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Memorable Occurrences in Swedenborg's Writings

This list of Memorable Occurrences in Swedenborg's Writings was originally compiled by W. C. Henderson in 1960 but has since been updated.

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Survey of Teachings of the New Church #115

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115. The second memorable occurrence. Once an angel said to me, “Do you want to see clearly what faith and goodwill are, and therefore what faith separated from goodwill is, and what faith united to goodwill is? I will express it in visual terms for you.”

“Please do!” I answered.

The angel said, “Instead of faith and goodwill, think of light and heat, and you will see them clearly. Faith in its essence is truth that relates to wisdom. Goodwill in its essence is affection that relates to love. In heaven, truth related to wisdom is light and affection related to love is heat. The light and heat that angels live in are, in essence, exactly this. As a result, you can clearly see what faith is when it is separated from goodwill and what it is when it is united to goodwill.

“When faith is separated from goodwill, it is like the light in winter. When faith is united to goodwill, it is like the light in spring. The light in winter, which is a light separated from heat, is united to coldness; therefore it completely strips trees of their leaves, kills grass, makes ground as hard as rock, and freezes water. Light in spring, which is a light united to heat, causes trees to grow, first producing leaves, then flowers, and finally fruit; it also unlocks and softens the ground so that it produces grass, plants, flowers, and shrubs; and it melts ice, so that water flows from its sources again.

“The situation with faith and goodwill is absolutely identical. Faith separated from goodwill kills everything. Faith united to goodwill brings everything to life. This killing and this bringing to life are vividly visible in this spiritual world of ours, because here faith is light and goodwill is heat. Where faith has been united to goodwill there is a paradise of gardens, flower beds, and lawns; the more united faith and goodwill are, the more pleasing the gardens are. Where faith has been separated from goodwill, there is not even grass; the only greenness comes from thorns and brambles.”

At that point there were some members of the clergy not far away. The angel called them “justifiers and sanctifiers of people through faith alone” and also “arcanists.” We said the same things to the members of the clergy and added enough proof that they could see that what we said was true. But when we asked them, “Isn’t that so?” they turned away and said, “We didn’t hear you.” So we cried out to them and said, “Then keep listening to us,” but they put both hands over their ears and shouted, “We don’t want to hear you!”

Closing Thought from Jeremiah 7:2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11

Stand in the gate of the house of Jehovah and proclaim this word there. “Thus says Jehovah Sabaoth, the God of Israel: ‘Make your ways and your deeds good. Do not put your trust in lying words, saying, “The temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah are these.” Are you going to steal, kill, commit adultery, and swear falsely, and then come and stand before me in this house that bears my name and say “We are delivered” when you are doing all these abominations? Has this house become a den of thieves? Behold I, even I, have seen it,’ says Jehovah.”

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for their permission to use this translation.

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Apocalypse Revealed #422

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422. And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. (9:2) This symbolizes falsities accompanying the lusts of the natural self springing from those people's evil loves.

The bottomless pit symbolizes the hell described just above in no. 421. The smoke from it symbolizes falsities arising from lusts, and because the smoke is said to be like that of a great furnace, it means falsities accompanying lusts springing from evil loves, inasmuch as fire symbolizes love (no. 468), and the fire of hell, evil love (no. 494). A great furnace has the same symbolism, since it smokes owing to fire.

Spirits of hell are not caught up in any material fire, but in a spiritual fire, which is the fire of their love. Consequently they do not feel any other fire. On this subject, see the book Heaven and Hell, nos. 134 566-575.

When any love is aroused in the spiritual world, it appears at a distance like fire — in the hells like a brightly burning fire, and outside the hells like the smoke of a conflagration or the smoke of a furnace.

Falsities accompanying lusts springing from evil loves are described also elsewhere in the Word by smoke from a fire or from a furnace or oven, as in the following places:

(Abraham) looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah..., and behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace. (Genesis 19:28)

...the sun went down and it was dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between the pieces. (Genesis 15:17)

...they sin more and more... Therefore they shall be... like smoke from a flue. (Hosea 13:2-3)

...the wicked shall perish... In smoke they shall be consumed. (Psalms 37:20)

I will show wonders in heaven and on the earth: ...fire and pillars of smoke. (Joel 2:30)

(They) will cast (the evil) into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13:41-42, 49-50)

And elsewhere.

  
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Many thanks to the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and to Rev. N.B. Rogers, translator, for the permission to use this translation.

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