True Christian Religion Containing the universal theology of the new church foretold by the Lord in Daniel 7:13–14 and Revelation 21:1–2 EMANUEL SWEDENBORG Volume 1 (Numbers 1–462) Translated from the Original Latin by John C. Ager STANDARD EDITION SWEDENBORG FOUNDATION West Chester, Pennsylvania © 2009 Swedenborg Foundation This version was compiled from electronic files of the Standard Edition of the Works of Emanuel Swedenborg as further edited by William Ross Woofenden. Pagination of this PDF document does not match that of the corresponding printed volumes, and any page references within this text may not be accurate. However, most if not all of the numerical references herein are not to page numbers but to Swedenborg’s section numbers, which are not affected by changes in pagination. If this work appears both separately and as part of a larger volume file, its pagination follows that of the larger volume in both cases. 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Contents Editor’s Preface The faith of the new heaven and of the new church (1–3) God the Creator (4–80) The unity of God (5–17) The Divine esse, which is Jehovah (18-26) The infinity of God or his immensity and eternity (27–35) The Divine essence, which is Divine love and Divine wisdom (36–48) The omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence of God (49–74) The creation of the universe (75–80) The Lord the Redeemer (81–137) A corollary (109–113) Redemption (114–137) The Holy Spirit and Divine operation (138–188) A corollary (158–162) The Divine trinity (163–188) The Sacred Scripture or Word of the Lord (189–282) 1. The Sacred Scripture or the Word is Divine truth itself (189–192) 2. In the Word there is a spiritual sense hitherto unknown (193–209) 3. The sense of the letter of the Word is the basis, container, and support of its spiritual and celestial sense (210–213) 4. In the sense of the letter of the Word, Divine truth is in its fullness, its holiness, and its power (214–224) 5. The doctrine of the church should be drawn from the sense of the letter of the Word, and confirmed thereby (225–233) 6. By means of the sense of the letter of the Word, there is conjunction with the Lord and affiliation with the angels (234–239) 7. The Word is in all the heavens and angelic wisdom is from it (240–242) 8. The church is from the Word, and with man it is such as his understanding of the Word is (243–247) 9. In every particular of the Word there is a marriage of the Lord and the church, and in consequence a marriage of good and truth (248–253) 10. Heresies may be drawn from the sense of the letter of the Word, but to confirm them is hurtful (254–260) 11. The Lord when in the world fulfilled all things of the Word, and thereby became the Word, that is, a Divine truth even in things last (261–263) 12. Before the Word that is now in the world there was a Word that was lost (264–266) 13. That through the Word there is light also to those who are outside of the church and do not possess the Word (267–272). 14. If there were no Word there would be no knowledge of God, of heaven and hell, or of a life after death, still less of the Lord (273–281) The catechism or Decalogue explained in its external and its internal sense (282–335) In the Israelitish church the Decalogue was holiness itself (283–286) In the sense of the letter the Decalogue contains the general precepts of doctrine and life, but in the spiritual and celestial senses it contains all precepts universally (287–290) The first commandment: “There shall be [with thee] no other god in my presence” (291–296) The second commandment: “Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain; for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that hath taken His name in vain” (297–300) The third commandment: “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy; six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of Jehovah thy God” (301–304) The fourth commandment: “Honor thy father and thy mother; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may be well with thee upon the earth” (303–308) The fifth commandment: “Thou shalt not kill” (309–312) The sixth commandment: “Thou shalt not commit adultery” (313–316) The seventh commandment: “Thou shalt not steal” (317–320) The eighth commandment: “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor” (321–324) The ninth and tenth commandments: “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house; thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s” (325–328) The Ten Commandments of the Decalogue contain all things that belong to love to God, and all things that belong to love toward the neighbor (329–331) Faith (336–391) 1. Saving faith is faith in the Lord God the savior, Jesus Christ (337–339) 2. The sum of faith is that a person who lives well and believes rightly is saved by the Lord (340–342) 3. Man acquires faith by going to the Lord, learning truths from the Word, and living according to them (343–348) 4. An abundance of truths cohering, as if in a bundle, exalts and perfects faith (349–354) 5. Faith without charity is not faith, and charity without faith is not charity, and neither has life except from the Lord (355–361) 6. The Lord, charity, and faith make one, like life, will, and understanding in man; and if they are divided, each perishes like a pearl reduced to powder (362–367) 7. The Lord is charity and faith in man, and man is charity and faith in the Lord (368–372) 8. Charity and faith are together in good works (373–377) 9. There is true faith, spurious faith, and hypocritical faith (378–381) 10. With the evil there is no faith (382–391) Charity, or love to the neighbor, and good works (392–462) 1. There are three universal loves—the love of heaven, the love of the world, and the love of self (394–402) 2. These three loves, when rightly subordinated, perfect man; but when not rightly subordinated they pervert and invert him (403–405) 3. Every man individually is the neighbor who is to be loved, but according to the quality of his good (406–411) 4. Man collectively, which is one’s community, great or small, and as a group of communities, which is one’s country, is the neighbor who is to be loved (412–414) 5. The church is the neighbor who is to be loved in a still higher degree, and the Lord’s kingdom in the highest degree (415–416) 6. To love the neighbor, viewed in itself, is not to love the person, but the good that is in the person (417–419) 7. Charity and good works are two distinct things, like willing well and doing well (420–421) 8. Charity itself is acting justly and faithfully in the office, business, and employment in which a man is engaged, and with those with whom he has any dealings (422–424) 9. The benefactions of charity are giving to the poor and relieving the needy, but with prudence (425–428) 10. There are duties of charity, some public, some domestic, and some private (429–432) 11. The diversions of charity are dinners, suppers, and social gatherings (433–434) 12. The first thing of charity is to put away evils; and the second is to do goods that are of use to the neighbor (435–438) 13. In the exercises of charity man does not place merit in works so long as he believes that all good is from the Lord (439–442) 14. When moral life is at the same time spiritual, it is charity (443–445) 15. A friendship of love, contracted with a man without regard to his spiritual quality, is detrimental after death (446–449) 16. There is spurious charity, hypocritical charity, and dead charity (450–453) 17. The friendship of love among the evil is intestine hatred of each other (454–455) 18. The conjunction of love to God and love toward the neighbor (456–462) TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION 1 Editor’s Preface This last work of Swedenborg, True Christian Religion, was completed in 1770 but was not published until the following year. Its subtitle reads: “containing the complete theology of the new church as foretold by the Lord in Daniel 7:13–14 and in Revelation 21:2–3.” When he published Conjugial Love in 1768, Swedenborg announced on the last page that “within two years you will see the doctrine of the new church predicted by the Lord in Revelation 21–22 in fullness.” However, the next year, in 1769, when he published his Brief Exposition of the Doctrine of the New Church, he stated in the opening paragraph, “I have come to a determination to bring to light the entire doctrine of that [new] church in its fullness. But as this is a work of some years, I have thought it advisable to draw up some sketch thereof, in order that a general idea may first be formed of that church and its doctrine . . .” Having said that, he did in fact complete the summary work the next year and published it in 1771. He died in 1772. Numerous passages throughout the book were adapted from Swedenborg’s previously published books, particularly accounts of his experiences in the spiritual world, which are generally known as memorabilia or memorable relations. The first English translation of this work was by John Clowes and was published in London in 1781. The first English edition published by the Swedenborg Foundation, based on several British translations and revisions, appeared in 1868. This was replaced in the Standard Edition in 1906 by the translation of John C. Ager. The text for this present edition was electronically scanned from that version. This process has allowed the book to be completely redesigned and set in a new and more readable typeface. Certain stylistic changes have also been introduced. These include modernized spelling and punctuation as well as substituting new words for terms whose meanings have become obscure or have changed since the nineteenth century. TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION 2 Arabic numerals have replaced roman numerals in Bible passages, and certain capitalized words including pronouns referring to God have been lowercased to reflect contemporary usage. All these changes have been carefully made in order to make the book easier to read and use, while preserving the dignity and power of the original Latin. On the whole, however, the Ager translation has not been materially altered. As was the custom in his day, Swedenborg referred to the Psalms as the book of David, and to the Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) as the books of Moses. As with previous printings, the bold numerals in brackets, [2], [3], etc., indicate divisions of Swedenborg’s long numbered sections, made for the convenience of the reader by John Faulkner Potts in his six-volume Swedenborg Concordance (London: Swedenborg Society, 1888–1902). William Ross Woofenden Sharon, Massachusetts