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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 #624

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624. 1 The fourth experience.

Awoken from sleep in the middle of the night I saw fairly high up towards the east an angel holding a paper in his right hand. It was brightly lit up by the sun, and in the middle there was writing in golden letters. I saw that the inscription was: The marriage of good and truth. A radiance sparkled from the writing, and spread into a broad ring around the paper. This radiance or halo looked like the dawn in springtime. Afterwards I saw the angel coming down with the paper in his hand, and as he came the paper shone less and less, and the inscription, The marriage of good and truth, changed from gold to silver colour, then to that of copper, later to that of iron and finally to the colour of rust and verdigris. At last the angel appeared to enter a dark cloud, and passing through the cloud appeared on earth. There the paper, though still held in the angel's hand, was invisible. This happened in the world of spirits, into which everyone comes at first after death.

[2] Then the angel spoke to me. 'Ask those,' he said, 'who are coming here whether they can see me or anything in my hand.' A great crowd came, one group from the east, one from the south, one from the west and one from the north. I asked those from the east and south, men who in the world had devoted themselves to study, whether they could see anyone here with me, or anything in his hand. They all said that they could see nothing at all. Then I put the question to those who came from the west and north. These were those who in the world had taken on trust what learned people said. They too said they could not see anything. However, the last of this group, those who in the world had had a simple faith based on charity, or in other words possessed some truth from good, said, after the first-comers had gone, that they could see a man with a piece of paper, the man in fine clothing and the paper with letters written on it. When they looked closely, they said they could read, The marriage of good and truth. So they addressed the angel, requesting him to tell them what this meant.

[3] He said that everything in the whole of heaven and everything in the whole of the world is from creation nothing but the marriage of good and truth. This is because every single thing, both those that live and breathe as well as those that do not, comes from the marriage of good and truth and was created for that purpose. Nothing exists created to be truth alone, nor to be good alone. Neither of these is anything taken by itself, but by marriage they come into existence and become such as is the nature of the marriage. In the Lord God the Creator Divine good and Divine truth are present in their very substance. The being of His substance is Divine good, the coming-into-being of this substance is Divine truth, and they are in a state of complete union, for in Him they make up one to an infinite degree. Since these two are one in God the Creator Himself, they are therefore also one in every single thing created by Him. By this too the Creator is linked with all things created by Him in an everlasting covenant as of marriage.

[4] The angel went on to say that the Sacred Scripture, which was dictated by the Lord, is in general and in its parts a marriage of good and truth (see above 248-253). Since the church, being formed by means of the truths of doctrine, and religion, being formed by good deeds in life in accordance with the truths of doctrine, are in the case of Christians solely derived from the Sacred Scripture, it can be established that the church too in general and in its parts is a marriage of good and truth. The same as has been said here about the marriage of good and truth applies also to the marriage of charity and faith, since good relates to charity, truth to faith.

After making this speech the angel left the earth and travelling through the cloud went up into heaven. Then as he went up the paper began to shine as before, changing at each stage of the ascent. Then the ring of radiance which previously looked like the dawn came down and dispersed the cloud which had darkened the earth, and the sun shone.

Footnotes:

1. This section is repeated with modifications from Conjugial Love 115.

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Conjugial Love #261

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261. To this I will append three narrative accounts. Here is the first:

In the upper northern zone in the spiritual world, over to the east, there are places of instruction, some for boys, some for adolescents, some for men, and some also for older men. All who have died as little children and are being raised in heaven are sent to these places. So, too, are all those newly arrived from the world who wish to learn about heaven and hell.

This district is over to the east in order that they may all be instructed by means of influx from the Lord. For the Lord is the east, since He is there in the sun, which is pure love emanating from Him. The warmth from that sun consequently in its essence is love, and the light from it in its essence is wisdom. These two are infused by the Lord into the people there from that sun, and they are infused in accordance with their reception of them, which in turn depends on their love of becoming wise.

When their periods of instruction are over, those who have become intelligent are sent out from there and are called disciples of the Lord. They are sent first to the west, and if they do not remain there, to the south, and some through the south to the east. And so they are introduced into the societies where their dwellings are to be.

[2] Once, when I was thinking about heaven and hell, I began to wish to have a universal concept of the state of each, knowing that a person who is acquainted with the universals of a thing can afterwards comprehend the particulars, since the particulars are contained in the universals, like the parts in a whole.

With this wish I looked in the direction of that district in the northern zone over to the east, where the places of instruction were; and going there by a way then opened to me, I went into one of the colleges in which the students were young men. There I approached the senior teachers who were doing the instructing, and I asked them whether they knew any universal characteristics relating to heaven and hell.

[3] They replied that they knew a little something; "but," they said, "if we look eastward to the Lord, we will be enlightened and then we will know." They proceeded to do this, and then said:

"The universal characteristics of [both heaven and] hell are three, but the universal characteristics of hell are diametrically opposite to the universal characteristics of heaven. The universal characteristics of hell are the following three loves: a love of governing stemming from a love of self; a love of possessing the goods of others stemming from a love of the world; and licentious love.

"The universal characteristics of heaven opposite to these are the following three loves: a love of governing stemming from a love of being useful; a love of possessing the goods of the world stemming from a love of performing useful services by means of them; and truly conjugial love."

Their having said this, after wishing them peace, I departed and returned home.

When I got home, I was told from heaven, "Examine these three universal characteristics, above and below, and afterwards we will see them on your hand." They said, "on your hand," because everything a person examines mentally appears to angels as though written on his hands.

  
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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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