Dr. Beyer sent immediately for Swedenborg’s writings, and soon became deeply engrossed in their study. In order to arrange their subjects more distinctly in his mind, he set about compiling an Index to them; which as he prepared it, he sent, sheet by sheet, to Amsterdam to be printed. He was thirteen years in compiling the work, and on the day he sent off the last sheet corrected, he sickened, took to his bed, and in a few days departed to the spiritual world. The result of Dr. Beyer’s study of Swedenborg’s writings, was a firm belief in their doctrines, and an open and enlightened advocacy of them, declaring in the public Consistory his full assent to them. As might naturally be expected, he suffered much obloquy and persecution for his adherence to the truth; but he was consoled in having the firm friendship of Swedenborg, and in being favored with receiving from him many letters, sympathizing with him in his trials, and answering many of his questions on doctrinal and psychological matters. Swedenborg did not make a long stay in England; but after a few weeks, or perhaps months, proceeded to Holland, spending the winter of 1765-66 at Amsterdam. There, in the spring of 1766, he republished (it is supposed by the solicitation of friends,) his youthful work on a “New Method of Finding the Longitudes.” “This method,” as he informed the Swedish Archbishop, Menander, “of calculating the ephemerides by pairs of stars, several persons in foreign countries were then employing, who had experienced great advantage by the observations made according to it for a series of years.” From the time of the completion of the Arcana Cœlestia, in 1756, Swedenborg had been gradually composing an extensive work on the Apocalypse. The exposition was continued as far as the tenth verse of the nineteenth chapter, filling four large quarto volumes. He then laid the work aside—thinking, probably, that it was too voluminous and elaborate—and commenced anew, but on a considerably reduced scale. The former Exposition, a clearly written manuscript, ready for the printer, after sustaining a narrow escape from burning, (the house of a gentleman who had it for perusal having caught fire,) was published in the original Latin, in four quarto volumes, in 1790, eighteen years after the author’s death. It was translated into English and printed in six octavos, under the title of the Apocalypse Explained, in 1815. It is a most valuable work, and one that could not well be spared from the Swedenborg Library. Within its pages are several distinct treatises on very important subjects, which, if extracted, would form complete and excellent books of themselves. The exposition of the spiritual sense of the text is very copiously illustrated by parallel passages from other parts of the Word; and thus it must ever be a most useful work to the New Church preacher, as affording him a ready key to the internal sense of the Scriptures.