Emanuel Swedenborg

Swedenborg was born in 1688, and died in 1722. He was originally an inventor and scientist, with academic work in geometry and chemistry. But from 1774 at the age of 53 he started to experience dreams and visions which encouraged him to become a spiritualist. As such he decided to dedicate his life to understanding his connection with God, as he wrote texts which he claimed were divinely inspired. This did not mean he moved away from science completely though, as he still described his spiritual experiences in empirical terms.

Accounts of his spiritual and supernatural abilities vary. To some he is more known as psychic, as he apparently foresaw a great fire which spread in Stockholm. As such he achieved much public fame and acclaim in his time. He also claimed that Christ spoke to him truths, such as how to rethink judgement day. He writes that the Last Judgment is not a future event that will mark the end of our world, but a spiritual event where evil spirits who had managed to infiltrate heaven were cast down to hell, allowing human beings on earth and in heaven to receive spiritual truths more clearly.

His fame reached such a level, that he even had the famous philosopher Immanuel Kant as a supporter for a time, before Kant wrote some scathing reviews. Views upon him also differed at the time, as Victor Hugo believed that his spiritual awakening was a product of madness, whilst others saw him as a genuine vessel for the word of God.

Due to his teachings he was at risk of being charged with heresy. Sweden had very strict censorships laws, which forbade publishing works which challenged Lutheran ideas, and 2 of his followers were charged with heresy for publishing books on Swedenborg’s work in Swedish. As such it shows the disunity within supernatural organisations like the church.

Key texts written by Swedenborg-

Heaven and Hell (1758) – This book describes the afterlife, with explorations into such matters as to how marriage and polygamy works in heaven, alongside exploration of angles. There is some belief that this book also helped to influence the Mormon faith.

Angelic Wisdom Concerning Divine Love and Divine Wisdom (1763)- Claims that ‘love is a persons life,’ and explores the spiritual nature of love

Arcana Cœlestia (Heavenly Mysteries) (1749 to 1756)– it is a verse-by-verse exposition of Genesis and Exodus, showing the correspondences (connections through symbol between the material and spiritual world) in which, according to Swedenborg’s analysis, the Bible is written. Each chapter includes embedded sections describing Swedenborg’s spiritual experiences and expounding his theological views.