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Doctrine of Life, by Emanuel Swedenborg, [1763], tr. by John F. Potts [1904], at sacred-texts.com

Doctrine of Life

All the foregoing is confirmed by the following passages in the Word: A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil, for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh (Luke 6:45; Matt. 12:35). The "heart" in the Word means man's will, and as man thinks and speaks from this, it is said: "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth the man; but that which goeth out of the heart, this defileth the man (Matt. 15:11, 18). The "heart" here too means the will. Jesus said of the woman who anointed His feet with ointment: Her sins are forgiven for she loved much; thy faith hath saved thee (Luke 7:47, 50); from which it is evident that when sins have been remitted or forgiven, thus when they exist no longer, faith saves. That those are called "sons of God" and "born of God" who are not in the Own of their will, and consequently are not in the Own of their understanding; that is to say, who are not in evil and from this in falsity; and that these are they who believe in the Lord, He Himself teaches in John 1:12, 13, which passage may be seen explained above in n. 17, at the end.

From these premises there follows this conclusion: - That no man has in him a grain of truth more than he has of good; thus that he has not a grain of faith more than he has of life. In the understanding indeed there may exist the thought that such or such a thing is true, but not the acknowledgment which is faith, unless there is consent thereto in the will. Thus do faith and life keep step as they walk. From all this it is now evident that in proportion as anyone shuns evils as sins, in the same proportion he has faith and is spiritual.

THE DECALOGUE TEACHES WHAT EVILS ARE SINS. What nation in the wide world is not aware that it is evil to steal, to commit adultery, to kill, and to bear false witness? If men were not aware of this, and if they did not by laws guard against the commission of these evils, it would be all over with them; for without such laws the community, the commonwealth, and the kingdom would perish. Who can imagine that the Israelitish nation was so much more senseless than other nations as not to know that these were evils? One might therefore wonder why these laws, known as they are the world over, were promulgated from Mount Sinai by Jehovah Himself with so great a miracle. But listen: they were promulgated with so great a miracle in order that men may know that these laws are not only civic and moral laws, but are also spiritual laws; and that to act contrary to them is not only to do evil to a fellow-citizen and to the community, but is also to sin against God. For this reason those laws, through promulgation from Mount Sinai by Jehovah, were made laws of religion; for it is evident that whatever Jehovah God commands, He commands in order that it may be of religion, and that it is to be done for His sake, and for the sake of the man that he may be saved.

As these laws were the first-fruits of the Word, and therefore the first-fruits of the church that was to be again set up by the Lord with the Israelitish nation, and as they were in a brief summary a complex of all those things of religion by means of which there is conjunction of the Lord with man and of man with the Lord, they were so holy that nothing is more so.

That they were most holy is evident from the fact that Jehovah Himself (that is, the Lord) came down upon Mount Sinai in fire, and with angels, and promulgated them from it by a living voice, and that the people had prepared themselves for three days to see and to hear; that the mountain was fenced about lest anyone should go near it and should die; that neither were the priests nor the elders to draw near, but Moses only; that those laws were written by the finger of God on two tables of stone; that when Moses brought the tables down from the mountain the second time, his face shone; that the tables were afterwards laid away in the ark, and the ark in the inmost of the tabernacle, and upon it was placed the mercy-seat, and upon this cherubs of gold; that this was the most holy thing of their church, being called the holy of holies; that outside the veil that hung before it there were placed things that represented holy things of heaven and the church, namely, the lampstand with its seven golden lamps, the golden altar of incense, and the table overlaid with gold on which were the loaves of faces, and surrounded with curtains of fine linen, bright-crimson, and scarlet. The holiness of this whole tabernacle had no other source than the Law that was in the ark. [2] On account of this holiness of the tabernacle from the Law in the ark, the whole people of Israel, by command, encamped around it in the order of their tribes, and marched in order after it, and there was then a cloud over it by day, and a fire by night. On account of the holiness of that Law, and the presence of the Lord in it, the Lord spoke with Moses above the mercy-seat between the cherubs, and the ark was called "Jehovah there." Aaron also was not allowed to enter within the veil except with sacrifices and incense. Because that Law was the very holiness of the church, the ark was brought by David into Zion; and later it was kept in the midst of the temple at Jerusalem, and constituted its shrine. [3] On account of the Lord's presence in that Law and around it, miracles were wrought by the ark in which was that Law: the waters of Jordan were cleft asunder, and so long as the ark was resting in the midst of it, the people passed over on dry ground; when the ark was carried round the walls of Jericho they fell; Dagon the god of the Philistines fell down before it, and afterwards lay on the threshold of the temple without his head; and on its account the Bethshemites were smitten to the number of many thousands not to mention other miracles. These were all performed solely by the Lord's presence in His Ten Words, which are the commandments of the decalogue.

So great a power and so great a holiness existed in that Law for the further reason that it was a complex of all things of religion for it consisted of two tables of which the one contains all things that are on the part of God, and the other in a complex all things that are on the part of man. The commandments of this Law are therefore called the "Ten Words," and are so called because "ten" signifies all. But how this Law is a complex of all things of religion will be seen in the following chapter.

As by means of this Law there is a conjunction of the Lord with man and of man with the Lord, it is called the "Covenant," and the "Testimony," the "Covenant" because it conjoins, and the "Testimony" because it bears witness, for a "covenant" signifies conjunction, and a "testimony" the attestation of it. For this reason there were two tables, one for the Lord and the other for man. The conjunction is effected by the Lord, but only when the man does the things that have been written in his table. For the Lord is constantly present and working, and wills to enter in, but man must open to the Lord in the freedom which he has from Him; for the Lord says: Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me (Rev. 3:20).

In the second table, which is for man, it is not said that man must do this or that good, but that he must not do this or that evil, as for example, "Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet." The reason is that man cannot do any good whatever from himself, but when he no longer does evils, then he does good, not from himself but from the Lord. That by the power of the Lord a man is able to shun evils as of himself if he begs for that power, will be seen in the following pages.

What has been said above (n. 51) respecting the promulgation, holiness, and power of that Law, will be found in the following places in the Word: That Jehovah came down on Mount Sinai in fire, and that the mountain smoked and quaked, and that there were thunderings, lightnings, and a thick cloud, and the voice of a trumpet (Exod. 19:16, 18; Deut. 4:11; 5:22-26). That before the descent of Jehovah the people prepared and sanctified themselves for three days (Exod. 19:10, 11, 15). That bounds were set round the mountain, lest anyone should come near its base, and should die and that not even were the priests to come near, but Moses only (Exod. 19:12, 13, 20-23; 24:1, 2). That the Law was promulgated from Mount Sinai (Exod. 20:2-17; Deut. 5:6-21). That that Law was written by the finger of God on two tables of stone (Exod. 31:18; 32:15, 16; Deut. 9:10). That when Moses brought those tables down from the mountain the second time, his face shone (Exod. 34:29-35). That the tables were kept in the ark (Exod. 25:16; 40:20; Deut. 10:5; 1 Kings 8:9). That upon the ark was placed the mercy-seat, and upon this the golden cherubs (Exod. 25:17-21). That the ark, together with the mercy-seat and the cherubs, constituted the inmost of the tabernacle, and that the golden lampstand, the golden altar of incense, and the table overlaid with gold on which were the loaves of faces, constituted the exterior of the tabernacle and the ten curtains of fine linen, bright-crimson, and scarlet, its outermost (Exod. 25:1-end; 26:1-end; 40:17-28). That the place where the ark was, was called the holy of holies (Exod. 26:33). That the whole people of Israel encamped around the habitation in order according to their tribes, and marched in order after it (Num. 2:1-end). That there was then over the habitation a cloud by day and a fire by night (Exod. 40:38; Num. 9:15-end; 14:14; Deut. 1:33). That the Lord spoke with Moses from over the ark between the cherubs (Exod. 25:22; Num. 7:89). That the ark, from the Law within it, was called Jehovah-There, for when the ark set forward, Moses said, Rise up, Jehovah; and when it rested be said, Return Jehovah (Num. 10:35, 36), and see further 2 Sam. 6:2; Ps. 132:7, 8. That on account of the holiness of that Law Aaron was not allowed to enter within the veil except with sacrifices and with incense (Lev. 16:2-14, etc.). That the ark was brought into Zion by David with sacrifices and with shouting (2 Sam. 6:1-19). That on that occasion, Uzzah, who touched it, died (verses 6 and 7). That the ark was placed in the midst of the temple in Jerusalem, where it constituted the shrine (1 Kings 6:19, etc. 8:3-9). That by the Lord's presence and power in the Law that was in the ark, the waters of Jordan were cleft asunder, and so long as the ark rested in the midst of it, the people passed over on dry ground (Josh. 3:1-17; 4:5-20). That when the ark was carried around them, the walls of Jericho fell (Josh. 6:1-20). That Dagon the god of the Philistines fell to the earth before the ark, and afterwards lay upon the threshold of the temple headless (1 Sam. 5:1-4). That on account of the ark the Bethshemites were smitten, to the number of many thousands (1 Sam. 6:19).

That the tables of stone on which the Law was written were called "the tables of the covenant," and that from them the ark was called "the ark of the covenant," and the Law itself "the covenant," see Num. 10:33; Deut. 4:13, 23; 5:2, 3; 9:9; Josh. 3:11; 1 Kings 8:19, 21; Rev. 11:19; and in many other places. The reason why the Law was called the "covenant," is that "covenant" signifies conjunction; and it is therefore said of the Lord that: He shall be for a covenant to the people (Isa. 42:6; 49:8; and He is called: The messenger of the covenant (Mal. 3:1); and His blood: The blood of the covenant (Matt. 26:28; Zech. 9:11; Exod. 24:4-10). And therefore the Word is called the "Old Covenant," and the "New Covenant." Moreover covenants are made for the sake of love, friendship, association, and thus for the sake of conjunction.

That the commandments of this Law were called the "Ten Words," see Exod. 34:28; Deut. 4:13; 10:4. They are so called because "ten" signifies all, and "words" signifies truths, for there were more than ten words. As "ten" signifies all, The curtains of the tabernacle were ten (Exod. 26:1); And for the same reason the Lord said That a certain man who was to receive a kingdom, called ten of his servants, and gave them ten pounds to trade with (Luke 19:13). And for the same reason also the Lord Likened the kingdom of the heavens to ten virgins (Matt. 25:1). For the same reason also, The dragon is described as having ten horns, and upon his horns ten diadems (Rev. 12:3). In like manner the beast that came up out of the sea (Rev. 13:1). And another beast also (Rev. 17:3, 7). Likewise the beast in Daniel (7:7, 20, 24). The like is signified by ten in Leviticus 26:26, and in Zechariah 8:23, and in other places. This is the origin of tithes, for "tithes" (or "tenths") signify something from all.

MURDERS, ADULTERIES, THEFTS, FALSE WITNESS, TOGETHER WITH ALL CONCUPISCENCE FOR THESE THINGS, ARE THE EVILS WHICH MUST BE SHUNNED AS SINS. It is well known that the Law of Sinai was written on two tables, and that the first table contains the things of God, and the other the things of man. That the first table contains all things that belong to God, and the second all that belong to man, does not appear in the letter, yet are they all in them, and it is for this reason that they are called the Ten Words, by which are signified all truths in the complex (as may be seen just above, n. 61). But in what way all things are in them cannot be set forth in a few words, but may be apprehended from what has been presented in the Doctrine of the Holy Scripture (n. 67), which see. This is why it is said "murders, adulteries, thefts, and false witness of every kind."

A religious tenet has prevailed to the effect that no one is able to fulfill the law; the law being not to kill, not to commit adultery, not to steal, and not to bear false witness. Every civic man and moral man is able to fulfill these commandments of the law by a civic and moral life; but this tenet denies that he can do so by a spiritual life; from which it follows that his not doing these evils is only for the sake of avoiding penalties and losses in this world, and not for the sake of avoiding penalties and losses after he has left it. It is for this reason that a man with whom this tenet has prevailed, thinks these evils allowable in the sight of God, but not so in that of the world. [2] And in consequence of such thought from this his tenet, the man is in concupiscence for all these evils, and refrains from doing them merely for the world's sake; and therefore after death such a man, although he had not committed murders, adulteries, thefts, and false witness, nevertheless desires to commit them, and does commit them when the external possessed by him in this world is taken away from him. Every concupiscence he has had remains with him after death. It is owing to this that such persons act as one with hell, and cannot but have their lot among those who are there. [3] Very different is the lot of those who are unwilling to kill, to commit adultery, to steal, and to bear false witness for the reason that to do these things is contrary to God. These persons, after some battling with these evils, do not will them, thus do not desire to commit them: they say in their hearts that they are sins, and in themselves are infernal and devilish. After death, when the external which they had possessed for this world is taken away from them, they act as one with heaven, and as they are in the Lord they come into heaven.

It is a common principle of every religion that a man ought to examine himself, repent, and desist from sins, and that if he fails to do so he is in a state of damnation. (That this is a common principle of every religion may be seen above, n. 4-8.) Teaching the Decalogue is also a common thing throughout the whole Christian world, and by it little children are commonly initiated into the Christian religion, for it is in the hands of all young children. Their parents and teachers tell them that to commit these evils is to sin against God, and in fact while speaking to the children they know nothing different. We may well wonder that these same persons, and the children too when they become adults, think that they are not under this Law, and that they are not able to do the things that belong to it. Can there be any other cause for their learning to think in this way, than that they love evils and consequently the false notions that favor them? These therefore are the people who do not make the commandments of the Decalogue a matter of religion. And that these same persons live without religion will be seen in the Doctrine of Faith.

All nations in the wide world who have religion possess precepts like those in the Decalogue, and all who from religion live them are saved, and all who do not live them from religion are damned. When those who live them from religion are instructed after death by the angels, they receive truths, and acknowledge the Lord; the reason of which is that they shun evils as sins, and are consequently in good, and good loves truth, and from the desire of this love, receives it (as has been shown above, n. 32-41). This is meant by the words of the Lord to the Jews: The kingdom of God shall be taken away from you, and shall be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof (Matt. 21:43). And also by these: When therefore the Lord of the vineyard shall come, He will destroy those evil men, and will let out his vineyard to other husbandmen, who shall render him the fruits in their season (Matt. 21:40-41). And by these: I say unto you that many shall come from the east and the west, and from the north and the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God, but the sons of the kingdom shall be cast forth into the outer darkness (Matt. 8:11-12; Luke 13:29).

We read in Mark: That a certain rich man came to Jesus, and asked Him what he should do to inherit eternal life, and that Jesus said to him, Thou knowest the commandments: Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not be a false witness, Thou shalt not defraud, Honor thy father and mother. And he answering said, All these things have I kept from my youth. And Jesus looked upon him and loved him, yet said unto him, One thing thou lackest; go, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor; so shalt thou have treasure in the heavens; and come, take up the cross and follow Me (Mark 10:17-22). It is said that Jesus "loved him." This was because the man said that he had kept those commandments from his youth. But because he lacked three things, which were that he had not removed his heart from riches, had not fought against concupiscences, and had not yet acknowledged the Lord to be God, the Lord said that he should "sell all that he had," by which is meant that he should remove his heart from riches; that he should "take up the cross," by which is meant that he should fight against concupiscences; and that he should "follow Him," by which is meant that he should acknowledge the Lord to be God. The Lord spoke these things as He spoke all things by correspondences. (See the Doctrine of the Holy Scripture, n. 17.) For no one is able to shun evils as sins unless he acknowledges the Lord and goes to Him, and unless he fights against evils and so removes concupiscences. But more about these matters in the chapter on combats against evils.

IN PROPORTION AS ANYONE SHUNS MURDERS OF EVERY KIND AS SINS, IN THE SAME PROPORTION HE HAS LOVE TOWARD THE NEIGHBOR. "Murders of every kind" include enmity, hatred, and revenge of every kind, which breathe murder, for murder lies hidden in them, like fire in wood underneath the ashes. Infernal fire is nothing else, and this is the origin of the expressions to "kindle with hatred," and to "burn with revenge." All these are "murders" in the natural sense. But in the spiritual sense "murders" mean all methods of killing and destroying the souls of men, which methods are varied and many. And in the highest sense "murder" means to hate the Lord. These three kinds of "murder" form a one, and cleave together, for he who wills the murder of a man's body in this world, after death wills the murder of his soul, and wills the murder of the Lord, for he burns with anger against Him, and desires to blot out His name.

These kinds of murder lie inwardly hidden in man from his birth, but from early childhood he learns to veil them over with the civic and moral behavior that he is bound to show toward men in the world, and in proportion as he loves honors or gains he guards against their appearance. This forms his external, while his internal is these kinds of murder. Such is man in himself. Now as when he dies he lays aside that external together with his body, and retains the internal, it is evident what a devil he would be unless he were reformed.

As the kinds of murder mentioned above lie inwardly hidden in man from his birth, as has been said, and at the same time thefts of every kind, and false witness of every kind, together with the concupiscences for them (of which we shall speak farther on), it is evident that unless the Lord provided means of reformation, a man must perish everlastingly. The means of reformation provided by the Lord are as follows: That man is born into total ignorance; that when newly born he is kept in a state of external innocence; a little after in a state of external charity; and later in a state of external friendship; but in proportion as he comes into the exercise of thought from his own understanding, he is kept in a certain freedom of acting according to reason. This is the state that has been described above (n. 19), and the description shall be here repeated for the sake of what is to follow: So long as a man is in this world he is midway between hell and heaven; hell is below him, and heaven is above him; and he is kept in freedom to turn himself to either the one or the other; if he turns to hell he turns away from heaven; if he turns to heaven he turns away from hell. Or what is the same, so long as a man is in this world he stands midway between the Lord and the devil, and is kept in freedom to turn himself to either the one or the other; if he turns to the devil he turns away from the Lord; if he turns to the Lord he turns away from the devil. Or what is again the same, so long as a man is in this world he is midway between evil and good, and is kept in freedom to turn himself to either the one or the other; if he turns to evil he turns away from good; if he turns to good he turns away from evil. (See also what follows this, n. 20-22.)

Now as evil and good are two opposite things, precisely as are hell and heaven, or as are the devil and the Lord, it follows that if a man shuns evil as sin, he comes into the good that is opposite to the evil. The good opposite to the evil that is meant by "murder," is the good of love toward the neighbor.

As this good and that evil are opposites, it follows that the latter is removed by means of the former. Two opposites cannot be together, even as heaven and hell cannot; if they were together there would be lukewarmness, of which it is said in Revelation: I know that thou art neither cold nor hot; I would thou wert cold or hot; but because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of My mouth (3:15, 16).

When a man is no longer in the evil of murder, but in the good of love toward the neighbor, whatever he does is a good of this love, and therefore it is a good work. A priest who is in this good does a good work whenever he teaches and leads, because he acts from the love of saving souls. A magistrate who is in this good does a good work whenever he delivers a decision or a judgment, because he acts from the love of taking care of his country, of the community, and of his fellow-citizen. The same with a trader: if he is in this good, everything of his trading is a good work; there is in him the love of the neighbor; and his country, the community, his fellow-citizen, and also the members of his household, are the neighbor whose welfare he has care for in providing for his own. A workman also who is in this good, works faithfully from it, for others as for himself, fearing his neighbor's loss as he would his own. The reason why the doings of these men are good works, is that in proportion as anyone shuns evil, in the same proportion he does good, according to the general law stated above (n. 21), and he who shuns evil as sin, does good not from himself but from the Lord (n. 18-31). The contrary is the case with him who does not regard as sins the various kinds of murder, which are enmities, hatred, revenge, and many more. Whether he be priest, magistrate, trader, or workman, whatever he does is not a good work, because every work of his partakes of the evil that is within him; for his internal is what gives it birth. The external may be good, but only as regards others, not as regards himself.

The Lord teaches the good of love in many places in the Word. He teaches it in Matthew by what He says about reconciliation with the neighbor: If thou art offering thy gift upon the altar, and there remember that thy brother hath aught against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way, first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. Be well-minded to thine adversary quickly, while thou art in the way with him; lest the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, thou shalt not come out thence, till thou hast paid the last farthing (Matt. 5:23-26). To be "reconciled to one's brother" is to shun enmity, hatred, and revenge; that it is to shun them as sin is evident. The Lord also teaches in Matthew: All thing whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them; for this is the Law and the Prophets (7:12); thus that we should not do evil. He teaches the same in many other places. The Lord also teaches that to be angry with one's brother or the neighbor rashly, and to hold him as an enemy, is also to commit murder (Matt. 5:21-22).

IN PROPORTION AS ANY ONE SHUNS ADULTERIES OF EVERY KIND AS SINS, IN THE SAME PROPORTION HE LOVES CHASTITY. To "commit adultery," as mentioned in the sixth (or as it is usually called, the seventh) commandment, means, in the natural sense, not only to commit whoredom, but also to do obscene things, to speak lascivious things, and to think about filthy things. But in the spiritual sense to "commit adultery" means to adulterate the goods of the Word, and to falsify its truths. In the highest sense to "commit adultery" means to deny the divinity of the Lord, and to profane the Word. These are the "adulteries of every kind." The natural man is able to know from rational light that to "commit adultery" includes in its meaning the doing of things obscene, the speaking of things lascivious, and the thinking of things that are filthy; but he does not know that to commit adultery means also to adulterate the goods of the Word and to falsify its truths, and still less that it means to deny the divinity of the Lord and to profane the Word. Consequently neither does he know that adultery is so great an evil that it may be called diabolism itself, for he who is in natural adultery is also in spiritual adultery, and the converse. That this is so will be shown in a separate little work entitled De Conjugio. 74-1 But those who from their faith and their life do not regard adulteries as sins, are in adulteries of every kind at once.

That in proportion as anyone shuns adultery, in the same proportion he loves marriage; or what is the same, in proportion as anyone shuns the lasciviousness of adultery, in the same proportion he loves the chastity of marriage, is because the lasciviousness of adultery and the chastity of marriage are two opposite things, and therefore in proportion as anyone is not in the one, he is in the other. It is precisely as has been said above at n. 70.

No one can know the nature of the chastity of marriage except the man who shuns as a sin the lasciviousness of adultery. For a man may know that in which he is, but cannot know that in which he is not. If from description or from thinking about it a man knows something in which he is not, he nevertheless knows of it merely as of something in the dark, and there remains some doubt about it, so that no one sees anything in the light and free from doubt until he is actually in it. This last therefore is to know, whereas the other is both to know and not to know. The truth is that the lasciviousness of adultery and the chastity of marriage stand toward each other exactly as do hell and heaven, and that the lasciviousness of adultery makes hell in a man, and the chastity of marriage makes heaven. But the chastity of marriage exists solely with the man who shuns as sin the lasciviousness of adultery. (See below, n. 111.)

From all this we can conclude and see, in no dubious manner, whether a man is a Christian or not, and even whether a man has any religion or not. If from his faith and from his life a man does not regard adulteries as sins, then he is not a Christian, and neither has he any religion. And on the other hand, if a man shuns adulteries as sins, and especially if on that account he feels aversion for them, and still more especially if on that account he abhors them, then he has religion, and if he is in the Christian Church he is a Christian. (But more about these matters in the little work entitled De Conjugio, and in the meantime see what has been said on this subject in the work on Heaven and Hell, n. 366-386.)

That to "commit adultery" means also to do obscene things, to speak lascivious things, and to think about filthy things, is evident from the Lord's words in Matthew: Ye have heard that it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery but I say unto you that whosoever looketh on the woman of another to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart (5:27, 28).

That to "commit adultery" in the spiritual sense means to adulterate the good of the Word and to falsify its truth, is evident from the following passages: Babylon hath made all the nations drink of the wine of her fornication (Rev. 14:8). The angel said, I will show thee the judgment of the great harlot that sitteth upon many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication (Rev. 17:1, 2). Babylon hath made all the nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her (Rev. 18:3). God hath judged the great harlot who did corrupt the earth with her fornication (Rev. 19:2). "Whoredom" is predicated of Babylon, because "Babylon" means those who arrogate to themselves the Lord's Divine sovereign power, and profane the Word by adulterating and falsifying it; and for this reason Babylon is called: The mother of the whoredoms and of the abominations of the earth (Rev. 17:5). [2] The same is signified by "whoredom" in the prophets, as in Jeremiah: In the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible obstinacy in committing adultery and walking in lying (23:14). And in Ezekiel: Two women, the daughters of one mother, committed whoredom in Egypt; they committed whoredom in their youth; the one committed whoredom when she was Mine, and doted on her lovers the Assyrians her neighbors; she bestowed her whoredoms upon them, yet she forsook not her whoredoms in Egypt; the other corrupted her love more than she, and her whoredoms were more than the whoredoms of her sister; she added to her whoredoms, she loved the Chaldeans, the sons of Babel came to her to the bed of loves, and defiled her with their whoredom (23:2-17). These things are said of the Israelitish and the Jewish Church, here called the "daughters of one mother." Their "whoredoms" mean adulterations and falsifications of the Word, and as in the Word "Egypt" signifies memory-knowledge, "Assyria" reasoning, "Chaldea" the profanation of truth, and "Babel" the profanation of good, it is said that they "committed whoredom" with them. [3] The same is said of "Jerusalem," by which is signified the church in respect to doctrine: Thou didst trust in thy beauty, and didst commit whoredom because of thy renown, so that thou pouredst out thy whoredoms on everyone that passed by; thou hast committed whoredom with the sons of Egypt thy neighbors, great of flesh, and hast multiplied thy whoredom; thou hast committed whoredom with the sons of Asshur; and when thou wast not satisfied with those with whom thou didst commit whoredom, thou hast multiplied thy whoredoms unto the land of traffic, to Chaldea. An adulterous woman that receiveth strangers instead of her husband! All give hire to their harlots, but thou hast given hire to all thy lovers that they may come unto thee on every side in thy whoredoms. Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of Jehovah (Ezek. 16:15, 26, 28-29, 32-33, 35). That "Jerusalem" means the church may be seen in the Doctrine of the Lord (n. 62-63). (The like is signified by "whoredoms" in Isa. 23:17, 18; 57:3; Jer. 3:2, 6, 8, 9; 5:1, 7; 13:27; 29:23; Micah 1:7; Nahum 3:4; Hos. 4:10, 11; Lev. 20:5; Num. 14:33; 15:39; and elsewhere.) For the same reason the Lord called the Jewish nation: An adulterous generation (Matt. 12:39; 16:4; Mark 8:38).

IN PROPORTION AS ANY ONE SHUNS THEFTS OF EVERY KIND AS SINS, IN THE SAME PROPORTION HE LOVES SINCERITY. To "steal," in the natural sense, means not only to commit theft and robbery, but also to defraud, and under some pretext take from another his goods. But in the spiritual sense to "steal" means to deprive another of his truths of faith and his goods of charity. And in the highest sense to "steal" means to take away from the Lord that which is His, and attribute it to one's self, and thus to claim righteousness and merit for one's self. These are the "thefts of every kind." And they also make a one, as do adulteries of every kind, and murders of every kind, of which we have already treated. The reason why they make a one is that they are one within another.

The evil of theft enters more deeply into a man than any other evil, because it is conjoined with cunning and deceit; and cunning and deceit insinuate themselves even into the spiritual mind of man in which is his thought with understanding. That man possesses a spiritual mind and a natural mind will be seen below.

That in proportion as anyone shuns theft as a sin, in the same proportion he loves sincerity, is because theft is also fraud, and fraud and sincerity are two opposite things, so that in proportion as anyone is not in theft in the same proportion he is in sincerity.

Sincerity is to be understood as including integrity, justice, fidelity, and rectitude. In these no man can be from himself so as to love them from and for themselves. But he is in them who shuns as sins, fraud, cunning, and deceit, and is therefore in them not from himself but from the Lord (as shown above, n. 18-31) Such is the case with a priest, a magistrate, a judge, a trader, and with everyone in his own office and his own work.

This is taught by the Word in many passages, among which are the following: He that walketh in righteousnesses, and speaketh uprightnesses; he that despiseth oppressions for gain, that shaketh his hands from holding bribes, that stoppeth his ears from the hearing of bloods, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; he shall dwell on high (Isa. 33:15-16). Jehovah, who shall abide in Thy tent? who shall dwell in the mountain of Thy holiness? He that walketh uprightly, and doeth righteousness; he that slandereth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his companion (Ps. 15:1-3, etc.). Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with Me he that walketh in the way of the upright, he shall minister unto Me. He that worketh deceit shall not dwell in the midst of My house; he that speaketh lies shall not stand before Mine eyes. In the dawning will I cut off all the wicked of the land, to cut off from the city all the workers of iniquity (Ps. 101:6-8). That unless a man is interiorly sincere, just, faithful, and upright, he is insincere, unjust, unfaithful, and base, is taught by the Lord in these words: Except your righteousness shall exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of the heavens (Matt. 5:10). The "righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees" means the interior righteousness in which is the man who is in the Lord. That he is in the Lord is taught by the Lord Himself in John: The glory which Thou hast given Me I have given unto them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be perfected into one; that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them (John 17:22-23, 26). From this it is evident that they are "perfect" when the Lord is in them. These are they who are called: The pure in heart, who shall see God and, Those who are perfect as is their Father in the heavens (Matt. 5:8, 48).

It has been said above (n. 81), that the evil of theft enters more deeply into a man than any other evil because it is conjoined with cunning and deceit, and that cunning and deceit insinuate themselves even into the spiritual mind of man in which is his thought with understanding. Something shall therefore now be said about the mind of man. (That the mind of man is his understanding and will together, see above, n. 43.)

Man possesses a natural mind and a spiritual mind. The natural mind is below, and the spiritual mind above. The natural mind is the mind of man's world, and the spiritual mind is the mind of his heaven. The natural mind may be called the animal mind, and the spiritual mind the human mind. Man is discriminated from the animal by possessing a spiritual mind. By means of this mind he can be in heaven while still in the world; and it is by means of this mind also that man lives after death. [2] In his understanding a man is able to be in the spiritual mind, and consequently in heaven, but unless he shuns evils as sins he cannot be in the spiritual mind and consequently in heaven, as to his will. And if he is not there as to his will, he is not in heaven, in spite of the fact that he is there in understanding, for the will drags the understanding down, and causes it to be just as natural and animal as it is itself. [3] Man may be compared to a garden, his understanding to light, and his will to heat. In wintertime a garden is in light but not in accompanying heat, but in summertime it is in light accompanied by heat. Just so a man who is in the light of the understanding alone is like a garden in wintertime, whereas one who is in the light of the understanding and at the same time in the heat of the will is like a garden in summertime. Moreover the understanding is wise from spiritual light, and the will loves from spiritual heat, for spiritual light is Divine wisdom, and spiritual heat is Divine love. [4] So long as a man does not shun evils as sins, the concupiscences of evils block up the interiors of the natural mind on the part of the will, being like a thick veil there, and like a black cloud beneath the spiritual mind, and they prevent its being opened. But in very deed the moment a man shuns evils as sins, the Lord inflows from heaven, takes away the veil, dispels the cloud, opens the spiritual mind, and so introduces the man into heaven. [5] So long as the concupiscences of evils block up the interiors of the natural mind (in the way we have indicated), so long is the man in hell; the moment, however, that these concupiscences have been dispersed by the Lord, the man is in heaven. Furthermore: so long as the concupiscences of evils block up the interiors of the natural mind, so long is the man natural; but the moment they have been dispersed by the Lord, he is spiritual. Furthermore: so long as the concupiscences of evils block up the interiors of the natural mind, so long is the man animal, differing only in his ability to think and speak, even of such things as he does not see with his eyes, which ability he derives from his capacity of uplifting his understanding into the light of heaven. The moment however that these concupiscences have been dispersed by the Lord, the man is a man, because he then thinks what is true in the understanding from what is good in the will. And furthermore: so long as the concupiscences of evils block up the interiors of the natural mind, the man is like a garden in winter time, but the moment these concupiscences have been dispersed by the Lord, he is like a garden in summer time. [6] The conjunction in a man of the will and the understanding is meant in the Word by "heart and soul," and by "heart and spirit." For example: that we must love God: With all the heart, and with all the soul (Matt. 22:37). And that God will give: A new heart, and a new spirit (Ezek. 11:19; 36:26-27). The "heart" means the will and its love, and the "soul" and the "spirit," the understanding and its wisdom.

IN PROPORTION AS ANY ONE SHUNS FALSE WITNESS OF EVERY KIND AS SIN, IN THE SAME PROPORTION HE LOVES THE TRUTH. To "bear false witness," in the natural sense, means not only to play the false witness, but also to lie, and to defame. In the spiritual sense, to "bear false witness" means to declare some false thing to be true or some evil thing good, and to persuade others that it is so; and the converse. And in the highest sense, to "bear false witness" means to blaspheme the Lord and the Word. These are the three senses of "bearing false witness." That these make a one in the man who bears false witness, utters a lie, or defames, is evident from what has been shown respecting the three senses of all things of the Word, in the Doctrine of the Holy Scripture (n. 5-7, etc. and n. 57).

As lying and the truth are two opposite things, it follows that in proportion as anyone shuns lying as sin, in the same proportion he loves the truth.

In proportion as anyone loves the truth, in the same proportion he desires to know it, and in the same proportion is affected at heart when he finds it. No one else comes into wisdom. And in proportion as anyone loves to do the truth, in the same proportion he is sensible of the pleasantness of the light in which the truth is. It is the same with all the other things spoken of above; with sincerity and justice in the case of one who shuns thefts of every kind; with chastity and purity in the case of one who shuns adulteries of every kind; and with love and charity in the case of one who shuns murders of every kind; and so forth. On the other hand, one who is in the opposites to these heavenly things knows nothing about them, although everything that is truly something is present in them.

It is the truth that is meant by the "seed in the field," of which the Lord said: A sower went forth to sow, and as he sowed some fell upon the way, and it was trodden down, and the fowls of heaven devoured it; and some fell upon stony places, and as soon as it was sprung up, because it had no root it withered away; and some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprung up with it and choked it; and other fell into the good ground, and sprung up, and bare fruit manifold (Luke 8:5-8; Matt. 13:3-8; Mark 4:3-8). Here the "sower" is the Lord, and the "seed" is His Word, thus the truth; the "seed upon the way" exists with those who do not care for the truth; the "seed upon stony places" exists with those who do care for the truth, but not for its own sake, thus not interiorly; the "seed in the midst of thorns" exists with those who are in the concupiscences of evil; but the "seed in good ground" exists with those who love the truths that are in the Word from the Lord, and do them from Him, thus who bear fruit. That these things are meant is evident from the explication of the parable by the Lord (Matt. 13:19-23, 37; Mark 4:14-20; Luke 8:11-15). From all this it is evident that the truth of the Word cannot take root in those who do not care for the truth, nor in those who love the truth outwardly and not inwardly, nor in those who are in the concupiscences of evil, but in those in whom the concupiscences of evil have been dispersed by the Lord. In these the "seed"-that is, the truth-takes root in their spiritual mind (concerning which above, n. 86 at the end).

It is a general opinion at the present day that to be saved consists in believing this thing or that which the church teaches, and that it does not consist in keeping the commandments (which are, Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness) in both the restricted and the extended sense. For it is maintained that works are not regarded by God, but faith, when nevertheless the truth is that in proportion as anyone is in these evils, in that same proportion he has no faith. (See above n. 42-52.) Take counsel of reason and observe whether, so long as he is in the concupiscence of these evils, any murderer, adulterer, thief, or false witness is able to have faith; and also, further, whether the concupiscence of these evils can be shaken off in any other way than by refusing to will to commit them for the reason that they are sins, that is, because they are infernal and devilish. So that whoever imagines that being saved consists in believing this thing or that which is taught by the church, while himself remaining thus evil in feeling and in character, must needs be a "foolish man," in accordance with the words of the Lord in Matthew 7:26. Such a church is thus described in Jeremiah: Stand in the gate of Jehovah's house, and proclaim there this word: Thus saith Jehovah of Armies the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings; trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah, are these. Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, We are delivered, while ye do all these abominations? Is this house become a den of robbers? Behold, I, even I, have seen it, saith Jehovah (Jer. 7:2-4, 9-11).

NO ONE CAN SHUN EVILS AS SINS SO AS TO BE INWARDLY AVERSE TO THEM EXCEPT BY MEANS OF COMBATS AGAINST THEM. Everybody knows from the Word and from doctrine drawn from it that the Own 92-1 of man is evil from his birth, and that this is the reason why from inborn concupiscence he loves evils and is drawn into them. This is why he desires to have revenge, and to commit fraud, defamation, and adultery. And unless he takes thought that such things are sins, and on this account resists them, he does them whenever an opportunity offers, provided that his reputation and thereby his honors and gains do not suffer. Consider also that unless he has religion the man does these things from delight.

As this Own of man constitutes the first root of his life, it is evident what kind of a tree a man would be unless this root were plucked up, and a new root planted in its place. He would be a rotted tree, of which it is said that it must be cut down and cast into the fire (Matt. 3:10; 7:19). And this root is not removed and a new one set in its place unless the man regards the evils that constitute the root as injurious to his soul, and on this account desires to rid himself of them. But as these evils belong to man's Own, and are therefore delightful to him, he cannot do this except against his will, with a struggle, and therefore with battling.

Everyone does this battling who believes in the existence of hell and of heaven: that heaven is eternal happiness, and hell eternal unhappiness; and that those who do evils go to hell, and those who do goods to heaven. And one who thus fights acts from within, and against the concupiscence itself which constitutes the root of the evil, for one who fights against anything does not will it, and to desire is to will. This shows that the root of evil is not removed except by means of combat.

In proportion therefore as anyone battles with and thus removes evil, in the same proportion good takes its place, and from this good the man in the same proportion looks evil in the face, and sees that it is infernal and horrible, and on this account he not only shuns it, but feels averse to it, and at last abhors it.

A man who fights against evils cannot but do so as of himself, for one who does not fight as of himself does not do so at all, but stands like an automaton that sees nothing and does nothing, and from evil he is continually thinking in favor of evil, and not against it. But be it well known that it is the Lord alone who fights in a man against his evils, and that it only appears to the man that he fights of himself, and also that the Lord wills that it should so appear to him, because without this appearance no combat takes place and therefore no reformation.

This combat is not severe except in the case of those who have given free rein to their concupiscences, and have indulged them of set purpose, and also in the case of those who have stubbornly cast off the holy things of the Word and of the church. With others it is not severe; let them even once in a week, or twice in a month, resist the evils they are inclined to, and they will perceive a change.

The Christian Church is called the church militant, and it cannot be called militant except as against the devil, and thus against the evils that are from hell. Hell is the devil. And the temptation that the man of the church undergoes is this warfare.

Battlings against evils, which battlings are temptations, are treated of in many places in the Word. They are meant by these words of the Lord: I say unto you, Except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die, it abideth by itself alone; but if it die, it beareth much fruit (John 12:24). And also by these: If any man would come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whosoever would save his life shall lose it and whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it (Mark 8:34-35). The "cross" means temptation (as also in Matt. 10:38; 16:24; Mark 10:21; Luke 14:27). By his "life" is meant the life of man's Own (as also in Matt. 10:39; 16:25; Luke 9:24; and especially in John 12:25), which is also the "life of the flesh that profiteth nothing" (John 6:63). In regard to battlings against evils, and victories over them, the Lord speaks in the Revelation to all the churches: To the church in Ephesus: To him that overcometh, to him will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God (Rev. 2:7). To the church in Smyrna: He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death (Rev. 2:11). To the church in Pergamos: To him that overcometh, to him will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and upon the stone a new name written, which no one knoweth but he that receiveth it (Rev. 2:17). To the church in Thyatira: He that overcometh, and that keepeth My words unto the end, to him will I give power [potestas] over the nations; and the morning star (Rev. 2:26, 28). To the church in Sardis [He that overcometh shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels (Rev. 3:5). To the church in Philadelphia:] He that overcometh I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, of the New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from My God, and My new name (Rev. 3:12). To the church in Laodicea: He that overcometh I will give to him to sit down with Me in My throne (Rev. 3:21).

These battlings, which are temptations, may be seen specially treated of in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, published in London in the year 1758 (from n. 187 to n. 201): Whence and what they are (n. 196, 197) How and where they take place (n. 198) What good they effect (n. 199) That the Lord fights for man (n. 200): Concerning the Lord's battlings or temptations (n. 201).

Footnotes

74-1 This projected little work was afterwards expanded by Swedenborg into a large one, and was published by him in Amsterdam in the year 1768, under the (translated) title: The Delights of Wisdom concerning Conjugial Love; after which follow the Pleasures of Insanity concerning Scortatory Love. The original MS outline for the De Conjugio is now preserved in the library of the Royal Academy of Sciences in Stockholm. It was published in the original Latin at Tubingen by Dr. Jo. Fr. Im. Tafel in the year 1860. [Tr.]

92-1 The Latin word proprium is the term used in the original text that in this and other places has been rendered by the expression "Own." The dictionary meaning of proprius, as an adjective, is "one's own," "proper," "belonging to one's self alone," "special," "particular," "peculiar." The neuter of this which is the word proprium, when used as a noun means "possession," "property;" also "a peculiarity," "characteristic mark," "distinguishing sign," "characteristic." The English adjective "own" is defined by Webster to mean "belonging to," "belonging exclusively or especially to," "peculiar;" so that our word "own" is a very exact equivalent of proprius, and if we make it a noun by writing it "Own," in order to answer to the Latin proprium, we effect a very close translation. [TR.]