TEN LAWS OF THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE

Selections from Apocalypse Explained ~ Emanuel Swedenborg

[Interspersed Series Between Numbers 1135 - 1194 From The Apocalypse Explained]

Lesson 6
 

(6) The sixth law of the Divine providence is, That man is not reformed by external means but by internal means; by external means miracles and visions, also fears and punishments are meant. By internal means truths and goods from the Word and from the doctrine of the church, and looking to the Lord, are meant; for these means enter by an internal way, and cast out the evils and falsities that have their seat within; but external means enter by an external way, and do not cast out evils and falsities, but shut them in. Nevertheless, man may be further reformed by external means when he has previously been reformed by internal means. This follows from the above mentioned laws, namely, that man is reformed by means of freedom, and not without freedom, also that to compel oneself is from freedom, but to be compelled is not, and man is compelled by miracles and visions, and also by fears and punishments; but miracles and visions compel the external of his spirit, which consists in thinking and willing; and fears and punishments compel the external of his body, which consists in speaking and doing. This may be compelled, because man nevertheless thinks and wills freely; but the external of his spirit, which consists in thinking and willing, must not be compelled, for thus perishes his internal freedom by which he is reformed.

If man could have been reformed by miracles and visions, all in the whole world would have been reformed. It is therefore a holy law of the Divine providence that internal freedom should in no way be violated; for by that freedom the Lord enters into man, even into the hell where he is, and by it leads him while in hell, and if he is willing to follow, leads him out of hell and leads him into heaven, and nearer and nearer to Himself in heaven. In this and in no other way is man led out of infernal freedom, which regarded in itself is slavery, because it is from hell, and is led into heavenly freedom, which is freedom itself, becoming by degrees more free, and at length most free, because it is from the Lord who wills that man should not be in the least compelled. This is the way of man's reformation, but this way is closed by miracles and visions.

Nor is the freedom of man's spirit ever violated, to the end that his evils, both hereditary and actual, may be removed; which can be done only when man compels himself, as has been said above. These evils are removed by the Lord by means of the affection of truth inspired in man from which he has intelligence, and by means of the affection of good through which he has love. So far as a man is in these affections, so far he compels himself to resist evils and falsities. And this way of reformation is closed by miracles and visions, for they persuade and compel belief, and thus send the thoughts bound as it were to prison; and when freedom has thus been taken away there can be no ability from the interior to remove evils, for nothing of evil is removed except from the interior. Thus evils remain shut in, and from their infernal freedom, which they love, they continually act against those truths and goods that miracles and visions have repressed, and at length dissipate them, calling miracles the interior operations of nature and visions the deliriums of fantasy, and truths and goods fallacies and mockeries; for such is the action of the evils that are shut in upon the externals that shut them in. And yet superficial thought may lead a man to believe that miracles and visions, although they persuade, do not take away freedom of thinking; but with those not reformed they do take it away, while with the reformed they do not take it away, for with such they do not shut evils in, but with those not reformed they do.

All who wish for miracles and visions are like:

     The sons of Israel, who, when they had seen so many prodigies in Egypt at the Sea Suph and on Mount Sinai, still within a month turned away from the worship of Jehovah and worshiped a golden calf (Exod. 32).

They are also like:

     The rich man in hell who said to Abraham that his brethren would repent if one from the dead were sent to them; to whom Abraham replied, They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them; if they hear not Moses and the prophets neither will they be persuaded if one rose from the dead (Luke 16:29, 31).

And they are like:

     Thomas, who said he would not believe unless he saw; to whom the Lord said, Blessed are those who believe and do not see (John 20:25, 29).

"Those who believe and do not see" are those who do not desire signs, but truths from the Word, that is, Moses and the prophets, and who believe them. Such are internal men and become spiritual; but the former are external and remain sensual, and when they see miracles, and believe only because of the miracles, in their belief are not unlike a lovely woman who within is infected with a deadly disease of which she soon dies, or they are like an apple with a fair skin but rotten at the core, or like filberts in which a worm lies concealed. Moreover, it is known that no one can be compelled to love or to believe, and that love and faith must be inwardly rooted in man. Consequently it is not possible for anyone to be led to love God and to believe in Him by means of miracles and visions, because these compel. For when one does not believe from the miracles in the Word, how can he believe from miracles that are not in the Word?