About the Author

Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) was a Swedish scientist, nobleman, and theologian who spent his life investigating the mysteries of the soul. Born in Stockholm to a staunchly Lutheran family, he graduated from the University of Uppsala and then traveled to England, Holland, France, and Germany to study the leading scientists of the time. He gained favor with Sweden’s King Charles XII, who gave him the position of overseer of the Swedish mining industry. Later, he was given a seat on the Swedish House of Nobles by Charles XII’s successor, Queen Ulrika Eleonora. Between 1743 and 1745 he began to have visions of heaven, hell, and Jesus Christ which resulted in a stream of books about the nature of God, the afterlife, and the inner meaning of the Bible. He devoted the last decades of his life to studying Scripture and presenting his own unique theology to the world.

David Gladish was a scholar, writer, and translator who had a lifelong interest in the works of Emanuel Swedenborg. Gladish taught rhetoric and literature for seven years at the University of Illinois, where he received a PhD; he then taught for eleven years at Franklin College. A prolific essayist and poet, Dr. Gladish edited Sir William Davenant’s Gondibert for Oxford University Press and translated Swedenborg’s short work Faith (under the title Seeing’s Believing) for the General Church Press.