Foundations
After language developed and before writing was invented, messages from God could be communicated by word of mouth, and these messages could be passed down from generation to generation. Eventually some of these ancient stories took written form, and are preserved in the Bible. The Bible is written in human language and concerns a history of people in a fairly small part of the world. It can still contain the Word of God because of the way God uses images and language that correspond to higher levels of wisdom. This means that all of the Bible is true, but not all is literally true. The truth lies not in the Bible as history, but in the Bible as the wisdom of God wrapped up in human language and human stories. For example the creation story in the beginning of Genesis on a deeper level is talking about the way in which we can be created again, or regenerated.
The Bible has been called "the book of heresies" because it seems as if people can prove anything they want from the Bible. The challenge is to be open to the Lord communicating with us through the Bible. We need certain principles to shed light on obscure or contradictory passages. One principle is that God is love. Another is that everything in the Bible relates to the love of God and the love of other people.
Those who read the Bible searching for the truths that will guide them in their lives can find moments of insight when the truth they need for that moment in their lives becomes clear to them. We need to learn the path of life from reading about it, but we come to know the path of life by walking in it. As Jesus said: "If you know these things you are happy if you do them" (John 13:17).
When Jesus was in the world He foretold a time when He would come again as the spirit of truth. Swedenborg claimed that what he wrote was written not from his own mind but from divine inspiration. The teachings Swedenborg wrote down are that spirit of truth an opening and new understanding of the Old and New Testaments.
Revelation is given not to teach us how to think but to teach us how to live. The Word becomes alive and true for each of us when we live it.