From the work; The New Jerusalem And Its Heavenly Doctrine

82. Of the proprium of man, spoken of above (n. 70), that it is the love of self and of the world.
The proprium of man is nothing but dense evil (n. 210, 215, 731, 874-876, 987, 1047, 2307, 2308, 3518, 3701, 3812, 8480, 8550, 10283, 10284, 10286, 10731). The proprium of man is his will (n. 4328). The proprium of man consists in loving himself more than God, and the world more than heaven, and in making his neighbor of no account respectively to himself, thus it is the love of self and of the world (n. 694, 731, 4317, 5660). Not only every evil, but also every falsity, springs from the proprium of man, and this falsity is the falsity of evil (n. 1047, 10283, 10284, 10286). The proprium of man is hell with him (n. 694, 8480). Therefore he who is led by his proprium cannot be saved (n. 10731). The good which man does from the proprium is not good, but in itself is evil, because done for the sake of self and the world (n. 8478).

The proprium of man must be separated, in order that the Lord may be present with him (n. 1023, 1044). And it is actually separated when man is reformed (n. 9334-9336, 9452-9454, 9938). This is done by the Lord alone (n. 9445). Man by regeneration receives a heavenly proprium (n. 1937, 1947, 2881, 2883, 2891). This appears to man as his own proprium, but it is not his, but the Lord’s with him (n. 8497). They who are in this proprium are in liberty itself, because liberty consists in being led by the Lord, and by His proprium (n. 892, 905, 2872, 2886, 2890-2892, 4096, 9586, 9587, 9589-9591). All liberty is from the proprium, and its quality according thereto (n. 2880). What is the quality of the heavenly proprium (n. 164, 5660, 8480). How the heavenly proprium is implanted (n. 1712, 1937, 1947).

From the work; True Christian Religion

574. All reason shows that man must be regenerated, for he is born into evils of every kind derived from his parents; and these evils have their seat in his natural man, which of itself is diametrically opposed to the spiritual man. Nevertheless man is born for heaven; although he does not enter heaven unless he becomes spiritual, and he can become spiritual only by means of regeneration. From this it follows of necessity that the natural man with its lusts must be subdued, subjugated, and inverted, and that otherwise man cannot approach a single step toward heaven, but sinks deeper and deeper into hell. Who cannot see this, if he believes that he has been born into evils of every kind and acknowledges the existence and contrariety of good and evil, and believes in a life after death, a hell and a heaven, and that evil is what constitutes hell and good is what constitutes heaven? Viewed in himself the natural man in no way differs in his nature from the nature of beasts. Like them he is wild; but it is as to his will that he is such; in understanding he differs from beasts, in that the understanding can be elevated above the lusts of the will, and not only see but also moderate them; and for this reason man is able to think from understanding, and speak from thought, which beasts cannot do. What man is by birth, and what he would be if not regenerated, can be seen from fierce animals of every kind; that be would be a tiger, a panther, a leopard, a wild hog, a scorpion, a tarantula, a viper, a crocodile, and so on; consequently if he were not transformed by regeneration into a sheep, what would he be but a devil among devils in hell? And in that state, if not restrained by civil laws, would not men from innate ferocity, rush upon one another and slaughter each other, and plunder each other even of the last scrap of clothing? How many are there of the human race who are not born satyrs and priapi or four-footed lizards; and who among these, if not regenerated, does not become an ape? External morality is required, for the sake of covering up their internals; and it does that.

From the work; Arcana Coelesita

8939 [3] As I know this from the living experience of so many years, which is still continued, I solemnly declare it. I still speak, and I have spoken, with almost all whom I had known in the world and who are dead, with some after two or three days from their decease. Very many of them were exceedingly indignant that they had not believed at all in a life which was to continue after death. I have spoken with them not merely for a day, but for months and years; and it has also been given me to see their states of life in succession, or in progress, either to hell or to heaven. Wherefore let him who wishes to be eternally happy know and believe that he will live after death. Let him think of this and keep it in mind, for it is the truth. Let him also know and believe that the Word is the only doctrine which teaches how a man must live in the world in order to be happy to eternity.

From the work;  Arcana Coelesita

18. The “faces of the deep” are the cupidities of the unregenerate man, and the falsities thence originating, of which he wholly consists, and in which he is totally immersed. In this state, having no light, he is like a “deep” or something obscure and confused. Such persons are also called “deeps” and “depths of the sea” in many parts of the Word, which are “dried up” or “wasted” before man is regenerated. As in Isaiah:
Awake as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art not thou it that drieth up the sea, the waters of the great deep, that maketh the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over? Therefore the redeemed of Jehovah shall return (Isa. 51:9-11).
Such a man also, when seen from heaven, appears like a black mass, destitute of vitality. The same expressions likewise in general involve the vastation of man, frequently spoken of by the Prophets, which precedes regeneration; for before man can know what is true, and be affected with what is good, there must be a removal of such things as hinder and resist their admission; thus the old man must needs die, before the new man can be conceived.

From the work;  Arcana Coelesita

5651. In order that a man may become spiritual, his natural must become as nothing, that is, be able to do nothing whatever of itself, because insofar as the natural is able of itself, so far the spiritual is not able; for the natural has imbibed from infancy nothing else than the things of the cupidities of self and of the world, thus those which are contrary to charity. These evils prevent the influx of good through the internal man from the Lord, for whatever flows in is turned in the natural into evil, the natural being the plane in which the influx terminates. And therefore unless the natural (that is, the evil and falsity which have formed it) becomes as nothing, good cannot possibly flow in through heaven from the Lord. It has no abiding place, but is dissipated; for it cannot stay in evil and falsity. It is for this reason that the internal is closed so long as the natural does not become as nothing. This also is known in the church from the doctrine that the old man must be put off in order that the new may be put on.

[3] Regeneration is nothing else than that the natural be subjugated, and the spiritual obtain the dominion; and the natural is subjugated when it is reduced to correspondence. When the natural has been reduced to correspondence, it does not react any more, but acts as it is commanded, and obeys the spiritual, almost as the acts of the body obey the behest of the will, and as the speech, together with the expression of the face, conforms to the influx of the thought. From this it is plain that for a man to become spiritual the natural must needs become as nothing whatever in respect to willing.

[4] But be it known that it is the old natural that must become as nothing, because this has been formed from evils and falsities; and when it has become as nothing the man is then gifted with a new natural, which is called the spiritual natural-spiritual from the fact that the spiritual is what acts through it, and manifests itself through it, as the cause through the effect. It is known that the cause is everything of the effect. Hence the new natural in its thinking, willing, and producing effect, is nothing else than the representative of the spiritual. When this comes to pass the man receives good from the Lord; and when he receives good he is gifted with truths; and when he is gifted with truths he is perfected in intelligence and wisdom; and when he is perfected in intelligence and wisdom he is blessed with happiness to eternity.

From the work;  Arcana Coelesita

653. The case is this: When a man is being reformed, which is effected by combats and temptations, such evil spirits are associated with him as excite nothing but his things of knowledge and reason [scientifica ejus et rationalia]; and spirits that excite cupidities are kept entirely away from him. For there are two kinds of evil spirits, those who act upon man’s reasonings, and those who act upon his cupidities. The evil spirits who excite a man’s reasonings bring forth all his falsities, and endeavor to persuade him that they are true, and even turn truths into falsities. A man must fight against these when he is in temptation; but it is really the Lord who fights, through the angels who are adjoined to the man. As soon as the falsities are separated, and as it were dispersed, by these combats, the man is prepared to receive the truths of faith. For so long as falsities prevail, a man never can receive the truths of faith, because the principles of falsity stand in the way. When he has thus been prepared to receive the truths of faith, then for the first time can celestial seeds be implanted in him, which are the seeds of charity. The seeds of charity can never be implanted in ground where falsities reign, but only where truths reign. Thus is it with the reformation or regeneration of the spiritual man, and so it was with the man of this church which is called “Noah.” Hence it is that here the “window” and “door” of the ark are spoken of, and its “lowest, second, and third stories” which all pertain to the spiritual or intellectual man.

From the work;  Arcana Coelesita

5280. And the abundance of produce shall not be known in the land. That this signifies that nothing shall be perceived therein of the truth previously there, is evident from the signification of “being known,” as being to be perceived; from the signification of “abundance of produce,” as being truth multiplied (of which above, n. 5276, 5278); and from the signification of “land,” here the land of Egypt, as being the natural mind (of which also above, n. 5276, 5278, 5279). From this it is plain that by the “abundance of produce not being known in the land” is signified that nothing shall be perceived in the natural concerning the truth previously there.

[2] In this verse the subject treated of is the last state of desolation, when there is the despair which next precedes regeneration; and as this is the subject treated of in the present verse, it must be stated how the case is. Every man must be reformed and be born anew or regenerated that he may be able to come into heaven, for “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3, 5, 6). Man is born into sin, which has been increased in a long line from parents, grandparents, and ancestors, and made hereditary, and thus transmitted to the offspring. Every man who is born, is born into all these inherited evils thus increased in succession, and consequently is nothing but sin; and therefore unless he is regenerated he remains wholly in sin. But in order that man may be regenerated he must first be reformed, and this is done by means of the truths of faith; for he has to learn from the Word and from doctrine therefrom what good is. The knowledges of good from the Word, or from doctrine therefrom, are called the truths of faith, because all the truths of faith spring from good, and flow to good, for they look to good as the end.

[3] This is the first state, and is called the state of reformation. During their childhood and youth most of those who are in the church, are introduced into this state, and yet few are regenerated; for most in the church learn the truths of faith or the knowledges of good for the sake of reputation and honor, and also for gain; and when the truths of faith have been introduced by means of these loves, the man cannot be born anew or regenerated until these loves have been removed. In order therefore that they may be removed, the man is let into a state of temptation, and this in the following manner. The loves referred to are excited by the infernal crew, for they desire to live in them; but the affections of truth and good that have been instilled from infancy in a state of innocence, and afterward stored up interiorly and preserved for this use, are then excited by angels. The result is a conflict between the evil spirits and the angels which is felt in the man as temptation; and because the conflict is about truths and goods, the truths previously instilled are as it were banished by means of the falsities injected by the evil spirits, so that they no longer appear (of which see above, n. 5268-5270). And then as the man suffers himself to be regenerated, the light of truth from good is instilled by the Lord through an internal way into the natural, into which light the truths are returned in order.

[4] This is the case with the man who is being regenerated; but few at this day are admitted into this state. Insofar as they permit it, all do indeed begin to be reformed by means of instruction in the truths and goods of spiritual life; but as soon as they come to the age of early manhood they suffer themselves to be carried away by the world, and thus go over to the side of infernal spirits, by whom they are gradually so estranged from heaven that they scarcely believe any longer that there is a heaven. Thus they cannot be let into any spiritual temptation, for if they were they would at once yield, and then their last state would be worse than the first (Matt. 12:45). From this it may be seen how the case is with what is here contained in the internal sense, namely, with the state of reformation and that of regeneration; but in this verse is described the last state of temptation which is a state of despair (of which just above, n. 5279).

From the work;  Arcana Coelesita

5354. In the church it is indeed known that man must be born again (that is, must be regenerated) in order that he may enter the kingdom of God; for the Lord has plainly declared this in John 3:3, 5. But what it is to be born again is known only to few, for the reason that few know what good and evil are, and this because they do not know what charity toward the neighbor is; if they knew this, they would also know what good is, and from good what evil is; for all that is good which comes from genuine charity toward the neighbor.

[2] But no one can be in this good from himself, because it is the celestial itself which flows in from the Lord. This celestial flows in continually, but evils and falsities stand in the way of its being received; and therefore in order that it may be received it is necessary for man to remove evils, and as far as he is able falsities also, and thus dispose himself to receive the influx. When after evils have been removed the man receives the influx, he at the same time receives a new will and a new understanding; and from the new will he feels delight in doing good to the neighbor from no selfish end, and from the new understanding he perceives delight in learning what is good and true for its own sake and for the sake of the life. Inasmuch as this new understanding and new will come into existence through influx from the Lord, the man who has been regenerated acknowledges and believes that the good and truth with which he is affected are not from himself but from the Lord, and also that whatever is from himself, or of his own, is nothing but evil.

[3] From all this it is plain what it is to be born again, and also what the new will and new understanding are. But the regeneration through which come the new understanding and the new will is not accomplished in a moment, but goes on from earliest infancy even to the close of life, and afterward in the other life to eternity, and this by Divine means, innumerable and unspeakable; for man of himself is nothing but evil, which continually exhales as from a furnace, and continually endeavors to extinguish the nascent good. The removal of such evil, and the inrooting of good in its place, cannot be effected short of the whole course of life, and through Divine means numberless and unspeakable.

From the work;  Arcana Coelesita

5647. ‘And the men were afraid’ means a drawing back. This is clear from the meaning here of ‘being afraid’ as a drawing back, a drawing back from being joined to the internal. Fear arises from various causes, such as those dangerous situations when people can lose their lives, the gains they have made, and also both their positions and reputations, as well as the fear that they may be led into some kind of slavery, resulting in the loss of freedom together with the delight life holds within itself. This matter is dealt with below, for the men’s fear was that they would become linked to the internal, which would cause them to lose their own identity, and with their own identity their freedom, and with their freedom the delight life holds within itself since that delight depends on the existence of freedom. This is the reason why ‘the men were afraid’ means a drawing back, a drawing back lest they should become linked [to the internal].

[2] Let a brief preliminary statement be made here about the nature of that joining together, that is to say, of the external or natural man to the internal or spiritual man. The external or natural man reigns from the earliest period in life, unaware of the existence of the internal or spiritual man. That being so, when a person undergoes reformation and from being a natural or external man starts to become a spiritual or internal one, the natural rebels initially. For that person receives teaching to the effect that the natural man must be made subservient; that is, all his strong evil desires and the accompanying ideas that lend support to these must be rooted out. Consequently when left to himself the natural man thinks that in that case he may be completely destroyed, since he knows nothing other than that the natural is all there is, being totally ignorant of the fact that things beyond measure or description reside within the spiritual. When the natural man thinks like this he draws back, having no wish to be made subservient to the spiritual. This then is what is meant here by ‘fear’.

From the work;  Arcana Coelesita

4353. …the conjunction of good with truths (by which regeneration is effected) progresses more and more interiorly; that is, truths are successively conjoined more interiorly with good. For the end of regeneration is that the internal man may be conjoined with the external, thus the spiritual with the natural through the rational. Without the conjunction of both of these there is no regeneration. Nor can this conjunction be effected until good has first been conjoined with truths in the natural; for the natural must be the plane, and the things that are in the natural must correspond. This is the reason why when the natural is being regenerated, the conjunction of good with truths becomes successively more interior. For the spiritual conjoins itself first with the things which are inmost in the natural, and then by means of these with those which are more exterior. Nor can man’s internal conjoin itself with his external, unless the truth in the external becomes the good of truth, that is, truth in will and act (n. 4337); for then for the first time they can be conjoined, inasmuch as the Lord flows in with man through his internal man, and in fact through the good therein. This good can be conjoined with good in the external man, but not good with truth immediately.

[3] From this it may be seen that the truth in man must first become truth in will and act (that is, the good of truth), before the conjunction of the rational with the natural, or the internal man with the external, can take place. But how truth becomes the good of truth, must be evident to everyone who pays attention. All Divine truth regards these two precepts-to love God above all things, and the neighbor as one’s self. It is these precepts from which and for the sake of which truths are, and to which truths tend, more nearly and more remotely. Therefore when truths are put into act, they are instilled successively into their beginning and their end, namely, into charity toward the neighbor, and into love to the Lord; and thereby truth becomes good, which is called the good of truth; and when this takes place, it can then be conjoined with the internal man, which conjunction becomes successively more interior, in proportion as more interior truths are implanted in this good. Act precedes, man’s willing follows; for that which a man does from the understanding, he at last does from the will, and finally puts it on as a habit; and it is then instilled in his rational or internal man. And when it has been instilled in this, the man no longer does good from truth, but from good; for he then begins to perceive therein somewhat of blessedness, and as it were somewhat of heaven. This remains with him after death, and by means of it he is uplifted into heaven by the Lord.

From the work;  Arcana Coelesita

3167. Every man has an internal and an external; his internal is called the internal man, and his external the external man; but what the internal man is, and what the external, is known to few. The internal man is the same as the spiritual man, and the external is the same as the natural man; the spiritual man is that which understands and is wise from those things which are of the light of heaven, but the natural man from those things which are of the light of the world (concerning which two lights see above, n. 3138). For in heaven there are nothing but spiritual things, whereas in the world there are nothing but natural things. Man has been so created that in him spiritual things and natural things, that is, his spiritual and natural man, should agree or make a one; but in this case the spiritual man ought to dispose all things in the natural, and the natural ought to obey, as a servant his lord.

[2] But by the fall the natural man began to exalt itself above the spiritual man, and thus inverted Divine order itself; hence the natural man separated itself from the spiritual, and no longer possessed any spiritual things, except such as could enter as through chinks, and confer the capacity of thinking and speaking. But in order that spiritual things might again flow into the natural man, this had to be regenerated by the Lord; that is, truth out of the natural man must be initiated and conjoined with good in the rational; and when this is effected, spiritual things come to the natural man, for then the light of heaven flows in and enlightens the things in the natural man, and causes them to receive light; the goods therein the heat of light, that is, love and charity; and the truth the rays of light, that is, faith; and in this way natural good and natural truth receive spiritual things. In this case natural good is all the delight and pleasure that come from having as an end the being of service to what is spiritual, thus to the neighbor, still more to the public weal, and still more to the Lord’s kingdom, and above all to the Lord; and natural truth is all the doctrine and memory-knowledge that has as an end to be wise, that is, the doing of these things.

From the work;  Arcana Coelesita

5786. The external man is the means through which the internal man acts; for the external man is merely the organ or instrument of the internal. This being so, the external man must be made wholly subservient and subject to the internal; and when the external man is subject to the internal, heaven acts on the external man by means of the internal man and makes the external man conform to things such as are of heaven.

[2] The opposite occurs when the external man is not the servant but the master. The external man is the master when a person has the pleasure of the body and the senses as his end in view, especially when the objects of his selfish and worldly love and not the things of heaven are his end – to have as his end in view being to love one and not the other. For when a person has those objects as his end he no longer believes that there is any such thing as an internal man or that within himself there is anything that will be living when his body dies. In his case the internal, since it does not hold the position of the master, is merely the servant of the external, employed to enable thought and reasoning against what is good and true to take place; for in this person’s case no other kind of influx by way of the internal is available. This is also the reason why people like this utterly despise, indeed recoil from the things of heaven. From all this it is plain that the external man, which is the same as the natural man, ought to be wholly subject to the internal or spiritual man, and consequently should exist without any freedom of its own.

[3] Freedom of one’s own consists in giving oneself up to every kind of base pleasure, despising others in comparison with oneself, and making them subject like slaves to oneself. Or else it consists in persecuting others, hating them, being delighted when bad things happen to them – especially things done to them by one’s own designs or by the use of deceit – and wishing to see them dead. These are the kinds of things that come from indulging one’s own freedom. From this one may see what a person is like when he exercises this type of freedom, namely a devil in human form. But when he loses this freedom he receives a heavenly freedom from the Lord, the nature of which is completely unknown to those exercising the freedom of their own. They imagine that if the freedom of their own were taken away from them no life at all would remain. But in actual fact this is when true life has its beginning and when true delight, blessing, happiness, and wisdom arrive, because this freedom comes from the Lord.

From the work;  Arcana Coelesita

9776. Just as the world ought to serve heaven, so man’s external or natural ought to serve his internal or spiritual. Moreover, the natural was created for service; for it does not live from itself, thus can do nothing from itself; but from the internal or spiritual, that is, through this from the Lord. From this it is also evident that man’s external or natural is nothing unless it is of service to the internal or spiritual, and that it becomes something in proportion as it is of service. To be of service is to obey, and the natural obeys when it does not take for itself from the understanding reasons which favor the evils of the loves of self and of the world; but when it complies with the dictates of reason and the doctrine of the church, which declare that good and truth ought to be done, not for the sake of self and the world as ends, but for the sake of good and truth itself. In this manner the Lord does these through man’s heaven, that is, through his internal; for all good and truth are from the Lord, insomuch that good and truth with man are the Lord Himself. From all this it can be seen why it is that the external man must be a thing of service to the internal man.

From the work;  Arcana Coelesita
8513. How long do ye refuse to keep My commandments and My laws? That this signifies on account of their not acting according to Divine order, is evident from what has just been unfolded (n. 8512). That it may be known what it is to act according to Divine order, and what not to act according to it, something further shall be said. Everything that is done according to Divine order is inwardly open even to the Lord, and thus has heaven in it; but everything that is not done according to Divine order is inwardly closed, and thus has not heaven in it.

[2] Therefore Divine order is for the Lord to flow in through the interiors of man into his exteriors, thus through the will of man into his action. This takes place when the man is in good, that is, when he is in the affection of doing good for the sake of good, and not for the sake of himself. When a man does good for the sake of himself, and not for the sake of good, his interiors are closed, and he cannot be led of the Lord by means of heaven, but he is led by himself. The love determines by whom he is led, for everyone is led by his love. He who loves himself more than his neighbor, leads himself; but he who loves good is led by good, consequently by the Lord from whom is good.

[3] From all this it can be seen what the difference is between living according to order, and not living according to it. How a man must live for it to be according to order, the Word teaches, and the doctrine of faith from the Word. He who does not look beyond external things cannot possibly apprehend this; for he knows not what that which is internal is, scarcely that there is anything internal, and still less that this internal can be opened, and that when it is opened, heaven is therein. The intelligent of the world are especially in this ignorance, and those of them who hold that there is something internal, nevertheless have no idea, or a fatuous idea, about it. Hence it is that they believe but little, and moreover apply their knowledges to confirm that all things are of nature.

From the work; The Doctrine of Life

58. In the second table, which is for man, it is not said that man must do this or that good, but that he must not do this or that evil, as for example, “Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet.” The reason is that man cannot do any good whatever from himself, but when he no longer does evils, then he does good, not from himself but from the Lord. That by the power of the Lord a man is able to shun evils as of himself if he begs for that power, will be seen in the following pages.

From the work; Divine Providence

116. Evils in the external man can be put away only by man’s instrumentality, because it is of the Lord’s Divine providence that whatever man hears, sees, thinks, wills, speaks, and does, seems to him to be wholly his own. Without this appearance (as has been shown above, n. 71-95, and in subsequent numbers) there could be in man no reception of Divine truth, no determination towards doing good, no appropriation of love and wisdom or of charity and faith, and therefore no conjunction with the Lord, consequently no reformation and regeneration and thus salvation. Without this appearance repentance from sins, and faith even, are evidently impossible. It is also evident that without this appearance a man would not be a man, but would be devoid of natural life like a beast. Let any one who will consult his reason and see, when a man thinks about good and truth, spiritual, moral, or civil, whether there is any other appearance than that he thinks from himself; let him then accept this doctrinal, that everything good and true is from the Lord and nothing from man; and will he not acknowledge this consequence, that man must do good and think truth as if of himself, and yet must acknowledge that he does it from the Lord; and furthermore, that man must put away evils as if of himself and yet must acknowledge that he does it from the Lord?

From the work; Divine Providence

127. It has been shown above from the exhortations read in all Christian churches before the holy communion that the common religion of the whole Christian world teaches that man must examine himself, see his sins, acknowledge them, confess them before God, and refrain from them; and that this is repentance, remission of sins, and consequently salvation. This can be seen also from the Faith that takes its name from Athanasius, and that has been accepted in the whole Christian world: at the end of which are these words:-

The Lord will come to judge the living and dead; at whose coming those that have done good shall enter into life eternal, and those that have done evil into eternal fire.
DP (Dick and Pulsford) n. 129 By the external being reformed from the internal means that man must act as of himself in freedom according to reason thus compelling himself to self examination and repentance

From the work; Divine Providence

129.3 This law of the Divine Providence follows from the two preceding which are, that man should act from freedom according to reason (n. 71-99); and that he should do this of himself although from the Lord, thus as of himself (n. 100-128). Since being compelled is not acting from freedom according to reason, and is not from oneself but is from what is not freedom and is from another, therefore this law of the Divine Providence follows in order after the two former. Moreover, everyone knows that no one can be compelled to think what he is not willing to think, and to will what his thought forbids him to will, and thus to believe what he does not believe, and certainly what he is not willing to believe, and to love what he does not love, and certainly what he is not willing to love; for a man’s spirit or mind is in full liberty to think, will, believe and love. It is in this liberty by virtue of influx from the spiritual world which does not compel, for man’s spirit or mind is in that world, but not by virtue of influx from the natural world, which is not received unless the two act as one.

[2] A man may be compelled to say that he thinks and wills the things of religion, and that he believes and loves them; but if they are not, or do not become, matters of affection and consequently of his reason, he nevertheless does not think, will, believe and love them. A man may also be compelled to speak in favour of religion and to act according to it; but he cannot be compelled to think in favour of it from any faith in it, or to will the things of religion from any love of it. Moreover, in kingdoms where justice and judgment are guarded, everyone is restrained from speaking and acting against religion; but still no one can be compelled to think and will in favour of it. For it is within the liberty of everyone to think with hell and to will in its favour, and also to think and will in favour of heaven; but reason teaches what man’s nature is in the one case and in the other, and the nature of his abiding lot; and it is from reason that the will has liberty to choose and make its selection.

[3] From these considerations it can be seen that the external may not compel the internal; nevertheless, this is sometimes done, but that It is pernicious will be shown in the following order:
I. No one is reformed by miracles and signs, because they compel.
II. No one is reformed by visions and by conversations with the dead, because they compel.
III. No one is reformed by threats and punishments, because they compel.
IV. No one is reformed in states that are not of rationality and liberty.
V. It is not contrary to rationality and liberty to compel oneself.
VI. The external man must be reformed by means of the internal, and not the reverse.

From the work; Divine Providence

150. By the internal and the external man is meant the same as by the internal and the external of thought, which have frequently been treated of before. The reason why the external is reformed by means of the internal is that the internal flows into the external, and not the reverse. It is known in the learned world that there is influx of the spiritual into the natural, and not the reverse; and it is known in the Church that the internal man must first be purified and renewed, and thereby the external. This is known because the Lord teaches it and reason declares it. The Lord teaches it in these words:

Woe unto you … hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and the platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Matt. xxiii. 25, 26.

[2] That reason declares it is shown in many passages in the treatise THE DIVINE LOVE AND WISDOM. For what the Lord teaches He grants to men to perceive rationally, and this in two ways; in one, man sees in himself that a thing is so, as soon as he hears it; and in the other, he understands it by means of reasons. His seeing in himself is in his internal man, and his understanding by means of reasons is in the external man. Everyone sees it within himself when he hears that the internal man must first be purified and the external by means of it. But he who does not receive a general idea of this by influx from heaven may be led astray when he consults the external of his thought. From this alone no one sees otherwise than that the external works of charity and piety, apart from the internal, are saving: It is the same in other things; as that sight and hearing flow into thought, and smell and taste into perception; thus the external into the internal, when nevertheless the contrary is the case. The appearance that what is seen and heard flow into the thought is a fallacy; for it is the understanding that sees in the eye and hears in the ear, and not the reverse. So it is in everything else.

DP (Dick and Pulsford) n. 151
151. At this point something will now be said on how the internal man is reformed and how the external man is reformed by means of it. The internal man is not reformed merely by knowing, understanding and being wise, and consequently merely by thinking; but by willing what knowledge, understanding and wisdom teach. When a man knows, understands and has wisdom to see that there is a heaven and a hell, and that all evil is from hell and all good is from heaven; and if he then does not will evil because it is from hell, but wills good because it is from heaven, he is in the first stage of reformation, and is at the threshold out of hell into heaven. When he progresses further, and wills to desist from evils he is in the second stage of reformation, and is now outside hell but not yet in heaven, which he sees above him. A man must have such an internal in order that he may be reformed; but he is not reformed unless the external as well as the internal is reformed. The external is reformed by means of the internal when the external desists from the evils which the internal does not will because they are infernal, and still more when the external for this reason shuns them and fights against them. Thus willing is the part of the internal and doing of the external. For unless a man does that which he wills there is within him the failure to will which eventually becomes want of will.

[2] From these few considerations it can be seen how the external man is reformed by means of the internal. This also is what is meant by the Lord’s words to Peter:
Jesus said: If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.
[Simon] Peter saith unto Him: Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.
Jesus saith to him: He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit. John xiii. 8, 9, 10.
By washing is meant spiritual washing, which is purification from evils; by washing the head and hands is meant purifying the internal man; and by washing the feet is meant purifying the external man. That the external man must be purified when the internal has been purified is meant by this, “He that is washed, needeth not save to wash his feet.” That all purification from evils is from the Lord is meant by this, “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.” It has been shown in many places in the ARCANA CAELESTIA that washing among the Jews represented purification from evils, and that this is signified in the Word by washing; and that by washing the feet is signified the purification of the natural or external man.

From the work; Divine Providence

278. (2) Evils cannot be removed unless they appear. This does not mean that man must do evils in order that they may appear, but that he must examine himself,-not his deeds alone but also his thoughts, and what he would do if he did not fear the laws and disrepute, especially what evils he regards in his spirit as allowable and does not account as sins; for these he still does. It is to enable man to examine himself that an understanding has been given him, and this is separated from the will to the end that he may know, understand, and acknowledge what is good and what is evil, also that he may see what his will is, that is, what he loves and what he longs for. In order that man may see this there has been given to his understanding higher and lower thought, or interior and exterior thought, to enable him to see from the higher or interior thought what the will is doing in the lower and exterior thought; this he sees as a man sees his face in a mirror; and when he sees it and knows what sin is, he is able, if he implores the Lord’s help, to cease willing it, to shun it, and afterwards to act against it, if not freely, still to coerce it by combat, and finally to turn away from it and hate it; and then, and not before, he perceives and also feels that evil is evil and that good is good. This, then, is examining one’s self, seeing one’s evils, acknowledging them, and afterwards refraining from them. But as there are few who know that this is the Christian religion itself (because such only have charity and faith, and they alone are led by the Lord and do good from Him), so something shall be said of those who do not do this and nevertheless think that they have religion. They are these: (1) Those who confess themselves guilty of all sins, and do not search out any one sin in themselves. (2) Those who neglect the search from religious reasons. (3) Those who for worldly reasons think nothing about sins, and are therefore ignorant of them. (4) Those who favor them and in consequence are ignorant of them. (5) To all such sins are not apparent, and therefore cannot be removed. (6) Lastly, the reason, hitherto hidden, will be made evident, why evils cannot be removed unless they are sought out, discovered, acknowledged, confessed, and resisted.

278b. But these points must be examined one by one, because they are the primary things on man’s part of the Christian religion. First: Of those who confess themselves guilty of all sins, and do not search out any one sin in themselves. Such a one says, “I am a sinner; I was born in sin; there is nothing sound in me from head to foot, I am nothing but evil: good God, be gracious unto me, pardon me, cleanse me, save me, make me to walk in purity and the way of righteousness,” and so on; and yet he does not examine himself, and consequently is ignorant of any evil; and no one can shun that of which he is ignorant, still less can he fight against it. He also believes himself to be clean and washed after his confessions, and yet he is unclean and unwashed from the head to the sole of the foot; for a confession of all sin lulls one to sleep, and at length brings blindness. It is like a universal apart from any particular, which is nothing. [2] Secondly: Of those who neglect the search from religious reasons. These are especially such as separate charity from faith; for they say to themselves, “Why should I search whether there is evil or good? Why search for evil, when it does not condemn me; or why for good, when it does not save me? It is faith alone, thought and declared with trust and confidence, that justifies and purifies from all sin; and when once I am justified I am whole before God. I am indeed in evil, but God wipes this away as soon as it is done, and thus it no longer appears;” and other like things. But who does not see, if he will open his eyes, that such things are empty words, in which there is no reality, because there is no good in them? Who cannot so think and speak, even with trust and confidence, when at the same time he is thinking about hell and eternal damnation? Does such a one wish to know anything further, either what is true or what is good? Respecting truth he says, “What is truth but that which confirms this faith?” And respecting good he says, “What is good but that which is in me from this faith? But that it may be in me I must not do it as from myself, since this is meritorious; and good for which merit is claimed is not good.” Thus he ignores everything until he ceases to know what evil is. What then shall he examine and see in himself? Does not his state then become such that the pent-up fires of the lusts of evil consume the interiors of his mind and lay them waste to the very gate? Only this gate does he guard that the burning may not appear; but after death this is opened, and then it is evident to all. [3] Thirdly: Of those who for worldly reasons think nothing about sins and are therefore ignorant of them. These are such as love the world above all things, and admit no truth that would lead them away from any falsity of their religion, saying to themselves, “What is that to me? It is not for me to think of.” Thus they reject the truth the moment it is heard, and if they listen to it they stifle it. They do much the same when they hear preaching; they retain nothing of it except some few phrases,-nothing real. Dealing thus with truths they do not know what good is; for good and truth act as one; and from any good that is not from truth evil is not recognized, unless it be to call it good, and this is done by means of reasonings from falsities. Such are meant by the seed that fell among thorns, of whom the Lord says:-

Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. These are they that hear the Word, and the care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches so choke the Word that it becometh unfruitful (Matt. xiii. 7, 22; Mark iv. 7, 19; Luke viii. 7, 14).

[4] Fourthly: Of those that favor sins, and in consequence cannot know them. These are such as acknowledge God and worship Him in accordance with established ceremonies, and convince themselves that any evil that is a sin is not a sin, painting it over with fallacies and appearances, and thus hiding its enormity; and having done this they favor it, and make it their friend and familiar. It is said that those do this who acknowledge God, for others do not regard any evil as a sin, for all sin is against God. But let examples illustrate. One that is greedy for wealth makes evil to be no sin when, from reasons that he devises, he makes certain kinds of fraud allowable. He does the same who justifies in himself a spirit of revenge against enemies; or who in war justifies the plundering of those who are not enemies. [5] Fifthly: To all such sins are not apparent and therefore cannot be removed. Every evil that is not seen nourishes itself. It is like fire in wood covered with ashes, or like matter in a wound that is not opened. For all evil that is shut in grows and does not stop till the end is reached. That no evil, therefore, may be shut up, every one is permitted to think in favor of God or against God, and in favor of the holy things of the church or against them, and not be punished therefore in the world. Of this the Lord. thus speaks in Isaiah:-
From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; the wound, the bruise, and the fresh stripe, they have not been pressed out, nor bound up, nor mollified with oil. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before Mine eyes, cease to do evil; learn to do well. Then, although your sins have been as scarlet they shall become white as snow; although they have been red as crimson they shall be as wool. But if ye refuse and rebel ye shall be devoured by the sword (i. 6, 16-18, 20).

“To be devoured by the sword” signifies to perish by the falsity of evil. [6] Sixthly: The reason hitherto hidden why evils cannot be removed unless they are sought out, discovered, acknowledged, confessed and resisted. It has been remarked in the preceding pages that the entire heaven is arranged in societies according to [the affections of good, and the entire hell according to] the lusts of evil opposite to the affections of good. As to his spirit every man is in some society; in a heavenly society if he is in an affection for good, but in an infernal society if he is in a lust of evil. This is unknown to man so long as he lives in the world; nevertheless he is in respect to his spirit in some society, and without this he cannot live, and by means of it he is governed by the Lord. If he is in an infernal society he can be led out of it by the Lord only in accordance with the laws of His Divine providence, among which is this, that the man must see that he is there, must wish to go out of it, and must try to do this of himself. This he can do while he is in the world, but not after death; for he then remains forever in the society into which he has inserted himself while in the world. This is the reason why man must examine himself, must recognize and acknowledge his sins and repent, and then must persevere even to the end of his life. That this is true I could prove by much experience, sufficient for complete belief; but this is not the place to set forth the proofs of experience.

From the work; The Apocalypse Revealed

937. The Lord loves everyone, and wills to be conjoined to him, but He cannot be conjoined as long as the man is in the delight of evil, as in the delight of hating and revenging, in the delight of committing adultery and whoredom, in the delight of robbing or stealing under any form, in the delight of blaspheming and lying, and in the lusts of the love of self and the world; for everyone who is in these is in companionship with the devils who are in hell. The Lord indeed loves them even there; but He cannot be conjoined with them, unless the delights of those evils are removed; and these cannot be removed by the Lord, unless the man examines himself that he may know his evils, acknowledges and confesses them before the Lord, and wills to desist from them, and thus perform repentance. This the man must do as of himself, because he does not feel that he does anything from the Lord; and this is given to man, because conjunction, that it may be conjunction, must be reciprocal, of man with the Lord, and of the Lord with man. As far therefore as evils with their delights are thus removed, so far the Lord’s love enters, which, as was said, is universal towards all; and man is then led away from hell, and is led into heaven. This a man must do in the world; for such as man is in the world as to his spirit, such he remains to eternity, with the difference only, that his state becomes more perfect, if he has lived well; because he is not then clothed with a material body, but the spiritual lives in a spiritual body.

From the work; True Christian Religion

24 [2] It is said that the man rises; but the meaning is that he is raised up by God. For in acquiring knowledges for himself man exercises his freedom of choice; but as he acquires for himself knowledges from the Word by means of his understanding he prepares the way by which God comes down and raises him up. The knowledges by means of which the human understanding rises, God holding it in His hand and leading it, may be likened to the steps of the ladder seen by Jacob, which was set upon the earth with the top of it reaching to heaven, by which the angels ascended while Jehovah stood above it (Gen. 28:12, 13). It is wholly different when these knowledges are lacking, or when man despises them. In that case the elevation of the understanding might be likened to a ladder reaching from the ground to the windows in the first story of a magnificent palace which is a dwelling-place of men, and not to the windows of the second story which is a dwelling-place of spirits, and still less to the windows of the third story which is a dwelling-place of angels. The result of this is that man remains in the atmospheres and material things of nature only, and confines his eyes and ears and nostrils to these, and from these he derives no other ideas of heaven and of the Esse and Essence of God than such as pertain to the atmospheres and to matter. Thinking from such ideas man can form no conclusions about God, as to whether He is or is not, or whether He is one or many; still less what He is in respect to His Esse and Essence. This is the origin of the belief in the plurality of gods, both in past ages and at the present day.

TCR (Ager) n. 105
The Divine order is that man should set himself in order for the reception of God and prepare himself to be a receptacle and abode into which God may enter and in which, as in His temple, God may dwell. From himself man must do this, and yet must acknowledge that it is from God. This he must acknowledge because he does not feel the presence and operation of God, although God in closest presence operates all the good of love and all the truth of faith in man. Every man progresses and must progress in accordance with this order, if from being natural he is to become spiritual.

From the work; The Apocalypse Explained
190. (v. 3) Remember, therefore, how thou hast received and heard, and take heed. That this signifies the remembrance of what the Lord teaches in the Word, and attention to it, is evident from the fact that, in what is written to the angel of this church, the subject treated of is those whose life is merely moral, and not spiritual; but of these it is now said, that they should procure to themselves spiritual life, in order that the moral life may be quickened, which is signified by the words just preceding be wakeful, and strengthen the things that remain, which are about to die. From this it is evident that by remember, therefore, how thou hast received and heard, and take heed is signified remembrance of what the Lord teaches in the Word, and attention. By taking heed is signified attention, as is the case with those who are in the spiritual affection of truth; for such persons, when they read the Word, do not see it from the doctrine of the church in which they are born, but they see it as if they were separated from that doctrine, because they desire to be enlightened, and to see truths inwardly in themselves, and not from others. Those who are in such a state are enlightened by the Lord, and it is granted to them to form to themselves doctrine from the truths which they themselves see; this doctrine also is implanted in them, and remains in their spirit to eternity. [2] But those who read the Word from the doctrine which they receive from others, cannot see truths from the light of their own spirit, thus not inwardly in themselves, but out of themselves; for they believe it to be true because others have seen it, and therefore they attend only to such things as serve for confirmation, other things they either pass by as if they did not see them, or draw them to the side of things which their doctrine dictates. That these cannot be enlightened, any one may see; for they only lay up matters in the memory of their natural man for the purpose of confirmation; from these they afterwards speak. This is why these persons remain natural, and do not become spiritual; since, in order that he may become spiritual, a man must fill his spirit with truths from the Word; and this can only be effected by his being desirous of knowing truth from the Word, and being delighted with it when he sees and perceives it; this is the spiritual affection of truth, concerning which we have frequently spoken before. This, now, is what is meant in the spiritual sense, by Remember, therefore, how thou hast received and heard, and take heed. (That it is the part of a wise man to see and perceive truth from the light of heaven, but not to confirm what is said by others, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia, n. 1017, 4741, 7012, 7680, 7950. That to see and perceive truth from the light of heaven is only given to those who love truth because it is truth, and who are therefore in the spiritual affection of truth, n. 8521; that the light of confirmation is natural light, and not spiritual, which can exist also with the evil, n. 8780.)