Of
the One God, Of Conjunction with Him, and Of
Salvation thence
Selections from Apocalypse Revealed ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
[Two
Memorable Relations]
The first is this. Once on
waking from sleep, I fell into a profound meditation concerning God; and
when I looked up, I saw above me in heaven a very bright light in an oval
form; and when I fixed my attention on that light, it receded to the
sides, and entered into the circumference. And then behold, heaven
was opened to me, and I saw some magnificent things, and angels standing
in the form of a circle on the southern side of the opening, speaking
with one another. And because I was enkindled with the desire of
hearing what they were saying, it was therefore given me first to hear
the sound, which was full of heavenly love, and afterwards their speech,
which was full of wisdom from that love. They were talking with one
another of the One God, of Conjunction with Him, and of Salvation thence.
They spoke ineffable things, the most of which cannot be expressed by any
natural language. But as I had many times been in consociation with
angels in heaven itself, and then in similar speech with them, because in
a similar state, I could therefore now understand them, and gather some
things from their discourse, which can be expressed rationally in the
words of natural language.
They said that the Divine Esse is One, the Same, the Itself, and
Indivisible; thus also the Divine Essence, because the Divine Esse is the
Divine Essence; and thus also God, because the Divine Essence, which is
also the Divine Esse, is God. They illustrated this by spiritual
ideas, saying that the Divine Esse cannot fall into many, everyone of
which has the Divine Esse, and yet be One, the Same, Itself, and
Indivisible; for each would think from his Esse from himself and by
himself; if he should at the same time also think from the others and by
the others unanimously, there would be many unanimous gods, and not one
God. For unanimity, as it is the consent of many, and at the same
time of each one from himself, and by himself, does not agree with the
unity of God, but with a plurality, they did not say of gods, because
they could not; for the light of heaven, from which was their thought,
and in which their discourse proceeded, resisted.
They also said, that when they want to speak of "Gods," and each one of
them as a Person by Himself, the effort of utterance spontaneously falls
into "One," indeed, into "the Only God." To this they added that the Divine Esse is the Divine Esse in Itself,
not from Itself; because from Itself supposes an Esse in Itself, from
which it is, and thus supposes a God from God, which is not given.
That which is from God is not called God, but is called the Divine; for
what is a God from God; and thus what is a God from God born from
eternity; and what is a God from God proceeding through a God born from
eternity, but words in which there is not the least light from heaven?
It is otherwise in the Lord Jesus Christ;-
... in Him is the Divine Esse
Itself from which all things are, to which the soul in man corresponds,
... the Divine Human, to which the body in
man corresponds,
... and the Divine proceeding, to which
activity in man corresponds.
This Trine is a
one, because from the Divine from which all things are is the Divine
Human, and thence from the Divine from which all things are, through the
Divine Human is the Divine proceeding. Therefore also, in every
angel and in every man, because they are images, there is a soul, a body,
and activity, which make one; since from the soul is the body, and from
the soul through the body is the activity.
They said further, that the Divine Esse, which in Itself is God, is
the Same; not the Same simply, but Infinite; that is, the same from
eternity to eternity; it is the Same everywhere, and the Same with
everyone and in everyone; but that all the variety and variableness is in
the recipient; the state of the recipient does this.
That the Divine Esse, which is God in Himself, is the
Itself, they
illustrated thus. God is the Itself, because He is Love Itself,
Wisdom Itself, Good Itself, Truth Itself, Life Itself; which unless they
were the Itself in God, would not be anything in heaven and in the world;
because there would not be anything of them having relation to the
Itself. Every quality derives its quality from this, that there is
an Itself from which it is, and to which it has relation, that it may be
such. This Itself, which is the Divine Esse, is not in place, but
is with those and in those who are in place, according to reception;
since of love and wisdom, and of good and truth, which are the itself in
God, yea, are God Himself, place cannot be predicated, or progression
from place to place, but without place, whence is omnipresence.
Wherefore the Lord says, that "He is in the midst of them"; also "He in
them, and they in Him."
But because He cannot be received by anyone as He is in Himself, He
appears as He is in Himself as the sun above the angelic heavens, the
proceeding from which as light is Himself as to wisdom, and as heat is
Himself as to love. He Himself is not the sun; but the Divine love
and Divine wisdom going forth from Himself proximately, round about
Himself, appear before the angels as the sun. He Himself in the sun
is a Man, He is our Lord Jesus Christ both as to the Divine from which,
and as to the Divine Human; since the Itself, which is Love Itself and
Wisdom Itself, was His soul from the Father, and thus the Divine Life,
which is Life in itself. It is otherwise in every man; in him the
soul is not life, but a recipient of life. The Lord also teaches
this, saying:
I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6);
As the Father hath life in Himself, so hath He given to the Son to have
life in Himself (John 5:26).
Life in Himself is God. They added to this, that he who is in any
spiritual light, can perceive that the Divine Esse, which is also the
Divine Essence, because it is One, the Same, the Itself, and thence
Indivisible, cannot be given in many; and that if it were said to be
given, manifest contradictions would follow.After hearing these things, the angels perceived in my thought the
common ideas of the Christian Church concerning a Trinity of Persons in
Unity and their Unity in Trinity, respecting God, as also concerning the
birth of a Son of God from eternity; and they then said, "What are you
thinking of? Are you not thinking those things from natural light,
with which our spiritual light does not agree? Wherefore, unless
you remove the ideas of that thought, we close heaven to you, and go
away." But I then said to them, "Enter, I pray, more deeply into my
thought and perhaps you will see agreement." And they did so, and
saw that by three Persons I understand three proceeding Divine
Attributes, which are Creation, Salvation, and Reformation; and that
these Attributes are of the one God; and that by the birth of a Son of
God from eternity I understood His birth foreseen from eternity and
provided in time. And I then related that my natural thought
concerning a Trinity and Unity of Persons, and concerning the birth of a
Son of God from eternity, I received from the doctrine of faith of the
church, which has its name from Athanasius; and that that doctrine is
just and right, provided that instead of a Trinity of Persons there be
there understood a Trinity of Person, which is given only in the Lord
Jesus Christ; and instead of the birth of a Son of God there be
understood His birth foreseen from eternity and provided in time; because
as to the Human, which He took to Himself in time, He is called openly
the Son of God.
The angels then said, "Well;" and they requested that I would say
from their mouth, that if anyone does not go to the God of heaven and
earth Himself, he cannot come into heaven; because heaven is heaven from
that only God; and that that God is the Lord Jesus Christ, who is Jehovah
the Lord, Creator from eternity, Savior in time, and Reformer
to
eternity; thus who is at the same time the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit. After this the heavenly light before seen above the opening
returned, and gradually descended, and filled the interiors of my mind,
and enlightened my natural ideas of the Unity and Trinity of God; and
then the ideas received about them in the beginning, which were merely
natural, I saw separated, as the chaff is separated from the wheat by the
motion of a fan, and carried away as by a wind into the north of heaven,
and dispersed.
The Second Relation. Since it has been given me by the Lord
to see the wonderful things which are in the heavens and below the
heavens, I must, from command, relate what has been seen. There
appeared a magnificent palace, and in its inmost a temple. In the
midst of the latter was a table of gold, upon which was the Word, beside
which two angels were standing. Around it were seats in three rows;
the seats of the first row were covered with silken cloth of a purple
color; the seats of the second row, with silken cloth, of a blue color;
and the seats of the third row, with white cloth. Under the roof,
high above the table, there appeared a widespread canopy, shining with
precious stones, from whose splendor shone forth as it were a rainbow, as
when heaven clears up after a shower. There then suddenly appeared
a number of the clergy, occupying all the seats, clothed in the garments
of their priestly office. At one side was a wardrobe, where an
angel keeper stood; and within there lay splendid garments in beautiful
order.
It was a Council convoked by the Lord; and I heard a voice from
heaven, saying, "Deliberate." But they said, "Upon what?" It
was said, "Concerning the Lord and concerning the Holy Spirit." But
when they thought upon these subjects, they were not in enlightenment;
wherefore they supplicated, and then light descended from heaven, which
first illumined the back part of their heads, and afterwards their
temples, and at length their faces; and then they began; and, as it was
commanded, first concerning the Lord.
The first question proposed
and discussed was, "Who assumed the Human in the Virgin Mary?" And
an angel standing at the table upon which was the Word, read before them
these words in Luke:
The angel said to Mary, Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and
shalt bring forth a Son, and shalt call His name Jesus; He shall be
great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High. And Mary said
to the angel, How shall this be, since I know not a man? And the
angel answering said, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power
of the Most High shall overshadow thee; whence the Holy One that is born
of thee shall be called the Son of God (Luke 1:31-32, 34-35).
As also what is in Matthew 1:20-25;
But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared
unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto
thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he
shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it
might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold,
a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call
his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Then Joseph
being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took
unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had brought forth her
firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS. (Matthew 1:20-25)
and what is in verse 25 there he read
emphatically. Besides these, he read many things from the
Evangelists, where the Lord as to His Human is called "the Son of God,"
and where He from His Human calls Jehovah His "Father," as also from the
Prophets, where it is foretold that Jehovah Himself would come into the
world; among which also these two, in Isaiah:
It shall be said in that day, Lo, This is our God, whom we have waited
for, that He may free us; This is Jehovah, whom we have waited for; let
us exult and rejoice in His salvation (Isa. 25:9).
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way for
Jehovah, make straight in the desert a highway for our God; for the glory
of Jehovah shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together;
Behold, the lord Jehovah cometh in strength; He shall feed His flock as a
shepherd (Isa. 40:3, 5, 10-11).
And the angel said, "Since Jehovah Himself came into the world, and
assumed the Human, and thereby saved and redeemed men, He is therefore
called 'the Savior' and 'the Redeemer' in the Prophets." And then
he read before them these passages following:
Surely God is in thee, and there is no God besides; verily thou art a
hidden God, O God of Israel, the Savior (Isa. 45:14-15).
Am not I Jehovah? And there is no God else besides Me; a just God
and a Savior, there is none besides Me (Isa. 45:21-22).
I am Jehovah, and besides Me there is no Savior (Isa. 43:11).
I Jehovah am thy God, and thou shalt acknowledge no God besides Me, and
there is no Savior besides Me (Hos. 13:4).
That all flesh may know that I Jehovah am thy Savior and thy Redeemer (Isa.
49:26; 60:16).
As for our Redeemer, Jehovah of Hosts is His name (Isa. 47:4).
Their Redeemer is strong, Jehovah of Hosts is His name (Jer. 50:34).
O Jehovah, my Rock and my Redeemer (Ps. 19:14).
Thus said Jehovah thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I Jehovah am thy
God (Isa. 43:14; 48:17; 49:7; 54:8).
Thou O Jehovah art our Father, our Redeemer, Thy name is from an age (Isa.
63:16).
Thus said Jehovah thy Redeemer, I am Jehovah that maketh all things, and
alone by Myself (Isa. 14:24).
Thus said Jehovah King of Israel, and His Redeemer Jehovah of Hosts, I am
the First and the Last, and besides Me there is no God (Isa. 44:6).
Jehovah of Hosts is His name, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,
the God of the whole earth shall He be called (Isa. 54:5).
Behold, the days come, that I will raise up unto David a just Branch who
shall reign King, and this is His name, Jehovah our Justice (Jer. 23:5-6;
33:15-16).
In that day shall Jehovah be king over all the earth; in that day shall
Jehovah be one; and His name one (Zech. 14:9).
Being confirmed from all these passages, those that sat upon the
seats said unanimously that Jehovah Himself assumed the Human to save and
redeem men. But there was then heard a voice from the Roman
Catholics, who had hid themselves in a corner of the temple, saying, "How
can Jehovah the Father become Man? Is He not the Creator of the
universe?" And one of them that sat upon the seats of the second
row turned himself, and said, "Who then?" And he from the corner
answered, "The Son from eternity." But he received for answer, "Is
not the Son from eternity, according to your confession, the Creator of
the universe also? And what is a Son or a God born from eternity?
And how can the Divine Essence, which is one and indivisible, be
separated, and some of it descend and take on the Human, and not the
whole?"The second discussion concerning the Lord was, whether God the Father
and He thus are one, as the soul and the body are one? They said
that this is a consequence, because the soul is from the Father.
And then one of those who sat upon the seats in the third row read from
the creed which is called Athanasian these words: "Although our Lord
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man, still they are not two, but
one Christ; yea, He is altogether one, He is one Person; since as the
soul and the body make one man, so God and Man are one Christ." The
reader said that this faith is received in the whole Christian world,
even by the Roman Catholics. And they then said, "What need is
there of more? God the Father and He are one, as the soul and the
body are one." And they said, "As it is so, we see that the Lord's
Human is Divine, because it is the Human of Jehovah; then that the Lord
as to the Divine Human is to be approached; and that thus and not
otherwise can the Divine which is called the Father be approached."
This conclusion of theirs the angel confirmed by many more passages
from the Word, among which were these in Isaiah:
Unto us a Boy is born, unto us a Son is given, whose name is Wonderful,
Counselor, God, Hero, the Father of eternity, the Prince of peace (Isa.
9:6).
Thou art our Father, Abraham hath not known us, and Israel doth not
acknowledge us; Thou, O Jehovah; art our Father, our Redeemer from
everlasting is Thy name (Isa. 63:16).
And in John:
Jesus said, He that believeth in Me, believeth in Him that sent Me, and
he that seeth Me seeth Him who sent Me (John 12:44-45).
Philip said unto Jesus, Show us the Father; Jesus saith unto him, He that
seeth Me seeth the Father; how sayest thou then, show us the Father?
Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?
Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me (John 14:8-11).
Jesus said, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one cometh to the
Father but by Me (John 14:6).
On hearing these, they all said with one voice and heart, that the Lord's
Human is Divine, and that this is to be approached that the Father may be
approached; since Jehovah God, who is the Lord from eternity, through it
sent Himself into the world, and made Himself visible to the eyes of men,
and thus accessible. Likewise He made Himself visible and thus
accessible in the Human form to the ancients, but then through an angel.After this followed the deliberation
concerning the Holy Spirit.
And first was disclosed the idea of many respecting God the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit, which was as if God the Father was sitting on
high, and the Son at His right hand, and they were sending forth the Holy
Spirit from them, to enlighten and teach men. But a voice was then
heard from heaven, saying, "We cannot endure that idea of thought.
Who does not know that Jehovah God is omnipresent? He who knows and
acknowledges this, will also acknowledge that He Himself enlightens and
teaches; and that there is not an intermediate God, distinct from Him,
and still less from two, as one person from another. Therefore let
the former idea, which is vain, be removed; and let this, which is just,
be received, and you will see this clearly."
But a voice was then heard again from the Roman Catholics, who had
hid themselves in the corner of the temple, saying, "What then is the
Holy Spirit, who is named in the Word in the Evangelists and in Paul, by
whom so many of the learned men from the clergy, especially from ours,
say that they are led? Who in the Christian world at this day
denies the Holy Spirit and its operation?" At this one of those who
were sitting upon the second row of seats, turned himself and said, "The
Holy Spirit is the Divine proceeding from Jehovah the Lord. You say
that the Holy Spirit is a Person by Himself and a God by Himself.
But what is a Person going forth and proceeding from a Person, but
operation going forth and proceeding? One person cannot go forth
and proceed from another through a third, but operation can. Or
what is a God going forth and proceeding from a God, but the Divine going
forth and proceeding? One God cannot go forth and proceed from
another through a third, but the Divine can. Is not the Divine
Essence one and indivisible? And as the Divine Essence or the
Divine Esse is God, is not God one and indivisible?"
On hearing these things, they who sat upon the seats concluded
unanimously that the Holy Spirit is not a Person by itself, nor a God by
itself; but that it is the Holy Divine going forth and proceeding from
the Only Omnipresent God, who is the Lord. At this the angels that
stood by the golden table upon which was the Word, said, "It is well.
We do not anywhere read in the Old Testament, that the prophets spoke the
Word from the Holy Spirit, but from Jehovah the Lord; and where 'the Holy
Spirit' is mentioned in the New Testament, the proceeding Divine is
meant, which is the Divine enlightening, teaching, vivifying, reforming,
and regenerating."
After this there followed another discussion concerning the Holy
Spirit, which was, From whom does the Divine which is called the Holy
Spirit proceed? Is it from the Divine which is called the Father,
or from the Divine Human which is called the Son? And when they
were discussing this, the light shone on them from heaven, from which
they saw that the Holy Divine, which is meant by the Holy Spirit,
proceeds from the Divine in the Lord through His glorified Human, which
is the Divine Human, comparatively as all activity proceeds from the soul
through the body with man. This the angel standing at the table
confirmed from the Word by these passages:
He whom the Father hath sent, speaketh the words of God; He hath not
given the Spirit by measure unto Him; the Father loveth the Son, and hath
given all things into His hand (John 3:34-35).
There shall come forth a Rod out of the stem of Jesse, the Spirit of
Jehovah shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and intelligence, the
Spirit of counsel and might (Isa. 11:1-2).
That the Spirit of Jehovah was given upon Him, and that it was in Him (Isa.
42:1; 59:19-20; 61:1; Luke 4:18).
When the Holy Spirit shall come, which I will send unto you from the
Father (John 15:26).
He shall glorify Me, for He shall receive of Mine, and announce it unto
you; all things that the Father hath are Mine; therefore I said that He
shall receive of Mine, and announce it unto you (John 16:14-15).
If I go away, I will send the Comforter unto you (John 16:7).
The Comforter is the Holy Spirit (John 14:26).
The Holy Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified (John
7:39).
After the glorification, Jesus breathed on them, and said to the
disciples, Receive ye the Holy Spirit (John 20:22).
Since the Lord's Divine operation from his Divine omnipresence is
meant by the Holy Spirit, therefore when He spoke to the disciples
concerning the Holy Spirit which He would send from God the Father, He
also said:
I will not leave you orphans; I go away, and come unto you; and in that
day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you
(John 14:18, 20, 28).
And just before His departure out of the world, He said:
Lo, I am with you all the days until the consummation of the age (Matt.
28:20).
Having read these words before them, the angel said, "From these and many
other passages in the Word, it is manifest that the Divine which is
called the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Divine in the Lord through His
Divine Human." To this they that sat upon the seats said, "This is
the Divine truth."At length this decision was made, "That from the deliberations in
this council we have clearly seen, and thence acknowledge as the holy
truth, that in our Lord Jesus Christ there is a Divine Trinity, which is,
the Divine from which, that is called the Father; the Divine Human, which
is the Son; and the proceeding Divine, which is the Holy Spirit. Thus
there is one God in the Church."
After these things were concluded in that magnificent Council, they rose
up; and the angel keeper of the wardrobe came and brought to each of
those who sat upon the seats splendid garments interwoven here and there
with threads of gold, and said, "Receive these wedding garments."
And they were conducted in glory into the New Christian Heaven, with
which the Lord's Church on earth, which is the New Jerusalem, will be
conjoined.
(Apocalypse Revealed 961, 962)
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