Arcana Caelestia, Vol. 1

Holy Scripture is like the human being in that the outward visible form has an inward soul or spirit, called the internal or spiritual sense. That visible form has the Word of God within it in much the same way as a man's thoughts and desires, moods, and essential character are concealed within his gestures, facial expressions, tones of voice, and so on. And, to take the analogy further, just as those who understand 'body language' may see in another's outward presentation of himself some of the secrets about that person, so may those who have an understanding of 'correspondences, representatives, and meaningful signs' obtain some insight into the secrets or arcana that lie within Holy Scripture. Arcana Caelestia, the largest theological work written by Emanuel Swedenborg, helps the reader to gain that insight.
The title Arcana Caelestia may be rendered into English as 'Heavenly Secrets' or 'The Secrets of Heaven.' But 'secrets' runs the risk of being understood in an esoteric sense of things intended for an enlightened and privileged élite rather than in the simple sense of 'things hidden and as yet unknown'; therefore it has been thought wise to retain the Latin title.
The whole work—eight volumes in Latin, twelve in English—consists mainly of an exposition of the arcana hidden wthin Genesis and Exodus. In between the main sections explaining these two books of Scripture Swedenborg places descriptions and discussions of various matters that Christians and those of other religions may wish to know. In this first volume he describes our life after death and the nature of the world beyond.