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For three decades Emanuel Swedenborg was a Swedish civil servant and scientist: in 1716 he was appointed to the Board of Mines in Stockholm, and he published books on mineralogy, philosophy and anatomy in Latin. Then, from 1744, came dreams and visions; in London in 1745 he had the experience he said opened the spiritual world to him. In 1747 he resigned from the Board, and from 1749 he published, at first anonymously, eight volumes of Arcana Coelestia, a reading of the Bible for its inner meaning, beginning with Genesis, followed by Heaven and Hell (1758) and a run of theological books until True Christianity (1771), the year before he died in London. Kant mocked him; Blake argued with him; Emerson put him in Representative Men. This guide covers his 12 key books, in order, and where to begin.
By Lisanne Swart · 12 key books · 1744–1771 · Updated October 2026
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Quick answer
Emanuel Swedenborg wrote about two dozen books in Latin. The best known are Heaven and Hell (De Caelo et Ejus Mirabilibus et de Inferno, 1758), the eight-volume Arcana Coelestia (1749–1756), now translated as Secrets of Heaven, and Divine Love and Wisdom (1763). Start with Heaven and Hell in George F. Dole’s New Century Edition translation (2000). Below are his 12 key books in order, with the Latin titles and the English versions to look for.
Where to Start with Emanuel Swedenborg
If you want his best-known book
→ Heaven and Hell (1758) — his account of the spiritual world.
If you want his idea of God
→ Divine Love and Wisdom (1763) — on the nature of God and union with the divine.
If you want his main work
→ Arcana Coelestia (1749) — begin with volume 1 of Secrets of Heaven.
If you want his whole theology in one place
→ True Christianity (1771) — his last book.
12 Emanuel Swedenborg Books, in Order
Regnum Animale (The Animal Kingdom)
A three-volume work of his scientific period, published in 1744–1745 while he still sat on the Board of Mines. The first volume, of 1744, is where he first set out his theory of correspondences: that the natural, spiritual and divine worlds are related to each other. The idea runs through everything he wrote afterwards.
Arcana Coelestia (Secrets of Heaven)
His largest work, eight Latin volumes published from 1749 to 1756. It introduces his symbolic reading of scripture, beginning with Genesis, verse by verse. It appeared anonymously, and his authorship was not known until the late 1750s. In the New Century Edition it is Secrets of Heaven, translated by Lisa Hyatt Cooper (volume 1, 2008; volume 2, 2011).
Heaven and Hell (De Caelo et Ejus Mirabilibus et de Inferno)
Swedenborg’s account of what he said he had seen and heard in the spiritual world: heaven, hell and the life after death. He describes heaven as a place of great diversity, including people of many faiths. George F. Dole’s New Century Edition translation, Heaven and Its Wonders and Hell: Drawn from Things Heard and Seen, appeared in 2000.
Last Judgment (De Ultimo Judicio)
One of five shorter books he published in 1758. In 1763 he added a continuation, Continuatio De Ultimo Judicio. The New Century Edition prints both together as Last Judgment and Supplements, translated by George F. Dole.
Other Planets (De Telluribus in Mundo Nostro Solari)
Another of the 1758 books, on the planets of our solar system, known in older English versions as Earths in the Universe. The New Century Edition translation, by George F. Dole, is called Other Planets.
New Jerusalem (De Nova Hierosolyma et Ejus Doctrina Coelesti)
“The New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Teaching”, the last of the 1758 books, a short summary of the teaching he believed belonged to a new church. Small reading groups based on his books formed around 1787, fifteen years after his death; Swedenborg himself made no attempt to found a church. The New Century Edition translation is by George F. Dole.
Doctrina Novae Hierosolymae (The Lord, Sacred Scripture, Life, Faith)
Four short teachings “of the New Jerusalem”, published together in 1763: on the Lord, on sacred scripture, on life and on faith. His theology rejects a Trinity of three persons, holding that the divine Trinity exists in the one person of Jesus Christ, and rejects salvation by faith alone. The New Century Edition, translated by George F. Dole, issues them as The Lord, Sacred Scripture and Life/Faith.
Divine Love and Wisdom (Sapientia Angelica de Divino Amore et de Divina Sapientia)
“Angelic Wisdom about Divine Love and Divine Wisdom”, a book on the nature of God and the means by which people can unite with the divine. William Blake’s annotations in his copies of Swedenborg’s books show how strongly he was drawn to them. George F. Dole’s New Century Edition translation appeared in 2003, in one volume with Divine Providence.
Divine Providence (Sapientia Angelica de Divina Providentia)
The companion to Divine Love and Wisdom, on the meaning of life and on free will. George F. Dole’s New Century Edition translation was published in 2003, together with Divine Love and Wisdom.
Revelation Unveiled (Apocalypsis Revelata)
His commentary on the Book of Revelation, read, like Genesis in Arcana Coelestia, for its inner, spiritual meaning. George F. Dole translated it as Revelation Unveiled.
Marriage Love (Deliciae Sapientiae de Amore Conjugiali)
A book that links the inner journey of spiritual rebirth and union with God to human love and sexuality. George F. Dole translated it as Marriage Love.
True Christianity (Vera Christiana Religio)
His last book, published the year before he died, which addresses the core ideas of Christian theology through his own mystical theology. Its subtitle calls it a comprehensive theology of the New Church. The New Century Edition translation, by Jonathan S. Rose, is in two volumes; the first appeared in 2006.
In What Order to Read Emanuel Swedenborg
Do not start at the beginning. Arcana Coelestia is eight volumes of verse-by-verse commentary, and the science before it is for specialists. Heaven and Hell is self-contained and is where most readers have met him for more than two centuries.
From there, Divine Love and Wisdom and Divine Providence give the theory behind the visions: what God is, and how God acts in the world. True Christianity is the summary he wrote at the end, and Secrets of Heaven is best read in short stretches, once you know his vocabulary.
A reading path
1. Heaven and Hell (1758)
2. Divine Love and Wisdom (1763)
3. Divine Providence (1764)
4. True Christianity (1771)
5. Arcana Coelestia (1749–1756)
Everything Else Emanuel Swedenborg Published
Beyond the 12 key books: 11 more, grouped by kind.
Open a group with the + to see every book in it.
Scientific and philosophical works
6
6 books · 1716–1745
- 1716Daedalus Hyperboreusa scientific periodical, 1716–1718
- 1721Prodromus Principiorum Rerum Naturaliumon the principles of natural things
- 1722Miscellanea de Rebus Naturalibusmiscellaneous observations on nature
- 1734Opera Philosophica et Mineraliaphilosophical and mineralogical works, three volumes
- 1734Prodromus Philosophiae Ratiocinantis de Infinitoon the infinite
- 1745De Cultu et Amore Dei“The Worship and Love of God”, two volumes
Shorter theological works
4
4 books · 1758–1769
- 1758De Equo Albo“The White Horse”
- 1763Continuatio De Ultimo Judiciothe continuation of Last Judgment
- 1769Summaria Expositio Doctrinae Novae Ecclesiaea brief summary of the teaching of the New Church
- 1769De Commercio Animae et Corporison the interaction of soul and body; Dole’s Soul-Body Interaction
Published after his death
1
1 book · 1859
- 1859Journal of Dreams (Drömboken)his diary of 1743–1744, found in the Royal Library in the 1850s
The years · 1688–1772
Quick facts about Emanuel Swedenborg
- Known for
- Emanuel Swedenborg is known as the Swedish scientist who, in his fifties, said the spiritual world had opened to him and wrote Heaven and Hell (1758) to describe it.
- 1688
- Born Emanuel Swedberg in Stockholm
- 1716
- Appointed to the Board of Mines
- 1745
- The London vision
- 1758
- Heaven and Hell
- 1772
- Dies in London
- Born
- 29 January 1688, Stockholm, as Emanuel Swedberg
- Died
- 29 March 1772, London, aged 84
- Education
- Uppsala University, 1709
- Career
- Assessor on the Swedish Board of Mines from 1716; resigned in 1747
- Name
- The family was ennobled after the death of Charles XII, and Swedberg became Swedenborg
- Language
- He wrote his books in Latin
- Legacy
- Reading groups based on his books formed from 1787 and became the New Church
The red mark is 1758: Heaven and Hell, his best-known book.
How Emanuel Swedenborg Writes: A Scientist’s Report on Heaven
Swedenborg wrote about heaven the way he had written about mines and anatomy: in Latin, in numbered sections, as a series of observations. He presents himself as a witness, not a poet; the full title of Heaven and Hell says it is drawn “from things heard and seen”. The method has the same root in all his books, the theory of correspondences he first set out in 1744: that everything natural corresponds to something spiritual, and the spiritual to the divine.
His link to non-duality is real but partial. He is a Christian theologian, not a teacher of non-duality: his God is one, the divine Trinity in the one person of Jesus Christ, and Divine Love and Wisdom is about how people can unite with that God. What draws readers from the non-duality side is the unity of the picture, in which the natural world, the spiritual world and the divine are joined by correspondence, and his heaven, which takes in people of many faiths. For a modern reading of these themes, see Carl Jung, who was among those he influenced.
He was argued with as much as followed. William Blake annotated Swedenborg’s books, went with his wife to the first General Conference of the New Church in 1789, and then answered him with the satire The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1790–93); see William Blake. In 1850 Ralph Waldo Emerson made him one of his Representative Men: “A colossal soul, he lies vast abroad on his times, uncomprehended by them, and requires a long focal distance to be seen.”
Frequently asked questions about Emanuel Swedenborg’s books
How many books has Emanuel Swedenborg written?
About two dozen were published, nearly all in Latin. This page lists 23: the 12 key books, from Regnum Animale (1744) to True Christianity (1771), and 11 more, including his early scientific works and his Journal of Dreams, which was published in 1859.
What are Emanuel Swedenborg’s books in order?
Regnum Animale (1744), Arcana Coelestia (1749–1756), Heaven and Hell, Last Judgment, Other Planets and New Jerusalem (all 1758), the four doctrines and Divine Love and Wisdom (1763), Divine Providence (1764), Revelation Unveiled (1766), Marriage Love (1768) and True Christianity (1771).
Where should I start with Emanuel Swedenborg?
Heaven and Hell (1758), in George F. Dole’s New Century Edition translation (2000). It stands on its own and shows his method. Go on to Divine Love and Wisdom for the ideas behind it.
What is Emanuel Swedenborg’s most famous book?
Heaven and Hell (1758), his account of the spiritual world. His largest work is Arcana Coelestia, eight volumes published from 1749 to 1756.
Which translation of Swedenborg should I read?
The Swedenborg Foundation’s New Century Edition, begun in the late 1990s to replace the older Standard Edition translations. Its volumes include Heaven and Hell (George F. Dole, 2000), Divine Love and Wisdom with Divine Providence (Dole, 2003), True Christianity (Jonathan S. Rose, volume 1 2006) and Secrets of Heaven (Lisa Hyatt Cooper, from 2008).
What does Arcana Coelestia mean?
“Heavenly Secrets”; the New Century Edition calls it Secrets of Heaven. It is his eight-volume reading of the Bible for its inner meaning, beginning with Genesis. It was published anonymously, and only in the late 1750s did it become known that he wrote it.
Did Swedenborg influence William Blake and Emerson?
Yes. Blake annotated his books and attended the first General Conference of the New Church in 1789, then satirised him in The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1790–93). Emerson chose him as one of his Representative Men (1850). Others influenced by him include Honoré de Balzac, whose novel Séraphita (1835) draws on his ideas, Helen Keller and W. B. Yeats.
Was Swedenborg considered mad?
Some thought so. Immanuel Kant, at first impressed by stories of his abilities, attacked him anonymously in Dreams of a Spirit-Seer (1766). Later writers proposed madness, schizophrenia or temporal lobe epilepsy; others point to his public career and the coherence of his writings against that. In Sweden a heresy trial was brought against his writings and two of their promoters in 1768, and a royal ordinance of 1770 declared some of his writings mistaken.
Did Swedenborg found a church?
No. He made no attempt to found one. Small reading groups formed around 1787, fifteen years after his death, and grew into the New Church.
Is Swedenborg a non-dual teacher?
Not in the strict sense. His framework is Christian: God is one, in the one person of Jesus Christ, and Divine Love and Wisdom describes how people can unite with God. Readers interested in non-duality value his picture of a single reality in which the natural, the spiritual and the divine correspond to one another.
Footnotes
- Emanuel Swedenborg — Wikipedia
- New Century Edition: History and Team — Swedenborg Foundation
- Swedenborg’s Cultural Influence — Swedenborg Foundation
- Theological Works — Swedenborgian Church of North America
- George F. Dole, New Century Edition translator — Swedenborg Foundation, 2021
- Swedenborg collection: New Century Edition — Württembergische Landesbibliothek
Bibliography last verified 9 October 2026. Where sources give different first-publication years, this page uses the year in library catalogues or the publisher’s own record.
This list was not put together by a machine.
The notes are all mine,
and the books are all his.
Lisanne x
Written by Lisanne Swart, who has curated reading lists and author guides at lisanneswart.com since 2021.
See more on her personal bookshelf.
“As truly as you see me before your eyes, so true is everything that I have written”
— Emanuel Swedenborg, in his final days in London (1772), as reported by those with him
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