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
469. Spirits and angels, equally with men, have a memory, whatever
they hear, see, think, will and do, remaining with them, and thereby
their rational faculty is continually cultivated even to eternity.
Thus spirits and angels, equally with men, are perfected in
intelligence and wisdom by means of knowledges of truth and good.
That spirits and angels have a memory I have been permitted to learn
by much experience, having seen everything that they have thought and
done, both in public and in private, called forth from their memories
when they were with other spirits; and I have seen those that were in
some truth from simple good imbued with knowledges, and thereby with
intelligence, and afterwards raised up into heaven. But it must be
understood that such are not imbued with knowledges and thereby with
intelligence beyond the degree of affection for good and for truth
that they have attained to while in the world; for such and so much
of affection as any spirit or angel had in the world remains with
him; and this affection is afterwards perfected by being filled out,
which goes on to eternity. For everything is capable of being filled
out to eternity, since everything is capable of infinite variation,
thus of enrichment by various things, and consequently of
multiplication and fructification. To any thing good there is no
limit because it is from the Infinite. That spirits and angels are
being perfected unceasingly in intelligence and wisdom by means of
knowledges of truth and good may be seen above, in the chapters on
the wisdom of the angels of heaven (n. 265-275); on the heathen or
people outside the church in heaven (n. 318-328); and on little
children in heaven (n. 329-345); and that this is done to that degree
of affection for good and for truth in which they had been in the
world, and not beyond it, may be seen in n. 349.
470. XLIX. MAN AFTER DEATH IS SUCH AS HIS LIFE HAD BEEN IN THE WORLD.
Every Christian knows from the Word that one's own life awaits him
after death; for it is there said in many passages that man will be
judged and rewarded according to his deeds and works; and no one who
thinks from good and from real truth can help seeing that he who
lives well goes to heaven and that he who lives wickedly goes to
hell. But the evil man is unwilling to believe that his state after
death is according to his life in the world; he thinks, especially
when he is sick, that heaven is granted to everyone out of pure
mercy, whatever his life may have been, and that this is done in
accordance with his faith, which he separates from life.
471. That man will be judged and rewarded according to his deeds and
works is declared in many passages in the Word, some of which I will
here quote:
The Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with
His angels and then He will render unto everyone according
to his works (Matt. 16:27).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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