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
not in the marriage of good and truth from the Lord.
{Footnote 1} As husband and wife should be one, and should live
together in the inmost of life, and as they together make one
angel in heaven, so true marriage love is impossible between
one husband and several wives (n. 1907, 2740). To marry several
wives at the same time is contrary to Divine order (n. 10837).
That there is no marriage except between one husband and one
wife is clearly perceived by those who are in the Lord's
celestial kingdom (n. 865, 3246, 9002, 10172). For the reason
that the angels there are in the marriage of good and truth (n.
3246). The Israelitish nation were permitted to marry several
wives, and to add concubines to wives, but not Christians, for
the reason that that nation was in externals separate from
internals, while Christians are able to enter into internals,
thus into the marriage of good and truth (n. 3246, 4837, 8809.)
380. The love of dominion of one over the other entirely takes away
marriage love and its heavenly delight, for as has been said above,
marriage love and its delight consists in the will of one being that
of the other, and this mutually and reciprocally. This is destroyed
by love of dominion in marriage, since he that domineers wishes his
will alone to be in the other, and nothing of the other's will to be
reciprocally in himself, which destroys all mutuality, and thus all
sharing of any love and its delight one with the other. And yet this
sharing and consequent conjunction are the interior delight itself
that is called blessedness in marriage. This blessedness, with
everything that is heavenly and spiritual in marriage love, is so
completely extinguished by love of dominion as to destroy even all
knowledge of it; and if that love were referred to it would be held
in such contempt that any mention of blessedness from that source
would excite either laughter or anger. [2] When one wills or loves
what the other wills or loves each has freedom, since all freedom is
from love; but where there is dominion no one has freedom; one is a
servant, and the other who rules is also a servant, for he is led as
a servant by the lust of ruling. But all this is wholly beyond the
comprehension of one who does not know what the freedom of heavenly
love is. Nevertheless from what has been said above about the origin
and essence of marriage love it can be seen that so far as dominion
enters, minds are not united but divided. Dominion subjugates, and a
subjugated mind has either no will or an opposing will. If it has no
will it has also no love; and if it has an opposing will there is
hatred in place of love. [3] The interiors of those who live in such
marriage are in mutual collision and strife, as two opposites are
wont to be, however their exteriors may be restrained and kept quiet
for the sake of tranquillity. The collision and antagonism of the
interiors of such are disclosed after their death, when commonly they
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