Divine Truth – Word Study

We tend to think of “truth” as something dry, cold, lifeless:

information that is valid and important, but not something moving or inspiring. Yet Swedenborg says repeatedly that divine truth – truth from the Lord – was the actual agent of creation, is the ongoing agent in sustaining life, and is, in fact, the Lord Himself. That is difficult to conceive: How can truth make something? How can truth sustain something? How can truth be a person?

But imagine if you could mix elements of dreaming and being awake. In this scenario, you would have the usual control over your thoughts and feelings, and your thoughts and feelings would be continuous, as they are when you’re awake. But the reality around you would be able to bend and shift the way reality does in dreams. If you wanted to climb a skyscraper, jump from it to fly over the Grand Canyon, then dive to the ocean floor, you could do so, with the full experience of reality you have in a deep dream. If you wanted to see your grandmother, who died five years ago, she would be there, to hug you and talk to you and share your tears. Other friends and loved ones would be just a thought away, and you’d be surrounded by beauty limited only by your own imagination. And while all this was happening, your physical body would lie there sleeping.

In such a state, your physical body and physical surroundings are not a factor – in fact, you could say they don’t actually exist in that internal world. The “body” you experience, the surroundings you see, the things you hear and see and taste, all are simply products of your thoughts. So your thoughts actually create the world you live in, and go on creating it every moment.

In a typical dream, of course, that world is a product of only your own thoughts. So imagine that such a world could be shared by many people, or even everyone. In such a world, when you talk to your grandmother, it really is your grandmother, and she is having a similar “dream” experience of talking to you. When you see your friends, they really are your friends, experiencing similar dream-like states.

A number of books and movies have been based on such a concept. In the books and movies, though, the goal typically is to get back to “reality,” meaning back to the physical world. Often, the death of the physical body would mean the death of the dream worlds, too.

But think about it. With all the power you can have in the dream world, the things you can do and people you can see, why would you want to go back to the stiff, limited world of physical reality? And what if the death of the physical body did not snip the thread to the alternative world, but instead freed you to enter it fully?

Such a world is actually close to spiritual reality, as described in Swedenborg. The big difference is that ultimately the “dream” is the Lord’s, and the Lord's thoughts and affections are the ones constantly forming and empowering it, like a great tapestry of potential experience. As humans we are like swirls in the fabric, patterns that can be more or less aligned with those divine thoughts and feelings. Each swirl is unique in the way it weaves together the threads of divine thought, and thus has a unique set of experiences. And the miracle of miracles is that we are free to swirl as we will; that’s what we were created to do. In fact, the whole reason for physical reality – which is a projection of spiritual reality into dead material – is to separate us from divine thought enough to actually experience that freedom.

That divine thought is what Swedenborg means by “divine truth.” It carries all the possibilities for all of our lives, and is by its nature exquisitely, infinitely loving, since it carries the Lord’s love to us and strives constantly to coax us into alignment.

It’s also incredibly powerful, because the more we align ourselves with the Lord’s thoughts, the more we can receive his love and the more truly alive we can be – we can be swirls following the grain of the fabric, and that much more a part of the whole. Also, the more we align ourselves, the more we can see the patterns of the fabric around us – we can see the Lord’s plans for us and everyone else in the world, and fit in to serve his goals. Mentally this is like being in light, and Swedenborg’s works say the divine truth is the actual light of heaven.

So why does “truth” sound so cold and dry? The problem is in us, of course. We’re born into the physical world and our senses are filled by physical things, so we tend to think of “truth” as the aspects of divine thought that can be projected into the physical world. And those aspects are the coldest and driest, with the love awaiting us on the spiritual level.

Passages from Swedenborg

Arcana Coelestia 7270 [3]

Since truth which comes forth directly from the Lord is from the Infinite and Divine Being Himself, it cannot be received at all by any living, finite substance, thus not by any angel. This being so, the Lord created degrees consecutively descending to serve as the means by which Divine Truth coming forth directly from Him could be communicated. But the first degree away from Him is still too full of the Divine to enable that Truth to be received by any living, finite substance, and so by any angel. On account of this the Lord created a further degree down, by which Divine Truth coming forth directly from Him was to some extent able to be received. This degree is God's truth which exists in heaven. These first two degrees are above the heavens; they are like belts, made radiant by a fiery source, which surround the Sun, which is the Lord. This is the nature of the consecutive degrees of order down to the heaven nearest to the Lord, which is the third heaven where the innocent and wise live. From there consecutive degrees continue down to the lowest heaven, and from the lowest heaven down to the degree of the senses and the body in man, the last in the series to receive influx.

[3] From all this it is clear that degrees one after another continue from Him who is the First, that is, the Lord, right down to the last and lowest present with man, indeed right down to the last and lowest present in the natural order. The last and lowest degrees present with man, like those in the natural order, are relatively unresponsive and consequently frigid; they are also relatively general and consequently obscure. From this it is also evident that through those consecutive degrees all things exist in a continuous chain linked to the First Being (Esse). And it is in accordance with those degrees that influx takes place; for Divine Truth coming forth directly from Divine Good flows into one degree after another. On the way down or with each new degree it becomes more general, and so grosser and more obscure, and becomes more sluggish, and so more responsive and frigid. All this clarifies the nature of Divine Order consisting of consecutive degrees and consequently of the nature of influx.

[4] But it should be fully recognized that God's truth, which flows into the third heaven nearest to the Lord, at the same time flows right down into the last and lowest degrees of order as well, without undergoing consecutive degrees of formation. Every single thing at that level is also directly governed and provided by Him who is the First. In this way the consecutive degrees are held together in their proper order and connection. The truth of this may also be recognized to some extent from the law not unknown to the learned in the world that there is only one substance which really is substance. Everything else is a formation from it, and that one and only substance reigns not solely as the form but as that too which is not the form, for instance, as that which gave rise to them. If this were not so, what has been formed could not remain in being and operate. But these matters are stated for him who may be able to understand them.

Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 9407

'There was so to speak a work of sapphire [stone]' means that it is translucent with inner truths on that level, and that all things in it are translucent from the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of 'a work of sapphire' as the character of the literal sense of the Word when the internal sense is discerned within it, that is, when Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, as it is in heaven, shines through it. For the Word is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord. In origin it is Divine, but as it passes through the heavens it is celestial in the inmost heaven, spiritual in the second or middle heaven, spiritual-natural in the first or lowest heaven, and natural and worldly in the world; this last is its character in the sense of the letter intended for people there. From this it is evident that the sense of the letter, which is the lowest in order, contains a spiritual and a celestial level of meaning, and inmostly the Divine Himself. And since these inner levels are contained in the lowest or literal sense and are seen by those who understand the Word in a spiritual manner, that sense is represented by 'a work of sapphire', which lets rays of heavenly light through, that is, which is translucent.

[2] To give some idea of that translucence, let human speech serve to illustrate it. Such speech has its origin in the end a person has in view which he wishes to make known through speech. This end is his love; for a person has what he loves as his end in view. From that end arises the person's thought, and finally his speech. Anyone who stops to think properly about this can see and discern the truth of it. The fact that the end is the primary component of speech is clear from the general rule that all intelligence has an end within it, and devoid of the end it is not intelligence. And everyone knows that thought is a secondary component arising from the first, for nobody can speak without thinking or think without having an end in view. The fact that spoken words ensue from this, and that these are the final component, which is properly called speech, is also well known. All this being so, when a person pays attention to what another utters he pays attention not to the words the speaker uses but to the meaning conveyed by them which is present in the speaker's thought. And one who is wise pays attention to the end in view that has given rise to the thought expressed in speech, that is, he pays attention to what the speaker's aims are and what it is he loves. These three components are present in human speech, in which the spoken words serve as the outward form.

[3] This comparison enables one to gain some idea regarding the Word in the letter. For those in heaven pay attention to the Word in the letter and perceive things there in exactly the same way as anyone is accustomed to perceive a person's thought as it presents itself in spoken words, or in the inmost heaven as anyone is accustomed to perceive a person's aims or end in view. But the difference is that when someone reads the sense of the letter of the Word this is not heard or understood in heaven, only the internal sense, because in heaven they perceive solely the spiritual and celestial levels of the Word, not the natural level of it. The one sense accordingly passes over into the other, for they correspond to each other and only things which have a correspondence have been used in the writing of the Word. All this shows what to understand when reference is made to the translucent nature of the Word, meant by 'a work of sapphire'.

HH 347

Heaven and Hell (Dole) n. 347

Heavenly intelligence is a deeper intelligence arising from a love of what is true-not for the sake of any praise in the world or any praise in heaven, but simply for the sake of the truth itself, because it is profoundly moving and delightful. People who are moved and delighted by the truth itself are moved and delighted by heaven's light; and if so, then they are also moved and delighted by divine truth and actually by the Lord himself, since heaven's light is divine truth, and divine truth is the Lord in heaven (see above, 126-140).

This light enters the deeper levels of the mind only, since the deeper levels of the mind are formed to accept it; and to the extent that it enters, it moves and delights because anything that flows in from heaven and is accepted has delight and pleasure within it. This is the source of a genuine affection for what is true-an affection for what is true for its own sake. People who are caught up in this affection (or in this love, which amounts to the same thing), enjoy heavenly intelligence and shine in heaven like the radiance of the firmament. The reason they shine is that wherever divine truth occurs in heaven, it shines (see above, 132); and by reason of correspondence, the firmament of heaven means the deeper intelligence, both in angels and in us, that is in heaven's light.

Heaven and Hell (Dole) n. 127

Heaven's light is not natural like the light of our world, but spiritual. It actually comes from the Lord as the sun, and that sun, as explained in the preceding chapter, is divine love. While what emanates from the Lord as the sun is called divine truth in the heavens, in essence it is divine good as one with divine truth. This is the source of light and warmth for angels: they get their light from the divine truth and their warmth from the divine good.

We can therefore conclude that heaven's light, in view of the nature of its source, is spiritual and not natural, as is its warmth.

Divine Wisdom (Mongredien) n. 9

[113.] IX

THE DIVINE LOVE IS DIVINE GOOD, AND THE DIVINE WISDOM IS DIVINE TRUTH

This is because everything love does is "a good," and everything wisdomteaches is "a truth". This shows that it is in virtue of what it effects, which is a use, that the Divine Love is spoken of as Divine Good, and that also the DivineWisdom in virtue of what it effects, which is a use, is spoken of as Divine Truth. For the effect is a doing or a teaching, the one being what love effects, the other what wisdom effects; and every effect is a use, the use being what is called "a good" and "a truth," but the good is the essence of the use, and the truth is the form of it. To explain and amplify this further would be superfluous, as every one, by employing his own reason, can see that love does, and that wisdom teaches, and that anything love does is a good, and that anything wisdom teaches is a truth, and further that a good done by love is a use, and that a truth taught by wisdom is also a use. Think over in your own mind, what love is, apart from good in an effect, and what good in an effect is, apart from its use. Is the love anything? Is the good anything? In a use, however, they are some thing, and consequently it is in use that love has its existence; similarly wisdom has its existence by means of truth; for wisdomteaches, and love does. It is on this account that the heat coming from the Sun that is the Lord, is called Divine Good, and the light from that Sun is called Divine Truth. They are so called in virtue of what they effect, the heat being the effect of love, and the light the effect of wisdom; and both effects are uses, for the heat vivifies angels, and the light enlightens them. They vivify and enlighten men likewise.

True Christian Religion (Rose) n. 224

The Word has indescribable power. Nowadays scarcely anyone knows that there is any power in truths. People think that the truth is just something spoken by someone in authority, so it needs to be done; they think the truth is only like a breath from someone's mouth and a sound in someone's ear. Actually, truth and goodness are the origin of all things in both worlds, the spiritual and the physical. Truth and goodness are the means by which the universe was created and by which it is preserved. They are the means by which people were created. The two of them are everything to all things.

The Gospel of John openly states that the universe was created by divine truth: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God. All created things were made by it. The world was made by it" (John 1:1, 3, 10). David says, "The heavens were made by the Word of Jehovah" (Psalms 33:6). In each of these passages "the Word" means divine truth. Since the universe was created by divine truth, the universe is also preserved by divine truth, since preservation is an ongoing creation, just as continuing to exist is the same as perpetually coming into being.

[2] We human beings were made by divine truth, because all aspects of us relate to intellect and to will. Our intellect is a vessel for divine truth just as our will is a vessel for divine goodness. Therefore the human mind, consisting as it does of these two primary faculties, is nothing less than a form of divine truth and divine goodness organized both spiritually and physically. The human cerebrum is that form. Since everything in human beings depends on their minds, all the things that constitute their bodies are just appendages that are activated and brought to life by these two primary faculties.

[3] These points make it clear why God came into the world as the Word and became a human being. He did so to redeem humankind. God took on all power through a human manifestation that was divine truth. He took the hells that had risen all the way up to the heavens where the angels were, and he threw them down, brought them under control, and forced them to obey him. This was not done by a verbal word; it was done by the divine Word, which is divine truth.

Then he opened a great chasm between the hells and the heavens so that no one from hell could cross. If any of them try, at the first step they feel tortured like a snake thrown on a sheet of red hot iron or on a swarm of ants. As soon as devils and satans catch a whiff of divine truth, they immediately dive headlong into the depths, hurl themselves into caves, and seal them up so completely that not a crack is left open. The reason is that their wills have evil desires and their intellects have false beliefs. They therefore have the opposites of divine goodness and divine truth. Because, as I say, everything in human beings depends on these two primary structures of life, divine truth affects devils and satans profoundly and violently from head to toe.

[4] You can see from this that the power of divine truth is indescribable. Since the Word that the Christian church has is a three-leveled container for divine truth, it is obvious that this Word is what is meant in John 1:3, 10.

The power of the Word is indescribable. I could support this point with many pieces of evidence I have experienced in the spiritual world; but since these would stagger belief, I will forgo any listing of them here. You can see some of them mentioned in 209 above.

On the basis of the points just made, I will, however, make this assertion: A church that has divine truths from the Lord has power over the hells. This is the church the Lord was talking about when he said to Peter, "On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). The Lord said these words after Peter proclaimed that Christ was the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16). The "rock" in this passage means this very truth. In fact, everywhere in the Word a "rock" means the Lord's divine truth.

True Christian Religion (Rose) n. 142

Generally speaking, the divine actions and powerful effects meant by the Holy Spirit are the acts of reforming and regenerating us. Depending on the outcome of this reformation and regeneration, the divine actions and powerful effects also include the acts of renewing us, bringing us to life, sanctifying us, and making us just; and depending on the outcome of these in turn, the divine actions and powerful effects also include the acts of purifying us from evils, forgiving our sins, and ultimately saving us. These are the powerful effects, one after the other, that the Lord has on people who believe in him and who adapt and modify themselves in order to welcome him and invite him to stay. Divine truth has these effects. Among Christians the Word has these effects because the Word is the only means by which Christians can go to the Lord and the Lord can come to them. As I said before, the Lord is absolute divine truth; so is everything that emanates from him. It is important to take this to mean the divine truth in connection with goodness, which is the same as faith in connection with goodwill; faith is nothing but truth, and goodwill is nothing but goodness.

The divine truth in connection with goodness, that is, faith in connection with goodwill, is the force that reforms and regenerates us; then renews us, brings us to life, sanctifies us, and justifies us; and, depending on our level of growth and forward movement, purifies us from evils. (Being purified from our evils is the same as having our sins forgiven.)

Apocalypse Explained 700 [2]

(I)t is Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord that forms the heavens. This is received in the greatest purity by the angels of the third heaven, because they are in conjunction with the Lord through love to Him; for all the angels in that heaven are in love to the Lord, consequently they see Divine Truth as it were implanted in themselves, although it flows in continually from the Lord.

Arcana Coelestia 9503

The reason why Divine Truthis the Lord in heaven is that the Lord is Goodness itself and Truth itself, for both emanate from Him and He Himself composes what emanates from Him. So it is that the Lord is heaven, for Divine Truth which emanates from Him and is received by the angels makes heaven. Consequently the more perfect the manner in which angels receive Divine Truth that comes from the Lord and accordingly receive the Lord, the more perfect the human forms they possess. Eventually they become so perfect that their beauty surpasses belief; anyone who sees them, as I have done, will be dumbfounded. For in their outward form angels are manifestations of heavenly love and charity, and that is the truly human form. The reason why angels possess human forms is that the Divine in heaven is the Lord, and those who receive Divine Truth within good from Him are images of Him.

Apocalypse Explained 594

the whole angelic heaven consists solely of the Divine Truth which proceeds from the Lord, the reception of which makes angels.

Apocalypse Explained 434

good forms itself in truths, and by means of truths renders itself visible, therefore truth is good in form.

Apocalypse Explained 948 [3]

Inmost Divine truthswere revealed to those who belonged to the Most Ancient Church; but exteriorDivine truths to those who belonged to the Ancient Church; and last or ultimate Divine truths to the Hebrew Church, and lastly to the Israelitish, with which at length all Divine truth perished. For at last there was nothing in the Word that was not adulterated. But after its end, interior Divine truths were revealed by the Lord for the Christian Church, and now still more interior truths for the church which is to come. Those interior truths are in the spiritual or internal sense of the Word.

Apocalypse Explained 950

The Divine truth proceeding from the Lord is that which appears before the eyes of the angels as light, because the Divine truth enlightens their understanding, and that which does this is light before their eyes.

Heaven and Hell (Dole) n. 232

all power belongs to the divine truth that emanates from the Lord and that angels are powers to the extent that they accept divine truth from the Lord. However, angels are open to divine truth to the extent that they are open to divine good, since all the power that truths have comes from good. Truths apart from good have none. Further, all the power good has is by means of truth; good has no power apart from truths. Power arises from the union of the two

Arcana Coelestia 9905

theDivine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Good manifests itself to the angels as light; it is the source of all the light of heaven. The colours from it, which are modifications of that light among the angels, are variations of intelligence and wisdom among them; for all wisdom and intelligence is a product of that Divine Truth or light. From this it may be recognized that radiations of that light in various colours are the medium through which DivineTruths coming as answers present themselves in the heavens.

True Christian Religion 85

It is clear from John that Jehovah God came down as divine truth, which is the Word:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made by it, and nothing that was made came about without it. And the Word became flesh and lived among us. (John 1:1, 3, 14)

"The Word" in this passage means divine truth because the Word that exists in the church is divine truth itself. The Word was dictated by Jehovah himself, and what Jehovah dictates is pure divine truth - it cannot be anything else. [2] Nevertheless, because it passed all the way through the heavens into the world, it became adapted to angels in heaven and also to people in the world. As a result, in the Word there is a spiritual meaning in which divine truth is in the light and there is an earthly meaning in which divine truth is in shadow. Thedivine truth in this Word is what was meant in John.

Apocalypse Explained 768 [15]

the seed of Jacob and of David, also the seed of Israel, mean also those who are in Divine truths, but the seed of Jacob mean those who are in natural Divine Truth, David means those who are in spiritual Divine Truth, and Israel means those who are in Divine Truth spiritual-natural, which is mediate between natural Divine Truth and spiritual Divine Truth. For there are degrees of Divine Truth as there are degrees of its reception by the angels in the three heavens, and in the church.

Apocalypse Explained 997 [2]

From the Lord as a Sun proceed both heat and light, but the heat is Divine Good, and the light is Divine truth. The light, which is Divinetruth, flows in and enters with every angel of heaven, and also with every man in the world, and gives internal sight, which is that of the understanding. For every man as to his spirit, although not as to the body, has the faculty of receiving that light, that is, of understanding Divine truth. But that faculty is opened, as the man grows up, and cultivates and forms his Rational, according to order, by sciences, and by the knowledges of good and truth. But the heat, which is Divine Good, does not flow in with angels and with man in the same way as the light, which is Divine truth. The reason is, that a man is born into evils of every kind, and evils offer opposition. Therefore these are first to be removed before the heat, which is Divine Good, can flow in; and they are removed by regarding them as sins against God, and shunning them, the Lord being implored for aid. So far, therefore, as a man thus receives Divine Good, so far he comes into the light of understanding Divine truth. For the way by which Divine truth comes into a man who is reformed is the good of the will, and thence of his life.

[3] When a man, however, is not in Divine Good, but in evil, he still has the faculty of receiving light, or of understanding Divine truth, but only so far as he is in a state separated; if he is not in a state separated then he does not so understand it. A man is in a state separated when he is kept only in the thought of the understanding, and not at the same time in the affection of his will. But in this state a man is not reformed, because that light does not then affect his life, that is to say, Divine truth is not implanted. But a man is in a state not separated, when he is kept in thought from the understanding, and at the same time in affection from the will. In this state he neither receives the light nor understands Divine truth, if he is not at the same time in Divine Good as to the affection of the will; for in this state the evils of the will, and thence the falsities of the thought, stand in the way and extinguish the light.

New Jerusalem and Heavenly Doctrine (Whitehead) n. 25

All good and truth is from the Lord. The Lord is good itself and truth itself (n. 2011, 4151, 10336, 10619).

The Lord, as to both the Divine and the Human, is the Divine good of the Divine love; and from Him proceeds Divine truth (n. 3704, 3712, 4180, 4577). The Divine truth proceeds from the Divine good of the Lord, comparatively as light from the sun (n. 3704, 3712, 4180, 4577). The Divine truth proceeding from the Lord appears in the heavens as light, and forms all the light of heaven (n. 3195, 3223, 5400, 8694, 9399, 9548, 9684). The light of heaven, which is the Divine truth united to the Divine good, enlightens both the sight and the understanding of angels and spirits (n. 2776, 3138). Heaven is in light and heat, because it is in truth and good, for the Divine truth is light there, and the Divine good is heat there (n. 3643, 9399, 9400); and in the work on Heaven and Hell (n. 126-140). The Divine truth proceeding from the Divine good of the Lord, forms the angelic heaven and arranges it in order (n. 3038, 9408, 9613, 10716, 10717). The Divine good united to the Divine truth, which is in the heavens, is called the Divine truth (n. 10196).

The Divine truth proceeding from the Lord is the only reality (n. 6880, 7004, 8200). By Divine truth all things were made and created (n. 2803, 2894, 5272, 7678). All power belongs to the Divine truth (n. 8200).

Man from himself can do nothing of good, and think nothing of truth (n. 874-876). The rational of man cannot perceive Divine truth from itself (n. 2196, 2203, 2209). Truths which are not from the Lord, are from the proprium of man, and they are not truths, but only appear as truths (n. 8868).

All good and truth is from the Lord, and nothing from man (n. 1614, 2016, 2904, 4151, 9981). Goods and truths are so far goods and truths, as they have the Lord in them (n. 2904, 3061, 8480). Of the Divine truth proceeding immediately from the Lord, and of the Divine truth proceeding mediately through the angels, and of their influx with man (n. 7055, 7056, 7058).

Arcana Coelestia 7056

[2] Truth that goes forth directly from the Divine is called truth, though essentially it is good because it goes forth from Divine Good; but it is good with which all truth from God is united. It is called truth because in heaven it is seen as light, but this light is like springtime light, which is combined with a warmth that brings all things on earth to life. From this it may also be seen that truth going forth directly from the Divine cannot be joined together with truth that goes forth in an indirect way except within good, consequently unless a person is stirred by an affection for truth for its own sake, especially for the sake of what is good, and so for the sake of the life he should lead. For then the person is governed by good.

[3] Something more may be known about the nature of that joining together from the following considerations: Truth that goes forth directly from the Divine enters a person's will; this is the path it takes. But truth which goes forth from the Divine in an indirect way enters a person's understanding, and this being so, no joining together can take place unless will and understanding act as one, that is to say, unless the will desires what is good, and the understanding uses truth to endorse what is good. When therefore the two kinds of truth are joined together it seems as though the Lord is present; His presence is also felt. But when they are not joined the Lord is so to speak absent; but His absence is not felt if there is no perception and therefore knowledge of what His presence is.

Arcana Coelestia 7058

[2] As regards instruction in specific doctrinal teachings, it is imparted when truth going forth directly from the Lord's Divine is joined to truth that goes forth in an indirect way; for then perception is imparted, see above in 7055. The two kinds of truth are joined together especially among the angels who are in the third or inmost heaven, those who are called celestial. They have a keen perception of both, and from that a clear feeling of the Lord's presence. The reason for this is that they more than others are governed by good, for in them the good of innocence is present. As a consequence they are nearest the Lord, surrounded by flashing and so to speak burning light, for they see the Lord as the Sun, whose radiating light has that appearance because they are so near Him.

Arcana Coelestia 8200

God's total power is exercised through the truth that emanates from the Lord. This truth created all things, according to the following in John,

All things were made through the Word, and without Him nothing was made that was made. John 1:3.

'The Word' is the Lord in respect of Divine Truth. Through this Truth all things in heaven and in hell are arranged into order. It is the source of all order on earth too; and all miracles were accomplished through it.

[2] In short, Divine Truth holds all power within itself, so completely that it is power itself. There are some in the next life who possess truth in fuller measure than others. This gives them power which is so great that they can pass through hell without any risk to themselves. At the presence of these people those in hell flee this way and that. There are also some who use the truth from God to exercise power magically. These and the former will be spoken of at the ends of chapters, in which in the Lord's Divine mercy the hells will be the subject.** People who contemplate the causes of things from the standpoint of external and worldly matters inevitably see the truth from God as something that exists merely on a thought-level and has no real existence beyond that. That truth however is the supreme essential entity from which all things in both worlds - the spiritual world and the natural world - derive their existence.

Arcana Coelestia 7004 [2]

from the Lord Divine Truth goes forth in direct and indirect ways. What goes forth directly is entirely beyond angels' power of understanding; but what goes forth by an indirect way is fully suited to angels in heaven and also to men on earth, for the way it takes passes through heaven and by going this way it takes on a nature appropriate for angels and a nature appropriate for men. But the Lord also flows directly into this truth and thereby leads angels and men not only indirectly but also directly, see 6058. For everything in general and in particular owes its existence to the Primary Being (Esse), and established order is such that the Primary Being in things derived from it is present indirectly and directly, and so is present in the last and lowest degree of order no less than in the first. For the Divine Truth itself is altogether the substance, whereas the things derived from it are nothing else than the subsequent forms that are given to that substance.

Arcana Coelestia 6880

(T)he Divine itself cannot make contact except through the Divine Human, and the Divine Human cannot do so except through Divine Truth, which is the holy emanation of the spirit. This is implied by the words in John 1:7, 'all things were made through the Word'. The appearance to man is that Divine Truth is not the kind of thing that can bring something into being; for it is thought to be like an utterance which is discharged from the mouth and scattered to the winds. But the reality is altogether different. Divine Truth emanating from the Lord is something very real indeed. Its nature is such that it is the source from which all things come into being and from which all things are kept in being; for what emanates from the Lord is the most real thing in the whole of creation. Such is the nature of Divine Truth, which is called 'the Word through which all things were made'.

Arcana Coelestia 10060

For the first state of glorification of His Human involved the implanting of Divine Truth and uniting of this Truth to the Divine Good. While He was in the world therefore the Lord made His Human Divine Truth; He also united it to the Divine Good that was within Him and in so doing made it Divine Good, see the places referred to in 9199 (end), 9315 (end). The second state of His glorification is one in which the Divine Truth emanates from Divine Good; that Truth is His Divinity as this is present in the heavens.

Apocalypse Explained 411 [4]

Whether you say the Lord, or the Divine truth, it is the same thing, because allDivine truth is from Him, and hence He is in it. It is from this circumstance also that the Lord is called the Word, for the Word is Divine truth.

Apocalypse Explained 219

heaven is heaven from theDivine truth which proceeds from the Lord. For by heaven are meant all the angels, because these constitute heaven, whence it is called heaven; and they are angels in so far as they receive the Divine truth which proceeds from the Lord: hence angels in the Word also signify Divine truth (as may be seen above, n. 130, 200).

Heaven and Hell 13

The Divine that goes forth from the Lord is called in heaven Divine truth, for a reason that will presently appear. This Divine truth flows into heaven from the Lord from His Divine love. The Divine love and the Divine truth therefrom are related to each other as the fire of the sun and the light therefrom in the world, love resembling the fire of the sun and truth therefrom light from the sun.

Apocalypse Explained 130 [2]

by angel is signified the Divine truth which constitutes the church; forDivine truth teaches how man is to live that he may become a church. That by angel in the Word, in the spiritual sense, is not meant any angel, but, in the highest sense, the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, and, in a relative sense, he who receives it, is evident from this consideration, that all the angels are recipients of Divine truth from the Lord, and that no angel is of himself an angel; also, that in proportion as he receives Divine truth, in the same proportion he is an angel. For angels know and perceive better than men, that all the good of love and truth of faith are not from themselves, but from the Lord; and, because the good of love and truth of faith constitute their wisdom and intelligence, and these the whole angel, therefore they know and acknowledge that they are only recipients of the Divine proceeding from the Lord, and thus that they are angels in that, degree in which they receive it. This is why they are desirous that the term angels should be understood spiritually, that is, impersonally, and be interpreted as meaning Divine truths.

By Divine truth is meant also Divine good, because they proceed unitedly from the Lord (as may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 13, 140).

Doctrine of Life (Dick) 32

There are two universals that proceed from the Lord, Divine Good and DivineTruth: Divine Good is of His Divine Love, and Divine Truth is of His Divine Wisdom. These two in the Lord are one, and consequently proceed from Him as one; but they are not received as one by angels in the heavens and by men on earth. There are angels and men who receive more of Divine Truth than of Divine Good, and there are those who receive more of Divine Good than ofDivine Truth. Hence it is that the heavens are distinguished into two kingdoms, one of which is called the celestial kingdom and the other the spiritual kingdom: the heavens that receive more of the Divine Good constitute the celestial kingdom, while those that receive more of the Divine Truth constitute the spiritual kingdom.

Arcana Coelestia 6996

[3] The fact that Divine Truth coming forth directly from the Lord cannot be heard or discerned is also evident from correspondences and from the representatives based on them. That is to say, the things that man says present themselves among spirits in an altogether different form, and the things spirits say present themselves among angels in an altogether different form, as may be recognized from the spiritual sense of the Word and the literal sense of it; the literal sense, which is suitable for man, serves to denote and represent things contained in the spiritual sense. Since this sense cannot be perceived by man - still less the angelic sense - except insofar as it is able to be presented and revealed by means of such things as belong to the world and natural order, how can he discern Divine Truth coming directly from the Lord's Divine? That Truth is infinitely higher than angels' level of understanding and cannot be perceived in heaven either, except insofar as it passes through heaven and in so doing takes on a form suitable for and compatible with the perception of those who are there. This is accomplished by means of an influx that is marvellous and beyond all possible comprehension by anyone. These matters have been stated in order that people may know that Divine Truth going forth from the Lord cannot be heard or discerned by anyone without intermediaries.

Apocalypse Explained 748

It is said, the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord's Divine Human, because all Divine Truth, which fills the heavens, and constitutes the wisdom of the angels in the heavens, proceeds from the Lord's Divine Human; for the Lord's Divine Human is united with the Divine itself, which was in Him from conception, so that they are one. The Divine itself, which was in Him from conception, is what he called Father, and this is united with His Human as the soul is united with the body; this is why the Lord says that He is one with the Father (John x. 30, 38); and that He is in the Father and the Father in Him (John xiv. 7-11.) And because there is such a union, therefore the Divine Truth, after the glorification of His Human, proceeded from His Divine Human. TheDivine Truth proceeding from the Divine Human of the Lord is what is called the Holy Spirit; that this proceeds from the glorified Human of the Lord, He Himself teaches in John:

"The Holy Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified" (vii. 39).

Apocalypse Revealed 193

When the Lord was in the world, He made His humanity the embodiment ofDivine truth, which is also the Word, and when He departed from the world, He fully united the Divine truth to the Divine good that He had in Him from conception. For the Lord glorified His humanity, or made it Divine, in the same way that He makes a person spiritual. That is, He first instills in a person truths from the Word, and afterward unites these to goodness, and by that union makes the person spiritual.

Arcana Coelestia 10026

truth teaches a person what good is and how he ought to live; and when the person knows this an affection for or love of good can start to be implanted, and he can thereby be regenerated.

Apocalypse Explained 412 [2]

To make the faces shine, signifies to enlighten Divine truth from Divine love; that this is signified by, to make the faces shine, is because the Divine, truth, which proceeds from the Lord as a Sun in the angelic heaven, communicates all the light there, and also enlightens the minds of the angels, and fills them with wisdom; therefore the faces of the Lord, in the proper sense, is the Sun of the angelic heaven; for the Lord appears to the angels of the interior heavens as a Sun, and this from His Divine love, for love in the heavens, when it is presented before the eyes, appears as fire, but the Divine love, as a Sun; from that Sun proceed both heat and light, and that heat is the Divine good, and that light is the Divine truth. From these things it is evident that by making Thy faces shine upon Thy servant, is signified to enlighten the Divine truth from the Divine good; therefore also it is added, "save me for thy mercy's sake"; mercy being of the Divine good.

Canons 15

JEHOVAH GOD IN RESPECT OF DIVINE WISDOM OR DIVINE TRUTHDESCENDED AND TOOK TO HIMSELF A HUMAN IN THE VIRGIN MARY

Jehovah God took to Himself a Human in order that He might, in the fullness of time, become Redeemer and Saviour.
He became Redeemer and Saviour by means of the Righteousness which He then in respect of the Human put on.
He could not become Righteousness, and thus Redeemer and Saviour in respect of His Human, except by means of the Divine Truth, as it was by means of the Divine Truth that from the beginning all things were made that were made.
It was possible for the Divine Truth to fight against the hells, and it could be tempted, blasphemed, reviled, and undergo suffering.
But it was not possible for the Divine Good nor for God, except in a human conceived and born in accordance with Divine order.
Jehovah God therefore descended in respect of the Divine Truth and took to Himself a human.
This is in agreement with Sacred Scripture and with reason enlightened therein and therefrom.

Canons 16

It can be seen from these things that by "the Word that in the beginning was with God" and that "was God" and that was "with God before the world was" is meant the Divine Truth, which before creation was in Jehovah, and after creation was from Jehovah, and finally was the Divine Human which Jehovah took to Himself in time; for it is said that "the Word became flesh", that is became Man.

Heaven and Hell 137

[2] In heaven, it is divine truth that possesses all power, and apart from it there is no power whatever.(n) All angels are called "powers" because of divinetruth, and are powers to the extent that they are recipients or vessels of it. Through it they prevail over the hells and over all who oppose them. A thousand enemies there cannot bear one ray of heavenly light, which is divinetruth. Since angels are angels because of their acceptance of divine truth, it follows that all heaven is from this source and no other, since heaven is made up of angels.

[3] People cannot believe that this kind of power is inherent in divine truth if the only concept of truth they have has to do with thought or speech, which have no power in them except to the extent that other people concede it by being obedient. There is an intrinsic power within divine truth, though, power of such nature that by means of it heaven, the world, and everything in them was created.

We can illustrate the fact that this kind of power is inherent in divine truth by two comparisons-by the power of what is true and good in us, and by the power of light and warmth from the sun in our world.

By the power of what is true and good in us: Everything we do, we do out of our discernment and intent. Out of our intent, we act by means of what is good, and out of our discernment by means of what is true. In fact, all the elements of our volition are related to what is good, and all the elements of our discernment are related to what is true.(o) On this basis, then, we set our whole body in motion and a thousand things there rush to do our bidding of their own accord. We can see from this that our whole body is formed for obedience to what is good and true and therefore from what is good and true.

[4] By the power of light and warmth from the sun in our world: Everything that grows in our world-things like trees, shrubs, flowers, grasses, fruits, and seeds-arises only by means of the warmth and light of the sun. So we can see what kind of productive power is inherent in that warmth and light. What about the divine light that is divine truth, then, and the divine warmth that is divine good, the source from which heaven comes into being and consequently the world as well, since as we have shown above, it is through heaven that the world comes into being?

This enables us to determine how to understand the statement that all things were made by means of the Word, and that without him nothing was made that was made, and further that the world was made by means of him, namely that this was accomplished by means of divine truth from the Lord.(p)

This is also why in the book of creation it first mentions light and then the things that arise from light (Genesis 1:3, 4). It is also why everything in all heaven and earth has to do with what is good and true and to their union if it is to be anything at all.(q)

True Christian Religion (Rose) n. 86

Jehovah God came into the world as divine truth for the purpose of redeeming people. Redemption was a matter of gaining control of the hells, restructuring the heavens, and then establishing a church. Divine goodness does not have the power to do these things, but divine truth that comes from divine goodness does. In and of itself, divine goodness is like the round butt of a sword, like a blunted piece of wood, or like a bow by itself. Divine truth that comes from divine goodness is like a sharp sword, like a sharpened wooden spear, and like a bow with arrows, all three of which are effective weapons against enemies. In fact, swords, spears, and bows in the spiritual sense of the Word mean truths for battle (see Revelation Unveiled 52, 299, 436).

Nothing but divine truth from the Word could attack, conquer, and bring under control the falsities and evils that the entirety of hell possessed then and still possesses now. Nothing else could found, build, and organize a new heaven - another thing God did at the time. Nothing else could establish a new church on earth. Besides, all God's strength, force, and power belong to the divinetruth that comes from divine goodness. This was why Jehovah God came down as divine truth, which is the Word.

This is why it says in David, "Gird your sword upon your thigh, O Mighty One, and in your honor arise, ride on the word of truth. Your right hand will teach you amazing things. Your arrows are sharp. Your enemies will fall beneath you" (Psalms 45:35). These statements concern the Lord, his battles with the hells, and his conquests of them.

Arcana Coelestia 9410:5

God's truth emanating from the Lord fills the heavens and forms them; and if you are willing to believe it, all things were made and created through that truth. The Word which was in the beginning with God and which was God, and through which all things were created and the world was made, spoken of in John 1:1-14, is Divine Truth. Divine Truth is the one true substance from which all things come into being; but this is something few are able to understand, because at the present day the idea which people have of Divine Truth is no different from that of words coming from the lips of one who rules over all, whose orders are carried out according to those words.

Arcana Coelestia 9407 [13]

[13] But anyone unacquainted with the arcana of heaven may suppose that the nature of Divine Truth which emanates from the Lord is no different from that of spoken words emanating from a human being. It is not spoken words however; rather It is the Divine filling the heavens, like light and heat from the sun filling the world. This may be illustrated by means of the spheres which emanate from the angels in heaven, dealt with in 1048, 1053, 1316, 1504-1520, 1695, 2401, 4464, 5179, 6206 (end), 6598-6613, 7454, 8063, 8630, 8794, 8797. In these places it has been shown and may be seen that they are spheres of the truth of faith and the good of love received from the Lord. But the Divine sphere which emanates from the Lord and is called Divine Truth spreads everywhere; as has been stated, it fills the whole of heaven and composes all of the life there. It appears before the eyes there as light, which enlightens not only angels' sight but also their minds. That same light is in addition what composes a person's understanding in the world. This is the meaning in John,

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. He was the true light which enlightens every person coming into the world. And the world was made by Him. John 1:4, 9, 10.

These words refer to Divine Truth, which in this chapter is called 'the Word'; and Divine Truth or 'the Word' - it says - is the Lord Himself.

Arcana Coelestia 4687

[3] 'The Word' is Divine Truth which in its Essence is the Infinite Manifestation of the Infinite Being, and is the Human of the Lord Himself. This Human is the source from which Divine truth now proceeds and flows into heaven, and through heaven into the minds of men. Consequently this Human rules and governs everything, even as it has done so from eternity; for it is one and the same with the Infinite being by virtue of His joining the Human to the Divine, which He effected by making even the Human within Him Divine. From this it may now be seen that the highest aspect of Divine truth is the Lord's Divine Human, and from this that the Church's highest matter of doctrine is that His Human is Divine.

White Horse (Whitehead) 14

Divine truth is the only reality; and that in which it is, and which is from the Divine, is the only thing substantial (n. 5272, 6880, 7004, 8200).

True Christian Religion (Rose) n. 39

Because God is love itself and wisdom itself, he is life itself, or life in itself. The Gospel of John says, The Word was with God, and the Word was God. In it there was life, and that life was the light for humankind (John 1:1, 4). "God" in this case means divine love, and "the Word" means divine wisdom. Divine wisdom is actually life, and life is actually the light that radiates from the sun in the spiritual world - the sun that surrounds Jehovah God.

Divine love produces life the way fire produces light. Fire has two qualities: burning and shining. Its burning radiates heat and its shining radiates light. Likewise love has two qualities. The burning quality of fire corresponds to one of them; it is something that affects our will at the deepest level. The shining quality of fire corresponds to the other; it is something that affects our intellect at the deepest level. This is where our love and intelligence come from, because, as I have said several times now, the heat that radiates from the sun in the spiritual world is essentially love, and its light is essentially wisdom. That love and that wisdom flow into each and every thing in the universe and affect them at the deepest level. In us, they flow into our will and intellect; both were created as vessels to receive what flows in, the will as a vessel for love and the intellect as a vessel for wisdom.

From all this three points emerge: that our life finds its home in our intellect; that that life is only as good as our wisdom; and that that life is modified by the love in our will.

Arcana Coelestia 4724

All Divine Truth in the whole of heaven proceeds from no other source than the Lord's Divine Human. That which proceeds from the Divine itself, since this is Infinite, cannot possibly flow directly to any angel, only indirectly through the Lord's Divine Human.

Arcana Coelestia 5321

[2] No doctrine at all can possibly go forth from the Divine itself except through the Divine Human, that is, through the Word, which in the highest sense is Divine Truth coming from the Lord's Divine Human. That which goes forth directly from the Divine itself cannot be understood even by angels in the inmost heaven. The reason for this is that it is infinite and so surpasses all understanding, even that of angels. But that which goes forth from the Lord's Divine Human is capable of being understood, for such truth refers to God as Divine Man, of whom some idea can be formed from His Human.

Arcana Coelestia 8705 [3]

mediation is done by Divine Truth, through which lies access to Divine Good Divine Good, being like the fire of the sun, is unapproachable; but Divine Truth, being like the light from the sun, is approachable. It provides a person's inner eye - the eye of faith - with a means and access to [Divine Good], 8644.

Apocalypse Revealed 200

(T)he Word which was in the beginning with God, and which was God, means the underlying Divine truth in the Word that previously existed in this world (as reported in no. 11), and that which is present in the Word that we have today. It does not mean the Word viewed in respect to the words and letters of its languages, but viewed in terms of its essence and life which is inmostly present in the meanings of its words and letters. By this life the Word animates the will's affections of the person who reads it reverently, and by the light of this life it enlightens the thoughts of his intellect. Therefore we are told in John, "In the Word was life, and the life was the light of men." (John 1:4) The Word does this because the Word comes from the Lord and has the Lord as its subject and so is the Lord.

All thought, speech, or writing takes its essence and life from the one doing the thinking, speaking, or writing. It has the person in it, along with his character.

And the Word has in it the Lord alone.

Arcana Coelestia 2894

'the Word' is used to mean every truth having reference to Him and deriving from Him which exists in His kingdom in heaven and in His Church on earth. This is why it is said that 'in Him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light appears in the darkness'. And since truth is meant, 'the Word' is used to mean all revelation, and thus also the Word itself or Holy Scripture.

Athanasian Creed (Worcester) n. 145

The extension of the Divine into the universe is what can be predicated of the proceeding Divine, which is the Divine truth and is called the Word. Through this were all things made which were made, and the world was created from it, according to the words in John (chap. 1). But an idea is to be held concerning the Divine Itself - the idea as of man whose Divine love appears as a sun, and the light from which is Divine truth, and the heat Divine good. But still the idea of extension is fitting only for the natural world, but not in the spiritual world; in the spiritual world extension, like space and distance, is but an appearance.

Arcana Coelestia 9410:5

Arcana Coelestia 9407 [13]

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. He was the true light which enlightens every person coming into the world. And the world was made by Him. John 1:4, 9, 10.

These words refer to Divine Truth, which in this chapter is called 'the Word'; and Divine Truth or 'the Word' - it says - is the Lord Himself.

Who (or What) is Swedenborg?

The ideas on this site are based on the works of Emanuel Swedenborg, an 18^th-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.”