In about 30 volumes of theology, Swedenborg uses the term
“The Bible” only a handful of times, and most of those are in reference to ancient writing styles. On the other hand, the term “The Word” appears more than 15,000 times, and it is crucially important to the doctrinal system Swedenborg illustrates.
What’s the difference?
In Swedenborg, “The Word” in its deepest sense means divine truth in its fullness, the infinite expression of the Lord’s infinite love, shining on us the way light shines from the sun. In fact, since the Lord’s essence is love itself and love cannot exist without taking form, Swedenborg says that The Word actually is the Lord, and that the Lord actually is the Word (think about John 1:1: “The Word was with God, and the Word was God”).
Divine truth is, to be sure, an expansive thing in Swedenborg: It is the agent and force of creation, and is reflected in all aspects of humanity and of the natural world. If we understood enough we could gaze on fields and trees and see the nature of the Lord’s love and the spiritual world. But that is a fluid expression; we can cut down a tree and change it. The ultimate expression of the Lord’s love is permanent and safeguarded, hidden away within the stories and prophecies of the Bible where only those who love the Lord can begin to understand. Understood at the most internal, symbolic level, those stories and prophecies are completely about the Lord himself, unveiling his love in its infinite forms, and by reading it we open ourselves to him and let him flow into our hearts and minds.
In a sense, then, the Bible is a container for the Word, a compilation of natural language that is divinely ordered so that it can hold and express spiritual ideas. That’s one reason churches based on Swedenborg have traditionally called even the physical book itself “The Word” instead of “The Bible.” They want to be open to the love the book contains, not just the external meanings of the text.
The other reason is more controversial. Swedenborg says that only 34 of the Bible’s books are written with a complete and continuous internal sense, and thus only those 34 are truly part of the Word. The 34 are the five books of Moses, Joshua, Judges, the two books of Samuel, the two books of Kings, Psalms, the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, the four Gospels and Revelation. This leaves out some treasured books of the Old Testament: Ruth, Job, Proverbs, Song of Solomon and others.
But the exact contents of the Old Testament have been debated for millennia and there are already variations in the Jewish, Catholic and Protestant Scriptures. What most people find harder to accept is the idea that the works of the early Christian Church -- Acts and the various epistles of Christian leaders – are not filled with the divine.
But consider the difference between how the Gospels were written and how the Epistles were written. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were simply trying to record the words and deeds of Jesus, telling what they knew of these things in their most outward form. The Lord was able to guide that outward form so that inwardly it could be filled with spiritual correspondences. The epistles, on the other hand, were really the first human attempts to interpret Jesus’s teachings and develop them into a consistent doctrine. The fact that the writers were already trying to find deeper meanings meant that their work could not be used to contain deeper meanings. It doesn’t mean their doctrinal conclusions are wrong – they had vast insight – but they are not divine.
In general, we use the name “The Bible” on this site because it is familiar to most readers. But generally the references are to the inspired parts of the Bible which, according to Swedenborg, have a complete spiritual meaning.
Passages from Swedenborg
Heaven and Hell (Dole) 241
(T)he vowels U and O tend to predominate in the speech of heavenly angels, while in the speech of spiritual angels it is the vowels E and I. The vowels stand for the sound and in the sound there is the affection; for as already noted (236), the sound of angels' speech is responsive to their affection, and the articulations of the sound, or the words, correspond to the individual ideas that stem from their affection. For this reason, the vowels do not belong to the language but to a raising of its words, by means of sounds, toward various affections according to the state of each individual. So in Hebrew the vowels are not written and are also pronounced variously. This enables angels to recognize what someone's quality is in respect to affection and love.
Further still, the language of heavenly angels lacks any hard consonants and rarely puts two consonants together without inserting a word that begins with a vowel. This is why the little word “and” is inserted so often in the Word, as can be determined by people who read the Word in Hebrew, in which language that word is soft and in either pronunciation is a vowel sound. We can also learn some of this from the vocabulary of the Hebrew Bible, since the words belong to either a heavenly or a spiritual category. That is, they involve either what is good or what is true, with the expressions involving what is good making ample use of the vowels U and O and to some extent A, and the expressions involving what is true making use of E and I.
Doctrine of Sacred Scripture (Dick) n. 2
He, however, who thinks in this way does not consider that Jehovah Himself, who is the God of heaven and earth, spoke the Word by means of Moses and the Prophets, and consequently that it must be Divine Truth itself; for what Jehovah Himself speaks is Divine Truth. Nor does he consider that the Lord, who is the same as Jehovah, spoke the Word written by the Evangelists, much of it from His own mouth, and the rest from the spirit of His mouth, which is the Holy Spirit. For this reason He Himself declares that in His words there is life, that He is the light which enlightens, and that He is the truth.
Doctrine of Sacred Scripture (Dick) n. 3
From these considerations, however, the natural man still cannot be persuaded that the Word is Divine Truth itself, in which is Divine Wisdom as well as Divine Life; for he regards it from its style, in which he does not see these things. Yet the style of the Word is the Divine style itself, with which no other style, however sublime and excellent it may seem, can be compared, for any other style is as thick darkness compared with light. The style of the Word is such that there is holiness in every sentence, and in every word; indeed, in some places, in the very letters; and consequently the Word conjoins man with the Lord, and opens heaven.
[2] There are two things which proceed from the Lord, Divine Love and Divine Wisdom, or what is the same, Divine Good and Divine Truth; for Divine Good is of His Divine Love, and Divine Truth is of His Divine Wisdom. The Word in its essence is both of these; and since it conjoins man with the Lord and opens heaven, as has just been said, therefore the Word fills the man who reads it from the Lord, and not from himself alone, with the good of love and the truths of wisdom-his will with the good of love and his understanding with the truths of wisdom; thus man has life through the Word.
Doctrine of Sacred Scripture (Dick) n. 4
Lest, therefore, men should be in doubt that the Word is of this nature, the Lord has revealed to me its internal sense. This in its essence is spiritual, and resides in the external sense which is natural, as the soul in the body. This internal sense is the spirit which gives life to the Letter; and it can therefore bear witness to the divinity and holiness of the Word, and it can convince even the natural man, if he is willing to be convinced.
Doctrine of Sacred Scripture (Dick) n. 5
The spiritual sense ... does not appear in the sense of the letter: it is within it, as the soul is in the body, as the thought is in the eyes, and as affection is in the countenance; and these act together as cause and effect. It is this sense especially that makes the Word spiritual, not only for men but also for angels; and therefore the Word by means of this sense communicates with the heavens.
Doctrine of Sacred Scripture (Dick) n. 8
Since the Word interiorly is spiritual and celestial, it is therefore written by means of pure correspondences; and what is thus written is in its ultimate sense written in such a style as is seen in the Prophets and Evangelists which, although it appears ordinary, yet has stored up within it Divine Wisdom and all angelic wisdom.
Doctrine of Sacred Scripture (Dick) n. 18
3. BECAUSE OF THE SPIRITUAL SENSE THE WORD is DIVINELY INSPIRED, AND HOLY IN EVERY WORD. It is asserted in the Church that the Word is holy, and this because Jehovah God spoke it. However, as its holiness is not apparent from the Letter alone, therefore, he who once has doubts about its holiness on that account, when he afterwards reads the Word, confirms his doubts by many things in it. For he then reflects, Is this holy? Is this Divine? Therefore, lest such thoughts should flow into the minds of many and ultimately prevail, and thereby conjunction of the Lord with the Church where the Word is should perish, it has pleased the Lord now to reveal its spiritual sense in order that it may be known where in the Word that holiness lies concealed.
Doctrine of Sacred Scripture (Dick) n. 19
There is in the Word a sense still more internal, called the celestial, concerning which something was said above in No. 6; but this sense can be explained only with difficulty, for it does not fall so much into the thought of the understanding as into the affection of the will.
Doctrine of Sacred Scripture (Dick) n. 20
4. THE SPIRITUAL SENSE OF THE WORD HAS HITHERTO BEEN UNKNOWN. That all things in nature, both general and particular, and also all things in the human body, correspond to spiritual things is shown in the work HEAVEN AND HELL, Nos. 87-105. What correspondence is, however, has hitherto been unknown; yet in most ancient times it was very well known, for to those who lived then the science of correspondences was the science of sciences, and was so universal that all their treatises and books were written by correspondences. The Book of Job, which is an ancient book, is full of correspondences.
[2] The hieroglyphics of the Egyptians and the myths of antiquity were of a like nature. All the ancient Churches were representative of heavenly things; and their ceremonies and also the statutes on which their worship was founded, consisted of pure correspondences. Of a like nature were all the things of the Church established among the Children of Jacob; their burnt offerings and sacrifices with all the things connected with them were correspondences. So also was the tabernacle with every thing in it; and likewise their feasts, as the feast of unleavened bread, the feast of tabernacles, and the feast of the first fruits; and also the priesthood of Aaron and the Levites, and the holy garments of Aaron and his sons; and, moreover, all the statutes and judgments relating to their worship and life.
[3] Now because Divine things manifest themselves in the world in correspondences, therefore, the Word was written by pure correspondences. Therefore, also the Lord, since He spoke from His Divine, spoke by correspondences. For whatever proceeds from the Divine manifests itself in nature in such things as correspond to what is Divine; and these things then have stored up within them Divine things called celestial and spiritual.
Doctrine of Sacred Scripture (Dick) n. 21
1 have been informed that the men of the Most Ancient Church, which existed before the Flood, were of so heavenly a genius that they conversed with the angels of heaven; and that they had the power to do so by correspondences. Consequently, their wisdom became such that, whatever they saw on earth they thought of not only naturally but also spiritually, thus also in conjunction with the angels. I was further informed that Enoch, who is mentioned in Genesis v 21-24, and his associates collected correspondences from their speech, and transmitted this knowledge to posterity. As a result of this the science of correspondences was not only known but was also cultivated in many kingdoms of Asia, particularly in the Land of Canaan, Egypt, Assyria, Chaldea, Syria, Arabia and in Tyre. Sidon and Nineveh. It was thence communicated from places on the coast to Greece; but it was there changed into fable, as may be seen from the literature of the oldest Greek writers.
Doctrine of Sacred Scripture (Dick) n. 22
When, however, in the course of time the representative things of the Church, which were correspondences, were turned into idolatry and also into magic, by the Divine Providence of the Lord the science of correspondences was gradually obliterated, and amongst the Israelitish and Jewish nation was completely lost and became extinct. The worship of that nation consisted indeed of pure correspondences, and consequently was representative of heavenly things; but the people themselves did not understand the representation of a single thing. For they were altogether natural men, and therefore they did not wish, nor indeed were they able, to know anything of spiritual things, nor, therefore, anything of correspondences.
Doctrine of Sacred Scripture (Dick) n. 23
The idolatries of nations in ancient times arose from a knowledge of correspondences because all things that appear on the earth have a correspondence, as trees, cattle and birds of every kind, also fishes and all other things. The ancients who had a knowledge of correspondences made for themselves images corresponding to heavenly things, and they took delight in them because they signified things of heaven and consequently of the Church. These images, therefore, they set up, not only in their temples but also in their homes, not to worship them but that they might remind them of the heavenly thing which they signified. Thus, in Egypt and elsewhere there were effigies of calves, oxen, serpents, also children, old men and virgins; because calves and oxen signified the affections and powers of the natural man; serpents, the prudence of the sensual man; children, innocence and charity; old men, wisdom; and virgins, affections of truth; and so on. When, however, the knowledge of correspondences was lost, their posterity began to worship as holy, and at length as deities, the images and likenesses set up by the ancients, because these were in and about their temples.
[3] [3] The knowledge of correspondences remained among many eastern nations even until the Coming of the Lord. This may be seen from the story of the wise men from the East, who came to the Lord at His nativity.
Doctrine of Sacred Scripture (Dick) n. 24
The science of correspondences, by means of which the spiritual sense of the Word is communicated, was not disclosed at that time because the Christians of the primitive Church were extremely simple men, so that it could not be revealed to them; for if it had been revealed it would have been of no use to them, nor would it have been understood. After that time darkness came upon the whole Christian world, in consequence of papal dominion; and those who are subject to that, and have confirmed themselves in its falsities, are not able, nor are they willing, to entertain anything spiritual, nor consequently to apprehend what is the correspondence of natural with spiritual things in the Word. For thus they would be convinced that by Peter is not meant Peter, but the Lord as the Rock; and they would also be convinced that the Word even to its inmost things is Divine, and that a decree of the Pope is a matter of no account in relation to the inmost things of the Word. Moreover, after the Reformation heavenly truths were hidden from men because they began to separate faith from charity, and to worship God under three Persons, and thus three Gods whom they supposed to be one. For if these truths had been revealed, men would have falsified them and applied them to faith alone, applying not one of them to charity and love. Thus they would also have closed heaven to themselves.
Doctrine of Sacred Scripture (Dick) n. 26
5. HENCEFORTH THE SPIRITUAL SENSE OF THE WORD WILL BE MADE KNOWN ONLY TO THOSE WHO ARE IN GENUINE TRUTHS FROM THE LORD. This is because no one is able to see the spiritual sense except from the Lord alone, and unless he is in Divine truths from the Lord. For the spiritual sense treats only of the Lord and of His kingdom; and in the understanding of that sense are His angels in heaven, for that sense is the Divine Truth there. Man can violate Divine Truth, if he has a knowledge of correspondences and by it proceeds to explore the spiritual sense of the Word from his own intelligence; since by a few correspondences known to him he may pervert the spiritual sense, and even force it to confirm what is false. This would be to offer violence to Divine Truth, and also to heaven. Therefore, if anyone desires to discover that sense from himself and not from the Lord, heaven is closed to him; and when heaven is closed he either sees no truth, or becomes spiritually insane.
Doctrine of Sacred Scripture (Dick) n. 31
It was stated above in Nos. 6, 19, that there are three senses in the Word; also, that the celestial sense is its first sense, the spiritual its middle sense, and the natural its last or lowest sense. Hence, the rational man may conclude that the first of the Word or the celestial, passes through its middle or the spiritual, to its last or the natural; and that thus its last is the basis. Also, that its first or the celestial is in its middle or the spiritual, and by means of this is in its last or the natural; and consequently that its last or the natural, which is the sense of the Letter of the Word, is the containant; and because it is the containant and the basis, it is also the support.
Doctrine of Sacred Scripture (Dick) n. 56
It may be supposed that the doctrine of genuine truth can be acquired by means of the spiritual sense of the Word which is obtained through a knowledge of correspondences. Doctrine, however, is not acquired by such means, but only illustrated and corroborated. For as was stated above in No. 26 no one comes into the spiritual sense of the Word by means of correspondences unless he is first in genuine truths from doctrine. If a man is not first in genuine truths, he may falsify the Word by means of some correspondences he may know, by connecting them together and explaining them to confirm what is firmly held in his mind from some principle which he has adopted. Moreover, the spiritual sense is not communicated to anyone except by the Lord alone; and He guards it as He guards heaven, for heaven is within it. It is important then that a man should study the Word in the sense of the Letter: from that sense only is doctrine derived.
Doctrine of Sacred Scripture (Dick) n. 57
3. GENUINE TRUTH, WHICH IS TO BE THE SOURCE OF DOCTRINE, IS MANIFEST IN THE SENSE OF THE LETTER OF THE WORD ONLY TO THOSE WHO ARE ENLIGHTENED BY THE LORD. Enlightenment comes from the Lord alone and is granted to those who love truths because they are truths, and who apply them to the uses of life; with others, there is no enlightenment in the Word.
Doctrine of Sacred Scripture (Dick) n. 77
The Word is the Word according to the understanding of it with man, that is, as it is understood. If it is not understood, the Word is indeed called the Word, but with man it does not exist. The Word is truth according to the understanding of it; for the Word may not be truth, as it can be falsified. The Word is spirit and life according to the understanding of it; for the Letter without the understanding of it is dead.
Doctrine of Sacred Scripture (Dick) n. 97
Moreover, it should be known that the sense of the Letter of the Word is a guard for the genuine truths lying within it. It is a guard in this respect that it may be turned this way and that, and interpreted to one's own apprehension, without its interior content being injured or violated. It does no harm that the sense of the Letter of the Word is understood differently by different persons: but harm results when Divine truths, lying concealed within, are perverted, for in this way violence is inflicted on the Word. To prevent this, the sense of the Letter is a guard; and it acts as a guard with those who are in falsities from their religion, but who do not confirm these falsities, for such men do no violence [to the Word].
Doctrine of Sacred Scripture (Dick) n. 110
110 From these considerations it may be evident that the Word
as it is in the Church of the Reformed, enlightens all nations and peoples by spiritual communication; and further, that the Lord provides that there should always be on earth a Church where the Word is read, and the Lord thereby made known. When therefore the Word was almost totally rejected by the Romish Church, through the Divine Providence of the Lord the Reformation took place, in consequence of which the Word was again received.
Doctrine of Sacred Scripture (Dick) n. 111
As without the Word there is no rational conception of the Lord, and thus no salvation, and when the Word with the Jewish nation was entirely falsified and defiled, and made as of none effect, it therefore pleased the Lord to descend from heaven; and, coming into the world, to fulfil the Word, and thus to renew and restore it, giving light again to the inhabitants of the earth, according to His own words:
The people which sat in darkness saw a great light (lumen); and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light (lux) is sprung up. Matt. iv 16; Isa. ix 2.
White Horse (Whitehead) n. 16
Which are the books of the Word. The books of the Word are all those which have theinternalsense; but those which have not the internal sense are not the Word. The books of the Word in the Old Testament are, THE FIVE BOOKS OF MOSES; THE BOOK OF JOSHUA; THE BOOK OF JUDGES; THE TWO BOOKS OF SAMUEL; THE TWO BOOKS OF KINGS; THE PSALMS OF DAVID; THE PROPHETS ISAIAH, JEREMIAH, LAMENTATIONS, EZEKIEL, DANIEL, HOSEA, JOEL, AMOS, OBADIAH, JONAH, MICAH, NAHUM, HABAKKUK, ZEPHANIAH, HAGGAI, ZECHARIAH, MALACHI. In the New Testament, the four Evangelists, MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE, JOHN; and the APOCALYPSE. The rest have not the internal sense (n. 10325).
The book of Job is an ancient book, which indeed contains an internal sense, but not in series (n. 3570, 9942).
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 1403
THE INTERNALSENSE
From Genesis 1 down to this point, or rather, down to Eber, the narratives have not consisted of true history but of made-up history, which in the internal sense meant things that are celestial and spiritual. In this and subsequent chapters however they are not made-up but true historical narratives, which in theinternal sense in like manner mean things that are celestial and spiritual. This may become clear to anyone simply from the consideration that it is the Word of the Lord.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 1405
But, as clearly shown already, theinternalsense is such that every single thing has to be understood apart from the letter, abstractedly - as though the letter did not exist; for within the internal sense reside the soul and life of the Word, which are not open to view unless the sense of the letter so to speak vanishes. This is how angels are led by the Lord to perceive the Word when it is being read by man.
Who (or What) is Swedenborg?
The ideas on this site are based on the works of Emanuel Swedenborg, an 18th-century Swedish scientist and theologian. Swedenborg claimed that his religious writings, the sole focus of the last three decades of his life, were done at the behest of the Lord himself, and constituted a revelation for a successor to the Christian Church.
In keeping with Swedenborg’s own statements, modern believers downplay his role as author, attributing the ideas to the Lord instead. For this reason they generally refer to Swedenborg’s theological works as “the Writings,” and some resist the label “Swedenborgian” as placing emphasis on the man rather than the message.
Since “the Writings” would be an unfamiliar term to new readers, we have elected to use the name “Swedenborg” as a label for those theological works, much as we might use “Isaiah” or “Matthew” to refer to books of the Bible. The intent, however, is not to attribute the ideas to Swedenborg, any more than we would attribute the divinity of the Bible to Isaiah the man or Matthew the man.
So when you read “according to Swedenborg” on this site, it’s really shorthand for “according to the theological works from the Lord through Swedenborg.” When you read “Swedenborg says,” it’s really shorthand for “the theological works of Swedenborg say.”