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
136. Angels, like men, have understanding and will. The light of
heaven constitutes the life of their understanding, because that
light is Divine truth and Divine wisdom therefrom; and the heat of
heaven constitutes the life of their will, because that heat is
Divine good and Divine love therefrom. The veriest life of the angels
is from heat, and from light only so far as heat is in it. That life
is from heat is shown by the fact that when heat is taken away life
perishes. The same is true of faith without love or of truth without
good; since the truth that is called truth of faith is light, and the
good that is called good of love is heat. {1} This is more clearly
shown by the heat and light of the world, to which the heat and light
of heaven correspond. By the world's heat when conjoined with light,
as in spring and summer, all things on the earth are quickened and
grow, but by light separate from heat nothing is quickened or grows,
but everything lies torpid and dies. They are not conjoined in
winter, when heat is absent though light remains. From this
correspondence heaven is called paradise, since truth is there joined
with good, or faith with love, as light is with heat in springtime on
the earth. All this makes more clear the truth set forth in its own
chapter (n. 13-19), that the Divine of the Lord in Heaven is love to
Him and charity towards the neighbor.
{Footnote 1} Truths apart from good are not in themselves
truths because they have no life; for truths have all their
life from good (n. 9603). Thus truths apart from good are like
a body without a soul (n. 3180, 9154). Truths apart from good
are not accepted by the Lord (n. 4368). What truth apart from
good, that is, what faith apart from love is, and what truth
from good or faith from love is (n. 1949-1951, 1964, 5830,
5951). It amounts to the same thing whether you say truth or
faith, or whether you say good or love, since truth is of faith
and good is of love (n. 2839, 4352, 4353, 4997, 7178, 7623,
7624, 10367).
137. It is said in John:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and God was the Word. All things were made through Him,
and without Him was not any thing made that hath been
made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we
beheld His glory (1:1-14).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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