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
95. That heaven is divided into two kingdoms, one called the
celestial kingdom and the other the spiritual kingdom, may be seen
above in its own chapter. The celestial kingdom corresponds in
general to the heart and all things of the heart in the whole body,
and the spiritual kingdom to the lungs and to all things of the lungs
in the whole body. Likewise in man heart and lungs form two kingdoms,
the heart ruling there through the arteries and veins, and the lungs
through the tendinous and motor fibers, both together in every
exertion and movement. So in every man, in his spiritual world, which
is called his spiritual man, there are two kingdoms, one of the will
and the other of the understanding, the will ruling through
affections for good, and the understanding through affections for
truth; and these kingdoms correspond to the kingdoms of the heart and
of the lungs in the body. It is the same in the heavens; the
celestial kingdom is the voluntary part of heaven, and in it good of
love reigns; the spiritual kingdom is the intellectual part of
heaven, and in it truth reigns. These are what correspond to the
functions of the heart and lungs in man. It is on account of this
correspondence that in the Word the "heart" signifies the will and
also good of love, and the "breath" of the lungs signifies the
understanding and the truth of faith. For the same reason affections
are ascribed to the heart, although they are neither in it nor from
it.{1}
{Footnote 1} The correspondence of the heart and lungs with the
Greatest Man, which is heaven, from experience (n. 3883-3896),
The heart corresponds to those in the celestial kingdom, and
the lungs to those in the spiritual kingdom (n. 3885-3887).
There is in heaven a pulse like that of the heart, and a
respiration like that of the lungs but interior (n. 3884, 3885,
3887). There the pulse of the heart varies in conformity to
states of love, and the respiration in conformity to states of
charity and faith (n. 3886, 3887, 3889). In the Word the
"heart" means the will, and "from the heart" means from the
will (n. 2930, 7542, 8910, 9113, 10336). In the Word the
"heart" also signifies love, and "from the heart" means from
love (7542, 9050, 10336).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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