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210 DOCUMENTS CONCERNING SWEDENBORG.
"To the above, I shall add somewhat new from the
spiritual world. The rulers of the church, who flock
into that world after death, are first taught concerning the
Sacred Scripture, as containing a spiritual sense, which in
the world was unknown to them, and they are also told,
that the angels of heaven are in that sense, whilst man is
in the sense of the letter; and further, that a translation,
or change, of the latter sense, into the former, is effected
with man, whilst he reads the Word under holy influences,
and that there is a kind of unfolding or unswathing,
somewhat like the breaking of the shell, encompassing an
almond, and the casting away the shell, so that the naked
almond passes into heaven, and is received by the angels ;
and also like a seed cast into the earth, and being there
stripped of its outward coats, puts forth its germ. That
seed is the Word in the sense of the letter, and the germ
thence put forth is the spiritual sense, and this latter
passes to the angels, but the former rests with man ; still,
however, that seed remains with man in his mind, as in
its ground, and in time produces its germ, and fructifies
it, if man, by the seeds of life, which are the truths of
faith, and the good things of charity, is joined with the
Lord, and thereby consociated with the angels. The
above rulers are further admonished to receive thoroughly
this belief, that the Word in its bosom is spiritual,
because it is divine ; and that unless they receive this
belief, they may be seduced by satans, even to deny the
sanctity of the Word; in which case the church disap
pears amongst them. This further argument is also
urged with them, that if they do not believe the internal
sense of the Word, the Word may finally come to appear
to them as an unpolished and unconnected writing, or as
a book full of all heresies, inasmuch as from the literal
sense, as from a kind of lake, heretical principles of every
sort may be drawn forth and confirmed. Those after
wards, who believe the internal sense of the Word, are
received into companies of angelic spirits, who are in
process of time elevated into heaven and become angels ;
but those who do not believe, are removed apart to com
panies of spirits, who in process of time, are cast into
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