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
The second state of man after death is called the state of his
interiors, because he is then let into the interiors of his mind,
that is, of his will and thought; while his exteriors, which he has
been in during his first state, are laid asleep. Whoever gives any
thought to man's life and speech and action can see that everyone has
exteriors and interiors, that is, exterior and interior thoughts and
intentions. This is shown by the fact that in civil life one thinks
about others in accordance with what he has heard and learned of them
by report or conversation; but he does not talk with them in
accordance with his thought; and if they are evil he nevertheless
treats them with civility. That this is so is seen especially in the
case of pretenders and flatterers, who speak and act in one way and
think and will in a wholly different way; also in the case of
hypocrites, who talk about God and heaven and the salvation of souls
and the truths of the church and their country's good and their
neighbor as if from faith and love, although in heart they believe
otherwise and love themselves alone. [2] All this makes clear that
there are two kinds of thought, one exterior and the other interior;
and that there are those who speak from exterior thought, while from
their interior thought they have other sentiments, and that these two
kinds of thought are kept separate, since the interior is carefully
prevented from flowing into the exterior and becoming manifest in any
way. By creation man is so formed as to have his interior and
exterior thought make one by correspondence; and these do make one in
those that are in good, for such both think and speak what is good
only. But in those that are in evil interior and exterior thought do
not make one, for such think what is evil and say what is good. With
such there is an inversion of order, for good with them is on the
outside and evil within; and in consequence evil has dominion over
good, and subjects it to itself as a servant, that it may serve it as
a means for gaining its ends, which are of the same nature as their
love. With such an end contained in the good that they seek and do,
their good is evidently not good, but is infected with evil, however
good it may appear in outward form to those not acquainted with their
interiors. [3] It is not so with those that are in good. With such
order is not inverted; but good from interior thought flows into
exterior thought, and thus into word and act. Into this order man was
created; and in heaven, and in the light of heaven, his interiors are
in this order. And as the light of heaven is the Divine truth that
goes forth from the Lord, and consequently is the Lord in heaven (n.
126-140), therefore such are led by the Lord. All this has been said
to make known that every man has interior thought and exterior
thought, and that these are distinct from each other. The term
thought includes also the will, for thought is from the will, and
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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