DISCLOSURE OF SECRETS OF HEAVEN Contained in Sacred Scriptures or the Word of the Lord . VOLUME TWO

The first major theological work of the Swedish scientist-turned-seer Emanuel Swedenborg, Secrets of Heaven is in one sense a traveler’s account. It reveals the unseen realms that await beyond death – the light, warmth, and harmony of the angelic heavens and the varied darkness of the multitudinous hells. In this second volume, Swedenborg discusses place, distance, and time as it is experienced in the spiritual world. He also describes the ability of spirits to perceive goodness and truth and to know the character of other spirits on first approach. In addition, the work offers a detailed examination of chapters ten through fifteen of Genesis, including the story of the tower of Babel.

The analysis contained within Secrets of Heaven, which covers the books of Genesis and Exodus over the course of fifteen volumes, provides a model for a new way to understand the entire Bible. Prized for both the simplicity of its explanation and the breadth and depth of its vision, Swedenborg’s reading of Scripture discloses layer upon layer of inner meaning, all without undermining the power and import of the literal word.

 

Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) was a Swedish scientist, nobleman, and theologian who spent his life investigating the mysteries of the soul. Born in Stockholm to a staunchly Lutheran family, he graduated from the University of Uppsala and then traveled to England, Holland, France, and Germany to study with the leading scientists of the time. Between 1743 and 1745, he began to have visions of heaven, hell, and Jesus Christ, which resulted in a stream of books about the nature of God, the afterlife, and the inner meaning of the Bible. He devoted the last decades of his life to studying Scripture and presenting his own unique theology to the world.

Lisa Hyatt Cooper is translator of the fifteen-volume Secrets of Heaven for the Swedenborg Foundation’s New Century Edition of the Works of Emanuel Swedenborg.