Scientific discovery of Spiritual Laws given in Rational
Scientific Revelations
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91
OF THE SWEDENBORG GEZELSCHAP contains
certain concepts which had at that time not yet been opened, and which only
later on, once more essentially through Mr. Groeneveld's work, we have learned
to grasp, it appears nevertheless that this argument concerning the essence of
the successive Churches on this earth forms a perfectly cohering whole, to which
at this day, in spite of the then
as yet
unsolved difficulties, we
cannot add anything of essential importance. The
concept of the Divinity of the Doctrine of the Church had indeed at that time
already been received by
92 FROM THE TRANSACTIONS Word
of the Holy Spirit" (Hyatt), and, with regard to the Three Testaments, of
"the Trinal Word" (C. Th. Odhner). We should not underestimate the
historical significance of these contributions, but more than a tentative
formulation of the problem thus far has not been attained. The
subject of this address is the order of the conjunction between God and the
human race and the principles of the Divine operation by which this conjunction
has become possible. The order of conjunction. between God and man is determined
in the first place by the fact that God in Himself is infinite and man finite;
that therefore there is The
order of conjunction between the Lord and man is further determined by the fact
that the Lord is Life, and that man has been created as an organ or a receptacle
of Life; furthermore by the law that conjunction is-only possible if man
participates in it as from himself. Without the cooperation of man as from
himself no reciprocal and therefore no actual and remaining conjunction is
possible. The conjunction of the Lord with man and the reciprocal conjunction of
man with the Lord is effected through the two faculties which are called
rationality and liberty. This is because all that a. man does out of freedom in
accordance with his thought is appropriated to him as his 93
OF THE SWEDENBORG GEZELSCHAP
It is a law of Divine -Providence that every man should act as from
himself, thus out of freedom according to his reason; butonly the regenerated
man acts out of freedom itself according to reason itself (cf. D. P. 97). Every
man therefore from the Lord out of his creation has the as-from himself; but the
proper or celestial as-from-himself man receives only through regeneration. The
celestial as-from-one's-self, or freedom itself and reason itself, exists in the
will and the understanding which have been regenerated out of freedom and
reason. There is thus conjunction of the Lord with man through freedom and
reason, but there is reciprocal
conjunction of
man with
the Lord only through freedom itself and reason itself, thus only through
the regeneration of the will and the understanding.
The complete conjunction of man with the Lord cannot take place otherwise
than gradually according to a certain orderly series of successive states to
which the successive 94
According to the Third Testament a similar gradual development of the
as-from-one's-self applies also to the history of the whole human race. Mankind
from the most ancient times, in the form of the successive Churches had, a
spiritual Church; the period of the old age of the human race is that of the New
Church, which is a celestial Church. Only bypassing through these successive
states could the faculty of the complete mutual conjunction of the human race
with the Lord, or the celestial as-from-one's-self of the human race, be
developed. That the celestial as-from-one's-self of the Adamic Church and the
spiritual as-from-one's-self of the Noachic Church, as compared with the
spiritual as-from-one's-self of the Christian Church and the celestial
as-from-one's-self of the New Church were of an incomplete nature, will appear
from the following explanations. 95
OF THE SWEDENBORG GEZELSCHAP The
Lord, in the regeneration of man, operates from firsts through lasts; that is,
to begin with there must be something from the Lord with man both in firsts and
in lasts, if it is to be possible for man to be regenerated. That which
according to order from firsts through lasts comes into existence in mediates is
the regenerated man. In the states of the descending line from infancy to
adolescence where the inversion takes place, the Lord operates successively from
the good of the celestial, of the spiritual, and of the natural, which has as it
were been given to man That
the Churches from creation until the Coming of the Lord followed each other in
such .a descending line, is known. That all these Churches with regard to the
basis for their thought were not in any internal truth itself, but were
dependent-on sensual things, therefore on things outside of man, is taught in
many places in the Third Testament. Of all Churches before the Coming of the
Lord it is said that they were not in the truth (T. C. R. 786); it is also said
that all Churches before the Coming
were representative Churches, which could not see the Divine Truth except in the
shadow, but that after the Coming of the Lord a Church was instituted from Him,
which saw the Divine Truth in light (S. S. 99; D.L.W. 233; T.C.R. 109). On a
former occasion already (see DE HEMELSCHE LEER, First Fasc., pp. 3840;
8287) it has been explained in some detail that all Churches before the
Coming of the Lord, since they missed the Divine Human
96
FROM THE
TRANSACTIONS form
an idea of the Divine things except as represented in the sensual things of
creation. The
state of the Churches before the Coming of the Lord 97
OF THE SWEDENBORG GEZELSCHAP then
made the external of the Adamic Heaven, as from a seed, for the establishment of
a new Church. According to the order of procreation of life from a higher degree
to a lower degree, out of the external of the preceding degree there comes the
internal of the next degree, for from the truth of the preceding degree is the
good of the next degree. From this seed came into existence the Noachic Church.
The good from the truth of the interior rational was the internal of this seed.
With the man of the Noachic Church therefore the interior rational remained
closed, and since it was out of the good of the interior rational that the
Adamite in the sensual things of creation saw celestial truth, the Noachite in
the sensual things of creation by themselves could no longer see truth. He was
dependent on The
basis for their thought was thereby considerably limited
98 Lord
to the human race took place from the Human Divine which then made the
external of the Noachic Heaven, as from 99
OF THE SWEDENBORG GEZELSCHAP natural,
and out of this good, by direct cognizance, he was in the truth of his degree,
which was now limited to the ecclesiastic life of his people, as the people of
God. As long as by the shunning of external evil, in the light of the Old
Testament, they remained in their worship in an external holiness, out of this
good by direct cognizance they could immediately see their representative
natural truth. When
also the Israelitish Church, which in reality was merely the representative of a
Church, had been consummated the Coming of the Lord into the Flesh took place.
The Word in the Israelitish Church had become so external that
It has already been explained above how in the successive Churches by the
descent of the good of the Human Divine from which the Lord successively
operated as from firsts, the representative sensual things through which the
Lord could operate as through lasts were more and more limited. This gradual
limitation of the representative sensual things as a basis for man's thought,
had now advanced to a total discontinuance, and the thought of mankind was now
limited to the Word become. Flesh, that is, the Truth not as represented but the
Truth in itself. The basis for the thought of the human race, from the sensual
things of creation, that is, from the merely external things, had
In the period of the descending development, that is, before the Coming
of the Lord, it was good which determined the state of the human race; in the
period of the ascending development, that is, after the Coming of the Lord,
it is truth which determines
the state of the human race. Before the Coming of the Lord man, by the shunning
of evil, came into good and out of this good by direct cognizance he was
immediately in his truth; after 101
OF THE SWEDENBORG GEZELSCHAP 102
FROM
THE TRANSACTIONS things
which lie concealed in the letter more and more take the place of the literal
things of the Word which first served as a basis.
By the Coming of the Lord on earth, His appearance before the eyes of
men, and by the recognition of Him as the Son of God (Luke I :°35, 38, 43; ch.2
: II, 17, 20, 26, 30, 31, 32, 38), the transition from the adolescence of the
human race to the early manhood was accomplished. No longer now did the sensual
things of creation serve as a basis for the thought of men, but the Divine Human
of the Lord. By the faith in the Divinity of the Lord the human race for the
first time had left the representative truth and had been introduced into the
truth itself. It 103
OF THE SWEDENBORG GEZELSCHAP answered
and said, Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and
said unto him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona" (ch. 16 : 1517). And
therefore too the Lord said: "Verily, verily, I say unto you: He that
believeth on Me hath everlasting life. ... Whoso eateth My Flesh, and drinketh
My Blood, hath eternal life" (John 6 : 47, 54); and: "He breathed into
the disciples and said: Receive ye the Holy Spirit" (John 20:22).
Concerning this we read in THE TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION: "The Lord breathed
upon the disciples and said this because the breathing-upon (aspiratio) was an
external symbol representative of the Divine breathing-into (inspiratio); the
breathing-into, however, is the insertion into angelic societies" (n. 140).
The transition to the period of the manhood of the human race could take
place only by the Lord leaving the earth; for man must first become independent
of the sensual presence of the Lord if he is to receive the influx of the more
interior degrees of truth. This the Lord teaches in the following words in the
Gospel of John: ' It is expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away,
the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you.
... When He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all
truth" (ch. 16 :7, 13). The period of the manhood of the human race was
during the Christian Church. To this Church there had been opened in the Word of
the New Testament the entrance to the natural and therefore also to the exterior
rational of the Human Divine. It was the purpose of the Christian Church, by
wrestling through the natural, to arrive at the essence of its Word, the New
Testament, as at the spiritual basis for its thought, and through this to its
good, the good of spiritual charity. Its task therefore
104
FROM THE TRANSACTIONS not,
neither knoweth Him" (John
14:16, 17). In this way the
Christian Church could have come to a spiritual basis for its thought, and by
this to the good itself of the natural of the Divine Human of the Lord. For this
reason it is said in the Third Testament that the Christian Church, as to its
internal essence, was a spiritual Church, for the characteristic of the
spiritual is the combat with and the victory over the natural. It is also said
that the Christian Church, as to its internal essence, was like the Noachic
Church, of which it is known that it was a spiritual Church. In this way the
human race in an orderly way might have gone through its period of manhood, and
gradually have been prepared for the reception of the interior rational things
themselves of the Divine Human. From this Church also it clearly appears that
all Churches after the Coming of the Lord should no longer base their thought,
as did the Churches before the Coming, on the sensual, that is, on the direct
cognizance of the letter of their Word, but that, by wrestling through the
natural, that is, by the shunning of evil as sin against the Lord, they should
raise themselves to an internal basis for their thought. The Christian Church,
however, only in its first ages took up its Word internally; and indeed in many
things in the Epistles and in the writings of the church fathers the genuine
Doctrine of the Christian Church is contained. In those states there was
conjunction with the Heavens and with the Lord. But gradually the reception of
the Word became more and more external, so that instead of coming into the
Divine Human to which they could have come by genuine truth, they came more and
more into the evil of the proprium. Instead of the interior truth there came the
separated letter, instead of spiritual charity and living faith there came faith
alone and the hypocrisy of a most external piety and philanthropy. What the
complete development of the exterior or spiritual rational during the manhood of
the human race might have become, in the theology of the Christian Church
therefore does not appear; but rather may thr degeneration of that manly faculty
be discerned in the many philosophic systems which were developed during the
period of that Church, in which as a rule the Divine Human has been entirely
lost sight of, or was falsified by the separated natural rational. 105
OF THE SWEDENBORG GEZELSHAP When
the Christian Church was consummated the Second Coming of the Lord took place in
the Word of the Third Testament. The Third Testament is the Rational of the
Divine Human of the Lord. Man comes into the proper essence of this Word only
through the interior rational which constitutes the third Heaven. Before the
Incarnation the Lord operated from the good of the Human Divine as from firsts,
and through the sensual things of creation as through lasts. The conjunction of
the Lord with the human race therefore with regard to good was mediate through
the Heavens and with regard to truth immediate through creation. After the
Incarnation the Lord operated from the good of the Divine Human as from firsts, and through the truth of the New
Testament as through lasts. With regard to good the conjunction of the
Lord with the human race was now immediate, therefore independent of )l»'
Heavens, since the Lord had made all the Human Divine the Divine Human in
Himself. But with regard to truth the conjunction now became mediate through the
Heavens. This appears from the following consideration: The New Testament is the
Natural of the Divine Human, or, as Mr. Groeneveld has expressed himself in this
address "the Truth separated by the Lord from His Divine Human; that Truth
by which the conjunction of the Lord with the human race did not yet take place
immediately out of His Divine Human; that Truth which with regard to the
conjunction with the human race was still separated from the Good of the Divine
Human, as the Son from the Father". For the influx of Divine Truth is
immediately out of the Lord only into the interior rational; in the lower
degrees, however, it is mediate through the Heavens, so that the human race as
long as admittance had been given only to the natural of the Divine Human, for
the opening of the truth of that Word was dependent
106
FROM THE
TRANSACTIONS the
basis of the New Testament, by the shunning of evil, came into the genuine
spirit of the truth of that Word, there was therefore conjunction mediately
through the Heavens with the Lord. However, in the degree in which the reception
of truth became more and more external, and they therefore instead of coming
into the Divine Human came into the proprium, more and more there came into
existence between the Heavens and the Church imaginary. heavens animated from
the hells, until finally the conjunction of the Lord through the Heavens with
the human race threatened to perish completely.
Then the
Lord to<)k over from the Heavens upon Himself the task of mediation
for conjunction also with regard to truth. This was done by His Second Coming in
the Word of the Third Testament.
The Word of the Third Testament is the Divine Rational, and therefore the
Truth itself conjoined with the Good itself
of the Divine
Human of
the Lord. Man
comes into the proper essence of this Word only through the interior or
celestial rational, which constitutes the third Heaven (A. C. 5145). In this
interior rational there is immediate conjunction with the Lord Himself also with
regard to truth, as appears in the passage quoted from the CANONS (The Holy
Spirit 3:2). By the Second Coming of the Lord in the Third Testament therefore
the conjunction of the Lord with the human race has become immediate and
independent of the Heavens also with regard to truth.
On this rests
the imperishableness of the
New Church; for every conjunction which is dependent on the Heavens is also
dependent on the human race, out of which the Heavens are made; and every
conjunction which is dependent on the human race is exposed to the danger of
destruction. Here it now clearly appears in a rational way that the Writings of
Emanuel Swedenborg are the Truth of the Divine Human and therefore the proper
Word of God itself. The proper proof is given by the application of the words:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word,
to the Coming and to the Second Coming of the Lord. Before the Coming of the
Lord the conjunction of the Lord with the human race with regard to good was
mediate through the Heavens; the Word thus was with God. By the Incarnation the
Lord became that Word itself; thus God was the Word. Before 107
OF THE SWEDENBORG GEZELSCHAP
the
Second Coming of the Lord the conjunction with regard to truth was mediate
through the Heavens; the Word thus was with God. By the Second Coming the Lord
in the Third Testament became that Word itself; thus God was the Word.
In the Third Testament the entrance has been opened to the human race to
the rational of the Divine Human. By this the transition of the human race from
the period of manhood to the period of old age was accomplished. The
characteristic of the old age of man is the state of wisdom and of innocence in
wisdom. Man in this state after surmounting the natural has entered the rational
itself, that is, the interior rational which constitutes the third Heaven; the
wrestling through the natural has ceased, man has become a celestial man, and
with regard to his spirit, he is among the Angels of the third Heaven; he is in
the immediate perception of truth out of celestial good, that is, for the first
time he is in the proper human itself. The human race in the New Church comes
into the proper essence of the Third Testament as the basis for its thought,
only through the interior or celestial rational which constitutes the third
Heaven. The New Church is out of the Third Testament. Everything that is
essentially New in this Church is out of the Rational of the Divine Human,
therefore with regard to man out of the interior rational which constitutes the
third Heaven. And since it is not the Word which makes the Church, but the
understanding of the Word, and as the Divine Rational in the letter of the Third
Testament has been laid down in the natural and the natural man thence cannot
take up anything but merely natural scientifics, and as the genuine Doctrine out
of the Word is the internal sense of the Word, it follows that the New Church is
out of the Third Testament, not by direct cognizance of the letter of that
Testament, but through the celestial Doctrine out of that Testament. All the
germs 108
FROM THE TRANSACTIONS rational
truths out of celestial origin that the letter of the Third Testament can
gradually be opened for the Church, and that the Church as a whole can gradually
be built. It is clear therefore that the men of the New Church, much more than
those of the Christian Church, must avoid basing their thought on the sensual,
that is, on the direct. cognizance of the letter of its Word, and, that by the
interior wrestling through the natural, they must raise themselves to the
internal bases of truth.
In this way the human race in the development of the as-from-one's-self,
by which alone the complete conjunction with the Lord could become possible, had
to pass through all ages from the good of the innocence of ignorance to the good
of the innocence of wisdom. In the proper state of the New Church, which is
called "the Bride of the Lamb", the state of the complete celestial
as-from-one's-self has for the first time been attained and the conjunction of
the Lord with the human race thereby has become an immediate conjunction both
with regard to good and with regard to truth.
DE
HEMELSGHE LEER EXTRACTS
FROM THE ISSUE FOR JAN.-FEB. 1932
THE NEW YEAR ADDRESS
BY H. D. G. GROENEVELD AT THE NEW YEAR'S BREAKFAST, JANUARY 1st 1932.
By the Doctrine of the Church the internal things have been given to the
Church. These things, as in a seed, are present in the Church, which seed will
be opened more and more when it is received and brought to life by the external
things of the Church. It is the things of the Doctrine of the Church which
determine the internal man, while these things can also flow into the external
man, if after a preparation of- the external
man the Lord is born in that man. All things which in the former state
were present from the Lord in the external man, have been taken up into the
internal man, and they there make one man who is the Lord's. In the new state
everything of the external man of all of us again appears impure before the
Lord. By the Lord we must be provided in the external man with new garments,
that is with new goods and truths, in order that in the new light we may again
appear before Him in His Church. Let us therefore turn our eyes away from the
things of this world and direct them only to ourselves. Let us examine ourselves
with regard to each affection and with regard to each thought in the external
man. Hear therefore the words in the second verse of the third chapter of
the Gospel of Matthew: "Repent ye, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at
hand", and in the eighth verse: "Bring forth therefore fruits meet for
repentance".
Let us thus very diligently read the Word in the new light which the Lord
has given to the Church, and let us acknowledge our evils and falsities before
the Lord from love to Him, in order that the Lord may be born in the 110
H. D. G. GROENEVELD external
man in us. We should approach the Word and the Doctrine of the Church in lull
devotion and receptivity,
The deeper hells and therefore our hidden love of self and love of the
world will forcibly draw us away from the coming combat. For they wish to keep
us in the good and the truths thence proceeded, of the former state. This good
and these truths are of no power for the new state of our external man. The
goods and truths of the former state are immediately present before us in
ultimates and bring us no goods and truths for the new state of our external
man. The new goods and truths must be born in the external man in us from the
Lord out of the internal man, which is possible only after a combat against the
evils and falsities which are now consciously present in the external
Let us be simple and upright, let us put off all semblance and
outwardness. Let us realize more and more that all things of our understanding
and all things of our will in the external man regard nothing but
self-intelligence and love of self, in order that finally there may arise in us
a feeling of complete helplessness and dependence. Then the Lord can come to
dwell in our external
Let us therefore order our lives, our work, our- families according to
the things of the Church. Let us all fulfill 111
SWEDENBORG GEZELSCHAP FROM
THE TRANSACTIONS OF THE SWEDENBORG GEZELSCHAP Extract
from the Minutes of the Meeting of Saturday, February 7th, 1931.
The memorandum, calling this meeting together, reads as follows.: The
Review of DE HEMELSCHE LEER in NEW CHURCH LIFE. REV.
ERNST PFEIFFER. The subject of DE HEMELSCHE LEER, namely the Third Testament
of the Word, and the Doctrine of the Church, has been clearly indicated in the
first fascicle of the English edition which was reviewed; and the truth of the
new theses has been amply confirmed with comprehensive documentation, derived
from the literal sense of the Third Testament. The reviewer's argument in each
separate sentence so clearly indicates that neither the essence of the subject,
nor anything of the documentation quoted, has been understood by him, that it
might justly be passed by unnoticed. It is greatly to be regretted that the
editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE has presented this irrelevant article to the members
of the GENERAL CHURCH as a review of DE HEMELSCHE LEER, so that they remain
deprived of a correct guidance with regard to truths which will prove to be of
great importance to the New Church. The
Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg are the Word itself, or the Divine Truth in
lasts, in its fullness, holiness, and power. There is an essential difference
between the Word and the Doctrine of the Church. The Word is the infinite Divine
Doctrine itself. The Doctrine of the Church is not the Word but out of the Word.
We read in the ARCANA COELESTIA: "The Word in the letter cannot be
112 grasped
except through Doctrine out of the Word, made by one who is enlightened"
(n. 10324). It is clear that such a Doctrine cannot but be from the Lord alone,
and is by no means a human production; how otherwise could it be a lamp to the
understanding when the Word is being read?
Therefore it is also expressly said,
"That the Doctrine is spiritual
out of celestial origin, but not out of rational
origin" (A.
C. 2496,
2510, and
the whole of the twentieth chapter): and, "That the Lord is that
Doctrine itself" (A. C. 2859). The spiritual essence out
of celestial origin
of the
genuine Doctrine has, in its essential particulars, been shown and
described in DEHEMELSCHELEER (First Fascicle, pp 1417; 5665; 97125).
Thus there is the Divine Doctrine, that is, the Word itself. The Divine
Doctrine in itself is above the Heavens and cannot be grasped by man or Angel;
it is infinite. And there is the Doctrine of the Church; it is a natural
Doctrine in a natural Church and in the last Heaven; it is a spiritual Doctrine
in a spiritual Church and in the middle Heaven; and it is a celestial Doctrine
in a celestial Church and in the highest Heaven. These three degrees of the
Doctrine of the Church correspond to
each other, and there is no relation between them but that of correspondence.
From this it appears clearly that also the cognitions of the different
Doctrines differ entirely from each other, and that there is no relation
between them but that of correspondence. So, for instance, the cognition of
God: this cognition is different in the natural Heaven, different in the
spiritual Heaven, and different in the celestial Heaven. A cognition of a
higher Heaven cannot possibly be grasped by an Angel of a lower Heaven; and this
is so also with regard to the cognitions of the discrete degrees of the Doctrine
of the Church. Indeed, man comes into the full enjoyment of the spiritual and
the celestial only when he has put off his natural body, but this has nothing to
do with the opening of the three discrete degrees of the Church, and thus of the
Doctrine of the Church. That this opening has to take place during the life in
the natural body, and that there is a natural Church, a spiritual Church, and a
celestial Church, is well known out of the Third Testament; consequently that
there is a natural Doctrine, 113 OF THE SWEDENBORG GEZELSCHAP a
spiritual Doctrine, and a celestial Doctrine (cf. N. J. C. D. 107; A. R. 350).
We read in a sketch belonging to the INVITATION TO THE NEW CHURCH,
concerning The Consummation of the Age and the Abomination of Desolation:
"No cognition of God. No cognition of the Lord. No cognition of the Holy
Spirit. No cognition of the Holiness of the Word. No cognition of Redemption. No
cognition of Faith. No cognition of
Charity. No cognition of Free Choice. No cognition of Repentance. No cognition
of the Remission of sins and of Conversion. No cognition of Regeneration. No
cognition of Imputation. No cognition of Heaven and Hell. No cognition of man's
state after death, and hence of Salvation. No cognition of Baptism. No cognition
of the Holy Supper". In the literal sense these words have reference to the
consummation of the first Christian church. But in the internal sense they have
a universal reference, namely to the consummation of a preceding lower degree,
when a Church or a man is to be raised to the next higher degree. The Church
then enters into a state of obscurity with regard to all cognitions of good and
truth; the former cognitions prove to be of no power for the higher degree,
and the cognitions of the higher degree must first be acquired by a further
wrestling through the natural. This also is the signification of the words,
"That the Lord will come with the clouds" (Matth. 24 : 30; Rev. I :
7). When man tries to grasp the interior truths as essential concepts, 114
FROM THE TRANSACTIONS 12:24).
The Lord Himself exhibited the type of this order, when He suffered Himself to
be crucified and to die, and when afterwards He rose again; this type signifies
the state of the Church" (n. 34).
It has been said above that there is an essential difference between the
Word and the Doctrine of the Church. What this difference is, now clearly
appears. The Third Testament is an infinite universal revelation of Divine Truth
in lasts, in its fullness, holiness, and power; but the Doctrine of the New
Church is a particular revelation of Divine truth from the Holy Spirit, on the
basis of the Third Testament, but dependent on the regeneration of the Church
and thus of the men of the Church. The Divine Truth of the Third Testament is
the Son of God, but the Divine truth of the Doctrine of the Church is from the
Holy Spirit. The Doctrine of the Church contains no single truth that has been
taken up by direct cognizance of the Third Testament; all its truths have been
received as a revelation by perception from the Holy Spirit. The fact that false
doctrines can creep into a Church and maintain themselves for a short time, has
nothing to do with this truth; for such teachings form no part of the genuine
Doctrine of the Church. Then only the Word with man is the Word, and he then
sees the Divine Truth, namely, when the understanding of man and all human
things and states concerned with the reception, by regeneration are from the
Lord. Therefore also it is said: "The Divine, proceeding, which is called
the Holy Spirit, in its proper sense is the Holy Word, and there the Divine
Truth" (CANONS, The Holy Spirit, UNIVERSALS VI). Compare with this the
reviewer's words: "If men hail the Word and the Writings .
.. It is thus the Holy Spirit ...
and is not qualified by human states" (p. 34). It is clear that "the
Holy Spirit" of which the reviewer here speaks, is not the Holy Spirit, but
Divine Truth in itself; that, however, Divine Truth in itself is
not the Doctrine of the Church, is
clear. The fundamental truth that
the reception of the Holy Spirit depends on the state of man, namely on his
regeneration, has here entirely been lost sight of. "From this it now
clearly appears
that where
the difference between the 115 OF THE SWEDENBORG GEZELSCHAP Word
and the Doctrine of the Church is not seen, there is no properly spiritual
cognition of the Lord, no properly spiritual
cognition of the Divine 'Human, no
properly spiritual cognition
of the Divine Trinity,
no properly spiritual cognition of the Word, no properly spiritual
cognition of the Holy Spirit and the Divine Operation, and
consequently no properly
spiritual cognition
of Redemption and no
properly spiritual
cognition of Regeneration.
If one is to understand the essence of the Third Testament and the order
of the reception of the truth there from, one should have some conception of the
difference between the Divine operation for conjunction with man before the
Incarnation of the Lord and after the Incarnation of the Lord. Before the
Incarnation of the Lord, in the states of the infancy,
the boyhood, and the
adolescence of the human race, man, out of good, by direct cognizance was in
truth; after
the Incarnation of the Lord,
when the development of the as-from-one's-self of the human race had progressed
to the state of adult age, the human race does not enter into the interior
degrees of truth by direct cognizance. Man
must first by wrestling through the natural raise himself to one of the interior
degrees of truth, and thereby he comes to good. This -was explained in detail in
our last meeting, with reference to Mr. Groeneveld's address on The Coming of
the Lord for Conjunction with the Church (See above pp. 86108). So it is also
with regard to the Third Testament. In that Testament by direct cognizance one
only comes to natural scientifics; to the genuine spiritual and celestial truths
in that Testament man only comes by a revelation through perception, that is by
the Doctrine which is spiritual out of celestial origin.
The remark has been made that by this view of the Divine
essence of the
Doctrine of the Church, "the
Writings" are removed from the exalted position which should be given to
them in the Church. He who has read DE HEMELSCHE LEER with an open mind, may
know that just the opposite is true. It is there shown that the Writings of
Emanuel Swedenborg are Divine in
each smallest word, and truly the Third
Testament of the Word of God; yea, that they are the proper Word itself. 116
FROM
THE TRANSACTIONS To
one for whom the essence of this Word in a rational way begins to become clear,
it will therefore soon be evident that the name of "the Writings" is
properly not the essential name for them. It is indeed not wrong to speak of
"the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg", for it would certainly also be
allowable with regard to the Pentateuch to speak of "the Writings of
Moses", and with regard to the Psalms of "the Writings of David",
and with regard to the fourth Gospel and the Revelation of "the Writings
of John". But every one at once sees that these are not the essential names
of those Books, and they are therefore scarcely in practical use. In the measure
in which the essence of the Word will be rationally seen, one will not call the
Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg otherwise than the Third Testament or the Latin
Word. But to speak with regard to this Word of "the Writings of the New
Church", as is sometimes also customary, is essentially not correct. This
may at once be seen in considering that with regard to the Old Testament one
never speaks of "the Writings of the Israelitish Church", or with
regard to the New Testament of "the Writings of the Christian Church".
The writings of the Israelitish Church are the non-canonical books of the Old
Testament, and these, the "Ketoovim", are also thus called by the
Israelites; and the writings of the Christian Church are the Epistles and the writings of
the Churchfathers,
and the
further ecclesiastical literature of the Christian Church. And so
"the writings of the New Church" are writings written by the members
of the Church. But the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg are the Third Testament or
the Latin Word.
May the Lord give that the members of the GENERAL CHURCH, by an
independent and unprejudiced study, may soon arrive at a vision of the real
contents of the articles contained in DE HEMELSCHE LEER. 117 OF THE SWEDENBORG GEZELSCHAP church
are brought to light by its literal sense, and they may subsequently be removed
from his thought. The Latin Word requires from us that we separate ourselves
entirely from the old Christian church, that is, that we do not in any way
further allow those evils and falsities, after having recognized them as such,
to determine our thought. This is represented by the fact that at the Last
Judgment; a strict separation took place among those who The
task before which man is thus placed offers peculiar difficulties. For in the
literal sense of the Latin Word the evils and falsities of the former churches
are continually spoken of, and they are thus called into our thoughts again and
again. We must, however, learn to realize that these passages in the internal
sense treat of
If we do not sufficiently realize this, and if we continue to direct our
attention to the literal sense of these passages, then peculiar dangers to our
spiritual life arise. We shall then feel ourselves elevated above the Christians
of the old church, because the falsity of their doctrine has been revealed to
us, but meanwhile we are apt to forget that the real work is still to commence,
and that the Lord wishes to raise us to heights we have never been able to dream
of.
Mr. Odhner's . article contains
a number of remarks strongly calling such things to mind. He declares for
instance that the revelation contained in the Writings, has terminated the time
of mystery and uncertainty; that in the Writings the internal sense is
comparatively near the surface; that the veil of the literal sense is of no more
importance than the sunspots and the mists of noonday. These are expressions by
one who is of opinion that he has reached
the goal, and that no new,
unthought of 118 possibilities
still exist. Over against this, we may point out that in every passage of the
Latin Word. there is contained an infinity of spiritual things. This is
illustrated by the fact that man lives only a limited number of years in the
natural world, but to eternity in the spiritual world, where new things will
ever be given to him. Life in the natural word and that in the spiritual world
correspond to the literal and to the internal sense of the Word. We may also
reflect that our earth corresponds to the sensual apperception of the Grand Man
or to the literal sense of the Word; and that the billions of other earths in
the universe correspond to the internal sense of the Word. From this it appears
that we cannot think of the arcana of the Latin Word as deep enough, or of the
veil which covers the more internal things, as thick enough.
It is of such states that the Internal sense of the following
If by the reception of the literal sense of the Latin Word the genuine
sense of the Old and of the New Testament in a certain sense has been revealed
for us, this is still only the casting out of the evil spirits from our minds; 119
OF
THE SWEDENBORG GEZELSCHAP we
are thereby saved from the false explications of the old Christian church and
the false conclusions resulting therefrom. Now, however, the legitimate
inhabitants, that is the genuine goods and truths, must enter into the mind,
In connection with this we may think of still other things. We read
repeatedly that the evil spirits acknowledge the Son of God, but that He forbids
them to speak and say that He is the Christ. The same thing He forbids the sick
whom He has healed, yea, sometimes even His disciples. The casting out of the
evil spirits signifies, as we have 120
FROM THE TRANSACTIONS Only
then will our minds not be empty and will it be impossible for the evil spirits
to re-enter. As long as we still listen to the spirits that have been driven out
and the sick that have been healed, that is, as long as we know the truth only
by its opposites, we have not yet been truly saved. Even the disciples are not
always allowed to speak, that is, even those truths in us which already receive
life from the Lord, we may use only with caution as a basis for our faith. From
all of this we see how dangerous it is to pride ourselves on what we have
already acquired and to believe that we have already become spiritual men, even
if in reality this might be the case.
The following remark in
conclusion. When in the eighteenth century the Latin Testament was
written, the Christian church had falsified the Word to such an extent that in
the Old and the New Testament no one could see a single genuine truth any more.
For this reason the proper signification was revealed of those parts of the
Word, on which the falsities of the Christian church principally rested:
Genesis, Exodus, the Revelation of John, and the principal things of the
Gospels. The Latin Word, on the contrary, has not been falsified by the New
Church; we know,- moreover, that it
cannot be falsified in such a manner, as it immediately closes itself to him who
does not approach it in the right spirit. For this reason the unveiling of the
internal sense of the Latin Word does not take place in the form of a new
revelation, but by this that the internal things of the Word come to life in us
according to order. From this it is evident that Mr. Odhner has misunderstood
our purpose, if he is of opinion that we wish to open the letter by the mere
application of the science of correspondences. What we see and describe as the
internal sense of the Latin Word cannot and may not be anything else than that
which through that Word from the Lord lives 4n our minds. As this has been
called to life in our minds by means of the literal sense of the "Latin
Word, it is self-evident that the essential things of it must afterwards again
be found in the letter of that
Word.
Em. FRANCIS. If I am asked, what do you say about the review in the
NEW CHURCH LIFE on DE HEMELSCHE 121 OF THE SWEDENBORG GEZELSCHAP LEER
and the conception laid down therein of an internal
The thesis of Rev. Pfeiffer that the Doctrine of the Church is drawn from
the Heavenly Doctrine, according to the state of regeneration of the Church, if
the hidden sense of the Writings is unfolded while making use of the
correspondences, and that the thence proceeding Doctrine of the Church, as far
as that has been obtained according to order, is of a purely Divine origin,
essence and authority, is
contested by
Rev. Odhner by
what is taught against this
in the DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE SACRED SCRIPTURE, n. 56, namely that: "It
may be believed that the Doctrine of genuine truth can be gathered by means of
the spiritual sense of the Word which is given through a knowledge of
correspondences; but the Doctrine is not acquired by that, but only illustrated
and corroborated". Indeed
it seems
to me,
as far as I
Moreover, so too is to me, for the present, the thesis propounded by the
Rev. Pfeiffer that so far it has not been seen in the New Church that the
Writings contain an internal sense, over against which the Rev. Odhner shows
that this has been acknowledged in the New Church since as early as 1799, with
this understanding however, that the internal sense of the Old and of the New
Testament is remote from their literal sense, which is not the case with that of
the Writings, which according to the Rev. Odhner finds confirmation by quoting
from the Writings, where in T. 279 it is said: "But the internal sense is
not there 'remote' from the letter as is the case in the Old 122 FROM THE TRANSACTION Testament,
where a sensual symbolism is used". [Quoted in English]
*.
Against the conception that there would be in the Writings a separated
internal sense, a further warning is given by- quoting what stands written in N.
CH. LIFE 1915, p. 199, where it says:
"Any attempt to translate the Writings into a discretely
interior sense, by means of sensual correspondences, is bound to meet with
failure, as was the fate of "a recent attempt to spiritualize and explain
away the "plain teachings of the work on conjugial Love". [Quoted in
English]. By
the application of such a system, Rev. Odhner continues,
"actually makes the
Doctrine of the New "Church of no effect, ... and we would then be
left with "abstract principles of good and truth utterly inapplicable
"to life in the concrete. The temptation of New Churchmen holding
such a theory in regard to the Writings "would be to revert to a state of
rampant individualism, "and religious and social chaos". [Quoted
in English].
These are serious warnings against dangers which are not imaginary, it
seems to me!
It is another case to think as does Bishop N. D. Pendleton, as described
in the NEW CHURCH LIFE 1923, p. 343, where it says:
"... the Writings as having 'their own ultimate, their "defined
formulas, which,
in their own way, call for "interpretive explanations' ... 'the
vital things of revelation come to us through our interpretations' ".
[Quoted in English]. Indeed thence come a "secondary body of
"doctrine, consisting of interpretative formulas, if these "be guided
by the genuine love of truth", [quoted
in English], says Rev. Odhner. But, says he further "the "mode of such
interpretations is merely the normal process "of man's thinking".
[Quoted in English].
* The words quoted are by Rev. Odhner. The passage referred to in THE
TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION, n. 279, reads as follows: "Since the Old Word was
full of such correspondences as remotely signified celestial and spiritual
things, and consequently began to be falsified by many, in course of time by the
Lord's Divine Providence it disappeared, and another Word was given, written by
correspondences not so remote, and this through the prophets among the sons of
Israel". ED. 123
OF
THE SWEDENBORC. GEZELSCHAP These interpretations, however, it seems to me, are not of purely Divine
origin, essence and authority, not even the "Principles of the
Academy" as far as in the future "they will prove to be
imperishable", [quoted in English],
If the Writings indeed have a "discretely
internal "sense", [quoted in English], then would "The
Writings "are also closed with seven seals", [quoted in English],
In connection with the above, it therefore seems doubtful to me, that,
after. that, even men enlightened by the 'Lord, should repeat once more this
work of the Lord alone!
And yet, Rev. Pfeiffer adheres to the conception that "one thing
especially has now become evident beyond all "doubt, namely, that the
belief that the Word in the "Third Testament is not clothed with a purely
natural "literal sense, just as in the Old and New Testaments, is "a
mischievous fallacy by which man is kept in a purely "natural state, and is
absolutely prevented from rising to "a rational, let alone a spiritual or a
celestial state", [quoted in English], and further that "the Church as
a "whole has been in a merely natural state, seeing only "the
'natural' sense of the Writings". [Quoted in English].
In connection with the above I would like to ask, 'what is the
characteristic of a natural man, and when does he 124
FROM
THE TRANSACTIONS become
spiritual and even celestial, and in a wider sense, the Church? The answer to
this is given by n, 249 of the t)iv. L. AND W., where it says that: "There
are three kinds of natural men: "1.
They who know nothing of the Divine precepts.
"2. They who know
that there are such precepts, "but do not think about a life according
thereto.
"3. They who despise
and deny these precepts. " In n. 237 of the Div.L. W. it says,
"That when man is born he comes into the natural degree. His spiritual
degree is first opened by means of the spiritual love of From these places it therefore does not appear that a man becomes rational and even celestial by the seeing of an internal sense, removed from the literal sense of the Writings. Finally this is also confirmed by what is said in n. 239 of
Div. L. AND W., namely where Swedenborg says: "Ich kannte einen Menschen
von mittelmassigen Kenntnissen 125
OF
THE SWEDENBORG GEZELSCHAP er
in. der Welt die G-ebote des Wortes auf's Leben angewendet, und den Herm verehrt
hatte, und daher vom Herm in den dritten Grad der Liebe und Weisheit erhoben
wurde" [Quoted in German].
This man knew nothing of an internal sense removed from the literal sense
of the Writings, nevertheless he was raised to the 3rd Heaven.
The characteristic of genuine truth is that it should speak for itself;
therefore argumentation is really superfluous and to a certain extent useless.
We might content ourselves by pointing to the numbers 226233 of THE TRUE
CHRISTIAN RELIGION; to say more clearly and better what is the Doctrine of the
Church, and the relation of that Doctrine to the Word, the Latin Testament, is
quite impossible. To make this clearer presently a number of theses, derived
therefrom. But if the contention of the reviewer is incorrect, then in itself it
will have to contain 126 problem
has not yet been. penetrated by him so that it stands lucidly before his spirit.
This interior contradiction
Page 27. "The Writings
coming to us in literal form, their obvious sense and intended meaning are yet
spiritual, and their purpose is to lift the mind to see spiritual and celestial
laws". If the obvious sense and intended meaning of the Writings are
spiritual, then why, one may ask, must the mind still be lifted to see spiritual
and celestial laws? For the mind then in any case sees spiritual laws without
lifting itself above the letter. In other words, the reading of the letter of
the Writings would of itself bring spiritual ideas with it. A merely natural man
which
For, says the next sentence, the man of the New Church has now
because he belongs to the New Church? found the spiritual sense
"disclosed". Well, in all solemnity and humility we must confess that
we have not yet had that experience. On the contrary, all our lectures and
doctrinal classes and addresses of late always start from the teaching that the
first step is that from the exterior natural to the interior natural. Let alone
that we
should feel ourselves to be "spiritual men". A selfexaltation of this
kind we cannot share. In these remarks therefore a difference of insight reveals
itself as to what is the
"spiritual sense". We
believe in
the possibility of a deeper insight into the Third Testament than
the literal sense gives. Now this
deeper insight, still to be
obtained, the Word calls the Doctrine of the Church.
Page 27. "But to New
Churchmen whose comfort it has been to feel that this surpassing Revelation has
disclosed the spiritual sense, and ended the age of mystery and uncertainty,
there comes a decided disturbance of mind when it is suggested that the
Writings are, perhaps, only another sealed Letter, whose treasury of hidden
truths has to be drawn out by some special process, or translated into spiritual
doctrine by specially enlightened prophets yet to come!" All insight of
man into the Word is based on his personal experience; therefore it is only
possible to testify of our experience and to wait whether this also 127 OF THE SWEDENBORG GEZELSCHAP certainty
should have been ended, because we have the "surpassing Revelation"
standing in our books, that we cannot believe. That time can come only when the
laws which of a man make a "rational" man, stand written m his heart
and he applies them not from the books, but as from himself;
in other
words, the
certainty of
faith does not lie in the fact that we have received a book with a new
revelation, but in this that we see the occasion and the possibility opened so
to understand the Word by the Doctrine of the Church, that that certainty comes
forth from our inmost. So that at the present moment in all humility we cannot
acknowledge otherwise than that we are still very far removed from that time,
and that the Book, the Latin Testament, is a book sealed with seven seals. For
the Doctrine of the Church makes us see that this Testament also must be opened,
and that the Doctrine of the Church is the means thereto, and that that Doctrine
is from the Lord, and that we may present this Doctrine as from ourselves.
Nothing but this for us as yet is "certaint); but the realization of the
"uncertainty of truth" indeed gives the greatest suppost to man,
because he seeks the certainty in himself as from himself, and not in the fact
that "the Writings" are a surpassing revelation.
It speaks for itself that we do not prescribe any special method for this
process, but that we keep to the revealed means, and that we wait for particular
enlightenment of the Church, and we hope that soon from elsewhere such prophets
will come who understand this; one who will understand that there is no question
of a "translation into spiritual doctrine", a thing which is
absolutely impossible, but only of a deeper insight into the proper meaning of
what is the rational and what is the natural.
The question whether "something new" is being advanced by us,
this, time alone will teach. For the present we limit ourselves to the purely
personal testimony that our insight into the realities of the Word has been
deepened. An experience which we shall force on none, but from which we have
great expectations for the future of the Church. Page
32. "But our people have never
been acutely conscious of this literal veil before our Revelation, any more than
of the sunspots or of the thin mists of noonday; 128 and
we judge this to indicate perceptiveness on the part of the Church". This
expression in our eyes is only a selfexaltation to a semblance of state;
becoming conscious of the veil we consider the first condition for the
regeneration and new birth of man. The more a man will be able to see veils
and lift
them up,
the more
he will
realize the thickness of
those veils, and arrive at genuine truth, instead of at mere appearances of
truth. He will realize that he has not yet by a long way arrived at the genuine
appearances of truth, that many clouds should disappear before it would be
possible for the Lord to reveal Himself to the
"rational" man.
This takes
place only by
the realization of the entirely lowly state of man with regard to the
Word. For our feeling, there is in this remark not the least light with regard
to the value and the proper significance of the Word, as laid down in the
Writings. Moreover it gives the impression as if the Hebrew and the Greek
Testament were already explained by the reading of the letter of the Third
Testament, while in reality the explanation of the Word must take place by the
Doctrine of the Church.
Page 33. "Mr. Pfeiffer
then illustrates how this can be done, by making an exposition of the
"spiritual" sense of the title-page of the Arcana Coelestia".
No exposition has been given of the "spiritual" sense by the
explanation of the title-page of the ARCANA COELESTIA. An example only of one of
the many interior senses has been .given. Only an example has been given in what
way our insight into each word of the Latin Word is still capable of being
deepened. All efforts of explanation contain nothing else than that. It is
possible that this insight flows forth from the spiritual sense which the
Doctrine of the Church brings. But this exegesis is only to be understood as a
further indication of the necessity of the Doctrine of the Church to make the
Word more intelligible to the man of the Church. This is not "merely the
normal process of man's thinking", but it is enlightenment from within,
that 129
OF
THE SWEDENBORG GEZELSCHAP
Page 33. Is the
"Doctrine of the Church" Divine? The Doctrine of the Church is
spiritual from celestial origin. The purpose is to show that also the Doctrine
of the Church does not find its origin in the brain of one
Page 36. "A
correspondential interpretation of the Writings". Correspondences: The
impression is created
Page 40. Danger of heresies. The greatest danger of heresies is in
the mere application of the letter of the Word, without the insight given by the
Doctrine of the Church; for this letter of the Writings is also suited to give
everyone the opportunity of confirming his theses by that letter. The only
control over this is the Doctrine of the Church, acquired in an orderly way; it
is the only measure to prevent one from falling into heresies.. In this respect
the Latin Word does not differ from the Greek and the Hebrew, for the
characteristic of Revelation is always that this is given in the letter, but
with spiritual and celestial contents within. Only the pure Doctrine of the
Church penetrates into this, and is thus safeguarded from heresies, because
the Doctrine sees and dissolves the contradictions.
Page 41. We are not "on the pursuit of celestial truths", 130 FROM THE TRANSACTIONS for
we have 1101; yet by a long way arrived at the rational itself.
The position-that the possession of the
"Rational Word" would immediately make rational men of us, is a
phantasy which can only be contested by the Doctrine of the Church. It is,
moreover, remarkable to read in how many passages the Doctrine of the Church and
the Word are mentioned in one breath. A proof that they should be distinguished,
and that this distinction is full of significance. For no word in the Word is
without a signification.
THESES: 1.
The Writings
are the
Word.
The True Christian Religion, 226: 2.The Word without Doctrine is unintelligible. 3.
The Word, in its literal sense,
consists of pure correspondences. 4.Spiritual
and celestial things lie hidden in that letter. 5.The
letter serves as a basis, and spiritual things are confirmed therein. 6.Divine
truths in the letter are rarely found uncovered. 7.Divine truths are clothed in appearances of truth. 8.9.
These appearances are accommodated
to the apprehension of the simple. Some things appear to be contradictory. 10.There is not a single contradiction in the
Word, seen in spiritual light. 11.Such
being the nature of the Word in the literal sense, it is very evident that
without Doctrine the Word cannot possibly be understood. The
True Christian Religion, 227: 12.
The
Word by means of Doctrine does not only become intelligible, but also clear and
enlighteningin the understanding. 13. Doctrine reconciles apparent contradictions. 14.All Christian churches have a Doctrine. 15.
Only
true Doctrine gives a true interpretation of the Word. 16.
This
true Doctrine is like a lamp in the darkness. 131
OF
THE SWEDENBORG GEZELSCHAP The
True Christian Beligion, 228: 17. Those who read the Word without Doctrine are in darkness concerning all truth. 18. They easily fall into
heresies. 19.
The Word is to them like a
candlestick without light. 20. Doctrine alone could give them light. 21.
The danger is that the Word without Doctrine only favours the love of
self and self-intelligence.
The True Christian Religion, 229: 22.
Doctrine must be drawn from the literal sense, and 23.
The
letter is and remains the basis or the foundation of Doctrine. 24.
The
significance of Doctrine is that it arranges the truths of the Word in order, so
that they are seen in mutual connection. The
True Christian Religion, 230: 25.
Doctrine is not acquired by means of the spiritual sense of the Word,
which is given by the science of correspondences. 26.
By this, Doctrine is only illustrated and corroborated.
The True Christian Religion, 231: 27. Enlightenment comes from the Lord alone, namely to those who love the truths because they are truths, and apply them to the use of life. 28. With others, there is no enlightenment in the Word. 29. The Word is from the Lord, thus also enlightenment from it, and thus Doctrine also. 30. The man who
opens himself for influx by a life according to that Doctrine, acknowledges the
truth from an interior perception, afterwards he sees that truth in his thought,
and this as often as he is in the affection of truth for the sake of truth; for
out of affection is perception, out of perception is thought, and thus arises
acknowledgment, which is called faith. 132 The
True Christian Religion, 232: 31.
The
contrary is the case with those who read the
The True Christian Religion, 233: 32.
The study of the Word should be done from the affection of knowing truth
because it is true and leads to the good of life.
All these theses result immediately. from the basic thesis, that the
Writings are the Word.
J. P. VERSTRAATE. It belongs to the Doctrine of the Church that the
DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE SACRED SCRIPTURE without reserve applies to the Latin
Word. This thesis is the basis on which the new state which becomes possible by
the Doctrine of the Church can develop. By this it has become possible that
still another thesis comes to the fore, namely this: that the way in which the
Second Coming was effected and all particulars we know about it, in the internal
sense give a description of all that is to take place with the Church as a
whole. and with each individual man who desires actually to partake of the
Second Coming of the Lord, in the same way as the story of the Coming of the
Lord in the Flesh to all particulars represents and corresponds to what must
spiritually take place with each man where the Lord is born.
The Coming of the Lord in the Flesh was a macrocosmic event, to which the
microcosmic event of the birth of the Lord in each man who is prepared for it,
completely corresponds. The Second Coming of the Lord in the Spirit through
Swedenborg was a macrocosmic event to which the microcosmic event of the Second
Coming of the Lord in the mind of each man who is prepared for it, completely
corresponds. The macrocosmic Second Coming of the Lord took place in the
Writings of Swedenborg, of which the essence is that they have been revealed
from the Lord Himself. They contain the essential elements by which the Second
Coming took place. Likewise the microcosmic Second Coming of the Lord in the
Church takes place in the Doctrine of the Church, of which also the essence is 133
OF
THE SWEDENBORG GEZELSCHAP that
it is revealed from the Lord Himself; and then it
If one denies that the essential Second Coming consists in direct
immediate revelation from the Lord in the Church, which, as also has already
been said, is the presence of the Holy Spirit in the New Church, one cannot
possibly actually partake of the microcosmic Second Coming. The acknowledgment
and the reception of these theses give to the Church such an abundance of
interior confirmation and exterior evidence that one stands perplexed at the
thoughtlessness with which it is attempted to destroy these holy things, which
for the first time make of the Church
In the Church as a whole and in the individual man there are two phases
to be distinguished, which, although forming one whole, are still to be strictly
distinguished. The Doctrine of the Church has brought the difference between
these two phases to the fore, and lately, especially during the consideration of
the story of Joseph in Egypt, it has been clearly confirmed that it is entirely
according to order that the Church as a whole, and the individual man, at first
cannot do otherwise than only take up scientifics
from the
Word. There
can therefore
be no question either of the
Church, or of man, in the beginning being concerned
with properly
spiritual things.
The Doctrine of the Church has shown that the idea that in the literal
sense of the Latin Testament one has to do with genuinely
spiritual things,
is based
on error.
These genuinely spiritual things cannot be obtained but by 134
The Church and man also must become conscious of the fact that the
spiritual state which is possible
by the Doctrine of the Church cannot follow upon the natural state apart from
great changes. Very much must first take place and man must pass through severe
temptations. It 135
OF
THE SWEDENBORG GEZELSCHAP
scions
that these evils and falsities are present in him also. In this application to
himself, man can never- be severe enough, and he can never think too seriously
of the danger with which he himself, and also the Church, are threatened.
He who interiorly sees what the Doctrine of the Church is,
the place which it occupies
in the development of the
individual man, in the Church as a whole, and also in the human race, that it is
essentially the Second Coming of the Lord, has no difficulty in seeing that it
cannot be otherwise but that everywhere where in the Third Testament the New
Church and the old church are mentioned in one relation or another, actually
certain states of the New Church are meant. And it is scarcely otherwise than
could have been expected that the Doctrine of the Church during the short period
of its existence has already had to meet with so many difficulties. From the
attitude taken by its opponents, and also from the things brought up against it.
a typical resemblance is very manifest with the things which, as a rule the old
church reproaches the New Church. In both cages there is an absolute lack of
comprehension as to what the real point is, and numerous literal texts from the
Word are now also quoted, giving the appearance as if the Doctrine of the Church
were in contradiction therewith.
There are many more phenomena known to a member of the New Church and
which now occur anew with regard to the Doctrine of the Church; to mention only
a few: In the first instance that an originally negative attitude of 136 proached
by the old church of over-estimation of self and of conceit, and to the
uninitiated there is an appearance as if this were so. The same thing we now see
happening with regard to the Doctrine of the Church. From
the preceding the value and significance of articles such as this review of DE
HEMELSCHE LEER may be seen. Such arguments indeed play a role, but it is a
question whether this is not another role than the one which had been assigned
to it. From the argument it clearly
H. D. G. GROENEVELD. After reading the review of DE HEMELSCHE LEER in
NEW CHURCH LIFE for January 1931 one cannot but have a feeling of sadness,
because it is so
evident that
the reviewer
has not at all tried to penetrate into the spirit of the articles
appearing in DE HEMELSCHE LEER; yea, that he has read these articles with the
greatest superficiality. The review gives the impression that there was no
question of an affirmative attitude towards the principles advanced in DE
HEMELSCHE LEER out of the Latin Word, and that often the affection of being
permitted to understand was lacking, as a result of which utterance has been
given even to coarseness. If the review therefore had come from outside the
Church, one would have put it aside. Now this review will be examined more
closely for the sake of the Church of the Lord.
In the beginning of the review (page
27) we read the following: "But to New Churchmen whose comfort it has been
to feel that this surpassing Revelation has disclosed the spiritual sense, and
ended the age of mystery and uncertainty, there comes a decided disturbance of
mind when it is suggested that the Writings are, perhaps, only another sealed
Letter, whose treasury of hidden truths has to be drawn out by some special
process, or translated into spiritual doctrine by specially enlightened prophets
yet to come!" From this it appears that at that moment the reviewer was
given to feel after what wrestling it might have been made possible for him to
enter into the city of 137
OF THE SWEDENBORG GEZELSCHAP the
Doctrine of the Church. For every open-minded man of the New Church knows that
in the course of regeneration every change of state is accompanied with a
disturbance of mind. 'In those moments everything is mystery and uncertainty,
and this state ends
after victory
in the combat. Then the
Third Testament, or, as the reviewer says,
The Writings, appears in greater clearness than before. From the spirit
which speaks from the next few lines, it appears that the reviewer has not
accepted the combat, as a
consequence of which he has not been admitted into the city of the Doctrine of
the Church, and from without he directs his attacks against the walls of that
city, wishing to destroy them by the throwing of stones.
This is plainly evident from the
fact that the reviewer sees the essence of the Doctrine of the Church in
the opening of correspondences, as appears from pages 36 and following. That the
essence of the Doctrine of the Church does not lie in the opening of
correspondences, appears from DE HEMELSCHE LEER where, on page 65 (First Fasc.),
we read: "In this coming into existence of the celestial Doctrine lies the
real core of the genuine Doctrine of the Church. It comes into existence by the
influx of the celestial within into the rational, which is to say that the
genuine Doctrine of the Church is a Divine revelation by internal
perception", and on page 89: "As regards man the great importance of
this truth lies in this, that this proves that with roan the receptacle of the
Holy Spirit does not lie in the natural cognitions derived by direct cognizance
from the-Latin Word (Abram in Egypt); 138 above
the literal sense of the Word (Abimelech, after the acknowledgement of Rebecca
as Isaac's wife)". Anyone
who has read DE HEMELSCHE LEER with a receptive mind with amazement will wonder
how the reviewer could arrive at the conclusion that the essence of the Doctrine
of the Church lies in the opening of correspondences, seeing it has been clearly
shown that the principle of the Divinity of the Doctrine of the Church has
arisen from the exegesis of the 12th, 20th, and 26th chapters of Genesis. From
this alone it is evident that the reviewer has not understood even the slightest
thing of the articles by Rev. Pfeiffer, which are entirely inspired by this
thought, a fact which makes the manner of judging of the reviewer appear in full
light.
As regards the articles by Rev. E. S.
Hyatt, which as the reviewer says, were "met with the silence of
approval", we read on page 29; "The whole purport of Mr. Hyatt's
teaching is to show that, to all intents and purposes, the Writings are the
internal sense of the Word; that to the
What the reviewer quotes on page 30
from Rev. C. T. Odhner, namely: "Those who falsify the Writings remain in
their literal sense"; ... that every Divine Revelation must be "correspondential,
and . . . has internal senses, one within the other" agrees with the
principles laid down in DE HEMELSCHE LEER. In view of this quotation from Rev.
C. T. Odhner one wonders whether the reviewer has 139
OF THE SWEDENBORG GEZELSCHAP properly
considered it. In what is quoted on the same page, namely: "Being
accommodated to the highest plane of the natural mind, the Writings do not
contain any further discrete natural degree, such as would require the services
of a further distinct revelation", the stress is laid on "discrete
natural". Does the reviewer wish to indicate by this that the Writings, or
the Third Testament, cannot be received by man in a natural way? If such is the
case the reviewer has not penetrated to the spirit of Rev. C. T. Odhner's
argument. For the latter here makes a distinction between the Testaments such as
to their essence and form they have been given to the human race for the
upbuilding of the Church and for the regeneration of man. In this connection we
would refer to DE HEMELSCHE LEER, page 129, where with regard to the Third
Testament we read: "By the revelation of the Third Testament a new basis
has now been
given to the human race for its thought, by which access has been given also to
the rational things and therefore to the Divine Human in its fullness. The real
subject of the Third Testament is never natural things, but always internal or
genuine rational things, although to all appearance the letter often treats also
of natural things. But it is only for the sake of the appearance before the
sensual man, who only after much preparation can be introduced to the essence of
the things. There is no single word in the Third Testament which, if seen as to
its proper sense, that is, if interiorly seen, does not treat of spiritual and
celestial things. The proper New Church therefore is a purely internal Church,
and in its fullness it is, indeed a celestial Church". The man of the
Church has to travel a long road and to wrestle through many states before he
can see what the Third Testament as to its essence gives to the human race, and
what the Second Coming of the Lord signifies. This is clearly shown in DE
HEMELSCHE LEER on pages 104 and following, in the explication of the concepts
"experience" and "text", and where the successive degrees of
the Doctrine of the Church are dealt with,
on pages
III and
following. This seeing of the 140
FROM THE TRANSACTIONS Second
Coming of the Lord. From DE HEMELSCHE LEER it is plainly evident for him who
reads with a receptive mind, that a new Testament is just what is no longer
needed: By the Third Testament the fullness of the Word has now been given to
the human race. It is by the Doctrine of the Church that this for the first time
will really be seen.
On page 34 we read: "We are
indeed given the teaching that Divine Doctrine is the Word, and that therefore
doctrine from the literal sense is also Divine (A. C. 3712), because by the
letter the Lord's Divine Truth proceeds and appears to men. But this does not
mean that man's reception of it is Divine, or that human statements of doctrine
unless they be mere compilations from the Writings can
be called Divine. The moment we depart from the wording of the Divine
Revelation, we must also waive the Divine authority of the statement, and leave
the sentiment that we seek to express to be judged by its fidelity to the sphere
of thought proceeding from the Writings themselves". With amazement we read
that the reviewer does attribute Divine
authority to
compilations from
the Writings, no matter by whom this is done. For from numerous passages
in the Third Testament we know how evil spirits appeal to the Divine authority
of the literal sense
of the Word, and what quotations from the Word are in their hands. It is
all too evident here that the reviewer was not given to understand the
slightest thing of what DE HEMELSCHE LEER writes on the Doctrine of the Church.
If, as the reviewer says, man is never able to utter anything that has Divine
authority, then why does he refer to persons such as Rev. E. T. Hyatt, Rev. C.
T. Odhner, and others? Seeing it is revealed to us in innumerable places in the
Third Testament that everything which a man writes or speaks from himself is
evil and false, such an appeal would not only be of no value, but thoroughly
misleading. Does one not appeal in the Church to
persons because one
is of opinion that they are
in enlightenment from the Lord, and that what they have written or spoken is
from the Lord, and therefore of the Lord? Is not everything the Angels speak of
the Lord? Is it not the Lord who builds the Church and does the Lord not dwell
in the Church in His Own?
According to the reviewer the judgment
of the sentiment 141
OF THE SWEDENBORG GEZELSCHAP
that
we seek to express must be left to the fidelity to the sphere of thought
proceeding from the Writings themselves. But what proves this fidelity and how
is it determined? Will not the Christian church say that it is faithful to the
Word, and will not the so-called New Church bodies similarly say that they are
faithful to the Writings? A church is Church by its Doctrine out of the Word. A
church it not Church on account of the Revelation given to it. By the Revelation
given to each Church it is determined what will be the essence of the Church. In
the BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH it has therefore been
revealed to us that the Christian
church has been judged by
its doctrine. Therefore as to its essence
it is no longer a church, although it
still bases itself on the Word. The New Church therefore ever more and
more, and this to eternity, is essentially
a Church by its Doctrine. But its Doctrine is genuine only if it is
received out of the Third Testament from the Lord, and consequently if it is of
the Lord alone and thus Divine.
On page 34 we read: "If men hail
the Word and the Writings as Divine, and accept them without reservations, the
Divine Doctrine becomes also the Doctrine of the Church". The reviewer thus
identifies the Divine Doctrine with the Doctrine of the Church. The Divine
Doctrine is the Word and thus the Doctrine as it is in itself. It is the Lord's
alone, infinite, and therefore inconceivable for any Angel or man. The Doctrine
of the Church is the Doctrine such as it has been accommodated by the Lord to
Angels and men of the Church. It is therefore different for the Angels according
as they are Angels of the Third Heaven, of the Second Heaven, or of the First
Heaven. and different for the Church according to the state of the Church. The
relation of the Divine Doctrine to the Doctrine of the Church is the same as the
relation of the Son of God to the Son of Man. It is the same as the relation of
the Divine Human in itself, which is far above the Heavens,
to the Divine
Human that makes
the Heavens. To identify the Divine Doctrine with the Doctrine of the
Church is, therefore, not yet to accept the Divine Human in itself. To deny this
Divine Human in itself would
be to
see the "Lord as
an ordinary
man, 142
FROM THE TRANSACTIONS whereby
it would be denied that the Lord is the Creator of Heaven and earth. By making a
distinction between the Word and the Writings, where by the Word the Old and the
New Testaments are understood and by the Writings the theological works of
Emanuel Swedenborg, it is evident that essentially the Writings are not yet
accepted
We read on page 37: "It may be
believed that 'doctrine of genuine truth can be gathered by means of the
spiritual sense of the Word which is given through a knowledge of
correspondences; but doctrine is not so gathered ... (S.S. 56)" and
further: "What Mr. Pfeiffer attempts, however, is precisely this
thing". In this connection we would refer to what has been quoted above
from DE HEMELSCHE LEER, pages 65 and 89, and further to page 78, where we read:
". . . and they thought that the science of correspondences, which is
revealed in the Writings, and which in itself is only a system of merely natural
cognitions, was the spiritual sense itself", and to page 81, where we read:
"For the Writings contain ... also a fullness of sensual natural ideas,
derived from the visible things of the world, which first must all be opened
according to order with the 143
OF THE SWEDENBORG GEZELSHAP assistance
of the science of correspondences, before man by means
of the Doctrine of the Church can approach the spiritual sense of the
Writings". From this it is distinctly evident that the Doctrine of the
Church is not gathered by
Finally the following quotation from
the review. On
Only a few points from the review have
been taken up. It is not possible to deal with every paragraph, as every
sentence shows a lack of insight into the principles developed in DE HEMELSCHE
LEER.
In conclusion, may the request be
addressed to all in the 144
FROM THE TRANSACTIONS GENERAL
CHURCH, from love to the Lord and for the sake of the upbuilding of the Church
to seriously consider and deeply meditate upon the articles presented in DE
HEMELSCHE LEER. Rev.
THEODORE PITCAIRN. The review of DE HEMELSCHE LEER that appeared in
the January issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE is of such a nature, that it is hard to
believe that the writer read DE HEMELSCHE LEER with care, or reflected on what
he read. In any case the essence of DE HEMELSCHE LEER is passed over as if it
did not exist.
It is surprising that the GENERAL
CHURCH does not as yet see that the opening of the Writings takes place by means
of the opening of the discrete degrees of the mind of the Church, and not by
what is called the normal working of the human mind, or the rational method.
That CONVENTION or CONFERENCE should not see this would not be surprising, for
they are unaware of any discrete degree in the understanding of the Writings.
But it should be evident to the members of the GENERAL CHURCH that the
understanding of the Writings by one who sees them as the Lord Himself in His
Second Coming, differs by a discrete degree from the understanding of those who
look upon them as the works of Swedenborg. That the latter vision is granted to
the Church by the opening of a more interior degree of the mind and not by what
is called .the normal process of man's thinking, may be seen from this, that a
man in CONFERENCE or CONVENTION might be very learned in the Writings, might
have studied them much and thought about what he read, and still not have his
eyes opened to see their Divinity; while on the other hand a simple man who has
not been able to study the Writings, may still clearly see them as the Lord in
His Second Coming. The simple man who has had his eyes opened is
evidently in
a more interior
degree of understanding than
the learned man whose eyes have remained closed.
As the man of the GENERAL CHURCH can
see this discrete degree in the understanding of the Writings, he should be able
from Doctrine to acknowledge that there
In preparation: DE
HEMELSGHE LEER FOURTH
FASCICLE OF
THE ENGLISH EDITION
To be obtained through: Academy Book Room, Bryn Athyn, Pa. U.S.A. Mr.
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Colchester, England J. H. Ridgway Esq., 2, Old Well Court, Durban, South Africa THE
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