Arcana Coelestia volume 1 - Swedenborg Foundation

ARCANA COELESTIA 46faith toward the Lord. The certainty of this fact I can affirm,having been now for some years (notwithstanding my remaining inthe body) associated with spirits in the other life, even with theworst of them, and I have sometimes been surrounded bythousands, to whom it was permitted to spit forth their venom, andinfest me by all possible methods, yet without their being able tohurt a single hair of my head, so secure was I under the Lord’sprotection. From so many years’ experience I have been thoroughlyinstructed concerning the world of spirits and its nature, as well asconcerning the combat which those being regenerated must needsendure, in order to attain the happiness of eternal life. But as noone can be so well instructed in such subjects by a generaldescription as to believe them with an undoubting faith, theparticulars of the Lord’s Divine mercy will be related in thefollowing pages.60. Verse 31. And God saw everything that he had made, andbehold it was very good. And the evening and the morning were thesixth day. This state is called “very good,” the former ones beingmerely called “good”; because now the things which are of faithmake a one with those which are of love, and thus a marriage iseffected between spiritual things and celestial things.61. All things relating to the knowledges of faith are calledspiritual, and all that are of love to the Lord and our neighbor arecalled celestial; the former belong to man’s understanding, and thelatter to his will.62. The times and states of man’s regeneration in general and inparticular are divided into six, and are called the days of hiscreation; for, by degrees, from being not a man at all, he becomes atfirst something of one, and so by little and little attains to the sixthday, in which he becomes an image of God.63. Meanwhile the Lord continually fights for him against evilsand falsities, and by combats confirms him in truth and good. Thetime of combat is the time of the Lord’s working; and therefore inthe prophets the regenerate man is called the work of the fingers of