Pope Benedict XVI seated on Throne by Christus Vincit
The word "pope" is a derivative of the Greek word "pappas" ("papa" in Italian) which means "father" or "daddy". The Pope is called the "Holy Father."
9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. -Matthew 23:9 King James Version (KJV)
Doctrine of Sacred Scriptures, by Emanuel Swedenborg, [1763], tr. by John F. Potts [1904] at sacred-texts.com
51
i. The Word cannot be understood without doctrine... Many truths... are accommodated to the capacity of simple folk, who do not uplift their thoughts above such things as they see before their eyes. There are also some things that appear like contradictions, although the Word when viewed in its own light contains no contradiction... Such being the Word in the sense of the letter, it is evident that it cannot be understood without doctrine. [2] But to illustrate this by examples. It is said, That Jehovah repents (Exod. 32:12, 14; Jonah 3:9; 4:2); And also That Jehovah does not repent (Num. 23:19; 1 Sam. 15:29). Without doctrine these passages cannot be reconciled. It is said That Jehovah visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons to the third and fourth generation (Num. 14:18); And it is also said that The father shall not die for the son, nor the son for the father, but everyone for his own sin (Deut. 24:16). Interpreted by doctrine these passages are not discordant, but are in agreement. [3] Jesus says, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for everyone that asketh shall receive, and he that seeketh shall find, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened (Matt. 7:7-8; 21:21-22). Without doctrine it might be believed that everyone will receive what he asks for; but from doctrine it is believed that whatever a man asks not from himself but from the Lord is given; for this also is what the Lord says, If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you (John 15:7). [4] The Lord says, Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of God (Luke 6:20). Without doctrine it may be thought that heaven is for the poor and not for the rich, but doctrine teaches that the poor in spirit are meant, for the Lord says, Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 5:3). [5] The Lord says, Judge not, that ye be not judged; for with what judgment ye judge ye shall be judged (Matt. 7:1-2; Luke 6:37). Without doctrine this might be cited to confirm the notion that it is not to be said of what is evil that it is evil, thus that an evil person is not to be judged to be evil; yet according to doctrine it is lawful to judge, but justly; for the Lord says, Judge righteous judgment (John 7:24). [6] Jesus says, Be not ye called Teacher, for One is your Teacher, even the Christ. And call no man your father on the earth; for One is your Father in the heavens. Neither be ye called masters; for One is your Master, the Christ (Matt. 23:8-10). Without doctrine it would seem that it is not lawful to call any person teacher, father, or master; but from doctrine it is known that in the natural sense it is lawful to do this, but not in the spiritual sense. [7] Jesus said to His disciples, When the Son of man shall sit upon the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matt. 19:28). From these words it may be inferred that the Lord's disciples will sit in judgment, when yet they can judge no one. Doctrine therefore must reveal this secret by explaining that the Lord alone, who is omniscient and knows the hearts of all, will sit in judgment, and is able to judge; and that His twelve disciples mean the church as to all the truths and goods it possesses from the Lord through the Word; from which doctrine concludes that these truths will judge everyone, according to the Lord's words in John 3:17-18; 12:47-48. ...Other things like these exist in the Word, from which it plainly appears that the Word cannot be understood without doctrine.
Apocalypse Explained, by Emanuel Swedenborg, [1757-9], tr. by John Whitehead [1911], at sacred-texts.com
...Call no man your Father on the earth, for one is your Father who is in the heavens (Matt. 23:9). It is plain that no one is forbidden to call his father on the earth "father," nor is this here forbidden by the Lord; but this was said because "Father" means the Divine good, and: No one is good except the one God (Matt. 19:17). (The Lord spoke thus because "Father" in the Word of both Testaments means in the spiritual sense good, see Arcana Coelestia, n. 3703, 5902, 6050, 7833, 7834; and also heaven and the church in respect to good, n. 2691, 2717, 3703, 5581, 8897; and "Father," when said by the Lord, means the Divine good of His Divine love, n. 2803, 3704, 7499, 8328, 8897.)
True Christian Religion, by Emanuel Swedenborg, [1771], tr. by John C. Ager [1906] at sacred-texts.com
In the spiritual sense, "to honor father and mother" means to reverence and love God and the church. In this sense, God who is the father of all, is meant by "father" and the church by "mother." In the heavens little children and the angels know no other father and no other mother, since they are there born anew of the Lord through the church. Therefore the Lord says: Call no man your father on the earth; for one is your Father, who is in the heavens (Matt. 23:9). This was said with reference to children and angels in heaven, and not of children and men on earth. The Lord teaches the same thing in the common prayer of the Christian churches, "Our Father who art in the heavens, hallowed be Thy name." In the spiritual sense, "mother" means the church, because as a mother on earth nourishes her children with natural food; so does the church nourish her children with spiritual food, and this is why the church is frequently called "mother" in the Word, as... in the Gospels: ["But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?"] Jesus stretched forth His hand towards His disciples, and said, My mother and My brethren are these who hear the Word of God and do it (Matt. 12:48-50; Mark 3:33-36; Luke 8:21; John 19:25-27).
Divine Providence, by Emanuel Swedenborg, [1764], tr. by William Frederic Wunsch [1851] at sacred-texts.com
...the Lord is the heavenly Father of all human beings and they are His spiritual children... Therefore He says: Do not call your father on earth your father, for One is your Father, who is in the heavens (Matt 23:9). This means that He alone is the Father with reference to the life in us, and the earthly father is father of the covering on life, which is the body. In heaven, therefore, no one but the Lord is called Father. And from many passages in the Word it is clear that those who do not pervert that life are said to be His sons and to be born from Him...
Apocalypse Explained, by Emanuel Swedenborg, [1757-9], tr. by John Whitehead [1911], at sacred-texts.com
114.
114.
...[8] I once spoke with spirits who when they lived in the world were of the popish religion, and I asked whether in the world they ever thought about the Divine of the Lord? They said that they thought about it whenever they saw from doctrine, and that they then acknowledged His Divine to be equal with the Divine of the Father, but that apart from doctrine, they thought of His Human only, and not of His Divine. They were asked why they say that the power which His Human had was given to it by the Father and not by Himself, since they acknowledged His Divine to be equal with that of the Father? At this they turned away, making no answer. But it was said to them, that it was because they transferred to themselves all His Divine power, and that they could not have done this unless they had separated the Divine from the Human. That with them the Lord has been rejected, everyone may conclude from this, that they worship the pope instead of the Lord, and that they no longer attribute any power to the Lord. [9] I will here also mention a great scandal heard from the pope called Benedict XIV. He openly declared that when he lived in the world he believed that the Lord had no power, because He had transferred it all to Peter, and after him to his successors; adding his belief that their saints have more power than the Lord, because they hold it from God the Father, while the Lord resigned it all and gave it to the popes; yet that He is still to be worshiped, because otherwise the pope is not worshiped with sanctity. But because this pope even after death claimed the Divine for himself, after a few days he was cast into hell.
Oil painting by Pierre Subleyras. Pope Benedict XIV (31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), was Pope from 17 August 1740 to his death in 1758.
Spiritual Diary [or also known as Spiritual Experiences,] by Emanuel Swedenborg, [1758], tr. by Bush, Smithson and Buss [1883-9] at sacred-texts.com
4723.
BABYLON [or the Roman Catholic Church.] CONCERNING THE INSANITY OF THE EVIL FROM THE LOVE OF SELF, THAT THEY SUPPOSE THEMSELVES GODS, YEA, GOD THE FATHER. They who have been in the highest self-love in the world, and have ruled, such as popes, cardinals, mufti [
a Muslim legal expert who is empowered to give rulings on religious matters,]
and similar ones elsewhere, believe themselves gods in the other life. They wish to be called gods, like him who is president in the dark chamber.
[4720. CONCERNING THE DARK CHAMBER, ITS QUALITY, AND THE QUALITY OF THOSE IN IT. There appeared, again, the dark chamber, where many sit at a table and acknowledge the president for Supreme God. They adore him, and deliberate concerning various things, even in religious matters, as, for example, whether there is another God, whether there is a heaven and hell, whether there is conscience, and the like; and they conclude in the negative. They are such as have acknowledged nature for God, and committed evils, without conscience, and have, at the same time, excelled in thought. They are from ministers, and from many others. But it was discovered, when some light was let in from heaven, of what character that chamber is; that it is a sepulchre, and that there are coffins there, wherein are corpses, and that they sit on these: some upon the corpses themselves, there, and some sit upon the bones. They also appear, in that light, like ghastly corpses. The reason is, because they adore what is dead, and deny what is living; hence no communication with heaven can be given them. They are like fools, in that they do not know other than that they are endowed with great genius, and that their president is the Supreme God.]
To what a pitch this insanity grows, seemed wonderful [or that causes wonder; astonishing.] These are they who place their seat, as it were, on a very high mountain, which is in their midst, and believe themselves to be God the Father, and send, as the Son, someone, whom they call the Son, to execute their commands. One was seen by me, as if on the top of the mountain, with a large snowy beard; and thus he governed - but he was cast down into hell, and then succeeded another. It is Lucifer, on the mount of Assembly (Isaiah 14:13). Above him, is kept, by the evil, a certain one like an angel flying, being provided with wings, whom they call the Holy Spirit...
THE LAST POPE, BENEDICT XIV. After three weeks from death [1758,] it was permitted me to speak with the Pope, and at that time for four days, about many things in the spiritual world, especially about the Lord, that He is the God of heaven, and has not given any power to any man, because power belongs solely to the Divine. He was also instructed about the remission of sins, about heaven and hell, about man... and very many similar matters; and, at the time, he seemed to understand them all, and also as it were to believe them; for he so spoke. For this reason, some cherished the hope, respecting him, that in the world he may have been a worshipper of the Lord and in the affection of truth, and thus that he might have been able to be of use with the people of that religion. But he was of such disposition, that he spoke in accordance with the affection of another, and very politely and adroitly. [An adroit leader will be able to persuade people to go with his ideas.]When it was supposed that he accepted the instruction, he was left to his own love and its derivative principles; and, when he was so left, he acted in unison with the most crafty of his religion, countenancing and instigating the destruction of those who were of the Reformed [Christian] religion, but clandestinely [or done in secret.] And, inasmuch as he was allied with the most wicked, he also endeavored, and this in many different ways, to totally destroy those who ascribed all power to the Lord; and he was told to desist, because he is now in a world where there is no respect of persons, but whoever does evil is punished. Still, however, he persisted, believing that nobody can do anything to him. But, when he persisted, he was punished like the rest and indeed grievously, in a cavern where was a rigorous punisher; and, because he still continued such, he was cast towards the west.
Inquiry was made as to what he had been in the world, even according to his own confession: (1) that he esteemed the Word as of no account, and, when he read it, ridiculed many things in it, as not at all Divine. Many passages also were recited by him, in regard to which he spoke with derision, saying, that it was only so written according to the style of the time: in a word, that nothing of Divinity is to be found in it; (2) that he, in Consistory [or in the Roman Catholic Church the council of cardinals,] speaks more from the Divine than is spoken in the Word; so that he extolled his own utterances in Consistory above the Word; (3) that, for this reason, he confirmed the Bull Unigenitus, [Unigenitus (named for its Latin opening words Unigenitus dei filius, or "Only-begotten son of God"), an apostolic constitution in the form of a papal bull promulgated by Pope Clement XI in 1713] and persuaded people to accept... (4) that, for this reason, he loved and honored Jesuits more than others... When he was told that a large part of them were devils, and was likewise shown this by many being gathered together to him, so that he might see them as they were, yet, he still loved them as before; (5) he also said, that, as regards the Saints, he thought that they had more power than the Lord, because they are inspired by God the Father in what they do, but that the Lord abdicated all power and conferred it on the Popes; also, that, although without power, He still ought to be worshipped. Thus was ascertained of what quality he had been, and therefore that heaven was entirely closed to him, and that he acted in union with hell; for, to him who destroys the Word, places a Papal decree above the Word and denies all power to the Lord, heaven is fast closed, and hell is open.
With the former Pope, however, or the predecessor [5845-1 That is, Clement XII. He reigned from 1790 to 1740. -TR.] of this one, all is well; for he was not of such a character.
Pope Clement XII (7 April 1652 – 6 February 1740), was Pope from 12 July 1730 to his death in 1740.
Oil painting by Pierre Subleyras. Pope Benedict XIV (31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), was Pope from 17 August 1740 to his death in 1758.
That last Pope [BENEDICT XIV,] who has been described, associated himself with the worst of his religion, who were sorcerers, and he likewise, three times, sent forth the worst sorcerers of them: one, to destroy a spirit who was in favor of the Lord; two, to the Reformed [relating to the body of Protestant Christianity arising during the Reformation,] to seduce them; and, likewise, he himself wished to learn more about magical arts. He also sent forth other exceedingly bad sorcerers, to work evil; and, when he was discovered to be such, he was reduced to his interiors, consequently, into phantasies; for the interiors of such ones are phantasies, since they think nothing about God, but about themselves alone, and about the worship of themselves and about intrigues [or make secret plans to do something illicit or detrimental to someone.] It was then still more clearly seen what he had been, namely, that he at first reverenced the Word, but afterwards despised it utterly, and accounted his own decrees Divine; that he believed himself to be wiser than all others, because he was more crafty, as also was shown; that he was able to enter into the interior affections of others and to see them; also, that he reverenced the Saints more than the Lord and made them deities [or gods,] and that he dearly loved the maliciously cunning, and, for that reason, the Jesuits.
Afterwards, he was led down towards the western sea, [5847-1 See, for further information about this "Western Sea," nos. 5296, 5300, 5303, 5638; also Fig. 5 (K), Vol. IV., pp. 372-3. -TR] at the part facing the south, and as far as to its extremity, where he stopped and said that he wished to be in that place, because the most crafty were there; but, still, he was brought down from thence into the west, and from there towards those who were in the remotest mountains, [5847-2 See, in reference to these "mountains" and those who dwell on them, nos. 5648, 5652, of the present work (Vol. IV.). -TR.] who were the Neapolitans [Neapolitan means of or pertaining to Naples, a city in Italy] and the worst ones of Italy. When he was there, he also said that he wished to be there because they are the most crafty of all, asserting that he was more cunning than they. There he discovered a certain saint, who was a most powerful sorcerer, and who was then brought out from hell in order that he might speak with him. That saint, who was the powerful sorcerer, declared himself to be a Pope. He spoke with the other, and wanted to determine, by competition, which was the more cunning and it was ascertained that this one was equally cunning. He was afterwards brought farther down, as far as somewhat into the north, and was brought back, for a long while, through various zigzag ways - thus, - to a part where were the worst hells of the Babylonish [or Roman Catholic] people; for the reason that he loved such things, and also in order to attract and imbibe [or absorb or assimilate ideas or knowledge] [them], thus, that he might apply himself to hells suited to his interiors. Thus he was brought back to the remotest boundary, or to the extremity, of the western sea, and there, of his own accord, plunged himself down amongst the worst of those who were in the western sea.
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