From Swedenborg's Works

 

The Lord #2

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2. We can see clearly that the specific Word meant here is the Word made known through Moses, the prophets, and the evangelists, since this is the actual divine truth from which angels get all their wisdom and from which we get our spiritual intelligence. In fact, angels in the heavens have the very same Word that we have in the world, though for us in the world it is earthly, while in the heavens it is spiritual. Further, since it is divine truth, the Word is also something divine that is emanating, and this is not only from the Lord but is the Lord himself.

Since it is the Lord himself, absolutely everything written in the Word is about the Lord alone. From Isaiah to Malachi every detail has to do with the Lord, either directly or in an opposite, negative sense.

No one has seen this before, but anyone who knows this and thinks of it can see it while reading, especially given the knowledge that in the Word there is not only an earthly meaning but a spiritual one as well; and that in this latter meaning the names of persons and places are used to mean something about the Lord and therefore something about heaven and the church that come from him-or something opposed to the Lord.

Since absolutely everything in the Word is about the Lord, and since the Word is the Lord because it is divine truth, we can see why it says “The Word became flesh and lived among us; and we saw his glory” [John 1:14]. We can also see why it says “While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of the light. I have come into the world as a light; anyone who believes in me will not remain in darkness” [John 12:36, 46]. “Light” is divine truth and therefore the Word.

For this reason, even nowadays anyone who turns to the Lord alone while reading the Word and who prays to him will find enlightenment in it.

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

The Bible

 

John 1:1-3

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1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 The same was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

  

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #3643

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3643. I have noticed that those in heaven dwell beneath a clear, bright sky like that of morning and midday, extending also towards evening, and likewise in a warmth like that of spring, summer, and autumn. But those in hell dwell under a dim, cloudy, and darkened sky, and also in the cold [of winter]. I have noticed that between the two in general a balance is kept; also that insofar as love, charity, and consequently faith are present in angels, they dwell under a clear sky and in the warmth of spring, and that insofar as hatred and consequently falsity are present in those in hell they dwell in thick darkness and in coldness. And as stated above, the light in the next life holds intelligence within it, the warmth love within it, while thick darkness holds insanity within it, and cold hatred within it.

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