"I am well aware that many will say that no one can possibly speak with spirits and angels so long as he lives in the body; and many will say that it is all fancy, others that I relate such things in order to gain credence, and others will make other objections"

Emanuel Swedenborg anticipates the skepticism that will greet his extraordinary claims about communication with spirits and angels during his earthly life. He recognizes that many people will doubt the possibility outright, believing that living in a physical body precludes any genuine contact with beings beyond the material realm. Swedenborg’s words reveal his understanding of the limits of conventional thinking and the natural reluctance of people to accept assertions that stretch the boundaries of everyday experience.

He identifies several types of responses he expects from his readers: some will dismiss his accounts as pure imagination, projecting a belief that such experiences are mere products of fancy or subjective invention rather than objective reality. Others, he predicts, will accuse him of fabricating these experiences for personal gain, seeking to enhance his credibility, reputation, or influence by presenting himself as a privileged messenger of otherworldly wisdom. Still more will invent their own objections, perhaps rooted in theological, philosophical, or scientific assumptions.

Swedenborg’s foresight into this range of disbelief does not arise from a defensive posture but from a deep understanding of the intellectual climate of his time. Enlightenment rationalism, empirical skepticism, and religious orthodoxy each encouraged suspicion of mystical or spiritualist accounts, placing severe restrictions on what could be counted as credible evidence. Swedenborg, by acknowledging these specific forms of incredulity, not only anticipates criticism but also subtly invites readers to recognize their own biases and the limits of conventional knowledge.

Implicitly, he frames his experiences as genuine despite their implausibility to the ordinary mind. He suggests a profound distinction between actual contact with spiritual realities and the inability or unwillingness of others to perceive or accept such contact. His words thus represent both a defense of personal revelation and a challenge to the boundaries placed by materialist and rationalist worldviews.