Apocalypse Explained, volume 1 - Swedenborg Foundation

APOCALYPSE EXPLAINED 247from the Lord; and turning oneself backwards from the Lord isturning towards hell. (That all in the spiritual world turnthemselves to their own loves, see Heaven and Hell, n. 17, 123,142–145, 151, 153, 255, 272, 510, 548, 552, 561.)[3] All who lived in ancient times and worshiped the Divine sawthe Divine in thought under the human form, and hardly anyonethought of an invisible Divine; and the Divine under the humanform was even then the Divine human. But as this Divine humanwas the Divine of the Lord in the heavens and passing through theheavens, when at length heaven became enfeebled, because men, ofwhom heaven is made up, from internal successively becameexternal and thus natural, therefore it pleased the Divine itself toput on a human, and to glorify it, or make it Divine, that thusfrom himself he might affect all, both those who are in the spiritualworld and those who are in the natural world, and might save thosewho acknowledge and worship his Divine in the human.[4] This is clearly stated in many passages in the Old Testamentprophets, as well as in the evangelists; of these I will cite only thefollowing in John:In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, andGod was the Word. All things were made through him, and withouthim was not anything made that hath been made. In him was life; andthe life was the light of men. And that light shineth in the darkness; andthe darkness apprehended it not. It was the true light, which lightethevery man coming into the world. He was in the world, but the worldacknowledged him not. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt amongus, and we beheld his glory (John 1:1–14).It is plainly evident that the Lord in respect to the human is heremeant by “the Word,” for it is said, “the Word became flesh, anddwelt among us, and we beheld his glory.” It is also evident that theLord made his human to be Divine, for it is said, “the Word waswith God and God was the Word, and this became flesh,” that is, aman. And since all Divine truth proceeds from the Lord’s Divinehuman, and this is his Divine in the heavens, therefore by “theWord” is also signified Divine truth; and thence he is said to be“the light which lighteth every man coming into the world.”