that the Lord manifested Himself to me His servant, and sent me to this office; and that afterwards He opened the sight of my spirit, and so intromitted me into the spiritual world, and has granted me to see the heavens and the hells, and also to converse with angels and spirits, and this now continually for many years; likewise that from the first day of that calling I have not received anything whatever relating to the doctrines of that church from any angel, but from the Lord alone, while I was reading the Word.
To the end that the Lord might continually be present, He has opened to me the spiritual sense of His Word, in which Divine Truth is in its light. And in this light He is continually present; for His presence in the Word is no otherwise than by the spiritual sense. By the light of this He passes through into the shade in which the sense of the letter is; comparatively as the light of the sun in the daytime does through an interposing cloud. (T. C. R n. 779, 780.)
It has been given me to perceive distinctly what comes from the Lord, and what from the angels; what has come from the Lord has been written, and what from the angels has not been written. (A. E. n. 1183.)
The things which I have learned in representations, in visions, and from conversations with spirits, and with angels, are from the Lord alone.
Whenever there has been any representation, vision, or conversation, I was kept interiorly and most deeply in reflection upon it, as to what therefrom was useful and good, thus as to what I might learn, (which reflection was not particularly observed by those who produced the representations and visions, and who conversed; nay, sometimes they were indignant when they perceived that I was reflecting). Thus have I been instructed; therefore by no spirit, nor by any angel, but by the Lord only, from whom is all truth and good. On the contrary, when they wished to instruct me on various subjects, there was scarcely anything but was false; for which reason I was prohibited from believing anything they said; nor was I permitted to infer any such thing whatever as was of their proprium. Moreover, when they wished to persuade me, I perceived an interior or inmost persuasion that it is so,—not as they wished; at which also they marvelled. The perception was manifest, but cannot easily be described to the apprehension of man. (S. D. n. 1647.)
The things related by me are not miracles, but are proofs that for certain ends I have been introduced by the Lord into the spiritual world.
In order that the true Christian religion might be unfolded, it
