Threes in Swedenborg

The 18^th century philosopher and theologian, Emmanuel Swedenborg, used and explained numerous "threes" in his writings. He states that three means that which is complete or in its fullness, especially in regard to truth (compared to two which means that which is complete in regard to goodness). Because of this meaning of fullness or completeness, three also means perfection. From these meanings of three, on a higher level, three means that which is holy.

Swedenborg states that everything that occurs in nature in threes happens because it is part of God's creation and He made this "wholeness of threes" a part of the animal, plant and mineral kingdoms.

Following are some of the "threes" in Swedenborg's theology:

Love, wisdom and use – which are related to:

Affection, thought, action
Charity, faith, good works
Will/volition, understanding, practice
Willing, thinking, doing

God is omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent
Everything that happens or exists does so through: End, cause and effect

End is the love, the purpose or intention of the will; cause is the means in the understanding through which the will achieves its purpose; and effect is the ultimate of speech, action, sensation or production in which the purpose is achieved through those means
Related to end, cause and effect are: Esse, Fieri and Existere

Conatus, force and action

Explanation of conatus: In every affection and thought there is a constant effort inflowing from the spiritual world to come forth and subsist by ultimating itself in forms of use; one which seeks to do so by setting in action the necessary active and reactive forces.

The after-life has three levels: Heaven, world of spirits, hell

Heaven has three levels: celestial, spiritual, natural
Hell has three levels: the fiery, the black and the pallid

Salvation is achieved through: repentance, reformation, and regeneration
A person has three components: Soul, body and sphere of influence/activity
The mind has three levels: sensual, imaginative, rational
Knowledge, intelligence and wisdom are the three levels of thoughts
Knowing, understanding, and perceiving are three types of thought
Three levels of consciousness: corporeal, natural, rational
Three planes of existence: civil, moral, spiritual
Three areas of perfection: Perfections of life, forces and forms
Three types of forces: Active, middle and passive
Three essential ingredients for a church: God, charity and faith
Three levels of the Bible: the literal narrative, the internal historic meaning, the spiritual meaning