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CONTAINING THE

UNIVERSAL THEOLOGY

OF THE

NEW CHURCH,

-WHICH WAS FORETOLD BY THE LORD,

IN DANIEL, Chap. vii. 13, 14; and in the APOCALYPSE, Chap xxi. 1, 2.

By Emanuel Swedenborg,

SERVANT OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.

TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL LATIN.

IN THREE VOLUMES.

VOL. II.

THE FOURTH EDITION.

CHESTER :

PRINTED AND SOLD BY C. W. LEADBEATER;

SOLD ALSO BY

M. SIBLY, No 35, GOSWELL-STREET, AND G. SAEL, No. 192, STRAND, LONDON; J. CLARKE, MANCHESTER; AND HARGROVE, KARESBOROUGH; OR MAY BE HAD BY GIVING ORDERS TO ANY OF THE BOOKSELLERS IN TOWN OR COUNTRY,

M DCC XCVI

DANIEL,

Chap. vii. Verses 13. 14.

I faw in the Visions of the NIGHT, and behold, One like the Son of MAN came with the Clouds of Heaven; and there was given Him Dominion, and Glory, and a Kingdom, that all People, Nations, and Languages fhould ferve him; His Dominion is an everlasting Dominion, which shall not pafs away, and his Kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

APOCALYPSE,

Chap. xxi. 1, 2, 5, 9, 10.

And I John faw a new Heaven and a new Earth; and I fare the Holy City New Jerufalem, coming down from God out of Heaven, prepared as a Bride adorned for her Hufband. And the Angel talked with me, faying, Come hither, I will fhew thee THE BRIDE, THE LAMB'S WIFE. And he carried me away in the Spirit, to a great and high Mountain, and Shewed me that great City, the Holy Ferufalem, defcending out of Heaven from God.

And he that fat upon the Throne, faid, Behold, I MAKE ALL THINGS NEW. And he faid unto me, Write, for thefe Words are faithful and true.

TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION:

CONTAINING THE

UNIVERSAL THEOLOGY

OF THE

NEW HEAVEN AND NEW CHURCH.

CHA P. IV.

Of the SACRED SCRIPTURE, or

WORD of the LORD.

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That the Sacred Scripture, or Word, is Divine Truth Itself.

189. T is univerfally confeffed that the Word is from God, Divinely Infpired, and of Confequence Holy; but ftill it hath remained a Secret to this Day in what Part of the Word it's Divinity refideth, inafmuch as in the Letter it appeareth like common Writing, compofed in an ordinary Style, neither fo fublime, nor fo elegant as that which dis tinguishes fecular Compofitions. Hence it is, that whofoever worshipeth Nature inftead of God, or in Preference to of God, and in Confequence of fuch A 2

VOL. II.

Worship maketh Himfelf, and his own (i) Proprium, the Center and Fountain of his Thoughts, inftead of deriving them from the Lord out of Heaven, may eafily fall into Error concerning the Word, and into Contempt for it, and fay within himfelf, whilft he readeth it, What is the Meaning of this Paflage? What is the Meaning of that? Is it poffible this fhould be Divine? Is it poffible that God, whofe Wisdom is infinite, fhould fpeak in this Manner? Where is it's Sanctity, or whence can it be derived, but from Superftition and Credulity.

190. But he who reafoneth thus, doth not reflect that the Lord Jehovah, who is God of Heaven and Earth, fpake the Word by Mofes and the Prophets, and that confequently it muft be Divine Truth, inafmuch as what the Lord Jehovah Himfelf fpeaketh can be Nothing elfe; nor doth fuch a one confider that the Lord the Saviour, who is the fame with Jehovah, fpake the Word written by the Evangelifts, many Parts by his own Mouth, and the reft by the Spirit of his Mouth, which is the Holy Ghoft, influencing his twelve Apelles. Hence it is, as he himfelf declareth, that in his Words there is Spirit and Life, and that he is the Light which enlighteneth, and that he is the Truth; as is evident from the following Paffages, Jefus faid, The Words which Ifpake unto you they are Spirit, and they are Life," John vi. 63. Jefus faid to the Woman at Jacob's Well, if thou knewest the Gift of God, and who it is that faith unto thee, give me to drink, thou wouldst have afked of him, and, he would have given thee living Water; whosoever shall drink of the Water which I shall give

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(i) By Proprium, as here applied to Man, is meant his own Propriety, or all that he has of himself, when feparated from Divine Influence. This Proprium, Propriety, or felfish Nature of Man, as the Author fhews in other Parts of his Works, is full of the mereft Evils and Falfes, and confequently is in direct Oppofition to all Heavenly Love and Wifdom; and herein is grounded the Neceffity of Chriftian Regeneration, in Order to remove these natural Evils and Falfes, and make the Soul capable of tafting heavenly Bleffednefs; which can only be effected by it's turning from the Guidance and Government of it's own proper Will and Intelligence, and fubmitting to be principled in, and ruled by the Divine Love and Wifdom. We choose to retain the Latin Word Proprium, as bet adapted to convey the Meaning, to which it is here, and in other Places, applied by the Author.

bim, fhall never thirst, but the Water that I fhall give him, fhall

be in him a Well of Water fpringing up unto eternal Life,

John iv. 6, 10, 11. By Jacob's Well is here fignified the

Word, as alfo in Deut. xxxiii. 28; for which Reafon the

Lord, who is the Word, fat there and converfed with the

Woman; and by living Water is fignified the Truth of the

Word. 66
Jefus faid, If any Man thirst, let him come to me and

drink; whofoever believeth on Me, as the Scripture faith, out of

his Belly fhall flow Rivers of living Water," John vii. 37, 38.

"Peter faid unto Jefus, Thou haft the Words of eternal Life,"

John vi. 63. Jefus faid, Heaven and Earth fhall pass away,

but my Words shall not pass away," Mark xiii. 31. The

Reason why the Words of the Lord are Truth and Life is,

because he is the Truth and the Life, as he teacheth in John,

"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life," Chap. xiv. 6; and

in another Place, "In the Beginning was the Word, and the

Word was with God, and God was the Word; in him was Life,

and the Life was the Light of Men," John i. 1, 2, 3. By the

Word is meant the Lord with Refpect to Divine Truth, in

which alone there is Life and Light. Hence it is, that the

Word, which is from the Lord, and which is the Lord,

is called, A FOUNTAIN OF LIVING WATERS, Jerem. ii. 13.

Chap. xvii. 13. Chap. xxxi. 9. "A FOUNTAIN OF SAL-

VATION," Ifaiahı xii. 3. "A FOUNTAIN," Zech. viii. 1;

and, "A RIVER OF LIVING WATERS," Rev. xxii. 1;

and it is faid, "That the Lamb, which is in the Midft of the

Throne, feeds them at the living Fountains of Waters," Řev. vii.

17; not to mention other Paffages, where the Word is alfo

called THE SANCTUARY, AND THE TABERNACLE, wherein the

Lord dwelleth with Man.

191. The natural Man, however, cannot ftill be perfuaded
to believe that the Word is Divine Truth itself, in which is
contained Divine Wisdom, and Divine Life, inafmuch as he
judgeth of it by it's Stile, in which no fuch Things appear.
Nevertheless, the Stile, wherein the Word is written, is a truly
Divine Stile, with which no other Stile, however fublime and
excellent it may feem, can be compared. The Stile of the
Word is of fuch a Nature, as to contain what is Holy in every
Verfe, in every Word, and in fome Cafes in every Letter;
and hence the Word joineth Man with the Lord, and openeth
Heaven. There is a twofold Proceeding from the Lord, viz,

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