The Dark Side of the Net

True Christian Religion, by Emanuel Swedenborg, [1771], tr. by John C. Ager [1906] at DarkSideOfTheNet.com

True Christian Religion

(2) The Truths of Faith are disposed into Series, thus, as it were into bundles. This has been hitherto unknown. It is unknown because the spiritual truths of which the whole Word is composed could not be seen, owing to the mystical and enigmatical faith which forms every point of the present theology; consequently they have been buried in the earth like storehouses. To make clear what is meant by series and bundles, it shall be explained. The first chapter of this book, which treats of God the Creator, is divided into a series of sections, the first of which treats of the Unity of God, the second the Being of God or Jehovah, the third the Infinity of God, the fourth the Essence of God (which is Divine love and Divine wisdom) the fifth the Omnipotence of God, and the sixth Creation. The arrangement of each section into its articles constitutes the series, and the contents of these are bound together as if into bundles. These series in general and in particular, thus conjointly and separately, contain truths which, according to their abundance and coherence, exalt and perfect faith [2] He who does not know that the human mind is organized, or that it is a spiritual organism terminating in a natural organism, in which and according to which the mind produces its ideas or thinks, must needs suppose that perceptions, thoughts, and ideas are nothing but radiations and variations of light flowing into the head, and presenting forms which man sees and acknowledges as reasons. But this is foolishness; for everyone knows that the head is full of brains, that the brains are organized, and that in them the mind dwells, and that its ideas are fixed therein, and are permanent so far as they are accepted and confirmed. The question is, therefore, What is the nature of that organization? The answer is, that it is an arrangement of all things in series, as it were in bundles, and that in this way the truths belonging to faith are arranged in the human mind. That it is so, may be illustrated as follows. [3] The brain consists of two substances, one of which is glandular, and is called the cortical and cineritious substance, and the other fibrillous, and is called the medullary substance. The first, or the glandular substance, is arranged into clusters like grapes on a vine; these clustered formations are its series. The second, or the medullary substance, consists of perpetual bundlings of little fibers issuing from the glandules of the former substance; these bundlings are its series. All the nerves that proceed from the brain, and pass down into the body for the performance of various functions, are nothing but groups and bundles of fibers; in a like manner all the muscles, and in general all the viscera and organs of the body. All these are such because they correspond to the series in which the mental organism is arranged. [4] Moreover, in all nature there is nothing that is not formed into series of little bundles; every tree, every bush, shrub and plant, nay, every ear of corn and blade of grass in whole and in part, is so formed. The universal cause is, that such is the confirmation of Divine truths; for we read that all things were created by the Word, that is, by Divine truth, and that the world also was made by it (John 1:1, seq.). From all this it can be seen that unless there were such an arrangement of substances in the human mind, man would possess no ability to reason analytically, which everyone has according to this arrangement, thus according to his supply of truths cohering, as it were, in a bundle; and the arrangement is in accord with his use of reason from freedom.

(3) According to the Abundance and Coherence of Truths Faith is perfected. This follows from the preceding statements, and is evident to everyone who collects reasons, and observes carefully what multiplied series of them effect when they cohere as a unit; for then one series strengthens and confirms another, and together they constitute a form which when put in action is manifested as a single act. Since then faith in its essence is truth, it follows, that according to the abundance and coherence of truths it becomes more and more perfectly spiritual, therefore less and less sensual-natural; for it is raised up into a higher region of the mind, from which it sees beneath it troops of confirmations or itself in the nature of the world. True faith by an abundance of truths cohering as if in a bundle also becomes more lustrous, more perceptible, more evident, and clearer; and, becomes also more capable of conjunction with the goods of charity, consequently more capable of alienation from evils, and gradually more removed from the allurements of the eye and the lusts of the flesh, therefore in itself happier. Especially does it become more powerful against evils and falsities, and thus more and more living and saving.

It has been said above, that in heaven every truth gives forth light, and therefore that faith in its essence is truth giving forth light; consequently the beauty and comeliness of faith caused by that glow, when truths of faith are multiplied, may be compared to various forms, objects, and pictures, formed by different colors harmoniously combined; also to the precious stones of various colors in the breastplate of Aaron, which together were called the Urim and Thummim; in like manner to the precious stones of which the foundations of the wall of the New Jerusalem are to be built (see Apoc. 21). It may also be compared to the precious stones of many colors in a king's crown. Indeed, precious stones signify truths of faith. It may also be compared to the beauty of the rainbow, of a field of flowers, or of a blooming garden in early spring. The light and glory of faith from an abundance of concordant truths fitly arranged in it, may be compared to the illumination of churches by numerous candelabra, or of houses by chandeliers, or of streets by lamps. The exaltation of faith by an abundance of truths, may be illustrated by comparison with the increase of sound and also of melody, arising from many musical instruments played in concert; and with the increase of fragrance arising from a collection of sweetly-exhaling flowers; and so on. The power of a faith formed from a multiplicity of truths, as opposed to falsities and evils, may be compared to the firmness of a church built of stones properly laid, with columns built into its walls, and under its fretted ceiling; it may also be compared to a battalion formed in square, where the soldiers stand side by side, and thus form and act as one force; it may also be compared to the muscles of which the whole body is interwoven, which although so numerous and so differently located, still in action constitute one power; and so on.

(4) However numerous the truths of faith are, and however diverse they appear, they make one from the Lord, who is the Word, the God of heaven and earth, the God of all flesh, the God of the vineyard or church, the God of faith, light itself, the truth, and life eternal. The truths of faith are various, and to man they seem diverse; some, for example, have relation to God the Creator, others to the Lord the Redeemer, others to the Holy Spirit and the Divine Operation, others to faith and charity, others to freedom of choice, repentance, reformation and regeneration, imputation, and so on; still in the Lord and in man from the Lord they make one, like many branches on one vine (John 15:1, seq.). For the Lord unites scattered and separate truths into one form, as it were, in which they present one aspect and exhibit one action. This may be illustrated by a comparison with the members, viscera and organs in one body; which although various, and in man's sight diverse, are nevertheless felt by man, who is their general form, to be one, and when he is acting from them all he acts as if from one. It is the same with heaven, which, although divided into innumerable societies, still in the Lord's sight appears as a one. (That heaven appears as one Man has been shown above.) It is the same again with a kingdom, which although divided into several governments, and also into provinces and cities, still makes one under a king who governs with justice and judgment. So do the truths of faith from which the church is a church make one from the Lord, because the Lord is the Word, the God of heaven and earth, the God of all flesh, the God of the vineyard or church, the God of faith, light itself, the truth, and life eternal. [2] That the Lord is the Word, and therefore all truth of heaven and the church, is evident from John: The Word was with God, and God was the Word, and the Word became flesh (1:1, 14). That the Lord is the God of heaven and earth is evident from Matthew: Jesus said, All power hath been given unto Me in heaven and on earth (28:18). That the Lord is the God of all flesh, can be seen from John The Father gave to the Son power over all flesh (17:2). That the Lord is the God of the vineyard or church, in Isaiah: My well-beloved hath a vineyard (5:1); and in John: I am the Vine, ye are the branches (15:5). That the Lord is the God of faith, Paul teaches: Having the righteousness, which is from the faith of Christ, from the God of faith (Phil. 3:9). That the Lord is light itself, appears from John: There was the true Light, which lighteth every man coming into the world (1:9). And elsewhere: Jesus said, I come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth in Me may not abide in darkness (John 12:46). That the Lord is the truth itself, appears from John: Jesus said, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life (14:6). That the Lord is life eternal, in John: We know that the Son of God is come that we may know Him that is True, even His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life (1 John 5:20). [3] To this must be added, that owing to his worldly occupations man can acquire for himself only a few of the truths of faith; nevertheless if he goes to the Lord and worships Him alone, he acquires the power to gain a knowledge of all truths. Therefore every true worshiper of God, as soon as he hears any truth of faith which he has not known before, at once sees, acknowledges, and accepts it; and for the reason that the Lord is in him, and he in the Lord; and consequently the light of truth is in him, and he is in the light of truth; for as before said, the Lord is light itself, and truth itself. This may be corroborated by the following experience: A spirit appeared to me, who in the company of some others seemed simple, because he had acknowledged the Lord alone as the God of heaven and earth, and had strengthened this his faith by certain truths from the Word; this spirit was taken up into heaven among the wiser angels; and it was told me that there he was as wise as they; and that altogether as if from himself he spoke truths in great abundance, of which he had before known nothing. [4] In a like state will those be who come into the Lord's New Church. This is the state that is described in Jeremiah: This shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; after those days I will put my law in their inward parts, and upon their hearts I will write it and they shall teach no more every man his fellow, or every man his brother, saying, Know Jehovah; for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them (31:33, 34). It is such a state that is described in Isaiah: There shall go forth a Shoot out of the stem of Jesse; truth shall be the girdle of His thighs. There the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid. The suckling shall play on the hole of the adder, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the basilisk's den; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea. In that day the nations shall seek a Root of Jesse, to it shall the Gentiles seek; and His rest shall be glory (11:1, 5, 6, 8, 10).

V. FAITH WITHOUT CHARITY IS NOT FAITH, AND CHARITY WITHOUT FAITH IS NOT CHARITY, AND NEITHER HAS LIFE EXCEPT FROM THE LORD. It is very evident from their Epistles that it never entered the mind of any of the apostles that the church of this day would separate faith from charity by teaching that faith alone justifies and saves apart from the works of the law, and that charity therefore cannot be conjoined with faith, since faith is from God, and charity, so far as it is expressed in works, is from man. But this separation and division were introduced into the Christian church when it divided God into three persons, and ascribed to each equal Divinity. But that there is no faith apart from charity, nor any charity apart from faith, and that neither has life except from the Lord, will be made clear in the following chapter. At present, to prepare the way, it shall be shown: (1) That man can acquire for himself faith. (2) And also charity. (3) And also the life of both. (4) And yet that nothing of faith, of charity, or of the life of either, is from man, but from the Lord alone.

(1) Man can acquire for himself faith. This is shown in the sections above (n. 343-348), as follows, that faith in its essence is truth, and that anyone is able to acquire truths from the Word, and that so far as anyone does acquire them for himself, and loves them, he implants in himself the beginnings of faith. To which shall be added, that unless man were able to acquire faith for himself, all that is commanded in the Word respecting faith would be useless. For we there read that it is the will Of the Father that men should believe in the Son, and that whosoever believes in Him has eternal life, and he who does not believe shall not see life. We read also that Jesus was to send the Paraclete, who would convince the world respecting sin because it believed not on Him; besides other statements cited above (n. 337, 335); furthermore, that all the apostles preached faith, a faith in the Lord God the Savior Jesus Christ. What meaning would there be in all this, if a man were to stand with hanging hands like a sculptured statue with movable joints, and await influx, and meanwhile the joints (being able only to adapt themselves to receive faith) were inwardly moved toward something that has no relation to faith? For modern orthodoxy, in that part of the Christian world that is separate from Roman Catholicism, teaches as follows: Man is so utterly corrupt and dead to good that until he is regenerated there does not abide in man's nature, or continue in it since the fall, even a spark of spiritual strength by which he is capable from or by himself of being prepared for God's grace, or of apprehending it when offered, or of retaining it; nor is he able for himself, in things spiritual, to understand, believe, embrace, think, will, commence, carry out, act, operate, co-operate, or apply or adapt himself to grace, or do anything toward his own conversion, wholly, or by halves, or in the smallest measure; also that in spiritual things, which regard the salvation of the soul, he is like the statue of salt of Lot's wife, or like a stock or a stone destitute of life, having no use of eyes, or mouth, or any other sense. Nevertheless he has the power to move from place to place, to direct his external members, to go to public meetings, and to hear the Word and the Gospel. This doctrine is set forth in the book of the Evangelical churches called the Formula Concordance, the Leipsic edition of 1766 (pp. 656, 658; 661-663; 671-673); to which book, consequently to which faith, the priests take oath at their inauguration. The Reformed churches profess a like faith. But who that has reason and religion would not hiss at these things as absurd and ridiculous? Would he not say to himself, If this were so, what would the Word amount to, or religion, or the priesthood, or preaching, but mere emptiness, or sound about nothing? Tell some pagan who has any judgment and whom you wish to convert, that he is such in respect to conversion and faith, and would he not look upon Christianity as one would look upon an empty vessel? For take from man all power of believing as of himself, and what else is he? But this will be placed in clearer light in the chapter on Freedom of Choice.

(2) Man can acquire for himself charity. It is the same here as with faith. For what does the Word teach but faith and charity, since these two are the essentials of salvation? For we read: Thou shalt love the Lord with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and thy neighbor as thyself (Matt. 22:34-39). Jesus said, A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another. From this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, that you love one another (John 13:34, 35 15:9; 16:27). It teaches also that man ought to bear fruit like a good tree; that he who does good shall be rewarded in the resurrection; besides other like things. What would be the use of all this if man were unable of himself to exercise charity, or acquire it for himself in any way? Cannot man give alms, can he not aid the needy, can he not do good in his own house and in his employment? Can he not live according to the commandments of the Decalogue? Has he not a soul from which he can do these things, and a rational mind whereby he can lead himself to act for this or that end? Can he not think that he ought to do these things because they are commanded in the Word, thus by God? No man lacks this power, and for the reason that the Lord gives it to everyone; and He gives it as something that is the man's own; for who, in exercising charity, knows otherwise than that he does it from himself?

(3) Man may also acquire for himself the life of faith and charity. Here again it is the same. For man acquires for himself this life when he goes to the Lord who is Life itself; and access to Him is closed to no man, for the Lord continually invites every man to come to Him; for He says: He that cometh to Me shall not hunger, and he that believeth in Me shall never thirst, and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out (John 6:35, 37). Jesus stood and cried, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink (John 7:37). And again: The kingdom of heaven is like unto a man, a king, who made a marriage for his son, and sent his servants to call them that were bidden; and finally, he said, Go ye therefore into the partings of the ways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage (Matt. 22:1-9). Who does not know that the invitation or call is universal, and also the grace of reception? Man obtains life by going to the Lord because the Lord is Life itself, not only the life of faith but also the life of charity. That the Lord is that life, and that man has it from the Lord, is evident from the following passages: In the beginning was the Word; in Him was life, and the life was the light of men (John 1:1, 4). As the Father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom He will (John 5:21). As the Father hath life in Himself, even so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself (John 5:26). The bread of God is that He cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world (John 6:33). The words that I speak unto you are spirit and are life (John 6:63). Jesus said, He that followeth Me shall have the light of life (John 8:12). I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly (John 10:10). He that believeth in Me, though he die, yet shall he live (John 11:25). I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). Because I live, ye shall live also (John 14:19). These are written, that ye may have life in His name (John 20:31). He is eternal life (1 John 5:20). By the life in faith and charity is meant spiritual life, which is given by the Lord to man in his natural life.

(4) Yet nothing of faith or of charity, or of the life of either, is from man, but from the Lord alone. For we read, That a man can receive nothing except it have been given him from heaven (John 3:27). And Jesus said: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit; for apart from Me ye can do nothing (John 15:5). But this is to be understood thus, that man of himself is unable to acquire for himself any but natural faith, which is a persuasion that a thing is so because some man of authority has said so; or any but natural charity, which is an endeavor to gain favor with a view to some recompense. In such faith and charity there is what is man's own, and as yet no life from the Lord. Nevertheless, by means of such faith and charity man prepares himself to be a receptacle of the Lord; and so far as he prepares himself, the Lord enters, and causes his natural faith to become spiritual, likewise his charity, and thus makes both to be alive; and this is done when man goes to the Lord as the God of heaven and earth. Because man was created an image of God, he was created an abode of God; therefore the Lord says: He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me and I will love him, and I will come unto him and make an abode with him (John 14:21, 23). Again: Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hear My voice and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with Me (Apoc. 3:20). From all this comes the conclusion, that as man prepares himself naturally to receive the Lord, so the Lord enters and makes all that is within man inwardly spiritual, and thus alive. But on the other hand, so far as man does not prepare himself he removes the Lord from him and does everything from his own self; and what man himself does from himself has no real life in it. But these points cannot as yet be presented in such a light as to appear at all clearly until Charity and Freedom of Choice have been treated of; but they will be made clear later in the chapter on Reformation and Regeneration.

It has been said above that faith in its beginning in man is natural, and that as man draws near to the Lord it becomes spiritual; so also with charity. But no one has known, as yet, the distinction that exists between natural and spiritual faith and charity. This great arcanum must therefore be disclosed. There are two worlds, a natural and a spiritual; and in each world there is a sun, and from each sun heat and light go forth; but the heat and light from the sun of the spiritual world have life within them; this life is from the Lord who is the midst of that sun; while the heat and light from the sun of the natural world have nothing of life in them; they simply serve the former heat and light as receptacles for the conveying of these to man, as instrumental causes always subserve their principal causes. It must be understood, therefore, that all things spiritual are from the heat and light of the sun of the spiritual world. These are spiritual because they contain in them spirit and life; while all things natural are from the heat and light of the sun of the natural world, which viewed in themselves are without spirit and life. [2] Since then faith is a matter of light, and charity of heat, it is plain that so far as a man is in the heat and light that go forth from the sun of the spiritual world, he is in spiritual faith and charity; while so far as he is in the light and heat that go forth from the sun of the natural world, he is in natural faith and charity. Evidently, therefore, as spiritual light is inwardly in natural light as in its receptacle or casket, and spiritual heat in like manner within natural heat, so also is spiritual faith inwardly in natural faith, and spiritual charity inwardly in natural charity; and this is effected in the degree that man advances from the natural to the spiritual world; and this he does so far as he believes in the Lord who is light itself, the way, the truth, and the life, as He Himself teaches. [3] This being so, it is clear that when man is in spiritual faith, he is also in natural faith. For as just said, spiritual faith is inwardly in natural faith; and as faith is a matter of light, it follows that by that implanting of spiritual faith man's natural becomes, as it were, transparent, and according to the nature of its conjunction with charity, beautifully colored. This is because charity is ruddy and faith shining white; charity is ruddy from the flame of spiritual fire, and faith shining white from the splendor of the light therefrom. The contrary happens when the spiritual is not inwardly in the natural, but the natural inwardly in the spiritual; which is the case with men who reject faith and charity. With such the internal of their mind, in which they are when left to their own thoughts, is infernal, and they think from hell, although they do not know it; while the external of the mind of such, from which they converse with their companions in the world, is in a manner spiritual, but it is filled full of such unclean things as are in hell; consequently they are in hell, for compared with the former class they are in an inverted state.

When it is thus known that the spiritual is inwardly in the natural in those who are in faith in the Lord, and at the same time in charity toward the neighbor, and consequently the natural in them is transparent, it follows that to the same extent man is wise in spiritual things, and therefrom in natural things; for when he thinks about or hears or reads anything, he sees interiorly within himself whether it is the truth or not. This he perceives from the Lord, from whom spiritual light and heat flow into the higher sphere of his understanding. [2] So far as faith and charity in man become spiritual, he is withdrawn from his own, and ceases to look to himself or to reward or remuneration, and looks solely to the delight in perceiving the truths of faith and doing the good works of love; and so far as this spirituality increases, that delight becomes blessedness. From this is man's salvation, which is called eternal life. This state of man may be compared with the most beautiful and charming things in the world, and in the Word is compared with them, as for instance, with fruitful trees and the gardens in which they are, with flowery fields, with precious stones, with delicacies, with nuptials and their festivities and rejoicings. [3] But when the reverse is the case, that is to say, when the natural is inwardly in the spiritual, and consequently the man in his internals is a devil, but in his externals is like an angel, he may be compared to a dead man in a coffin of costly and gilded wood; he may also be compared to a skeleton adorned with clothing like a man, and drawn about in a magnificent carriage; or to a corpse in a sepulchre built like the temple of Diana; and his internal may be pictured even as a nest of serpents in a cavern, and his external as butterflies whose wings are tinted with all kinds of colors, but which nevertheless stick foul eggs to the leaves of useful trees, and so destroy the fruit. Or the internal of such may be compared to a hawk, and their external to a dove, and their faith and charity to a hawk pursuing a fleeing dove, which at length he wearies and then darts upon and devours.

VI. THE LORD, CHARITY, AND FAITH, MAKE ONE, LIKE LIFE, WILL, AND UNDERSTANDING IN MAN; AND IF THEY ARE DIVIDED, EACH PERISHES LIKE A PEARL REDUCED TO POWDER. Some things shall first be stated that have been heretofore unknown in the learned world, and consequently among the ecclesiastics, as much so as things buried in the earth, and yet they are treasures of wisdom, and unless they are dug up and given to the public, man will toil in vain to arrive at any correct knowledge of God, faith, charity, and the state of his own life, as to the manner in which he should direct it and prepare it for the state of eternal life. The things heretofore unknown are as follows: That man is a mere organ of life; that life with everything belonging to it flows in from the God of heaven, who is the Lord; that in man there are two faculties of life, which are called the will and understanding, the will the receptacle of love, and the understanding the receptacle of wisdom; so, too, the will is the receptacle of charity, and the understanding the receptacle of faith; [2] that everything that man wills and everything he understands flows into him from without the goods pertaining to love and charity, and the truths pertaining to wisdom and faith, from the Lord, and the opposites of these from hell; that it is provided by the Lord that man should feel in himself as his own whatever flows in from without, and should consequently bring it forth from himself as his own, although nothing of it is his; that nevertheless such things are imputed to him as his on account of his freedom of choice in which are his willing and thinking, and on account of the knowledges of good and truth given him, which enable him to choose freely whatever conduces to his temporal and his eternal life. [3] The man who looks askance at these truths, or with half an eye only, may draw from them many insane conclusions; but he who looks at them with a straight and direct eye may draw from them many wise conclusions. That this and not the other may be done it was necessary to put forth first decisions and tenets respecting God and the Divine Trinity, and afterward to establish others respecting Faith and Charity, Freedom of Choice, and Reformation and Regeneration, as also Imputation; and then as means, Repentance, Baptism, and the Holy Supper.

But in order that the present article on faith (which is, that the Lord, charity, and faith make one, like life, will, and understanding in man, and that if they are divided each perishes like a pearl reduced to powder) may be seen as truth and acknowledged, it is expedient to consider it in the following order: (1) The Lord with all of His Divine love, with all of His Divine wisdom, thus with all of His Divine life, flows into every man. (2) Consequently with the whole essence of faith and charity. (3) These are received by man according to his form. (4) But the man who divides the Lord, charity, and faith, is not a form that receives but a form that destroys them.

(1) The Lord with all of His Divine love, with all of His Divine wisdom, thus with all of His Divine Life, flows into every man. In the Book of Creation we read: That man was created an image of God, and that God breathed into his nostrils the breath of lives (Gen. 1:27; 2:7). This describes man as being not life but only an organ of life. For God could not create another being like Himself; if He could have done so there would be as many gods as there are men. Neither could He create life (just as light cannot be created); but He could create man a form of life, as He created the eye a form of light; neither could or can God divide His essence, for it is one and indivisible. Since, therefore, God alone is life, it follows without question that from His life He gives life to every man, and that man without that life-giving would be in regard to his flesh nothing but a sponge, and in regard to his bones nothing but a skeleton, having no more life in him than a clock, which has its motion from a pendulum together with a weight or spring. This being so it also follows, that God inflows into every man with all of His Divine life, that is with all of His Divine love and Divine wisdom, these two constituting His Divine life (as maybe seen above, n. 39, 49), for the Divine is indivisible. [2] But how God inflows with the whole of His Divine life, may in some measure be perceived in somewhat the same manner as seeing that the sun of the world with its whole essence, which is heat and light, flows into every tree, every shrub and flower, every stone both common and precious; and that the sun does not distribute its heat and light, dispensing a part to this object and a part to that, but each object draws its own portion from the common influx. The same is true of the sun of heaven, from which Divine love goes forth as heat, and Divine wisdom as light. As the heat and light of the sun flow into human bodies, so do these flow into human minds and vivify them according to the nature of their forms, each form taking what is necessary for itself from the common influx. To this the following words of the Lord are applicable: Your Father maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust (Matt. 5:45). [3] Moreover, the Lord is omnipresent; and where He is present, there He is with His whole essence, and it is impossible for Him to withhold some of it and give a part to one and a part to another, but He gives it to all, and to man the ability to take either little or much. He says, moreover, that He makes His abode with those who keep His commandments, also that the faithful are in Him and He in them. In a word, all things are full in God, and from that illness each one takes his portion. The same is true of general things, as the atmospheres and the oceans. The atmosphere is the same in its least part as in its greatest; it does not apportion a part of itself for man's respiration, another part to the birds to fly in, another to the sails of vessels, and another to the fans of windmills; but each of these takes from the atmosphere in its own portion and applies to itself so much as is sufficient. It is the same again with a storehouse full of grain; from it the possessor daily takes his food; the storehouse does not distribute it.

(2) Consequently the Lord with the whole essence of faith and charity, flows into every man. This follows from the previous proposition, since the life of the Divine wisdom is the essence of faith, and the life of the Divine love is the essence of charity; therefore when the Lord is present with these, which are properly His, namely, the Divine wisdom and Divine love, He is also present with all the truths belonging to faith, and all the goods belonging to charity; for faith includes every truth that a man perceives from the Lord and thinks and speaks; and charity every good by which man is affected from the Lord, and which he consequently wills and does. [2] It has been said above that Divine love, which goes forth from the Lord as a sun, is perceived by the angels as heat, and the Divine wisdom therefrom, as light; and one who does not think beyond the appearance might imagine this heat to be mere heat and this light to be mere light, like the heat and light that go forth from the sun of our world. But the heat and light that go forth from the Lord as a sun, contain in their bosom all the infinities that are in the Lord - the heat all the infinities of His love, and the light all the infinities of His wisdom, thus also to infinity all the good pertaining to charity and all the truth pertaining to faith. This is because that sun is itself everywhere present in its heat and light; it is the circle most closely surrounding the Lord, emanating both from His Divine love and from His Divine wisdom; for, as frequently stated before, the Lord is in the midst of that sun. [3] All this now makes clear that there is nothing to restrict the capacity of man to take from the Lord (since He is omnipresent) all the good belonging to charity and all the truth belonging to faith. That these are in no way restricted is made evident by the love and wisdom that the angels of heaven possess from the Lord, in that these are ineffable, and to a natural man incomprehensible, and are also capable of being increased to eternity. That infinite things are included in the heat and light that go forth from the Lord, although they are perceived simply as heat and light, may be illustrated by various things in the natural world; as for example, the sound of a man's voice and speech is heard merely as a simple sound; and yet when the angels hear it, they perceive therein all the affections of his love, and what they are and their quality are made manifest. That these things are hidden within the sound of the voice, even man can in some measure perceive from the tone of one who is speaking to him: as whether there is contempt or sarcasm or hatred in it, as also whether there is charity, benevolence, gladness, or other affections in it. Like things are hidden in the beam of the eye, when it looks at another. [4] This may be illustrated also by the fragrances arising from a large garden, or from extended plains covered with flowers. The fragrant odor exhaled therefrom consists of thousands and even myriads of different odors, yet they are perceived as one. The same is true of many other things, which although extrinsically they appear uniform, yet intrinsically they are manifold. Sympathies and antipathies are no other than exhalations of affections from the mind, which attract another according to similitudes, and cause aversion according to dissimilitudes; and these, although innumerable and unperceived by any bodily sense, are nevertheless perceived by the sense of the soul as one, and in the spiritual world all conjunctions and consociations are effected in agreement with them. All this has been set forth to illustrate what has been said above about the spiritual light that goes forth from the Lord, that in it reside all things of wisdom, and therefore all things of faith; and that it is that light whereby the understanding analytically sees and perceives rational things, as the eye sees and perceives natural things symmetrically.

(3) What flows in from the Lord is received by man according to his form. Form means here man's state in respect both to his love and to his wisdom, consequently in respect both to his affections for the goods of charity and to his perceptions of the truths of faith. That God is one, indivisible, and the same, from eternity to eternity, not the same simply but infinitely the same, and that all variableness is in the subject in which He dwells, has been shown above. That the recipient form or state induces variations, can be seen from the life of infants, children, youths, adults, and aged persons; in each there is the same life, because the same soul, from infancy to old age; but as one's state is varied according to age and what is suitable thereto, in like manner is life perceived. [2] The life of God in all its fullness is not only in good and pious men, but also in the wicked and impious, likewise both in the angels of heaven and in the spirits of hell. The difference is that the wicked obstruct the way and close the door, lest God should enter the lower regions of their minds; while the good clear the way and open the door, and invite God to enter into the lower regions of their minds as He inhabits the highest regions; and thus they form a state of the will for love and charity to flow into, and a state of the understanding for wisdom and faith to flow into, consequently for the reception of God. But the wicked obstruct that influx by various lusts of the flesh and spiritual defilements, which bestrew the way and clog the passage. Nevertheless, God with all His Divine essence resides in the biggest regions of their minds, and gives to them the capacity to will good and understand truth - a capacity which every man has and which he could by no means possess were there not life from God in his soul. That even the wicked have this capacity it has been granted me to know from much experience. [3] That everyone receives life from God according to his form may be illustrated by comparison with plants of every kind. Every tree, every shrub, every bush and every blade of grass, receives an influx of heat and light according to its form, not only those that have a good use, but those also that have an evil use. The sun with its heat does not change their forms, but the forms change the effects of the sun in themselves. It is the same with the subjects of the mineral kingdom; each one of them, the valuable and the common alike, receives influx according to the form of the contexture of parts composing it, thus one stone differently from another, one mineral differently from another, one metal differently from another. Some of them adorn themselves with most beautiful variegated colors, some transmit the light without variegation, and some blur and suffocate it in themselves. From these few examples it can be seen that as the sun of the world with its heat and light is just as present in one object as in another, while it is their recipient forms that vary its operations, so is the Lord, from the sun of heaven in the midst of which He is, present in all men with His heat which in its essence is love, and with His light which in its essence is wisdom, and that it is the man's form, which is induced upon him by the states of his life, that varies the Lord's operations; consequently the cause that man is not born again and saved, is not the Lord, but man himself.

(4) But the man who divides the Lord, charity, and faith, is not a form that receives but a form that destroys them. For he who separates the Lord from charity and faith, separates life from them, and when this is done, charity and faith either cease to exist or are abortions. That the Lord is life itself may be seen above (n. 358). He who acknowledges the Lord and sets charity aside, acknowledges Him with the lips only; his acknowledgment and confession is purely cold; within which there is no faith; for it lacks spiritual essence, since the essence of faith is charity. But he who practises charity and does not acknowledge the Lord as the God of heaven and earth, one with the Father (as He Himself teaches), practises merely natural charity in which there is no eternal life. The man of the church knows that all good that is good in itself is from God, consequently from the Lord, who is "the true God and eternal life" (1 John 5:20); so also with charity, because good and charity are one. [2] Faith separate from charity is not faith, because faith is the light of man's life and charity is its heat; therefore the separation of charity from faith is like the separation of heat from light; man's state then becomes like that of the world in winter, when everything on the earth dies. For charity to be charity and faith to be faith they can no more be separated than the will and the understanding; if these are separated the understanding comes to nothing, and presently the will also. It is the same with charity and faith, because charity resides in the will, and faith in the understanding. [3] Separating charity from faith is like separating essence from form. In the learned world it is known that essence without form, or form without essence, is nothing; for essence has no quality except from form, nor is form a subsistent entity except from essence; consequently nothing can be predicated of either separate from the other. Charity is the essence of faith, and faith is the form of charity just as good (as said above) is the essence of truth, and truth is the form of good. [4] As there are these two, namely, good and truth, in each thing and in all things that have essential existence, so there are charity and faith, charity because it belongs to good, and faith because it belongs to truth. This may be illustrated by comparisons with many things in the human body, and with many things on the earth. They maybe fitly compared with the respiration of the lungs and the systolic motion of the heart; since charity can no more be separated from faith than the heart from the lungs; for when the pulsation of the heart ceases, immediately the respiration of the lungs ceases; and when the respiration of the lungs ceases, all senses faint, all the muscles are deprived of motion, and in a short time the heart stops also and the life is wholly gone. This is a proper comparison, because the heart corresponds to the will and thus to charity, and the respiration of the lungs to the understanding, and thus to faith; for (as said above) charity resides in the will, and faith in the understanding; and this is what "heart" and "breath" mean in the Word. [5] Again there is a parallel between the separation of charity and faith and the separation of blood and flesh; for the blood separated from the flesh is gore, and becomes corruption, while the flesh separated from the blood gradually becomes putrid and breeds worms. So too, in the spiritual sense, "blood" signifies the truth of wisdom and faith, and "flesh" the good of love and charity. That this is the significance of "blood" may be seen in the Apocalypse Revealed (n. 379), and of "flesh" (n. 382). [6] For charity and faith to be anything, they can no more be separated than food and water or bread and wine with man; for food or bread taken without water or wine, merely distends the stomach, and like an undigested mass destroys it and becomes like putrid filth. So does water or wine without food or bread distend the stomach, and likewise the vessels and pores, which being thus deprived of nutrition, emaciate the body even to death. This is also a proper comparison, since "food" and "bread" in the spiritual sense signify the good of love and charity, and "water" and "wine" the truth of wisdom and faith, as may be seen in the Apocalypse Revealed (n. 50, 316, 778, 932). [7] Charity conjoined with faith, and faith in its turn with charity, may be likened to the face of a handsome virgin beautiful from the intermingling of red and white. This again is a proper comparison, since love and charity therefrom in the spiritual world are red from the fire of the sun there, while truth and faith therefrom are white from the light of that sun; and therefore charity separate from faith may be likened to a face inflamed with pimples, and faith separate from charity to the pallid face of a corpse. Faith separate from charity may also be likened to a paralysis of one side, which is called hemiplegia, from which, when it increases, the man dies. It may also be compared to St. Vitus' dance, or to the dance of St. Guy, which is caused by the bite of the tarantula. The rational faculty becomes like a man so bitten; like him it dances furiously and so deems itself alive, when yet it can no more collect various reasons into one, and think about spiritual truths, than one can when asleep in bed oppressed with a nightmare. This will suffice to demonstrate the two points of this chapter: first, That faith without charity is not faith, and that charity without faith is not charity, and that neither has life except from the Lord; secondly, That the Lord, charity, and faith make one, like life, will, and understanding in man; and if they are divided each perishes, like a pearl reduced to powder.

VII. THE LORD IS CHARITY AND FAITH IN MAN, AND MAN IS CHARITY AND FAITH IN THE LORD. That the man of the church is in the Lord and the Lord in him, can be seen from the following passes in the Word: Jesus said, Abide in Me, and I in you; I am the Vine and ye are the branches. He that abideth in Me and I in him, the same beareth much fruit (John 15:4, 5). He that eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood, abideth in Me and I in him (John 6:56). In that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you (John 14:20). Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God abideth in him and he in God (1 John 4:15). Yet man himself cannot be in the Lord, but charity and faith that are in him from the Lord, from which two he is essentially man. But in order to make this arcanum somewhat clear to the understanding, it shall be investigated in the following order: (1) It is by conjunction with God that man has salvation and eternal life. (2) Conjunction with God the Father is not possible, but only conjunction with the Lord, and through Him with God the Father. (3) Conjunction with the Lord is reciprocal, that is, the Lord is in man and man in the Lord. (4) This reciprocal conjunction is effected by means of charity and faith. The truth of these propositions will be obvious from the following explanation.

(1) It is by conjunction with God that man has salvation and eternal life. Man was so created as to be capable of conjunction with God; for he was created a native of heaven and also of the world, and so far as he is a native of heaven he is spiritual, while so far as he is a native of the world he is natural; and the spiritual man can think of God and perceive such things as are of God; he can also love God, and be affected by what is from God; from which it follows that he is capable of conjunction with God. That man can think of God and can perceive such things as are of God, is beyond all doubt; for he can think of the unity of God, of the Esse of God, which is Jehovah, of the immensity and eternity of God, of the Divine love and wisdom, which constitute the Essence of God, of God's omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence; of the Lord the Savior His Son, and of redemption and mediation; also of the Holy Spirit, and finally of the Divine trinity; all of which are of God, yea, are God. Moreover, he can think also of the operations of God, which are chiefly faith and charity, and of other things which proceed from these two. [2] That man is capable not only of thinking about God but also of loving Him is evident from the two commandments of God Himself, which read thus: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself (Matt. 22:37-39; Deut. 6:5). That man is able to obey God's commandments, and that this is loving Him and being loved by Him, is evident from the following: Jesus said, He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me; and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him and will manifest Myself unto him (John 14:21). [3] Furthermore, what is faith but conjunction with God by means of truths which belong to the understanding, and thence to thought? And what is love but conjunction with God by means of the goods that belong to the will, and thence to affection? God's conjunction with man is a spiritual conjunction within the natural; and man's conjunction with God is a natural conjunction from the spiritual. For the sake of this conjunction as an end, man was created a native both of heaven and of the world. As a native of heaven he is spiritual, as a native of the world he is natural. If, therefore, man becomes spiritual-rational and also spiritual-moral, he is conjoined with God, and through that conjunction he has salvation and eternal life. But on the other hand, if man is merely natural-rational and also natural-moral, there is indeed a conjunction of God with man, but not conjunction of man with God. This is the source of spiritual death, which viewed in itself is natural life apart from spiritual life; for the spiritual, in which there is the life of God, is then extinct in man.

(2) Conjunction with God the Father is not possible, but only conjunction with the Lord, and through Him with God the Father. This the Scripture teaches and reason sees. The Scripture teaches that God the Father has never been seen or heard, and cannot be seen or heard; consequently that from Himself, as He is in His own Esse and Essence, He cannot operate at all in man. For the Lord says, That no man hath seen God save He that is with the Father, He hath seen the Father (John 6:46). Neither knoweth anyone the Father save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal Him (Matt. 11:27). Ye have neither heard the voice of the Father at any time nor seen His Shape (John 5:37). This is because He is in the firsts and the principles of all things, thus pre-eminently above every sphere of the human mind; for He is in the firsts and the principles of all things of wisdom and all things of love, with which man can have no conjunction whatever; consequently if He Himself should draw near to man, or man to Him, man would be consumed and would melt away like wood in the focus of a powerful sun-glass, or rather like an image thrown into the sun itself. Therefore it was said to Moses, who longed to see God, That man could not see Him and live (Ex. 33:20). [2] But that there may be conjunction with God the Father through the Lord, is evident from the passages just quoted, that not the Father, but the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, and who has seen the Father, has brought to view and revealed those things which are of God and from God; and also from the following: In that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you (John 14:20). The glory which Thou hast given Me, I have given unto them, that they may be one, even as We are one; I in them, and Thou in Me (John 3:22, 23, 26). Jesus said, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one cometh unto the Father but by Me. And then Philip wished to see the Father, and the Lord said to him, He that seeth Me seeth the Father; and if ye had known Me, ye would know My Father also (John 14:6, 7, 9). Again: He that beholdeth Me, beholdeth Him that sent Me (John 12:45). He also said: That He is the door, and that whosoever enters through Him is saved while he who climbeth up some other way is a thief and a robber (John 10:1-9). He also says, That he who abides not in Him, is cast forth and as a branch is withered, and cast into the fire (John 15:6). [3] This is because the Lord our Savior is Jehovah the Father Himself in human form; for Jehovah descended and became Man that He might be able to draw near to man, and man to Him, and conjunction might thus be effected, and through that conjunction man might have salvation and eternal life. For when God became Man, and thus also became Man-God, being then accommodated to man He could draw near to him and be conjoined with him as God-Man and Man-God. There are three things that follow in order; accommodation, application, and conjunction. There must be accommodation before there is application; and there must be accommodation and application both together before there is conjunction. Accommodation on God's part was that He became Man; application on God's part is perpetual so far as man applies himself in return; and so far as this is done, conjunction is effected also. These three follow each other and proceed in their order in each and all things, which become one and coexist.

(3) Conjunction with the Lord is a reciprocal conjunction, that is, that the Lord is in man and man in the Lord. That conjunction is reciprocal, Scripture teaches and reason also sees. As to His conjunction with His Father, the Lord teaches that it is reciprocal, for He says to Philip: Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me (John 14:10, 11). That ye may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father (John 10:38). Jesus said, Father, the hour is come glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee (John 17:1). Father, all things that are Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine (John 17:10). The same is said by the Lord respecting His conjunction with man, namely, that it is reciprocal; for He says: Abide in Me and I in you; he that abideth in Me and I in him, the same beareth much fruit (John 15:4, 6). He that eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood, abideth in Me and I in him (John 6:66). In that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you (John 14:20). He that keepeth the commandments of Christ abideth in Him, and He in him (1 John 3:24; 4:13). Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God abideth in him, and he in God (1 John 4:15). If anyone hear My voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me (Apoc. 3:20). [2] From these plain statements it is clear that the conjunction of the Lord and man is reciprocal; and because it is reciprocal it necessarily follows, that man ought to conjoin himself to the Lord, in order that the Lord may conjoin himself to man; and that otherwise conjunction is not effected, but withdrawal and a consequent separation, yet not on the Lord's part, but on man's part. In order that such reciprocal conjunction may exist, there is granted to man freedom of choice, giving him the ability to walk in the way to heaven or in the way to hell. From this freedom that is given to man flows his ability to reciprocate, which enables him to conjoin himself with the Lord, and also with the devil. But this liberty, what it is and why it was given to man, will be illustrated hereafter, when Freedom of Choice, Repentance, Reformation and Regeneration, and Imputation are treated of. [3] It is to be lamented that the reciprocal conjunction of the Lord and man, although it stands out so clearly in the Word, is unknown in the Christian church. It is unknown because of certain hypotheses respecting faith and freedom of choice. The hypothesis respecting faith is that it is bestowed upon man without his contributing anything toward the acquisition of it, or adapting and applying himself, any more than a stock, to the reception of it. The hypothesis respecting freedom of choice is that man does not possess a single grain of freedom of choice in spiritual things. But that the reciprocal conjunction of the Lord and man, on which depends the salvation of the human race, may not remain longer unknown, necessity itself enjoins its disclosure, which may be best effected by examples, because they illustrate. [4] There are two kinds of reciprocation by which conjunction is effected: one is alternate and the other mutual. The alternate reciprocation by which conjunction is effected, may be illustrated by the action of the lungs in breathing. Man draws in the air and thereby expands the chest; then he expels the inhaled air and thereby contracts the chest. This inhalation and the consequent expansion is effected by means of the pressure of the air proportionate to its column; while the expulsion and the consequent contraction are effected by means of the ribs by the power of the muscles. Such is the reciprocal conjunction of the air and the lungs, and on it depends the life of all bodily sense and motion, for these swoon when respiration ceases. [5] Reciprocal conjunction, which is effected by alteration, may also be illustrated by the conjunction of the heart with the lungs and of the lungs with the heart. The heart from its right chamber pours the blood into the lungs, and the lungs pour it back again into the left chamber of the heart; thus is that reciprocal conjunction effected on which the life of the whole body is altogether dependent. There is a like conjunction of the blood with the heart, and vice versa. The blood of the whole body flows through the veins into the heart, and from the heart it flows out through the arteries into the whole body; action and reaction effect this conjunction. There is a like action and reaction (by which there is a constant conjunction) between the embryo and the mother's womb. [6] But there is no such reciprocal conjunction of the Lord and man. That is a mutual conjunction, which is effected not by action and reaction, but by cooperation. For the Lord acts, and from Him man receives action, and operates as if of himself, even by the Lord from himself. This operation of man from the Lord is imputed to him as his own, because he is held constantly by the Lord in freedom of choice. The freedom of choice resulting from this is the ability to will and to think from the Lord, that is, from the Word, and also the ability to will and to think from the devil, that is, contrary to the Lord and the Word. This freedom the Lord gives to man to enable him to conjoin himself reciprocally with the Lord, and by conjunction he gifted with eternal life and blessedness, since this, without reciprocal conjunction, would not be possible. [7] This reciprocal conjunction, which is mutual, may also be illustrated by various things in man and in the world. Such is the conjunction of soul and body in every man; such is the conjunction of will and action, also of thought and speech; such is the mutual conjunction of the two eyes, the two ears, and the two nostrils. That the mutual conjunction of the two eyes is in a manner reciprocal, is evident from the optic nerve, in which fibers from both hemispheres of the cerebrum are folded together, and thus folded together they extend to both eyes. It is the same with the ears and nostrils. [8] There exists a like reciprocal and mutual conjunction between light and the eye, between sound and the ear, odor and the nose, taste and the tongue, touch and the body; for the eye is in the light and the light in the eye, sound is in the ear and the ear in the sound, odor is in the nose and the nose in odor, taste is in the tongue and the tongue in taste, and touch is in the body and the body in touch. This reciprocal conjunction may also be compared to the conjunction of a horse and a carriage, an ox and a plough, a wheel and machinery, a sail and the wind, a musical pipe and the air; in short, such is the reciprocal conjunction of the end and the cause, and such also is that of the cause and the effect. But there is not time to explain all these examples one by one, for it would be a work of many pages.

(4) This reciprocal conjunction of the Lord and man is effected by means of charity and faith. It is known at the present day that the church constitutes the body of Christ, and that everyone in whom the church is, is in some member of that body, according to Paul (Eph. 1:23; 1 Cor. 12:27; Rom. 12:4, 5). But what is the body of Christ but Divine good and Divine truth? This is meant by the Lord's words in John: Be that eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood abideth in Me and I in him (6:56). By the Lord's "flesh" and by "bread" the Divine good is meant, and by His "blood" and "wine" Divine truth is meant, as will be seen in the chapter on the Holy Supper. From this it follows, that so far as man is in the goods of charity and the truths of faith, so far he is in the Lord and the Lord in him; for conjunction with the Lord is spiritual conjunction, and spiritual conjunction is effected solely by means of charity and faith. That there is a conjunction of the Lord and the church, and consequently of good and truth, in each and all things of the Word, has been shown in the chapter on the Sacred Scripture (n. 248-253); and since charity is good and faith is truth, there is everywhere in the Word a conjunction of charity and faith. From the foregoing it now follows, that the Lord is charity and faith in man, and that man is charity and faith in the Lord; for the Lord is spiritual charity and faith in man's natural charity and faith, and man is natural charity and faith from the Lord's spiritual charity and faith, and these two conjoined produce a spiritual-natural charity and faith.

VIII. CHARITY AND FAITH ARE TOGETHER IN GOOD WORKS. In every work that proceeds from man there is the whole man such as he is in his disposition or essentially. By disposition his love's affection and thought therefrom is meant; these form his nature, and in general his life. If we look at works in this way, they are like mirrors of man. This may be illustrated by like things in brutes and wild beasts. A brute a brute, and a wild beast is a wild beast, in all their actions. In everything pertaining to it a wolf is a wolf, a tiger is a tiger, a fox is a fox, and a lion is a lion; the same is true of a sheep and a kid. It is the same with a man; but man is such as he is in his internal man. If in this he is like a wolf or a fox, then everything he does is inwardly wolfish and fox-like, and the reverse if he is like a lamb or a kid. But that such is the man everything he does is not evident in his external man, because the external takes on various forms round about the internal; nevertheless in the internal the quality lies inwardly hidden. The Lord says: The good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil (Luke 6:46). And again: Each tree is known by its own fruit; of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes (Luke 6:44). That in each and all things that go forth from him man is such as he is in his internal man, he makes clear in himself after death to the very life, since he then lives an internal and no longer an external man. It will be shown in the following order how, when the Lord, charity and faith reside in man's internal, there is good in him and that every work that goes forth from him is good. (1) Charity is willing well and good works are doing well from willing well. (2) Charity and faith are only mental and perishable things unless they are determined to works and coexist in them when possible. (3) Good works are not produced by charity alone, still less by faith alone, but by charity and faith together. But on these points separately.

(1) Charity is willing well and good works are doing well from willing well. Charity and works are distinct from each other like will and action, or like the mind's affection and the body's operation; consequently like the internal man and the external; and these two are related to each other like cause and effect, since the causes of all things are formed in the internal man, and from this are all effects produced in the external. Therefore charity, since it belongs to the internal man, is willing well; and works, since they belong to the external man, are doing well from willing well. [2] Nevertheless between the good willing of different persons there is infinite diversity; for while everything that one person does to favor another is believed or appears to flow forth from goodwill or benevolence, yet no one knows whether the good deeds spring from charity or not, still less whether they spring from genuine or from spurious charity. This infinite diversity between the good-will of different persons originates in the end, intention, and consequent purpose; these are inwardly concealed in the will to do good, and from them is derived the quality of everyone's will. The will also searches the understanding for the means and modes of attaining its ends, which are effects, and in the understanding it comes into the light which enables it to see not only the reasons but also the opportunities for determining itself to action in the proper time and manner, and thus producing its effects, which are works; and at the same time in the understanding it brings itself into the power to act. From this it follows that works belong essentially to the will, formally to the understanding, and actually to the body. Thus does charity descend into good works. [3] This may be illustrated by comparison with a tree. Man himself, in all that belongs to him, is like a tree. In the seed of this tree there are concealed, as it were, the end, intention, and purpose of producing fruit; in these respects the seed corresponds to the will in man, which contains these three things, as stated above. Again, the seed from its interiors shoots up from the earth, clothes itself with branches, branchlets, and leaves, and so provides itself with means to it, end, which is the fruit; in all this the tree corresponds to the understanding in man. Finally, when the time comes and there is opportunity for determination, the tree blossoms and yields fruits, these corresponding to good works in man, in that evidently they are essentially from the seed, formally from the branchlets and leaves, and actually from the wood of the tree. [4] This may also be illustrated by comparison with a temple. Man is a temple of God, according to Paul (1 Cor. 3:16, 17; 2 Cor. 6:16; Eph. 2:21, 22). As a temple of God man's end, intention, and purpose are salvation and eternal life; in these there is a correspondence with the will, which contains these three things. Afterwards he acquires doctrinals of faith and charity from parents, teachers, and preachers, and when he comes into the exercise of his own judgment, from the Word and doctrinal works, all of which are means to the end; and these there is a correspondence with the understanding. Finally there comes a determination to uses, according to doctrinals as means, and this is effected by bodily acts, which are called good works. Thus the end through mediate causes produces effects, which are essentially of the end, formally of the doctrines of the church, and actually of the uses. Thus does man become a temple of God.

(2) Charity and faith are only mental and perishable things, unless they are determined to works and coexist in them when possible. Has not a man a head and a body which are joined together by a neck? And in the head is there not a mind that wills and thinks, and in the body is there not power that performs and executes? Therefore if man merely wills well, or thinks from charity, and does not do good and thus perform uses, is he not like a head only, and thus like a mind only, which apart from a body cannot continue to exist? From this is not anyone able to see that charity and faith are not charity and faith so long as they are merely in the head and its mind but not in the body? For they are then like birds flying in the air without any resting-place on the earth, or like birds ready to lay, but having no nests, in which case they would drop their eggs in the air or upon the branch of some tree, and the eggs would fall to the ground and be destroyed. There can be nothing in the mind that does not have some correspondent in the body, and its correspondent may be called its embodiment. So when charity and faith occupy the mind only, they have no embodiment in the man, and may be likened to those aerial beings called specters, like Fame as painted by the ancients with a laurel about her head and a horn in her hand. Being such specters, and still being able to think, they must needs be disturbed by fantasies, which are caused by reasonings from various kinds of sophistry, almost as reeds in marshes are shaken by the wind, while beneath them shells lie at the bottom and frogs croak on the surface. Who cannot see that such things come to pass when men merely know from the Word some things about charity and faith, but do not practice them? Moreover, the Lord says: Everyone who heareth My words and doeth them I will liken to a prudent man who built his house upon a rock, and everyone who heareth My words and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man who built his house upon the sand, or upon the ground without a foundation (Matt. 7:24, 26; Luke 6:47-49). Charity and faith with their factitious ideas when not put in practice may be compared to butterflies in the air, which a sparrow darts upon and devours as soon as he sees them. The Lord also says: The sower went forth to sow; and some fell upon the hard way, and the birds came and devoured them up (Matt. 13:3, 4).

That charity and faith do not profit a man so long as they remain only in one part of his body, that is, in his head, and are not fixed in works, is evident from a thousand passages in the Word, of which I will here adduce only these: Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire (Matt. 7:19-21). He that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the Word and attendeth, who also beareth fruit and bringeth forth. And when Jesus had said these things, He cried, saying, Who hath ears to hear, let him hear (Matt. 13:3-9, 23, 43). Jesus said, My mother and My brethren are these who hear the Word of God and do it (Luke 8:21). Now we know that God heareth not sinners but if any man be a worshiper of God, and doeth His will, him He heareth (John 9:31). If ye know these things, blessed are ye if ye do them (John 13:17). He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him; and will come unto him and make My abode with him (John 14:15-21, 23). Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit (John 15:8, 16). For not the hearers of the law shall be justified by God, but the doers of the law (Rom. 2:13; James 1:22). In the day of wrath and of righteous judgment God will render to every man according to his deeds (Rom. 2:5, 6). For we must all be made manifest before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he hath done, whether good or bad (2 Cor. 5:10). For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father, and then He shall render unto everyone according to his deeds (Matt. 16:27). I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth; Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow with them (Apoc. 14:13). A Book was opened, which is the Book of life and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the Book; every man according to his works (Apoc. 20:12, 13). Behold I come quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give every man according to his work (Apoc. 22:12). Jehovah, whose eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men, to give to everyone according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his works (Jer. 22:19). I will punish him according to his ways, and will recompense him for his works (Hos. 4:9). According to our ways, and according to our works Jehovah does with us (Zech. 1:6). So also in many other passages. From this it can be seen that charity and faith are not charity and faith until they exist in works, and that while they exist only in the expanse above works, that is, in the mind, they are like appearances of a tabernacle or temple in the air, which are nothing but a mirage, and vanish of themselves; or they are like pictures drawn on paper which moths consume; or they are like an abode on a housetop where there is no sleeping-place, instead of in the house. All this shows that charity and faith are perishable things so long as they are merely mental or unless they are determined to works and coexist in them when possible.

(3) Good works are not produced by charity alone, still less by faith alone, but by charity and faith together. This is because charity apart from faith is not charity, and faith apart from charity is not faith (as shown above, n. 356-361). Wherefore charity cannot exist by itself or faith by itself; and it cannot be said that charity in itself produces any good works, or faith in itself. It is the same with these as with the will and understanding. The will by itself can have no existence and can therefore produce nothing; nor can the understanding have any existence by itself of produce anything; but all production is effected by both together, and is effected by the understanding from the will. There is this similarity, because the will is the abode of charity and the understanding is the abode of faith. It is said that still less can faith alone produce good works, because faith is truth, and faith operates to produce truths, and these illuminate charity and its exercises. That truths illuminate, the Lord teaches, saying: He that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his works may be made manifest that they have been wrought in God (John 3:21). Consequently when man does good works in accordance with truths, he does them in light, that is, intelligently and wisely. The conjunction of charity and faith is like the marriage of husband and wife. From the husband as a father and the wife as a mother all natural offspring are born; and in like manner from charity as a father and faith as a mother all spiritual off spring, which are knowledges of good and truth, are born. This makes clear how spiritual families are generated. Moreover in the Word "husband" and "father" signify in the spiritual sense the good of charity, and "wife" and "mother" the truth of faith. This again makes clear that neither charity alone nor faith alone can produce good works, as neither the husband alone nor the wife alone can produce offspring. The truths of faith not only illuminate charity, but also determine its quality, and, still further, nourish it; so that a man having charity but no truths of faith, is like one walking in a garden, at night, who plucks fruit from the trees, not knowing whether in its use it is good or bad fruit. As the truths of faith not only illuminate charity but also determine its quality, as before said, it follows that charity without the truths of faith is like fruit without juice, like a dried-up fig, or like a grape after the wine has been pressed out of it. As truths nourish faith, as has also been said, it follows that if charity is without truths of faith, it receives no nourishment except such as a man gets from eating burnt bread and drinking unclean water from some stagnant pond.

IX. THERE IS A TRUE FAITH, A SPURIOUS FAITH AND A HYPOCRITICAL FAITH. From its cradle the Christian church began to be infested and divided by schisms and heresies, and in the course of time to be torn and mutilated almost like what is said, Of the man who went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and was surrounded by thieves, who stripped him and beat him and then left him half dead (Luke 10:30). From this it has come to pass as it is written of that church in Daniel: At last upon the bird of abominations shall be desolation; and even to the consummation and decision shall it drop upon the devastation (9:27). Also according to these words of the Lord: Then shall the end come, when ye shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet (Matt. 24:14, 15). The lot of that church may be compared to that of a vessel laden with precious merchandise, which immediately on leaving port is driven about by storms, and a little after is wrecked and sunk in the sea, with its precious cargo partly destroyed by the waters, and partly torn by fishes. [2] That the Christian church from its infancy has been so vexed and torn is evident from ecclesiastical history, as for example, even in the time of the apostles, by Simon, who was by birth a Samaritan and by profession a magician (see Acts 8:9-20); also by Hymeneus and Philetus (mentioned by Paul in his Second Epistle to Timothy); again by Nicholas, from whom the so-called Nicolaitans took their name (mentioned in Apoc. 2:6, and Acts 6:5); and also by Cerinthus. After the time of the apostles several other sects arose, as the Marcionites, the Noetians, the Valentinians, the Encratites, the Cataphrygians, the Quarto-Decimans, the Alogians, the Catharians, the Origenists or Adamites, the Sabellians, the Samosatenes, the Manichseans, the Meletians, and finally the Arians. After them, whole battalions of heresiarchs invaded the church, as the Donatists, the Photinians, the Acaians or Semiarians, the Eunomians, the Macedonians, the Nestorians, the Predestinarians, the Papists, the Zwinglians, the Anabaptists, the Schwenckfeldians, the Synergists, the Soeinians, the Anti-Trinitarians, the Quakers, the Moravians, and many more. Finally Luther, Melancthon, and Calvin prevailed over all these, and their dogmas have predominated to this day. [3] The causes of so many divisions and separations in the church are chiefly three: First, The Divine trinity has not been understood; Second, There has been no right knowledge of the Lord; Third, The passion of the cross has been taken for redemption itself. So long as these three things, which are the very essentials of faith, and from which the church exists and is called the church, are not understood, it must needs be that all things pertaining to the church will be turned aside out of their true course, and finally into the opposite course, and the church will still believe that it holds to a true faith in God and faith in all the truths relating to God; and in this state they are like persons who cover their eyes with their skirts, and fancy themselves to be walking in a straight line, and yet are departing from it step by step, and at length go in the opposite direction where there is a cavern into which they fall. But the man of the church can be brought back from his wandering into the way of truth, only by learning what true faith is, what spurious faith is, and what hypocritical faith is. Therefore it shall be shown: (1) That true faith is the one only faith, which is a faith in the Lord God the Savior Jesus Christ, and this is held by those who believe Him to be the Son of God, the God of heaven and earth, and one with the Father. (2) Spurious faith is all faith that departs from the true faith, which is the one only faith, and this is the faith that is held by those who climb up some other way, and regard the Lord not as God, but as a mere man. (3) Hypocritical faith is no faith.

(1) True faith is the one only faith, which is a faith in the Lord God the Savior Jesus Christ and this is held by those who believe Him to be the Son of God, the God of heaven and earth, and one with the Father. True faith is the one only faith, because faith is truth, and truth cannot be broken or cut into fragments, with one part tending to the left and another to the right, and the truth of it still remain. In a general sense faith consists of innumerable truths, for it is the complex of them; but these innumerable truths constitute, as it were, a single body, and in that body there are truths that form its members, some forming the members that depend on the chest, as the arms and hands, and others those that depend on the loins, as the legs and feet; while interior truths form the head, and the truths first proceeding from them form the sensories located in the face. Interior truths form the head because interior means the same as higher; for in the spiritual world whatever is interior is also higher. This is true of the three heavens there. Of that body and of all its members, the Lord God the Savior is the soul and life; and this is why the church was called by Paul "the body of Christ," the men of the church, according to their states of charity and faith, constituting its members. That the true faith is the one only faith, Paul also teaches thus: There is one body and one spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God; and He gave some for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ; till we all come into the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, and into the perfect man, into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:4-13). [2] That the true faith, which is the one only faith, is a faith in the Lord God the Savior Jesus Christ, has been fully shown above (n. 337-339). But those who believe the Lord to be the Son of God also have the true faith, because such believe Him to be God, and unless faith is faith in God it is no faith. That of all the truths that enter into faith and form it, this is the first, is evident from the Lord's words to Peter: Peter said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God, and Jesus answered, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, and I say also unto thee, upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matt. 16:16-18). By "rock" here and elsewhere in the Word, the Lord in respect to Divine truth is meant, and also Divine truth from the Lord. That this truth is the first truth and is like a diadem on the head and a scepter in the hand of the body of Christ, is evident from the Lord's saying, that upon that rock He would build His church, and the gates of hell should not prevail against it. That this is the first thing in faith, is also evident from these words in John: Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him and he in God (1 Epistle 4:15). [3] Besides this characteristic of being in the true faith, which is the one only faith, there is another, which is to believe that the Lord is the God of heaven and earth. This follows from the former, that He is the Son of God; also from the following: That in Him dwelleth all the fullness of Divinity (Col. 2:9) That He is the God of heaven and earth (Matt. 28:18); That all that the Father hath is His (John 3:35; 16:15). A third proof that those who believe in the Lord are interiorly in faith in Him, thus in the true faith, which is the one only faith, is their believing the Lord to be one with God the Father. That He is one with God the Father, and that He is the Father Himself in the Human, has been fully shown in the chapter on the Lord and Redemption, and is plainly evident from the words of the Lord Himself: That the Father and He are one (John 10:30) That the Father is in Him and He in the Father (John 10:38; 14:10, 11); That He said to His disciples, that henceforth they had seen and known the Father; and He looked at Philip and said, that he then saw and knew the Father (John 14:7-10). [4] These three are distinguishing evidences that men have faith in the Lord, and thus the true faith, which is the one only faith; for not all who approach the Lord have faith in Him; for true faith is both internal and external; and those who possess these three precious things of faith are in both its internals and its externals so that it is not only a treasure in their hearts, but also a jewel in their mouths. It is otherwise with those who do not acknowledge the Lord as the God of heaven and earth, and as one with the Father. Such look interiorly to other gods also who possess like power, although this power is to be exercised by the Son, either vicariously or as one who on account of redemption is worthy to reign over those whom He has redeemed. But these break the true faith in pieces by dividing the unity of God, and when this is done, there is no longer any faith, but only the ghost of it, which when seen naturally looks like some image of it, but seen spiritually, becomes a chimera. Who can deny that the true faith is faith in one God, who is the God of heaven and earth, consequently, a faith in God the Father in a human form, that is, the Lord? [5] These three marks, testimonies, and indications, that faith in the Lord is faith itself, are like the touch-stones whereby gold and silver are known; or they are like stones or fingerposts by the wayside, pointing the way to the temple where the one and true God is worshiped; or they are like lights on rocks in the sea, whereby those who are sailing at night may know where they are, and to what quarter to direct their ships. The first characteristic of faith, which is that the Lord is the Son of the living God, is like the morning star to all who enter His church.

(2) Spurious faith is all faith that departs from the true faith, which is the one only faith, and this is the faith that is held by those who climb up some other way, and regard the Lord not as God but as a mere man. That spurious faith is all faith that departs from the true faith, which is the one only faith, is self evident; for if the one only faith is the truth, it follows that what departs from it is not truth. Every good and truth of the church is propagated by the marriage of the Lord and the church; thus everything that is essentially charity and that is essentially faith is from that marriage; and on the other hand, whatever of charity and faith is not from that marriage, is not from a legitimate but an illegitimate bed, thus from a polygamic bed or marriage, or from adultery. All faith that acknowledges the Lord but adopts the falsities of heresy is from a polygamic bed, and the faith that acknowledges three Lords of one church is from adultery. For this may be likened to a harlot or a woman married to one man and spending her nights with two others, calling each one her husband while sleeping with him. Therefore such faith is called spurious; and in many places the Lord calls those holding such a faith "adulterers," and they are also meant by "thieves and robbers" in John: Verily I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber; I am the door; by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved (10:1, 9). Entering into the sheepfold is entering into the church, and also into heaven. It is entering also into heaven because heaven and the church make one, and nothing makes heaven except the church that is in it; consequently as the Lord is the bridegroom and husband of the church, so is He also the bridegroom and husband of heaven. [2] It may be inquired into and may be known whether faith is a legitimate or a spurious offspring by the three indications mentioned above, namely, acknowledgment of the Lord as the Son of God, acknowledgment of Him as the God of heaven and earth, and acknowledgment that He is one with the Father. Therefore, so far as any faith departs from these its essentials, it is spurious. Faith is both spurious and adulterous with those who regard the Lord not as God but merely as a man. The truth of this is very evident from the two abominable heresies, Arianism and Socinianism, which have been anathematized in and excommunicated from the Christian church, and this because they deny the Lord's Divinity, and climb up some other way. But I fear that those abominations lie concealed at this day in the general spirit of the men of the church. It is remarkable that the more anyone deems himself to be superior to others in learning and judgment, the more prone he is to seize upon and appropriate to himself the idea that the Lord is a man and not God, and that because He is a man He cannot be God; and whoever appropriates to himself these ideas, introduces himself into companionship with Arians and Socinians, who in the spiritual world are in hell. [3] Such is the general spirit of the men of the church at the present day, because with every man there is an associate spirit; for without this man would be unable to think analytically, rationally, and spiritually, and thus would not be a man but a brute. Moreover, every man attaches to himself a spirit in harmony with the affection of his own will and consequent perception of his understanding. To the man who introduces himself into good affections by means of truths from the Word and a life according to them, an angel from heaven is adjoined; while he who introduces himself into evil affections by the confirmation of falsities and a wicked life adjoins himself to a spirit from hell, and when this is done the man enters more and more, as it were, into fraternity with satans, and confirms himself more and more in falsities contrary to the truths in the Word, and in Arian and Socinian abominations against the Lord. This is because no satan can bear to hear any truth from the Word or to hear Jesus named; and if they hear these they become like furies, and run about and blaspheme; and then if light from heaven flows in they throw themselves headlong into caverns and into their own thick darkness, in which there is light to them, as there is to owls in the dark, or to cats in cellars watching for mice. Such do all those become after death, who in heart and faith deny the Divinity of the Lord and the holiness of the Word. Their internal man is of this nature, however much the external may play the mimic and feign to be Christian. That this is true I know, because I have seen and heard it. [4] Of all who honor the Lord as the Redeemer and Savior with the mouth and lips only, while in heart and spirit they regard Him as a mere man, it may be said, when they are speaking of these things and teaching them, that their cheeks are like a bag of honey, and their heart like a bag of gall; their words are like cakes of sugar, while their thoughts are like emulsions of aconite; they are also like rolls of pastry containing snakes. If such persons are priests, they are like pirates on the sea who hoist the flag of a peaceful nation, but when a ship sailing near hails them as friends, they raise a piratical flag in place of the other, seize the ship, and carry away those on board into captivity. They are also like serpents of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, that approach like angels of light, carrying in their hands apples from that tree painted with golden colors, as if plucked from the tree of life; and they offer them, saying: God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil (Gen. 3:5). And when these have eaten, they follow the serpent into the lower world, and there they dwell together. Round about that world are the satans who have eaten of the apples of Arius and Socinus. Such as these are meant also by the man, Who came to the marriage without a wedding garment, and was cast into outer darkness (Matt. 22:11-13); "the wedding garment" meaning faith in the Lord as the Son of God, the God of heaven and earth, and one with the Father. Those who honor the Lord with the mouth and lips only, but in heart and spirit regard Him as a mere man, if they declare their thoughts and persuade others, are spiritual murderers, and the worst of them are spiritual cannibals; for a man's life is from love to the Lord and faith in Him; and if this essential element of faith and love, that the Lord is God-Man and Man-God, is taken away, man's life becomes death; thus in this way man is killed and devoured as a kid by a wolf.

(3) Hypocritical faith is no faith. Man becomes a hypocrite when he thinks much about himself and places himself before others, for thereby he directs his mind's thoughts and affections to his body, immerses them in it, and unites them with its senses. He thus becomes a natural, sensual, and corporeal man, and then his mind cannot be withdrawn from the flesh to which it adheres, and be raised to God, and cannot see anything of God in the light of heaven, that is, anything spiritual. And because he is a carnal man, the spiritual things that enter (that is, through his hearing into his understanding), seem to him only like something spectral, or like down floating in the air, or like flies about the head of a running and sweating horse; therefore in heart he ridicules them. For it is well known that the natural man looks upon what pertains to the spirit, that is, spiritual things, as hallucinations. [2] Among natural men the hypocrite is the lowest natural for he is sensual, since his mind is closely bound to his bodily senses, and therefore he has no love for seeing anything but what his senses suggest; and as the senses are in nature, they compel the mind to think from nature about everything, and so in that way about everything pertaining to faith. If this hypocrite becomes a preacher, he retains in his memory such things as he had heard about faith during his childhood and youth; but as there is nothing spiritual inwardly in these things but only what is natural, when he presents them to a congregation they are nothing but lifeless words. They sound as if they had life because of the delight of the love of self and the world which makes them ring according to the eloquence of the speaker, and soothe the ear almost like the harmony of a song. [3] When a hypocritical preacher returns home after his sermon, he laughs at everything that he has set forth before his congregation about faith or from the Word, and perhaps says to himself, "I have cast my net into the lake and have caught flat-fish and shell-fish," for such do all who are in true faith appear to his fancy. A hypocrite is like a sculptured image with a double head, one head within the other, the internal head connected with the trunk or body, while the external, which rotates about the internal, is painted on its front side in proper colors like a human face, much like the wooden heads displayed at the shops of hairdressers. He is also like a boat, which the sailor, by proper management of the sail, can direct as he pleases, either with the wind or against it; his trimming his sail is his favoring everyone who contributes to his indulgence in the delights of the flesh and its senses. [4] Hypocritical ministers are finished comedians, mimics, and players, who can personate kings, leaders, primates, and bishops, and as soon as they have doffed their theatrical robes, visit brothels and consort with harlots. They are also like a door hung upon a round hinge that can open either way; their mind is such because it can be opened either hellward or heavenward, and when opened to one it is closed to the other; for, what is wonderful, when they are ministering in holy things and teaching truths from the Word, they do not know otherwise than that they believe in them, for the door is then closed toward hell; but the moment they return home they believe nothing, for the door is then closed toward heaven. [5] Among consummate hypocrites there is an interior enmity against truly spiritual men, for it is like that of satans against the angels of heaven. They are unconscious of this while they are living in the world, but it manifests itself after death, when their external, by means of which they assumed the appearance of spiritual men, is taken away, for it is their internal man that is thus satanic. But I will tell how spiritual hypocrites, who are such as walk In sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves (Matt. 7:15), appear to the angels of heaven. They appear like soothsayers walking on the palms of their hands and praying, while from the heart they are crying with their lips to demons and kissing them, but by clapping their shoes together in the air they make a noise to God. But when they stand on their feet their eyes look like leopards' eyes, they step like wolves, their mouths are fox-like, their teeth like those of a crocodile, and as to faith they are like vultures.

X. WITH THE EVIL THERE IS NO FAITH. The evil are all who deny that the world was created by God, and thus deny God, for they are naturalistic atheists. All such are evil because all good, which is not only naturally but also spiritually good, is from God; consequently those who deny God will not and therefore cannot receive good from any other source than what is their own; and what is man's own is the lust of his flesh; and whatever proceeds from that is spiritually evil, however good it may seem naturally. Such are evil in theory; while those who have no regard for the Divine commandments (which are exhibited in a summary in the Decalogue), and live like outlaws, are practically evil. Such are also deniers of God in heart (although many of them confess Him with their lips), for the reason that God and His commandments make one; and this is why the ten commandments are called, Jehovah there (Num. 10:35, 36; Ps. 132:7, 8). But to make it still clearer that the evil have no faith, let us from the two following propositions draw a conclusion: (1) The evil have no faith, since evil belongs to hell and faith to heaven. (2) All those in Christendom who reject the Lord and the Word have no faith, although they live morally, and even speak, teach, and write rationally about faith. But of these points separately.

(1) The evil have no faith, since evil belongs to hell and faith to heaven. Evil belongs to hell, because all evil is from hell; faith belongs to heaven, because all truth that pertains to faith is from heaven. So long as man is living in the world he is kept and walks midway between heaven and hell, and there he is in spiritual equilibrium, which is his freedom of choice. Hell is under his feet and heaven above his head; and what ever comes up from hell is evil and false, while whatever comes down from heaven is good and true. Because man is midway between these two opposites, and at the same time in spiritual equilibrium, he is able to choose, adopt, and appropriate to himself from freedom either the one or the other. If he chooses evil and falsity he connects himself with hell; if he chooses good and truth he connects himself with heaven. From this it is clear not only that evil belongs to hell and faith to heaven, but also that the two cannot be together in the same subject, that is, the same man. For if they were together, the man would be drawn in different directions, as if two ropes were tied around him and he were drawn upward by one and downward by the other; and so he would become like a thing suspended in the air. Or he would be as one flying like a blackbird, now upward and now downward, in the former case adoring God, in the latter the devil. Anyone sees that this is profanation. That no man can serve two masters, but will rather hate the one and love the other, the Lord teaches in Matt. (6:24). That where evil is there is no faith, may be illustrated by various comparisons, such as the following: Evil is like fire (infernal fire is nothing but love of evil), and it consumes faith like stubble, reducing it and all that pertains to it to ashes. Evil dwells in darkness and faith in light; and evil by means of falsities extinguishes faith, as darkness extinguishes light. Evil is black like ink, while faith is white like snow, and clear like water; and evil blackens faith, as ink does snow or water. Moreover, evil and the truth of faith can be joined together only as what is fetid may be mixed with what is fragrant, or urine with flavorous wine; nor can the two exist together except as a noisome corpse in the same bed with a living man; and they can no more dwell together than a wolf can dwell in a sheepfold, a hawk in a dovecote, or a fox in a henhouse.

(2) Those in Christendom who reject the Lord and the Word have no faith, although they live morally, and even speak, teach, and write rationally about faith. This follows as a conclusion from all that precedes; for it has been shown that the true and only faith is faith in the Lord and from the Lord, and that a faith that is not a faith in and from Him, is not a spiritual but a natural faith, and merely natural faith has not the essence of faith in it. Moreover, faith is from the Word; it is from no other source, since the Word is from the Lord, and consequently the Lord Himself is the Word. Therefore He says, That He is the Word (John 1:1, 2). From this it follows that those who reject the Word, reject the Lord also, for these cohere as one; also that those who reject either of these also reject the church, since the church is from the Lord through the Word; and furthermore, that those who reject the church are outside of heaven, since the church introduces into heaven; and those who are outside of heaven are among the damned, and these have no faith. Those who reject the Lord and the Word have no faith, although they live morally, and even speak, teach, and write rationally about faith, for the reason that such have no moral-spiritual life, but only a natural life, and no rational-spiritual mind, but only a natural mind; and merely natural morality and rationality are in themselves dead; therefore as dead men there is no faith in them. A man who is merely natural and in regard to faith is dead may indeed talk and teach about faith, charity, and God, but not from faith, charity, and God. That those alone have faith who believe in the Lord, and that others have not, is evident from the following passages: He that believeth on the Son is not judged; but he that believeth not hath been judged already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God (John 3:18). He that believeth in the Son hath eternal life but he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the anger of God abideth on him (John 3:36). Jesus said, When the Spirit of truth is come, He will reprove the world of sin, because they believe not on Me (John 16:8, 9); and to the Jews He said: Except ye believe that I am, ye shall die in your sins (John 8:24). Therefore David says: I will declare the decree Jehovah said unto Me, Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry and ye perish in the way. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him (Ps. 2:7, 12). That in the consummation of the age, which is the last time of the church, there will be no faith, because there will be no faith in the Lord as the Son of God, the God of heaven and earth, and one with the Father, the Lord foretells in thee Gospels, saying, That there shall then be an abomination of desolation, and tribulation such as hath not been nor ever shall be, and that the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven (Matt. 24:15, 21, 29). And in the Apocalypse, That Satan, loosed out of his prison, shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, the number of whom is as the sand of the sea (20:7, 8). And because the Lord foresaw this, He also said: Howbeit, when the Son of man cometh shall He find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:8).

The following Memorable Relations shall be added. First: An angel once said to me, "If you wish to see clearly what faith is and what charity is, and thus what faith separate from charity is, and what it is when conjoined with charity, I will make it very clear to you." I answered, "Make it clear." He said, "Instead of faith and charity, think of light and heat, and you will see clearly. Faith in its essence is the truth of wisdom, and charity in its essence is the affection of love; and in heaven the truth of wisdom is light and the affection of love is heat. The light and heat in which angels live are in essence nothing else. From this you can see clearly what faith is when separated from charity and what faith is when conjoined with charity. Faith separated from charity is like the light of winter, and faith conjoined with charity is like the light of spring. Wintry light, which is light separate from heat, because it is joined with cold, wholly strips the trees of their leaves, kills the grass, hardens the earth, and freezes the waters. But the light of spring, which is light joined with heat, causes the trees to put forth leaves, and then flowers, and finally fruit; it so opens and softens the earth that it may bring forth grasses, herbs, flowers, and it so melts the ice that the waters flow from their fountains. [2] It is precisely the same with faith and charity. Faith when separated from charity makes all things dead, while faith joined with charity makes all things alive. This making alive and making dead can be seen to the life in our spiritual world, because here faith is light and charity is heat. Where faith is joined with charity, there are paradisal gardens, flower-beds, and grass-plots with a native charm according to that conjunction. But where faith is separated from charity, there is not even grass, and where there is any green it is from briers and thorns." Not far from us at this time were some clergymen, whom the angel called justifiers and sanctifiers of men by faith alone, and also dealers in mysteries. To these we said the same things, and made them so clear that they saw their truth; but when we asked them if it was not so, they turned away and said, "We did not hear you." We then shouted to them, saying, "Then hear us yet again." But they put both hands to their ears and called out, "We do not wish to hear you." [3] After hearing this I talked with the angel about faith alone, saying that it had been granted me to know by living experience that that faith is like the light of winter. And I told him that for several years spirits of various beliefs had passed by me, and that whenever those who separated faith from charity came near me, such a coldness invaded my feet and gradually my loins and finally my chest, that I hardly knew otherwise than that the whole vitality of my body was about to become extinct; and indeed this would have come to pass if the Lord had not driven these spirits away and set me free. To me it seemed wonderful that these spirits, as they acknowledged, had in themselves no sense of coldness; and I therefore likened them to fishes under ice, which have no feeling of cold because their life and their nature therefrom are essentially cold. It then became clear that the cold of these spirits emanated from the fatuous light of their faith, as the fatuous and cold light often seen by travelers arises from marshy and sulphurous places in midwinter after sunset. Such spirits may be compared to the icebergs that are torn from their places in the northern regions, and carried about on the ocean, of which I have heard it said that when they come near a ship, all who are on board begin to shiver with cold. So companies of spirits who are in faith separated from charity may be likened to such icebergs, or, if you please, may be called icebergs. It is well known from the Word that faith apart from charity is dead; but I will explain the cause of its death. Its death is from cold. It dies from cold like a bird in a severe winter. First its sight fails, and at the same time its power to fly; and then its power to breathe; and finally it falls headlong from the tree into the snow and is buried.

Second Memorable Relation: One morning on awaking from sleep, I saw two angels descending from heaven, one from the southern part of heaven and one from the eastern, both in chariots to which were harnessed white horses. The chariot in which the angel from the southern heaven rode shone like silver; while the chariot in which the angel from the east rode shone like gold; and the reins which they held in their hands gleamed like the flaming light of the dawn. Thus did those two angels appear to me from afar; but when they came near they did not appear in chariots, but in their own angelic form, which is the human form. The one that came from the eastern part of heaven was clad in a resplendent purple garment, and the one from the southern part of heaven in a violet colored garment. When they reached the lower regions beneath the heavens, they ran toward each other as if striving who should be first, and embraced and kissed each other. I heard that these two angels while they lived in the world had been united by an interior friendship, but that now one dwelt in the eastern and the other in the southern heaven. In the eastern heaven are those who are in love from the Lord, but in the southern heaven those who are in wisdom from the Lord. When they had talked awhile about the magnificent things in their heavens, this point arose in their conversation, whether, in its essence, heaven is love or is wisdom. They agreed at once that each belongs to the other, but they questioned which of them was the source. [2] The angel from the heaven of wisdom asked the other, "What is love?" And he replied that love originating in the Lord as a sun is the heat of life of men and angels, and therefore is the esse of their life; and that the derivations of love are called affections, and through them are produced perceptions and thus thoughts; from which it follows that wisdom in its origin is love, consequently that thought in its origin is an affection of that love; and it can be seen from these derivations examined in their order that thought is nothing but a form of affection; and the reason why this is not known is that thoughts are in light, but affections in heat, and therefore men reflect upon thoughts, but not upon affections. That thought is nothing but a form of the affection of one's love, can be made clear from speech, as being merely a form of sound, and this likeness still further holds good in that the tone of the voice corresponds to affection, and speech to thought; so that it is the affection that gives tone, and the thought that speaks. This will also become obvious if it is asked whether anything of speech remains if tone is taken from it; and so, too, whether anything of thought remains if affection is taken from it. From this it is clear that love is the all of wisdom, consequently that the essence of the heavens is love, and their existence wisdom; or what is the same, that the heavens have their being from the Divine love, and their existence from the Divine love through the Divine wisdom; therefore, as before said, each belongs to the other. [3] There was then with me a newly arrived spirit, who, hearing these remarks, asked whether it was the same with charity and faith, since charity belongs to affection and faith to thought. The angel replied, "It is precisely the same; faith is nothing but the form of charity, just as speech is a form of sound. Moreover, faith is formed from charity, as speech is formed from sound. In heaven we know how it is formed, but there is not time to explain it now." He added, "By faith I mean spiritual faith, the life and spirit in which are solely from the Lord through charity, for charity is spiritual, and it is through charity that faith becomes spiritual; therefore faith apart from charity is a merely natural faith, and such faith is dead, for it is conjoined with merely natural affection, which is nothing but lust." [4] The angels spoke of these things spiritually, and spiritual language embraces thousands of things which natural language cannot express, and, what is wonderful, which cannot even fall into the ideas of natural thought. After this conversation the angels departed; and as they withdrew, each to his own heaven, stars appeared about their heads; and when they were some distance from me, they again appeared, as before, to be in chariots.

Third Memorable Relation: When these two angels were out of sight, I saw a garden on the right, in which there were olive trees, fig trees, laurels, and palms, arranged in order in accord with their correspondences. I looked thitherward, and among the trees I saw angels and spirits walking and talking; and one angelic spirit looked at me. Those are called angelic spirits who are being prepared in the world of spirits for heaven. This spirit came to me from the garden and said, "Come with me into our paradise, you shall hear and see wonderful things." I went with him and he said to me, "These whom you see," for there were many others, "are all in the love of truth, and from that in the light of wisdom. And there is a palace here, which we call the Temple of Wisdom; but no one can see it who believes himself to be very wise, still less one who believes that he is wise enough, and less yet one who believes himself to be wise from himself. This is because such are not in a state to receive the light of heaven from a love of genuine wisdom. It is genuine wisdom for a man to see from the light of heaven that what he knows, understands, and is wise in, is so little in comparison with what he does not know and understand, and in which he is not wise, as to be like a drop to the ocean, consequently as almost nothing. Everyone who is in this paradisal garden, and who acknowledges both from perception and from seeing it in himself that his wisdom is relatively so slight, sees that Temple of Wisdom; for it is the inner light in man's mind that enables him to see it, and not the outer light apart from the inner." [2] So because I had often thought, and had cause to acknowledge, first from knowledge, then from perception, and finally from inner light, that man has so little wisdom, behold, it was granted me to see that temple. In form it was wonderful. It was elevated high above the ground; it was four-square, with walls of crystal, a gracefully-arched roof of transparent jasper; and a substructure of various precious stones. The steps for ascent into it were of polished alabaster. At the sides of the steps there appeared figures of lions and their whelps. I then asked if it was allowable to enter, and was told that it was. I therefore ascended the steps, and as I entered I saw cherub-like forms flying under the roof, but soon vanishing. The floor on which we walked was of cedar, and the whole temple, from the transparency of the roof and walls, was built to be a form of light. [3] The angelic spirit entered with me, and I told him what I had heard from the two angels about love and wisdom, and about charity and faith The angel said, "Did they not also speak of a third?" "What third?" I asked. He replied, "The good of use. Love and wisdom apart from good of use are not anything; they are merely ideal entities, and they only become real when they exist in use; for love, wisdom, and use are three things that cannot be separated; if separated, neither of them is anything. Apart from wisdom love is nothing; but in wisdom it takes form for something; and that something for which it takes form is use; thus when love, by means of wisdom, is in use, it really is, because it actually exists. These are precisely like end, cause and effect; the end is nothing unless it is in effect through the cause; if either of these three passes away, the whole passes away and becomes as nothing. [4] Also it is the same with charity, faith, and works. Apart from faith charity is nothing, neither is faith anything apart from charity, nor charity and faith anything apart from works; but in works they are something, and such a something as is the use of the works. It is the same with affection, thought, and operation; and the same with will, understanding, and action; for will apart from understanding is like an eye apart from sight, and both apart from action are like the mind apart from the body. That this is so can be clearly seen in this temple, because the light in which we are here is a light that enlightens the mind's interiors. [5] That there is nothing complete and perfect unless it is a trine, geometry also teaches; for a line is nothing unless it becomes a surface, nor is a surface anything unless it becomes a solid; therefore one must pass into the other in order that they may have existence; and they have coexistence in the third. As it is in this, so it is also in each and all created things; they are terminated in a third. And it is from this that the number three signifies in the Word what is complete and whole. This being so, I could not but wonder that some professed to believe in faith alone, some in charity alone, and some in works alone, when yet one apart from the second, or both together apart from the third, are nothing." [6] But I then asked, "Cannot a man have charity and faith, and yet not works? Cannot a man have a love for something, and give thought to it, and yet not be in the performance of it?" The angel answered me, "He cannot really, but only ideally; he must be in the endeavor or will to do; and the will or endeavor is the act in essence, because it is a continual effort to act; and when its termination is reached it becomes act in externals. Therefore endeavor and will, as the internal act, are accepted by every wise man, because they are accepted by God, precisely as the external act, provided there is no failure when opportunity offers."

Fourth Memorable Relation: I have spoken with some of those who are meant in the Apocalypse by the "dragon," and one of them said, "Come with me, and I will show you the delights of our eyes and hearts." And he led me through a gloomy forest and to the top of a hill, from which I could witness the delights of the dragonists, and I saw an amphitheater built in the form of a circus, with seats round about gradually rising from the front, on which the spectators were sitting. Those sitting upon the lowest seats appeared to me at a distance like satyrs and priapi, some having a slight covering over the parts that ought to be concealed, and others wholly naked. On the seats above these sat whoremongers and harlots; such they appeared to me from their gestures. The dragonist then said to me, "Now you shall see our sport." And I saw, as it were, calves, rams, sheep, kids and lambs let into the arena of the circus; and when these had been let in, a door was opened, and in rushed, as it were, young lions, panthers, tigers, and wolves, which attacked the other animals with fury, tearing them and slaughtering them. After this bloody slaughter, the satyrs sprinkled sand over the place of the slaughter. [2] Then the dragonist said to me, "These are our sports, which delight our minds." I answered, "Begone, demon! after a while you will see this amphitheater turned into a lake of fire and brimstone." At this he laughed and went away. Afterward I was thinking to myself why such things are permitted by the Lord; and I received in my heart the answer that they are permitted so long as these spirits are in the world of spirits, but when their stay in that world is ended such theatrical scenes are turned into infernal horrors. [3] All this that had been seen was induced by the dragonist by means of fantasies; thus there had been no calves, rams, sheep, kids, or lambs, but they caused the genuine goods and truths of the church, which they hated, to so appear. The lions, panthers, tigers, and wolves were appearances of the cupidities of those who seemed like satyrs and priapi. Those without a covering about the parts that ought to be concealed, were such as believed that evils do not appear in the sight of God; while those with a covering were such as believed that evils appear but do not damn provided they have faith. The whoremongers and harlots were falsifiers of the truths of the Word, for whoredom signifies the falsification of the truth. In the spiritual world all things appear at a distance in accordance with correspondence, and when they appear in forms they are called representations of spiritual things in objects resembling natural things. [4] After this I saw them going out of the forest, the dragonist in the midst of the satyrs and priapi, and behind them their camp-followers, who were the whoremongers and harlots. The crowd increased on the way, and then I heard what they were saying to one another. They said that they saw a flock of sheep with lambs in a meadow, and that this was a sign that one of the Jerusalemite cities, where charity is the chief thing, was not faraway. And they said, "Let us go and capture that city, and cast out its inhabitants, and plunder their goods." They approached the city; but there was a wall around it, with angel guards upon the wall. They then said, "Let us take it by stratagem. Let us send someone skilful in wily speaking, who can make black white and white black, and give to everything whatever color he chooses." And they found one versed in the art of metaphysics, who was able to change ideas of things into ideas of terms, concerning the things themselves under formulas, and thus flying away with them like a hawk with its prey under its wings. He was instructed what to say to the citizens, that they were companions in religion, and that they wished to be admitted. He went to the gate and knocked, and when it was opened he said that he wished to speak with the wisest man of the city. He entered and was conducted to a certain person, whom he addressed as follows: "My brethren are outside the city and beg to be admitted; they are companions with you in religion; with you we make faith and charity the two essentials of religion; the sole difference is that you say that charity is primary and from it comes faith, while we say that faith is primary and from it comes charity. What matters it which is called primary, so long as both are believed in?" [5] The wise man of the city answered, "Let us not talk of this matter alone, but in the presence of others who may be arbiters and judges; otherwise we arrive at no decision." And at once some were summoned to whom the dragonist said the same things as before. Then the wise citizen answered, "You have said that it is the same whether charity is assumed to be the first principle of the church, or faith, provided it is agreed that the two constitute the church and its religion. But there is a difference like that between the prior and the posterior, between cause and effect, the principal and the instrumental, the essential and the formal. I use these terms, because I notice that you are skilled in the art of metaphysics, an art that we call wily speaking [mussitatio] and some call sorcery. But let us drop the terms. The difference is like that between what is above and what is below; or, if you will believe it, it is even like the difference between the minds of those who dwell in the higher and those who dwell in the lower parts of this world. For what is primary constitutes the head and breast, and what is from that constitutes the feet and their soles. But let us see first whether we agree as to what ch