1. On Swedenborg’s use of the term “the Word” for the books of the Bible that have an inner meaning, see note 7 in New Jerusalem 1. On the continuous and connected spiritual meaning that he sees as existing within the literal meaning of these books, see Last Judgment 40-42; Secrets of Heaven 1-5; New Jerusalem 1, 252, 258-261; White Horse 9-12; Sacred Scripture 5-26; True Christianity 193-209. [LSW]

2. Swedenborg is not implying that heaven is visible to the physical eye. The word for heaven in biblical Hebrew (שָׁמַיִם [šāmayim]) and Greek (οὐρανός [ouranós]), as well as in Swedenborg’s original Latin (caelum), can mean either “sky” or “heaven,” and here his explanation of the term new heaven hinges on the ambiguity: “People . . . understand the Last Judgment to mean the end” of the physical sky, but instead it means, among other things, the end of a particular nonphysical heaven in the spiritual world, as initially described in Last Judgment 2 and in greater detail thereafter, especially in §§65-72. [LSW, SS]

3. Swedenborg refers here to Revelation 21:1. For related discussion, see note 3 in Last Judgment 15 below. [RS]

4. The Latin word here translated “earthly” is naturalis, traditionally translated “natural.” For more on the concept behind this word, see note 6 in New Jerusalem 1. [Editors]

5. The Latin here translated “of the divine design” is ordinis divini, literally, “of the divine order.” On this term, see note 1 in New Jerusalem 11. [Editors]

6. By “the Christian world” here (Latin orbe Christiano), Swedenborg means the predominantly Christian regions of the world, which in his day were Europe and its colonies, or in nongeographical terms, the world’s Christians themselves. [LSW, SS]

7. In this instance, as often elsewhere, Swedenborg is using the term “church” historically to mean the core religious approach of a given age or era through which heaven was connected with humankind, of which he asserts there have been five major instances, in the following sequence: the earliest (or “most ancient”) church, the early (or “ancient”) church, the Jewish church, the Christian church, and a new church represented by the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21 and 22. For more discussion, see note 3 in New Jerusalem 4. [JSR]

8. On the term “spiritual world,” which includes heaven, hell, and the intermediate “world of spirits,” see note 2 in New Jerusalem 22. [Editors]

9. The reference here is to Heaven and Hell, apparently composed and probably also published at a time earlier in 1758 than Last Judgment. On the order of composition of Swedenborg’s works of 1758, see the editors’ preface, pages 29-33. [GFD, SS]

10. The Latin word here translated “union” is conjunctio, traditionally translated “conjunction.” For more on Swedenborg’s use of this Latin term, see note 6 in New Jerusalem 2. [Editors]

1. Swedenborg attacks bodies of religious teachings that promote "faith apart from love" throughout his theological works, but his exact meaning is sometimes ambiguous, because the referent is twofold. His immediate referent is usually the doctrine of Martin Luther (1483-1546) commonly known as Sola Fide, or "By Faith Alone," the traditional rendering of the phrase. To Luther it was not so much the act of repentance that mattered, but faith in God through Christ, which would lead to a pouring down of grace. His aim in teaching this doctrine was partly to emphasize human incapacity and partly to counteract Catholic teachings, which held that works, or actions-specifically, the receiving of the sacraments (or the intention of receiving them), and notably those of baptism and penance-were necessary for forgiveness by God. Luther believed that it is too much even to say that repentance results in justification (our "setting ourselves right with God"); rather this is accomplished solely through faith in Christ's power to atone for our sins. Sola Fide remained the doctrinal cornerstone of the Lutheran tradition in which Swedenborg was raised nearly two centuries later, but ultimately Swedenborg rejected the theory of Christ's atonement on which Sola Fide was built. He severely criticized the spiritual complacency that resulted from dismissing good works (which he understood as loving actions toward one's neighbor rather than as the sacraments). However, Swedenborg also uses the term "body of teaching about faith apart from love" to refer to any religious system that privileges ritual performance or orthodox profession over living a life of caring for the neighbor: it is in this latter, wider sense that the term is being used here. Swedenborg sees the propensity toward crafting a theology of faith alone as something universal to humanity after the fall of the early churches, a temptation represented in the Bible by the Philistines:

In the ancient church and after its time, "Philistines" referred to people who had little energy for learning how to live but a great deal of energy for learning theology. Eventually they even rejected life issues and acknowledged belief issues as those crucial to the church, detaching them from life. So they dismissed and erased doctrines concerning neighborly love, which formed the whole of the ancient church's theology. (Secrets of Heaven 3412[2]; see further references in New Jerusalem 257:2)

On the notion of earlier churches, see note 3 below. For Swedenborg's discussion of faith, see New Jerusalem 108-122. He attacks justification by faith alone at many points in his works; the foundations for this criticism and rejection are laid as early as §§30-36 in Secrets of Heaven. This treatment continues in Heaven and Hell 521-527, The Lord 18, and Marriage Love 523-529, right through to True Christianity, the final published work in his corpus, where it receives colorful commentary in §§355-361, 626-666, and elsewhere. There are dozens of similar passages in other volumes. Some of the more focused and extensive discussions of faith alone, or faith apart from love, may be found in Secrets of Heaven 4783, 4925, 8093; Faith 41-72; Divine Providence 114-117; and in the chapters of Revelation Unveiled expounding on Revelation 8-16 (§§386-716). On the connection of faith alone with blindness, or blind faith, see Faith 9, 46; Revelation Unveiled 914; Revelation Explained (= Swedenborg 1994-1997a) §781. For more on faith separated from charitable (loving) works and its effect on the church specifically, see the passages from Secrets of Heaven listed in New Jerusalem 121[2] and Last Judgment 39[3]. For more on the content and context of the doctrine of Sola Fide see, for example, Strohl 2003; Wriedt 2003; Bertram 1985, 172-184. [DNG, RS, LSW, SS]

2. The three heavens described in this section are the upper or third heaven, also called the heavenly heaven; the middle or second heaven, also called the spiritual heaven; and the lower or first heaven, also called the earthly or natural heaven. These heavens can be pictured as levels one above the other or as distinct regions one within the other. (See Secrets of Heaven 9594; Heaven and Hell 29-40; Divine Love and Wisdom 202.) The three hells, which are an inverted and distorted mirror image of the three heavens, are the deepest hell opposite to the third heaven, the middle hell opposite to the second heaven, and the highest hell opposite to the first heaven (Heaven and Hell 542; Divine Love and Wisdom 275). For diagrams illustrating these relationships, see Woofenden and Rose 2008, 38; Lang 2000, 13, 21. [LSW]

3. The term "church" in Swedenborg's usage does not always denote a group of Christians (though it may do so) but very often refers instead to one of five major phases he assigns to the world's spiritual history. In general he calls the first phase the earliest church (from the creation story to the time of the Flood); the second the early, or ancient, church (from the Flood to the time of Moses, but with a second phase called the Hebrew church starting at the time of Eber); the third the Israelite or Jewish church (from Moses to the time of Christ); the fourth the Christian church (the Christian era up to 1757); and the fifth a new church represented by the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21 and 22 and seen as beginning in Swedenborg's own time and covering the rest of human spiritual history. In addition to the reference to further discussion that Swedenborg himself provides at the end of this section (that is, Last Judgment 46, which itself contains further references to the voluminous material on these churches in Secrets of Heaven), see the following: New Jerusalem 246-248; Divine Providence 328; True Christianity 760, 786; Revelation Explained (= Swedenborg 1994-1997a) §948:3; and Heaven and Hell 115, 327 (which contain brief overviews). Three particularly useful passages in Secrets of Heaven are §§1850, 10248:7, and 10355. See also notes 1 and 8 in Last Judgment 46. For an early use of the word church to refer to the Israelites, see Acts 7:38. [GFD, LHC, LSW]

4. "Inflow" is a one-way flow from one level or entity into another, having a direct effect on the lower or secondary level or entity (see note 5 in Last Judgment 9). Here Swedenborg mentions two distinct types of inflow: indirect inflow and direct inflow. Direct inflow proceeds from the Lord by an internal route into the souls of angels, spirits, and people on earth, and from there into the rest of their being. Indirect inflow proceeds from God through the various levels of the spiritual world (see note 2 in New Jerusalem 4). From there it influences angels, spirits, and people on earth in a more external way, through their spiritual and social environments, and for people on earth through their physical environment as well. In this case, the inflow is presumably a flow of goodness as spiritual heat and truth as spiritual light. For more on direct and indirect inflow, see New Jerusalem 23[8]; Secrets of Heaven 6058, 6063:2, 6472, 9682-9683; Heaven and Hell 296-297. For more on inflow in general, see New Jerusalem 277-278. [LSW]

5. The two kingdoms, or realms, of heaven mentioned here are the heavenly kingdom and the spiritual kingdom. These are occasionally identified with the heavenly and spiritual heavens outlined in note 2 in New Jerusalem 4 (as in True Christianity 195, 212), but are more commonly presented as distinct regions of heaven that stand side by side, as opposed to the three heavens, which are presented as horizontal levels "stacked" one on another. In general, the angels occupying the heavenly kingdom are motivated by love for the Lord, while the angels occupying the spiritual kingdom are motivated by love for the neighbor. For more on the two kingdoms of heaven, see Secrets of Heaven 3887-3889; Heaven and Hell 20-28, 95. [LSW]

1. On the belief that all people who have died will be resurrected in their physical bodies at the end of the world, an event commonly identified with the Last Judgment, see note 1 in Other Planets 165. [Editors]

2. The exact point of commencement of Swedenborg’s daily, waking, ongoing interaction with angels and spirits is variously stated in his writings. To cite just a few representative examples: (1) In a diary passage apparently written in early 1746, Swedenborg states that his interaction with spirits and angels dates a medio Aprilis 1745, “from mid-April 1745” (Spiritual Experiences [= Swedenborg 1998-2013] §[8a]). (2) In two later passages, one in a theological manuscript of early 1763 and one in a letter of November 11, 1766, he assigns the commencement a date of 1744 (for the manuscript, see Draft on Divine Wisdom chapter 7, item 1 = §95 [Mongredien’s numbering] [= Swedenborg 1994-1997c, 480]; for the letter, see Acton 1948-1955, 627). (3) In a still later letter to a British follower, Thomas Hartley (1708-1784), on August 5, 1769, he states that his sight was “opened into the spiritual world” in 1743 (Acton 1948-1955, 679). In other words, as the years passed, Swedenborg saw the commencement of his interaction as having occurred earlier and earlier. Some of this variation may derive from his changing assessment of which event constituted the true beginning of his spiritual experiences. Even if the variations are taken at face value, the dates that he mentions for this commencement all fall within the range 1743-1745. See Tafel 1877, 1118-1127, for a list of the relevant passages, with discussion. For a detailed account of the onset of Swedenborg’s spiritual experiences, see Acton 1927, 26-118. [JSR, GFD, SS]

3. The popular belief concerning the future cosmic cataclysm described here is based on biblical passages such as Isaiah 13:9-13; 34:1-4; Revelation 21:1. In particular, the belief that the stars will fall is based on a literal interpretation of such biblical passages as Matthew 24:29; Mark 13:25; Revelation 6:13; 12:4. On the belief that bodies will be raised from the dead in the flesh, see note 1 in Other Planets 165. Swedenborg decries these beliefs in many passages, including Secrets of Heaven 931, 1850, 2117-2133; Heaven and Hell 312; Revelation Unveiled 877; Marriage Love 182:6; True Christianity 769-771. [LSW, SS]

4. On the theme of going to the spiritual world and returning to report on it, see note 2 in Other Planets 124. [Editors]

5. While Swedenborg’s characterization of the nonbeliever’s position is fairly general, it does reflect a polemic that took place in his time, as the eighteenth-century Enlightenment brought the validity and necessity of the Christian revelation into serious question for the first time since the creation of a monolithic European “Christendom” during the Middle Ages. Most of Christianity’s Enlightenment “deniers” were not atheists but Deists, who thought the existence of a benevolent and all-powerful God could be deduced from a rational contemplation of the elegant design of the universe. English Deists such as John Toland (1670-1722) and Matthew Tindal (1657-1733) argued that the Christian revelation was indeed authentic but provided no truths that human reason could not discern unaided. In France, more vehemently anticlerical thinkers such as Voltaire (1694-1778) rejected Christianity as a superstitious impediment to any true understanding of the Supreme Being. Atheism proper, however, was never openly professed, probably because of the threat of legal penalties, though it certainly can be documented among the members of the upper classes. One notable example of atheism can be found in the French salon of Paul-Henri Dietrich, Baron d’Holbach (1723-1789), who hosted radical luminaries like Denis Diderot (1713-1784) and published his own antitheistic polemics under a variety of pseudonyms (Kors 2003, 2:213-215). Another well-known atheist was the Catholic priest Jean Meslier (1664-1729), whose memoir repudiating Christianity in its entirety was discovered after his death. His book was subsequently abridged and published by Voltaire, and the abridgment includes such passages as: “What then are the worthless resources of these Christ-worshipers? . . . Their miracles? But what people do not have their own such things, and who among the wise do not scorn them as fables? Their prophecies? Has not their falsity been proven? . . . Their doctrine? But is that not the height of absurdity?” (Meslier 1830, 363-364; translated by SS). On the further movement from Deism to atheism in the later Enlightenment, see note 1 in Last Judgment 16. [RS, DNG, SS]

6. [Swedenborg's footnote] Nowadays, few people in the Christian world believe that after we die we immediately rise again: preface to Genesis 16, §§4622, 10758. They believe instead that our resurrection will happen when the visible world is destroyed at the time of the Last Judgment: 10595. The reason for this belief: 10595, 10758. But in fact we do rise again immediately after death, and are then complete human beings in every detail: 4527, 5006, 5078, 8939, 10594, 10758. The “soul” that lives after death is the human spirit, the true self that lies within us; in the other life it has a complete human form (322, 1880, 1881, 3633, 4622, 4735, 5883, 6054, 6605, 6626, 7021, 10594); illustrated by eyewitness experience (4527, 5006, 8939); illustrated from the Word (10597). An explanation of what is meant by the dead appearing in the holy city in Matthew 27:53: 9229. How we are revived from death: 168– 189 (described on the basis of personal experience). Our state after being revived: 317, 318, 319, 2119, 5078, 10596. Some wrong opinions concerning the soul and resurrection: 444, 445, 4527, 4622, 4658.

7. On the meaning of the word “bodily” here, see note 3 in New Jerusalem 9 and note 3 in Last Judgment 38.[Editors]