shall insert the following account of an experience. 1

Once on waking from sleep I fell into a profound meditation about God; and when I looked up, I saw in the sky above me a brilliant, oval-shaped light. When I fixed my gaze upon that light, it moved to either side and occupied the surrounding area. Then suddenly heaven lay open before me, and I saw wonderful sights, and angels standing in a ring on the south of the opening, talking among themselves. Because I was fired with a desire to hear what they were saying, I was first permitted to hear the sound of their voices, which was full of heavenly love, and later their speech, which was full of the wisdom which comes from that love.

They were talking among themselves about the one God, being linked with Him and salvation by this means. What they said was beyond words to express; most of it could not be put into the words of any natural language. But because on a number of occasions I had been in company with angels in heaven itself, and then, being in a like state, I could speak similarly with them, I was now able to understand them, and pick up a few points in their conversation which can be rationally expressed in the words of natural language.

[2] They were saying that the Divine Being is one, the same, the very self and indivisible. They illustrated this by spiritual ideas, saying that the Divine Being cannot be reduced to several, each of which is the Divine Being, and still remain one, the same, the very self and indivisible. For each would think from His own Being from Himself, and in each case through Himself; if He then thought from the others and through them in agreement, then there would be several gods of like mind, and not one God. For unanimity, being a consensus of several with each one agreeing of himself and through himself, is not consonant with the oneness of God, but with a plurality. They did not say 'of gods', because they were unable to, since the light of heaven which governed their thought, and the aura which carried their speech, offered resistance.

They said too that when they wanted to say the word 'Gods', and each as a Person by Himself, as soon as they attempted to say this it was instantly replaced by one, or rather the sole, God. They added that the Divine Being is the Divine Being in itself, not from itself, because from itself supposes Being in itself arising from another prior one. Thus it supposes a God arising from God, which is impossible. Anything arising from God is not called God, but Divine. For what is God arising from God, or God born of God from eternity, and what is God arising from God proceeding by means of God born from eternity but mere words totally devoid of heavenly light?

[3] They went on to say that the Divine Being, which is in itself God, is the same; not the same in a simple way, but infinitely the same, that is, the same from eternity to eternity. He is the same everywhere, the same with each person and in each person; but all the changes and differences occur in the person who receives Him, and it is his state which causes this.

To demonstrate that the Divine Being, which is God in itself, is very self they said: 'God is very Self, because He is love itself and wisdom itself, that is, because He is good itself and truth itself, and thus life itself. If these things were not the very Self in God, they would be as nothing in heaven and the world, because none of them would be related to the very Self. Every quality gets its quality from the fact that it is the self which is its source, and must be related to it to have that quality. This very Self, which is the Divine Being, is not in any place, but with and in those people who are located in accordance with their ability to receive it, since neither place nor movement from one place to another can be attributed to love and wisdom, or good and truth, and life from them, which constitute the very Self in God, or rather are God Himself. Hence God is omnipresent. That is why the Lord says that He is in the midst of them, and that He is in them and they in Him.

[4] 'Because God cannot be received by anyone such as He is in Himself, He appears as He is in essence, as the Sun above the heavens of the angels; the radiation emitted by Him as light is Himself as regards wisdom, and as heat is Himself as regards love. That Sun is not God Himself, but the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom coming forth most nearly from Him, all around Him, and these appear to the angels as the Sun. He Himself is in the Sun as a Man; He is our Lord Jesus Christ, both as regards the Divine origin and the Divine Human; since the very Self, which is Love itself and Wisdom itself, was His soul from the Father, and so Divine Life, which is Life in itself. This is different in the case of any person; in him his soul is not Life, but a receiver of life. The Lord teaches us this too, when He said:

I am the Way, Truth and Life, John 14:6.

and elsewhere:

Even as the Father has life in Himself, so too did He grant the Son to have life in Himself, John 5:26.

Life in Himself is God.'

They added that those who are at all spiritually enlightened can perceive from these statements that the Divine Being cannot exist in several, because it is one, the same, the very self and thus indivisible. If anyone were to say that this plurality was possible, there would be obvious contradictions in the qualities predicated.

Footnotes:

1. This is repeated from Apocalypse Revealed 961.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society 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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