Class Book Copyright N°. CfiPXRIGHT DEPOSIT. THE PROPHECIES OF DANIEL BY A. L. KIP Ghe fmfcfeerbocfeer press NEW YORK 1919 Copyright, 1919 BY A. L. KIP DEC 27 1319 3WA559404 CONTENTS Introduction ..... The Church Led Captive by Rationalism Spurious Doctrines of Good Life A Fictitious God .... The Humbling of the Pride of Self Intelligence ..... The Profanation of Holy Things The Deification of Humanity in the Church 109 False SvrTEMs of Intellectual Doctrine Conflicting Systems of Ethics . The Desolation of the Church by Self Intelligence and Self -Exaltation The Divine Humanity Dissensions in the Church The End of the Christian Church . Conclusion ....... PAGB I 18 43 68 78 92 121 140 158 175 185 212 225 The Prophecies of Daniel INTRODUCTION THE aim of the present volume is to interpret the central spiritual meaning of the book of Daniel, viewed in the perspective of the signifi- cance of the Word as a whole. In the writer's opinion the evidence is over- whelmingly in favor of the view that the book of Daniel was not written in the time of that prophet, but was composed by some unknown author from traditional materials about the year 166 B.C., during the persecutions of the Jews under Anti- ochus Epiphanes, king of Syria ; and if this view is correct, then most of the prophecies of Daniel are nothing more than history put into a prophetic form. 1 Whether. or not such an opinion in regard to the date of the book of Daniel is accepted, the main historical events to which these prophecies refer are generally agreed upon by modern critics; 1 For literature on this subject, see Driver, Daniel, pp. xlvii.- lxxvi.; Porter, Messages of the Apocalyptic Writers, pp. 97-108; Sayce, Higher Criticism and the Monuments, pp. 524-537. 1 2 The Prophecies of Daniel and consequently the spiritual interpretation of Daniel is not much affected by the questions of origin and authorship, nor by the several historical inaccuracies which the book reveals, for the Bible in its essence is a record of the spiritual psychology of the race, and the historical or unhistorical events described in it serve primarily as a basis for the symbolic expression of the glorious spiri- tual truths contained in its inner meaning. The book of Daniel bears considerable resem- blance to the Apocalypse by reason of the abun- dant use of symbolism in both books; but the symbolism of Daniel is really history under a thin disguise, whereas the symbolism of the Apocalypse is pure symbolic representations in regard to the church, many of which still look to the future for their fulfillment. There is a certain connection between the two books; for the Apocalypse is descriptive of the formation and growth of the New Church, while Daniel describes the con- summation and judgment of the present Christian Church, and the consequent beginning of the New Church. The reference by the Lord as a sign of His second coming to the appearance in the holy place of the "abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet," 1 which abomination is the central theme of the whole book of Daniel, seems to project the prophecies of Daniel for their fulfillment to the time of the Lord's second coming 1 Matthew xxiv., 15. Introduction 3 and the end of the present religious age; a view which is corroborated by Swedenborg when he says that the book of Daniel signifies "everything prophetic concerning the Lord's coming and the last state of the Church." 1 Moreover, the time and times and half a time, and the three and one- half years of Daniel are the same periods that are mentioned in the eleventh, twelfth, and thir- teenth chapters of the Apocalypse; and the leopard,' the bear, the lion, and the mouth speak- ing great things which are treated of in Daniel are very similar to the beast out of the sea de- scribed in the Apocalypse, with the form of a leopard, the feet of a bear, and the mouth of a lion, to which was given a mouth speaking great things. Indeed, the early Christian Church saw in the characteristics of Antiochus Epiphanes the prototype of the antichrist who was to arise before the Lord's second coming. 2 These close resemblances can scarcely be accidental, but must point to similar times and conditions. But if the prophecies of Daniel are nothing but his- tory, and ancient history at that, how can they apply to a time that is still in the future? A par- tial answer to this query is that a portion of these prophecies are real prophecies, even if the book was written in the year 166 B.C. ; and although the death of Antiochus Epiphanes in 164 B.C. seems a remarkable literal fulfillment of some passages, 1 Heavenly Arcana, 3652. 3 1 John ii., 18; II Thessaloniansii., 1-12. 4 The Prophecies of Daniel yet the predictions of the reign of righteousness and the everlasting dominion of the saints, which are pictured as beginning immediately after the downfall of that monarch, have never yet been realized, and consequently these and similar prophecies still require a future date for their actualization. But there is another and a much more complete explanation. The entire historical period embraced in the book of Daniel is from the accession of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylonia, in 604 B.C., to the death of Antiochus Epiphanes in 164 B.C., a period of 440 years, and all the historical allusions and symbolic prophecies of Daniel properly fall within this time ; nevertheless the ancient events alluded to and partly predicted by the author of Daniel portray the details in regard to the end of the present Christian Church, because they describe old phases of feeling and thought, which will revive and reappear in the world of to-day, and by their strenuous evil and falsity devastate and consummate the Christian Church, for the world is now paralleling in its upward course the same general phase of life that occurred in a more intellectual form from about 600 B.C. to 50 B.C., 1 a period so largely comprised in the history of the book of Daniel ; and moreover because the time of the partial end of the Christian Church and the beginning of interest in the New Church on a large scale is to be placed at the 1 Kip, Phases of the Church Universal, pp. 55, 56, no; Psycho* logy of the Nations, pp. 230, 231. Introduction 5 termination of the present stage of the world's religious progress, the approximate date for which is suggested as 2150 a.d. 1 There is a marked distinction, as regards spiri- tual interpretation, to be drawn between the historical and the prophetical parts of the Bible. For the historical parts of the Bible describe the religious states of mind through which the human race passed in ancient times during its downward evolution, and through which it must again pass in the course of its upward progression; but the race of the future is going again through these ancient states of Biblical history only in a general way and with good as a more active and leading force than truth, which seems to have led in the more intellectual states that characterized anti- quity, and consequently some of the particulars recorded in the historical portions of the Bible will not be reenacted exactly as they were before in the recurring religious consciousness of mankind. On the contrary, however, the prophetical books of the Bible, in their internal sense, seem to be destined to be fulfilled in every least particular in the future development of the church, even where they seem purely historical in their contents. This distinction in interpretation perhaps accounts for the condensed form which marks many of the Old Testament prophecies and which suggests that when originally uttered they may have pos- sessed greater amplitude of form and definiteness 1 Kip, Phases of the Church Universal, pp. 114-116. 6 The Prophecies of Daniel of reference. While these prophecies were based on historical events that occurred at the time of their composition, and while many of the prophe- cies, especially those relating to the Babylonian captivity, had a literal fulfillment in a general way in subsequent Jewish history, the appearance of these predictions in their present form in the prophetical books of the Word seems to be mainly in consequence of their applicability to the future states of the church, when they would be spiri- tually fulfilled in every particular. While much of the book of Daniel is really history under a prophetic form, it should perhaps be classed as a prophetic book, and therefore its particulars are destined to be fulfilled at the time when the race reenters the religious states of mind current in the ancient eras with which the book deals. More- over, with the exception of a few chapters in the early part of Isaiah and a few passages elsewhere in the prophets, which seem to refer directly to the Lord's first coming, nearly the whole of the prophetic Word treats of the Lord's second com- ing, and will have its fulfillment at that time. 1 But this statement does not mean that these prophecies of a Messianic age were fulfilled at the x The book of Malachi especially seems to refer to the Lord's first coming, and parts of the other prophetic books of the Old Testament seem to have a double application, applying both to the Lord's first and to His second coming; but in nearly all these cases of double reference the application of such prophecies to the second coming is more complete and definite than their application to the first advent. Introduction 7 period of the world's history when Swedenborg's writings were given to the world, although these writings constitute in a large measure the Lord's second coming. The New Church came before its time, x and the present receivers of New Church doctrine are living in advance of the rest of the world, and the time of the Lord's second coming, so far as it applies to the fulfillment of prophecy, is the time when the race as a whole is able and willing to receive Him in his new revelation of divine truth. This time is still two or three cen- turies distant ; and until then the great mass of Old Testament prophecy, in its central and primary significance, must be regarded as unfulfilled. Al- though the great mass of Old Testament prophecy refers to the time of the acceptance of the Lord's second coming by the church as a whole, and fore- tells the events immediately preceding or follow- ing that time, still there is a small portion of such prophecy that describes the events which more or less distantly lead up to this general acceptance; for the end of the Christian Church, which must precede the reception of the Lord in His new reve- lation, is a thing of gradual accomplishment, and will be spread over a long period. The book of Daniel depicts both the beginning and the continu- ation of this gradual ending of the Christian Church ; and as the end of the Christian Church has begun in our day, this book is destined to have an earlier 1 Apocalypse Revealed, 4. 8 The Prophecies of Daniel fulfillment of many of its prophecies than several of the other prophetical books of the Word. It has been customary to think in New Church circles that the Christian Church came to an end in Swedenborg's day. It is true that it did then come to an end so far as its being the central and mOvSt vital religious dispensation on earth is con- cerned, but it did not come to an end so far as regards its career as a church. Swedenborg's statement that the Christian Church of his day was so devastated as to be devoid of any love or genuine truth 1 is not true of the Christian Church at present, -which abounds in good works of love and charity, and possesses many helpful truths explanatory of the literal sense of the Bible. It is evident that, as was predicted would be the case, 2 the Christian Church by reason of the new revelation of Divine truth through Swedenborg has been enabled to "revive and draw breath through heaven from the Lord," and so live out the full period of its allotted existence as a church. Its real end, however, has now begun; and it is the phases of religious thought and feeling that will accompany its consummation that are de- picted in the internal sense of Daniel. The wars and rumors of wars which it was foretold would precede the consummation of the age of the Chris- tian Church are like the frequent doctrinal con- troversies and conflicting clash of ideas between 1 True Christian Religion, 758; Brief Exposition, 77. 2 Marriage Love, 532. Introduction 9 the reactionary and the progressive elements in the Christian Church of to-day, the pestilences which were foreshadowed are like the skeptical questionings and infectious falsities which are now beginning to permeate that church, the earthquakes in divers places which were predicted are like the great present and prospective changes in Christian theology and point of view, and the precursory famines are like the present dearth of satisfying inward truth in the Christian Church owing to excessive critical discussion of the Bible; but all these things are only the beginning of travail, * the first premonitory symptoms of the vast upheaval which is still to come, when the essential, vital spiritual truths of the Bible will be attacked and despised, when the Christian Church will be torn and rent by conflicting opinions until it becomes unable to perceive any longer what is the truth, and when even the literal sense of the Word will be so wrested and distorted by powerful naturalis- tic thought into confirming strange doctrines that the Christian Church will be faint with perplexity and fear for the roaring of the sea and the billows, and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world. ' The great war between the Teutonic Empires and France, Russia, England, and Italy shows plainly, when spiritually interpreted, that the old materialistic ideas and doctrines of the Christian Church have ceased to rule, and that new religious 1 Matthew xxiv., 6-8; Mark xiii., 7, 8; Luke xxi., 9. io The Prophecies of Daniel theories and ideals are taking their place in the minds of the race; but as this subject has been treated of at length in the article, "The Spiritual Significance of the Great War, ' ' in the book, The Seven Types of Humanity, it need not be discussed here. There are two general periods of religious life which lie before the Christian Church between the present time and its final consummation. The first period, consisting of perhaps two centuries, will be a time in which the vital spiritual truths of the Bible will be denied and rejected, although the church will retain some goodness of life and good works in spite of the falsities of doctrine rife within it ; but the second period, the beginning of which will coincide with the beginning of a widespread interest in the New Church, will be a time in the Christian Church when evil will take the place of all the remaining good life, when their religion will consist merely of outward wor- ship bereft of any inward goodness, and when, having already been devastated of all spiritual truth, the whole Christian Church will come to a complete end. This complete end of the Christian Church will take place at the completion of this second period, and at the time of the opening of the distinctly- spiritual degree in the mind of the race as a whole. Such consummation of the Christian Church is fully described in the four- teenth chapter of the Apocalypse by the reaping of the harvest and the vine. 1 1 Apocalypse Revealed, 643, 646, 650. Introduction n One of the chief signs of the end of the Christian Church is to be the encompassing of Jerusalem by armies. 1 A city signifies doctrine, and Jeru- salem as the central city of Palestine signifies speci- fically the central doctrine of the Lord's divinity. 2 Therefore a general attack upon this doctrine is to be a sign of the beginning of the end of the Christian Church; for when the fundamental doctrine of the Lord's divinity is denied, the Christian Church ceases to be Christian, and becomes pagan. The great prevalence of the denial of the virgin birth, which is in effect a denial of the Lord's divinity, in the Christian Church of the present day shows clearly that such a condition is at hand, and that the doctrine of the Lord's divinity is being attacked on all sides by the armies of hostile arguments. The besieg- ing and the taking of Jerusalem from the Turks in 191 7 by the armies of the British and their allies seems to be a literal fulfillment of the above- mentioned Biblical prophecy, and is no doubt an outward symbol of the present religious state of mind in the Christian Church where the doc- trine of the Lord's divinity is being torn away from the domain of blind faith, which blind faith is represented by Turkey; and because the faith of the new era which the Allies represent and up- hold is a faith based on rational understanding, and not on blind belief, the Lord's divinity is 1 Luke xxi., 20. 2 Apocalypse Revealed, 862, 880. i2 The Prophecies of Daniel rejected by the younger element of the Christian Church because it is not understood by them in any enlightened faith how the Lord can be divine. The capture of Jerusalem by the Allies from the Turks in December, 191 7, therefore affords an exact time from which to date the beginning of the end of the Christian Church. These pages, however, are not meant as words of condemnation for the Christian- Church, but as messages of hope. After the period of tribula- tion and distress predicted in this book as lying in the immediate future pathway of the Christian Church, the Son of Man will come to them in the power and glory of a new spiritual dispensation, even as He has foretold He would do; indeed, He has told them to regard these very troubles as a hopeful sign that their redemption draws near. 1 Though the Christian Church may pass away, the Lord's church still lives on earth. The New Church, His new and lasting structure among men, is beckoning from its higher place to all who will forsake the old and lower, and cleave to the new and higher. It will probably be two or three centuries yet before the psychological moment arrives when Christendom as a whole will be ready to receive the Lord's new message to His followers; and for them to embrace these teachings now requires that they should advance just that far ahead of the world in general. But whether men come sooner or come later, its mansions are pre- 1 Luke xxi., 28. Introduction 13 pared, its gates are open; and however uncertainty and warring creeds and vanishing faith may afflict and distract Christians in the decay and dissolution of their great church, the Lord's New Church will stand untarnished and undismayed on the Rock of its foundation, and will surely gather its chil- dren under its wings at the appointed day. The predictions of the Babylonian captivity and the prophecies of the Messianic age as begin- ning immediately after the liberation of the Jews from this captivity occupy a large portion of the prophetical books of the Bible. The predictions of the Babylonian captivity had a literal fulfill- ment in the fact of the captivity itself, and are therefore interpretable as literally fulfilled pro- phecy 1 ; whereas the prophecies relative to the release of the Jews from this captivity, and their consequent restoration to power in an ideal Mes- sianic age, have never been literally realized in their details, and can never be literally fulfilled, and it therefore seems to be generally true that such prophecies yet await their complete fulfill- ment in the future spiritual development of the church, and that consequently they are to be interpreted as still predictive of future religious phases, and not as accomplished history. If there is any truth or divinity in the Word, all its prophe- 1 Yet, as the perverse states of mind which caused and which were represented by the Babylonian captivity, will again pre- dominate in the Christian Church of the future, even these prophecies of impending captivity have still a future, unfulfilled application to the Church. 14 The Prophecies of Daniel cies must be fulfilled either naturally or spiritually; for it is written : "My word shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please." "Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the law, till all things be accomplished.' * "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away." "These are days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled." The Babylonian captivity plays a very impor- tant part in the book of Daniel ; for not only was Daniel one of the first to be carried away to Babylon, where he spent the remainder of his life, but the author of Daniel endeavors to de- monstrate that the period of seventy years, which was predicted by Jeremiah as the time of the duration of the Babylonian captivity, 1 was really a period of weeks of years, or seven times seventy years, and he estimates the expiration of this period as falling in the year 164 B.C. Although the Jews were freed by Cyrus from the captivity at Babylon, nevertheless neither they, nor the religious mind of the race which they represent, were released by that outward act from the evil state of mind which caused such captivity 2 ; and the church as a whole will not be fully delivered from this perverse spiritual condition, which still 1 Jeremiah xxv., 11; xxix., 10. 2 Jeremiah vi., 19; xxiii., 1-35; Hosea xi., 5, 6. Introduction 15 remains by heredity, until it again becomes pro- minent in the consciousness of humanity, and men perceive its wickedness and remove it for good from their minds and lives. Hence many pas- sages in the Bible in regard to the bringing back of the captivity of Israel are applicable to the elucidation of the prophecies of Daniel. The obscure history and veiled symbolism of Daniel render it one of the most difficult of the Biblical books to interpret spiritually; but it is well worth the pains, for, as was stated above, the book portrays ancient aspects of religious thought and feeling which the world is now on the very eve of experiencing again, though in a more emotional way than was the case in antiquity. Hence the book is of great, immediate interest at the present time. It seems likely that the recurrence of these ancient forms of religious life will be accomplished through the awakening of the religious remains in the mind of the race, transmitted from genera- tion to generation from ancient times; and such awakening will probably be effected through strong influx from the spirits of the ancient peoples of the period under consideration who are now living in the other world, although it is possible that many other spiritual . and natural influences may contribute toward this end. In a striking passage in Ezekiel we read of a multitude of dry bones which at the prophet's commands took on the form of humanity, and 16 The Prophecies of Daniel became alive again. 1 The dry bones are like the bare facts of ancient history, and the sinews and flesh and skin which came upon them at the first command of the prophet are like the round- ing out of these bare facts of ancient life by an intelligent and comprehensive representation of ac- companying conditions. But they were still inani- mate bodies, devoid of the breath of life, because no matter how truly and sympathetically their states of mind may be depicted, the people belong to a dead past, and not a living present. But when the prophet prophesied to the wind, the breath of life came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceedingly great army. So, when the dry facts of ancient life, evoked in these pages into real but inanimate flesh by a portrayal of ancient psychology, are prophesied to be about to reappear in the religious life of the immediate future, the vital breath again enters the risen bodies, and they become alive once more. As the history of the ancient phases of thought and feeling which are made the basis of predicting future phases is often vague and incomplete, it is scarcely possible that the writer should succeed in foretelling the psychology of the church for two or three centuries with absolute accuracy of detail; but it is expected that the forecast will be sufficiently exact to enable others to recognize the predicted phases when they arise. If the 1 xxxvii., i- 1 4. Introduction 17 question is asked, Why attempt to prophesy at all unless it can be done with complete precision? the reply must be made that the Lord has symbo- lically foretold these future things for the welfare of His Church, 1 and that His figurative lan- guage needs to be interpreted in order that the prophecies may be understood and be of service. Moreover, after the events have occurred almost any 'passage of the Bible may be twisted into an interpretation of them, and it is sometimes ex- tremely difficult to distinguish between the true and the false explanation; whereas if the occurrences are foretold with reasonable accuracy through a true interpretation of the prophecies of the Word, it will be evident that such interpretation is indeed the Lord's truth, revealed for the enlighten- ment of His followers. 2 Therefore, while in many particulars these pages may not pronounce the final word on the subject, and while some of the outlines may remain indistinct until the events themselves have given the necessary completeness, it is hoped that the present volume will prove to be an approximate approach to a clear and definite comprehension of the sublime Divine truths con- tained in these wonderful prophecies of Daniel. 1 Isaiah xlii., 9; xlviii., 5; Matthew xxiv., 25; John xiii., 19. 2 Deuteronomy xviii., 18-22; Amos iii., 7. THE CHURCH LED CAPTIVE BY RATIONALISM 1 THE entire period from iooo B.C. to about 50 B.C. paralleled the youthfulness of the human race, and was an era of natural emotional- ity and perceptivity. This period was divided into an emotional part and an intellectual part, the line of demarcation between the two occur- ring somewhere during the middle of the sixth century B.C. As the exact date of such dividing line is unknown, the year 538 B.C., when the Persian king, Cyrus, by his conquest of Babylon became monarch of the Orient, seems to be a con- venient date of division; for then began a new order of affairs under the Aryan leadership of the world, and the Semitic supremacy, which had lasted for so many centuries, passed away. The first part of this period of natural emotion- ality and perception was characterized by emotional feeling, by the perception of what is naturally good, and by the outward activity which springs Comprising Daniel i., 1-21. The Book of Daniel in the Revised Version of the Bible should be read in conjunction with the following pages, which are intended as a general, and not as a word-for-word explanation. 18 The Church Led Captive 19 from strong feeling; whereas the second part was marked by emotional intellectuality, by the perception of what is naturally true, and by a tendency to verbal expression in which intellectual perception is wont to ultimate itself. But al- though this ancient era of nearly one thousand years is thus divided into two portions about the year 538 B.C., the period from 538 B.C. to about 600 B.C.,, while strictly belonging to the first and more emotionally perceptive period, is neverthe- less closely connected with the second and more intellectually perceptive period from 538 B.C. to 50 B.C.; for it was characterized by a similar remarkable development of the natural intellec- tual faculties of the mind. Thales, the father of ancient philosophy, was a contemporary of Nebu- chadnezzar, and the Milesian school of natural philosophy flourished during Daniel's lifetime. Through the guidance of the spiritual reason and spiritual rational perception, which were represented by David and Solomon, the youthful religious mind of the race had arranged and united all things of the church in their true spiri- tual order, all the while being under a deep and abiding sense of veneration toward God; for veneration is represented by the land of Palestine. x But this comprehensive ' union did not continue long, for presently a separation takes place between the good and the true element of the church, which was represented by the division between 1 Kip, Psychology of the Nations, pp. 63-65. 20 The Prophecies of Daniel the northern and southern kingdoms; and the separation of these two necessary and comple- mentary elements of the church ushered in a speedy religious decline. In 721 B.C., the natural reason asserts its ascendancy over the religion of the true church, for Samaria is taken captive by Assyria, representing the devastation of the spiritual truth of the church by mere reasoning; and now in 604 B.C., even the good life of the church, which is represented by Judah, is in a condition of religious and moral decay, and yields easily to the onslaught of perverse inferential rationality,' represented by Babylon under Nebu- chadnezzar. Finally in 586 B.C. Judah is carried captive to Babylon, and this captivity represents the devastation of the spiritual good of the church by self -intelligent inferential reasoning. Jehoiakim, king of Judah, who contemptuously burned the Divine warnings written by Jeremiah, and who is charged with covetousness, oppression, and violence, represents the corrupt ruling force in the religious mind of youth, which, through wayward turning away from the truth and the exaltation of self, has grown hard, covetous, contemptuous, and violent. 1 The Jews in these ancient times represented the true church, be- cause they alone possessed the Old Testament with its revelation of the true religion; and con- sequently it was in a state of the complete corrup- 1 Jeremiah xxxvi., 22-24; xx ii-» 13—19; Apocalypse Explained, 4814. The Church Led Captive 21 tion of this sordid, wayward, self -exalting force in the true church that Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem and besieged it. Although Nebuchadnezzar is called king of Babylon, which was his official title, he was really king of all Babylonia. By birth he seems to have been a Chaldean, and his empire seems to have been established by the Chaldeans, who inhabited the southern part of Babylonia, and who had attained supremacy over all B abylonia . The north- ern part of Babylonia corresponds to rational in- ference, and the southern part to a comparison of rational inferences with the known facts 1 ; and consequently Nebuchadnezzar as a Chaldean and as king of Babylonia stands for a forceful type of youthful rational inferentiality, which makes inferences that must be true if the statements they are deduced from are true, and then carefully compares such inferences with the known facts in order to ascertain whether the facts are corro- borative. As to the character of Nebuchadnezzar, he was, judging from his inscriptions, of a devout nature, and in Daniel he is represented as recogniz- ing the supremacy of the true God, and praising Him on recovery from his madness; but he is also referred to in the Bible as a devourer and destroyer of the true church, and as a ruthless conqueror in general. 2 Swedenborg explains Ne- buchadnezzar as meaning one who vastates 1 Kip, Psychology of the Nations, pp. 57-59. 2 Jeremiah li., 34; Hi., 12; Ezekiel xxvi., 7-12. 22 The Prophecies of Daniel truth and good through the pride of self -intelli- gence and the love of ruling. 1 Hence we may consider Nebuchadnezzar as representing a devout but perverse form of inferential, comparative rationality, which, because of its desire to know and to reason about everything in the light of its own intelligence, creates sad havoc among the spiritual things of the true church. The wars and conquests of Nebuchadnezzar represent the powerful arguments of such a comparing rational- ism, and its overthrow of opposing ideas. The city of Babylon, whither Daniel and the Jews were carried captive, corresponds to the use of one's own rational mentality in the considera tion of a subject, and consequently to the doctrines constructed by one's own rational thinking. In a bad sense Babylon stands for a self-intelligent rationalism, which, through the love of ruling over the souls of men and making gain out of holy things, falsifies and profanes the holy truths of the Bible. 2 It is therefore the personi- fication of the exaltation of self and self - wisdom. 3 The terrible destruction which captivity to such self -exalting wisdom wrought in man's spiritual nature and in his capacity to receive lofty spiritual 1 Heavenly Arcana, 7519; Apocalypse Explained, 622 6 , 65443. 2 Heavenly Arcana, 1295, 4748, 9960, 10,412; Last Judgment, 54. The king of Babylon represents the rational man, A. E., 557; and the Babylonish love of dominion springs from man's self-intelligence, H. A., 8941. 3 Habakkuk i., 7. The Church Led Captive 23 truth is abundantly described in the Lamentations of Jeremiah and the experiences of Jonah in the belly of the great fish. The land upon which Jerusalem is built seems to correspond to the veneration of God for His incomparable greatness and sole divinity; and as a city signifies doctrine, therefore the city of Jerusalem corresponds to the doctrine that Jeho- vah or the Lord is the only God. Swedenborg states that Jerusalem signifies the church as to doctrine, that it was the inmost of the land of Palestine, and that after the last judgment in the other world the name Jerusalem there means the doctrine of the church in which the Lord alone is worshiped. 1 As the whole of Palestine, of which Jerusalem constitutes a very small part, signifies the church, 2 and as cities signify doctrine, 3 therefore it is evident that all the cities of Palestine signify the doctrines of the church; but Jeru- salem, which was the religious center of the whole land, must specifically signify the central and inmost doctrine of the church, which in the New Church is the doctrine of the Lord's divinity. 4 This is also the central and fundamental doctrine of the Christian Church ; for upon Peter's acknowl- edgment of Him as "the Christ, the son of the 1 New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine, 6; Heavenly Arcana, 4539; True Christian Religion, 841. 2 Heavenly Arcana, 3923; Apocalypse Explained, 434 «. 3 Heavenly Arcana, 402. * Apocalypse Explained, 32 8 6 . 24 The Prophecies of Daniel living God," the Lord declared, "Upon this rock I will build My church." 1 As a result of the combination of these spiritual significations, the first verse of Daniel "In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it," means that, when the ruling in- fluence in the good life of the church had become utterly corrupt through false and evil ways, the regnant power of self -intelligent and self -exalting rationalism came against it, and brought its argu- ments to bear against the doctrine of the sole Divinity of 'the true God. In consequence of its sordid and self -centered state, such ruling religious influence was unable to meet these rationalistic arguments, but fell an easy prey to them; and the masterful spirit of rationalism carried away the rul- ing influence, together with many spiritual truths of the church, and brought them under the domin- ion of a paganistic and profane religion founded on inferential rationalism. The second verse means that the spiritual truths of the true church were stored up by the rationalizing spirit in its ration- alistic memory of religious things. Eunuchs, on account of their partial or complete loss of the generative organs, signify those who have no desire of communicating their own ideas to receptive minds, and thus conjoining themselves therewith. Hence eunuchs readily devote them- selves to propagating the ideas of others. In 1 Matthew xvi., 15-18. The Church Led Captive 25 consequence of this psychological effect of castra- tion, eunuchs were noted in ancient times for their fidelity and devotion to the interests of their masters, as well as their freedom from sexual passion. Swedenborg says that a spiritual eunuch is one who does not wish his understanding of truth and good to enter into lascivious conjunc- tion with the affection for evil and falsity. J There- fore Ashpenaz, the chief eunuch of Nebuchadnezzar, in whose sight God made Daniel to find kindness and compassion, stands for an important influ- ence in a rationalistic religion, which, although devoted to promulgating its master's views, has not obliterated its own rational understanding of the truth by union with an affection for falsity. The regnant spirit of rationalism, denoted by Nebuchadnezzar, desired to know and to explore the things of the true church; and it therefore commanded the chief expounder of its views, who although devoted to the master rationalism yet enjoyed a clear rational understanding of the truth, to gather and bring in for its consideration and service the most important and interesting of those members of the true church who pos- sessed keen perception, deep thoughtfulness, and exact knowledge of the spiritual things of their church; and to teach them both the facts and the methods of comparative rationality. More- over, the rationalistic master mind appointed for the mental nourishment of these representatives 1 Apocalypse Explained, 710 28 . 26 The Prophecies of Daniel of the true church the same continual regimen of rationalistic knowledge and teachings that formed its own mental pabulum, so that by a complete appropriation of such doctrines they might be made to serve the ruling spirit of ration- alism. Among these representative members of the true but corrupt church still remained the unperverted elements of genuine, heart-felt venera- tion of the true God in feeling, thought, knowledge, and expression. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah stand for these four aspects of the true religion. Daniel,- who was the leader of the Jews that were loyal to their faith, and who clung stead- fastly to his religion in spite of persecution and affliction, signifies the emotional and perceptive element of the true church, or those who receive the true religion in feeling and perception. His name means "God is my judge," and signifies a belief in God as the supreme judge and ruler of all. To express his rational quality Daniel's name was changed to Belteshazzar, which is probably a contracted form for "Bel, protect his life." In the Babylonian theology Bel was the lord of the earth and air; and as the gods of Babylonia probably represent the rational attributes of God, or God as viewed from a rational standpoint, therefore Bel seems to represent the Divine sphere of rationality in the spiritual-natural plane of life. Hence the name, "Bel, protect his life," is a supplication that the Divine rational influ- The Church Led Captive 27 ence on the spiritual-natural plane of life may preserve the rational religious feeling and percep- tion, for these are the life. The name of Hananiah, who represents the true religion in thought, means "Jehovah has been gracious," and it signifies the graciousness of the true God to those who are in thoughtful states; for the sense of grace is experi- enced in intellectual states of mind. I Hananiah's name was changed to Shadrach, which probably means "the word or decree of the moon-god." As the moon-god Sin was called the Lord of Wis- dom and the Giver of Light, this name seems to signify that its bearer trusts in the enlightenment of the Divine rational wisdom. The name of Mishael, who represents the true religion in knowl- edge, means "who is what God is"; and it signifies the incomparable glory of the Divine truth of the true religion. Mishael's name was converted into Meshach, which probably means "who is what the moon-god is," and signifies the unapproachable greatness of rational truth. The name of Azariah, who represents the true religion in expression whether of words or actions, means "Jehovah has helped"; and it signifies here a belief in the need of Jehovah's aid to speak and to act rightly. Azariah' s name was turned into Abed-nego, which means a servant of Nebo. In the Babylonian pantheon, Nebo was the inter- preter and messenger of Marduk, entrusted with carrying out his commands. Nebo presided over 1 Heavenly Arcana, 598, 2412. 28 The Prophecies of Daniel literature and science, and the art of writing was ascribed to him. He was entitled "the scribe," "the opener of the ear," and the "god of revela- tion." The appropriateness of such a deity as the tutelary name of one who represents the true religion in expression is evident ; for as "the scribe," "the opener of the ear," and "the god of revela- tion," Nebo represents the power of rational verbal expression, while as the messenger of the chief god of Babylon, charged with carrying out his dictates, he represents the power of rational activity. Therefore the name Abed-nego signi- fies a follower of the god of rational expression and action. The change of Jewish to Babylonian names signifies that the outward quality of the repre- sentatives of the true church was changed by their dwelling under the direct and powerful influence of rational inference, so that their mental processes took on a more rational turn than was the case before these Jews were brought to Babylon. The new names were given by the chief eunuch ; and this fact signifies that the change in quality was accomplished through the instru- mentality of a spirit of rational understanding which although under the dominance of a perverse rationalism was not blinded as to the real truth by a wanton clinging to false doctrines. The spirit of acceptance of the true religion in feeling and perception, which is Daniel, was un- willing to defile itself by an appropriation of the The Church Led Captive 29 rationalistic knowledge and teachings contained in the dogmas devised by a self-intelligent and self-exalting rationalism, and it therefore requested the highest of the unbiased rational minds that it might not be compelled to defile itself by the acceptance and appropriation of such doctrines; and the Divine influence operating upon such high, unbiased rationality rendered it kind and compassionate toward the emotional and percep- tive life of the true church. Yet this unbiased rationality feared the master spirit of perverse rationalism, who had appointed such rationalistic doctrinal knowledge for the nourishment of the disciples of the true church, and who might find them less attractive and less fitted to its purpose than others of similar abilities who had accepted such rationalistic teachings; and as a result the master mind might terminate the existence of such unbiased rationality in its domain. Then the emotional element receptive of the true religion requested of the steward-like instruc- tor, whom the high spirit of unbiased rationality had placed in charge of the representatives of the true church that they be given a full trial of being nourished by the simple, literal truths of the Bible alone, after which let their inward intelligence be compared with that of the others who had accepted and appropriated the doctrinal teachings of ration- alism. According to the result let him act. Their instructor hearkened to them and gave them a full trial; and at its expiration their inward 30 The Prophecies of Daniel intelligence was fairer and their good activities more full of true enjoyment than was the case with all the other maturing minds who had appro- priated rationalistic teachings. So their instruc- tor took away the instruction in rationalistic knowledge and doctrines, and taught them instead the simple truths of the Bible. These four representative elements of the true religion were gifted by God with knowledge and skill in all spiritual learning and wisdom; and the emotional and perceptive element was wise in understanding the interior and hidden truths of revelation. At the completion of the period which the ruling spirit of rationalism had appointed for bringing before it the representatives of the true but corrupt church, the spirit of unbiased rationality brought them in for the consideration of the masterful rational mind; and upon com- muning with them all, it found none like the four representative elements of the true church which had not defiled themselves by the acceptance of rationalistic teachings. Therefore these were taken into the service of the ruling spirit of ration- alism. In everything of true wisdom and under- standing concerning which the master rationalistic mind consulted them, it found them far better than all the exponents of deep wisdom and occult- ism in the whole realm of the rational mind. This emotional and perceptive religious element, which was receptive of the true church, continued to exist in the religious youth of the race until The Church Led Captive 31 the ideals of perceptive imagination began to exercise their sway over the world. Cyrus was king of Persia, which in ancient times included the southern portion of present Persia, and consequently corresponded to emotional and perceptive imagination. 1 Although of Persian descent, Cyrus before his conquests was a native king of Ansan, an important division of the prov- ince of Elam. Elam seems to correspond to the clear imaginative grasp of a subject that enables the mind to foresee all the elements necessary to produce a desired result. Hence in one aspect it corresponds to the formation of imaginative ideals, for an ideal implies the imaginative production of a standard of excellence that will meet all the requirements of human ideas of perfection. Elam or Susiana was an important province of the Persian empire, and Susa was the principal capital of Persia during the reign of Darius and his suc- cessors; and the possession of the faculty denoted by Elam is amply evidenced by the remarkable clearness of imaginative conception displayed by the great Persian kings in foreseeing and provid- ing for all the factors needful for the furtherance of their vast schemes of conquest. The domi- nance of the imagination in the world during the period of Persian ascendancy is attested by the fact that a great part of the literature of the time which purports to be sober and accurate history is little more than sheer fiction. 1 Kip, Psychology of the Nations, pp. 51-53. 32 The Prophecies of Daniel It was the imaginative ideals of what a religion and its adherents should be in order to realize their true mission and life that delivered the youth- ful religious mind of the race from the oppressive dominion of self -intelligent and self -exalting ra- tionalism, just as Cyrus, king of Persia, delivered the Jews from their captivity at Babylon. Con- sequently such imaginative ideals rendered great assistance to the true but corrupt church, by freeing it from the slough of rationalism, the sor- didness of making gain out of holy things, and the ambition of ruling over the souls of men, into which it had fallen ; and therefore Cyrus is called the shepherd and the anointed of Jehovah, whom He has called by name, and Jehovah's aid is promised in the extension of the sway of the ima- ginative ideals which Cyrus represents. 1 An in- stance of the formation of ideals during this period is afforded by Isaiah's pictures of the ideal Messiah, which were composed during the rise of Cyrus to sovereign power; and the lamentable extent to which the Jewish Church had fallen short of an ideal condition, and the direful consequences of its self -exaltation seem to be the main theme of the book of Jonah, which in all probability was written some time during the Persian or early Greek period. Hence Cyrus represents the ideal power of the imagination to rise above the fallacies of the senses and the allurements of self -intelligence. 1 Isaiah xliv., 28; xlv., 1-7. The Church Led Captive 33 Thus far the first chapter of Daniel has been interpreted with reference to past phases of the religious life of the race. How many of the details of the book of Daniel are real history it is impos- sible to say; but undoubtedly all the statements it contains, when spiritually interpreted, are true of the religious psychology of the race during a part of its youth, and they will assuredly again portray truly the religious psychology of the church when the states of its youth return in its manhood. This future bearing of Daniel will now be considered. Although during the present intellectual era, which will probably last from 1900 A.D. to 2150 A.D., and which parallels the similar period from 50 B.C. to 538 B.C., the Christian Church will be rent by doctrinal disputes, and desolated by the denial of the Lord's divinity and the rejection and perversion of other holy truths of the Bible, it is nevertheless likely to retain some spiritual life in its interiors. x Hence the Lord's message to His followers in the Christian Church of this period is that when they shall behold the predicted abominable state of affairs in their church when the doctrines devised by mere human mentality are put forward in the holy place of doctrines taught by the Word itself, then they should take refuge in interior states of good life, and not turn back to former merely intellectual states of mind, lest they accept the prevailing falsities of 1 Heavenly Arcana, 4058. 3 34 The Prophecies of Daniel the times, to the destruction of their spiritual life and thought. Such is the meaning of the words : "When therefore ye see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let him that readeth understand), then let them that are in Judea flee unto the mountains; let him that is on the housetop not go down to take out the things that are in his house ; and let him that is in the field not return back to take his cloak." 1 But when the present intellectual era is over, and the world again begins to experience the more emotional states of life that were current from 538 B.C. to 1000 B.C., the spiritual life will depart even from the interiors of the Christian Church, and it will be given over to the rule of false, imaginative doctrines and to the sordid dominion of a self -exalting rationalism. The light and life of faith and charity will go out, and only the dead form of decaying doctrines will remain; and they who still rally to its cause will be those who love to ponder deeply over and confirm false and per- verted teachings from which the light of heaven has forever departed, — "Wheresoever the carcase is, there will the vultures be gathered together." In these last sad times of the Christian Church, which are partly described in Daniel by the Baby- lonian and Median empires, the Lord's message 1 Matthew xxiv., 15-19; Heavenly Arcana, 2454, 3652-3655, 3755- The Church Led Captive 35 to His followers is no longer an exhortation to take refuge in interior states of goodness; but it is a command to leave their church for good, lest they too be engulfed in the ruin: "Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and save every man his life; be not cut off in her iniquity; for it is the time of Jehovah's vengeance." "My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and save yourselves every man from the fierce anger of Jehovah." 1 It is to the beginning of this emotional era that the following words seem to apply: "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken; and then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send forth his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one. end of heaven to the other." 2 These passages mean that immediately after the affliction of the Christian Church caused by the flood of falsities, heavenly love in the church will become darkened, faith will cease to enlighten, Jeremiah li., 6, 45; also, Isaiah xlviii., 20; Jeremiah 1., 8. 2 Matthew xxiv., 29-31; see also, Isaiah xiii., 10-13 for similar predictions attending the downfall of Babylon. 36 The Prophecies of Daniel the knowledges of spiritual truth and good will perish, and the very capacity for spiritual life and thought will be shaken to the foundations, through the falsification of the Bible. 1 This state in the Christian Church will be a signal for the Lord's spiritual manifestation, and will cause all those who are in good and truth to mourn their woeful plight. Then shall they see and receive the great and glorious new revelation of Divine truth constituting the New Church, which is founded upon the correspondential interpretation of the Bible; and the Lord, by means of an inflow into the church of a clear perception from the heavens and the preaching of New Church doc- trines on earth, will gather together all the good of every kind in the Christian Church for the establishment of His New Church. 2 Jehoiakim and his Jewish subjects of the future will be the Christian Church of say 2150 A.D., which through the rule of sordid self-seeking and false ideas will have lost its sense of inward spiri- tual life, and have become a prey to self -intelligent rationalism and self -exaltation. As Daniel and his companions in the past represented the uncor- rupted elements of the church receptive of the true religion, so the Daniel of the future will be the uncorrupted members of the corrupt and devastated Christian Church to be who will receive the doctrines of the New Church, which 1 Apocalypse Explained, 304c 47 , 741 26 . 3 Swedenborg, Commentary on Matthew, pp, 352-364. The Church Led Captive 37 will then be the only true religion in the world. But although Daniel and his companions represent the good members of the future Christian Church who will receive New Church doctrines, their reception of these doctrines will not be a complete acceptance of them as the truth revealed by the Lord Himself and constituting His second coming ; but they will receive them in a rationalistic spirit, subject to the reasonings of the rationalism of the natural mind; for Daniel and his fellow Jews spent most of their lifetime under the dominance of the rationalism denoted by Babylon and its kings, and even their Jewish names were changed into Babylonian names. If the recrudescence of the two distinct states of mind represented by the Babylonian and the Median empires occurs simultaneously in the future, for these two empires existed side by side and not successively as they are described in Daniel, then the Babylonian empire will represent the Roman Catholic Church, since Swedenborg frequently so applies it, and the Median empire will represent the Protestant Christian Church of the future. But if the psychological remains of these two ancient empires are to arise one after the other in future human consciousness, then the two distinct states of mind represented by them will characterize the whole Christian Church successively. Even if these remains awaken successively in the consciousness of the race, it is likely that the remains represented \y 3 8 The Prophecies of Daniel the Median empire will be more predominant in the Protestant Church, and the remains repre- sented by the Babylonian empire will become more prevalent in the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic Church seems to represent the emotional side of the Christian Church, or its side as to good, as is shown by that Church's insistence on good works, and by its unity, for feeling unifies ; whereas the Protestant Church seems to represent the intellectual side of Christendom or its side as to truth, and this is evidenced by that Church's making faith, which is of the intellect, the chief thing of religion, and by its being split up into many denominations, for truth is many-sided and is separative in tendency. The Protestant Church therefore represents the Northern Kingdom of Samaria, which was the intellectual side of the Israelitish Church, while the Roman Catholic Church represents the Southern Kingdom of Judah, which was the emotional side of the Israel- itish Church; and as Samaria was first led captive by the perverse reasonings of the natural mind, represented by Assyria, while the captivity of Judah by the self -intelligent rationalism of Baby- lonia came later, so the Protestant Church in the intellectual part of the era that now lies before the world will probably like Samaria be the first to fall into false naturalistic reasonings; whereas in the later emotional part of the present era the Roman Catholic Church, which represents the kingdom of Judah, will come into the deeper evils The Church Led Captive 39 of a self -intelligent and self -exalting rationalism that finally profanes all spiritual, and even literal, truth. In the future fulfillment of the prophetic books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel will represent those in the Protestant and the Roman Catholic Church respec- tively who, when the Christian Church has fallen into the future Babylonian captivity of self -intelli- gence and self -exaltation, will teach the pure and unperverted truth of the literal sense of the Bible as opposed to the falsified truths and adulterated goods of that church, and who will predict the downfall of the Christian Church and warn against the deadly religious corruptions of the times. For the prophecies of Jeremiah seem to be especially applicable to the Protestant Church of the future, while those of Ezekiel, written in Babylonia itself, seem to be more appropriate to the future Roman Catholic Church. The entire prophecy concern- ing Babylon contained in the fiftieth and fifty-first chapters of Jeremiah will have its complete fulfill- ment when the Christian Church at the time of its partial end comes into the rationalistic self -intel- ligence which Babylon denotes, and when the men of the New Church, who are meant by the Medes or the nation from the north attacking Babylon, and who, in consequence of their reception of true doctrine in imaginative thought are able to rise above the allurements of self -intelligence, will re- fute and destroy the self-intelligent doctrines of the moribund Christian Church. The kingdoms 40 The Prophecies of Daniel of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz, which are like- wise mentioned there as summoned to destroy Babylon, are the true rational perceptions of the members of the New Church, which will sweep away this false self -intelligent rationalism. It is the downfall of this self -intelligent and self -exalt- ing spirit in the future Christian Church that is meant by the words, ''Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great." 1 As was the case with the Jewish Church of old, so will the Christian Church of the future become the captive of rationalism ; and the self -intelligent and self -exalted leaders of the church to be, eager for religious dominion, and prolific in the produc- tion of doctrines framed by their own rationality and not derived from the Bible, are the Nebuchad- nezzars of the future. These leaders will attack the doctrine of the Lord's divinity just as Nebu- chadnezzar besieged Jerusalem, and they will carry away from their rightful application many literal truths of the Word as Nebuchadnezzar carried away the vessels of the house of God, and will pervert them to serve their own profane and adulterated religion. Under the dominion of these Babylonish church leaders and influenced by their rationalistic spirit will be the future receivers of the truths of the New Church denoted by Daniel and his companions. The rationalistic church leaders will attempt to make their own use of the intelligent elements 1 Revelation xiv., 8. The Church Led Captive 41 of the devastated Christian Church, including the receivers of the New Church, by having them instructed in the learning and methods of com- parative rationality, and also by appointing for their education a thorough course in the dogmas devised by their own self -intelligent rationalism; and this task they will endeavor to accomplish through those who, while devoted to the propaga- tion of the ruling rationalistic views, are never- theless unbiased in their sincere love of rational truth, who will be the Ashpenazes of the future. But the future receivers of the New Church will refuse to defile their religious views by accepting such false, rationalistic dogmas, which are "the king's dainties and the wine which he drank" 1 ; and by an appeal to the promulgators of these dogmas who are in an unprejudiced love of rational truth, and by a thorough test of studying the truths of the Bible itself and the New Church teachings which are drawn therefrom, they will prove that the doctrines of the New Church are productive of greater intelligence in understand- ing the Bible and of greater enjoyment in good living than all the self-devised dogmas of a ration- alistic and devastated church. The statement that the steward took away the youths' dainties and the wine that they should drink, and gave them vegetable food, may be a prediction that the instructors of the future Babylonish or Roman 1 True Christian Religion, 810; Apocalypse Revealed, 721, 759, 829. 42 The Prophecies of Daniel Catholic Church will remove the ban against reading the literature of the New Church. As a result of their loyalty to the true religion, these future nascent Newchurchmen will receive from the Lord knowledge and skill in all spiritual learning and wisdom ; and those of them who ex- cel in perception will possess an understanding of the interior and hidden things of revelation. When the time appointed for their complete instruction is finished, the rationalistic leaders of the church will examine these intelligent, nascent elements of the Christian Church; and they who received and were faithful to New-Church teach- ings, and who kept themselves uncontaminated by Babylonish dogmas, will be found ten times wiser than all the representatives of self-wisdom and occultism contained in the whole realm of the rational mind. These rational receivers of the New Church, represented by Daniel, will arise in the Christian Church at the end of the present intellectual era, which parallels the ancient era beginning with Cyrus, and will continue in it during the future periods of the Christian Church denoted by the 3abylonian and Median empires. SPURIOUS DOCTRINES OF GOOD LIFE 1 THE image which Nebuchadnezzar saw, and which was composed of various metals and clay, corresponds to the whole aggregate of spurious doctrines in regard to good life which are framed by the self -intelligence of man during the development of the emotional and perceptive degree of the natural mind. This is so for the following reasons. The kingdom of Babylon which formed the head of the image corresponds to the wisdom of rational self -intelligence, and as whatever is in the inmost or head must also be in the derivatives or body, therefore the whole image is representative of self -intelligence ; the metals correspond to laws or doctrines of good life, 2 and since such doctrines among gentile nations were not founded on the Bible, which they did not possess, they were more or less the product of men's own intelligence, and conse- quently were spurious teachings and not the genuine doctrines taught by the Bible itself, and represented by the regenerate part of the Jewish people ; the period from Nebuchadnezzar to Antio- 1 Comprising Daniel ii., 1-49. 2 Worcester, Plants of the Bible, p. 272. 43 44 The Prophecies of Daniel chus Epiphanes comprises nearly the entire era of the intellectual development which occurred on the emotional and perceptive side of the natural degree of the human mind, and although this era lasted down to about 50 B.C., the time from the death of Antiochus Epiphanes in 164 B.C. to 50 B.C. was not marked by any important new devel- opments of thought, but only by an eclectic combination of existing elements into compre- hensive systems. Although these systems of doctrine are specifi- cally interpreted in the following pages as spurious doctrines in regard to religious good life, no doubt the more intellectual systems of doctrine that teach not what is good but what is true are in- cluded in the meaning of the image. The four kingdoms constituting the image seen by Nebuchadnezzar are agreed by modern critics to be the Babylonian, Median, Persian, and Macedonian empires, the same as are represented by the four beasts in the seventh chapter of Daniel ; and the four varieties of religious doctrines in regard to good life are more or less exemplified in the literature of these four nations. The gold of the head of the image, represented by Nebuchad- nezzar, corresponds to the teaching of good life because it is of the Divine goodness; and the inscriptions of Nebuchadnezzar reveal a remark- able loftiness of religious sentiment unequaled in the later royal literature of the Oriental world, and express a conception of sovereignty as the Spurious Doctrines of Good Life 45 gracious gift of God, and a deep desire to follow in the path of God's righteous goodness. The following prayers of Nebuchadnezzar bear witness to lofty religious feeling existent in the Babylonian empire, which constituted the highest part of the image : eternal prince ! Lord of all being ! To the king whom thou lovest, and Whose name thou hast proclaimed As was pleasing to thee, Do thou lead aright his name, Guide him in a straight path. 1 am the prince, thy favorite, The creature of thy hand ; Thou hast created me, and With dominion over all people Thou hast entrusted me. According to thy favor, O lord, Which thou dost bestow on All people, Cause me to love thy exalted lordship, And create in my heart The worship of thy divinity, And grant whatever is pleasing to thee, Because thou hast fashioned my life. As I love The fear of thy divinity, As I follow in the path of thy lordship, Look with favor upon the lifting up of my hands, Give ear to my prayers. 1 1 Harper, Assyrian and Babylonian Literature, pp. 135, 142. 4 6 The Prophecies of Daniel The silver of the breast and arms of the image, represented by the inferior kingdom of Media, corresponds to doctrines teaching good life because it is of the Divine truth; and while it is difficult to determine the exact dates of the composition of the hymns of the Zend-Avesta, which contains portions of the literature of the ancient Medes and Persians, in some of the hymns which may be attributed to the period of Median supremacy there breathes a spirit of love for truth and its teachings of good life, 1 which is identical with the meaning of the silver composing the breast and arms of the image. The copper of the belly and legs, represented by the Persian empire, corresponds to doctrines teaching a good life in order that men may share in heavenly happiness; and the doing of good deeds in this world in order to receive heavenly happiness is plainly enjoined in the following words of a later hymn : "He who wishes to seize the heavenly reward will seize it by giving gifts to him who holds up the Law to us in this world here below." 2 The iron of the legs and feet, represented by the Macedonian empire, corresponds to doctrines teaching a good life because of the consequences of evil doing ; and the Stoic and Epicurean systems will serve as illustrations of this kind of doctrine 1 See especially the twenty-seventh and the twelfth Yast in Muller's Zend-Avesta, part ii., pp. 146-148, 168-171. 2 Idem, p. 336. Spurious Doctrines of Good Life 47 originating under the Macedonian empire, for both these systems taught the desirability of suppressing bodily passions and pleasures because of the ill consequences of excessive indulgence in them, although the aim of the Stoic was the peace of soul which results from virtuous self-mastery, whereas the aim of the Epicurean was the attain- ment of the mental pleasures which physical indul- gence mars. The combined iron and clay of the feet and toes, also represented by a part of the Mace- donian empire, corresponds to doctrinal teachings as to the consequences of evil, which are founded on mere feeling ; and an example of such teaching is preserved in Callimachus' Hymn to Demeter, where the author "in order that everyone may avoid similar transgressions," gives a detailed description of the violent and insatiable pangs of hunger which Erysichthon suffered in consequence of his having offended the goddess by cutting down the trees in her sacred grove. Similar descriptions of the consequences of wrong doing occur in the Book of Enoch, where the wicked are depicted as being cast into literal burning fire, and details are supplied by the imaginative feelings of the writers. Separately considered, the iron of the feet of the image represents teaching in regard to the conse- quences of evil based on an intellectual perception of the general principles involved, which teaching is, like iron, firm and tenacious ; whereas the clay of the feet represents a loose aggregation of sensu- 4 8 The Prophecies of Daniel ous appearances strung together by emotional per- ception, which, like clay, although easily molded into any shape to confirm any doctrine, has little consistency or strength. Hence the feet and toes of the image, part of iron and part of clay, repre- sent a twofold doctrinal system which partakes on the one hand of the strength of logical natural truth, represented by iron, and on the other hand of the weakness of poorly connected appearances represented by clay. In the domain of religion, the contrast would be between a logical system of well-considered and consistent theology as opposed to a mass of literal Biblical facts and quotations illogically flung together to support a theory. Systems of doctrine springing from these two divergent mental attitudes cannot be reconciled with each other, just as the iron and the clay of the feet of the image did not mingle. There seems to be extant no record of the per- ceptive self-intelligent attempts made during the Macedonian period to reconcile these two divergent systems of doctrine and interpretation, which perceptive attempts are meant by the seed of man by which the iron and clay sought to mingle themselves x ; yet in the above-mentioned Hymn to Demeter, along with the excessive literalism of the story of Erysichthon there is a symbolic interpreta- tion of the meaning of the worshipers of the goddess treading the city without sandals or fillets and carrying baskets full of gold. This fact 1 Heavenly Arcana, 10,030. Spurious Doctrines of Good Life 49 shows at least the existence in the thought of these ancient times of a mingling of the symbolic and literal methods of teaching and interpretation, which are like the iron and clay in the feet and toes of the image; for the iron seems to be repre- sented by the Syrian kingdom of the later Mace- donian empire, and Syria corresponds to the knowledge of correspondences or symbolism, and the clay seems to be represented by the Egyptian kingdom of the later Macedonian empire, 1 and Egypt corresponds to the knowledge of the things of the other world or to literal knowledge of spiritual things in general. Now follows the interpretation of the spiritual meaning of the second chapter of Daniel. In a thoughtful state of the rule of comparative, inferential rationalism in the church a symbolic revelation of the future was made to the ruling spirit of rationalism, who was troubled to know its meaning and could not rest. Therefore this master spirit summoned all his representatives of rational self -wisdom and occultism, that they might declare to him the meaning of the symbolic revelation. So they came, and stood ready to aid him. And the ruling spirit said to them, I have had a dream-revelation, and my inward mind is troubled to know the meaning. Then said the 1 The period of the feet of the image seems to have begun about 220 B.C., when there occurred a marked change in the affairs of the Macedonian empire {see J. P. Mahaffy, Greek Life and Thought, p. 420), and a perceptible externalization of its life and thought. 4 5° The Prophecies of Daniel representatives of rational self -wisdom to the ruling spirit in the language of symbolism, x O king, live forever; tell thy servants what the dream was, and we will show the interpretation. The master spirit answered and said to the representatives of rational self -wisdom, The word from me is sure 2 ; if you make not known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be denounced, and your state of life shall be made most contempt- ible. But if you show the dream and its inter- pretation, you shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation. They answered the second time and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation. The ruling spirit answered and said, I know of a cer- tainty that you would gain time, because you see that the word from me is sure. But if you make not known to me the dream, there is but one law for you; for you have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till my mind be changed. 1 It is difficult to determine the exact correspondence of the Aramaic or Syrian language, which was a Semitic language spoken by the Arameans dwelling in Syria, Northern Mesopotamia, and part of Arabia; but as the chief seat of the Arameans seems to have been in Syria, and as Syria corresponds to the knowledge of correspondences, Aramaic together with Syriac may perhaps be regarded as representing the language of symbolism, just as Hebrew is the language of veneration, French the language of analysis, German the language of synthesis, English the language of judgment, and Italian the language of volition. 2 The correct translation of the Hebrew original seems to be " The word from me is sure," and not " The thing is gone from me." Spurious Doctrines of Good Life 51 Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation. The representatives of rational self -wisdom answered before the ruling spirit of rationalism and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can show the king's matter, forasmuch as no king, lord, or ruler has asked such a thing of any representative of rationalistic wisdom or occultism. And it is a difficult thing that the king requires, and there is no other that can show it before the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh. For this cause the ruling spirit of rationalism was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise representatives of self-intel- ligent rationalism. So the decree went forth, and the wise men were to be slain; and they sought the perceptive and other elements of the true church to destroy them. Then the emotional and perceptive element of the true church returned answer with counsel and prudence to the disciple of rational truth, 1 who was representative of the most powerful of all the habitual arguments of the ruling spirit of rationalism, and who was gone forth to slay the representatives of rational self-wisdom and 1 The name Arioch (verse 14) means " a servant of the moon- god," and therefore signifies a disciple of Divine rational truth. The main duties of the king's bodyguard were constantly to pro- tect the nyyal person and to perform executions at his command ; hence its members represented the offensive and defensive truths or arguments which the king habitually employed to defend his own position or effectually to silence others. 5 2 The Prophecies of Daniel occultism, and he said to him, Wherefore is the decree so urgent from the king ? Then this disciple of rational truth made the thing known to the emotional and perceptive element of the true church, who went in and desired of the ruling spirit of rationalism that he would appoint him a time, and he would show the king the interpreta- tion. Then the perceptive element of the true church entered into his own state of life, and com- municated the matter to the rationalized thought- ful, cognizant, and expressional elements receptive of the true religion, that they might ask the mer- cies of the God of heaven concerning this secret revelation, in order that the perceptive and other elements of the true church should not perish with the rest of the representatives of rational self -wisdom. Then was the secret revealed to the perceptive element in a vision of the night, significant of the last time or night of the church. Then this perceptive element blessed the God of heaven, saying, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever ; for wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons ; He removes kings and sets up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to them that have under- standing; He reveals the deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him. I thank Thee and praise Thee, O Thou God of my fathers, Who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast now made known to me what we desired of Thee; for Thou hast made Spurious Doctrines of Good Life 53 known to us the king's matter. Therefore the perceptive element of the true church went in to the disciple of rational truth, whom the ruling spirit of rationalism had appointed to destroy the representatives of rational self -wisdom. He went, and said thus to him, Destroy not the represen- tatives of rational self -wisdom ; bring me in before the ruling spirit of rationalism, and I will show him the< interpretation. Then the disciple of rational truth brought in the perceptive element of the true church before the king of rationalism in haste, and said thus to him, I have found a man of those claiming to have the true religion, though captive to the sway of rationalism, that will make known to the king the interpretation. The king answered and said to the perceptive element of the true church, who by residence under the influence of rationalism had taken on a spiritual rational quality in the natural mind, Art thou able to make known to me the dream which I have seen and its interpretation? The representative of the perceptive element of the true church answered before the king of rational- ism, and said, The secret which the king has demanded no representatives of rational self- wisdom or occultism can show to the king; but there is a God in heaven that reveals secret things, and He has made known to the king what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream-revelation and thy visions of inward perception when thy natural mind was quiescent are these : As for thee, 54 The Prophecies of Daniel king of rationalism, thy thoughts came into thine inward mind when thine outward nature was at rest in regard to what should come to pass hereafter; and He that reveals secret things has made known to thee what shall come to pass. But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any self -wisdom that I may have more than any living, but to the intent that the interpretation may be made known to the ruling spirit of ration- alism, and that he may understand the thoughts with which he is inspired. Thou, king of rationalism, sawest, and, be- hold, a great image significative of the aggre- gate spurious doctrines of good life framed by the perceptive natural mind of the church in its self- wisdom. This aggregate of spurious, self -intel- ligent doctrines, which was mighty, and the mental brilliancy of which was surpassing, stood embodied before thy mind; and its appearance was formidable. As for this aggregate of spurious doctrines, its emotional and perceptive element was composed of spurious doctrines teaching good life because it is of the Divine goodness, its element of higher thoughtfulness and active expression was made up of spurious doctrines teaching good life because it is of the Divine truth, its element of lower thoughtfulness and thought- ful activity was composed of spurious doctrines teaching good life in order that men may share in heavenly happiness, its cognizant and ex- ecutive element inwardly consisted of spurious Spurious Doctrines of Good Life 55 doctrines teaching good life because of the dire consequences of wrong doing, and outwardly consisted of such doctrines of consequences together with doctrines teaching as the conse- quences of evil doing the assumptions of mere feeling. Thou sawest till that genuine, compre- hensive doctrines, not the work of mere man, attacked and completely refuted the lowest de- velopment of this aggregation of spurious doctrines, which development consisted of doctrines teach- ing real or symbolic consequences of evil and of doctrines teaching fanciful or literal consequences. Then were the spurious symbolic teaching of con- sequences, the fanciful literal teaching of conse- quences, the teaching of good life that men may share in heavenly happiness, the teaching of good life because it is of the Divine truth, and the teach- ing of good life because it is of the Divine good- ness, broken in pieces together, and became the chaff of mere appearances when carefully examined in the light of true spiritual thought; and powerful spiritual thinking swept them away, so that no place in a genuine spiritual theology was found for them ; and these genuine, comprehensive doctrines that smote the spurious doctrines of self-intelli- gence grew great among mankind,, and were accepted throughout the world. This is the dream-vision; and we will tell its interpretation before the king. Thou, king of rationalism, art king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and 56 The Prophecies of Daniel the strength, and the glory; and wheresoever the elements of spiritual life and thought exist, the natural affections and the speculative thoughts has He given into thy power, and has made thee to rule over them all: thou representest the high- est element of these spurious doctrines, the ele- ment that teaches good life because it is of the Divine goodness. After thee shall arise another religious kingdom inferior to thine; and another third kingdom of doctrines teaching good life in order to share in heavenly happiness, which shall rule over all the church. And the fourth religious kingdom shall be strong as the doctrines teaching good life because of the dire consequences of wrong doing, forasmuch as such doctrines break in pieces and subdue all things ; and as such doctrines that crush all opposition, this kingdom shall break in pieces and crush. And whereas thou sawest the ultimate doctrines composed partly of teachings of literal consequences based on mere feeling and partly of teachings of symbolic consequences, it shall be a divided kingdom; but there shall be in it the strength of doctrines of real consequences, forasmuch as thou sawest these doctrines mixed with the doctrines founded on mere feeling. And as the lowest part of the ulti- mate doctrines was composed partly of doctrines of real consequences and partly of doctrines of fanciful consequences, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. And whereas thou sawest the doctrines of real consequences Spurious Doctrines of Good Life 57 mixed with the teachings of mere feeling, efforts shall be made through self-intelligent perceptions to reconcile these two conflicting systems of doc- trine; but they cannot be harmonized, just as the doctrines of real consequences and the doc- trines of fanciful consequences do not make a homogeneous whole. During the prevalence of those religious states shall the God of Heaven establish a church which shall never be destroyed, nor shall its sovereignty be left to any other system of doctrine; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these other religious systems, and it shall stand forever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that a genuine doctrinal theology was framed from inmost wisdom under the Divine guidance, and that it broke in pieces the spurious doctrines of consequences of evil, of sharing in heavenly happi- ness, of fanciful consequences of evil, of living according to the Divine truth, and of living accord- ing to the Divine goodness, the great God has made known to the ruling spirit of rationalism what shall come to pass hereafter ; and the dream- vision is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. Then the ruling spirit of inferential, compara- tive rationalism paid deep respect and homage to the perceptive element receptive of the true religion, and commanded that due expressions of reverence and gratitude be made thereto. The ruling spirit of rationalism answered to the repre- sentative of the perceptive element of the true 58 The Prophecies of Daniel church, and said, Of a truth your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of lords, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou hast been able to reveal this secret. Then the ruling spirit of rationalism made the representative of the perceptive element of the true church of great importance, and bestowed on him signal honors, and made him to rule over the whole province of self -intelligent rationalism, and to be chief leader over all the representatives of rational self-wisdom. And the representative of the perceptive element of the true church made request of the ruling spirit of rationalism, and he gave to the rationalized thoughtful, cognizant, and expressional elements receptive of the true religion a commanding influence in all the deliber- ations of the outward realm of self-intelligent rationalism; but the perceptive element of the true church dwelt in the inward circle of the juris- diction of the ruling spirit of rationalism. With reference to the future, the image seen by- Nebuchadnezzar represents ancient forms of spuri- ous doctrines of good life, and probably spurious doctrines in general, which will reappear in the Christian theology of the immediate future, per- haps in part as systems of mere ethical morality, and at any rate as the product of self -intelligence, and not derived from the Bible itself. Nebuchadnezzar stands for the future rational- istic leaders, probably of the Roman Catholic Church, who in thoughtful states of mind will receive, no doubt, from reading the Bible, obscure Spurious Doctrines of Good Life 59 intimations of the future of the church, which will disturb them because they cannot clearly grasp their significance. Then these rationalistic leaders will consult all their chief exponents of rational self -wisdom and occultism, in order that they may explain to them the meaning of these intangible mental perceptions. These self-intel- ligent wise men will attempt to explain by a symbolic method of their own the statements of the Bible, in regard to the meaning of which the rationalistic leaders have received their obscure intimations; but as a condition of correct and authoritative interpretation the leaders will insist that the wise men prove that they have been endowed from on high with a special illumination, in order to enable them to interpret truly the revelations contained in the Bible. 1 If they cannot do this, the leaders will have no faith in their interpretation, and will denounce their self- wisdom as useless and unprofitable; but if the wise men can produce proof of their special illu- mination, and so give evidence of their ability to interpret the Bible authoritatively, then the leaders of the church will pay them great attention and honor. But none of the self-intelligent wise men or scholars in the church can give such proof 1 Nebuchadnezzar's demand that the Chaldeans should tell him his dream as well as its interpretation, and the Chaldeans' reply that no one could do this except the gods, whose dwelling was not with flesh, shows clearly that such a demand was equiva- lent to requiring a proof of the possession of special illumination from God. 60 The Prophecies of Daniel of illumination from on high, and therefore they will be unable to vouch to the leaders of the church for the validity of their interpretations. They will try to bide their time in putting forward their interpretations until such a condition shall have been withdrawn; but the rationalistic leaders will not permit this, and will reiterate the demand for such proof of special illumination as a preliminary to the acceptance of any interpretation, denounc- ing their inability to supply it as a sign of the falseness and corruptness of their teachings. Whereupon the self -intelligent scholars will claim that it is an unreasonable condition to impose on them, and one which has never been required before in the church as a preliminary to belief in the teachings of self -intelligent wisdom and occultism, and that it cannot possibly be complied with. Therefore the rationalistic leaders of the Roman Catholic Church will be very much in- censed, and will give command to destroy the influence of all these wise representatives of self- inteUigent rationalism. So a movement will be set on foot to undermine and destroy the influence of these self -wise teachers, and among them the receivers of the New Church within the Roman Catholic Church. Then the perceptive receivers of the New Church will answer wisely and prudently the powerful rationalistic arguments of the lovers of rational truth, who are entrusted with the task of counteracting and destroying the influence of the self-wise teachers of the church, and will Spurious Doctrines of Good Life 61 learn from them the cause of the strong move- ment against them; and these perceptive mem- bers of the New Church will request an interview with the rationalistic leaders of the Roman Catholic Church, promising rightly to interpret the Bible. After consultation with the other component elements of the New Church existing within the Roman Catholic Church, and after mutual prayer for merciful Divine enlightenment on the subject in order that the doctrines of the New Church may not perish along with the teachings of self -intelligent occultism, a revelation, probably through the writings of the New Church, will be made to the perceptive receivers of the New Church, enlightening their obscurity. Then these perceptive members of the New Church will bless and praise the Lord for His wisdom, and power, and enlightenment, and for His revealing the proof desired by the rationalistic leaders of the church, which lies in the fulfillment of New- Church prophecies in regard to the future of the Christian Church; for such fulfillment will be a proof of the Divine illumination from which they originated. In consequence of this enlightening revelation the perceptive receivers of the New Church will request the lovers of rational truth, appointed to destroy the influence of the teachers of rationalistic self -wisdom, not to destroy these teachers, but to bring the perceptive New Church members before the rationalistic leaders of the 62 The Prophecies of Daniel church, and they will show them the true interpre- tation of Biblical prophecies. Then the lovers of rational truth will speedily introduce the perceptive receivers of the New Church to the leaders of the church, stating that they claim to have the wisdom of the true religion, and will make known the desired interpretation. These leaders will ask the rationalized perceptive members of the New Church whether they are able to give proof of illumination from on high in order to show that their interpretation is true and authoritative, and the perceptive New Church members will reply that no representative of self -intelligent wisdom or occultism can give any proof of Divine illumination as a test of valid interpretation, but that nevertheless there is a proof of the true interpretation of Biblical prophe- cies in that the Lord, Who alone can reveal the future, has made known beforehand to the ration- alistic leaders of the church, through the writings of the New Church, what shall come to pass at the time of the end of the Christian Church. The obscure apprehensions and conceptions which came into the minds of the leaders of the church when their own natural minds lay as it were asleep were about the statements of the Bible in regard to the end of the Christian Church, and the Lord Who reveals the secret things of the future has made known these things to them beforehand; but the perceptive members of the New Church were not enlightened by the Lord as Spurious Doctrines of Good Life 63 to the meaning of these scriptural passages be- cause of any superior self-wisdom, but in order that the rationalistic leaders of the church might know the true interpretation of the Bible on the subject, and might clearly understand the thoughts with which they were inspired. The great image, in regard to which the church leaders had thought obscurely, is the vast aggre- gate of spurious religious or ethical doctrines framed by the self-intelligence of the Christian Church during the time of its consummation. This mighty system of doctrines was brilliant with the light of self -wisdom, and its appearance was formidable to the unenlightened mind. The emotional and perceptive element of this vast aggregation of doctrines was spurious doctrines of good life because of the Divine goodness, its element of higher thoughtfulness and active ex- pression was spurious doctrines of good life be- cause of the Divine truth, its element of lower thoughtfulness and thoughtful activity was spuri- ous doctrines of good life in order to share in heavenly happiness, its element of knowledge and executive activity consisted inwardly of doctrines of good life because of the consequences of evil doing, and outwardly in part of these doctrines and in part of doctrines teaching conse- quences of evil which are founded on the appear- ances of mere feeling. The stone that was cut out without hands is the genuine religious doctrines of the New Church formed under the Divine 64 The Prophecies of Daniel guidance, and these genuine doctrines will smite and break in pieces the feet of iron and clay, which are the ultimate spurious doctrines of good life based on real and on fanciful consequences of wrong doing. (These genuine New Church doctrines will destroy the feet of the image first, because in the return of the race through the religious remains of these ancient periods, which return is now at hand, the latest of these develop- ments is the first in point of time to be reached. In fact, the Christian Church's doctrines of the pre- destination of the elect, the torment of the wicked in hell fire, and other spurious doctrines which were derived from the Jewish Church of the period cov- ered by the feet of iron and clay, have already been broken in pieces and their falsity exposed in the writ- ings of Swedenborg.) Afterward all these spurious doctrines of good life taught by the Christian Church during the time of its end will be broken in pieces, and scattered abroad as the chaff of mere appear- ances when carefully examined in the light of New Church thought ; and the strong spiritual thinking of the New Church will sweep them away, so that no place in a genuine theology founded on the Bible can be found for them, and the doctrines of the New Church at first received by a few will spread among mankind and become accepted throughout the world. "This is the abstract meaning of the Biblical passages about which you thought obscurely; but in the concrete significance, you, O rational lead- Spurious Doctrines of Good Life 65 ers, are supreme in the affairs of the church, and God has given you this dominion and power and glory; and wherever the elements of spiritual life and thought exist inwardly in the church or mind all the outward natural affections and specu- lative thoughts He has given into the power of your rationality, and has made you to rule over them. You are the perceptive framers of the spuri- ous doctrines teaching good life because it is of the Divine goodness. Before you came another religious kingdom inferior to yours, and also a third religious kingdom, which consisted of spuri- ous doctrines teaching good life in order to share in heavenly happiness, and which bore rule over all the church. Previous to this there existed a fourth religious kingdom, which was strong and destructive and masterful through its doctrines teaching a good life because of the dire consequences of wrong doing. Yet this was a divided religious kingdom; for it had in it the strength of doctrines inculcating good life because of the consequences of evil, but also the weakness of doctrines teaching as consequences of evil the ill-founded fancies of mere feeling. You have witnessed in the com- paratively recent history of the church how efforts have been made through self -intelligent percep- tions to reconcile these conflicting systems of doctrine with each other and with the teachings of the Bible; but they could not be harmonized, because they are incompatible. While these out- ward states were regnant throughout the religious 4 66 The Prophecies of Daniel world, the Lord established a New Church, which will never be destroyed, nor will it be succeeded by any other church; but it will shatter and con- summate all the false teachings derived from for- mer churches, and it will stand forever. The literal words of the Bible, where you read that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the copper, the clay, the silver, and the gold, mean that the genuine doctrines of the New Church, revealed by the Lord, will destroy all these spurious doc- trines of the Christian Church. By means of this very passage the Lord has made known to you as leaders of His Church what should come to pass in the future of the Christian Church; and the symbolic prediction is certain, and the given interpretation sure." Then the rationalistic leaders of the Roman Catholic Church will pay great respect and homage to these perceptive members of the New Church within their fold, and will make them the recipi- ents of reverent and grateful attentions ; and these leaders will acknowledge, because of the proof given of Divine authoritative interpretation, that the Lord as revealed in the doctrines of the New Church is the true God of heaven and earth, Who alone is capable of enlightening the human mind in regard to spiritual mysteries. Then the leaders of the church will make the perceptive receivers of the New Church of great importance, and will bestow on them many tokens of esteem Spurious Doctrines of Good Life 67 and honor, and will give them a commanding influence in all the affairs of their rational, self- intelligent church, and will make them chief among the representatives of rational self -wisdom. The other receivers of the New Church representing the elements of thought, knowledge, and expres- sion will then be appointed over the outward affairs of this rational, self -intelligent church; but the receivers ' representing the perceptive element will be retained in the intimate service of the leaders of the church themselves. A FICTITIOUS GOD 1 THE ruling spirit of self-intelligent and self- exalting rationalism invented a fictitious god, having the semblance of the Divine goodness and the appearance of lofty wisdom and compre- hensive intelligence ; and he sought to establish its worship within the church of self -intelligent rationalism. 2 Then the master spirit of rational- ism sent for all the chief supporters of his rule to come to attend the inauguration of the worship of the fictitious god which he sought to establish; and all the chief supporters of his rationalistic kingdom gathered together to the inauguration of the worship of the fictitious god which the ruling spirit of rationalism had set up, and they came under the influence of this fictitious god set up by self -intelligent and self-exalting rationalism. Then the proclaimer of the theories of rationalism cried aloud, To you who are in wisdom and good- ness and knowledge it is commanded that at what time ye hear the expression of worshipful feelings ye reverence and worship the god of goodness 1 Comprising Daniel iii., 1-30. 2 As the exact location of the plain of Dura is unknown, there- fore no interpretation of its meaning is attempted. 68 A Fictitious God 69 which the ruling spirit of rationalism has set up, and whoever does not so reverence and worship shall the same hour be condemned to the fierce evil fires of hell. Therefore at that time when all the people heard the expression of worshipful emotions all who were in wisdom and goodness and knowledge reverenced and worshiped the fictitious god of goodness which the ruling spirit of rationalism had set up. Wherefore during this state in the church certain comparing rationalists came near, and brought accusation against them who had the true religion. They answered and said to the ruling spirit of rationalism, O king, live forever. Thou, O king of rationalism, hast made a decree that every man that shall hear the expression of worshipful emo- tions shall reverence and worship the god of good- ness, and whoever does not reverence and worship shall be condemned to the fierce evil fires of hell. There are certain men claiming to have the true religion whom thou hast appointed over the affairs of the realm of self -intelligent rationalism, even the representatives of rationalized thought, know- ledge, and expression, receptive of what is claimed to be the true religion; and these representatives, O king of rationalism, have not regarded thee, they served not thy gods, nor worship the god of goodness which thou hast set up. Then the ruling spirit of rationalism in rage and fury commanded to bring the representatives of rationalized thought, knowledge, and expression 7° The Prophecies of Daniel of the true church, and they brought these repre- sentatives before the ruling spirit of rationalism. The master spirit of rationalism answered and said to them, Is it of purpose, representatives of rationalized thought, knowledge, and expression claiming the true religion, that ye serve not my god, nor worship the god of goodness which I have set up ? Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the expression of worshipful feelings ye rever- ence and worship the god which I have made, it is well; but if ye worship not, ye shall be con- demned the same hour to the fierce evil fires of hell, and who is the God that shall deliver you out of my power? The representatives of ration- alized thought, feeling, and expression of the true church answered and said to the ruling spirit, O master spirit of rationalism, we have no need to answer thee in this matter. If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the fierce evil fires of hell, he will deliver us out of thy power, O ruling spirit; but if not, be it known to thee, O master spirit of rationalism, that we will not serve thy rationalistic gods, nor worship the fictitious god of goodness which thou hast set up. Then was the master spirit of rationalism full of fury, and his inward frame of mind was changed against the representatives of rationalized thought, knowledge, and expression belonging to the true church. Therefore he spoke, and commanded that the fierce hell fires to which they were to be condemned should be pictured far worse than A Fictitious God 71 ever before, and he appointed certain powerful reasoners who were among his combative and argumentative force to bind with their reasonings the representatives of rationalized thought, know- ledge, and expression of the true church, and to condemn them to the fierce evil fires of hell. Then these representatives of the true religion were bound by condemnatory arguments directed even at the very form in which they expressed their views, and were condemned to the fierce hell fires of evil. Therefore because the command of the ruling spirit was urgent, and the imagined hell virulently portrayed, the very contact with the intense falsity of the evil condemnation destroyed the spiritual life and perception of the powerful reasoners who took up for condemnation the ele- ments of rationalized thought, knowledge, and expression belonging to the true church. And these representatives of all the intellectual elements of rationalized thought, knowledge, and expres- sion fell into trial and temptation through the arguments and condemnation consigning them to the fierce evil fires of hell. Then the ruling spirit of rationalism was aston- ished, and his mind experienced a speedy eleva- tion ; he spoke and said to his counselors, Did not we condemn to hell with our binding arguments the three representatives of all the intellectual elements claiming to belong to the true church? They answered and said to the ruling spirit, True, O master spirit. He answered and said, Lo, I 72 The Prophecies of Daniel see four elements loosed from bonds, living in the midst of our fiery condemnation, and they have no hurt; and the aspect of the fourth is like a son of the gods. Then the ruling spirit of rationalism came near to the entrance of his own burning fiery condemnation; he spoke and said, Representatives of rationalized thought, knowledge, and expression of the true church, ye servants of the Most High God, come forth out of condemnation, and come hither. Then the representatives of rationalized thought, knowledge, and expression of the true church came forth out of the midst of the fiery condemnation. And all the chief supporters of the ruling spirit of rationalism, being gathered together, saw these representatives, that the fiery condemnation had no effect even on their outward lives, nor were their intimate and natural or their formal and artificial modes of expression changed, nor had the falsity of the condemnation left any perceptible trace upon them. The ruling spirit of rationalism spoke and said, Blessed be the God of these representatives of rationalized thought, knowledge, and expression of the true church, Who has sent his angel, and de- livered his servants that trusted in Him, and have changed the word of the ruling spirit, and have yielded their lives, that they might not serve nor worship any god except their own God. There- fore I make a decree that any intellectual, emo- tional, or cognizant element that speaks anything amiss against the God of the representatives of A Fictitious God 73 rationalized thought, knowledge, and expression of the true church shall be denounced, and its position made most contemptible, because there is no other god that is able to deliver after this sort. Then the ruling spirit of rationalism pro- moted the representatives of rationalized thought, knowledge, and expression of the true church in the realm of self -intelligent rationalism. With reference to the future, Nebuchadnezzar stands as before for the future rationalistic lead- ers of the church, especially of the Roman Catholic Church, who in their self -intelligence and for the purpose of strengthening their rule over the church 1 will invent a fictitious god of their own, having the semblance of the Divine goodness and the appearance of lofty wisdom and comprehensive intelligence; and they will seek to establish the worship of this god throughout their rationalistic church. Then the rationalistic rulers of the church will gather together all their chief support- ers to inaugurate the worship of this fictitious idea of God devised by self-intelligent and self- exalting rationalism. Then the preachers of these theories of rationalism will proclaim to all varieties of persons within their churches that they should unite in the expression of devout feeling, and 1 "In general, all the consultations of the Babylonish race tend to this, that they may dominate not only over heaven, but over the whole earth, and thus that they may possess heaven and earth, obtaining each by means of the other. To effect this, they continually devise and hatch new laws and new doctrines" (Last Judgment, 58). 74 The Prophecies of Daniel venerate and worship the god of goodness which the rationalistic rulers of the church have set up, and that whoever does not reverence and worship will straightway be condemned to the evil fires of hell. Therefore these persons will unite in the general expression of devout feeling, and will venerate and worship the fictitious god of good- ness set up by the rationalistic leaders of the church. When, however, this worship has been inaugurated, certain inferential rationalists will approach their leaders, and will bring accusation against the New Church receivers within the church, stating that, although the leaders have decreed that all in the church should join in the expression of devout feelings, and should venerate and worship this fictitious idea of god, and that all failing to do so should be condemned to hell, yet the New Church representatives of rational- ized thought, knowledge, and expression have not regarded this decree, they have not served the rationalistic views of God prevalent in the church, nor worshiped the fictitious god of goodness set up by the leaders. Then these rationalistic leaders, especially of the Roman Catholic Church, will in great wrath have these representatives of the intellectual New Church brought before them, and will inquire whether they have purposely neglected to serve the god of their rationalistic conceptions, and to worship the god of goodness which they have set up, telling them that, if they will even now join A Fictitious God 75 in the general expression of devoutness and will reverence and worship their idea of God, all will be well; but if not, they shall straightway be excommunicated and condemned to hell, and no Divine influence can deliver them out of the power of the rulers of the church. Then these New Church representatives of rationalized thought, knowledge, and expression will answer the church rulers, arid say, "If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from your condemnation to hell, he will deliver us out of your power, O rulers of the church; but if not, be it known to you, O church rulers, that we will not serve your rationalistic gods, nor worship the fictitious god of goodness which you have set up." Then the rationalistic leaders, especially of the Roman Catholic Church, will be filled with fury, and their inward disposition will be changed against these intellectual representatives of the New Church, and they will have the hell of their con- demnation pictured seven times worse than usual; and they will command some powerful reasoners among their argumentative array of thinkers to enmesh with their reasonings these representatives of the intellectual elements receptive of the New Church, and to condemn them to fierce hell fires. For their refusal to worship and for the very form of their refusal, these representatives will then be fiercely condemned to hell. Therefore because the leaders' command is so sharp, and because the condemnation is so virulent, the contact with the 76 The Prophecies of Daniel intense falsity of it will deprive these powerful reasoners of their spiritual life and perception; and these representatives of the intellectual elements of the New Church will fall into trial and temptation through the fiery condemnation of them by the church . Then the rationalistic leaders, especially of the Roman Catholic Church, will be astonished, and will experience a sudden elevation of mind; for they will manifestly perceive that these intellec- tual New Church receivers are protected from harm by the presence of the Lord. The rational- istic church leaders will then bring these intellec- tual representatives of the New Church out from their fiery condemnation; and all the chief sup- porters and followers of rationalism will see that the condemnation of the church had no power over their lives, nor were their intimate and natural or their formal and artificial modes of expression al- tered, nor was any perceptible trace left upon them by the falsity of the condemnation. Wherefore the rationalistic leaders of the church will bless God as revealed in the doctrines of the New Church, Who by his presence delivered his servants who trusted in Him, and changed the decrees of all-prevailing rationalism, and yielded their lives that they might not serve nor worship any god but their own God ; and they will make a decree that anyone within the church who speaks anything amiss against the God of the intellectual representatives of the New Church shall be utterly denounced, and his A Fictitious God 77 position in the church made most contemptible, because there is no other god who can deliver in this manner. Then the rationalistic leaders of the church will promote the New Church representa- tives of rationalized thought, knowledge, and expression in the affairs of their rationalistic church. THE HUMBLING OF THE PRIDE OF SELF-INTELLIGENCE I THIS chapter describes the humbling of the pride of self-intelligence in the youthful religious consciousness of the race, by cutting off from the mind the inflow of heavenly light, which is the source of its lofty rational wisdom. This humbling occurs because the self-love of the pro- prium exalts its naturalistic wisdom over the spirit- ual things of the mind and church, claiming them as its own, and seeking to rule over them. The result is that the boasted self -intelligence degener- ates into the most outward and superficial percep- tions, and becomes folly and insanity instead of true wisdom. After the insane nature of self -intelli- gence when directed to spiritual things is fully disclosed by experience, and the mind is uplifted again to receive the light of heaven, with the acknowledgment that the Lord is the source of all true life and wisdom, then human intelligence and spiritual understanding return to the man, and his rational wisdom and brightness are restored. The master spirit of comparing inferential rationalism, to all thoughtful, emotional, and 1 Comprising Daniel iv., 1-37. 78 Humbling of Self- Intelligence 79 cognizant elements that are in all the church, may you have much peaceful joy. It has seemed good to me to declare the confirmations and manifesta- tions which the Most High God has wrought toward me. How great are His confirmations! and how mighty are His manifestations! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion is from generation to generation. I, the master spirit of inferential rationalism, was at ease in my state of life, and flourishing in my regal condition. I saw a dream-vision of the future which made me afraid, and the thoughts that came in my quiescent state of mind and my inward perceptions troubled me. Therefore I made a decree to bring in all the exponents of rationalistic self-wisdom before me, that they might make known to me the meaning of this vision of the future. Then came in the repre- sentatives of rationalistic self -wisdom and occult- ism, and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known to me its interpretation. But at the last the perceptive element receptive of the true religion came in before me, whose quality had taken on a spiritual-natural coloring of rationality in accordance with the quality insoired by the god of my own rationalistic con- ceptions, and in whom is the spirit of holy Divine truths; and I told the dream before him, saying, O representative of rational spiritual-natural perception, master of them that are versed in spiritual things, because I know that the spirit So The Prophecies of Daniel of holy Divine truths is in thee, and no secret troubles thee, tell me the visions of my future- predicting dream that I have seen, and the inter- pretation thereof. Thus were the visions of my inward perception when my natural mind was in a quiescent state: I saw, and, behold, a tree of wis- dom on the interior natural plane of the mind, and the inward elevation thereof was great. This wisdom grew and was powerful, and its inward elevation reached even to the spiritual plane of the mind, and its mental extension even to the outermost .things of the natural mind. Its per- ceptions of truth were fair, and its teachings of good many, and in it was spiritual food for all. The affections for doing good had protection under its influence, and the affections for spiritual thinking lived amid its broad thoughts, and all who were in good life were fed from it. I saw in the mental visions of my inward perception when my natural mind was quiescent, and, behold, a representative of the angels, who have the clear light of spiritual goodness and holy truths, came down from heaven. He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down this wisdom, and cut off its broad thoughts, shake off its perceptions of truth, and scatter its teachings of good works, let the affec- tions for doing good get away from under it, and let the affections for thinking depart from its broad thoughts. Nevertheless leave the basic element that composes the sensuous proprium of the natural mind, restricted to the outward moral perceptions Humbling of Self- Intelligence 81 that good is to be done merely because of the con- sequences of evil or simply in order to share in heavenly happiness, to the low perceptions of natural truth, and to the most vague and general perceptions of what is spiritual, and let his portion be with the merely natural affections in the low per- ceptions of the natural mind. Let his inspiration be changed from what is human, and let the in- spiration of merely natural and bestial affection be given to him, and let him continue in this state until its completion. The sentence of judgment is by the decree of the angels who are in spiritual goodness, and the matter of condemnation by word of the angels who are in holy truths ; to the intent that they who have spiritual life may know that the Most High rules in the religious kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever He will, and sets up over it those who are least in their own esteem. This dream-vision I, the master spirit of comparing inferential rationalism, have seen; and thou, O representative of rational perception on the spiritual-natural plane, declare the inter- pretation, forasmuch as all the representatives of self -wisdom in my domain are not able to make known to me the interpretative meaning; but thou art able, for the spirit of holy Divine truths is in thee. Then the representative of the perceptive ele- ment of the true church, who possessed spiritual rationality on the natural plane, was appalled for a while, and his thoughts troubled him. The 82 The Prophecies of Daniel ruling spirit of rationalism answered and said, Representative of rational perception on the spiritual-natural plane, let not the dream or the interpretation trouble thee. The representative of rational perception on the spiritual-natural plane answered and said, My lord, this dream- revelation of the future has reference to your evil ways, and its interpretation to your false ideas. The tree of wisdom that thou sawest, which grew and was powerful, whose inward elevation reached even to the spiritual plane of the mind, and its mental extension to all things of the natural mind, whose perceptions of truth were fair, and teach- ings of good works many, in which was spiri- tual food for all, under the protection of which the affections for doing good dwelt, and upon whose broad thoughts the affections for spiritual think- ing had their habitation; it is thou, O ruling spirit of rationalism, that art grown and become powerful, for thy greatness is grown, and reaches to the spiritual things of heaven, and thy dominion to the outermosts of the natural plane of the church. And whereas the master spirit saw a representative of the angels, who have the clear light of spiritual goodness and holy truths, coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew down this wisdom, and destroy it ; nevertheless leave its basic sensuous proprium in the natural mind, restricted to the outward moral perceptions that good is to be done merely because of the consequences of evil or simply in order to share in heavenly happi- Humbling of Self- Intelligence 83 ness, to the low ideas of natural intelligence, and to the dimmest general perceptions of anything spiritual, and let his portion be with the merely natural affections of the mind, until such a state is completed in all its stages, this is the interpreta- tion, O ruling spirit, and it is the decree of the Most High, which is come upon my lord, the ruling spirit of rationalism; that thou shalt be driven from life truly human, and thy dwelling shall be with the affections of the merely natural mind, and thou shalt be made to subsist on the low per- ceptions which are suitable for the merely natural affections for helpfulness, and shalt have only the vaguest perception of anything spiritual, and shalt pass through all phases of this condition; till thou know that the Most High rules in the religi- ous kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever He will. And whereas they commanded to leave the sensuous intelligence of the proprium which serves as the basis of higher spiritual wisdom, thy kingdom shall be sure to thee after that thou shalt have known that spiritual things rule over natural things. Wherefore, O ruling spirit, let my counsel be acceptable to thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by merciful good deeds; perhaps there may be a lengthening of thy prosperity. All this came upon the ruling spirit of comparing inferential rationalism. At the time when his pride of self -exalting intelligence had reached its full growth he was meditating upon his regal state 84 The Prophecies of Daniel of self -intelligent rationalism. The master spirit spoke and said, Is not this the great wisdom of self -intelligent rationalism, which I have built for a regal dwelling place, by the might of my own power and for the glory of my majesty? While the master spirit was giving expression to this falsity, there came an influx from heaven, creat- ing the perception, — O ruling spirit of inferential rationalism, to thee it is spoken; the kingdom is departed from thee. And thou shalt be driven from life truly human, and thy state of life shall be with the affections of the purely natural mind, thou shalt be made to subsist on the low percep- tions of natural truth which are serviceable to the outward affections for helpfulness, and all the phases of this unholy state shall pass over thee, until thou know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever He will. In this very state of mind was the predic- tion fulfilled upon the spirit of self- exalting ration- alism. He lost his true humanity, and subsisted on the low perceptions serviceable to the merely natural affections for helpfulness, and his exter- nalized mind had only the vaguest perceptions of anything spiritual, till his expressions became like the expressions of mere comprehensive natural thinking, and his love of verifying statements 1 grew to an abnormal confirming intellect ualism. At the completion of these states disclosing the 1 On the meaning of the nails, see Kip, The Mind and the Body, p. 283. Humbling of Self- Intelligence 85 true nature of the intelligence of the proprium, I, the ruling spirit of comparing inferential rational- ism, lifted my mind to the spiritual things of heaven, and my spiritual understanding returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored Him that is the source of all true life; for His dominion is from eternal goodness, and His kingdom from everlasting truth, compared with Him all human beings are as nothing, and He accomplishes His will unrestrainedly among the angels of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay His power, or control the wisdom of His providence. In this uplifted state of mind my human understanding returned to me ; and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and brightness returned to me, and my counselors and my great supporters sought me, and I was estab- lished in my kingdom, and surpassing greatness was added to me. Now I, the spirit of comparing in- ferential rationalism, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven; for all His works are truth, and His ways justice ; and those that walk in pride He is able to abase. With reference to the future, Nebuchadnezzar stands for the rationalistic leaders of the church, especially the Roman Catholic Church, who through their pride of self-intelligence will attribute all their lofty spiritual wisdom to themselves, and thereby bring down upon them a judgment from on high, reducing the intelligence of the proprium to its real proportions, and fully disclosing its 86 The Prophecies of Daniel true nature. When they have learned by bitter experience the spiritual insanity produced by claiming for the self-intelligence of the natural mind the spiritual things of the church and revela- tion, and turn their minds upward for spiritual enlightenment, then their illustrious human un- derstanding will return to them, and their rule over the church will be reestablished. The inferential rationalistic leaders will salute all the various members of the church with a wish for much peaceful joy, and will say that it has seemed good to them to declare the great confirma- tions of the truth and the mighty manifestations of experience which God has wrought toward them, Whose rule is eternal. These leaders will be at ease in their self -intel- ligent state of life, and flourishing in their exalted frame of mind, when they will receive dim fore- bodings of the future and vague mental percep- tions which will startle and disturb them. There- fore they will summon all their representatives of self-wisdom and occultism, that they may explain the meaning of these obscure thoughts in regard to the revelations of the Bible; but the representatives will not perceive the meaning. Finally the perceptive element of the New Church, who have rational perception on the spiritual- natural plane, and who have the enlightenment of the true religion, will be requested by these ration- alistic leaders to explain the meaning of these dim perceptions of the truths of the Bible relating to Humbling of Self- Intelligence 87 the future of their church. Then the rationalistic leaders will tell to the perceptive members of the New Church their obscure perceptions in regard to the meaning of the particulars concerning the tree of wisdom mentioned in this chapter of Daniel, and will request a clear interpretation of this revela- tion of the future, saying, that although all the representatives of self -wisdom within their ration- alistic church are not able to interpret it truly, the perceptive members of the New Church are able, for they have the enlightenment of holy truths. The representatives of the perceptive element of the New Church within this rationalistic church, who have rational perception on a spiritual- natural plane, will be appalled for a while, and their thoughts will disturb them; but upon the leaders of the church telling them not to be dis- turbed by the interpretation and application, these representatives will say that the revelation has reference to the evil ways of the leaders, and the interpretation to their false ideas. "The tree of wisdom, of which you read, which grew and was powerful, whose -inward elevation reached to the spiritual plane of the mind, and its mental exten- sion to all the things of the natural mind, whose perceptions of truth were fair, and its teachings of good many, in which was spiritual food for all, under which the affections for doing good dwelt, and upon whose broad thoughts the affections for spiritual thinking had their habitation, it is 88 The Prophecies of Daniel yourselves, O rulers of the church, who have grown and become powerful; for your greatness has grown to the spiritual things of the mind and heaven, and your dominion to the outermost part of the natural plane of the church. And whereas you read of a representative of the angels, who have the light of spiritual goodness and holy truths, coming down from heaven, and saying, 'Hew down the wisdom, and destroy it; never- theless leave its basic sensuous proprium in the natural mind, restricted to the outward moral perceptions that good is to be done merely be- cause of the consequences of evil or simply in order to share in heavenly happiness, and to the low intelligence of the natural mind with only the vaguest perceptions of what is spiritual, and let his portion be with the affections of the purely natural mind, and let all the phases of this unholy state pass over him,' this is the true interpreta- tion of the passage, O rulers of the church, and it is the decree of judgment of the Most High which is come upon my masters, the rulers of the church, that you shall lose your true humanity, and your states of life shall be with the affections of the merely natural mind, and you shall be nourished with the low perceptions suitable to the intelli- gence of the natural affections for helpfulness, and shall have only the most vague and general perceptions of what is spiritual, and you shall pass through all the phases of this state, until you know and acknowledge that the Most High rules in the Humbling of Self- Intelligence 89 religious kingdom of men, and gives it to whom- soever He will. And whereas it was commanded to leave the sensuous proprium, which is the basis of the higher spiritual wisdom, 1 your religious rule shall be secure to you after you have learned by experience that the spiritual things of heaven rule over the natural things of self-intelligence. Wherefore, O rulers of the church, let our counsel be acceptable to you, and break off your sins by righteousness and your iniquities by merciful good deeds; then perhaps there may be a length- ening of your prosperity.' * All this judgment will come upon the future rationalistic leaders of the church, especially of the Roman Catholic Church. At the time when their pride of self -exalting intelligence has reached its full growth, and while they are meditating upon their regal state of self -intelligent rationalism, they will say in themselves, ' ' Is not this the great wisdom of self -intelligent rationalism which we have constructed for our regal abode by the might of our own power and for the glory of our majesty ? ' ' While they are giving outward expression to this falsity, it will be perceived that judgment from 1 Swedenborg interprets "the stump of the roots" as meaning "the Word, only the letter of which is understood, and which is merely something known, held in the memory, and going forth therefrom in speech" {Apocalypse Explained, 650 3 1 ); for the self -intelligence of the proprium is able to comprehend only the most external and literal aspects of the Bible, and is utterly incapable of understanding or receiving anything of its spiritual meaning. 9° The Prophecies of Daniel heaven is pronounced on these rationalistic rulers of the church, and that their religious sovereignty, due to their heaven-given wisdom, is departed from them; that they will lose their truly human life, and live a life of purely natural affection, their minds being nourished by the low percep- tions suitable for the natural affections for being helpful; and that they will pass through all the phases of this state until its unholy nature is fully disclosed, and until they know and acknowledge that they rule over the church because of the spiri- tual gifts of God, and not because of any superior intelligence of their own. In this self -exalted state of mind will the predicted judgment be fulfilled upon the rationalistic leaders of the church, who will lose their true humanity, subsist on the low perceptions suitable for the natural affections for helpfulness, and possess only the most general perceptions of what is spiritual, until their expres- sions will become like the expressions of mere comprehensive natural thinking, and their love for verifying statements grow to an abnormal confirming intellectualism. At the conclusion of these outward states of the proprium, the rationalistic leaders of the church will elevate their minds to the spiritual light of heaven, and their human understanding will re- turn to them, and they will bless and praise and honor the Lord as the source of all true life and lasting rule, in comparison with Whom all human beings are as nothing, and Who accomplishes His Humbling of Self- Intelligence 9 1 will unrestrainedly in heaven and on earth. Then their spiritual understandings will return to them ; and for the glory of their religious rule their stately and splendid wisdom will be restored, and their chief supporters will seek them again, and they will be established in their religious kingdom, and surpassing greatness will be added to them. There- fore these rationalistic leaders will praise and extol and honor the King of heaven; for all His works are truth, and His ways justice, and those that walk in pride He is able to abase. THE PROFANATION OF HOLY THINGS 1 AS Nebuchadnezzar was the personification of the pride of self -intelligence, so Belshazzar, by reason of his impious act of making a profane use of the holy vessels of Jehovah's temple, became the personification of profaneness. Bel- shazzar therefore stands for the spirit of inferen- tial rationalism that profanes holy truths by applying them to confirm the false reasonings of self -derived intelligence. Darius the Mede, mentioned in the thirty-first verse of this chapter, is an unknown personage, and it seems probable that, owing to some confu- sion of history in the mind of the author of Daniel, he has made the Median empire, which was con- temporaneous with the Babylonian empire, to suc- ceed the latter under a fictitious ruler. B abylon and its empire was conquered by Cyrus, king of Persia, and not by the Medes, nor so far as is known was there any Median king of this period named Darius. But as it is the evident intention of the author of Daniel that Darius the Mede should represent the whole Median empire just as Nebuchadnezzar represents the Babylonian empire, therefore this 1 Comprising Daniel v., 1-31. 92 The Profanation of Holy Things 93 course has been followed in the present volume. As ancient Media occupied the northern part of the present country of Persia, which country cor- responds to the imagination, 1 therefore Media corresponds to the intellectual imagination and its ideals; and Darius, who is represented as its king, stands for the ruling spirit of such intel- lectual imaginative ideals. Although Media did not rule over Babylonia at this time, it did rule over Assyria; and as Assyria corresponds to the reason, and Babylonia to rational inference, no great difference in the spiritual meaning is occa- sioned by unhistorically regarding Media as ruling over Babylon. No doubt the correspon- dential description of the self -intelligence of the race in the past and the future necessitated the use of Babylon in this connection, for Babylon corresponds to self -intelligence. The ruling spirit of profaning inferential ration- alism sought to communicate his system of ra- tionalistic ideas to his many chief supporters, and confirmed his false theories before them. The ruling spirit of profaning inferential rationalism, while he was in the naturalistic perception of this confirmation, commanded to bring the good and true things of the literal sense of the Bible which the spirit of comparing inferential rationalism, from whom he had developed, had taken out of their proper connection and conjunction with the interior meaning of the Bible known to those 1 Kip, Psychology of the Nations, pp. 51-53. 94 The Prophecies of Daniel who acknowledge Jehovah as the only God, in order that this profane ruling spirit, his chief supporters, and the receptive minds conjoined with him by their love for his inward and outward rationalism, might use these holy things to confirm their own rationalistic, self-intelligent falsities. Then they brought the good literal things which were taken out of their conjunction with the interior meaning of the Bible known to those who acknowledge Jehovah as the only God; and the profane ruling spirit, his chief supporters, and the receptive minds conjoined with him by their love for his inward and outward rationalism, confirmed their false reasonings by means of them. They confirmed their false reasonings, and extolled, as being taught by the Bible, their rationalistic self -intelligent doctrines which falsify the teachings of the Bible in regard to the Divine goodness, the Divine truth, salvation, the punishment of evil, good works, and faith. In this profane state of mind in the youthful religious consciousness of the race became manifest the prophecies of judgment of the Bible, which were perceived, from what spiritual enlightenment remained, to apply to this inward profane state of life in the ruling spirit of the age; and the ruling spirit remembered the prophecy pertaining to him. Then the ruling spirit's intellectual bright- ness was changed in him, and his thoughts dis- turbed him; and the joinings which he had made of holy good with evil became loosened, and his The Profanation of Holy Things 95 adaptations of religious truth to falsity were shaken. The ruling spirit cried aloud to bring in the representatives of rationalistic occultism. The ruling spirit spoke and said to these repre- sentatives of rational self-wisdom, Whosoever shall perceive the application of this prophecy of judgment, and declare to me its interpretation, shall be acknowledged to possess wise perception, to be able from spiritual goodness to apply truly the inward things of revelation to conditions in the church, and to have the right by virtue of wise perception to share in the rule over the kingdom of rationalism. Then came in all the ruling spirit's representatives of self -wisdom; but they could not perceive the application, nor make known to the ruling spirit the interpretation. Then was the ruling spirit of profane inferential rationalism greatly disturbed, and his intellectual brilliancy forsook him, and his chief supporters were per- plexed. Now the ruling spirit of receptive love for ration- alistic wisdom, by reason of the words of the ruling perceptive spirit of profaning rationalism and his chief supporters, came into the place where these false reasonings were being communicated and received. The ruling spirit of receptive love for rationalistic wisdom spoke and said, O king of rationalism, live for ever: let not thy thoughts disturb thee, nor let thine intellectual brilliancy be changed. There is a man in thy kingdom in whom is the spirit of holy Divine truths; and, in 9 6 The Prophecies of Daniel the earlier rationalistic religious states of the race from which you originated, light and understand- ing and wisdom, like wisdom derived from Divine truths, were found in him; and the previous ruling spirit of comparing inferential rationalism, from whom you have descended, made him chief of those who are versed in spiritual and occult knowledge, forasmuch as a surpassing spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of predictions of the future, declaring of symbolic sayings, and ex- plaining of difficult problems were found in this perceptive representative claiming the true religion, to whom the previous spirit of rationalism impart- ed a rational quality of a spiritual-natural nature. Now let this perceptive representative claiming the true religion be called, and he will declare the inter- pretation of the prophetic judgments of the Bible. Then was the representative of the perceptive true church brought in before the ruling spirit. The ruling spirit spoke and said to the perceptive representative of the true religion, Art thou that perceptive representative of the members of the captive emotional church whom the past ruling spirit of comparing inferential rationalism, from whom I am descended, brought out of that emo- tional church which claimed to have the true religion? I have heard of thee that the spirit of Divine truths is in thee, and that light and under- standing and surpassing wisdom are found in thee. And now the rational representatives of self -wisdom and occultism have been brought The Profanation of Holy Things 97 in before me, that they should perceive the appli- cation of this prophetic judgment, and make known to me its interpretation; but they could not declare the interpretation of the prophecy. But I have heard of thee that thou canst give true interpretations and explain difficult problems ; now if thou canst perceive the application of this prophetic judgment, and make known to me its interpretation, thou shalt be acknowledged to possess wise perception, to be able from spiritual goodness to apply truly the inward things of revelation to outward conditions, and to have the right by virtue of wise perception to share in the rule of the kingdom of rationalism. Then the representative of the perceptive ele- ment of the true church answered and said before the profane ruling spirit, Keep thy honors, and give thy rewards to another; nevertheless I will explain to the ruling spirit the application of the prophetic judgment, and make known to him the interpretation. O thou ruling spirit of profane inferential rationalism, the Most High God gave the spirit of comparing rational inference, who was your progenitor, the kingdom, and greatness and glory and majesty; and because of the great- ness that He gave him all intellectual, emotional, and cognizant elements respected and revered him ; he treated as evil and false what he would, and established as good and true what he would, and he made essential what he would, and made un- essential what he would. But when his heart 98 The Prophecies of Daniel became self-exalted, and his mind was hardened so that he thought from the pride of self -intelli- gence, he was deposed from his lofty rule of com- prehensive judgment, and his glory was taken from him. He lost his true humanity, and was inspired with purely natural affections, and his state of life was with perverse naturalistic affec- tions for understanding mere details; his mind was nourished with low thoughts suitable to the intelligence of merely natural affections for help- fulness, and he had only the vaguest perceptions of anything spiritual, until he knew and acknowl- edged that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and that He sets up over it whomsoever He will. And thou, his descendant, spirit of profaning rationalism, hast not humbled thy heart, although thou knewest all this, but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven ; and they have brought the literal truths of the Word before thee, and thou, thy chief supporters, and the receptive minds conjoined with thee by love for thy inward and outward rationalism have confirmed thy false theories by means of them ; and thou hast extolled, as proved by the Bible, thy rationalistic, self-in- telligent doctrines, which are destitute of all truth and good and living knowledge, and which falsify the teachings of the Word in regard to the Di- vine goodness, the Divine truth, salvation, the punishment of evil, good works, and faith; and the real teachings of God, from the knowledge of which is all true thought, and from the living of The Profanation of Holy Things 99 which comes all good life, thou hast not glorified. Then was the remembrance of His prophetic judgments evoked by Him, and the application of this particular prophecy made manifest. And this is the prophecy which was manifestly made applicable: " Numbered, numbered, weighed, and divided." 1 This is the interpretation of the pro- phecy. Numbered: God has examined the intel- lectual nature of thy rationalistic kingdom, and brought it to an end ; weighed : thou art judged as to goodness of life, and found wanting; divided: thy kingdom is consummated, and given to the in- tellectual and emotional ideals of the imagination. Then commanded the profaning spirit of infer- ential rationalism, and they acknowledged the representative of the perceptive element of the true church to possess wise perception, and to have the ability from spiritual goodness to apply truly the things of revelation to outward condi- tions, and they made proclamation concerning him that by virtue of wise perception he should share in the rule over the kingdom of rationalism. 1 Some Biblical scholars understand the words, "Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin (or peres) " to be Aramaic for "a mina, a mina, a shekel, and a half mina," which are certain Hebrew weights. If this view is correct, these words perhaps contain a reference to the "time, and times, and half a time," of Daniel and the Apocalypse, a mina being equivalent to a time, a mina and a shekel to times, and half a mina to half a time. Therefore the words may spiritually connote that the time of final judgment at the completion of this period of consummation has now arrived. But such interpretation would appropriately apply only to the church of the future. ioo The Prophecies of Daniel In that state of spiritual darkness the ruling spirit of profaning inferential rationalism died out; and the spirit of intellectual imaginative ideals and doctrines, which had attained to a state of thoughtfulness in regard to literal religious knowledge, 1 became dominant in the youthful religious mind of the race. With reference to the future, Belshazzar stands for the leaders of the church, especially the Roman Catholic Church, who will adulterate and profane the holy truths of the Bible by employing them, to confirm^ their own false, self-intelligent doc- trines. In the third chapter of Daniel the leaders of the Babylonish church of the future are repre- sented as inventing a fictitious idea of God for the worship of the members of their church; in the fourth chapter they are depicted as claiming for their own, through the pride of self -intelligence, the spiritual things of heaven and the Lord, and seeking to rule by means of them ; and now in this fifth chapter they are described as utterly profan- ing the holy truths of the Bible by applying them to confirm their own falsities and evils. This last state of the Babylonish church of the future 1 In a general way, the first thirty-year period of human life corresponds to feeling and perception, the second to thought, the third to knowledge, and the fourth to expression. The year 62 comes under the third division of knowledge, and two corre- sponds to thought. The number sixty can also be interpreted as meaning all things of good and truths, and two as thought concerning them. Swedenborg explains sixty-two as meaning " the marriage of truth with a little good '■' (A. E. 6843?). The Profanation of Holy Things 101 will be the partial end and night of the Christian Church, when all heavenly good and truth will have perished from it. The Lord's church, we are told, becomes a Babylon at its end; and the process of the final consummation of the corrupt and decrepit church, after it has reached this Babylonish stage, is excellently described by Swedenborg : "Babylon means the church consisting of those who by means of the holy things of the church strive to gain dominion over the whole world, and this by ruling over the souls of men, claiming to themselves power to save whomsoever they will; and these finally seek dominion over heaven and hell and make it their own. And to this end they draw and convey to themselves all the Lord's power, as if it had been given them by Him. The church consisting of such is very different in the beginning from what it becomes in process of time. In the beginning they are seemingly zealous for the Lord, for the Word, for love and faith, and especially for the salvation of men. But in that zeal the fire of ruling lies hidden, and in process of time as dominion increases this breaks forth; and so far as it comes out into act the holy things of the church become the means, and dominion itself the end; and when dominion becomes the end the holy things of the church are devoted to that end, and thus to themselves; and then they not only ascribe the salvation of souls to their own power, but they also make their own all the Lord's Divine power. And when they do this 102 The Prophecies of Daniel they pervert every good and every truth of the church, and thus profane the holy things of the church." 1 Swedenborg also informs us what the future Christian Church will become after its final con- summation as a spiritual Babylon: ' ' Babylon in its end is a church empty and void of all good of love to God, and of all good of love toward the neighbor, and consequently of all truth. It is therefore no longer a church, but only an idolatry, and as such it differs but little from the heathenisms of the ancients, who wor- shiped Baal, Ashtaroth, Beelzebub, and others, and yet had temples, appointed feasts, sacrifices, incense, libations, and other things like those of the Jewish Church. . . . The church of the Lord gradually becomes a Babylon; and as it becomes a Babylon so it is devastated in respect to all good of love and all truth of faith ; and this is its end, that is, it is no longer a church; and when it is no longer a church it is reckoned among the idolatrous nations, except those in it who worship the Lord, regard the Word as holy, and accept instruction from it." 2 The future profaning rationalistic leaders of the church, represented by Belshazzar, will seek to promulgate their great system of false inferen- tial rationalism among their many chief supporters, and will confirm their false theories before them. 1 Apocalypse Explained, 1029. 2 Ibid. The Profanation of Holy Things 103 While they are in the naturalistic perception of this confirmation, they will bring to mind the holy good and true things of the literal sense of the Bible, which a former age of perverse comparing rationalism had taken away from their proper connection and conjunction with the interior meaning of the Word known to those who acknowl- edge the Lord as the only God, in order that they, their chief supporters, and the receptive minds conjoined with them by love for the inward and outward aspects of their rationalism may confirm their false rationalistic doctrines by means of these holy things. So they will confirm their self -intelligent, rationalistic views; and they will extol, as proved by the Bible, their doctrines which falsify the Biblical teachings in regard to the Divine goodness, the Divine truth, salvation, the punishment of evil, good works, and faith. In this profane state of the church will become manifest the prophecies of judgment of the Bible, and it will be perceived, from what spiritual light is left in the church, that these prophecies apply to the inward profane state then prevailing; and the profane leaders of the church will remember the prophecy applied to them. Then the intel- lectual brilliancy of the leaders of the church will desert them, and their thoughts will disturb them; and their profane joinings of holy good to evil will be loosened, and their adaptations of religious truth to falsity will be shaken. The leaders of the church will summon all their representatives 104 The Prophecies of Daniel of occult rationalism, and will promise to these representatives of self-wisdom that whoever can perceive the application of the Biblical prophecy, and declare its interpretation, shall be acknowl- edged to possess wise perception, to be able from spiritual goodness to apply truly the inward things of revelation to outward conditions, and to have the right by virtue of perceptive wisdom to share in the rule over the church. But these represen- tatives of self -wisdom will not be able to perceive the application, nor to make known the interpreta- tion to the profaning rationalistic leaders of the church, who will then become greatly disturbed, and will lose their intellectual brilliancy, and their chief supporters will be perplexed. Then the subordinate rulers of the church, who are of a receptive disposition, will come forward because of the perplexity of the leaders and their chief supporters in regard to Scriptural interpreta- tion, and will tell them not to be disturbed, nor let their brilliant minds be downcast, for there are within the church those in whom is the spirit of holy Divine truths, and in the days of their predecessors godlike light and understanding and wisdom were found in them; and the comparing rationalistic leaders of an earlier age of the church made them chief of those who are versed in spiri- tual and occult knowledge, because a surpassing spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, inter- preting of predictions of the future, declaring symbolic sayings, and explaining of difficult The Profanation of Holy Things 105 problems were found in these representatives of the perceptive element of the New Church, who had developed from the rationalism of the times a spiritual rationality on the natural plane. Therefore these subordinate, receptive rulers will request that the representatives of the perceptive element of the New Church be summoned, stating that they will declare the desired interpretation. When these perceptive representatives of the New Church are brought before the profane lead- ers of the church, the leaders will ask them whether they are the perceptive representatives belonging to the emotional, reverential church whom the comparing rationalistic leaders of the earlier age of the church had brought into captivity to ra- tionalism, saying they have heard of these rep- resentatives that they have perception from Divine truths and possess spiritual understanding and surpassing wisdom. The profane rational- istic leaders will state that their own represen- tatives of self -wisdom and occultism have been consulted to ascertain whether they could per- ceive the application of Biblical prophecy and make known its interpretation, but they could not declare the interpretation of the prophecy, but that they have heard the perceptive re- presentatives of the New Church could give true interpretations of Scriptural prophecy and explain difficult problems of theology; and that if they are able to perceive the application of the Biblical prophecy in question and make known 106 The Prophecies of Daniel the interpretation, these representatives shall be acknowledged to possess wise perception, to be able from spiritual goodness to apply truly the inward things of revelation to conditions in the religious world, and to have the right by virtue of wise perception to share in the rule over the rationalistic church. Then the representatives of the perceptive element of the New Church will answer and say to the profaning leaders of the church, "Keep your honors, and give your marks of esteem to others; nevertheless we will explain the applica- tion of the Biblical prophecy in question, and will make known to you the interpretation. you leaders of the church, the Lord gave the comparing rationalistic leaders of the church who preceded you the rule over the church, and greatness and glory and majesty, and because of the greatness which He gave them all the intellectual, emotional, and cognizant elements of the church held them in great respect and reverence; they treated as evil and false what they would, and established as good and true what they would, and they made essential or unessential whatever they would. But when their wills became self-exalted, and their minds were hardened so that they thought from the pride of self -intelligence, they were de- posed from their leadership which they owed to their comprehensive judgment, and their glory departed from them; they lost their true humanity and were inspired with purely natural affections, The Profanation of Holy Things 107 and their states of life were with perverse natural- istic affections for understanding mere details; they subsisted on the low thoughts suitable for the intelligence of the merely natural affections for helpfulness, and had only the vaguest perceptions of anything spiritual, until they knew and acknowl- edged that the Lord rules in the kingdom of the church, and that He sets up over it whomsoever He will. And you, profaning leaders, the succes- sors of these comparing rationalistic rulers, have not humbled your wills, although you knew all this, but have lifted up yourselves against the Lord of heaven; and you have collected the literal truths of His Word, and you and your chief sup- porters, as well as the receptive minds conjoined with you by their love for your inward and outward rationalism, have confirmed your false rationalistic theories by means of these holy truths; and you have extolled, as authenticated by the Bible, your self -intelligent doctrines, which are destitute of all good and truth and living knowledge, and which falsify the Biblical teachings in regard to the Divine goodness, the Divine truth, salvation, the punish- ment of evil, good works, and faith; and the real teachings of God, from the knowledge of which is all true thought, and from the living of which comes all good life, you have not glorified. Then was the remembrance of the Biblical prophecies of judgment called forth by Him, and the applica- tion of this particular prophecy made manifest. This is the interpretation of the prophecy which 108 The Prophecies of Daniel manifestly applies to you : ' Numbered, ' God has examined the intellectual nature of your rational- istic church, and has brought it to an end; 'weighed, ' you are judged as to goodness of life, and found wanting; 'divided,' your rationalistic church, which is the logical successor of the former fanciful church based on the false doctrines of intellectual and emotional imagination, is now utterly consummated." Then, at the command of the profaning ration- alistic leaders of the church, these perceptive repre- sentatives of the New Church will be acknowledged to possess wise perception, and to be able from spiritual goodness to apply truly the inward things of revelation to conditions in the religious world, and the right of their perceptive wisdom to share in the rule over the church will be proclaimed. In this night of spiritual darkness, due to the adulteration and profanation of the goods and truths of the Bible, this rationalistic church and its profane, inferential leaders, who have succeeded a fanciful church of intellectual imaginative doc- trines founded on a thoughtful interpretation of the literal sense of the Bible, will lose every ele- ment of heavenly goodness and truth, and so be at a complete end. THE DEIFICATION OF HUMANITY IN THE CHURCH 1 THIS chapter describes the desire to rule over holy things by assuming Divine authority which characterized the church during the intel- lectual imaginative period of its youthful growth; for although the Medes and Persians conquered Babylon, they fell, through the very possession of it, into the same profane worship and assumption of Divine power that spring from the self-love of the proprium, which Babylon denotes. 2 It pleased the intellectual imaginative ruler of the church in its youth to set over the religious kingdom a complete variety of lesser rulers, who should be over the whole church, and over them three general officers, of whom the representative of the perceptive element of the true church was one; that these lesser rulers might give to them an account of the proceedings within the church, and that the ruling spirit should not be misin- formed. Then this representative of the per- ceptive element of the true church was distin- guished above the general officers and the lesser 1 Comprising Daniel vi., 1-28. 2 Heavenly Arcana, 1326. 109 no The Prophecies of Daniel rulers, because a surpassing spirit of wisdom was in him, and the ruling spirit thought to set him over the whole realm. Then the general officers and the lesser rulers sought to find occasion for complaint against the representative of the perceptive element of the true church concerning the administration of the religious kingdom; but they could find no oc- casion nor fault, forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. Then said these men, We shall not find any oc- casion for complaint against this representative of the perceptive element claiming to have the true religion unless we find it against him concerning the tenets of his religion. Then these general officers and lesser rulers came thronging to the ruling spirit, and said thus to him, O king of intellectual imaginative ideals and teachings, may thy reign be lasting. All the general officers of the kingdom, and all the lesser rulers and offi- cers, have consulted together to establish an authoritative decree, and to make a strong inter- dict, that whosoever shall recognize, .during the whole time the question is under discussion, any authority Divine or human as superior to thine own, O ruling spirit, shall be condemned to the dominion of infernal falsities. Now, O ruling spirit, establish the interdict, and make valid the decree, that it be not changed, according to the established usage of our church of intellectual and emotional imagination, which does not alter. The Deification of Humanity m Wherefore the ruling spirit of intellectual imagi- native ideals and doctrines made valid the decree and the interdict. And when the representative of the perceptive element of the true church knew that the decree was made valid, he retired into his own state of life (now his inward mind was enlightened by- being open to the acknowledgment and worship of Jehovah as the only God) ; and he adored with genuine humiliation, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime. Then these men came thronging, and found the representative of the perceptive element of the true church acknowledging the infinite superiority of his God and making supplication before Him. Then they came near, and spoke before the ruling spirit concerning the ruling spirit's interdict: Hast thou not given validity to an interdict, that every man that shall recognize, during all the time that the question is under discussion, any authority Divine or human as superior to thine own, rul- ing spirit, shall be condemned to the dominion of infernal falsities? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the established usage of our intellectual and emotional church of the imagination, which .does not alter. Then answered they and said before the ruling spirit, That representative of the perceptive element claiming to have the true religion, but in captivity to our imaginative doctrines, regards not thee, O ruling spirit, nor the interdict that thou hast ii2 The Prophecies of Daniel made valid, but acknowledges the Divine author- ity as absolutely superior. Then the ruling spirit, when he heard these words, was sorely displeased, and set his heart on the representative of the perceptive element of the true church to deliver him; and he labored until the light of the Divine presence was extinguished in the church to rescue him. Then these men came thronging to the ruling spirit, and said to the ruling spirit, Know, King, that it is an established usage of our intellectual and emotional church of imagina- tive doctrines that no interdict or decree which the ruling spirit establishes may be changed. Then the ruling spirit commanded, and they brought forward the representative of the per- ceptive element of the true church, and condemned him to the dominion of infernal falsities. Now the ruling spirit spoke and said to the representa- tive of the perceptive element of the true church, Thy God Whom thou servest continually, He will deliver thee. And a false doctrinal idea was brought forward, and made to apply to and justify this condemnation, and the ruling spirit confirmed the condemnation by the expression of his own thought and the thought of his chief sup- porters, that no one might venture to change this condemnation of the representative of the per- ceptive element of the true church. Then the ruling spirit retired to his own sumptuous state of living, and mourned because of the deprivation of good and truth in the darkened state of the The Deification of Humanity 113 church. No diversions springing from the harmony of pleasant feelings were afforded to him, and his peace of mind fled from him. Then the ruling spirit in a state of dawning enlightenment was anxious to see the result of this stern condemnation to the dominion of infer- nal falsities. And when he came near to the state of condemnation to which the representative of the perceptive element of the true church had been consigned, he cried with a lamentable voice; the ruling spirit spoke and said to the representa- tive of the perceptive element of the true church, O representative of the perceptive true church, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from these dreadful falsities? Then said the representative of the perceptive element of the true church to the ruling spirit, O king, live forever. My God has sent his Divine influence, and has silenced the arguments of these direful falsities, and they have not hurt me; forasmuch as before Him innocency was found in me, and also before thee, O ruling spirit, have I done no hurt. Then was the ruling spirit exceedingly glad, and commanded that they should release the representative of the perceptive element of the. true church from their condemnation.. So the representative of the perceptive element of the true church was re- leased from the condemnation, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he had trusted in his God. 1 14 The Prophecies of Daniel And the ruling spirit commanded, and they brought forward those men who had accused the representative of the perceptive element of the true church, and they condemned them to the dominion of infernal falsities, them, the individuals who represented developments of their theories, and the persons who were conjoined with them by receptive love of their views; and the infernal falsities had dominion over them, and destroyed the very foundations of their spiritual life before ever they came to the full depths of the abode of dire falsities. Then the ruling spirit of intellectual imaginative doctrines declared to all the intellectual, emotional, and cognizant elements throughout the church: Peace be multiplied to you. I make a decree that in all the dominion of my religious kingdom men reverence and venerate the God of the representa- tive of the perceptive true church; for He is the living God, and steadfast forever, and His king- dom that which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall be even to the end; He delivers and rescues, and He gives confirmations and mani- festations in heaven and in the church, Who has delivered the representative of the perceptive true church from the power of dominating falsities. So this representative of the perceptive element of the true church gained many new states of goodness and wisdom during the reign of intel- lectual imagination in the church and during the reign of emotional imagination in the church. The Deification of Humanity 115 In the church of the future, Darius and his kingdom stand for the reawakened period of intellectual imaginative thought and doctrines through which the Christian Church will pass at its end, when it will prefer the falsities of its own imaginative thinking to the true teachings of the Bible as revealed in the doctrines of the New Church; and as the Semitic kings of Babylon spoken of in Daniel seem to represent especially the Roman Catholic Church, so Darius the Mede and his kingdom seems to represent especially the Protestant Church — both in the death grasp of the consummating Babylon of self -exaltation and self -intelligence. The present chapter seems to predict a future phase in the spiritual condition of the Christian Church, especially in its Protes- tant branch, when through pantheistic tendencies or otherwise the deification of humanity will be rampant within it, and when there will occur an exaltation of the ideas of merely human conscious- ness and the naturalistic teachings of the clergy over the revealed Word of God At such a time the supreme authority of the leaders of the church in the interpretation of the Bible will be emphati- cally insisted on, and all who refuse to accept their teachings as final on religious subjects will be threatened with a lapse into the most baneful errors and falsities, which is like the den of lions into which Daniel was cast for refusing to acknowl- edge Darius as superior to God Himself. In the future, it will please the intellectual n6 The Prophecies of Daniel imaginative leaders of the church to set over their whole religious kingdom a complete representative variety of lesser rulers, and over them three general officers, of whom a representative of the perceptive element of the New Church will be one, in order that these rulers may keep them acquainted with the proceedings within the church, and that the leaders of the church may not be misinformed. This representative of the perceptive element of the New Church will be distinguished above all the others because of his great spiritual wisdom, and the leader or leaders of the church will consider putting him over the whole realm. Then these general officers and lesser rulers will seek to find some charge against the repre- sentative of the perceptive New Church in regard to his administration of affairs, but they will find no occasion for complaint, because he will be found faithful to his duties. Then these men will agree that they will not be able to find any charge against this representative of the perceptive ele- ment of the New Church except in regard to his religious views. All these general and lesser officers of the church will therefore plan together to have the leaders of the church promulgate in a public and an emphatic way, so that they will be very loath to change their declaration, the doc- trine that the authority of the leaders of the church is superior to any other authority, especially in the interpretation of the Bible, and that whoever shall recognize any authority as higher than theirs The Deification of Humanity 117 shall be condemned to the domination of infernal falsities. This plan will succeed and the doctrine will be promulgated by the leaders of the church. When the representative or representatives of the perceptive element of the New Church learn of the firm attitude of the church leaders, they will retire into their own state of life, the interiors of which will be illumined by the acknowledgment of the Lord as the only God of heaven and earth, and will worship the Lord as supreme and His Word as the final authority. When this supreme worship of the Lord and the truths of His Word as revealed in the doctrines of the New Church is perceived by the enemies of the representative of the New Church, they will ask the leaders of their church whether they have not irrevocably estab- lished the doctrine that everyone who recognizes any other authority as superior to theirs shall be condemned to the dominion of infernal falsities ; and upon the leaders of the church acknowledging that such is the case, they will make the charge that the representative or representatives of the New Church under the rule of their imaginative church pay no attention to the leaders of the church, nor to the doctrine of Divine authority which they have put forth, but that they recognize the Lord and His Word alone as supreme. The leaders of the Christian Church will be very sorry when they hear this, and will endeavor, as long as the light of the Divine presence remains in the darkening state of the church, to deliver and n8 The Prophecies of Daniel rescue the representative of the perceptive ele- ment of the New Church from the condemnation. But on being reminded by the enemies of the New Church that they have emphatically and irrevo- cably promulgated this doctrine, the leaders will command the condemnation to be pronounced, and the enemies of the New Church will condemn its representatives to the dominion of infernal falsities. Yet the leaders of the Christian Church will seek to cheer the representatives of the New Church with the assurance that their Lord, Whom they serve* continually, will deliver them. Then some false doctrine drawn from the literal sense of the Bible will be adduced and applied in justi- fication of the condemnation; and the leaders of the church will confirm the condemnation with their own interpretation of the Bible and with that of their chief supporters, that no one may venture to change the condemnation. Then the leaders of the church will retire to their own state of life, and will mourn the passing away of goodness and truth from the church at its end; and their usual pleasant diversions will be aban- doned and their peace of mind will leave them. In a state of dawning enlightenment the leaders of the future Christian Church will be anxious to see what effect the public condemnation has had upon the representative or representatives of the New Church, and will ask with grief whether the Lord of the representatives of the New Church, Whom they serve continually, has been able to The Deification of Humanity 119 deliver them from their condemnation by the church. Then the representatives of the New Church will reply that their Lord has sent His Divine presence, and has silenced the arguments of the infernal falsities, which have not hurt them, because they were innocent of any evil or falsity. Then the leaders of the church will be very glad, and will command that the opprobrium of con- demnation be lifted from the representatives of the New Church ; and no manner of injury will be found in them, because they had trusted in their God. The leaders of the church will then command, and the enemies of the New Church who accused its representatives will be condemned to the do- minion of infernal falsities, they, the individuals who represent developments of their theories, and the persons who are conjoined with them by a receptive love of their false views; and the falsi- ties of hell will have dominion over them, and will destroy the very foundations of their spiritual life even before the full depth of these dire infernal falsities is reached. Then the leaders of the Christian Church will announce to all the various elements within their church that all should reverence and venerate the Lord as revealed in the doctrines of the New Church; for He is the living God and steadfast forever, and His kingdom and dominion are eter- nal. He delivers and rescues, and gives confirma- tions of truth and manifestations of power in 120 The Prophecies of Daniel heaven and in the church, and He has delivered the representative of the perceptive New Church from the domination of infernal falsities. So the representative of the perceptive element of the New Church will gain many new states of good- ness and wisdom during the supremacy of intel- lectual and emotional imagination in the future Christian Church. FALSE SYSTEMS OF INTELLECTUAL DOCTRINE 1 THE four beasts of this chapter, as well as the four parts of the image mentioned in the second chapter, represent the four ancient empires of Babylonia, Media, Persia, and Macedonia, and correspondentially portray their psychological char- acteristics; but the image of the second chapter gives prominence to their emotional side as doc- trines of life, while the beasts of this chapter pre- sent especially their intellectual side as doctrines of truth. Babylonia corresponds to inferential ration- ality, Media to intellectual imagination, Persia to emotional imagination, and Macedonia to faith. Macedonia properly corresponds to faith in God's power to do His will, the whole faculty of faith being represented by Turkey and the other Balkan States, including Macedonia 2 ; but it may be regarded as corresponding in a general way to faith. The beast like a lion, when it had eagle's wings, seems to represent the Babylonian empire under Nebu- chadnezzar and his Chaldean successors; whereas the lion when deprived of its wings, made to stand 1 Comprising Daniel vii., 1-28. 2 Kip, Psychology of the Nations, pp. 133-135. 121 122 The Prophecies of Daniel upon its feet like a man, and gifted with a man's heart, seems to represent the later Babylonian empire under Nabonidus, who was not a Chaldean, but a Babylonian noble; for then there was a change from the rule of outward rational knowl- edge and comparison denoted by Chaldea to the rule of the more inward and emotional inferential rationality denoted by Babylonia proper. In the extant writings of Nebuchadnezzar and his age a broad, powerful sweep of intellectual thought is apparent ; and although the writings of Naboni- dus lack this comprehensive intellectuality, they have a lofty tone and a depth of inspirational feeling which are remarkable. The inferential rationality of the Babylonians is evidenced by the fact that their whole vast system of astrology and augury was built up on inference. z The imagina- tiveness of the Medes and Persians, who belonged to the same race and had practically the same language and religion, is evident from their ancient religious hymns, which no one can read without being impressed by their fine imaginative force; and Rawlinson speaks of the ancient Persians as "keen-witted, far-sighted, and having fancy and imagination," and remarks that the Shah Nameh of Firdusi, which probably represents the spirit of ancient Persian poetry, is characterized by "an imagination exuberant and unrestrained." The supremacy of faith in the mind of the ancient Macedonians is easily discernible when they are 1 A. H. Sayce, Assyria; its Princes, Priests, and People, p. 115. False Systems of Doctrine 123 compared with the ancient Greeks. Moreover, faith in the gods and their power was still preva- lent in the ancient world during the sway of the Macedonian empire; and even the metaphysical speculations of the Stoics and Epicurus, unlike those of the earlier Greek philosophers, were re- garded merely as a means toward the production of systems of ethical morality, and not as an end in themselves, and they were put forward as a sort of compensation for the old religious beliefs which now had lost their hold on the people. The Stoics especially taught the need to the individual of being in harmony with the eternal necessity as embodying the will of God, and of being in obedi- ence to the law of nature as representing the Divine law. The beautiful hymn to Zeus written by the Stoic Cleanthes during the Macedonian period gives noble expression to a deep faith in God and in His supreme power and universal law. It was not until after the destruction of the Mace- donian power by Rome, which represented the overthrow of the power of faith in the mind of youth by the power of individual free-will or way- ward willfulness, that the rank growth of skepti- cism occurred which soon became dominant among the keener intellects through the ancient civilized world. 1 So far as they are known, the intellectual char- acteristics of the peoples of these four ancient empires are in accord with the following interpre- 1 J. P. Mahaffy, Greek Life and Thought, p. 399. 124 The Prophecies of Daniel tation of the meaning of the four beasts above mentioned. The love of ruling over others by a display of vehement power, which is the lion, is amply exemplified on the part of the Babylo- nians by the lordly vehemence of Nebuchadnezzar himself, as well as by the vehement fierceness of the Babylonian soldiery. 1 The love of acquiring literal knowledge and ruling by means of it, which is the bear, 2 may well have been characteristic of the Medes; for they left to posterity practically no contributions of original thought. The love of ruling by making one's own object appear to be to the advantage of others, which is the leo- pard, is attested by the appeals to self-interest, the deceit, and the duplicity which were rampant in the Persian empire. The destructive violence of the fourth beast is in accord with the characters of the Macedonian rulers, several of whom were noted for their violent passions and wanton destructiveness. The "little horn " mentioned several times in this seventh chapter symbolizes Antiochus Epiphanes, who stands for a subtle power of perverting the truth, because he endeavored to corrupt and to pervert the Jewish and true faith through the introduction of Greek culture and pagan ideas. The interpretation of the spiritual meaning of this chapter now follows. In a perceptive state at the beginning of the reign 1 Habakkuk i., 5-1 1. 2 Worcester, Animals of the Bible, pp. 106-112. False Systems of Doctrine 125 of self-exalting and profaning rationalism in the church , the representative of the perceptive element of the true church had an obscure revelation of the future and visions of internal perception, when his natural mind was quiescent; then he wrote down the obscure revelation, and told the sum of the matters. The representative of the perceptive element of the true church spoke and said, I saw in my vision in a state of obscurity, and, behold, all the elements of inward thought began to oper- ate upon the great body of truth in the natural mind. And four great systems of dominating intellectuality arose from this naturalistic truth, different one from another. The first dominating system was like the love of ruling by a display of vehement power, and was characterized by a comprehensive intellectuality; I beheld till this comprehensive intellectuality disappeared, and it was lifted up from externals, and began to base its thought on ultimate emotionality like a spiri- tual being, and a spiritual inspirational emotion- ality was given to it. And, behold, a second system of dominating thought, like the love of acquiring literal knowledge and of ruling thereby. The intellectual side of this system was the more prominent, and it was full of fallacious appear- ances arising from self-intelligent thinking in regard to what should be accepted and taught; and it was permitted to become active, and to destroy much genuine truth and innocent life. After this I beheld, and, lo, another system of 126 The Prophecies of Daniel dominating and falsifying thought, like the love of ruling over others by means of appeals to self- interest, * which had a powerful intellectual ability to think out things in all their aspects, and also possessed complete power of perception; and do- minion was given to it. After this I saw in ob- scure visions, and, behold, a fourth system of dominating thought and faith, terrible and dreadful and strong exceedingly. It was characterized by very decided opinions as to the consequences of accepting teachings other than its own ; it perverted and destroyed genuine truth, and what it could not pervert and destroy it defiled and attempted to blot out by its corporeal emotionality. It was different from all the dominating systems of thought that preceded it, and it had great powers. I con- sidered its powers, and, behold, there arose among them another power, a subtle power of perversion, before which there was a complete overthrow of the former powers ; and, behold, in this subtle power was understanding like spiritual understanding, and a capacity for expressing large ideas. I beheld till the reign of falsities was over- 1 The leopard primarily signifies the love of ruling over others by making one's own object seem to be to their advantage; but as such a love is apt to mingle intentional obscurities with the truth in order to persuade, which obscurities are like the leopard's spots, therefore the leopard derivatively signifies the love of falsifying by making what is false appear as the truth {Apocalypse Revealed, 572; Apocalypse Explained, 780; Worcester, Animals of the Bible, pp. 123-13 1), and this is done by deceitful appear- ances and the sudden attack of quick reasonings. False Systems of Doctrine 127 thrown, and the Lord from eternity sat in judg- ment. His intellectual expressions were pure spiritual teaching, and His emotional expressions were warm with love for mankind. His reign was based on Divine goodness and truth, and the ap- plications of these to human states were from love and charity. An atmosphere of deep Divine love proceeded from Him, and all who were in good and truth acknowledged His dominion. The judg- ment was held, and the past activities of all were judged out of the Word. I beheld at that time because of the great falsities to which the subtle power of perversion gave expression; I beheld even till this falsifying faith was condemned, and its doctrines were destroyed, and it was blotted out as accursed. As for the other three false systems of intellectual doctrine, their dominion was taken away, but their influence will continue to exist for a while in the consciousness of the race. I saw in these obscure visions, and, behold, the Lord in His Divine humanity appeared at the time of the acknowledgment of the spiritual sense of the Bible ; and He was perceived to be one with the Father, and was acknowledged as God. And there was given Him dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all the intellectual, emotional, and cognizant elements of the church should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. As for me, the representative of the perceptive 128 The Prophecies of Daniel element of the true church, my inward mind was distressed within me, and my perceptive visions troubled me. I came near to one of them that stood by in my vision, and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things. These four great systems of dominating thought are four false systems of intellectual doctrine which shall arise in the world; but they who are in holy truths from the Lord shall receive the religious kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even for ever and ever.- Then I desired to know the truth con- cerning the fourth great system of dominating thought, which was different from all the others, exceedingly terrible, which threatened direful consequences if any doctrines but its own were accepted, and gave many confirmations that such as did not accept its doctrines would have no share in heavenly life, which perverted and de- stroyed, and defiled and blotted out the rest by means of its corporeal emotionality; and concern- ing its great powers of inward perception, and the other subtle power of perversion which arose, and because of which there was a complete overthrow of previous powers, even that subtle power which had understanding, and a capacity for expressing large ideas, whose appearance was more powerful than the others. I beheld, and the same subtle perverting power assailed those who are in holy truths, and prevailed against them, until the Lord from eternity came, and judgment was given for False Systems of Doctrine 129 those who uphold holy truths from the Lord, and the time came that they who uphold holy truths possessed the religious kingdom. Thus he said, The fourth system of dominating thought shall be a fourth system of false intellec- tual doctrine in the world, which shall be different from all other doctrinal systems, and shall per- vert everything of the church, and defile and destroy it. And as for the great powers, out of this doctrinal system shall arise many ruling falsities, and a subtle ruling falsity shall arise after them, which shall be different from the former, and shall completely overthrow other prevailing falsities. And this subtle ruling falsity will speak false things against the Most High, and will silence by continual arguments those who are in holy truths from the Lord; and it will attempt to change the whole attitude and teaching of the church. And those who are in holy truths shall be given into its power until the end of the old order and the beginning of the new. But the judgment shall be held, and they shall take away the dominion of this subtle ruling falsity to con- sume and to destroy it for good. And the religious kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the religious kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to those who are in holy truths from the Lord ; His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him. This is the end of the revelation. As for me, the representative of the perceptive element of the 130 The Prophecies of Daniel true church, my thoughts greatly troubled me, and my intellectual brightness was obscured in me; but I kept the revelation subject to enlighten- ment from on high. With reference to the future, the four beasts of this seventh chapter of Daniel represent four great systems of intellectual doctrine which will devastate and desolate the Christian Church during the time of its consummation. These four beasts are the same as the beast out of the sea mentioned in the thirteenth chapter of the Apoca- lypse, which represents the falsities and evils now arising in the Christian Church ; z but in the Apoca- lypse all the four beasts are united in one, the fourth beast appearing as the ' ' mouth speaking great things and blasphemies." The reason of this difference is probably that when these four systems or states of thought first came into existence in the life of the race they were developed successively; but as the developments of all the centuries of the pre- vious life of the world are more or less represented in the mind of the race at the present day, there- fore when the psychological characteristics of an ancient era are reawakened, they are apt to come into simultaneous activity. Even so, however, it is not unreasonable to expect that, in the return of the race through these ancient mental phases, some emphasis will occur in the human conscious- ness on each of these four systems of thought in 1 See Kip, Phases of the Church Universal, pp. 55, 56, 63-66, 87, 88. False Systems of Doctrine 13 1 succession, though in a reverse order to that of their original development. But whether they are to exist simultaneously or partly successively, the present chapter is explicit in the teaching that the acknowledgment of the Lord's divinity and the spiritual sense of the Bible, together with the establishment of the New Church on a large scale, will occur immediately after these resusci- tated systems of ancient thought have lost their dominion in the Christian Church. It is not to be expected that the countries of Babylonia, Media, Persia, and Macedonia will, coincidently with the rise in the world of the immediate future of the qualities which they stood for in the past, regain their old supremacy among the nations; but it is likely that some modern nations, whose men- tal attributes are most akin to these ancient em- pires, will become the future effigies of their life and thought, which although long since passed away have left an indelible imprint in the inner recesses of the individual mind of to-day. It is probable that France will take the place of Persia and represent the leopard, Russia the place of Media and represent the bear, and England the place of Babylonia and represent the lion. The appropriateness of the representations assigned to Russia and England is evident from the fact that both these countries are popularly typified by the bear and the lion; but the deceitful reasonings denoted by the leopard do not so plainly apply to France. Nevertheless France is to-day a hotbed i3 2 The Prophecies of Daniel of irreligion, and it is very likely that a number of those within the church there who are irreligious at heart will seek to pervert and falsify the Divine truths of the Bible when these conflict with their own self -intelligent theories. Moreover, the whole body, and hence the most important part, of the beast out of the sea was like a leopard; and as in the triple alliance consummated several years ago between France, Russia, and England, France is the leading country, it must represent the leopard if Russia represents the feet of the bear, and England the mouth of the lion. It is uncertain what pres- ent nation represents Macedonia in this connec- tion and the "mouth speaking great things and blasphemies" which was given to the beast. It may be Japan, which is already joined with Eng- land and Russia in alliances. The beautiful mountain Fujiyama in Japan corresponds to attention to the most profound subjects, and consequently the Japanese must have a capacity for attention to profound subjects, and thus for "speaking great things." It is true that Japan is a pagan nation, and that states of the Christian Church are represented by the beasts of Daniel and the Apocalypse; but, nevertheless, it is really a state of paganism infesting and perverting the vital truths of Christianity that is described. Japan, however, has not taken a prominent part in the recent World War, and this fact seems to disqualify it for such a representation. It may be Serbia, which includes in its present territory False Systems of Doctrine 133 a large portion of ancient Macedonia; but Serbia does not seem to be a large enough nation to re- present the old Macedonian empire. In all prob- ability it is Italy; for the powerful and crushing rule of Italy in ancient times fits so well the descrip- tion of the terrible fourth beast of Daniel's vision that several Biblical commentators have considered that Italy and not Macedonia was represented by this beast, which is identical with the "mouth speaking great things and blasphemies" of the Apocalypse. The reason for this similarity between Italy and the Macedonian empire is probably to be found in the correspondence of Macedonia as faith in God's power to do according to His will; for as the rulers of Macedonia considered themselves to be gods, their belief in their power to do according to their own will was a character- istic similar to that of the rulers of Rome and Italy, who, because Italy corresponds to the will, wish to act and rule in accordance with their own will, and to crush out opposition to their will in others. Moreover, Swedenborg explains the fourth beast of Daniel as the love of ruling over heaven and earth, to which things holy are made subservient as means, which love is meant by Babylon 1 ; and as the Roman Catholic Church is especially meant by Babylon, and as Italy is the headquarters of that church, Italy is a very appro- priate nation to represent the fourth beast accord- ing to Swedenborg's interpretation of its meaning. 1 Apocalypse Explained, 3160*5. 134 The Prophecies of Daniel In a future perceptive state at the beginning ol the rule of self -intelligent profaning rationalism in the Christian Church, the representatives of the perceptive element of the New Church within the Christian Church will recall the revelation made in obscurity to their ancient prototype and recorded in this seventh chapter of Daniel. It was obscurely revealed to the representative of the perceptive element of the true church in ancient times that under the influence of powerful inward thinking directed upon the outward knowledge of the natural mind four great systems of dominat- ing thought will arise in the Christian Church similar to those which existed in a parallel period of the ancient world. One system in its sway through inward falsities will be like the love of ruling by a display of vehement power, and at one time it will be marked by a comprehensive rational intellectuality; but at another time it will lack this comprehensive intellectuality, will depart from external intellectual things, will base its thought upon ultimate emotionality like a spiritual being, and will be characterized by spiritual inspirational feeling. Another system or form of false thinking will arise, which in its study of the literal sense of the Bible will resemble the merely natural love of acquiring literal knowl- edge and ruling thereby; and its intellectual side will be the more prominent. It will be full of fallacious appearances from self -intelligent think- ing as to what should be accepted and taught as False Systems of Doctrine 135 the truth, and it will be permitted to destroy much genuine truth. Another system or kind of false thinking will also arise, which in its deceitful reasonings will be like the love of ruling over others by making it appear to their advantage to do what its own selfishness desires to have done, and this system or state of thought will be char- acterized by a powerful intellectual ability to think out things in all their aspects, and will possess complete powers of perception, and it will domi- nate in the church. There will also arise a fourth system or form of false thinking, which will be terrible in its violence and exceedingly strong in its convictions; and it will have very decided opinions as to the consequences of others accepting any doctrines but its own, it will pervert and destroy genuine truth, and defile and blot out by its corporeal emotionality what it cannot pervert and destroy. It will be different from all the other systems or forms of thought, and will have great powers of perversion. Among these powers will arise a power of subtle perversion, z which will completely overthrow other prevalent powers, 1 In regard to the meaning of the "little horn" Swedenborg says: "It signifies a complete perversion of the Word by the application of the sense of its letter to confirm the love of domin- ion. This horn is called little because it does not appear that the Word is perverted; and what does not appear before the sight of man's spirit, that is, before his understanding, is regarded either as nothing or as little. In the spiritual world such is the appearance of things that are apprehended by a few only" (Apo- calypse Explained, 316). 13 6 The Prophecies of Daniel and will have an understanding like spiritual understanding, and a capacity for expressing large ideas. But after a time the rule of these forms of false thinking will be overthrown, and the Lord from eternity will come to judge the church, He Whose intellectual expressions as contained in the Word are pure spiritual teaching, and Whose emotional expressions are warm with love for men, Whose sovereignty is based on goodness and truth, the applications and adaptations of which to human states of mind are from love and charity. An atmosphere of love proceeds from Him, and all who are in goodness and truth acknowledge His supremacy. The judgment of the church will be held, and the past activities of all within it will be judged by the standards of the Bible. Atten- tion will then be specially directed to the great falsities which the subtle power of perversion utters, and this form of false thinking will be condemned, and its doctrines destroyed and blotted out as accursed. As for the other three forms of false thinking, their dominion will then be taken away; but they will continue to exist for a while longer in the mind of the church. Then there will come, together with the acceptance of the spiritual sense of the Bible by the purified remnant of Christendom, the reception of the Lord in His Divine Humanity, and He will be seen to be one with the Father, and will be acknowl- edged as God. His glorious sovereignty will be False Systems of Doctrine 137 acknowledged by all the good intellectual, emo- tional, and cognizant elements in the church, and the New Church wilich will then be established on a large scale will be lasting upon the earth. The representatives of the perceptive element of the New Church within the Christian Church will become distressed as they recall this ancient prophecy, and their inward perceptions will trouble them. They will therefore seek enlightenment con- cerning the meaning and application of this revela- tion, and such enlightenment will be given them through the writings of the New Church. They will be shown that the four great systems of dominating thought are four forms of false thinking which by their day will have arisen in the Christian Church, but that nevertheless they who uphold the holy truths of the Lord's Word will finally obtain the su- premacy, and will thereafter retain it for all time. In regard to the fourth system of dominating thought, which was different from the rest, ex- ceedingly terrible in its false beliefs, which teaches direful consequences to others who do not accept its doctrines, and gives many confirmations from the Word that no one who does not accept them will have any share in heavenly life and happiness, which perverts and destroys all the truth it can, and by its corporeal emotionality defiles and blots out what is left, which has great powers of per- version, out of which arises a subtle power of perversion overthrowing other powers completely, even the subtle power of perversion that has 138 The Prophecies of Daniel understanding like spiritual understanding, and a capacity for expressing large ideas, the appear- ance of which is more powerful than the others, which subtle power assails those who are in holy- truths, and prevails over them until the Lord from eternity comes, and judgment is given in favor of those who uphold the holy truths of the Word, and the time comes for these to obtain the supremacy, — these representatives of the percep- tive element of the New Church will be shown that the fourth system of dominating thought is a form of false faith which by their day will have become prevalent in the Christian Church, which will be different from all the other forms of false thinking, and will pervert all the good and truth of the church, and defile and destroy them. The great powers represented by the ten horns of the beast will be the powerful ruling falsities which will arise from this form of false faith, and another different and more subtle power of perverting the truth will arise from it, which will overthrow other prevalent false views. They who represent this subtle power of perversion will speak false things in regard to the Lord, and will silence by their continual arguments those who uphold the holy truths of the Lord. They will plan to change the whole attitude and teaching of the church, and the upholders of the holy truths of the Word will be given into their power until the end of the Christian Church and the beginning of the New Church. But the judgment of the church will False Systems of Doctrine 139 come to pass, and the rule of the subtle pervert ers of the truth will be taken away, and consummated and destroyed for good; and the sovereignty and rule over the Christian Church, and over all the religious kingdoms of the world, will be given to those who have upheld the holy truths of the Lord, Whose New-Church kingdom will be last- ing, and all religious dominions will serve and obey Him. This is the end of the revelation. The representatives of the perceptive element of the New Church within the Christian Church will be greatly troubled by these interpretations, and their own intellectual brightness will be ob- scured; but they will keep the interpretations in their minds subject to illumination from above. CONFLICTING SYSTEMS OF ETHICS 1 SHEEP and goats correspond to the love of social intercourse, as is shown by their re- markably gregarious nature, a sheep corresponding to an emotional love of social intercourse or to the social exchange of feelings, and a goat to an intel- lectual love of social intercourse or to the social exchange of thoughts. Hence sheep and goats stand in the Bible for emotional and intellectual loves for others, and for good affections in general. 2 The vision of the image contained in the second chapter of Daniel, and the vision of the four beasts contained in the seventh chapter, seem to have special reference to the religious doctrines of life and thought which were prevalent in the ancient empires of Babylonia, Media, Persia, and Mace- donia, and which, through the powerful influence of these empires and the religious inconstancy of the Jews, were also prevalent in the Jewish Church itself; but the vision of the ram and the he-goat contained in the present chapter, the ram repre- senting Media and Persia, and the he-goat Mace- 1 Comprising Daniel viii., 1-27. 2 Heavenly Arcana, 2781, 4169, 9740, 10042; Apocalypse Ex- plained, 314 s . 140 Conflicting Systems of Ethics 14 1 donia or Greece, 1 seems to portray the social and human side of these empires and their ethical views, the ram signifying an ethical system that makes a good life the essential thing in ethics and religion, and the he-goat signifying an ethical system that makes intellectual faith the essential thing. 2 The horns of the ram are said to be high; and answering to this the ethical standards of Media and Persia were in general lofty, their teachings inculcated charity toward the poor, and the very watchword of their ancient scriptures was "good thoughts, good words, good deeds." Hence the emotional element, or the element of goodness and charity, is apparent in their ethical system as a whole. But it is quite the contrary with the ethical systems of the Epicureans and Stoics, which arose during the Macedonian period; for the Epicureans taught that the bodily appe- tites should be subdued in order that they might not interfere with the intellectual pleasures of the mind, and the Stoics enjoined a similar repres- sion of outward desires in order that the soul might become free from all passionate feeling, and so be able to enjoy intellectual calm and repose. The intellectual quality of the faith of the Stoics in something higher and all -ruling is clear; for in their system "man's morality is his subordination to the law of nature, his willing obedience to the course of the world, to the eternal 1 Verses 20, 21. 2 Apocalypse Explained, 418 6 ; Doctrine of Faith, 63, 68. H 2 The Prophecies of Daniel necessity, and in so far as this world-reason is designated in the Stoic doctrine as Deity, it is also obedience to God and to the Divine law, as well as subordination to the world-purpose and the rule of Providence." 1 The markedly intellectual character of the faith and teachings of the ethical systems of Macedonia and Greece are therefore aptly portrayed by a he-goat. The ram and the he-goat as the male of the sheep and the goats represent respectively the perceptive emotional and the perceptive intellectual element. The notable horn between the eyes of the he- goat, which is said to be the first king, symbolizes Alexander the Great, who was the first king of the Macedonian empire. Alexander was distinctive in that he united Macedonian force of character with the pagan culture of the Greeks; and he seems therefore to represent a youthful self- intelligent faith in God and His power, which is strengthened by the intellectual culture of the critical mind. This strong, self-intelligent faith of youth, supported by the deliberations of the comparing or critical faculty, 2 overthrows the imaginative ideas and ideals which were supreme in the earlier period of youth, and extends its sway over many faculties of the mind; and such psychological conquests are like the historical conquests of Alexander the Great over Persia 1 Windelband, History of Philosophy, p. 172. 2 Greece corresponds to the faculty of comparison and its deliberations (Kip, Psychology of the Nations, pp. 128-132). Conflicting Systems of Ethics H3 and many other countries of the ancient world. But this faith and its wide authority do not con- tinue long in the youthful mind, and in its place spring up a number of conflicting faiths all striv- ing for supremacy, four distinct forms of faith finally becoming prevalent; and this is like the political disorder and the conflict between rival claimants for the throne which followed Alexander's death, and the final partition of his empire into the territories of Cassander, Lysimachus, Seleucus, and Ptolemy, which are meant by the four notable horns into which the first horn was broken up. 1 From the Syrian kingdom of the Seleucids sprang Antiochus Epiphanes, who is the little horn of verse nine, and who as before stands for a subtle power of perverting the truth. Such subtle power of perversion was a ruling influence also in the Jewish Church itself, where at that time it was the dominant characteristic of the 1 Cassander obtained Macedonia and Greece, and hence his kingdom corresponded to faith founded on the deliberations of the critical mind. Lysimachus obtained Thrace and a part of Asia Minor, and hence his kingdom corresponded to faith founded on the dictates of the conscience, Thrace corresponding to faith in God's power to do as He says He will do, and Asia Minor corresponding to the conscience (Idem, pp. 71-73). This king- dom was short-lived. Seleucus received Syria, Babylonia, and other eastern countries; but as his kingdom was afterward very much restricted in its extent, and as its later and permanent capital became Antioch in Syria, his kingdom became practically a Syrian kingdom, and as such corresponded to faith founded on symbolism (Idem, pp. 68-70). Ptolemy received Egypt, and hence his kingdom corresponded to faith founded on a knowledge of spiritual things (Idem, pp. 136-142). H4 The Prophecies of Daniel numerous apostate Jews who had become estranged from the true religion through the seductions of Greek intellectualism and pagan customs. The city of Susa or Shushan, in the castle or citadel of which Daniel appeared to himself to be when he had the vision, seems to correspond to graphic or vivid imagination and the doctrines formed from it, and the castle or citadel to a strongly fortified or defensive state of mind; hence the citadel of Susa corresponds to strongly intrenched imaginative doctrines ruling in the church. The river Ulai was probably a large artificial canal, which ran from the Kerkha River to the Dizful, and passed close by the city of Susa. The Dizful River seems to correspond to the mental representation of actually existing things under imaginative forms, while the Kerkha seems to correspond to purely imaginative representation without reference to actual existence. The river or canal Ulai may therefore be regarded as corresponding to a combination in imaginative thought of the actual and the unactual, the real and the purely imaginary. Daniel's standing by this river in his vision seems therefore to re- present the state of life of the representative of the perceptive element of the true church in close proximity to the current of mingled real and imaginary, true and false thinking, which was characteristic of the church of self -exalting and profaning rationalism, within which church he lived. Conflicting Systems of Ethics 145 Gabriel and Michael, who are mentioned in this and the following chapters, are spoken of in the apocryphal books of Tobit and Enoch as two of the seven holy angels. 1 These seven angels are evidently the same as the seven angels of the seven churches, referred to in the Apocalypse. 2 Swedenborg states that the angels who are men- tioned in the Word, such as Michael and Raphael, mean "administrations and functions, and in general limited and specified departments of the administration and function of all the angels." 3 Gabriel seems to be the angel of the church of Ephesus, and represents the type of angels who are especially in the perception of what is good and the knowledge of doctrine 4 ; whereas Michael seems to be the angel of the church of Sardis, and represents the type of angels who are espe- cially in the perception of what is true. Hence Michael is represented as carrying on war in heaven with the dragon 5 ; for it is truth and not good that fights, 6 and the quick perception of what is true is necessary to meet promptly and to refute thoroughly the arguments of those who 1 Tobit xii., 15; Enoch xx., 1-7; also p. 357 Charles' edition; lxxxi., 5; xc., 21, 22. 2 L, 20; ii., 1, 8, 12, 18; iii., 1, 7, 14. 3 Apocalypse Explained, 735. 4 The members of this church give great prominence to matters of doctrine (see Apocalypse Revealed, 73). s Apocalypse xii., 7. 6 Heavenly Arcana, 1950, 3923; New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine, 198. H 6 The Prophecies of Daniel are in falsities. In regard to the meaning of Michael and Gabriel, Swedenborg says: "By Michael is not meant any archangel, nor by Gabriel and Raphael; but ministries in heaven are meant. The ministry there which is Michael is of those who prove from the Word that the Lord is the God of heaven and earth, and that God the Father and He are one, as the soul and the body are one; also that man must live according to the commandments of the Decalogue, and that he then has charity and faith. . . . But by Gabriel is meant the ministry of those who teach from the Word that Jehovah came into the world, and that the Human which He there begot is the Son of God and Divine; on which account the angel who announced it to Mary is called Gabriel. ' ' x So far as this description applies to the Lord's Divinity, the ministry of Gabriel seems to be a doctrinal and emotional way of teaching this doctrine, while the ministry of Michael seems to be a more intellectual way of teaching it, and also the necessity of a good life according to the commandments. If this is so, it confirms the view that Gabriel stands for the angel of the church of Ephesus, and Michael for the angel of the church of Sardis; for the church of Ephesus is the per- ceptive element of the emotional church, and the church of Sardis is the perceptive element of the intellectual church. 1 Apocalypse Revealed, 548. Conflicting Systems of Ethics H7 Now follows the spiritual interpretatior of this eighth chapter of Daniel with reference to the ancient phases of the church. When the reign of self -exalting and profaning rationalism in the church had reached its full development, a vision of revelation appeared to me, the representative of the perceptive element of the true church, after that which appeared to me at the beginning. And I saw in the vision; now it was so that when I saw, I was situated within a strongly fortified system of doctrine formulated by the vivid imagination which is in the mental province of perceiving by imagina- tive thought what things are necessary for a given purpose; and I saw in the vision of revelation, and I was in close proximity to a current of mingled real and imaginary thinking. Then I lifted up the sight of my mind, and saw, and, behold, there was produced from this mingled real and imaginary thought an emotional ethical system, or ethics founded on good life, which had intellectual and emotional powers, and the powers were lofty; but one was loftier than the other, and the loftier came up last . I saw this emotional ethical system develop- ing in emotional perceptiveness, in knowledge, and in thought; and no other systems could stand be- fore it, neither could any controvert its arguments ; but it had its way, and made great conquests. And as I was considering, behold, an intellectual ethical system or ethics founded on intellectual be- lief of the truth, w^as produced from intellectual 148 The Prophecies of Daniel perceptiveness, and spread over the whole church. This intellectual ethical system was theoretical in its tendency, and was characterized by a strong critical power of self -intelligence. And this intel- lectual system came in contact with the emotional system of ethics, which had the intellectual and emotional powers, and which was produced from the current of real and imaginary thinking, and advanced against it in the fury of its powerful arguments. And I saw it come into close contact with the emotional system of ethics, and it was incensed against this system, and attacked it, and destroyed its intellectual and emotional powers ; and there was no power in this emotional system of ethics to withstand its attacks, but the intel- lectual ethical system overthrew it, and completely refuted its teachings, and no one could deliver the emotional ethical system from the strength of its arguments. And the intellectual system of ethics made exceedingly great conquests; and when it was powerful, the strong critical power of self -in- telligence became divided; and instead of it there arose four critical powers of thought developed from all the elements of inward thinking. And out of one of these critical, self -intelligent powers came forth a subtle power of perversion, which grew exceedingly great in regard to thought, conduct, and the literal truths of the Word. And it grew great, even to the interior good and truths of heaven and the church; and some of these good and true things it overthrew and falsified. Yea, Conflicting Systems of Ethics 149 it showed presumptuous boldness, even to Jehovah Himself ; and it took away from Him the heartfelt worship of the church, and the doctrine of His sole Divinity was denied. And through the falsities and evils rife within the church heavenly things and the heartfelt worship of the church were given into its power; and it overthrew the truth, and had its way and prospered. Then I heard the representative of those who are in intel- lectual holy truths speaking, and the representa- tive of those who are in emotional holy truths said to that representative who spoke, How long shall be the vision of revelation concerning the heartfelt worship of the church, and the falsities that desolate it, whereby the holy things of both the church and heaven are falsified and defiled? And he said to me, Until the end of the old order and the beginning of the new, when these remains of religious thought and life now stored up in the human mind shall be lived through again 1 ; then shall the holy truths of the church and the Word be justified. And it came to pass when I, the representative of the perceptive element of the true church, had seen the vision of revelation, that I sought to understand it; and, behold, the Lord became present in His Divine humanity. And I perceived a Divine influence amid the current of mingled 1 In regard to the number 2300, two has reference to thought, three has reference to action or outward life, and ten or one hundred by which these are multiplied has reference to remains. 150 The Prophecies of Daniel real and imaginary thought, which impelled the representative of the angels who are especially in the perception of what is good and the knowledge of doctrine to enlighten me in regard to the mean- ing of the vision. So he came near to me in my state of life; and when he came near, my natural state of mind was shaken, and became displaced: but he said to me, Understand, son of man; for the vision belongs to the time of the end. Now as he was communicating his thoughts to me, my state of mind became deeply quiescent, with the interiors turned outward; but he com- municated his life to me, and lifted up my mind. And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the latter time of the judgment; for it belongs to the appointed time of the end. The emotional ethical system which thou sawest, that had the intellectual and the emotional powers, they are the ruling ideas of intellectual and emo- tional imagination. And the intellectual ethical system is the ruling spirit of critical faith; and the strong power of self -intelligence in its under- standing of things is the fundamental ruling spirit of critical faith. And as for that which was divided, in the place whereof four arose, four ruling faiths shall arise out of this critical faith, but not with the power of the original faith. And in the latter time of their rule, when the falsities and evils of the church have reached their full measure, a ruling spirit of hard interiors because lacking in good, and understanding symbolic Conflicting Systems of Ethics 151 things, shall arise. And his power shall be mighty, but not by the force of true spirituality; and he shall cause extraordinary destruction, and shall prosper and do his pleasure, and he shall overthrow those who are in spiritual and holy truths. And through his subtle policy he shall cause deceit to prosper in his doings, and he shall show pre- sumptuous boldness in his scheming; and shall destroy the beliefs of many when they are unsus- picious of any harm ; he shall also stand up against Jehovah Himself, but he shall come to an end by Divine intervention. And the vision of the end of the old order and the beginning of the new which has been told is true ; but shut thou up the vision, for it belongs to many days to come. And I, the representative of the perceptive element of the true church, experienced a severe depression of spirits, and was sorely distressed for a while; then my state of mind became elevated, and I performed the affairs of the ruling spirit of self- exalting and profaning rationalism. And I w^as appalled at the vision, but no one understood it. In its application to the future, this eighth chapter of Daniel seems to predict two conflicting systems of ethics and theology, as the line between ethics and religion is rather loosely drawn. The ram will be a system of ethics and religion founded on a life of goodness and charity; but its teachings will be spurious, and the product of mingled true and imaginary thought, because they will not be based upon a true understanding of the Bible. 15 2 The Prophecies of Daniel Against this ethical or theological system which gives greatest importance to the life will arise an ethical or theological system which makes an intellectual faith the essential thing in ethics and religion. Such critical intellectualism, and the subtle power of perverting the truth which grows out of it, will be important factors in the desola- tion and consummation of the Christian Church, which is now at hand. It is likely that the phases described in this chapter will occur simultaneously in the Christian Church, and in fact they seem to exist there already in incipient form. When the reign of self- exalting and profaning rationalism in the Christian Church of the future has reached its full development, the representa- tives of the perceptive element of the New Church within the Christian Church will recall this vision of revelation which appeared to their ancient prototype. Like the Daniel of old, they will be living in the midst of doctrines which are formed from the vivid imagination that is part of the faculty of perceiving by imaginative insight what things are necessary for a desired result, and which are strongly fortified by defensive or confirmatory arguments; and they will be in close proximity to the current of mingled real and imaginary, true and false thinking, which will then be character- istic of the Christian Church. In a state of mental elevation they will recall this ancient revelation, how that an emotional system of ethics and theo- logy, with intellectual and emotional powers, was Conflicting Systems of Ethics 153 produced from this mingled current of true and imaginary thought ; and the intellectual and emo- tional powers were lofty, but the emotional power was loftier than the other, and arose last. This emotional system of ethics and theology, or system founded on good life, developed in emotional perceptiveness, knowledge, and thought, and no other systems could stand before it, nor could any controvert its arguments; but it had its way and made great conquests. But now an intellectual system of ethics and theology, or a system founded on intellectual belief, was produced from intellec- tual perceptiveness, and spread over the whole church. It was theoretical in tendency, and was characterized by a strong critical power of self- intelligence. This intellectual system of ethics and theology came in contact with the emotional system which had intellectual and emotional powers, and which was produced from the current of true and imaginary thinking, and advanced against it in the fury of its powerful arguments. It came into close contact with the system of ethics and theology founded on good life, and it was incensed against this system, and attacked it, and destroyed its intellectual and emotional powers ; and there was no power in this emotional system of ethics and theology to withstand its attacks, but the intellectual ethical system over- threw it, and completely refuted its teachings, and no one could deliver the emotional system founded on good life from the strength of its argu- i54 The Prophecies of Daniel ments. The intellectual system of ethics and theology made exceedingly great conquests; and when it was powerful, the strong critical power of self-intelligence became divided, and instead of it there arose four critical powers of thought developed from all the elements of inward thinking. Out of one of these critical, self-intelligent powers came forth a subtle power of perversion, which grew exceedingly great in regard to thought, conduct, and the literal truths of the Bible. It grew great even to the interior good and true things of' heaven and the church, and some of these it overthrew and falsified. Yea, it showed presumptuous boldness even to the Lord Himself; and it took away from Him the heartfelt worship of the church, and the doctrine of His Divinity was denied. Through the falsities and evils rife within the church the heavenly things of the church and its heartfelt worship were given into its power; and it overthrew the truth, and had its way and prospered. Then the representative of those who are in intellectual holy truths spoke, and the representative of those who are in emo- tional holy truths said to the intellectual repre- sentative who spoke, "How long shall be the vision of revelation concerning the heartfelt worship of the church, and the falsities that deso- late it, whereby the things of both the church and heaven are falsified and defiled?" And he replied, "Until the end of the Christian Church and the beginning of the New Church, when these Conflicting Systems of Ethics 155 remains of religious thought and life now stored up in the human mind have been lived through again; then shall the holy truths of the church and the Word be justified." It will come to pass, when the representatives of the perceptive element of the New Church within the Christian Church, recall this prophetic revelation, that they will seek enlightenment concerning it ; and, behold, the Lord in His Divine humanity will become present with them, and they will perceive that it is of His Divinely human influence that they receive enlightenment from the angels who are especially in the perception of what is good and the knowledge of doctrine. These angels will draw near to the representatives of the perceptive element of the New Church, whose natural state of mind will in consequence be shaken and displaced; but the angels will communicate the perceptive understanding that the revelation belongs to the time of the end of the Christian Church. As they receive this spirit- ual perception from the angels, the state of mind of the representatives of the perceptive New Church will become deeply quiescent with its interiors turned outward; but the angels will communicate their life to them, and lift up their minds. The representatives of the perceptive New Church will then know, through the influ- ence of these angels, that the revelation has refer- ence to the end of the Christian Church, when it shall be judged. The emotional system of ethics 156 The Prophecies of Daniel and theology, which had the intellectual and emotional powers, are the spurious ideas of intel- lectual and emotional imagination which will become prevalent in the Christian Church; and the intellectual system of ethics and theology is the spirit of critical faith which will rule in the Christian Church at its end, the strong power of self -intelligence being the fundamental principle. As for that which was divided, in the place whereof four arose, four forms of false belief shall arise out of this critical faith, but not with the power of the original, fundamental faith. In the latter time of the rule of these false forms of faith in the Christian Church, when the evils and falsities of the church have grown to their full measure, a ruling spirit lacking interior goodness, but under- standing symbolic things, will arise. Its power will be mighty, but not from the force of true spirituality; and it will cause extraordinary de- struction, and will prosper and have its way; and it will overthrow those who are in spiritual and holy truths. Through the subtle policy of its representatives it will cause deceit to prosper, and its representatives will show presumptuous boldness in their scheming; and will overthrow the beliefs of many, who do not look for any harm from them. They will also oppose the Lord Himself and His teachings; but they will come to an end without human agency. The angelic influence will cause the perception that the revela- tion of the end of the Christian Church and the Conflicting Systems of Ethics 157 beginning of the New Church which has been told is true, and that the true interpretation of it has been withheld until the time of the end of that church. When they perceive the meaning and application of this prophetic revelation, the repre- sentatives of the perceptive element of the New Church will experience a severe depression of spirits, and their minds will be sorely distressed; but afterward they will have an interior percep- tion in regard to the affairs of the self-exalting and profaning rationalistic Christian Church of the future. They will be appalled at the applica- tion of the prophetic revelation, but no others will understand it. THE DESOLATION OF THE CHURCH BY SELF-INTELLIGENCE AND SELF- EXALTATION 1 IN this ninth chapter the author of Daniel at- tempts to show that the seventy years pre- dicted by Jeremiah as the duration of Babylonian captivity and Babylonian supremacy was seventy weeks of years, or 490 years, a period which accord- ing to the defective chronology then current would terminate about three and a half years from the time the book of Daniel was probably written. These three and a half years are the same as the "time and times and half a time" elsewhere spoken of in Daniel, and also the same as the half of the week during which the "prince," who stands for Antiochus Epiphanes, would cause the sacri- fice and the oblation to cease. 2 This whole ninth chapter treats of the spiritual devastation and desolation of the church caused by the self-intel- ligence and self -exaltation represented by the Babylonian captivity; for this captivity on the part of the Jews represented and was the result of their own perverse state of mind, which rejected the true religion for the false idols of man's own 1 Comprising Daniel ix., 1-27. 2 Verse 27. 158 Desolation of the Church 159 self-intelligent devising. Such a state of self- intelligence and self-exaltation in regard to the spiritual things of the Word has existed in the Jewish and in the Christian Church ever since, though in a less virulent form than at the time of the Babylonian captivity. The time for the release of the church from this naturalistic, self- intelligent condition, and its consequent fruition of the joys and glories predicted in the prophecies of the Old Testament, was extended down to his own time by the author of Daniel; but as has already been stated in these pages, no such release from naturalism and materialism, and conse- quently no entrance into these promised spiritual blessings can be expected until this inward evil of self-intelligence and self-exaltation, inherited by the race from the time of the Babylonian cap- tivity, has been fully repented of and cast out from the mind. Such repentance and casting out will probably not come to pass in the church for two or more centuries yet, and even then the Babylon of self -intelligence and self-exaltation will be cast out only from the natural plane of the mind; for the inmost self-intelligence and self-exaltation represented by the Babylon of the Most Ancient Church will still remain in the innermost recesses of the souls of men until the church returns once more to its celestial estate in the distant future. x The Lord's promise that He will bring back the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem and build them 1 Kip, Phases of the Church Universal, pp. 89, 90. i6o The Prophecies of Daniel as at the first, and that He will cleanse them of all their iniquities, 1 can be fulfilled only when the church is willing to return from its present state of naturalistic self-intelligence and self-exaltation which has estranged it all these centuries from God, and prevented it from accepting interior spiritual truths. Such a willingness on the part of the church to be brought back to the more inward and spiritually receptive states of mind which prevailed "at the first" in the youth of the world may, however, be confidently expected within the next two or three centuries, and then the glorious promises of restoration and healing and rejoicing so repeatedly and so grandly voiced by the Old Testament prophets will begin to be realized; for then the acceptance of the spiritual truths of the New Church will become possible, the church will be brought into closer communion with her God, and the pride of naturalistic learning and the exaltation of rationalistic self-intelligence will fade away in the presence of a growing love for the spiritual truths and precepts of spiritual living which have been revealed from on high. Therefore the restoration of the Jewish Church to its former grandeur, represented by the author of Daniel as about to occur after a Babylonian captivity consisting of seventy weeks of years, is really the restoration of the Christian Church, and also of the Jewish Church, to which these promises of restoration were originally made, 1 Jeremiah xxxiii., 6-n. Desolation of the Church 161 to the former state of comparative religious integ- rity which preceded the evils causing and repre- sented by the Babylonian captivity; for when in the upward progression of the race the evils of the Babylon of self -intelligence and self -exaltation are removed, the capacity which previously existed in the souls of men to receive more interior and spiritual things will be restored, and the "desper- ate wounds" of the church will be healed. It is often promised in the Old Testament that the Jews will be gathered again to Jerusalem and Zion from all the countries of the earth whither they have been driven, but this does not neces- sarily mean their bodily return to Jerusalem and Palestine; for if the Jews, from their present unspiritual states of mind which most of the countries they now occupy represent, come into an acknowledgment of the Lord as the only God and worship Him for His incomparable greatness and sole divinity, they will in spirit be brought again to Jerusalem and Zion, which correspond to these venerative states of mind, and will dwell there much more truly than if they returned to Jerusalem in person, but had no such acknowl- edgment and worship of the Lord. Hence these Old Testament prophecies will be spiritually fulfilled even to the Jews themselves; and it is evident that their literal fulfillment was never intended by the Divine Mind. Externalism and literalism in the interpretation of the Scrip- tures have been the bane of the Jewish as well 1 62 The Prophecies of Daniel as of the Christian Church, and it is time they both began to pay more attention to what God means by the statements contained in His own Word, inspired by Himself, than to what the human instruments used in giving expression to these statements had in mind when they wrote down the Divinely inspired words. It is not God's predictions and promises that are at fault, but the fault lies with men who willfully refuse to understand His statements even when their true meaning is clearly explained. Yet it is foretold. "In the latter days ye shall understand it" 1 ; and it is these "latter days" which form the subject of the present volume, and which will certainly come to pass within the next two or three centuries. In verses twenty-four to twenty-seven of this ninth chapter the seventy weeks of years are divided into three separate periods. The first period is one of seven weeks of years, or forty-nine years, and extends from the promise by Jeremiah of the res- toration of the Jewish Church after the Babylonian exile to the beginning of the Jewish Church after the exile under Joshua, the first high priest of the rebuilt Jewish temple, who is probably meant by the "anointed one, the prince." The second period is one of sixty-two weeks of years, or 434 years, during which the city of Jerusalem, and the doctrine of the church, which it represents, were built up again in times of trial and temptation. This period probably ends with the assassination 1 Jeremiah xxx., 24. Desolation of the Church 163 of the Jewish high priest Onias III, when the direct line of the priesthood was broken off in the Jewish Church ; for he probably represents the "anointed one" who was "cut off and had nothing" of verse twenty-six. The third period consists of one week of years, or seven years (171-164B.C.), the latter half of which constitutes the three and a half years referred to in Daniel as a "time and times and half a time." The "prince" of verses twenty-six and twenty-seven is Antiochus Epiphanes, and the firm covenant made with many for this one week of years seems to be his cooperation with numerous apostate Jews to destroy the religion of the faithful members of the Jewish Church. The sacrifice and meal-offering which this prince caused to cease in the middle of the week, or for half of the week, is an allusion to the suspension of the temple services of the Jews by Antiochus Epiphanes in 168 B.C. The spiritual meaning of these historical events with reference to the Jewish Church will be clear from the following interpretation of the ninth chapter of Daniel. In the first perceptive state of the spirit of intel- lectual imaginativeness, developed from the per- ceptions of intellectual imagination, who took on the characteristics of comparing inferential ration- alism, at the beginning of his reign I, the represen- tative of the perceptive element of the true church, understood from the Scriptures the nature of the religious states of mind which that part of the Word 1 64 The Prophecies of Daniel which treats of the devastation of the church by self -intelligence and profane worship teaches will have to be experienced before the desolations of the church caused by such self-intelligence and self- exalting worship will come to an end, even an en- tire series of desolated states. And I directed my inward mind to the Lord God, and applied myself to prayer and supplica- tions, mourning because of the absence of good and truth in the church, in consequence of its evil ways and false thoughts. And I prayed to Jehovah my God, and made confession, and said, Oh, Lord, the great and dreadful God, Who con- joins Himself and shows loving kindness to them that love Him and keep His commandments, we have sinned, and have dealt perversely, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even turning aside from Thy precepts and from Thy religious ordinances; neither have we hearkened to the truths of good life contained in Thy Word, which were spoken in Thy name to our greater and our lesser rulers, and to our fathers, and to all the people of the church. Lord, righteousness be- longs to Thee, but to us, an inward sense of shame, as at this day; to those who are of the emotional church, and to those who acknowledge Jehovah's sole Divinity, and to all the members of the intellectual church, that are internal or external, throughout all the natural states of mind whither they have been driven, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against Thee. Desolation of the Church 165 O Lord, to us belongs an inward sense of shame, to our greater and our lesser rulers, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against Thee. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness; for we have rebelled against Him, neither have we obeyed the teachings of Jehovah our God, to live according to His laws, which He set before us through those who taught the truth that leads to good life. Yea, all the church have trans- gressed Thy law, even turning aside that they should not obey Thy teachings. Therefore have been fulfilled upon us the spiritual misery of which we were warned, and the dire consequences of wrong doing and thinking which were predicted in the laws of spiritual life contained in the Word, * which are serviceable to a good life from God; for we have sinned against these laws. And the teachings of the laws of spiritual life, which foretold the results of wrong doing to us and to our leaders who taught us, have been confirmed by there coming upon us a great trouble; for in the whole church has not been done as has been done upon the church founded on the acknowl- edgment of Jehovah's sole divinity. As it is written in the laws of spiritual life contained in the Word, all this trouble is come upon us; yet have we not entreated the favor of Jehovah our God, that we should turn from our iniquities, and have discernment in Thy truth. Therefore has Jehovah, in accordance with His eternal laws, 1 Deuteronomy xxviii., 15-68. 1 66 The Prophecies of Daniel allowed this trouble to come upon us ; for Jehovah our God is righteous in all His works which He does, and we have not obeyed His teachings. And now, O Lord our God, That with mighty power hast brought Thy people forth out of a state of mere knowledge of spiritual things, and hast thereby, as always, revealed Thy true spiritual nature; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. Lord, according to all Thy righteousness, let, 1 pray Thee, the goodness and truth of Thy presence be turned again toward Thy church which should acknowledge Thee as the only God, and revere Thee in true worship ; because for our sins, and for the iniquities we have inherited from our fathers, our church and Thy people are become a reproach to all that are round about us. Now therefore, O our God, hearken to the prayer of Thy servant, and to his supplications, and be merciful to Thy church that is desolate, for Thine own goodness' sake. O my God, give heed and hear, direct Thine attention and behold our deso- lations, and the church which is called by Thy name: for we do not present our supplications before Thee for our righteousnesses, but for Thy great mercies' sake. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not; for Thine own sake, O my God, because Thy church and Thy people are called by Thy name. And while I was communing, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of the people of my church, presenting my supplication before Jehovah Desolation of the Church 167 my God for the church of my God founded on true worship of Him ; yea, while I was communing in prayer, the representative of the angels who excel in the perception of what is good and the knowledge of doctrine, whose presence I had perceived in the revelation at the beginning, being gifted with swift spiritual perception, illu- mined me in my obscure state of worship. And he instructed me, and talked with me, and said, representative of the perceptive element of the true church, I am now come forth to give thee wisdom and understanding. At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment went forth, and I am come to tell thee; for thou art greatly beloved. Therefore consider the matter, and understand the revelation. A full state of devastation is decreed upon thy church and its doctrines confirmed by the Word, in order that its evils and falsities may come to their full measure and so to their end, that its iniquity may be done away with, that a permanent distinction and separation may be made between what is good and what is evil, that the need for revelation and prophecy may cease, and that the new church then to be established may be con- secrated to heavenly living from God. Know therefore and discern that from the utterance of the prophecy in regard to the restoration and establishment of the church founded on the ac- knowledgment of Jehovah's sole divinity to the resumption of the rule of the Divine goodness in 168 The Prophecies of Daniel the church will be one complete emotional period. For a full period of thoughtfulness the church will be established anew with generally accepted truths and confirmatory scriptural proofs, but with diffi- culty. And after this thoughtful period the spirit of Divine goodness will be cut of! from the church, and will have no reception in it; and the followers of the ruling spirit of subtle perversion that will come will destroy the church and its doctrines from the Word; and the end thereof will be with a flood of false appearances, and even to the end there will be conflict between truth and falsity; a complete destruction of the truth is inevitable. And the ruling spirit of subtle per- version will establish a strong following for a final period of knowledge; and for the latter part of this period he will cause the emotional and intellectual worship of Jehovah to cease; and through the power of thinking out abominable falsities, he will turn the truths of the church into falsities; and even to the full end of the church, and that inevitable, will a complete destruction of all good and truth be wrought in the desolated church. With reference to the future, the ninth chapter of Daniel predicts that the future receivers of the New Church within the Christian Church will perceive from the Word that the spiritual desola- tions of their church will not cease until the accu- mulating series of falsities and evils caused by self -intelligence and self -exaltation, and handed Desolation of the Church 169 down through numberless generations, have been cast out; and that they will therefore, with sincere contrition and repentance, supplicate the Lord to remove these great evils from them, and to restore His presence to the church. They will afterward perceive, from angelic illumination, the truth re- garding the end of the Christian Church and the establishment of the New Church. As the modern application of the prophecies of Daniel has reference to the Christian Church, and as the ''half of the week" referred to in the twenty- seventh verse is the same as the period of ' ' a time and times and half a time," which, as elsewhere shown, the religious world in general is now entering upon, it is evident that the other periods pre- ceding the half week must in such modern applica- tion describe stages in the history of the Christian Church antecedent to the present. In this appli- cation, the first period of seven weeks of the seventy years, which Jeremiah prophesied would be the length of the Babylonian captivity, may be regarded as extending from the time of Jere- miah's prophecy to the coming of the Lord, Who is the "anointed- prince" or Messiah; the second period of sixty- two weeks extends from the estab- lishment of the Christian Church by the Lord to the time of that church's falling away from Him by transferring the Lord's Divine power to the popes, and thus not acknowledging the divinity in His humanity; the third period of one week extends from the Reformation to the partial end 170 The Prophecies of Daniel of the Christian Church, which will occur some two hundred or two hundred and fifty years from now at a time which will parallel in modernity the ancient times of Jeremiah. The presence of the ruling spirit of subtle perversion in the Chris- tian Church at the time of the Reformation, which spirit is denoted by the "prince" of verses twenty- six and twenty-seven, is apparent in the doctrine of faith alone invented by Melancthon and Luther, by means of which they and their followers falsi- fied and destroyed the truths of the Christian Church. 1 - In the future first perceptive state of the spirit of intellectual imaginativeness, developed from the perceptions of intellectual imagination, which in the future Christian Church will acquire the char- acteristics of comparing inferential rationalism, at the beginning of this spirit's reign the representa- tives of the perceptive element of the New Church within the Christian Church will understand from the Scriptures the nature of the religious states of mind which that part of the Word which treats of the devastation of the church by self-intelligence and profane worship teaches will have to be experi- enced before the desolations of the church caused by such self-intelligence and self -exalting worship will come to an end, even an entire series of desolated states. 1 On this interpretation, see Apocalypse Explained, 684^-42; Brief Exposition of the Psalms and Prophets, pp. 87, 88; Scrip- ture Confirmations of New Church Doctrine, p. 32. Desolation of the Church 171 Then these representatives of the perceptive element of the New Church will direct their in- ward mind to the Lord, and apply themselves to prayer and supplications, mourning because of the absence of good and truth in the Christian Church in consequence of its evil ways and false thoughts. They will confess their sin and the sin of the Christian Church in turning away from the Lord, and not obeying the laws of spiritual life contained in His Word ; and will acknowledge that it is in consequence of such estrangement and disobedience that the direful penalties of wrong doing and thinking, of which the church had been warned in the Bible, have fallen upon them. Yet in spite of all these great troubles that have befallen it, the church has not turned from its evil ways, nor desired discernment in inward spiritual truth. Therefore these represen- tatives of the New Church will repent of their sin, and will entreat the Lord, Who has power to deliver from the state of external intellectualism, to remove these evil and false things from their minds, in order that His presence may again be restored to His church which is founded on the acknowledgment and worship of Him as the only God. While these representatives of the perceptive element of the New Church are communing with the Lord, and praying, and confessing their sin and the sin of the whole Christian Church, and presenting their supplication before God for the 17 2 The Prophecies of Daniel church of their God founded on true worship of Him, the representatives of the angels who excel in the perception of what is good and the knowl- edge of doctrine, being gifted with swift spiritual perception, will illumine their minds in their ob- scure state of worship. By inflow into their minds the angels will give wisdom and under- standing to these representatives of the perceptive element of the New Church. At the beginning of their supplications the commandment will go forth to enlighten these representatives in regard to the desolation and end of the Christian Church ; for these receivers of New-Church doctrines will be greatly beloved by the Lord, and they should consider the matter carefully and accept the fol- lowing revelation vouchsafed to them. ''A full state of devastation is decreed upon your church and its doctrines confirmed from the Word, in order that its evils and falsities may come to their full measure and so to their end, that its iniquity may be done away with, that a permanent dis- tinction and separation may be made between the good and the evil, that the need for revelation and prophecy may cease, and that the new church then to be established may be consecrated to heavenly living from God. Know therefore and discern that from the utterance of the prophecy in regard to the restoration and establishment of the church founded on the acknowledgment of the Lord's divinity to the time of the Lord's coming into the world in His Divine humanity Desolation of the Church 173 has been one complete emotional period. For a complete thoughtful period after His coming the church was established anew with generally accepted truths and confirmatory scriptural proofs, but with difficulty. r After this thoughtful period the Lord's power and divinity were cut off from Him by being transferred to the popes of the church, thus leaving nothing to the Lord ; and the followers of the ruling spirit of subtle perver- sion that then arose began the destruction of the doctrines of the Christian Church and of the Chris- tian Church itself; and the end of the Christian Church will be with a flood of false appearances, and even to the end there will be conflict between truth and falsity; a complete destruction of the truth is inevitable. The ruling spirit of subtle perversion established at the time of the Reforma- tion a strong following for a final period character- ized by knowledge; and for the latter half of this period of cognizant mentality the falsifying spirit of subtle perversion will cause the emotional and intellectual worship of the Lord to cease; and through the power of thinking out abominable falsities, 2 it will turn the truths of the Christian *"In troublous times" signifies "hardly and with difficulty, because with nations who have little perception of spiritual truth" {Apocalypse Explained, 684 s7 ). 2 "Wing" signifies "thought regarding the truths of the Word and understanding of them, and this becomes a wing of abomina- tions when there is no spiritual affection for truth, which en- lightens truth and teaches it, but only a natural affection, which is 174 The Prophecies of Daniel Church into falsities; and even until the end of the Christian Church, which is inevitable, will the destruction of all good and truth be wrought in the desolated church.' ' for the sake of reputation, glory, honor, and gain; and as this affection is infernal, it is abominable, since it is the source of nothing but falsities" (Idem, 6844 1 ). THE DIVINE HUMANITY 1 THE spiritual being described in the tenth chapter of Daniel was an angel whom Jeho- vah filled with His presence, and who thus repre- sented not only the Divine Humanity as it existed in the heavens before the Lord's coming, but also the incarnate Divine Humanity which was to be, as is evident from a very similar description of the risen Lord in the Apocalypse. 2 The "prince of the kingdom of Persia" and the "prince of Greece," spoken of in this chapter mean the patron-angels of these countries, who were thought to preside over their destinies and to guard their interests. The success or failure of these angels in their contests in the other world were supposed to regulate the success or failure of the countries themselves. As in the present case these patron angels are represented as antago- nistic to the Divine influence, they must stand for certain classes of evil and false spirits who obstruct the inflow of the Divine life into the men of the church, and who, by infusing their false thoughts 1 Comprising Daniel x., i-xi., i. 2 i., 13-15, see Apocalypse Revealed, 830; Apocalypse Explained, 504; Heavenly Arcana, 10579; Spiritual Diary, 4846; Nine Questions, vi. 175 17 6 The Prophecies of Daniel and evil suggestions, hinder and prevent the Lord from gaining access to mankind. Against such spiritual enemies of men the Lord fights and conquers. z In an impersonal and individual sense these patron angels of the nations stand for evil and false things in the minds of men which with- stand the Lord and keep His presence distant from the soul. It is different, however, with Michael, who was the patron-angel of the Jews, for he represents the guardian angels who instill into the minds of the men of the true church the perception of what is true, and resist the advance of falsities. When the spirit of emotional imaginativeness ruling over the province of emotional imagination was fully developed in the church of ancient times, a thing was revealed to the representative of the perceptive element of the true religion, whose nature had become rationalized, and the thing was true, even a great conflict of ideas; and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision of revelation. In that state of the church I, the representative of the perceptive element of the true church, was mourning during an entire state of humiliation of the natural self- life. I took up no naturally pleasant ideas, neither did I receive naturalistic feelings or teach- ings, neither did I indulge in any natural enjoy- ments until a complete humbling of the natural self-life was accomplished. And while I was in a 1 Heavenly Arcana., 653, 1664, 2406. The Divine Humanity 177 thoughtfully perceptive state of mind in clearness of rational insight, I lifted up my mental vision, and looked, and, behold, a Divinely human being righteous in wisdom and conduct, 1 whose loving desire for inward conjunction with the church expressed itself in the highest Divine laws of good life, his outward nature was radiant with a pure love for spiritual truth, 2 and his inward nature was luminous with the swift perception of the applica- tions of the truths of correspondences, 3 and his mentality glowed with the fire of Divine love, and the ultimate plane of his life in relation to the church consisted of Divine laws prescribing good life in order that men may share in heavenly hap- piness, and his teachings of Divine truths were infinitely varied and comprehensive. And I, the representative of the perceptive element of the true church, alone saw the vision, for the men that were with me saw not the vision ; but a great uneasiness fell upon them, and they hastened to remove themselves. So I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there re- mained no strength in me; for my natural glory 1 "Linen" corresponds both to wisdom in regard to right conduct and to right conduct itself (see Worcester, Plants of the Bible, pp. 210-214). 2 As it is uncertain just what precious stone is meant by the Hebrew word translated "beryl," the general correspondence given to the word by Swedenborg is followed {Heavenly Arcana, 9872); the same is true of "Uphaz," the geographical location of which is unknown. 3 On the meaning of lightning, see Kip, Animal and Plant Cor- respondences, pp. 236, 237. 178 The Prophecies of Daniel was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength. Yet heard I the sound of his words, and when I heard the sound of his words, then was I in a deeply quiescent state of mind, with my interiors turned outward. And, behold, a Divine influence was communi- cated to me, which gave me new spiritual life on the plane of reason and inward memory. And he said to me, O representative of the perceptive element of the true church, thou man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to thee, and be established in spiritual life, for to thee am I now sent ; and when he had spoken this word to me, spiritual life began to be established in me. Then said he to me, Fear not, representa- tive of the perceptive true church; for from the first state of thy mind when thou didst set thy heart to understand, and to humble thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come because of thy words. But the perverse spirits that inspire the falsities of emotional imagination kept me back for an entire period of devastation; but, lo, the representative of the angels who excel in the perception of what is true, who constitute one of the chief divisions of the angels of heaven, came to help me, and I was victorious 1 there over the ruling falsities of emotional imagination. Now I am come to make thee understand what 1 The Hebrew word translated "remained" is literally "left over," and probably means "had the advantage" or "was victorious." The Divine Humanity 179 shall befall thy church in the latter days, for the vision is yet for many days. And when he had spoken to me according to these words, I turned my interiors outward and was unable to express spiritual thoughts. And, behold, one in the like- ness of the sons of men communicated his Divine influence to my power of expression; then I re- ceived ability to think and to speak spiritually, and I spoke and said to him that stood before me, my lord, by reason of the vision I struggle painfully to come into spiritual life, and I retain no strength. For how can the servant of this my lord commune with this my lord? for as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither was life left in me. Then one like the appearance of a man commu- nicated his Divine influence to me again, and he strengthened me in spiritual life. And he said, man greatly beloved, fear not; peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he spoke to me, I was strengthened in my spiritual life, and said, Let my Lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me. Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I am come to thee ? and now will 1 return to contend with the perverse spirits of emotional imagination; and when I go forth into outward life, lo, the perverse spirits of faith founded on mere intellectualism will come. But I will tell thee that which is certainly true, and there is none that supports me against these spirits but the representative of the angels who are in the 180 The Prophecies of Daniel perception of what is true, who is your chief spiritual defender. And as for me, at the begin- ning of the rule of intellectual imaginativeness in the church I began actively to confirm and to strengthen him. In the future, the experiences of Daniel related in this chapter will be duplicated by the receivers of New-Church doctrines within the Christian Church. They will not see a vision of the Lord; but after a period of the humbling of the self-life within them, they will become very sensible of His presence, and will rise by degrees out of their previous naturalistic state of mind into a truly spiritual state, in which the Lord will reveal to them clearly and fully through the Word the circumstances pertaining to the end of the Chris- tian Church and the beginning of the New Church. In the ninth chapter a preliminary state of self- abnegation is described, which will result in the conjunction of these receivers of the New Church with the heavenly societies represented by Gabriel, from whom they will obtain some general spiritual enlightenment; but the deeper humbling of the self -life described in the present chapter will effect a removal of the evils of self -intelligence and self- exaltation, which estranged them from the Lord and kept His presence from them, and it will bring about their conjunction with the Lord Himself in His Divine Humanity, and thereby give them the capacity for more complete spiritual enlighten- ment. The Divine Humanity 181 When in the future Christian Church the spirit of emotional imaginativeness ruling over its doctrines of emotional imagination has become fully devel- oped, the representatives of the perceptive element of the New Church within the Christian Church will perceive the meaning of the revelation made to Daniel, their ancient prototype, and they will perceive that the revelation is true, and has refer- ence to a great conflict of ideas in the Christian Church; and they will have a true spiritual understanding of the revelation. During these imaginative states of mind in the Christian Church these representatives of the perceptive New Church will mourn over the condition of affairs for an entire state of humiliation of the natural self -life. They will take up no naturally pleasant ideas, nor receive natural feelings or teachings, nor indulge in any natural enjoyments, until a com- plete humbling of the natural self-life is accom- plished. While they are then in a thoughtfully perceptive state of mind and in clearness of rational insight, their minds will be lifted up, and they will perceive the Lord as He is in His Divine Humanity, righteous in wisdom and conduct, His loving desire for inward conjunction with the church finding expression in the highest Divine laws of good life contained in the Word, His outward nature being radiant with a pure love for spiritual truth and His inward nature luminous with swift perceptions of applications of the truths of correspondences, His mentality glowing with 1 82 The Prophecies of Daniel the fire of Divine love, the ultimate plane of His life in relation to the church consisting of Divine laws prescribing a good life in order that men may share in heavenly happiness, and His teachings of Divine truths being infinitely varied and com- prehensive. These representatives of the perceptive element of the New Church alone will perceive the Lord in His Divine Humanity; for the others of the Christian Church will not perceive Him, but a great uneasiness will fall upon them, and they will has- ten away from that Divine presence and that spiritual state of mind. So these representatives of the New Church will be left alone in their inward state of mind, and will feel the Lord's Divine presence with them, and none of their former naturalistic strength of mind will remain in them ; for their natural glory will be turned into corruption before the Divine presence, and they will retain no natural strength. Yet they will be able to have some perception from spiritual inflow from Him; and such perception will come to them in the midst of a deeply quiescent state of mind with their interiors turned outward. The Divine influence will then be communicated to them, and it will give them new spiritual life on the plane of the reason and inward memory. Then the Lord, by Whom these representatives of the New Church will be greatly beloved, will enlighten their minds in regard to the meaning of the words that are written in this revelation The Divine Humanity 183 made to Daniel, and will uplift them into a spirit- ual state of life, for which purpose He will become present with them; and when they receive en- lightenment and inflow from Him, they will begin to live on a spiritual plane. Then the Lord will accommodate His Divine love to their power of reception; for when they first set their heart to understand the truth and to humble their self- life before their God, the prayers of the repre- sentatives of the New Church will be heard, and the Lord will come to them. But the spirit forces which instill false imaginative ideas into the Chris- tian Church and into the minds of these repre- sentatives will prevent the Lord from becoming consciously present with them until these falsities are fully vastated and removed, a work in which the class of angels who excel in the perception of what is true will help the Lord, Who will overcome the false imaginative doctrines ruling in their minds. Therefore He will be able to become present with them, and to enlighten them as to what will befall the Christian Church at its end, which, long ago foretold, is now at hand. Although these represen- tatives of the perceptive New Church will perceive these things from the Lord's spirit, yet they will revert to an outward state of mind once more, and be unable to express spiritual thoughts. Then the Lord in His Divine Humanity will communicate His Divine influence to their power of spiritual thought and expression; and they will begin to think and to speak spiritually, and will confess to 1 84 The Prophecies of Daniel the Lord that their inability to think on a spiritual plane is because of the great difficulty of coming into a truly spiritual from a natural state of mind, and of thinking from the Lord's spirit within them, as this causes a suspension of former natural activities. Then for a third time the Lord in His Divine Humanity will communicate His influence to these beloved representatives of the New Church, and will strengthen and establish them in their new spiritual life, accommodating His presence to their power of reception. When they are thus .strengthened in spirituality, these repre- sentatives of the New Church will be able and willing to be enlightened directly by the Lord, Who will be obliged to contend with the spirit forces infesting the Christian Church with false imaginings just as He fights against these falsities in the minds of the New Church representatives, and on a lower plane He must needs also contend with the spirit forces that inspire the falsities of faith founded on mere critical intellectualism. The meaning of the revelation which these representa- tives will perceive from the Lord will be absolutely true, and only those under the influence of the de- fending angels who excel in the perception of what is true will be able to support the Lord in His con- flict with these false ideas ; therefore the Lord at the commencement of the rule of the falsities of intel- lectual imaginativeness in the Christian Church will begin actively to confirm and strengthen these an- gels and their representatives on earth in this work. DISSENSIONS IN THE CHURCH 1 THE three kings of Persia referred to in the second verse of this eleventh chapter repre- sent emotional imagination in perception, thought, and knowledge, and the fourth king, who is Xerxes, represents in this series emotional imagination in expression or teaching. The fourth king's stirring up all against the realm of Greece is an allusion to the expedition of Xerxes against Greece, which represented the attack of youthful imaginative teachings upon the conclusions of the critical mind founded on comparison. The "mighty king" of verse four is Alexander the Great, who, as already explained, stands for a strong, self- intelligent faith based on the deliberations of the critical mind ; and the breaking up of his kingdom is the division of Alexander's empire after his death. The "king of the south" of verse five and throughout this chapter is the king of Egypt, and the "king of the north" is the king of Syria. Although different kings of Egypt and Syria are thus designated in this chapter, as they are not specially distinguished the same general meaning will be assigned to them all. The "king of the 1 Comprising Daniel xi., 2-39. 185 1 86 The Prophecies of Daniel south" in the fifth verse is Ptolemy I, king of Egypt; and "one of his princes," who is to be stronger than he and have great dominion, is Seleucus I, king of Syria, who at the partition of Alexander's empire received the province of Baby- lon as his share, but, who, on being compelled to relinquish this territory for a while, took refuge with Ptolemy in Egypt, as his general, until he was able to regain his Babylonian province. Soon after obtaining his kingdom he removed his capital to Antioch in Syria, and hence his whole kingdom became centrally and essentially Syrian. Egypt corresponds to the knowledge of the things of the spiritual world and to the knowledge of spiritual things in general, as is amply evidenced by the absorbing interest in the things of the other world which Egyptians have shown at all periods of their history; their monuments and their literature are filled with descriptions of man's life after death displaying a great deal of true knowledge about the other world, and they have always been deeply concerned in spiritual matters in general. 1 Such extensive interest in the things of the other world is characteristic of Egypt in the ancient period now under considera- tion, which extends from Alexander the Great 1 See Kip, Psychology of the Nations, pp. 136-140. Swedenborg states that Egypt represents the knowledge of celestial and spirit- ual things, or knowledges from the Word {Heavenly Arcana, 1462); the outward knowledges which conduce to spiritual life (Idem, 4749) ; the outward knowledges which are of the church (Idem, 4964, 5213, 5223, 7779). Dissensions in the Church 187 to Antiochus Epiphanes; and even the learned Greeks settled in Alexandria in Egypt delighted in expounding obscure myths of the gods and demi-gods. As Macedonia corresponds to faith in God's power to do His will, therefore Egypt under the Macedonian rule of the Ptolemies cor- responds to faith in God's power to do His will as shown in the events of the spirit world, or more generally to faith founded on the knowledge of spiritual things. There are many evidences that such was the meaning of Egypt under the Ptole- mies. In the Greek literature of Alexandria, which was the most prominent literary center of the times, such faith in God and His power to do His will was supported mainly by the facts of mythology in regard to the gods and their mighty acts, various legends being told for the purpose of magnifying the power of the gods and warning mortals against disobedience. These elements are conspicuous in the poem Hermes of Eratosthe- nes, who begins a scientific treatise on astronomy with an account of the birth and early career of the gods; in the twenty-second idyl of Theo- critus, who celebrates the great power of the gods Castor and Pollux to succor and to con- quer in battle; in the hymns of Callimachus, which teem with mythological details in regard to the lives of the gods, and express firm belief in their power to do their pleasure; and in the poetry of Apollonius Rhodius and other Alexan- drine poets, who always represent love affairs as 1 88 The Prophecies of Daniel governed by the puissant will of Aphrodite and the darts of Eros. In the frequent battles between Syria and Egypt, which are referred to in the eleventh chapter of Daniel, the armies of Egypt stand for the com- bative arguments adduced by faith founded on the knowledge of spiritual things; but it is uncer- tain just what form these arguments took in ancient times. As mere knowledge almost invariably tends to literalism, it seems likely that the argu- ments represented by the armies of Egypt were arguments based on the literal interpretation of spiritual things, which attempted to explain myth- ological and other literature by an array of vast learning bearing on the subject. Such learned literalism is apparent in the Alexandrine litera- ture of the period, which was marked by detailed learning, perfection of form, and the absence of great originality: "It is the literature of academies, the poetry of literary cliques, the criticism of pedants, at best the cold thinking of pure men of science." 1 Syria corresponds to the knowledge of corre- spondences or symbols 2 ; but at the ancient period under consideration, when the knowledge of true correspondences was lost, Syria represented the knowledge of symbolic or allegorical things framed more or less by the self -intelligence of the natural mind. Although the ancient literature of Syria 1 J. P. Mahaffy, Greek Life and Thought, p. 328. 3 Kip, Psychology of the Nations, pp. 68, 70. Dissensions in the Church 189 has perished, symbolism was a marked feature of its art during this period. 1 The powerful political influences of Syria and Egypt during this era were reflected in the sym- bolism and spiritualism which profoundly affected the thought of the Jews. 2 This is evident from the extraordinary use of symbolism in the book of Daniel as well as from the important position assigned in it to the activities of the inhabitants of the other world. The same fact is attested by sections of the book of Enoch which were composed both earlier and later than 166 B.C., the probable date of the book of Daniel. The earliest section of Enoch, 3 which could not have been written later than 170 B.C., and may well have been composed during the period of Macedo- nio-Egyptian supremacy over Palestine, describes with detailed learning the names and functions of the seven archangels, the realms of sheol and paradise, the deeds of fallen angels, and other phenomena peculiar to the spirit world. The section which was composed between 166 and 161 B.C., 4 and hence during the Macedonio-Syrian supremacy, abounds in the same kind of symbol- ism that characterizes the book of Daniel. But even in this latter section' the supernatural element is still strong ; for the author represents the people 1 J. P. Mahaffy, Greek Life and Thought, p. 120. 2 S. R. Driver, Daniel, Introduction, pp. lxxvi-lxxxi. 3 Chapters i.-xxxvi. * Chapters Ixxxiii.-xc. (R. H. Charles, Book of Enoch, pp. 25-27). 190 The Prophecies of Daniel of Israel as entrusted to the care of seventy angels called shepherds, and claims that the woes of Israel were caused by these angels being over- zealous in the performance of their duties. The intermediate region of Coele-Syria, Phoeni- cia, and Palestine, constituting practically the land of Canaan as originally allotted to the Israel- ites, was a source of contention between the kings of Syria and Egypt during this period. Both countries claimed it, and its possession passed frequently from the one to the other. As the land of Canaan represented the true church, and as the true religion of the Jews was then in Palestine, this continual dispute over its possession by the kings of Egypt and Syria must correspond to endeavors by a false theology founded on the literal knowledge of spiritual things and by a false theology founded on symbolism to possess and to rule over the true church; and the warfare which waged between these ancient kingdoms of Syria and Egypt corresponds to the conflict be- tween self -intelligent symbolical interpretations and literal interpretations of spiritual things. Among the Jews themselves there were no doubt adher- ents of both these antagonistic pagan methods of interpretation, although the polemic litera- ture of such dissensions within the Jewish Church of the period does not seem to have survived. But in the middle of the second century B.C., we find a commentary on the Pentateuch by the Jewish philosopher Aristobulus, the aim of which Dissensions in the Church 191 was to put a construction upon the sacred text that would make it appeal even to Greek readers, and to get rid of all anthropomorphic utterances about God ; and a little over a century later Philo, an Alexandrian Jew, employs an exegetical method of allegorical interpretation of the Scriptures which had been practiced before his date in the rabbinical schools of Palestine, and Philo spe- cially refers to its use by his predecessors. There is also abundant evidence of the self -intelligent literalism of many of the Jews of this period in the literal tendency of the legalistic teachings which dominated Jewish thought during this era. Such antagonistic methods of interpretation could not have failed to come into conflict with each other in the Jewish Church, even though we have no extant evidence on the subject. The prince or commander of verse eighteen, who would cause the reproach offered by Antiochus to cease, is Lucius Cornelius Scipio, a Roman commander who signally defeated Antiochus the Great at the battle of Magnesia in B.C., 190. The exact significance of this historical event is not entirely clear. The city of Rome seems to cor- respond to the resolute giving of an ultimatum, and as a part of Italy it signifies the faculty of the volition or will, J and, as above stated, Antiochus as king of Syria corresponds to faith in symbolical interpretations. Antiochus the Great conquered most of the cities of Asia Minor, and even crossed 1 Kip, Psychology of the Nations, pp. 122-124. 192 The Prophecies of Daniel the Hellespont and seized parts of present Tur- key and Greece; but he was defeated by the Romans in Greece, and afterward thoroughly van- quished by them at Magnesia in Asia Minor. The success at first of the Syrian armies under Antio- chus the Great indicates that the arguments of symbolic or allegorical interpretations were widely victorious in the ancient world, and extended their sway for a brief period even over the ideas formed by conscience, faith, and critical intel- lectualism; but the subsequent defeat of the Syrians by the Romans indicates that these sym- bolic interpretations were finally subjugated by the arguments of the will. But why should the will of the race have been hostile to such symbol- ism? In the case of Carthage, which as a part of present Tunisia, corresponded to the sexual passions of youth, 1 the hostility of the Romans and the Punic Wars represented the struggles and final victory of the youthful will of the world against the powerful passions which threatened to engulf it ; but there is no such obvious applica- tion in the case of Syria. The true explanation seems to be that the ancient Romans were ad- ministrative and practical rather than intellec- tual or theoretical in their nature, and hence as practical men of affairs they were more or less opposed to the symbolic and allegorical teachings of Syria. Of course the imperious will of the Ro- mans would brook no rival in power, nor would 1 Kip, idem, pp. 150, 151. Dissensions in the Church 193 they permit the rule of such allegorical ideas to encroach upon the domain of the will and its principles, yet they seem to have had an inward antipathy toward the Syrians, as is shown by the meaning of the ships of Kittim coming against the Syrian king. 1 By Kittim is probably meant here the islands and coastlands of the Mediter- ranean; and as the Mediterranean corresponds to particulars of outward knowledge, 2 the inhabitants of its islands and coastlands correspond in a general way to those who are in such particulars of out- ward knowledge. In the present case the ships of Kittim refer to the Roman legates sent by the Roman Senate to Antiochus Epiphanes, who was invading Egypt, to demand his immediate cessa- tion of hostilities against Egypt. As Egypt cor- responds to the knowledge of spiritual things and the literalizing tendency of such knowledge, the fact that the Romans favored the Egyptian cause against the Syrian seems to indicate that the practical men of outward affairs of the day favored the literal method of interpretation as against the symbolic or allegorical method then in vogue, and demanded that the argumentative attacks by the adherents of symbolism upon literal ideas 1 Verse 30. An additional reason for the Roman antipathy to the Syrians may be that in the ancient times under consideration Rome held sway over the islands off the coast of Dalmatia, sev- eral of which, i. e., Lissa, Brazza, Lesina, and Curzola, corre- spond to faith in the literal sense of the Bible. To-day Italy has again obtained possession of these islands. 2 Kip, Psychology of the Nations, pp. 69, 70. 13 194 The Prophecies of Daniel and interpretations should be stopped, or the op- position of their will would be incurred. The vile person referred to in verse twenty-one is Antiochus Epiphanes, who as king of Syria stands for the subtle power of perverting the truth through symbolic or allegorical interpreta- tions. The context of the words, "He shall not regard the desire of women" in verse thirty-seven seems to require the name of some god as the object of women's desire, and it is likely that the Babylo- nian and 'Syrian god Tammuz is meant, who was the husband of the goddess Ishtar in her youth, and whose death she bitterly bewailed. These divinities were known to the Greeks as Adonis and Aphrodite, and the festival of Adonis con- sisted largely in an imitation of the mourning of Aphrodite, and hence was specially observed by the women. Moreover, in Greek literature Adonis is sometimes styled the "thrice desired" Adonis. 1 If this is the correct interpretation of the above-mentioned words, the reference seems to be to the indifference of the subtle spirit of perversion to the mourned-for loss of the anthro- pomorphic conception of God held by the Jewish Church in its youth; and, with reference to the future, the indifference of the coming spirit of perversion to the grief of the Christian Church at the loss of her early idea of Jesus as the Son of God. A similar thought is expressed by these words 1 S. R. Driver, Daniel, pp. 194, 195. Dissensions in the Church 195 in Joel: " Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth." 1 The meaning of the numerous other historical events alluded to in this eleventh chapter will be sufficiently clear from the spiritual interpretation which now follows. And now will I show thee the truth. Behold, there will arise in the Jewish Church yet three ruling phases of imaginative ideas in perception, thought, and knowledge, and the fourth ruling phase of imaginative teaching will possess more resources than they all; and when this imaginative teaching has become powerful through its great knowledge, it will attack the province of faith founded on the deliberations of the critical mind. And a powerful ruling spirit of self-intelligent faith founded on critical intellectualism will arise, that will rule with great dominion, and have its way. And after it is established, its rule will be dissolved, and will be divided into several self-intelligent faiths; but not to the legitimate developments of this first critical faith will the rule be, nor according to the greatness of its dominion, but its rule will be given to entirely new forms of faith. And the ruling spirit of faith founded on the mere knowledge of spiritual things will be strong in the Jewish Church; and another ruling spirit of faith founded on symbolism will become strong, stronger even than the former, and will have dominion; and its dominion will be a great dominion. And *i. 8. 196 The Prophecies of Daniel after a while these two faiths will seek an alliance, and the love of literal interpretations will conjoin itself to the ruling spirit of symbolic interpretations in order to produce harmony between them; but this love of literal interpretations will lose its power in such a forced conjunction, and the ruling form of symbolic interpretations with which it was con- joined will not continue long, but will soon lose its sway in the Jewish Church. So the attempt to combine literal with symbolic interpretations will be abandoned, together with its confirmatory views, and the original idea from which it sprang and by which it was then kept alive. But a new ruling faith in literal interpretations will arise, related fundamentally to the love of conjoining literal with symbolic interpretations, which will shatter the strongly intrenched argu- ments of the spirit of symbolic interpretations, and overthrow them, and will prevail; and the self-intelligent religious theories and doctrines of life of the symbolists, together with their knowl- edges of truth and good, it will make confirm its own literal interpretations of spiritual things. After this the ruling faith in literalism will desist for some time from attacking the ruling faith in symbolic interpretations. Then the ruling spirit of symbolism will attack the positions of the spirit of literalism, but will retire in discomfiture to its own symbolic ideas. But new developments of this ruling spirit of symbolism will antagonize the spirit of literal interpretations, and will gather to- Dissensions in the Church 197 gether a great multitude of arguments, with which they will inundate the Jewish Church, and they will impugn the Biblical views of the literalists. Then the ruling faith in literal interpretations will become greatly incensed, and will contend with the ruling faith in symbolic interpreta- tions, which will bring forth a great multitude of arguments in its favor; but its arguments will not hold their ground, but will be vanquished by the arguments of faith in literal interpretations, which will become elated with the victory. The faith in literal interpretations will overthrow numerous opposing views, but nevertheless will gain no permanent advantage. Then the ruling faith in symbolic interpretations will return to the conflict, and will set forth a multitude of arguments greater than before; and will make the attack, after due preparation, with a great array of arguments and learning. And in those times many will oppose the ruling faith in the literal interpretation of the Bible; also the perverters of the Bible within the Jewish Church will oppose this faith in order to establish their own religious theo- ries. But they will not succeed. Then the ruling spirit of symbolic interpretations will come, and will argue against the positions of the literalists, and will disprove one of their strongly intrenched views; and the arguments of the literalists will not be able to withstand these attacks, neither will the best minds among them be able to meet them. But the faith in symbolic interpretation i9 8 The Prophecies of Daniel will have its way, and none will be able to with- stand it ; and this faith will take up the interpreta- tion of the Bible, and will work destruction in it. And the spirit of symbolic interpretation will purpose to attack, with the strength of its whole resources, the spirit of literal interpretation; but nevertheless it will come to terms with the latter, even allowing the love of symbolic interpretations developed from itself to enter into conjunction with the spirit of literalism, in order that it may make the spirit of literalism subservient to itself should opportunity offer. But the plan will not succeed, nor turn out to its advantage. After this the spirit of symbolic interpretation will turn its attention to those who are in outward affairs, and will gain many converts; but the argumenta- tive leader of the strong-willed men of practical affairs will put an end to this victorious symbolic invasion, and will deal it a crushing repulse. Afterward this strenuous ruling spirit of symbol- ism will be obliged to confine its attention to its own strongly intrenched views; but it will begin to falter, grow weak, and finally disappear. Then another ruling spirit of faith in symbolic interpretation will arise in the Jewish Church, which will cause spiritual things to be appropri- ated for natural uses; but this spirit will shortly come to an end, though not through violent antagonism or fierce denunciation. And a new and despicable spirit of faith in symbolic interpre- tations will arise in the Jewish Church, to which Dissensions in the Church 199 the honor of ruling does not rightfully belong; but it will come when people are unsuspicious of its real nature, and will obtain the rule by flatter- ing their self-love. And with a flood of false arguments will opposing views be swept away before it and shattered; yea, even the Jewish religion itself. And after the league made with this spirit of false symbolic interpretation it will work deceitfully; for it will grow and become strong with a comparatively small following. While the Jewish Church is unaware of its nature, this spirit of false symbolism will appropriate for its own theories the noblest truths of the church; and it will do what no other phase of thought immediately or long preceding it in the Jewish Church has done, — it will distribute to its followers in confirmation of its false theories an abundance of facts gathered from many depart- ments of learning; yea, for awhile it will devise the overthrow of the strongly intrenched views of the church which oppose it. And this perverse spirit of symbolism will exert its power and cun- ning against the ruling faith in literal interpreta- tions, with a great array of arguments; and the faith in literal interpretations will contend, with a vast array of combative learning; but it will not be successful in its contentions, because of the cunning of its adversaries. Yea, some of the close adherents of the faith in literalism, who accepted its choice truths, will work against it, and its array of argumentative learning will be 200 The Prophecies of Daniel swept aside, and many of its adherents will lose their faith. And as for both these ruling literal and symbolic faiths, their inward impulse will be to do each other mischief, yet they will pretend to have regard and friendship for each other. But this insincerity will not prosper; for the end will be at the time appointed. From its conquests the ruling spirit of symbolic interpretation will return to its own province with great added learning, and its inward impulse will be hostile to the Jewish religion; and it will have its way, 'and will retire to its own province of symbolism. At the time appointed this perverse spirit of symbolism will turn its attention again to the spirit of literal interpretation of spiritual things, to combat it; but conditions will not be the same in the latter time as they were in the former. For the peremptory arguments of the strong-willed men of practical affairs will be brought to bear against the spirit of symbolism; therefore this perverse spirit of symbolism will be subdued, and will retire to its own province, and have in- dignation against the Jewish religion, and will have its way. It will return to its province of symbolism, and will plan to make use of the Jews who forsake the Jewish religion. And hostile arguments will be instigated by this subtle and perverse symbolic spirit, which will profane the fundamental truths of the Jewish Church, will take away the heartfelt worship of Jehovah as the only God, and will set up in place of holy Dissensions in the Church 201 truths self -intelligent theories which desolate and destroy the church. And such as act contrary to the Jewish religion this spirit of false symboliz- ing will render corrupt by flattering their self- love; but the true worshipers of Jehovah will stand firm against this pagan tide of symbolistic culture, and will do brave deeds. And the wiser among the Jews will instruct many as to the true way; yet they will be subverted by falsities and evils, and by the deprivation of truth and good, for a long while. Now when the faithful Jews are being so subverted, they will receive some help from the combative arguments of their own party; but many who are pagan at heart will unite with them through plausible protestations. And some of them that are wise will fall into temptation, to refine them, and to purify, and to make them free from false ideas, even to the time of the end; for it is yet for the time appointed. And the ruling spirit of false symbolizing will have its way; and will exalt and magnify itself above every attribute of God, and will utter extra- ordinary impieties against Jehovah Himself; and it will prosper in the Jewish Church until the evil state therein has run its full course, for that which is determined will' be done. Neither will this perverse spirit of symbolism pay any regard to the God worshiped formerly, nor to the grief of the Jewish Church at the loss of their early anthropomorphic conception of God, nor will it respect any God; for it will magnify itself above 202 The Prophecies of Daniel all. But instead it will honor the religious theo- ries constructed by its own self-intelligent argu- ments; and on a religious system which had no existence in any preceding phase of thought in the Jewish Church it will lavish a wealth of knowledge concerning good and true living, and concerning spiritual and natural truths in general. This perverse spirit of false symbolism will assail the most strongly intrenched truths of the Jewish Church through the aid of its own self -intelligence, which it exalts into a god; whoever acknowledge its supremacy it will load with honors, and it will make them rule over the many, and it will divide the government of the Jewish Church among those who most potently support its views. In their application to the future states of the Christian Church, the sequence of historical events mentioned in the eleventh chapter of Daniel should, strictly speaking, be reversed; but, as explained above, it is probable that these ancient phases of thought and life will recur more or less simultaneously, and will therefore probably give rise to different forms of conflict between the sym- bolists and the literalists in the Christian Church, most of which will be temporary in their influence. But the phases represented by the events in the life of Antiochus Epiphanes, who is the despicable person of verse twenty-one, are likely to continue some two centuries throughout the present intel- lectually perceptive period of Christianity. Dissensions in the Church 203 Swedenborg explains the king of the north and his army as those who are in falsities, and the king of the south and his army as those who are in truths; and of the two it is possible that those who hold to the literal sense in the Christian Church of the future will retain the better elements of Christian knowledge in that church. On the other hand, however, the literalism that springs from the mere knowledge of spiritual things is often as subversive of real truth as is self -intelligent symbolism; and, moreover, Eg} r pt also denotes those who attempt to investigate the mysteries of faith, and the truths of the church by outward and scientific knowledge, and who thus pervert and destroy spiritual truth. 1 As an exclusively literal interpretation of the Bible is untenable, sooner or later the theories of the symbolists must conquer in the Christian Church; and this is meant by the king of the north finally becoming victorious over the king of the south. But the symbolism which will be employed in the Christian Church will not be a true symbolism founded upon a perception of correspondences; but it will be a symbolism evolved by the self -intelligence of the natural mind, which will tend to pervert the true spiritual meaning of the Bible, and will destroy even the literal sense itself. The king of the north or Syria denotes essen- tially the ruling faith in symbolic interpretation, but he denotes also all the other elements of pagan 1 Heavenly Arcana, 1462, 5044, 5700. 204 The Prophecies of Daniel ideas and culture which in ancient times were grouped around symbolism as a center. Although the following interpretation is given in the past tense in regard to the future receivers of the New Church within the Christian Church, who are represented by Daniel, the phases of religious thought and life herein described are probably still future in regard to us of the present day. The future receivers of the New Church within the Christian Church will be shown by the Lord from the Word that imaginative perception, thought, and knowledge have ruled in the Chris- tian Church, and also imaginative teaching, which possessed far more resources than all the rest; and when this imaginative teaching within the Christian Church grew strong through its abun- dance of learning, it attacked the faith founded on critical intellectualism. Then arose a powerful rul- ing spirit of self -intelligent faith founded on critical intellectualism, which ruled with great dominion over the minds of men, and had its way in the church ; but soon after it was established this self- intelligent, critical faith was dissolved, and divided into several separate forms of faith, which were not its legitimate developments, and did not have its wide influence, for its rule was taken away by entirely new forms of faith. The spirit of faith in the literal interpretation of the Bible was strong in the Christian Church, and also the spirit of symbolic interpretation ; and Dissensions in the Church 205 the latter was stronger than the former, and ex- ercised a great influence. After a while these two faiths sought to become united; and the receptive love of symbolic interpretations was conjoined to the ruling perception of literal inter- pretations, in order to produce harmony between them. But the receptive love of symbolic inter- pretations lost its force in such an alliance, and the ruling perception of literal interpretations with which it was conjoined did not continue long, but soon lost its influence in the Christian Church. So the attempt to combine literal with symbolic interpretations was abandoned, together with all its confirmatory views, and the original idea from which it sprang and by which it was kept alive at that time. But a new ruling faith in literal interpretations arose in the Christian Church, related fundamentally to the love of conjoining symbolic with literal interpretations, which faith shattered the strongly intrenched argu- ments of the spirit of symbolic interpretation, and overthrew them, and prevailed; and the self -in- telligent religious theories and doctrines of life of the symbolists, together with their knowledges of truth and good, it made confirm its own literal interpretation of spiritual' things. After this the ruling spirit of literal faith desisted for some time from attacking the ruling spirit of symbolic faith. Then the ruling spirit of symbolic interpretation attacked the positions of literal interpretation, but retired without success to its own symbolic 206 The Prophecies of Daniel ideas. But new developments of this spirit of symbolism began to antagonize the ruling spirit of literalism, and gathered together a great multi- tude of arguments, with which they inundated the Christian Church, and they impugned the Biblical views of the literalists. Then the ruling faith in literal interpretations became greatly in- censed, and gave combat to the faith in symbolic interpretations, which brought forth a great mul- titude of arguments in its favor; but these argu- ments did not hold their ground, but were vanquished by the arguments of the literalists, who became elated with their victory. The faith in literal interpretations then overthrew many opposing views, but nevertheless gained no permanent advantage. Then the ruling faith in symbolic interpretations returned to the conflict, and set forth a multitude of arguments greater than before, and after due preparation made an attack with a great array of arguments and learn- ing. During these conditions in the Christian Church many opposed the ruling faith in the literal interpretation of the Bible, and the men in the church who perverted the Bible by their interpretations opposed it in order to establish their own ideas; but their opposition did not succeed. Then the ruling spirit of symbolic in- terpretation came, and argued against the posi- tions of the literalists, and disproved one of their strongly intrenched views; and the argu- ments of the literalists could not withstand these Dissensions in the Church 207 attacks, nor were the best minds among them able to meet them. So the faith in symbolic in- terpretation had its way in the Christian Church, and none were able to withstand it ; and the sym- bolists took up the interpretation of the Bible, and wrought destruction in it. This spirit of symbolic interpretation then purposed to attack the literalists with the strength of its whole re- sources; but nevertheless it came to terms with them, even permitting the receptive love of sym- bolic interpretations developed from itself to en- ter into conjunction with the spirit of literalism, in order to be in a position to make the spirit of literalism subservient to itself should opportunity offer. But the plan did not succeed, nor turn out to its advantage. After this the spirit of symbolic interpretation turned its attention toward those who are in outward affairs, and gained many converts ; but the argumentative leaders of strong- willed men of practical affairs put an end to its conquests, and dealt it a crushing repulse. After- ward this strenuous spirit of symbolic interpreta- tion was obliged to confine its attention to its own strongly intrenched views; but it began to falter, grew weak, and finally disappeared from the Christian Church. Then another ruling spirit of symbolism arose in the Christian Church, which caused spiritual things to be appropriated for natural uses; but this spirit shortly came to an end, though not through violent antagonism or fierce denunciation. 208 The Prophecies of Daniel Among these temporary phases of thought and life in the Christian Church arose a more perma- nent, but despicable spirit of symbolic interpre- tation, 1 to which the honor of ruling did not rightfully belong; but the representatives of this perverse spirit of symbolism came at a time when people were unable to perceive their true nature, and obtained the rule by flattering their self-love. With a flood of false arguments opposing views were swept away before these representatives, and shattered; yea, even the Christian religion itself. After the league made with these representatives of false symbolism they worked deceitfully; for they rose and became powerful with a compara- tively small following. When the people of the Christian Church were unaware of their real nature, these representatives of the spirit of false symbolism appropriated for their own false theo- ries the noblest truths of the Christian Church; and they did what none of the preceding leaders of the church had done, in that they distributed to their followers in confirmation of their false theories an abundance of facts gathered from many departments of learning. Moreover, these representatives devised for a while the overthrow of the strongly intrenched views of the Christian Church which opposed their teaching. Then this perverse spirit of symbolism exerted its power and cunning against the ruling faith in literal inter- 1 This spirit is despicable to Christians because it rejects the Divinity of their Lord, and denies the inspiration of His Word. Dissensions in the Church 209 pretations, bringing to bear against it a great array of arguments ; and the faith in literal interpretations contended, employing a vast array of combative learning, but it was unsuccessful in its conten- tions because of the cunning of its adversaries. Moreover, some of the close adherents of the faith in literalism, who accepted its choice truths, worked against it, and its great array of argumenta- tive learning was swept aside; and many of its adherents lost their faith in consequence. The representatives of both these ruling faiths in literalism and symbolism were at heart antago- nistic to each other, yet they made a pretense of mutual regard and friendship. But this insin- cerity did not prosper, for the end of it was at the time appointed. From their intellectual conquests the representatives of this faith in symbolic inter- pretation then retired to their own province of symbolism with great added learning, and at heart they were hostile to the Christian religion; and they had their way, and retired to their own mental province. In due time these representa- tives of symbolism renewed the conflict against the spirit of literal interpretation in the Christian Church; but they were not so successful as before, for the peremptory arguments of strong-willed men of practical affairs were brought to bear against them. Therefore these representatives of symbolic interpretation were subdued, and retired to their own province of symbolism, and were incensed against the Christian religion, and had their way. 14 210 The Prophecies of Daniel They retired to their symbolizing, and planned to make use of the Christians who forsook the Christian religion. Then hostile arguments were advanced by the representatives of false symbolism, which pro- faned the fundamental truths of the Christian Church, took away the heartfelt worship of the Lord as God, and set up in the place of holy truths the self-intelligent theories that desolate and destroy the church. Such as acted contrary to the Christian religion these representatives ren- dered corrupt by flattering their self-love; but the true worshipers of the Lord stood firm against their paganistic learning, and were brave. The wiser ones among the Christians instructed many as to the true way ; yet the Christians were subverted by falsities and evils, and by the deprivation of truth and good, for a long while. Now when the faithful Christians were being so subverted, they received some help from the arguments of their own party ; but many who were pagan at heart united with them through plausible protestations. Some even of the wiser Christians then fell into temptation, that they might be refined and purified and freed from false ideas; and this state of affairs will continue until the end of the Christian Church, which will come at the time appointed. ' In the meantime the leading representatives of the spirit of symbolic interpretation had their way, and exalted and magnified themselves above every attribute of God, and uttered extraordinary im- Dissensions in the Church 211 pieties against the Lord Himself; and they will prosper in the Christian Church until the evil state within it has run its full course, when the consummation of the Christian Church will be brought about. These leading representatives of symbolic interpretation have paid no regard to the Lord as formerly worshiped in the Christian Church, nor to the grief of the Christian Church at the loss of their early idea of Jesus as the son of God, nor have they really regarded any God; for they have magnified themselves above all. But instead they have honored the religious theo- ries constructed by their own self-intelligent arguments; and on a religious system which had no existence in any preceding phase of thought in the Christian Church, they have lavished a wealth of knowledge concerning good and true living and concerning spiritual and natural truths in general. These leading representatives of pagan- istic symbolism have assailed the most strongly in- trenched and fundamental truths of the Christian Church through the aid of their self -intelligence, of which they make a god ; whoever acknowledge their supremacy in the church they load with honors, and make them rule over the many, and they divide the government of the Christian Church among those who most potently support their views. THE END OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH 1 THE Divine revelation made to Daniel continues without interruption from the twentieth verse of the tenth chapter to the fourth verse of the twelfth chapter; but history ceases and proph- ecy begins at the fortieth verse of the eleventh chapter. The predictions contained in the last six verses of the eleventh chapter have never been fulfilled, except in a very limited way by the death of Antiochus Epiphanes, nor can they ever be literally fulfilled now, as the circumstances which attended the predicted events have forever passed away. But their spiritual fulfillment, which was the fulfillment intended by the Divine Mind under Whose guidance the prophecies were written, is not only possible, but in fact is even now beginning. Let not the Christian Church deceive itself by thinking that, because it abounds in good works and charitable activities, the beginning of its end is not at hand; for the Lord foretold that good works would continue in the Christian Church until His second coming, whereas its faith, when the church had grown old, would be forced into unwelcome channels, and, no longer possessing 1 Comprising Daniel xi., 40-xii., 13. 212 The End of the Christian Church 213 the virility of its own beliefs, would receive the imprint of the false theories of others. This is meant by the Lord's words to Peter : "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest; but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. . . . Peter therefore seeing the disciple whom Jesus loved following saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me." 1 For Peter represents faith, and John good works. 2 Be- sides, Buddhists, Confucianists, Mohammedans, and the votaries of other pagan religions perform charitable works, but this fact does not make them Christians. Good works are only one of the ele- ments that constitute a truly Christian Church; and when such works are unconjoined, as is the case with a majority of Christians at the present day, with a belief in Jesus Christ as God and a faith in the Divine inspiration of the Bible, the end of the Christian Church has begun. The aged faith of the Christian Church is now stretching forth its feeble hands, and unchristian minds within its precincts are girding it with false ideas, and lead- ing it whither, in its vigorous manhood, it would not have gone. A few of the correspondences contained in the 1 John xxi. f 18, 21, 22. 2 See Apocalypse Explained, 820b 7. 2H The Prophecies of Daniel present chapter need some special explanation here. Edom signifies those who are in the love of good for its own sake, and who consequently are inclined to disregard truths of doctrine, and Moab and Ammon signify respectively the emotional and the intellectual members of the external church 1 ; all these will escape the influence of the spirit of false symbolism in the Christian Church, because they pay but little attention to high intel- lectualism like that of the representatives of sym- bolic interpretation, and have no interest in such interior 'theories. But these ext