n e w c h u r c h l i f e : j u ly / au g u s t 2 0 1 7
Coelestia 788:2, 302)
“There is also a reflective quality about this story: Reuben returned to the
pit and found it empty, which means, ‘The faith of the Church in general could
view the falsities which belonged to faith separate, and saw that there was no
longer any faith.’ (Arcana Coelestia 4761, cf 5762)
“This quote seems to point straight at Judas’ ability to realize what he had
done. He had partaken of depravity, and saw the death of the Church of which
he was a part. This discovery certainly invites mourning: i.e. Reuben rent his
garments. (Arcana Coelestia 4763) Perhaps this depicts Judas’ despair, even in
Reuben’s words: ‘The child is not. And I, whither do I come?’ which means,
‘Where is now the Church?’ (Ibid. 4766)
“If these words are applied to Judas, they make almost heartrending good
sense. Judas’ faith in the chief priests and the Church was, to say the very least,
shaken. ‘I have sinned, in that I have betrayed innocent blood.’ This could
indicate to us Judas’ motive of betrayal, and why he then killed himself.”
Rev. Dr. Erik E. Sandstrom
Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania
What Are We Looking For?
To The Editors:
If we accept that the revelations penned by Emanuel Swedenborg are part of
the Divine Word, then we probably accept the idea that everything created
corresponds to, or represents, some aspect of the Infinite Divine. For example,
see what is said in Arcana Coelestia, 2999, 3000.
When we learn to read we first study letter shapes and sounds, words,
sentences and finally entire stories. The letter shapes, the sounds, etc., are
building blocks used to represent the stories. If we concentrate only on the
natural building blocks we lose the real message.
Take the story of Noah and the flood. It seems to me absurd to think that
a man, Noah, built a big boat, managed to get all animal species aboard, two-
by-two, and floated off to eventual safety. The story of the ark must be building
blocks representing something Divine. Therefore, looking for the “lost ark” can
be recognized as an absurdity. The natural reality of finding, or not finding, an
ark’s remains is immaterial to the spiritual concepts being revealed.
The planet Mercury, likewise, must have a spiritual correspondence or
representation. Emanuel Swedenborg was a spiritual revelator, and it seems
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