W. B. Yeats poem, the Second Coming is a modern clue to the experience: Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in the sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

“The blood dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere the ceremony of innocence is drowned.” What does that mean to you? What it means to me is that when the ’second coming’ is happening, to the individual, in this time, that person cannot find the kind of validation, i.e. that ‘love’ is behind the changes a person has to live through, and become informed from. Dante, Goethe, many poems have been written about it, but in my opinon psychiatric texts are also about it. Estoteric ideas, psychiatric ideas, mysticism, seem likely to be facets of the ’second coming’. Swedenborgs’ ideas saved my life, but I had read Robert Monroes first, and had also had an experience in my marital, familial and workplace that was essential. “Be watchful, ye know not when I come.” It was not an event that announced a ’second coming’, that had to be discovered, in every aspect, over a span of time.

Christianity is not about intellectual theories, theological dogmas, or doctrinal knowledge. God’s answers are always simple and God’s answers always work. So, far from being complicated, Christianity is about every person’s opportunity for a personal connection with Jesus and the blessings that brings.

Swedenborg was a Christian and the books that resulted from his years of conversations with Jesus were written to empower change and reformation in the Christian world and beyond.

As noted above, my thought is that the books of Swedenborg’s that are fully Divinely inspired are those he published himself, and that Marriage Love (CL) is one of those books.

I appreciate the compliment, but I didn’t write “You are a Priest.” It came from

http://secondadventchristian.com/

which contains a fairly extensive review of this subject.

Hello and will be visiting site more often.

Since the WORD states all who believe are priests then separating the body into two “kinds” of believers is error. Error will then produce its’ fruit. In this case division and not unity.

This follows right along with buildings being termed “sanctuary” when in reality our body is the “temple”.

I love and embrace what you stated in “You are a Priest”.

On the second marriage issue – My suggestion would be to see the chapter on “Marriage (“Conjugial”) Love” on that subject (starts at #317 http://smallcanonsearch.com/read.php?book=ml&section=317 ), which covers a lot of territory in a short space. Beyond that, I am not aware of any good studies of the matter. (If pertinent, the chapter on colds. separation and divorce (Marriage Love #243) might also be helpful.)

As far as your comment about the teachings on marriage being “bull,” well, that’s a question of personal faith. I have not studied this matter at length directly. However, I have taken a closer look at the underlying issue of what defines any book of Swedenborg’s as authoritative revelation.

I think a strong case can be made that the books that are the authoritative revelation of the Second Coming are the ones that Swedenborg published himself (see “Which of Swedenborg’s books are Divine revelation?” http://swedenborgdigitallibrary.org/contets/books.html for details.)

Since Marriage Love is among the published works, that would argue that it is in fact authoritative revelation. To me this conclusion is still further strengthened by the teachings about marriage love that appear elsewhere in the authoritative works (e.g. Arcana Coelestia 3021, 3942 or the direct copy of sections of Marriage Love (e.g. Marriage Love 2ff. copied in True Christian Religion 731, and Marriage Love 11 copied in True Christian Religion 740).

As you know, the idea of spiritual free will is central to the teachings revealed to Swedenborg. One implication of that teaching, as I understand it, is that we respect each other’s freedom in deciding what we believe. This means, again as I understand it, that we do our best to view another person’s belief with charity – especially if we do not agree with them.