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
389. All things in the heavens are organized in accordance with
Divine order, which is everywhere guarded by the services performed
by angels, those things that pertain to the general good or use by
the wiser angels, those that pertain to particular uses by the less
wise, and so on. They are subordinated just as uses are subordinated
in the Divine order; and for this reason a dignity is connected with
every function according to the dignity of the use. Nevertheless, an
angel does not claim dignity to himself, but ascribes all dignity to
the use; and as the use is the good that he accomplishes, and all
good is from the Lord, so he ascribes all dignity to the Lord.
Therefore he that thinks of honor for himself and subsequently for
the use, and not for the use and subsequently for himself, can
perform no function in heaven, because this is looking away backwards
from the Lord, and putting self in the first place and use in the
second. When use is spoken of the Lord also is meant, because, as has
just been said, use is good, and good is from the Lord.
390. From this it may be inferred what subordinations in the heavens
are, namely, that as any one loves, esteems, and honors the use he
also loves, esteems, and honors the person with whom the use is
connected; also that the person is loved, esteemed and honored in the
measure in which he ascribes the use to the Lord and not to himself;
for to that extent he is wise, and the uses he performs he performs
from good. Spiritual love, esteem, and honor are nothing else than
the love, esteem, and honor of the use in the person, together with
the honor to the person because of the use, and not honor to the use
because of the person. This is the way, moreover, in which men are
regarded when they are regarded from spiritual truth, for one man is
then seen to be like another, whether he be in great or in little
dignity, the only perceptible difference being a difference in
wisdom; and wisdom is loving use, that is, loving the good of a
fellow citizen, of society, of one's country, and of the church. It
is this that constitutes love to the Lord, because every good that is
a good of use is from the Lord; and it constitutes also love towards
the neighbor, because the neighbor means the good that is to be loved
in a fellow citizen, in society, in one's country, and in the church,
and that is to be done in their behalf.{1}
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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