"It has been provided that every one, in whatever heresy he may be as to the understanding, can still be reformed and saved, provided he shuns evils as sins, and does not confirm heretical falsities in himself; for by shunning evils as sins the will is reformed, and through the will the understanding, which then first comes out of darkness into light. There are three essentials of the Church: the acknowledgment of the Divine of the Lord, the acknowledgment of the holiness of the Word, and the life which is called charity. According to the life, which is charity, every one has faith; from the Word is the knowledge of what the life must be; and from the Lord are reformation and salvation. If the Church had held these three as essentials, intellectual dissensions would not have divided but only varied it, as light varies its colors in beautiful objects, and as various diadems give beauty in the crown of a king." (D. P. 259.)
Here, then, we have a broad spirit of charity which acknowledges every man as a brother who believes in a Supreme Being, shuns evils as sins, and strives to live conscientiously and honestly according to the light he possesses.
As many who will be likely to receive this pamphlet may know little, if anything, in regard to the claims which Swedenborg makes, that he was the human instrument chosen by The Lord through whom to reveal to the world the truths of a New Dispensation, even of the Second Coming of the Son of Man, it may be well to allow this chosen servant to speak for himself as to his mission. He says:—
"I have been called to a holy office by the Lord Himself. I can sacredly and solemnly declare that the Lord Himself has been seen of me, and that He has sent me to do what I do, and for such purpose has opened and enlightened the interior part of my soul, which is my spirit, so that I can see what is in the spiritual world and those that are therein; and this privilege has now been continued to me for twenty-two years. But in the present state of infidelity, can the most solemn oath make such a thing credible or to be believed? Yet such as have received true Christian light and understanding will be convinced of the truths contained in my writings, which are particularly evident in the book of 'Revelations Revealed.' Who, indeed, has hitherto known anything of importance of the spiritual sense of the Word of God, of the spiritual world, or of heaven and hell; the nature of the life of man, and the state of souls after the decease of the body? Is it to be supposed that these, and other things of like consequence, are to be eternally hidden from Christians?"
Again, in the "True Christian Religion," at a later date, toward the close of his life in this world, he says:—
"I foresee that many who read the relations after the chapters, will believe that they are inventions of the imagination; but I assert in truth that they are not inventions, but were truly seen and heard; not seen and heard in any state of mind buried in sleep, but in a state of full wakefulness. For it has pleased the Lord to manifest Himself to me, and to send me to teach those things which will be of His New Church, which is meant by the New Jerusalem in the Revelation; for which end He has opened the interiors of my mind or spirit, by which it has been given me to be in the spiritual world with angels, and at the same time in the natural world with men, and this now for twenty-seven years."
In a letter to the King of Sweden, with characteristic simplicity and boldness, he says:—
"When my writings are read with attention and cool reflection (in which many things are to be met with hitherto unknown) it is easy enough to conclude that I could not come to such knowledge but by a real vision and converse with those who are in the spiritual world. I am ready to testify with the most solemn oath that can be offered in this matter, that I have said nothing but essential and real truth, without any admixture of deception. This knowledge is given to me by our Saviour, not for any particular merit of mine, but for the great concern of all Christians' salvation."
When asked why a philosopher was chosen to this office he replied:—
"To the end that the spiritual knowledge which is revealed at this day might be reasonably learned and naturally understood; because spiritual truths answer unto natural ones, inasmuch as these originate and flow from them, and serve as a foundation for the former."