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Quotes by Emanuel Swedenborg

Emanuel Swedenborg

“He who is in evil, is also in the punishment of evil.”

Emanuel Swedenborg

Every evil spirit there must think what is false from evil, and speak from the falsity of evil, in both respects from the will, thus from his own essential love and its delight and pleasure, in the same way that he thought while in the world when he was in his spirit, that is, in the same way as he thought in himself when he thought from interior affection. The reason is that the will is the man himself, and not the thought except so far as it partakes of the will, the will being the very nature itself or disposition of the man. Therefore man's being let into his will is being let into his nature or disposition, and likewise into his life; for by his life man puts on a nature; and after death he continues to be such as the nature is that he has acquired by his life in the world; and with the evil this nature can no longer be amended and changed by means of the thought or by the understanding of truth. 509. When evil spirits are in this second state, as they rush into evils of every kind they are subjected to frequent and grievous punishments. In the world of spirits there are many kinds of punishment; and there is no regard for person, whether one had been in the world a king or a servant. Every evil carries its punishment with it, the two making one; therefore whoever is in evil is also in the punishment of evil. And yet no one in the other world suffers punishment on account of the evils that he had done in this world, but only on account of the evils that he then does; although it amounts to the same and is the same thing whether it be said that men suffer punishment on account of their evils in the world or that they suffer punishment on account of the evils they do in the other life, since everyone after death returns into his own life and thus into like evils; and the man continues the same as he had been in the life of the body (n. 470-484). Men are punished for the reason that the fear of punishment is the sole means of subduing evils in this state. Exhortation is no longer of any avail, neither is instruction or fear of the law and of the loss of reputation, since everyone then acts from his nature; and that nature can be restrained and broken only by punishments. But good spirits, although they had done evils in the world, are never punished, because their evils do not return.

“What is true is true, and what is false is false...”

Emanuel Swedenborg

To see in either case is by virtue of heavenly light in natural light; and heavenly light is from the God of heaven, who is the Lord; therefore this universal confirmator is not a man or a beast, but a beast-man. I questioned the angel concerning the lot of such persons, and whether they can be together with those who are alive, since every one has life from heavenly light, and from this light has understanding. He said, that such persons when they are alone, can neither think nor express their thoughts, but stand mute like machines, and as in a deep sleep; but that they awake as soon as any sound strikes their ears: and he added, that those become such, who are inmostly wicked; into these no heavenly light can flow from above, but only somewhat spiritual through the world, whence they derive the faculty of confirming. As he said this, I heard a voice from the angels who had examined the confirmation, saying to me, "From what you have now heard form a general conclusion." I accordingly formed the following: "That intelligence does not consist in being able to confirm whatever a man pleases, but in being able to see that what is true is true, and what is false is false." After this I looked towards the company where the confirmators stood, and where the crowd about them shouted, "_O how wise!_" and lo! a dusky cloud covered them, and in the cloud were owls and bats on the wing; and it was said to me, "The owls and bats flying in the dusky cloud, are correspondences and consequent appearances of their thoughts; because confirmations of falsities so as to make them appear like truths, are represented in this world under the forms of birds of night, whose eyes are inwardly illuminated by a false light, from which they see objects in the dark as if in the light. By such a false spiritual light are those influenced who confirm falses until they seem as truths, and afterwards are said and believed to be truths: all such see backwards, and not forwards." * * * * * * ON THE CAUSES OF COLDNESS, SEPARATION, AND DIVORCE IN MARRIAGES. 234. In treating here on the causes of coldness in marriages, we shall treat also at the same time on the causes of separation, and likewise of divorce, because they are connected; for separations come from no other source than from coldnesses, which are successively inborn after marriage, or from causes discovered after marriage, from which also coldness springs; but divorces come from adulteries; for these are altogether opposite to marriages; and opposites induce coldness, if not in both parties, at least in one.

“Love consists in desiring to give what is our own to another and feeling his delight as our own.”

Emanuel Swedenborg

“To will and not to do when there is opportunity is in reality not to will; and to love what is good and not to do it, when it is possible, is in reality not to love it”

Emanuel Swedenborg

“Kindness is an inner desire that makes us want to do good things even if we do not get anything in return. It is the joy of our life to do them. When we do good things from this inner desire, there is kindness in everything we think, say, want and do.”

Emanuel Swedenborg

Love consists in desiring to give what is our own to another and feeling his delight as our own

Emanuel Swedenborg

In the spiritual body moreover, man appears such as he is with respect to love and faith, for everyone in the spiritual world is the effigy of his own love, not only as to the face and the body, but also as to the speech and the actions

Emanuel Swedenborg

The sky is an enormous man.

Emanuel Swedenborg

People are unaware that spirits even exist, let alone that angels are present with them.

Emanuel Swedenborg

The inner self is as distinct from the outer self as heaven is from earth.

Emanuel Swedenborg

This I can declare: things that are in heaven are more real than things that are in the world.

Emanuel Swedenborg

The nature of heaven is to provide a place there for all who lead good lives, no matter what their religion may be.

Emanuel Swedenborg

Everything good or true that the angels inspire in us is God’s, so God is constantly talking to us. He talks very differently, though, to one person than to another.

Emanuel Swedenborg

All the ancient churches were churches representative of spiritual things; the rites, and also the statutes, according to which their worship was established, consisted of pure correspondence.

Emanuel Swedenborg

Love comes into being through useful service to others.

Emanuel Swedenborg

Man, when he is re-born, passes through the ages as he who is born; and the preceding state is always as an egg in respect to the subsequent one, thus he is continually conceived and born: and this not only when he lives in the world, but also when he comes into another life to eternity: and still when he cannot be further perfected, then to be as an egg to those things which remain to be manifested, which are indefinite.

Emanuel Swedenborg

Anyone can see that intending and not acting when we can is not really intending, and loving and not doing good when we can is not really loving.

Emanuel Swedenborg

The Divine of the Lord in heaven is love, for the reason that love is receptive of all things of heaven, such as peace, intelligence, wisdom and happiness.

Emanuel Swedenborg

To have dominion by religion, is to have dominion over mens souls, thus over their very spiritual life, and to use the Divine things, which are in their religion, as the means.

Emanuel Swedenborg

This Divine truth flows into heaven from the Lord from His Divine love.

Emanuel Swedenborg

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