E vërteta, ose ajo që është e vërtetë, është një mënyrë për të përshkruar atë që është në fund të fundit reale. Në një nivel natyror, e vërteta mund të mendohet thjesht si ajo që është e saktë, ndërkohë që në zhvillimin tonë shpirtëror jeton, e vërteta mund të jetë mësimi i mësimeve të bazuara në shpirtërore ose, më mirë, pranueshmëria jonë ndaj tyre si të vërteta hyjnore. Por Swedenborg shkon edhe më tej në shpjegimin e tij të së vërtetës, duke mësuar se e vërteta është forma e dashurisë, ose si shprehet dashuria.

Në një farë kuptimi, e vërteta është një sistem shpërndarjeje për dashurinë dhe për shkak se ndarja e dashurisë është vetë qëllimi i realitetit, kjo e bën të vërtetën jashtëzakonisht të rëndësishme. Dhe ndërsa e vërteta mund të vijë në formën e rregullave dhe fakteve të thata dhe të ftohta, ajo është në maksimum një gjë e bukurisë së papërshkrueshme, diçka që na lëviz brenda.

Natyra e së vërtetës buron nga ideja se Zoti në thelbin e Tij është vetë dashuria, e përsosur dhe e pafundme, dhe se Ai na do përtej aftësisë sonë për të imagjinuar. Dhe ashtu siç duam që njerëzit që duam të na duan, po ashtu edhe Zoti ka dëshirën më të thellë që ne ta duam Atë; Dashuria e tij dëshiron të arrijë tek ne dhe të frymëzojë dashurinë nga ana tjetër.

Dashuria, megjithatë, nuk mund të veprojë më vete; ka nevojë për një medium për të punuar. Mendoni për këtë në këtë mënyrë: për të shprehur dashurinë për dikë, keni nevojë për një fytyrë me të cilën të buzëqeshni, një zë me të cilin të flisni, krahë për t'u përqafuar ose mjete të ndryshme që mund t'i përdorni për të bërë mirë, me dashuri. gjëra për njerëzit që doni. Pa këto gjëra është thjesht një ndjenjë, e ngecur brenda dhe mjaft e padobishme. Në njëfarë kuptimi, nëse nuk mund të shprehet, ekzistenca e tij nuk është me të vërtetë mjaft e plotë.

"E vërteta", atëherë, mund të përkufizohet si "shprehje e dashurisë" ose ndoshta si "dashuri e shprehur". Kjo mund të jetë mjaft e thellë dhe e bukur: shprehja në fytyrën e një nëne të re, duke parë fëmijën e saj për herë të parë - kjo është e vërteta, në një nivel përtej fjalëve. Ndjenja tek ajo shprehet, dhe ne e marrim atë dhe ndjejmë vetë një valë emocioni. Në një nivel akoma më të lartë, ne mund të përpiqemi të përfytyrojmë shprehjen në fytyrën e Zotit kur ai na shikon, dashurinë që derdhet prej tij; kjo është e vërteta në thellësinë e saj.

Por e vërteta vjen edhe në nivele më të ulëta. Mendoni për mënyrat se si i duam fëmijët tanë - nganjëherë kjo do të thotë të vendosim disa rregulla të rrepta bardh e zi. "Mbaji duart për vete" dhe "duhet të më bindesh" nuk tingëllojnë shumë të dashura, dhe ta bësh një fëmijë të nxjerrë plehrat nuk ngjall saktësisht ndjenja të ngrohta dhe mendime poetike. Por ne në fakt po i duam kur u japim mësime që do t'i ndihmojnë ata të jenë njerëz të mirë, edhe nëse kjo dashuri nuk shkëlqen nga sipërfaqja e asaj që po themi. Zoti duhet të na trajtojë në të njëjtën mënyrë ndonjëherë, veçanërisht në fazat e hershme të rritjes sonë shpirtërore. "Ti nuk do të vrasësh" nuk tingëllon aq i dashur, dhe urdhri për të mos lakmuar mund të duket jorealist dhe i padrejtë në kufi. Megjithatë, nëse i shikojmë nga afër, mund të shohim se ata janë të dashur dhe po na bëjnë të jemi njerëz të dashur.

Pra, e vërteta vjen në shumë nivele dhe në shumë forma, e formësuar dhe e përshtatur në mënyra të ndryshme që ne mund të udhëhiqemi të jemi të mirë dhe të dashur. Kjo është arsyeja pse kaq shumë gjëra të ndryshme në Bibël - gurët, uji, vera, bimët, shpatat dhe shumë të tjera - të gjitha përfaqësojnë të vërtetën; të gjithë kanë nuanca kuptimi që pasqyrojnë shumë lloje të së vërtetës që Zoti përdor për të na udhëhequr.

Megjithatë, në zemër, e gjithë e vërteta është një mënyrë për të ndarë dashurinë. Nëse e shikojmë këtë, do ta vlerësojmë siç duhet.

(Referencat: Apokalipsi i shpjeguar 434; Sekretet Qiellore 1904 [3], 3077, 3207 [1-3], 3295, 3509 [2], 4247, 5912, 6880, 7270 [2-3], 8301 [2], 8456, 9407, Arcana Coelestia 9407 [13], 9806, 10026; Urtësia Hyjnore 9; Providenca Hyjnore 10, 36; Apokalipsi i shpjeguar 627 [5-6]; Doktrina e Jetës për Jeruzalemin e Ri 36; Jeruzalemi i Ri dhe Mësimet e Tij Qiellore 24; Feja e vërtetë e krishterë 209 [2-4], 224 [1-2], 379, 398)

24. 4. People who live lives based on truth and have good intent; and also the nature of truths that come from what is good. Truth that leads to what is good and truth that comes from what is good, and how they differ: 2063. Truth is not true in essence except to the extent that it comes from something good (4736, 10619), because it is from goodness that truth gets its underlying reality (3049, 3180, 4574, 5002, 9144) and its life (3111, 2434, 6077). This is also because truth is the form or outward nature of goodness: 3049, 4574, 5951, 9154. The truth we have relates directly to the goodness we have; the amount and quality of both in us are the same: 2429. For anything true to be true, it must get its essence from our leading a life of caring and innocence: 3111, 6013. The truths that come from leading a good life are spiritual truths: 5951.

[2] Truth that comes from goodness is able to unite itself to goodness so thoroughly that the two become one: 4301, 7835, 10252, 10266. Our understanding and will make one mind and one life when our understanding is subordinate to our will, because our understanding is the part of us that is receptive to truth and our will is the part of us that is receptive to goodness; but this oneness does not occur when what we think and say is at variance with what we intend: 3623. Truth that comes from goodness is truth that lives in our will and in our actions: 4337, 4353, 4385, 4390. When truth comes from goodness, an image of that goodness remains present in that truth: 3180.

[3] Throughout the entire heaven and the entire world and in their every detail, there is some form of a marriage (54, 718, 747, 917, 1432, 2173, 2516, 5194); especially between what is true and what is good (1094, 2173, 2508). This is because everything in the universe, in order to be anything at all, must go back to what is good and what is true; and in order to accomplish anything, must be the result of their being joined together: 2451, 3166, 4390, 4409, 5232, 7256, 10122, 10555. The ancients established [a custom of referring to] truth and goodness as partners in a marriage ¹ : 1904. According to the Lord's words, the law of marriage is that two should become one: 10130, 10168, 10169. True marriage love comes down from heaven from the marriage of what is true and what is good and becomes manifest: 2728, 2729.

[4] The more we are focused on goodness and on the truths that result from it, the wiser we are; no matter how much truth we know, however, if we are not focused on leading a good life wisdom will not be ours: 3182, 3190, 4884. When we have the truths that come from leading a good life, we are actually lifted out of this world's light into heaven's light ² -out of dimness, then, into clarity. On the other hand, as long as we only know about truths but are not practicing any goodness, we remain in this world's light and in dimness: 3190, 3191. We do not even know what goodness is until we are practicing it and learning from it: 3325, 3330, 3336. Truths grow by leaps and bounds when they come from leading a good life: 2846, 2847, 5345. More on this growth: 5355. This growth happens the way trees bear fruit and seeds multiply to make whole gardens: 1873, 2846, 2847. Wisdom grows to the same extent as well, and this goes on forever: 3200, 4220, 4221, 5527, 5859, 6663. Not only that, to the extent that we have gained truths from leading a good life, to that extent we are enlightened, and to that extent we experience enlightenment when we read the Word: 9382, 10548, 10549, 10550, 10691, 10694. Good actions that we do out of love are like fire, and the insights into truth that result are like light from that fire: 3195, 3222, 5400, 8644, 9399, 9548, 9684. In fact, the truths we learn from living a good life actually do shine in heaven: 5219. The truths we learn from leading a good life, which are the basis of wisdom, increase in proportion to the quality and amount of our love for doing good, and conversely falsities that we absorb from leading an evil life are proportional to the quality and amount of our love for doing evil: 4099. When we are given truths through leading a good life, we come into angelic intelligence and wisdom. These lie hidden within us as long as we are living in this world, but they are opened up for us in the other life: 2494. People who have truths from leading a good life become angels after they die: 8747.

[5] Truths that arise from goodness come in something like successive generations: 9079. They are arranged in sequences: 5339, 5343, 5530, 7408, 10303. The arrangement of truths that arise from goodness is like that of the fibers and blood vessels in our bodies and the complex tissues and structures they form to serve the useful functions of life: 3470, 3570, 3579, 9454. Truths that arise from goodness take the form of a kind of city within us, and this is caused by an inflow from heaven: 3584. At the center are the truths that accompany our primary love, while other concepts are distanced from that center to the extent that they fail to harmonize with [the central truths]: 3993, 4551, 4552, 5530, 6028. For evil people, though, falsity is at the center: 4551, 4552. When the truths we have are a result of our leading a good life, they are arranged in heaven's form (4302, 5339, 5343, 5704, 6028, 10303); and this agrees with the pattern in which heavenly communities are arranged (10303). All truths that result from leading a good life are connected to each other by a kind of kinship, like the branches of families descended from the same ancestor: 2863. Everything true also has an aura ³ reaching out from it into heaven according to the nature and extent of the goodness that is its source: 8063. The marriage of what is good and what is true is the church and heaven for us: 2731, 7752, 7753, 9224, 9995, 10122. The pleasure and happiness felt by people whose truths have goodness inside them: 1470.

[6] When our truths are brought together by goodness, they present an image of us: 8370. As individuals, we are nothing more nor less than our goodness and truth, or our evil and falsity: 10298.

[7] To summarize, we come to faith through truths: 4353, 7178, 10367. We come to caring about our neighbor through truths: 4368, 7623, 7624, 8034. We come to love for the Lord through truths: 10143, 10153, 10310, 10578, 10645. We come to conscience through truths: 1077, 2053, 9113. We come to innocence through truths: 3183, 3494, 6013. We come to purification from evils through truths: 2799, 5954, 7044, 7918, 9088, 10229, 10237. We come to regeneration through truths: 1555, 1904, 2046, 2189, 9088, 9959, 10028. We come to intelligence and wisdom through truths: 3182, 3190, 3387, 10064. Truths beautify angels and therefore also beautify us at the deeper levels of our spirit: 553, 3080, 4985, 5199. We gain power against things that are evil and false through truths: 3091, 4015, 10488. Truths are means of bringing [inner things] into the kind of order that is characteristic of heaven: 3316, 3417, 3570, 5339, 5343, 5704, 6028, 10303. We come to the church through truths: 1798, 1799, 3963, 4468, 4672. We come to heaven through truths: 1900, 9832, 9931, 10303. We become human through truths: 3175, 3387, 8370, 10298. All these things come about, though, by means of truths that arise from goodness and not from truths apart from goodness; and goodness comes from the Lord: 2434, 4070, 4736, 5147. All that is good comes from the Lord: 1614, 2016, 2904, 4151, 9981.

Fusnotat:

10143. 'A continual burnt offering' means all Divine worship in general. This is clear from the meaning of 'a burnt offering' as Divine worship, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'continual' as all and within all, dealt with above in 10133, so that 'a continual burnt offering' means all Divine worship in general. And when the lamb — of which the burnt offering consisted, and which means the good of innocence — is understood, this too means within all worship; for all worship that is truly worship must spring from the truths of faith and from forms of the good of love, and within every form of the good of love, and consequently within every truth of faith, the good of innocence must be present, 10133. This is the reason why 'a continual burnt offering' also means within all worship.

[2] 'A burnt offering' means Divine worship because burnt offerings and sacrifices were the chief features of the representative worship among the Israelite and Jewish nation, and all things relate to and take their name from their chief feature. As regards the chief feature of the worship among that nation, that it lay in sacrifices and burnt offerings, and that for this reason the whole of worship in general is meant by them, see 922, 1343, 2180, 6905, 8680, 8936, 10042.

[3] But what the Divine worship meant by sacrifices and burnt offerings is must be stated briefly. In particular sacrifices and burnt offerings have meant purification from evils and falsities, and at the same time implantation of goodness and truth, also the joining together of the two, thus regeneration, see 10022, 10053, 10057. With the person in whom these things have been accomplished true worship exists. It does so because purification from evils and falsities consists in refraining from them, steering clear of them, and loathing them; the implantation of goodness and truth consists in thinking and willing what is good and what is true, and in speaking and doing them; and the joining together of the two consists in leading a life composed of them. For when the good and truth residing with a person have been joined together his will is new and his understanding is new, consequently his life is new. When this is how a person is, Divine worship is present in every deed he performs; for at every point the person now has what is Divine in view, respects and loves it, and in so doing worships it.

[4] The fact that this is the true worship of God is unknown to those who think that all worship consists in acts of adoration and prayer, thus in such things as belong to the mouth and thought, and not in such as belong to deeds flowing from the good of charity and the good of faith. Yet the reality is that in a person offering adoration and prayer the Lord pays attention solely to his heart, that is, to what he is like inwardly so far as love and consequently faith are concerned. If therefore the adoration and prayer do not have these two within them they have no soul and life in them; they are an outward show, like that of toadies and pretenders, who, as is well known, do not even please anyone in this world who is wise.

[5] In short, acting in accord with the Lord's commandments constitutes true worship of Him, indeed constitutes true love and true faith, as may also become clear to anyone who stops to consider the matter. For there is nothing that a person who loves another, and who believes in another, would rather do than to will and to do what that other wills and thinks; his only desire is to know his will and thought, and so what is pleasing to him. It is different in the case of one who has no such love or belief. The situation is similar with love to God, as the Lord also teaches in John,

He who has My commandments and does them, he it is who loves Me. But he who does not love Me does not keep My words. John 14:21, 24.

And elsewhere in the same gospel,

If you keep My commands, you will remain in My love. This is My commandment, that you love one another. John 15:10, 12.

[6] The fact that the outward performance of worship without this inner devotion is not worship is also meant by what is said about burnt offerings and sacrifices in Jeremiah,

I did not speak with your fathers on the matters of burnt offering and sacrifice. But this matter I commanded them, saying, Obey My voice, and I will be your God. Jeremiah 7:21-23.

In Hosea,

I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. Hosea 6:6.

In Micah,

Shall I come before Jehovah with burnt offerings? Will Jehovah be pleased with thousands of rams? He has shown you what is good; and what does Jehovah require of you but to carry out judgement, and to love mercy, and to humble yourself by walking with your God? Micah 6:6-8.

In the first Book of Samuel,

Has Jehovah great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices? Behold, to be submissive is better than sacrifice, to be obedient better than the fat of rams. 1 Samuel 15:22.

Worship of the Lord consists first and foremost in a charitable life, and not in a religious life without it, see 8252-8257.