Logopraxis

The involuntary versus the voluntary

Arcana Coelestia 6312. As the hells are in this sensuous light, therefore unless a man is elevated out of it, he must needs perish. He is elevated by means of the good of faith. There are also hells which are in a more subtle sphere, where are they who have been inwardly malignant, and have devised many arts for depriving others of their goods, and have contrived many treacherous plans in order to obtain dominion. But it was observed that this sphere flows into the external sensuous sphere, and this at the back where are the involuntary things of man. Hence the sensuous sphere is so strong.

 

All the encounters with the spirits are part of Swedenborg's own inner process and experiences with them, just as much as they describe ours.

AC 6307. Continuation about influx, and about the interaction of the soul and the body. That there is an influx from the spiritual world through angels and spirits into the affections and thoughts, has been given me to know so manifestly by the experience of many years, that nothing can be more manifest. I have felt the influx, not only as to the thoughts, but also as to the affections and when evils and falsities were flowing in, I was given to know from what hells they came; and when goods and truths, from what angels. This experience has consequently become so familiar to me that at last I have been able to know whence came every one of my thoughts and affections; and nevertheless my thoughts have been just like those which I had before.

AC 6326. There was a philosopher who ranked among the more celebrated and sane, and who died some years ago, with whom I have spoken about the degrees of life in man, saying that man consists of mere forms for receiving life, and that one form is more interior than another, but that one has come into existence and subsists from another; also that when the lower or exterior form is dissolved, the higher or interior form still lives. It was further said that all operations of the mind are variations of the form, which variations in the purer substances are in such perfection that they cannot be described; and that the ideas of thought are nothing else; and that these variations take place according to the changes of the state of the affections. How very perfect are the variations in the purer forms may be concluded from the lungs, which fold themselves variously and vary their forms according to every expression of speech, and to every note of a tune, and to every motion of the body, and also to each state of thought and affection; and what then must be the case with interior things, which, in comparison with so large an organ, are in the greatest perfection. The philosopher confirmed what was said, and declared that such things had been known to him when he lived in the world, and that the world should apply philosophy to such uses, and should not be intent on mere forms of words and disputes about these, and thus labor in the dust.

Interaction of the Soul and Body 20.  I was once asked how from a philosopher I became a theologian; and I answered, In the same manner that fishermen were made disciples and apostles by the Lord; and that I also from early youth had been a spiritual fisherman. On hearing this the inquirer asked, What is a spiritual fisherman? I replied that a fisherman in the spiritual sense of the Word, signifies a man who investigates and teaches natural truths, and afterwards spiritual truths rationally.

[2] To the question, How is this demonstrated? I said, From these passages in the Word: Then the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be dried up and become dry, therefore the fishers shall mourn, and all that cast a hook into the sea shall be sad (Isaiah 19:5, 8).

In another place: Upon the river whose waters were healed, the fishers stood from Engedi; they were there in the spreading forth of nets; according, to its kind was their fish, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many (Ezekiel 47:9-10).

And in another place: The saying of Jehovah, Behold, I will send to many fishers, who shall fish the sons of Israel (Jeremiah 16:16).

Thence it is evident, why the Lord chose fishermen for disciples, and said: Come ye after Me, and I will make you fishers of men (Matthew 4:18-19; Mark 1:16-17).

And to Peter after he had caught a multitude of fishes: From henceforth thou shalt catch men (Luke 5:9-10).

[3] Afterwards I demonstrated the origin of this signification of fishermen from The Apocalypse Revealed; namely, because “water” signifies natural truths (50, 932); likewise “a river” (409, 932); “fish,” those who are in natural truths (405); and thence “fishermen” signify those who investigate and teach truths.

[4] On hearing this my interrogator raised his voice and said, Now I can understand why the Lord called and chose fishermen to be His disciples, and therefore I do not wonder that He has also called and chosen you, since, as you have said, you were from early youth a fisherman in a spiritual sense, that is, an investigator of natural truths; that you are now an investigator of spiritual truths, is because these are founded on the former. To this he added, because he was a man of reason, that the Lord alone knows who is adapted to receive and to teach those things which are of His New Church, whether someone among the primates, or someone among their servants. Moreover, what theologian among Christians does not first study philosophy at college, before he is inaugurated as a theologian; and from what other source has he intelligence?

[5] At last he said, Since you are become a theologian, explain what is your theology. I replied, These are the two principles of it, That God is one, and that there is a conjunction of charity and faith. To which he replied, Who denies these? I answered, The theology of the present day, when interiorly examined.

Third Round posts are short audio clips taken from Round 3 comments offered in the online Logopraxis Life Group meetings. The aim is to keep the focus on understanding the Text in terms of its application to the inner life along with reinforcing any key LP principles that have been highlighted in the exchanges.

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6387. Verses 14, 15. Issachar is a bony ass, lying down between the burdens. And he shall see rest that it is good, and the land that it is pleasant; and he shall bow his shoulder to bear, and shall be a servant to tribute. Issachar, signifies reward from works; is a bony ass, signifies the lowest service; lying down between the burdens, signifies life among works; and he shall see rest that it is good, signifies works of good without reward, that they are full of happiness; and the land that it is pleasant, signifies that in this happiness are they who are in the Lord's kingdom; and he shall bow his shoulder to bear, signifies that nevertheless he labors with all exertion; and he shall be a servant to tribute, signifies that he may have merit.

6388. Issachar. That this signifies reward from works, is evident from the representation of Issachar, as being the mutual love which is hire, or reward (n. 3956, 3957), here reward from works, as is plain from the details in the internal sense in this prophecy about Issachar. Moreover in the original tongue Issachar means hire. That Issachar here signifies reward from works, and previously mutual love, is because by Issachar are here meant those who are in a certain kind and appearance of mutual love, that is, of charity toward the neighbor, and who desire to be rewarded for the goods which they do. Thus they not only defile, but also pervert genuine mutual love, or charity; for they who are in genuine mutual love are in their delight and bliss when they are benefiting the neighbor, for they desire nothing more. This delight and bliss are what is meant by hire in the Word; for the delight and bliss is itself the reward; and in the other life this becomes the joy and happiness which are in heaven, thus it becomes heaven to them. For when they who are in this love perform uses, and do good to others, they are in such joy and happiness that then for the first time they seem to themselves to be in heaven; this is given them by the Lord, to everyone according to the uses he performs. But the happiness vanishes as soon as they think of reward, for being in the reward itself, thought about reward renders that love impure, and perverts it; the reason of which is that they are then thinking about themselves, and not about the neighbor, that is, about making themselves happy, and not others, except insofar as it affects themselves. Thus they convert love toward the neighbor into love toward themselves, and so far as they do this, so far the joy and happiness from heaven cannot be communicated to them, for they concentrate upon themselves the influx of happiness from heaven, and do not transmit it to others; and they are like objects which do not transmit the rays of light, but absorb them. Objects which transmit the rays of light appear in light, and sparkle, but those which absorb them appear opaque, and sparkle not at all; and therefore they who are of this nature are separated from angelic society, like those who have nothing in common with heaven. These are they who are here described under the name of Issachar.

6389. A bony ass. That this signifies the lowest service, is evident from the signification of an ass, as being service (see n. 5958, 5959); and from the signification of bone, as being that which has little spiritual life (n. 5560, 5561). Thus a bony ass is the lowest service; for they who do what is good for the sake of reward, do indeed perform uses, and are of service; but yet are among those in the Lord's kingdom who are in the lowest place, for they do not dispense the good which is communicated to them, except to those who can recompense them; and they pass by the rest who need aid the most, or if they do good to these, it is from the end of being rewarded by the Lord. Hence what they do they regard as merit, and thus consider the Lord's mercy as due them. In this way they recede from humiliation, and in the same proportion from a state of receiving what is blessed and happy through heaven from the Lord. From all this it is evident that in the other life such are indeed employed in uses, but as lowest services.

6390. Lying down between the burdens. That this signifies a life among works, is evident from the signification of lying down, as being life, but obscure life; and from the signification of burdens, as being works. That burdens denote such works is because those here treated of do not do goods from the affection of love toward the neighbor, but from the affection of love toward self. The works which flow from the affection of this love are like the burdens carried by the meaner asses, for they belong to the lowest services. For all servitude is from the affection of the love of self and of the world, and all freedom is from the affection of love to the Lord and toward the neighbor. The reason is that the affection of the former love flows in from hell, which commands with violence; whereas the affection of the latter love flows in from the Lord, who does not command, but leads. Hence again it is plain that they who do what is good for the sake of reward are lowest services, and their works are burdens. The like is signified by burdens in the book of Judges:

The princes in Issachar were with Deborah; and Issachar so with Barak; in the valley he shall be put under his feet, in the classes of Reuben great as to the resolves of heart. Why satest thou between the burdens, to hear the hissings of the flocks? (Judg. 5:15, 16);

here also Issachar denotes those who desire to be rewarded for works; to be put in the valley under the feet is to serve in lowest things; the classes of Reuben denote those who are in the knowledges of the truth of faith, among whom are those here signified by Issachar, but in a place beneath them; to hear the hissings of the flocks denotes contempt from those who are in the good of charity, who are the flocks; to sit between burdens denotes among self-meritorious works.

6391. And he shall see rest that it is good. That this signifies the works of good without reward, that they are full of happiness, is evident from the signification of rest, as being the things that belong to heaven, and thus that are in the good of charity, or in works of good, without reward (of which below); from the signification of that it is good, as being that they are full of happiness. The reason why rest denotes works of good without reward, is that in the highest sense rest or peace signifies the Lord; in the relative sense, heaven; thus the good which is from the Lord (see n. 3780, 4681, 5662); and as no others are in the things signified by rest or peace than those who are in good of charity, thus in works of good without reward, these are signified by rest; for this follows from the connection of things in the internal sense.

[2] With regard to the subject itself, they who do goods with the sole end of reward cannot possibly know that in doing goods without any reward there is happiness so great as to be heavenly happiness itself. The reason of their ignorance is that they perceive happiness in the delight of the love of self, and insofar as a man perceives delight in this love, so far he does not perceive delight in heavenly love, for they are opposites. The delight which flows from the love of self completely extinguishes the delight which is from heavenly love, insomuch that it is absolutely unknown what heavenly delight is; and if its nature is told it is not believed, nay, it is denied.

[3] This it has been given me to know from evil spirits in the other life who, while they lived, did nothing of what is good to others or to their country except for the sake of themselves; such do not believe that any delight is possible in doing goods without the end of reward; for they suppose that if there is no end of reward all delight ceases. And if they are told further that when that delight ceases heavenly delight begins, they are amazed at the hearing; and they are still more amazed when they hear that this heavenly delight flows in through the inmost of man, and affects his interiors with inexpressible happiness; and they say that they cannot comprehend it, nay, that they do not desire to do so; for they believe that if they were to lose the delight of the love of self, they would be very miserable, because they would then be deprived of all the joy of life; and they also call those simple who are in a different state. Not unlike these persons are those who do works with an end of reward; for they do good works for themselves, and not for others, because they regard themselves therein, and not the neighbor, nor their country, nor heaven, nor the Lord, except as those who are thus placed under an obligation to do them a service. Such are the things described in the internal sense of this verse about Issachar.

6392. And the land that it is pleasant. That this signifies that in this happiness are they who are in the Lord's kingdom, is evident from the signification of land, as being the church, thus also the Lord's kingdom (n. 662, 1066, 1067, 1413, 1607, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 4447); that the land has this signification is because the land of Canaan, which is meant by the land in the Word, represented the Lord's kingdom, and this because the church had been there from the most ancient time (n. 3038, 3481, 3686, 3705, 4447, 4454, 4516, 4517, 5136); and from the signification of that it was pleasant, which signifies the happiness that is in works of good without reward. It is said that he shall see rest that it is good, and the land that it is pleasant, and by both expressions is signified the happiness which is in the Lord's kingdom, because to see rest that it is good, refers to what is celestial or to good, and to see the land that it is pleasant, refers to what is spiritual or to truth,...

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421. WHAT THE WORLD OF SPIRITS IS.

The world of spirits is not heaven, nor is it hell, but it is the intermediate place or state between the two; for it is the place that man first enters after death; and from which after a suitable time he is either raised up into heaven or cast down into hell in accord with his life in the world.

422. The world of spirits is an intermediate place between heaven and hell and also an intermediate state of the man after death. It has been shown to me not only that it is an intermediate place, having the hells below it and the heavens above it, but also that it is in an intermediate state, since so long as man is in it he is not yet either in heaven or in hell. The state of heaven in man is the conjunction of good and truth in him; and the state of hell is the conjunction of evil and falsity in him. Whenever good in a man-spirit is conjoined to truth he comes into heaven, because that conjunction, as just said, is heaven in him; but whenever evil in a man-spirit is conjoined with falsity he comes into hell, because that conjunction is hell in him. That conjunction is effected in the world of spirits, man then being in an intermediate state. It is the same thing whether you say the conjunction of the understanding and the will, or the conjunction of good and truth.

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423. Let something first be said about the conjunction of the understanding and the will, and its being the same thing as the conjunction of good and truth, that being the conjunction that is effected in the world of spirits. Man has an understanding and a will. The understanding receives truths and is formed out of them, and the will receives goods and is formed out of them; therefore whatever a man understands and thinks from his understanding he calls true, and whatever a man wills and thinks from his will he calls good. From his understanding man can think and thus perceive both what is true and what is good; and yet he thinks what is true and good from the will only when he wills it and does it. When he wills it and from willing does it, it is both in his understanding and in his will, consequently in the man. For neither the understanding alone nor the will alone makes the man, but the understanding and will together; therefore whatever is in both is in the man, and is appropriated to him. That which is in the understanding alone is in man, and yet not really in him; it is only a thing of his memory, or a matter of knowledge in his memory about which he can think when in company with others and outside of himself, but not in himself; that is, about which he can speak and reason, and can simulate affections and gestures that are in accord with it.

424. This ability to think from the understanding and not at the same time from the will is provided that man may be capable of being reformed; for reformation is effected by means of truths, and truths pertain to the understanding, as just said. For in respect to his will man is born into every evil, and therefore of himself wills good to no one but himself; and one who wills good to himself alone delights in the misfortunes that befall another, especially when they tend to his own advantage; for his wish is to divert to himself the goods of all others, whether honors or riches, and so far as he succeeds in this he inwardly rejoices. To the end that this will of man may be corrected and reformed, an ability to understand truths, and an ability to subdue by means of truths the affections of evil that spring from the will, are given to man. This is why man has this ability to think truths with his understanding, and to speak them and do them. But until man is such that he wills truths and does them from himself, that is, from the heart, he is not able to think truths from his will. When he becomes such, whatever he thinks from his understanding belongs to his faith, and whatever he thinks from his will belongs to his love; and in consequence his faith and his love, like his understanding and his will, are conjoined in him.

425. To the extent, therefore, that the truths of the understanding and the goods of the will are conjoined, that is, to the extent that a man wills truths and does them from his will, he has heaven in himself, since the conjunction of good and truth, as just said, is heaven. And on the other hand, just to the extent that the falsities of the understanding and the evils of the will are conjoined man has hell in himself, since the conjunction of falsity and evil is hell. But so long as the truths of the understanding and the goods of the will are not conjoined man is in an intermediate state. At the present time nearly everyone is in such a state that he has some knowledge of truths, and from his knowledge and understanding gives some thought to them, and conforms to them either much or little or not at all, or acts contrary to them from a love of evil and consequent false belief. In order, therefore, that man may have in him either heaven or hell, he is first brought after death into the world of spirits, and there with those who are to be raised up into heaven good and truth are conjoined, and with those who are to be cast down into hell evil and falsity are conjoined. For neither in heaven nor in hell is any one permitted to have a divided mind, that is, to understand one thing and to will another; but everyone must understand what he wills, and will what he understands. Therefore in heaven he who wills good understands truth, while in hell he who wills evil understands falsity. So in the intermediate state the falsities that the good have are put away, and truths that agree and harmonize with their good are given them; while the truths that the evil have are put away, and falsities that agree and harmonize with their evil are given them. This shows what the world of spirits is.

426. In the world of spirits there are vast numbers, because the first meeting of all is there, and all are there explored and prepared. The time of their stay in that world is not fixed; some merely enter it, and are soon either taken into heaven or are cast down into hell; some remain only a few weeks, some several years, but not more than thirty. These differences in the time they remain depend on the correspondence or lack of correspondence of man's interiors with his exteriors. How man is led in that world from one state into another and prepared shall now be told.

427. As soon as men after death enter the world of spirits the Lord clearly discriminates between them; and the evil are at once attached to the infernal society in which they were, as to their ruling love while in the world; and the good are at once attached to the heavenly society in which they were as to their love, charity and faith while in the world. But although they are thus divided, all that have been friends and acquaintances in the life of the body, especially wives and husbands, and also brothers and sisters, meet and converse together whenever they so desire. I have seen a father talking with six sons, whom he recognized, and have seen many others with their relatives and friends; but having from their life in the world diverse dispositions, after a short time they separate. But those who have passed from the world of spirits into heaven or into hell, unless they have a like disposition from a like love, no longer see or know each other. The reason that they see each other in the world of spirits, but not in heaven or in hell, is that those who are in the world of spirits are brought into one state after another, like those they experienced in the life of the body; but afterwards all are brought into a permanent state in accord with their ruling love, and in that state one recognizes another only by similarity of love; for then similarity joins and dissimilarity disjoins (see above, n. 41-50).

428. As the world of spirits is an intermediate state between heaven and hell with man, so it is an intermediate place with the hells below and the heavens above. All the hells are shut towards that world, being open only through holes and clefts like those in rocks and through wide openings that are so guarded that no one can come out except by permission, which is granted in cases of urgent necessity (of which hereafter). Heaven, too, is enclosed on all sides; and there is no passage open to any heavenly society except by a narrow way, the entrance to which is also guarded. These outlets and entrances are what are called in the Word the gates and doors of hell and of heaven.

429. The world of spirits appears like a valley between mountains and rocks, with windings and elevations here and there. The gates and doors of the heavenly societies are visible to those only who are prepared for heaven; others cannot find them. There is one entrance from the world of spirits to each heavenly society, opening through a single path which branches out in its ascent into several. The gates and doors of the hells also are visible only to those who are about to enter, to whom they are then opened. When these are opened gloomy and seemingly sooty caverns are seen tending obliquely downwards to the abyss, where again there are many doors. Through these caverns nauseous and fetid stenches exhale, which good spirits flee from because they abominate them, but evil spirits seek for them because they delight in them. For as everyone in the world has been delighted with his own evil, so after death he is delighted with the stench to which his evil corresponds. In this respect the evil may be likened to rapacious birds and beasts, like ravens, wolves, and swine, which fly or run to carrion or dunghills when they scent their stench. I heard a certain spirit crying out loudly as if from inward torture when struck by a breath flowing forth from heaven; but he became tranquil and glad as soon as a breath flowing forth from hell reached him.

430....

These states of hell are present for all of us

Arcana Coelestia 6310. The interiors of man are distinct according to degrees by means of derivations, and according to these degrees are also the lights. The internal sensuous, which is nearest the sensuous things of the body, has the most gross light. This light it has been given me to discern by much experience, and I have noticed that whenever I sank into this light, falsities and evils of many kinds presented themselves, and even things scandalous against heavenly and Divine things, besides things filthy and foul. The reason is that this light rules in the hells, and by means of it chiefly do the hells flow into man. When a man is in this light, his thought is in nearly the same light as that in which is his external sight, and is then almost in the body. Men who are in this light are to be called the Sensuous, for they do not think beyond the sensuous things of the body. What is beyond these they neither perceive nor believe, believing only that which they see and touch. In this light are they who have not at all cultivated things interior, living in neglect and contempt of all things rational and spiritual; and in this light are especially the avaricious and adulterers, and they who have lived in mere pleasures and in disgraceful idleness, and who consequently think what is filthy, and often what is scandalous, about the holy things of the church.

Heaven and Hell 362. But the lot of the rich that have not believed in the Divine, and have cast out of their minds the things pertaining to heaven and the church, is the opposite of this. Such are in hell, where filth, misery, and want exist; and into these riches that are loved as an end are changed; and not only riches, but also their very uses, which are either a wish to live as they like and indulge in pleasures, and to have opportunity to give the mind more fully and freely to shameful practices, or a wish to rise above others whom they despise. Such riches and such uses, because they have nothing spiritual, but only what is earthly in them, become filthy; for a spiritual purpose in riches and their uses is like a soul in the body, or like the light of heaven in moist ground; and such riches and uses become putrid as a body does without a soul, or as moist ground does without the light of heaven. Such are those that have been led and drawn away from heaven by riches.

 

Not owning or identifiying with what flows in from hell

AC 6308...The order of the influx is that evil spirits first flow in, and the angels disperse their action. That there is such an influx the man does not perceive, because his thought is kept in freedom by means of the equilibration between these two influxes, and because he does not attend to such things; nor could the evil know if they did attend, because with them there is no equilibrium between evil and good. But they who are in good can know it; and they also know from the Word that there is something within which fights against the evil and falsity with them, and that the spiritual man fights against the natural; thus the angels, who are in man’s interiors and in his spiritual things, against the evil spirits who are in his exteriors and in his natural things; and it is also from this that the church is called militant. But the evil which flows into the thought from the evil spirits, does the man no harm if he does not receive it; but if he receives it and transfers it from the thought into the will, he makes it his own; and he then goes over to the side of the infernal spirits, and withdraws from the angels of heaven. This is what the Lord teaches when He says that the things which enter into a man do not make him unclean; but the things which go out of him, because these go forth from the heart, that is, from the will (Mark 7:14-23).

 

Cast into hell

6321. That there is angelic influx, and that without it man cannot live, has been given to know by experience. There are malignant spirits who have devised arts for hindering the angelic influx, but only in part. With me also they were permitted to do this, to the end that I might know from experience that the case is so. In proportion as they hindered the influx, the life of the thought fluctuated, and at last was the same as it is with those who are falling into a swoon. But I was instantly restored, and those spirits were cast down into their hell.

HH 481. (iii) The man who has heavenly and spiritual love goes to heaven; while the man who has corporeal and worldly love and no heavenly and spiritual love goes to hell. This has been made evident to me from all whom I have seen taken up into heaven or cast into hell. The life of those taken up into heaven had been derived from a heavenly and spiritual love, while the life of those cast into hell had been derived from a corporeal and worldly love.

 

The good of faith

6309. I have spoken with good spirits about the internal and the external man, saying that it is wonderful that few within the church believe (although they know it from the Word) that there is an internal man, distinct from the external, when yet they might know this from a slight daily inspection of their own thought and will, namely, from the fact that they often think interiorly otherwise than they do exteriorly; and what they think exteriorly, they let out into speech, into their faces, and into act; but not so what they think interiorly, for this they deeply hide, as is customary with dissemblers, hypocrites, and the deceitful. They who are in good may know this from the fact that they think they ought not to do so and so, rebuking themselves; from which it can be seen that there is an interior man, separate from the exterior. But the reason why they do not attend to this, or if they do attend do not perceive it is that they make life consist in the body; and also that when they immerse the whole thought in bodily and worldly things, insight into such subjects perishes, and even belief that the fact is so. This also it has been given me to know from experience. When I was in any heavenly idea, and dropped into thought about worldly and earthly things, instantly heavenly things perished so absolutely as scarcely to be acknowledged. The reason is that the things of the light of heaven become darkness when they fall into those which belong to the light of this world; for in themselves these two lights are contrary to each other. In order however that they may not be contrary, man is regenerated, and is also elevated from sensuous toward interior things; and insofar as he is elevated from sensuous things, so far he abandons evils and falsities. But he cannot be elevated unless he is in the good of faith and of life.

 

Third Round posts are short audio clips taken from Round 3 comments offered in the online Logopraxis Life Group meetings. The aim is to keep the focus on understanding the Text in terms of its application to the inner life along with reinforcing any key LP principles that have been highlighted in the exchanges.

Arcana Coelestia 9407...'creation' in the Word means the regeneration or new creation of a person, ( see also 16, 88).

 

 

The creation of states within the human mind

6322. To all outward appearance the external senses, such as sight and hearing, flow into thought and initiate mental images there. For the appearance is that external objects activate the senses, first the external senses, then the internal ones, and speech too. But no matter how convincing that appearance may be, it is nevertheless a misconception. For what is external, being gross and material, cannot flow in and activate what is internal, which is pure and spiritual; that would be contrary to the nature of things. It is the power of the inward senses, a power belonging to the spirit itself, that perceives things, and it does so by means of the power of the outward senses. It is also the power of the inward senses that disposes an outward sensory organ to receive impressions of objects at its bidding. So it is that outward sensory organs - such as that of sight, which is the eye - instantly adapt themselves to all the objects of the senses. Nothing of this could happen in sensory organs without the inflow they receive from within; for all the fibres and small appendages, which are very many around each sensory organ, are instantly attuned to the nature of the object. Indeed the organ itself is also immediately conditioned to conform.

[2] Discussion regarding this appearance has often taken place among spirits, and on every occasion angels have responded by saying that influx does not take place from external things into internal ones at all, only from internal ones into external. This, they have said, is in accordance with order, contrary to which no influx can take place. Two or three times I have seen spirits who have been separated from association with angels because they have been led by outward appearances to believe that such influx from external things into internal ones does exist, thus that influx is physical, not spiritual. The reason why they had been separated was that they might have come to the conclusion that the hells which concern themselves with external things could flow into the heavens which concern themselves with internal ones. They might also have concluded that life did not flow in from the Lord, when in fact He is the source of all inflowing life, because He exists at the inmost point and in relation to Him everything else is external.

6325...It is known in the learned world that the principal cause and the instrumental cause act together as a one: man, being a form recipient of the Lord’s life, is an instrumental cause, and the life from the Lord is the principal cause. This life is felt in the instrumental cause as of it, when yet it is not of it.

 

 

The will creates an effigy of itself

6013. And their babes. That this signifies together with those things which are of innocence, is evident from the signification of “babes,” as being innocence (see n. 3183, 5608). It is said “with those things which are of innocence,” also “which are of charity,” for the reason that without innocence and charity, natural truth cannot be caused to advance by spiritual truths; for in order that truth may be genuine, it must derive its essence and life from charity, and charity from innocence. For the interior things which vivify truth succeed one another in the following order: inmost is innocence; next lower is charity; and lowest is work of charity from truth or according to truth. The reason why they succeed one another in this order is that they so succeed one another in the heavens. For the inmost or third heaven is the heaven of innocence; the middle or second heaven is the heaven of charity, within which is innocence from the inmost heaven; and the ultimate or first heaven is the heaven of truth, within which is charity from the second heaven, and within this is innocence from the third. All these must be in the same order with man, for in respect to his interiors man is formed after the image of the three heavens; and therefore a regenerated man is a heaven in particular or in the least form. But in respect to his exteriors, especially the body, he is formed after the image of the world, and therefore he was called by the ancients a microcosm. For the ear is formed after the whole nature of air and sound; the eye after the whole nature of ether and light; the tongue after the whole sense of the solvent and fluent parts in liquids; the nostrils after the sense of things fluent in the atmosphere; the touch after the sense of cold and heat, also of things of the earth that have weight; and so on. As man’s external senses are formed after the whole image of the natural world, so his internal senses, which belong to his understanding and will, are formed after the whole image of heaven, to the end that every man may be in particular a recipient of Divine good from the Lord, as heaven is in general.

 

 

On the appearance of objects

Arcana Coelestia 3721[2] It appears to man that the objects of the world enter through his bodily or external senses, and affect the interiors; and thus that there is an entrance from the ultimate of order into what is within; but that this is a mere appearance and fallacy is manifest from the general rule that posterior things cannot flow into prior; or what is the same, lower things into higher; or what is the same, exterior things into interior; or what is still the same, the things which are of the world and of nature into those which are of heaven and of spirit; for the former are of a grosser nature, and the latter of a purer one; and those grosser things which are of the external or natural man come forth and subsist from those which are of the internal or rational man; and they cannot affect the purer things, but are affected by the purer things. How the case is with this influx, inasmuch as the very appearance and fallacy persuade altogether contrary to it, will of the Lord’s Divine mercy be told hereafter when treating on the subject of influx. From this then it is said that through the ultimate in which order closes, there is apparently as it were an entrance from nature.​

Conjugial Love 440​… it is not the flesh that sensates the things which happen in the flesh, but the spirit. It is the same with this sense as with the others. Thus it is not the eye that sees and distinguishes the varieties in objects, but the spirit. So neither is it the ear that hears and distinguishes the harmonies of melodies in song, and the fitness of the articulation of sounds in speech, but the spirit. And the spirit sensates everything according to its own elevation into wisdom. The spirit which is not elevated above the sensual things of the body and so sticks in them, sensates no other delights than those which flow in from the flesh, and from the world through the senses of the body. These it seizes upon, with these it is delighted, and these it make its own.

Arcana Coelestia (Potts) 5477​ [2] In regard to natural light and spiritual light the case is this: natural light is from the sun of the world, and spiritual light is from the sun of heaven, which is the Lord. All the truths of faith that man learns from infancy are apprehended by means of such objects and derivative ideas as are from the light of the world, thus all and each are apprehended naturally; for all the ideas of man’s thought, so long as he lives in the world, are founded upon such things as are in the world; and therefore if these were taken away from him, his thought would utterly perish. The man who has not been regenerated is wholly ignorant that there is spiritual light, or even that there is in heaven a light that has nothing in common with the light of the world, still less does he know that it is this light that enlightens the ideas and objects which are from the light of the world, and enables man to think, infer, and reflect. That spiritual light can do this is because this light is the wisdom itself that proceeds from the Lord, and this is presented as light before the sight of the angels in heaven. From this light appear all and each of the things that are below, or that are in man from natural light; but not the converse, unless the man has been regenerated, in which case the things of heaven, that is, of good and truth, by enlightenment from spiritual light appear in the natural as in a representative mirror. From this it is evident that the Lord, who is light itself, sees all things and each that are in the thought and will of man, nay, that are in universal nature, and that nothing whatever is hidden from Him.​

Divine Love and Wisdom (Ager) 70 All who die and become angels put off the two above- mentioned properties of nature, namely, space and time; for they then enter into spiritual light, in which objects of thought are truths, and objects of sight are like those in the natural world, but are correspondent to their thoughts. The objects of their thought which, as just said, are truths, derive nothing at all from space and time; and though the objects of their sight appear as if in space and in time, still the angels do not think from space and time. The reason is, that spaces and times there are not fixed, as in the natural world, but are changeable according to the states of their life. In the ideas of their thought, therefore, instead of space and time there are states of life, instead of spaces such things as have reference to states of love, and instead of times such things as have reference to states of wisdom.

Divine Wisdom (Whitehead) 7[5] 5.[2] The reason is that in the spiritual world the objects are altogether similar to those in the natural world; there are lands, plains, fields, gardens and forests, houses containing rooms, and in them all useful things; moreover, there are garments for women and for men, such as are in the world; there are tables, food, and drinks,...

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6371. The scepter shall not be removed from Judah. That this signifies that sovereignty shall not depart from the celestial kingdom, is evident from the signification of being removed, as being to depart; from the signification of scepter, as being sovereignty, and indeed the sovereignty of truth from good (see n. 4876), for a scepter is a badge of royal power, and by royalty is signified truth (n. 1672, 1728, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4575, 6148); and from the representation of Judah, as being the celestial kingdom (n. 6363). Hence it is plain that by the scepter not being removed from Judah is signified that the sovereignty shall not depart from the celestial kingdom.

[2] From the sense of the letter it appears that by what is contained in this verse is meant that the kingdom should not be removed from the Jewish people until the Lord came. This also is true, yet in this historic truth, as in everything else, there is an internal sense; for that the kingdom should not be removed from the Jewish people, is a worldly matter; but the spiritual truth of the internal sense appears when by scepter is understood sovereignty, and by Judah the celestial kingdom. But that sovereignty should depart from the celestial kingdom when the Lord came, is a secret that no one can know except from revelation. The case is this. Before the coming of the Lord into the world, there was influx of life with men and with spirits from Jehovah or the Lord through the celestial kingdom, that is, through the angels who were in that kingdom, and hence they then had the sovereignty. But when the Lord came into the world, and thereby made the Human in Himself Divine, He put on just that which was with the angels of the celestial kingdom, thus He put on this sovereignty. For previously the Divine transflux through that heaven had been the Divine Human; it was also the Divine Man which was presented to view when Jehovah so appeared; but this Divine Human ceased when the Lord Himself made the Human in Himself Divine. This shows how the case is with this secret. The angels of that kingdom have indeed great sovereignty now, but only insofar as they are in the Lord's Divine Human through love to Him. (See what has already been stated and shown, n. 1990, 2803, 3061, 4180, 4687, 5110, 6280.)

6372. And a lawgiver from between his feet. That this signifies truths from this good in lower things, is evident from the signification of a lawgiver, as being truths (of which below); and from the signification of feet, as being natural things (see n. 2162, 3147, 3761, 3986, 4280, 4938-4952, 5327, 5328), thus lower things, for natural things are beneath, and celestial things (just now described) are above. It is said a lawgiver from between his feet in order that the spiritual of the celestial may be signified, or the truth which is from good, for at that time the spiritual kingdom was not such as it was after the Lord's coming-distinct from the celestial kingdom-but was one with the celestial kingdom, being merely its external; therefore also it is said from between his feet, in order that truth which is from good may be signified; for this is signified by this inner side of the feet, from its communication with the loins. Of this truth it is also said that it should be removed when Shiloh came, that is, its sovereignty should be removed, just as was the sovereignty of the celestial (see n. 6371); for the celestial kingdom at that time exercised its sovereignty by means of this truth; and because this was so, this truth is called a lawgiver. This truth is also meant in the internal sense by a lawgiver in Isaiah:

Jehovah is our judge, Jehovah is our lawgiver, Jehovah is our king (Isa. 33:22);

where judge denotes that He acts from good; lawgiver, that He acts from truth from this good; king, that He acts from truth; thus they follow in order. And in David:

Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine, and Ephraim is the strength of My head, Judah is My lawgiver (Ps. 60:7; 108:8);

where Judah a lawgiver is celestial good and its celestial truth. In Moses:

The fountain, the princes digged it, the nobles of the people digged it out, by the lawgiver, with their staves (Num. 21:18).

And again:

Gad saw the first fruits for himself, for there was the portion of the hidden lawgiver; whence came the heads of the people; he wrought the righteousness of Jehovah, and His judgments with Israel (Deut. 33:21);

where also lawgiver denotes truth from good.

6373. Until Shiloh come. That this signifies the coming of the Lord, and the tranquillity of peace then, is evident from the signification of Shiloh, as being the Lord, who is called Shiloh from the fact that He pacified and made all things tranquil; for in the original, Shiloh is derived from a word which means tranquillity. The reason why the Lord is here called Shiloh is plain from what was said above (n. 6371, 6372) about the celestial kingdom and its sovereignty; for when the Divine was presented to view through that kingdom there was in tranquillity, because the things in heaven, and the things in hell, could not thereby be reduced into order, for the Divine which flowed through that kingdom could not be pure, because heaven is not pure; thus neither was that kingdom so strong that all things could by means of it be kept in order; and therefore also the infernal and diabolical spirits were then raising themselves up from the hells and were ruling over the souls who were arriving from the world. The result was that none could be saved but the celestial; and at last scarcely they, unless the Lord had taken on the Human and had made this in Himself Divine; whereby the Lord reduced all things into order, first those in heaven, and afterward those in the hells; thus producing the tranquillity of peace. That the spiritual, that is, they who were of the spiritual church, were saved by the Lord's coming, may be seen above, n. 2661, 2716, 2833, 2834; and that the Lord, when in the world, reduced all things into order, n. 1820, 4286, 4287; that the Divine truth from Jehovah or the Lord flowed in through heaven into the human race, but because this did not suffice when man removed himself from good, the Lord came into the world and made the Human in Himself Divine, in order that from the very Divine Human of the Lord the Divine truth might proceed, and thus might save man, who should receive good through truth, may also be seen above, n. 4180, 6280.

6374. And to him is the obedience of the peoples. That this signifies that from His Divine Human should proceed truths which could be received, is evident from the signification of obedience, as being the reception of truths which proceed from the Lord; and from the signification of peoples, as being those who are in truths, thus also truths (see n. 1259, 1260, 3581), and hence those who are of the spiritual church (n. 2928).

6375. He binds his young ass unto the vine. That this signifies [conjunction through] truth in the natural for the external church, is evident from the signification of binding, as being to be conjoined; from the signification of a vine, as being the spiritual church (see n. 1069, 5113), here the external spiritual church, because by a choice vine, presently mentioned, is signified the internal church; and from the signification of an ass, as being truth in the natural (n. 2781). Hence it is plain that by he binds to the vine his young ass is signified conjunction through truth in the natural with the external church.

6376. And his ass's colt unto the choice vine. That this signifies [through] truth from the rational for the internal church, is evident from the signification of a vine, as being the spiritual church (see n. 1069, 5113), thus a choice vine is the internal church, for the internal of the church is more excellent than its external; and from the signification of an ass's colt, as being rational truth (n. 2781). The external of the church is distinguished from its internal in that the former is in the natural, thus in the external man; but the latter is in the rational, thus in the internal man. They who are in the external of the church are in truth, but they who are in its internal, are in good; the former are not so much affected with the good of charity as with the truth of faith; but the latter are affected with the good of charity and thence with the truth of faith. The latter are they who are signified by the choice vine, but the former by the vine.

6377. He washes his clothing in wine. That this signifies that His natural is Divine truth from His Divine good, is evident from the signification of washing, as being to purify (see n. 3147); from the signification of wine, as being the good of love toward the neighbor, and the good of faith, and in the supreme sense Divine truth from the Divine good of the Lord (of which presently); and from the signification of clothing, as being what is exterior, which covers what is interior (n. 5248); thus the natural, for this is exterior, and covers the rational which is interior; hence also clothing denotes truth, because truth is exterior, and covers good which is interior (n. 2576, 4545, 4763, 5319, 5954).

[2] That wine denotes love toward the neighbor and the good of faith, may be seen from what has been shown in respect to the bread and wine in the Holy Supper (n. 2165, 2177, 3464, 4581, 5915), namely, that the bread is the good of celestial love, and that the wine is the good of spiritual love. This may be seen also from the meat-offering and the drink-offering in the sacrifices, in which the meat-offering signified the good of love, and the drink-offering the good of faith, the meat-offering consisting of such things as signified the good of love, and the drink-offering of wine which signified the good of faith; moreover the very sacrifices were called bread (n. 2165)....

Arcana Coelestia 6323 [3] If man were in the order into which he was created, namely, in love toward the neighbor, and in love to the Lord (for these loves are proper to man), he above all animals would be born not only into matters of knowledge, but also into all spiritual truths and celestial goods, and thus into all wisdom and intelligence; for he is able to think of the Lord, and to be conjoined with Him through love, and thus to be elevated to what is Divine and eternal, which is not possible to brute animals. Thus in the supposed case man would be directed by no other than general influx from the Lord through the spiritual world. But as he is not born into order, but contrary to his order, he is therefore born into ignorance of all things; and for this reason it has been provided that he may afterward be reborn, and thus come into as much of intelligence and wisdom as he receives of good, and of truth through good, in freedom.

6324. Spirits who reason much in the other life have little perception of what is true and good, and therefore they cannot be admitted into interior angelic societies; for nothing of intelligence can be communicated to them there. These spirits also have reasoned among themselves about the influx of all thoughts and affections, and said, “If this be so, no one can become guilty and suffer the penalty of any fault.” But they received for answer that if a man would believe as the case really is, namely, that all that is good and true is from the Lord, and all that is evil and false is from hell, he then could not become guilty of any fault, nor could evil be imputed to him; but because he believes that it is from himself, he appropriates evil to himself, for this is the effect of his faith; and in this way evil adheres and cannot be separated from him; nay, such is man that he would be indignant if anyone should say that he thinks and wills from others, and not from himself.

6325. It is an eternal truth that the Lord rules heaven and earth, and also that no one besides the Lord lives of himself, consequently that everything of life flows in-the good of life from the Lord, and the evil of life from hell. This is the faith of the heavens. When a man is in this faith (and he can be in it when he is in good), then evil cannot be fastened and appropriated to him, because he knows that it is not from himself, but from hell. When a man is in this state, he can then be gifted with peace, for then he will trust solely in the Lord. Neither can peace be given to any others than those who are in this faith from charity; for others continually cast themselves into anxieties and cupidities, whence come disquietudes.

 

 

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Arcana Coelestia 6315. A man who in his earthly life has been elevated from sensuous things by means of the good of faith, is alternately in sensuous and in interior light; when he is in worldly cares, in company where external things flourish, and in pleasures, he is in sensuous life; in this state he shuns and is also averse to speaking and thinking about God, and about the things that belong to faith; and if he were then to speak and think on these subjects, he would make light of them, unless at the moment he were to be elevated by the Lord toward interior things. When the same man is not in worldly things, but in interior light, he thinks from what is just and fair; and if he is in a still more interior light, he thinks from spiritual truth and good. He who is in the good of life is elevated from one light into the other; and into the more interior light in an instant when he begins to think evilly; for angels are near him. This has been given to know by much experience, because I have frequently perceived the elevations, and at the same time the changes of state in respect to the affections, and in respect to the thoughts.

6313. When a man is being elevated toward interior things, he comes out of the gross sensuous light into a milder light, and at the same time is withdrawn from the influx of scandalous and filthy things, and is brought nearer to the things that belong to what is just and fair, because nearer to the angels who are with him, thus nearer to the light of heaven. This elevation from sensuous things was known to the ancients, even to the Gentiles, and therefore when the lower mind is withdrawn from sensuous things, their wise men said that it comes into interior light, and at the same time into a tranquil state, and into a kind of heavenly bliss; and from this they also concluded that the mind is immortal. Man is capable of being elevated still more interiorly, and the more interiorly he is elevated, the clearer is the light into which he comes; and at last he comes into the light of heaven, which light is nothing else than wisdom and intelligence from the Lord. The three heavens are distinguished in no other way than according to elevations toward interior things, thus also according to degrees of light; the third heaven, being in inmost things, is in the greatest light, thus in a wisdom which far surpasses the wisdom of the lower heavens.

 

Third Round posts are short audio clips taken from Round 3 comments offered in the online Logopraxis Life Group meetings. The aim is to keep the focus on understanding the Text in terms of its application to the inner life along with reinforcing any key LP principles that have been highlighted in the exchanges.

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415. XLIII. THE IMMENSITY OF HEAVEN.

The immensity of the heaven of the Lord is evident from many things that have been said and shown in the foregoing chapters, especially from this, that heaven is from the human race (numbers 311-317), both from those born within the church and from those born out of it (numbers 318-328); thus it consists of all from the beginning of this earth that have lived a good life. How great a multitude of men there is in this entire world any one who knows anything about the divisions, the regions, and kingdoms of the earth may conclude. Whoever goes into a calculation will find that several thousands of men die every day, that is, some myriads of millions every year; and this from the earliest times, since which several thousands of years have elapsed. All of these after death have gone into the other world, which is called the spiritual world, and they are constantly going into it. But how many of these have become or are becoming angels of heaven cannot be told. This I have been told, that in ancient times the number was very great, because men then thought more interiorly and spiritually, and from such thought were in heavenly affection; but in the following ages not so many, because in the process of time man became more external and began to think more naturally, and from such thought to be in earthly affection. All of this shows how great heaven is even from the inhabitants of this earth alone.

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416. The immensity of the heaven of the Lord is shown also by this, that all children, whether born within the church or out of it, are adopted by the Lord and become angels; and the number of these amounts to a fourth or fifth part of the whole human race on the earth. That every child, wherever born, whether within the church or out of it, whether of pious or impious parents, is received by the Lord when it dies, and is brought up in heaven, and is taught and imbued with affections for good, and through these with knowledges of truth, in accordance with Divine order, and as he becomes perfected in intelligence and wisdom is brought into heaven and becomes an angel, can be seen above (numbers 329-345). From all this a conclusion may be formed of the multitude of angels of heaven, derived from this source alone, from the first creation to the present time.

417. Again, how immense the heaven of the Lord is can be seen from this, that all the planets visible to the eye in our solar system are earths, and moreover, that in the whole universe there are innumerable earths, all of them full of inhabitants. These have been treated of particularly in a small work on those earths from which I will quote the following passage:

It is fully known in the other life that there are many earths inhabited by men from which spirits and angels come; for everyone there who desires from a love of truth and of use to do so is permitted to talk with spirits of other earths, and thus be assured that there is a plurality of worlds, and learn that the human race is not from one earth alone, but from innumerable earths. I have frequently talked about this with spirits of our earth, and was told that any intelligent person ought to know from many things that he does know that there are many earths inhabited by men; for it may be reasonably inferred that immense bodies like the planets, some of which exceed this earth in magnitude, are not empty masses created merely to be borne through space and to be carried around the sun, and to shine with their scanty light for the benefit of a single earth, but must have a more important use. He that believes, as everyone must believe, that the Divine created the universe for no other end than that the human race might exist, and heaven therefrom, for the human race is a seminary of heaven, must needs believe that wherever there is an earth there are men. That the planets visible to us because they are within the limits of our solar system are earths is evident from their being bodies of earthy matters, which is known from their reflecting the sun's light, and from their not appearing, when viewed through telescopes, like stars, sparkling with flame, but like earths varied with darker portions; also from their passing like our earth around the sun and following in the path of the zodiac, thus making years and seasons of the year, spring, summer, autumn, and winter, also revolving on their axes like our earth, making days and times of the day, morning, mid-day, evening, and night; also from some of them having moons, called satellites, that revolve around their earth at stated times, as the moon does around ours; while the planet Saturn, being at a greater distance from the sun, has also a large luminous belt which gives much light, though reflected, to that earth. Who that knows all this and thinks rationally can ever say that the planets are empty bodies? Moreover, I have said to spirits that man might believe that there are more earths in the universe than one, from the fact that the starry heaven is so immense, and the stars there so innumerable, and each of them in its place or in its system a sun, resembling our sun, although of a varying magnitude. Any one who duly weighs the subject must conclude that such an immense whole must needs be a means to an end that is the final end of creation; and this end is a heavenly kingdom in which the Divine may dwell with angels and men. For the visible universe or the heaven illumined by stars so numberless, which are so many suns, is simply a means for the existence of earths with men upon them from whom the heavenly kingdom is derived. From all this a rational man must needs conclude that so immense a means to so great an end could not have been provided merely for the human race on a single earth. What would this be for a Divine that is infinite, to which thousands and even myriads of earths, all of them full of inhabitants, would be little and scarcely anything? There are spirits whose sole pursuit is the acquisition of knowledges, because their delight is in this alone; and for this reason they are permitted to wander about, and even to pass out of our solar system into others, in acquiring knowledge. These spirits, who are from the planet Mercury, have told me that there are earths with men upon them not only in this solar system but also beyond it in the starry heaven in immense numbers. It was calculated that with a million earths in the universe, and on each earth three hundred millions of men, and two hundred generations in six thousand years, and a space of three cubic ells allowed to each man or spirit, the total number of so many men or spirits would not fill the space of this earth, and scarcely more than the space of one of the satellites about one of the planets - a space in the universe so small as to be almost invisible, since a satellite can scarcely be seen by the naked eye. What is this for the Creator of the universe, to whom it would not be sufficient if the whole universe were filled, since He is infinite? I have talked with angels about this, and they said that they had a similar idea of the fewness of the human race compared with the infinity of the Creator, although their thought is from states, not from spaces, and that in their thought earths amounting to as many myriads as could possibly be conceived of would still be nothing at all to the Lord.

The earths in the universe, with their inhabitants, and the spirits and angels from them, are treated of in the above mentioned work. What is there related has been revealed and shown to me to the intent that it may be known that the heaven of the Lord is immense, and that it is all from the human race; also that our Lord is every where acknowledged as the God of heaven and earth.

418. Again, the immensity of the heaven of the Lord is shown in this, that heaven in its entire complex reflects a single Man, and corresponds to all things and each thing in man, and that this correspondence can never be filled out, since it is a correspondence not only with each of the members, organs, and viscera of the body in general, but also with all and each of the little viscera and little organs contained in these in every minutest particular, and even with each vessel and fiber; and not only with these but also with the organic substances that receive interiorly the influx of heaven, from which come man's interior activities that are serviceable to the operations of his mind; since everything that exists interiorly in man exists in forms which are substances, for anything that does not exist in a substance as its subject is nothing. There is a correspondence of all these things with heaven, as can be seen from the chapter treating of the correspondence of all things of heaven with all things of man (numbers 87-102). This correspondence can never be filled out because the more numerous the angelic affiliations are that correspond to each member the more perfect heaven becomes; for every perfection in the heavens increases with increase of number; and this for the reason that all there have the same end, and look with one accord to that end. That end is the common good; and when that reigns there is, from the common good, good to each individual, and from the good of each individual there is good to the whole community. This is so for the reason that the Lord turns all in heaven to Himself (see above, number 123), and thereby makes them to be one in Himself. That the unanimity and concord of many, especially from such an origin and held together by such a bond, produces perfection, everyone with a reason at all enlightened can see clearly.

419. I have also been permitted to see the extent of the inhabited and also of the uninhabited heaven; and the extent of the uninhabited heaven was seen to be so great that it could not be filled to eternity even if there were many myriads of earths,...

The Good of Faith

Arcana Coelestia 6325. It is an eternal truth that the Lord rules heaven and earth, and also that no one besides the Lord lives of himself, consequently that everything of life flows in-the good of life from the Lord, and the evil of life from hell. This is the faith of the heavens. When a man is in this faith (and he can be in it when he is in good), then evil cannot be fastened and appropriated to him, because he knows that it is not from himself, but from hell. When a man is in this state, he can then be gifted with peace, for then he will trust solely in the Lord.

 

Heaven is state of life with an appearance of it being a place

Spiritual Experiences 5125. THAT HEAVEN IS NOT A PLACE BUT A STATE OF LIFE. All who come from the world bring with them the opinion that heaven is on high, thus in place; for which reason, they say that they wish to be raised up into heaven. But they do not know that heaven is not a place, but a state of life, namely, of the life of love, charity and faith; and that, though they appear in a higher place than others, place is an appearance. I saw that certain ones ascended on high, as very many did in many ways; but, when there, they said that they are altogether like they were before, and that they see nothing; and so they wondered that heaven should be there. But if the state is changed to a good one, it becomes heaven with those in whom this can be effected - to just such an extent as they receive the state of love. Certain ones, when on high, were granted communication with the angels there; for they were invisible; but, when communication takes place, they appear for a little while. The evil then cast themselves down from thence, head-foremost; for they feel hell in themselves, grievous according to the degree and quality of their evil.

Conjugial Love 10. After this, the angel and his companions returned to the place of assembly from which the companies of the wise had not yet departed. There he called to him those who believed that heavenly joy and eternal happiness are merely admission into heaven--and admission by Divine grace; and that they will then have joy, as do those in the world who on festive days enter the palaces of kings, or by invitation go to a wedding. To these the angel said: Remain here awhile. I will sound the trumpet, and hither will come men famed for wisdom in the spiritual things of the church.

After some time, there came nine men, each decked with laurel as a mark of his renown. The angel introduced them into the house of assembly wherein all were present who had been called earlier. In their presence, the angel addressed the laurelled nine and said: I know that, by your wish and in accordance with your idea, it has been granted you to ascend into heaven, and that you have returned into this lower or sub-heavenly earth with full knowledge of the state of heaven. Tell us, therefore, how heaven appeared to you.

[2] They answered in turn. The FIRST said: From early boyhood to the end of my life in the world, my idea of heaven had been that it was a place of all blessedness, happiness, enjoyment, pleasantness and pleasure; and that if I should be admitted there, I would be surrounded with an aura of felicities, and would breathe them in with full breast, like a bridegroom when he celebrates his nuptials and enters the bridal chamber with his bride. With this idea, I ascended into heaven and passed the first guards and also the second; but when I came to the third, the officer of the guard addressed me and said: Friend, who are you? I answered: Is not this heaven? From the longing of my desire I have ascended hither. Pray, let me in. He then let me in, and I saw angels in white raiment. They walked around me, and after examining me, murmured, Lo, a new guest not clad in the garments of heaven. Hearing this, I thought: This seems to me like the case of the man of whom the Lord said that he had come to the wedding without a wedding garment. So I said, Give me such a garment. And they laughed. Then one came running from the court with the command, Strip him naked, cast him out and throw his garments after him. And so I was cast out.

[3] The SECOND in order said: I believed as he did, that if only I could be let into heaven which is above my head, joys would flow around me and I would be animated by them to eternity, and I, too, obtained my wish. But on seeing me, the angels fled and said among themselves, What is this monster? How came this bird of night hither? And I actually had the feeling of being changed from a man [into a bird of night], although I was not changed--a feeling which came upon me from drawing in the heavenly atmosphere. But presently one came running from the court with the command that two servants should lead me out and take me back to my home by the way up which I had come. And when I was at home, I appeared to others and to myself as a man.

[4] The THIRD said: My constant idea of heaven was derived from place and not from love. Therefore, when I came into this world I longed for heaven with a great longing; and seeing those who were ascending, I followed them and was admitted, though no farther than a few steps. But when, by reason of my idea of the joys and beatitudes there I wanted to gladden my animus, 1 then, owing to the light of heaven which was white as snow and the essence of which is said to be wisdom, a stupor invaded my mind, and hence darkness my eyes, and I began to rave; and soon, owing to the heat of heaven which corresponded to the brightness of that light and the essence of which is said to be love, my heart palpitated, anxiety took possession of me and, tormented with inward pain, I threw myself flat on the ground. Then, as I lay prostrate, attendants from the court came with the command to carry me gently away into my own light and heat; and when I came into these, my spirit and my heart returned to me.

[5] The FOURTH said that he also had been in the idea of a place respecting heaven, and not in an idea of love. When I first came into the spiritual world' he said, I asked the wise whether one would be permitted to ascend into heaven. They told me that it was permitted every one, but that men should take heed lest they be cast down. At this I laughed, and I ascended, believing, as do others, that all in the whole world are capable of receiving the joys of heaven in their fullness. But in truth, as soon as I was in, I almost lost my breath, and from pain and consequent torment in head and body, I threw myself on the ground and, writhing like a serpent before a fire, crawled to a precipice and threw myself over it. Afterwards I was picked up by some bystanders below and carried to an inn, where sanity returned to me.

[6] The five others also gave amazing accounts of their ascent into heaven, comparing the changes of the states of their life to the state of fishes when lifted out of water into the air, and to that of birds in the ether. They said that after these severe experiences, they no longer had any desire for heaven but only for a life in companionship with their like, wherever they were; and they added, We now know that in the world of spirits where we are, all are first prepared, the good for heaven and the evil for hell; and when prepared, they see ways open for them to societies of their like with whom they will dwell forever. They then enter these ways with delight because they are the ways of their love.

Upon hearing these accounts, all who were first summoned confessed that they, too, had had no other idea of heaven than as of a place where with open mouth they would drink in to all eternity the joys which surrounded them.

[7] After this, the angel of the trumpet said to them: You now see that the joys of heaven and eternal happiness are not the joys of a place but of the state of a man's life, and that the state of heavenly life is from love and wisdom; and because the containant of these two is use, the state of heavenly life is from their conjunction in use. It is the same thing if it be said charity, faith, and good works; for charity is love, faith is truth from whence is wisdom, and good works are uses. Moreover, in our spiritual world there is place just as in the natural world, otherwise there would be no habitations and separate abodes. But here place is not place but an appearance of place according to the state of love and wisdom, or charity and faith.

[8] Every one who becomes an angel carries his heaven within him, because he carries within him the love of his heaven; for, by creation, man is a least effigy, image and type of the great heaven, the human form being nothing else. Therefore, every man comes into that society of heaven of which he is the form in individual effigy, and when he enters that society, he enters into a form corresponding to himself. Thus, he enters into that self-form as of himself, and from that form, as it were, into the same form in himself, breathing its life as his own and his own as its. Each society is as one common whole; and the angels there, are as the similar parts from which this common whole coexists. From this it now follows, that they who are in evils and thence in falses have formed within themselves an effigy of hell, and in heaven this effigy is in torment by reason of the influx of opposite into opposite, and of the violence resulting from their activity; for infernal love is opposed to heavenly love, and therefore the delights of the two loves clash with each other as enemies, and when they come together, they destroy each other.

 

Heaven is the Word

True Christian Religion 272 ... as the Lord is the Word, heaven is also the Word, since heaven is heaven from the Lord, and the Lord through the Word is the all in all things of heaven.

 

The church militant

6308. This influx is effected by means of spirits and angels....