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332 [Doc. 245.
TRIAL AT GOTTENBURG.
veil, has been manifested in clear daylight in the Arcana
Calestia and especially the ’ Apocalypse Revealed,’ which have
been published by Assessor Swedenborg. What immediately
strikes one’s attention is this, that when, according to the
principles of the system, the signification of the words has been
acquired, you can read in order, one after another, the contents
prefixed to each chapter, and obtain a continuous , general idea
of the whole Biblical book which is being explained ; and this
is even more the case when you approach each chapter
separately, where the significations given to the particular words
may be connected together into a whole chain-like explanation.
The signification of each word remains ever the same; and
after a knowledge of them has once been acquired, in accord
ance with sound rules of explanation, it may be applied to
the explanation of other passages almost in the same way
as the various meanings of a word recorded in the dictionaries
are made use of, when you desire to become acquainted with
an author in his own language. How surprised you are to
discover by this means that, in a book which to all appear
ance is purely historical, there are contained only spiritual
and heavenly things, that is, things in the highest degree
worthy of the wisdom of God respecting Himself, and respect
ing heaven and the church ; for instance, in the history of Lot
and his daughters (Genesis xix, 31). And lest any one, with
an appearance of right, should think that such explanations
and interpretations are mere products of the author’s brain,
he observes with all possible care the recognized rule of
interpretation, that Scripture must be interpreted by Scripture,
and, indeed, according to a fixed mode of demonstration
determined by the nature of the subject itself.
"When thus the glory and splendour of the Divine sense
began to shine in the clouds of heaven or in the literal mean
ing of the Word, then also could be discovered to him what
its genuine meaning must be in the doctrine of the church.
For the church is spiritual, and must derive everything belong
ing to it from the spirituality of the Word, so that nothing
can be true in the church without its being at the same time
true in heaven; and the church cannot communicate with the
Lord and heaven, except so far as the men of the church
I
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