We all have a pretty straightforward idea of what "peace"
means -- it means we're not at war, not in conflict. But that's only the simplest, most outward sense of the word; we also talk about "peace of mind," which simply means that we're not worried about something.
Swedenborg takes that idea and expands it to life-filling proportions. True peace, it says, comes from trusting the Lord, trusting that the Lord loves us and is constantly trying to lead us to heaven, and that the Lord will bring us to a joyful state in heaven if we allow it. Or, to use Swedenborg's words themselves, "peace holds within itself trust in the Lord, the trust that He governs all things and provides all things, and that He leads towards an end that is good. When a person believes these things about Him he is at peace, since he fears nothing and no anxiety about things to come disturbs him."
This can be difficult to fully embrace, since we live in a world where bad things -- terrible things -- can and do happen to good people and bad people alike, and a world in which evil people can take and hold power and abuse others. And we know from experience that trusting the Lord does not prevent these things from happening. So isn't it kind of an empty statement?
But those are natural events that happen to our natural bodies (and the natural level of our minds). The Lord's work with us is on the spiritual level, concerning our inmost hearts and minds and the state of heaven or hell in which we will live to eternity. There is little that is promised to us about life in this world, except this: That the Lord will create opportunities for spiritual growth and a path to heaven from whatever events happen on the natural level.
There are many examples of this at work -- stories about martyrs who had inner peace even as they were tortured and killed. Hopefully that is not a test anyone reading this will have to face, but we all have our challenges, and trusting in the Lord can help us face them with a peaceful heart.
Passages from Swedenborg
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 8455
8455. 'There was a deposit of dew around the camp' means the truth of peace attaching itself. This is clear from the meaning of 'dew' as the truth of peace, dealt with in 3579. The reason why 'dew' means the truth of peace is that it comes down in the morning from heaven or the sky and on grassland looks like a light shower of rain. But also it holds a certain sweetness or pleasantness, more so than a shower of rain does, and causes grass and crops in the field to rejoice. And 'morning' is a state of peace, 2780. For what peace is, see 2780, 3696, 4681, 5662, where it is said to be like the dawn on earth, which fills people's minds with overall delight. And the truth of peace is like the light of dawn. This truth which is being called the truth of peace is the Divine Truth itself present in heaven and coming from the Lord; it influences all there without exception, and causes heaven to be heaven. Peace holds within itself trust in the Lord, the trust that He governs all things and provides all things, and that He leads towards an end that is good. When a person believes these things about Him he is at peace, since he fears nothing and no anxiety about things to come disturbs him. How far a person attains this state depends on how far he attains love to the Lord.
True Christian Religion (Rose) n. 304
304
Heavenly peace is peace in relation to the hells - a peace because evils and falsities will not rise up from there and break in. Heavenly peace can be compared in many ways to earthly peace. For example, it can be compared to the peace after wars when all are living in safety from their enemies, protected in their own city, in their house, with their own land and garden. It is as the prophet says, who speaks of heavenly peace in earthly language:
They will each sit under their own vine and their own fig tree; no one will frighten them. (Micah 4:4; Isaiah 65:21, 22, 23)
Heavenly peace can be compared to rest and recreation for the mind after working extremely hard, or to a mother's consolation after giving birth, when her instinctive parental love unveils its pleasures. It can be compared to the serenity after storms, black clouds, and thunder; or to the spring that follows a severe winter, with the uplifting effect of seedlings in the fields and blossoms in the gardens, meadows, and woods; or to the state of mind felt by survivors of storms or hostilities at sea who reach port and set their feet on longed-for solid ground.
Heaven and Hell (Dole) n. 286
286. First, we need to say where peace comes from. Divine peace is within the Lord, arising from the oneness of his divine nature and the divine human nature within him. The divine quality of peace in heaven comes from the Lord, arising from his union with heaven's angels, and specifically from the union of the good and the true within each angel. These are the sources of peace. We may therefore conclude that peace in the heavens is the divine nature intimately affecting everything good there with blessedness. So it is the source of all the joy of heaven. In its essence, it is the divine joy of the Lord's divine love, arising from his union with heaven and with every individual there. This joy, perceived by the Lord in the angels and by the angels from the Lord, is peace. It flows down from there to provide angels with everything that is blessed and delightful and happy-what is called "heavenly joy."
Heaven and Hell (Dole) n. 290
290. I have talked with angels about peace as well, and have told them that on earth they call it peace when wars and conflicts between nations are over, or enmities and disagreements between individuals, and that they think inner peace is simply the peace of mind we have when anxieties are banished, or especially the relief and delight when things turn out well for us. The angels have responded, though, that this peace of mind, this relief and delight when anxieties are banished and things turn out well for us, may look like effects of peace; but they do not come from real peace except in people who are focused on heavenly good. This is because peace occurs only in that good. Peace actually flows in from the Lord into the very core of such individuals, and from that core comes down and spreads into their lower natures, causing peace of mind, relief of the spirit, and a consequent joy.
For people engrossed in evil, though, there is no peace.(f) There is an apparent calm, tranquillity, and pleasure when they get their way, but this is outward only, with no inward substance. Inside there is raging hostility, hatred, vengefulness, cruelty, and all kinds of evil cravings. Their spirits rush into these feelings the moment they see anyone who is not on their side, and it bursts forth whenever there is no fear [to restrain it]. This is why their delight is at home in insanity, while the delight of people involved in good is at home in wisdom. It is like the difference between hell and heaven.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 5662
[2] The reason 'peace' means all is well is that peace is what is central and consequently what reigns universally within every single thing in heaven. For the peace that reigns in heaven is like spring on earth, or like the dawn. What moves a person's feelings when spring or dawn arrives is not the discernible changes that take place then but the loveliness reigning universally, which pervades every individual thing he perceives and fills not only that perception but also each individual object with loveliness. Scarcely anyone at the present day knows what peace is when it is mentioned in the Word, as, besides other places, in the Blessing,
Jehovah lift up His face upon you and give you peace. Num. 6:26.
Almost everyone believes that peace consists in being kept safe from enemies and in serenity reigning at home and among companions. That kind of peace is not however what is meant here but another kind that is immensely superior, namely heavenly peace, described immediately above. No one can be granted this peace unless he is led by the Lord and abides in the Lord, that is, unless he is in heaven where the Lord is the All in all. For heavenly peace enters in when the desires that spring from self-love and love of the world are removed; for those desires take peace away, molesting a person inwardly and causing him at length to consider rest to consist in unrest and peace in molestations, because he considers delight to consist in evil desires. All the time a person is subject to these desires he cannot by any means know what peace is; indeed during all that time he believes that such peace is of no worth. And should anyone say that one experiences this peace when the delights that spring from self-love and love of the world are removed he laughs at the idea, for the reason that he considers peace to consist in the delight taken in evil, which is the opposite of peace.
Heaven and Hell (Dole) n. 288
[3] If we look at little children, we can see that innocence and peace occur together in the same way that anything good and its delight do. Because they are in innocence, they are at peace as well; and because they are at peace, everything associated with them has a playful quality. However, their peace is an outward peace. Inner peace, like inner innocence, is found only in wisdom; and since it does dwell in wisdom, it is found in the union of the good and the true, since this is the origin of wisdom.
Heavenly or angelic peace occurs in us when we are attuned to wisdom because of the union of the good and the true and therefore see ourselves as contented in God.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 1726
1726. That 'king of Salem' means a state of peace as regards interior or rational things is clear from the meaning of 'Salem'. Salem in the original language means peace, and also perfection, and thus [in the internal sense] means a state of peace and a state of perfection. A state of peace is the state of the Lord's kingdom. In that state celestial and spiritual things, which are the Lord's, exist so to speak in their early morning and their spring-time, for that peace is like the dawn that breaks in the early morning, and the new life that comes in spring-time. The dawn and the spring cause everything that reaches the senses at those times to be full of joy and gladness; every object draws forth a particular affection from one's general affection for the dawn and the spring. So it is with the state of peace in the Lord's kingdom. In a state of peace everything celestial or spiritual exists so to speak in its early morn or spring-time blossom and cheer, that is, in its very happiness. Such is the manner in which the state of peace affects each particular thing, for the Lord is Peace itself. The same is also meant by 'Salem' in David,
In Judah is God known; in Israel His name is great, and in Salem is His tabernacle, and His dwelling- place in Zion. Ps. 76:1, 2.
While a person is undergoing the conflicts brought about by temptations the Lord grants him by turns a state of peace, and so refreshes him. A state of peace is meant here by 'Salem' and also by 'the bread and wine' mentioned next, which means celestial and spiritual things and thus a state of celestial and spiritual things in peace, which state is refreshment itself.
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.”