mitting Adultery, meaneth, to deny the Divinity of the Lord, and to prophane the Word. Again, Thou shalt do no Murder; by doing Murder, Man underftandeth, not only the taking away another's Life, but likewife bearing Malice and Hatred in the Heart, and breathing a revengeful Spirit against any Perfon; whereas by doing Murder a fpiritual Angel understandeth, to play the Devil's Part, and destroy Men's Souls; and a celeftial Angel, by doing Murder, meaneth to hate the Lord, and thofe Things. which are the Lord's. Laftly, Thou shalt not bear falfe Witness; by bearing false Witness, Man understandeth alfo to tell Lies and to defame any Perfon, whereas a fpiritual Angel, by bearing falfe Witnefs, meaneth to declare, and endeavour to perfuade others, that what is falfe is true, and what is evil is good, and vice verfa. But a celestial Angel, by bearing falfe Witness, meaneth to blafpheme the Lord and the Word. Thefe Inftances may serve to fhew, after what Manner the fpiritual and celeftial Senfe of the Word is unfolded and extracted from the natural Senfe in which they are contained, and what is wonderful, the Angels extract these Senfes without having any Knowledge of a Man's Thoughts; but ftill the Thoughts of Angels and Men make one by Correfpondencies, like End, Caufe, and Effect; for Ends do actually exift in the Celestial Kingdom, Caufes in the Spiritual, and Effects in the Natural Kingdom. This very Conjunction by Correfpondencies was the fame from the Creation; hence then the Confociation of Men with Angels is effected by the Word.

68. The Reafon why the Confociation of Man with the Angels is effected by the natural, or literal Senfe of the Word is, because in every Man, by Virtue of Creation, there are three Degrees of Life, the Celestial, the Spiritual, and the Natural; Man however is in the natural Degree fo long as he continueth in this World, and at the fame Time is fo far in the fpiritual Degree, as he is under the Influence of genuine Truths, and fo far in the celeftial Degree as he liveth a Life according to those Truths; but yet he cannot come into the real fpiritual or celeftial Degrees till after Death. But more concerning this elfewhere.

69. From what hath been faid, it must appear eviI dently,

dently, that in the Word alone, through which Man hath Conjunction with the Lord, and Confociation with the Angels, there is Spirit and Life, as the Lord faith, "The Words which I fpeak unto you are Spirit and "Life," John vi. 63. "The Water which I give you "fhall be a Well of Water fpringing up unto everlafting Life," John iv. 14. "Man doth not live by Bread "alone, but by every Word that proceedeth out of the "Mouth of God," Matt. iv. 4. "Labour not for the "Meat that perifheth, but for the Meat which endureth "unto everlasting Life, which the Son of Man fhall give unto you," John vi. 27.

66

That the Word is in all the Heavens, and that Angelic Wisdom is thence derived.

70. THAT the Word is in the Heavens, hath remained a Secret to Mankind unto this Day; nor could it be made known fo long as the Church was ignorant of the Exiftence of Angels and Spirits, and that they were like Men in this our World; and refemble them in every Particular but this, viz. that they are fpiritual Beings, and that all Things they have amongst them are from a fpiritual Origin; whereas Men on Earth are natural Beings, and all Things amongst them are from a natural Origin. So long as the Church was in fuch Ignorance, it could never be known that the Word is allo in the Heavens, and that it is read by the angelic Inhabitants, and alfo by the Spirits that are under the Heavens. But left this Truth fhould remain for ever a Secret, it hath been granted me to be in Fellowship with Angels and Spirits, and to converfe with them, and to see what is in their Worlds, and afterwards to relate to Mankind many of the Things which I have feen and heard. This I have done in a Treatife concerning HEAVEN and HELL, published at London in the Year 1758; from which Work it will appear that Angels and Spirits are Men, and that they have amongst them an Abundance of all fuch Things as exift amongst Men on Earth. That Angels and Spirits are Men, may be seen in that Treatise,

a. 73

n. 73 to 77, and alfo n. 453 to 456; alfo that they have amongst them Divine Worship and Preaching in their Temples, n. 221 to 227; and that they have likewise Writings and Books, n. 253 to 264; and alfo the Holy Scripture or Word, n. 259.

71. As to what refpects the Word in Heaven, it is written in a spiritual Style, which differs entirely from a natural Style; a fpiritual Style confifteth of mere Letters, each whereof involves fome particular Senfe, and there are Punctuations above the Letter, which exalt the Senfe. The Letters in Ufe amongst the fpiritual Angels, are like the Letters used in printing in our World; and the Letters in Use amongst the celestial Angels are like the old Hebrew Letters, variously inflected, and with Signatures above and beneath, each of which involves fome entire Sense in itself. Inafmuch as their Writing is of fuch a Nature, therefore the Names of Perfons and Places which occur in the Word are not like our's, but instead of Names are the real Things which they fignify; as by Mofes, the hiftorical Word; by Elias, the prophetic Word; by Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, the Lord with Respect to his Divinity and Divine Humanity; by Aaron, the Prieftly Office; by David, the Kingly Office, each in Relation to the Lord; by the Names of the Sons of Jacob, or the twelve Tribes of Ifrael, various Things refpecting Heaven, and the Church; fo alfo by the Names of the Lord's twelve Difciples; by Zion and Jerufalem, the Church in Regard to Doctrine derived from the Word; by the Land of Canaan, the Church itself, by the Places and Cities therein, on this Side Jordan and beyond it, various Things relating to the Church and it's Doctrines. It is the fame in other Things in the Word. The Cafe is the fame in Refpect to Numbers; they do not occur in the Copies of the Word written in Heaven, but instead of them, are expreffed the real Things, with which the Numbers correfpond. Hence it is plain to fee, that the Word in Heaven, as to the literal Senfe, is fimilar to, and at the fame Time correfponding with, our Word, and confequently that they are one; for Correspondencies

make one.

72. It is a wonderful Confideration, that the Word in Heaven is fo written that the Simple understand it in

I 2

Simplicity,

Simplicity, and the Wife in Wisdom; for there are seve ral Dots and Signatures over the Letters, which, as was obferved, exalt the Senfe, but which the Simple do not attend to, nor have any Knowledge of; whereas the Wife are attentive to them, every one in Proportion to his Wisdom, from the loweft to the higheft. A Copy of the Word written by the Angels under the Lord's Infpiration, is kept by every larger Society, in a facred Repofitory appointed for that Purpofe, left it fhould fuffer any Alteration in any of it's Points and Signatures. The Word in our World is fimilar to the Word in Heaven in this Refpect, that the Simple understand it in Simplicity, and the Wife in Wisdom; but yet this Difference of Understanding in both Worlds, arifeth from a different Ground, and is effected in a different Manner.

73. The Angels themselves confefs that they derive all their Wisdom from the Word; for in Proportion as their Understanding of the Word is enlarged, in the fame Proportion the Light, wherein they dwell, is increafed; the Light of Heaven is Divine Wisdom, which in the Eyes of the Angels hath the Appearance of Light. In the facred Repofitory, wherein the Copy of the Word is kept, the Light is bright and flaming, exceeding every other Degree of Light that fhineth in the other Parts of Heaven. The Reason is, as was faid above, the Lord is in the Word.

74. The Wisdom of the celeftial Angels exceedeth the Wifdom of the fpiritual Angels, almost as much as the Wisdom of the fpiritual Angels exceedeth the Wisdom of Men; and the Reafon is, because the celeftial Angels are in the Good of Love from the Lord, and the fpiritual Angels are in the Truths of Wisdom from the Lord; and where-ever the Good of Love is, there Wisdom refideth at the fame Time; but where the Truths of Wifdom are, there no more true Wisdom refideth, than in Proportion to the Good of Love by which it is attended This is the Reafon why the Word, in the Lord's celeftial Kingdom, is written differently from the Word in the Lord's fpiritual Kingdom; for in the Word of the celestial Kingdom are expreffed the Goods of Love, and the Signatures are the Affections of Love; byt in the Word of the fpiritual kingdom are expreffed the

Truths

Truths of Wisdom, and the Signatures are the Perceptions of Truth.

75. Hence we may conclude, how great Wisdom lieth concealed in the Word which we have on Earth, for therein is hid all angelic Wisdom, which is inexpreffible; for it is the Continent of it; and every Man is admitted into that Wisdom after Death, who is made an Angel by the Lord through the Word.

That the Church exifteth by Virtue of the Word, and acquireth a Nature and Quality among ft Men, according to their UnderStanding of the Word.

76. THAT the Church exifteth by Virtue of the Word, cannot poffibly be a Matter of Doubt, inafmuch as it was Thewn above, that the Word is Divine Truth itself, n. 1 to 4, and that the Doctrine of the Church is derived from the Word, n. 50 to 61, and that Conjunction with the Lord is effected by Means of the Word, n. 62 to 69; but that the Understanding of the Word conftituteth the Church, this may be made a Matter of Doubt, inasmuch as there are fome who believe that they belong to the Church, merely because they are in Poffeffion of the Word, and read it, and hear it from a Preacher, and have fome Knowledge of it's literal Sense; although, in the mean Time, they are totally ignorant of it's true Meaning, and how it is to be understood in it's different Paffages, and very frequently make this of fmall Account. It will therefore be neceffary to prove, that it is not the Word which conftituteth the Church, but the right Underftanding thereof; and that the Church acquireth a Nature and Quality, according to the Understanding of the Word amongst it's Members. This is confirmed by what follows.

77. The Word is properly the Word, according to the Understanding of it with Men, that is, as it is understood; if it is not understood, it indeed is called the Word, but in Reality is not with Man. The Word is Truth according to the Underftanding of it; for the Word may be not

the