Index of Memorable RelationsNews from
the Angels |
Once when in company with the angels in heaven, I saw below at some distance a great smoke, and then fire breaking out from it; and I said to the angels talking with me that the smoke seen in the hells, as a few among them knew, arises from falsities confirmed by reasonings, and that the fire is burning anger against those who contradict; and I added, “In this world, as in mine where I live in the body, it is unknown that flame is simply smoke on fire. That such is the fact I have often proved by experiment; for I have seen streaks of smoke rising from wood on the hearth, and when I set fire to them with a brand I have seen them turn to flames, which assumed a shape like that of the smoke; for the separate particles of smoke become little sparks which blaze up together, like gunpowder when it is ignited. So is it with the smoke we see below. This consists of an equal number of falsities; and the fire breaking out like flames is the glow of zeal in behalf of those falsities.”
[2] Then the angels said to me, “Let us ask the Lord for leave to go down and draw towards the smoke, that we may perceive what those falsities are that so smoke and blaze with those there.”
This was granted; and lo, there appeared round about us a column of light reaching continuously to the place. And then we saw four crowds of spirits, who were strenuously maintaining that it is God the Father who should be approached and worshiped, because He is invisible, and not His Son born in the world, since He is a man and is visible.
Looking towards the sides I saw on the left some learned men of the clergy, and behind these the unlearned; and on the right the learned of the laity, and behind these the unlearned; while between us and these there was a yawning gulf which was impassable.
[3] But we turned our eyes and ears to the left, where were the learned of the clergy, and behind them the unlearned, and we heard them reasoning about God in this wise, “From the doctrine of our church respecting God which is the same everywhere in Europe, we know that God the Father ought to be approached, because He is invisible, and at the same time God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, who are also invisible, being co-eternal with the Father; also God the Father, being the Creator of the universe, and therefore in the universe, is present wherever we turn our eyes; and whenever we pray to Him He graciously listens, and after accepting the mediation of the Son He sends the Holy Spirit, who implants in our hearts the glory of His Son‘s righteousness and bestows blessedness upon us. We who have been made doctors in the church have felt in our breasts, when preaching, the holy operation of that sending, and from the presence of the Spirit in our minds have then breathed forth devotion. We are thus affected because we direct all our senses to the invisible God, who operates not singly upon the sight of our understanding, but universally upon our whole system, mental and corporeal, by the Spirit He sends. Such effects as these would not result from the worship of a visible God, that is, of a God conspicuously before the mind as a man.”
[4] When this was said the unlearned of the clergy who stood behind the others applauded, and added, “Whence comes what is holy but from an invisible and imperceptible Divine? At this, the moment it touches the entrance to our ears, our features expand, and we are gladdened as by the sweetness of a fragrant aura, and we smite upon our breasts. But it is otherwise with a visible and perceptible Divine; when this enters our ears it becomes merely natural, and not Divine. For a like reason the Roman Catholics repeat their masses in Latin, and the host (to which they ascribe Divine mystical properties) they bring out from the recesses of the altar and hold up to sight; whereupon the people fall on their knees as before something most mysterious, and take in breaths of holiness.”
[5] After this we turned to the right, where the learned of the laity stood, and the unlearned behind them; and from the learned we heard the following: “We know that the wisest of the ancients worshiped an invisible God whom they called Jehovah; but after them in the succeeding ages men made for themselves gods out of deceased rulers, among whom were Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto, Apollo, and also Minerva, Diana, Venus, and Themis; and to these they built temples and offered divine worship; and as in time this worship degenerated it gave rise to idolatry, from which at last the whole world became filled with insanity. We therefore agree unanimously with our priests and elders that there were and are three Divine persons from eternity, each one of whom is God; and it is enough for us that they are invisible.”
To this the unlearned behind them added, “We agree. Is not God God, and man man? Still we know that if anyone should set before them a God-Man, the common people, who have a sensuous idea about God, would accept it.”
[6] When they had said this their eyes were opened and they saw us near them; but being indignant because we had heard them they became silent. But presently the angels, from a power given them, closed the outer or lower things of their thoughts, from which they had been speaking, and opened the inner or higher things, and compelled them to speak from these about God. And speaking thus they said, “What is God? We have neither seen His shape nor heard His voice. What, then, is God but nature in its firsts and lasts. Nature we have seen, for she beams in our eyes; and we have heard her, for she sounds in our ears.”
On hearing this we said to them, “Have you ever seen Socinus, who acknowledged God the Father only; or Arius, who denied the Divinity of the Lord our Saviour, or have you seen any of their adherents?” To which they answered, “We have not.”
We said, “They are in the deep beneath you.” And shortly some of them were summoned from the deep and questioned about God; and they spoke as the others had done; and they added, “What is God? We can make as many gods as we like.”
[7] And then we said, “It is useless to talk with you about the Son of God born in the world; yet we will say this much: Lest faith respecting God and faith in God and from God, which in the first two ages, from no one’s having beheld God, had been like a beautifully colored bubble in the air, should for the same reason in the third and following age collapse to nothing, it pleased Jehovah God to descend and assume a Human and thus make Himself visible, and convince men that He is not a mere figment of reason, but the Itself, which was and is and will be, from eternity to eternity; also that God is not a mere word of three letters, but is the All of reality from Alpha to Omega, consequently the life and salvation of all who believe in Him as visible, but not of those who say that they believe in an invisible God. For believing, seeing, and knowing make one. Therefore the Lord said to Philip:--
That whosoever sees and knows Him sees and knows the Father (John 14:9);
and elsewhere:--
That it is the will of the Father that men should believe in the Son and that whosoever believes in the Son has eternal life, while he who does not believe in the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him (John 3:15, 16, 36; 14:6-15).
Hearing this many of the four crowds were so enraged that smoke and flame issued from their nostrils; we therefore left them; and the angels, after accompanying me home, ascended to their heaven.
Second Memorable Relation:-
At one time in company with some angels I was walking in the world of spirits (which is intermediate between heaven and hell, and which all men enter first after death, the good being there made ready for heaven and the evil for hell), and I talked with them on various subjects, on this among others:--That the world where I am living in the body there are seen at night innumerable stars, larger and smaller, which are so many suns, only the light of which reaches our solar system; and I added, ”When I saw that stars are visible in your world also I supposed them to be as numerous as those in the world where I live.“
The angels, delighted with this conversation, said, ”Perhaps they are, since every society of heaven, in the sight of those who are under heaven, sometimes shines like a star; and the societies of heaven are numberless, all arranged in order according to the varieties of the affections of the love of good which affections in God are infinite, and thus from Him are numberless; and as these were all foreseen before creation, I suppose that in accord with their number there have been provided, that is, created, an equal number of stars in the world where the men live who were to be natural-material bodies.“
[2] While we were talking together in this way I saw in the north a levelled way, so crowded with spirits that there was scarcely room to step between any two; and I said to the angels that I had already seen this way, with spirits thronging it like an army; and that I had heard that this is the way by which all pass when departing from the natural world. And the way is covered with such a vast number of spirits because many thousands of men die every week, and after death they all pass into this world.
The angels added, ”This road terminates in the middle of this world where we now are - in the middle because on the sides towards the east there are societies who are in love to God and love towards the neighbor, and to the left towards the west societies of those who are opposed to these loves; while in front towards the south are societies of those who are more intelligent than the others. This is why the new-comers from the natural world move first to this point. When here, they are in the externals in which they had last been in the former world. Afterwards they are gradually let into their internals, and their characters are examined; and after the examination the good are borne to their places in heaven and the evil to theirs in hell.“
[3] We stopped at the middle point, at the termination of this way of entrance, and we said, ”Let us wait here awhile and talk with some of the new-comers.“ And from those approaching we picked out twelve, who having just come from the natural world did not know but that they were in it still. We asked them their views of heaven and hell and the life after death.
One replied, ”Our sacred order impressed upon me the belief that we are to live after death, and that there is a heaven and a hell; and therefore I have believed that all who live a moral life go to heaven; and as all do live a moral life, that no one goes to hell; and therefore that hell is a fable manufactured by the clergy to frighten men from evil living. What does it matter whether I think about God in this way or that? Thought is only chaff, as it were, or like a bubble on the water that bursts and passes away.“
Another near him said, ”It is my belief that there is a heaven and a hell; and that God rules heaven, and the devil rules hell; and as they are enemies, and therefore opposed to each other, one calls evil what the other calls good; also that a moral man who is a dissembler, and who can make evil look like good and good like evil, will side with both parties. What, then, does it matter whether I am on the side of one Lord or the other, providing He favors me? Good and evil are equally delightful to men.“
[4] A third, standing beside him, said, ”Of what consequence is it to me to believe that there is a heaven and a hell? For who has come from either place and told us of them? If every man lives after death, why, out of so vast a multitude, has no one come back and told us?“
Next came a fourth, who said, ”I will tell you why no one has come back and told. It is because when a man breathes his last and dies, he either becomes a ghost and is dissipated, or is like the breath of the mouth, which is merely wind. How can a being like that come back and talk with anyone?“
The fifth took up the matter and said, ”Friends, wait till the day of the last judgment; for all will then return into their bodies, and you will see and talk with them, and each one will tell his fate to the other.“
[5] A sixth, standing opposite, laughed and said, ”How can the spirit, which is wind, return into a body that has been eaten up by worms, and into its skeleton that has been dried up by the sun and has crumbled into dust? Or how is an Egyptian, who has been made a mummy and mixed by a quack with extracts or emulsions into a potion or powder, to come back and tell anything? Therefore, if you have the faith, wait till that last day; but your waiting will be forever, and forever in vain.“
After him a seventh said, ”If I believed in a heaven and a hell, and therefore in a life after death, I would also believe that birds and beasts live after death likewise. Are not some of these quite as moral and as rational as men? It is denied that beasts live after death, therefore I deny that men do. The reasoning is equally good; one follows from the other. What is man but an animal?“
An eighth, standing at his back, came forward and said, ”Believe in a heaven if you will, but I do not believe in any hell. Is not God omnipotent and able to save everybody?“
[6] Then a ninth, caressing his hand, said, ”God is not only omnipotent He is also gracious; and cannot send anyone into eternal fire; and if anyone is there He cannot but take him out and raise him up.“
A tenth ran out of his place into the midst and said, ”Neither do I believe in a hell. Did not God send His Son, and did He not make expiation for the sins of the whole world and take them away? What can the devil do against that? And as he can do nothing, what then is hell?“
An eleventh, who was a priest, took fire at hearing this, and said, ”Do you not know that those who have attained to the faith on which Christ‘s merit is inscribed are saved, and that those attain to that faith whom God elects. Does not election rest in the will of the Almighty, and in His judgment as to who are worthy of it? Who can prevail against these?“
The twelfth, who was a politician, kept silent; but being asked to crown the replies, he said, ”From my own thought I will not say anything about heaven and hell and the life after death, since no one knows anything about them; nevertheless you should not blame the priests for preaching them; for in that way the minds of the vulgar are kept bound by an invisible bond to the laws and to their rulers. Does not the public welfare depend upon this?“
[7] We were amazed to hear such things as these, and we said to each other, ”Although these go by the name of Christians they are neither men nor beasts, but they are men-beasts.“ However, to arouse them from their sleep we said, ”There is a heaven and a hell and a life after death; of this you will be convinced when we have dispelled your ignorance of the state of life in which you now are. During the first few days after death no one knows but that he is still living in the same world in which he lived before; for the time that has passed is like a sleep, on being awakened from which he had no other feeling than that he still is where he was before. So is it with you now; and therefore you have been speaking just as you thought in the former world.“
The angels then dispelled their ignorance; and they saw that they were in another world, and among those with whom they were not acquainted; and they cried out, ”O where are we?“
We said, ”You are no longer in the natural world, but in the spiritual world, and we are angels.“
Then, being quite awake, they said, ”If you are angels, show us heaven.“
We replied, ”Wait here a little, and we will return.“ And returning after half an hour we found them waiting for us; and we said, ”Follow us into heaven.“ They did so, and we went up with them, and because we were with them the guards opened the gate and admitted us.
And we said to those who receive new-comers at the entrance, ”Examine these men.“
And they turned them about and saw that the hinder parts of their heads were quite hollow. They then said to them, ”Go away from here, for there is in you the delight of the love of doing evil; therefore you are not in conjunction with heaven; for in your heads you have denied God and have despised religion.“
And we said to them, ”Do not delay, or you will be cast out.“ So they hastened down and departed.
[8] On the way home we talked about the reason why in the spiritual world the back parts of the head of those who take delight in doing evil are hollow. And I gave as the reason that man has two brains, one behind, called the cerebellum, and one in front called the cerebrum; and the love of the will dwells in the cerebellum, and the thought of the understanding in the cerebrum; and whenever the thought of the understanding does not guide the love of man’s will the inmosts of the cerebellum, which in themselves are heavenly, collapse; hence the hollowness.
Third Memorable Relation:-
In the spiritual world I once heard a noise like that of a mill; it was in the northern quarter. At first I wondered what it was; but I called to mind that the meaning of a mill and of grinding is to seek from the Word what is serviceable for doctrine. I therefore went towards the place where the noise was heard, and when I came near it stopped; and I then saw a sort of arched roof above the ground, to which there was an entrance through a cavern; seeing which I descended, and entered.
And behold, there was a room in which I saw an old man sitting among books, holding the Word before him and searching out from it what would be serviceable for his doctrine. Pieces of paper were lying around, on which he had written whatever he could use. In an adjoining room were copyists who were collecting the papers and copying what was written on them on a full-sized sheet. I first asked him about the books around him.
He said that they all treated of Justifying Faith; those from Sweden and Denmark profoundly; those from Germany more profoundly; those from Britain still more so; and most profoundly of all the ones from Holland. And he added that on several points they differed; but in the article on justification and salvation by faith alone they all agreed. He afterwards said that he was then collecting from the Word this first principle of justifying faith, that God the Father ceased to be gracious towards the human race on account of its iniquities, and it was therefore a Divine necessity for man‘s salvation that satisfaction, reconciliation, propitiation, and mediation should be effected by some one who would take upon himself the damnation enjoined by justice; and that this could never have been done except by His only Son; but having once been done there was a way of approach open to God the Father for the Son’s sake; for we pray, ”Father, be merciful to us for the sake of Thy Son.“ And he said, ”I see and have seen, that this is in accordance with all reason and Scripture. By what other way than by faith in the merits of His Son could God the Father be approached?“
[2] I listened to this, and was amazed that he should declare it to be in accord with reason and Scripture, when yet it is contrary to both, and this I plainly told him.
In the heat of his zeal he then rejoined, ”How can you say that?“
Therefore I opened my mind to him, saying, ”Is it not contrary to reason to think that God the Father failed of grace towards the human race, and rejected and excommunicated it? Is not Divine grace an attribute of the Divine essence? Wherefore failing of grace would be failing of Divine essence; and failing of His Divine essence would be to be no longer God. Is it possible for God to be alienated from Himself? Believe me, as grace on God‘s part is infinite, so it is also eternal. On men’s part God‘s grace may be lost if man does not accept it, (but never on God’s part). But if grace were to depart from God there would be an end to the whole heaven and the whole human race. Wherefore on God‘s part grace endures forever, not only towards angels and men, but even towards the devils in hell. Since this accords with reason, why do you say that the only access to God the Father is through faith in the merits of the Son, when yet there is perpetually an access to Him through grace?
[3] But why do you say, access to God the Father for the sake of the Son, instead of through the Son? Is not the Son the Mediator and Saviour? Why do you not go to the Mediator and Saviour Himself? Is He not both God and Man? On earth who goes directly to an emperor, king, or prince? Must there not be some one to procure admission and introduce him? Do you not know that the Lord came into the world that He might introduce men to the Father, and that only through Him is there any access to the Father; while this access is perpetual when you go directly to the Lord Himself, since He is in the Father and the Father in Him? Search now in Scripture, and you will see that this is in accordance with Scripture, while your way to the Father is contrary to Scripture as it is contrary to reason. I tell you, moreover, it is a presumption to climb up thus to God the Father, and not through Him who is in the bosom of the Father, and who alone is present with the Father. Have you not read (John 14:6)?“
Hearing this, the old man became so angry that he sprang from his seat and shouted to his copyists to put me out; and when I had gone out immediately of my own accord, he threw after me out of the door a book that he happened to lay hand upon, and that book was the Word.
Fourth Memorable Relation:-
A discussion arose among certain spirits, whether one can see any doctrinal truth of theology in the Word except from the Lord. They all agreed in this, that no one can except from God, because:--
Man can receive nothing except it be given from heaven (John 3:27).
The discussion, therefore, was whether anyone can do this unless he go directly to the Lord.
On one side it was declared that the Lord must be approached directly, because He is the Word; and on the other that true doctrine may also be seen when God the Father is approached directly. The discussion therefore first turned to this point: Is it permissible for any Christian to approach God the Father directly, thereby climbing over the Lord; and is not this insolence and audacity unbecoming as well as rash, since the Lord says that:--
No one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6)?
But they left this point, and said that man can see true doctrine from the Word by his own natural light. This was rejected. Then they insisted that it could be seen by those who pray to God the Father; and something from the Word was read to them, and upon their knees they prayed God the Father to enlighten them; and they said of what had been read to them from the Word that it contained such and such truth; but it was falsity. This was repeated until it became tiresome; and at last they confessed that it could not be done.
But those on the other side who approached the Lord directly saw the truths, and communicated them to the others.
[2] When this discussion had been thus ended, certain spirits ascended from the abyss who at first looked like locusts, and afterwards like dwarfs. They were such as in the world had prayed to God the Father, and had confirmed themselves in the doctrine of justification by faith alone. They were the same as those treated of in the (Apocalypse 9:1-11). They said that they saw in clear light, and also from the Word that a man is justified by faith alone without the works of the law.
They were asked, ”By what faith?“ They answered, ”By faith in God the Father.“ But when they had been examined they were told from heaven that they did not know a single doctrinal truth from the Word. They retorted that still they saw their own truths in light.
They were told that it was a fatuous light in which they saw them. They asked, ”What is a fatuous light?“ They were told that a fatuous light is the light of the confirmation of what is false, and that it corresponds to the light in which are owls and bats, to which darkness is light and light darkness. This was confirmed to them by the fact that when they looked up to heaven, the abode of light itself, they saw darkness; and when they looked down to the abyss from which they cane they saw light.
[3] Nettled by this confirmation they said that light and darkness then are nothing, being a mere state of the eye, according to which light is said to be light and darkness to be darkness. But it was shown that their light was a fatuous tight, which is the light of the confirmation of what is false, and that it was nothing but an activity of the mind, arising from the fire of their lusts, not unlike the light with cats, whose eyes at night in cellars, from their burning appetite for mice, look like candles.
Enraged at hearing this, they said they were not cats and were not like cats, for they could see if they wished to.
But fearing they might be asked why they did not wish to see, they withdrew, and let themselves down to their abyss. Those in that abyss and those like them are called by the angels owls and bats and also locusts.
[4] When they had reached their companions in the abyss, and had told them that the angels had said ”that we know no doctrinal truth whatever, not a single one; and they called us owls, bats, and locusts,“ a tumult arose there. And they said, ”Let us pray to God for permission to ascend, and we will show clearly that we have many doctrinal truths, which the archangels themselves will acknowledge.“ And because they prayed to God, permission was given them; and as many as three hundred of them ascended.
And when they appeared above the ground they said, ”In the world we were men of celebrity and renown, because we knew and taught the mysteries of justification by faith alone; and from confirmations we not only saw light, but saw it as a glittering radiance, and we see it so still in our cells; and yet we have heard from our companions who were still with you that that light is not light but darkness, for the reason, as you say, that we have no doctrinal truth from the Word. We know that every truth of the Word shines, and we have believed that our radiance, when we meditated profoundly upon our mysteries, came from that source. We will therefore demonstrate to you that we have truths from the Word in abundance.“ And they said, ”Have we not this truth, that there is a trinity, consisting of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and that men ought to believe in the trinity? Have we not this truth, that Christ is our Redeemer and Saviour? Have we not this truth, that Christ alone is righteousness, and to Him alone belongs merit, and that any man who wishes to attribute to himself any of Christ’s merit and righteousness is himself unrighteous and impious? Have we not this truth, that no mortal man is able of himself to do any spiritual good, but that from God is all good that is good in itself? Have we not this truth, that there are meritorious good and hypocritical good, and that such goods are evil? Have we not this truth, that good works ought nevertheless to be done? Have we not this truth, that there is such a thing as faith, and that men ought to believe in God, and that everyone has life according as he believes; besides many other truths from the Word? Which of you can deny a single one of these? And yet you declared that in our schools we have no truths at all, not even a single one. Have you not cast these charges against us ungraciously?“
[5] But they received this answer, ”All these things that you have advanced are in themselves true; but with you they are truths falsified, which are falsities, because they are derived from a false principle. That this is so we will make clear to your sight. Not far from here is a place upon which the light of heaven falls directly, and in the center of it there is a table. Whenever any paper upon which some truth from the Word has been written is placed upon this table, the paper, because of the truth written upon it, shines like a star. Therefore write your truths on a paper, and let the paper be placed on the table, and you will see.“
This they did, and gave the paper to a guard, who placed it on the table and said to them, ”Stand back and look at the table.“
They stood back and looked, and lo, the paper shone like a star.
Then the guards said, ”You see that the things you have written on the paper are truths; but come nearer and fix your gaze upon it.“
They did so, and suddenly the light vanished and the paper became black, as if covered with soot from a furnace.
The guard said further, ”Touch the paper with your hands, but be careful not to touch the writing.“
And when they did so a flame broke out and consumed the paper. When they had seen this they were told, ”If you had touched the writing you would have heard an explosion and you would have burned your fingers.“
Then those standing behind them said, ”You now see that the truths which you abused to confirm the mysteries of your justification are truths in themselves, but that in you they are truths falsified.“
Then they looked upward, and heaven appeared to them like blood, and presently like thick darkness; and in the eyes of the angelic spirits they appeared, some like bats, and some like owls, and some like horned owls; and they fled away into their own darkness, which to their eyes shone delusively.
[6] The angelic spirits who were present were astonished, for until then they had known nothing of that place or of the table there. And a voice then came to them from the southern quarter, saying, ”Come hither, and you will see something still more wonderful.“
And they went, and entered a chamber, the walls of which shone like gold, and there also they saw a table on which the Word lay, encircled with precious stones arranged in a heavenly form.
And the angel guard said, ”When the Word is opened a light of ineffable brightness shines forth from it; and at the came time there is from the precious stones the appearance of a rainbow above and roundabout the Word. When an angel from the third heaven comes hither there appears above and around the Word a rainbow on a red ground; when an angel from the second heaven comes and looks, a rainbow on an azure ground appears; when an angel from the lowest heaven comes and looks, a rainbow on a white ground appears; when any good spirit comes and looks a variegation of light like marble appears.“ That this was so was also showed to them visibly.
The angel guard said further, ”When anyone who has falsified the Word approaches, at first the splendor is dissipated, and then if he comes near and fixes his eyes on the Word, there arises an appearance of blood about it; and he is admonished to withdraw because there is danger.“
[7] But a certain person who in the world had been a leading writer on the doctrine of justification by faith alone, came up boldly and said, ”When I was in the world I did not falsify the Word. Together with faith I exalted charity and taught that a man in that state of faith in which he practises charity and its works is renewed, regenerated, and sanctified by the Holy Spirit; also that faith does not exist solitary, that is, separated from good works, as there can be no good tree without fruit, no sun without light, no fire without heat. I also rebuked those who said that good works are not necessary; and even obedience to the commandments of the Decalogue is not necessary; and I made repentance of great importance; and thus in wonderful manner applied everything in the Word to the subject of faith; and yet I made it clear and demonstrated that faith alone is saving.“
Confident in this assertion that he had not falsified the Word, this man approached the table, and in spite of the warning of the angel he touched the Word; and suddenly out of the Word there went forth fire and smoke, and there was an explosion and a crash which hurled him to a corner of the room, where he lay like one dead for nearly an hour.
The angelic spirits were astonished at this; but they were told that although this leader had exalted more than others the goods of charity as proceeding from faith, yet he had meant nothing more than political social works, which are also called moral and civil, and which were to be done for the sake of the world and worldly prosperity, but by no means for the sake of salvation; also that he had assumed some hidden works of the Holy Spirit, of which man knows nothing, but which are generated in the act of faith in a state of faith.
[8] The angelic spirits then talked together about the falsification of the Word; and they agreed that falsifying the Word is taking truths therefrom and applying them to confirm falsities; whereby truths from the Word are dragged apart from it and slain; as for example, when any such truths as those quoted above by the spirits from the abyss are applied to the faith of the present day and are explained by that faith, which is impregnated with falsities, as will be shown hereafter; or, again, when one takes from the Word the truth that charity ought to be exercised, and that good ought to be done to the neighbor, and then adds confirmations to show that this ought to be done, but not for the sake of salvation (since no good done by man is good, because meritorious), he drags that truth from the Word apart from the Word, and slays it. For the Lord in His Word enjoins it on every man who wishes to be saved that he must love the neighbor, and from love do good to him. So also with other truths.
True Christian Religion - Containing the Universal Theology of the New Heaven
and New Church #159-162
- E. Swedenborg 1688-1772
Return to Spiritual Frontier
HomePage
Generated by: timlig@pacbell.net - 12\26\96