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Memorable Occurrences in Swedenborg's Writings

This list of Memorable Occurrences in Swedenborg's Writings was originally compiled by W. C. Henderson in 1960 but has since been updated.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture #90

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90. Because we are dealing here with the Divinity and holiness of the Word, to what we have already said let me add a relevant narrative account.

I was once sent a little piece of paper from heaven with Hebrew letters on it, but letters written as they were among the ancient people. Today the letters are to some extent formed with straight lines, but among the most ancient peoples they were then rounded and had little hornlike strokes projecting upward. Angels who were with me then said they knew whole meanings from the letters alone, and that they knew the meanings chiefly from the curves of the lines and points of a letter. They then explained what some letters signified separately, and what in combination, saying that he (h), which was added to the names of Abram and Sarai, symbolized infinity and eternity.

The angels explained for me, moreover, the meaning of the Word in Psalms 32:2 from just the letters or syllables alone, the gist of their meaning being that the Lord is merciful also to those who do evil.

[2] They informed me that writing in the third heaven consists of no straight letters, but of letters variously curved, each of which has a meaning, and that the vowel points there serve to indicate the part of the pronunciation which corresponds to affection; that in that heaven they cannot pronounce the vowels i and e, but instead say y or eu; and they do use the vowels a, o, and u, because these vowels have a full sound. They also said they do not pronounce any of the consonants as hard, but as soft. This, they said, is the reason some Hebrew letters have a dot placed within them, to indicate [that they are pronounced as hard, but without a dot] that they are pronounced with a soft sound, saying that hardness in consonants is employed in the spiritual heaven, because there they are concerned with truths, and truth is capable of hardness, unlike the goodness that prompts angels of the celestial kingdom or third heaven.

They said, too, that the Word they have is written with curved letters having symbolic little hornlike projections and points.

It was apparent from this what is meant by the Lord’s saying, “Not one jot or one tittle will pass from the law till all is fulfilled, ” (Matthew 5:18). And, “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one point of the law to fail” (Luke 16:17).

  
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Thanks to the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and to Rev. N.B. Rogers, translator, for the permission to use this translation.

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Conjugial Love #381

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381. The second account:

When I once looked about into the world of spirits, I saw at a distance a palace, surrounded and seemingly besieged by a crowd of people. And I also saw many others running towards it. Wondering at this, I quickly arose from my house and asked one of those running what was happening. He replied that three newcomers from the world had been taken up into heaven and had seen magnificent things there, including maidens and wives of astonishing beauty. Having been let down from that heaven, they had now entered the palace over there and were recounting what they had seen, especially that they had found women of such beauty, the like of which their listeners' eyes had never seen, and which they could not see unless illumined by the light of the heavenly atmosphere. They said in regard to themselves that they had been lecturers in the world, from the kingdom of France, that they had cultivated a facility in the art of speaking, and that they were now overcome with a desire to speak about the origin of beauty. Because this was made known in the surrounding area, the multitude flocked in to hear them.

Hearing this, I, too, hastened and went in; and I saw the three men standing in the center, dressed in sapphire-colored gowns, which, being inwoven with threads of gold, shone as though golden at their every turn. They stood behind a kind of pulpit, in readiness to speak; and presently one of them rose up on the step behind the pulpit to give his lecture on the origin of the beauty of the feminine sex, in which he presented the following:

  
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Many thanks to the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and to Rev. N.B. Rogers, translator, for the permission to use this translation.

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