www.biblemeanings.info/NewTruth within BibleMeanings.info

Jesus Lives! - The Lord God Jesus Christ: Creator, Sustainer and Redeemer of Heaven and Earth

Within

DP 100. Everyone can see from reason alone that the Lord, who is Good itself and Truth itself, cannot enter into man unless the evils and falsities in him are removed. For evil is the opposite of good, and falsity is the opposite of truth; and two opposites can in no wise mingle together, but when one approaches the other a combat takes place, which lasts till one gives way to the other; and the one that yields departs while the other takes its place. In such opposition are heaven and hell, or the Lord and the devil. Can anyone from reason think that the Lord can enter where the devil reigns, or that heaven can be where hell is? Who does not see, from the rationality granted to every sane man, that for the Lord to enter, the devil must be cast out, or that for heaven to enter, hell must be removed?

[2] This opposition is meant by Abraham’s words from heaven to the rich man in hell:

Evil itself is hell and good itself is heaven; or what is the same, evil itself is the devil and good itself is the Lord; and the man in whom evil reigns is a hell in the least form, and the man in whom good reigns is a heaven in the least form. Since this is the case, how can heaven enter hell when between them there is such a great gulf fixed that there can be no crossing from one to the other? Hence it follows that hell must be completely removed that it may be possible for the Lord to enter with heaven.

DP 101. Many, however, especially those who have confirmed themselves in a faith separated from charity, do not know that they are in hell when they are in evils. They do not even know what evils are, because they give no thought to them. They say that they are not under the yoke of the law, and so the law does not condemn them. They say, moreover, that because they cannot contribute anything to their salvation, they cannot remove any evil from themselves; and, further, that they cannot do any good from themselves. These are they who neglect to give any thought to evil, and because they neglect this they are in evil continually. Such are meant by the goats referred to by the Lord in (Matthew 25:32, 33, 41-46), as may be seen in THE DOCTRINE OF THE NEW JERUSALEM CONCERNING FAITH (Faith 61-68). Of them it is said in (Matthew 25:41), "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."

[2] For those who give no thought to the evils in themselves, that is, who do not examine themselves and afterwards refrain from evils, cannot but be ignorant of what evil is and then love it from its delight. For he who does not know evil loves it, and he who neglects to think about it is continually in it. He is like a blind man who does not see, for it is thought that sees good and evil as the eye sees what is beautiful and what is ugly. He is in evil who thinks and wills it, as well as he who believes that evil does not appear before God, and that if it does appear it is forgiven; for thus he thinks that he is without evil. If such persons abstain from doing evils they do not abstain because these are sins against God, but because they are afraid of the laws and of their reputation. Nevertheless, they do evils in their spirit, for it Is man’s spirit that thinks and wills; and therefore what a man thinks in his spirit in the world, he does when he becomes a spirit after his departure from the world.

[3] In the spiritual world, into which every man comes after death, the question that is asked is not, What was your faith, or what was your doctrine? but, What was the nature of your life? Was it of this or that quality? Thus the inquiry is concerning the nature and quality of the life; for it is known that such as one’s life is, such is his faith and also his doctrine, because the life fashions doctrine and faith for itself.

DP 102. From what has just been said it may be evident that it is a law of the Divine Providence that evils should be removed by man, for unless they are removed the Lord cannot be conjoined to man, and cannot from Himself lead man into heaven. But as it has not been known that man ought as of himself to remove the evils in the external man, and that unless man does so as of himself the Lord cannot remove the evils that are in his internal man, therefore these propositions will be presented to reason in its own light in the following order:

I. -Every man has an external and an internal of thought.

II. -The external of man’s thought is in itself of the same nature as its internal.

III. -The internal cannot be purified from the lusts of evil as long as the evils in the external man are not removed, because they form an obstruction.

IV. -Evils in the external man cannot be removed by the Lord except through man’s instrumentality.

V. -Therefore man ought as of himself to remove evils from the external man.

VI. -The Lord then purifies man from the lusts of evil in the internal man, and from the evils themselves in the external.

VII. -It is the continual endeavour of the Divine Providence of the Lord to unite man to Himself and Himself to man in order that He may be able to bestow upon man the felicities of eternal life; and this can be done only so far as evils with their lusts are removed.

DP 103. I. EVERY MAN HAS AN EXTERNAL AND AN INTERNAL OF THOUGHT. By the external and the internal of thought are here meant the same as by the external and the internal man, and by these are meant the external and the internal of the will and of the understanding, for the will and the understanding constitute man; and as these both manifest themselves in the thoughts the terms the external and the internal of thought are used. Now, since it is not the body but the spirit of man that wills and understands and consequently thinks, it follows that this external and internal are the external and the internal of man’s spirit. The action of the body, whether in word or in deed, is only an effect from the internal and the external of man’s spirit; for the body is only an obedient instrument.

DP 104. Every man who has reached maturity has an external and an internal of thought, and therefore an external (and an internal) of the will and the understanding, or an external and an internal of the spirit, which is the same as the external and the internal man. This is clear to anyone who observes carefully the thoughts and intentions of another as exhibited in his speech and actions, and who observes also his own thoughts and intentions when he is in company and when he is alone. For anyone can talk with another in a friendly way from external thought, and yet be at enmity with him in internal thought. Anyone can talk about love towards the neighbour and love to God from external thought and at the same time from its affection, when nevertheless in his internal thought he cares nothing for the neighbour, and does not fear God. Anyone can talk about the justice of civil laws, about the virtues of moral life, and about matters of doctrine and the spiritual life from external thought and at the same time from external affection, and yet when alone by himself he may, from internal thought and its affection, speak against the civil laws, against moral virtues, and against matters of doctrine and the spiritual life. Those do so who are in the lusts of evil and who yet wish it to appear before the world that they are not in them.

[2] Moreover, many question within themselves, when they listen to others speaking, whether these interiorly within themselves are thinking the thoughts which they are expressing in speech, and whether they are to be believed or not, and also what their intentions are. It is well known that flatterers and hypocrites have a double thought; for they can restrain themselves and take care not to disclose their interior thought; and some can conceal it more and more interiorly and, as it were, block up the doors lest it should appear. That both exterior and interior thought are given to man is clearly evident from this fact, that from his interior thought he can view his exterior thought, reflect upon it and pass judgment on it, deciding whether it is evil or not evil. The mind of man owes this characteristic feature to the faculties which he has from the Lord, called liberty and rationality. Unless man had from these an external and an internal of thought he would not be able to perceive and view any evil in himself and be reformed; in fact, he would not be able to speak, but only to utter sounds like a beast.

DP 105. The internal of thought is from the life’s love and its affections and consequent perceptions; while the external of thought is from the contents of the memory which minister to the life’s love as confirmations and as means to further its end. From infancy to the age of youth man is in the external of thought from an affection for knowing, which then constitutes its internal. There also emerges from his life’s love, which is innate from his parents, something of its lust and consequent inclination. Later, however, his way of life determines his life’s love, and its affections and consequent perceptions constitute the internal of his thought. From his life’s love there is formed the love of means; and their delights with the knowledges thereby called forth from the memory constitute the external of his thought.

DP 106. II. THE EXTERNAL OF MAN’S THOUGHT IS IN ITSELF OF THE SAME NATURE AS ITS INTERNAL. It has been shown above that man from head to foot is of the same character as his life’s love. Here, therefore, something will be said about the life’s love of man; for until this has been done nothing can be said concerning the affections which together with their perceptions constitute the internal of man, and concerning the delights of the affections which together with their thoughts constitute his external. Loves are manifold; but two of them, heavenly love and infernal love, are like lords and kings. Heavenly love is love to the Lord and towards the neighbour, and infernal love is love of self and of the world. These two kinds of love are opposite to each other, as are heaven and hell, for he who is in the love of self and of the world has goodwill to none but himself, while he who is in love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour has goodwill to all men. These two loves are the life’s loves of man, but there is much variety in them. Heavenly love is the life’s love of those who are led by the Lord, and infernal love is the life’s love of those who are led by the devil.

[2] Now the life’s love of anyone Cannot exist without derivations, which are called affections. The derivations of infernal love are affections of evil and falsity, properly called lusts, and the derivations of heavenly love are affections of good and truth, properly called ardent desires. The affections of infernal love, properly called lusts, are as many as there are forms of evil; and the affections of heavenly love, properly called ardent desires, are as many as there are forms of good. Love dwells in its affections as a lord in his domain or as a king in his kingdom. The domain and sovereignty of these loves is over the things of the mind, that is, over the things of man’s will and understanding, and consequently over the things of the body. The life’s love of man, by means of its affections and their consequent perceptions, and by means of its delights and their consequent thoughts, rules the entire man--the internal of his mind by means of affections and their consequent perceptions, and the external of his mind by means of the delights of the affections and their consequent thoughts.

DP 107. The form of this rule may in some measure be seen by comparisons. Heavenly love and its affections of good and truth and their consequent perceptions, together with the delights of these affections and their consequent thoughts, may be compared to a tree distinguished for its branches, leaves and fruits. The life’s love is the tree, the branches with their leaves are the affections of good and truth with their perceptions, and the fruits are the delights of the affections with their thoughts. On the other hand, infernal love with its affections of evil and falsity which are lusts, together with the delights of these lusts and their consequent thoughts may be compared to a spider and its surrounding web. The love is the spider, the lusts of evil and falsity with their inner subtleties are the net-like threads nearest the den of the spider; and the delights of these lusts with their crafty devices are the remoter threads, where flies are caught on the wing, entangled and eaten.

DP 108. From these comparisons indeed may be evident the conjunction of all things of the will and of the understanding, or of the mind of man, with his life’s love, and yet not rationally evident. The conjunction may become rationally evident in this way. There are everywhere three things which together make one; these are called end, cause and effect. In man the life’s love is the end, the affections with their perceptions are the cause, and the delights of the affections with their thoughts are the effect. For just as the end through the cause enters into the effect, so love through its affections enters into its delights, and through its perceptions into its thoughts. The effects themselves are in the mind’s enjoyments and their thoughts when the delights are of the will and the thoughts are of the understanding therefrom, thus when there is complete agreement in the mind. The effects then belong to the spirit, and even if they do not enter into bodily act still they are as if in the act when there is agreement. Moreover, they are then at the same time in the body and dwell there with the life’s love of the man, kindling the desire for action which takes place when nothing hinders it. Such is the nature of the lusts of evil and such are the evils themselves in those who in spirit regard evils as allowable.

[2] Now as the end unites itself with the cause, and through the cause with the effect, so does the life’s love unite itself with the internal of thought, and through this with its external. Hence it is clear that the external of man’s thought is in itself of the same character as its internal; for the end imparts itself wholly to the cause, and through the cause to the effect. For there is nothing essential in the effect but what is in the cause, and through the cause in the end; and as the end is thus the essential principle itself which enters into the cause and the effect, therefore the cause and the effect are called respectively the mediate end and the ultimate end.

DP 109. It sometimes appears as if the external of man’s thought in itself were not of the same character as the internal. This happens, however, because the life’s love with its surrounding internals places beneath itself a deputy, called the love of means, and enjoins upon it to take heed and guard lest anything from its lusts should show itself. This deputy, therefore, from the cunning of its chief, the life’s love, talks and acts in accordance with the civil institutions of the state, the moral principles of reason and the spiritual things of the Church. In the case of some persons this is done with such craft and skill that no one sees that they are not such as their speech and actions seem to indicate, and at length from the habit of concealment, they scarcely know otherwise themselves. All hypocrites are such; and such are priests who in their heart care nothing for the neighbour and do not fear God, and yet preach about the love of the neighbour and the love of God. Such are judges whose judgments are influenced by bribery and personal friendship while they profess a zeal for justice and from reason talk of judgment. Such also are merchants who are insincere and fraudulent at heart, while they trade sincerely for the sake of gain; and such are adulterers when from the rationality which every man has they talk about the chastity of marriage; and so on.

[2] But if these same persons strip the love of means, the deputy of their life’s love, of the garments of purple and fine linen with which they have invested it and clothe it in its own domestic garb, they then think, and sometimes with their dearest friends whose life’s love is similar, they speak from their thought in a directly contrary manner. It may be supposed, when from their love of means they spoke so justly, sincerely and piously, that the character of the internal of their thought was not in the external of their thought; and yet it was. There is hypocrisy in them; there is the love of self and the world in them, with its cunning to secure even in outward appearance reputation for the sake of honour and gain. This character of the internal is in the external of their thought when they so speak and act.

DP 110. With those, however, who are in heavenly love the internal and the external of thought, or the internal and the external man, act as one when they speak, nor do they know any difference between them. Their life’s love with its affections of good and their perceptions of truth is like a soul in whatever they think, and consequently say and do. If they are priests they preach from love towards the neighbour and love to the Lord; if judges they judge from justice itself; if merchants they trade from sincerity itself; if married they love their wives from chastity itself; and so on. The life’s love of such also has the love of means as its deputy, which it teaches and leads to act from prudence, and which it clothes with the garments of zeal for the truths of doctrine and also for the goods of life.

DP 111. III. THE INTERNAL CANNOT BE PURIFIED FROM THE LUSTS OF EVIL AS LONG AS THE EVILS IN THE EXTERNAL MAN ARE NOT REMOVED, BECAUSE THEY FORM AN OBSTRUCTION. This follows from what has been said above, that the external of man’s thought in itself is of the same character as the internal of his thought; and that they cohere like two things, one not only being within the other but also existing from the other, so that it is not possible to remove one without at the same time removing the other. So it is with everything external which exists from an internal, and with everything posterior which exists from a prior, and with every effect which exists from a cause. Now because lusts together with their subtleties constitute the internal of thought with the wicked, and the delights of lusts together with their devices constitute their external of thought, and because lusts and their delights are joined together as one, it follows that the internal cannot be purified from lusts as long as evils in the external man have not been removed.

[2] It should be understood that it is man’s internal will that is in lusts and his internal understanding that is in subtleties, and that it is his external will that is in the delights of lusts and his external understanding that is in devices from the subtleties. Everyone may see that lusts and their delights make one, and also that subtleties and devices make one; and that these four are in one series and together form as it were one group. From this again it is clear that the internal which consists of lusts can be cast out only by the removal of the external which consists of evils. Lusts through their own delights produce evils; but when evils are believed to be allowable, which comes from consent of the will and the understanding, then the delights and the evils make one. It is well known that consent is deed; and this is what the Lord says:

It is the same with all other evils.

DP 112. From these things it may now be evident that for man to be purified from the lusts of evil, evils must be completely removed from the external man; for until this is done the lusts have no outlet; and if there is no outlet the lusts remain within and breathe out delights from themselves, and so urge man on to the consent and thus to the deed itself. Lusts enter the body through the external of thought; and therefore when there is consent in the external of thought, the lusts are at once in the body, the delight which is felt being there. That the nature of the mind determines that of the body and thus of the whole man may be seen in the treatise THE DIVINE LOVE AND WISDOM (DLW 362-370). This may be illustrated by comparisons and also by examples.

[2] By comparisons. Lusts with their delights may be compared to fire: the more fire is fed the more fiercely it burns, and the freer the course given to it the wider it spreads until, if in a city, it consumes the houses and, if in a wood, the trees. Lusts of evil are compared in the Word to fire, and their evils to the conflagration. The lusts of evil with their delights also appear in the spiritual world as fires, infernal fire being nothing else. They may also be compared to floods and inundations of water when dykes or dams give way. Moreover, lusts may be compared to gangrenous sores and ulcers which, if they run their course, or are not cured, bring death to the body.

[3] By examples. It is clearly evident that if evils in the external man are not removed lusts with their delights grow and multiply. The more a thief steals the more he lusts to steal till at length he cannot refrain. The same is true of a fraudulent person, in proportion as he defrauds. It is the same with hatred and revenge, with luxury and intemperance, with adultery and blasphemy. It is well known that the love of ruling grounded in the love of self increases in proportion as restraints are relaxed, and in like manner the love of possessing wealth grounded in the love of the world; it would appear as if these evils had no limit or end. From these considerations it is clear that so far as evils in the external man are not removed their lusts multiply, and also that lusts increase in the degree that restraints on evils are relaxed.

DP 113. A man is not able to perceive the lusts of his own evil. He does indeed perceive their delights, but he reflects little upon them; for delights captivate the thoughts and banish reflection. Therefore unless he knew from some other source that they are evil he would call them good, and from freedom according to the reason of his thought he would commit them; and when he does this he appropriates them to himself. So far as he confirms them as allowable he enlarges the court of his ruling love, which is his life’s love. Lusts form his court, for they are like its ministries and retinues through which it governs the exteriors that constitute its kingdom. Moreover, the character of the king determines that of the ministers and of the retinue, and also of the kingdom. If the king is a devil his ministers and his retinue are forms of insanity and the people of his kingdom are falsities of every kind. His ministers, who are called wise although they are insane (spiritually), by means of reasonings from fallacies and illusions cause these falsities to appear as truths, and to be acknowledged as truths. Such a state in man cannot be changed except by the removal of evils in the external man; and thereby the lusts that cling to the evils are removed. Otherwise no outlet for the lusts lies open; for they are shut in like a besieged city and like a closed ulcer.

DP 114. IV. EVILS IN THE EXTERNAL, MAN CANNOT BE REMOVED BY THE LORD EXCEPT THROUGH MAN’S INSTRUMENTALITY. In all Christian Churches this tenet of doctrine has been accepted, that before a man approaches the Holy Communion he shall examine himself, see and acknowledge his sins, and do the work of repentance by desisting from them and rejecting them because they are from the devil; and that otherwise his sins are not forgiven, and he is condemned. Although the members of the English Church hold the doctrine of faith alone, yet in the exhortation to the Holy Communion they openly teach self examination, the acknowledgment and confession of sins, repentance and newness of life, threatening those who do not comply in words which declare that "otherwise the devil will enter into them as he did into Judas, and fill them with all iniquity and destroy both body and soul". The Germans, the Swedes and the Danes, who also hold the doctrine of faith alone, teach the same in the exhortation to the Holy Communion, also threatening that otherwise they will render themselves subject to eternal condemnation for mingling the holy and the profane. This is read out by the priest in a loud voice before those who are about to observe the Holy Supper, and is listened to by them with full acknowledgment that it is so.

[2] Nevertheless, when these same persons the same day listen to preaching concerning faith alone to the effect that the Law does not condemn them because the Lord has fulfilled it for them, and that of themselves they cannot do any good except what is merit-seeking and thus that works have nothing of salvation in them, but faith only, they return home entirely forgetful of their former confession and rejecting it in proportion as they think from the preaching concerning faith alone. Now which doctrine is true, the first or the second?-for two things contrary to each other cannot both be true, the first stating that without self-examination, recognition, acknowledgment, confession and rejection of sins, thus without repentance, there is no forgiveness of them, thus no salvation, but eternal condemnation; the second stating that such things contribute nothing to salvation because the Lord made full satisfaction for all the sins of men by the passion of the cross, for those who have faith, and that those who have faith only, being fully confident that this is true, and trusting in the imputation of the Lord’s merit, are without sins, and appear before God like those with faces washed and shining brightly.

[3] It is clear from this that it is the common religious belief of all the Churches in the Christian world that man should examine himself, should see and acknowledge his sins and then desist from them; and that otherwise there is no salvation but condemnation. Moreover, that this is the Divine Truth (Veritas) itself is evident from passages in the Word where man is commanded to repent, as the following:

Consider this with some degree of understanding; and if you have any religious principles you will see that repentance from sins is the way to heaven, that faith separate from repentance is not faith, and that those who are not in faith because they are not repentant are on the way to hell.

DP 115. Those who are in faith separate from charity and who have confirmed themselves in it from the saying of Paul to the Romans, That a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the Law. (Rom. 3:28), revere this saying as those who adore the sun; and they become like those who steadily fix their eyes on the sun whereby the keenness of their sight is destroyed and they see nothing in full daylight. For they do not see that in that passage by "the deeds of the Law" are not meant the commandments of the Decalogue but the rituals described by Moses in his hooks, which are everywhere in them called the Law. Lest, therefore, it should be understood that the commandments of the Decalogue are meant, he explains it by saying,

Those who, from this saying, have confirmed themselves in faith separate (from charity), by gazing at this passage as at the sun fail to see where Paul enumerates the laws of faith as being the very works of charity; and what is faith without its laws? Nor do they see where he enumerates evil works while he declares that those who do them cannot enter into heaven. From this it is evident what blindness has been induced by a wrong understanding of this single passage.

DP 116. Evils in the external man cannot be removed except through man’s instrumentality, because it is of the Divine Providence of the Lord that whatever a man hears, sees, thinks, wills, says and does should appear to be entirely as his own. It was shown above (n. 71-95, and following numbers), that without this appearance there would be with man no reception of Divine Truth, no determination towards doing good, no appropriation of love and wisdom and of charity and faith, and no conjunction thereby with the Lord, and consequently no reformation and regeneration and thus no salvation. It is clear that without this appearance there can he neither repentance from sins nor even faith. It is also clear that without this appearance a man is not a man, but a being devoid of rational life like a beast. Let anyone who will, consult his reason as to whether it does not appear that a man thinks from himself about good and truth, spiritual as well as moral and civil. Let him then accept this tenet of doctrine that everything that is good and true is from the Lord and nothing from man. He will then acknowledge this as a consequence, that a man ought to do good and think truth as of himself, but yet should acknowledge that he does these things from the Lord, and that a man should remove evils as of himself but yet should acknowledge that he does so from the Lord.

DP 117. Many are not aware that they are in evils, because they do not commit them outwardly; for they fear the civil laws and also the loss of reputation; and so from custom and the disposition thus acquired they learn to shun evils as detrimental to their honour and interest. But if men do not shun evils from a religious principle, because they are sins and against God, the lusts of evil with their delights still remain like polluted waters dammed up or stagnant. Let them examine their thoughts and intentions and they will find these lusts, provided they know what sin is.

[2] This is the state of many who have confirmed themselves in faith separate from charity who, believing that the Law does not condemn them, pay no regard to sins; and some doubt whether there are any sins, and if there are, they think they are not sins in the sight of God, because they have been remitted. Such also are natural moralists, who believe that civil and moral life, together with the prudence belonging to it, accomplishes all things and that nothing is effected by the Divine Providence. Such also are those who with great zeal strive after a reputation for honesty and sincerity for the sake of honour and gain. Those, however, who are of this character and who have also despised religion become after death lustful spirits, appearing to themselves as real men, but to others some distance off as lewd deities; and like birds of night they see in the dark and not in the light.

DP 118. V. THEREFORE MAN OUGHT AS OF HIMSELF TO REMOVE EVILS FROM THE EXTERNAL MAN. The proof of this article follows from what has just been said and from explanations which may be seen in three articles in THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE FOR THE NEW JERUSALEM; in the first, where it is explained that no one can shun evils as sins so as to have an interior aversion to them, except by combats against them (Life 92-100); in the second, that man ought to shun evils as sins and fight against them as of himself (Life 101-107); and in the third, that if anyone shuns evils for any reason whatever except that they are sins, he does not shun them but only prevents them from appearing before the world (Life 108-113).

DP 119. VI. THE LORD THEN PURIFIES MAN FROM THE LUSTS (OF EVIL) IN THE INTERNAL MAN, AND FROM THE EVILS THEMSELVES IN THE EXTERNAL. The Lord then purifies man from the lusts of evil when the man as of himself removes the evils, because the Lord cannot purify him before this is done. For the evils are in the external man and the lusts of evil are in the internal man, and these are united like the roots and trunk of a tree. Therefore, unless the evils are removed no outlet for the lusts is opened up, for the evils form an obstruction and close the door, which cannot be opened by the Lord except through man’s instrumentality, as was shown above. When, therefore, man as of himself opens the door, then the Lord roots out the lusts and the evils together.

[2] Another reason is that the Lord acts upon man’s inmost, and from the inmost upon all that follows even to the ultimates, while man is at the same time in the ultimates. As long, therefore, as the ultimates are kept closed by the man himself there can be no purification. There can only be such operation by the Lord in man’s interiors as He performs in hell; and the man who is in lusts and at the same time in evils is a form of hell. This operation is solely to dispose things so that there should be no destruction of one thing by another, and to prevent good and truth from being violated. The Lord continually urges and presses upon man to open the door for himself as is clear from His words in Revelation:

DP 120. Man knows nothing whatever about the interior state of his mind, that is, of his internal man; and yet there are infinite things there, not one of which comes to his knowledge. For the internal of man’s thought, or his internal man, is his spirit itself, and in it there are things as infinite or innumerable as there are in his body, and indeed more innumerable; for man’s spirit is in its form a man, and all things belonging to it correspond to all things of man in his body. Now just as man has no knowledge from any sensation how his mind or soul operates upon all things of his body jointly and singly, so neither does he know how the Lord operates upon all things of his mind or soul, that is, upon all things of his spirit. This operation is continual, and man has no part in it; but still the Lord cannot purify man from any lust of evil in his spirit or internal man so long as man keeps his external closed. Man keeps his external closed by means of evils, each of which seems to him as but one single evil, although there are infinite things in each; and when man removes one such evil the Lord removes the infinity of things in it. This is what is meant by the Lord then purifying man from the lusts of evil in the internal man, and from the evils themselves in the external.

DP 121. Many believe that man is purified from evils by merely believing what the Church teaches; some, that man is purified by doing good; others, that it is by knowing, speaking and teaching such things as pertain to the Church; others, by reading the Word and books of piety; others, by attending churches, listening to sermons, and especially by approaching the Holy Supper; others, by renouncing the world and devoting oneself to piety; and others, by confessing oneself guilty of sins of all kinds; and so on. Nevertheless, man is in no wise purified by all these works unless he examines himself, recognises his sins, acknowledges them, condemns himself for them and does the work of repentance by desisting from them; and unless he does all these things as of himself but still in acknowledgment from the heart that he does them from the Lord.

[2] Until he does these things, the actions just mentioned avail nothing, for they are merit-seeking or hypocritical; and those who do them appear in heaven in the sight of angels like beautiful courtesans giving forth the offensive odour of their defilement; or like ill-favoured women made to appear handsome by the application of paint; or like clowns and actors wearing masks on the stage; or like apes in human clothing. When, however, men have removed their evils then the actions mentioned above are acts of their love, and they appear as beautiful men in heaven in the sight of angels and as their associates and companions.

DP 122. But it should be fully understood that a man in doing the work of repentance ought to look to the Lord alone. If he looks to God the Father only, he cannot be purified; nor if he looks to the Father for the sake of the Son; nor if he looks to the Son as only a man. For there is one God, and the Lord is He, His Divine and His Human being one Person, as was shown in THE DOCTRINE OF THE NEw JERUSALEM CONCERNING THE LORD. In order that everyone in the work of repentance might look to the Lord alone He instituted the Holy Supper, which confirms the remission of sins with those who repent. It does so because in that Supper or Communion the attention of everyone is directed to the Lord alone.

DP 123. VII. IT IS THE CONTINUAL ENDEAVOUR OF THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE OF THE LORD TO UNITE MAN TO HIMSELF AND HIMSELF TO MAN IN ORDER THAT HE MAY BE ABLE TO BESTOW UPON MAN THE FELICITIES OF ETERNAL LIFER AND THIS CAN BE DONE ONLY SO FAR AS EVILS WITH THEIR LUSTS ARE REMOVED. It has been shown above (n. 27-45), that it is the continual endeavour of the Divine Providence of the Lord to unite man to Himself and Himself to man, and that this union is what is called reformation and regeneration, and that man has salvation from it. Who does not see that conjunction with God is life eternal and salvation? Everyone sees it who believes that men are from creation images and likenesses of God (Gen. 1:26, 27), and who knows what an image and likeness of God is.

[2] Can anyone of sound reason, when he thinks from his own rationality, and is willing to think from his own liberty, believe that there are three Gods, equal in essence, and that the Divine Being (Esse) or Divine Essence can be divided? That there is a Trine in the one God can be thought and comprehended, just as one can comprehend that there is a soul, a body and an out-going life from these in an angel and in a man; and as this Trine in One is in the Lord alone, it follows that conjunction must be with Him. If you make use of your rationality and at the same time of your liberty of thought you will see this truth in its own light; but you must first grant that there is a God and a heaven and that there is eternal life.

[3] Now since God is One, and man from creation was made an image and likeness of Him, and since through infernal love and its lusts and their delights he has come into the love of all evils; and has thereby destroyed in himself the image and likeness of God, it follows that it is the continual endeavour of the Divine Providence of the Lord to unite man to Himself and Himself to man, and thus make man to be His image. It also follows that this is to the end that the Lord may be able to bestow upon man the felicities of eternal life, for such is the nature of Divine Love. However, the Lord cannot bestow these upon man, nor make him an image of Himself unless man as of himself removes sins in the external man; because the Lord is not only Divine Love but also Divine Wisdom, and Divine Love does nothing but from its own Divine Wisdom and according to it. Moreover, it is according to His Divine Wisdom that man cannot be united to the Lord and thus reformed, regenerated and saved unless he is permitted to act from freedom according to reason, for by this man is man; and whatever is according to the Divine Wisdom of the Lord pertains also to His Divine Providence.

DP 124. To what has been said I will add two interior truths (arcana) of angelic wisdom from which the nature of the Divine Providence may be seen. The first is, that the Lord in no wise acts upon any particular thing in man separately, but upon all things at the same time; and the second is, that the Lord acts from inmost things and from ultimates at the same time.

1. The Lord in no wise acts upon any particular thing in man separately but upon all things at the same time. The reason is that all things of man are linked together in such a connected series and through this connection in such a form that they act not as many but as one. It is well known that man in respect to his body is in such a connected series and through this connection is in such a form. Moreover, the human mind is also in a similar form from the connection of all things in it, for the human mind is the spiritual man and is actually the man. Consequently the spirit of man, which is his mind in his body, is in its entire form a man. Therefore a man after death is as much a man as when in the world, with this difference only, that he has cast off the outer covering which formed his body in the world.

[2] Now since the human form is such that all its parts form a general whole which acts as one, it follows that one part cannot be moved out of its place and changed in state except with the concurrence of the rest. For if one part were to be moved out of its place and changed in state the form which must act as one would suffer. From this it is clear that the Lord in no wise acts upon any particular thing but upon all things at the same time. In this way the Lord acts upon the universal angelic heaven because it is in His sight as one man; in this way the Lord acts upon each angel because each angel is a heaven in the least form; and in this way He acts upon every man first, as being nearest to Him, upon all things of his mind, and through these upon all things of his body. For the mind of man is his spirit and is an angel according to his degree of conjunction with the Lord, and his body is its obedient instrument.

[3] It should, however, be clearly observed that the Lord also acts upon every particular thing in man separately, and most meticulously, but at the same time through all things of his form, yet without changing the state of any part, or of anything in particular, unless in accord with the form as a whole. But more will be said concerning this in following numbers, where it will be shown that the Divine Providence of the Lord is universal because it is in particulars, and that it is particular because it is universal.

[4] 2. The Lord acts from inmost things and from ultimates at the same time. The reason is that in this way and in no other all things in general and in particular are held together in a connected series, intermediates depending successively from inmost things to ultimates, and all are in ultimates at the same time; for in the treatise THE DIVINE LOVE AND WISDOM, Part Three, it was shown that in the ultimate there is the simultaneous presence (simultaneum) of all the series from the first. For this reason also the Lord from eternity or Jehovah came into the world and there put on and assumed the Human in ultimates, in order that He might be from first things and in ultimates at the same time; and so that from first things by means of ultimates He might rule the whole world and thus save men, whom He is able to save according to the laws of His Divine Providence which are also the laws of His Divine Wisdom. Thus also is it true, as is acknowledged in the Christian world, that no mortal could have been saved unless the Lord had come into the world. On this subject see THE DOCTRINE OF THE NEW JERUSALEM CONCERNING FAITH (Faith 35). Hence it is that the Lord is called the First and the Last.

DP 125. These angelic truths are stated here in order that it may be understood how the Divine Providence of the Lord operates to unite man to Himself and Himself to man. This operation does not act upon any particular of man separately but upon all things at the same time, and is effected from the inmost of man and from his ultimates at the same time. The inmost of man is his life’s love, his ultimates are what reside in the external of his thought, and intermediates are what reside in the internal of his thought. It has been shown in the foregoing numbers what the nature of these is in a wicked man; and from these considerations it is again made clear that the Lord cannot act from inmost things and ultimates at the same time except together with man, for in ultimates man and the Lord are together. Therefore as man acts in ultimates which are matters of his choice, because they are within the scope of his freedom, so the Lord acts from his inmost things and in the things ranging in series to his ultimates. What the inmost things of man contain and what is present in the series from the inmost things to the ultimates are totally unknown to man; and man is therefore quite unaware of how the Lord operates and what He accomplishes there; but as those things are linked together as one with the ultimates, man need not know more than that he should shun evils as sins and look to the Lord. In this and in no other way can his life’s love, which by birth is infernal, be removed by the Lord and a heavenly life’s love be implanted in its place.

DP 126. When the Lord has implanted a heavenly life’s love in place of the infernal one then there are implanted affections of good and truth in place of the lusts of evil and falsity; and in place of the delights of the lusts of evil and falsity there are implanted the delights of the affections of good; and in place of the evils of infernal love there are implanted the goods of heavenly love. Then also instead of cunning there is implanted prudence, and instead of thoughts of malice there are implanted thoughts of wisdom. Thus man is born again and becomes a new man. The kinds of good that take the place of evils may be seen in THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE FOR THE NEW JERUSALEM (Life 67-73, 74-79, 80-86, 87-91); also, that so far as a man shuns and turns away from evils as sins he loves the truths of wisdom (Life 32-41); and so far he has faith and is spiritual (Life 42-52).

DP 127. It has been shown above from the exhortations read in all Christian Churches before the Holy Communion that the common religion in the whole Christian world teaches that man should examine himself, see his sins, acknowledge them, confess them before God and desist from them; and that this is repentance, remission of sins and consequently salvation. The same may also appear from the creed which takes its name from Athanasius, and this also has been accepted in the whole Christian world; and at the end of it are these words: The Lord will come to judge the quick and the dead; at whose coming those that have done good shall enter into life eternal, and those that have done evil into eternal fire.

DP 128. Everyone knows from the Word that the life allotted to each after death is according to his deeds. If you open the Word and read it you will see this clearly; but while doing so take the thoughts away from faith and justification by faith alone. The few passages that follow testify that the Lord teaches this everywhere in His Word:

[2]

[3]

[4] The Lord said to John:

These are passages in the New Testament.

[5] There are still more in the Old Testament, from which I quote only this:

Divine Providence

previous · next

Author:  E. Swedenborg (1688-1772).

www.biblemeanings.info