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 inasmuch as the church is in the internal of man, and not in the external without it." (A. C. 10698.)

"To judge what is the quality of the interior mind or soul, thus what the quality of any one's spiritual state is [and it is this which determines whether he be of the true church or not], and thence what his lot is after death, is not allowed, inasmuch as it is known to the Lord alone; neither does the Lord reveal this till after the person's decease. . . . That the interiors of the mind, concealed in the world, are revealed after death, is because this concerns, and is advantageous to, the societies into which man then comes, for all are then spiritual." (C. L. 523.)

From the passages here cited, we learn not only that there are internals and externals belonging to the mind, but that there is often a great dissimilarity between them; that the church is in the man's internals; or, in other words, that the character of his internals is what determines whether he belongs to the true church or not; and that these internals cannot be seen and known of man, but only of Him who alone is able to search the deep recesses of the heart; consequently no one but the Lord himself sees and knows who they are that constitute his true and living church.

It is plain to be seen that the foregoing extracts from Swedenborg agree entirely with the teachings of the inspired Word. The distinction between the internals and externals of men, and the