Swedenborg talks about many aspects of life using the philosophical terms “end,” “cause” and “effect.” The “end” is someone’s goal or purpose, the ultimate reason to do something. The “cause” is the action taken in pursuit of that goal, what someone actually does. The “effect” is what happens as a result.
So say there’s a dead tree that threatens your house: your desire to have that tree gone would be your “end,” a chainsaw would be the “cause” and the tree’s demise would be the “effect.”
If you think about it, you can see that everything we do operates according to these three, that our daily lives are really long strings of ends, causes and effects – and that these three describe each action completely, from beginning to end.
Swedenborg says that because of this, the number three in the Bible represents a completeness, a sense of things being covered from beginning to end. That’s why Jesus rose on the third day after the crucifixion – his transformation was complete. It’s why Elijah stretched himself on the dead child three times, why Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days, why the Lord called Samuel three times, and many more. It’s also reflected in the fact that, according to Swedenborg, there are three levels of heaven, three levels of hell, three levels to human life and, ultimately, three aspects of the Lord: Father (end), Son (cause) and Holy Spirit (effect).
Passages from Swedenborg
Arcana Coelestia n. 900
In the Word it is common for periods of time, long or short, to be divided into threes or sevens and to be called days, weeks, months, years, or ages. ‘Three’ and ‘seven’ are holy, while ‘two’ or ‘six’, which come before them, are not holy but in comparison are unholy, as shown already in 720. Three and seven are also sacred numbers because both of them occur in statements concerning the Last Judgement which will take place on the third or the seventh day. It is the last judgement for everybody when the Lord comes, either in general or in particular. That is to say, there was a last judgement when the Lord came into the world; there will be a last judgement when He comes in glory; there is a last judgement when He comes to each person in particular. There is also a last judgement awaiting everyone when he dies. This last judgement is meant by ‘the third day’ and ‘the seventh day’. It is a holy day for people who have lived well, but not for those who have lived wickedly. Consequently ‘the third day’, and ‘the seventh’, apply to people for whom judgement points to death as well as to those for whom judgement points to life. In reference to those therefore whose judgement points to death these numbers mean that which is not holy, but in reference to those whose judgement points to life they mean that which is holy.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 1825
1825. That ‘three years old’ embodies all things of the Church as to periods and states is clear from the meaning of ‘three’ in the Word. Three means the whole time of the Church from start to finish, and so its total state. The final phase of the Church is therefore meant by the third day, by the third week, by the third month, by the third year, or by the third decade,* all having the same meaning. As the state of the Church is meant by the number three, so also is the state of every individual who is a Church, and indeed everything that is part of the Church,
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 2788
2788. That ‘on the third day’ means that which has been completed, and the beginning of sanctification, is clear from the meaning of ‘the third day’. ‘Day’ in the Word means state, 23, 487, 488, 493, 893, as also does ‘year’, and as in general do all periods of time – an hour, day, week, month, year, or age; also morning, midday, evening, and night; and spring, summer, autumn, and winter. And when ‘the third’ is added to any of these the end of that state, and at the same time the beginning of the next, are meant. Here, the subject being the sanctification of the Lord which was effected by means of temptations, ‘the third day’ means that which has been completed and at the same time the beginning of sanctification, as also follows from what has been said previously to this. The reason for this meaning is that when He had fulfilled everything the Lord was to rise again on the third day, for the things that were done by the Lord while He lived in the world, that is, the things that were yet to be done by Him, were embodied within the representatives of the Church as though they had already been done. This was as it is with the internal sense of the Word, for with God that which is yet to come to pass and that which already is are one and the same; indeed to Him the whole of eternity is here and now.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 4495
4495. ‘It happened on the third day’ means that which is continuous even to the end. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the third day’ as that which is complete from beginning to end, dealt with in 2788, and so also as that which is continuous. People who suppose that the historical events described in the Word are no more than the facts of earthly history and are holy only because they appear in a sacred book are scarcely able to believe that ‘the third day’ has that meaning. But, as shown in preceding explanations, it is not only the actual historical narratives that include spiritual and celestial things which are not plainly visible in the letter, but also every word and every number too. The truth of this will in the Lord’s Divine mercy be seen far more clearly in the prophetical sections which in the sense of the letter do not hold the mind to the sequence of events in the way that the historical sections do. But anyone who looks carefully into the interior contents of the Word comes to see that the number three, like the number seven, and also the number twelve, holds some arcanum. And if these numbers hold such it follows that every other number in the Word holds the same, for the Word is holy in every part.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 9825
Indeed for anything to be perfect it must be divided into three degrees. This is so with heaven, and it is so with the forms of good and truth there. As is well known, there are three heavens; consequently there are three degrees of good and truth there. Each heaven too is divided into three degrees. The inmost part of it must be in direct touch with what lies above, and the outermost with what lies below, and so the middle through them with what lies both above and below, all of which brings perfection to that heaven.
The situation is just the same with a person’s interiors. These in general have been divided into three degrees – into celestial, spiritual, and natural. And each of these has in like manner been divided into its own three degrees. For a person who has the good of faith and love to the Lord within him is heaven in the smallest form it takes, corresponding to the largest, 9279.
The situation is also the same in everything belonging to the natural order. The natural level of a person too has been divided into three degrees, see 4570, as generally have all things present in him on interior and exterior levels, 4154.
The reason why this should be so is that end, cause, and effect must be present everywhere. The end must be that which is inmost, the cause that which comes in the middle, and the effect that which is last, if a thing is to be perfect. This is why ‘three’ in the Word means what is complete from beginning to end, 2788, 4495, 7715, 9198, 9488, 9489. From all this people may know why Aaron’s holy garments consisted of an ephod, a robe, and a tunic, and that the ephod represented the outermost part there, the robe the middle, and the tunic the inmost.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 9866
9866. ‘One row’ means a group of three there existing as one. This is clear from the meaning of ‘row’ as a group of three; for three stones constituted it, and ‘three’ means that which is complete from beginning to end, 2788, 4495, 7715, 9198, 9488. They are said to exist as one because a sequence of three makes one; for the resulting presence of three together, side by side at the lowest level, corresponds to the consecutive order which has given rise to their presence together on that level and maintains it, see 9825. So it is that the three heavens make one on the last and lowest level; and the same applies in each heaven. The origin of this lies in God Himself, in whom there is a Trinity, consisting of His Essential Divinity, Divine Humanity, and Divine Proceeding, which make one. And this Divine Trinity making One is the Lord. From all this it may be seen why in each row there were three stones and that a group of threeexisting as one is meant by each row. The reason why there were four rows is that in heaven there are two kingdoms, the celestial kingdom and the spiritual kingdom, and in each there is an internal part and an external. The internal and external of the celestial kingdom was represented by the two rows on the right side of the breastplate, and the internal and external of the spiritual kingdom by the two rows on its left side. For the breastplate was a square when doubled over.
Divine Love and Wisdom (Dole) n. 230
230. There are three infinite and uncreated vertical levels in the Lord, and three finite and created levels in us. The reason there are threeinfinite and uncreated vertical levels in the Lord is that the Lord is love itself and wisdom itself, as explained above [28-33]. Since the Lord is love itself and wisdom itself, he is also usefulness itself, since love has useful functions as its goal and puts them into effect by means of wisdom. Apart from usefulness, love and wisdom have no definition or boundary, no dwelling. This means that we cannot say they exist or are present unless there is a useful function in which they occur.
These three elements constitute three vertical levels in agents of life. These three are like the first end, the intermediate end that we refer to as the means, and the ultimate end that we refer to as the result. I have already [167-169, 184] explained and amply documented the fact that purpose, means, and result constitute three vertical levels.
True Christian Religion (Rose) n. 608
608
It is important to know that there are three heavens and that they are divided up according to three levels of love and wisdom. As we progress in our regeneration we come into fellowship with angels from those three heavens. Because this is the case, the human mind, too, has three levels or areas just like the heavens. (For more on thethree heavens and their division according to the three levels of love and wisdom, see Heaven and Hell 29 and following; see also the little work Soul-Body Interaction 16, 17.)
Here the nature of the three levels into which the heavens are divided will be illustrated only by a comparison. They are like the head, the upper body, and the lower body in a person. The highest heaven constitutes the head; the middle heaven, the upper body; and the lowest heaven, the lower body.
True Christian Religion (Rose) n. 712
712
It is well known that three things are essential to the church�God, goodwill, and faith�and that all the specific teachings and practices go back to these three essentials as the universal qualities that underlie them.
These three are actually the same as the three mentioned just above. In the Holy Supper, the Lord is God; divine goodness is goodwill, and divine truth is faith. What else is goodwill but something good that we do with the help of the Lord? What else is faith but something true that we believe with the help of the Lord?
From these come the three grand faculties within our inner self: the soul or mind as a whole, the will, and the intellect. These three are vessels for receiving the three universal qualities mentioned just above. The soul or mind is a vessel for receiving the Lord (its life comes from him); the will is a vessel for receiving love or goodness; and the intellect is a vessel for receiving wisdom or truth. As a result, each and every attribute of our soul or mind does not merely relate to the three universal qualities of heaven and the church but actually emanates from them. Name something that human beings accomplish without using the mind, the will, or the intellect. If even one of these three were removed, would we be more than some soulless creature?
[2] Likewise there are three vital systems in our outer self: the body as a whole, the heart, and the lungs. Each and every subsystem within our bodies is part of and is dependent on these three vital systems. In fact, these three vital systems of our bodies correspond to the three grand faculties within our minds. The heart corresponds to the will, and the lungs (or breathing) correspond to the intellect. (The existence of correspondences like these has been fully covered earlier in the work.)
Therefore each and every part of us has been formed in a general way and also in specific to be a vessel for the three universal qualities of heaven and the church. The reason for this is that we have been created to be an image and likeness of God, so that we can be in the Lord and the Lord can be in us.
Apocalypse Explained (Tansley) n. 532
532. Since all numbers in the Word signify things and states, and the compound numbers derive their significations from the simple numbers of which they are compounded, and since the simple numbers are principally two, three, five, and seven, it is important to point out their signification in the Word, and at present, that of the number three, because it is said; “Woe, woe, woe, to them that dwell on the earth by reason of the voices of the trumpet of the three angels which are yet to sound!” That all numbers, in the Word, signify something pertaining to a thing and to state, may be seen above (n. 203, 429); and that the greater and complex numbers signify the same as the simple numbers from which they arise by multiplication, and that the simple numbers are two, three, five, and seven, may also be seen above (n. 430).