Accounts in Hell
30 min read
Emanuel Swedenborg was an eighteenth-century Swedish scientist, philosopher, and mystic who claimed that, beginning in his fifties, he was granted open interaction with the spiritual world. He wrote Heaven and Its Wonders and Hell from Things Heard and Seen, commonly called Heaven and Hell. In it, he describes guided tours of heaven and hell, conversations with angels and spirits, and detailed explanations of how the afterlife works.
Swedenborg’s hell is not a place of fire and torture inflicted by God. It is a state chosen by those who love evil. He says demons torment each other because that is what their nature desires. Heaven and hell are communities of people arranged according to their ruling love. Swedenborg’s writings influenced many later religious movements, including some forms of spiritualism and the New Church that bears his name.
First, the continuity of personality after death. People remain essentially who they were on earth; death does not magically transform character. Second, the freedom of the will. Hell is not forced on anyone; it is the inevitable home of those who refuse love. Third, the social nature of the afterlife. Heaven and hell are organized societies, not isolated prisons. Fourth, the rehabilitation of language. Swedenborg reinterprets biblical fire, darkness, and worms as spiritual correspondences rather than literal physical realities.
Swedenborg’s writings fall outside historic Christian orthodoxy. The church has rejected his claim to new revelation that supplements or corrects Scripture. His denial of eternal, conscious punishment as taught by Jesus does not align with Matthew 25:46, Mark 9:48, or Revelation 14:10-11. His idea that people in hell freely choose their torment and that God does not actively punish is closer to universalist and remedial views than to the traditional biblical teaching.
At the same time, Swedenborg’s influence is significant enough that students should know who he is and what he taught. He represents a major alternative vision of the afterlife that continues to shape popular spirituality.
Swedenborg is useful as a case study in how someone with high intelligence and spiritual curiosity can produce a detailed alternative to biblical teaching. The lesson is that impressive visions, sophisticated systems, and sincere claims do not override Scripture. The pastor or teacher who meets someone influenced by Swedenborg or New Church ideas should be able to point them back to Jesus’ own words about eternal punishment.
Common student mistake: Dismissing Swedenborg as irrelevant without understanding how widespread his influence remains in Western spiritual thought.
Practice assignment: Read Matthew 25:31-46 and compare Swedenborg’s view of hell with Jesus’ description. Write a paragraph noting at least one key difference.
Worksheet idea: "Swedenborg vs. Scripture" — compare Swedenborg’s ruling-love community model with the biblical teaching on judgment, repentance, and eternal punishment.
Completion requirement: Student can explain why Swedenborg’s writings are not accepted as Christian Scripture and how they differ from Jesus’ teaching on hell.
ANSWER: The eighteenth century.
ANSWER: They are there because their ruling love is evil, and hell is the natural society for such a love.
ANSWER: Jesus teaches that the wicked are sent into eternal punishment prepared for the devil and his angels, while Swedenborg presents hell as a freely chosen community rather than a judicial sentence of eternal punishment.