Heaven and Hell #287

By Emanuel Swedenborg

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287. Because these are the origins of peace, the Lord is called the Prince of Peace and says that peace comes from him and that peace is in him. So too angels are called angels of peace and heaven the dwelling place of peace, as in the following passages:

A child is born to us, a son is given to us, on whose shoulder the government [shall rest], and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, God, Hero, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace; of the increase of government and peace there shall be no end. (Isaiah 9:5-6 9:6-7)

Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you, not as the world gives do I give to you." (John 14:27)

I have told you these things so that you might have peace in me. (John 16:33)

May Jehovah lift his face to you and give you peace. (Numbers 6:26)

The angels of peace weep bitterly, the highways are ruined. (Isaiah 33:7-8)

The work of justice will be peace, and my people will live in a dwelling place of peace. (Isaiah 32:17-18)

[2] We may also gather that "peace" in the Word means divine and heavenly peace from other passages where it is mentioned, as for example in Isaiah 52:7; 54:10; 59:8; Jeremiah 16:5; 25:37; 29:11; Haggai 2:9; Zechariah 8:12; Psalms 37:37; and elsewhere.

Because peace means the Lord and heaven and also heavenly joy and the delight of good, greetings in ancient times were - and consequently still are-"Peace be with you." The Lord confirmed this, too, when he sent out his disciples and told them, "When you enter a house, first say 'Peace be upon this house'; and if a child of peace is there, let your peace rest upon it" (Luke 10:5-6). Further, the Lord himself said "Peace be with you" when he appeared to the apostles (John 20:19, 21, 26).

[3] A state of peace is also meant in the Word when it says that "Jehovah smelled an odor of quietness," as in Exodus 29:18, 25, 41; Leviticus 1:9, 13, 17, 2:2, 9, 6:8, 14 6:15, 21?; Leviticus 23:12-13, 18; Numbers 15:3, 7, 13, 28:6, 8, 13, 29:2, 6, 8, 13, 36. "An odor of quietness," in the heavenly sense, means a perception of peace. 1

Since peace means the oneness of the Divine itself and the divine human in the Lord and the union of the Lord with heaven and with the church and with everyone in heaven, and also with everyone in the church who accepts him, the Sabbath was instituted as a reminder of these matters and was named for quietness and peace. It became the holiest symbol of the church, which is why the Lord called himself the Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:8; Mark 2:27-28; Luke 6:5). 2

Footnotes:

1. [Swedenborg's footnote] An odor in the Word means a perception of something pleasant or unpleasant, depending on the quality of the love and faith of the entity described: 3577, 4626, 4628, 4748, 5021 [5621?], 10292. An odor of quietness, in relation to Jehovah, means a perception of peace: 925, 10054. So frankincense, various kinds of incense, and the fragrances in oils and salves came to be representative: 925, 4748, 5621, 10177.

2. [Swedenborg's footnote] In the highest sense, the Sabbath means the oneness of the Divine itself with the divine human in the Lord; and in the inner sense the union of the Lord's divine human with heaven and the church. In a general sense it means the union of the good and the true and therefore the heavenly marriage: 8495, 10356, 10730. So the rest on the Sabbath day meant the state of that oneness, because then the Lord has rest, through which peace and salvation come to the heavens and to earth; and in a relative sense it means the union of the Lord with us, because then we have peace and salvation: 8494, 8510, 10360, 10367, 10370, 10374, 10668, 10730.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for the permission to use this translation.