God is Infinite and Eternal: From “Divine Providence” by Emanuel Swedenborg (vegetarian), Part 1 of 2

Today, we are pleased to present a selection from “Divine Providence,” where Emanuel Swedenborg (vegetarian) expounds on the Lord’s existence through comprehending His profound attributes.

In All that it does The Lord’s Divine Providence looks to what is Infinite and Eternal

“Christendom knows that God is infinite and eternal. The doctrine of the Trinity, which is named for Athanasius, says that God the Father is infinite, eternal, and omnipotent, so also God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, and that nevertheless, there are not three who are infinite, eternal and omnipotent, but One. As God is infinite and eternal, only what is infinite and eternal can be predicated of Him.”

“For were God not infinite, the finite would not be; were the infinite not all, no particular thing would be; and had not God created all things from Himself, nothing whatever would be. In a word, we are because God is.”

The infinite and eternal in itself is the same as the Divine.

“The concept comes from the angelic idea. By the infinite, angels understand nothing else than the Divine essence, and by the eternal, the Divine existence. But people can see and cannot see that what is infinite and eternal in itself is the Divine. Those can see this who do not think of the infinite from space and of the eternal from time; those cannot see it who think of the infinite and eternal in terms of space and time. Those, therefore, can see it who think at some elevation, that is, inwardly in the rational mind; those cannot who think in a lower, that is, more external way.”

“To see this more clearly, ponder whether thought is in time and space. Suppose thought is sustained for ten or twelve hours; may not the length of time seems like one or two hours? May it not seem like one or two days? The seeming duration is according to the state of affection from which the thought springs. If the affection is a joyous one, in which time is not noticed, thought over ten or twelve hours seems as though it were one or two hours. The contrary is true if the affection is a sorrowful one, in which one watches the passage of time. It is evident from this that time is only an appearance according to the state of affection from which the thought springs. The same is true of one’s thought of the distance on a walk or a journey.”