The Old Testament

The New Testament

The Heavenly Doctrines

The Holy Supper has been established by the Lord in order that the Church may be joined by means of it to heaven, and so to the Lord. This is why it is the holiest thing of the Church

[T]he Holy Supper is an external of the church that contains within itself an internal, and by means of this internal it conjoins the person who is in love and charity with heaven, and through heaven with the Lord

The Holy Supper is the chief feature of external worship

The Spiritual Meaning of the Bread and the Wine

The bread and wine in the Holy Supper mean all the worship of the Lord from the good of love and faith

[T]he Lord Himself is in the Holy Supper. Flesh and blood are the Lord in respect to the Divine good of love, and blood and wine are the Lord in respect to the Divine truth of wisdom. Therefore the Holy Supper involves three things, namely, the Lord, His Divine good, and His Divine truth

The Lord’s Human, now that it has been glorified or made Divine, cannot be thought of as something merely human but as Divine Love within a human form…. For it was by Divine Love that the Lord made His Human Divine, even as heavenly love serves to make someone an angel after death…. [I]n the celestial sense the Lord’s Divine Human means Divine Love itself, which is a love directed toward the whole human race whom He wishes to save, making them blessed and happy for ever, and to whom He wishes to impart, insofar as its members can accept it, what is His and is Divine, so that it becomes their own. This love, and a person’s reciprocated love to the Lord as well as his love toward the neighbor, are meant and represented in the Holy Supper, Divine celestial love by the flesh or bread in it and Divine spiritual love by the blood or wine

When angels’ discussion has to do with the understanding part of the mind, horses appear in the world of spirits below them, that is, in the communities which correspond to them. The size, shape, color, and stance of the horses depends on the ideas which the angels have concerning the understanding

“The truth is that the person who looks to the Lord and performs repentance, is conjoined with the Lord by means of that most holy sacrament, and is introduced into heaven…. The bread and wine do not produce this effect, for there is nothing holy in them, but material bread and heavenly bread correspond mutually to each other, and so do material wine and heavenly wine. Heavenly bread is the holy of love, and heavenly wine is the holy of faith, both from the Lord, and both the Lord. Thence there is a conjunction of the Lord with a person, and of a person with the Lord, not with the bread and wine, but with the love and faith of the person who had done the work of repentance; and conjunction with the Lord is also introduction into heaven.”

The Symbolism of Horses

When angels’ discussion has to do with the understanding part of the mind, horses appear in the world of spirits below them, that is, in the communities which correspond to them. The size, shape, color, and stance of the horses depends on the ideas which the angels have concerning the understanding

In the Holy Supper the Lord is wholly present with the whole of His redemption…. His “flesh” symbolizes the Divine good of His love, and His “blood” the Divine truth of His wisdom… consequently that the Holy Supper is a spiritual eating

Preparation for the Holy Supper

In order that everyone ready to repent might look to the Lord alone, the Lord instituted the Holy Supper, which confirms the remission of sins in people who repent. It confirms this because in that Supper or Communion everyone is kept looking to the Lord alone

Those come to the Holy Supper worthily who have faith in the Lord and charity toward the neighbor, that is, who are regenerate…. That God must be acknowledged in order that one may have religion, or that anything of the church may be in him, is declared by reason itself…. That after the acknowledgment of God, charity is the second means which enables one to come to the Holy Supper worthily…. Faith in the Lord is the third means of worthily enjoying the Holy Supper, because charity and faith make one, like heat and light in springtime, from which two conjoined every tree is born anew

[T]hose come to the Holy Supper worthily who have faith in the Lord and charity toward the neighbor; and the presence of the Lord is effected by the truths of faith, and conjunction with Him by the goods of charity together with faith. From this it follows that those who worthily come to the Holy Supper are conjoined with the Lord

The pursuit of a religious life involves thinking and speaking in godly ways, setting aside plenty of time for prayers and acting in a humble manner during them, going to church and listening to sermons there in a devout frame of mind, and attending several times each year the Sacrament of the [Lord’s] Supper and likewise all other services of worship instituted by the Church. But the pursuit of a charitable life involves feelings of goodwill towards the neighbor and doing good to him, acting in every task from a sense of what is just and fair and of what is good and true, and in a similar way in all that one is employed to do. In short, a charitable life consists in performing useful services

Self-Examination

The question then is asked: how is one to repent? The answer is, in deed; that is, by examining oneself, recognizing and acknowledging one’s sins, praying to the Lord, and starting a new life. Repentance is impossible without self-examination. But what purpose does self-examination serve, but to enable us to recognize our sins? Or what purpose does their recognition serve, unless we acknowledge their presence in us? Or what purpose would these three actions serve, if not to enable us to confess them before the Lord, to appeal for His help, and from this point on to start a new life, which is the end in view? This is real repentance.

If real repentance is practiced from time to time, in fact as often as one prepares oneself to partake of the Holy Supper, and if one thereafter refrains from one or two sins one caught oneself committing, this is enough to start the process of making it real. Anyone at that point is on his way to heaven, for that is when a person begins to become spiritual instead of natural, and to be born anew under the Lord’s guidance

There are two obligations incumbent on one after self-examination: prayer and confession. Prayer should be that the Lord may have pity, grant the power to resist the evils of which one has repented, and supply the inclination and affection for doing good…. Confession should be that one sees, recognizes and acknowledges one’s evils…. There is no need to list one’s sins before the Lord, nor to pray that they may be forgiven…. The Lord has guided the person in self-examination, disclosed the sins, and inspired sadness and together with this an effort to desist from them and begin a new life

If it [self-examination] is only as to the actions, it discovers little; and this not enough: [Give] the reason. But if it is as to the thoughts and intentions, it discovers more. And if it searches out what the person regards or does not regard as sins, then it discovers [all]. For whatever a person within himself regards as allowable, that he does

Conjunction with the Lord

[T]he “bread” [of the Holy Supper] signifies the Lord’s love toward the universal human race, and the reciprocity of humankind and the “wine” signifies charity

Conjunction with the Lord is effected by means of love and faith…. Who does not see that the bread and wine do not effect this, but the good of love, which is meant by the bread, and the truth of faith, which is meant by the wine, and which are the Lord’s own, and which go forth and are communicated from Him alone? Moreover, all conjunction is effected by love, and love is not love without trust

[T]here is such holiness that human minds are by that Supper conjoined with heavenly minds, when from internal affection they are thinking that the bread and wine signify the Lord’s love and the reciprocality of a person, and are thus in holiness from interior thought and feeling

[W]hen the person takes the bread, which is the Lord’s body, he is joined to Him through the good of love to Him received from Him. And when the person takes the wine, which is the Lord’s blood, he is joined to Him through the good of faith in Him received from Him. But it should be remembered that people are joined to the Lord through the sacrament of His Supper only if they have within themselves the good of love to the Lord and the good of faith in Him, which they have received from Him

[T]he Lord’s body or flesh is the good of love, as is the bread, and the Lord’s blood is the good of faith, as is the wine; and the eating is making them one’s own and being joined [to heaven and the Lord]. The angels who are present with a person attending the sacrament of the Holy Supper perceive these things in no other way, since everything is understood by them on a spiritual level. This is why holy feelings belonging to love and holy thoughts belonging to faith pass at this time from the angels to that person, and so by way of heaven from the Lord; and the result is that they are joined together

[A] person has the ability to conjoin himself to the Lord and the Lord to himself forever. Nevertheless, as a person is finite, the Divine Itself of the Lord cannot be conjoined, but only adjoined to a person, as, for the sake of illustration, the light of the sun cannot be conjoined to the eye, or the sound of the air to the ear, but only adjoined to them, thus imparting the ability to see and hear

When a person is becoming regenerate, the Lord is indeed present, and through His Divine operation prepares a person for heaven. But that a person may actually enter he must present himself to the Lord. And as the Lord actually presents Himself to a person, he must actually receive Him…as He is in His glorified Human, in which He is present, the body of which is the Divine good and the blood of which is the Divine truth. These are given to a person, and by means of them a person is regenerated…the eating which is manifested in the Holy Supper is a spiritual eating

The Word in its literal sense is like a treasure-chest, in which lie arranged in rows precious stones, pearls and diadems. If a person regards the Word as holy and reads it as a useful guide to life, the thoughts in his mind can be compared to one who holds such a chest in his hand, and throws it heavenwards; and as it rises it flies open and the treasures inside reach the angels, who take great pleasure in seeing and carefully examining them. The pleasure they get from this is shared with people and brings about association and also the sharing of perceptions. It was for the sake of this association with angels, and at the same time being linked with the Lord, that the Holy Supper was instituted; in this the bread becomes in heaven Divine good and the wine becomes Divine truth, in both cases coming from the Lord. This kind of correspondence is from creation, and was established in order that the heaven of the angels and the church on earth, and in general the spiritual world and the natural one, should be one, and so that the Lord might link Himself with both at once

An Introduction to Heaven

The Lord is present and opens heaven to those who approach the Holy Supper worthily. He is also present with those who approach unworthily, but to them He does not open heaven. Consequently, as baptism is introduction into the church so is the Holy Supper introduction into heaven

[W]ith those who only understand what is true, and good, the Lord’s presence is universal or external, while with those who also will and do what is true and good, the Lord’s presence is both universal and individual, or both internal and external. Those who merely understand and talk about what is true and good are like the foolish virgins who had lamps but no oil; while those who not only understand and talk about what is true and good, but also will and do it, are the wise virgins who were admitted to the wedding while the former stood at the door and knocked, but were not admitted (Matt. 25:1-12). From all this it can be seen that the Lord is present and opens heaven to those who come to the Holy Supper worthily; and that He is also present with those who come to it unworthily, but to them He does not open heaven

Nevertheless it is not to be supposed that the Lord closes heaven to those who come unworthily. He does this to no person, even to the end of his life in the world. It is the person who closes heaven to himself, and this he does by the rejection of faith and by evil of life. And yet a person is held constantly in a state of possible repentance and conversion, for the Lord is constantly present and urging to be received; for He says: “I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear
My voice and open, I will come in and will sup with him and he with Me” (Rev. 3:20). Therefore the fault is in the person himself, who does not open the door

[B]aptism is introduction into the church…. The Holy Supper is introduction into heaven… These two sacraments, baptism and the Holy Supper, are like two gates to eternal life. By baptism, which is the first gate, every Christian is let into and introduced into what the church
teaches from the Word respecting the other life, all of which teaching forms the means whereby a person can be prepared for and led to heaven. The second gate is the Holy Supper, by which every person who allows himself to be prepared and led by the Lord is admitted into and introduced into heaven

These two sacraments may be likened to what occurs with a prince who is born heir to a kingdom, in that he is first introduced into a knowledge of the business of government, and in the second place is crowned and governs. They may be likened also to a son born to a great inheritance, in that he first learns and is imbued with such things as pertain to the proper management of possessions and riches, and secondly takes possession and control; also to the
building of a house and dwelling in it; also to the course of a person’s instruction from childhood until the period when he becomes independent and exercises his own judgment, and his subsequent rational and spiritual life. One period must needs precede, that the second may be attained; for without the former the latter is impossible. These illustrations make clear that baptism and the Holy Supper are like two gates through which a person is introduced to eternal life; and that beyond the first gate there is a plain which he must pass over; and that the second is the goal where lies the prize to which he has directed his course. For the palm is not bestowed until after the struggle, nor the reward until the contest is decided

The two sacraments, baptism and the Holy Supper, are in the Christian church like two gems in the scepter of a king; but if their uses are unknown are merely like two figures of ebony on a staff…. Again, these sacraments may be likened to a double temple, one below, the other above. In the lower one the gospel of the Lord’s new coming and of regeneration and consequent salvation by Him is preached; and from this temple, near the altar, there is a way of ascent to the higher temple, where the Holy Supper is celebrated; and from it is the passage into heaven, where those ascending are received by the Lord…. These things are representations of the two sacraments and their uses

[I]t has pleased the Lord to reveal the spiritual sense of the Word, to enable this church to enter into the real use and benefit of these sacraments, baptism and the Holy Supper