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them know that this is possible, inasmuch as every man hath exterior and interior thought; interior thought is in the light of heaven, and is called perception, and exterior thought is in the light of the world; and the understanding of every man is such, that it can be elevated even into the light of heaven, and also is elevated, if from any principle of delight he desireth to see the truth; that this is the case, hath been given to know from much experience, concerning which, wonderful things may be seen in the WISDOM OF ANGELS CONCERNING THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE; and still more in the WISDOM OF ANGELS CONCERNING THE DIVINE LOVE AND DIVINE WISDOM; for the delight of love and wisdom elevates the thought, enabling it to see as in the light that a thing is so, although the man had never heard of it before; this light, which illuminates the mind, flows from no other source but out of heaven from the Lord; and whereas they who are to be of the New Jerusalem, will directly approach the Lord, that light will flow in, in the way of order, which is through the love of the will into the perception of the understanding. But the who have confirmed themselves in this tenet, that the understanding in matters of a theological nature is to see nothing, but that people ought blindly to believe what the church teacheth, these cannot see any truth in the light, for they have obstructed the passage of the light into themselves: this tenet the church of the reformed retained from the Roman Catholic religion, which declares that no one but the church itself, by which they mean the pope and papal consistory, ought to interpret the word, and that whosoever doth not in faith embrace all the doctrine delivered by the church, is to be considered as an heretic, and anathematised; that this is the case, is evident from a clause of the Council of Trent, in which all the tenets of that religion are established, wherein the following words occur towards the end, Then the President Moronus said, go in peace, and this was followed by acclamations, and among others by this declaration of the Cardinal of Lorain and the fathers, This is what we all believe, we are all of this very opinion, we all with one consent abide by and subscribe to it; this is the faith of the blessed Peter and of the apostles, this is the faith of the fathers, this is the faith of those who are orthodox, so be it, Amen, Amen, anathema to all heretics, anathema, anathema; the decrees of that council are what are adduced in a summary way above in the beginning of this work.

in which nevertheless there is scarce a single truth. These things are cited to show that the reformed retained a blind faith, that is, a faith separated from understanding, as derived from the Roman Catholic religion, and they who retain it henceforth, cannot be enlightened by divine truths from the Lord: so long as the understanding is held a prisoner in subjection to faith, or so long as the understanding is removed from seeing truths of the church, theology becomes nothing but a thing of man's memory, and a thing which is barely of man's memory is dissipated, like every thing disunited from his judgment, and perishes from its obscurity; hence it is, that they are blind leaders of the blind, and when the blind leads the blind, they both fall into the ditch, Matth. xv. 14. and they are blind, because they do not enter in at the door, but another way; for Jesus saith, I am the door, by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and shall find pasture, John x. 9. to find pasture is to be taught, illustrated, and nourished in divine truths; all who do not enter in through the door, that is, through the Lord, are called thieves and robbers; but they who enter in through the door, that is, through the Lord, are called shepherds of the sheep, in the same chapter, verse 1, 2. therefore do thou, my friend, approach the Lord, and shun evils as sins, and reject the doctrine of faith alone, and then thy understanding will be opened, and thou wilt see wonderful things, and be affected by them."

Apocalypse Revealed, 914.

ON THE RESURRECTION.

"It is the belief of the generality at this day of those who are of the church, that every one is to rise again at the last day and on this occasion with the body; which opinion is so universal, that scarce any one from doctrine believes otherwise; but this opinion hath prevailed on this account, because the natural man supposes that it is the body alone which lives, wherefore unless he believed that the body was again to receive life, he would altogether deny a resurrection: the case however is this, man rises again immediately after death, and then appears to himself in the body altogether as in the world, with such a face, with such members, arms, hands, feet, breast, belly, loins; yea also when he sees himself and touches himself, he saith that he is a man as in the world; nevertheless it is not his external principle, which

he carried about in the world, that he sees and touches, but it is the internal principle, which constitutes that very human principle which lives, and which had an external principle about it or out of singular the things belonging to itself, whereby it could be in the world, and act suitably to it's situation there in the performance of it's functions; the earthly corporeal principle is no longer of any use to it, it being in another world where are other functions, and other powers and abilities, to which it's body, such as it hath there, is adapted this body it sees with it's eyes, not those which it had in the world, but those which it hath there, which are the eyes of it's internal man, and by virtue of which through the eyes of the body it hath heretofore seen worldly and terrestrial things; it also feels it with the touch, not with the hands or sense of touching which it enjoyed in the world, but with the hands and sense of touching which it there enjoys, which is that from which it's sense of touching in the world existed; every sense also is there more exquisite and more perfect, because it is the sense of the internal principle of man set loose from the external, for the internal principle is in a more perfect state, inasmuch as it gives to the external the power of sensation, but when it acts into the external, as in the world, in this case the sensation is rendered dull and obscure; moreover it is the internal principle which is sensible of the internal, and the external principle which is sensible of the external; hence it is that men after death see each other, and are in society together according to the interiors; for my conviction of the certainty of all this, it hath also been given me to touch spirits themselves, and to discourse frequently with them on this subject, see n. 322, 1630, 4622. Men after death, who are then called spirits, and they who have lived in good, angels, are greatly surprised that the man of the church should believe, that he is not to see eternal life until he will be again clothed with the dust which had been rejected, when yet the man of the church knows that he riseth again after death; for who doth not say, when a man shortly dies, that his soul or spirit afterwards is in heaven or in hell; and who doth not say of their own infants who are dead, that they are in heaven; and who doth not comfort a sick person, or also one condemned to death, by the assurance that he shall shortly come into another life; and whatever prepared person in the agony of death doth not entertain this faith; yea also, from the influence

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of that belief, many claim to themselves the power of delivering others from places of damnation, and of introducing them into heaven, and of making masses for them. Who doth not know what the Lord said to the thief, "to-day shalt thou be with me in paradise," Luke xxiii. 48; and what he said concerning the rich man and Lazarus, that "the former was translated into hell, but the latter by angels into heaven," Luke xvi. 22, 23; and who is not acquainted with what the Lord taught concerning the resurrection, that "he is not the God of the dead, but of the living," Luke xx. 38; man is acquainted with these things, and also he so thinks and so speaks, when he thinks and speaks from the spirit, but when from doctrinals, he saith quite another thing, viz. that he is not to rise again till the last day; when yet it is the last day to every one when he dies, and likewise then is his judgment, as several also speak. What is meant by being encompassed with skin, and from the flesh seeing God, Job xix. 25, 26, may be seen, n. 3540 at the end. These things are said to the intent it may be known, that no man rises again in the body with which he was clothed in the world, but that the Lord so arose, and this because he glorified or made divine his body, whilst he was in the world.” Arcana Calestia, 5078.

THE HOLY LEAGUE.

It must be matter of great rejoicing to the devout receivers of the truths revealed to the world in the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, to behold the monarchs of Europe proclaiming their acknowledgment of the principles of the New Jerusalem, now descending from God out of heaven. The following official docu ment announces the belief of the Emperors of Russia and Austria, and the King of Prussia, in the sole and supreme divinity of our Lord and Saviour JESUS CHRIST, and in the necessity of a life in conformity to his precepts. It is strongly recommended to the perusal of our brethren, as a striking fore-runner of the universal acknowledgment which will at one day be made, that "in JESUS CHRIST dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily," that in his divine person alone, existeth an "indivisible trinity" of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, like soul, body, and operation in man, and that there is no other Sovereign than Him, to whom alone power belongs of right."

ED.

UKASE,

From the Emperor Alexander, to the Committee for the Clerical Schools in Russia.

Having approved of every thing that the committee for the Clerical Schools, in their report of the 27th of last month, (August) have laid before me, I consider it necessary to explain my own views respecting the education of those who are destined for the church. As in the first academical course of the college of Alexander Neffsky, which is now concluded, teachers have been trained for the Clerical Schools, in the districts of St. Petersburgh and Moscow, it is my wish that the committee may direct their attention not only to these newly trained teachers, but also to the schools themselves; that, in the fullest sense of the word, they may be formed into schools of the truth. The true enlightening of the mind, must be produced by that light, which shineth in the darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not. By following, in every instance, this light, those who are learning will be directed to the true source of knowledge, through the means which the gospel displays to us, in the most sublime (beautiful) simplicity, and the most perfect wisdom-saying, Christ is the way, the truth and the life. Let then the sole object of these schools be, the educating of the youth to active christianity-on this may be founded all those instructions which are requisite for their future destination, without fearing the misleading of the understanding, which will then be subordinate to the light of the Supreme Being.

I am convinced, that the committee for the Clerical Schools, will (imploring the Lord's assistance) use all their exertions to accomplish this end, without which no true benefit can be looked for,

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In the name of the Holy and Indivisible Trinity. Their majesties, the Emperor of Austria, the King of Prussia, and the Emperor of Russia, in consequence of the great events which have distinguished, in Europe, the course of the three last years, and especially of the blessings which it has pleased Divine

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