������ �� ��� ���V����
difficulty that many people have in believing the spiritual things that have been revealed through him by the Lord out of heaven . “ Nevertheless , let what has been said hitherto , and what is still further to be said concerning angels and spirits , be for the few who are in faith . And that the rest also may be led along to something of acknowledgment , it has been conceded to relate such things as delight and attract the person who is desirous of knowing ; and now about the earths in the starry heaven .” ( Earths in the Universe 124 )
I include the above , in part , because that which may have “ delighted and attracted ” some people to the Heavenly Doctrine in the past now seems to serve as a stumbling block , at least to people in the western world . We might wonder : Did not Swedenborg anticipate the kind of reaction that Earths In The Universe often receives at this day , especially in the western world ?
There is quite a strong indication in a number of passages that there was just such an anticipation . In some of the earliest passages in Spiritual Experiences , bearing on this subject , the Lord led Swedenborg to declare : “ Even now , many do not even believe these things that have been seen and heard by me concerning those in another planet , but involve them in various appearances , calling them phantasies ; and , if they dared , they would also call whatever they read in their holy Word phantasies . [ As an example of this latter , see Arcana Coelestia 231 -233 regarding what has killed every church from most ancient times to the present .] Thus , they are unbelievers ; wherefore what they will think about these things within themselves I do not know .” ( Spiritual Experiences 572 , from a series “ Concerning the Inhabitants of Jupiter ”)
“ Spiritual ideas , concerning which see above [ nos . 1487 , 1498 ], can make it known that men of this earth will judge variously concerning these matters , namely that there are such planets which , however , can by no means be denied , and that [ their inhabitants ] are of such a nature , and especially , that it could be possible for men to converse with them ; since men judge from the external sense and from each one ’ s phantasy and love . But this is of no consequence , for these things have been seen and heard as sensibly as in human society , therefore I care nothing for their judgments .
“ I am persuaded that when they become spirits , and still more in the case of those who become angels , they will clearly see the truth , as perhaps also will some of the human race , if it is well pleasing to the Lord . . . . It is the fallacies of the senses which mislead the inhabitants of this [ our ] earth , who are of the corporeal sense [ speaking of their function in the Grand Man / Human ], and who extend their ideas scarcely beyond the senses of the body [ and might we add : the sophisticated instruments that now serve our senses of the body ?]. ( Spiritual Experiences 1532 from a series “ Concerning The Inhabitants of Saturn )
Many more teachings could be sited indicating that Swedenborg , not from
425