Heaven and its Wonders and HellSwedenborg, Emanuel
Religion
Heaven and its Wonders and Hell
Swedenborg, Emanuel
Future life -- Christianity -- Early work to 1800; Heaven -- Christianity; Hell -- Christianity
heaven to the world, and away from the Lord to himself. Such,
therefore, are in the light of the world and not in the light of
heaven. [3] In outward form or in the sight of men they appear just
as intelligent and learned as those who are in the light of heaven,
because they speak in a like manner; and sometimes to outward
appearance they even appear wiser, because they are moved by love of
self, and are skilled in counterfeiting heavenly affections; but in
their inward form in which they appear before the angels they are
wholly different. All this shows in some degree who those are that
are meant by "the intelligent that will shine in heaven as with the
brightness of the firmament." Who are meant by those that "turn many
to righteousness," who will shine as the stars, shall now be told.
{Footnote 1} The light of the world is for the external man,
the light of heaven for the internal man (n. 3222-3224, 3337).
The light of heaven flows into the natural light, and so far as
the natural man receives the light of heaven he becomes wise
(n. 4302, 4408). The things that are in the light of heaven can
be seen in the light of heaven but not in the light of the
world, which is called natural light (n. 9755). Therefore those
who are solely in the light of the world do not perceive those
things that are in the light of heaven (n. 3108). To the angels
the light of the world is thick darkness (n. 1521, 1783, 1880).
348. By those who "turn many to righteousness" are meant those who
are wise, and in heaven those are called wise who are in good, and
those are in good that apply Divine truths at once to the life; for
as soon as Divine truth comes to be of the life it becomes good,
since it comes to be of will and love, and whatever is of will and
love is called good; therefore such are called wise because wisdom is
of the life. But those that do not commit Divine truths at once to
the life, but first to the memory, from which they afterwards draw
them and apply them to the life, are called the "intelligent." What
and how great the difference is between the wise and the intelligent
in the heavens can be seen in the chapter that treats of the two
kingdoms of heaven, the celestial and the spiritual (n. 20-28), and
in the chapter that treats of the three heavens (n. 29-40). Those
who are in the Lord's celestial kingdom, and consequently in the
third or inmost heaven, are called "the righteous" because they
attribute all righteousness to the Lord and none to themselves. The
Lord's righteousness in heaven is the good that is from the Lord.{1}
Such, then, are here meant by those that "turn to righteousness;" and
such are meant also in the Lord's words,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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