Emanuel Swedenborg's universalism showed in his work "Arcana Coelestia" and other published works. Part 1
(this series will contain at least three or four posts)
In this, this and this blogpost on this blog I showed the Swedish spirit seer Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) to be a universalist, that he believed in the ultimate salvation of all beings. I had a pretty big evidence material, but I focused on the early parts of his "Spiritual Diary" (which Swedenborg never published during his life time). In this series I will quote from works by Swedenborg right up until 1764, when Swedenborg published "Divine Providence". The passages I quoted from his Spiritual Diary was from 1747 and 1748. In this series I will research his other main writings, and also his later writings, and I have in them evidence for a later universalism, too. The argument that Swedenborg altered his opinion on this issue in his later years, is therefore not plausible.
There is thus much more evidence material to show that Swedenborg was a universalist. The following quotes are from Swedenborg's giant work "Arcana Coelestia" ("Heavenly Secrets", here you can read it for free), an exposition of Genesis and Exodus. This work is not just something inferior and private that Swedenborg did not publish during his life, as his Diary was, it is one of his main works, which he himself published during his life time.
Here are the quotes (in them it is very clear that one can be saved from hell if one once ends up there. Conservative Swedenborgians say that Swedenborg taught that this was not possible). Comments after the quotes are by me:
From 696:
"Such is the equilibrium of all things in the other life in both general and particular that evil punishes itself, so that in evil there is the punishment of evil. It is the same with falsity, which returns upon him who is in the falsity. Hence everyone brings punishment and torment upon himself, and rushes at the same time among the diabolical crew who inflict such torment. The Lord never sends anyone to hell, but would lead all away from hell, and still less does He lead into torment. But as the evil spirit rushes into it himself, the Lord turns all the punishment and torment to good, and to some use. No penalty is ever possible unless the Lord has in view some end of use; for the Lord's kingdom is a kingdom of ends and uses. But the uses which the infernals can perform are the lowest uses; and when they are engaged in them they are not in so much torment, but on the cessation of the use they are sent back into hell."
(My comment: this passage reminds me of nr. 1844 in Emanuel Swedenborg's work Spiritual diary, vol 1.: ...for it would be unreasonable to suppose that the lord would permit any one to be punished in hell, much less to eternity, for (the sins of) a short life, especially as each one considered his principles to be true, and was thus fixed in his persuasion. It is not to be thought therefore that the Lord would suffer any one to be punished, much less without intermission for ever, except with a view to reformation, as whatever is from the Lord is good, and for a good end, but eternal punishment could have no (such) end.")
From 1044:
"The case herein is exactly as it is with heaven and hell. The intellectual part of the regenerated man, from charity, in which the Lord is present, is heaven; his will part is hell. So far as the Lord is present in this heaven, so far is this hell removed. For of himself man is in hell, and of the Lord is in heaven. And man is being continually uplifted from hell into heaven, and so far as he is uplifted, so far his hell is removed. The "sign" therefore, or indication, that the Lord is present, is that man's will part is being removed. The possibility of its removal is effected by means of temptations, and by many other means of regeneration."
From 2077:
"Love such as the Lord had transcends all human understanding, and is in the highest degree incredible to those who do not know what the heavenly love is in which the angels are. To save a soul from hell, the angels would regard death as nothing, nay, if it were possible they would undergo hell for that soul. Hence it is the inmost of their joy to translate into heaven one who is rising from the dead."
From 2706:
"The Lord is indeed present with everyone; for life is from no other source, and He governs the most minute things of it, even with the worst of men, and in hell itself; but in various ways according to the reception of life. With those who receive the life of the love of His good and truth in a wrong manner, and pervert it into loves of evil and falsity, the Lord is present, and overrules their ends as far as possible for good; but His presence with them is called absence, and indeed in the same degree in which evil is distant from good, and falsity from truth."
From 3854:
"And Jehovah saw. That this signifies the Lord's foresight and providence, is evident from the signification of "seeing," when predicated of the Lord, as being foresight and providence, which will be treated of in the following verse, concerning Reuben, whose name was given from "seeing." (That "Jehovah" is the Lord, may be seen, n. 1343, 1736, 1793, 2156, 2329, 2921, 3023, 3035.) [2] As regards foresight and providence in general, it is foresight relatively to man, and providence relatively to the Lord. The Lord foresaw from eternity what the human race would be, and what would be the quality of each member of it, and that evil would continually increase, until at last man of himself would rush headlong into hell. On this account the Lord has not only provided means by which man may be turned from hell and led to heaven, but also from providence He continually turns and leads him. The Lord also foresaw that it would be impossible for any good to be rooted in man except in his freedom, for whatever is not rooted in freedom is dissipated on the first approach of evil and temptation. This the Lord foresaw, and also that man of himself, or from his freedom, would incline toward the deepest hell; and therefore the Lord provides that if a man should not suffer himself to be led in freedom to heaven, he may still be bent toward a milder hell; but that if he should suffer himself to be led in freedom to good, he may be led to heaven. This shows what foresight means, and what providence, and that what is foreseen is thus provided."
(My comment: observe that Swedenborg teaches that all men are predestined to heaven, see Swedenborg's work "Divine Providence, paragraph 329. (4),(1764) where he says: "It follows from this that all people are predestined for heaven and no one for hell".) How shall we interpret this passage? Does Swedenborg mean that God only wishes heaven for all, like a powerless, kind, gentle old man on the clouds, but not that all certainly shall end up there, by the power of a divine plan? I would say that the word "predestined" is ill suited for such an explanation, that I think Swedenborg uses the word in the calvinistic sense, because he knew Calvin's teachings on predestination, and also Calvinism, and condemned these things.
For confirmation of my interpretation of Swedenborg, see what he says in the same work, in paragraph 328: "[8] FOURTH, that the Lord nevertheless provides that it be possible for everyone to be saved:"
Will it be so forever? I think so, because Swedenborg believes in the biblical doctrine (he believes in everything in the Bible) that God is the same today, yesterday and forever (Hebr. 13:8).
From this can we conclude that Swedenborg was a universalist.
(Will be continued)
