Angelic Wisdom about Divine ProvidenceSwedenborg, Emanuel
Religion
Angelic Wisdom about Divine Providence
Swedenborg, Emanuel
Providence and government of God -- Christianity
[3] Let me add to this an experience which is common in the spiritual
world. One spirit can infuse his thoughts and affections into another,
and the other not know that it is not his own thinking and affection.
This is called in that world thinking from and in another. I have
witnessed it a thousand times and also done it a hundred times; and it
seemed to occur at a considerable distance. As soon as the spirits
learned that another was introducing the thoughts and affections, they
were indignant and turned away, recognizing then, however, that to the
internal thought or sight no distance is apparent unless it is disclosed,
as it may be, to the external sight or the eye; as a result it is
believed that there is influx.
[4] I will add to this experience an everyday experience of mine. Evil
spirits have often put into my thoughts evils and falsities which seemed
to me to be in me and to originate from me, or seemed to be my own
thought. Knowing them to be evils and falsities, I searched out the
spirits who had introduced them, and they were detected and driven off.
They were at a great distance from me.
It may be manifest from these things that all evil with its falsity flows
in from hell and all good with its truth flows in from the Lord, and that
both appear to be in man.
313. The nature of men who are in prudence of their own, and the nature
of those in prudence not their own and hence in the divine providence, is
depicted in the Word by Adam and his wife Eve in the Garden of Eden where
were two trees, one of life and the other of the knowledge of good and
evil, and by their eating of the latter tree. It may be seen above (n.
241) that in the internal or spiritual sense of the Word by Adam and Eve,
his wife, the Most Ancient Church of the Lord on this earth is meant and
described, which was more noble and heavenly than subsequent churches.
[2] Following is what is signified by other particulars. The wisdom of
the men of that church is signified by the Garden of Eden; the Lord in
respect to divine providence is signified by the tree of life, and man in
respect to his own prudence is meant by the tree of knowledge; his
sensuous life and his proprium, which in itself is self-love and pride in
one's own intelligence, and thus is the devil and satan, is signified by
the serpent; and the appropriation of good and truth with the thought
that they are not from the Lord and are not the Lord's, but are from man
and are his, is signified by eating of the tree of knowledge. Inasmuch as
good and truth are what is divine with man (for everything of love is
meant by good, and everything of wisdom by truth), if man claims them as
his, he cannot but believe that he is as God. Therefore the serpent said:
In the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be as
God, knowing good and evil (Ge 3:5).
So do those in hell believe, who are in self-love and thence in the pride
of their own intelligence.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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