Heaven Revealed/Chapter 10
X.
PRACTICAL TENDENCY OF THIS DISCLOSURE.
GRANT that what Swedenborg tells us about the Sun in the angelic heavens be true, what then? Is the disclosure one of any practical value? Is it calculated to improve the character of those who accept it, or to quicken their endeavors after righteousness? For if it can be shown that the legitimate tendency of any revealed fact or law is good and wholesome, that it furnishes food or stimulus to the better part of our nature, and tends to exalt and ennoble the character of the believer, that is the strongest possible evidence of its truth. But if, on the other hand, its obvious tendency is pernicious—if it is calculated to exert a debasing influence on the character, you can have no stronger evidence that the alleged revelation is false. "For every tree is known by his own fruit; for of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes." (Luke vi. 44.) No more can the fruits of righteousness be the legitimate product of false teaching or a spurious revelation. By its obvious practical tendency, you may know whether the alleged revelation be true or false. Let us apply this test to Swedenborg's disclosures concern the spiritual Sun.
It was said in the last chapter, and shown by extracts from the seer's writings, that the spiritual Sun does not appear the same to all the angels. Its appearance is always in correspondence with the state of the beholder. To those of the highest heaven, who receive the light of divine wisdom and the warmth of divine love in largest measure, the Lord appears most glorious even to their external vision, He appears as a sun warm and bright according to their internal reception of his light and life. To those of a lower heaven who receive his love and wisdom in an inferior degree, He appears less glorious—comparatively as a moon. While to those not in heaven, whose lives are not in harmony with its laws, and in whose hearts is none of God's unselfish love, but the supreme love of self instead, the sun of heaven does not appear at all. Their state is, therefore, one of comparative cold, darkness and night. Hence the meaning of that "outer darkness" into which the wicked are said to be cast; for they have shut the door of their souls against the Sun of righteousness, and therefore the myriads of interesting and beautiful things which that Sun reveals to the angels, are invisible to them.
Now the different angelic heavens are, neither more nor less than different states of human life—all good, but some superior to others. And so, too, the different kinds and degrees of evil in the wicked, are what necessitate the different hells. The higher states of angelic life, are such as are in accord with the higher laws of the soul, or with the truths of the spiritual and celestial senses of the Word.
And every man, when he passes into the spiritual world, takes his own character with him. He goes there precisely the same individual that he was internally while living in the flesh. His inner and spiritual life as to all its predominant characteristics, remains. And the process of forming this inner life, is a process of clarifying or obscuring the spiritual vision—of improving or impairing the soul's eyesight. It is a process by which we become qualified to enjoy the blessed light and warmth of the Sun of heaven, or incapacitated for beholding his face and rejoicing in his kindling beams.
Note what this process is, or the manner of its procedure. As to our spirits we are always in the spiritual world, though at present unconscious of the fact. And every law of the spirit's life—every ray of spiritual truth that we receive—is a beam from the spiritual Sun. And as we obey the truth we have learned, we come to experience a positive delight in it. The vital element in truth is the Lord's love, and it is this which causes the delight. By religious obedience to the truth, our hearts become warmed and expanded and more and more receptive of this vital element; the range of our spiritual vision is extended, and we become receptive of more and still higher truth. With every act of self-denial prompted by religious principle, there comes as a rich reward an increased desire for more and higher truth, and an increased capacity for receiving it. And so by religiously living the truth, we come more and more into the light and love and joy of it. As saith the Lord: "He that doeth truth cometh to the light."
In this and in no other way can our souls be prepared for the light by which the angels see. If we seek and love and reverently follow the light of heavenly truth while here on earth, we shall be prepared to rejoice in the glad beams of heaven's Sun when we enter the other world. But if, on the contrary, we care nothing about it, take no delight in it, turn our thoughts away from it, and walk not according to it, we shall gradually incapacitate ourselves for receiving it. Every infringement of known spiritual laws, is an injury to the soul's eyesight. And if disobedience or neglect be persisted in, we shall be unable to bear the light of the spiritual Sun in the great Hereafter. We shall hate and flee from it, and choose instead the "outer darkness," as owls and bats shun the light of day, and prefer instead the shades of night. Agreeable to the Lord's own words: "He that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." And what darkness is so dreadful as that which results from the loss of the moral or spiritual eyesight!—the loss of all desire for the true light, and even of the capacity to receive or apprehend it! "If, therefore, the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!" saith the Lord.
Thus the practical tendency of this disclosure is seen to be good and wholesome. For it teaches that our spiritual vision while we are yet in the flesh, is becoming dimmed or clarified according to our degree of affection for the truth and our fidelity in obeying its behests. And it warns us not to forget or transgress the Divine commands, under penalty of dimming or destroying our spirit's eyesight, and thus preparing ourselves for the "outer darkness." Its tendency therefore is, to make us watchful against the indulgence of any known evil, and to stimulate our desire to learn and practice the laws of the heavenly life; for it is in this way only that we can become qualified to behold and rejoice in the beams of heaven's bright Sun.
Then see how this disclosure concerning the nature of heavenly light and heat, helps us in the interpretation of the Bible; for there is, as we should expect, an intimate connection between the spiritual sense of the Word as revealed through Swedenborg, and his disclosures concerning the spiritual world.
In its natural or literal sense the Bible appears to treat much of natural things;—of the earth and clouds, winds and waters; of rocks, trees and mountains—sun, moon and stars. And it was once regarded as the very highest authority in settling questions of natural science. But latterly a great change in this respect has come over the mind of Christendom. Many of the beliefs prevalent in the days of Galileo, have been discarded by every religious sect. Many of the deepest thinkers of our day have reached the conclusion that the Bible was never meant to teach us about natural but only about spiritual things; that, rightly understood, it will be found to treat exclusively of God, the soul and things belonging to the soul's appropriate realm; that it is, and was meant to be, a revelation not of natural but of spiritual truth—truth suited to the wants of our higher nature, and is therefore to be spiritually interpreted. And when it speaks in the letter of things belonging to the natural realm, in its higher and true sense it speaks of the corresponding things within or above nature—things in the realm of spirit.
For example: When the Bible speaks of man, it means the inner and real man—not the material and perishable, but the spiritual and immortal part. When it speaks of the resurrection, it means the resurrection not of the material body, but of the spiritual—the real individual temporarily enshrined in matter. When it speaks of a second birth, it refers not to a natural or carnal birth, but to the birth of the soul into the kingdom of heaven. When it speaks of heaven and hell, it means no natural localities such as are referred to by these terms taken in their natural sense, but certain states of the soul—one, exalted and blissful, the other, degraded and miserable. When it speaks of the coming of the Lord, it means no outward coming cognizable by the eye of sense, but an inward and spiritual coming—a coming of his own truth and love to the understandings and hearts of men. When it speaks of light and heat, it means truth and love which are spiritual light and heat to which the natural correspond.
If, then, it be true, as the deepest thinkers are everywhere beginning to see and acknowledge, that the Bible was not given to teach us natural but spiritual truth, it is clear enough that it must be spiritually interpreted. Accordingly when it speaks of the sun and of light, we are to understand that, in its higher and true sense, the spiritual Sun and spiritual light are what is meant. Take a few texts for illustration. Can any one doubt that spiritual light, or divine truth which illumines the understanding, is what is meant in passages like the following?
"Jesus said. I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." "Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you." "While ye have the light believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light." "I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth in me should not abide in darkness." "Light is come into the world, but men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil." "He [the incarnate Word] was the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." "God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all."
Yes: The light of divine truth which is spiritual, is what enlightens the souls of men while they tabernacle in the flesh. But it cannot enlighten those who, because of their evil loves and their unwillingness to see and abandon them, shut their eyes against it. "For every one that doeth evil, hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved."
But spiritual light must emanate from a spiritual luminary, as surely as natural light must come from some natural luminary. And what can that luminary be but the Lord Himself who is the enlightener of all minds, and who, we are assured by Swedenborg, appears before the eyes of the angels in greater or less brilliancy according to their states of receptivity of his wisdom and love—his appearance being in exact correspondence with the states of the beholders. To the highest angels whose love is purest and most ardent. He appears as a sun of indescribable brilliancy; and to those in lower states, or whose love is less intense. He appears comparatively as a moon. Therefore when the Bible speaks of the sun and moon, we are to think of something above the natural luminaries so named—of the spiritual sun and moon to which the natural correspond.
This will help us to understand the meaning of a passage of Scripture which, being literally interpreted, has been the occasion of considerable excitement and alarm at different periods of the church. We refer to that in Matthew (ch. xxiv.—repeated in Mark xiii. and Luke xxi.), where, after foretelling the fearful trials—the wars, famines, pestilences, etc. (all spiritual, according to the true interpretation), which the church would be called to encounter before the Lord's second appearing, it is added, as if this were the last crowning event in the grand drama: "Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven. . . And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven."
Christians have generally given to this prophetic announcement a sensuous interpretation. But here as everywhere else in his Word, the Lord refers to spiritual things. He is speaking not of the natural sun, moon, and stars, but of the spiritual things to which these natural luminaries correspond. And since we are, as to our spirits, now and always in the spiritual world, therefore we are ever under the influence of the spiritual Sun. We receive from it all our spiritual light and warmth. But its light does not appear to our outward sense as light (as it does to the eyes of angels), but manifests itself by a certain internal illumination—that kind of enlightenment which spiritual truth, when received, furnishes to the understanding. Nor is its heat sensibly perceived by us as heat, but manifests itself by a certain warmth of feeling, or a kindling in the heart of the emotion of love—love of whatever is just, sincere, good and true. Thus do the beams of the spiritual Sun reach and affect the spirits of people yet in the flesh. But when may that Sun be said to be darkened?
The natural sun always shines with undiminished splendor. Yet he undergoes apparent changes. Sometimes he is wholly or partially eclipsed. Sometimes he is obscured by the vapor and smoke in the earth's atmosphere. He sinks beneath the horizon, and his face is hidden from our view. And in familiar language all such changes are predicated of the sun itself. When suffering an eclipse, we say the sun is darkened. Seen through mist, dust, or smoke, we say the sun is pale, dim, or red. When his face appears in the east, we say he is rising; and when, again, he approaches the western horizon, we say he is going down. All such language, we know, expresses not the absolute but only the apparent truth. For the sun itself does not change. His apparent changes in respect to light, heat, and diurnal motion, are all caused by our atmospheric conditions and contents, and the motion of the earth on its axis.
Carrying this thought along with us (and it is one of great importance to every Bible student), we can understand why changes are predicated of the spiritual Sun (the Lord), when in strictness of language that Sun is unchangeable. We can see that all apparent changes in Him are purely subjective—caused by changes in the states of recipient subjects. To the angels of the highest heaven the Lord appears as a sun, because they receive his love in the greatest fulness—his appearance being in correspondence with their state of life. Therefore when the principle of charity or true neighborly love ceases to be living and operative in the church, then, in relation to the church, the Sun of heaven is darkened.
And to the angels of a lower heaven who receive the Lord's love in an inferior degree, but yet are in the truths of faith, He appears comparatively as a moon. Accordingly when the Word is misunderstood and falsified by the church, when faith is in eclipse and falsities are taught and accepted for truths, then, in relation to the church, the moon does not give her light. And when the knowledges of genuine good and truth have so far faded out from the minds of professing Christians that they no longer know what spiritual good and spiritual truth are, then, in relation to the church, the stars have fallen from heaven.
Now look at Christendom as it was prior to the memorable year 1757. Its character stands recorded on the page of history. Look at it—and what do we see? That celestial principle of love to the Lord and the neighbor which shone conspicuously in the early days of the church, making her members of one heart and mind and binding them all together in the bonds of a beautiful brotherhood—that principle had died out or departed from the church. And there was no vital faith in the divinity of the Lord, the divinity of the Word, or in a life after death. The Scripture had become falsified on every fundamental doctrine, and spiritual darkness brooded over all Christendom. Even the knowledges of spiritual good and truth were lost to the great body of the church. As fixed and guiding principles they were no more. They had fallen from their heavenly places in men's minds. And thus was fulfilled in relation to the church—really and perfectly fulfilled according to its spiritual and true meaning—this prophetic declaration: "The sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven."
But at this juncture—amid the general darkness that enveloped the church—amid the clouds of ignorance and error and doubt and denial which had extinguished in the minds of nominal Christians all the heavenly luminaries, a glorious light breaks forth to rejoice and save a sinking world. From within or above the cloud of the letter—out from the living soul of Scripture—out from that world where angels dwell, long clouded and obscured, the spiritual Sun pours kindling beams on a benighted church. And thus the Lord of life appears all glorious in the clouds, agreeable to his own prophetic declaration: "And then shall ye see the Son of Man coming in the clouds, with power and great glory."
And mark the signs of this Second Coming—the consequences of this newly risen Sun. Mark how its piercing beams are dispelling the old darkness!—how they have already pervaded with their light and life nearly every department of human thought! Under their quickening influence the human intellect has everywhere burst its old swathing-bands, and leaped forth with unprecedented vigor. And on the natural plane what a magnificent harvest already begins to wave! Science, literature, philosophy, art, industry, politics, morals and religion have all begun to feel the influence of the Second Coming. Old things are everywhere passing away, and all things are being made new. All the forms of human thought prevalent a century ago, are changed or changing. Old religious dogmas, old systems of philosophy, old forms of government, old methods of education, old theories of medicine, old industrial processes, old ideas on all subjects, are being continually summoned to judgment. And one by one they are beginning to retire before the waxing light of truth, as creatures of the night retire before the opening day. In the general enlightenment and progress of mankind during the last hundred years, on the natural plane of thought and action, do we not witness something like a fulfillment of the prophecy? "For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be."
We thus see that the great Swede's disclosure concerning light and heat in heaven, and their origin, while perfectly reasonable in itself, accords well with the teachings of Scripture, is most beneficent in its practical tendency, and helps us to a truer and more rational interpretation of some portions of the written Word. Candid and thoughtful minds will not reject the concurrent testimony of all these witnesses.