Secrets of Heaven : The Portable New Century Edition

In Secrets of Heaven, Volume 10, the eighteenth century Christian mystic Emanuel Swedenborg presents the meaning behind the words of Exodus chapters 1–8, decoding the spiritual significance of key events―including the oppression of the Israelites, the birth and calling of Moses, and the first plagues upon Egypt. Using what he calls “correspondences,” Swedenborg connects these stories to the struggles of the human soul, the process of spiritual rebirth, and the challenges of embracing divine truth.

For example, when Moses is placed in a basket and hidden among the reeds of the Nile (Exodus 2), Swedenborg unpacks this iconic moment as a metaphor for divine truth being born within us―but initially concealed. The river represents worldly falsities and confusion, while the basket covered in tar and pitch reflects how, early in our spiritual awakening, truth is wrapped in external, imperfect layers. Yet, like Moses, this truth is protected by divine care until it grows strong enough to emerge. For Swedenborg, this story becomes a tender image of how our spiritual understanding often begins quietly, even hidden, before it transforms us.

Presented in a clear, modern translation, this Portable New Century Edition offers an accessible entry point to Swedenborg’s visionary theology. Since its original publication in Neo-Latin as Arcana Coelestia in the mid-1700s, Swedenborg’s Secrets of Heaven series has been providing a compelling perspective on the hidden wisdom within scripture to biblical scholars, spiritual seekers, and individuals exploring the deeper layers of faith.

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.