Swedenborg’s Spiritual Ideas
During the twenty years Swedenborg spent exploring the spiritual world, he took copious, detailed notes about every interaction he had with heavenly angels, evil spirits, and people who had just crossed into the afterlife—and he transformed the insights he learned from them into life-guiding spiritual principles that can be applied to anyone’s life regardless of religious affiliation. A deeper look at Swedenborg’s spiritually-enriching teachings can be explored by clicking on the ideas below. For a video overview, check out our Swedenborg & Life episode “Swedenborg 101: The Basic Nature of Everything.”
Angels
What do angels look like? What kind of lives do they lead? Swedenborg’s answers might surprise you!
Spiritual World (Afterlife)
What happens to us after we die? Will we see our loved ones again? Read more about what the afterlife is like and how we end up in heaven or hell.
Divine Providence
We all wonder sometimes why God would allow suffering in the world, or why our prayers aren’t answered. Swedenborg talks about why bad things happen in our lives.
Regeneration
How can we overcome our weaknesses and grow as loving, spiritual people? Swedenborg lays out the steps when he talks about regeneration.
Use
Being useful to others, Swedenborg tells us, is the cornerstone to spiritual growth.
Correspondences
The physical world is a reflection of the spiritual world, and everything that you see around you can represent a deeper spiritual principle. Swedenborg uses this idea to interpret the Bible in amazing ways.
Universal Human
According to Swedenborg, all of heaven is actually in a human form. But what does it mean to be human?
The Lord
Swedenborg uses the term Lord to mean both God in the sense of the infinite, eternal creator of the universe and Jesus Christ as God’s human manifestation.
Inner Meaning of the Bible
Swedenborg asserts that the Bible should be read as a multilayered description of the spiritual realities within us and in the world beyond.