Soul-Body Interaction, Believed to Occur either by a Physical Inflow, or by a Spiritual Inflow, or by a Preestablished Harmony.

§§1–2 / [Author’s Introduction]

1. §3 / There are two worlds: a spiritual world where spirits and angels live, and an earthly world where we live.

2. §4 / The spiritual world came into being and is kept in existence from its sun, and the earthly world, from its sun.

3. §5 / The sun of the spiritual world is pure love from Jehovah God,

who is at its center.

4. §6 / Warmth and light emanates from that sun; the essence of that emanating warmth is love, and the essence of the emanating light is wisdom.

5. §7 / Both spiritual warmth and spiritual light fl ow into us. The warmth fl ows into our will and gives rise there to a love for doing what is good, and the light flows into our understanding and gives rise there to the truth that leads to wisdom.

6. §8 / These two—spiritual warmth and spiritual light, or love and wisdom—fl ow together from God into the human soul, flow through our soul into our mind and its feelings and thoughts, and flow from there into our physical senses, speech, and actions.

7. §9 / The sun of our earthly world is nothing but fire, and is the means by which this earthly world came into being and is kept in existence.

8. §10 / This means that everything that emanates from the physical sun is in and of itself dead.

9. §11 / What is spiritual wears what is physical the way we wear clothes.

10. §12 / It is spiritual elements clothed in this way that enable us to live as rational and moral beings—that is, to live spiritually on this earthly level.

11. §13 / How receptive we are to this infl ow depends on the state of love and wisdom within us.

12. §14 / Our understanding can be lifted into the light (that is, the wisdom) that angels enjoy to the extent that our rational ability has been cultivated; and our will can be elevated into the warmth, or love, of heaven, depending on how we live our lives. However, the love in our will becomes elevated only to the extent that we will and do what the wisdom in our understanding teaches us.

13. §15 / It is totally diff erent for animals.

14. §16 / Unknown until now, there are three levels in the spiritual world and three in this earthly world, and these shape the way all infl ow happens.

15. §17 / Purposes are on the fi rst level, means on the second, and results on the third.

16. §18 / This shows us the nature of spiritual infl ow, from its origin to its results.

§§19–20 / [Concluding Accounts]

20. I was questioned once as to how I, a scientist, had become a theologian. My answer was, “The same way the Lord made disciples and apostles out of fishermen.” I said that I too had been a spiritual fisherman from my youth.

On hearing this, the person asked what a spiritual fisherman was, and I said that in the Word, a fisherman spiritually understood is someone who inquires into and teaches earthly truths and then does the same with spiritual truths, in a rational manner.

[2] When asked what evidence I could provide, I said, “These passages in the Word: ‘Then the waters will fail from the sea and the river will be dried up and parched; so the fishermen will mourn, and all those who cast a hook into the sea will be sad’ (Isaiah 19:5, 8). Again, ‘At the river whose waters have been healed, fishermen will stand from En-gedi; they will be there to spread their nets. Their fish will be of all kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea, very many’ (Ezekiel 47:9, 10). And again, ‘“Behold, I will send for many fishermen,” says Jehovah, “and they will fish the children of Israel”’ (Jeremiah 16:16). This shows why the Lord chose fishermen for his disciples and said, ‘Come with me, and I will make you fishers of people’ (Matthew 4:18, 19; Mark 1:16, 17), and why he said to Peter, after he had caught a great many fish, ‘From now on you will catch people’ (Luke 5:9, 10).”

[3] Then from Revelation Unveiled I showed why fishermen have this meaning: water means earthly truths (§§50, 932), as does a river (§§409, 932); fish mean people who are devoted to earthly truths (§405), and so fishermen mean people who inquire into such truths and teach them.

[4] When he heard this, my questioner exclaimed, “Now I can understand why the Lord called and chose fishermen to be his disciples, so I am not surprised that he has also chosen you. As you just said, in a spiritual sense you have been a fisherman from your earliest youth—that is, someone who inquired into truths on the earthly level. The reason you are now inquiring into spiritual truths is that earthly truths serve as their foundation.”

He went on to say (since he was a man of reason) that only the Lord would know who was well suited to grasping and presenting the teachings that are part of his new church, whether that would be one of the church leaders or one of their servants. Besides, who among Christian theologians did not first study science in college before they were introduced to theology? How else would they have developed their intelligence?

[5] Finally, he said, “Because you have become a theologian, explain what your theology is.” I answered, “Two things are its core principles: there is one God and charity and faith are joined together.” To this he replied, “Who denies this?” I answered, “The theology of today, if you examine it in depth.”

LONDON

1769.