Apocalypse Explained, volume 1 - Swedenborg Foundation

APOCALYPSE EXPLAINED 13192. In the preceding pages it has been told what is meant by the“seven churches” and by the “angels” thereof; namely, by the “sevenchurches” all who are in truths from good, and by the “sevenangels” all in heaven that correspond to them (see n. 20, 90); andsince heaven and the church make one by correspondence, it is saidin what follows, “To the angel of the church, write,” and not,Write to the church. It is so said for this reason also, that theremust be correspondence in order that the church may be a churchwith man; if there were no correspondence, there would be nocommunication of heaven, thus no heaven, with man; and ifheaven were not with him neither would the church be with him.(See Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 241–248. What thecorrespondence of the man of the church with heaven is, cannot betold in a few words, but whoever desires may be taught what it is inwhat is said and shown in Heaven and Hell, n. 87–115 and291–310.) In a word, there is correspondence when man hasbecomes spiritual, and man becomes spiritual when heacknowledges the Divine and especially the Lord, and loves to liveaccording to the precepts in the Word, for when he does this he isconjoined with heaven; and then the spiritual corresponds with thenatural which is with him. I am aware that to many these thingsmay seem to exceed their comprehension; but the reason is that it isnot the delight of their love to know them; if it were the delight oftheir love, not only would they perceive them clearly, but theywould also be eager to know much more of such things; for a mandesires what he loves, and what he loves is his delight; moreover,whatever is loved enters both with joy and with light into the ideaof the mind.93. The angel of the Ephesian church is the first here written to;and by the angel of that church all those in the church are meantwho are in the knowledges of truth and good, thus in theknowledges of such things as are of heaven and of the church, andwho still are not, or not yet, in a life according to them. By theseknowledges are especially meant doctrinals; but doctrinals alone, orthe knowledges of truth and good alone, do not make a manspiritual, but a life according to them; for doctrinals or knowledgeswithout a life according to them abide only in the memory andthence in the thought, and all things that abide there only, abide in