Used as nouns, “marvels” and “wonders” are generally synonymous with miracles, which are expressions of the Lord’s power in the world. In particular, the Lord tells Moses on Mt. Sinai that he will “do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation.” Swedenborg says this means that the Lord would use the Children of Israel to create “the Word,” the divine spiritual truth that is contained in the Bible. The Word would be a marvel, containing everything everything of the Lord. Overall, then, a wonder or marvel is something that brings us into contact with the Lord and his divine power.
So what does this mean concerning “wondering” or “marveling” as verbs? There are just a few references to this in Swedenborg, most notably when Abraham’s servant observes Rebekah at the well in Genesis 24:21, and “wonders” at the fact that she is performing all the signs that he had prayed for. Swedenborg says this represents a state of perception – an openness to truth flowing in directly from the Lord.
Since this aligns so well with the meaning of “wonder” or “marvel” as a noun, it seems safe to conclude that “wondering” or “marveling” means a state of being in direct contact with the Lord’s power and wisdom.
Passages from Swedenborg
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 3100
- ‘The man, wondering at her, remained silent’ means a state of perception regarding those things. This is clear from the meaning of ‘wondering but remaining silent’ – when he saw that the things he had spoken in his heart were actually taking place – as a state of acknowledgement, yet at the same time of waiting to see whether it really was so. He ‘wondered’ because he acknowledged that things were happening as he had prayed, but he ‘remained silent’ because he was waiting to see whether it was in fact so. This is the state of perception that is meant.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 10633
- ‘Before all your people I will do marvels’ means a Word, Divine in every single part, provided for the Church. This is clear from the meaning of Moses’ ‘people’ as where the Church exists, for the Church was to be established among them; and from the meaning of ‘marvels’, which Jehovah is about to do, as Divine things present in every single part of the Word. For the Word is amarvel, in that it is Divine as to every jot or iota. Each word there corresponds to something spiritual which may be said to lie concealed within it, since its spiritual content is revealed to angels when the Word is read by someone in the world. For the situation is this: All things without exception that exist in the natural world have a correspondence with those which exist in the spiritual world; and this includes all words. Furthermore the Word has been written in such a way that the words in it, following one another in sentences, embody series of spiritual things, which are apparent to none except those who are acquainted with correspondences. This is where the Divine element lies in the Word; and this in turn is what makes the Word spiritual, even as it is called such. This then is what should be understood here by a marvel, for the Word which was to be written among that people is the subject.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 10634
- ‘Which have not been created in all the earth nor in all nations’ means that never before has a Divine Word such as this been present in the world, either where the Church exists or where it does not exist. This is clear from the meaning of ‘marvellousthings’ as the Divine things present in the Word, dealt with immediately above in 10633, which are referred to as ‘created’ ones when they are Divine from inmost to outermost levels or first to last; from the meaning of ‘in all the earth’ as wherever the Church exists, for ‘the earth’ in the Word means the Church, see in the places referred to in 9325; and from the meaning of ‘in all nations’ as where the Church does not exist, for ‘nations’ in the Word means those who are outside the Church, because they do not dwell in the light of truth derived from the Word.
[2] The reason why it says that Jehovah is about to do marvels ‘which have not been created in all the earth’ is that ‘creation’ means that which is Divine from inmost to outermost levels or first to last. For everything that comes from the Divine begins in Him and continues in accord with true order right through to the lowest and final level. That is, it passes through the heavens right on into the world, which serves as the lowest level, the level on which it comes to rest; for the natural world constitutes the lowest level of Divine order. That which has origins such as these is what the word ‘created’ is used to refer to. Every created thing in the world is both brought into being and kept in being in accord with that true order; and also the member of the Church who has been regenerated by the Lord by means of truths from the Word is fashioned in accord with it. All this explains why in the Word the Lord is referred to as the Creator, while the person who has been regenerated is referred to as one created anew, see 10373, 10545. The Word too is fashioned in accord with that true order, and since the nature of it is such the word ‘created’ is used in reference to its marvels.
[3] The same words – ‘Before all your people I will do marvels which have not been created in all the earth nor in all nations’ – mean in the historical sense that Jehovah was about to perform miracles among the Israelite people which were unheard of in all the earth. In the internal sense however not miracles should be understood but marvels which the Lord was about to do, in that He was about to provide a Word which would be such that by means of it heaven would be joined to the Church, and, to take a universal view, the Lord would be joined to the human race. The idea that the Word is a marvel such as this is unintelligible to those who know nothing at all about the correspondence of natural things with spiritual ones. And people who know nothing at all about the spiritual level on which angels think are also unaware of the inner presence of anything within all the details of the Word, which hold heaven and so Divine life within them. But in fact through correspondence angels perceive every single expression in the Word on a spiritual level when people in the world do so on a natural level. This and nothing else is what makes the Word Divine, so marvellous that there is nothing more marvellous.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 10636
- ‘Because this is a marvel which I am doing with you’ means the essential nature of the Word in every single part. This is clear from the representation of ‘Moses’ as the Word, dealt with in the places referred to in 9372, so that ‘a marvel which Jehovah was about to do with him’ means that it will be Divine in every single part, as above in 10633.
Apocalypse Explained (Tansley) n. 1051
- And, when I saw her, I wondered with great wonder. That this signifies a stupendous vision, in which were mysteries of heaven, unknown to him, is evident from the signification ofwondering at those things which he saw with great wonder, as denoting to be in astonishment concerning the vision, in which lay concealed mysteries unknown to him. Therefore the angel said to him, I will declare to thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 7290
- ‘When he says, Perform a wonder’ means and they therefore wish to receive proof. This is clear from the meaning of ‘wondersand signs’ as proofs or corroborations of truths, dealt with in 3900, 6870. With regard to the wonders and signs described in what follows from here onwards, it should be realized that they were performed among the kind of people whose worship was external and who had no wish to know about internal worship. For those whose worship was like that had to be coerced by means of external things. This explains why miracles were performed among the Israelite and Jewish people, for their worship was entirely external and not at all internal. What is more, since they had no liking for internal worship, external worship was the kind they were required to engage in, to the end that they might represent things of a holy nature within their external observances. This would establish a channel of communication with heaven as if through something of a Church. For correspondences, representatives, and meaningful signs link the natural world to the spiritual world. This then was why so many miracles were performed among that nation.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 6910
- ‘And strike Egypt with all My wonders’ means the means used by Divine power against falsities. This is clear from the meaning of ‘Egypt’ as falsity, often dealt with already; and from the meaning of ‘wonders’ as the means used by Divine power through which those steeped in falsities who engage in molestation are subdued. The fact that ‘wonders’ are the means used by Divine power through which those steeped in falsities are subdued is clear from the wonders or miracles performed in Egypt, which in the end drove the Egyptians to send the children of Israel away. Each wonder or miracle there means a means used by Divine power.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 7796
- ‘And Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh’ means that these stages of vastation, and the consequent corroborations that they are ruled by evil, were brought about by the truth emanating from God. This is clear from the representation of ‘Moses and Aaron’ as God’s truth, ‘Moses’ truth that emanates directly from God, and ‘Aaron’ that which does so indirectly, dealt with in 7010, 7089, 7382; and from the meaning of ‘the wonders’ performed in Egypt or belonging to the Church who have led an evil life. The fact that those things are depicted by the wonders of Egypt may be recognized from the meaning of each wonder. And for the fact that they also depict corroborations that those people do not have faith but are ruled by evil, see immediately above in 7795. It says that ‘Moses and Aaron performed these wonders’, when in fact they were not Performed by them but by God. But what happened has been stated in that way because God’s truth is represented by ‘Moses and Aaron’, and the wonders were performed by God through the truth emanating from Himself, since all that God Himself performs is performed through the truth emanating from Him.
AE 706 Whitehead
“Sign” and “wonder” are mentioned in many passages in the Word, “sign” meaning that which indicates, witnesses, and persuades respecting the subject of inquiry, and “wonder” meaning that which stirs up, strikes dumb, and fills with amazement; thus a sign moves the understanding and faith, but a wonder the will and its affection, for the will and its affection are what are stirred up, stricken dumb, and filled with amazement, while the understanding and its faith are what are persuaded and moved by indications and proofs.
[2] That there is a difference between a sign and a wonder is evident from the fact that the Jews, although they had seen so many wonders performed by the Lord, still sought signs from Him; and also from the fact that the prodigies wrought in Egypt and in the wilderness are sometimes called “signs” and sometimes “wonders,” and sometimes both. It is further evident from this, that in every particular of the Word there is a marriage of truth and good, and thus also of the understanding and will, for truth is of the understanding and good of the will, consequently “signs” there have reference to things pertaining to truth, and to faith and the understanding, and “wonders” to the things pertaining to good, and to affection and the will. Thence is clear the meaning of “signs” and of “wonders,” where they are both mentioned in the Word, as in the following passages. In Moses:
I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that I may multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt (Exod. 7:3).
In the same:
Jehovah gave signs and wonders great and evil upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his men* (Deut. 6:22).
In the same:
Hath Jehovah tried to come to take to Him a nation out of the midst of a nation, by wonders, by signs, and by prodigies? (Deut. 4:34)
In David:
They remembered not the day in which Jehovah set His signs in Egypt, and His prodigies in the field of Zoan (Ps. 78:42, 43).
In the same:
They set among them the words of their** signs and wonders in the land of Ham (Ps. 105:27).
In the same:
He sent signs and wonders into the midst of thee, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh and all his servants (Ps. 135:9).
In Jeremiah:
Who hast set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and even to this day, both in Israel and in men, and hast led forth Thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt by signs and by wonders (Jer. 32:20, 21).
This shows that the prodigies wrought in Egypt, and afterwards among the sons of Israel, are called “signs and wonders,” “signs” because they attested and persuaded, and “wonders” because they stirred up and filled with amazement; yet they agree in this, that the things that stir up and fill with amazement also attest and persuade, as those things that stir up the will also persuade the understanding, or as those things that move the affection also move the thought by persuading. Likewise in the Gospels:
In the consummation of the age there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, they shall show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect (Matt. 24:24; Mark 13:22).
Here “great signs and wonders” have a like signification, namely, that they will attest and persuade, and that they will strike dumb and fill with amazement, which will cause a strong persuasion. Who are meant by “false Christs and false prophets,” and who by “the elect,” may be seen above (n. 624, 684).
[3] In Moses:
If there shall arise in the midst of thee a prophet or a dreamer of dreams who shall give thee a sign or a wonder, and if the sign or the wonder come to pass whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, thou shalt not obey (Deut. 13:1-3).
Here a “prophet” and a “dreamer of dreams,” also “sign” and “wonder” are mentioned, because a “sign” has reference to a prophet, and a “wonder” to a dreamer of dreams, because a “prophet” means one who teaches truths, and in the abstract sense the doctrine of truth, and a “dreamer” means one who stirs up to doing, and in the abstract sense the stirring up from which a thing is done; this, too, pertains to a “wonder,” and the former to a “sign;” for prophets were instructed by a living voice from the Lord, and “dreamers” by representatives exciting to doing, which flowed into the affection of the dreamer, and from that into the sight of the thought, for when a man dreams his natural understanding is laid asleep and his spiritual sight is opened, which draws its all from the affection. But in this passage the sight that draws its all from an evil affection is meant, for it treats of prophets who teach falsities and who dream vain things, for “other gods” mean the falsities and vain things that such heard and saw.
Apocalypse Explained (Tansley) n. 927
- Great and wonderful. That this signifies from Divine Omnipotence and Providence, is evident from the signification of great, when said of the Lord, as denoting His Divine Omnipotence; and from the signification of wonderful, when said of the Lord, as denoting His Divine Providence. For man, when he thinks of what is great in the Lord, thinks of His Divine Omnipotence; and when he thinks of what is wonderful in the Lord, he thinks of His Divine Providence. The things also that follow, concerning the salvation of the good and the damnation of the evil, all pertain to the Divine Omnipotence and Providence.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 8304
- ‘Doing wonders?’ means that He is the Source of all the means through which comes power. This is clear from the meaning of ‘wonders’, or miracles, as the means used by Divine power, dealt with in 6910. The reason why ‘wonders’ are the means used by Divine power is that by them the people were led to believe that Jehovah was the highest of Gods, indeed that there was no God besides Him, and therefore that He alone was to be worshipped. And those who received this truth were afterwards introduced to truths concerned with the worship of Him, which are the means of power. For all power in the spiritual sense resides in truths which come from the Divine, 3091, 6344, 6423, 6948, 8200. Power in the spiritual sense consists in putting to flight and casting away from oneself the hellish crew, which is done solely by means of truths. This then is why ‘doing wonders’ means that the Lord is the Source of all the means through which comes power. The means used by Divine power are meant by ‘wonders’ also in David,
Sing to Jehovah, make melody to Him; meditate on all Hiswonders. Glory in His holy name. Seek Jehovah and His strength; seek His face continually. Remember His wonders, His marvels, and the judgements of His mouth. Ps. 105:1-5.