In the spiritual world there are climates and zones just as the natural world.  Nothing exists in this world that does not also exist in this; yet in origin they differ. In the natural world climates vary according to the distance of the sun from the equator; in the spiritual world they vary according to the distances of the will‘s affections and the consequent thought of the understanding from true love and true faith; for of these latter all things in that world are correspondences.

In the frigid zones of the spiritual world things appear similar to those in the frigid zones of the natural world; lands and waters alike are bound in ice with snow upon them. Those come hither and dwell here who in the world had lulled their understanding to sleep by their indolence in thinking of spiritual things, and who were consequently indolent in doing anything useful.  Such are called boreal spirits.

[2] On one occasion I had a strong desire to see some region of the frigid zone where these boreal spirits dwell.  I was therefore conducted in spirit northward to a region where the whole earth appeared to be covered with snow and all the water frozen. It was the Sabbath day; and I saw men, that is, spirits similar in stature to the men of our world, with their heads, owing to the cold, covered with lions’ skins, the mouth of the skin fitted to their own; while before and behind and down to the loins their bodies were clad with leopard skins and their feet with bear skin. I also saw many riding in chariots, and some in chariots carved in the form of a dragon with the horns projecting forward.  The chariots were drawn by small horses with their tails clipped, which ran like frightful wild creatures, the driver holding tight the reins and continually speeding and whipping them to a run.

At length I saw that the crowds were flocking towards a temple, which was invisible because it was buried in snow; but the caretakers of the temple were shovelling away the snow and digging a path for the coming worshipers, who descended and entered.

[3] I was permitted to see the inside of the temple. It was lighted with an abundance of lamps and torches. There was an altar of hewn stone, behind which hung a tablet with the inscription, The Divine Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who are essentially one God, but personally three.

At length a priest who stood at the altar, after kneeling thrice before the tablet, went up into the pulpit with a book in his hand and began a discourse on the Divine trinity. “O how great the mystery,” he exclaimed, “that God in the highest begot a Son from eternity, and through Him sent forth the Holy Spirit, the three conjoining themselves by their essence but dividing themselves by their properties, which are imputation, redemption, and operation!  But if we look upon these things from reason our vision grows obscure, and a spot comes before it such as appears before the eye of one who fixes his gaze upon the naked sun.  Therefore, my hearers, in this matter let us keep the understanding under obedience to faith.”

[4] Again he exclaimed, “O how great a mystery is our holy faith, that God the Father imputes the righteousness of His Son and sends the Holy Spirit, who from that imputed righteousness works out the evidences of justification! These in brief are forgiveness of sins, renovation, regeneration, and salvation, of the influx of action of which a man is no more conscious than the statue of salt into which Lot‘s wife was turned; and of the indwelling or the state of which he is no more conscious than a fish in the sea.  But, my friends, in this faith there lies a treasure so enclosed and hidden that not a particle of it can be seen; therefore in this matter also let us keep the understanding under obedience to faith.”

[5] After some deep sighs he again exclaimed, “O how great is the mystery of election!  He becomes one of the elect to whom God imputes that faith, which He imparts, at His good pleasure and out of pure grace, to whomsoever He wills and when He wills, and while it is being poured into him man is like a stock, but when this has been done he becomes like a tree.  It is true that there are fruits, that is, good works, hanging upon the tree (which in a representative sense is our faith); but the fruit does not cling to it, and therefore the worth of the tree is not in the fruit.  Yet as this sounds heterodox, although it is a mystical verity, let us, my brethren, keep the understanding under obedience to faith in it.”

[6] Then again, after a brief pause, standing as if he would produce something further from his memory, he continued, “From the mass of mysteries I will present one more, namely, that in spiritual things man has not a grain of free-will.  For the primates and rulers of our order say in their theological canons that in matters pertaining to faith and salvation, which are especially called spiritual, man has no ability to will, think or understand anything, nor even adapt or apply himself to their reception.  Therefore of myself I say, that a man is no better able than a parrot or a magpie or a raven to think about these things from reason and talk about them from thought; so that in spiritual things man is in fact an ass, and only in natural things is he a man.  But, my friends, lest this should annoy your reason, let us in this as in the others keep the understanding under obedience to faith.  For our theology is a bottomless abyss, and if you let your intellectual vision down into it you will be overwhelmed, and will perish as by shipwreck.  And yet keep this in mind,-we are none the less in the true light of the Gospel, which is shining far above our heads; but sad to say, the hairs of our heads and the bones of our skulls stand in the way and keep the light from penetrating the recesses of our understanding.”

[7] Having said this he came down from the pulpit; and when he had offered a prayer at the altar and the service was over I approached some who were talking together, among whom was the priest; and those standing around him said, “We give you everlasting thanks for a discourse so magnificent and so rich in wisdom.”

  But I said to them, “Did you understand anything?”

  And they answered, “We took in everything with full ears; but why do you ask whether we understand?  Is not the understanding benumbed by such matters?”

  And to this the priest added, “Forasmuch as you have heard and have not understood you are blessed, for thereby you have salvation.”

[8] Afterwards I talked with the priest and asked him whether he had a degree.  He answered, “I am a laurelled Master.”

I then said, “Master, I have heard you preaching mysteries; if you know of the mysteries but know nothing that they contain, you know nothing; for they are like chests locked with triple bolts; and unless you open them and look inside, which must be done by the understanding, you do not know whether the contents are precious or whether they are worthless, or are hurtful.  They may contain vipers’ eggs or spiders‘ webs, according to the description in (Isaiah” 59:5). 

At this the priest looked at me grimly; and the worshipers withdrew and entered their chariots, drunken with paradoxes, muddled with empty words, and enveloped in darkness respecting all things of faith and the means of salvation.

TCR 186. Second Memorable Relation:

I was engaged in thought about what region of the mind in man is occupied with theological matters. At first I supposed that being spiritual and heavenly they occupy the highest region.  For the human mind is divided into three regions, as a house into three stories, or the angelic abodes into three heavens.

Then an angel standing near said, “With those who love truth because it is true, theological matters rise even into the highest region of the mind, because in that region is their heaven, and they are in the light in which angels dwell.  But moral subjects theoretically examined and perceived have their place in a second region beneath these, because they communicate with things spiritual.  Beneath these in a first region political subjects have their place; while scientific matters, which are manifold, and may be referred to genera and species, form a door to these higher matters.  Those with whom things spiritual, moral, political, and scientific are thus subordinated, think what they think and do what they do from justice and judgment.  This is because the light of truth, which is also the light of heaven, illuminates from the highest region all things that follow, as the light of the sun, passing in turn through the ethers and through the atmospheres illumines the eyes of men and beasts and fishes. It is different, however, in matters of theology with those who love truth not because it is true, but only for the glory of their reputation. With them theological subjects have their seat in the lowest region along with scientific subjects; with some the former are mingled with the latter; with others the two cannot be so mingled.  In the same region but still lower are political subjects, and beneath these again moral subjects, for in such persons the two higher regions are not opened on the right hand; and in consequence they have no interior reason from judgment and no affection for justice, but only a cleverness which enables them to talk on every subject as if from intelligence and to confirm whatever presents itself as if from reason; but the objects of reason which they chiefly love are falsities, because these adhere to the fallacies of the senses.  This is why there are so many in the world who no more see truths of doctrine from the Word than those blind can see; and when such hear truths they hold their nostrils, lest the scent of the truths should disturb them and excite nausea; while on the other hand, they open all their senses to falsities and drink them in as whales drink in water.”

TCR 187. Third Memorable Relation:-

Once when I was meditating about the dragon and the beast and the false prophet spoken of in the Apocalypse, an angelic spirit appeared to me and asked, “What are you meditating about?”  And I said, “About the false prophet.”

Then he said, “I will take you to the place where those are who are meant by the false prophet;” and he added that they are the same as are meant in the thirteenth chapter of the Apocalypse by “the beast rising up out of the earth,” which had two horns like a lamb, and which spoke like a dragon.

I followed him, and lo, I saw a great crowd, in the midst of which were leaders of the church who taught that nothing saves man but faith in the merit of Christ; and that works are good, but contribute nothing to salvation, and yet should be taught from the Word in order that the laity, especially the simple, may be held more firmly in the bonds of obedience to magistrates, and may be compelled as if from religion, and thus from within, to practise moral charity.

[2] Then one of them, seeing me, said, “Would you like to see our temple, in which there is an image representative of our faith?”

I approached and looked, and behold the temple was magnificent.  In the center of it was an image of a woman clad in scarlet robes, holding in her right hand a golden coin, and in her left a chain of pearls.  But both the image and the temple were produced through phantasy; for through phantasies infernal spirits are able to represent magnificent things by closing up the interiors of the mind and opening the exteriors only. When, however, I observed that these things were such juggleries, I prayed to the Lord, and immediately the interiors of my mind were opened, and then in place of a magnificent temple I saw a house full of chinks from top to bottom, tumbling all to pieces; and in place of the woman, I saw hanging within the building a figure with a head like a dragon’s, a body like a leopard‘s, its feet like bear’s feet, and its mouth like that of a lion, thus precisely like the beast described as rising up out of the sea (Apoc. 13:2); and for a floor there was a bog with a multitude of frogs in it, and I was told that underneath the bog was a large hewn stone, with the Word hidden deep below it.

Seeing this I said to the juggler, “Is this your temple?”  And he said, “It is.”

But suddenly he, too, had his inner sight opened, and from it he saw the same things that I did, and he cried out loudly, “What is this, and whence is it?”

And I said, “It is from the light of heaven, which discloses the quality of every outward shape, and thus the quality of your faith separate from spiritual charity.”

[3] And presently a wind blew up from the east and swept away the temple and the image and dried up the bog and thus laid bare the stone beneath which the Word was lying. And then a warmth like that of spring breathed upon it from heaven, and behold in the same place a tabernacle simple in outward form appeared.

And the angels who were with me said, “Behold the tabernacle of Abraham, as it was when the three angels came to him and foretold the birth of Isaac. To the eye it appears simple, but it becomes more and more magnificent according to the influx of light from heaven.”

It was granted them to open the heaven occupied by spiritual angels, who are in wisdom.  And at once from the light flowing in from that heaven the tabernacle appeared like a temple similar to that at Jerusalem. And when I looked inside I saw the foundation-stone under which the Word was deposited, set about with precious stones, and from these a kind of effulgence beamed upon the walls, on which were figures of cherubim, and the glow beautifully variegated the walls with colors.

[4] While I wondered at these things the angels said, “You shall see something still more wonderful.” And it was granted them to open the third heaven, where celestial angels dwell who are in a state of love; and then because of the flamy light flowing in from that heaven the whole temple vanished, and in its place the Lord alone was seen standing upon the foundation-stone, which was the Word, appearing in the same form in which He appeared to John (Apoc. 1).  But as the interiors of the angels‘ minds were then filled with a holiness which impelled them to fall down upon their faces, the way by which the light came from the third heaven was immediately closed by the Lord, and a way was opened for light from the second heaven, and this caused the temple to assume its former aspect, and also the tabernacle, which was now in the center of the temple.

This was an illustration of what is meant in the Apocalypse by these words:--

Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He shall dwell with them (Apoc. 21:3).

And by these words:--

I saw no temple in the New Jerusalem, for the Lord God the Almighty is the temple thereof, and the Lamb (Apoc. 21:22).

TCR 188. Fourth Memorable Relation:-

As I have been permitted by the Lord to behold wonderful things in the heavens and beneath the heavens, it behooves me, as commanded, to relate what has been seen.

There was seen a magnificent palace, and in the innermost parts of it a temple, and in the center of the temple a golden table upon which the Word was lying, and two angels stood beside it. Around the table were seats in triple rows.  The seats of the first row were covered with cloth of pure silk, purple-colored; those of the second row with cloth of sky-blue silk; and those of the third row with white cloth.

Beneath the roof, high above the table, a wide canopy was seen ablaze with precious stones, from the glow of which shone a rainbow, such as is seen when the sky is clearing after a shower.  Presently a number of the clergy equal to the number of the seats appeared and occupied the seats, all clothed in the garments of the priestly office.  At one side was a wardrobe where an angel keeper stood; and within it arranged in beautiful order splendid robes were lying.

This was a council called together by the Lord; and I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Deliberate.”

But they asked, “On what subject?”

It was said, “On the Lord the Saviour, and on the Holy Spirit.” But when they began to meditate on these subjects they were not in a state of enlightenment; therefore they prayed, and a light then flowed down from heaven; and first the back part of their heads were lighted up, then their temples and at last their faces.  Then they began to deliberate, and first, as bidden, in regard to the Lord the Saviour.

[2] And the first point proposed and discussed was, Who assumed the Human in the Virgin Mary?

And the angel standing beside the table upon which was the Word, read to them the following from Luke:--

The angel said to Mary, Behold thou shalt conceive in the womb, and bring forth a Son, and shalt call His name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High.  And Mary said to the angel, How shall this thing be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee; therefore that holy thing that is born of thee shall be called the Son of God (Luke 1:31, 32, 34, 35).

Then he read the following from Matthew:--

The angel said to Joseph in a dream, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy bride, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And Joseph knew her not until she had brought forth her firstborn son; and he called His name Jesus (Matthew 1:20, 25).

He also read other passages from the Gospels (as Matt. 3:17; 17:5; John 1:18; 3:16; 20:31); and many others elsewhere, in which the Lord in respect to His Human is called the Son of God, and where from His Human He calls Jehovah His Father.  He read also from the Prophets, where it is foretold that Jehovah Himself would come into the world; among them these two passages from Isaiah:--

It shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him that He may deliver us; this is Jehovah; we have waited for Him; let us exult and be glad in His salvation (Isaiah 25:9).

The voice of one crying in the desert, Prepare ye the way of Jehovah make level in the wilderness a highway for our God.  For the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. Behold, the Lord Jehovah cometh in strength, He shall feed His flock like a shepherd (Isaiah 40:3, 5, 10, 11).

[3] And the angel said, “Because Jehovah Himself came into the world and assumed the Human He is called in the Prophets Saviour and Redeemer.  Then he read to them the following passages:--

Among thee alone is God, and there is no God besides.  Surely thou art a hidden God, O God of Israel, the Saviour (Isa. 45:14, 15).

Am not I Jehovah? and there is no God else beside Me; a just God and a Saviour, there is none beside Me (Isa. 45:21, 22).

I am Jehovah, and beside Me there is no Saviour (Isa.  43:11).

I am Jehovah thy God, and thou shalt acknowledge no God beside Me, and there is no Saviour beside Me (Hos. 13:4).

That all flesh may know that I Jehovah am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer (Isa. 49:26 60:16).

As for our Redeemer, Jehovah of Hosts is His name (Isa.  47:4).

Their Redeemer is strong, Jehovah of Hosts is His name (Jer. 50:34).

O Jehovah, my rock and my Redeemer (Ps. 19:14).

Thus said Jehovah thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I am Jehovah thy God (Isa. 48:17; 43:14; 49:7; 54:8).

Thou, Jehovah, art our Father; our Redeemer from everlasting is Thy name (Isa. 63:16).

Thus said Jehovah thy Redeemer, I am Jehovah that maketh all things, even alone by Myself (Isa. 44:24).

Thus said Jehovah the King of Israel, and his Redeemer Jehovah of Hosts, I am the First, and I am the Last; and beside Me there is no God (Isa. 44:6).

Jehovah of Hosts is His name, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel the God of the whole earth shall He be called (Isa.  54:5).

Behold the days come, when I shall raise up unto David a righteous Branch, and He shall reign as King, and this is His name, Jehovah, our Righteousness (Jer. 23:5, 6; 33:15, 16).

In that day Jehovah shall be King over all the earth; in that day Jehovah shall be one, and His name one (Zech. 14:9).

[4] Strengthened in belief by all these passages, those that sat upon the seats unanimously declared, that Jehovah Himself assumed the Human that He might redeem and save men.

And thereupon from some Roman Catholics who had hidden themselves behind the altar a voice was heard saying, ”How can Jehovah God become a Man?  Is He not the Creator of the universe?“

And one of those on the second row of seats turned about and said, ”Who then was it?“

And he who had been behind the altar and was now standing near it said, ”The Son from eternity.“

But he received the reply, ”Is not the Son from eternity, according to your confession of faith, also the Creator of the universe? Moreover, what is a Son and a God born from eternity?  And how can the Divine essence, which is one and indivisible, be separated, and one part of it descend and not the whole at once?“

[5] The second subject of discussion about the Lord, was whether the Father and He are thus one as soul and body are one; and they said that this follows, because the soul is from the father.

Then one of those who sat on the third row of seats read from what is called the Athanasian creed as follows ”Although our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man, yet these are not two, but one Christ; yea, one altogether; He is one person; since as the soul and body make one man, so God and Man is one Christ.“ The reader said that this creed, in which these words are found, is accepted throughout the Christian world, even by the Roman Catholics.

The others said, ”What more is needed? God the Father and He are one as soul and body are one.“ And they said, ”This being so, we see that the Lord’s Human is Divine because it is the Human of Jehovah; also that it is the Lord as to His Divine Human who is to be approached, and that thus and-in no other way can the Divine which is called the Father be approached.“

[6] This conclusion of theirs the angel confirmed by many passages from the Word, among which were the following:--

Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and His name, Wonderful, Counselor, God, Mighty, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6).

In the same:--

Abraham knoweth us not, and Israel doth not acknowledge us; Thou, Jehovah, art our Father, our Redeemer from everlasting is Thy name (Isa. 63:16).

And in John:--

Jesus said, He that believeth in Me believeth in Him that sent Me; and he that seeth Me seeth Him that sent Me (John 12:44, 45).

Philip said to Jesus, Show us the Father, Jesus saith unto him, He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?  Believest thou not that I am in the Father and the Father in Me? Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me (John 14:8-11).

Jesus said, I and My Father are one (John 10:30).

Again:--

All things that the Father hath are Mine; and all Mine are the Father‘s (John 16:15; 17:10).

Finally:--

Jesus said, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one cometh unto the Father but by Me (John 14:6).

To all this the reader added, that things like those here said by the Lord about Himself and His Father might also be said by man about himself and his own soul.  Having heard this they all with one voice and one heart declared that the Lord’s Human is Divine, and that this Human must be approached in order to approach the Father, since by means of it Jehovah God sent Himself into the world and made Himself seen before the eyes of men, and thus accessible.  To the ancients in like manner He made Himself visible, and thus accessible in a Human Form; but then through an angel.  But as that form was representative of the Lord who was to come, so with the ancients all things pertaining to the church were representative.

[7] This was followed by a deliberation about the Holy Spirit.  In the first place there was set forth the idea of many respecting God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, namely, that God the Father sits on high with the Son at His right hand, and that the two send forth from themselves the Holy Spirit to enlighten, teach, justify and sanctify mankind.

Then a voice from heaven was heard saying, ”That idea of thought is to us unbearable.  Who does not know that Jehovah God is omnipresent? And whoever knows and acknowledges this must acknowledge that He Himself enlightens, teaches, justifies, and sanctifies; and that there is no mediating God distinct from Him, still less a God distinct from two Gods, as one person from another person.  Therefore have done with the former idea, which is foolish, and let this which is the right idea be accepted, and you will see the matter clearly.“

[8] Then a voice from the Roman Catholics who were standing near the altar of the temple was heard saying, ”What, then, is the Holy Spirit which is mentioned in the Word in the Gospels and in Paul, by which so many learned men of the clergy, especially our own, say they are led?  Who at this day in the Christian world denies the Holy Spirit and its operations?“

At these words one of those sitting on the second row of seats turned about and said, ”You say that the Holy Spirit is a person by Himself and a God by Himself; but what is a person going out of and forth from a person but an operation going out and forth?  One person cannot go out of or forth from another, but operation can.  Or what is a God going out of or proceeding from God, but an outgoing and proceeding Divine? One God cannot go out of or forth from another God, and through still another, but the Divine can go out and forth from one God.“

[9] On hearing these words those sitting on the seats unanimously concluded that the Holy Spirit is not a person by itself, nor thus a God by itself, but is the Holy Divine going out of and forth from the one only and omnipresent God, who is the Lord.

At this the angels who stood near the golden table upon which was the Word said, ”It is well.  Nowhere does one read in the Old Covenant that the prophets spoke the Word from the Holy Spirit, but from Jehovah; and in the new Covenant wherever the Holy Spirit is mentioned it means the Divine going forth, which is the Divine enlightening, teaching, vivifying, reforming, and regenerating.“

[10] After this another discussion about the Holy Spirit followed on this point, From whom does the Divine that is meant by the Holy Spirit go forth, whether from the Father or from the Lord? While they were discussing this subject a light from heaven beamed upon them by which they saw that the Holy Divine, which is meant by the Holy Spirit, does not go forth out of the Father through the Lord, but out of the Lord from the Father, comparatively as man‘s activity goes forth, not from the soul through the body, but out of the body from the soul.

The angel who stood near the table confirmed this by the following passages from the Word:--

He whom God hath sent, speaketh the words of God; for not by measure doth God give the Spirit unto Him. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hand (John 3:34, 35).

And there shall go forth a Shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and the Spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and of understanding; the spirit of counsel and might (Isa. 11:1, 2).

That the Spirit of Jehovah was put upon Him and was in Him (Isa. 42:1; 59:19, 20; 61:1; Luke 4:18).

When the Holy Spirit is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father (John 15:26).

He shall glorify Me, for He shall take of Mine and shall declare it unto you.  All things whatsoever the Father hath are Mine therefore said I that He shall take of Mine and shall declare it unto you (John 16:14, 15).

If I go away I will send the Comforter unto you (John 16:7).

That the Comforter is the Holy Spirit (John 14:26).

The Holy Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified (John 8:39).

But after the glorification:--

Jesus breathed upon the disciples, and said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit (John 20:22).

And in the Apocalypse:--

Who shall not glorify Thy name, O Lord? for Thou alone art holy (Apoc. 15:4).

[11] As the Holy Spirit means the Lord’s Divine operation from His Divine omnipresence, so when He spoke to His disciples about the Holy Spirit whom He would send from the Father He also said:--

I will not leave you orphans. I go away and I come unto you.  And in that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you (John 14:18, 20, 28).

And just before He left the world He said:--

Lo, I am with you all the days, even unto the consummation of the age (Matt. 28:20).

Having read these passages to them the angel said, ”From these and many other passages from the Word it is clear that the Divine which is called the Holy Spirit goes forth out of the Lord from the Father.“

  Hereupon those who sat upon the seats said, ”This is Divine truth.“

[12] Finally the following decree was adopted:-”From the deliberation of this council we have clearly seen and therefore acknowledge as holy truth, that in the Lord God the Saviour Jesus Christ there is a Divine trinity, namely, the Divine from which (a quo), which is called the Father, the Divine Human which is called the Son, and the Divine going forth which is called the Holy Spirit;“ and together they cried out that:--

”In Christ dwelleth all the fulness of Divinity bodily (Col. 2:9).

Thus in the church God is one.“

[13] When this conclusion had been reached in that magnificent council the members arose; and an angel keeper came from the wardrobe bringing to each one of those occupying the seats splendid garments interwoven here and there with golden threads; and he said, ”Accept these wedding garments.“ And they were conducted in glory to the new Christian heaven, with which the Lord‘s church on earth, which is the New Jerusalem, will be conjoined.

True Christian Religion - Containing the Universal Theology of the New Heaven and New Church #185-188
- E. Swedenborg 1688-1772

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