Heaven and Hell #371
371. The reason the divine nature that emanates from the Lord flows primarily into marriage love is that marriage love flows down from the union of the good and the true, for as already noted, it does not matter whether you talk about the union of intellect and volition or the union of the good and the true. The union of the good and the true finds its origin in the Lord's divine love for everyone in the heavens and on earth. Divine good emanates from this divine love, and divine good is accepted by angels and by us in divine truths, truth being the only vessel for the good. So nothing from the Lord and heaven can be accepted by people who are not interested in truth. To the extent that true elements are united to what is good within us, then, we are united to the Lord and heaven. This is the actual source of marriage love, which means that it is the actual matrix for the inflow of the Divine.
This is why the union of the good and the true in the heavens is called the heavenly marriage and why heaven is compared to a marriage in the Word and is even called "a marriage." It is why the Lord is called the Bridegroom and Husband, and heaven and the church are called the bride and wife. 1
Footnotes:
1. [Swedenborg's footnote] True marriage love finds its origin, its means, and its essence in the marriage of what is good and what is true, so it comes from heaven: 2728-2729. About angelic spirits who can tell whether there is a marital quality present from people's concepts of the union of what is good and what is true: 10756. Marriage love precisely parallels the union of what is good and what is true, with some description: 1094 [1904?], 2173, 2429, 2503 [2508?], 3101-3102, 3155, 3179-3180, 4358, 5407 [5807?], 5835, 9206, 9495, 9637. How and for whom the union of what is good and what is true takes place: 3834, 4096-4097, 4301, 4345, 4353, 4364, 4368, 5365, 7623-7627, 9258. Only people who are focused by the Lord on what is good and true know what real marriage love is: 10171. In the Word, a marriage refers to a marriage of what is good and what is true: 3132, 4434, 4834 [4835?]. It is in real marriage love that the kingdom of the Lord and heaven is found: 2737.
