1. On Swedenborg’s use of the term “the Word” for the books of the Bible that have an inner meaning, see note 7 in New Jerusalem 1. On the continuous and connected spiritual meaning that he sees as existing within the literal meaning of these books, see Last Judgment 40-42; Secrets of Heaven 1-5; New Jerusalem 1, 252, 258-261; White Horse 9-12; Sacred Scripture 5-26; True Christianity 193-209. [LSW]

2. Swedenborg is not implying that heaven is visible to the physical eye. The word for heaven in biblical Hebrew (שָׁמַיִם [šāmayim]) and Greek (οὐρανός [ouranós]), as well as in Swedenborg’s original Latin (caelum), can mean either “sky” or “heaven,” and here his explanation of the term new heaven hinges on the ambiguity: “People . . . understand the Last Judgment to mean the end” of the physical sky, but instead it means, among other things, the end of a particular nonphysical heaven in the spiritual world, as initially described in Last Judgment 2 and in greater detail thereafter, especially in §§65-72. [LSW, SS]

3. Swedenborg refers here to Revelation 21:1. For related discussion, see note 3 in Last Judgment 15 below. [RS]

4. The Latin word here translated “earthly” is naturalis, traditionally translated “natural.” For more on the concept behind this word, see note 6 in New Jerusalem 1. [Editors]

5. The Latin here translated “of the divine design” is ordinis divini, literally, “of the divine order.” On this term, see note 1 in New Jerusalem 11. [Editors]

6. By “the Christian world” here (Latin orbe Christiano), Swedenborg means the predominantly Christian regions of the world, which in his day were Europe and its colonies, or in nongeographical terms, the world’s Christians themselves. [LSW, SS]

7. In this instance, as often elsewhere, Swedenborg is using the term “church” historically to mean the core religious approach of a given age or era through which heaven was connected with humankind, of which he asserts there have been five major instances, in the following sequence: the earliest (or “most ancient”) church, the early (or “ancient”) church, the Jewish church, the Christian church, and a new church represented by the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21 and 22. For more discussion, see note 3 in New Jerusalem 4. [JSR]

8. On the term “spiritual world,” which includes heaven, hell, and the intermediate “world of spirits,” see note 2 in New Jerusalem 22. [Editors]

9. The reference here is to Heaven and Hell, apparently composed and probably also published at a time earlier in 1758 than Last Judgment. On the order of composition of Swedenborg’s works of 1758, see the editors’ preface, pages 29-33. [GFD, SS]

10. The Latin word here translated “union” is conjunctio, traditionally translated “conjunction.” For more on Swedenborg’s use of this Latin term, see note 6 in New Jerusalem 2. [Editors]

1. Swedenborg attacks bodies of religious teachings that promote "faith apart from love" throughout his theological works, but his exact meaning is sometimes ambiguous, because the referent is twofold. His immediate referent is usually the doctrine of Martin Luther (1483-1546) commonly known as Sola Fide, or "By Faith Alone," the traditional rendering of the phrase. To Luther it was not so much the act of repentance that mattered, but faith in God through Christ, which would lead to a pouring down of grace. His aim in teaching this doctrine was partly to emphasize human incapacity and partly to counteract Catholic teachings, which held that works, or actions-specifically, the receiving of the sacraments (or the intention of receiving them), and notably those of baptism and penance-were necessary for forgiveness by God. Luther believed that it is too much even to say that repentance results in justification (our "setting ourselves right with God"); rather this is accomplished solely through faith in Christ's power to atone for our sins. Sola Fide remained the doctrinal cornerstone of the Lutheran tradition in which Swedenborg was raised nearly two centuries later, but ultimately Swedenborg rejected the theory of Christ's atonement on which Sola Fide was built. He severely criticized the spiritual complacency that resulted from dismissing good works (which he understood as loving actions toward one's neighbor rather than as the sacraments). However, Swedenborg also uses the term "body of teaching about faith apart from love" to refer to any religious system that privileges ritual performance or orthodox profession over living a life of caring for the neighbor: it is in this latter, wider sense that the term is being used here. Swedenborg sees the propensity toward crafting a theology of faith alone as something universal to humanity after the fall of the early churches, a temptation represented in the Bible by the Philistines:

In the ancient church and after its time, "Philistines" referred to people who had little energy for learning how to live but a great deal of energy for learning theology. Eventually they even rejected life issues and acknowledged belief issues as those crucial to the church, detaching them from life. So they dismissed and erased doctrines concerning neighborly love, which formed the whole of the ancient church's theology. ( Secrets of Heaven 3412[2]; see further references in New Jerusalem 257:2)

On the notion of earlier churches, see note 28 below. For Swedenborg's discussion of faith, see New Jerusalem 108-122. He attacks justification by faith alone at many points in his works; the foundations for this criticism and rejection are laid as early as §§30-36in Secrets of Heaven. This treatment continues in Heaven and Hell 521-527, The Lord 18, and Marriage Love 523-529, right through to True Christianity, the final published work in his corpus, where it receives colorful commentary in §§355-361, 626-666, and elsewhere. There are dozens of similar passages in other volumes. Some of the more focused and extensive discussions of faith alone, or faith apart from love, may be found in Secrets of Heaven 4783, 4925, 8093; Faith 4 41-72; Divine Providence 114-117; and in the chapters of Revelation Unveiled expounding onRevelation 8-16 (§§386-716). On the connection of faith alone with blindness, or blind faith, see Faith 9, 46; Revelation Unveiled 914; Revelation Explained (= Swedenborg 1994-1997a) §781. For more on faith separated from charitable (loving) works and its effect on the church specifically, see the passages from Secrets of Heaven listed in New Jerusalem 121[2] and Last Judgment 39[3]. For more on the content and context of the doctrine of Sola Fide see, for example, Strohl 2003; Wriedt 2003; Bertram 1985, 172-184. [DNG, RS, LSW, SS]

2. The three heavens described in this section are the upper or third heaven, also called the heavenly heaven; the middle or second heaven, also called the spiritual heaven; and the lower or first heaven, also called the earthly or natural heaven. These heavens can be pictured as levels one above the other or as distinct regions one within the other. (See Secrets of Heaven 9594; Heaven and Hell 29-40; Divine Love and Wisdom 202.) The three hells, which are an inverted and distorted mirror image of the three heavens, are the deepest hell opposite to the third heaven, the middle hell opposite to the second heaven, and the highest hell opposite to the first heaven (Heaven and Hell 542; Divine Love and Wisdom 275). For diagrams illustrating these relationships, see Woofenden and Rose 2008, 38; Lang 2000, 13, 21. [LSW]

3. The term "church" in Swedenborg's usage does not always denote a group of Christians (though it may do so) but very often refers instead to one of five major phases he assigns to the world's spiritual history. In general he calls the first phase the earliest church (from the creation story to the time of the Flood); the second the early, or ancient, church (from the Flood to the time of Moses, but with a second phase called the Hebrew church starting at the time of Eber); the third the Israelite or Jewish church (from Moses to the time of Christ); the fourth the Christian church (the Christian era up to 1757); and the fifth a new church represented by the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21 and 22 and seen as beginning in Swedenborg's own time and covering the rest of human spiritual history. In addition to the reference to further discussion that Swedenborg himself provides at the end of this section (that is, Last Judgment 46, which itself contains further references to the voluminous material on these churches in Secrets of Heaven), see the following: New Jerusalem 246-248; Divine Providence 328; True Christianity 760, 786; Revelation Explained (= Swedenborg 1994-1997a) §948:3; and Heaven and Hell 115 327 (which contain brief overviews). Three particularly useful passages in Secrets of Heaven are §§1850, 10248:7, and 10355. See also notes 1 and 8 in Last Judgment 46. For an early use of the word church to refer to the Israelites, see Acts 7:38. [GFD, LHC, LSW]

4. "Inflow" is a one-way flow from one level or entity into another, having a direct effect on the lower or secondary level or entity (see note 5 in Last Judgment 9). Here Swedenborg mentions two distinct types of inflow: indirect inflow and direct inflow. Direct inflow proceeds from the Lord by an internal route into the souls of angels, spirits, and people on earth, and from there into the rest of their being. Indirect inflow proceeds from God through the various levels of the spiritual world (see note 2 in New Jerusalem 4). From there it influences angels, spirits, and people on earth in a more external way, through their spiritual and social environments, and for people on earth through their physical environment as well. In this case, the inflow is presumably a flow of goodness as spiritual heat and truth as spiritual light. For more on direct and indirect inflow, see New Jerusalem 23[8]; Secrets of Heaven 6058, 6063:2, 6472, 9682-9683; Heaven and Hell 296-297. For more on inflow in general, see New Jerusalem 277-278. [LSW]

5. The two kingdoms, or realms, of heaven mentioned here are the heavenly kingdom and the spiritual kingdom. These are occasionally identified with the heavenly and spiritual heavens outlined in note 2 in New Jerusalem 4 (as in True Christianity 195, 212), but are more commonly presented as distinct regions of heaven that stand side by side, as opposed to the three heavens, which are presented as horizontal levels "stacked" one on another. In general, the angels occupying the heavenly kingdom are motivated by love for the Lord, while the angels occupying the spiritual kingdom are motivated by love for the neighbor. For more on the two kingdoms of heaven, see Secrets of Heaven 3887-3889; Heaven and Hell 20-28, 95. [LSW]