One of the common criticisms people make of the Bible is the appearance that God, especially in the Old Testament, is frequently angry. It doesn’t exactly square with the idea that the Lord is love itself, loving all of us constantly and infinitely.
So what is it? Is God angry, or not?
The answer, according to Swedenborg, is “no.” Anger, it says, represents a state of spiritual conflict, when opposing loves are up against each other. This obviously happens whenever we give in to the whisperings of evil and reject the Lord. When we’re in such states we feel the Lord’s love as an attack because it’s contrary to what we want, but the anger is really our own.
In a way, this shows an interesting aspect of the power of correspondences in the Bible. The main reason for this internal symbolic meaning is that it lets the Bible be a container for the infinite love that is the Lord. It also makes it possible, however, for people who only think externally to read it and still get something from it. For them, perceiving the Lord as angry can be a force that pushes them into proper behavior and proper respect, a starting point on a path to higher things.
Swedenborg also makes a distinction between anger and zeal, which can appear angry but comes from a good motive. Anger comes to a person when a selfish love is hindered or attacked, while a sense of zeal comes to a person when a good love or a worthy idea is hindered or attacked. People of hell feel anger, and feel it often, and they seek to attack. Angels may feel zeal, and seek to defend.
Passages from Swedenborg
Arcana Coelestia 357
‘Cain’s anger was set ablaze’ means that charity had departed. This becomes clear from what comes further on, where it is said that he killed Abel his brother, who means charity. Anger is the general emotion that results from anything which gets in the way of self-love and its desires In the world of evil spirits this is perceived plainly. Indeed general anger against the Lord prevails, because they are not moved at all by charity, but only by hatred. Anything that is unfavourable to self-love and the love of the world arouses opposition, which manifests itself in anger. In the Word, anger, wrath, and even rage, are frequently attributed to Jehovah; but in fact they belong to man and are attributed to Jehovah because they seem to be from Him, for reasons mentioned already.
[2] ‘Wrath’ and ‘anger’ are mentioned many times in the Word, but in the internal sense they do not mean wrath or anger but that which is antagonistic. The reason for this is that whatever is antagonistic towards any affection produces wrath or anger; so that in the internal sense simply forms of antagonism are meant by those two expressions. ‘Wrath’ is used to describe that which is antagonistic towards truth and ‘anger’ that which is antagonistic towards good; but in the contrary sense ‘wrath’ describes that which is antagonistic towards falsity or the affection for it, that is, towards false assumptions, while ‘anger’ describes that which is antagonistic towards evil or the desire for it, that is, towards self-love and love of the world. Also, in this contrary sense actual wrath is meant by ‘wrath’, and actual anger by ‘anger’; but when those expressions are used in reference to good and truth the wrath and anger which are manifestations of zeal are meant. And because this zeal is to outward appearance like wrath and anger it is called such in the sense of the letter.
Arcana Coelestia 4164
‘Jacob was incensed and wrangled with Laban’ means the zeal of the natural. This is clear from the meaning of ‘being incensed’ or being angry, and as a result ‘wrangling’, as zeal; and from the representation of ‘Jacob’ as the good of the natural, dealt with already. The reason why ‘being incensed’, or being angry, and as a result ‘wrangling’, means zeal is that in heaven or among angels no anger exists, but instead of anger zeal. For anger is different from zeal, in that anger contains evil but zeal contains good. Or to put it another way, a person who is filled with anger intends evil to another with whom he is angry, whereas someone who is filled with zeal intends good to another for whom he is zealous. For this reason also a person who is filled with zeal is able to be good in an instant, and in what he is actually doing to be good towards others. Not so with a person who is filled with anger. Although in outward form zeal has a similar appearance to anger, in inward form it is altogether dissimilar.
Arcana Coelestia 8598
[2] A brief statement is needed to indicate what that joining together really is and what an influx of the good of charity into truth that engages in conflict is. God’s truth becomes that which engages in conflict when it is joined to those who are truly zealous, as stated above. Those who are zealous engage in conflict; yet they do so not because they are moved by any feeling of enmity or hostility, but rather by charity. Zeal is different from anger in that zeal holds the good of charity within it, and therefore when zeal goes into battle it merely removes those ruled by falsity and evil to prevent them from harming those governed by goodness and truth. Anger however not only removes them but also pursues them in a spirit of hatred and vengeance. For zeal, because of the charity within it, desires the welfare even of those ruled by evil and falsity, and also works towards it provided that they cannot do any harm to those who are good. But anger, because of the hatred and vengeance within it, wishes harm to all with whom it engages in conflict, whether they are good or evil. From all this one may see what is meant by an influx of the good of charity into truth that engages in conflict. As regards zeal, that it holds good within it, while anger holds evil, see 4164, 4444.
Arcana Coelestia 1408
[3] This may become clear to anyone simply from the fact that many matters in the Word have been stated according to appearances, indeed according to the illusions of the senses, such as that the Lord is angry, punishes, curses, slays, and many other such statements, when in fact the internal sense contains the reverse, namely that the Lord is never angry or punishes, still less curses or slays. All the same, no harm at all is done to people who in simplicity of heart believe the Word as they find it in the letter so long as they are leading charitable lives, the reason being that the Word teaches nothing other than this – that everyone ought to live in charity with his neighbour and to love the Lord above all things. People doing this are in possession of the internal things, and thus with them the illusions acquired from the sense of the letter are easily dispersed.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 6997
6997. ‘And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Moses’ means leniency. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the anger of Jehovah’ as notanger but the opposite of anger, which is mercy or in this instance leniency. The absence of any anger in Jehovah is evident from the consideration that He is love itself, goodness itself, and mercy itself, while anger is the opposite and is also a failing, which is inapplicable to God. For this reason when anger in the Word is attributed to Jehovah or the Lord, the angels do not discern anger but either mercy or the removal of the wicked from heaven. Here they discern leniency because what is said is addressed to Moses, who represents the Lord when He was in the world in respect of Divine Truth.
[2] The Word attributes anger to Jehovah or the Lord because of the very general truth that all things come from God, thus the bad as well as the good. But this very general truth, which young children, older ones, and simple people need to have, must at a later stage be clarified. That is to say, it must be shown that bad things are assignable to man, though they may seem to be assignable to God, and have been declared to be so to the end that people may learn to fear God, so as not to be destroyed by wicked things they themselves do, and may then come to love Him. Fear must come before love in order that love may have holy fear within it; for when fear is instilled into love that fear is made holy by the holiness of love. Once it is made holy it is not a fear that the Lord will be angry and punish them, but a fear that they may act contrary to Goodness itself; for to do that will torment their conscience.
[3] Furthermore it was by means of punishments that the Israelites and the Jews were compelled to fulfill the external and formal requirements of religious laws and commands. This led them to think that Jehovah was angry and punished them, when in fact they themselves through their idolatrous behaviour were the ones who brought such things upon themselves and cut themselves off from heaven. Their own behaviour brought about their punishments, as it also says in Isaiah,
Your iniquities cause division between you and your God; and your sins hide [His] face from you. Isa. 59:1.
And since the Israelites and the Jews were confined to the fulfillment of external requirements and knew nothing internal they continued to believe that Jehovah was angry and punished them. For people who concern themselves only with things of an external nature but not with anything internal do everything out of fear and nothing out of love.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 3614
3614. ‘Until your brother’s wrath turns back’ means until the state changes; and ‘until your brother’s anger turns back from you’ means the subsequent stage of the state with natural good. This is clear from the meaning of ‘wrath’ and of ‘anger’ as states that are antagonistic to each other, dealt with below. And when these states become such that they cease to be antagonistic any longer and begin to join together, wrath is said to turn back and anger to turn back. Consequently ‘until your brother’s wrath turns back’ means until the state changes, and ‘until your brother’s anger turns back’ means the subsequent stage of the state with natural good. ‘Wrath’ implies something different from ‘anger’, as may be seen from the fact that in addition to their being similar expressions it is a pointless repetition to say, ‘Until your brother’s wrath turns back’ and then ‘until your brother’s anger turns back’. What each implies is evident from the general explanation and also from that to which wrath and anger are each used to refer. ‘Wrath’ is used in reference to truth, in this case to the truth of good, represented by ‘Esau’, while ‘anger’ is used in reference to that good itself.
[2] ‘Wrath’ and ‘anger’ are mentioned many times in the Word, but in the internal sense they do not mean wrath or anger but that which is antagonistic. The reason for this is that whatever is antagonistic towards any affection produces wrath or anger; so that in the internal sense simply forms of antagonism are meant by those two expressions. ‘Wrath’ is used to describe that which is antagonistic towards truth and ‘anger’ that which is antagonistic towards good; but in the contrary sense ‘wrath’ describes that which is antagonistic towards falsity or the affection for it, that is, towards false assumptions, while ‘anger’ describes that which is antagonistic towards evil or the desire for it, that is, towards self-love and love of the world. Also, in this contrary sense actual wrath is meant by ‘wrath’, and actual anger by ‘anger’; but when those expressions are used in reference to good and truth the wrath and anger which are manifestations of zeal are meant. And because this zeal is to outward appearance like wrath and anger it is called such in the sense of the letter.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 10618
10618. ‘Long-suffering with regard to anger’ means Divine leniency. This is clear from the meaning of ‘long-suffering with regard to anger’, when used in reference to Jehovah, as the fact that He tolerates a person’s evils for a long while; for ‘long-suffering’ means tolerating and bearing for a long while, and ‘anger’ the evils that exist in a person. The reason why ‘anger’, when spoken of in reference to Jehovah, means a person’s evils is that evil, but never good, is what erupts into anger, and evil is something that resides in man, never in the Lord; for the Lord is Goodness itself. Even so, ill is attributed to the Lord, because it seems to a person that it is attributable to Him when he himself does not obtain what he desires, or when he is punished on account of evil. Since then ‘long-suffering with regard to anger’, when used in reference to Jehovah, means tolerating a person’s evils for a long while, it follows that Divine leniency is meant by those words.
[2] As regards anger, it should in addition be remembered that evil, and never good, is what erupts into it; for being angry consists in bearing ill will towards another, which is something that good can never do, for good consists in good will towards another. All evil holds enmity, hatred, vengeance, and cruelty within itself; in these and from these evil derives its delight. Furthermore evil hates good, because good stands in opposition to its delights. Consequently when evil is unable to do harm to good, which evil is always trying to do, it first of all feels annoyed and afterwards erupts into anger.
Apocalyps Explained 693
[2] and from the signification of beingangered, when said of the evil, who are signified by nations, as denoting to be in contempt, enmity, and hatred against the Lord, and against the Divine things that are from Him, which are the holy things of heaven and of the church. These and many other similar things are signified by beingangered, because every one burns with wrath, and is angry when his love and the delight of his love are attacked, this being the cause of all wrath and anger. The reason of this is, that every one’s love is his life, therefore to do injury to the love is to do injury to the life, and when this is injured the mind is disturbed, and thus anger and wrath follow. It is similar with the good when their love is attacked, but with this difference, that they are filled not with wrath and anger, but with zeal. This zeal is indeed called anger in the Word, although it is not anger; it is called angerbecause in external form it appears like anger although it is interiorly nothing but charity, goodness and mercy; therefore zeal does not last likeanger after the one against whom it was enkindled has come to himself and turned away from evil. Anger with the evil is of a different nature, for it interiorly conceals in itself hatred and revenge, which the evil love, it therefore persists and is rarely extinguished. It consequently follows that anger belongs to those who are in the loves of self and of the world, for such also are in evils of every kind, but zeal belongs to those who are in love to the Lord, and in love towards the neighbour. Zeal therefore looks to the salvation of man, but anger to his damnation; the latter is in the purpose of an evil man when angry, but salvation is in the purpose of a good man when zealous.