Emanuel Swedenborg

Emanuel Swedenborg was a Swedish scientist, engineer, astronomer, anatomist, theologian, philosopher, and mystic. He was born on January 29, 1688, and passed away on March 29, 1772. Swedenborg is best known for his book about the afterlife called Heaven and Hell, which he published in 1758.

In 1741, when he was 53 years old, Swedenborg began to have dreams and visions. These experiences led to what he called a "spiritual awakening." He believed that Jesus Christ had chosen him to write a book called The Heavenly Doctrine to help change Christianity. Swedenborg said that after this awakening, he could visit heaven and hell and talk with angels and spirits.

For the last 28 years of his life, Swedenborg wrote many theological books. Some people who follow his teachings believe only the books he published himself are fully divinely inspired. Others think all his writings are equally important. The beliefs based on Swedenborg's writings formed a Christian group called The New Church, also known as Swedenborgianism, which began in 1787.

Early life

Emanuel Swedenborg was born in 1688 to Jesper Swedberg, a learned man who later became a professor and bishop. Jesper was interested in deep spiritual beliefs and thought angels and spirits were part of daily life, ideas that greatly influenced Emanuel.

From 1703 to 1709, Emanuel lived with a university leader and completed his studies. He then traveled through the Netherlands, France, Germany, and finally to London, where he spent four years learning about science, mechanics, and philosophy. During this time, he also wrote poetry and felt he might become a great scientist.

Early scientific work and spiritual reflections

In 1715, when he was 27 years old, Emanuel Swedenborg returned to Sweden and spent the next two decades working on projects in natural science and engineering. He met with King Charles XII of Sweden in Lund to ask for support to build an observatory in northern Sweden, but the king did not think it was important. Instead, he gave Swedenborg a position on the Swedish Board of Mines in Stockholm.

From 1716 to 1718, Swedenborg published a scientific magazine called Daedalus Hyperboreus, sharing his ideas for inventions and discoveries, including plans for a flying machine. In 1718, he also wrote about how spiritual and mental events might be linked to tiny vibrations. After King Charles XII passed away, Queen Ulrika Eleonora gave Swedenborg and his family a new name, changing it from Swedberg to Swedenborg. In 1724, he was asked to teach mathematics at Uppsala University, but he turned it down, saying he preferred to work with geometry, chemistry, and metallurgy. Some people thought he spoke slowly because of a stutter, and he mostly shared his ideas through writing instead of speaking.

Scientific studies and spiritual reflections in the 1730s

During the 1730s, Emanuel Swedenborg studied how the human body works. He had early ideas about how the brain and nerves function, which were ahead of his time. He also thought deeply about how physical things relate to spiritual ideas.

In 1735, he published a book in Leipzig where he combined his knowledge of philosophy and how metals are worked, like iron and copper. That same year, he also wrote about how the soul connects to the body. He stood out because he was one of the first people from Sweden to speak out against slavery. In 1743, at age 55, he traveled abroad to gather information for a big project about how the soul works with the body.

Journal of Dreams

In 1744, when he was 56 years old, Emanuel Swedenborg was traveling in the Netherlands when he began having unusual dreams. He kept a travel journal during his journeys, and this one was found much later in the Royal Library in the 1850s. It was published in 1859 as Drömboken, or Journal of Dreams.

Swedenborg had many different dreams and visions—some were happy, while others were unsettling. These experiences continued as he traveled to London to work on publishing a book called Regnum animale. He believed these dreams were a way to understand the battle between loving himself and loving God.

Later, in 1745, Swedenborg had a surprising vision during a meal in London. After eating, his vision changed, and he saw someone who told him to not eat too much. That night, the same person appeared in his dream and said he was the Lord, choosing Swedenborg to share the spiritual meaning of the Bible. From that night on, Swedenborg felt he could see the spiritual world.

Scriptural commentary and writings

Emanuel Swedenborg stopped working as an assessor of the board of mines in June 1747. He said he needed to finish an important project and asked to receive half his salary as a pension. He began studying Hebrew and focused on understanding the Bible in a spiritual way, aiming to find deeper meanings in every verse. Between 1746 and 1747, he spent ten years on this task. His major work, usually called Arcana Cœlestia or Arcana Caelestia (meaning Heavenly Arcana), became the foundation for his other theological writings.

This book, published between 1749 and 1756 in eight volumes, was anonymous at first and only later credited to Swedenborg. It didn’t get much attention because few people understood its deep meanings. Swedenborg used symbols in his writing, like stones for truth and snakes for evil. He also described what heaven looks like and mentioned meeting people from other planets.

From 1747 until he passed away, Swedenborg lived in Stockholm, the Netherlands, and London, writing 14 more spiritual books. One of his works claimed that the Last Judgment began in 1757 and ended that same year. He said this Judgment happened in a place between heaven and hell, called the World of Spirits, because the Christian church had lost its kindness and faith.

Swedenborg also wrote about talking with spirits from planets like Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Saturn, Venus, and the Moon, believing many planets were inhabited. His last book, Vera Christiana Religio (The True Christian Religion), published in 1771 in Amsterdam, explained his teachings to Lutherans in a clear way.

Later life

In the summer of 1771, Emanuel Swedenborg traveled to London. Shortly before Christmas, he had a stroke and was partially paralyzed, needing to stay in bed. Though his health improved a little, he passed away in 1772.

There are several stories about his final months, shared by people who were with him and by Arvid Ferelius, a pastor of the Swedish Church in London, who visited him often.

Swedenborg was buried in the Swedish Church in Princes Square in Shadwell, London. Many years later, his remains were moved to Uppsala Cathedral in Sweden, where they rest today near the grave of the botanist Carl Linnaeus. Over time, the Swedish Church in Shadwell was torn down, and the area where he was buried was renamed Swedenborg Gardens in his honor.

Veracity

Emanuel Swedenborg's shift from being a scientist to becoming a mystic has intrigued many people. Some believe he didn’t truly have a revelation but instead built his ideas from older thinkers and his father. This view was first shared by Swedish writer Martin Lamm in 1915, and later by critic Olof Lagercrantz, who described Swedenborg's theology as "a poem about a foreign country with peculiar laws and customs."

Swedenborg often used many quotes from the Old Testament and the New Testament to show that his teachings matched the Bible. A Swedish Royal Council looked into claims against people promoting his ideas and found "much that is true and useful in Swedenborg's writings." Famous writer Victor Hugo once mentioned in his book Les Misérables that Swedenborg, along with Blaise Pascal, might have "glided into insanity."

Scientific beliefs

Emanuel Swedenborg shared many scientific ideas throughout his life. Early on, he aimed to come up with a new idea each day. Later, he believed that true knowledge comes from feeling and sensing things deeply. After 1745, he felt he received scientific understanding in a special way, as if from angels.

One of his key ideas was about connections between the natural world, the spiritual world, and the divine. He thought the spiritual world was even more real than what we can see. Souls move through this world, improving themselves by reaching higher levels. He used these ideas to explain the Bible in new ways, finding deep meanings even in simple phrases.

Prophetic accounts

Emanuel Swedenborg was known for several stories about his special abilities. One famous story happened during a big fire in Stockholm, Sweden. Even though Swedenborg was having dinner far away in Gothenburg, he suddenly told his friends that a fire had started in Stockholm and was getting close to his home. Later, messages from Stockholm confirmed exactly what he said, even though it usually took days for news to travel that far.

Another story involved a mill owner named Bolander, whom Swedenborg warned suddenly about a fire starting in his mill. There was also a time when Swedenborg visited Queen Louisa Ulrika of Sweden. She asked him about her brother who had passed away, and he whispered something that only she and her brother would know. Lastly, sailors noticed that the trips Swedenborg took between Stockholm and London always had calm and good weather, which surprised even Swedenborg himself.

Kant's view

In 1763, Immanuel Kant was just starting his work and heard stories about Emanuel Swedenborg's special abilities. Kant was very interested and even bought all eight big books Swedenborg wrote called Arcana Cœlestia. One woman named Charlotte von Knobloch asked Kant what he thought about Swedenborg's experiences, and Kant said nice things about him.

But later, in 1766, Kant wrote a book called Träume eines Geistersehers, where he questioned Swedenborg's ideas. He wanted to stop people from constantly asking about these matters. Kant’s friend Moses Mendelssohn thought the book was written in a way that made it hard to tell if Kant was making fun of the ideas or if he believed them.

Theology

Emanuel Swedenborg believed that the teachings of Jesus Christ's return were shown to him. He thought his religious ideas were not just regular theology but were based on his own experiences.

He wrote a big book called Heavenly Mysteries where he talked about the Bible stories of Genesis and Exodus. He believed these stories were not just about creating the Earth, but about how people can change to become more spiritual. He also thought everything in the Bible was connected to Jesus Christ.

One important idea he had was about marriage. Even though he never married, he wrote a lot about it. He believed that if a couple loved each other truly when they died, they would stay together in heaven forever. If they didn’t love each other, they would be separated and find new partners in heaven.

Swedenborg also had unique thoughts about the Trinity. He didn’t believe in three separate persons but thought that the Divine Trinity was one person—Jesus Christ. He felt this idea was better and closer to early Christian teachings.

Later history

After Emanuel Swedenborg passed away, small groups began studying his teachings, especially in England. Many famous writers and artists, like Johnny Appleseed, William Blake, and Ralph Waldo Emerson, were inspired by his ideas. His writings had a big influence on important people, including a king and leaders of a special group called Freemasonry.

Over time, people have interpreted Swedenborg's teachings in different ways and have written many books about his life and ideas. Some thought he might have had a mental illness, but others admired his work and kind personality. He was known as a friendly and pleasant person who shared his experiences openly.

In popular culture

The song The Dreams of Swedenborg by the band Therion from their 2004 album Lemuria talks about Swedenborg's ideas about the afterlife.

Swedenborg's spiritual ideas are also a big part of the 1835 novel Seraphita by Honoré de Balzac. His book Heaven and its Wonders and Hell From Things Heard and Seen helps shape the story of the 2021 movie Things Heard & Seen, which came out on Netflix. In Olga Tokarczuk's 2018 novel Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, the main character Janina Duszejko mentions Swedenborg's work in astrology.

Posthumous honours

The mineral swedenborgite, found in Långban, Sweden in 1924, was named to honor Emanuel Swedenborg.

In 2005, Sweden’s huge collection of Swedenborg’s writings joined the UNESCO Memory of the World International Register. This special list includes very important documents from around the world. Sweden sent the collection for this honor in 2004. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has kept these writings since 1772. The collection includes about 20,000 pages of Swedenborg’s own handwritten work, making it one of the biggest and most complete sets of writings from the 1700s that still exists today.

The collection is one of only six from Sweden on this special list. The others include work by Astrid Lindgren, Ingmar Bergman, and Alfred Nobel, plus the Codex Argenteus (the “Silver Bible”) and old architectural drawings of Stockholm.

Works

Emanuel Swedenborg wrote many books and papers about science, religion, and more. Some of his most famous works include:

• Heaven and Hell (1758) – a book about life after death
• The Animal Kingdom (1744–1745) – studies of animals
• Heavenly Mysteries (1749–1756) – thoughts on religious ideas
• Divine Love and Wisdom (1763) – about God's love and wisdom
• True Christian Religion (1771) – his views on Christianity

You can find the original Latin versions of his works from special collections. Many of his books were published during his lifetime, while others came out much later.