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Emmanuel Swedenborg - the creator of the doctrine of the world of spirits. Description of the new church of the Lord Main works of Emmanuel Swedenborg

It is precisely such a "troublemaker" that Swedenborg has become in the stagnant atmosphere of traditional Christianity. Revealing in his books the inner meaning of the Word of God, he showed people what is really required of them. On almost every page he repeats that a person must avoid evil, work on himself, investigate his soul, and that external religious knowledge is outside this goal, i.e. by themselves, they do not serve for anything, and even more so - the rituals that have accumulated in the bosom of any confession over the long centuries of its existence. But after all, it is harder and more unpleasant for a mentally evil person to engage in introspection, which will reveal his true essence; it is much easier for him to "buy off God" with candles and prayers, for the first strikes a crushing blow on his hellish inclinations, and the second helpfully bypasses them tangentially.

By and large, Swedenborg did one thing: he gave people God's will - not to engage in nonsense in which they were mired, but to seriously turn to the cause of their salvation, i.e. transfer your life from hell to heaven. But such a decisive demand could not please the absolute majority of modern people who enjoy the pleasures of evil and do not want to part with them at all. The rituals of the traditional Church soothe their consciences without touching the root of sin, and the truths transmitted through Swedenborg directly highlight this root and force it to be removed. It is clear that few are ready to undertake such a feat.

It can be argued that if there were a lot of Swedenborgians (that is, if they formed a serious force in the social sense), they would develop a cruel persecution, as in their time against the Huguenots, only even more terrible (for the hatred of hell is proportional to the brightness of the preached truth ). But the followers of Rational Christianity are so few that they prefer not to be noticed or taken seriously. For in the eyes of the layman, strength proves right, and whoever is seemingly powerless is wrong. On the other hand, the teaching transmitted through Swedenborg encourages a person to think independently, and the bourgeoisie will never dare to do this.

In addition, the very form of presentation of Divine Truths by Swedenborg determined the specific perception of his books. People who are greedy for stories "about the dead and ghosts" flock to this very smell and strain them out of the theological context, like a dog chooses meat from a stew. And the hype around "ghosts" inevitably generates an "occult smell", so after a short time Swedenborg is already registered as an occultist. Having learned about this, decent people disdainfully bypass his writings, and the priests of other religions say to their flock: "You see, this one is also from the same place." While among atheists who do not believe in the "afterlife", a natural conviction arises in the mental abnormality of Swedenborg, who expounded in his books absolute nonsense. - And all this is different forms of perversion and rejection of the Divine Truth, which too sensitively strokes mentally evil people against the grain for them to voluntarily agree to endure it.

As a result, the following points became obvious to me:

(1) The books of Swedenborg represent Revelation, in which Divine Truths are set forth in a form more accessible to human comprehension than in any other sacred texts that have come down to our days.

(2) The very essence of God's will is that man should examine himself and deliberately refrain from evil, because it is a sin before God and prevents salvation.

(3) If this is not fulfilled, then all other church-related vanity is useless.

(4) Such a tough and straightforward formulation of the question is deliberately unacceptable for the overwhelming majority of people, who in fact expect from religion only a solution to their earthly problems and forgiveness of their sinful pleasures.

(5) It is useless to convince these people, because it is not the mind that opposes in them, but the heart, which protects the pleasures of their evil life. Any arguments are powerless here.

(6) These people will always be negatively disposed towards Rational Christianity, acting exactly as predicted by its founder: either grossly discarding truths, or hushing them up, or perverting them - including attribution of "occultism."

(7) As a result, Rational Christianity remains the lot of serious-minded individuals who should not grieve about the low population, but simply work on themselves.

If you figuratively imagine the earthly life of a person in a valley at the foot of the mountains, and heavenly bliss is at their top, then any religion will appear as a road that builds a person from the bottom up. At the same time, it is obvious that the shorter the path, the steeper it is, and the steeper, the more difficult it seems to be. In this sense, traditional religions are like wide paved highways that rise in gentle serpentines. It is easy to walk on them, the rise is barely felt, but that is why the huge distance traveled in terms of climb turns out to be extremely ineffective. Here the horizontal component predominates, which does not carry any useful function, except for the imaginary "relief", but in reality burdens the traveler with many unnecessary troubles that are useless for his salvation.

On the contrary, Swedenborg's teaching is like a "goat's path" that courageously rushes straight down the slope. The horizontal component is here reduced to an absolute minimum - just to stay on your feet. And although the ascent is really difficult, the final effort turns out to be incomparably less than that of those who like to walk on level ground, because the efficiency here and there is incomparable. But in order to dare to storm the steepness, you need to have a serious desire, while a walk on the highway does not oblige anyone to anything.

Why Swedenborg's teachings are not accepted by the masses

Mikhail Glebov

Let's start with the simplest statement, obvious to any person: we willingly accept those things that are to our liking, and reject anything that generates heartfelt displeasure. In other words, we are and we are the environment; as far as this latter indulges our desires, it is also accepted, but as it resists, it begins to irritate. So the sailors rejoiced in the favorable wind and swore at the headwind. And the matter was not in the wind as such (as in a physical phenomenon), but in the degree of its co-directionality with their route.

True, it seems to us that we are guided through life by reason, and not by heart; we are even inclined to blame the latter for "myopia" and take pride in "willpower", i.e. the ability to act contrary to the heart. In our consciousness we put reason above the heart and recognize the main driving force behind it. But this is an illusion, as anyone accustomed to analyzing their actions is well aware of. For only the heart has real power in a person, it is like the engine of a car, while the mind is like headlights, which, "looking ahead", illuminate the road and clarify the situation, but by themselves are categorically unable to move the car. The heart cruelly bondages a person, and if he resists (the notorious "willpower"), this only means that in his heart two opposite inclinations have collided and are fighting. If, for example, a student intellectually forces himself to refrain from partying and how to prepare for the exam, the thirst of the current partying really fights in him with the desire to avoid repeating the exam and thus ensure the freedom of future partying; his reason acted as "headlights" that brought the essence of the problem to his heart.

This same approach, being universal in human life, naturally extends to a person's attitude to religion. Swedenborg described a lot of the most ancient (antediluvian) people who lived on earth in constant communion with angels. Heaven was for them, one might say, "sensory evidence": they did not just "believe", but saw where and how they would live forever, and therefore their heart, not needing the prodding of reason, itself powerfully took them away from sin (for life in sin opened up another, equally obvious perspective for them).

But since then a lot of water has flowed under the bridge, and now the situation is fundamentally different. Humanity has already moved so far from God - and God, as a result, “hid His Face” so much that we all live by the same earthly realities, are one hundred percent immersed in earthly interests, set ourselves exclusively earthly goals, and since this approach is diametrically opposed to the religious one, religion becomes an alien body for us. For it is not for nothing that it is said: "You cannot serve God and mammon."

However, religion does not reject the earthly interests of man, but puts them in strict subordination to the heavenly ones. Religion - any of them! - points a person to eternity, in which he will remain eternally blissful or eternally unhappy, and to an insignificant interval of his earthly life, which seems to be a drop in comparison with the ocean, thus clearly demonstrating how much the eternal is more important for him than the temporal. And also religion teaches that the eternal destiny of a person is determined precisely here, on this short segment, and then it will be too late to change anything. And it is only required not to act against the Laws of the Divine Order, which are set out in the most simplified form in the well-known Commandments. Any violation of the Laws of Order is a sin that misleads a person from the path to Heaven and, at a certain stage, is even capable of turning him into hell.

The present person listens to all this and even often agrees ... absolutely until he tries to apply what he has heard to his own life. And here it turns out that his heart categorically does not want to follow the instructions of reason; the vaunted "willpower" demonstrates an astonishing impotence; moreover, the heart goes into a furious counterattack, crowding the mind and forcing it to invent all sorts of excuses that would allow us not to do what religion teaches and what it requires of us.

For it only seems to us that we live by ourselves, think for ourselves, wish for ourselves and in general are not subject to anyone. In reality, a person is like a vessel - or, more precisely, an antenna that receives external influences. If our TV starts claiming that all the uncles and aunts it shows are inside it, we won't believe it! Why, then, are we firmly convinced that we ourselves are capable of generating "our own" thoughts and desires? The outside wind blows into our sails and sets the ship in motion; and we unconsciously confirm this truth with the expressions "a thought came to me," "I suddenly wanted to," etc. For the TV cannot know what kind of guy it will have to show in a moment, and we equally do not know what thought will fly into our head or what our soul will suddenly want.

However, external influences, for all their seeming disorder, in reality emanate from two sources: some, proceeding from the Lord, reach us through Heaven, others, like a stinking vapor, smoke from the underworld. The former compel our hearts to act according to the Laws of Divine Order and lead to salvation; the latter force our hearts to act contrary to the Laws of Divine Order and lead to damnation.

Now we return to the very beginning of the article: we willingly accept those things that are to our heart, and reject everything that gives rise to heartfelt displeasure. Therefore, if a person is kind in his heart, he will willingly accept the heavenly influx, but turn away from the hellish. And vice versa, an evil heart, like a sponge, is saturated with evil ascending from hell, while it escapes from heavenly influences. And from this it directly follows that evil person of his own free will he will not go to good, because good is completely opposite to his true aspirations and, so to speak, kills them - and therefore kills all the pleasure of his life. Indeed, if a person finds the main sweetness in fornication, and religion forbids fornication, this prohibition hits him at the most painful point. For the sweeter an occupation is for us, the more painful the prohibition is.

From what has been said it is clear enough that modern man practically unable to turn to religion in the inner, heartfelt way that was characteristic of the ascetics of the past. And if he nevertheless turns to her, then usually for reasons, so to speak, of earthly origin. Some, having made sure of the existence of powerful "otherworldly" forces (which "adjust" good luck and bad luck) by everyday experience, want to understand the operation of these mechanisms in order to use them to achieve earthly goals. Others, suffering severely from general ill-will, seek human understanding and sympathy in the Church. Still others dream of avoiding hateful loneliness. The fourth find in religion a psychological "case" where they could hide from adversity real life(others collect stamp collections for the same reason or violently cultivate their garden beds). Fifths are attracted by religion aesthetically: they sing beautifully there, there, in the twilight, the flame of candles is delightfully waving. The sixth darkly decided to make themselves an earthly career in the religious field. Seventh, having memorized many sacred texts, they wish to preach for their glory, experiencing respect and admiration from the "disciples".

If you look closely, you can easily count a dozen more types; the trouble is that they all march under religious banners to the achievement of earthly goals, although most often they themselves do not realize this. And it's not about how excusable or shameful those goals are; it is important that they are earthly and not heavenly, i.e. mean the present, the temporary, not the eternal; and therefore they de facto do not belong to religion. One 19th century thinker aptly called these people "pagans within Orthodoxy." Huge masses of non-ecclesiastical people in their souls, who for various earthly reasons have entered the vaults of the church, instinctively (and very strongly) oppose everything that runs counter to their real heartfelt aspirations. And since the hierarchs (everywhere and always) in the majority also belong to this category, they willingly meet halfway, thereby achieving harmony between the "bottom" and "top". Only a few are really walking towards God, and they, as a rule, huddle on the periphery of the common church life.

But to the extent that a person searches for the earthly in religion, he will also reject the heavenly. People want warmth, comfort, and worldly benefits in the church. Accustomed to the need to pay for any good, they do not mind the encumbrances of a private nature: to visit the temple weekly, stand a two-hour service, spend small change on candles, give to the poor; some stoically observe fasts and read prayers from a book at home. People resignedly make such sacrifices, because these things do not encroach on the real love of their life, be it a thirst for fame, wealth, hatred and contempt for others, prodigal passion, etc. they agree abstractly in their minds, but they "atone for sins" not by suppressing evil passions, but by setting extra candles and other rituals. In other words, they in every possible way avoid the only necessary work on themselves, replacing it with purely external and useless actions that ghostly ease their conscience. And since this road leads to hell, the winds of the underworld seem fair to them, and the heavenly influx stalls or is perverted in any way, as their mind helpfully prompts.

Imagine a person who, entering the very midst of these people, peacefully sleeping under a warm blanket of pseudo-religious fantasies, would rudely pull this blanket off them so that, upon awakening, they would see themselves naked, moreover, in all their disgrace, and would find themselves in need of something - then it is urgent to take. It is clear that their first - and most powerful - desire will be to drive away the troublemaker, pull the blanket back and sleep as before. Only a few are ready, to use the favorite expression of the Americans, to "accept the challenge" and from religious idle talk and idle worship to move on to real work on themselves.

It is precisely such a "troublemaker" that Swedenborg has become in the stagnant atmosphere of traditional Christianity. Revealing in his books the inner meaning of the Word of God, he showed people what is really required of them. On almost every page he repeats that a person must avoid evil, work on himself, investigate his soul, and that external religious knowledge is outside this goal, i.e. by themselves, they do not serve for anything, and even more so - the rituals that have accumulated in the bosom of any confession over the long centuries of its existence. But after all, it is harder and more unpleasant for a mentally evil person to engage in introspection, which will reveal his true essence; it is much easier for him to "buy off God" with candles and prayers, for the first strikes a crushing blow on his hellish inclinations, and the second helpfully bypasses them tangentially.

By and large, Swedenborg did one thing: he gave people God's will - not to engage in nonsense in which they were mired, but to seriously turn to the cause of their salvation, i.e. transfer your life from hell to heaven. But such a decisive demand could not please the absolute majority of modern people who enjoy the pleasures of evil and do not want to part with them at all. The rituals of the traditional Church soothe their consciences without touching the root of sin, and the truths transmitted through Swedenborg directly highlight this root and force it to be removed. It is clear that few are ready to undertake such a feat.

It can be argued that if there were a lot of Swedenborgians (that is, if they formed a serious force in the social sense), they would develop a cruel persecution, as in their time against the Huguenots, only even more terrible (for the hatred of hell is proportional to the brightness of the preached truth ). But the followers of Rational Christianity are so few that they prefer not to be noticed or taken seriously. For in the eyes of the layman, strength proves right, and whoever is seemingly powerless is wrong. On the other hand, the teaching transmitted through Swedenborg encourages a person to think independently, and the bourgeoisie will never dare to do this.

In addition, the very form of presentation of Divine Truths by Swedenborg determined the specific perception of his books. People who are greedy for stories "about the dead and ghosts" flock to this very smell and strain them out of the theological context, like a dog chooses meat from a stew. And the hype around "ghosts" inevitably generates an "occult smell", so after a short time Swedenborg is already registered as an occultist. Having learned about this, decent people disdainfully bypass his writings, and the priests of other religions say to their flock: "You see, this one is also from the same place." While among atheists who do not believe in the "afterlife", a natural conviction arises in the mental abnormality of Swedenborg, who expounded in his books absolute nonsense. - And all this is different forms of perversion and rejection of the Divine Truth, which too sensitively strokes mentally evil people against the grain for them to voluntarily agree to endure it.

As a result, the following points became obvious to me:

(1) The books of Swedenborg represent Revelation, in which Divine Truths are set forth in a form more accessible to human comprehension than in any other sacred texts that have come down to our days.

(2) The very essence of God's will is that man should examine himself and deliberately refrain from evil, because it is a sin before God and prevents salvation.

(3) If this is not fulfilled, then all other church-related vanity is useless.

(4) Such a tough and straightforward formulation of the question is deliberately unacceptable for the overwhelming majority of people, who in fact expect from religion only a solution to their earthly problems and forgiveness of their sinful pleasures.

(5) It is useless to convince these people, because it is not the mind that opposes in them, but the heart, which protects the pleasures of their evil life. Any arguments are powerless here.

(6) These people will always be negatively disposed towards Rational Christianity, acting exactly as predicted by its founder: either grossly discarding truths, or hushing them up, or perverting them - including attribution of "occultism."

(7) As a result, Rational Christianity remains the lot of serious-minded individuals who should not grieve about the low population, but simply work on themselves.

If you figuratively imagine the earthly life of a person in a valley at the foot of the mountains, and heavenly bliss is at their top, then any religion will appear as a road that builds a person from the bottom up. At the same time, it is obvious that the shorter the path, the steeper it is, and the steeper, the more difficult it seems to be. In this sense, traditional religions are like wide paved highways that rise in gentle serpentines. It is easy to walk on them, the rise is barely felt, but that is why the huge distance traveled in terms of climb turns out to be extremely ineffective. Here the horizontal component predominates, which does not carry any useful function, except for the imaginary "relief", but in reality burdens the traveler with many unnecessary troubles that are useless for his salvation.

On the contrary, Swedenborg's teaching is like a "goat's path" that courageously rushes straight down the slope. The horizontal component is here reduced to an absolute minimum - just to stay on your feet. And although the ascent is really difficult, the final effort turns out to be incomparably less than that of those who like to walk on level ground, because the efficiency here and there is incomparable. But in order to dare to storm the steepness, you need to have a serious desire, while a walk on the highway does not oblige anyone to anything.

Bibliography

For the preparation of this work were used materials from the site abc-people.com/

Alexei/ 28.06.2014 God exists otherwise how can you know this from yourself

Igor/ 04/27/2014 The main thing is to learn to live with dignity and die right. Swedenborg is useful!

/ 20.01.2014 O. Asia ... Dear inhabitants of the earth .... Better wish everyone Peace ... Love ... Enlightenment ... when you want to learn ... and it will be ... Thank you .. or the Lord is with us ...

a guest/ 07.07.2013 I was looking for "Heavenly Mysteries" from Genesis Chapter 1, chapter unfortunately in Russia it does not appear anywhere, maybe someone will tell you where to buy it, I can hardly see it on the computer, I have the rest of the books. Swedenborg is that. what is revealed by the Lord to one of the chosen ones, read and BELIEVE that the Lord does all this and that He knocks on your hearts, open yourself to him and your life WILL TRANSFORM from physical to HEAVENLY

a guest/ 20.05.2013 When will this medieval nonsense stop ?!

/ 10/25/2012 Pavel: Tatiana
"For the third year since I gave up everything, I am studying the works of Swedenborg in college in America. My husband is studying at a theological school. I can give a link to anyone who is also interested in studying." Please give the promised LINK to college. [email protected]

Felix/ 5.10.2012 Everyone "hears" Gd / Life / Infinity from his position and his "bell tower". Someone is clearer, someone is broader, someone is deeper. This also applies to Blavatsky and Swedenborg. These are those who were able to "see" / to see clearly wider, deeper and clearer. And they were able to express this in their writings. Thanks to them!

Nikolay Ruzavin/ 19.11.2011 In the books of Emmanuel Swedenborg, the Truth is described, which does not require proof. A person is free in spiritual development and to convince him that the described Truth is meaningless. Only the Lord Jesus Christ Himself opens the way to the Truth who seeks and strives for Truth.

BIG/ 28.04.2011 The books are good, but you shouldn't scold Madame Blavatsky, some things better than her so far no one has described. And I do not understand at all where you saw the worship of Satan, you are probably blind

novel/ 23.11.2010 I came to Swedenborg from Protestantism in search of a true prophet, After reading his biography and having measured everything with the Word, he could only say something - here is finally a true prophet of the people of Israel, Amen,

Tatyana/ 5.11.2010 I have given up everything for the third year already, I am studying the works of Swedenborg in college in America. The spouse is studying at a theological school. I can give a link to anyone who is also interested in learning

Sneezer/ 24.10.2010 Wait, wait ... was it not that Satan that Blavatsky was directly and unequivocally ridiculed, which was completely invented and copied from the pagans by the minds of the holy fathers of the founders of the church? If hell really existed, just like Satan, then I wish the majority of them, or more correctly, almost all, to burn sacredly in this fire, which they honestly deserve. And if you deal with Swedenborg, then he is not a bad thinker, he does not give knowledge of God at all, except for the dogmatic assertion that Jesus Christ is God, from this stove his thoughts follow, but not about God. Otherwise, the works are based on the psychological meaning of the biblical myth, today they are not understandable unless the lazy. Fictions about conversations with angels can be left for the weaker sex, although this does not affect the general meaning of his works.
Sy: dedicate yourself further, dedicated do not understand what ...

Sergei/ 24.10.2010 To a guest: Listen, if you do not understand anything in the writings of Blavatsky, then you should not show your denseness and pour mud here. Instead, it is better not to rush to conclusions, but think more, read and make at least a little brain effort to get a little closer to all the secrets that Blavatsky, Swedenborg, Origen, Clement of Alexandria and other Great Initiates talk about. Never judge blindly and harshly about anything, because it reveals exclusively yours, excuse me, narrow-mindedness and blind dogmatism. We, the bulk of people on Earth, do not know anything about the Highest in order to make some judgments, and only some glimpses of awareness begin to break through in the last centuries. Good luck and knowledge to everyone!

igor/ 23.10.2010 poor alex! This is what happens when such things are read by uninitiated people! To understand the essence of such books, you need to rejoice spiritually. It's just a pity for such people! also ... my advice: stay away from Madame Blavatsky, who openly sang Satan. What can she teach? And yet, you yourself choose the teachers according to your heart. What you have chosen is what you will get!

Anton/ 09/15/2010 Swedenborg is a true Christian religion and philosophy in all its fullness and beauty! I came to him in my search through N.O. Lossky, our philosopher, and Martin Buber (Two Images of Faith). You read - and every inch of your being makes you shiver. And you understand that yes, yes - this is the Truth, and it turns out that you already knew it all the time, vaguely felt it, guessed it! I am full as a vessel of wine, and joyful as a baby! In the Name of the Lord! Thanks to all!

DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW CHURCH OF THE LORD or NEW JERUSALEM,

predicted in the Apocalypse

EMMANUILA SWEDENBORG

servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The First Section of the First Composition, which contains

TEACHING ABOUT THE LORD

FOREWORD

Several years before this, the following five Works were published: 1. On Heaven and Hell. 2. Teaching of the New Jerusalem. 3. About the last judgment. 4. About the white horse. 5. About the Planets and Earths in the Universe. In these Writings, many secrets were revealed, hitherto unknown. Now, at the command of the Lord who appeared to me, I must publish the following works: Teaching of the New Jerusalem about the Lord. Teaching of the New Jerusalem about the Holy Scriptures. Teaching of life for the New Jerusalem according to the Commandments of the Decalogue. Teaching of the New Jerusalem about Faith. Continuation of the Last Judgment. Angelic Wisdom about Divine Omnipotence, Omnipresence, Omniscience, Infinity and Eternity. Angelic Wisdom about Divine Love and Divine Wisdom. Angelic Wisdom about Life. The Teachings of the New Jerusalem are said, and of course the Teachings of the New Church, now established by the Lord, for the old Church has reached its End, which can be concluded from what was said in number 33 to 39 of the Composition about the Last Judgment and from what will be said in the above Compositions. Below, in the last Article of this Composition, it will be shown that under the New Jerusalem, predicted in Chapter XXIII of the Apocalypse, which should appear after the Judgment, of course, the New Church.

THE TEACHING OF THE NEW JERUSALEM ABOUT THE LORD

All Scripture speaks of the Lord, and the Lord is the Word.

1. John reads: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and God was the Word. This was in the beginning with God. there was Light to men: and the Light shines in darkness and the darkness did not grasp It. And the Word became Flesh and dwelt in us and we see His Glory, the glory as the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. " Ch. 1: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 14. With Him, "Light came into the world, but men loved more darkness than Light, they were more evil than their deeds." Ch. 3: 19. And in another place with Him: "As long as you have the Light, believe in the Light, that you will be children of the Light. I, the Light, have come into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me should not dwell in darkness." Ch. 12: 36.46.

From this it follows that the Lord is God from eternity, and He is the Lord who was born in the world; for it says: the Word was with God and God was the Word; then, without Him, nothing, whatever was, became Flesh, and then the Word became Flesh and we saw Him. There is little understanding in the Church why the Lord is called by the Word; but He is called the Word, because the Word means Divine Truth or Divine Wisdom, while the Lord is the Divine Truth itself or the Divine Wisdom itself, therefore He is also called Light, which is said to have come into the world. And since Divine Wisdom and Divine Love are one, but in the Lord they are one from eternity, it is also said that in Him Life was and Life was Light to men. Life is Divine Love, and Light is Divine Wisdom. They constitute one thing, which is meant by the words: in the beginning the Word was with God and God was the Word; with God it means in God, for wisdom is contained in love, and love in wisdom; the same in another place in John: "Glorify Me, Father, with You Yourself, with the Glory that I had before the world of being." Ch. 17: 5.

With You it means Yourself, that is why it is said that God was the Word: in other places, the Lord is in the Father and the Father is in Him, then the Father and He are one essence. And since the Word is the Divine Wisdom of Divine Love, it follows that It is Jehovah Himself, therefore the Lord, Whom Everything has become, whatever has become, for everything is created by Divine Love through Divine Wisdom.

2. The Word here privately understood is the same Word that was proclaimed by Moses, the Prophets and Evangelists. This can be clearly seen from the fact that It is the Divine Truth itself, from which flows all Wisdom for Angels and spiritual understanding for people. It is the same Word that is in the world with people and in the heavens with Angels, but in the world with people It is natural, in heaven it is spiritual: and since It is the Divine Truth, it is also a Divine originating beginning, this is the beginning not only comes from the Lord, but even the Lord Himself is. It is the Lord Himself, therefore everything in general and in parts of the Word is written only about Him. From Isaiah to Malachi, there is not a single place that does not speak of the Lord or, in the opposite sense, against the Lord. Although no one has noticed this yet, everyone can see if he only knows and ponders when reading the Word, especially if he knows that in the Word there is not only a natural, but also a spiritual Meaning, and in this sense by the names of Persons and Places signifies some quality of the Lord, as well as of Heaven and the Church, which proceeds from Him, or something opposite to them. Since everything in general and in parts of the Word speaks about the Lord, the Word is the Lord, for It is the Divine Truth, then from all this it is clear why it is said - and the Word became Flesh and dwelt in us and saw His glory. Further why it is said: As long as you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you will be sons of the Light. I, the Light, have come into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me should not dwell in darkness; Light is Divine Truth, hence the Word. Therefore, even now everyone is illuminated in the Word, if during the reading of the Word he resorts to the One Lord and prays to Him.

3. It will be said here what, in general and in particular, is said about the Lord in all the Prophets of the Old Testament from Isaiah to Malachi:

1. The Lord will come into the world in the fullness of times, that is, at a time when He will no longer be recognized by the Jews and when there will be no truth in the Church, and if then the Lord did not come into the world and did not appear, then the person would perish eternal death. He Himself said in John: "If you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins." Ch. 8:24.

2. The Lord will come into the world in order to carry out the Last Judgment, and thereby subjugate the then Hells who reigned, which will be accomplished by Struggles or Temptations admitted in his Human, received from the Mother and, consequently, by constant victories over them; if these hells were not conquered, then no man could be saved.

3. The Lord will come into the World to glorify Humanity, that is, to unite with It the Divinity in Him that was from conception.

4. The Lord will come into the world to establish a New Church, which would recognize Him as the Redeemer and Savior, and would be redeemed and saved by love and faith in Him.

5. Then He will put Heaven in order so that it may become one with the Church.

6. Suffering on the Cross will be the last struggle or the last temptation by which He will completely conquer Hell and fully glorify His Humanity. In the next Composition "On the Holy Scriptures" it will be said that the Word does not say anything more.

4. To prove what was said, I want to cite in this First Article only those sayings from the Word where it says: that Day, that Day and that Time, where the Coming of the Lord is signified by Day and Time: Isaiah.

On a warm July evening in 1759, at a dinner party in the Swedish city of Gothenburg, at the house of the merchant William Castel, a strange event took place.

In the dining room, where sixteen guests were gathered, an atmosphere of easy fun reigned, the conversation was interrupted by bursts of laughter, the clinking of knives and forks was heard. Unexpectedly, one of the guests, 71-year-old Emanuel Swedenborg, who enjoyed the well-deserved fame of a serious scientist , abruptly pushed the device away from him and, turning pale, got up from the table. The conversation was interrupted, and there was an oppressive silence in which Swedenborg made his way out of the dining room. The guests looked at each other in bewilderment.

Several minutes passed, and the scientist reappeared on the doorstep. “A fire has started in Stockholm! he said breathlessly. "The fire has already engulfed the nearest houses and is now approaching mine." This explanation did not clarify the situation too much. No one in the audience could understand how Swedenborg had learned of the fire raging in Stockholm, three hundred miles from the city where the dinner party was being held. Maybe these are just the fantasies of an old man, whose mind was clouded by a few glasses of alcohol?

The next day, word of Emanuel Swedenborg's strange behavior spread throughout Gothenburg. People shrugged their shoulders in disbelief. Imagine the amazement of the townspeople when in the evening a courier rushed in from Stockholm and reported a big fire that had engulfed the city the day before. According to him, the fire was extinguished only at eight o'clock in the evening.

A person far from mysticism

Emanuel was born into a family of a priest, was educated at home, and then studied ancient languages, philosophy, history, law and natural Sciences... While still a very young man, Swedenborg served as a mine inspector at the Mining Board and was so successful in this that King Karl XII made him his engineering advisor. The monarch studied with interest the drawings of the mechanisms made by the young scientist, among which we were cars for moving dry, under water and even by air. In addition, Swedenborg invented a steam boiler, an air gun, proposed a new technology for laying channels ...

At 46, Emanuel Swedenborg became an honorarymember of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. All-European fame of the scientist was brought by "Works on Philosophy and Mineralogy", written by him in 1734. All in all, his scientific heritage is fifty volumes, twenty of them are devoted to mathematics and astronomy. He also had works devoted to anatomy and geometry. Contemporaries considered Swedenborg to be a very practical person, firmly on his feet and far from any mysticism.

However, the main event that turned his whole life, as Swedenborg wrote in his diary, happened in 1745. Shortly before that, he felt a strange uneasiness, then he began to dream erotic dreams... And then ... Someone might decide that Swedenborg just went mad ...

A journey to heaven and hell

Later Swedenborg wrote: “On this night my inner gaze was also opened, so that I got the opportunity to see the inhabitants of the spirit world, heaven and hell, and thanks to this many hidden aspects of being. After that, I completely abandoned my studies in earthly sciences and devoted myself exclusively to spiritual attainment, the Lord Himself guided my notes about this. "

The wonderful life of the dead

Swedenborg's teachings are based on the belief in the immortality of the soul and the existence of the other world. In his opinion, having died, a person does not lose free will. At first, he does not even realize that he is dead, because nothing changes in his environment. He walks the same streets, lives in the same house, the same friends come to him. However, gradually the deceased begins to pay attention to the fact that the colors around him have become brighter, and the emotions - stronger. Life becomes more intense and, if I may say so, tangible. A person begins to understand that until now he has only vegetated, real life began quite recently.

"Society to your liking"

Soon after this understanding comes, angels and demons begin to appear to a person. Swedenborg writes that angels and demons are dead people, only some of them have risen, while others have fallen. A person, talking with them, gradually decides for himself where he will be better - in heaven or in hell. This is his free will. The area in which a person finds himself after death is intermediate between heaven and hell - this is the area of ​​spirits. The souls of the dead live here, here they converse with angels and demons.

It can take a very long time before a person decides where to move from the realm of spirits - to heaven or hell. In the end, he chooses for himself "the society of his liking." If a person was prone to intrigue and evil deeds during his lifetime, he chooses hell, despite the fact that it is "a land of swamps with burned cities." Oddly enough, sinners live there very comfortably, only there they feel truly happy. It also happens that, having mistakenly chosen paradise for himself as a habitat, a person, in whose veins demonic blood flows, then leaves him and settles in hell with relief.

Paradise is usually chosen by people with high intelligence. According to Swedenborg, they are the ones who go to this land of universal love and labor. In his book "On Heaven, on the World of Spirits and on Hell", he describes in detail everything that happens in the other world. He talks about the social order existing there, the occupations of the inhabitants. At the same time, the tone of the narrative is such that it becomes clear that the scientist is not trying to convince anyone of anything. He simply talks about what he saw with his own eyes.

Man's salvation is in his mind!

Swedenborg believes that man's only salvation is in his mind. If you are not able to understand what the angels are talking about, are you worthy of heaven?

Travel notes

The Widow's Request

One, the most famous, occurred after the Dutch envoy at the Stockholm court, Count Martheville, died suddenly. Shortly before his death, the count acquired furniture, for which he paid in full. However, soon his widow was approached by a supplier who allegedly did not receive any money. The unhappy woman, who had not yet recovered after the death of her husband, had no idea where the deceased had put the document confirming the payment. In desperation, she turned to Emanuel Swedenborg for help, who was rumored to be able to establish a connection with the afterlife. “If only people are telling the truth about you, you can ask my husband where these papers are. Do it, I beg you, ”she begged, choking on her tears.

Swedenborg complied with such requests reluctantly, but this time, feeling sorry for the poor thing, he could not refuse. Several days passed, and Swedenborg appeared to the widow with these words: "Your spouse instructed me to tell me that he will soon indicate where to look for the papers."

A few days later, the widow had a dream in which her late husband clearly indicated the place where the receipt lay. There, she also discovered a diamond pin, which she had long considered lost.

The queen fell unconscious

Having heard about the incredible abilities of the old scientist, the Swedish queen Louise Ulrika invited him to her place to see for herself. She asked Swedenborg to meet with her deceased brother, Prince Wilhelm, and find out what he had talked to her about on the day of his last date. No one knew the content of the conversation except the Queen and her late brother. Thus, the crowned lady wanted to be convinced of the unusual abilities of Swedenborg.

A few days later Swedenborg told the Queen not only the content of the conversation with the prince, but also the circumstances under which this conversation took place. Louise Ulrika was so shocked by what she heard that she fell unconscious.

Otherworldly Explorer

Emanuel Swedenborg, engineer, scientist, mystic, predicted the date of his own death. Shortly before leaving for another world, he invited friends to him and told them that in his entire life he had not written a single word of lies. Everything stated in his books, the true truth!

The famous Argentine writer Chorus Luis Borges spoke of Swedenborg as follows: “He is a much more interesting mystic than all the others. They only say that they have not felt ecstasy, and try to convey it in literary form. Swedenborg is the first otherworldly explorer to be taken seriously. "

Yuri Zolotov