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
133. Something shall now be said about the heat of heaven. That heat
in its essence is love. It goes forth from the Lord as a sun, which
is Divine love in the Lord and from the Lord, as has been shown in
the preceding chapter. It is evident, therefore, that the heat of
heaven, like the light of heaven, is spiritual, because from the same
source.{1} There are two things that go forth from the Lord as a sun,
Divine truth and Divine good; Divine truth is manifested in the
heavens as light, and Divine good as heat; and yet Divine truth and
Divine good are so united that they are not two, but one.
Nevertheless, with angels they are separate, for there are angels
that receive more of Divine good than of Divine truth, and there are
those that receive more of Divine truth than of Divine good. Those
who receive more of Divine good are in the Lord's celestial kingdom,
and those who receive more of Divine truth are in His spiritual
kingdom. Those that receive both in a like degree are the most
perfect angels.
{Footnote 1} There are two sources of heat and also two sources
of light, the sun of the world and the sun of heaven (n. 3338,
5215, 7324). Heat from the Lord as a sun is affection of love
(n. 3636, 3643). Therefore spiritual heat in its essence is
love (n. 2146, 3338, 3339, 6314).
134. The heat of heaven, like the light of heaven, is everywhere
different. It is different in the celestial kingdom from what it is
in the spiritual kingdom, and it is different in each society
therein. It differs both in degree and in quality. It is more intense
and more pure in the Lord's celestial kingdom, because the angels
there receive more of Divine good; and it is less intense and pure in
His spiritual kingdom, because the angels there receive more of
Divine truth. Also in each society the heat differs in accordance
with reception. There is heat in the hells, but it is unclean
heat.{1} The heat in heaven is what is meant by holy and heavenly
fire, and the heat of hell by profane and infernal fire. Both mean
love--heavenly fire meaning love to the Lord and love to the
neighbor and every affection of those loves, and infernal fire
meaning love of self and love of the world and every lust of those
loves. That love is heat from a spiritual source is shown from one's
growing warm with love; for in accordance with the strength and
nature of his love a man is inflamed and grows warm; and the heat of
his love is made manifest when it is opposed. From this also it is
customary to speak of being inflamed, growing hot, burning, boiling,
being on fire, both in regard to the affections of the love of good
and the lusts of the love of evil.
{Footnote 1} There is heat in the hells, but it is unclean (n.
1773, 2757, 3340). The odor from it is like the odor from dung
and excrement in the world and in the worst hells like the odor
of dead bodies (n. 814, 815, 817, 819, 820, 943, 944, 5394).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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