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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 #71

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71. At this point I shall insert accounts of three experiences, of which this is the first.

Once I heard beneath me a roaring as of the sea, and asked what it was. Someone told me that it was a disturbance among the spirits gathered on the lower earth, which lies closest above hell. In a little while the ground which formed a roof over them split open, and through the gap birds of the night came pouring forth in hordes and spreading out to the left. They were immediately followed by a wave of locusts, which leapt upon the grass covering the ground, and turned it all into a desert. A little later I began to hear by turns a kind of wailing coming from those birds of the night, and to the side an inarticulate cry as if from ghosts in the woods. Later still I saw beautiful birds coming from heaven and spreading out towards the right. These birds were marked with what looked like wings of gold broken up by stripes and spots of silver; some had on their heads crown-shaped crests.

While I was gazing in wonder at all this, there suddenly emerged from the lower earth, where the disturbance was, a spirit who could take upon himself the appearance of an angel of light. 'Where is the man,' he shouted, 'who talks and writes about an order, to which almighty God has restricted Himself in His dealings with man? News of this has penetrated the roof and reached us down below.'

When he came to the ground level, he hurried along a paved road; and eventually he came up to me and at once pretended to be an angel from heaven. Then, speaking in an assumed tone of voice, 'Are you,' he said, 'the man who thinks and speaks about order? Give me a brief account of order and some examples of it.'

[2] 'I will give you,' I replied, 'a summary, but not the details, because these would be beyond your grasp.' I told him: (i) God is Order itself. (ii) He created man from order according to order and to be subject to order. (iii) He created his rational mind in accordance with the order of the whole spiritual world and his body in accordance with the order of the whole natural world, which is why the ancients called man a micro-heaven and a microcosm. (iv) It is therefore a law of order that man from his micro-heaven or little spiritual world should control his microcosm or little natural world, just as God from His macro-heaven or spiritual world controls the macrocosm or natural world in all its parts. (v) A consequential law of order is therefore that a person ought to enter into faith by means of truths from the Word, and into charity by means of good deeds, and so reform and regenerate himself. (vi) It is a law of order that a person should by his own efforts and ability cleanse himself from sins, and not stand idly confident of his inability to act, waiting for God to wipe away his sins in an instant. (vii) It is also a law of order that a person should love God with all his soul and all his heart, and his neighbour as himself, and not hang back waiting for God instantaneously to place either love in his mind and heart, like bread from the baker's in the mouth. I told him much more besides.

[3] When he heard this, the Satan replied in a polite tone which concealed his deceit: 'What is this you say? That a person by his own ability should enter into order by obeying its laws? Don't you know that man is not subject to the law, but to grace; and that everything is given freely and a person can take nothing for himself unless it is given him from heaven? Don't you know that in spiritual matters he can no more act of himself than Lot's wife when she was turned into a pillar, or Dagon, the idol worshipped by the Philistines in Ekron? So it is impossible for a person to justify himself, since this must be accomplished by means of faith and charity.'

To this I made only this reply: 'It is a law of order too that a person should by his efforts and ability acquire for himself faith by means of truths from the Word, while believing that not a grain of faith comes from himself, but from God; and that a person should by his efforts and ability aim to justify himself, but he is to believe that not a jot of justification comes from himself, but from God. Is it not commanded that a man should believe in God, and love God with all his strength, and his neighbour as himself? Reflect and tell me how God could have given these commandments, if man had not the ability to obey and perform them.'

[4] On hearing this the Satan's face underwent a change; from being white it first turned a lurid colour, and then pitch black. He spoke with his black mouth and said: 'All you have said is paradoxes to counter paradoxes.' Then at once he sank down to his own kind and vanished. The birds on the left together with the ghosts made an unusual noise, and threw themselves into the sea, which is there called the Sea of Suph 1 , and the locusts came hopping after them. Both air and land were thus cleared of those animals, the disturbance down below ceased, and all became peaceful and calm.

Footnotes:

1. The Hebrew name for the Red Sea.

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Conjugial Love #461

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461. To this I will append the following narrative account:

I once spoke with a newly arrived spirit who, when he lived in the world, thought much about heaven and hell. (By newly arrived spirits I mean people recently deceased, who, being then spiritual beings, are called spirits.) As soon as this spirit came into the spiritual world, he began to think as before about heaven and hell; and when thinking about heaven he seemed to himself to be in a state of joy, and when thinking about hell, in a state of despondency.

When he noticed that he was in the spiritual world, he at once asked where heaven was and where hell was, and also what the one and the other were and what they were like.

To which the people he asked replied, "Heaven is above your head and hell beneath your feet, for you are now in the world of spirits, which is midway between heaven and hell. However, as to what heaven and hell are and what they are like, this we cannot describe in a few words."

So, then, because he burned with a desire to know, he threw himself on his knees and prayed earnestly to God to be instructed. And suddenly an angel appeared at his right side, who raised him up and said, "You have begged to be instructed regarding heaven and hell. Inquire and learn what delight is, and you will know." After which statement the angel rose and vanished.

[2] Then the newly arrived spirit said to himself, "What does this mean, 'Inquire and learn what delight is, and you will know what heaven and hell are and what they are like'?"

However, departing from that place he wandered about, speaking to the people he met and saying, "Pray tell me, please, what delight is."

And some said, "What sort of question is this? Who does not know what delight is? Is it not joy and gladness? Therefore delight is delight, one being like another. We do not know of any distinction between them."

Others said that delight was a laughter of the mind; "for when the mind laughs," they said, "the face is merry, the speech jocular, the conduct playful, and the whole person in a state of delight."

Still others said, "Delight is nothing else than to dine and eat fine foods, and to drink and become drunk on excellent wine, and then to converse on various subjects, especially regarding the sports of Venus and Cupid."

[3] On hearing their replies, the newly arrived spirit said in annoyance to himself, "These responses are oafish and uninformed. Such delights are not heaven or hell. If only I could meet people who are wise!"

So he departed from the people he was with and inquired, "Where can I find people who are wise?"

He was observed, then, by a certain angelic spirit, who said to him, "I perceive that you are fired by a desire to know what the universal characteristic of heaven is and the universal characteristic of hell; and because it is delight, I will take you to the top of a hill where daily assemblies convene of people who examine effects, of people who investigate causes, and of people who explore ends. There are three companies. Those who examine effects are called spirits of empirical knowledge, and, abstractly, forms of such knowledge; those who investigate causes are called spirits of intelligence - abstractly, forms of intelligence; and those who explore ends are called spirits of wisdom - abstractly, forms of wisdom. In the heaven directly above them are angels who from ends see causes, and from causes, effects. It is from these angels that the three companies have their enlightenment."

[4] Taking the newly arrived spirit by the hand, the angelic spirit then led him to the hilltop, to the company composed of those who explore ends and are called forms of wisdom.

To them the newly arrived spirit said, "Pardon me for coming up here to you. I have ascended because from childhood I have thought about heaven and hell, and have recently come into this world; and some of the people with whom I was then associated told me that in this world heaven is above my head and hell beneath my feet. But they did not say what the one and the other are and what they are like. Consequently, being made anxious from constant thought about them, I prayed to God; and an angel then appeared beside me, who said, 'Inquire and learn what delight is, and you will know.' I have inquired, but so far in vain. I entreat you therefore to please explain to me what delight is."

[5] To this the forms of wisdom replied, "Delight is the whole of life for all in heaven and the whole of life for all in hell. In the case of those who are in heaven it is a delight in goodness and truth, while in the case of those who are in hell it is a delight in evil and falsity. For all delight is a matter of love, and love is the very essence of a person's life. So, then, as a person is the kind of person he is according to the character of his love, so also is he the kind of person he is according to the character of his delight. The activity of love causes the sensation of delight. Its activity in heaven is accompanied by wisdom, while its activity in hell is accompanied by irrationality. Each produces in its subjects a feeling of delight; but the heavens and the hells experience opposite delights, because they have opposite loves. The heavens are directed by a love of, and thus a delight in, doing good, whereas the hells are directed by a love of, and thus a delight in, doing evil. Consequently, if you know what delight is, you will know what heaven and hell are and what they are like.

"But inquire and learn further what delight is from those who investigate causes and are called forms of intelligence. They are over there to the right of us."

[6] So the newly arrived spirit left and went over to that company, and explaining the reason for his coming, entreated them to tell him what delight was.

They, then, glad at the inquiry, said, "It is true that anyone who knows what delight is also knows what heaven and hell are and what they are like. The will, which makes a person the person he is, is not moved even the least bit except by delight; for the will, regarded in itself, is nothing but the action and effect of some love, thus of delight, inasmuch as it is some element of fancy, liking and pleasure which causes one to will. Moreover, because it is the will that impels the intellect to think, there is not the least idea existing in the thought which does not flow in from a delight of the will.

"This is as it is because the Lord activates all the elements of the soul and all the elements of the mind in angels, spirits and men through an influx from Him, and this through an influx of love and wisdom; and this influx is the underlying activity from which springs every delight, which in its origin is called bliss, happiness and felicity, and in its descent delight, gratification and pleasure, and in its universal sensation, good.

"But spirits in hell turn everything into its opposite in them, thus turning also good into evil and truth into falsity, with a constantly enduring delight. For without the continuance of delight they would have no will, neither any sensation, thus no life.

"It is apparent from this what the delight of hell is and its character and origin, likewise what the delight of heaven is and its character and origin."

[7] After hearing this, the newly arrived spirit was taken to the third company, where the people were those who examine effects and are called forms of empirical knowledge.

These said to him, "Go down into the land below, then go up into the land above. In the first you will perceive and feel the delights of spirits in hell, and in the other the delights of angels in heaven."

However, suddenly then, at some distance from them, the ground opened, and through the opening ascended three devils, seemingly on fire owing to the delight of their love. At that, because they perceived that it had been provided that the three come up from hell, the people who were with the newly arrived spirit said to them, "Do not come any closer, but from where you are tell us something about your delights."

So the devils said, "Be assured that everyone, whether good or evil, is in the enjoyment of his delight - a good person in the enjoyment of the delight of his good, and an evil person in the enjoyment of the delight of his evil."

The people then asked, "What delight do you have?"

The devils said that it was the delight of whoring, stealing, deceiving others, and blaspheming.

Again, then, the people asked, "What kind of delights are these?"

The devils replied that they were perceived by others as being like the foul odors of piles of excrement, like the putrid smells of corpses, and like the fetid stenches of stagnant pools of urine.

Whereupon the people asked, "Do you find these things delightful?"

"Most delightful," the devils said.

At that the people said, "Then you are like unclean animals that dwell in such filth."

But the devils replied, "If we are, we are; but to our nostrils these things are delightful."

[8] The people then asked if the devils had anything further to say.

They said that it is permitted everyone to be in the enjoyment of his delight, even one most unclean (as others term it), provided he does not molest good spirits and angels. "But because our delight is such that we cannot help but molest them," they said, "we have been thrown into workhouses where we suffer terrible hardships. It is the restricting and rescinding of our delights there is that is called the torment of hell. It is also an interior suffering."

Thereupon the people asked, "Why did you molest good spirits?"

The devils said they could not help it. It is as though a kind of madness invades them whenever they see some angel and feel the Divine atmosphere surrounding him.

At that the people said, "Then you are also like wild animals."

And a few moments later, when the devils saw the newly arrived spirit in association with angels, a madness came over them, which appeared as the fire of hatred. Therefore, to prevent them from doing any harm, they were cast back into hell.

After that the angels appeared who from ends see causes, and through causes, effects, who dwelt in the heaven above the three companies. They were seen in the midst of a bright white light, which, winding downward in spiral revolutions, bore with it a wreath of flowers, which it placed on the head of the newly arrived spirit. At the same time, then, the declaration was made to him from there, "This laurel is given to you because from childhood you have thought about heaven and hell."

  
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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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